Two Seconds

"I think Western culture has things backwards. We equate comfort with happiness, and now we are so comfortable we are miserable. There is no struggle in our life, no sense of adventure. I've found that I am never more alive than when I am pushing and I'm in pain and I'm struggling for high achievement. In that struggle, I think there's magic."
- Dean Karnazes as told to Outside Magazine

On my way back from Los Angeles yesterday, I bumped into swimming legend Josh Davis. I heard him speak last year at The Phoenix Swim Club, so I went up, introduced myself and thanked him for his positive message. We talked for a few minutes, parted ways, blah blah blah.

After my encounter with him, I thought about the talk he gave last year. If I was going to give it a title I would call it "Two Seconds." Basically, Josh spent 4 years trying to knock off two seconds from his 200 freestyle time. In the world of mere mortals two seconds is one breath; in the world of elite swimming, two seconds is an Eternity. And this is what consumed him for 4 years.....Two seconds..And he loved it.

In an earlier blog I quoted my uncle and said, "It matters very little what I am doing, as long as I am fully engaged in what I do." Bingo! I think this what spoke to me about the "Two Seconds" speech. This guy is really, really good at one thing--a savant event--such to the extent that he spent four years chasing down something that most people didn't understand and is only publicized every 4 years. But he didn't care, all he wanted to do was swim.

It looks like the meaningful thing here that applies across the board is to apply that "Two Second" mindset to whatever you do. Whether it's swimming or accounting, working with care and craft just makes me feel good. There is joy in what I am doing when I operate in this space. It seems that the biggest challenge is to create the ongoing circumstances to make this space an ongoing possibility. More on this later.....

Namaste

Gut Instinct

"One of the ways to do it is to go ahead and do it your way. It's every bit about following your instincts. There's that still, small voice that you have to listen to, and you listen to that more than you listen to anything or anybody."
- Willie Nelson, take from iTunes Original interview

All right kids, it's been awhile since I have written. There are a few reasons for this, but the biggest reason of all is that my computer seems to have come down with a severe computer virus. Now I am not sure how it got infected, but I have a sneaking suspicion that root cause is from down-loading porn. When I take my computer to the good people at Best Buy, I am pretty sure that I am going to get some strange looks....Oh well.

As some of your know, I landed a killer new job and have given notice at my current employer. I have a very good relationship with the people I work with, and I knew that giving notice wouldn't be easy. I was able to get the words out without breaking down into a total pool of mush, and I thought I was in the clear. This is when the unexpected happened. A few VPs got together and put down two career alternatives in the organization.

This is what is interesting about the whole situation: I have THREE right answers. Option #1 is to persue the new opportunity and work with some brilliant people in real estate, Option #2 is to work in Treasury/Risk Management, and Option #3 is to work as a business analyst. When have you ever taken a test or exam where there is no wrong answer? Never! This stuff almost never happens.....

With an inflated ego, and enhanced sense of my talents, I thought about these offers and thought about the ramifications of my decision. At first I was scared of making a mistake, and things got jumbled. So I knocked off work early and went to spend some time with Rabbi Cohen. In class Max said the following things: "Even if a person has faith, there can always be a shadow of a doubt. And that is why faith alone is not enough. You have to know."

I think most of us walk around and know the Truth. We may not know the exact answers, but we know what we are about as human beings. And when faced with unique situations or decisions, we have to return to that still, small voice, or as Kosmo Kramer put it: "You have to listen to the Little Man."

In closing, there is a scene from The Horse Whisperer that illustrates this point very well. In the movie Robert Redford's character is talking about his divorce from his wife. The woman he is talking with asks him when he knew it wouldn't work out. He calmly looks up and says, "Knowing is the easy part. Saying it out loud is what's hard."

Namaste...

In the Current

"He knew where he was now and it was nothing to get home."
- Ernest Hemingway, taken from The Old Man and The Sea

On Monday of this week I found out that I got a job that I applied for. It's a dream position, the culmination of four and a half years of hard work and training. I'll be working with brilliant people in a challenging area. The work ahead won't be easy by any means, but nothing worth while or meaningful is ever easy. As of right now I am planning on departing my current position on December 15th of this year, and am penciled in to start the new position on January 2nd, of next year. I will have a pocket of time to do absolutely nothing, but simply enjoy the down time.

I feel blessed to be where I am right now.