Jerome Gets a Cadillac

"I drive a lot. Just for pleasure. Sometimes I'll get in the Cadillac and drive around the city or the country, kind of trying to get lost basically. Y'know, just see where roads lead."
- Frank Black

"You're never promised your next breath."
- Lenny Kravitz

Much like every other Friday, I went to the barbershop to get my hair cut. I found out two weeks ago that Jerome was moving to another barbershop within the franchise. So I called to set-up an appointment with my second favorite barber, Mikhail, yesterday morning. I show at the scheduled time and Jerome is there, swinging to his own beat. Mikhail had a guy still in the chair so we shot the breeze for about 10 minutes.

Jerome purchased a new "used" 2006 Cadillac a week ago. He used to drive an old school Lincoln. The car stretched out for days--as most Lincoln's do--and he had a vanity plate on the back which read, "JEROME." I asked him if he was going to keep the vanity plates, and he wasn't sure.

I'm not sure what it is, but the Cadillac seems to be the perfect car for the man's personality. When I think Cadillac I think of a few things. The first thing is "top notch." A lot of the time people will refer to something wonderful as the "Cadillac of (fill in the blank)." I think it's fair to say that Jerome is the Cadillac of story telling barbers. Additionally, when I think of a Cadillac, I think of an American made car that has a certain swagger of mystique to it, a storied tradition if you will. From all perspectives the car is appropriate for Jerome. Lastly, when you have a conversation with the man, you never know where it's going. One minute you are hearing about his misadventures in Columbia as a younger man, and a minute later he is telling you about how he once cut Phil Mickelson's hair. So in that sense, you never really know where the Cadillac or Jerome will take you.

As always Jerome had a story or two about the love interest in his life. Apparently, things are going really well with the lady in his life except for one thing: she has stopped knocking on the door and is just letting herself in the house. Under normal circumstances, this probably wouldn't be that big of a deal. However, Jerome shared with me that his housemate has a great love of firearms, and an even greater love of cleaning them naked when he is alone in the house.

In two weeks I will go to Jerome's new barbershop and bring two singles of Scotch whiskey to mark the occasion. I think we are going to have to have a toast and a drink after he cuts my hair. A steady, sober hand is necessary for barbering.

Namaste

Two Masters, One Student

"The true master's commitment is to excellence, not the current way of doing things."
- taken from http://www.gordoworld.com/gblog/archives/2008_03_01_archive.html

"We share a common bias to underestimate our workload and overestimate our work capacity."
- taken from http://www.gordoworld.com/gblog/archives/2008_03_01_archive.html

Over the past three years I have had the great pleasure of working under two masters of their craft: Sean Reeder--who I have spoke of before--and Nathan DeBacker. I'd probably put Sean in the Jedi Master category, and give Nate more of the high ranking Jedi knight status. Nate is about seven years younger then Sean; with more time in the bottle he will be just as good. Both men have the rare qualities that Gordon Byrn referenced above: they are always rethinking how they can do things better and faster, and they always give themselves enough time and resources to create a world class product.

In one of Byrn's posts on GordoWorld, he states that is appears that very few people actually "work" when they are in the workplace. I've heard an elite lawyer once say something like: "A lot of people want to be lawyers, but very few actually want to practice law." Sean and Nate actually "practice" accounting. There have been instances where I have stood outside their respective offices, and it took a minute or so before they noticed I was there. That's the sort of focus that they bring to their work in each and every day.

I started writing this without and specific idea or point in mind. Bu as I've been writing this it seems that their ability to focus is really what makes them special.

Namaste

Good Friday, Bad Traffic

"Without a doubt, at the center of the New Testament there stands the Cross, which receives its interpretation from the Resurrection."
- Hans Urs von Balthasar

It seems that most of people in Arizona have today off. I was driving around today at lunch and people were out in droves. What's more, you could feel that sort of "rushed tension" in the air as people were running around, trying to get ready for this weekend's big event.

As a human being you are given challenges and tribulations, but ultimately if a person stays the course, they reach a new beginning--a resurrection if you will. Things may look horrible, but then suddenly everything changes, and something mysterious and magical happens. If you would have lost hope or faith in mid-stream, you wouldn't get that surprise ending.

What it comes down to--in my mind--is bearing the Cross. I believe that Jesus said that a person must carry their cross or be crushed beneath it. I like this line very much. You have to hang in there and do all the daily stuff that seems like bullshit in order to get the Resurrection. You can't have one without the other. Life isn't always pretty and magical, but if you stay the course those moments do appear.

