Dear Friends: 
Welcome! If you are receiving this newsletter it is because you are a person who is on the path to self Actualization. I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to forward it on to others.

~*~*~~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~~*~* 

None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to the whisper which is heard by him alone.

                                                                                ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

~*~ Topic of the week~*~
Triumph 

How exhilarating triumph is!
Crowds cheering, trophies held high, national anthems playing, wild applause, people walking across stages to receive accolades, honors and recognition.  We’ve all heard honorees accepting their awards, beaming, gushing, crying, overwhelmed, as they say things like, “This moment makes it all worthwhile” or “Now, my life is complete”.  How enticing, it seems, to be someone who could experience such acclaim.

Subtly, oftentimes barely noticeable to us, the desire to experience that kind of recognition weaves its way into the choices we make in our daily lives.  Perhaps we may see ourselves as humbler, or far too unaccomplished or undisciplined for such grand scale recognition, but victory and accomplishment nonetheless fuels the efforts of most people, if only in the form of a “Nice job” from their father or a bonus from their boss, or their wife saying, “You’re the best, honey” or their neighbor saying “Wow!”

Because we live in a society in which perseverance and sacrifice are seen as necessary to be ‘deserving’ of any kind of prize (“No pain, no gain”), countless numbers of us drag ourselves out of bed each morning and down the coffee in order to find the energy to get through the day doing whatever we see to be our “duty”.  And while we’re at it, we keep our eyes on the prize of possibly living in that big house, driving that shiny car, and wearing that designer fashion so we can not only be noticed and respected for our sacrifices, but “comfortable” while doing our duty, that we were never comfortable with from the start.

All this, in hopes of experiencing the triumph of being on the receiving end of recognition and love.  But because we are so busy and engrossed in our daily duties, most of us don’t realize that there is a more direct path to recognition and accomplishment--that is to love and recognize ourselves now, via he choices that we make.

We all have the capacity to experience quiet, inner triumphs in any moment, simply by having recognition and gratitude for whatever it is that we are living now, finding the beauty in our present condition, and learning to love it. 

We are given endless opportunities to receive the recognition we always thought we waned from others--from ourselves!  Anything can become a personal triumph, once it is fully embraced.  It is never the outcome of a situation that creates true triumph.  One person can feel defeat within the exact same experience in which another tastes victory.  The only difference is perspective.

True triumph is entirely dependent upon motivation.  When setting any goal, beginning any endeavor, or taking on any challenge, it is of key importance to ask yourself whether you are doing it for recognition or to defeat an outside opponent.  Or, is your motivation self-love, does the challenge align you more closely with yourself by transcending your own previously perceived limits.  Doing what we do for the recognition of others can never bring us a lasting sense of victory.  The stakes will always have to be higher, the accomplishment more extreme.

One day I found myself riveted to a Sports Illustrated article about a marathon which is run in Antarctica, called the “Last Marathon” because according to the events arranger, “it is the last place on earth you would want to run a marathon”.

When describing the location the writer quipped, “Getting there seemed simple--go to the bottom of the civilized world and head south.”

Runners from over a dozen nations converged in Argentina before embarking on a two day “nausea-inducing” voyage across the extremely turbulent Drake Passage.  They then passed through waters littered with ten story icebergs.  When they arrived in Antarctica, in the midst of the continent’s “dog days of summer”, they were greeted by temperatures of twenty degrees and wind gusts up to 30 knots.  The article described the course as “mile after mile of undulating mile of knee-deep, shoe ducking mud interrupted only by a-mile-and-a-half traverse up, and an equal distance down, Collins Glacier”.  The author’s description of the marathon participants read as follows:

“The Last Marathon participants were a been-there-done-that honors society.  Michael Ribet, a genial 60-year-old Frenchman, circumnavigated the globe with a crew of eight in 1973 in the inaugural Whitbred Cup.  His first marathon was on Mount Everest, where the starting line was at 17,000 ft.
“Mike Brandt, 56, and Knox White, 60, had summated Everest.
“Stefan Schlett, 35, who the day after he race leaped from he bow of the Vavilov into the subfreezing waters of the Southern Ocean, had done a decitriathlon (10 triathlons in succession, without stopping). 
“Tim Dexter, a historian once skied from Russia over the North Pole to Canada.
“David Nicholson, 36, became captain of the 1992 US Olympic men’s title trials cycling team only five years after taking up cycling
“John Bozung, 44, had completed 57 marathons in the last 40 months.
“Pat Rummefield had made the most astonishing journey, 23 years in duration.  In 1974 he was paralyzed in a car crash.  Rummerfield suffered four crushed cervical vertebrae and lay motionless in a San Diego hospital for he three months.  Eventually he wiggled a toe.  Fourteen years later he stood up and walked.  In 1992 he completed the Ironman Triathalon in 16:18:54.”
Before the race, Rummefield stated, “I’m a walking quad[ripilegic].  I’m a walking miracle.”

Amazing what we humans can do.
But we can go to the ends of the earth (literally, in this case) and put ourselves up to astounding challenges and still not feel victorious if we are in any way seeking the recognition or approval of others.  Only if we are self-motivated and could essentially carry out such grand performance in a vacuum, with no one else’s eyes on us, can we experience true triumph.
If we accomplish and perform our feats to please others or to gain accolades or to seek self-serving positions of importance from sources outside of ourselves, than the very smallest to the most dramatically tremendous accomplishment will only ultimately afford the very same thing, the need to go to even higher heights to feel a sense of satisfaction.

The end of the article was quite interesting.  Since the terrain of the marathon was so uncertain, the runners had to be staggered at the start. At the end of the race there was a discrepancy over who was the actual winner, the outcome of this being that two of the race participants, amidst heated arguments, threatened to sue the marathon organizer.  Eventually, all disagreements were resolved, but what I found most interesting was that throughout all of the commotion, the least affected and the most contented runner of them all was Pat Rummerfield, the quadriplegic.  Who, by the way, came in last.   

~~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Personal Integration Exercise

This week make your personal choices entirely independent of the good opinion of others. Live as if no one else is watching, as if you are in a vacuum. Notice whether or not the choices you make leave you feeling complete, happy and loved--by you!

~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
IMPORTANT!--I am happy to announce to those interested in Transformational Coaching, that I now have limited spaces available for consults, via telephone or email. To set up an appointment call 954-920-7870 or email me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*