It is serendipitous that May 4th marks the launch of this journal as it would be considered a blasphamas mockery by any of the original masters. Life is different now and we must adjust to the societal norms of the lives we now lead. While the Jedi code is still at the core of my thoughts (There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony.), my daily focus is concentrated into to four simple principles. I look forward to sharing this knowledge with my comrades and evolving the heart of the Jedi order.

After a long hiatus from running, I’ve decided to start training again. I’ve always enjoyed the activity but dreaded the “real” or the middle miles. This segment of running is a psychological battleground and test of grit. The crowds, balloons, and adrenaline have long faded from your starting line; and you are not in the final stretch yet. You can’t draw from the motivation that supporters apply at the beginning and end of the journey – it’s just you.

Many stretches of life align with the middle miles – mentally, physically, and spiritually. It’s where our true character is built. Our minds drift to our past mistakes, promises, and dreams. You develop a mass of well-justified reasons to slow your pace, to take an easier path (to try a new sport).

I find myself in the middle miles of some life goals and drawing strength from life lessons:

1. Remembering why I started. I’ve always found the why to be more important than the how.
2. Controlling the controllable. there will always be headwinds and unforeseen hurdles to clear. Focus on what I can control or influence; accept the rest.
3. Enjoy the journey – I have leaned that no journey is perfect and these trials prepared me for the mile marker. Even the toughest climbs make great stories once you clear some distance.
4. Pace yourself – there is a time to open up my stride and times to temper cadence. Energy is finite, burnout is real, life is tough, we control our responses.

There will be plenty to celebrate when the goal is reached, but supporters are there to support – not carry.

“I am the master of my fate: / I am the captain of my soul…”

On this day of reflection, I think of all the successes and failures of the past year to extract a few lessons. It is vividly apparent how every experience you have shapes the outcomes in other areas of your life.

When you fail to arrive at an expected destination, you must reflect on the decisions made which ultimately produced those results. What were the options you had and why did you choose the path you are on?

What options did you not consider? Our perceptions are the determining factors of the options we see as relevant. If you want better options, you must expand the way you perceive yourself and the world around you.

This can be difficult as your perceptions are shaped by your experiences. While humans share many of the same experiences, the impact can vary greatly for each individual. The opportunity for growth is tied to the reflection, guidance sought, and the key learnings we extract.

Minds and masters of the past have provided valuable insights for every walk of life; these are often crystallized in quotes. While my favorites have changed in the different seasons of my journey, the following 10 are the most impactful.

1. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit,”
2. “Success isn’t owned. It’s leased, and rent is due every day,”
3. “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity,”
4. “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed”.
5. “Action is the antidote for anxiety”.
6. “You’re not tired because you’re doing too much.
   You’re tired because you’re doing too little of what matters.”
7. Don’t practice until you get it right, practice until you can’t get it wrong”
8. Never argue with an idiot. They’ll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
9. The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.
10. Progress over perfection.

I recently finished the book “the 12 hour walk” after being recommended by several friends. While most of the stories were about extreme conditions and esoteric experiences, the takeaways were universal. The author recapitulated his “Mount Everests” which each of us will face in a more metaphoric journey; the extreme external battle that is only achievable once we conquer the internal war.

The toughest obstacle to personal success is deep within, and could take lifetimes if we don’t ingest past life lessons. You will repeat the same mistakes until you learn the lesson they are meant to teach. Learning from these experiences requires self-reflection, changing your thinking, and identifying patterns in your behavior to stop repeating them. Only then can you invoke the version of you that can step into.

The battle does not get easier, you must simply get stronger.

And a sad repartee… wisdom is wasted on the old. The value of youth unfortunately is seldom understood until it fades. While the lessons learned shape wisdom, I often wonder how much more we could accomplish if we valued the teaching(s) of those with a vested interested in our development. How many battles, anxieties, and mistakes could be avoided? How much more value, character, and impact could we develop? Most of the answers to pivotal life questions peacefully decay in unsettled graves of our predecessors. While I studied the words of my mentors, it was with a discerning mind. It questioned guidance and personalized truths.

This could be the juxtaposition of old souls. A calmness ripe to ingest the words of elders and mentors, but through youthful lenses. They are the minority, but essential to the survival of hope and progress in the collective consciousness.

For the rest of us, who may feel we are “old too soon and wise too late…”, we must altruistically plant trees of knowledge to bear fruits we may never see blossom.

This is the way… 😉

As I interact with a few of my mentees, the topic of success frequently arises and it’s apparent that most of us think of it as a future state. We live between our current reality and what we believe success will look or feel like.

When you measure yourself against an “ideal” future state, you are in “the Gap“—a moving target that stays out of reach because your standards rise as you improve. However, when you look back and measure against where you started, you are in “the Gain,” allowing you to actually feel the success you have already achieved.

The opportunity is then to “Measure your progress against your past self, not against your ideal…” Success should live in both the reflection and the plan. The gain can create a sense of momentum that creates energy to traverse the gap.

High performers must reflect before they raise the bar. Today’s successes were yesterday’s targets…. #reflectrenew

Discussions about repression often highlight the psychological, emotional, and social consequences of burying feelings, desires, or truths. Common themes include the inevitability of repressed emotions resurfacing, the toxic nature of stifled feelings, and the distinction between healthy self-control and destructive repression.  This poem from a Jedi master brings to light the choice and consequence of repeated internal abandonment.

• When you repress vulnerability it becomes armor you prove yourself over and over so no one can see the soft spot that you’re guarding.
• When you repress your intuition, it becomes indecision because you’ve trained yourself not to trust yourself.
• When you further repress self trust, it becomes permission seeking and you end up trading your personal truth for committee approval, and calling it action.
• When you repress your needs and desires they become resentment you punish yourself for wanting and you punish others for not guessing what you need. 
• When you repressed your guilt it becomes over giving, and you pay emotional debts that nobody asked you to repay.
• When you repressed disappointment, it becomes fake optimism you slap a smile over the truth because honesty feels like failure.
• When you repress your hurt it becomes sarcasm and your wit becomes sharper than the wound you never tended.
• When you repress your ambition. It becomes procrastination you hide your brilliance behind delay, and you call it timing. 

Just as stagnant water becomes fetid and toxic, so it is with our emotions.” — Unknown

When we are young, we embrace bad habits to help us traverse chaotic environments.  These repressions are survival hacks turn into habits that we shrink into tidy emotional luggage.  We must be intentional in identifying and unpacking the these dark corners before they define our future.