MFC - Days 34 - 38

Days 34 - 38 - Wow, I've missed posting a few days.  Things have been pretty busy which is really no excuse but that's all I've got.  I've been getting a lot of reading and listening to cds in.  I really need to set some time aside to post and reflect.

MFC - Days 31, 32, & 33

Days 31, 32, & 33 - I had an employee at my job today complain because he wasn't being allowed to fix stuff during his training period.  I asked him if he ever saw "Karate Kid" and explained to him that just as Daniel had to "wax on, wax off" for a period of time so that he could learn the principles before putting it together to fight, he also was learning the principles prior to letting him fix anything without supervision.  I thought it was clever.  I don't think he'll last long.

MFC - Day 30

Day 30 - Today I interviewed a few people to work for the park.  I am always amazed at how many applicants have no idea where they are going in life.  I recall one applicant that was in his 3rd year of college and when I asked him what type of job he hoped to get with his degree; he responded "I don't even know what jobs are available for someone with my degree."  I get this response quite often and I am amazed that someone would go to college just to go to college.  It seems like very few actually have a plan for their future.  I am great full for the things I have learned in LIFE and The Mental Fitness Challenge to put me on track to living the life I always wanted.

MFC - Days 27, 28, & 29

Days 27, 28, & 29 - It's been pretty busy and I haven't been near a computer so I it's been hard to post the past few days.  Yesterday was great!  I went for another bike ride, went to the beach and read, and hung out with some friends.  I couldn't help myself from laughing at the beach while I was reading - was I working out at the beach?  I think a few people may have found it odd that I was highlighting in the book I was reading.

MFC - Day 25 & 26

Day 25 & 26 - Work has really been sucking up a bunch of my time.  I've worked a little over 70 hours so far this week with 2 days yet to go.  I've been able to listen to cds regularly, but reading has been difficult.  I'll be making up for that soon.  Sorry for the short posts, but I'm exhausted!

MFC - Day 23 & 24

Day 23 & 24 - I worked 30 of last 48 hours.  I still managed to get cd's in, but other than that I have a bit of catching up to do in the reading category.  The Mental Fitness Challenge has really helped me get through these past few day.  A couple of more weeks with heavy hours and it should taper off just a little.

MFC - Day 22

Day 22 - Today was quite the struggle with attitude.  I'm pretty sure there was a time or two that I was less than positive.  I did, however, manage to turn a few negative situations into positive ones via a positive attitude. The Mental Fitness Challenge definitely helps as a constant reminder.

MFC - Day 21

Day 21 - What an awesome day!  I went for a bike ride - something I haven't done in a very long time, went to the beach to do some reading, and had a family cookout.

The bike ride was great.  I only went for about a half hour, but I'm borrowing a bike and it needs a few things fixed so I didn't want to go too far.  That, and I didn't want to go so far that I couldn't make it back - I'm a bit out of practice.

I always love the beach.  It's great to enjoy God's majesty while reading a great book.  The beach where I go brought a bunch of kite surfers out because of the breezy conditions, which is always fun to watch.  Here's a not-so-great picture of one of them getting some air-time!

It's pretty crazy that there were only about 8 people on the beach where I was.  It covers about a half mile stretch and the water is about 250 yards from where you park. There's another half mile of beach adjacent to it that was packed - with only a 30 yard walk from parking.  I'm not sure if people are lazy or if I'm missing something, but I enjoy the space.  I read for about an hour and got a bit sun-burnt which is typical for the first trip to the beach of the year.  It's kind of like the Mental Fitness Challenge.  When you first get into it you may be a bit overwhelmed, but after sticking with the program, it becomes something you love.  That may not be the best analogy, but hopefully you get the idea (all one reader)!

MFC - Day 19 & 20

Day 19 & 20 - I have to admit that yesterday after a long day of work, I fell asleep as soon as I got home so I didn't get any reading in.  I look forward to making it up at the beach tomorrow.  The weather has been fabulous and one of my favorite things to do is to relax and read on the beach!

MFC - Day 18

Day 18 - With the focus still being on attitude, I actually found it a bit easier today.  Things are still crazy at my job, but I found myself starting out with a positive attitude as opposed to stopping myself in the middle of letting negative (or sarcasm) come out.  Looking forward to seeing how tomorrow goes!

