Fear is integral to safety, like the brakes of a car. But many people are like drivers who only use their brakes.
Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
This is the biggest danger with fear ~ always being on the brakes will result in you losing all movement (action), resulting in defeat, frustration and unhappiness.
It isn't possible to completely eliminate fear, and you shouldn't want to, anymore than you would want to drive a car without brakes. But if you imagine yourself driving a car you would have to agree that you are off your breaks more than you're on them. Unless you're driving in peak-hour traffic, which everyone prefers to avoid. Yet the existence of peak-hour traffic tells us that most people find it hard to avoid. If we don't learn to manage fear it will have us constantly braking.
The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one. ~ Elbert Hubbard
This is what keeps people on their brakes ~ fear of mistakes, fear of failure, fear judgement, fear of loss. I'm going to continue the braking analogy by saying that the more aware you are, the less ignorant you are to what's happening on the road, the less heavy braking you will require.
Fear is the lengthened shadow of ignorance. ~ Arnold Glasow
Confront your fears, list them, get to know them, and only then will you be able to put them aside and move ahead. ~ Jerry Gilles
The only thing that can cure a fear of public speaking is repeatedly engaging in it. This is why directly challenging our fears is so crucial. But the injudicious approach will often be unsuccessful, or even compound your fears.
So there are two very important points ~ being prepared and being aware. If you fear public speaking then having a good speech prepared, possibly with the help of someone experienced in the field, and then learning about public speaking skills could significantly help you be "off the brakes" when you have to get up and talk.
You know that feeling? When the words won't come out, when you're "paralyzed by fear"? This is fear at its worst, when a person has let fear take over by not being prepared and aware. The brakes are jammed to floor. This is almost as likely to cause an accident as speeding around without using your brakes.
The goal is not to eliminate fear entirely, but to get confident that you can push past it, that you can use it to your benefit, that you can manage it and have success despite of it.
Listen to what you know instead of what you fear. ~ Richard Bach
So work on knowing your fears and being aware of them. Be confident of how you can work with them, rather than them working against you. Don't ride your brakes all the way through life out of fear that something bad will happen. Learn how to use fear - to use your brakes - the way that they were meant to be used. Fear is an integral part of staying in touch with truth and reality, but if you try to ignore it or avoid it you only give it more power and spend more of your life breaking.
Get to know fear and how to use it to your benefit and it will become a friend rather than a foe.
There is not a truth existing which I fear or would wish unknown to the whole world. ~ Thomas Jefferson
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
We are defined by our actions.
We are all inclined to judge ourselves by our ideals; others, by their acts. ~ Harold Nicolson
We've all known someone who "talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk" and we would all agree that we ultimately judge them on the "walk", not the talk. Further still, I find it quite common that the person themselves is quite oblivious to this fact.
Have you really thought about this? People define you by your actions, not your words.
Someone can say "I love you" all the time but if they never hug or kiss you the words mean nothing.
A parent can tell a child they shouldn't swear but if the parent does so in front of the child then soon enough the child will swear regardless (even if they may not in front of the parent).
A boss can say he values his employees and say a personal thanks to them for all their hard work but if he never gives them a raise or a bonus then he may as well have said nothing.
A person can say they believe in environmental conservation but if you then see them throw their newspaper in the regular rubbish rather than recycling it their words become pointless.
Hence the adage, "talk is cheap". It's very easy to talk about something you believe in, that you want to do, that you think is wrong or that you want to change, but taking action on these things is not only much harder but what gives these words true substance, and in turn gives the person true substance.
A thought which does not result in an action is nothing much, and an action which does not proceed from a thought is nothing at all. ~ Georges Bernanos
Thinking is extremely important, but without action the thought is essentially wasted. Action is where change, results, inspiration and creation become possible. The talking has its place also. But if it isn't supported by action, or worse, is contradicted by it, then the talking becomes meaningless.
I really love this next quote...
Speech is conveniently located midway between thought and action, where it often substitutes for both. ~ John Andrew Holmes
Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in. ~ Napoleon Bonaparte
Although I definitely talk too much and write too much in this blog the very purpose for this blog's existence is action. Read my first post if you haven't already. The greatest epiphany I've had in the past few years is that talking about writing, or about being a writer, didn't make me one; if I write then I am a writer. To create the change I wanted in my life I had to BE the change.
