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The path to soccer greatness begins
August 19th, 2010
Fierce and Mighty Gets A Little Posterous
August 19th, 2010
At the risk of diluting what I am trying to keep going (get going?) with this blog, I decided to get a little sumpin’ sumpin’ set up over at Posterous with a Fierce and Mighty flavor. Posterous is a ridiculously easy way to do a blog or just share photos, videos, random updates or whatever else on-line and you can do it just by sending along an e-mail. It’s incredibly slick – if you send along an attached photo, it neatly pops it up with your post. If you send multiple photos? POW! A snazzy little gallery is created. Send a YouTube link? Boom goes the dynamite – you get the video embedded on the page.
So in the interest of having a place to fire up a whole lot of randomness that does not fit into longer posts (which is what Fierce and Mighty is dedicated to), I present to you:
Fierce and Mighty’s Posterous.
Enjoy. Perhaps one day I will come up with a way to integrate these two areas together a little more tightly.
Staring Into the Abyss
August 11th, 2010
An interesting thing often occurs when I sit down to write up almost any blog post I do… a gnawing sort of feeling that, even though I may like what I’m writing, I haven’t the slightest clue whether it will resonate with a single soul out there on Teh Interwebz. Needless to say, that can be a bit of an unsettling feeling because I do my utmost to ensure my blog entries are authentic – what you read is 100% pure me. Straight, no chaser.
In that way, I can relate a touch to the famous quote by Nietzsche, “And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” Now granted, I am not generally a big fan of Nietzsche’s work because what he wrote (these large and powerful texts full of bravado) stood in stark contrast to how he lived (meek and mild, blending into the background), but I do like the quote. He may never have intended in such a way, but it often feels like how it is to sit down, stare at the open screen in front of me on my Mac and think, “Holy crap… is anyone really going to care AT ALL about any of this?”
Fortunately, some people do seem to care and have been nice enough to say so. Thank you to all of you – you keep me going.
But there is the daily challenge for us all in many ways: looking ahead into a future we can only view as that same kind of darkly murky abyss where nothing is clear and a good long stare will bring about nothing but even more anxiety, hand-wringing and general bad mojo. Seriously – it’s science. I looked it up in the New England Journal for the Furtherance of Mojofication Studies. It’s a very scholarly periodical designed for superior intellects like mine.
That’s why I realize a little more every day that the greatest triumphs are rarely a singular shining moment of transcendent excellence (although they surely can be). It’s much more often a collection of smaller moments that will eventual grow, gain momentum and become something much bigger than you could really expect when first starting out.
To use a strength and conditioning example to illustrate. When most people begin a serious exercise program, the gains come along at a fairly rapid pace as your body basically soaks up the new challenge and adapts to it, week over week. However, this will slow or, if you aren’t terribly thoughtful in your approach, stop all together. Once you’ve been doing something a while, new improvements do not happen nearly as rapidly, but rather, they develop as a slow build. It’s only at the end when you look back you realize how far you’ve come and how much you’ve truly accomplished.
So for me, it’s just one blog post at a time and with each ensuing entry, hopefully something approximating a body of work will come into focus… and maybe a few more people will read it, tell their friends and so on. I am still in the beginner stage where I should be a little smarter about getting my site a little more “pop” – no question about that. But it still won’t change the fact that in order for this project of mine to grow… it’s a series of entries just like this one, day in and day out.
You may not have a blog, but I know there is something you are working towards as well. We all have that “thing” that stokes our passions. Put in the daily work as best you can. I’m doing my best at it and some days are better than others.
Step up to that abyss, but don’t waste your time staring into it. It only stares back into you and it’s not a staring contest you will ever win. Instead? Give it a quick wink and promptly kick it’s ass a little bit every day.
John Calvin: The Original Buzz Killington
August 8th, 2010
This distinguished-looking fellow on the left is one John Calvin and let me tell you something… I’m never going to invite him to a party at my house for 2 very important reasons. First, he’s dead. That truly puts a damper on any real chance of an invite to Chez Kuzia outside of some kind of freaky-deaky seance… and this guy doesn’t play that game. The second reason is despite his importance as a historical figure in the Protestant Revolution, a major tenet of his philosophy was that of predestination. So, in other words… your deeds and actions in this world really don’t mean squat because whether you will end up in Heaven or Hell was determined before you were even born. Yikes.
