Mental Vacations

I had a wonderful time catching up with an old varsity friend yesterday. He happened to stay in the same hall with me during our freshman year. We have some common grounds: We love to play tennis, married, in the financial industry, and ... damn good-looking! (okay okay, I admit, ... I am the good-looking one: I am good at looking at others)

During our conversation, he was surprised to learn that I actually have a detailed plan for my entire life right up to age 75! What car I drive when I am 40, what house I will be in (with picture of the house), how much I set aside for vacation, household expenditures, languages to master, income I take home, ...etc.

He said I am one in a million in such approach. I agree. He ask me why. I say, "Why not?" He questioned the validity of planning so far ahead & in such vivid details. My answer is profoundly simple & simply profound: Life have to be lived forward, but it has to be understood backward, develop upward, contribute outward, & enjoy inward. This is my holistic approach & philosophy to living my life.

When was the last time you took a trip to a truly amazing place? I know mine is coming soon. I am planning a trip to KK, one to HK, & a near-term one to NYK. But do you know what is an even more amazing trip to take? A trip to your future!

Think about it: How amazing can your future be? Your past will never change; it is your past. And your present is what it is. But... your future can be anything you want it to be.

Have you thought lately about what you want your future to be? And I don't just mean seeing a wealthy person on TV and then "wishing" it was you. I mean really sitting down and envisioning your future. "Seeing" it so clearly in your mind's eye that you can actually "visit" there often?
Did you know that one of the keys to successful people achieving what they do is that they see the future before it becomes their present. And they spend their present creating that future they desire.

So, take a good vacation this year, but be sure to visit your future often so you can begin to create it today. And when your tomorrow becomes today, you will be glad you took that mental vacation! As for me, I do this daily, and such trips are healthy.

"The man who has no imagination has no wings."
- Muhammad Ali

And I must add that "he who has no moral foundation has no roots".
- Eagleboy

What's the point of achieving your highest dreams at the expense of moral bankruptcy. May we find wings and roots in our relentless pursuit of life's dreams!

How Champions Are Made (Not Born)

Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.
- Muhammad Ali

Wasted Years

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.
- Muhammad Ali

Succeed like a Champion

I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot...and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
- Michael Jordan
Professional Basketball Player

To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you're not, pretend you are.
- Muhammad Ali
World Champion Boxer