50 Books in 50 Weeks – Nook Book
Who You’ve Been Ain’t Who You’ve Gotta Be
50 Books in 50 Weeks – Nook Book
Who You’ve Been Ain’t Who You’ve Gotta Be
So how does a guy who rides a board and hangs out with people that say “dude” a lot, have any wisdom for the high-powered corporate gods of Wall Street or the political wizards of Washington? Laird Hamilton in his book, Force of Nature: Mind, Body, Soul, And, of Course, Surfing, lays out several life lessons that if we all started to use life might just get better for everybody.
Even with this project with 50 books in 50 weeks, I know that there are lessons I am missing and times I just run out of room to write about what I have learned. At that point, I just tell myself that “I and you, got everything you needed to out of this blog, and you have the references and if something clicks, you can pick up the book, which I encourage you to do, and continue to learn.”
Hamilton’s final thoughts in his book are for his passion and his career, surfing. But he does offer a few words of wisdom on family that are worth remembering, particularly since what he does for a living is dangerous.
“I brought my kids into this world – they didn’t ask to be born – but it seems wrong if I stop being myself because of them. It’d almost be cheating them.” (Hamilton 159).
Gabby Reece, Hamilton’s wife, echoes his sentiment: “You always want to make sure your children are safe, but when you’re too fearful, you’re going to pass that onto them.”
Hamilton says that the most important thing you can give to your children is love and time – lots and lots of time (p 160). Give them grown-up answers to questions, have incredible patience and tolerance (remember, they don’t have your life experience yet) and keep in mind that you owe your children everything you are and everything you’ve got (Hamilton 160).
Hmm, that sounds like we’re living a life of contribution where we’re always looking to give of ourselves to others rather than take. Now, imagine if corporate executives and managers treated their subordinates this way. Imagine if our political party members treated each other with this way. Imagine if parents treated their kids this way. Imagine if we all remembered that we reap what we sow and by being difficult and cantankerous and unreasonable we are just inviting more of that to our lives. Imagine if people understood understood that they don’t always understand why things happen that they just sometimes do. Imagine if we did not complain so much about everybody else and go around, as Stephen Covey was fond of saying, “confessing everybody else’s sins.” Imagine if we used our words wisely, embraced new and effective ways of doing things and did it all with a smile on our face. Imagine that if something did not work out that we could learn our lessons from and then rather than demonizing the people who failed. I wonder what that world would look like.
Hamilton, Laird. Force of Nature: Mind, Body, Soul, And, of Course, Surfing. New York: Rodale, 2008. Print.
Do you think it was a good thing that Captain Chesley Sullenberger had a flight plan on that day he landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River? Obviously, the flight plan did not call for an encounter with a flock of geese, nor a water landing but the fact that the good… Continue Reading
Ever had a tough time making a decision? Of course, we all have. Wouldn’t it just be easier to be Mr. Spock and make every decision based on logic? Unfortunately, that doesn’t work either. Since I am a person that often cannot decide what to eat for dinner let alone make major life decisions, I… Continue Reading
“Aren’t there some jobs where it doesn’t matter if you’re there or not?” This was a question posed by a student the other day. It came during a discussion when I was encouraging my students to make a difference at every job they are at. My answer: yes, in fact every job is that way… Continue Reading
Practical Goal Setting for 2016, Part 5 Step 3: Prepare for the Journey and Execute! New Year’s is the time when most people set goals. . . and when most people stop pursuing goals. Some of us make it a few days, or weeks, while some people have given up before they’ve sobered up! But,… Continue Reading
Practical Goal Setting for 2016, Part 4 Step 2: figure out what you REALLY want, and why. If you’ve followed the goal setting steps thus far, you should have a pretty good-sized list of stuff you want, things you want to accomplish, the kind of person you want to be, and how you’re going to… Continue Reading
It’s time to take step 1: figure out what you want. Some of you will find this very easy because you’re the sort whose always known where you’re going, while others aren’t sure which path to take. If you’re not sure where you’re going, or where you want to go, just pick a path and… Continue Reading
Goal setting can be overwhelming. Once we’re done writing down everything we want to do, become, see, and have in our lives, we are left with a prodigious to-do list and don’t even know where to start. There are a variety of books, apps and processes that are supposed to help guide you in building… Continue Reading
As we approach the New Year many of us began the process of goal setting for the next year. Unfortunately, within about the first two weeks the vast majority of people who have set goals, will have either forgotten about them or allow them to be pushed aside by other priorities. I thought it would… Continue Reading
Sometimes you just have to read “Go Dog Go.” The other day I had a problem with my new iPad. I headed to the Apple Store for the solution at the Genius Bar. I almost always have positive experiences at the Genius bar and I had no reason to believe this day would be any… Continue Reading