To Inspire, Motivate And Teach

Quote Of The Week

2009-09-06T11:12:00.002-05:00

'Nature is patient, yet everything gets done' - Confucius-

After coming back from Yosemite national park after hiking for a week through the park, I get a deeper understanding of that quote above by confucius. Standing atop cloud's rest and half dome looking down into the amazingly beautiful Yosemite valley, I only begin to comprehend the fact that once again it took nature a few MILLION years to create that valley as the glaciers moved through during the ice age.

Funny how man always want to do things faster and more quickly. The only thing I can guarantee you is that when man's tallest and strongest structures have fallen, yosemite valley and its giant mountain/domes will still be around like they have been all these years.

Something for us to ponder upon. Be patient and keep working on whatever you believe in and eventually something beautiful will come out of it.

Thanks Mother nature,
Yuen

The Stotan Code

2009-08-26T10:46:00.001-05:00

Stoic: A philosophy based on deriving pleasure from virtue and being unmoved by necessary hardship.

Spartan: An ancient greek culture based on loyalty, discipline and acting for the greater good.

Combine them and you get what is called a Stotan! (aka me hopefully)

The text below is taken from Alan Couzen's (great sports writer's blog)

The Stotan Code
Percy Cerutty
‘Maker of Champions’

A Stotan is one who hardens, strengthens, toughens and beautifies the body by consistent habits and regular exercises, which are consciously and irrevocably made part of the life plan of the individual, as well as consciously determining that the mind will be cultivated upon such abstractions as purity, beauty and logic. Erudition, in as complete a degree as possible shall be the lifelong aim: Truth, in relation to all aspects of life, the unending search.

Stotans will, by virtue of their philosophy, be nature lovers, with a respect and appreciation of all evolved or created things. They will appreciate the sanctity of creative effort both in themselves and in others. They will strive to understand the significance implied by reality, will be able to discern the real from the spurious, and see no anomaly in nudity, either in body or mind. But neither will they cast pearls before swine.

Stotans, for all the reasons that their philosophy stands for (viz: hardness, toughness, unswerving devotion to an ideal), would look upon the sea (or mountains) as their pristine element and endeavour to associate themselves with their primeval source by immersing themselves at least once per month in all seasons of the year. No practice is disposed to toughen, both the body and the morale, more than this.

Stotans believe that neither the body nor the mind can be maintained at a high pitch of efficiency unless sufficient and regular rest is obtained, and aim at a daily average of of 8 hours sleep. Stotans, also, will not be found in social places after midnight. Stotans shall so regulate their lives that at the end of a period, varying with the intensity of effort, each shall realize that they have attained, without conscious striving, to a state of knowledge, and a position of leadership within the community. It is axiomatic that only the pure can understand purity, only the cultivated appreciate beauty, and only the strong truly measure their strength. Therefore, only the self-disciplined can command genuine respect.

A program shall be aimed at which shall be designed to [train each Stotan]:-

(a)… to withstand physical hardship, to accomplish feats of strength and endurance, to understand orderliness, and the true meaning of intelligence.

(b) To know himself as an organism and a personality

(c) To emerge, eventually emancipated, from all dogmas, creeds, and beliefs, as well as worldly and unworldly hopes and fears.

(d) To habitually function upon the highest planes of thought and physical effort.

(e) To place the objective of an alert, informed intelligence, and a perfected body, as primary in Life. And to arrive at the conclusion that all else will follow on.

(f) To learn that on this basis, the whole world, and all that it has to offer, opens out as a vision, splendid, normal and realizable.

(g) To understand that Past, Futures, Fates, Fears, Death, Selfishness, Egoism, Pride, Envy, Hate and Prejudice can be replaced by Intelligence that controls emotion, dominates destiny, manifests completeness and exults in Life.

(h) To understand that, in actuality, evolved man is a King, but without the trappings. That Kingship is his right and his destiny. That we can make ourselves, in time, all that we would. That we honour real men but are subservient to none.

In addition, Stotans shall train themselves to withstand, stoically, personal criticism, also, scepticism as the necessity or wisdom of such a Way of Life. In this regard, Stotans soon learn that they command knowledge, experience and ability not available to the prejudiced, the ignorant or the slothful.

Also, having embarked upon the Stotan Way of Life, like the Spartans, one must go through with it to the end. There is no giving up throughout life. The first pre-requisite for a Stotan is tenacity. The next is to understand that his loyalties are towards making the most of the material that is his, to the expansion, or at least the manifestation of the Life Force, and a constant identification of himself with his Life Force through his Way of Life.

To live this Way of Life is hard. It is not for weaklings. It is the Way that is travelled by all the truly great ones. It requires strenuous effort of body and mind.

Quote of the week

2009-08-10T18:16:00.000-05:00

"Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known."

-From Elizabeth Guice's Blog

Feeling lucky,

Yuen

While looking for inspiration....

2009-07-25T13:36:00.003-05:00

Below is the speech that Steve Jobs gave to stanford graduates back in 2007. I first came across it while searching for inspiration to write my speech that was to be given my then hopeful employers (Rolls Royce) for a summer internship spot but sadly I didnt make it. However what I learned from his speech and from the experience as a whole has stayed with me till this day.

Hence I would like to share his speech with you readers, and hopefully you can find something meaningful from it too.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Steve Jobs

Always hungry and foolish,
Yuen

Gentleman Quality Development Program

2009-07-10T11:47:00.005-05:00

As promised from my previous article, there are times that guys just act like blatant retards that I can no longer understand what are the things that come across their minds. Hence I would like to share with you what I've learned so far regarding this GQDP.

All of you have it. There are nothing more to learn in gaining the quality values of being a gentleman other than getting rid of the two traits that are obstructing you from revealing the qualities - self-centeredness and chauvinism. The driving force towards possessing or practicing the aforementioned traits is being a smart Alec.

You think that by suppressing others' opinions can reveal your admirable intelligence level and gain the attention you have always lust for. Think again.

You think that you're the one and only ingenious son of a cow who knows everything about the world. Think again.

You think that by not following your command it would be an insult to you and hence jeopardizing your little plan of Einstein. Think again.

You think that whatever that comes first into your feeble mind makes it an absolute answer towards your question. You better think again.

You think that by doing things that feel right temporarily will enlighten your path of future in all aspects. You better triple your thoughts once again.

If you realize that you've done one of the things mentioned in the list above, well my friend, you still have hope in turning into a new leaf as you're not the worst. If you have done all, in fact, more than what I've mentioned, you're still not the worst. The hopeless ones are those who don't even know that they are being Alec's after reading this article! To those self-proclaimed geniuses, go knock yourself out and join the goats in grass devouring competition. To those who wanna be a true gentleman for the good of mankind, give more, take less, and expect none in return.

Vengeful Spirit

2009-07-07T22:39:00.001-05:00

It's not the hero in DotA, boys. Read the following the news retrieved from The Stars and you'll know what I am referring to.

"A COMPANY executive has sought the help of the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department after her former boyfriend from Hong Kong posted nude pictures of her on the Internet.

Sin Chew Daily reported that 25-year-old Chen said the man used her e-mail account to send out the pictures to her friends, colleagues and family members.

The couple met in 2004 while both were studying in Australia. Chen decided to call off their relationship in September last year. She is working in Malaysia, and he in the financial sector in Shanghai, China.

The man had made numerous calls to Chen to reconcile, but to no avail. Unable to accept the decision, he sent out the pictures as an apparent act of revenge..."

Of course, this is not really the first time such case has been occurring. In fact, it is increasingly common in our impure society. But because it is so common nowadays, it has induced fear upon me that people will no longer pay attention to such incidents! Thus these victims will no longer have the privilege of attention anymore!... hang on, maybe that's a good thing. Nevermind. On top of that, these men would think that such incidents are so typical that they can apply this dreadful technique of vengeance upon anyone, particularly to female acquaintances, whenever they see fit and think that 'it is part of the breaking up progress'. I bet some of their friends would even support him in doing so! This is at least what I'd foreseen so far in the near future - Majority just do things with emotion as their fundamental basis in decision making!

Alright, let's assume that the guy is doing it not because of the girl dumping him. It is because the girl did not have the sexual attention that she demanded e.g. not huge enough for her or so,and hence dumping him. THAT my friend, I THINK I understand how he would feel (I have decent dongs, don't think aside). But what are the reasons for him doing so?! Because he had tried very hard to reconcile the relationship and it didnt work? I didn't do well in my Aeronautical subject despite my hard work and high intelligence level, alright maybe it's just of mediocre level. Whom am I to blame? The lecturer? Maybe it is because of that she's just so darn gorgeous that he didn't wanna let other guys to have her? But that just makes him a dictator and there are more reasons to why the girl should leave him asap. Or maybe it is simply because she's just pure mean for not trying to reconcile with him? If it is so, dude, why bother talking about it with her?! Just leave already.

There are no doubt many other culprits behind his 'interesting' reaction towards his breakup. But base on the three examples that I'd stated above, we can conclude that this particular HK guy (only applicable on that guy, no offense to other HK guys) is purely of a foolish self-centred low-life with no respect and consideration for others. Let's abbreviate that - bastard. An alternative abbreviation - f**ker. And the ultimatum - he deserves to be dumped!

Alright, so some of you might think that 'why on earth did the girl had permitted him to take her nude pictures in the first place...'. Let me answer that for you. It is about trust. Foolish or not, it is of another issue. Whenever you're in a relationship, there will always the mutual trust that kicks in and it is that that bonds the both parties together. This of course requires the cooperation from both parties. If you've been into a relationship before, especially your first one, you would understand what I'm talking about. Otherwise, don't even try to challenge me in handling relationship problems.

All in all, there's still no solid reason to why he should post up picture on the net USING HER EMAIL ACCOUNT SENDING IT TO HER RELATIVES AND FRIENDS! Sigh, his existence, and to many of you guys who would have actually even THINK of doing such thing, are dispensable. These people need to attend GQDP - Gentlemen Quality Development Program, a program which I'll briefly mention in my next update.

Whatever that we are doing now, we do it for the benefit of our future. My readers, please think about it.

Adapted from http://guezt.diaryland.com/080709.html

5 Rules

2009-07-07T21:36:00.001-05:00

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

On another note, I came 3rd at the 70.3 collegiate championships in Lawrence, Kansas and am looking forward to another 70.3 at vineman next weekend!

