The difference between humans and other species in the animal kingdom is our intelligence & self awareness. These attributes used together create an animal capable of complex reasoning.

Hunting was something humans weren’t built for so we manipulate the skills we have to persist up the food chain. Persistence hunting is one of the oldest methods of how humans would hunt without horses or dogs to aid them. This would involve tracking lets say a deer til it has to stop from exhaustion. In this type of hunting we take advantage of the fact that we can cool down via sweat throughout the whole body instead of just the mouth like lots of animals with fur. We also know that we as humans can run for long distances without to many problems which means that as long as we persist we will catch that animal.

We as humans over time have discovered how to heal faster and more efficiently than other species. Instead of a dog simply limping til the leg heals over time we humans use nutrients to heal faster and supports as braces/casts to ensure proper healing therefore better recovery and future use.

Innovation through persistence over time makes for a resilient organism. Repeating that persistent innovation will allow you to access greater feats of prestige.

Risk, Learn, Adapt & Repeat.

If we are gifted with the ability of reason, the ability to problem solve and thereby innovate… Where could this seemingly baked in drive come from?

Most people tend to believe one of these three similar entities: •Life. •God/Angels. •Universe

The soul in many cultures is thought to be your true self and your body is the vessel in which you experience. With this we can wonder if the soul comes pre-downloaded with the attributes above and by what entity.

Honestly these entities are all the same just defined with different words and sounds. The fact is that we are gifted lessons through the struggles of problem solving which brands lessons into your being is why we innovate.

“Life happens for you, not to you.” -Jim Carrey

If what Jim says is true then the intervention of misfortune is actually a gift for growth. The moments in life that are hard, troubling, difficult or seemingly negative are actually exactly what we need.

So the next time you ask,

“Why are you doing this to me?”

Remember there is a reason why we learn from struggle. Some cultures take this to another level and seek out these challenges so that they can unlock lessons not many others will ever know.

For example,

In the mountains of Japan in Mount Hiei there is a group of Tendai Buddhist Monks that seek their enlightenment through what is known as a Kaihōgyō.

Kaihōgyō: The world’s most brutal marathon. 1,000 marathons in 1,000 days. Often combined with long fasting and a specific diet to earn Enlightenment or Death. Since the 1800s only 46 have completed. Taking their own source of lesson learning into their own hands these monks charge toward understanding.

In these more modern times you can quite the run at any time, but not many are permitted to do such a journey unless cleared by the elders. These monks use fitness as a gateway to Godliness.

Where can you find the lessons? What can be learned from previous hard times?

I promise there is a lesson in all things.

Its the early afternoon on a standard sunny California day. Driving down the long coastal roads matching the speed limit exactly because you can catch the right timing and achieve predicable greens.

“Magic’s just science we don’t understand yet.” ⁃ Arthur C. Clarke

My father would take these roads often for himself as a calming reminder of peace. He would often take solo motorcycle rides these ways for miles. Using the loud machine and hyper-vigilance to achieve meditation. Achieving peace of mind through chaos and danger. (Truly a hunter mindset.)

Knowing these roads and how they operate my father could create magic before my eyes as a child. As we would roll up to inevitable red light he would play games of intrigue.

As if by some kind of magic he could change the light at will. Like with some kind of meta-ability he would gain control of the lights.

Magic is just a perspective with a lack of knowledge. I had yet to learn what he knew of the timing of the road, its construction and the flow of traffic. So he took the opportunities to inject whimsy into the little moments.

As we age as humans you find this magic fascination into more specific feats. Someone beating your score in a video game. As it took great effort to achieve your score. What skill that person must have. Seeing savages like Joko Willink & David Goggins who continue to prove there is more in the tank before you have none.

I know that the consistent 2 miles I ran a day during the beginnings of COVID can become the morning marathons like Cameron Haynes. These feats are magic to me now, but once I have achieved then I will know the tick of magic myself.

It is your duty as someone who knows to create magic for others.

Be the one to be the calm and clear perspective.

Be the one who has and is willing to give if you can.

Be the one who knows.

“Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.” ⁃ Lao Tzu

Its also very important to do most your teachings through action.

You can always inspire more by showing and doing than saying anything.

Find ways to create magic.

In these current times as this post begins its formation into coherent intrigue I see a landscape of interesting history.

We are in the age of fit vs fat.

It’s fascinating to see content that says…. Loose fat, cheap, healthily and fast.

This movement of getting fit really kicked high gear in the late 80s and 90s where the idea of personal fitness outside of dedicated sports athletes was becoming common place. I am born of the 90s and raise by those who lived through this movement. Running was one of the first encouraged types of exercise for the average person.

Now we are in times where you can find content that says…. Gain lots of fat, cheap, healthily and fast.

I bring this difference view points up because of the polarizing stigma.

When I am on point and on a solid streak of fitness and healthy practices I can notice a difference in my attitude towards others. During the early days of COVID my partner and I picked up running as the gyms were closed. I got to a point where I was doing 5k runs almost daily with a 20k total bike and run on the weekends.

My attitude towards those who had less discipline was disgust. Judgement!

“You can make that decision 100 times and fail.” -Ethan Suplee

This judgmental mindset is something David Goggins highlights in his book. He explains how you may be getting after it each day but that doesn’t mean others have to either. The expectations placed on ones self is for no one but you.

Ethan makes an excellent point above when it comes to achieving a goal. If you don’t know about Ethan Suplee just make a quick google of this beast of a man.

Ethan was a co-star of one of the shows I would watch non-stop in my youth…. My Name is Earl.

