JIP's Ramblings: I Can't Complain

Happy Wednesday, good people.

Oftentimes when I speak to someone and they ask how I am, I respond with, "I can't complain". The beauty of this phrase is how true it is...I really can't complain. Are there things in life that I wish were different? Sure. Am I perfectly content with my life? Not exactly. But you have to put life into perspective: when I look around and see how things actually are compared to how much worse they could be, it's extremely humbling.

It's so easy to get wrapped up in our struggles and lose sight of the larger picture: life can always be worse. If we spend our time worried about how much is wrong with our current situations, we miss out on the blessings that we currently have. How's that saying go? If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's we'd grab ours back. Yeah we would.

Speaking of everyone else, the success of others is no reason for us to complain. We often only see the good things that happen to/for other people and either don't know or ignore the struggle and hard work that it took for them to get their reward. My favorite part of the Desiderata (which everybody should read) states, "If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself". The goal here is to improve your own life, not be concerned with someone else's good fortune. Like Diddy said, "Don't be mad...be motivated"*.

*I swear to you that this will be the only time that Diddy will ever be quoted on this blog.

The reality of life is that everything will never be perfect; that's not a realistic situation. But the goal here is to have the good in life outweigh the bad, and that's largely within our control. So despite life's imperfections, you'd be hard-pressed to hear any complaining from this guy.

Cheers,

JIP

Monday Morning Inspiration: "See It Through"

Happy Monday, good people.  You know, as much as I like to ramble on here, sometimes the words of others far exceed anything that I'm capable of coming up with.  Case and point, see below:


See it Through

When you're up against a trouble,
Meet it squarely, face to face;
Lift your chin and set your shoulders,
Plant your feet and take a brace.
When it's vain to try to dodge it,
Do the best that you can do;
You may fail, but you may conquer,
See it through!
Black may be the clouds about you
And your future may seem grim,
But don't let your nerve desert you;
Keep yourself in fighting trim.
If the worst is bound to happen,
Spite of all that you can do,
Running from it will not save you,
See it through!

Even hope may seem but futile,
When with troubles you're beset,
But remember you are facing
Just what other men have met.
You may fail, but fall still fighting;
Don't give up, whate'er you do;
Eyes front, head high to the finish.
See it through!

Edgar Albert Guest

See what I mean?  Thank you, Mr. Guest.

Cheers,

JIP

Inspiration: Find Your Greatness

Mr. Cool Man

Good people, let's be originals in a world of clones.  Why?  Because we don't want to be like Mr. Cool Man here.

Fighting for relevancy,
I know you all see the kid.
I’m still the man,
I’m what the business is.
I feed off your affection,
Your attention keeps me going.
As long as the people need me,
My heart beats, my blood keeps flowing.
Nothing lasts forever,
So I’ll one day die,
If the people love me for long enough, however,
When death comes, I won’t question why.
I just want to stick around, keep my name in your mouths,
I love my artificial coolness.
Yeah, that’s what I’m about.

Enjoy Life's Ride

Happy 4th of July, all.  Before I start eating a ridiculous amount of food today, I had a random thought: the beauty in life lies in the ride that it takes you on.  The fact that things are ever changing and you never know what will be thrown at you, that’s what we should be enjoying.

It happens to all of us from time to time that we harp on the few things in life that are not working out as we planned, while we completely overlook and take for granted the things that are going amazingly well.  Is your relationship heading south?  That’s (possibly) unfortunate.  But are you in good health?  Do you have friends and family that love you?  These are things that we can’t and shouldn’t take for granted.

The fact of the matter is that life will never be perfect.  I’ve never known anyone who no longer has wants and desires in life.  Instead of looking at that as a negative thing, how about we use that as motivation?  Because it is not perfect, we always have something to work towards...as long as we appreciate the good things that we have going on.

It all comes down to the fact that there is a larger plan that is at work for all of us.  For those who know the Desiderata, my favorite line is: “And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should”.  As a glass half full type of person, I believe that the issues that we are faced with today set us up for greatness in the future, as long as we let them.

Hopefully this means something to somebody on this beautiful Independence Day.

Cheers,

JIP

Be An Animal

Salutations, all.

So everyone who knows me knows how much I love Alabama football (if you’re not a football fan, stick with me...I’m going somewhere...I promise). I only require maybe 5 things for survival, one of those being Alabama football. One of the main reasons that I love the team is because of the way that they play defense. They manage to play both aggressively and disciplined at the same time. This mix creates a defense that statistically ranks among the best in the nation year after year.

Now, to my bigger point: even non-football/Alabama fans can take something away from the Tide. They play animalistic, which is how we should operate in our daily lives. Being an animal is a good thing here. We have to have that same mix of aggression and discipline.

We have to be aggressive, as not much in life is handed to us; we have to go after the things we want in life. I often hear that anything worth having in life is worth working for, and I couldn’t agree more.

We also have to be disciplined. This is where preparation is key. We have to plan out what it is that we want and focus on it. We have to know that success will most likely take time. There will be others who succeed before we do, and that’s a good thing. We should use the success of others as motivation to be even more focused on our goals and what we want to achieve. Discipline is a key ingredient of success.

Maintaining the right balance of aggression and discipline is paramount, however. It’s admittedly more art than science. If we’re overly aggressive, our method lacks a sound foundation; we’re acting without a proper strategy. If we’re overly disciplined, we’re not taking any risks in life...we’re not being “stupid” (see my previous post). We have the find the perfect mix that works the best for our individual needs.

Not sold on this strategy yet? Well, for all my God-fearing folks, it’s in the Bible. One of my favorite verses is Proverbs 28:1: “The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous are as bold as a lion”.

My main point here is that we have to be animalistic to achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves in our respective lives. It is up to us to go and get whatever it is that we desire. Being an animal is a good thing…I promise.

Oh, and I’ve included a video of the world’s best football team for any who are interested in watching greatness. Animalistic nature at its finest (the Soulja Boy song is a bonus…you’re welcome).

Cheers to you all,

JIP

Mid-week Inspiration: Be Stupid

Happy Wednesday, all.  A couple of years ago in Europe, I remember picking up a copy of a print ad booklet by the clothing company Diesel, and the cover of the ad said simply, "Be Stupid".  Intrigued, I flipped through the ad and let's just say that the book made its way back stateside with me.

In either case, the main premise of the ad is that people who do stupid things are game changers, while the so-called "smart" people ultimately look back on life with more regrets. One of my favorite quotes is, "To be stupid is to be brave.  When you risk something, that's stupid.  It's not smart to take risks.  It's stupid".

Unfortunately, I'm not able (or willing, sorry) to scan the entire print ad, but I was able to find a youtube video which basically covers all of the main points in the ad.  I hope you all enjoy it (despite the terrible music...you might want to mute that).

Let's all be a little more stupid in life.

Cheers,

JIP