Monday Pic
As a bit of an addendum to my post last Friday about the rain, my friend Brian sent me this pic he took – which I just had to share. So cool. – BB
Before there was Nike…
Long before Nike’s famous swoosh and slogan, Just Do It, appeared on the scene, there was Brian Jones.
Brian is a dancer, singer, choreographer, graphic designer, traveler, and all around great guy. He’s a dear friend. I met Brian in college while working on a musical. He was then, and still is, a consummate professional and a bit of a perfectionist. Brian believes in hard work, practice and focus.
“Don’t talk about it, just do it.” This was Brian’s credo. He didn’t appear to have the time or patience for fear-based lagging – he’s of the just get-on with it ilk.
Although it caused me to have several moments of panic, his philosophy was direct and results-producing. Ceasing discussion and rumination is a way for us to get out of our heads…to just give it a shot. If we wait for the moment we feel we are truly ready, we may be waiting forever. Talking is passive – doing is active.
It’s easy to chat around and around an idea, a wish, a concept, but it’s another thing to apply it and make it “real.” Trying and failing is a part of the process. Trying and succeeding is the icing on the cake.
I can always imagine Brian, with a furrowed brow and semi-smile, saying these words, as he struts off leaving me to get on with it. It’s a hilarious and loving image I carry with me – one that I pull up in my memory every time fear plants a wall in my path.
Nike may have brought their bravado to the masses, but Brian was there first…not talking, but doing. – BB
Success and Age
F Scott Fitzgerald (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“The dream had been early realized and the realization carried with it a certain bonus and a certain burden. Premature success gives one an almost mystical conception of destiny as opposed to will-power – at its worst the Napoleonic delusion. The man who arrives young believes that he exercises his will because his star is shining. The man who only asserts himself at thirty has a balanced idea of what will-power and fate have each contributed, the one who gets there at forty is liable to put the emphasis on will alone. This comes out when the storms strike your craft.” Excerpt from Early Success by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Any Questions?
Questions are fuel for my spirit.
P question (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Stay curious. Wonder at the world. Ask questions.
“There’s no such thing as a stupid question,” said many a teacher of mine. And for some crazy reason – I believed them. I ask a lot of questions. So much so, that a number of my friends jokingly call me the Question Lady.
I can’t help it – I’m a seeker of information. I’m a junkie. But in asking questions, I come to learn and understand the world around me – and what others are thinking and feeling. I ask people, “Where did you buy that?” because I want one myself. I’ll ask a friend about their trip – and what was their experience. I ask anyone to repeat what they just said if I didn’t completely hear it. I ask because I’m curious. I ask because I need to know.
Have you ever noticed a child will continue a long line of questioning until they either get to the core answer or until they get bored? They will peel away the layers through questions – to get to the pit. And that’s how I feel. It’s an unending need for me…it fuels my sense of excitement as I believe I can always learn something new.
In asking a question, our world expands. Don’t be afraid – knowledge is power.
The Wise Fighter wants to know. – BB