Dr. Ben Carson in the movie "Gifted Hands"

I recently watched a movie called "Gifted Hands" which I found to be pretty inspiring.  I love movies based on real life and this one proved to be worth it.  Ben Carson played by Cuba Gooding, Jr. starts out life with less-than-ideal circumstances.  He has trouble in school, had a bad temper, and lived in a fatherless home.  He did, however, have a very special mother that believed in her children and taught them that despite their circumstances, they could be anything they dreamed of if they worked at it.  She encouraged Ben to use his imagination (elephant - from "The Ant and the Elephant" book by Bill Peet) and learned early on that television was not going to aid in getting their dreams.  She limited their tv time to 2 pre-determined shows per week.  When they complained, she sent them to the library and told them to read 2 books per week.

This turned out to be a changing point in young Ben Carson's life.  He began to love reading and started his self-directed education.  He quickly turned his failing grades around and became one of the smartest students at his school.  He would devour books in any subject that interested him and eventually settled in to the biology field, which led him to be a doctor.  He was amazed at the power and mystery of the brain calling it the only part of the body that really is a miracle.  Every other part of the body was pretty well understood and you could predict what would happen...except the brain.  The brain was so powerful that no one really knew how it could do what it does.  This led him to be a neurologist.

The most inspiring part of the story for me was how he pretty much learned all he knew from reading books. It was the way he learned and even skipped college lectures while he read and excelled beyond many of his peers.  He became one of the most educated doctors in his field primarily from his own studies outside of the formal classroom.  This is very much like what the "Mental Fitness Challenge" provides.  I am pretty sure I read more non-fiction, life-changing books than the average person.  But who wants to be average?  

Here's a summary of the movie from Wikipedia:

The movie begins in present day 1987, where Dr. Ben Carson (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) goes to Germany to visit a couple named Peter and Augusta Rausch, who have twins conjoined at the head. Ben knows that chances of saving them both will be at risk, because one baby always dies in situations like that. Ben agrees to do the operation, but he will wait four months so he can come up with a plan to save them both. While looking into some of his books, the movie flashes back to the year 1961, where 11 year old Ben Carson (Jaishon Fisher) starts out life as an African American child from a one-parent home with failing grades at school. Ben has an older brother named Curtis. His mother, who dropped out in the third grade, starts making decisions for him. When her boys need to learn multiplication tables, she has them swear to learn them while she is gone to check herself into a mental institution. When she sees her two sons' success hindered by TV, she schedules timings to watch tv, boys show great interest in watching only a quiz show later on and commands them to read two books per week from the library and give her a book report, she also moves them to better schools.
Meanwhile as time passes, Ben learns how to multiply and to spell. He starts to explore the world of books, and he grows in it. He begins to show a temper; Ben almost hits his mom with a hammer while arguing with her about what pants he should wear for school and almost kills his best friend as a teenager. His friend was saved as the knife that he used to stab him broke when it hit the buckle of his belt.
Having almost killed someone because of his temper, he realizes that he can't do anything about it. He runs to his room and cries out to God, praying that He delivers him from his temper.
He becomes the top student in his eighth grade class, third in his high school class and with hard work and strong determination, he got a scholarship to college, passed the MCAT and went on to medical school. He meets his girlfriend Candy, whom he falls in love with. One day, when he struggles with a test study, she helps him out and Ben eventually passes and gets an A.
In the year 1976, Carson faced adversity from fellow doctors and students while working at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. It is here where he performed an operation as a resident without supervision, risking his medical career to save a man's life. Then in the year of 1985, he saves the life of a girl who has seizures 100 times a day, by removing only half of her brain that was responsible for seizures, procedure called 'hemispherectomy". Candy later becomes pregnant with twins, but loses the babies from a bloody miscarriage. Ben's mother later moves in with the family.
Then the movie goes back to where it began: the year of 1987. Ben is eventually convinced to operate on the two twins, and he manages to make the operation successful, and both twins are saved.

MFC - Day 17

Day 17 - My focus this week is attitude.  It happened to be one of my weaker categories when I did the self-assessment for the Mental Fitness Challenge.  I was self-deceived into thinking I had a pretty good attitude, but turns out I'm pretty critical.  I use sarcasm quite a bit which is not a very good quality when it counts.

