Brief Hiatus

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Sep 28, 2007 in Conferences, Ninjutsu, On ko chi shin | 0 comments

This weekend, I’ll be completely off the grid attending the 10th annual New England Warrior Camp. It’ll be a much-needed retreat of study, ninjutsu practice, and meditation, refreshing my head and helping me to refocus and recharge. In the meantime, for great content, be sure to check out the latest episodes of the Marketing Over Coffee Marketing Podcast with me and marketing master practitioner John Wall and the Financial Aid Podcast.

Catch you on the other side!

Awaken YOUR Superhero Powers : Power 7 of 10 – Skillful Means

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Sep 27, 2007 in Buddhism, Ninjutsu, On ko chi shin | 0 comments

Awaken YOUR Superhero Powers : Power 7 of 10 – Skillful Means

Hoben
Upaya Paramita
Skillful Means

As part of my every thought, word, and action, I am inspired by the heroic ideal of finding the best way for success. I effectively encourage results!

“Just do it” is great – momentum more often than not will generate results over inaction, but if effort is the engine, skill is the steering wheel. With your superhero new media powers, you have the ability, the power to make great changes and accomplish great things, but being able to use those powers to accomplish the most with the least effort is the mark of a veteran hero.

How can you accomplish things most efficiently and effectively? We talked earlier about obtaining win-win situations, but how? A superhero power in its own right is knowing humanity. Senior Master Instructor Stephen K. Hayes quotes an old expression, “I know what is going to happen because I know humanity, and I know humanity because I have studied myself.” Learn how you react in situations so that you can anticipate and defuse problems before they even begin.

Commit today and every day to using your thoughts, words, and actions to make your life and the lives around you run smoothly with careful planning and skillful understanding of yours and others’ only too human habits.

Thought: Take a moment today to examine a habit of yours that you know holds you back. Instead of feeling badly about it, what one thing can you do today to change course towards productive ends?

Word: Take a moment today to rewrite something you’ve written in the past and consider what changes and edits you’re making to improve the piece. Make note of them so that you write with them in mind on future first drafts.

Action: Take a moment today to optimize your workplace. Remove old trash, refile things, and clean up so that your ability to accomplish is unhindered by incidental distraction.

Endnote: The powers themselves are translated by Senior Master Instructor Stephen K. Hayes from the Enlightened Warrior Gyoja Practitioner Recitation Handbook, published by the Kinryuzan Golden Dragon Mountain Kasumi-An Dojo.

Flax Tax Return

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Sep 27, 2007 in Politics | 19 comments

Someone with an economics background tell me why we can’t do this with the IRS tax code:

A Nikon D40 Conversation

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Sep 26, 2007 in Photography | 35 comments

A Nikon D40 Conversation

I’ve been asking about the Nikon D40 and accessories on Twitter, and with the number of responses I’ve gotten back, it seemed appropriate to put it on a blog post instead. Here’s what I’ve got on my list of things to add:

- more memory cards.
- spare battery.
- speed light plus omni-bounce
- 50mm f/1.8 lens
- 50-200mm VR zoom lens
- polarizing filter

The detailed list is here.

DSLR experts – what would you add? What don’t I need, or what am I overlooking?

Thanks in advance for all your advice!

Awaken YOUR Superhero Powers : Power 6 of 10 – Transcendent Wisdom

Posted by Christopher S Penn on Sep 26, 2007 in Buddhism, Ninjutsu, On ko chi shin | 0 comments

Awaken YOUR Superhero Powers : Power 6 of 10 – Transcendent Wisdom

Hannya
Prajna Paramita
Transcendent Wisdom

As part of my every thought, word, and action, I am inspired by the heroic ideal of knowing highest truth. I keep sight of the big picture!

Have you ever gotten so caught up in the details of an argument that you forgot completely what you were arguing about in the first place? Have you ever had the experience of looking back at an argument days or weeks later and even laughing about it with the person you were arguing with?

The superhero power of “transcendent wisdom” sounds kind of funny, but it’s very authentic. Have you ever sat through a traffic jam and just as you got through the bottleneck, looked backwards to see the huge line of cars and thought, “Wow, I sat through all of that?” Transcendent wisdom is the power of being able to “look back” right now – to know that whatever situation you’re facing, not only will it pass, but it will probably be funny or at least a great story to tell in the times to come.

Commit today and every day to take a step back from the entanglements of details to gain a greater appreciation for just how far you’ve come, and inspire your thoughts, words, and actions to power through whatever temporary frustrations and setbacks you might face, knowing you’ll be able to look back with appreciation later.

Thought: Take a moment today to imagine how this day will look in the future, and what you want to be able to remember about how special it was.

Word: In a conversation or blog post, consider how your words will read or be remembered in the future, and communicate skillfully to create great memories for the future.

Action: Examine your to-do list today and accomplish one thing on the list that you will be able to point to in the future as a significant deed.

Endnote: The powers themselves are translated by Senior Master Instructor Stephen K. Hayes from the Enlightened Warrior Gyoja Practitioner Recitation Handbook, published by the Kinryuzan Golden Dragon Mountain Kasumi-An Dojo.