Motivation Monday: Which Suffering Do You Choose?

Suffer the pain of discipline or suffer the pain of regret.

Photo Friday: Storms and Mysteries

I love this dramatic photo by Thomas Delonge. 

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Happy Friday!

Take at Least One

Better

I don't believe you have to be better than everybody else.  I believe you have to be better than you ever thought you could be.

-Ken Venturi 

TED Talk Tuesday: John Wooden on True Success

John Wooden was college basketball's most successful coach, and the first person to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.  He left UCLA with a 620-146 record, with four of his teams finishing with 30-0 records.


John Wooden knew winning.  But he didn't put winning above everything.
In this simple and profound 2001 TED Talk, this American icon and treasure talks about winning, patience and his definition of true success.

Highlights from Coach Wooden's TED Talk

• Never try to be better than someone else, always learn from others.
• Never cease trying to be the best you can be.
• Wooden's definition of success- peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you've capable, to try and improve the situation that exists for you.
• You reputation is what you are perceived to be; your character is what you really are.
• Character is much more important than what you are perceived to be.
• Wooden's three rules: 
• 1.  Never be late. 
• 2.  Not one word of profanity.
• 3.  Never criticize a teammate.
• Whatever you're doing, you must be patient.
• You must have patience.  And I believe that we must have faith. 
• I believe that we must believe, truly believe.  Not just give it word service; believe that things will work out as they should, providing we do what we should.
• We win our lose within ourselves.  
• Never mention winning.  
• You can lose when you outscore somebody in a game.  And you can win when you're outscored.
• When a game is over, and you see somebody that didn't know the outcome, I hope they couldn't tell by your actions whether you outscored an opponent or the opponent outscored you.
• If you make effort to do the best you can regularly, the results will be about what they should be.  Not necessary to what you would want them to be, but they will be about what they should, and only you will know whether you can do that.

John Wooden's Pyramid of Success

Motivation Monday: The Difference

Oh boy, do I need motivation this Monday! I'm jet lagged and starting training this morning super tired. Last night, my flight was delayed, the airline thought they lost my bags, and my car was over an hour late. Plus, I'm 6 months pregnant.


But that's why I love this quote. It's a good reminder that it's really not about all the things that happened to us and how much we complain about them. It's really about what we DO to turn things around.

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Happy Monday, everyone!

Photo Friday: Ironman Triathletes

I lovelovelove Joshua Lambus's photo of Ironman Triathletes shot from the ocean's floor.

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Happy Friday!

Regret or Rejoice

For everything you have missed, you have gained something else;

And for everything you gain, you lose something else.

It is about your outlook toward life.  You can either regret or rejoice.

Finish each day and be done with it. Tomorrow is a new day.

"Finish each day and be done with it.  You have done what you could.  Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can.  Tomorrow is a new day.  You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson 

The Annual No-Pants Subway Ride and Other Awesome Absurdities

This TEDx talk had me cracking up through the entire 12 minutes.

Charlie Todd is the creator of Improv Everywhere, a prank collective that creates absurd and simply awesome public scenes.  They've done crazy things including the annual "no-pants subway ride," getting 80 people to dress up in blue polo shirts and khaki's and stand around Best Buy and running through the New York Public Library in Ghostbusters costumes.  Like I said, simply awesome.  You seriously must watch this video.

http://improveverywhere.com/

One thing I love most about what this group does is that they make you realize that things don't have to have a reason, or make a point.  Sometimes things can be done just for fun.

When was the last time you did something "just for fun?"
When is the next time you will do something "just for fun?"

The Dalai Lama in Hawaii

Yesterday, I had the privilege of seeing the Dalai Lama speak in Hawaii. 

