The Savage Philosopher

Showing up This week I learned the value of simply showing up. Simply by getting out of bed and putting on pants, I gained six hours of one on one coaching and business development with a specific focus on a business I am trying to do. My initial expectation was to make a couple of networking contacts and possibly learn about some local resources. But by the end of the day, my expectation was blown away. A couple of weeks ago I called my uncle about learning how to run a small business. He took over the family business a number of years ago and figured that he had some good insights on situation. Well, he directed me to go to the library and see if they were sponsoring any business classes. I have been to the library before and I did not see anything on that subject, but I also wasn’t looking for it. So the next time I took my daughter to get another 10 books to read over the week; I took the time to see if my uncle is right. And of course he was. In about two weeks from th

The Frog. Moving back to America. I am currently moving back to America after spending five years overseas. Moving is hard anyway. Moving over an ocean with a family has an undescribable difficulty level. It has been done by many people before me, and will be done by many more after. None of that takes away from the personal stress of having to do it. And then to add complexity to the issue, I decided to buy a house. A thousand things to do. As with any move there are many things that need to be done. While still overseas, I need to worry about everything from closing out with the current landlord, shipping cars, insuring all the utilities are going to be paid, ensuring my current organisation has everything they need for me, and have a temporary place to stay before I fly out. And of course I am simultaneously doing all the paperwork required to buy a house back in the States. To accomplish everything, I need to rely on many people and things I don't have control over. Doing

What I really learned during a 46 hour fast. Over the past two months or so I have been trying to fast for 24 hours straight. Each day that I have attempted it, I have failed horribly. The reasons behind doing the fast in the first place is to simply to do the fast. To prove to myself that I can conquer my Hunger. Well this strategy completely failed. More recently, I've had a dramatic change in motivation. I have been forced to shed about 10 lbs of unnecessary fat. This is an external motivation that is internally desired. Meaning that I wish to fill the requirement, but the requirement came from an external source. With this new found motivation I was able Conqueror the first 24 hours without even thinking about it. It was so easy. When the second 24 hours past I was worried that food may not ever be needed. I was seriously beginning to consider the link to hunger is more connected to our emotional state than to actually needing nutrients. After 36 hours I started to realise

Humans have been able to dominate this planet because of our ability to create and use advanced tools. The smartphone is no different. The ability of technology to enhance our capability dramatically increases our productivity. Right now I am forced to write this blog using my phone. Last month, my primary computer died, and I have been at a loss on how to effectively get my thoughts out of my head and onto a blog. I am able to draft this post in Google Docs and use Google Voice to text feature to get the majority of the text on the page. Then as I read through, I can make simple edits using the keyboard. My typing skills are very adequate at 55 words per minute, but I can speak at 150 words per minute. As long as I can focus my thoughts on what I want to say, voice to text is 3 times more efficient on getting words on paper. The majority of the work to ensure a quality blog has always been in the editing process anyways. The unification of the voice to text and using Google Docs for

All authority must be given and cannot be taken. Those in charge may be disillusioned that somehow they ‘forced’ their authority, but in reality it was a choice by the person being ‘ruled’ to choose to be ruled. This begs the question, “how is control obtained?” What is it that the ruled do to specifically give others authority over them. My answer: Obligation When we agree to an obligation we are giving over our control to the obligation. We give over our control in our; promises to ourselves, promises to others, and promises to God. The promises we make to ourselves generally fall into changing the type of person we are. We want to be a better person, a healthy person, or a charitable person. Every day I strive to be a better friend, parent, and spouse. I’m not always as successful as I would like, and when that occurs I feel like a ‘failure’. I feel that I failed to live up to the obligation I set before myself. This pain is a point of control. I make stives to eat well,

What does it take to make the impossible look possible? Elon Musk at SpaceX have given us a glimpse of that yesterday (25 Jun 2017). SpaceX flawlessly launched the Falcon 9 rocket with a multiple satellite deployment and returned the booster to the floating dock in the pacific. It is hard to put into words how impossible this was just a few years ago. This may be a turning point in human history. The place in time where we look back and say, “This is when we started to make a difference in space operations.” The only thing that has been prohibiting us from doing this sooner was cost. The cost was too high to go through the failures that are required to achieve breakthrough technology. SpaceX have effectively cut the current cost in half and the next phase of tech will cut it down to almost ⅕ the average. This will allow for more launches and more opportunity to improve on the technology at a faster rate than anyone else. Here is an excerpt from SpaceX on the launch ye

