10,000 Hours

I finally  got around to reading Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.  It is a fascinating book looking at very successful people and shows that it is not just their individual skills and talent that got them where they are.  As Publisher’s Weekly states, “Gladwell tears down the myth of individual merit to explore how culture, circumstance, timing, birth and luck account for success—and how historical legacies can hold others back despite ample individual gifts.

That might sound discouraging to those of us looking for more success, it might make you think that you just aren’t lucky enough to be successful, however, that is not the message that I took away from the book.

Early in the book, the author states that people who are extremely successful at what they do, all have one certain thing in common. They  have spent a huge amount of time practicing their craft.  According to Gladwell, the magic number is 10,000 hours of practice.  Be it music (Mozart and the Beatles) or computer programming (Bill Gates), the supersuccessful spent had not just luck and favorable circumstances, but much more persistence than your average person.

What this tells me is that you really can accomplish quite a bit with hard work and persistence.  Those who see the opportunities that are available to them, who persist through difficulties and spend the time to master every aspect of what they do, are the ones who will be successful.

I find this encouraging.  It tells me that the “outliers” were not just born that way.  They may have started with just a small amount of talent, they may have gotten “lucky”, but ultimately  it was their hard work and persistance that brought them to success.  In other words, if they can do it I can do it!

So how long does it take to become a master?  Not just an expert, mind you, but a master?  You would need to practice 2 hours and 44 minutes, every day of the year, for 10 years to get to 10,000 hours.   That might seem like a long time, but is it really?  When you consider that those 10 years will go by anyway, wouldn’t you like to find yourself 10 years later with complete mastery of what you do?

So keep your eyes open for the opportunities that present themselves to you. Find your passion and work diligently towards your goals and you might just find that 10 years from now, you are the Outlier.

The Choices We Make

Someone once said we are who we are because of the choices we make.   Just about an hour ago I made a choice that will bring me closer to becoming fit in fifty.  I was sitting on my couch watching TV, when it occurred to me that:

  • #1. I had not exercised at all today.
  • #2. That is was still light outside and a very nice summer evening.
  • #3.  I couldn’t really say that I didn’t have time to exercise if I had time to watch TV.

So I turned off the TV, put on my tennies, and went for a walk.  It wasn’t a long walk but a very enjoyable one and it did include one hill.

Afterwards my hubby and I sat outside and enjoyed watching our garden.

So turning off the TV led to 2 good things happening!

50 Things I’m Going To Do While I Am 50

I needed a place where I can keep a list of all my goals, action items, changes, (I’m not sure what I should call them, So I have decided to list them here.  Some goals have sub-goals, and in my mind they all count!  When I blog about a particular goal I will  link to it here.   There is no particular order to these items, it is just the way they came out of my head.

1. Be more organized.

2. Lose 1 pound per week for 50 weeks.

3. For 50 days in a row, (Saturdays excluded) eat no sugar.

4. Don’t bite my fingernails for 50 days in a row.

5.  Say something nice to a stranger 50 times.

6. Exercise at least a little, every day, for 50 days in a row. (Saturdays excluded)

7. Ask for help from someone else 50 times.

8. Let 50 different people know how special they are to me.

9. Do a fund raising project for some charity.

10. Think of at least 40 more goals!

11. Do 50 “real” pushups without stopping.  (I can do 5 right now!)

12.  Get a Facebook page and a Twitter account set up for 50 Weeks To Fit and Fabulous.

13.  Blog about this project at least one time per week for 50 weeks.

14. Facebook status update and tweet at least 1 time per day for 50 days.

15. Sleep at least 7 hours per night (8 is better) most night.

Fifty, Fit and Fabulous?

Fifty, Fit and Fabulous? Hello it’s me!   I’ve just turned 50.  I would like to say that I am 50, fit and fabulous, but that is not the case!  Well, I am certainly close to fabulous but there is no way that I am fit.

Last year when I turned 49 I told myself that I would be fit and fabulous by the time I turned 50.  It seemed like a reasonable goal. But I didn’t have a plan and I didn’t  tell anyone and I never seemed to get started so here I am at 50 and nothing has really changed.  Except that I have gained another 10 pounds, so that is kind of reverse progress.

This year I am going to do things different. I am going to go very public, and do my best to broadcast to the world what I am trying to do.  Seriously, I am going to put up a Facebook page and  a Twitter account and be as public as I can. Because I don’t want to be a massive failure in front of the world I expect that I should be able to reach at least some of my goals.  So here is the plan.  For the next 50 weeks, I am going to make 50 changes, goals, commitments, whatever you want to call it.  I am going to post them on my blog, I’m going to Tweet about them, make Facebook status updates, the whole 9 yards.  The whole internet will know if I succeed or fail.

Here is where you come in.   My very first change is to ask for help more often. In fact, my goal for this year is to ask for help at least 50 times.  For some people that might not be much of a goal, but for me it is a pretty big deal. I am the lone ranger type. I feel like I should be able to do everything myself.

So now I am going to ask for you help.  Please help me in my goal to make 50 the year I become fit and fabulous.  Please keep me accountable.  Please cheer on my successes, and give me a verbal kick in the pants when I am not doing what I should.  And then, would you tell all your friends and ask them if they would do the same?  Maybe someone  wants to do it with me?

And just to  make it perfectly clear, this will be a totally non-commercial activity.  On this blog there will be no ads, no affiliate links, nothing I am going to try and sell you.  I  might do that on another one of my blogs, <grin> (that is a goal I will tell you about another day) but not on this blog and not with this project.   So please, leave a comment and let me know you are out there, and come back tomorrow when I will have a Twitter account and a Facebook page that will make it easier for you to keep me in line!