So it’s not that I don’t invite people with differing views over to have a cold beer and watch a game. Au contraire. But a philosophy built around the notion that your actions in this world are for naught? That’s not how to liven up an intimate gathering of friends, you know? The guy was the original Buzz Killington (you know… the OTHER distinguished gentleman depicted in this blog).
In my wacky view of the world, there are meaningful choices to be made at almost any point in your life. You can really choose any moment to change things up. Sure, the change can be hard as hell to pull off… but it’s still there as an option to embrace if you make that decision… and not the LeBron James kind of “Decision” where you get to go on TV and wallow around in your own self-involvement. Yuck.
I know that, for myself, change is never that easy of a thing, depending on what the contemplated change may be. Obviously the bigger the change, the deeper the level of hemming and hawing on my part. Even in the midst of all of that, I still find a tremendous amount of comfort and, dare I say, hope in the fact that choice and free will are always within my reach.
Take today, for instance. I decided enough was enough and finally got my lazy-no-blogging-keister in gear and got this post up. It became a matter of just making the decision to stop putting off blogging, stop accepting what (in the moment) can seem like perfectly fine excuses not to do it and just do it.
The funny thing is that my decision stems mostly from being generally fed up… a condition that find is perhaps one of the best catalysts of change. You just need to hit that point of “Oh for the love of God… I can’t take it any more. Let’s get cracking.” That’s where I found myself as I returned from my work trip last week to Oregon, which went very well from a work perspective, but which was completely dismal from a sasquatch-spotting perspective. I mean seriously… I was there Tuesday through Friday. Not even a glimpse out of the corner of my eye? Anyhoo, the reflection time during the travel gave me some impetus to get this blog back up and going.
Plus… you have to admit… it’s pretty awesome to juxtapose John Calvin and Buzz Killington together… and to use the word “juxtapose”. +1 for me.
Big, Fat, Looming Perspective
July 14th, 2010
Today was another day of some audioblogging during my way into work. Today is yet another post about one of my favorite topics – perspective. Enjoy.
July 14, 2010 Fierce and Mighty Audioblog
And when you are looking for the photo of the chart used by Craig Weller I talk about in the post, you can find it right here.
Balance Through Imbalance
July 8th, 2010I seem to have my epiphany moments at odd times and a lot of them seem to come during my morning commute. While part of it is likely due to the fact that I almost always do that commute with no music or radio on, I think it’s also likely due to the fact that it’s easier to let your mind be open to think about things instead of watching the utter madness of how my fellow humanity drives. Come on, people… get it together out there!
My latest piece of highway inspiration caught me off guard a little bit, truth be told, because it stood on its head a lot of what I’ve been pondering in terms of creating a better life for myself… because the moment of clarity was all about how I need to possibly get myself out of balance to achieve balance. A tad bit counterintuitive, to say the least.
Up to this point, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I need to achieve some kind of well-structured harmony of my mind, body and spirit… and that’s still my end goal. The “A ha!” moment came with the stark realization that my process of achieving that goal was quite likely all out of whack. I’ve been in a mode of thinking that I needed to treat mind, body and spirit equally in my pursuit of the noble balance, but there’s a pretty significant chance I am not currently balanced equally in those 3 areas anyway. Maybe I am at 50% body, 35% mind and 15% spirit in terms of where I pay the most attention or where I have achieved the most amount of progress. Nothing about that would approximate the equally divided personal growth pie of 33.3%, 33.3% and 33.3%.
I can practically sense a few doubters reading this and thinking, “How is it a grand point of epiphany to think that maybe you need to spend more attention on the 15% and less on the 50%? That ain’t some kind of advanced nuclear physics, dude.” Too truth, my Doubting Thomas… too true. That wasn’t my clarity moment. Here is what I realized:
Maybe I need to throw a ton of time and attention to body… even if it is at a 50% point of progress. Seems a little odd, right? How is devoting more time to the area where I am the “farthest along” (whatever in the world that even means) going to bring along the two areas that are not quite where I want to be?
Here’s my thought process… and be forewarned, my friends… stepping into my head for even but a moment is gonna leave a mark… tread softly:
I think that if I put in a full commitment to the area of body and really buckle down, get truly disciplined and decide I am going to completely kick ass on all aspects of my physical developments for the next few months… I think there will be tremendous carry over to mind and spirit. It all gets back to my core belief that developing one area of mind/body/spirit and go a really long way to developing them all. The commitment to excellence and dedication to discipline I can put forth through consistent training, top-notch diet and a relentless attitude will allow me to prove to myself I can make progress when I commit. That proof will strengthen my resolve and, hence, strengthen my spirit.
