jungle jeff

Masters World Championships, Finland

jungle jeff is absolutely a wellness fanatic.  Most don’t realize this.  Why would they realize it?  Why should they?

I started with one push-up per day for a week and then each new week, add one more push-up per day.  After six weeks, that’s six push-ups per day.

Also started running one mailbox per day for a week and then each new week added another mailbox.  After six weeks, I was running past six mailboxes.  Then walked back.

Through continuous improvement techniques learned at work (fortune 100 company), managed my boredom, injuries, motivation and goals – and after a decade, guess what happened this past Summer?

From one push-up per day ten years ago, to representing the USA at the WMA Master’s Track & Field World Championships in Lahti, Finland.  Men’s 400 meters, 50 – 54 age group.

So, excellence can be attained in virtually anything, but you have to be willing to set an impossible goal, work incredibly hard and never give up.  Ya with me?

Tribes, by Seth Godin.  Heard of it?  Read it?

The tag line, “We need you to lead us”, really hits home for me.  Why?

Because, in today’s world, if you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of chaos and uncertainty.  “Duh”, right?

What I’d like to challenge is our predisposition to look to others to be better leaders.  When in reality, the real work, where the biggest need is, is right in front of you as you look in the mirror.

Quite complaining about others needing to do this or do that – and presumably thinking that your life will get better as soon as “they” change.

Let the change begin and end with you.  Period.  Because until that happens, you are in no place to expect it from someone else.

Walking through an airport this week, a book title caught my eye, “Exploiting Chaos“.

Why?  If I have to explain this to you, you most likely won’t understand. But, because I’m a sucker for people who want to understand and continuously improve, I’ll give it a brief try here.

Chaos is a paradox.  We can (and probably do) hate chaos.  Or, we can (and probably don’t) love chaos.

Hate it for all of the societal norm reasons most hate chaos.

Love it for all the opportunity it brings.  Yes, opportunity.  So once again, if I have to explain this to you, you won’t understand.  But if I were you, I’d quickly try to figure it out, or get left behind.

Mantra, mantra, mantra.

From Wikipedia:  A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of “creating transformation” (cf. spiritual transformation).^[1] Their use and type varies according to the school and philosophy associated with the mantra.

I will not be discouraged.

I will not be discouraged.

I will not be discouraged.

There will be  times when you think the path you’re on – the one you convinced yourself and others was absolutely the way – may actually be wrong.

This is why courage and perseverance were invented.