Be the change you want to see in the world. ~ Gandhi
And this change starts with your own personal "world".
If you want to see a healthier world then be a healthier person; BE a daily runner.
If you want to fight corporate greed then keep your money away from their pockets; BE the customer of a small local bank.
If you want the world to a happier place then focus on being happier in your own life; BE a person who creates happiness for themselves and others.
I don't mean to be simplistic. Being any of the above examples is very hard. That's why so many people are bigger on talk than action. Action is SO much harder.
I realise these Motivational Monday posts are focused on people's words but the reason these people are quoted is not so much because of what they said but what they did. You remember someone because they wrote a great book, not beause they talked about writing a great book. Martin Luther King's great speech on freedom and equality is not remembered and quoted solely because of it's content, but because he lived those words in his life. He didn't just talk of change, he was a living example for change.
If we all focused on having great thoughts supported by great actions then we wouldn't need to think about our words; they would just come out great.
Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it -- but sail we must and not drift, nor lie at anchor. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes
We are all inclined to judge ourselves by our ideals; others, by their acts. ~ Harold Nicolson
We've all known someone who "talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk" and we would all agree that we ultimately judge them on the "walk", not the talk. Further still, I find it quite common that the person themselves is quite oblivious to this fact.
Have you really thought about this? People define you by your actions, not your words.
Someone can say "I love you" all the time but if they never hug or kiss you the words mean nothing.
A parent can tell a child they shouldn't swear but if the parent does so in front of the child then soon enough the child will swear regardless (even if they may not in front of the parent).
A boss can say he values his employees and say a personal thanks to them for all their hard work but if he never gives them a raise or a bonus then he may as well have said nothing.
A person can say they believe in environmental conservation but if you then see them throw their newspaper in the regular rubbish rather than recycling it their words become pointless.
Hence the adage, "talk is cheap". It's very easy to talk about something you believe in, that you want to do, that you think is wrong or that you want to change, but taking action on these things is not only much harder but what gives these words true substance, and in turn gives the person true substance.
A thought which does not result in an action is nothing much, and an action which does not proceed from a thought is nothing at all. ~ Georges Bernanos
Thinking is extremely important, but without action the thought is essentially wasted. Action is where change, results, inspiration and creation become possible. The talking has its place also. But if it isn't supported by action, or worse, is contradicted by it, then the talking becomes meaningless.
I really love this next quote...
Speech is conveniently located midway between thought and action, where it often substitutes for both. ~ John Andrew Holmes
Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in. ~ Napoleon Bonaparte
Although I definitely talk too much and write too much in this blog the very purpose for this blog's existence is action. Read my first post if you haven't already. The greatest epiphany I've had in the past few years is that talking about writing, or about being a writer, didn't make me one; if I write then I am a writer. To create the change I wanted in my life I had to BE the change.
Be the change you want to see in the world. ~ Gandhi
And this change starts with your own personal "world".
If you want to see a healthier world then be a healthier person; BE a daily runner.
If you want to fight corporate greed then keep your money away from their pockets; BE the customer of a small local bank.
If you want the world to a happier place then focus on being happier in your own life; BE a person who creates happiness for themselves and others.
I don't mean to be simplistic. Being any of the above examples is very hard. That's why so many people are bigger on talk than action. Action is SO much harder.
I realise these Motivational Monday posts are focused on people's words but the reason these people are quoted is not so much because of what they said but what they did. You remember someone because they wrote a great book, not beause they talked about writing a great book. Martin Luther King's great speech on freedom and equality is not remembered and quoted solely because of it's content, but because he lived those words in his life. He didn't just talk of change, he was a living example for change.
If we all focused on having great thoughts supported by great actions then we wouldn't need to think about our words; they would just come out great.
Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it -- but sail we must and not drift, nor lie at anchor. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes
Saturday, November 19, 2011
To Value a Crust of Bread
It's a week late but this is my 11/11 rememberance post. I hope the world never forgets the attoricites of World War One and Two, and all war in fact.