=)

Take care,
Yuen

Courage

2009-06-09T22:13:00.002-05:00

"Each time we face our fear, we gain courage, strength and confidence in the doing"

Off to Kansas this weekend to race the collegiate 70.3's. Some pretty fast guys there and I have to say truly Im a bit nervous and afraid but as the quote above says, we have to face our fears and our uncertainties in order to build courage, strength and confidence. Even if we fail, courage is the will to carry on from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm., knowing that one can always try again and again.

Flashing back to my DNF from UK 70.3 a year ago, it has certainly give me the strength knowing that I failed before, learned and got stronger. I know I can also do it again!

Anyway, nothing better than being the underdog and dark horse around! =)

Be courageous,
Yuen

WIN

2009-06-01T12:17:00.002-05:00

Short one this week. To all readers just keep in mind this--

WIN = Whats Important Now!

Very important to take a WIN attitude to life and attend to WIN.

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life, dont let the past screw it up" - Brett Sutton, On of the finest triathlon coaches in the world

Still WINning,
Yuen

Success

2009-05-28T10:51:00.001-05:00

I recently read (actually, I listened to the audiobook) Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell. He suggests that success in any endeavor typically results from two things – luck and hard work.

He points out that luck is the result of being born at the right time and living in the right place. One of the many examples he gave for this was Bill Gates. In the late 1960s Gates was in junior high school at the time computers were just beginning to appear. He was very interested in computer technology but in order to become proficient he would have to spend a lot of time playing around with one. That wasn’t easy to do since there were very few available. But he happened to live in a place where an organization had a computer he could use any time he wanted. The time and place were perfect for him. How lucky.

He capitalized on this opportunity by spending nearly all of his spare time messing around with it. Within a matter of a few years it is estimated he logged over 10,000 hours of computer time. During his junior year at Harvard he dropped out and started Microsoft. The hard work paid off.

Luck and hard work. That’s it, Gladwell says. You have limited control over the first. It’s too late to change when you were born. If you’re a triathlete now you can thank your lucky stars to have been at an opportune time since the sport didn’t really exist until the early 1980s. Mountain biking came along in the mid-1980s. The running boom started in the early 1970s. And road cycling has only been popular in the US since the early 1970s. So, depending on your age right now, your timing may have been pretty good.

You do have some control over where you live, however. There are places that seem to produce excellent endurance athletes such as Boulder and San Diego. Why? Because they have the resources associated with endurance sport success such as decent weather, variable terrain, top coaches, adequate facilities, talented training partners, good roads, sports medicine practices, and more.

Gladwell suggests that 10,000 hours at any endeavor is what is needed to master it. Again, he offers many examples such as the Beatles. He estimates that they had played together for 10,000 hours by 1964 when they became an “overnight” success in the US as a rock band.

In athletic terms, 10,000 hours is 10 years of 20 hour weeks. Elite endurance athletes in cycling and triathlon typically put in more than 20 hours a week so they get their 10-grand a little sooner. If they started training seriously in their early 20s by their late 20s they are approaching their peaks. Many can keep this peak going into their 30s because they continue to become smarter as athletes. For example, they learn more about race strategies and tactics, and what works best for their own training.

Most age-group athletes who train far less than 20 hours weekly have many years of improvement ahead of them depending on the effects of their aging curves. The older you get the fewer mistakes you can make in training if you want to keep the growth curve rising steadily. They must avoid injury, illness and other breakdowns that interrupt training. This is the biggest challenge for self-coached athletes there is. It’s a rare athlete who will limit himself. Most are intent on doing all that is possible. Hard workouts abound.

I believe that the key to success in sport is not simply hard workouts but, more importantly, training consistency — practicing your sport day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. Uninterrupted. Athletes who focus on excessively hard workouts on the premise that this will quickly produce exceptional performance eventually find themselves overtrained, burned out, injured or sick. There is nothing that produces race results like years of consistent training. This is not to say there is no place for hard workouts. There is. It’s just a matter of how hard and how often.

Says a lot about being consistent in our lives doesnt it?? The key is always to be able to back up whatever you are doing on a day to day, month to month basis.

Backing it up,
Yuen

In Memory Of

2009-05-20T21:43:00.002-05:00

Steve Larsen, one of the friendliest and nicest triathlete ever in the history of the sport died of a heart attack during a track wokout yesterday, and he was only 39. I feel that there was line in the article about this great man that I should share with you all.

"A man may train like Steve Larsen, and, rarely, he may become a professional athlete. Steve Larsen was a professional athlete who trained himself to become a man. And that is rarer still. "

Well written,

Yuen

Choices

2009-05-18T11:24:00.001-05:00

How do you make your choices? It seems we have more and more choices in daily living that effect our path in life. The choices we make determine the results we obtain. Those results happen by choice, not by chance.

Each of us has great power to direct and shape our lives. The secret is outlining and establishing a few main goals, and then making choices that support those goals. Clarifying our goals is an ongoing process that requires constant reflection, monitoring, and adjustment.

The number of choices with which we are confronted requires us to have a structure for decision making. Choices and decision making come at us very quickly and at varying degrees of pressure. Having structures in place to naturally guide our decision making helps ensure consistency toward our goals.

Simply the process of making choices can be paralyzing. Getting in a habit of filtering choices through the anchors in our lives can make the process simpler and many times directs those choices as a natural process.

The choices we make reveal and test our discipline. The choices we know are right are not always easy. We are all presented with conflicting choices. Continuing to make choices that support our goals takes great discipline. Discipline becomes easier with practice and as we weave ongoing choices into our lifestyle.

Along with that structure we need accountability. In many ways we can be accountable to ourselves. We all have areas of weakness, and in these areas we need the help of a support structure. Friends, family, colleagues, and organizations can all be used as structures to support and keep us accountable for the various categories of choices we make in life.

Choices are not always easy. However, simplifying the choices, having a structure, and creating accountability for ourselves will direct us toward our goals.

Choose wisely,

Yuen

Setting The Foundations

2009-05-07T23:37:00.002-05:00

As I approach my final day of classes here at UT Austin, Im beginning to look back and reflect on certain things and events in my life. One of the things Ive thought a lot about is how throughout the years, I've set the foundations to get to where I am today, and always through the foundation setting process, how many obstacles Ive faced and how eventually (now) most of the obstacles doesnt seem to frankly matter thah much anymore.

One of the key things Ive reflected upon is my sports career (as usual). It truly amazing how many lessons and things you can take away from sports that apply in life. Its like theyre the same thing!

My first year doing trithlon back in 06/07, I always wanted to put in the huge weeks and mileages that the pros were doing. Back then 15 hours of training a week seemed like eternity to me as even when I was running at a high level 10 hours of running was enough to kill me (especially when I did 100 mile weeks as a 17 year old). My only goal that year was to finish and do a 1/2 ironman. I came in 3rd in my age group for my 1st ever triathlon and finished within the top 10% of the field! As of last year, I decided to take it up a notch and was trying to turn elite amateur, trying to win my age group at the prestigious UK 70.3 1/2 iron race. I failed, I bonked out with tight muscles and dead legs on a typical cold UK day. Bummer. I was depressed, all those months of 20hours of training for no good reason at all! (Or so it seems). However that loss and that day was only the start of something even better!

I went back home for summer, trained with Stingray Swim club back home and worked hard in the pool. I was rewarded with a stronger swim coming to TX in Aug 08 and boy did everything seem to pick up from there! I suppose its sufice to say that, if I never had done those 20 hour weeks, I wouldnt be where I am today. Those hard weeks training alone back in the UK has set me up well for the 25hr per week of training Im holding nowadays. I suppose in a lot of ways its like paying your dues before you are able to get to a certain point in life.

Its amazing how this law holds true for everything, such as relationships, career, and even studying. All those years rote learning and doing all those homework back then set the foundation for university today! The problems with relationships where one works hard but never succeeds/ breakup also has set the foundation for one to learn and the opportunity to be a better person and do much better the next time round.

So in short I guess, sometimes in life we have to pay certain dues, put in the time and work (along with scrweing up again and again) before certain things come to us. That way we are able to appreciate things more when they do finally come to us!

Still building,
Yuen

Night Runs

2009-05-01T11:34:00.002-05:00

It always amazes me how people are afraid of the dark. But when you look at it from the right point of view, there is also beauty in the darkness. Ive learned alot about this through the night runs and workouts I do when time doesnt afford me a daytime one.

Going through town lake at night, there's a nice sense of quietness and peacefulness not found during the day when its filled up with people. If youre attentive enough, youll hear and see so many things not found during the day. As I run along at my steady 7min/mile pace, there's a lot to savor and think about, and my night runs gives me the oppotunity to reflect and learn.

This week's thoughts during my night workouts focused around four simple steps that successful people always have: Run when others walk; sleep when others party; take your weakness and make it your strength; and keep your body under control at all times. I found that this 4 points have served me well in my athletic career and life.

The message is very clear in my head as I run - “Your destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice, eventually you will choose where you are going.” Obvious advice but so many people never seem to take any form of responsility for their actions and usually blame other factors.

I guess my message for this week is, " Everything we are and we will be, are results of our own actions." However due to the fact that we are all given different types of conditions to grow under, not everyone will turn out the same. So we take the best with whatever we have been given and try to maximize that, plus at the same time we try to turn our weaknesses into a source strength for ourselves.

And the other thing is, night doesnt last forerver too..so enjoy it while you can before the day comes!

Time to get back to work now,

Yuen

Enjoy The Moment

2009-04-22T23:28:00.003-05:00

Does the pace of life sometimes turn into a blur for you? The past several weeks have been extremely busy for me. When there are so many things to do and the pace is fast, time seems to fly by.

Although busy times and a fast pace can be stressful and sometimes frustrating, when we look back there were also a lot of shining moments. One of the things we can do is train ourselves, regardless of the pace, to make sure we enjoy special moments.

As endurance athletes we train ourselves for the long distance. Endurance athletes are masters at looking forward toward the future, establishing long-term goals, and establishing a plan to get to those goals. At the same time, however, there are always incremental successes along the way that can keep us motivated and moving forward.

Likewise, life is a long distance event and we need to train ourselves to seize the special moments along the way. So, like an athlete with long term goals we need to enjoy the incremental moments along the way.

