Water (Focus) puts out Fire (Stress)

For all those people out there who may be feeling overwhelmed: "just focus."

Just as water puts out fire, focus puts out stress. Try to recall the last time you were in a crisis. Remember that focus you had? Well, that is real focus. It's not easy to reach. But when you do, you forget about everything else and do one thing at a time, and you do it well because you know that it's what you are supposed to be doing. We can only truly do one thing at a time.

David Allen says it best:

"...most teams work best in crisis. Simply because it gets them focused, it gets them galvanized. High performance doesn't come from crisis. Rather it comes from the focus that crisis forces you to have. High performance people and organizations tend to be the people in organizations that know how to get that kind of galvanized focus before crisis forces them to...

...the truth is, when you are in your zone (when time disappears), you are not feeling overwhelmed. If you really are doing what you really know that you need to be doing at any point of time, there is no sense of being overwhelmed. You can only do one thing at a time, so it's either half empty or half full: you either feel crappy about all you are not doing or you feel perfect about the one thing you are."

- David Allen -

Connect, Join and Balance through Yoga

I finally tried Yoga for the first time last night, after more than two years of living in San Francisco. I am glad I did and will be adding it to my weekly running and core exercise routine. While I continue to truly learn and understand yoga, last night was a great introduction into what it can mean and become. There is great learning achieved when connecting, joining, and balancing one's mind and body as you detach from the world around you for at least just a few hours a week - I highly recommend it!

Most importantly, I wanted to share a quote that I heard during class, and it relates to a question I've asked my self in that past: "Why do people work?"....well, here's part of the answer....

"Always you have been told that work is a curse and labor a misfortune. But I say to you that when you work you fulfill a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born, and in keeping yourself with labor you are in truth loving life and to love life through labor is to be intimate with life's inmost secret." by The Prophet

TheRelay - A Must Do!

If you like to run, this is a must-do! You get to experience California at its best!

You run through some of the most wonderful landscape the state has to offer with great people, and for a great cause. I rant at 7pm through vineyards with a sunset through the hills, at 4am next to a river under the starts, and then at 1pm starting in the woods and finishing by the beach in Santa Cruz. I can't wait for next year!

My Results:

Leg: 12, Type: Hard, Miles: 4.8, Pace: 07:40 min/mil, Start: 7:19PM PST

Leg: 24, Type: Mod., Miles: 5.9, Pace: 07:55 min/mil, Start: 4:17AM PST

Leg: 36, Type: Easy, Miles: 6, Pace: 07:11 min/mil, Start: 1:21PM PST

TheRelay.com

Igloo

I learned how to build an Igloo this weekend to snow camp near Carson Pass, California. It is an incredible experience. It was still cold but it gave us shelter for the storm we got over night.

Que viva the Inuit people!

Click here to see video

Solar Photovoltaic Sunset

California sunset over my first Solar PV investment in distributed energy generation. Aerial photos coming soon.

Failure and Imagination

A must see or read speech from J.K. Rowling at Harvard on the fringe benefits "failure" and the importance of "imagination" in life.

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

Happiness Diagram

Ultimate happiness comes from 5 sources. But remember: "Happiness is not a goal"

Why are we irrational sometimes?

Just wanted to recommend a book I just read: "Sway" by Ori and Rom Brafman. It's a quick read that I picked up in the airport between flights.

The book is essentially about the sub-merged mental drivers (undercurrents) that can undermine rational action (i.e. make us behave irrationally). For example, why do we drive crazy sometimes just to save a few seconds? Why can't we sell a falling stock? Or why can't some people get out of domed relationships?

In summary, they explain 5 psychological undercurrents that cause this irrational behavior:

1) Loss Aversion (Desire to avoid loss): People don't like to lose and thus may not know when to cut their losses or know how/when to lose. It's okay to lose; you can make it up on the next one. Don't dig yourself into a bigger hole. Don't get caught by this fear of loss, it can make you lose a lot more. Have a long term view. e.g. Running a yellow light to save a few seconds, in the long-term, has absolutely no major impact in your life.

2) Commitment: This is about our reluctance to alter a plan or action that clearly isn't working because it has always worked for us in the past. Let go of the past, be open. Ask yourself: If I were to walk into the situation, fresh, would I still be pursuing this strategy?

3) Value Attribution: This is when we judge a book by its cover (i.e. diagnosis bias). We all have different lenses we see things through. Perceive someone or a situation beyond your initial impression. Take time to test your intuition -> learn about something or someone -> make a tentative opinion -> test your opinion -> give it time to sync -> and then finally make a final judgment.

4) Fairness: As humans we want something to be fair. Our decisions are driven by our convictions and emotions, that’s why sometimes we make bad decision. This factor is even more important when a decision affects other people. The key here is to weigh things objectively, not involving our emotions or moral judgment. When it does involve others, make sure you involve them in the "process" and keep ongoing two-way communication.

5) Ignoring Dissenters: This is essentially about not ignoring the "devil's advocate" and taking into account all the evidence. Hearing out everyone only leads to better decisions as every point of view will have been considered. Give a voice to the dissenter.

Be aware of these 5 undercurrents the next time you face a pivotal decision - swim across these undercurrents, not against them!