This kind of single-minded focus I think will spillover into mind as well because this approach will force me to be smart and not just burn myself out like some kind of unfocused maniac.
And… in the end… if my body feels good and I know I am making progress, I already know this is the kind of confidence that improves my life as a whole anyway. I can hardly put into words how much better my life has been ever since I decided sometime in college and then in law school to really start getting myself into shape. It’s completely night and day.
But while I am still doing well, I think I’ve lost a little bit of the swagger and a little bit of the fun that goes along with it. I aim to get that back and in getting that back, prove to myself that just an overall improvement to the other spots in my life is going to be part of the package.
Will I completely give up on devoting time to my mind or my spirit? Of course not. That would make me a completely shallow and borderline boneheaded fool to do that… but instead, I am going to let them rise with the tides created through getting myself going on the physical part of my life. Plus, this is not a forever thing to devote this much more time and attention to one part of this little trinity. These things must be cycled to really make best use of the shorter bursts of focused effort lest you truly become horribly out of balance and just a very one-dimensional person (one of my worst nightmares).
Time to shake up the yin-yang and see what comes out on the other side… and I’m feel pretty good that the other side is only going to be something better. And more handsome… if that’s even possible. Seriously… have you met me? It’s almost unfair.
Are You Awesome?
June 24th, 2010A favorite topic of discussion at my previous job was the topic of “all things awesome.” It always made for spirited debate in that neverending discussion throughout human history of what is awesome and what is just simply completely NOT awesome. It could almost stand to be its own branch of philosophical study: awesomeology. What always make the debate such fun is that there really is no way to create a precise, objective and well-defined explanation of what is truly is. There is no perfect formula for awesomeness… but if there were, that would clearly be awesome in its own right. Awesomeness is something you just see and know, in your heart of hearts, that it is something awesome.
One of my favorite thinkers in the realm of awesomeology is Jim Wendler over at EliteFTS. While you could peruse through an endless number of posts Jim has up at EliteFTS in the Q&A section or his own training log, I think I saw his philosophy on awesome was best put in a recent interview he did. In describing why he did certain exercises or trained a certain way, he explained he picked those things because they were awesome. In fact, it was basically his North star when it came to making decision on his training because he would ask himself a simple question: Is doing this awesome? If so, he’ll do it. If not, he’ll take a pass. And for those people who would ask, “Gee, Jim… but how would I know if something is awesome or not?” he had a simple, response (which I will paraphrase): Umm… if you have to ask if something is awesome, then it is decidedly not awesome.
Now how can you argue with that? Oh, I can see some naysaying about how you sometimes just need to do things to do them and there is truth to that. Cleaning the bathroom and other sundry household chores are not exactly reeking with awesomeness… but for a lot of other things in life? Those things that fall into far more discretionary activities? The awesome standard is really a pretty damn good one.
So for me, Jim’s view on weightlifting and training has shaped a decent chunk of what I do now. I follow his 5/3/1 training system, I use very fundamental lifts when I exercise (bench, squat, deadlift, military press, cleans, dips, pull-ups, rows, etc.) and I love my Prowler. To me, there are few things as painful as going to the local gym I have a membership for (a just in-case kind of thing… I have been there maybe 5 times this year) and lifting on machines or sitting on a piece of cardio equipment for 30 to 60 minutes. Yikes. It makes my skin crawl to think about it and when I’ve actually gone and tried it a few months back, I felt completely annoyed the entire time I was there. Not good times and certainly not awesome.
But in a larger view, I began to ponder a bit how much of what I do would fit within the awesome scale, whether my job, my social life, the activities I engage in and so on. It’s a pretty sobering piece of thinking to undertake because it’s ridiculously easy to fall into patterns of doing things just to do them. As incredibly brilliant and intelligent as we can be as human beings, we also seem to have a completely uncanny ability to fall into mindless patterns which we may not notice until much later, if at all. We might eat complete crap because we don’t think much about our diet. We might plunk down in front of the TV without even knowing if anything is worth watching and surf channels like a lobotomized monkey for 3 hours because… well… we’re not all that sure.
It’s in the sense that mindfulness seems to become more and more important in how I live my own life. For instance, I have written numerous times about how I will do something, enjoy it and then not get around to doing it again for months to only think “Huh… why did I stop doing that anyway?” Mindfulness, pure and simple. I think the awesomeness equation can fall into this same sort of vein: if you are not stopping on occasion to think about whether what you are doing with yourself is actually worthwhile or something you would be proud to tell your grandkids about some day… then why in the hell are you doing it???