Namaste

The Enemy of Great

“I have nothing against millionaires, but I want El Bulli to remain accessible to a greater number of diners who appreciate what we are creating here."
- Ferran Adrià

"Good is the biggest enemy of great."
- Gordon Byrn

Yesterday I watched a DVD about Ferran Adria and his restaurant, El Bulli. For those of you who aren't familiar with the man, he is creator of a subset of the culinary arts referred to as molecular gastronomy. I was struck by two things about the man: (1) He is extremely passionate about food, more so than your usual chef--who are almost always extremely passionate about food, and (2) He went off and did something that was so out of the norm--which in hindsight was absolute genius--that he risked absolute disaster. Instead of playing it safe, going to culinary school, and getting a job working at a prestigious restaurant under a famous chef, went off and did something that was completely unique and groundbreaking.

In one of Gordon Byrn's blog, he said that one of his mentors said that being good will hold you back from being great. If a person feels that they are good, are going to get attached to that feeling of acceptance, and are less likely to go off and do something groundbreaking. Genius is almost always misunderstood, and often times leads to dysfunction in other areas of one's life.

As I look at what I am trying to do with accounting, I recognize that there are rules and the way to true mastery is to really understand what I applicable to my work and industry. To do this, I'm probably going to have to spend extra reading and applying the authorative guidance. But where I think I can really make great strides is in the areas of attention to detail--which is where the passion for one's work comes into play.

Okay, all this stuff is well and good, but where I really think where my world and the world of Ferran Adria's cross is in the way of total disregard to perceived failure. When I take on new projects sometimes I worry about being "wrong" or not "getting it fast enough." If I really want to do something great, I have to put these thoughts out of my head. I think this state of mind is the beginning of true authenticity within a professional career.

Weekend was mellow. Swam yesterday. I tried to do a workout that Coach Kevin gave to me, but I'm not yet in fighting shape. I see the beginning of it though. Hopefully I'll be able to complete his assignment in the next month or so.

Went into the office today for about 6 hours. Got some stuff done that should take the sting out of this week. We'll see how things go.

Namaste

Love is a Four Letter Word

"I used to think love was a game of archery: shoot for a target (object or person) and the closer you come to bullseye, the more love you feel. Yoga teaches that love is more like a game of catch. Holding your hand in one place and wondering why you can't catch the ball is a common struggle in the game of love. The truth is...it's always comin’…you just gotta adapt and receive love in its ever-changing form. In other words, get your uniform dirty. High, low, a one-hopper in the dirt, the backhanded diving grab…you’re ready to receive…not getting stuck on any single desire or relationship."
- David Romanelli, taken from http://www.yeahdaveyoga.com/2005/11/get-dirty-in-game-of-love.htm

When I started reading David Romanelli's blog back in 2004, I was inspired to start my own a few months later. For the most part, I thought that Dave's comments were semi-insightful, but for the most part fell into a 3 paragraph format and always finished with a quote. Once in awhile David would come up with something that was truly astonishing. The aforementioned blog was one of those that knocked me on my butt.

I returned to this "lesson" this week as I was faced with a "love" related issue. I bumped into a woman at Starbuck that I had met months earlier, but we never really connected. This time I got her number and we have since gone on two dates. For the first time in about a year I felt that "chemistry" thing. When I first set eyes on her I heard "Speak of the Devil" by Chris Isaak playing in my head. Time seemed to move slower, and I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. It might sound odd, but it was pure magic.

Anyway, this week she sent me an email saying that she really liked spending time with me, but she's in the process of getting her career off the ground. Now things might work out between the two of us, but--as always--the future is uncertain. And it was this reminder about the absolute uncertainty of love that sent me scrambling to find David Romanelli's blog about the dyanmic nature of love.

The big message that I took from re-reading his blog centers around the analogy of love being like a game of catch. I pick up the ball, and throw it to the object of my affection. If they throw it back, great. If not, well at least you tried to play. The miraculous thing here is that this sort of dynamic is ever present in a person's life. Getting bummed about one person not wanting to play makes you forget about all the other possibilities. You can get so locked into one person and their decision that you miss all the other opportunities that are out there.

This became clear today when I was at a different Starbucks and I locked eyes with a different woman and got that same warm fuzzy sensation. She was with another guy, but it didn't really matter. That same sort of energy is out there and it doesn't end with one person.

The other thing that I have been thinking about is this: sometimes the love you need doesn't come in the form that you think it will. When I think of people who are in great relationships, I wouldn't always put them together. There are very few Ken and Barbie couples out there. Much like swimming, sometimes the most effecient methods don't always look the prettiest, and vice versa. Being open to something that might isn't exactly what you think it should be, often has miraculous implications.

So, where does that leave me with the object of my affection? Well, if she calls and wants to play a game of catch--so to speak--then great. If not, then I find someone else on the same wavelength and see if they throw the ball back to me. As much I like to joke about love being a four-letter word like "fuck," it's simply an energy dynamic. Energy has to be given and received for the dynamic to be functional.

