Author: The Stoic

“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” – Jimmy Dugan

Upon hearing that it’s the hard that makes things great, I’ve made it a point to always seek out the hard.

In every facet of life.

Once I’d uncover the hard, my mission would then become making the hard seem easy.

The epitome of making the hard look easy has been blogging for the past 363 days in a row.

It made me realize that while the hard is indeed what makes it great, making the hard look easy – now that’s what makes it fun.

363 blog posts down – I can’t believe only 2 left to go…

Hey kids.

When you encounter a monster, don’t run.

Pose.

With a smile.

362 blog posts down – just 3 left to go…

ONLY THREE.

I’ve been known to cry when I’m happy.

Like when I’m really, really happy.

It’s because a small part of me can’t help but wonder if this is the happiest I’ll ever be.

And the last thing I ever want to do is peak.

Peaking is just one step away from sliding.

So I’ll cry.

Then I’ll wipe away my tears and look for a higher mountain.

361 blog posts down – only 4 more to go (until I peak or find a grander mountain)…

“Sometimes there just aren’t enough rocks.” – Forrest Gump

Bad people are always gonna do bad things.

That’s just the way it is.

You could get angry.

Even angry enough to hurl rocks.

Eventually, you’ll realize that there just aren’t enough rocks.

That’s why I always reach for the pen.

There is an endless supply of words.

Especially since you can always repeat them.

360 blog posts down – just FIVE more to go!

Ah, the epiphany.

Famous for suddenly forcing a new reality upon us.

Epiphanies typically take most people by surprise.

Not me.

I anticipate them.

And, I find myself having them fairly often.

Probably because I am always on the lookout for them.

For the past few years I’ve been on this unrelenting quest to understand stoicism.

I’ve searched far and wide and all around me.

It wasn’t until I found myself nearing my 365th blog post did it occur to me that I had been looking in all the wrong places.

Stoicism wasn’t at the end of some yellow brick road.

Turns out, instead of looking around me, I should’ve been looking within me.

It’s funny how people find themselves pursuing something they’ve always had.

But, even funnier how epiphanies can go unnoticed in the midst of having one.

359 blog posts down – 6 more to go…

Dear Diary Daily Blog,

Today marks the beginning of another trip around the sun.

It was a birthday filled with laughter,

a few tears,

some pampering,

a lot of love,

a dose of inspiration, and

not one – but two – epiphanies.

While I plan to elaborate on the epiphanies in subsequent posts, right now, I’m think I’m going to sit back and just enjoy the love.

358 blog posts down – only 7, yes only 7, left to go…

I’ve spent a lifetime chasing an accelerating imagination.

Determinedly.

Unregrettably.

The quest made me realize that it’s not enough to merely think big.

One needs to think far.

And wide.

All the while accepting that the bigger the dreams,

and the more infinite the view,

the greater an imagination’s lead can accrue.

Perhaps some pursuits are just better left unfulfilled.

357 blogs posts down – 8 more to go…

Throughout my life, I’ve encountered many things that I didn’t think I could do.

Until I did them.

Blogging for the past 355 days in row is just one example.

Then there were those things that others told me could not be done.

At least they could not be done by me, they said.

So I was encouraged not to do things.

You know what I do when I am urged not to do something?

I do it.

And I make sure to do it well.

Really, really well.

Like entering a career in financial services after being told I’d never succeed.

Or like becoming a writer after being told that I was really not that good.

Or like representing myself in litigation after being told I was too ignorant to do so.

And even like eating the lemon garnish on a piece of fancy sushi after being told that it was for decorative purposes only.

This brings me to the seventh – and perhaps most valuable – lesson this blogging experience has taught me:

The things most worth doing are those that people – myself included – say can’t be done.

356 blog posts down – only 9 more to go…

We’re in single digits, baby!

I heard a great story on XM radio today told by Glenn Frey.

Early in his career, he went to see a live band with Bob Seger – one of Frey’s good friends and early influences.