~Peace, Love, and Happiness~

Checking In

I just noticed that I had not posted anything since last September.

Poor neglected blog.  I guess I am just too busy living life to spend time blogging about it.

But maybe for my friends and family  I will try harder.

This last weekend was good for me. Friday night we went to Boomtown NV for all you can eat steak and lobster buffet.  I ate two lobsters and some desert. (Why would you eat salad or potatoes when you can eat lobster?)  Then I gambled with my sweetie and he won and I lost.

Yesterday youngest daughter came up and had dinner with us. That was very nice.  I am proud of her. She is both cute and smart.

Last week I ordered a two person inflatable kayak.  It should arrive on Saturday. Hopefully the nice weather will arrive also so hubby and I can take the new boat for a test drive.

Now it is time to go back to work.  I’ll try and update again in the next six months or so!

A Very Nice Day

Okra and Morning Glory

I had a very nice day. While I was watering my garden this morning I saw this pretty blue Morning Glory was pushing its way between the Okra. I just thought it was really pretty.

Totally different subject. I have noticed that my new husband sometimes backs the car in, and sometimes he doesn’t. We were coming home from the store the other day and he starts to back the car in, he suddenly stops, and parks the car nose in. I finally had to ask, “why is it that sometimes you back the car in , and sometimes you don’t? And it is not just random, it is deliberate. ”

He said, “most of the time I back the car in. But when I know you are going to be riding in the car, I don’t back the car in, so it will be easier for you to get in the car. You won’t have to push past the tree.”
Reason #102 why I love him!

How Could I Forget?

I was in the AT&T phone store today, I finally get to upgrade my phone. (Note to self… next time, decide you hate your phone within the 30 days so you can return it and you don’t have to live with it for 2 years!) I was being helped, but the clerk was having some problems with the computer so I got to spend some time just waiting around.

At the next register a lady about my age (closer to 50 than I like to admit) was being helped by a young girl and they were talking about boyfriends, children, getting married, that kind of stuff. My clerk was busy with the computer so I passed the time eavesdropping on the other conversaton, adding a smile or a nod as appropriate.

The topic of the conversation wasn’t important, what I found interesting was how much the young clerk reminded me of myself when I was a young 20 something. She was talking about life, children, and relationships with the absolute certainty that she had it all figured out.

I remember feeling that way. I distinctly remember thinking that it was all pretty simple, I didn’t know why other people had so much trouble with their children, their relationships, life in general. It was easy! Just do what I was doing and it would all be a piece of cake.

Fast forward 25 years and I seem to have forgotten most of what I knew back then! The kids seem to have turned out OK, but I think that was more luck than skill or knowledge on my part. Relationships don’t make any sense to me at all, either it is working or it is not, Lord only knows why. And the meaning of life? Now I know that no one has that figured out.

I remember when I was young, telling my parents and other “older” relatives all about my opinions on life. I remember them listening and smiling, and even agreeing with me, just like the “older” lady in the phone store. Not once did they ever try and burst my bubble. No one ever said to me…”Live a little sweetie, let life slap you around a bit, throw you a few curve balls, and then come back and tell me about how you have it all figured out.” I love them for that.

So I finish my business at the phone store, happy with my new phone. I smile at the clerk and wish her the best. I hope it is a long time before she “forgets” how simple life and relationships are. I hope no one ever bursts her bubble, and one day she will be listening to some young girl, smiling and thinking to herself… “I remember when I had it all figured out”

If Today Was Your Last Day

A good friend called me today and told me that her son had died. Just 20 years old, he died of a rare form of cancer. At the end, he said no to the hospital and the breathing tube that would have given him a few more days of life and went home to die on his own terms with his parents and loved ones by his side.

His illness, and his death, reminds me that we really don’t know what the future holds for us. We do our best to try and predict what comes next, but life has a way of throwing us curve balls.

Not all of life’s surprises are bad. Some are very, very good. My recent life plan was to enjoy being single. Enjoy being able to make any decision I wanted to without consulting anyone. I was as surprised as anyone to fall crazy in love with an amazing man who is crazy about me. We got married! So much for me being single.

So my advice to you is, if life throws you some happiness, grab it and hold onto it, because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Here is a song by Nickelback that has been playing a lot on my iPod:

If Today Was Your Last Day

My best friend gave me the best advice, he said each day’s a gift and not a given right. Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind, and try to take the path less traveled by. That first step you take is the longest stride.

If today was your last day, and tomorrow was too late, could you say goodbye to yesterday? Would you live each moment like your last? Leave old pictures in the past, donate every dime you have? If today was your last day.

Against the grain should be a way of life. What’s worth the prize is always worth the fight. Every second counts ’cause there’s no second try. So live like you’ll never live it twice. Don’t take the free ride in your own life.

If today was your last day, and tomorrow was too late, could you say goodbye to yesterday? Would you live each moment like your last? Leave old pictures in the past, donate every dime you have? Would you call old friends you never see? Reminisce of memories, would you forgive your enemies? Would you find that one you’re dreamin’ of, swear up and down to God above, That you finally fall in love. If today was your last day.

If today was your last day, would you make your mark, by mending a broken heart? You know it’s never too late to shoot for the stars, regardless of who you are. So do whatever it takes, ’cause you can’t rewind a moment in this life. Let nothin’ stand in your way, cause the hands of time are never on your side.

If today was your last day, and tomorrow was too late, could you say goodbye to yesterday? Would you live each moment like your last, leave old pictures in the past, donate every dime you have? Would you call old friends you never see, reminisce of memories, would you forgive your enemies? Would you find the one you’re dreamin’ of, swear up and down to God above, that you finally fall in love. If today was your last day.

Rest in peace Michael. Your short life and courageous death made a big impact on me and many other people. We love you.