Namaste

Pushing Buttons

"Knowing what drives you, and your clients, is an important consideration in ALL advisory fields (finance, business, academics, athletics). To be effective teachers, we need to understand the values of our clients, and ourselves."
- Gordon Byrn, taken from http://www.gordoworld.com/gblog/2008/03/us-ppp-uk-property-and-sports-knowledge.html

I had my usual lesson with Coach Kevin yesterday, except it was unusual. Instead of getting in the water and having Kevin disect my stroke, we went and had lunch and talked about the next nine months of training. I have made through four consecutive days of workouts in the pool without and nagging shoulder pain. There are new aches and pains from lactic acid and muscle fatigue, but not the same deep ache I had been experiencing for the past several months. Kevin gave me a set of shoulder exercises to do, and I started popping heavy duty Advil after workouts. The combination of the two seems to have done the trick. So, we have achieved step one of our plan--get rid of the pain--and are now in step two of the process--build a swimming base.

So, we talked about the next nine months. All in all it took about fifteen minutes to lay out the plan, but the lesson time was invaluable. One of my favorite Hemingway quotes is, "Never mistake motion for action." Even though I wasn't swimming, we were taking action towards reaching some lofty goals. We took inventory of how far I have progressed as a swimmer, set expectations for effort and time committment for the next 9 months, and established a basic default workout to do in order to build a solid base. There wasn't a whole lot of motion going on as we ate lunch and talked, but the items that were discussed will be key over the next several months.

Maybe the thing I prize most when working with a coach or a mentor, is getting those small jewels of wisdom that aren't 100% obvious to the average practioner. One of the things Kevin told me yesterday was how important he thought kicking was to overall swimming success. Whenever we have a kick set at practice, most people seem to goof off, or end up swimming freestyle instead. The average person is missing this opportunity to really take their performance up another notch by being casual with such a set. From now on I'm going to "double down" on the kicking sets and imagine all the speed I'm building during the process. Not sure how much of an impact this will have in the immediate term, but at least it will keep my head in the game and make me feel better.

I also gained some insight into who Kevin is as a person. It turns out that Kevin started swimming in high school--which is extremely late to pick up the sport--but his coach stuck by him, and he was a solid swimmer by the time he graduated. After graduation he started to coach in swim programs while he went to college. He graduated and taught middle school math for two years, before deciding to coach swimming full time. He was able to get a job as a part-time coach, but had to work additional jobs in order to pay the bills. He worked at UPS, managed a Buffalo Wild Wings, and a slew of other random jobs so that he could continue to coach. Lastly, he defined his success as a coach by the number of swimmers he coached that have decided to be full time swim coaches after graduation from college--the count is currently at four.

What strikes me here, is how he understands what motivates him. When I think of what I want professionally my usual mental line is "To be successful." But that in and of itself really doesn't mean much. First of all you have to have a definition of success, and even before that you have to understand what motivates you to do what you do. Seemingly, the man has these two things figured out. Maybe it's simpler than I am making it out to be; maybe it's not. Hard to say......

Namaste

Clean Water

"I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened."
- Mark Twain

I'm not sure what it is, but when I sit down and write I need to have a cup of coffee next to me, or a glass of Scotch whiskey. Both have addictive qualities: one is an upper, the other is a downer. Either way, I get this sense that I can sit down at the computer and be here as long as I need to when I have a drink next to me. It's not rational, but it is real.

This was an interesting week. A few weeks back, I wrote about how there was a contingent of people at work who were "out to get me." Well, I sat down with my boss, braced myself for the worst, and asked him if there were any formal complaints about me, and if anyone was out to get me. At first he laughed out loud and then he gave me a perplexed look and said, "Well, if people are out to get you, then they are out to get me as well."

It's funny now, but for a few weeks I thought that Lord Voldemort and the Armies of the North were out to get me. The whole thing had been built up into such a huge ordeal in my mind that I gave myself a horrible headache. But it was predicated on something that was completely false. As the man said, "The mind can make a heaven out of Hell, or make a hell out of Heaven." What you believe makes it true.

So, all is pretty much right in my world now. My boss Armando and I are clicking like Tom Brady and Randy Moss. It's something that really can't be explained. The truth is this: I really don't want to understand it, I just want to enjoy it.

I went to see a doctor this week regarding my nagging shoulder issues. It turns out there isn't any structural damage, just a case of tendonitis. Once I got the clearance fom the doctor, Kevin and I started working again. We modified the length of my stroke on the left side, and it seems to have taken away the pain. Now it's a matte of training the stroke, and modifying it, but the broad strokes are there.

So once again, I'm swimming in Lane 4--the clean water. I have no clue how long this will last. I'm sure that something will come up, or I will manufacture something in my head and it will seem like the world is going to end. But that day is not today.

Namaste