"... And that has made all the difference."

Robert Frost (1874–1963). Mountain Interval. 1920.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same, 10

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 20


Earlier this week I saw a passing reference to Robert Frost. And on another day there was a celebrity birthday announcement w/ regard to Jack LaLanne turning 92.

Somehow both these events seemed related to me. Each of these gentlemen pursued a path that was different. A poet and a bodybuilder -- both looking to improve themselve and/or for perfection in their craft -- what an odd pair.

And somehow that striving made all the difference.

Two Essays from a Favorite Author: Denis Waitley

1. This Week's Jumpstart

Life's Batting Average

Baseball's greatest hitter grew up near my neighborhood in San Diego. When Ted Williams slugged for the Boston Red Sox, my father and I kept a record of his daily batting average. And when I played Little League ball, my dad told me not to worry about striking out or not getting a lot of hits. In Williams' finest year, dad reminded me, he failed at the plate 60 percent of the time.

Football's greatest quarterbacks complete no more than 6 of 10 passes. The best pro basketball players make only half their shots. Actors and actresses auditioning for roles are turned down 29 out of 30 times. And stock market winners make money on only 2 out of 5 of their investments.

Since failures are a given in life, success takes more than leadership practices and a positive outlook. It also takes an appropriate response to the inevitable, including an effective combination of risk-taking and perseverance.

You must risk to gain security, but never seek security. When security becomes a major goal in life – when fulfillment and joy are reduced to merely holding on, sustaining the status quo – the risk remains heavy. It is then the risk of losing the prospects of real advancement, of not being able to ride the wave of change today and tomorrow. Had the founders of Google, Yahoo, and Amazon.com been concerned with immediate profits and return on investment, we would not be enjoying those Internet services today, each of which has a greater market capitalization than IBM or General Motors.

This week take a calculated risk!
-- Denis Waitley



2. The Champion Within Article

Making the Most of Today by Dr. Denis Waitley

What each of us is doing this minute is the most important event in history for us. We have decided to invest our resources in THIS opportunity rather than in any other.

It is helpful to remember this when we consider the passage of time. As I write this, my mother is in her eighties and I will never see fifty again. As the years pass, I am acutely aware that the bird of time is on the wing. At my fortieth high school reunion, I saw people who claimed to be my former classmates. We all had big name tags printed in capital letters so we wouldn't have to squint with our reading glasses on trying to associate the name with each well-traveled face. It was only yesterday that I was really enjoying high school. What had happened to the four decades in between? Where had they flown?

To the side of the bandstand, where the big-band sound of the late 1940s and 50s blared our favorite top-ten hits, there was a poster with a printed verse for all of us to see. I read the words aloud: "There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension."

"One of these days is YESTERDAY, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed or erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone."

"The other day we should not worry about is TOMORROW, with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise, and its poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control."

"This leaves only one day, TODAY. Anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities - Yesterday and Tomorrow - that we break down."

"It is not the experience of Today that drives us mad, it is remorse and bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Let us therefore… Live this one full TODAY."

Malcolm Forbes believed the important thing is "never say die until you're dead," and he lived that example to the hilt. It is, as we realize when we suddenly attend our fortieth high school reunion, a short journey.

But it is difficult to be depressed and active at the same time. So get active! Live TODAY.

-- Denis Waitley

Labor Day 2006

... Labor Day marks the start of week number 2 of my current BFL challenge.
... You've gotta love federal holidays ... Sleep in late, workout at your leasure, no rush w/ any meals ... Yep, love them holidays.

JL