The very first thing you are taught when you start practicing judo is how to fall. A breakfall – or ukemi – is a technique used to fall safely, without injuring yourself.
We spend our days toiling at this or that, sometimes alone, sometimes with others. We know the proximate reasons for those everyday actions: we go to work because, well, we have to pay the bills; we interact with our colleagues because we have a job to do and that’s how you get things done.
Ask yourself this question and answer it honestly — nobody need ever know how you answered: Do you find yourself being driven mostly by the necessity to abide by your duties and obligations, or by the desire to do your very best at everything you do?
As can be seen from the opening quote, adulation for top athletes is a universal phenomenon, its origin lost in the mist of time. Through our admiration, I believe, we pay tribute not only to the athlete’s achievement or performance, but also to what we see as exceptional moral desert.
I often get asked about tips and tricks that people might leverage to help them stay focused and on task. Many people are good at staying focused and I certainly can’t lay any special claim to this. I’ve never conducted scientific research on the topic and what follows is the fruit of my own reflections, based on a combination of personal experience and exposure over time to a number of systems of traditional wisdom.
The university club where I teach judo to young adults is a great lab where I get to observe human behavior from up close and draw lessons and insight that have proved extremely instructive in other aspects of my life.
It is my firm view, as you may recall from a previous article, that you should only ever request a professional courtesy such as a referral or a recommendation from someone who has direct knowledge of your character or capabilities – someone who actually knows you.
We’ve all had to ask for a hand. I certainly have and wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t received some help along the way from people who knew me and were willing to give me a hand by putting in a good word on my behalf or helping me secure a meeting with some person or another. I’m talking of course of introductions, referrals and recommendations.
Fame and importance are such ephemeral things. How often have you found yourself walking down a street or standing in front of a building named after a person likely very important in his or her day, realizing that you had no idea whatsoever – nor did you really care – who this person was?
I’m currently visiting Montreal – the primarily French-speaking city where I was born and raised – and was having lunch today, enjoying excellent shawarma at a local Lebanese restaurant while tapping my foot to the beat of Arabic music when my mind started wandering…
