What it means to be a black belt (…should I pass!) Setting a goal and sticking to it! No quitting, no excuses! In my very early days at the beginning of my training sensei made a comment about putting a picture of a black belt on the refrigerator as a reminder of the goal. It […]
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” – Martin Luther King Timely and poignant, isn’t it? Next week we celebrate and honor an amazing man whose legacy, his memory, is a critical part of our collective history. The struggle he confronted head-on, the perseverance he demonstrated and actioned in his […]
Depleted energy levels? Eat, sleep and drink! There are times in the day when I just feel “meh.” Normally early afternoon, my energy level seem to drop a bit. Doing some pushups will often help, but sometimes increases the feeling of fatigue & low-energy. I have often resorted to coffee (caffeine) as a quick pick […]
A New Year of New Challenges & Opportunities Hard to believe, it’s 2023! Looking back at ’22, it was most certainly a challenging year, my black belt training and work to meet requirements top of list. Yet, this has culminated in positive growth; mentally, spiritually and physically. As we enter ’23, I am eager to […]
Support and encouragement makes a huge difference! Over the past year I have shared with friends, family and co-workers some details about my personal goal of achieving Shodan (1st degree black belt). I shared because of my own excitement and also to foster a network of people that could help to hold me accountable by […]
Meditation in micro-doses One of our Black Belt requirements is 15 minutes of daily meditation. Finding or making a contiguous 15 minutes of time with family, job (and early AM calls), karate class & training and other personal obligations has and continues to be a challenge for me. Of course, one must be disciplined and […]
Another night of blackout The last big storm that whipped through Sacramento caused a lot of power outages. Fallen trees and limbs plus overhead power lines do not make for a good combination. We lost power for 2.5 days but in the grand scheme of things it was merely an inconvenience rather than a hardship. […]
1,000 Acts of Kindness (3.5 acts per day ~13 months), black belt requirement When I first reviewed this black belt requirement with Sensei Oliver, I thought to myself, “How will I achieve that? How does one measure an act of kindness?” I believe it really comes down to a few key principles (and practices)–kind thoughts, […]
New Year’s Day 5-mile bike ride and finish with Gumbo! What a way to start the new year! A friend of mine who is a local and well known chef hosted a bike ride and lunch of gumbo with rice and cornbread muffins (with honey butter). We left his house in Campus Commons and proceeded […]
National Airborne Day – August 16th I meant to post about this back in August but neglected to do so. Some of you may know I was a paratrooper (Airborne) and served in the U.S. Army, 1st Special Operations Command, 112th Signal (AIRBORNE). Being Airborne qualified opened up a door of options for me to […]