Photo Courtesy of Honolulu Star-Advertiser

My impressions of His Holiness?  He is just so darn cute (is that wrong to call a spiritual leader "cute?")!  The Dalai Lama has this incredibly adorable childlike quality to him.  He erupts unexpectedly into a contagious case of the giggles.  And his visor!  I loved his charming little maroon visor!  I did a little research and found out that the reason he wears it is to shield his eyes from the bright lights on stage.  Apparently, instead of asking that the lights be dimmed to accommodate him, the Dalai Lama uses it as a lesson to adapt to the way things are.  He's also super funny and he's much more real than I thought he would be.  At one point of the Q&A, he even talked about using the bathroom:

Question:  Your smile makes me smile.  It suggests life is a gift to be enjoyed.  Are you always smiling even when not in public?

Dalai Lama:  Yes.  When I am in the bathroom, and still smiling, that looks silly.  In case, something difficult to come out, you need a little pressure.  No time smiling.  (He then asked the translator, "have you ever experienced that?")

Photo Courtesy of Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Overall, His Holiness delivered an inspiring, personal talk about training your mind, developing inner peace, compassion and education.


Here were some great quotes from his talk:

• The very purpose of education is to reduce the gap between appearance and reality.
• Prosperity must come through action, not prayer. Therefore, world peace must come through inner peace, at the individual level also. In order to have a happy life, inner peace is very essential, including a healthy body. Healthy mind, healthy body. Healthy body very much linked with healthy mind.
• Through training of mind, try to develop proper mental attitude. Any attitude based on mental projection is unrealistic. Any decision made under strong emotion often becomes wrong. Because much emotion is actually a biased view. Through the view, you cannot see the reality.
• At any level, unrealistic methods never bring satisfactory result.
• What is the real basis of inner peace? It’s warmheartedness. Once we develop warmheartedness, that means consider all others just like myself. Every one has the right just like me to achieve happy life. With that kind of attitude, we automatically develop respect.
• The 20th century a wonderful century. But that century became a century of bloodshed.  There’s no other way but to try to build this century as a century of dialogue, peace.  We must find how to tackle when we face problems, not using force, but through talk, with respect, listen to others’ point of view. That’s the only way.

To read his entire talk, see Civil Beat's transcript.
To see photos of the Dalai Lama's visit to Hawaii, please see slideshows by Civil Beat or the Star-Advertiser.

Haleakala's Moonbow

This wickedly magical photo is a "moonbow," a lunar rainbow created as moonlight passes through fog. It was taken at Haleakala, Maui and published on National Geographic's website.  The bright, twinkling "star" is actually Mars, and it was actually at its closest point to Earth in 2010.

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Happy Friday!

Thanks For Your Time

This story has been circulating on the internet for a while.  I don't know who wrote it, but I do know it's a great reminder of what's important in life.  Enjoy, and thanks for your time!

Thanks For Your Time

Author Unknown

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack, did you hear me?”

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it,” Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.

“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said.

“He’s the one who taught me carpentry,” he said. “I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important… Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral,” Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time. Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture… . Jack stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.

“The box is gone,” he said.

“What box? ” Mom asked.

“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most,’” Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said. “I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom.”

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. “Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days,” the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention.

“Mr. Harold Belser” it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside.

“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.”

A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover.

Inside he found these words engraved: “Jack, Thanks for your time!  Harold Belser.”

“The thing he valued most…was…my time.”

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days.

“Why?” Janet, his assistant asked.

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.

“Oh, by the way, Janet…thanks for your time!”

Don't Ask What the World Needs

Sage advice.
About business, and life.

"Don't ask what the world needs.

Ask what makes you come alive and go do it.

Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

-H. Thurman

TED Talk Tuesday: Leading with Lollipops

Do you consider yourself a leader?
Chances are that you are, but are uncomfortable admitting it.


Drew Dudley, founder of Nuance Leadership Development Services, believes that this is because we've made the concept of leadership something monumental and unattainable; we've made it about changing the world, and reserved it for the extraordinary.


He says in his concise and funny 6-minute talk, "We spend so much time celebrating amazing things that hardly anybody can do, that we've convinced ourselves those are the only things worth celebrating.  And we start to devalue the things that we can do everyday.  We start to take moments where we truly are a leader and we don't let ourselves take credit for it and we don't let ourselves feel good about it."


