The Runners High
December 18th, 2008 | Posted by 
kingarthur | Category: Attention & Focus, Gratitude, Runner's High, Words | Tags: energy, patience | 1 Comment
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briskly and swift travels the aging man
ascending the mount to see God’s beacon shine
focused on words that illuminate his soul
grateful for the quickening of mercies divine
Tonight I ran for the second time this week and the second time in perhaps 6 months or more. After the St. George in 2005 I haven’t trained much. I did run the Wasatch Back Relay, but I pretty much ran that straight up without forethought…and my legs sure thanked me for it!
Today I had been having a brain cloud, as I’ve come to recognize as a fairly common part of Ryan’s existence. I almost didn’t run today because I’ve been feeling “almost sick” lately. Ya know that feeling of fatigue, muscle soreness, hot/cold “make up your mind” stuff? Well, I’ve been having that but guess what? Here’s what I experienced upon returning from a 15 minute run, 5 minute walk, then repeat session:
- My mind felt clear and focused
- I had more energy
- I noticed patience came easier
- Gratitude filled my being
- (From the textbook) Overall sense of well being
I enjoy noticing the effects of my actions more these days. I haven’t always done that and it’s quite interesting and refreshing.
| 2.5 (4 people) |
So Easy to Forget
August 29th, 2008 | Posted by kingarthur | Category: Attention & Focus, Gratitude, Making a Difference, The World | Tags: charity, water | 1 Comment
Today I was banging my head against the wall trying to figure out how to get a buzz out of the audio of a video I was making to show a group of friends how to help our company achieve one of my outrageous goals. In turn we’re letting them take part in the passive income it will generate.
Well, in a moment of frustration and ADD I was surfing around my cluttered Facebook account. When you check your account 20 times a day it’s exciting to see the little red notification light at the bottom…I pounced. And for once, what I saw wasn’t clutter. It was a link from a friend to a little video, the one you’ll see below and it changed my frame of mind. Whereas I was just barely experiencing frustration, I felt hope. Whereas I felt anger, I felt love. Whereas I had lost focus, I once again regained it.
Along this road of life I’ve learned that action helps to solidify belief. So, I’m going to take our first $3,300 from our Sprouts project and donate it to Charity: Water, where 100% of the donations will be used to build clear water wells in Ethiopia. Please join me in some way to bring an ease that we so often take for granted to some of our brothers and sisters the world over!
The September Campaign Trailer from charity: water on Vimeo.
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Come to your senses man!
February 18th, 2008 | Posted by kingarthur | Category: Attention & Focus, GoalsNo Comments
So, I’ve been thinking ever since I got back from the cruise, “This room is so messy that it’s clogging your brain!” It makes me think of how our surroundings, when clean, and organized can help lead us to similar thoughts and lay the foundation for the same in our actions.
I am realizing too just how important ongoing planning and review of my life is if I’m to come to any sort of control over where I want it to go. I’m sure that I’m not the only one that gets distracted by this and that. Our modern world provides for us so many ways to go and so many options of just about everything. There was a study done that suggested fewer options presented to shoppers would actually increase sales. The implication here is that too many choices can inhibit action.
I think there’s something there that can help us understand life better. This morning when I woke up, as is common for me recently, I was in a bit of a daze. I wasn’t sure what to do. I think a word that describes it best is aimless. So quite habitually I arose and began to do the first thing that came to my mind and then the phrase “first things first” popped into my mind. Immediately a list of my goals and priorities filled my mind and I again had direction.
I also had an accompanying glimpse into my future this morning. I was the same as I was now. Still had the same problems. Still had the same patterns and thoughts. Combining with the clarity of my hopes, desires and goals this little picture prompted the question, “When are you going to change?”
I could not hide from the answer that seemed to stand outside of myself with confidence and authority. The answer was, “the only time you have is now.” I couldn’t deny that if I wanted to. The reality of that moment was inescapable: Now is the time to DO. If I dispise the future I saw, then it’s time, even now, to change it!
I thank my Father in Heaven. I’m so spacey at times. I feel His loving hand reach me at times that I am stubborn and foolish. My thanks to him is my action. I pray it’s holy and sacred and lets him see my desire to serve him.
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Peter Jay on “Making the Grade”
October 18th, 2007 | Posted by kingarthur | Category: Attention & Focus, Study Strategies, Understanding1 Comment
How can a student not known for their academic prowess perform seemingly miraculous feats of success in college? In this monsterously in-depth interview Peter Jay tells it all. How do I make the most of my time at school? How can I shift my thinking ever so slightly to see that even I can achieve great things? What’s at the heart of scholastic success? Join us now to get the answers to these vital questions!
