When I Come Home

My dearest readers,

in the midst of wrapping up six years of education I had immanently realized what all is at stake and how difficult in a moment as such it can be to keep one’s focus on finishing accordingly when hitting the home stretch. Thinking back to the early beginnings, the course of all of it, the wild enduring ride all the way up to being steps away from closure is yet a thrill beyond words. All in the past brought me here, to the present day, where the outcome is all in my hands and will determine the hit or miss, proving whether all of it was worth it, and bring dead certainty, inevitably, when I come home!

Guy Pearce once said that “[t]he thrill of coming home has never changed,” because coming home means closure. It is not just the return from a long (life) journey, but proof of progress one personally made when floating through time—closure in the sense of finishing one’s work. And the outcome is able to express who you once were and who you became, a dark oak trunk, seared timbers, or a resolute desk. “It’s not how you start that’s important, but how you finish” (Jim George), because that only can render your rise or fall, or in the worst case your vapidity, when you cling to the words of B. B. King and the thrill is gone.

It is ever so significant that we keep this thrill alive, that we continue to push ourselves onto the home stretch, even when all hell may break lose and we drown in a maelstrom of expectations, pressure, frustration, disappointment, or all of the above. On the home stretch there is no one who can keep us from drowning, no one but ourselves. Our loved ones can pitch their inspiration, but the last long yards we have to walk inevitably. That’s why we need to keep our focus on managing these final steps, keep our cool, and keep our commitment on cruise control. “Finish the work, otherwise an unfinished work will finish you” (Amit Kalantri)—and all those who have been down that road will assure you that this is not a pleasant feeling.

Let ‘coming home’ be a blaze of glory that can kindle a fire you may have considered faded long ago. If you walk your last steps bear in mind where you once started and where you are today, yet let neither of it keep you from knowing which way you’re headed. “No one has a problem with the first mile of a journey. Even an infant could do fine for a while. But it isn’t the start that matters. It’s the finish line” (Julien Smith)—and, in that sense, it is all up to you whether you get to celebrate or be assured that you have wasted your time…the time will come, inexorably, and soon we all know, namely then, when we once more and ultimately come home.

...on breaking even!

My dearest readers,

after recently returning from the east of Turkey and learning, how different and, thus, relative worlds within ours can be, I was quite stunned and feel the need to comprehend, how in the midst of our rising rush there could all of a sudden elsewhere be a lack of urgency and, seemingly, the dearth of our “higher, faster, further.” But there had been something that appeared to be of the same value, a universal currency we all treasure as a most valuable asset: time.

“Time is money!” tells you every proper businessman, when you engage him a minute longer than necessary. I have further heard many speak of “buying themselves some time” and even caught myself quite often doing that. But if time is so valuable, why do so many people tend to waste it? Benjamin Franklin once said that “[l]ost time is never found again,” and it appears that many are no longer aware that tempus fugit and are squandering their time like contemporary prodigal sons. Shouldn’t we all be provident and considerate with our time?

After writing so much about owning the moment, a future of gold, and how the present determines our future, it was just about time to actually write about time, so none of it be wasted. Time is a token that well spent brings wealth, but wasted is buried deep in the quicksand of our rising rush—and lost forever. Time is like an investment, which well placed pays dividends, but poorly spent makes one eligible for bankruptcy. We can see time, therefore, as our universal currency, seed capital we’re all given, but capital to depreciate in value with every tick and tock until our time runs out and we break even. We will, at some point, all break even; but, until then, make sure you handle your time like money, don’t make it rain, but spend it wisely.

When you spend your time—whether wisely or perhaps not optimally—note that not all time spent is time lost. “[T]ime you enjoy wasting is not wasted time” (Marthe Troly-Curtin), which is something to bear in mind, because then the time you consider wasted bears a surplus value that makes it anything but wasted. We tend to get upset, whenever things are not working out right and we think our time is wasted, but often there is a surplus value hiding in it that we get to see only in the future. At times, there may be years or even decades between time spent and realizing the surplus value in it, but neither has the trained eye trouble seeing it, nor has the provident and considerate soul the urge to ‘waste’ time in the first place. We are given the time, our currency, to spend it wisely, and we are all given enough time to do great.

