Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving. ~Albert Einstein
When I was twenty-years-old I started studying a traditional Japanese martial art. The 34th Grandmaster of the tradition taught his students that the goal of the Togakure Ryu ninjutsu discipline was to develop a balanced personality.
Balance is important. Like riding a bicycle, balance in life is achieved by constant learning, constant improvement, constant refinement. That is what the brilliant scientist, Albert Einstein meant when he said you have to keep moving.
Learning new things makes life interesting and infinitely more rewarding.
I had a friend who was in sales for many years. Jerry once said that in business, if you are not growing, you are dying. I don't necessarily hold to that opinion in the way he does, but there is truth in the fact that when a business is no longer expanding, it is harder to stay financially healthy and survive when the market is tough. You don't want to become complacent.
Like Jerry's business philosophy, I have looked at life in a similar way. If I were not learning new things, setting and achieving new goals, and making new memories, life would not be worth much. Growing makes life interesting and rewarding. Sharing it with someone makes it even better.
Like the way of the ninja, life is the journey, not the destination. It is the experience of learning new things, refining your skills, achieving a balance between working life and personal life.
My life has been a mix of business and artistry. I am both the artisan and the artist. I am the writer, the poet, the philosopher, and the entertainer.
There are lots of roads to success. It is important to chose one that will reward you monetarily and also build a legacy.
How do you want to be remembered?
My goal is to be remembered not for wealth, not for great possessions, but for the lives I helped make stronger, for the joy and laughter I brought to people, and for personal integrity and the fact that when I gave someone my word, I lived by it.