Here's how it went today...  With less than a week before the park's big opening day (I probably haven't mentioned it but I'm the Maintenance Manager of an amusement park) things continue to be stressful.  It seems like we have months of work to be ready with less than a week to get it all done.  This isn't my first opening and every year pretty much feels the same level of stress so I should be used to it.  There were many times today that I stopped the sarcastic words from coming out of my mouth as I remembered the Challenge.  I turned to compliments instead finding the good that had been accomplished.  There is still a long way to go, but I think I had another successful day!  Looking forward to another 14 hours day tomorrow.  Wait, was that sarcasm?  I'm looking forward to another productive day tomorrow as we get closer to all the smiles and adventures I'll get to witness as people come from all over to enjoy the hard work we did get the park ready for them!

MFC - Day 16

Day 16 - I think I did pretty good in the attitude category today.  There were multiple times today that I really struggled, by I mentally made an effort to have a positive attitude.  The stress level at work is climbing as opening day approaches giving many opportunities to spread a negative view of things.  I had to re-think the situation many times and spin the potentially negative into a positive which actually accomplished more than when I let my negative seep out.  Hopefully tomorrow proves to be a success as well!

MFC - Day 15

Day 15 - This week's focus is on attitude.  How timely.  This week and next shall prove to be two of the most stressful weeks at work.  With only a little over a week until we open for the season and what seems like 2 months of work to get done, it can be trying times.  I really wish I would have watched Orrin and Chris' MFC video before work today (and probably a dozen times throughout the day)  because I probably came off as having a bad attitude a few times.  I guess if I can make it the next two weeks with a good attitude; I will have shown definitive improvement in the attitude category.

MFC - Day 13 & 14

Day 13 & 14 - Busy weekend, but I did have a great day today with the family for mother's day.  I managed to get some alone car time so I could listen to about 5 cds.  I also gave my niece an "Edge" cd - she loves soccer so hopefully she will enjoy and learn from it.

MFC - Day 12

Day 12 - Worked on my goals for a bit tonight.  Looking for that ahah moment that pushes me through some obstacles.  I really love the cds that come with the Challenge!

MFC - Day 11

Day 11 - I got a lot of reading in last night.  I love it when you get into a book and it energizes you. The only problem is I usually read before going to bed, so the extra energy is not always welcome.  I'm not much of a morning person so reading in the morning would never work - well at least when I have to wake up to go to a job.

I did get to experience a co-worker display great character today. It was something simple, but it instantly made me think of "Roddick's Choice" from Resolved:  13 Resolutions for Life.  Here's a summary:

 In the third round of the 2005 Italian Masters tournament in Rome, Tennis championAndy Roddick was paired against Fernando Verdasco from spain. It was match point in favor of Roddick. When Verdasco hit his second serve, the line judge called the ball "out", and the crowd began to cheer for Roddick. Verdasco moved toward the net to shake hands, as if the match were over. But Andy Roddick didn't accept the point. Instead, he said that the ball was "in" and called the umpire's to a slight indentation on the clay court which showed that the ball had landed on - not beyond - the line. Surprised, the umpire allowed Roddick to overrule him and the point was awarded to Verdasco.Everyone was amazed. In a game not typically played on the honor system - but on the umpire's calls.Roddick had made a call against himself and went on to loose the match.Though Andy Roddick lost the match that day, he gained something far greater. He gained credibility. He gained trust. How did this display of integrity give him credibility? Look at it this way: How are the umpire's going to respond the next time Andy Roddick challenges a call? Most likely, they will treat his challenge with the utmost respect. His reputation is known; his credibility will precede him.Also, how do you think Andy Roddick felt about himself? How might he have felt if he chose to accept the win, knowing all along that the ball really wasn't out? Andy Roddick's behavior on the court that day has become a symbol to me of what I now call 'the Roddick Choice' - demonstrating integrity even when it is costly. It illustrates the clear connection between integrity, credibility, and trust - both with others and with ourselves. 

I explained "Roddick's Choice" to the co-workers nearby.  Hopefully they remember.

Ernest Shackleton

On August 1, 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton set sail with a crew of 28 on an expedition to the Antarctic.  The goal of their expedition was to cross the Antarctic on foot – something never done before.  Shackleton was a successful and highly respected explorer known for his faith, determination and conviction.  He was knighted for his successful expedition to Antarctica in 1907-1908.

In order to recruit his crew of 28 he took applications from 5,000 men.  Many believe that he placed the following ad in a London newspaper to attract the applicants.

