Set Higher Standards by YogiRavi

If you’ve watched this video from my last post, you probably picked up on this theme. It’s a clue into one of life’s great mysteries. Success depends on both talent and skill. They are similar but radically different at the same time. One is a gift you have been given. The other is completely up to you.

Incredible Talent + Years of Acquired Skill

Talent is something that you acquire due to your genes, upbringing, experiences as a child, etc. You have them or you don’t. Maybe your father took you out on the golf course since the age of 5, or enrolled you in swim lessons as a pre-schooler, or you had that piano sitting in your living room in the house you grew up in, maybe you happened to be very tall, maybe you have incredible hand-eye coordination, maybe you have a photographic memory, etc.

Skill is something you acquire by working hard day after day. The most talented person in the world will get schooled by a hard-worker if they don’t train hard and focus (as an example,  watch the movie “Tyson,” I just did and it is quite good). I think we all know examples of people who seemed to cruise through school without studying….only to hit a wall in college or in the workforce when skating buy doesn’t cut it. Without skill a talented person will have no way of illustrating their craft in the world – they will lack the physical and intellectual capability to live up to their potential.

Not Your Typical Runner

Similarly, someone who lacks natural talent can overcome and excel through acquired skill. Look at Dean Karnazes, not a natural runner by body-type,  but boy can he run and run and run (for hundreds of miles at time)! Look at the numerous corporate leaders with learning disabilities (e.g. Billionaire Richard Branson has written about his dyslexia). Muggsy is another example, how someone who is 5′ 3″ can excel in the NBA is beyond me (and at that block 39 shots???!).

However, put the two together and you really have an explosive combo. What are you talented at? Are you willing to put the required effort in to really develop your skills in the area? How will your life, and the world, be different if you did so? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to cultivate your potential?

As the new year approaches, these questions are worth some thought.

Came across some notes from from a few Tony Robbins programs I attended. As we emerge from the holiday’s and the overeating that typically goes along with it, these will come in handy to help us get back on track.

Eight Key Principles for Maximum Nourishment….as taught by Tony Robbins

1. Break your fast every morning with green vegetables, green juices, non-acid producing, low-sugar fruits and fruit juices or light alkalizing foods only
2. Properly combine your foods for maximum health. Eat one concentrated food in a meal and do not combine carbohydrates and proteins in the same meal
3. Eat comfortable amounts of food to maximize energy and nutrition
4. Consume quality oils (Udo’s oil, flax, primrose and olive oil)
5. Do not eat when you are stressed or tired
6. Do not drink water during meals (dilutes the digestive fire)
7. Eat organic food whenever possible
8. Do not eat condensed foods, especially animal proteins, immediately before going to bed

Other general tips….

• Consume 70% from water-rich foods (raw-living foods) – have a salad with every meal!
• Avoid animal flesh – it’s highly acid-producing
• Avoid dairy – it’s highly acid producing
• Eliminate acid-addictions (caffeine, sugar, salt, nicotine, alcohol)
• Eliminate processed fats

Try the above for 10 days and see how you feel! Make it a 10 day challenge to your own health and wellness. Ask a buddy to join you!

I’ve always been a big fan of Will since Fresh Prince days. Even his cheesier movies (“Men in Black” anyone?) were at least entertaining.

Lately, he’s had a string of films (Legend of Baggar Vance, Pursuit of Happiness, Seven Pounds, I Am Legend) that are far deeper than the typical blockbuster. Touching on themes one might expect from “The Secret” or a Tony Robbins seminar, but come as a pleasant surprise from someone whose films have grossed $5 billion globally.

I guarantee that this short clip will be the best thing you watch today. I’ve seen it over a dozen times. Enjoy!

It’s so much easier to go with the flow. If you have ever been on a rafting trip, you know what I mean. You can spend all your energy paddling against the current and not go anywhere. You can also decide to go with the current and move with hardly any effort at all.

Sometimes going with the flow means that you will hit some rapids or some rocks. These can be tricky but if you are present and aware you can get through the mess. After rapids you usually some of the calmest waters around.

Putting in a solid effort is important to get solid results. However it really pays to put in effort in the smartest way. Instead of fighting the current, go with it, and use your effort to guide you to where you really want to go, using the current as a helper.

If you really are going with the flow of things, life won’t seem so hard. You’ll notice that the wind and waters really are at your back pushing you along, you just need to let them!

An short but profound story by Alan Watts. Enjoy.