Although they were both digging the music, Seger leaned over to Frey and said something along the lines of:

These guys are very talented, but this band isn’t going anywhere. To make it big, you can’t just sing covers; you have to write your own songs.

Anyone can sing along.

Some can even make a living at it.

But only a talented few can craft a song.

I think this philosophy applies to all industries – not just music.

If you want to be mediocre, emulate. But to be spectacular, you have to originate.

Dream your song.

And then write it.

355 blog posts down – a mere 10 left to go!

My mom used to tell me that I had eyes bigger than my stomach as she watched me fill my dinner plate.

I always took it as a compliment.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to have big eyes and a small stomach?

Now that I’m older, not much has changed.

I’m still piling.

Only, instead of food, I’m piling work.

Lots and lots of work keeps getting piled onto a proverbial plate.

I can’t stop.

I can’t say no.

I don’t want to say no.

I like working.

I like doing.

It’s making me smarter.

It’s making me better.

This blog is a perfect example of extra work I decided to add onto an already monumental pile.

It should have caused a collapse.

But it didn’t.

Sometimes, things meant to spill can actually fulfill.

This blog was one of those times.

This brings me to blogging lesson number six: it’s perfectly okay to have big eyes.

354 blog posts down – only 11 left to go…

Today I was reminded that no matter how quickly the earth spins, some things will always remain timeless.

Good stories.

Laughter.

Friendship.

353 blog posts down – only 12 left to go…

“Tuesday evening, 9pm
If I could wake up
and do it all over again,
I’d kiss the ground,
and hug the sky
and never let another moment pass me by”

Written on May 28, 1996.

After countless moments passed me by.

And long before I learned how to seize them.

352 blog posts down – only 13 left to go…

Lately, my daughter has been coming to me for advice on boys.

I happen to have a lot of expertise in this area.

A lot.

One might even say that I know almost as much about boys as I do about digital finance.

However, when I was 11, I knew nothing about either.

Anyway, I can’t decide what makes me happier – that my pre-teen feels comfortable enough to discuss boy matters with me or that I am immature youthful enough for her to consider me a peer.

It doesn’t matter. The truth is, I’d much prefer talking to her about boys and crushes than to be nagging her about not eating enough organic kale, going to sleep earlier or turning off her iphone.

There is a time for parenting and, if we are lucky, there is a time for friendship.

My father and I are very different in so many ways. However, lately, I find myself trying to uncover our commonalities.

My father was never a disciplinarian. Growing up, he always acted much more like a friend than a parent.

He would usually find humor in things that would warrant a scolding from typical fathers.

Lately, I’m starting to catch myself doing a lot more laughing than reprimanding – just like my father.

It must be one of those things that’s bred in the bone.

351 blog posts down – only 14 left to go…

The other day a friend of mine asked if I understood the definition of a Greek tragedy.

Not as much as I understand the definition of a romantic comedy.

Or a parody.

Or even a good suspense.

After that I’m pretty much lost.

He said, “the definition of a Greek tragedy is when the protagonist is given the opportunity to avoid a fatal outcome but doesn’t take it.”

That’s not tragic.

That’s apropos.

350 blog posts down – only 15 left to go…

I thought I’d take a quick break from revealing the many lessons this blog has taught me in order to relay a very moving story I recently heard on XM radio shared by Graham Nash (of Crosby Stills Nash ilk).

Nash relayed a story about his mom who had always encouraged his musical ambitions.

Shortly before she died, he asked her why, unlike many parents, she had been so supportive of his musical ambitions. She explained to him that it was because he was living the life that she had always wanted for herself. This took Nash by surprise as he had no idea that his mother ever dreamed of becoming a famous musician.

A few months after she passed, Nash was playing Carnegie Hall, and he shared her story with the audience. In an effort to help fulfill her lifelong dream of being on stage, Nash sprinkled a few of his mother’s ashes over the stage as he said, “Mum, you finally made it to Carnegie.” In fact, his mom’s ashes is now scattered across a number of famous concert halls around the world.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my parents – especially my Dad who has not been doing well.