While there is no evidence that this ad actually ran, it does quite appropriately frame the environment that Shackleton was trying to recruit for.

This expedition was going to be different than any other one that Shackleton had led.  Five months into the expedition their ship, the Endurance, became stuck in the heavy ice flows near Antarctica.  It was not uncommon for ships to get stuck periodically in the ice flows and Shackleton believed that the ice would eventually recede and free the ship.  His focus was on the expedition and he held fast on that course.  However, over the next three weeks the ship became solidly frozen in the ice.  Attempts to free the ship were futile.  At the end of February, 1915, the crew prepared the ship to become their camp for the remainder of the winter.

At this point, Shackleton abandoned his primary goal for the expedition and turned his focus towards returning to England.  His expedition had become a rescue mission.

By October, eight months after being stuck, the pressure created by the ice finally took its toll on the Endurance.  The ship began to come apart and sink, making it uninhabitable.  The order to abandon ship was given and the entire crew began to salvage as many supplies as they could.  They took the sled dogs, food, gear and three lifeboats and moved their camp to the ice flow next to their sinking ship.  The temperatures were brutal, reaching -15˚F on average.  For the next five months the expedition camped on the ice flow surviving on what little food they had left.  In April the ice flow they were camped on began to break apart.  Shackleton ordered the crew to take only essential supplies and board the life boats.  They fled the disintegrating ice flow and traveled seven days by sea to Elephant Island.  Elephant Island was a barren place to be stranded, made up mostly of rock covered snow with temperatures reaching -20˚.  For the next nine months, under Shackleton’s leadership, the broken expedition remained loyal, optimistic, focused and faithful to their leader’s belief that they would survive.  Ultimately, Shackleton knew that their survival depended upon his ability to reach a whaling outpost that was more than 800 miles across the most treacherous ocean seas in the world.  Determined to save his crew, Shackleton set out in one of the lifeboats with five crew members to make the journey.  The odds of making it were 1 in 100.  Nautical scholars consider this journey by lifeboat to be one of the greatest nautical accomplishments in maritime history.  Shackleton successfully made it to the outpost and returned to Elephant Island with a rescue party four months later.

On August 30, 1916 after 22 months of being stranded on a barren rock in sub zero temperatures, the crew of the Endurance was rescued.  All twenty eight crew members survived the ordeal and most were quick to credit the strong faith of their leader as the catalyst in their survival.

MFC - Day 10

Day 10 - Another busy day, but managed to get 4 cd's in today!  I worked on my goal for a bit and I'm about to get some good reading in.  I love having a structured way to improve my mental fitness.

MFC - Day 8 & 9

MFC Day 8 & 9 - Well I've been pretty busy the last couple of days.  Still managed to complete the challenge tasks, but not much time to post about it.  With the park opening soon the days keep getting longer.  Typically the next couple of months will see me at my job 60 - 90 hours a week.  This year probably won't be much different.  I'm glad I'm doing something positive to help myself (with the challenge)!

MFC - Day 7

Day 7 - I enjoyed getting quite a bit of reading in today.  Slacked and only got 1 cd in so far.  Looking forward to beginning week 2 tomorrow.

MFC - Day 6

Day 6 - I really dislike working on Saturdays.  The only good thing is that the office is quiet and I can listen to cds.  I got in quite a few today and listened to the Tim Marks cd from Module 1 a few times.  It's all stuff I know, but I think I need to hear it over and over again.  Looking forward to Sunday - I usually find more time to read than any other day.

MFC - Day 5

Day 5 is pretty much in the books.  I really got a lot out of the Tim Marks cd in Module 1.  You never know when something will strike a cord with you.

MFC - Day 4

Day 4 - I did quite a bit of reading yesterday.  Orrin Woodward's book "Resolved" is a book that once you start, it's tough to stop.  It's tough not to highlight the entire book, but a few key points I'll share:

• Excellence doesn't occur by accident, but rather from intentional effort correctly applied over time
• Written resolutions should encompass the whole person; literally a plan is devised to develop his character and thinking from who he currently is to whom he desires to be.
• For those who believe in their life's mission then, the resolutions are the how, the purpose is the why, and the vision is the what.
• "They say there are two important days in your life:  the day you were born, and the day you find out why you were born."
• One must learn to say "no" to the "good" so that he has time to say "yes" to the "great".
• "If I cheat when the lights are out, I will be found out under the big lights." - Joe Frazier

I'm starting to get my goals in order as well - still have some fine tuning to do, but I'm on the right track.