Ethan was always casted as an over weight character so his life encouraged the weight to be packed on.

His heaviest was over 500lbs and he talks about how only in the recent 5 years has he been under 200lbs with mostly muscle instead of over 300lbs of excess fat.

What a spectacle to be had for sure.

Humble.

Thats the key to having success without being a douche about it.

Remember you can try 100 times and still fail. So the real lesson is never stop trying again.

If you continue to persist something must come of it.

Falling in love with the process as it were.

So for myself I recognized this judgement mindset that made me think I am superior based on my efforts in comparison. Instead recognize that not everyone wants to be a savage much less should be expected to be because I want to be.

Walking down the dreary hallway as the fluorescent lights hanging in their sockets by what only seems like the electrical current giving it enough juice to flicker. Nausea creeps up on you like a stalker. The faint sound of ripping, gnashing and slurping is heard down the hall. The smell of putrid regret inhabits your nose like a squatter in a vacant house. You turn the corner….. What you see chills you too the bone.

It’s you eating yourself alive.

We often become our own zombies, but not in a physical sense. This type of cannibalism is that of the mind.

As we are human and a species with the gift of thinking about thoughts we also tend to over analyze them. Like ever so many clouds drifting by in the sky so do our thoughts….

The difference is we think thoughts have any more tangibility to use than a cloud. So instead of simply pop open an umbrella we will often choose to sit in the rain as it floods the city of our mind.

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!! Heavy Storms Poor Down on a Reporter simply doing his job, “THIS IS STEW WITH CHANNEL 4 AND WE HAVEN’t SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE!” Stew grips his microphone and the stop sign beside him as the waters try to break his balance. “WE ARE DOOMED AND ALL HOPE IS LOST!!!” “WHY AM I EVEN OUT HERE!”
”IS THIS WHERE I DIE!?”

This is how it can feel to be swept away from such powerful persuasion of our own thoughts. I grew up watching such torture befall my own mother.

Watching my Mom struggle to get out of bed simply because there was no energy to be had was one of the best things for me to have seen growing up. Looking back at it now my Mom’s highs and lows were very informative and have taught me how powerful the mind can be.

Aggression was always my outlet and that is only because I choose to turn the raw emotional energy into aggression as I have always been able to turn that into workout energy.

My Mother’s struggle taught me that even an invisible monster can be as real as one gripping your neck in the physical.

The difference of course is that it is just a thought.

I learned healthy detachment growing up. You can also label it as perspective, but I think spicy language reads better. Being able to separate ones self from thought allows you to watch them drift by like the ad on a bus.

All hope is never lost and there is always another way. Anything is possible.

My Mother always found her way out of these crippling thoughts and her way was the motivation of her child. Grounding herself in what I needed would prompt her to find something for us to do that would pull the dark curtain from her mind.

Find what grounds you.

Understand a thought is simply just a cloud and you can dodge the rain and if nothing else us an umbrella.

I suppose this is a letter to myself, A painting on the cave wall, A tracking of ones mind in a given space of time, Being Constant is only so when you are conscious about it, And I intend on Being Constant.

My partner wrote in her Blog Post “Effortful Maintenance” how to sustain a feeling of personal enlightenment, you must sustain a level of gradual improvement through sustained effort.

I have always had a stubborn mind so those who relate this is a nod to you. Being stubborn has been a gift not a curse. Stubborn can also mean you don’t give up easy. So if you can manage to be open to learning, growing and changing for the better then your intention fueling “the stubbornness” becomes pointed in the correct direction.

Pointing my stubbornness comes together with a few factors… Creating Little Wins: I recommend picking one major field in your life that works as a foundation. This could be your fitness, nutrition, mental rituals, morning/evening routines, learning, your career or a hobby. Once you have decided which will be your base then you make a commitment to yourself to at all else alway have this one thing be done well always. I choose nutrition as for me if I’m eating well it encourages the fitness, the fitness encourages mental rituals and that trifecta triggers the rest. Creating these base wins makes sure that you are never truly out for good. Plan, Plan & Start: Once you establish what your base is make a plan that is simple to execute with little thought. Start tomorrow or if possible now. The sooner the better. Believe in Yourself or at worst Fake It: I’m not saying lie to yourself…. if you aren’t giving enough do better tomorrow and always climb. But while art the bottom of Everest looking up it wont help to think it’s impossible. Every single step will become its own achievement as you go. Build to the top. Back Yourself Up: Be your best hype person. I love where I am told I can’t do something or something isn’t possible. My mother taught me no one can tell you what you can do only you can do that for yourself. My father taught me that there is always a way. So my response to “haters”? Find your nearest megaphone and repeat the following like a military drill sergeant! “F@CK YOU WATCH ME!”

This Stubborn Pride is why if I feel something isn’t right I can’t sit and do nothing about it. Because if I stop myself from improving I am dying. To be clear there is a difference between lashing out to injustice and asking questions in the pursuit of understanding and awareness.

My partners blog post is a beautiful way to explain that you decide if you want to exist powerfully or let life pass you up. Her post also reminds me that I found a strong partner that for herself she wants her own greatness. I have found that when you are with someone that is more than a wife, girlfriend, friend, but a partner that is an equal. She bolsters my favorite qualities within me and my stubborn belief embodies us both.

We are two rockets strapped together pointed in a similar direction.

So… Watch me!

P.S. -These kinds of declarations tend to wield some lessons in the future. I hope to discover them.

Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you. -John C Maxwell