Five Years by Corbett Barr
There will be an agreement in whatever variety of actions, so they be each honest and natural in their hour. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
What would you say to the person you were five years ago? What will you say to the person you’ll be in five years?
(Author: Corbett Barr)
Five years ago, I would have told myself to take better care of myself so I would not be taking medicine for cholesterol and Blood Pressure or at least work out so I wouldn’t have to constantly try to lose weight and not be as “big” as I am. Get to know the person you have fallen in love with and make a partnership rather than just focus on the families
To my future 5-year-old, I would say keep up the working out, the reading and writing and have at least something published so you can keep writing. Have a family that you love as much as your love your wife and visit somewhere annually.
While on vacation in Colorado, I woke up early for a hike. The three-mile trail ran to the peak of Beaver Creek Mountain. At the top base a sign said it should take about three hours to reach the top.
Looking up to my destination, I was intimidated. The trail was extremely steep. The altitude at the base was 8,000 feet above sea level. The peak stood at more than 11,000 feet.
Just walking up the first set of stairs, I began breathing heavier than normal. I had to remind myself to take it easy. At home in Houston, I run several miles a few times a week and play a lot of basketball. But the elevation there is only fifty feet above sea level. The thinner air in the Colorado Mountains had me doubting whether I could make it to the top. I started out with my cell phone and a bottle of water.
Determined, I set a pretty good pace. The first fifteen minutes seemed as though I were carrying an extra load. I had to stop every so often to catch my breath.
About forty-five minutes into my hike, the trail got extremely steep – almost like I was climbing straight up. My pathway snaked skyward through thick strands of aspen and ponderosa pine. The view was both beautiful and daunting. Despite the fact that I am in shape from running and playing basketball, my legs were burning and my chest was pounding.
As I climbed over the big ridge, I had to stop for air. Sweat was pouring out of my body. I thought: If there’s another two hours like this, I don’t know if I can make it.
Up to that point, I had not seen anyone else on the path. Suddenly an older gentleman heading down the mountain came around a curve. He seemed cool and calm. And he read me pretty well.
As we passed, he said something that changed my whole perspective. He smiled kindly and said in a calm voice: "You are closer than you think."
Hearing those words, I felt rejuvenated as if he’d breathed new life into my lungs. Though the climb was difficult, I caught my second wind and whispered those words of encouragement with every stride that I made.
Without those encouraging words I may have turned around, even though I was almost at the top.
Friends, you are closer to your victory than you think. Don’t stop now. Do not turn around, just keep pressing forward.
Today, let’s take a step away from rational thought and dare to be bold. What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to accomplish but have been afraid to pursue? Write it down. Also write the obstacles in your way of reaching your goal. Finally, write down a tangible plan to overcome each obstacle.
The only thing left is to, you know, actually go make it happen. What are you waiting for?
(Author: Matt Cheuvront)
The one thing I have always to accomplished to write a full length book, and the main obstacle really has been my fear and laziness in actually get my crap together, committing to a schedule and actually writing. It’s a bit more complicated than that. I am still unsure if I have a story in my life. I know I want to write but about what, not sure exactly. Well. that’s not true exactly. I definitely want to write a memoir about Ziba and then perhaps about myself but I hesitate because I find the subject to be too large. That’s not true either. I am just not committed to a schedule. I feel that being General Counsel, I should focus more on that aspect for the day-to-day when my real talent and passion are in writing. So I need to work on an outline, put down all the ideas, put them together in a coherent way and then get to writing. The more I think about it, the memoir on Ziba would be fascinating as we went from a business that started on $2000 to over several million dollars as well expanding to become the industry leaders in the Eyebrow threading category. Where I get stuck is more emotional in that what was my role in it, did I really do much more than ride its coattails, and only now can I confidently say that no I gave it my all. My main obstacle is my lack of commitment to a schedule to just research, interview, and then write. Until I treat it as a time sensitive project, it will not get done.
The other obstacle could be the topic itself, because as much as I want to write about Ziba, I am hesitant to since it’s family and perhaps a bit too personal More than anything else, I want to be published and it is this uncertainty on what to write that I flounder yet as I write these words I know the story that has the greatest chance is the one about Ziba and it would also allow to write full time as this would be a “work” assignment so starting I commit to start this project September 1st (get the wedding and honeymoon done in style July, August, as well perhaps start on an outline) and commit to a complete rough draft by the end of 2011 (that would also solve one of my major goals before I turn 40).
If you dig a hole for someone else, you’ll fall into it. Hungarian Proverb
A lie travels round the world while truth is putting her boots on. French Proverb
Man who run behind car get exhausted. Chinese Proverb
Anger can be an expensive luxury. Italian Proverb
If ifs and buts were candy and nuts; if wishes were horses, beggars might ride.; ifs and ands were pots and pans, then we would need no tinkers.; if wishes were fishes, there’d be no room in the river for water. Russian Proverb
Words have no wings but they can fly a thousand miles. Korean Proverb
Be aware of the idiot, for he is like an old dress. Every time you patch it, the wind will tear it back again. Arabic Proverb
A peacock who sits on his tail is just another turkey. Proverb
You will never plough a field if you only turn it over in your mind. Irish Proverb
If you marry a monkey for his wealth, the money goes and the monkey remains as is. Egyptian Proverb
Come Alive by Jonathan Mead
Life wastes itself while we are preparing to live. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
If you had one week left to live, would you still be doing what you’re doing now? In what areas of your life are you preparing to live? Take them off your To Do list and add them to a To Stop list. Resolve to only do what makes you come alive.
Bonus: How can your goals improve the present and not keep you in a perpetual “always something better” spiral?
(Author: Jonathan Mead)
I am in the rare position in life where I can say that I would still be doing what I am doing now if I had a week to live with the exception of a few things I wish I was doing more (traveling more, reading more, trying out new activities such as camping), and I realize that I love where I work, I have the partner I love but, (isn’t there always one but?) I am missing some part of my old self, and that’s who I was when I ran Ziba Music with my father and the fact that I was always open to new experiences. I see now that I want to reconnect with old friends more, old activities even more and limit some of the new people I hang around with only to do things I truly love with my partner. I would say that I am at 75% in terms of not changing my week but would like at least 2 days to be spent with old friends, doing an event and perhaps traveling. My current goals are getting me to that ideal 100% as just this weekend, I reconnected with some dear friends of mine, spent quality time with her and my family and finally got to do a BBQ at a place (for me, it was the ideal weekend). Now just gotta make sure I have more weekends like this!
Not everyone wants to travel the world, but most people can identify at least one place in the world they’d like to visit before they die. Where is that place for you, and what will you do to make sure you get there?
(Author: Chris Guillebeau)
I hadn’t thought of this aspect for my life and I realized that I had very vague notions of traveling, preferring, instead ,to surprise myself by visiting places I have heard of but no know about it. Now that could be the simplistic travel the world but that seems like a cop-out and did not really answer the question, but then it hit me that I did try once to travel all over India so perhaps the short answer to visit India, I mean really visit, travel the country, but various methods of transportation, get to know the country in a more intimate way rather than half-remembered places and figure out what makes me tick coming from a country of billion.