Over the last 2 weeks Ive been cutting down my training to about 10-15 hrs a week in order to recover from the hard race at galveston earlier this month. During that time I spent my extra hours reflecting on the hard work Ive put into my research and training over the last few months leading up to it. In doing so, I smiled at all of the little, bright moments and the people that make life so enjoyable. Things like early morning coffee with Dave, the client who thanked us, the friend who asked for training advice and attending Michelle's senior recital.

Ive also learned that I should learn how to enjoy being in the moment more. Whether its resting for 20s off a hard 400 swim or having dinner with someone, all those moments should be enjoyed and cherished for what they are.

Keeping an eye on the horizon while effectively obtaining progressive achievements along the way is a path toward long-term and future successes while at the same time appreciating the here and now. One of the strategies I implement in my training is to have a longer term, two years or so, strategic plan which is our view at and over the horizon that will hopefully get me to the Olympics someday or turn me into a World Ironman age group champion. At the same time, in order to be effective in our daily activities we need to concentrate and focus on digestible and comprehendible activities and results.

So, while we are busy in our daily lives, with our long-term goals and pursuits, take a deep breath or a step back to “enjoy the moment.”

Enjoying the moment,

Yuen

And to all who are facing exams. All the best with revision! To my dear sister all the best too and enjoy your holidays after finally finishing your med degree!

Some Weekend Notes

2009-04-13T13:47:00.002-05:00

As of the weekend that just passed, I hope everyone who reads my blog had a good easter weekend.

Over the weekend there were 2 incidents that happened in the same day that I thought was worth sharing with you folks.

As usual saturday was a 75mile ride for the team. To get to our destination we had to use the 360 highway which is usually a pretty decent place to bike as it has wide shoulders for cycling. However due to the fact that the terrain was pretty hilly, there were some parts where you were really flying on the downhills, and slow coming back up the other side. We were supposed to do 37.5miles, then turn around.

On the way back 2 accidents happened. The first accident involved Marie Archer, a 40+ yr old lady, really good triathlete, mum and wife. I was not in this group of cyclists as I stopped to help a friend who had punctured. What happened was Marie took a tumble, and broke her collarbone/shoulder (cant remember which). As I remember seeing her sitting on the side of the highway in pain, but still wanting to carry on cycling back. However we advised her not to and called the ambulance in, and when the paramedics came out the first thing they asked her was "Maam how is your arm feeling, and if you can rate your level of pain on a scale of 1 - 10 what number would it be". The reply came " ZERO!". Gosh I was impressed with this lady who had just fallen off her bike, definitely in pain but refused to think about the pain. She was also very positive about the whole thing, and joked about coming back into training with an arm cast or using just one hand to bike. All in all, pretty impressive from a 40+ yr old woman. It instantly struck me as, no matter how much pain or suffering youre in, you can always choose to be positive and think about other things. And that in return, will make everything recover, heal and get you back on track much faster!

Secondly was the more serious accident on the 360 highway. This is the excerpt from a local blog.

Anthony Kaim, the cyclist hit on Loop 360 at the Pennybacker Bridge Saturday morning, is scheduled for three surgeries this week but has no brain injuries, according to his wife.

Kaim broke several ribs and his left hip, shattered his pelvis, fractured his spine in four or five places and broke his jaw in three places, Heidi Kaim told me this morning. He’s in intensive care at University Medical Center at Brackenridge.

“I think it’s a miracle he’s as good as he is,” she says. “He’s actually conscious and talking and in his right mind. He’s asking a lot of questions because he is a lawyer.”

Anthony Kaim was riding southbound on Loop 360 when he apparently ran over debris or hit a bump, which caused him to lose control of his handlebars and hit the cement barrier on the right side of the road. He bounced back into traffic on the left and was hit by a car.

“It wasn’t like anybody was at fault, it was just a freak accident,” Heidi Kaim says.

Anthony Kaim is a Category 3 cyclist who rode on the University of Texas cycling team and now competes with the Gulf Coast Cycling Association team. He had recently finished law school and works as a clerk for a Fifth Circuit Judge in Austin.

He is scheduled for two surgeries Tuesday and another on Wednesday.

“He would just want to thank everybody for keeping him in their thoughts and prayers,” she says. “He’s touched by everybody rallying around.”

She’s sure he’ll be back on the bike as soon as he can. “It’ll take physical therapy for a long time. They’re thinking in six months he can be slightly active again. It’ll be maybe a year before he’s able to ride.”

Joseph LaFico was in a group of cyclists about 15 minutes behind Kaim’s pack. When he arrived at the accident scene, emergency crews had closed the roadway.

He describes Kaim as a “very experienced cyclist, definitely not a newbie. Just a good, solid guy who rides under the radar.

As I was cycling back I saw the scene of the accident and once again it told me how lucky I was to be here cycling and enjoying my life. Sometimes I tend to complain and to think "oh how unfair life is etc etc" but reflecting back on that day it seems that life wasnt so bad after all. As a triathlete Ive been in my fair share of nerve wracking accidents before that left me with permanent scars. The most scary one was skidding off a turn coming down genting highlands and almost going over the side down the ravine (and thankfully there were no cars coming the other way). However after witnessing that accident, I suddenly had more of a sense of appreciation for life and myself, plus also realising that life shouldnt be toyed around with but it should always be cherished and revered, as you never know when the last moment might come. I hope all you readers appreciate, love and accept your ownself, for having the chance to be alive and healthy is certainly one of, if not the greatest thing you can ever have! Hopefully everyone takes good care of themselves, and stay safe in whatever you guys are undertaking/doing. Always remember better safe than sorry!

Take care,
Yuen

An Email from a close friend

2009-04-06T19:24:00.004-05:00

Hey,

How are you doing??? I guess youre off being pretty busy again eh..hehehe...=)

You know I got back from my first race of the season this year and once again Im confused between the feelings of joy and depression.

Once again the race didnt go quite as planned. I swam pretty ok, biked real hard and well and after 2 laps of the 4 laps run I cramped up very very very badly. Every step hurt -like a bitch and I had to limp/run/walk along. It was so so easy to just throw in the towel and nothing I did seemed to make those cramps go away. I lost probably about 10 mins on the last 2 laps because of the cramps that came along in the leg.

However, because I managed to hang in and dig really deep, I managed to make it to the finish line in top 20 (when I could have easily made top 10 given a cramp free day) and about 10 mins off my goal time. I also managed to come in first for the men's 20-24 amateur race. However there is this sense of sadness and depression in not making my time targets. And I also felt that Ive let my coach down in some ways though he says dont worry about it as this will give us something to work on over the coming weeks. Even though ppl tell me its ok thigns happen, the sense of not living up to a certain standard gets to me a lot, and I feel that Ive let a lot of people down over the last year.

Im depressed and at the same time also elated to have managed to dig so deep. I swear this was the toughest thing I ever did so far in any race Ive done.

Im not sure whether I should - be happy because I managed to dig super deep and fight my way through the pain not giving in

or

Be sad coz I missed my time targets that I worked so hard for, puting in 25-30hr training weeks over the last 6 weeks and training hard over the last few months to get that target that was so close and I was on course for during the first two laps.

I dont know...what do you think? Well at least now I know no other race will ever be as hard as this one..I hope..

Hope youre doing well my friend
take care
Yuen

And the reply was

Hey hey,

was actually thinking of what were you up to recently but hehe.. never really had the chance to sit down and write to you.

so here it is, CONGRATS!

well, i think you did very well and proved that mental strength can overcome physical fatigue, and by doing so, you still came out good with results that many others were vying for. if you had thought about this race not only as a test of your physique, but also a challenge to your inner well being, you'll find that you've crowned yourself a champion by showing yourself how much control you have over your body when you put your mind to it.

there is no reason to feel sad. by feeling sad, you are actually abusing your emotional health that actually played a large part of helping you make it through this race. this unfair treatment must stop. continuing to dwell in these thoughts only shows how much you do not understand (or how much you are refusing to understand) your body even after all those training! this is what i see: if you haven't had invested so many hours into training, you wouldn't have been able to conjure such strength (both mentally and physically) after your cramp and to be so adamant about not throwing in the towel. those training made able this feat, and that has to be celebrated!

as much as your coach has invested his time and hope in you, the only standards that were set, were by yourself. from your words, you already know although you feel that you have let down your coach, it matter greater when you felt that you have let down yourself. so, make this paradigm shift!

sports was never about time. time was just a device which we, humans use to "calculate" the well being of our physique. you, as a sportsman, should know that it is much more than that. it's about testing the physical limits of the body (not against otime) but against your mental strength. and you have proved that and should be rightly proud of yourself.

and there's one thing you have to learn about yourself, that is what your limits lie. do not build your standards upon what you feel are others' expectations. learn what you can and cannot do. being ambitious is good, but being realistically ambitious is even better. this, is my comment towards what you said about feeling that you've let down many people over the last year.

you're one of the people that i worry most, because although knowing that you have great physical strength, your emotional health often takes the blow when things doesn't turn up the way you envisioned it to be. so buck up! you will do yourself such justice when you can finally understand yourself.

hmm.. not sure whether you understand what i meant. english vocab shrinking in an alarming rate. gah.

well, you take care ok?

Well to the person who wrote the email back (you know who you are..assuming you still read this blog but I'll watch out on the counter). Thank you so much for this amazing advice that I found somewhat appropriate to share with other people in hopes that it might help them out with their own troubles in life. Hopefully you'll (and everyone out there) will always live a life that's full of joy and happiness!

Yuen

2009-04-02T07:33:00.005-05:00

Power of the New World
It is a world that's been waiting just around the corner, and not all the current generations are able to accept such a world. Some would describe it as a world of acceptance, to others it is a world of distortion and the rest just couldn't be bothered. To me it is a world of confusion and soon they will have to redefine the definition of 'He' and 'She' in all the existing languages in this .... confusing world. The fact that Gay Marriage is legalized in some countries already signifying that the world is changing. Thanks to our most accepted governing style - the Democrazeeeee... See! I'm not entirely against it... i just couldn't accept it for now... Perhaps our next generation could accept it easier relatively speaking.

Only two letters to describe our changing world - GG! And what world is that? Click play below and you'll find out soon.

n!xx

The Truth

2009-03-26T21:14:00.005-05:00

It’s been a while, have you missed me? Well, I’ve been pretty busy over the last little while and haven’t had much down time – oh, that’s too bad, you really should take some time for yourself. Not really, you see, every minute of every day is for myself. My work and training is a great source of satisfaction for me. For me, understanding that each day, each activity is my own personal choice, leaves me both responsible for, and happy with, every choice that I make.