His lifelong dream was to go to Hollywood and make movies. But, like Nash’s mom, the universe had different plans for him.

A few months ago, I bought a new phone that came with a stylist. I thought my Dad would find the technology pretty cool so I handed him the stylist, along with my phone, and asked him to write something.

Anything.

Of all things, he wrote, “make a good movie that lasts.”

You know what, Dad, maybe one day I will.

349 blog posts down – only 16 left to go…

I started this blog on a whim.

To pass time on a lazy New Year’s Day.

By the next day it had become an inconvenience.

Then a nuisance.

Then an anchor.

But, I had made a commitment – to myself.

And apparently those kind are the least binding and hardest to break.

So, I just kept on writing.

And writing.

Soon, blogging became second nature.

Then it became therapeutic.

And eventually, cathartic.

This brings me to the fifth lesson I learned from daily blogging:

Reward yourself with inconveniences.

348 blog posts down – only 17 left to go…

When I started this daily blog on January 1, 2018, my main objective was to improve my writing skills.

I wanted more than to merely be a better writer, I wanted to be a fearless one.

In order to achieve that, I knew I’d have to bare my soul.

In public.

Although I could hardly be described as reserved, I was terrified.

I even began this blog password protected.

I slowly started leaking the pieces of me that I typically would have kept hidden.

Yet, no matter how much I would reveal, I still held back.

My very first post remained password protected.

Until today.

This brings me to lesson number four: openness is fearlessness.

So here I am.

Naked and imperfect.

Go ahead and judge.

347 blog posts down – only 18 left to go…

I am truly proud – yet somewhat shocked – that I only have 19 posts to go till I realize my goal of 365 blog posts in a row.

When I began this enormous and incredibly laborious undertaking fun little exercise on January 1st, I wasn’t really sure I’d ever make it to 365.

I mean, if I actually fulfilled all of my new years resolutions, I’d weigh like 120 pounds and have washboard abs.

But I digress.

The truth is, I ended up becoming more and more empowered with each and every completed post.

Because I kept a daily running tally, each post served as a reminder of how far I’ve come – and how much more I need to go.

Each day, as I would notice the number of completed posts growing larger and the amount remaining quickly diminishing, I could feel my goal becoming that much more attainable.

This brings me to the third lesson I learned from this blogging experience: always keep score.

346 blog posts down – only 19 left to go…

As I relayed yesterday, ideas are everywhere.

But for some reason, the best ones always surface when I’m least able to capture and retain them.

This is because the best ones always seem to show up when I’m driving around, listening to music and least able to write them down.

I don’t know why that is.

Maybe it’s the motion. Maybe it’s the music. Or maybe it’s just the universe’s sick sense of humor.

Whatever the reason, everyone knows what happens to unseized thoughts.

They disappear.

Sometimes forever.

This brings me to Blogging Lesson Number Two: when the inspiration hits, just pull over and write.

345 blog posts down – only 20 left to go…

Today marks my 344th blog post – in a row.

With a mere 21 posts left to go until I fulfill my 2018 new year’s resolution, I am realizing just how much this dreadful, laborious, obnoxious, magnificent blog has taught me.

About life.

About people.

About myself.

Today, I feel compelled to write about what I’ve discovered throughout this incredible undertaking little experiment.

Given time restraints, I’ve decided to stretch out my lessons across multiple posts instead of laying them out all in one.

This way I don’t have to spend a lot of time searching for topics to write about in these final few weeks.

Despite the fact that I find myself surrounded by ideas on a daily basis, uncovering something worth writing – for me – remains the most challenging part about blogging.

This brings me to lesson number one:

Ideas defy the scarcity principle which says that the scarcer the commodity and the greater the demand, the more valuable it becomes.

Ideas are the only commodity whose value is not limited by the discovery of more.

That’s what makes them so special.

And so worth mining for.

344 blog posts down – only 21 left to go…