Risks

The Thing About Advice

The Thing About Advice

Garth Beyer

There’s a lot of advice out there. Really good advice. Advice because other people took risks, learned from them and don’t want you to make the same mistakes.

That is all good and fun, but it’s partly wrong.

I remember a time when I was younger and living with my dad. He was trying to tell me to not do something that he did when he was my age. I turned to him and asked if he regretted the choices he made. I said to him, “What if. What if I do everything exactly as you tell me, that I do everything you suggest the way you suggest it. Then what. Am I supposed to be happy? It won’t be my life then.”

True advice is when someone suggests you do something a certain way but doesn’t resent you if you don’t. This is what I want you to keep an ear out for with this new year.

I want you to take the risks, make the mistakes, fail, but fail fast. If something isn’t clear that it’s the wrong choice, then it’s up to you to see whatever choice you make as the right one and not let anyone else make that judgement for you.

 

Stay Positive & This Is YOUR Life

Garth E. Beyer

Photo credit

 

What Really Pays

Garth Beyer

–  Cash isn’t important to a successful career, connections are.The only money that matters is money that is invested. Whether you invest it in someone to give them a chance to show and grow their skills or when they invest it in you.

–  Time is only valuable when it’s either used to create honest art (not multi tasking, not clicking interesting link after interesting link, not taking halfass notes) and it’s only valuable when you interact with someone in real time (meeting for coffee, talking on the phone, skyping).

–   Having thousands of friends, followers, and visitors doesn’t mean you will instantly profit off of advertising. When it’s between making .002 cents off a stranger or $20.00 from a friend. I hope that it’s obvious what you should be making: friends or strangers.

–   When it comes to advertising, before anything, work on advertising yourself. That’s where the money is. (Or isn’t? Then you need to work on doing more creative work.)

–   Hard work pays off? Determination, motivation, perseverance, commitment… sounds like something you have to convince yourself to do that you just don’t want to.

What about connections, challenging fear, making yourself uncomfortable, revealing yourself, sparking emotional interactions, and taking risks?

Now tell me: What do you think really pays?

 

Stay Positive & Turn Strangers Into Friends

Garth E. Beyer

Have You Forgotten

Garth Beyer

Have you forgotten that you are capable of figuring things out for yourself?

Have you forgotten how easy it is to outlearn and outsmart any competitor or non-believer?

Have you forgotten that you have the power to create, to innovate, to invent something to better the world?

Have you forgotten that you are one of a kind already and you just need to filter it through your work?

Have you forgotten that everything remarkable was a risk?

Have you forgotten that the more risks you take, the easier it gets?

Have you forgotten?

 

Stay Positive & This Is Me Telling You That You Haven’t

Garth E. Beyer

My Secret Obsession: Starbucks (Not their coffee…well..that too)

Garth Beyer

I was in New York last week for Seth Godin’s Pick Yourself event. Instead of writing a post about that, (which I will soon), I couldn’t help but write about the one thing that you see every 72 steps in any direction: Starbucks

1 out of 3 Baristas laughed. 2 actually thought I was named Voldemort

Guy Kawasaki, a likely idol of both of ours, had written an article telling how important mantras are and that the shortest are often the sweetest. The example he used for the greatest mantra from the greatest company on the planet is  Starbucks – “Rewarding Everyday Moments”

I apologize for those who disagree,  I can’t help but side with Guy. Starbucks is the the real deal, the perfect role model and incorporates every trademark of a successful company. For example, my friend (who works at Starbucks) had told me this story the other week.

“The other day in the drive through this woman wanted a small but ordered a venti because she thought it meant a small. When she was shocked at the size and the price, my manager told me to  just charge her for a tall. So many other places you just don’t do that. It’s always a pleasant surprise to people you meet at work when you get to be nice.”

Starbucks revolutionized coffee and the experience of getting it. Put together a CEO and marketing mavens and you get a company like Starbucks; who defy all logic and assumptions and who have altered the beverage marketplace by defining quality, creating convenience and most importantly, having heart.

That is why I couldn’t complain after every 72 steps when I would look up at see the Starbucks sign. The beauty of Starbucks is that it is available to the masses – “from the student who wants a latte to the CEO who needs it.” More importantly, it represents that you can find generosity, people who care, tentativeness and truly great people – in abundance. Simply walk 72 steps in NYC and you will know what I mean.

Starbucks also signifies risks.

“When Starbucks and other companies made stock options grants back in 2008, there was no guarantee that the companies would succeed. Performance was not a sure thing,” says Starbucks spokesman Jim Olson.

It was less than a sure thing, it was unexpected. It was an occurrence that only the greatest companies could actually leverage. In this case, Starbucks succeeded and continues to do so.

Stay Positive & I Solemnly Swear That Starbucks Is Up To Too Much Good

Garth E. Beyer

Traceurs Are Not The Only Ones To Acquire Calluses

Garth Beyer

Callus: An especially toughened area of skin which has become relatively thick and hard in response to repeated friction or pressure,

While there is only one definition of Calluses, there are multiple forms of Calluses and of all the forms, they can be  summarized into two categories: The Good and The Bad.