Three Rs:

Respect for self
Respect for others
Responsibility for all my thoughts and actions

Anyhow, it’s been a pretty satisfying period so far over the last few weeks. Quite busy and a few times I had to buckle down. Kind of interesting to see my response when I was challenged to raise my game. I had wondered if high productivity would ever be possible again – turns out that my productivity remains. Even better, my effectiveness has been enhanced with the passage of time.

Read an interesting book recently, J. Krishnamurti, Think of These Things. JK comes up with some very interesting insights into human nature and the fundamental nature of things. If you read the book then you might see that I have been scratching the surface of many of JK’s insights – he’s an amazing guy.

Anyhow, it was neat to read about another example about how one man’s view of the truth matches the stories experienced by so many others. The main difference in Krishnanurti’s experience is that he doesn’t espouse any particular path, belief system or other dogma. I found his thoughts on truth particularly interesting. His view is that there is a universal truth within us all – we simply need to quiet our mind for this truth to become apparent. He also talks quite a bit about the only real truth being what we experience for ourselves and that it is not possible to follow anything, anyone, any creed to a truth… truth is a pathless land… get it?

From time to time I receive advice from folks encouraging me to follow their path, their dogma, their truth, their God - these folks encourage me to look into their path as it is the one true path. These notes make me smile… how can you know the right path for me if you don’t even know me. Do you think that I would be a better person if I followed your path? Most the people I see following any path (money, God, sex, athletics, alcohol, whatever) don’t strike me as particularly radiant in truth, happiness and love. I’m feeling pretty good these days, will your path make me feel even better? Will it make me a “better” person? Will it make you feel like a better person (having straightened me out)? Are you sure that I need to be straightened? Who says so?

Perhaps you were prompted to drop me a line because my writing touched something inside you – perhaps your feelings were driven by the Truth inside you?

Can any belief system that is based on a truth outside of one’s self, one’s actual experience be truly strong. If your Truth/God/Path is so strong then why aren’t you happier? Why aren’t you filled with love and happiness?

What is it that creates conflict in our lives, in our societies? Some might blame it on external influences – JK has an interesting observation that the conflict evident in our societies is merely a reflection of the internal conflict within us. By resolving our internal conflicts, we will be able to better face, and eventually change, the external conflicts in our world.

I’ve certainly found that as I have made progress calming the noise inside my own mind:

many conflicts cease as they were creations of my mind;
I am able to see beyond words, I can understand what you mean (rather than what you say);
the clarity of my thoughts has increased markedly.

However, to get these improvements, I needed to free up some space inside my head. It’s a ongoing tough project of mind to do my best to free up space.

So many of my friends believe passionately that their God will deliver them to happiness. So they buckle down and work devoutly towards their God. But what is your God? Is it a book? Is it a guru? Is it a prophet, long since departed? Is it a race, a fictional promised land of heat and lava? Is it competition, money, acquiring goods? What is your belief system? What is your truth? Do you follow the laws, ideals, dogma of another? How can you be sure of their truth? Has it brought you stability, happiness, goodness, satisfaction? If you are deeply satisfied with your life then perhaps the answers to the questions are beside the point. If you are looking for some increased satisfaction then a good place to start would be your current beliefs.

Perhaps there is something deeper beyond the experience that you have been conditioned to believe? Beyond the patterns that your parents, teachers and society have brought you to believe? Something that might give you the tranquility that you long to experience? That you may have known in a moment of grace, of beauty or quiet reflection?

You keep believing and believing but the more you believe, the more you try to be devout/fast/acceptable/good/right/honest… does it get you anywhere? Does it bring you lasting peace?

Think about the people that you have met in your life that are truly happy, deeply happy – what common characteristics do they have? Think about the moments of your own life when you have experienced calm, experienced peace? What do these moments have in common? For me, these moments give me insights into my own peace, my own truth.

I had a good buddy tell me the other day… “look dude, it’s great that you have found your inner peace, the meaning in your life but what the hell does that do for me?!” My first thought was “I don’t know what it does for you, but that’s one of the nicest things that anyone has said to me in a while. You really are a good friend”. Of course that didn’t do much for my pal. Or maybe it did. I’m not sure. I’m not sure of a whole lot these days – but the few things that I am sure about… I am increasingly sure of.

When we quiet our minds, we are able to see beyond mere words and into the heart of the people that are talking to us. Truth lies in the heart, not in words. When you know that a person has love in their heart, when you really know it – can anything that they say hurt you? Can anything they say be anything other than an expression of their love or a reflection of the fear that their loves brings to their ego? I always hope people forgive me when my mind gets out of control – for the people I meet, I also try to forgive them for the problems of their mind.

Have you ever experienced the fear (that uncontrolled sensation) that our minds create when we start to head towards the Truth?

Have you ever found that your mind feels most secure when it has power over, or dependence from, another?

Have you explored or considered why the above happens?

The ego feeds on the energy of others. I wonder if it is possible for us to generate energy from within ourselves? Of course it is – when people find their truth, their vocation – the energy always appears. Think about it in your own life – think about a situation where you really wanted something. When you have something that you truly want to do, truly want to learn, you are alive, you are full of the energy required for the task. It’s a shame that so many of us find the source of our energy in gods that eventually prove to be false. But at least we have energy, without energy we are dead.

Most of our minds are not set-up for dealing with a situation when we find ourselves drawn towards an individual or a concept that wants nothing from us except the pleasure that comes from being with us (or even simply the pleasure of being, period). The ego tries to find an angle, a hook to make that person dependant on us (employment, marriage, commitment, sexual gratification, money). But ALL of these things are pointless – all we really want is merely to experience the energy, the truth, the love that comes from being with that person. All the hooks in the world can’t create that energy – it comes from within that person. Create restrictions, blockages, entrapment and you stifle the very energy that you crave so much.

Does your mind like it when the object of your love reflects your love on to others? Or does your mind try to possess that love, lock it up, grab it just for itself. Does your mind feel cheated when another absorbs your love, magnifies it and passes it along to the world? Love, like information, has the most value when it is shared.

“But you don’t need me. What will I do it you leave/fire/foresake me?”

If your happiness depends on the approval/love/respect/admiration of another then is it strong? Is it solid? Because the other will change/leave/die. Maybe not today but eventually and what will you do then? True strength can only arise within. If we love others merely so that they love us in return, then aren’t we really engaged in a form of psychological barter? Shopping at the market for love? But it isn’t love, it’s ego food.

“What will happen if I lose my partner/money/job/house/speed?”

Does your sense of self depend on these externals? You’ve been worrying about that for years, perhaps this is just the opportunity you need to find some truth beyond the gods that have yet to deliver you to happiness and fullfilment.

“What if I get old/slow/ugly?”

You will – get over it. Fear and denial make the most beautiful creature ugly before it’s time. Love and happiness can make anyone radiant for their entire life.

You don’t need ownership, you need love and the easiest way to get love is to give it.

Do you really understand the motivations of your mind, the sources of the beliefs that we take for granted? Have you challenged “why” you hold onto your beliefs so tightly? Are they a source of joy for you?

Do people with honesty, love and integrity in their hearts need laws, dogma, rituals and the advice of others to find truth and happiness? Will these rituals that you propose for me, make me a better person? Will they increase my ability to love you? For it is really love that drives us all.

So many questions to consider... all leading back to your one truth and I hope that all of you find it soon and may your lives be better because of it.

The truth is out there,

Yuen

The Card

2009-03-13T21:44:00.006-05:00

"For most of life, nothing wonderful happens. If you don't enjoy getting up and working and finishing your work and sitting down to a meal with family or friends, then the chances are that you're not going to be very happy. If someone bases his happiness or unhappiness on major events like a great new job, huge amounts of money, a flawlessly happy marriage or a trip to Paris, that person isn't going to be happy much of the time. If, on the other hand, happiness depends on a good breakfast, flowers in the yard, a drink or a nap, then we are more likely to live with quite a bit of happiness." -Andy Rooney

As a young boy back in high school that was one of the quotes that I came across on one of my usual afternoons spent going through books. Amazingly someone had left one of those "pick me up" type of card things around the sports section. Back then I never really understood its meaning but now..all I can say is.. Whoever that person was, I thank you.

In my life, I have always had a tendency (a desire) to be different. I don't know why. Now that I "am different" I can see that a better way of looking at it would have been just to listen to my heart. Maybe my heart will tell me to be different but maybe my heart would be happy to do something "normal". I doubt that I will ever have a "normal" life based on prior experience but you never know. Without a doubt, following a path that brings happiness -- that is the path less traveled. We need only look around in the major cities of the world or pick up a newspaper to see that.

Still, it is kind of funny in that when I was unsatisfied in my life, I always tended to meet other people who were unsatisfied. Even when I started to make this transition in my life, I seemed to still always come across people who were unsatisfied and seemed to be mixng with the same sort of people. So many years on from that day in the bookstore I realised that I am actually surrounded by people who are happy in their lives. The strange thing? More than half of them are the same people! Now did the world change completely since that day? I very much doubt that. However, I have changed and in changing I have either started attractive positive things in my life OR am now able to see the positive things that were always around me (or at least trying to). I bet it is a lot of both factors. I love that Andy Rooney quote. It's a keeper.

As to why I came up with this post, I was recently clearing out some things that I had in my wallet. And oddly enough, I found this forgotten card tucked away in some obsolete corner. The other interesting thing I found was a magnet that had the words "sadness flies away on the wings of time" on it. However, thats another story, for another day.. =)

Remember my friends, when you change, everything else in your life follows!

Yours sincerely,

Yuen

To Be Your Best!

2009-03-09T00:10:00.004-05:00

My latest idea for the week is to share some of my favourite sayings and write what they mean to me. It's really a writing exercise for me. You may get something out of it - you may not!

I love short phrases. They can convey so much in so few words. By a mere suggestion, they open a series of paths to many different thoughts. Especially when you are prone to thinking about things for hours on end when your legs, heart and mind are engaged in a physical mantra (like cycling, perhaps).

"To be your best is to be good enough"

-Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching-

Now, looking at that from a Western perspective, one might be tempted to think that Lao Tzu is saying that we should be satisfied with our current situation. Just try your best and you've done all that you can.

