The Champions Blueprint/ Begin with the end in mind

Yesterday on a seemingly routine trip down south to Farmington, NM (I do this every Tuesday afternoon) I popped in a an episode of the Rich Roll Podcast.  I listen to his podcasts about half the time (Dave Ramsey takes up the other half, usually).  I always enjoy his fresh perspective on "plant-powered" athletes, specifically endurance athletes.  Yesterday's episode was a special treat.  Yesterday, he interviewed Dr. Jeff Spencer a chiropractor for people like Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, and has served on teams for 9 Tours de France.  He also went to the Olympics during the 60's as a cyclist on his own merit.  Here's a link to the podcast: http://www.richroll.com/podcast/rrp-57-dr-jeff-spencer-champions-blueprint-prolific-peak-performance-optimizing-your-best-self/ .  Admittedly, I was a little skeptical that I would hear a rehash of Stephen R. Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" since there are seven steps he gives on the way to the top.  Some are quite similar others are a little more unique.  I think what Dr. Spencer has carefully unearthed is the human traits that lead to our best performances... something this blog is uniquely dedicated to revealing.  The world seems to be overcrowded with people merely "getting by" and doing "good enough."  I truly wonder if they realize there are a large number of people who are determined to be the absolute best.  Maybe those people just don't live near me.  I've never lived in LA or NYC but I perceive those places to be overrun with the self-importants who are looking to excel. Maybe I'm wrong.  Please feel free to leave comments agreeing or disagreeing.  I don't think it's a coincidence that the Yankees and the New York Phil are in the same city, and it is not the Middle of Nowhere, South Dakota.

I thought it would be a helpful exercise for us to go through his steps one-by-one and really come to terms with what the implications of this blueprint are for musicians and endurance athletes.  Each day I'll explore a new principal, as I see it, and maybe together we can crack this code.  The really interesting part about this is that, he explains, these steps can be as large or small a scale as we desire.  So maybe for you, start a small project with these in mind and learn how it works, then ramp it up!

1. Legacy: Start with the End in Mind
This one, admittedly, sounded a little Covey-ish (since his Habit Number 2 is Begin with the End in Mind).  Putting the label legacy on it, though, implies a larger sense of what is meant by "the end."  As he explains it, what do you want to leave behind on this earth after you are gone?  That is your legacy.  For me, I intend to leave a legacy that proves people can do both music and sports with equal success simultaneously.  I am working to have a few big wins in each category (my personal definition of success at this endeavor).  As I see it, it is like having a job as a computer programmer and being very skilled at it while training for and winning marathons.  Google Rod Dehaven's bio and you'll see that feat has been done.  I don't know Rod personally but I do remember that he held a "normal" job as a computer programmer while training for and making the 2000 US Olympic team in the marathon.  What is your legacy?  What feats will your grandchildren look upon and say proudly, "My grandpa was a _____."  For me, personally, (this is probably the driving force behind all that I do), I look very proudly upon my maternal great grandfather and both my paternal grandparents.  They are in my thoughts daily.  My great grandfather, John Harlan "Speedy" Rush, was an an outdoorsman, college football coach, youth camp founder (Dunmore, Keewaydin and Songadeewin), and tied the world record for the 100 yard dash.  My paternal grandmother was a church organist and music teacher, her husband was a true Renaissance man; expert craftsman, built his own house without ever owing a cent, great with people, could quote Shakespeare and Carl Sagan in the same breath.  Yeah, I'm cut from that cloth, alright.  I've always felt like God and I sat around before I was born and came up with the idea:  what would happen if we put elements of these people into one person?  Here I am!  My legacy will be to my grandchildren: "Grandpa was a champion long distance runner, professional clarinetist, highly college teacher, outdoorsy guy, vegan..."

So as an experiment, write down what you want your legacy to be.  You may assign a timeline to it, or leave it open ended.  If you want some accountability, post it as a comment on here!  I think writing it down really helps clarify and possibly quantify our intentions.  Also, when you're rummaging through your drawer for a lost item and come across it, you'll remember your purpose.  Or, you could experiment with http://www.futureme.org.  Send yourself an e-mail in a year.  I promise you'll have forgotten it is coming and be surprised when it shows up.

Tomorrow, we'll cover Mindset: View the world through the lens of your legacy.  See you then!

Why extreme is bad, or is it?

For today's blog, I'd like to pose a question: why is extreme bad?  I've been thinking about this a lot recently as people typically use that term to define or quantify activities I'm doing.  I run more than most (but far less than some) and that to some is extreme... I practice clarinet more than most (again, far less than some)... My wife and I are pretty good at managing our money.... I can do a modest number of pull-ups... I'm "plant powered"... I manage my time well.... all these things, from a certain perspective are no big deal or world-class (unfortunately. Sponsors feel free to chime in, maybe we can take some of these up a notch) but routinely are described as "extreme." So this led me to thinking, maybe extreme is defined by perspective?  Perhaps "abnormal" would be a better term.  It is somewhat abnormal to meet a clarinetist who routinely does workouts consisting of 300 pull-ups.  It is somewhat abnormal to meet an ultra runner who performs classical music recitals and concerts as often as I do.  But is this extreme? Or are we abusing the word like we do with "awesome."

Initially, I thought maybe excessive might be a better term for it all but even that implies that there is too much or an excess of activity.  Clearly, this cannot be the case.  Unconventional, yes.  Extreme?  Probably not.  This perspective may indicate a larger societal problem indicating that our musicians are largely sedentary (I can't tell you the number of times I have walked down the hall either as a student or a professor or heard on breaks from rehearsal someone complaining about wanting to lose some weight due to their lifestyle).  The other societal problem is that a fair number of top athletes offer zero intellectual or humanitarian contributions to the greater good.  Not everyone needs to grow up and be Gandhi in both physique and contributions but just bumping along is not a way I am willing to spend my days.

I lived in Boulder, Colorado for a number of years both during and after my undergraduate study.  There are a large number of world-class athletes and Nobel Laureates and even some Grammy winners.   Are these people all extreme or are they just good at what they do?  If they are "extreme," why is that a negative thing?  I would argue they are good at what they do, have a plan for success, and work diligently and patiently at their pursuits.   The take away from this is, if you are working towards your goals, let them be extreme.  Roger Bannister was once called extreme.  He remains a shining example of someone with a great intellect and athletic prowess.  Go break your own 4 minute mile, extreme as that may be!

Short and sweet

Today's blog will be short and sweet but it comes, a little bit anyway, from a sermon I heard yesterday about success.  I am exited to be carving out some time to make these blogs more frequent.

Success to me means setting a certain minimum end-point you are comfortable with and judging your results in relation to that goal.  If, say, your goal was to earn $100 and you earned $95, you were 95% successful.  Most goals are a little more subjective than that but one can get the picture.  When you start a goal, define what success means to you.

The other take-away is that as a musician we not only can be actively engaged in some sort of physical pursuit like running, we should be engaged in some sort of physical pursuit.  I see many, many musicians and business people who "don't have the time"to squeeze in even a simple 30 minute walk with the dog.  I think this is detrimental to our long term success.  If our health goes, we won't be able to do much, including the work we don't have time to miss.  For me, the best time is first thing in the morning but sometimes the climate or keeping up on my sleep gets in the way.  I read an article shortly before writing this that going to work with less than optimal sleep is like going to work drunk and I agree.  Sleep, workout, eat right, work, spend time with your family and friends.  It's all about balance.

Short and sweet.  See you tomorrow!