Jul 12
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” — Walt Disney
Not sure what to do, where to go?
Start moving.
The road unfolds before us.
A step at a time.
Direction rather that detailed map.
Compass, pull of true north.
Detours, delays, rerouting all parts of the journey.
When interrupted, be present and see where you can contribute.
Generous of spirit and presence.
Flooded by marvelous light.
Do good work.
“You can’t steer a parked car.” – Joyce Meyer
“The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.”― Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way
“We forget: In life, it doesn’t matter what happens to you or where you came from. It matters what you do with what happens and what you’ve been given.”― Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way
Right up the middle.
Of challenge, uncertainty, unknowing.
The detours, the delays, the obstacles.
Head on.
Facing fear with action.|
One step, then the next.
Repetition. Resolve. Momentum.
Learning, relearning, unlearning.
Keep going.
Keep growing.
Keep climbing mountains.
And choose to enjoy the journey daily.
“Perspective has two definitions. Context: a sense of the larger picture of the world, not just what is immediately in front of us Framing: an individual’s unique way of looking at the world, a way that interprets its events.”― Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way
Nov 5
“Take every minute, one at a time. Don’t be fooled by a perfect sea at any given moment. Accept and rise to whatever circumstance presents itself. Be in it full tilt, your best self. Summon your courage, your true grit. When the body fades, don’t let negative edges of despair creep in. Allowing flecks of negativity leads to a Pandora’s box syndrome. You can’t stop the doubts once you consent to let them seep into your tired, weakened brain. You must set your will. Set it now. Let nothing penetrate or cripple it.”― Diana Nyad, Find a Way
I’ve been waiting for the new movie Nyad to come out on Netflix.
Watched it last night with friends.
Outstanding, inspirational and ass-kicking.
In 2013, I remember the television coverage of Diana Nyad coming up on shore after five attempts to swim Cuba to Florida.
Exhausted beyond measure, stumbling on shore, pausing to say three things:
“Never, ever give up. You’re never too old to chase your dreams. It looks like a solitary sport, but really a team effort.”― Diana Nyad
Four failures, victory on the fifth.
“I failed and faltered many times, but I can look back without regret because I was never burdened with the paralysis of fear and inaction.”― Diana Nyad
And she did it at 64 years old! – 110 miles. 53 hours. The first person to do this without the use of a shark cage for protection.
Amazing feat and wonderful reminder to keep going, do the work over and over, and not give up or be deterred by failures along the way. True grit, focus and toughness.
“Whatever your Other Shore is, whatever you must do, whatever inspires you, you will find a way to get there.”― Diana Nyad
So here’s to the “other shores” in life and to the resilience, commitment and hard work to keep pushing to get to the other side imperfectly, with failures, detours, delays and always getting up one more time than we fall.
Keep dreaming and pursuing. Never too old.
5 am Sunday wake-up call.
A fall tradition – the Twin Cities 10 mile run and marathon.
Yesterday, the 10-mile event for me.
I’ve done the Twin Cities Marathon three times over the past several years.
25 minutes after waking up and getting ready to start the race, the organizers canceled the event due to hot and humid weather conditions.
While let down, I was more disappointed for those who trained for the full marathon because I know the commitment and hours of training that it takes.
Months of preparation and race day anticipation thwarted.
Social media debates on whether it was the right decision or not.
The noise and armchair quarterbacks still continuing and I am sure the criticism and analysis will carry on for weeks.
Life throws disappointments, delays and detours in our path.
What we do in the aftermath determines whether we move through disappointments or amplify them by complaining and murmuring about them.
We are called to overcome, survive, and thrive beyond our circumstances.
Things that are much bigger than an event cancelation.
On the way to lunch with friends, we drove the empty course yesterday to find marathoners running the course and neighbors along the way offering water and cheering them on empty streets.
Despite the cancellation and not getting an “official” time or as the social media “analysts” said “not counting,” runners got out to run their run to achieve their goal without the accolades. Others will find other marathons to run this month to finish what they started months ago.
