No Church In The Wild...

Music video by Jay-Z & Kanye West performing No Church In The Wild feat. Frank Ocean & The-Dream. © 2012 Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC

The more you sweat in times of peace, the less you bleed in times of war...

In a world full of chaos and duress, it is estimated that only 10% of animals are true predators. Lions and tigers and such, hunting other animals for survival.  Now if we extrapolate this to humans, that means 10% of us are predators, and the rest among us…..are prey.    This is a very intriguing concept to think about... 

Which leads me to my next memoir, “Excuses are what you give when you got nothing, because you didn’t try everything!”  

Through the years, I have been blessed to be mentored by some very notable men and woman, whom I consider to be renowned in their fields.  Amongst their many preachings, beatings, and epilogues, one of the many correlations noted, happens to be on the execution of patience and practice.  As it is said that, “The more you sweat in times of peace, the less you bleed in times of war!”  

From a Hard Core Philosophy perspective, One must take the time to master oneself, before he/she can even have the privilege to lead others.  There is an old Eastern Philosophy Mindset that concentrates on the art of penetrating and execution, known as Gancui. This simple art concentrates on the discipline of penetrating neatly and completely.  

As there is an old story told by Dr. Lung of a man that was so determined to kill his enemy, that he first practiced thrusting his sword into the wall of his home for almost a decade, practicing his thrust, until he knew his arm and mind were firm enough to do the deed upon battle.  Until one day, after many years of practicing on the wall, his arm and most importantly mind were congruent.   Than the time came upon battle, when the two met eye to eye.  Upon the dual, and with one single strike, the power emitted by the single thrust transcended through the sword and cut through the enemy like a hot knife through butter.  This is the way of the Gancui, the art of execution through practice and patience.

Furthermore, I will end this Hard Core Philosophy perspective with a more serene conclusion.  As the brain always chooses the easiest and quickest path to rationalize on life. One must take note that sometimes the easiest and quickest path is not the felicitous way to go.  In the end, all victory depends on the skill of the single warrior, yourself!  So take the time to master your crafts, before your crafts, and most importantly enemies, master you!   

Ie…check yourself..before your wreck yourself!! , its like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder why we keep from going under. Hahahahaha

The Art of Parkour... Bombs on the street.. (VIDEO)

Parkour (French pronunciation: [paʁˈkuʁ]) (abbreviated PK) is a physical discipline and non-competitive activity which focuses on efficient movement around obstacles. Developed in France by David Belle, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing, and leaping. Parkour practitioners are known as "traceurs", with their female counterpart referred to as "traceuses". (source)

A group of chaps that do Parkour... (Source)

It’s much more important to write than to be written about...

“One of the things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. Something more will arise for later, something better.” ~Annie Dillard

Steve Aoki - Avant/Garde Diaries [Interview]...

Steve Aoki - Spirit Shaped by Music (Source)

Bruce Lee on doubters and doers...

“The doubters said,
"Man can not fly,"
The doers said,
"Maybe, but we'll try,"
And finally soared
In the morning glow
While non-believers
Watched from below.”
― Bruce Lee

The greatest picture is not yet painted...

“Nothing is done. Everything in the world remains to be done or done over. The greatest picture is not yet painted, the greatest play isn’t written, the greatest poem is unsung. There isn’t in all the world a perfect railroad, nor a good government, nor a sound law. Physics, mathematics, and especially the most advanced and exact of the sciences are being fundamentally revised. . . Psychology, economics, and sociology are awaiting a Darwin, whose work in turn is awaiting an Einstein.” — Lincoln Steffens

The mind is the gatekeeper to the spirit...

The mind is definitely the gatekeeper to the realms of the spirit and in order to control it, one must control themselves first.  We all have certain weaknesses that we are ashamed of.  From certain physical features and unconditional past secrets that we keep hidden, to the future anxieties that we face from them.  These weaknesses, and the many others, are what our enemies use as weapons against us.  It is only when we are comfortable with ourselves that we can become comfortable with the outside world.

“I firmly believe that all human beings have access to extraordinary energies and powers. Judging from accounts of mystical experience, heightened creativity, or exceptional performance by athletes and artists, we harbor a greater life than we know. There we go beyond those limited and limiting patterns of body, emotions, volition, and understanding that have been keeping us in dry-dock. Instead we become available to our capacity for a larger life in body, mind, and spirit. In this state we know great torrents of delight.”-Jean Houston

Ambition - Wale feat. Meek Mill & Rick Ross...

Intro ... 

The time is now, I will Explain everything
Took my heart away from money
Ain't interested in fame
And I pray that never change
Ambition is priceless
It’s something that’s in your veins
And I put that on my name

Outro...

Beautiful music, painting pictures that Explains my vision
They gon love me for my ambition
Easy to dream a dream, but much harder to live it
Look, they gon love me for my ambition
Beautiful music, painting pictures that be my vision
They gon love me for my ambition

People fighting for dear life, financially, are doing yoga...

"It is felt that a disciplined mind leads to happiness and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering, and in fact it is said that bringing about discipline within one's mind is the essence of the Buddha's teaching" - Dalai Lama

POST SCRIPT: Wouldn’t ya know it – People fighting for dear life, financially, are doing yoga! Oops. Check out this inspiring video to learn about a nonprofit serving Baltimore inner-city youth in this special way.

Have faith...

