Monthly Archives: August 2016

Advice for the Manic Impressive

3 Things You HATE Yet Desperately Need

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KeysWalletPhoneCropped

People like us avoid routines. We’re naturally spontaneous and revel in the little surprises we get from not knowing what’s coming next. It’s our makeup to feel life is an adventure and around every corner is a new best friend or an invite to the White House.

This need for freedom comes with serious disadvantages. We know the Grinders in life achieve success with discipline. Tortoises grind it out every day, doing the same things over and over, leading them to wealth and success. We Hares are quick and talented, but prone to napping while Tortoises steadily make their way past us.

We need to leverage our strengths and keep our weaknesses at bay. If we putter or socialize when we should be working, our creativity will never see the light of day. Not in any significant way.

So routines are our friends. Or at least our frenemies. We may not always like them, but we need them. They  keep us from distraction and free up time for what we’re meant to do with our talent.

The more Manic Impressive you are, the more you’ll struggle to build and maintain routines. Here are 3 key areas where you need rigid routines: Continue reading 3 Things You HATE Yet Desperately Need →

Everything I Know I Learned From Television

4 Advantages Olympians Have Over You And Why It’s Okay

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OlympicRingsNo matter how cynical I’m feeling about the world, when the Olympics come round every fourth year I get fired up. Those athletes living out their dreams on my TV gets me shouting USA, USA, USA!

Sure, their stories of sacrifice and triumph can seem cliche. But don’t you love seeing hard work get rewarded on the world stage like I do? Of course you do. Just make sure you don’t compare yourself to them, because it’s just not fair.

Olympians have huge advantages over you.

They have incredible athletic genes. You’re built for comfort, not speed. They look good in skin-tight spandex no retail clerk should ever be allowed to sell you. And besides their natural talents, Olympians have four huge advantages over us Manic Impressives.

1) Super Successful Parents – No offense, but your parents are kind of lame compared to the parents of Olympians. These parents get up early to take their kids to practice, work two jobs to pay for gear, and are disciplined, motivated role models.

Many are stud athletes like Michele Carter’s dad. Michele was the first American woman to win gold in the shot put since 1948. Her dad Michael Carter won the silver in shot put back in 1984, then won 3 Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco Forty Niners.

Your dad’s got a league bowling trophy, does he? Sorry, not in the same galaxy. Stop embarrassing yourself. Continue reading 4 Advantages Olympians Have Over You And Why It’s Okay →

Manic Mutterings

Paddle Board Lessons On Failure

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PaddleBoardDown“An hour should be enough, shouldn’t it?” I paid the guy then grabbed my board and headed to the beach. I’ve always wanted to try paddle boarding. It looks so peaceful and non athletic. I’d never done it before, but how hard could it be?

Really freaking hard.

I followed the guy’s instructions, got out past the surf, set my balance point and got some momentum going while on my knees. Then got both feet firmly balanced, stood up and SPLASH!

Down I go.

Eight times in all, with hat, glasses and paddle all flying into the ocean. Each time I regrouped, got some momentum, stood up and fell in. I never got the hang of it. A pair of sunglasses and a bruised rib later, I made my walk of shame back up the beach to the rental guy. My hour was up.

“How’d it go?” he says with an anticipatory smile.

“Not so good”, I say with a rueful grin.

We agree that eight in the morning on a smooth ocean was the best time to learn. Not at noon in a choppy surf.

I sit and nurse my bruised rib and ego. I’m on the south shore of Maui and it’s hard to feel bad about anything. But still… Continue reading Paddle Board Lessons On Failure →

Advice for the Manic Impressive

The Importance of Picking The Right Arena

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AKEBONO1

Chad Rowan was going to be a basketball star. An All Star high school center and a native Hawaiian, he won a full-ride basketball scholarship to Hawaii Pacific University. Chad and everyone around him had high expectations for his basketball career.

But fortunately for him it did not turn out that way. Chad Rowan flamed out as a collegiate cager. He rode the bench his freshman year then quit the team and dropped out of college. He didn’t even last a year. Though he was 6’8” and very strong, he was competing in the wrong sport.

Five years later, Chad Rowan was crowned the first non-Japanese champion of the sport of Sumo. Under his wrestling name, Akebono, he achieved Yokozuno status, the highest level in the sport, just a few years after his professional debut. From there, Akebono dominated his competition for eight years.

But starting out, Akebono was not expected to succeed in Sumo. His height and slim lower body were considered disadvantages. In a sport where the goal is to knock your opponent down, Akebono was too top-heavy. He would be easy to topple by the shorter, stockier Japanese wrestlers who would have the advantage of leverage. Continue reading The Importance of Picking The Right Arena →