My 3rd set of grandparents, so to speak, were Dutch (Oma and Opa we called them, as did their own grandchildren) and I am currently staying with their daughter, my Aunty Wilma and her husband Don in Canada. Oma, Opa and their children Wilma and Hans (my actual Uncle, married to my Dad's sister) lived in Rotterdam, The Nertherlands, until July 1960 when they immigrated to Canada.
Below is a story (in poetic form) which I will say is "based on a true story" but isn't a true retelling of events. Opa spoke very little of their experiences in World War II, Oma said nothing at all. He did tell me some stories when I saw them in 1997 and Wilma has expanded on those while I've been here.
When my Oma had gone to a nursing home and Opa was living on his own Aunty Wilma went to see him once and found an old crust of bread that he was keeping. She told him to throw it out and he said he may want it, which she scoffed at. Opa had never told her much of his experiences in the war, but he then told her about the crust of bread he wanted to pick up that a German soldier crushed into the dirt under his shoe.
"If you'd experienced what I have you would value a crust of bread differently." he said, but I paraphrase.
Between 1940-45 he experienced forced separation, twice in fact, from his wife and family (they had their son Hans the second time), who almost starved to death (as did he), slave labour, imprisonment for stealing food and all the gastly experiences that come with this and Nazi control. When his labour camp was liberated by the USA he was set free, around 300 miles from home without a penny, no food and no shoes.
To Value a Crust of Bread
My life was on a wire
Surviving only by desire
300 miles ahead of walking under fire
Free to go at last but so very far from home
With no shoes and not a penny
But there were many pairs to be found
On the dead bodies of soldiers littering the ground
I tried not to let my hopes get high
That my wife and baby son could still be alive
I'd heard some stories of people dying
(The dead were stacked in piles)
For lack of even one crust to share
So I stare intently ahead at the path I slowly tread
With a knowledge deep down in my heart that they weren't dead
Yet I had no food myself
So when I saw a crust of bread
Lying straight ahead in the dirt
I ran, though all my body hurt
But as I got close
A nearby Nazi soldier noticed and knew
Why I was running
And he callously crushed the crust under his shoe
I tried to hide my anguish and casually walked away
But the soldier called me over
And I knew that despite the all-but-official defeat I must obey
If I wanted to live another day
So I went towards him slow but steady
Seeming harmless but staying ready
And as I look him squarely in the eye
The face of every soldier
That had beat me endless times
Over the previous years of forced work
Cell bars and secret sabotage
Were running through my mind and I knew that though I'd try
It was an image I would never leave behind
He ordered me closer still
His eyes not hiding his desire to kill
But he wanted more than just to see me die
With his rifle butt he clubbed me hard
Then jumped on me as I tried to guard
My face from the punches wasted on a man so weak and tired
I could hear many planes flying
Over but he paid them no mind
Which still surprised me despite
The frequency that they were heard round this time
I was almost ready to give up this life
Knowing it could well mean I reunite with my wife
In a better place than this...when an explosion hit!
It destroyed the train close by
And in a moment that hate-filled soldier died
Right on top of me, convulsing with a repulsive sound
Coming from his mouth, as deadly shrapnel flew around
As the dust cleared I pushed him off
Now just a pin cushion for wood, metal and rock
He'd inadvertently given his life for mine
Which held for me an irony that someone so unkind
Ended up being the only reason I lived
To continue walking all the way to my country, wife and kid
And live for many happy years I did
Although with memories such as these
Which I'd never wish on you
But it wouldn't hurt for many I see to value
A crust of bread like myself and so many others like me do
~
I'd like to make an important point. In the true story the soldier actually threw himself on my Opa to save his life. But in this case, when I wanted to focus on the crust situation, which was a separate story, it didn't serve my literary purpose to use that angle. Just so you know. Writers have to take poetic licence sometimes. I'm sure there were many good German soldiers in WWI & II, although with abhorrent leadership. Nonetheless, I realise I'm perpetuating a stereotype, so I wanted to make this point.
My 3rd set of grandparents, so to speak, were Dutch (Oma and Opa we called them, as did their own grandchildren) and I am currently staying with their daughter, my Aunty Wilma and her husband Don in Canada. Oma, Opa and their children Wilma and Hans (my actual Uncle, married to my Dad's sister) lived in Rotterdam, The Nertherlands, until July 1960 when they immigrated to Canada.