The Bad

When things do not go the way we want, we often consider it a failure. With repetition, this will cause friction and eventually we will quit expecting great things for ourselves and no longer take any risks. We build a resistant callus of comfort toward the world. In addition to these mental calluses, we often form emotional calluses. We become tougher on others, sometimes so much that it produces more of a negative outcome than a positive one. Even in relationships, we may form calluses that prevent us from getting close to others again. In summary, when bad experiences begin to add up, the calluses formed in our minds and hearts become thickened. The real question to ask is are we really protecting ourselves from more bad than we would expose ourselves to greatness by becoming vulnerable?

The Good

“What doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger”, “Failures are stepping stones to success”, “Being strong does not mean avoiding the truth. It means accepting it, learning about it, and dealing with it head on.” I could spend days listing all the famous quotes and sayings about strength. What it breaks down to is the strongest of individuals build calluses around their failures and their weakest points. Whenever they are exposed to one of their faults, they allow a callus to grow in its place. Instead of growing calluses that prevent us from failure, it’s a positive behavior to grow calluses where their was a failure.

With enough failures, there will be no limitations.

On a handout titled “What To expect At A Wisconsin Parkour Class” the following was written..

“There is a saying in Parkour, that ‘Our fitness is our armor.’ This is the rationale behind our safe, incremental progressions, and also behind why we don’t wear gloves for training. We climb and crawl on concrete, railings, cement, gravel, and other urban and natural surfaces. As such, your hands will likely experience small cuts/scrapes, blistering, and some discomfort during class. Over time these will toughen up and will provide ‘natural gloves’ to protect your hands while doing Parkour. Many new students are surprised to truly feel concrete on their hands the first few times they train, and are also surprised at how quickly the discomfort goes away with regular practice.”

The Great

Isn’t the last line the absolute greatest? “and are also surprised at how quickly the discomfort goes away with regular practice“. Parkour remains a constant reminder to me that in order for me to grow where I am weak, to repair where I have faltered, I must continuously practice my behaviors in order to strengthen them – to acquire positive calluses. I look at it as this, whatever hell you come out of, whatever scrapes and scars you leave with – you will always become twice as strong. So who’s up for round 2?

Stay Positive and Acclimate To Your Strength

Garth E. Beyer

The Parkour Take On Life’s Mistakes

Garth Beyer

Since the cold has taken the offensive I have postponed  my outdoor Parkour training. Even though I train and lift weights in the comfort of my home (which ironically is as cold as the outside since I never have the heat on) and at the small recreational facility seven and a half minutes away from my home, I still manage to acquire injuries. Ah, injuries — the most valuable reminders we can be given.

When I first became a Traceur, the only injuries I got were a sprained something-or-other and some nasty scratches. Although, there was a time I almost lost my man-hood when jumping over a goal post in Frisbee Golf. I should have checked to see how stable the post was before I decided to jump over it.

Regardless, when you are performing such an intense sport, you are bound to get injured. It may be slight scratches, a large gash, a dislocated shoulder or concussion. Than again, they are the same risks I take when working out at the gym or at home, if not more risky because of the lack of space. I can pull a muscle from lifting too much weight, scratch myself when trying to use the machines, roll an ankle running on the treadmill, etc.

Do I let these annoyances stop me from doing what I love? Of course not… Last week I pulled a muscle in my arm after maxing out on 50 push ups. The next day you could have found me doing P90X in the apartment. –bad idea– Injuries need rest but you get the idea. I am motivated and working out and Parkour training is a necessity in my life.

It’s all the same in life isn’t it? We have passions, goals, tasks that we have to accomplish and we all risk getting injured in one way or another. Christopher Paolini puts it perfectly in his book Inheritance, “Its impossible to go through life unscathed. Nor should you want to. By the hurts we accumulate, we measure both our follies and our accomplishments”

Stay Positive and Proud Of Your Scars

Garth E. Beyer

Keeping Kids On The Streets

Garth Beyer

Parents and those acting like them have tried to keep kids off the streets since the streets got packed with drugs and gangs. It’s pretty clear no matter if they do keep kids off the streets, its harmful to their lives.

1. They Get Them Off The Streets and now they are stuck inside playing video games and the only social structure they have are those few people who added them on Facebook. Keeping kids inside is just as unsafe as letting them roam around town in their pre-teens.

2. Letting Them Figure Out The Streets Themselves usually winds them up in a gang or a target of one. Very few who experience the streets this way end up superheros, so don’t count on the kids making it out with perfect morals.

However, I am here to solve the problem of both on-the-street and off-the-street lives.

Parkour well arguably is a sport in which practitioners, called “traceurs”, run, jump, climb, and roll across and through an urban environment. The task is to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible which can sometimes require you to jump over cars, leap 9-meter distances from one rooftop to another, or vaulting over objects. Parkour demands incredible physical strength and agility, as well as a quick mind to find the quickest way through an obstacle. Parkour defines the art of movement.

Sure Parkour can be a dangerous sport, but it certainly beats being in a gang but it is a brand new look at the streets and a brand new look at life. Parkour offers so much more than a positive way to pass the time in the city. Can you guess what other positive influences Parkour has?

You can bet I am going to share more reasons why Parkour is such a healthy activity and the positive influence it is on people and the world in general. After all, it is one of my core passions.

Stay Positive and PK

Garth E. Beyer