Sol Bloom once stated: “Being broke didn't disturb me in the least. I had started with nothing, and if I now found myself with nothing, I was at least even. Actually, I was much better than even: I had had a wonderful time.” And is not that what we all shall seek? Is not time of true value? What greater gift is there for our loved ones than time, our time, your time, time you’re willing to spend for them? Think about it, as I leave those questions out there for you to answer. Tick, it’s time, tock, it’s time to go out there, into the world and do great, treasure our time and spend it wisely, so once we break even we can all proudly say that we’ve had indeed what we all deserve: a wonderful time.

E Pluribus Unum

My dearest readers,

since the last post stressed the individual commitment and yearning for success and—as pointed out by annotating and challenging readers—nearly eradicated the collective road and role of success, I want to make up for this void and write about unity, where a squad of conscientious, strong-willed people can complement one another and create an invincible band of brothers, where many become one!

A strong bond is driven by courage, selflessness, and sacrifice, where it is less the individual who accomplishes a mission, but even more so the collective. It is of no concern to stand out in excellence, but it is of concern that the collective reaches the goal, all together. Sir Edmung Hillary once stated that “[t]here is something about building up a comradeship—that I still believe is the greatest of all feats—and sharing in the dangers with your company of peers. It’s the intense effort, the giving of everything you’ve got. It’s really a very pleasant sensation”—the everything you’ve got, for the success of the bond. Success is no longer experienced by you alone, but as a reward for all, as a shared experience that you all worked for. You gave your everything, and so did the rest, for you all to eventually cross the finish line.

Your strong bond calls for compliance and comradeship. There is no space for self-interest, no room for what “I” want. There’s only a “we,” and the “we” becomes the one; and committing yourself to a collective is indeed a pleasant sensation, because your weaknesses are effaced. There is a brother or sister next to you who makes up for your weaknesses, and likewise you make up for his or her weaknesses. You may not have eyes on the back of your head; but you know sure as hell there are others that watch and got your back and back you up. No longer is it you alone “who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat” (Theodore Roosevelt)—but you can bet your life on your brothers doing exactly just that. You’re a synergy, a collective of ‘good’ individuals, merging to become ‘great.’

Then the battlefield of life becomes your playground, not just for you alone, but for your brothers who are out there with you, where it is not you in particular who’s singled out for greatness but your band of brothers, a collective stronger than hell that pulls on the same string. Many become one, and suddenly you're surrounded by the few and the proud that march with you, go the extra step with you, and the extra mile for each other, confident, convinced, and determined with the steady belief to do what is best for the well-being of all. Whatever challenge there is that you feel incapable of accepting alone, know that there are peers you can count on, just as they count on you; and—as I must stress again and again—what way is then too far, what mountain too high? Take a moment, (re-)think of the mountain peak, and “[a]ccept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory” (George S. Patton Jr.)—march right into it, have many become one, for then you all get to reach for the stars and feel the exhilaration of victory, e pluribus unum, boom!

Like Mike

My dearest readers,

the game is on, and regardless of how and when your year has (effectively) started, let me remind you that it’s never too late to get your hands on it and play. As I intend to reserve the February post(s) for something ‘special’ I want to fall in line with this one and play this game right; because the one who inspired it played his game right, he just played, had fun, and enjoyed it, and most significantly, he stayed true to it.

Imagine an arena full of chanting and cheering, hysterically screaming fans waiting for you to come out and give it your all. You’re in the locker room, knuckle-cracking, breathing deep, keeping your focus and slowing everything down to own this moment and make the world stop just for you in that very second. You want to truly understand what Horace meant by “carpe diem,” rather want you to seize and freeze that moment, because it is your day; and in a given minute you want to go out there, into the bullring to deliver the lucky punch. Hell yeah, that is what you want.

Now imagine the same scenario, but fast-forward to where you do understand what Horace meant, because you went out there and delivered the lucky punch. Then this ain’t what you want any longer, hell no. It is what you earned, deserve, and accomplished, because you went out there to play and played, and were true to the game and the game had been true to you. The people in the bullring who were and are cheering for you still came to see you perform: show them their chants are worth it, and play, have fun, and enjoy it!

