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May 2023

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The Best Way to Complain is to Make Things. – James Murphy

In a 1994 Santa Clara Valley Historical Association interview, late founder and ex-CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs observed that:

When you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world, try not to bash into the walls too much, try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader, once you discover one simple fact, and that is that everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.

The minute that you understand that you can poke life and actually something will, you know if you push in, something will pop out the other side, that you can change it, you can mold it. That’s maybe the most important thing. It’s to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just gonna live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it.

I think that’s very important and however you learn that, once you learn it, you’ll want to change life and make it better, cause it’s kind of messed up, in a lot of ways. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.

The Servus Calgary Marathon was the fourth and last marathon for May 2023. I ran four full marathons in May, and the Calgary Marathon was the toughest as I walked the last 7 KM of the marathon. I finished with 4 hours 31 minutes, running 168.8 KM in May. I ran the following marathons in May – Toronto Marathon (Ontario), Fredericton Marathon (New Brunswick), Halifax Marathon (Nova Scotia) and the Calgary Marathon (Alberta).

In My Life: Earvin “Magic” Johnson, former NBA player Magic Johnson writes about how he dealt with the greatest challenge of his life: HIV diagnosis. He also delves into his life, on and off the court, his family and friends that stood behind him during the most trying time. He describes his relationship with former teammates, coaches, friends, and rivals such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pat Riley, Larry Bird, Micheal Jordan, and Isiah Thomas. Magic also reflects on growing up in East Lansing, Michigan, the showtime Los Angeles Lakers, his relationship with women, and his fight against HIV and AIDS awareness advocacy.

Magic writes about his wife Cookie, who he had been dating since college, retirement, and post-retirement. My Life: Earvin “Magic” Johnson is a very inspirational book on how to brave the toughest challenge of life such as a health scare diagnosis like Magic experienced. Magic smile is always radiant and gives testament that no matter what happens in life, we can always make the best use of our circumstances and keep it moving.

“You have a four-fold life to live: a body, a brain, a heart and a soul-these are your living tools. To use and develop them is not a task. It is a golden opportunity.”–William H. Danforth

In I Dare You! American businessman challenges the reader to be more daring, courageous, swift and deliberate. Most of the leaders in Mr. Danforth’s organization were boys who came from humble surroundings and were dared by him to achieve high accomplishments.

Our most valuable possessions are those which can be shared without lessening; those which when shared multiply. Our least valuable possessions are those which when divided are diminished.

Across the Microsoft 365 apps, the average employee spends 57% of their time communicating (in meetings, email, and chat) and 43% creating (in documents, spreadsheets, and presentations).

A recently pubished report by Microsoft: The 2023 Work Trend Index: Annual Report, revealed that workers are spending at least full working days (57% of their time communicating in meetings, email, and chat). The report noted an urgent need to make meetings more effective as people report inefficient meetings as their number one productivity disruptor.  The top 5 obstacles to work productivity, according to the Microsoft Work Trend Index Report, are: Having inefficient meetings, Lacking clear goals, Having too many meetings, Feeling uninspired, and Not easily finding the information I need.

Workers spend at least full working days (57% of their time communicating in meetings, email, and chat).

The 45th Stewart McKelvey Fredericton Marathon 2023 was held from May 13 to 14, 2023, in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The Fredericton Marathon was named Best Boston Qualifier – by Canadian Running Magazine. I participated in the full marathon (42.2 km), my second in May 2023 (my first Back-to-Back Full Marathon, I participated in the Toronto Marathon last week). I finished with a time of 3 hours 53 minutes.

Endurance is the struggle to continue against a mounting desire to stop.

In Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance,  Journalist and Runner Alex Hutchinson writes about the science and psychology of endurance, revealing the secrets of reaching the hidden extra potential within us all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpIMNFwKMtk

Meditation is a practice to calm the brain by paying attention.

I started experimenting with meditation during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The pandemic was a roller coaster of anxiety, trials and tribulations, among other emotions. I had seen the Calm advert on YouTube but decided to check it out after watching an ad campaign featuring the Train Your Mind with LeBron James session. I started with the Lebron meditation on Calm and have been hooked on meditating ever since.

The 2023 Toronto Marathon was held on Sunday, May 7, 2023, and it was my second marathon of the year. The Toronto Marathon was named one of the best Boston Qualifiers – by Canadian Running Magazine. I participated in the Mississauga Half Marathon on April 30. I finished with a time of 4 hours 13 minutes, it was a very tough finish as I had a deep muscle pull at 30 KM, but I dug deep to finish.

In It Takes What It Takes: How to Think Neutrally and Gain Control of Your Life, mental conditioning coach to elite performers Trevor Moawad lays out lessons he’s derived from his greatest career successes as well as personal setbacks, the game-changing wisdom he’s earned as the go-to whisperer for elite performers on fields of play and among men and women headed to the battlefield.

The irony of man’s condition is that the deepest need is to be free of the anxiety of death and annihilation; but it is life itself which awakens it, and so we must shrink from being fully alive.

In The Denial of Death, American cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker argues that most human action is taken to ignore or avoid the inevitability of death. The 1974 Pulitzer Prize-winning book builds on the works of Otto Rank, Søren Kierkegaard, Sigmund Freud, and Norman O. Brown. It discusses the psychological and philosophical implications of how people and cultures have reacted to the concept of death.

I set a couple of goals at the beginning of the year, such as the 100 Books Reading Challenge, 50 Reports Reading Challenge, 50 Biography Reading Challenge, John C. Maxwell 50 Books Reading Challenge50 Magazine Reading Challenge365 English Podcast Listening Challenge365 French Podcast Listening Challenge etc.

Here is a breakdown of how I faired in executing the above goals in April 2023:

Exercise Regimen for April 2023:

  • Time Spent exercising: 90 Hours 14 Mins
  • Kilometres covered: 157 KM
  • Time spent in the gym: Daily, 30 days (Averaged 3 hours per day)
  • Activities: Swimming, Running, Basketball Shooting, Pickleball, and Outdoor Biking
  • Basketball Shooting: 41 hrs 25 Mins
  • Swimming: 25 hrs 57 Mins
  • Weight Lifting: 13 hrs 37 Mins
  • Outdoor Cycling: 5 hrs 32 Mins
  • Running: 3 hrs 40 Mins

Marathon: 1

I ran a personal best for a half marathon at the 2023 Mississauga Half Marathon held on Sunday, April 30, 2023, with a time of 1hr 39 minutes.

Books read in April 2023 – 9

John Maxwell 50

Biography

Meditation

50 Reports Reading Challenge,

50 Magazine Reading Challenge,

Podcast Listening

All the Best in your quest to get Better. Don’t Settle: Live with Passion.

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