Everte Farnell <evertefarnell@gmail.com> 9:02 AM (0 minutes ago) to me There's a common fantasy literary motif of the person who sacrifices a person they love for power, magick, etc. On it's face it's silly. Why would killing X person give you power but Y person would be useless. But when you understand the metaphor, it makes perfect sense. In order to become great in anything - athletics, business, a skill, etc - you must surround yourself with people who support, understand, and encourage you. Most of the time, that's NOT the people you love right now. Your family, unless they are a family of achievers, thinks you're crazy for working on something as much as you do. "You're obsessed!" "It's not healthy!" "Take a rest!" Same goes for most of your friends. Hel, most of the people you love will think you're fucking nuts for working to become great.... think you're nuts for transforming and transmogrifying yourself into a legend! So you have a choice, sacrifice the people around you and find people more in line with your dreams. (Often, until YOU prove that you are dedicated enough the "people" will be biographies, fiction stories, and mythological figures. Why would other achievers risk being around you? You might be one of the people you're trying to get away from.) Or don't sacrifice the people around you and settle for what you have. If that's your choice, be at peace with it. There's nothing wrong with that choice... But if you want to be a legend, cut them out of your life RIGHT NOW! They ain't coming with you, and trying to bring the is just holding you back. Trust me, I spent 20 years trying to do it with a spouse and a handful of friends... And in February I almost died an unknown and insignificant man. Don't make the mistake I made, make your choice and follow the path you need to follow. As Frodo wrote to Sam at the end of LotR: "My dear Sam. You cannot always be torn in two. You will have to be one and whole for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be and to do."

Luck as we know, the happenstance origin of unexpected good things was not a thought for our ancestors. Many are the Gods and Spirits that would ply men with good fortune provided they maintained certain virtues. Ideas that meant they walked a straight line with regards to doing the right thing. In the Shinto religion there are 7 Gods and Goddesses of luck. Each one representing a different virtue. They appear under different names in history and regions. Bishamonten can be traced back to Hinduism and the God Kubera, he is also known as the god of fortune and battle. He is a protector of those who follow the rules and behave appropriately. Benazaiten is of Buddhism but originated as Saraswati in Hinduism. The only female in this group of seven. Hers may truly be a realm of wealth. Financial Fortune, Beauty, Talent and Music are hers to allocate amongst those who worship her. The Norse idea of Luck was also something that was under the influence of the holder. Tacitus says they were obsessive gamblers. They just knew that their “luck” was a quality inherent in the man and his lineage. Every bit as much as his strength, skill at arms, or his intelligence. His Harmngja as it was known, and sometimes reffered to as his Fylgia were spirits of luck dedicated to him and his family. I find it a powerful source of inspiration that amongst the Samurai and the Viking, to name just a few, their belief was such that luck was something they could control. They tarried forth full of confidence. Living lives that they considered to be good lives. The two go hand in hand even today. Doing their best. Much bandied words such as honor and discipline take on a life of their own in the minds of such men. Knowing that the responsibility for their fortune in war or commerce was on their shoulders. It tied into everything they did. How they lived their lives. They are legends to this day. I submit to you that the same thing is possible for us. To build ourselves into legends whose name will not die.

One of the more stiff upper lip type of mindsets I employ is one centered around acceptance. The best thinking I could come up with got me in whatever situation I happened to be in. I am the one who failed to take care of the detail that needed to be taken care of. There really isn’t much one can do it those situations but accept it. There is an entire system in place attempting to make sure people in a society abide by it’s rules. Flaunting them will work. It may well work for a long time. But sooner or later it will happen. Your setup, your plan, your dream will break. You can either quit and whine about the system being rigged against you, or, you could be honest with yourself and figure out what you failed to do. Note it, fix it, and try again. The biggest obstacles I stacked against myself in life were ones I didn’t want to take responsibility for. Accept it. That’s where you are. That’s where I was. Most of the time I didn’t ask for help, I just accepted it, put one foot in front of the other and kept on trying. They say practice makes perfect, but it won’t if it it is making you so frustrated you can’t focus. It won’t if your first inclination is to blame someone else. As we begin to approach the second sub step of the 9 towers, The Power of I, it is time to begin taking a long hard look at our ability to be honest and demonstrate acceptance. Because the truth of the matter is there are a lot of people depending on us. In fact, we might be all someone has.

Today was a first for me. I attended a craft bizarre where I attempted to sell my financial workbook and get my name out there as a financial coach. Depending on how you look at it determines whether it was a success or failure. I didn't sell any books and only one person took a business card. And to be honest I think the only reason she took it was because she runs the local craft market and simply wanted to act interested because she spoke to everyone around me at length, but only seemed to take my card as an afterthought. But I'm selling a book you have to read and life altering techniques that require you to put in the work. Two things that are not all that appealing to the average person. So I went in with the hopes of selling, maybe, one or two books, but the expectations of not selling any. As I said, I paid $25 to sit in a gymnasium and not make my money back. So in that aspect it was a failure. But what did I learn? I need more to catch a person's eye and get them interested. I need to learn to articulate what I am doing better when asked a question. My book is titled "Prison to Penthouse" by Leroy Yancer. So people would ask if the book is my life story. Which it is not. It was designed to be a guide for a 12 week financial education course for people trying to get their lives back on track after battling addictions or getting out of jail. Or simply lower income people who are tired of the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle and wanting more out of life. Yet I did not articulate this clearly. My wife has ideas for the future. I need a banner for my table, more items to draw people in and a giveaway to get them to the table and talking. So the ideas I have for my next craft show will put me a little further ahead. So in that way I consider this a success. Most importantly it took me out of my comfort zone. I am not a fan of being the pushy salesman. I can talk to complete strangers about anything and I have learned to get out of my comfort zone when socializing, but trying to promote myself and my brand is awkward to me. This is helping me overcome that awkwardness. It is outside of our comfort zones where we experience failure and ultimately growth. We have to learn to do the things we are bad at in order to get better and become better. We should always strive for more. So do that thing you have always wanted to do. Do it badly and feel like a fool. Then do it again, only less badly. Soon enough it will become second nature and you will have mastered a skill or achieved a goal you always wanted. Embrace the awkwardness and uncomfortable. Strive for greatness!

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