Lao Tzu also says, "To live until you die is to live long enough." It's this quote that led me to think about the first one in a different light. To really live your whole life, to have experienced as many different things as possible, to explore the limits of your body, mind and spirit - THAT is really living.

What I think Lao Tzu is telling me is that I should be trying to be my best at all times in all areas. Be my best. Previously, I have always tried to be the best. That leads to competition and a focus away from what really matters - self-knowledge, self-improvement. I have absolutely no chance of making any changes to the outside world unless I can make changes in myself. Buddha or Jesus (they are mixed in my head these days), talks about changes within leading changes without.

How can I be my best? I have no roadmap, I have no idea of my potential. I feel lost, with no direction. I search for structure - it's no secret that my training provides structure to my whole life. Take away that structure and I start to get highly uncomfortable. Oh, what to do!

Step back.

What is my goal? Best to keep it simple. Start by "living right" and then add "thinking right". What does that mean? For me, it means showing acceptance and kindness first to oneself and then to others.(something that I'm still learning about and find hard to do at times, as I tend to be self destructive)

I really think that acceptance could be the key to unlock happiness and release stress. If I fail I am human. I am still okay. If I make a complete mess of everything, then I am just like everyone else. We make constant errors and mistakes. To expect perfection and constant happiness is a delusion. Things just don't work that way. If I accept that things will tend to crater from time to time (hell, crater all the time), then I am going to be better prepared to deal with whatever rolls my way - ham sandwich or hand grenade!

Am I heading back towards, "just do your best"? Does this mean that nothing really matters? I don't think so. I think that after I have realised that I am flawed, but okay, the next step is to make a total commitment to constant improvement. So being my best is not perfection. Rather it is a total commitment to thinking, being and acting the best - today, right now, this minute.

Not sure if you can see the difference, but it is a major one for me. It is full of tremendous compassion to myself. I acknowledge that I am flawed, but commit to a constant attempt to be my best. My best may, or may not, measure up to your expectations of me. Your best may, or may not, measure up to my expectations of you. However, so long as I know in my heart that I am doing the absolute best I can - right now - there really is not a lot more I can be doing. Very relaxing.

This concept is really interesting to me because what it implies is that we are not on a journey. Rather, we are living right here, right now. Who we are and what we are is linked to the present moment - not a future destination, not what we have achieved in the past.

While "present living", for me, implies a life that is 100% consistent with Christian metaphysics, it is a huge break from much of Christian Dogma. In particular, Catholic Dogma has a huge focus on the sins of the past - both our own, and those of others. Likewise, the focus is normally on "good living" today in order to achieve heaven tomorrow. What if good living today leads to heaven today? And in view of it all, what does heaven mean to you? That is truly a message of hope.

Hope this post makes sense in helping you readers out there!

Yuen

1st thing of the day

2009-03-04T23:07:00.002-06:00

Every morning as I clamber out of bed look at the door before walking out for the day, a paper I stuck on the door stares back at me that reads " To do your best, wherever you are, in whatever you do, with whatever you have, not what you wish you had".

An easy rule to write out, hard rule to live by.

However, I try my best too live by it (even though I fail sometimes) and I will continue trying to follow it on a day to day basis for the rest of my life.

So should you!

Yuen

Anchors In Life

2009-02-25T23:12:00.003-06:00

Do you know the “meaning” in your life? Of course, there is a seemingly endless supply of books on self-help, philosophy, religion, get rich quick, and so on. They all seem to try to define life for you. But the trick to finding “meaning” is that you have to find it yourself. Of course, that is what I always say I like so much about swimming, biking, and running alone - it gives me time to further and continuously define myself.

Unfortunately a large number of people kind of stumble through life and never really have any purpose. I tend to believe that your purpose is more of a choice or conscious decision. So, I think you either consciously decide what you are, or you unconsciously stumble forward.

I suppose you are getting older when you spend more and more time talking to older people (eg 65 yr old Dave-my good friend here) about your life options. I usually walk through a decision tree sort of process that significantly narrows down the options so that life doesn’t seem quite so daunting. This process always starts and ends with me thinking about the anchors of my life.

These anchors become the ongoing foundation for everything we do and what we are. We should actually live, breathe, and feel so strongly about them that we are able to bring our self to tears almost any time just by reflecting on them. Once we believe in them that strongly, they become our guiding lights on our path through life.

I have been able to describe my life anchors fairly specifically in four or five main categories. Mine are family, spiritual, professional, physical and friendships. I say “five or four” because to me spiritual and physical are interwoven internally in a way that they actually become one.

Once the anchors are defined, everything seems to fit better and “meaning” seems to come together much more readily. Then, everything in life is grounded by these anchors and they become the filters through which we choose life and all of its options and good possibilities. Moreover, it really makes most things a whole lot simpler because you have defined and know who you are.

As a closing thought, please remember that although you can certainly consciously define your “meaning,” life remains more of a journey than a destination. The journey simply has a map that makes the trip better.

Let’s give meaning to the journey,

Yuen

A Humbling Experience

2009-02-16T10:23:00.003-06:00

It's been a pretty low weekend for me, with my 2nd 1/2 marathon race not going well at all after finishing my first 1/2 marathon of the year with good a 1:17 3 weeks ago. But as I said before, rather than looking at my achievements in my athletic life, I'd rather look at the failures and see what there is to be learned from it, as it is only after putting yourself through some tough situations, you then learn so much more.

In a nutshell, the race started off pretty well and I was tacking along with the top women and a few top non elite men until 10ks into the run when my stomach gave way. All I could think of then was to find a toilet nearby (couldnt find any!) and to get to the finish line as fast as possible. My mile pace dropped from about 5:50-6min/mile to 30s slower per mile as my whole body was suffering at that point from the stomach ache and the effort. In my athletic life never have I had so many people (women, old guys etc etc) overtake me during a running race. As each person passed on thoughts of throwing the towel came in but as I carried on, you realise that sometimes youve never truly achieved anything until youve been put through and lived through some humbling situations in life and to be honest, I truly learned the meaning of humbleness and humility yesterday as I struggled to get to the finish of the 1/2 marathon in 1hr 24mins when expecting a time 6-7 mins faster. As I struggled to take each step while looking forward to evey aid station as another beacon of hope, the story of rutger beke and his exploits in Kona 2007 came to mind (Link).

In my mind there was still miles to go. Yet, I was already tired, sore, depleted, with a stomach ache and suffering from the cold winds. I am dehydrated and suffering. When things get tough, when we are down, when we struggle to just get by - how do we respond? Using this race as a metaphor for our daily activities, we first just keep going. We put one foot in front of the other, keep going in the right direction, don’t give up and just keep on going. We don’t stop, we don’t give in. We simply move forward.

Of course, we look forward to the aid stations. Aid stations during the run become beacons of hope. They are incremental goals that we need psychologically in order to conquer the larger task. They keep us going. What are your daily aid stations? What keeps you going?

Just like rutger beke and the other pros do, we tough it out! I look forward to running the cap 10k at the end of march and doing well in the Galveston 1/2 ironman come April. This race hasnt been my best results wise but it teached me not to give up - always finish and how as humans, anything can change in the blink of an eye. Humbleness and humility was also the order of the day as now I've now learned the true meaning of those 2 words.

On the brightside, Im sure no one will improve as many places as me next year if I do the same race again! Or any other 1/2 marathon! =) Couldnt possibly have any other day (athletically speaking) as bad as yesterday again...I hope..On the other hand I hope to have days that are as spiritually enlightening as yesterday was everyday of my life!

To think of it. Endurance sports has been the source of most of the frustrations, achievements, happiness and sadness of my adult life so far and Im sure there's more to come!

Keep moving forward,

Yuen

Why Triathlon? Why Endurance Sports?

2009-02-10T21:03:00.009-06:00

Ive been getting this question for such a long time (eg why the suffering), and I think now its time to share with you folks out there the reason for doing all that I do, and why its my passion, my life and my part time job! Hopefully you readers will find something that has the same effect on your life too!

Ever since I started running some 5-6 years ago, cycling some 4 years ago and triathlon plus swimming some 2 years ago I believe I am getting closer to the reason “why?” Of course, at first there was the typical “why do you climb a mountain….because it is there” attitude. Or, “Let’s just see how tough I really am……” However once we allow ourselves to move beyond that primal thinking deeper and more fulfilling exploration takes place.

Over the years I have evolved to now believe that there are at least 3 main reasons for such events/participation. These include: 1) displays of unconditional love that are many times missing (or ignored) from our modern world, 2) personal internal exploration into areas not typically revealed or evaluated in everyday life, and 3) the spiritual pureness and simplicity of the wonders of nature.

Having putting myself through some 20-25 hours of training each week and countless hard races over the years, my best memory is not the completion of the race or winning it but rather the very striking displays of unconditional love that escorted us all through the day. Throughout any event or training session that I've been to, there is just so much friendship, love and respect among all competitors, from the pros to the guy who finishes last. Sometimes, I believe every event and session Ive been to is just a metaphor for community, support, and love. We all work hard and laugh together as a big family!
Every event that I have taken part in, there has been countless number of people willing to sacrifice their day to help make the event a success. Why? Sure they get a T-shirt and have some fun, but the whole day?? and every year???My only explanation is love for fellow human beings and that the "event (eg ironman/marathon)" is simply an organized avenue of expression. What would the competitors do without volunteers, and what would the volunteers do without competitors? This is “community,” “support,” and “unconditional love” exchanged between strangers who have never met and may never see one another again. This display gives a renewed confidence in the goodness of humankind, and the most awesome power of love. What a joy and gift this is to experience!

Most of us have fears that keep us from fully exploring our inner selves. We usually do not fear our limitations - those are known. Rather we fear exploring our furthest abilities - those are unknown. When we take ourselves to our limits, whether it be academics, spirituality, social, parental, and relationships, etc, or in athletics, we are at the same time exposing ourselves to failure, and yet we don’t feel “complete” until we have explored that unknown area. When we do explore, we then develop a peace or calmness that comes from truly knowing who we are, and what we are capable of achieving. When we are tired, hot, hungry, thirsty, scared, and sore and the devil taps us on the shoulder to say it is ok to stop/walk/quit, what do we do and how do we respond? We can either give in and fail to discover our true power, or we can look fear right in the eye, keep putting one foot in front of the other, do what is right, good, and tough. When we persevere we therein find part of ourselves and our true character along the way.
Perhaps the words from Nelson Mandela’s inaugural speech in 1994 describe the power we possess but many times are afraid to obtain: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure……There’s nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the glory of god that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” When we conquer our fears we not only become what we can become, we also give others permission to become what they can become. It’s magical!

