From a Nobody to a Somebody

A discussion emerged recently within my Mastermind discussion group about what happens in the mind of a person who suddenly regenerates from a nobody to a somebody. How does a person completely turn things around in their life to such an extent that they're a new person unrecognizable from a previous way of life?

There are many people throughout history who have experienced it and even some we know personally. It happened to Teddy Roosevelt who was ultimately known to be very outgoing, athletic, robust and full of energy but there was once a time in his life when he was a sickly, asthmatic homebody who rarely participated in outdoor activities in favor of an easy bedridden life. He came to a point as a young man to change his situation when he said to himself "I will make my body". His condition at the time was inconsistent with his future desires.

There are other examples and probably the best known is the conversion a Saul from The Bible. In our discussion we mentioned someone we knew personally who underwent this same transformation.

But the question still remains, what triggers the reprogramming? It's a question I've been pondering for years and since the discussion with my friends, I seriously decided to find some answers, so I began looking and in surprising short order, I found satisfying explanations. 

A satisfying process I found is:

• Ordinary- The status quo. A person's ordinary life is unsatisfying or inconsistent with his or her values or hopes but he or she is complacent and isn't motivated to change it. 
• Crisis- Something occurs in our protagonist's life that forces a reckoning with the status-quo of his or her ordinary life.
• Recognition of other options- Alternative lifestyles, beliefs or values are recognized by the protagonist either discovered on his or her own or presented by other people. 
• Engagement with a new option- The person is then faced with the decision to accept the new option which is decidedly inharmonious with the status quo.
• Identification with the new option- He/she accepts the new belief system, mindset or lifestyle and then commits and adapts to it as part of his or her new identity in contrast to the previous lifestyle.
• Transformation of behavior- From this point the new mindset compels the protagonist to display new habits and routines, makes different choices and adopts new behaviors reflecting his or her conversion. 

The conversion can arise gradually or happen suddenly and in severe cases the status quo has become completely unacceptable, untenable or unsustainable. It has characteristics of the Hero's Journey espoused by Joseph Campbell.

 

Hawaii the Grand Canyon and Me

My sister is going on vacation to Hawaii next month and another family member just got back from a vacation to the Grand Canyon and then there's me. I can't afford a full tank of gas. That's what I think about when I feel like taking an extra long break or let negative thoughts creep into my mind to discourage me from consistently producing something that for now isn't showing any signs of improvement. It prompts me to continue with the process in spite of the current results, if any. 

It reminds me of years past before I entered the ranks of the self-employed when I had a job. I was constantly watching the clock looking forward to quitting time. During working hours, even if it was a job I appreciated or even liked (welding was a good example), I would spend much of the time daydreaming of other endeavors which could not possibly have bode well with my productive output at work. I would dream of ideas and creativities that would allow me to control my own destiny but then when the day was through and I punched out, I would do painfully little in the area of realizing my daydreams. I would then repeat the cycle the next day. 

Now that I have been self-employed for several years, I realize there was very little difference the past job made in lifestyle or standard of living. I still had the same financial struggles and anxieties as I experience today however there is one major difference. Today I am in control of my destiny.  The manner in which I control it is a subject for yet another post.

 

Go Ahead and Vomit

It's a baseball statistic that Babe Ruth struck out three times for every homerun he hit. Sports is a good analogy for life in general or, in my case, a specific endeavor I'm undertaking because fear is a big part of my decision making process, unfortunately. 

Fear shouldn't be positioned that way, because for the overwhelming majority of time, the things I fear, turn out to be not very scary at all. The reward comes from disregarding those fears and proceeding to "embrace the suck" thereby increasing my chances for success. It ain't rocket science. 

"So what?"

I remember in boot camp, the drill instructor acknowledged that the physical training we endured was hard and we might throw-up or even pass out from exhaustion but "so what", he said. "Go ahead and throw up. Go ahead and pass out. It won't kill you. When you're through vomiting or regain consciousness, finish the task."

