Wednesday, July 25, 2012

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” –Proverbs 27:17

This is not going to be a Biblical lecture, but I do think that we can take value from his statement.

The endurance lifestyle not only reflects your strengths but also highlights your weakness. It is difficult for active individuals to imagine a time when they will be unable to push beyond the pain or over the next tribulation. Personally, I recognize that I am very impatient. In my training I tend to lose my cool and push too hard too fast with one of two results, epicness or failure. I want results yesterday and need new challenges everyday else my mind begins to wander and my training waivers. Luckily I have been fortunate to have stumbled across a community that understand the stress of balancing life, work and play while attempting not to lose one’s mind.

Random Fact: between 1915 and 1924 Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone and John Burroughs called themselves the Four Vagabonds and would take long camping trips during the summer. Can you imagine the insight you would gain by sitting around a campfire with some of the era’s most elite men? Listening to the leaders of industry and cultural icons talk about life, business and the meaning of it all would be a wealth of knowledge that no book could ever teach you.

I mention the “Four Vagabonds” because in our modern era such meetings are held behind closed doors and any conversations would be privileged or simply unavailable to the public. But what can we do now? Find iron and get working. There are brilliant people around us we do not engage because we are “too busy”. All of us have communities in which we can make a difference and that can make a difference in us. Can you imagine what you would do if you knew 10 years ago what you know now? Besides investing in google and apple stock, I think most of us would make better use of our time and find those people who we can help and who can help us sharpen our strengths and polish out our weakness.


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