Below is a story (in poetic form) which I will say is "based on a true story" but isn't a true retelling of events. Opa spoke very little of their experiences in World War II, Oma said nothing at all. He did tell me some stories when I saw them in 1997 and Wilma has expanded on those while I've been here.
When my Oma had gone to a nursing home and Opa was living on his own Aunty Wilma went to see him once and found an old crust of bread that he was keeping. She told him to throw it out and he said he may want it, which she scoffed at. Opa had never told her much of his experiences in the war, but he then told her about the crust of bread he wanted to pick up that a German soldier crushed into the dirt under his shoe.
"If you'd experienced what I have you would value a crust of bread differently." he said, but I paraphrase.
Between 1940-45 he experienced forced separation, twice in fact, from his wife and family (they had their son Hans the second time), who almost starved to death (as did he), slave labour, imprisonment for stealing food and all the gastly experiences that come with this and Nazi control. When his labour camp was liberated by the USA he was set free, around 300 miles from home without a penny, no food and no shoes.
To Value a Crust of Bread
My life was on a wire
Surviving only by desire
300 miles ahead of walking under fire
Free to go at last but so very far from home
With no shoes and not a penny
But there were many pairs to be found
On the dead bodies of soldiers littering the ground
I tried not to let my hopes get high
That my wife and baby son could still be alive
I'd heard some stories of people dying
(The dead were stacked in piles)
For lack of even one crust to share
So I stare intently ahead at the path I slowly tread
With a knowledge deep down in my heart that they weren't dead
Yet I had no food myself
So when I saw a crust of bread
Lying straight ahead in the dirt
I ran, though all my body hurt
But as I got close
A nearby Nazi soldier noticed and knew
Why I was running
And he callously crushed the crust under his shoe
I tried to hide my anguish and casually walked away
But the soldier called me over
And I knew that despite the all-but-official defeat I must obey
If I wanted to live another day
So I went towards him slow but steady
Seeming harmless but staying ready
And as I look him squarely in the eye
The face of every soldier
That had beat me endless times
Over the previous years of forced work
Cell bars and secret sabotage
Were running through my mind and I knew that though I'd try
It was an image I would never leave behind
He ordered me closer still
His eyes not hiding his desire to kill
But he wanted more than just to see me die
With his rifle butt he clubbed me hard
Then jumped on me as I tried to guard
My face from the punches wasted on a man so weak and tired
I could hear many planes flying
Over but he paid them no mind
Which still surprised me despite
The frequency that they were heard round this time
I was almost ready to give up this life
Knowing it could well mean I reunite with my wife
In a better place than this...when an explosion hit!
It destroyed the train close by
And in a moment that hate-filled soldier died
Right on top of me, convulsing with a repulsive sound
Coming from his mouth, as deadly shrapnel flew around
As the dust cleared I pushed him off
Now just a pin cushion for wood, metal and rock
He'd inadvertently given his life for mine
Which held for me an irony that someone so unkind
Ended up being the only reason I lived
To continue walking all the way to my country, wife and kid
And live for many happy years I did
Although with memories such as these
Which I'd never wish on you
But it wouldn't hurt for many I see to value
A crust of bread like myself and so many others like me do
~
I'd like to make an important point. In the true story the soldier actually threw himself on my Opa to save his life. But in this case, when I wanted to focus on the crust situation, which was a separate story, it didn't serve my literary purpose to use that angle. Just so you know. Writers have to take poetic licence sometimes. I'm sure there were many good German soldiers in WWI & II, although with abhorrent leadership. Nonetheless, I realise I'm perpetuating a stereotype, so I wanted to make this point.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Fortune AND Misfortune Favor The Brave
The Fortune of Misfortune.
Each misfortune you encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow's good luck. ~ Og Mandino
Continuing on from last week's Monday Motivational I'm exploring the idea of luck a little further - getting new perspective on making gutsy decisions and learning from them no matter the consequences.
People often quote the adage "Fortune favors the brave" but I think it should be "Fortune and misfortune favor the brave." Seeing "misfortune" as a fortune is key to success. Misfortune is things not going to plan on one occasion. But this is an absolute requirement if you are going to learn how to make it go to plan next time, or the time after that...or the time after that...