His point was to give it all we had in spite of the risk of failure or discomfort. It doesn't mean it's over. Just keep going. 

Books by Bob Doll

 

The Middle Earth Syndrome

It's common, not just for me but for many others as well, while listening to a sermon, to get the sense that the pastor is talking directly to me about my situation and one remark he made not long ago was 

"Don't sit under a tree waiting 

for God to give you a sign. 

He's already given you enough 

to do for ten lifetimes."

One of my biggest character flaws has always been a serious contention with procrastination and I'm not just talking about the simple "I'll do it later" kind. I mean the "I'll do it someday when the time is right" variety. Years of experience has taught me the "right time" is a mythical location like Middle Earth, Atlantis or the Bermuda Triangle. The procrastination with which I've suffered for years has been the debilitating, life altering kind because I am at this latter stage of life no better off than when I graduated high school. It's is a serious character flaw.

I've commonly resorted to the "God will show me what to do when the time comes" theory but that's a lie because he actually showed me what I was meant to do decades ago. Now I've got a sizable backlog of projects. 

It's all in my head!

A subject for another post related to this is the philosophy of Cus D'Amato who told the many boxers he trained to success, that boxing is mostly mental; less physical. Procrastination or productivity is also a mindset.

 

Another Texas Attribute

I often find myself scratching my head in bewilderment and frustration as to why I can't seem to loose the weight I have determined to shed. I get plenty of exercise, I eat reasonable portions of food and not a lot of sweets. After all is said and done, however, I realize there are certain things for which I have an affinity that is likely the origin not least among which are tacos. 

Those little devils, when done well, are multiple flavors explosively rolled in a compact, convenient wrap which makes the savory, handheld spicy victuals a tasty delight hard to resist and certainly it is effortless to have a third or fourth round.

Yes, as long as I live in south Texas, tacos are a delightful thorn in the flesh when it comes to  regulating my eating habits.

 

It's Not Just a Tattoo

Many times I've questioned the wisdom of my choices and one that seems always at the top of that particular list was my decision to enlist in the Marines. In a practical sense, the choices I made during my tour of duty and after my enlistment ended, gave me no advantage in the realm of career choices or advances. For example, the civilian world has no real opportunities for a rifle expert with special skills in operating a PRC-77 radio. However, I could have been very successful if I began a career in shining boots or mopping floors for a living. 

I relish my time-in not for what it could've done for me career-wise as a civilian, but because of the men with whom I served, the camaraderie, the values, customs, courtesy and traditions. Anyone who has shared the experience honorably, needs no further explanation.

In regard to the original question about what advantage I have resulting from my enlistment, it's determination. I have to say that regardless of the assignment, we were to do it no matter the cost. Our personal opinions or feelings about the viability or level of difficulty did not factor in, regardless of how I felt, my mood or attitude. The weather was no factor. It could be hot, cold, raining, or snowing and the time of day or night wasn't important, and it didn't matter where we were.  

It's singularly noteworthy that the specific value of "do or die" is more than just a tattoo and also some of these values, in my case, really did not resonate with me until in my later years of self-employment. 

 

Hey Kid, Want to see a Cool Pencil?

 

As a boy I was a normal kid in many ways. I liked sports, playing outside, riding bikes, watching Saturday morning cartoons, football trading cards and comic books but there were peculiarities I possessed which my friends could not always understand. I was a reflective type of kid who would often times read not just comic books but also actual books. I was sometimes mesmerized by stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs and H.G. Wells. I loved reading about history and I followed the space program. 

I also wrote much. At first it was simple class assignments but I also ventured into writing my own comic strip called Salt Shaker and as time went on I kept a record much like a diary to practice my creative writing techniques. 

I was a big Peanuts cartoon fan and in the case of my own Salt Shaker comics I would draw them in 4 panels, much like the Peanuts strips appeared, then paste them into a large notebook for a collection. 

As a result of these particular tendencies I became interested in pens, pencils and types of paper. If anyone wanted to abduct me as a young person, putting a pencil in my path would probably do the trick more so than offering me candy.