A Radical Tactical Shift

"Just because something has worked so well in the past, it doesn't mean it will continue to work in the future."
"Very, very, very few things are impossible to achieve if we really put our whole mind to it."
- Lewis Pugh

What "Radical Tactical Shift" do you need to make right now?




Lewis Pugh's mind-shifting Everest swim | Video on TED.com

Lessons from a Master

I was just listening to a recording of Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos the other day when I found this interesting quote from the composer printed on the CD booklet. Pay close attention to what he says about the way he approaches his work.

“In my own compositions, no conscious effort has been made to be original, or Romantic, or Nationalistic, or anything else. I write down on paper the music I hear within me, as naturally as possible. What I try to do, when writing down my music, is to make it say simply and directly that which is in my heart when I am composing. If there is love there, or bitterness, or sadness, or religion, these moods become a part of my music, and it becomes either beautiful or bitter or sad or religious.”

I know this is Sergei Rachmaninoff -- a Russian composer who lived almost a whole century ago. Some of us living now in the 21st Century may feel very far removed from his reality. But if we look closely, we may be surprised by what we can learn even from someone who we apparently don’t have much in common with. Check this out!

Simplicity

The first thing that caught my attention was the simplicity and even a level of naïveté that came from his words. Here is a man who is considered to be one of the masters of composition and music in the whole history of art, dealing with his craft in an incredibly matter-of-fact manner. Clear, plain, down-to-earth -- humble.

How do we approach our own work and the everyday tasks we have at hand? Are we making them a much bigger deal than they really are? Are we creating problems where they don’t exist? Are we making it more complicated than it really needs to be? How can we simplify? How can we let go of our need for drama and respond to each situation just by the way it is presented to us -- plain and simple.

Effortlessness

When I read this quote, it doesn’t seem that Rachmaninoff is trying to impress. On the contrary, notice the calmness of his words. Believe me, the man had to work very hard to become the person and the composer he turned out to be. We all know it truly takes a lot of work to develop and polish someone’s true potential. But here, instead of whining about the “hard work”, we find someone sharply focused on the work itself, neither avoiding, procrastinating, or postponing nor overdoing, over thinking, or stressing out.

How many times have we made ourselves overwhelmed? How many times have we allowed laziness, excuses or the lack of focus wash away precious moments, days, weeks even years of our lives? How can we clean our minds and our souls in such a way that we can be always ready and easily move into the action that is right in front of us?

Truth

Perhaps the most important lesson I take from Sergei is his absolute commitment to being authentic and true to his own soul. His priority was to be true to who he was and to make his work a reflection of his authentic self. He was not trying to do what others expected him to do. Most importantly, he didn’t build his work based on other people’s paradigms, but instead he created that which most reflected his individual self. And that’s why he became a master!

Have you ever considered why you so much want what you say you do? Is it really coming from who you are or is it coming from somebody else’s expectations? Are you able to distinguish between the two? How can we create a better awareness of who we are and begin to build our lives centered on our own truth and not anyone else’s?

Yes, Mr. Rachmaninoff lived quite sometime ago in a far, far away land (smiles), but his mastery and his humanity can still affect us even today -- right here, right now. Now it is up to us to take the lessons and implement them to our daily routine. Yes, we can! Yes, we will!

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life's setbacks -- including death itself -- at the university's 114th Commencement on June 12, 2005.



http://bit.ly/91cdGW

Stop It!!

Zen Wisdom

I'm back from a 2-week trip to beautiful Salvador and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil visiting with my family and friends -- and taking some time off too! Beautiful weather, wonderful people and lots of memories to keep.

» SEE MORE PICTURES HERE

As I got back to my USA home, I saw this old Zen story posted by one of my friends on Facebook. I thought that perhaps you would like to read it as well!

A man on a journey came to a raging river. He decided he would build a raft to cross it. It took several days to make the raft, but when he crossed on it he was amazed at how useful the raft had been crossing the flood. He said, “I think I will keep this raft with me just in case I encounter another raging river down the road.” So he carried the raft with him for the rest of his life.

I love these Zen stories. They bring so much wisdom and insight to the simplest places in our lives. This one makes me wonder:

• What are the “rafts” that we are carrying in our lives today that are no longer useful?
• What are the labels, the habits and the fears which at one point may have been useful to us but now have become burdensome, even preventing us from moving forward?
• What are the “things” (and the thoughts) we need to let go?
• What new and fresh perspective is right upon us to receive?

Be sensitive with the way you perceive yourself, your life, the people and all that is part of your life today. Take courage to let go of the past and to see things anew. Trust that you can!

Lights, Camera... ACTION!

Have you ever stayed to read the final credits at the end of a movie? Aren’t you amazed with the amount of people who work behind the scenes to make those 2 hours of entertainment for you? If you’ve ever been part of a film production or a show, you know there is a lot of preparation and thinking happening before the camera starts rolling. From the script to the make-up, a lot of hard work has been put on before the director calls for ACTION!

But can you imagine if all the production was done (and there has been cases like these) but they never got to shoot the film? What a disaster and what a waste!

How about the “show” of your life? Are you still caught on production and never seem to go live on stage? Are you in constant thinking and planning and analyzing and procrastinating and waiting for the perfect time and passing the bucket and “finding excuses”? When are you going for ACTION?

Nothing will change until you take the step to change it.

Yes, production is imperative! But the real artist is the one that also knows how to improvise and “make it work” (thanks, Tim Gunn!) even when all the items are still not in place. Do prepare, do know the bottom line and do your homework, but never forget to take ACTION.

What is it that you need to act on right now?

Emptiness

Wu is nothingness, emptiness, non-existence

Thirty spokes of a wheel all join at a common hub
      yet only the hole at the center
      allows the wheel to spin
Clay is molded to form a cup
      yet only the space within
      allows the cup to hold water
Walls are joined to make a room
      yet only by cutting out a door and a window
      can one enter the room and live there

Thus, when a thing has existence alone
      it is mere dead-weight
Only when it has wu, does it have life


Tao te Ching - verse 11
by Lao Tzu
Translated by Jonathan Star