Strike the Match

Take A Stand

"You have enemies? Good that means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." - Winston Churchill

You can't please everyone so don't hesitate to stand up for what you believe. At the end of the day you're the one who has to live with your decisions.

Strike the Match. Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

Tip for Living in the Present

Trying to improve your ability to live in the present? Grab a camera and challenge yourself to take 36 pictures a day.

It will slow you down and help you focus on what's around you.

Strike the Match. Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

Important to Who?

Whatever it is, it's only important because you allowed it to be important.  Therefore, you can also make it unimportant.

A good point to remember when you're feeling overwhelmed.

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

The Strawberry

There are many great lessons in this zen story. What does it say to you?

The story is about a Zen student who is running from a tiger in the forest.

The tiger is catching up to him, and the only way out is to jump over a cliff that leads to certain death on the rocks below.

With no real options, the Zen student jumps over the cliff, and just manages to grab on to a branch halfway down.

Beside the branch is a bush of wild strawberries, and the student reaches over with one free hand and takes one.

With the tiger above him and certain death on the rocks below him, he slowly eats the strawberry.

And as he does, he thinks, “This is the best strawberry I have ever tasted.”

(I found this version on Chris Guillebeau's blog)

Strike the Match. Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

Need Time?

Don't have time to be extraordinary?

Turn off the TV. 

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

36:1

Below is an insightful excerpt from 37signals blog.

I had a photography teacher (Richard Stromberg at The Chicago Photography Center) tell me once that if you get one good shot on a roll of 36, you were doing good. That’s the ratio: 36:1. When you edit ruthlessly like that, you come out with great results. People think you’re better than you are. It’s not that you became a brilliant photographer, it’s just that you started exercising taste and restraint.

It’s one of the biggest challenges in the digital age: When you can bombard people with everything, it’s tempting to do so. That’s why taste, restraint, and editing are so important. Sometimes it’s about throwing out the 35 bad shots and revelling in the one great shot.

I couldn't agree more.  The quickest path to extraordinary is by editing the unextraordinary.

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

Meaningful Relationships

Pay attention to people who you genuinely connect with, even if it's just for a moment. Never underestimate the power of meaningful relationships, especially the small ones.

The biggest opportunities are often found in the most unexpected places.

Strike the Match. Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

Stay Young

We do not quit playing because we grow old, we grow old because we quit playing.  -Oliver Wendall Holmes

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

Stay Agile

As you live your extraordinary life, be extremely careful with debt.  Acquiring debt is similar to pouring concrete on your feet; even a little can slow you down and a lot can stop you dead in your tracks.

When you're offered a dream job at a slightly smaller salary, do you want to be forced to decline because of a new car payment or a credit card balance?

Stay agile. Keep your debt to an absolute minimum and pay it off as quickly as possible.

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

Practice vs. Talent

Practice can be defined as performing tasks repeatedly to improve performance.  Talent is defined as the natural endowments of a person. 

Talent is where you start but practice determines where you finish.

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Extraordinary.