Category Archives: Motivation

05
Aug
2010

The fight is won or lost far away

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Posted in Motivation, Poetry, Training
“The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses… “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights” – Muhammad Ali
02
Aug
2010

The Joy of Less

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Posted in Motivation, Our World
I’ve edited down this superb piece on simple living by Pico Eyer. Read the full New York Times article here. “The beat of my heart has grown deeper, more active, and yet more peaceful, and it is as if I were all the time storing up inner riches…My [life] is one long sequence of inner [...]

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04
Jul
2010

Is Wimbledon a metaphor for courage?

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Posted in Motivation
One of my favourite blog posts was about last year’s Wimbledon final. I hope it does not seem too indulgent to post it again today. That Wimbledon final [last year]… Replace the racquet and ball for whatever makes you resonate. Be that a bull and cape, caped duellers drawing rapiers at dawn, or sitting [...]

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19
May
2010

I Am What I Am – Roz Savage

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Posted in Channel Rowing, Motivation
Some interesting thoughts from ocean rower Roz Savage: o Don’t waste mental energy asking yourself if you CAN do something. Just do it. You’ll surprise yourself. I did. o Be clear about your objectives. Ignore others, stay true to yourself and measure success only against your own criteria. I was last to finish the race – big [...]

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18
May
2010

On the variety of our world

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Posted in Motivation, Our World
“World is crazier and more of it than we think, Incorrigibly plural. I peel and portion A tangerine and spit the pips and feel The drunkenness of things being various.” - Louise MacNeise ‘Snow’ I am an Englishman. I grew up in an English village. I went to a school full of English kids. My parents, my teachers, my outlook: [...]

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10
May
2010

The Days of Anguish: being a writer

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Posted in Motivation, Writing
I find writing books to be quite the hardest thing I have ever done. They hang over you for months on end. The hours I spend with my elbows on my desk clutching my hair in my fists and screwing up my eyes in frustration and despair massively outweigh the happy hours of flow that eventually [...]

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05
May
2010

Innate Ability versus Will

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Posted in Expeditions, Motivation
Phil Packer is no athlete. For most of his life he did not achieve any particularly spectacular physical accomplishments. We all have an innate physical ability that we are born with. Practice improves it, but it doesn’t make it perfect. We have our limits. But then Phil was injured in Iraq, sustaining a spinal cord injury. Since [...]

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12
Apr
2010

A Paratrooper’s prayer

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Posted in Motivation, Our World, Poetry, Training
I am not religious, but I relish the power of this prayer, known often as the Paratrooper’s prayer. I bring this prayer to You, Lord, For you alone can give What one cannot demand from oneself. Give me, Lord, what You have left over, Give me what no one ever asks of You. I don’t ask You for rest, Or quiet, Whether of [...]

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05
Apr
2010

Solitude v Loneliness

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Posted in Motivation
In my talks I often touch on the difference between solitude and loneliness, and the knife edge that separates them. I love solitude, but my quest for it often tips me into loneliness. It is a difficult balance to find. Here are some interesting thoughts on the difference between the two emotions. As the world spins faster and [...]

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30
Mar
2010

Motivational Quote of the month: The voice of caution…

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Posted in Motivation
“The voice of caution knows nothing of real joy. What joy is there in doing what there was no doubt you could do? Try something you could fail at… that just could be living.” - Neal Donald Walsch I read this quote on Ben’s great site.