Genius is 1 percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration. ~ Thomas Edison
I doubt I need to tell you the story of how many prototype light bulbs Edison made before he finally got to one that worked as he'd hoped.
I could go through piles of quotes along the lines of "If at first don't succeed try try again" but I doubt I need to whip that horse again for you to understand my point. It's easy to let ideas like this pass in one ear and out the other though, simply for that reason. How many times have you spoken to someone who's just come from a motivational talk and said "It was all stuff I've heard before"? That's because the hard part is not finding the information that can help you, it's applying it. Committing to the perspective adjustment, giving the idea all the power for change that it can impart.
Learning how to learn from your mistakes and always be growing is a key part of being a "lucky" individual. Part of the reason behind this is that the confidence you get from knowing from experience you can learn from your mistakes makes you more decisive and less fearful to make brave decisions, plus make them faster.
And this leads me to one final quote.
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power.
~ Lao-Tzu
The fact that we're no longer living in caves, hunting wild, or any other Neanderthalic pastime, is proof that intelligence and wisdom are more powerful than any raw, individual, physical power. And I believe there is no power like truly knowing yourself - all the strengths and weaknesses, all the idiosyncrasies and idiotic tendencies. It could be said that having the wisdom to know how intelligent you aren't and then making bold but well thought out decisions in relation to this is the seed that will see an individual harvesting crops of "luck".
Each misfortune you encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow's good luck. ~ Og Mandino
Continuing on from last week's Monday Motivational I'm exploring the idea of luck a little further - getting new perspective on making gutsy decisions and learning from them no matter the consequences.
People often quote the adage "Fortune favors the brave" but I think it should be "Fortune and misfortune favor the brave." Seeing "misfortune" as a fortune is key to success. Misfortune is things not going to plan on one occasion. But this is an absolute requirement if you are going to learn how to make it go to plan next time, or the time after that...or the time after that...
Genius is 1 percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration. ~ Thomas Edison
I doubt I need to tell you the story of how many prototype light bulbs Edison made before he finally got to one that worked as he'd hoped.
I could go through piles of quotes along the lines of "If at first don't succeed try try again" but I doubt I need to whip that horse again for you to understand my point. It's easy to let ideas like this pass in one ear and out the other though, simply for that reason. How many times have you spoken to someone who's just come from a motivational talk and said "It was all stuff I've heard before"? That's because the hard part is not finding the information that can help you, it's applying it. Committing to the perspective adjustment, giving the idea all the power for change that it can impart.
Learning how to learn from your mistakes and always be growing is a key part of being a "lucky" individual. Part of the reason behind this is that the confidence you get from knowing from experience you can learn from your mistakes makes you more decisive and less fearful to make brave decisions, plus make them faster.
And this leads me to one final quote.
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power.
~ Lao-Tzu
The fact that we're no longer living in caves, hunting wild, or any other Neanderthalic pastime, is proof that intelligence and wisdom are more powerful than any raw, individual, physical power. And I believe there is no power like truly knowing yourself - all the strengths and weaknesses, all the idiosyncrasies and idiotic tendencies. It could be said that having the wisdom to know how intelligent you aren't and then making bold but well thought out decisions in relation to this is the seed that will see an individual harvesting crops of "luck".
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Mind, I, Mine
Along with fighting my stomach due to food poisoning I've found myself fighting my mind this week. This was my common state once but I feel like I've improved. Then I'm left feeling like little has changed inside my head.
With my throat swollen and blazing, mirroring my brain, I've been awake the past 3 hours, but have wanted only to be asleep. Eventually I decided to write, figuring that writing some thoughts down would help. It's 7:30am, I've written, and now I have to get up and get on with my day.
I don't know that I can explain what living with my mind is like. Those who've witnessed me jabber away incessantly moving along a complicated, ever developing and changing line of discussion, which they were likely struggling to follow (and don't worry, so was I), may have some sense of what goes on in there. I struggle to keep up with its incessant nature, to keep in some control of it's path, it's obsession, its creation, it's destruction and it's deconstruction.
Right now, with not being well piled on top, it's just plain tiring.
I want to feel well and I want to feel clear minded.
