Thursday, March 13, 2014

Wear a Windbreaker on Mondays

"The best way out is always THROUGH"
--Robert Frost


I hate the wind.

I especially hate RUNNING in the wind.

My training buddy and I planned to run two repeats up Lookout Mountain last Sunday.

That was the plan.

Until the wind started howling.

Our second repeat was chugging two venti Sumatras at Starbucks.

We blamed the wind.

But honestly...

We weren't prepared that day.

We didn't have our windbreakers.

Cursing and blaming the wind is crazy.

But here's what's crazier...

... putting your training on hold to go to Starbucks to pound coffee while waiting for the wind to stop.

It's better to be prepared.

And wear your windbreaker.

So you can train in ANY conditions....

Even the wind.

ESPECIALLY the wind.

We put other things in our lives on hold by "going to Starbucks" to wait for the "wind" to stop.

Starting that college degree.

Writing that novel.

Opening that business.

Instead of putting on our windbreakers and getting to it...

We make excuses....

And wait for the wind to go away.

But asking for the wind to go away is like asking for Mondays to go away.

It's the wrong question.

We shouldn't be asking for less wind.

We should be asking for more strength to get THROUGH the wind.

A mental "windbreaker" so to speak.

The cliche  "there's no such thing as the wrong weather, just the wrong clothing"  applies to more than just running.

Because with the right "windbreaker," it won't matter how hard the wind blows....

or how hard that that Intermediate Accounting class is....

or how tough that new business start-up is......

or how difficult that new boss is.....

You'll prepared.

Not to AVOID the wind.

But to get THROUGH it.

We're going back to Lookout Mountain this weekend.

We're starting at 4am.

It's going to be dark.

And cold.

And probably windy.

But that's okay.

Starbucks is closed that early.

And I'll have my windbreaker.

AMJ








Sunday, March 2, 2014

They Don't Sell Lukewarm Coffee at Starbucks

"So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
Revelation 3:16

Is it possible to succeed being lukewarm?

I recently saw the movie "Lone Survivor".

It's the story about Mark Lutrell----the sole survivor of a Navy Seal team on an ill-fated mission in Afghanistan that is ambushed by the Taliban.

There's a scene that features a new recruit reciting a ballad to his peers that captures the intensity and can-do mindset of the Navy Seals. Two lines from the ballad caught my particular attention:

" Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing "  and  " Moderation is for cowards."

I realize phrases like these can be interpreted as over the top, tough-guy braggadocio.

But I think these phrases can also be instructive.

Instructive as to the mindset that is required to succeed at the highest level--on the battlefield.

Or on the trails.

And in life.

Could painter Andrew Wyeth have produced "Christina's World" if he had just gone through the motions of painting each day?

Could Steinbeck have written "The Grapes of Wrath" if he had punched a time-clock?

Can a great school teacher be great by just showing up?

Could Haile Gebrselassie have run a blistering world record 2:03:59 marathon by only doing MODERATE exercise?

I don't think so.

Starbucks can sell a cup of black drip coffee for $2 bucks.

You can buy it Hot....

Or COLD.

But there's no "lukewarm" option.

Because customers don't like lukewarm.

Lukewarm doesn't work.

It doesn’t win wars.

It doesn't make for great art.

Or great writing.

Or great teaching.

Or great running.

It doesn't even make for great coffee.

So how about a new personal mantra.

A mantra that goes something like this:

“Less volume, more heat!”

In other words….

LESS  projects at work, more COMPLETED projects at work.

FEWER classes at school, BETTER grades at school.

FEWER miles on the trails, BETTER miles on the trails.

I say it’s time to stop being lukewarm at a lot of things.

And turn up the heat for a few things.

This is not easy to do...

But I hope you give it a try...

Let me know...

I’ll start another pot of coffee.

AMJ