Bethany Hamilton

I watched the movie "Soul Surfer" recently and found it to be very inspirational.  I had read about her before but the movie really brought it to life.  Here's a summary of her story:

It was the perfect day for surfing off the coast of Maui.  A 13 year old surfing protégé had just finished riding a twenty foot wave and was lying face down on her surf board.  Preparing to paddle out to catch another wave, her thoughts of becoming a professional surfer shifted in an instant.  Without warning, she felt a tug on her left arm and in a split second she realized that she’d been attacked by a shark.

As she struggled to gain her composure she realized something even more horrifying – the fourteen foot tiger shark had bitten clean through her board, taking her left arm in a single bite.  At that moment in time, survival and not surfing became a priority.

Bethany Hamilton learned to surf at the age of 4.  When she was 8, she entered her first contest and won both of the events that she competed in.  At the age of 10 she placed 1st in the “11 – under girls,” 1st in the “15-under girls,” and 2nd in the “12-under boys” division at the Volcom Puffer Fish contest.  She was determined to become a professional surfer and was certainly on track to make it happen.  Then, in one violently swift moment on that fall day in 2003, it seemed her dreams would be shattered.

However, Bethany was born with the heart of a lion and the competitive spirit of a thoroughbred.  She was determined to return to the water to surf.  Leaning on support from her friends, family and her faith in God, Bethany recovered rapidly and within ten weeks from the attack was surfing again.  Convinced she could overcome her physical challenge, she worked hard to learn to surf around her disability.  But she also had to overcome the psychological fear of another attack.  Bethany would face her fears by singing and praying when she was out on the water.

Incredible as it seems, less than a year from her attack, Bethany returned to competition taking fifth place at the National Surfing Championships and first place at the first event for the Hawaii national Scholastic Surfing Association.  She was recognized by ESPN in 2004 and received an ESPY award for Best Comeback Athlete of the year.

Bethany’s ability to overcome her physical and mental challenges puts her in an elite class of achievers.  She chose to…Finish Strong.

Her unique ability to confront her fears, embrace them and then continue moving forward in the direction of her goals is the perfect definition of courage.

MFC - Day 3

Day three of the Mental Fitness Challenge - things are really beginning to take shape.  Had another busy day today, but was excited to get some learning in!  I requested a few people to assess me - hope that goes well lol!

MFC - Day 2

Day 2 was a busy one.  I managed to get in 2 cd's and will soon do some reading.  I had a few meetings after work and found time to be limited.  Looking forward to day 3!

MFC - Day 1

I started the 90 day Mental Fitness Challenge today!  I re-took the self-assessment test online - didn't really need to but I think it will help me track it throughout the challenge.  I wonder how many of the answers were the same as when I took it yesterday.  I'm working on my goal - feels like I'm always working on my goal.  Perhaps that's a good thing.  The Challenge really has some pretty great videos that really help.  I'm working on lining up some accountability partners and some others to evaluate me.  So far, so good!  Day 1 Complete!

MFC - Day Zero

I'm getting ready to take a 90 Day Mental Fitness Challenge starting tomorrow.  I took the Self-Assessment Test tonight (to get a baseline score) with an overall result of 980.  I don't know if that's good or bad, but I do know I can improve.  I guess I find out when I log in tomorrow what the next step is - I can't wait!

First Post Welcome!

Well here is my first official blog post!  I've helped some others get their blogs started but never really felt I had anything to share that would be worth reading.  I probably don't but I'd figure I'd get one going and see what happens.  I'm guessing it will be part journal, part re-posts of things I find interesting, and the rest I guess we'll just see what happens.  I'm often reading stories that inspire me and will probably post some of them here.  If I post some of your original work I hope you find it a compliment, but I'll be happy to remove it at your request. Could that be my first legal disclaimer?

Why did I choose Google Blogger?  Well, first because if you know me you'll know I'm a huge Google fan!  If you've spent any time with me I've probably promoted at least one of their products.  I'm not real familiar with Blogger yet, but it's free so what have I got to lose?

So if you find yourself here, I hope you find something of interest and perhaps you'll pay it forward.

Have a great day,

Dan