Grit, resilience, resolve.
To carry on.
So for all of those who carry on and for those who make tough decisions, remember, it’s not the critic who counts. Stay in the arena and keep getting up every day and running the race.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Gratitude is not a limited resource, nor is it costly. It is abundant as air. We breathe it in but forget to exhale.” – Marshall Goldsmith
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius
Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius was the Roman Emperor during the Antinone plague which lasted 15 years, resulting in 5 million deaths, 1/3 of the population lost. During this time, his journal turned into the classic Meditations, which can inform and guide us especially now. In our most challenging times, we must choose to keep going in the darkness and to never let our spirit be kept down but for more than a brief moment. Fall two times, get back up three times.
Focus on what’s good, hold tight to hope and never ever give up. There are plenty of dark and heavy moments. And woven through it all is goodness, light and growth. Light always remains and works its way through. Streams, beams and then full sunlight. Take time several times throughout the day to stop and breathe.
Strength, resilience, gratitude, joy and hope. Carry on. Breathe. We are and will be alright.
“All of us need to begin to think in terms of our own inner strengths, our resilience and resourcefulness, our capacity to adapt and to rely upon ourselves and our families.” – Steven Pressfield
“I think we build resilience to prepare for whatever adversity we’ll face. And we all face some adversity – we’re all living some form of Option B.” – Sheryl Sandberg
This week, Jeanne gave me a ceramic pumpkin filled with fresh tomatoes from her garden. The tomatoes alone would be awesome enough, but the pumpkin had very special meaning. Years ago, the pumpkin was filled with fresh beautiful flowers. They were sent to our office in St. Paul addressed to Jessica Gill. Jeanne got them and called Jessica immediately to let her know that she received flowers.
Jessica was a fellow coworker/friend who worked for us remotely in Montana. She was the original remote worker before COVID-remote work became “cool.” It was from a client thanking her for her outstanding work – no surprise. Our office should have been filled with flowers, gifts and chocolates for her commitment, creativity and leadership through the years for both our clients and staff.
So the pumpkin filled with tomatoes this week went deeper. It was a sweet reminder of Jessica who worked for me for years. We talked every day. She was one of the most brilliant, kind and generous young woman/person that I’ve worked with over a 30+ year career. She succumbed to a second ass-kicking from cancer on January 6, 2019, in her 30s with two young boys and a husband who adored her, like the rest of us.
Not one single day goes by that I don’t want to pick up the phone to talk, strategize and solve complex problems with a laugh weaved in the conversation. She understood me and the depth of the tech work that we worked on together for the years.
So as I finished this week, with my pumpkin displayed in my living room, one thought kept rising in my heart – “we’re still here.” That’s really the gist of it, especially now. We are still here in this “unprecedented time” and are called to keep living, contributing, caring and being generous with ourselves and others. We are still here to honor those who have gone before us, rising to all occasions with resilience, hope, joy, enthusiasm and victory. Until we cross over, we are still here to fight the good fight, so let’s do this!
When you start feeling sorry for yourself – and I do myself regularly – remember, we are still here and here for a purpose. Be present, be hopeful, be joyful and serve the world until you are no longer a part of it. Carry on with hope, spunk and fight. Cast light – we all are in desperate need of it right now!
“In order to succeed, people need a sense of self-efficacy, to struggle together with resilience to meet the inevitable obstacles and inequities of life.” – Albert Bandura
“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” – Buddha
Optimism is rooted in resilience and grit. It’s knowing that things aren’t perfect, days are tough, the past can be heavy and still choosing to look at the world with new and hopeful eyes. Fully aware that each of us is going through challenges with others, work hassles, health concerns, disappointments, we can still rise.
Karma – what you send out, returns to you. Day 4 of positive vibes and wide-eyed optimism – cast light. Join me and invite others to the party.
BY MAYA ANGELOU
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
Maya Angelou, “Still I Rise” from And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems. Copyright © 1978 by Maya Angelou. Used by permission of Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
Source: The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (1994)
