October 28, 2009

Heroism as the antidote to evil

"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." - Edmund Burke

October 19, 2009

Lychees, Ohio, and Evocation

While a bunch of folks were at Blogworld in Vegas this past weekend, I and a few other intrepid seekers got on a plane at Logan Airport in Boston to head to... Dayton, Ohio! Instead of the Strip, we headed to the Dayton Quest Center for a seminar with Stephen K. Hayes called Evocation.

October 8, 2009

Surrendering to Impossible Odds

Surrendering to Impossible Odds

September 22, 2009

The impossibility of bottling success

Ever see someone try to copy a successful person? Not in the literal copy/paste sense, but in the "I'm going to be just like him/her!" I can't begin to enumerate the number of times that I've seen this, in business, in martial arts, in gaming, in everything. I read Twitter and see people aspiring to be just like Robert Scoble or Chris Brogan or Steve Rubel. I go to martial arts seminars and see people aspiring to be just like Masaaki Hatsumi or Stephen K. Hayes. I listen to chatter in World of Warcraft where hundreds of people daily talk about joining the top raiding guilds like Ensidia, Premonition, Halcyon, and so forth.

September 17, 2009

Samurai swords for home defense

Much has been made of a Johns Hopkins student protecting himself with a samurai sword against a home intruder in the local Maryland media (including this story at the Washington Post).

September 9, 2009

A piece of home on the road

In a ninjutsu dojo (like the Boston Martial Arts Center, for example), you'll find a place of reverence called a kamidana, or spirit shelf. In traditional Shinto religious practices (the native, shamanistic religion of Japan), a kamidana is a place to honor your ancestors and their guardian spirits. In modern times, it's a focal point for the energy of the school and students, a place to put your attention as you begin class, asking your own mind to wake up enough to get something out of class.

September 3, 2009

A crack in the glass

Ever had a crack in your windshield?

August 19, 2009

Beating fear

What makes the difference between someone who has confidence, someone who believes in themselves and in their cause, and someone who sits on the sidelines of life?

August 13, 2009

Winning in the Red Ocean

Beth Dunn got me thinking in the comments on my previous post about gender, race, and social media. Blue Ocean Strategy makes total sense and is the easiest way to win in a disruptive environment. You occupy the empty playing field, set the rules, norms, and customs, and make your own game. Newcomers to the field see whatever you've done as the norm and suddenly the idea is the institution - and you're running the show. That's the ideal.

July 20, 2009

Watching footfalls

A tweet from Amber Naslund this morning reminded me of an interesting lesson.