So besides this jazzy shirt (which says “Proud To Be Awesome” and you cannot quite read because my pure jacked-ness caused some wrinkling in the fabric), I need to begin my own development of mindfulness reminders. Perhaps in the way that Notre Dame’s football teams has its sign as you head out of their locker room that says “Play Like A Champion Today” I need the equivalent on my front door at home that says “Be Awesome Today”… except the sign would need fire and dragons and explosions and muscle cars… because that would be AWESOME.
Fighting For A Noble Purpose… Or Just A Sucker?
June 23rd, 2010This past Sunday marked the end of the outdoor soccer season for me with the next season not starting until the week after Labor Day in September. Over the past… hmm… 5 or 6 years I have been the captain of this particular merry band of soccer players. My ascension to this role was not one borne out of a brilliant level of play or a transcendent mind for soccer strategy. Ohhh no… it was all about organization. Pretty inspirational, right?
When I first joined the team, I was just doing my best to play my best and not embarrass myself horribly. I only picked up soccer in earnest around age 30 and that was comprised of playing indoor with some co-workers. The move to outdoor when a friend’s team needed someone felt more official. I mean, hell… that’s real soccer. No walls to bail you out when you just kick the bejeezus out of a ball instead of laying down a crisp pass directly to the feet of your streaking midfielder.
Well, as one of our weekend games approached, I noticed a change in the schedule on the league Web site and promptly sent a note to the team to let them know. Simple stuff. I get to the field that Sunday and the current captain takes me aside and says,”Dude… that was a GREAT e-mail… do you want to be the captain in the Fall?” I cannot even imagine the look that crossed my face at that point. Me? Captain of a soccer team? I guess my expression of blank horror seemed to suggest a yes and then the words just fell out of my mouth of, “Sure… why not.”
Over these past few years, the role of captain has had its ups and downs. Overall it has been a positive for sure. My team is a great bunch and I love them all to pieces. I feel very fortunate to be a part of this squad, let alone be their captain.
But here’s the thing… honestly? Being captain is just not fun. It’s a hassle. You get to go to the league meetings which can be fine (I give a ton of credit to our league board members for all they do), but often there is an inordinate amount of debate about items that just don’t matter. I want to get in, chat about a few things, pay for the season and get the hell out as fast as possible. Then there is the matter of chasing your friends for money. I can assure you that is decidedly less than good times. Add to that making sure everyone shows up to games on Sunday mornings which usually involves multiple text messages the morning of the game to give directions, tell people what jersey colors to wear, etc. To top it all off, trying to be the leader can be a no-win situation too. If I am too quiet, I get people on me for not speaking up. When I yell, I get told to shut up. It’s really a lot of fun.
Now before this entire post to degrades into a complete diatribe of crying and moaning by me, let’s put this all back into context for a moment. The fact I am still healthy enough to play competitive soccer with a great group of friends on Sunday morning is pretty awesome. Period. I know I’ve got it pretty good.
My point is simply this: being the captain of the team is just a pretty good example of how I find myself doing the least wanted job or role because no one else wants to and I tend to be eager to please. Sometimes I get a lot of satisfaction out of this. To me, it can be a mark of character to get in, take on the tough task that no one else wants and do it well. I think that can be a mark of integrity.
What I am struggling a bit with is my tendency to take on things that I know I am not going to like (or even continuing with something I am really not liking) because I convince myself either no one else will do it or no one else will do it right. It’s an odd kind of mindset: it’s both a combination of being a bit egotistical (“Well I obviously need to do it because NO ONE else will do it right.”) and a bit of an enabler (if I keep stepping up to do these things, no one else will ever feel like they need to).
At some level, we all need to do things we don’t like. That’s a given and something in life to be accepted. But what about beyond that? How does one properly keep the balance between taking things on that might be less-than-joy-inducing, but that are important/needed to do and you own personal self-interest? I can say from my own standpoint that it’s tough because I will always lean toward taking it on and then feeling like pulling out a Jean-Luc Picard facepalm when I realize, “Good Lord… what have I gotten myself into again?”
In the end, I think it’s a matter of finding your own sweet spot on the continuum of importance. You will need to and probably should take on those things that either you are best-suited for or that are just more important, even if they are not something to make you fire up a happy dance while doing. The other stuff? Sometimes you just need to let it go and get comfortable with the simple “No thanks.”
