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July 2023

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Be wary of Peripheral Opponents

In Musings 8 Mins Read By

NBA Hall of Fame coach and executive Pat Riley is regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time. He led the 80s showtime Los Angeles Lakers team that had Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabar to four NBA championships and won one more ring with the MIAMI Heat in 2006, taking his total as a coach to five rings. Riley is known to pep his team up with motivational and inspirational talks and quotes. Hall of Famer and five-time NBA champion Magic Johnson writes in his autobiography – My Life – Earvin Magic Johnson, about one of Riley’s favorite techniques he used with the team to keep their focus – “Peripheral Opponents.”

“He planned all his pregame speeches, writing them out in advance with a blue felt-tipped pen on a blue card. He was continually reading books, looking for quotes that might motivate us. And he loved inspirational one-liners like “No rebounds, no rings.”.

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No is a complete statement.

In Musings 5 Mins Read By

Never explain does that need it don’t matter, does that matter don’t need it.

Life is a series of tradeoffs; saying yes to something is saying NO to something else. Chinese inventor and philosopher Lin Yutang once quipped, “Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.” One of the toughest daily decisions we all have to make is saying NO to ourselves, our family, and our friends. Never explain does that need it don’t matter, does that matter don’t need it.

Time is the most valuable commodity in the world, and if it is not managed efficiently, you will spend it continuously optimizing for other people’s priorities. Nothing succeeds like success; success begets success. Be careful what you ask for; you might get it. When you get to the top, one of the challenges you will have to deal with is managing requests such as speaking engagements, coffee chats, mentorship requests, pitches etc. Your time here is limited, and your bandwidth begins to diminish with time because of your newfound success. Saying NO to people and their requests will be one of the skills you would have to develop quickly.

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Practice.Practice.Practice.

In Musings 5 Mins Read By

We get rewarded in public for what we repeatedly practice and develop in private. One of the hallmarks of the greatest artist, athletes, and businesspeople is their passion to be the best in their chosen profession. They sweat the small stuff and deliberately practice for a long period through reps, laps, road work, sessions, pitches, etc. As Greek Philosopher Aristotle once observed “We are what we repeatedly do; excellence is then not an act but a habit”. We play the way we train to bleed less in war; you would have to sweat more in training. When Puerto Rican cellist Pablo Casals was asked why he continued to practice the cello three hours a day at 93, he answered… “I’m beginning to notice some improvement.

“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.” 

There is an old joke about someone trying to get to Carnegie Hall and he spots another man carrying a violin case. He asked “Sir, how do I get to Carnegie Hall? The other fellow smiles and says, “Practice, Practice, Practice.”

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If you want to soar like an eagle, you don’t flock with the chickens.

In Musings 8 Mins Read By

 If you want to soar with the eagles, you can not continue to flock with the chickens. If you hang around the barber shop long enough, you will get a haircut sooner or later. It would be best to be mindful of your environment, as you cannot take yourself or people farther than you have gone. To soar with the eagles, you must switch context repeatedly, leave your comfort zone, and be mindful of who you hang around, listen to or engage with.

We are all meant to be great and are here for a great purpose, but we forget our greatness due to the vicissitudes of life. A lion settles for being a cat; an eagle thinks like a chicken, and a human settles for the rat race. American actress Lily Tomlin once said, “The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.” We forget our uniqueness, wholesomeness, power, and magnificence; hence we stay in toxic situationships, unfulfilling jobs, dramatic family units, and unrewarding affiliations. Life is too short to spend it in an unproductive environment because we are here to create great things.

A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. – John A Shedd

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Goal Update: June 2023 – Lanre Dahunsi.

In Goals 1 Min Read By

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 Challenge, 50 Magazine Reading Challenge, 365 English Podcast Listening Challenge, 365 French Podcast Listening Challenge etc.

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

Meditation – 30 Days daily meditation

meditation-june-lanre-dahunsi

Marathon

Books read in June.

Podcast Listening Challenge

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

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You Only Live Once

What are you becoming?

In Musings 8 Mins Read By

“The big question is not what am I getting paid here. The big question is, what am i becoming? Here. Because true happiness is not contained in what you get, happiness is contained in what you become.”

The question I have asked myself the most recently is What are you becoming? You name it, whether it is a relationship, hobby, passion, association, affiliation, acquaintance, or priority. We all have a choice in life, which makes us different from other animals: the ability to introspect and course correct. Before 2018, I used to watch almost every game of the premier league team – Manchester United. I started supporting Man U when they won the European champions league in 1998; I fell in love with the team and have been a die-hard fan ever since. In 2013, when I lost my closest cousin, I started drifting away from watching too much soccer as I started questioning the meaning of life itself.

In 2018, I stopped watching 90 minutes of soccer and started watching more of the highlights. Right now, I only watch the highlight if the team wins and do not watch them if they draw or lose. It took me a while to get to this stage of detachment with the team, but I have gone through many trials and tribulations in life, and what I optimize for now is joy. I used to be so sad when the team lost or drew, and it greatly affected my mood after a defeat. Circa 2018, I made a decision based on the question, “What are you becoming?” due to my deep attachment to this soccer team. Deciding to stop watching 90 minutes of soccer, especially the ones involving my favourite soccer team, was not easy, but I have instead tried to use my free time optimally.

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