Sometimes in life, all we have is FAITH. The inner strength and will, to know that even under the worst circumstances, things will always work out...

"Hard work is the key to success, so work diligently on any project you undertake. If you truly want to be successful, be prepared to give up your leisure time and work past 5 PM and on weekends. Also, have faith in yourself. If you come up with a new idea that you believe in, don't allow other people to discourage you from pursuing it." -Charles Lazarus

Lessons From a Young CEO: If I Only Knew Then What I Know Now...

 An excerpt from Danii Olivers' interview with Under 30 CEO... (Source)

When the time came for me to open the doors to my own office I was thrilled, positive and confident because that was what was expected of me. I was by no means “sure” nor well versed in the endeavor I was about to take on, but the time had come to expand if my business was to thrive. My partner and I did massive amounts of research, sought advice and mentorship and even talked to family members who dealt with commercial real estate for guidance.

Family members cautioned us not to take the step, but friends patted us on the back. We didn’t back down. If we were to be successful we needed to take risks, so we opened the doors and prepared for growth. One year later, and many networking events passed, I have learned that all we had gone through may have had been unnecessary.
 
While becoming established is any CEO’s driving force, I have come to learn that, what was once considered established is no longer the case. Out of the hundreds of CEO I met over that past year I was the only one under 30 with an office of their own. Everyone else was virtual. Was I behind or were they not established?  One thing that bugged me was that all these CEOs were getting business and contracts yet my company’s seemed to be slipping.
 
In retrospect being inside the office was counter productive to business. Instead of going to meetings I invited people to meet at my office. While this was not only convenient for me it also helped to convey the fact that my company was established and doing well. I was trying to make the space support my reputation.
 
Despite the fact that people were impressed by our capability to afford the overhead of maintenance and rent, the office space did absolutely no sales let alone up selling for us. The space costed more than its monthly monetary bill. There was time that went into up keeping the space, manning it five-to-six days a week. The space also cost me one or two meetings that did not take place because the requestor refused to come to my office. While that much wasn’t significant, maybe I can’t help but wonder, “would they have wasted my time or could that have been a great opportunity?”
 
The fact remains I may not have needed the office space, even if my clients kept thinking I was a fly by night freelancer. The fact is I lost time that should have been spent on the company. That time and effort lost went into making sure their was revenue constantly coming in for the bills and not into creating something awesome or sales worthy. I regret diverting my attention from work to manage an office space.
 
If I only knew then what I know now, I would have planned for a few other opportunities that weren’t at the top of my mind. Since I wouldn’t go back and not get the office space, which I obtained to be taken seriously as a company, I would have had at least not banked all my chips in one revenue stream. I would have tried to make the space work for me and not I for it. I felt the day to day month to month operations of the office made me a slave to it. Everyday my concern was how do I keep up the office rather than what next venture the firm would bid for.

Bruce Lee on style & creating your own personal way...

On Style...

To reach the masses, some sort of big organization (whether) domestic and foreign branch affiliation, is not necessary. To reach the growing number of students, some sort of pre-conformed set must be established as standards for the branch to follow. As a result all members will be conditioned according to the prescribed system. Many will probably end up as a prisoner of a systematized drill.

Styles tend to not only separate men - because they have their own doctrines and then the doctrine became the gospel truth that you cannot change. But if you do not have a style, if you just say: Well, here I am as a human being, how can I express myself totally and completely? Now, that way you won't create a style, because style is a crystallization. That way, it's a process of continuing growth.

To me totality is very important in sparring. Many styles claim this totality. They say that they can cope with all types of attacks; that their structures cover all the possible lines and angles, and are capable of retaliation from all angles and lines. If this is true, then how did all the different styles come about? If they are in totality, why do some use only the straight lines, others the round lines, some only kicks, and why do still others who want to be different just flap and flick their hands? To me a system that clings to one small aspect of combat is actually in bondage.
This statement expresses my feelings perfectly: 'In memory of a once fluid man, crammed and distorted by the classical mess.'


On Creating Your Own Personal Way...

Learn the principle, abide by the principle, and dissolve the principle. In short, enter a mold without being caged in it. Obey the principle without being bound by it. LEARN, MASTER AND ACHIEVE!!!

Knowledge in martial arts actually means self-knowledge. A martial artist has to take responsibility for himself and accept the consequences of his own doing. The understanding of JKD is through personal feeling from movement to movement in the mirror of the relationship and not through a process of isolation. To be is to be related. To isolate is death. To me, ultimately, martial arts means honestly expressing yourself. Now, it is very difficult to do. It has always been very easy for me to put on a show and be cocky, and be flooded with a cocky feeling and feel pretty cool and all that. I can make all kinds of phoney things. Blinded by it. Or I can show some really fancy movement. But to experience oneself honestly, not lying to oneself, and to express myself honestly, now that is very hard to do.

Bruce Lee Wisdom and Philosophy...... (7Min Video)

  

Although Bruce Lee is best known as a martial artist, he also studied drama and philosophy. He was well-read and had an extensive library. His own books on martial arts and fighting philosophy are known for their philosophical assertions both inside and outside of martial arts circles. His eclectic philosophy often mirrored his fighting beliefs, though he was quick to claim that his martial arts were solely a metaphor for such teachings. He believed that any knowledge ultimately led to self-knowledge, and said that his chosen method of self-expression was martial arts.  (Source)