All tagged Personal Achievement

The Obstacle To Taking Risks

Taking risks is a challenging idea when it comes to implementation.

When the rubber meets the road, and we have the opportunity to actually do something, that’s when we find out whether or not we’re actually ready.

It’s tempting to think that the right resources will help us bridge the gap, or that having the right people around us will help, or even that our own personal (decades of) expertise will be enough.

Nature Loads The Gun...

Nature loads the gun, nurture pulls the trigger. Or genes load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

I believe this phrase (using “genes” and “lifestyle” instead of “nature” and “nurture”) was first used in a research paper about obesity, but it applies to so many aspects of our lives. It speaks to the complexity of life, of how we might be oriented and what we might be able to influence.

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 111

Today's episode is a reflection on Bono, U2's legendary frontman. It's based on a post I wrote shortly after watching them perform The Joshua Tree live in Chicago.

Bono represents the ideal when it comes to achievement. He does what he loves, has achieved tremendous success and uses this fame and success to do more for others. It's an ideal worth us pursuing in our own ways.

The Idea Of Work

Where’s your head when you’re doing work?

Are you focused on the work itself - on exploring the nuances, the difficulties, navigating the actions needed to ensure it’s done the right way?

Or are you focused on just getting through it - simply finishing and moving on to the next item on your (never ending) To-Do list?

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 32

This month's podcast draw lessons from the world around us, specifically the sports and entertainment arenas. I focus on specific games or movies or entertainers and the lessons we can draw from what they've done or experienced or said.

In today's podcast, I go back to Super Bowl 51 and the amazing comeback that the New England Patriots made in that game, and what it can teach us all about perseverance and achievement in the face of the worst possible odds.

"Is A Dream Alive If It Dont Come True?"

“Is a dream alive if it don’t come true, or is it something worse?”

I’ve been thinking a lot about Bruce’s words from The River. There’s a gravity in them - a sense of frustration, but more than that, a sense of finality and hopelessness. 

Now, I know the specifics of that song and the context within which he sang those words, but as with all things Bruce, his words apply to so much of how we live our lives and the paths we choose to take and the people we choose to love.

Creativity Is About Being Fearless

As someone who grew up on Queen’s music, I remember how good they were in their prime. I especially remember their performance at Live Aid back in 1985, as I watched it on TV in my living room in Hong Kong. When Mercury and Queen came on, they electrified the crowd - both those sitting in the audience at Wembley, as well as the millions who watched from their living rooms around the world. In fact, there were two acts that really stole the show that day and Queen was one of them.

The Myth of The Top Ten List

There are at least 15 colleges that deserve a place in the top 10 best colleges in the country. There are 20 restaurants that can credibly argue that they are one of the 5 best restaurants in your city. And if you and I were so inclined, we could absolutely name 25 guitarists who could reasonably stake a claim to being among the 10 best guitarists ever.

The Thing About Finding Your Own Way

In the novel, Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, Siddartha, a man beset by an inner restlessness and search for enlightenment, meets Gotama Buddha. He has heard Gotama's teachings, and despite being impressed by their clarity and perfection of thought, he informs him that he, Siddartha, cannot become one of his followers, but needs to choose his own path to enlightenment.

"Don't Think You Are. Know You Are."

In the movie, "The Matrix", Neo's (Keanu Reeves' character) education - his understanding, acceptance of, as well as his ability to fulfill his true potential - is centered around belief. Belief that the world as he has known it has been defined by someone else's rules. Belief that these rules are there for a specific purpose, and that this purpose is not only serving someone else's goals, they are limiting his true potential.