A journey of self-discovery has ended. I have defeated the main boss, received the treasure, and now back in the ‘real’ world. I have been changed on a fundamental level and I can no longer do the things I did before as this hero’s tale has come full circle and I bring my boon back home. The Boon. The treasure I gain by defeating the main boss of ‘undisciplined action’ and ‘small vision’ is a new sense of purpose and an upgrade in self-confidence. I learned that if I want to have a huge impact in the world I cannot do it alone. More than just building a team around myself to propel my career and success, I need to build other people’s teams to propel THEIR career and success. Only by developing other leaders into leaders can I even hope to achieve any sense of world-wide impact. This new purpose came with it a serious increase in my own self-confidence. Confidence is the gravity that pulls the universe inline with your goals. I originally thought that this idea was bulls

I was laying in my bed one Saturday morning watching a number of YouTube videos on personal development. Somehow the rabbit hole I was following led me the topic of OMAD, One Meal A Day.  According to a number of different so-called experts, this particular diet increased longevity, productivity, and overall health of the human body. I have been thinking about fasting as a way to decrease the number of calories I consume over course of a week anyway. I decided that this Saturday would be the first time I attempt this diet. I failed. I did not fail because I was hungry, I failed because it did not organize my life around this idea. That weekend made me realise how dependent I was to the timestamp of the three meal a day plan. For the following month, I attempted the OMAD meal plan with mixed success. The days I failed were the days I felt obligated to eat another meal with my family. My eventual solution was to get my family on board with my meal plan and not expect me to eat multiple

I have two daughters and I am always looking for female role models to inspire them to be strong and independent. As a long time comic book fan, there are few heroines compared to the number of heros available to model. The choices range from super sexy Black Widow to muscle bond She-Hulk. Both are awesome, but neither represent the values I would like my daughters to center on. Here comes Wonder Woman to save the day. The on-screen adaptation in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was as awesome as it was inspiring. She was portrayed as elegant in long evening gowns and then as fierce in her armor. I was very happy to see this dichotomy accepted by both my daughters. That a woman can be strong and feminine. And in Wonder Woman’s case, her feminism is her strength. I believe that having role models is very important in forming who we think we are. As part of the Human species, we tend to learn best by watching others. How to act and react to life’s situations are programed in

Pick something that you think is just out of reach. An accomplishment you have never done before and you think will take everything you have to finish. Some of the things that are out of my reach deal with the mechanical, physical, and mental aspects of my world. I have never changed my oil in my car before. This is something that I thought was far beyond my mechanical skill. So tomorrow, I will change the oil in my car all by myself. This will be a significant milestone in my mechanical career. I just never considered myself a car guy. Doing mechanical things simply is not in my current identity. This task was stretched who I think I am. I also just received the books for my school classes, business management and sociology. My goal is to finish both classes before June 5th 2017. Finishing these classes within the first week of the semester will be a significant achievement for me. I normally waite to the very last second that finished the classes. Sucking a at class work has been

You will expand to the size of your goals and dreams. Limited only by where you think you should be and your comfort zone. Dan Lok talks about how self image is a key to unlock out potential and achieve our goals. Who we believe we are, we become. This means who you are creates the life you live. We can approach this from two directions. We can change how we think and we can change what we do. At some point our thoughts and actions justify our identity, and we become the person who is big enough to fill our big goals and dreams. As Dan Lok said, "Who do I need to be..."

I see myself as a Savage and a Philosopher. I try not to shy away from the brutality of life, but use the opportunity to learn. These past couple of days have been brutal on my psyche as I am no longer distracted by the normal rhythms of routine. I dig deep into what drives me, I need to accept what I find as my truth (at this time). Then, if I choose, I can change. I spent the most of the day yesterday in a couple different types of meditation in an effort to get to my core, or at least into a deeper part of my subconscious. Results: I am truly happy when I am teaching. The topic of the book I’m going to write is on ‘Small Team Leadership’. I need to understand how to set up systems. Review of Yesterday. Overall, a lot of adulting got done. The dishes, bathroom, laundry, and some of the rooms were tidied up. I wish I could take the credit for all the activity, but to my surprise my kids decided on their own to chip in. They took care of the bathroom and living