Mind, I, Mine
Stop
Release
Give me
Some peace
This busy bee I hear won't cease
Flop
Lie down
I feel
The ground
Free me of all this rattling sound
Hop
Two feet
The sky
The street
Forward thought yet indiscreet
Top
Is what
A time
A spot
A rhyme this typical it's not
Tick Tock
That's it
What rhymes
With twit
My mind won't find a place to sit
And why - I cannot say but try
I will - this mind is I and mine
With my throat swollen and blazing, mirroring my brain, I've been awake the past 3 hours, but have wanted only to be asleep. Eventually I decided to write, figuring that writing some thoughts down would help. It's 7:30am, I've written, and now I have to get up and get on with my day.
I don't know that I can explain what living with my mind is like. Those who've witnessed me jabber away incessantly moving along a complicated, ever developing and changing line of discussion, which they were likely struggling to follow (and don't worry, so was I), may have some sense of what goes on in there. I struggle to keep up with its incessant nature, to keep in some control of it's path, it's obsession, its creation, it's destruction and it's deconstruction.
Right now, with not being well piled on top, it's just plain tiring.
I want to feel well and I want to feel clear minded.
Mind, I, Mine
Stop
Release
Give me
Some peace
This busy bee I hear won't cease
Flop
Lie down
I feel
The ground
Free me of all this rattling sound
Hop
Two feet
The sky
The street
Forward thought yet indiscreet
Top
Is what
A time
A spot
A rhyme this typical it's not
Tick Tock
That's it
What rhymes
With twit
My mind won't find a place to sit
And why - I cannot say but try
I will - this mind is I and mine
Monday, November 7, 2011
Luck Is The Idol Of The Idle
Luck Only Applies to Lottery Tickets.
I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. ~ Thomas Jefferson
Over my life there are two things I've been told a lot. "You're very lucky" and "you're very talented." And the context usually refers to the fact that I earn a living from playing music.
My response tends to be along the lines of "There has certainly been fortuitous circumstance, genetics and environment involved, but the fact is none of those things would've had me on this path if not for piles of guts, risks and hard work."
This is why I identify with Jefferson's quote. I don't mean to say luck had nothing to do with it. But I see no point in being focused on luck. To achieve great things you need to be brave and you need to work hard. And those are things you can control. Luck is some intangible, immeasurable thing that is just a distraction from the point.
Be ready when opportunity comes...Luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet. ~ Roy D. Chapin Jr
I think this is a more accurate definition of luck.
A crucial point in my music career was making the choice to go to the head of the Conservatorium of Music at the WA Academy of Performing Arts and say "I want to do the Contemporary Music course". Bear in mind I had next-to-no skills on any instrument that the course included.
I bluffed my way to a bass audition, which I had to borrow a bass for (I'd done quite a few gigs but only on borrowed gear). I got through, more on the back of me singing and playing "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" than on any bass skills. In fact, the bass tutor I auditioned for told me I had the worst technique he'd ever seen. I may come from a very musical family and subsequently spent a lot of time involved with music from a very early age (i.e. I'm perceived as talented), but the only reason I could sing and play Crazy Little Thing Called Love was because I'd worked really hard to be able to do it for a gig.
Prior to that I'd spent many an afternoon after school working out Crowded House songs on my Dad's old classical guitar. I'd work out what the bass was playing then refer to the chord chart I found in the guitar case for possible chords with that as a root note. And then I had to be brave enough not only to take the opportunity to play bass when it was presented to me, but also to then walk into the Conservatorium and ask for an audition on an instrument I'd never been taught to play.
I worked hard to "get lucky" and get into the Conservatorium! And I can tell you that I only had to work harder from then on.
Luck is the idol of the idle. ~ Unknown
Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it, and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work - and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't. ~ Lucille Ball
Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Being deeply learned and skilled, being well trained and using well spoken words; This is good luck. ~ Buddha
Luck has a peculiar habit of favoring those who don't depend on it. ~ Unknown
So throw away the idea of luck. It only applies when buying a lottery ticket. Empower yourself with the idea of "making luck" through hard work and gutsy decision making. Which almost always involves putting yourself out of your comfort zone.
I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. ~ Thomas Jefferson
Over my life there are two things I've been told a lot. "You're very lucky" and "you're very talented." And the context usually refers to the fact that I earn a living from playing music.