So where does being a soccer captain fall for me? I honestly am not sure. I do love my team, but this past year was a tough one for me personally. I know it’s for fun and all… but still… kind of a bleah session and I put a big chunk of the blame on me (since that’s what captains must do). I will likely be back in this role in the Fall, but it’s also getting close to some young buck to step up and inject some fresh blood into things.
Although I would feel bad for anyone who becomes captain after me. I mean, if nothing else… they are not going to top my handsomeness. For real.
Your Open Invitation
June 22nd, 2010One of the more recent trends in the fitness industry is the “boot camp” concept which is group fitness combining conditioning exercises, weights, intervals and so on. The popularity of the classes likely stems from the fact that they are fairly time-efficient, cost less than a standard personal training session and people often find more motivation when exercising in a group.
I certainly don’t see anything wrong with boot camps as a concept. If they motivate you to get in shape and be healthy, awesome. I’m all for them. They don’t exactly fit with my own personal goals in the sense that many will do a few boot camps a week and that is their entire fitness program. In my case, I prefer to keep my lifting and my conditioning separate… mostly. When I lift weights, all my focus is on that and not on trying to work some kind of cardiovascular component to it… mostly because it would take away from my primary focus, which is improving my strength/power. I might mix in some conditioning afterwards, but just not during.
The one spot where this varies a bit is with my beloved Prowler. That combines both strength and conditioning, but in my mind, it’s more the sense of taking your conditioning session and then adding a strength component to it.
So where am I going with all of this? Glad you asked… even if you really didn’t… I just like to think we’re having a dialogue. That’s the beauty of being the blog writer – I can imagine it anyway I want… so quit bitching and keep reading. Sheesh… pesky readers.
My soccer season just ended on Sunday (and what a woeful ending it was… yikes) and that is causing a change for my overall training plan. I was playing soccer Sunday mornings, hence I try not to do all that much on Saturdays so I am fresh for the game. Now, with no games on Sunday mornings, my whole weekends are open… and that’s where my invitation comes in.
Starting Saturday June 26th, I am putting out an open invitation for some Saturday morning fun. Prowler pushing. Sledgehammer striking. Tire flipping. Hill runs.
Cost? Zero. Benefits? Huge. You will get leaner, stronger and possibly some of the best conditioning of your life… provided you stick with it. I am thinking of doing sessions with anyone interested on either Saturday or Sunday mornings (or maybe even both).
My reasons for this are twofold. First, I like doing these kind of training sessions and know there would be a mutual benefit in doing it with others. Second, I want to get a little firsthand experience in what it’s like to train/coach others a bit. Nothing too elaborate in this regard and I will neither be wearing those all-too-snug polyester coach shorts or sporting a whistle (as tempting as both those options really are).
None of this will be for the faint of heart or spirit, but it will actually be pretty damn fun. I would expect the session could be following by the grilling of meats and such.
And let me be 100% clear… this is for doers, not watchers. No spectators. You want to see what all of this is like? Then you will get the best view in the house… pushing the Prowler and running the hills. It’s the only way to know.
Consider this your open invite if you are in the Hartford area. If you are game, use the contact form found HERE or just e-mail me if you already have the distinct privilege of knowing me… you lucky bastard.
And hey, at least it won’t be snowing.
You game?
The Myth of Daily Intensity
June 21st, 2010
I’ve written a few times about my commute into work, whether from the standpoint of just sometimes enjoying the quiet of the drive or on how some people merge like borderline mental patients. It’s always a grab bag of adventures during the 20 to 45 minutes I spend in the car heading to or home from the office. I know I am not alone in this feeling.
This morning I decided to try something a little different and do an audio blog and load it up to the site today. What prompted the blog (content-wise as opposed to doing it in an audio format) was an e-mail exchange I recently had with someone about my blog. They remarked that they were surprised at the amount of intensity I am able to have on a daily basis. That made me chuckle a bit since I have oh-so-many days where my intensity feels like a deflated balloon of pain and nothingness and ennui… umm… OK, maybe not that bad, but I do have days where I am not quite as spunky or crisp as I would prefer to be. It’s human nature. So I figured I would dictate a post into Evernote and put the audio file up for your listening enjoyment of my golden voice as it soothes you into a serene pool of happiness, enlightenment and a transcendent state of being. Lucky you.
And in case you are wondering what true intensity looks like… I present to you… my nephew Sam. Fear him, people… fear him.