Peter: Did you finish UVSC yet?
me: ha!will I EVER finish UVSC?
we’ll see.
no, I’m slated to graduate Fall 2008
and I’ve also started some premed classes.
it’s a lot.Peter: Studying for the MCAT?
me: not yet.just trying to learn the ropes of keeping up in my classes.
haven’t learned how yet [smile]Peter: Yea, I didn’t figure out until my fifth year at BYU and then I went from getting a C average to getting an A average
me: how’d ya do it pete? what was the difference?
Peter: There were several things. I decided to treat it like a game, trying to get points, because that made it more interesting to me.
I also decided to make sure I did my homework every day before I did anything else, and I realized I still had as much time to have fun and hang out with people, before I was just being lazy and then hanging out with people
me: keep going…
this is good stuff…
Peter: Then I made sure that I was above the 90 percentile on every assignment and test, and then in the end it all adds up to an A
me: I’m going to quote you on my blog…
Peter: Alright [note: by this one word Peter Jay hereby relinquishes any and all claims to financial compensation or ongoing royalties from the profits of this blog post. That includes anything from AdSense too Pete, though I'd feel cool buying you and Kira a lunch when you come out in December.]
me: [smile]
so, those were the three keys to beating the college game?
Peter: Yea, you just have to make sure you really study and know the stuff. I started spending about ten hours studying for each final where I would go over everything and make sure I understood it from the beginning of the semester to the end
And I would try to memorize everything
But, yea, that’s about itme: how did you organize all your assignments and make sure you were studying for everything/doing everything?
Peter: I usually tried to take good notes in class and then I just followed that. For the tests I would read through and memorize my notes and I would also quickly review the chapters of the book, if there was something I didn’t understand I would spend more time on it until I did
I really put in a lot of time for the first semester I got A’s, after that I kind of figured things out and it got easie
In Calculus I memorized three pages of calculus formulas and after that it was as easy as algebra, and I got an Ame: Did you work too those semesters?
Peter: That semester I didn’t, but later semesters when I got A’s I did
me: was that any harder?Peter: It is kind of just a distraction, one more thing to think about. My grades went down a bit that semester I was working on the PlayCroquet.com site because I spent my time doing that instead of studying, I think I let that consume more time than I should have though, since I could sit in front of the computer for hours playing around with websites
me: Right.
Peter: I still get distracted easily by that.
Thank you Peter for opening up so freely about how to succeed in college. Your study strategies, tips and aids are sure to help even the down and out college student.
If you’d like to have Peter as your own personal study buddy, forget it, he’s in law school and doesn’t have time, because he’s using the above mentioned study strategies. However, feel free to post any comments you may have for Peter here. And, if you’re looking for some help getting into college, remember Zinch.com is helping high school students stand out in the college admissions process . There college search feature is reason enough to join the Zinch revolution.
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Conquering Timp
October 2nd, 2007 | Posted by kingarthur | Category: Attention & Focus, Goals, ReportsNo Comments
The evening was warmer than it had been the past couple of days. Invitees were texting to bail while others were firming up plans. In all, fourteen brave souls took the challenge to hike the 2nd largest mountain in Utah’s Wasatch Mountain range, Mt. Timpanogos.
Although this was my third time to hike this beautiful natural beauty, by the time I finished the hike at 12:00 pm the following afternoon it sure felt like the first time that I’d EVER been hiking.
Each of my three ascents to the top of Mt. Timp have started at night. The latter two started began from the Timpooneke Campground. Beginning here as opposed to the Aspen Grove trail head means a smaller elevation hike, but a longer distance hike.
After arriving at the trail head and making sure that we all had headlamps we began our journey. Turns out that if you want to hike a mountain and have everyone stay together you can’t put the fastest people up front. After 20 or 30 minutes we had split into two groups and about an hour later that 2 turned into 3 as I took the caboose with two other hikers, one of which had sprained her ankle about 10 minutes into the hike…courageous soul.
The night remained warm and there was no need for my sweater. We walked the entire night and reached the saddle just as the sun rose. We never stayed still long enough for the cold to catch us. Once up top and after resting a bit, two friends and I ascended to the summit. It was a first for all of us. THAT’S where it began to be cold. Now on the front side of the mountain (west side), we felt strong colder winds. While the skies were blue, they were preparing to gather the gray clouds that would eventually drop their rain moments after we reached the bottom of our hike.
I had a great time filled with detective footprint tracking and great friends. I’d do it again. Pretty much the coolest thing ever!
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