He tells an incredibly funny story about how the simple act of giving a girl a lollipop changed her life immeasurably (you really have to watch his talk to hear the story), and the crazy part was that if she never told him about the impact he made on her life, he would't have even remembered the moment.


What a mind-blowing thought:  maybe the biggest impact you've ever had on someone else's life, was a moment that you don't even remember.


Drew's talk underscores the truth that we are THAT powerful.  Our actions can matter THAT much to others.  If we continue to make leadership this big thing reserved for those extraordinary people that are going to "change the world," we give ourselves an excuse not to expect it from ourselves and each other.


Drew's call to action is powerful, but most significant to me is that it's completely attainable.  He challenges us to get over our fear of how powerful we can be in each others' lives.   We need to redefine leadership about lollipop moments, about how many we create, how many we acknowledge, how many we pay forward and how many we say thank you for.

Have you had a lollipop moment?   
Have you told that person the impact they've had on your life?
What's stopping you?  

Motivation Monday: If "Plan A" Didn't Work

If "Plan A" didn't work, the alphabet has 25 more letters!
Stay cool.

Photo Friday: Africa

Guide Dog Saves Blind Man's Life at the 9/11 Attacks at The World Trade Center

This is the story of Salty, the guide dog that saved his owner's life during the attacks on the Twin Towers on 9/11.  It was one of the stories featured on the National Geographic program, "Where Were You?"


Salty was awarded an award for her bravery.  

Not all heroes are people.

Keep Away from People Who Try to Belittle Your Ambitions

Powerful advice from Mark Twain.

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.  Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

-Mark Twain 

TED Talk Tuesday: The 12 Lessons I Learned from Steve Jobs by Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki is just rad.  He's a venture capitalist who was born and raised right here in Hawaii (yay!).  He was Apple's chief evangelist for four years before starting his own business, Garage Technology Ventures.  He is the author of 10 books, and the co-founder of Alltop.com, an "online magazine rack."


He credits Steve Jobs as having a monumental impact on his life, and in this incredible TED talk, he talks about what he personally learned from Steve Jobs.

Here are the 12 lessons Guy Kawasaki learned from Steve Jobs:

1.  "Experts" are clueless.  If there's anything that Apple has proven is that experts are often wrong.  Learn to ignore experts.  Experts usually define things within established limits.  Break those limits.

2.  Customers cannot tell you what they need.  They can only describe things in terms of products or services they already have.  If you truly want to change the world, you need to ignore your customers.

3.  Jump to the next curve.  Don't stay on the same curve.   Great innovation occurs when you jump to the next curve.

4.  Biggest challenges beget the best work.  Steve Jobs had such great expectations of his people and his people tried to rise to his expectations.

5.  Design counts.  Many companies can say they care about design, but Apple is one of the few companies that truly cares about the design.  

6.  Use big graphics and big font.  When doing a presentation, If you just do this, your presentation will be better 9/10ths of those in the world.  The rule of thumb for font size:  find out who the oldest person in your audience, and then divide that number by 2.  That should be your font size.

7.  Changing your mind is a sign of intelligence.  If you change your mind, if you change the way you do things in response to how customers actually consider you, it is a sign of intelligence and it will lead to success.

8.  "Value" is not the same as "price."  It's not that you need to have the lowest price, you have to have the best value.

9.  A-players hire A+ players.  When you are in the position of hiring, hire people who are better than you.

10.  Real CEO's demo.  Steve Jobs proved the CEO can do the demo.  Because to be a good demonstrator of your product or service, you truly have to understand your product or service, you also have to understand your audience.

11.  Real entrepreneurs ship.  You don't have to worry about getting to a state where things are perfect, you have to ship.

12.  Marketing = unique value.  Marketing is all about finding unique value.

BONUS:  Some things need to be believed to be seen.  If you want to change the world, you have to believe in things before you'll see them.

Motivation Monday: Three Simple Rules in Life

Three Simple Rules in Life

1.  If you do not GO after what you want, you'll never have it.
2.  If you do not ASK, the answer will always be NO.
3.  If you do not step forward, you'll always be in the same place.