My response tends to be along the lines of "There has certainly been fortuitous circumstance, genetics and environment involved, but the fact is none of those things would've had me on this path if not for piles of guts, risks and hard work."
This is why I identify with Jefferson's quote. I don't mean to say luck had nothing to do with it. But I see no point in being focused on luck. To achieve great things you need to be brave and you need to work hard. And those are things you can control. Luck is some intangible, immeasurable thing that is just a distraction from the point.
Be ready when opportunity comes...Luck is the time when preparation and opportunity meet. ~ Roy D. Chapin Jr
I think this is a more accurate definition of luck.
A crucial point in my music career was making the choice to go to the head of the Conservatorium of Music at the WA Academy of Performing Arts and say "I want to do the Contemporary Music course". Bear in mind I had next-to-no skills on any instrument that the course included.
I bluffed my way to a bass audition, which I had to borrow a bass for (I'd done quite a few gigs but only on borrowed gear). I got through, more on the back of me singing and playing "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" than on any bass skills. In fact, the bass tutor I auditioned for told me I had the worst technique he'd ever seen. I may come from a very musical family and subsequently spent a lot of time involved with music from a very early age (i.e. I'm perceived as talented), but the only reason I could sing and play Crazy Little Thing Called Love was because I'd worked really hard to be able to do it for a gig.
Prior to that I'd spent many an afternoon after school working out Crowded House songs on my Dad's old classical guitar. I'd work out what the bass was playing then refer to the chord chart I found in the guitar case for possible chords with that as a root note. And then I had to be brave enough not only to take the opportunity to play bass when it was presented to me, but also to then walk into the Conservatorium and ask for an audition on an instrument I'd never been taught to play.
I worked hard to "get lucky" and get into the Conservatorium! And I can tell you that I only had to work harder from then on.
Luck is the idol of the idle. ~ Unknown
Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it, and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work - and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't. ~ Lucille Ball
Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Being deeply learned and skilled, being well trained and using well spoken words; This is good luck. ~ Buddha
Luck has a peculiar habit of favoring those who don't depend on it. ~ Unknown
So throw away the idea of luck. It only applies when buying a lottery ticket. Empower yourself with the idea of "making luck" through hard work and gutsy decision making. Which almost always involves putting yourself out of your comfort zone.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
YouSchlube
Every now and again I get stuck in what I like to call "The YouTube Vacuum".
The word vacuum has a couple meanings here.
Firstly, I refer to the way it is so easy to get dragged from one video to the next and waste a pile of time before you even know what's happening.
Secondly, I refer to the piles of vacuous crap and morons it seems to suck up and then splatter their crap-laden comments onto the threads underneath these videos.
I was considering going on quite a rant about the amount of completely ignorant morons that exist, but then I think it best I just express myself in rhyme.
But before I do I will give you a quick tour through some of the videos I saw, although I will leave it to you if you wish to read the comments. I would also like to add here that these videos of the Japan Tsunami are very sad and disturbing, although extremely fascinating and eye-opening also.
As explored in the movie and graphic novel The Watchmen, and in conjunction with what I was saying in my last post, I find it interesting how a common enemy can unify people and make them realize that there are bigger matters than the little things they "quarrel" over. Yet, some of the idiots in the comments point to anything accept the simple truth - the power of our earth and the cosmos to destroy us. There is no "fault" in terrible tragedies like this. They always have and always will happen. It seems to be that any other opinion is born of hate, judgement and ignorance.
My mum sent me this video first...
Which led me to this video...
Which then led me to this video...
...and so on.
One comment piqued my interest and then I got reeled in.
After reading so many mind-numbingly stupid comments I felt inspired to write this poem.
YouSchlube
schlub [ʃlʌb] n.
US slang - a coarse or contemptible person
I find it hard to come to grips
With the fact that so many morons exist
And not merely that they live
But seem to need to give
The world their insight
As if many people might
Actually agree or find
It to be time to adjust their mind
To fit
With the thoughts of an idiot
It seems fair enough to say
That the majority come from the USA
But this observation is not fair
To all the great US citizens who care
About more than just their little-selves
And don't stack their mental shelves
With boxes for each race
Or sex or creed or colour of face
Because of a deed that's been done
By some
Or even by just one.