Yours In Sport,

Yuen

Alternate viewpoints

2009-02-07T13:29:00.010-06:00

Having just come off of watching Liverpool win a game in the dying minutes after having to come from behind twice (this phrase just sounds so wrong), I could go on about how we can all take heart from never giving up and always sticking to our guns. But of course the other team did that too and look how it worked for them!! Therefore, on the account of duality, this point is moot. I will however present you with an interesting morsel I stumbled upon online.

Yahoo's most recent top queries show us that people really are looking for jobs. I mean, literally, searching for jobs. Failing that, they look for online jobs because surely with the vastness of the inter-ma-net there's gotta be something out there. There is in fact a distinction between looking for jobs online and looking for an online job. Who'd have thought? If you can't find a job, why not download a pirated copy of Quantum of Solace and watch that in spite of it being shit. Stag parties are one way to combat the unemployment blues as well. Nothing makes being unemployed easier to deal with than going out and getting smashed with your also jobless best friends and splashing money you don't really have on strippers before the wedding that'll render that already quickly diminishing bank balance void. And why not shop for Christmas gifts early since most major retailers will be out of business by the time Christmas comes this year. These are pretty dark times we live in. The point of this post? I'm not entirely sure. If I had to look for one, it'd be that no matter how grim things may be, there're always different and oft funnier ways of looking at things. Doesn't change the fact that being broke still sucks though.

Cheers,
Harold

Boogaloo!!

2009-02-07T07:54:00.004-06:00

For those who look at the title and it doesn't appear immediately obvious who is posting this, I encourage you to take a look at the right hand side of your screen and look at the recent addition to the contributors. This is my first time sharing a blog with anyone and I reckon only couples do it so Yuen and I should be just fine on that count.

Yuen's inspirational, motivational and teaching-ational posts are just fine by themselves but I reckon nothing could be better for them than a healthy dose of sardonicism (healthy is of course a relative measure) which I just happen to have plenty of. Of course the purpose here is not to dispute Yuen's wisdom. That would make me being able to post in here rather redundant because I do that on the chatbox anyway. I reckon our posts will have very little relevance to one another but the purpose should be nearly the same. I hope to offer you all a cynical and realistic yet hopeful view on the trials and tribulations of life and the ethos that surround us. I'll stop here for now and perhaps seek out some inspiration and motivation of my own for my first official post but I think we all know I'm just gonna be sitting here eating corn with butter whilst watching Two and a Half Men on a Saturday night.

Cheers!
Harold

The 10 Paradoxical Commandments

2009-02-07T00:31:00.005-06:00

1. People are often unreasonable, irratational and self centered. Forgive them anyway.

2. If you are kind, people may accuse you of having selfish and ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

3. If you are successful you will win some unfaithful friends and genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

4. If you are honest and sincere you are vulnerable and people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

5. What you spend years creating and building, could be destroyed overnight. Build and create anyway.

6. If you find serenity and happiness, some will be jealous. Be happy anyway.

7. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

8. People really need help but will attack you when you help them. Help people anyway.

9. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

10. Give the world the best you have even though it may never be enough, and you get kicked in the teeth. Give your best anyway.

10 paradoxical commandments found on the wall of mother Teresa's home for children in Calcutta.
I'm sure in our lives we all feel that we have kept the 10 paradoxical commandments. I know I try to as I go through life. But I guess sometimes one of the key things to remember about it, is as humans, sometimes other people practice that 10 commandments on us too when we make our mistakes.

Let us all try to follow these 10 paradoxes and help make the world a better place. After all as I said in the previous post, its only a pale blue dot and we should deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

I know what I write no one reads or check this blog out. Write to try and reach anyway. =)

Always trying,
Yuen

Pale Blue Dot

2009-02-04T18:45:00.004-06:00

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994

This excerpt from A Pale Blue Dot was inspired by an image taken, at Sagan's suggestion, by Voyager 1 on February 14, 1990. As the spacecraft left our planetary neighborhood for the fringes of the solar system, engineers turned it around for one last look at its home planet. Voyager 1 was about 6.4 billion kilometers (4 billion miles) away, and approximately 32 degrees above the ecliptic plane, when it captured this portrait of our world. Caught in the center of scattered light rays (a result of taking the picture so close to the Sun), Earth appears as a tiny point of light, a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size.

Its such an amazing sight, and I hope this reminds all of us that whatever we do, we have nowhere else to go other than earth. So let us all please take good care of it, cherish everyone around us and gift of life that only earth could sustain.

Always Looking,
Yuen

Seeing The Bigger Picture

2009-01-26T21:58:00.006-06:00

Have you ever in your life feel that you have been wronged by someone?? Or in your life has you ever wronged another person?? This week I would like to write about seeing the bigger picture in all these episodes in life, and I hope my readers will try to apply this to their daily lives and find less frustration and anger when someone does something wrong or bad to them.

When the unfortunate situation above happens to you, what do you do?? From my experience, most people will straightaway coin the other person an "***hole/****ker" or something along the lines. As I flip through the newspaper each day, most of the news I see are articles on the Rapists/murderers who are to be executed or who gets caught or something along the lines there. As I grow older, I've come to learn and think of such people, not as rapists/murderers/assholes but more as humans who committed a mistake, that way we are seeing the BIGGER PICTURE by putting the human being first before the act.

The revelation came when I was attending a talk lately by a prison inmate on his time in jail. Before he was caught and sent to jail he was responsible for quite a few murders/heists and things like that but now out of prison, he runs motivational talks on teaching people how to make the best out of their lives. It's amazing how people can change and learn after such events in their lives. From various books Ive read, and from other sources, most inmates in prison do have a conscience and people do feel grief and regret for what they did, but somehow, society always chooses to put the act before the human being. Terms like, murderer, rapist, robber, killer are constantly used and the list is endless. Once again, it would be good, and the world would be more peaceful if we could look at these people as a human being who committed a mistake, rather than putting the act before the person.

I remember a story set back in the 1990's when south Africa was just freed from apartheid. When the apartheid ended, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu set up a truth and reconciliation commission. Anyone who felt that he or she was a victim of its violence was invited to come forward and be heard. Perpetrators of violence could also give testimony and request amnesty from prosecution. There was a particular case where a white policeman went up to the commission and in front of a audience, he recounted how he had tortured and killed a black activist of the ANC (African National Congress) party. As he recounted the episode, he was trembling and tears were streaming down his eyes. As he finished, a black lady stood up from the crowd, and walked towards him. Everyone was stunned and no one moved, even the security guards did not stop her. As she reached him, she put her arms around him, hugged him, and said, " I forgive you". It was such an amazing sight and shows how even when in the darkest situations, we can still put the person before the act!! If someone like her is able to forgive the killer of her husband and father of her children, I'm sure we all can learn how to do the same with others and ourselves in our lives.
So next time someone wrongs you, or you pick up the newspaper and headlines says " Killer Caught/ Murderer Caught". I hope all of you will have the courage to put the person before the act. As humans we are bound to wrong someone also from time to time or commit mistakes in our lives, therefore, it is always good to learn how to see the BIGGER PICTURE in hopes that when we do such things, people will also see the BIGGER PICTURE with us. When we commit mistakes, let us acknowledge it, forgive ourselves, learn from it and realise we ourselves are also humans who make mistakes.

So to people that I have wronged before, I hope I am truly forgiven for the things Ive done as I have in some point of time regretted it dearly and learned from it to be a better person (hopefully). To those who have wronged me also, you are all humans who made a mistake and are forgiven. I am sure you'll all learn and will not repeat it again. As I forgive the people who have wronged me, I also hope I am forgiven.

Always (trying) to see the bigger picture,
Yuen

Patience And Persistence - The Key Tandem

2009-01-18T23:12:00.010-06:00

How do any of us struggling athletes improve? How do the big guns of our sport smash races with annoying regularity? Well two of the big buzz words are patience and persistence. How can you develop these and more importantly, how do you maintain this once you get how it all works?

Athletes around the world over fit very nicely with the Type A personality definition, such as being impatient, highly competitive, hostile and aggressive(??), and incapable of relaxation. A very familiar ring for many, I'm sure, which makes two key ingredients of sport rather ironic...patience and persistence. After all, who wants to wait around when you're trying to take on and beat the world?!?!

Patience and persistence are ideal bedfellows - they need each other - and without them you'll never reach your potential.

Patience is the ability to wait with a calm feeling for something you want desperately. It's an area that many of us really struggle with, but improve as we get older...which is experience. As kids, it's hard to see past the here and now; to see the forest for the trees. You know the saying...if only I knew then what I know now...it would all be different (or would it?).

And it can frustrate you to tears, like having to wait until you're 18 to drive a car (or drink!!) or in my case feeling like Im going nowhere with my swimming or training. The lesson of patience, and the sense of perspective that comes with it, is one that can only truly be learned over time. That's what patience is, allowing the passage of time to unfold so all the variables can play themselves out...even if the end result is the same as you predicted. Learning takes time. Hasten slowly.

Patience is realising that the process of improvement and development takes time, repeating the big and little things over and over and over, each time making a micro-improvement on the previous time. Patience in sports also plays out in competition, in being the steady pace tortoise and not the hare that burns out before the end. Patience allows you to forsee what might happen, and take pre-emptive actions.

Persistence is having the drive to just keep on doing it, overcoming the roadblocks and detours in pursuit of your goal. Persistence can overcome it. If you simply can't figure out how to quite do something, can't recognise when it is time to quit time to accept that you haven't got a chance. The ability to, no matter what the disappointment or set back, to continue to move forward one step at a time is, perhaps more then anything in this sport of triathlon and in life, an absolute requirement.

So how do you develop persistence and patience? Well the same way you develop as an athlete/person; practice. You make yourself wait and accept waiting. You make yourself go out the door for those miles when your tired, when it's raining, when it's late at night, when it's zero, when it's snowing. No matter what, and each individual time is a victory. You are going to miss days, you are going to lose. But then somewhere down the line you will think back and realise you can't remember the last time you didn't get out the door, then as Emil Zatopek said "Motivation is no longer a problem."