But when you walk out into the arena—some call that life—be aware that you’re not the only player out there and not the only one people are cheering for. Note that there is an unlimited number of players out there that all pursue the same thing, the glorious win. Note that these other players may have a profound aversion toward you, because it may be you who gets to hold up the trophy, and not them. Note that these obstinate self-centered players will do anything to keep you from being fortunate; and note that they will stir up the crowd to laugh at you, discourage you, and when you start shaking bring you down; but with the game on the line, in all that mayhem, you can do the unexpected and rise again. You can be the one to play true and walk out there and affront ill will and enmity and bid a full load of defiance to the ones that play foul and approve shortcuts for foul play and personal gain. Rise to your feet and affront these deceivers. Be like Mike, know that “[i]f you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you”; and that is for others, for the ones that are long gone when you get to hold up the trophy and present all the respect you earned by playing true.

Be good and true to the game you play, for then it will be good and true to you. Then, and just then, you will be able to own the moment, the second, the minute, the quarter, the half, and the whole game. And when you own the game you own this life, and the other bulls in the ring will keep trying and trying to knock you down, but they will fail, over and over. They may think ‘trying’ will make you succeed eventually, and Mike said that even repeatedly ‘failing’ will make you succeed in the end—both of which is true, but both also requires a true game being played. Respect the game. Play it true, because then it will be fun and you get to carpe diem all you want…and as these reddish sneakers as my witness: no matter what your game is, bring it on, your A-game…and play it, play it true…be like Mike, be 23…and win! #BeLikeMike

Mid-Action

My dearest readers,

it is a new year, 2015, and it is about time and right to have things flowing and going again. A year ago I labeled the new year “a new adventure,” one that is within; but this year, this time I want to focus even more on the fact that the adventure is already going and flowing and does not need you to get it all started. It’s on and you’re in it, because your ‘new’ adventure is like a good story—and a good story always starts in mid-action.

The stage is all set, spotlight’s on you, and everyone is waiting for you to perform. All the time and nerves and effort you spent were in the past—necessary steps to make you climb up the center stage and rise and shine when all eyes are on you and the good story begins, with you, the protagonist, in mid-action. Your year does not begin with genesis and then goes on with Rousseau’s Discourse on Inequality, no. Your year begins in mid-action with you being the protagonist who is ready to roll, all set to claim his or her spot and in the grand finale get what he or she was striving for. And that makes a good story your good story.

But in no good story everything goes right all the time. There are obstacles over obstacles to overcome, temptations and habits to resist, fights to be fought, and evil forces to withstand and defy…and your ‘antagonist’ may come in all forms and shapes. However, it is your obligation, your responsibility to prove and show, who the true hero of your story is. You’re in it already, in medias res, in mid-action ready to get and take what you dreamed of; and in your story I don’t think you want to give any antagonist the time of day to get in your way. That does not mean there won’t be any obstacles, yet does it mean that you shall be aware of what lies in your way, be confident about overcoming just that, and further know who has the leading role in this adventure that is not so new anymore.

2015 is your adventure, your good story, blank pages and spaces waiting for you to start writing. In mid-action you already are, your heart and determination got you there. And your tenacity handed you a fountain pen with a golden and ornamented hand-crafted nib just waiting for your ink of dreams to hit the pages and start writing with every breath you take. What will be your story? Will it be a comedy, or a tragedy? Will it be cathartic in the end? Well, that is for you to decide, because what will be written is all in your hands, for you are the hero, the protagonist, and the writer—and you get to take action and write your good story.

But in all the writing and taking action and fighting the antagonist(s) and getting things going be aware that your story did not begin in twenty fifteen and will likely not end in December. This year started in mid-action and in mid-action it will depart. “Don’t wait for the calendar to figure out when [you] should live life” (Gene Simmons). It’s always time to live a life and write a good story, so the day will come for your grand finale when you will defeat the antagonist and be victorious and live happily ever after.