They seem quite obsessed with blame
And with justification in "God's" name
As if there is a power out there
Who has so much time to spare
While taking care of all the cosmos
To bring death and sadness and loss
To some humans, be they innocent or not
I really don't see what
That has to do with it at all
When clearly Mother Nature, a celestial ball
Just does her endless thing
She's not picking off insect wings
For fun
Malice or revenge
How dumb
But then it could be said that this
Poem is itself a judgment on those which
May not have had the same exposure as I
Or simply don't agree, no matter why
Which is fine, I guess, although I feel
It is a pity that this wheel
Of fortune deals to some out there
A character with the consistency of air
Simply blown about with ease
or as transparent as the hot, foul-smelling breeze
That endlessly blows out of their mouths
And change
Seems unfeasible, regardless of age
So this Tube that exhibits schlubs and fools
Also exhibits You - so I think it is a tool
For us all to express our thoughts
In the hope that we all be taught
A little more about the world we're in
And the billions that share it's skin
For this world is to be shared
And if with mutual respect our differences are aired
Rather than with anger, hate and hurt
Then we may all gain friends instead of dirt
Or power
And peace may finally be all of ours
The word vacuum has a couple meanings here.
Firstly, I refer to the way it is so easy to get dragged from one video to the next and waste a pile of time before you even know what's happening.
Secondly, I refer to the piles of vacuous crap and morons it seems to suck up and then splatter their crap-laden comments onto the threads underneath these videos.
I was considering going on quite a rant about the amount of completely ignorant morons that exist, but then I think it best I just express myself in rhyme.
But before I do I will give you a quick tour through some of the videos I saw, although I will leave it to you if you wish to read the comments. I would also like to add here that these videos of the Japan Tsunami are very sad and disturbing, although extremely fascinating and eye-opening also.
As explored in the movie and graphic novel The Watchmen, and in conjunction with what I was saying in my last post, I find it interesting how a common enemy can unify people and make them realize that there are bigger matters than the little things they "quarrel" over. Yet, some of the idiots in the comments point to anything accept the simple truth - the power of our earth and the cosmos to destroy us. There is no "fault" in terrible tragedies like this. They always have and always will happen. It seems to be that any other opinion is born of hate, judgement and ignorance.
My mum sent me this video first...
Which led me to this video...
Which then led me to this video...
...and so on.
One comment piqued my interest and then I got reeled in.
After reading so many mind-numbingly stupid comments I felt inspired to write this poem.
YouSchlube
schlub [ʃlʌb] n.
US slang - a coarse or contemptible person
I find it hard to come to grips
With the fact that so many morons exist
And not merely that they live
But seem to need to give
The world their insight
As if many people might
Actually agree or find
It to be time to adjust their mind
To fit
With the thoughts of an idiot
It seems fair enough to say
That the majority come from the USA
But this observation is not fair
To all the great US citizens who care
About more than just their little-selves
And don't stack their mental shelves
With boxes for each race
Or sex or creed or colour of face
Because of a deed that's been done
By some
Or even by just one.
They seem quite obsessed with blame
And with justification in "God's" name
As if there is a power out there
Who has so much time to spare
While taking care of all the cosmos
To bring death and sadness and loss
To some humans, be they innocent or not
I really don't see what
That has to do with it at all
When clearly Mother Nature, a celestial ball
Just does her endless thing
She's not picking off insect wings
For fun
Malice or revenge
How dumb
But then it could be said that this
Poem is itself a judgment on those which
May not have had the same exposure as I
Or simply don't agree, no matter why
Which is fine, I guess, although I feel
It is a pity that this wheel
Of fortune deals to some out there
A character with the consistency of air
Simply blown about with ease
or as transparent as the hot, foul-smelling breeze
That endlessly blows out of their mouths
And change
Seems unfeasible, regardless of age
So this Tube that exhibits schlubs and fools
Also exhibits You - so I think it is a tool
For us all to express our thoughts
In the hope that we all be taught
A little more about the world we're in
And the billions that share it's skin
For this world is to be shared
And if with mutual respect our differences are aired
Rather than with anger, hate and hurt
Then we may all gain friends instead of dirt
Or power
And peace may finally be all of ours