So the next time you have a crappy race or training session and then have to get up for a session the next day it's raining, remember we have all had these days and the champions are made right there on the mornings when you want nothing more then to sleep a little longer. Or out in the storm and coldness where no one is about.

It has been well said, "Hold on; Hold Fast; Hold Out. Patience is a genius". Be a genius. Be patient.

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience" -Ralph Waldo Emerson-

Yuen

The Sum Of Small Efforts

2009-01-11T19:13:00.005-06:00

'Success Is The Sum Of Small Efforts, Repeated Day In And Day Out'
-Robert Collier

Most days of the week I wake up at about 530am in the morning to join Longhorn Aquatics masters swim team for their morning workouts at 630am and to my surprise by the time we get in the pool at 630am, the kids who were training before us from 5am got out. Wow.. No partying, no late nights, just school and swimming for them..

From the looks of it, some of those kids are bound for great heights as future olympians and elite swimmers for the US. Over the years longhorn aquatics has produced many top class swimmers such as, Aaron Peirsol, Branden Hansen, Eric Shanteau, Garrett Webber Gale, Ian Crocker etc etc who all made it as great champions.

Those kids probably get up at 415/430 each day and then head down to the pool to train. Day in, day out, just train and no complaints. At the end of the day it is the sum of all these efforts, the training they do when no one is around, nobody sees and know about, that will turn them into champions of the future. Their dedication and discipline in life will put many older people to shame.

So its a long path up to the top, but with the attitude that all these young age group swimmers show (about 13-17yrs) I'm sure all of us can and will achieve our goals that we set for ourselves in life.

In 2009 I hope to learn from them and live my life with the same discipline, desire to succeed and toughness like them as I gear up for my 2009 season that will start in April. Next up is 2 half marathons as prep races!

Here's to a disciplined lifestyle,
Yuen

Happy New Year

2009-01-04T13:55:00.002-06:00

“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”
- Bill Vaughan -

“Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past.”
- Henry Ward Beecher -

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”
- Oprah Winfrey -

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”
- Edith Lovejoy Pierce-

To all my dear readers, have a great 2009 ahead!

Yuen

Falling Behind Happily And Gracefully

2008-12-29T10:55:00.003-06:00

Last week I was out cycling with David Khan, one of my coach's professional guys. David is the world Ironman 70.3 25-29 age group champion, and former Olympic trials swimmer once ranked 8th in the US in the 200m Medley. Boy all I could say is that he was fit. However the lesson learned from riding with him was not a chest thumping one where "Oh I beat him in that ride etc etc" but more of a lesson in patience and learning how to fall behind. David obviously being the fitter one, would pull away at times leaving me behind for awhile.

When someone drops you in life, what do we do? In work, love, sports or anything else, the first thing that comes to mind is I must do more or work harder to be able to catch up to that person. Or in other words "I MUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT" however as I grow (and continuing growing) I guess sometimes the best thing to do is just let yourself get dropped and move along at your own pace through life, meaning sometimes we should just sit back, continue at our own pace, enjoy the ride, not do anything about it and when the time is right you'll eventually catch up.

As an athlete I always watch the faster swimmers pull away from me quickly in a race while I try aimlessly to bridge up from the back. After that, I spent countless hours in the pool to try to be as good as those guys were and I remember last year after a certain period of time, I begin to feel delusioned and not really improving as fast as I wanted to. I grew weary and tired when instead I should be celebrating ever small improvement that I make. Looking back at it now, Ive come to realised that everything takes time, and those guys got to where they are from years and years of competitive swim training while me, who only starting swimming in Oct 06 should be glad that I can still swim and not lose too much time to them. Even now, I'm nowhere near them, but I'm enjoying my journey and hopefully in time I'll catch back up to them. All that I'm doing now definitely beats the drugs and shortcuts some the dishonest pro athletes use at times to make it up there, only to crash back down again when reality strikes.It is not always the fittest, but the smartest and most patient athlete that wins the race! In life its the same thing too. Life is a journey that is long, bumpy and winding at times so why rush through it trying to finish it first and trying to keep up with others when it'll only burn you out before you reach the end? Rather than doing that, why don't we all try to finish it with as much joy and happiness so that every mile, meter, minute and second of it will forever be cherished even after the race is done.

Lets all slow down at times, do nothing and enjoy the moment while letting nature take its course.

Yuen

Splashes Of Life

2008-12-24T21:06:00.009-06:00

I remember skipping rocks as a kid back at the lake near my house. Lately on my vacation I saw another child doing the same thing and as I looked at the ripples that formed with each throw and skip I came to realise something.

In life we are all like that stone, we create various ripples and splashes that affects everybody around us. You may create a lot of splashes in your life, but remember the waves that come from those splashes will affect the peace of all your fellow creatures. Remember that you are responsible for what you throw into your circle, and that your waves will touch many other circles. Always try to live in a way that the waves that come from your circle send out the peace of your goodness to other circles.

Remember the waves that come from anger and jealousy will also send those feelings to other circles. You are responsible for all the waves.
That was truly an eye opening moment for me.

We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt and anger. We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside whether we voice them or not. Whatever is sloshing around inside of us is spilling out into the world whether we want it to or not, creating beauty or discord with all the other circles of life.

After seeing that stone, I wish that I realised this simple point earlier in life as the plain ignorance of it has cost me dearly in various ways over the years. As of current I realise that I have a lot of work to do on myself!

Only a stone's throw away,

Yuen

P/s: Merry xmas to all my readers! =)

Some Travel Notes..

2008-12-20T09:36:00.006-06:00

As of today It's my 3rd day in Vegas Baby! and Im typing this from my uncle's computer. Yesterday we saw the grand canyon by an air tour and my, it was such a humbling and amazing sight.

However what amazes me more is the fact that even though the grand canyon is about 2 billion years old, it took mother nature over a 6 million year period of time to create such a masterpiece. Compared to our very short lifespan as humans on earth, and the time we devote to attaining perfection in various areas of our lives, everything seems rather puny and insignificant.
Basically, I guess what I wanted to say to everyone is, if it took the all mighty mother nature (whom I frequently fight with and loathe at times) about 6 million years, yes 6,000,000 years to create such a masterpiece, how does that compare to us humans? When scaled down to our size, we should also realise that the grand canyons of our lives will also take a very long time to build. However if we keep working away at it and dedicate time and effort to something that we want, then we are most likely to succeed. We might not know when or how but with time and patience it will come! And at the end of the day, when you look back on it, you will be truly impressed and satisfied with yourself.

Moreover, the grand canyon is still evolving and changing with time, so just like that, we should also not stop once we build our canyons but keep working on them, just like mother nature in order to deliver something that is even more impressive and beautiful!

As for me today..skydiving beckons from 15,000 feet! =)

Keep building,

Yuen

Quote of the week

2008-12-17T00:53:00.004-06:00

As Im on holiday and do not really have the time to type out the stuff that runs through my head too much, Ive decided to leave all of you with a quote that I will elaborate more on when I get back to Austin on the 22nd or 23rd.

Quote of the week
'Circumstances do not make the man, they merely reveal him.'
-James Allen-

How many times have you been revealed to others in your life? And of those revelations, how many of them you wished you never revealed?
Think about it and perhaps next time we'll all be more careful in how we handle the events of our lives, especially the bad and sad ones, for it is always such situations that reveal the most about us and how we handle ourselves will always leave a lasting impression in the minds of the people involved.

Reveal yourself wisely,
Yuen

Calmness

2008-12-09T20:53:00.010-06:00

As of late Ive been reading A book by James Allen, called As A Man Thinketh. This book focuses a lot on how thoughts and the mind is master over everything. Noble thoughts will always make a noble person, while lowly thoughts makes a lowly person.

"A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts." So he says. I would like to share the link with all my readers and friends so they can hopefully enlighten themselves with the words of this very very wise man who definitely was avant garde in thought and character. http://jamesallen.wwwhubs.com/think.htm is the link to the book!

So yes before you go off reading it, here is a chapter on serenity of the mind, which I feel many of us lack in our topsy turvy world as the conditions of life never stays still for a moment, so is our minds that get tossed and blown away in all directions like the waves and winds.

Serenity

Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.

A man becomes calm in the measure that he understands himself as a thought-evolved being, for such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought. As he develops a right understanding, and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect, he ceases to fuss and fume and worry and grieve, and remains poised, steadfast, serene.

The calm man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others; and they, in turn, reverence his spiritual strength, and feel that they can learn of him and rely upon him. The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Even the ordinary trader will find his business prosperity increase as he develops a greater self-control and equanimity, for people will always prefer to deal with a man whose demeanor is strongly equable.

The strong calm man is always loved and revered. He is like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm. Who does not love a tranquil heart, a sweet-tempered, balanced life? It does not matter whether it rains or shines, or what changes come to those possessing these blessings, for they are always sweet, serene, and calm. That exquisite poise of character which we call serenity is the last lesson culture; it is the flowering of life, the fruitage of the soul. It is precious as wisdom, more to be desired than gold - yea, than even fine gold. How insignificant mere money-seeking looks in comparison with a serene life - a life that dwells in the ocean of Truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests, in the Eternal Calm!

"How many people we know who sour their lives, who ruin all that is sweet and beautiful by explosive tempers, who destroy their poise of character, and make bad blood! It is a question whether the great majority of people do not ruin their lives and mar their happiness by lack of self-control. How few people we meet in life who are well-balanced, who have that exquisite poise which is characteristic of the finished character!"

Yes, humanity surges with uncontrolled passion, is tumultuous with ungoverned grief, is blown about by anxiety and doubt. Only the wise man, only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified, makes the winds and the storms of the soul obey him.

Tempest-tossed souls, wherever ye may be, under whatsoever conditions ye may live, know this - in the ocean of life the isles of Blessedness are smiling, and sunny shore of your ideal awaits your coming. Keep your hand firmly upon the helm of thought. In the bark of your soul reclines the commanding Master; He does but sleep; wake Him. Self-control is strength; Right Thought is mastery; Calmness is power.

Say unto your heart, "Peace, be still!"

In sports, this trait is usually what separates the men from the boys, clamness of mind in a competition will always lead to better results and a much more efficient and faster race, this has been brilliantly demonstrated by many top triathletes, cyclists and successful sports people over the years. A few good examples would be how in an Ironman race where top guys such as craig alexander have the capability to stay calm and controlled throughout the race and not be fazed about whoever goes pass them first or beats them in the swim. Those guys know how to be calm at heart, not panic and focus on their own race ahead with the right thoughts and in the end still thrash the opposition.

