In Between Degrees

You know you're doing ok when your Korean master, a few practices in a row, says, "You look strong." It's usually something like, "You're getting fat/heavy/slow" or "You look sick/weak/thin" (and even sometimes, "When are you getting married?") Your master will always tell you the truth, he says what you need to hear...your master will ...

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. --Haruki Murakami I hate running. I used to tell people that running is bad for you. It hurts your ankles, it's bad for your knees, the impact is bad for your spine and your brain, etc., etc.  I still don't love running, but I no longer hate it.  You ...

Never underestimate the power of being in nature.  Grab a trusted friend, your partner, or go alone, leave your technobabbly device in the car, and just walk.  Think, talk, or allow the silence.  In all ways, in this hyper-fragmented, over connected, attention-hogging world, getting out is the best way to get back. So, take a ...

"If it's important, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse."   -- Anonymous I'll be the first to admit, I have made many excuses.  I still make lots of excuses.  How many excuses do you make? I am not enough _____.  I am not _____ enough.  I can't have ______. ...

Every man is responsible for his own destiny.   - Rayden (Mortal Kombat) Just as change is a constant, so is transition.  In reality, there is no "I have arrived", no "I've made it", and no persistent state of "success".    In quantum mechanics, there are no states unless they are observed.  In training, when ...

A monk went to a hotdog stand and said, "Make me one with everything".  The hotdog vendor gave the monk his hotdog and the monk paid with a $20 bill.  After a few moments, the monk asked, "Excuse me, but where is my change?".  The hotdog vendor replied, "Change come from within". ...then again, it ...

Over time, eventually, languages fade away; entire cultures and even civilizations die off.   There is one aspect of humanity that seems to persist beyond space and time: music.  Music is requires not language, country, culture or time. Music is forever. What music do you make?  What piece of timeless contribution to the world will ...

Organization doesn't always come from some method or strategy.  Simplifying something doesn't always come from a scientific way of looking at a complex problem.  Creativity doesn't always strike when you want it to. Sometimes, you have to spend time in the weeds for a while, hacking away at them, pulling on them, and digging them ...

One of my fellow martial artist friends came up to me after class and said, "I can't breathe". Obviously, he could breathe and there was not need for paramedics or tracheotomy.  My friend said this, exasperated from the fairly strenuous workout we just had.  I found myself loudly saying, "That's the best part!", even though ...

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."  -- The Dark Knight (2008)Lately, I've been very interested in this idea of whether it's possible to continue moving upwards in the leadership ranks and still keep certain principles or aspects of personal philosophy intact, or whether at some point, ...