Yearly Archives: 2015

Right Effort

Here is what my current favorite online Buddhist resource has to say about the precept of Right Effort:

Right Effort means cultivating an enthusiasm, a positive attitude in a balanced way. Like the strings of a musical instrument, the amount of effort should not be too tense or too impatient, as well as not too slack or too laid back. Right Effort should produce an attitude of steady and cheerful determination.

In order to produce Right Effort, clear and honest thoughts should be welcomed, and feelings of jealousy and anger left behind. Right Effort equates to positive thinking, followed by focused action.

Drop a stone into still water, and the water will respond with exactly the right amount of ripples for the size of the stone. A smaller stone will produce less ripples. A larger stone will produce more. But, it will always be in proportion and never more or less. In a similar way, Right Effort encourages us to apply the appropriate amount of action dictated by the intention.

In the last few months, I have worked hard to apply this idea to my social media approach as well. I’m certainly not perfect at it. There have been many times that I have failed. But, in general, if you were to look at my feed you’d find that I try not to post too often or too infrequently. I do my best to find balance between the two. I participate when directly engaged. I try to make sure that what I’m posting is of a positive nature. I try to only post things that I believe are worth the time of those who might be reading it. I rarely engage in debate or argument— and when I do my intention is to try to learn from an opposing view, not to rebuke it. And, more than anything else, I try to be helpful in any way I see that I can be.

GORUCK Kit Bag 32L — A Brief Review

The GORUCK Kit Bag 32L is the perfect weekender style bag for those looking for something with a utilitarian vibe and, like all GORUCK bags, one built to last a lifetime.

Sometimes, you don’t need to pack light and go fast. You don’t need the hands-free benefits of a ruck. You just need a decent bag to hold a few days worth of clothes and sundries to throw into the trunk of the car or overhead bin and get away for bit. This is the perfect bag for that.

In the photo above, I have it packed for a four day trip to our family cabin. As you can see, it looks great but it is also highly functional. Besides the pockets on the side there are two similarly sized zippered mesh pockets inside. There is another inside zippered pocket that can hold small documents like a passport or Field Notes notebook. But the main draw is the spacious main compartment. A couple of pair of jeans, a couple of pairs of shorts, a few t-shirts, a couple of long sleeves, socks, underwear, and my toiletry bag are all inside with a few miscellaneous items too. This thing can hold a fair amount of stuff and not appear like it is going to break at the seams. It’s made for action and abuse.

It’s a fair price at $85.00. But, GORUCK is currently selling a great bundle deal with the Kit 32L and the Tough Bag (formerly, the Brick Bag) for only $89.00. The Tough Bag makes a great stuff sack. I roll mine up empty, pack it, and then use it for stuffing my dirty clothes in when in the road. It’s an amazing bargain for both items.

Bottom line, if you are in the market for such a bag this deserves your consideration.

Relentless — A Brief Review

Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim S. Grover is a book that will either piss you off in the first few pages or completely resonate with you. It’s one of those books. For me, it not only resonated but I found myself compiling a list of others I know who needed to read it too. I even sent one as a gift to a friend only half way though. I knew they would see themselves in there like I did.

Tim Grover is a personal training coach to many top athletes — especially in the NBA. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and many other of the game’s greatest players credit him with a large part of their success. His mission, taking players way past their perceived limits to be the very best. Not just the best in the game or the best playing today but the best of all time. He teaches them how to get into the zone and tap into the relentless and unstoppable potential that is inside us all. He’s the best at what he does and he has the clients and results to back it up. He also makes no bones about that and gives zero fucks about what you think. He is arrogant, cocky, confident, and tells it like he believes it is. Which may be off putting to many readers.

In this book, he gets into the mindset and anecdotes of what it takes to play and live a life at such a high level of excellence, who has that (very few), who doesn’t (the vast majority), and what mindset one needs. This is not a book that will teach you how to get there. This is not a how too guide. It will not teach you how to get into "the zone" and stay there. And, as he makes clear, if that’s what you want then you already don’t have what it takes so he can’t help you anyway. What it is is a litmus test. You will either recognize the qualities it takes to meet this kind of success inside of you already or you will not. It’s very inspirational to the right person or worthless hyperbole to those who don’t get it. But, at the least, you will finally be able to understand what makes a Jordan, Bryant, or Wade tick.

But, there’s also some very interesting and entertaining anecdotes for the long time basketball fan. He talks about specific moments in specific memorable games and provides insight and background to the action that only he and the player involved would know. So, even if you are not a fan of the message the author is delivering it’ll be a fun read for the NBA fan.