Lance Armstrong is another man who has great control over his thoughts while racing, and when he does that, he ability to see how the race will pan out comes to him and he then makes the right moves. Who can forget 03 TDF when the man showed great mental control and resolve to fight back and win the tour after almost losing it to Jan Ullrich when a lesser person would have cracked under the mental strain and pressure. Even with Phelps we can see that. Its easy to be unnerved by all the great attention that was placed on the man before the Olympics and with the amount of races he did, there were so many chances for false starts and DQ's but the man still succeeded in doing what he setout to achieve. People like Roger Federer, and Tiger Woods also have that trait. Who can forget Federer's (almost) comeback against Nadal in the 2008 wimbledon final after going 2 sets down, sure he didnt win but he showed great mental control that day to not give up? Also remember Champions League final 2004/2005 Liverpool vs Ac Milan where the reds were 3-0 down by halftime where they demonstrated great strength of mind as a team and came back to win! By calmness and mastery of mind these men achieved great things and so can you if you try!

As humans, I believe what separates us from the animals is the willpower to be proactive and not reactive. So by being proactive to our state of mind and note down our thoughts to prevent it from going idle, eg as we all know an empty mind is the devil's playground! This in return will help us lead better, happier and more productive lives! Calmness and the mastery of mind will also give you the ability to see things as they truly are and then enable you to make the right decisions in life!

Think right and stay calm, (yes stay calm for that 2 final papers you have on friday and sat even though you didnt study jack for them...=P)

Yuen

On Adversity...

2008-12-07T00:04:00.005-06:00

From Rainer Maria Rilke, Famous German Poet, thinker and writer..

"What is required of us is that we love the difficult and learn to deal with it. In the difficult are the friendly forces, the hands that work on us. Right in the difficult we must have our joys, our happiness, our dreams: there against the depth of this background, they stand out, there for the first time we see how beautiful they are"

-Selected letters of Rainer Maria Rilke

"Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave"

-Rainer Maria Rilke

To all my dear friends and readers, Go slay some dragons!

The (Soon to be) Dragon Slayer,
Yuen

10 Tips For A Happier Life

2008-12-03T20:05:00.012-06:00

I spend quite a few of my afternoons in Follett's Intellectual Property bookstore going through books and magazines and trying to catch up with my reading. As of today I stumbled upon a very simple article in a magazine and would like to share it with the readers of my blog.

10 Tips For A Happier Life
1. Don’t worry
Worry is the least productive of all human activities and thoughts….

2. Don’t let needless fears preoccupy your life…
Most of things we fear never happen!!!

3. Don’t hold grudges…
That is one of the biggest and most unnecessary weights we carry through our lives..

4. Take on one problem at a time
It’s the only way to handle things anyway..one by one..

5. Don’t take your problems to bed with you.
They are bad and unhealthy companions for good natural sleep and rest…

6. Don’t take on the problems of other people..
They are better equipped to handle their own problems than you are..

7. Don’t live in the past.
It will always be there in your memories to enjoy..but don’t cling to it. Concentrate on what is happening right now in your life..and you will be happy in the present also..not just the past.

8. Be a good listener.
It is only when one listens..that one gets and learns ideas different from ones own…

9. Do not let frustration ruin and rule your life…
Self pity more than anything..interferes with positive actions..with moving forwards in our lives.

10. Count your blessings…
Don’t even forget the smallest blessings .. As many small blessings add up to large ones…

Looking at the 10 tips here. How do you rank yourself for each one on a scale of 10? The 10 tips given are usually just common sense and I am sure most of you will know about them, but the question is, how many of us really do try to apply the 10 tips to our lives?

Personally I feel that I room to improve on all 10 tips, especially on tip no 7 and 9 as I tend to think about stuff like, eg the bad races I had in the past, bad things that happened before too much. Its even worse when most of the time a lot of these things happens without any reason (example: train 20hrs a week, feeling fit, go to a race and perform sub par..why??).

At the same time if the past was successful, let us not dwell on that success too much too and work hard for future successes.

In the end if we continue living like this, we will run the race of life with so much extra weight attached to our back that shoudnt be there. Imagine how much smoother and faster one's life would be without the extra needless burdens placed on your ownself by yourself!

Being an endurance athlete, I always talk about the ideal weight that I will want where I shed off the extra 4-5 pounds of fat and gain more strength and power (muscle) to compete. Looking at it now from a mental point of few, I shall also have to shed off a few 'pounds' of 'fat' in my head in order to ensure that I will be able to run the race of life in a efficient and smooth manner, in the process of shedding that few 'pounds' mentally I will also get stronger and gain more power to get through the obstacles and the race of life easier (but hopefully not too fast as I dont want to die too soon! ) =)

Always remember, the present is parent of the future and child of the past. However the present will also someday become the past. While there is nothing we can do about the past, we can secure our future and our past of tomorrow by taking care of the present and not let it slip by us!

When you look forward, you may not understand the things that have happened to you, but when you keep on moving forward, eventually you will see, looking backward, that everything, your successes and failures, your good and bad circumstances, will somehow connect for the best. As steve jobs said in his commencement speech for stanford students in 2005 " you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards." We have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in our future and have the belief that somehow everything will work out in the best possible way for us!

To all my friends and readers out there, how many of the 10 tips have you applied in your life today?? Think about it

"Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory" Someone once said how precisely true that is for my case and people who share the same problem as me!

Be Happy and if you have read this far, thanks for reading!
Yuen

P/s: I swear publishing articles like this that hopefully will reach you people out there to help you guys out with your lives really helps take the stress and frustration out of certain days in my life! I also hope you guys will put your thoughts on how you rank in the 10tips or so on (eg thoughtful words, and diff views on happiness etc etc) in the comments part as everyone's view is welcome and will surely be refreshing! Would be great if you guys could let me know what else I need to work on too!

Lesson 1- Of thanksgiving and greed

2008-12-01T17:20:00.009-06:00

Hi all,

Its been awhile since I last blogged and between that time and now Ive realised that through sports and my own observations on life Ive learnt a lot and would like to share it with you in hope that it will help inspire, motivate and teach the readers of this blog lessons that hopefully will help make a difference (however big or small) in their lives!I also hope to be able to motivate and inspire people with some of my posts in this blog! So here we go...

Over the weekend I was away in Chicago for thanksgiving break. The following day was black friday, which is equivalent to the UK version of boxing day! Shoppers were everywhere buying and buying more! Shopping started at 12am for my friends including me where we headed out to a factory outlet that sold branded items (Nike etc etc). As usual I headed straight for the Pearl Izumi shop to look at the latest tri/cycling goodies that were marked down twice! As in discounted once and then discounted again, as I stepped in the shop I kept picking up items, I wanted this and wanted that and in the midst of my madness and as I looked around me, it suddenly struck me when I realised that of all the things that I was going to buy, how many do I actually/really need? How many of it will I really use?? I felt really ashamed of myself having succumbed to greed and because of the cheap prices and the fact that I could afford it I wanted to buy it all! I picked out the stuff that I really needed, and after somemore thinking, paid and left the store.

As I looked around me, I wondered how many people actually shopping here today bought things that they actually need? Or were they buying it because they could afford it and beacuse it was the sales? As I observed around I realised that beacuse of our culture of "more is better" I can bet you that a lot of people out there at the sales were actually buying more than they needed.

As I thought about it, I realised our culture of greed has actually left us much poorer than what we started out with. If we take a good look at ourselves, how many times have we actually bought something, only to regret it later for being a waste of money?Or when we take a look at our closet, how many of the shirts and dresses that we posess, we make full use of? Greed in a lot of ways have far reaching consequences on everyone (think lehmann brothers, goldman sachs, Bear Stearns and the current economic crisis), because of the greed of the people at the top, countless others around the world suffer.

In sports it is no different, when I look at 2007/2008 I think of people like Marion Jones(doping), Imagine how her teammates feel now that they'll have to return the gold medal they worked so hard to win in the relays, or look at cycling (Ricardo Ricco, Stefan Schumacher, Leonardo Piepoli), look at how greed got the better of them and they doped and when they were caught the whole team of 22 riders + staff suffered and most were left without jobs now as sponsors pulled the plug on the whole team. Because of the greed of one, many suffer. With a lot of things in life worth doing there are no shorts cuts, and the only way to get wherever we want to go is through hard work and as Sean Kelly put it "Guts"!

I also look to the times in life when I got greedy and paid the price for it, especially when it comes to food and sporting goods. Countless time Ive eaten more just because it was a buffet and I paid for it, then to suffer later by feeling bloated or I bought something that I didnt really need just beacuse I thought it was cheap and advertising got the better of me. In that respect I believe I still have a lot to improve on and learn how to make better choices.

As we try to get through life, I hope that we do not let greed get the better of us, everytime before we buy something, let us look back and think "Do I really need this pair of shoe" I know all of us think "hey thats what we do when we shop", but really how many of us really give it serious thinking. I admit that as a self obsessed triathlete its also really hard not to get greedy especially with the media saying if you buy this bike youll be 10% faster or this shoe will make you as good as the ethiopian runner etc etc but I try to look behind all the advertising and try to make my spending decisions based on logic rather than the fact that I can afford it and hence I should buy it.

Our greed is unlikely to cause the next global financial meltdown or anything on that scale. However, it might cause havoc on our lives in some way (think want this but cannot afford it, want that but cannot afford that etc etc)then we suffer because we can't get what we want. I suppose the best way to deal with our greed in life is to think about what we have not what we don't and be thankful that we have those things. The more we think of what we dont have, the more we will want the things that we dont have.

So this holiday season while we shop, take a step back and think. The choices we make in the departmental store when we shop might make use poorer in the material sense but I believe it will make us richer spiritually and mentally in the long run with less craving and suffering.

At the end of the day, let us realise that this world provides enough to satisfy every person's need, but not their greed. If the greed in all of us were gone, we would probably solve 1/2 of the world's problems (war, poverty etc etc).

Dont miss the silver lining because you were expecting gold instead.

Shop wisely,
Yuen

P/s to all who read I would be really grateful if you would leave comments on how to improve my blog and writing. I'll try to post a lesson learnt/ something motivational every week as when Im out running/cycling alone I tend to think about stuff like this!