Yesterday was mostly successful. I have found that eating one meal a day is very difficult unless I am with people that eat one meal a day (or by myself). Other than that, I did get a couple of blogs out and had the time to research how to write a book and the volunteer opportunities in my area. Every day I seek to learn more about myself and the reasons why I do what I do. Yesterday I struggled to keep my cool while my pre-teen daughter did what pre-teen daughters do, drive their fathers crazy. I was good initially and then got tired of the attitude and then realized that I simply did not have the skills to handle it. So I called the Mom. She brilliantly deescalated the situation and we made it through the rest of the night. What I learned is that I still have some learning to do. So I will add building a stronger relationship and reducing the frustration between me and my daughters to the list of accomplishments I want to have on this reset. Review of Yesterday. As I ment

How to have a kickass day.  I want to take a few moments this evening and talk about how to have a kickass day by creating a morning ritual. The purpose is to prime your day the same way everyday, so that you can have consistent results.  Start the morning right. Here are three simple steps that I use every morning to get ready for the day. Do not be underwhelmed by there simplicity. I recommend you practice them with an experimental mindset and see the results for yourself before you judge them.  1. Make your bed. I get up really early and my wife is still sleeping. This does not stop me from taking my blanket, folding it half long ways, and laying it down on my side of the bed. After I take a moment to smooth it out, I top it off with my pillow. This is the first thing I do right after my feet hit the floor.  This first step is the trigger for the next thing, writing in my gratitude journal. It also puts me into a productive mood. I can say at the end of the day th

I am inspired to take control of my life from the clutches other people’s obligations and the entrapment of other people’s desires. These are the reasons why I have not found the time nor priority to do this blog, which I love. At first, I thought it was I just out of things to say. A barren dustbowl of topics that I cared about had dried up like the desert. I had said all the things that I could say. In reality, I couldn’t find the time to even think. As I am on the cusp of a two week staycation, I can hear the faint voice of expression. It is as if my mind had been burdened with so much ‘stuff’ that it was being suffocated. In taking my first gasp of air in a long time, I see that it was the weight of the chains put on me that was bringing me down. Like an anchor, I was sinking to the bottom of the sea. I promised in the title that this will be a how-to guide. So here it is; How-to Take Control of Your Life: Step 1: Realize that your depression may not be of your making and

Who are the people in your life? Are they the ones that motivate, inspire, and pull you up to your greatness? Are they the ones that draw on your energy, make life harder, and pull you down to your baseness? And, who are you to them? The Human species are social animals and our ability to work as a pack through collaboration is what has allowed us to leap to the top of the food chain. It isn’t our thumbs, squirrels have thumbs. Nor is it our ability to think, lots of animals can think to varying degrees. What has protected our weak flesh, brittle bones, and lack of natural offensive capability (even my cats have claws), is our ability to work together for a common cause. Now that some of us no longer have to struggle to just live everyday, how has our pack/tribe evolved? I’m going to refer to your closest friends as your pack. It is a much more accurate term than tribe due to scale. We would of had the type of pack in the days of survival who are good hunters and would share their sk

Who owns you? To what obligations have you promised? Do you have freedom of choices or freedom of choice? Every day I evaluate my life and try to measure what I am doing to what I believe I can do. I find that most days, my assessment is aligned. If I believe I can do it, then I normally accomplish it. But this makes me wonder about the limitations of belief. What would happen if I suddenly chose to believe that I could do something I never had done before? Let’s say it is something that ‘has’ been done before, just not by me. If I believe that I could do it, then could I? And now let’s take this up to the next level. There are an infinite number things that we could do that haven’t been done yet. How do we assess the reasonable from the impossible? Or is it all possible with enough ingenuity and creativity. These particular Human attributes that define us from the other species on this planet. This takes me back to my original question of ownership. Freedom is the state of belief.

Never quit! I don't care if you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and it seems like the world is conspiring against you. Get up! Get out! Get Done! The world is not meant to be easy. It is meant to be brutal. It is meant to shape us into better Humans and show us the difference between surviving and thriving. How many times do we just not feel like doing the things that we had decided to do? And then, after we pressed on anyways, wondered why it was such a struggle to get started?  We have the advantage and disadvantage of being able to assign meaning to the events that occur in our life. You know you have done this when the words, "it was meant to be" escapes your lips. Animals, do not have the cognitive ability for this type of imaginative creative storytelling. So why do we? Is this the first hint that maybe we are something more than just flesh on bone driven by animal instinct. (Notice the period and not the question mark at the end of the last