to the creatives…

January 6, 2012 | Filed Under #notetoself, Inspiring, Moment of Truth, The Visual | 2 Comments

do the work. be courageous.

Source: Mreeuh Chang

be brave.

November 3, 2011 | Filed Under Inspiring, Rewritable words, The Visual | 2 Comments

do the thing you think you cannot do. - eleanor roosevelt

visual cues.

October 28, 2011 | Filed Under Inspiring, The Visual | Leave a Comment

be this strong. plant grows through concrete.
be this strong.

on satisfaction.

October 18, 2011 | Filed Under #notetoself, Inspiring, Moment of Truth, The Visual | 1 Comment

from my yogi tea.

Exploration

April 17, 2010 | Filed Under Random, The Visual, Thoughts | 1 Comment

For the past few weeks, I’ve been sitting back, watching and analyzing: myself, people, life. I’ve gained some insight and direction in the process. I spent some time walking around the city and in the burbs along Fox River thinking and seeing. Soon, but not quite yet, I’ll be ready to share more of those insights; I’m still processing. I encourage everyone to change scenery at some point for a bit–alone. Embrace your be-ing. Dissect your patterns. Explore your growth, or the lack thereof. Oh, and do something that just simply makes you happy.

The ‘happy’ test

September 10, 2009 | Filed Under Consider this, Plain cool, The Visual | 1 Comment

Source: Typcut

We could all use a little…

July 28, 2009 | Filed Under The Visual | Leave a Comment

Image source: NEED Magazine

History

November 5, 2008 | Filed Under The Visual | 3 Comments

ICON: Muhammad Ali

July 5, 2008 | Filed Under Inspiring, The Visual, Watch this | Leave a Comment

Ali on the couch in Zaire I love this man. I do. It’s easy to see why his opponents wouldn’t like him since he talked so much trash…but he backed it up. Part of his process to prepare himself mentally was to talk about his strengths and his opponents weaknesses. I noticed this while watching When We Were Kings. He kept saying that George Foreman was scared and slow, that he was the greatest, and rejoiced in hearing and chanting “Ali, bomaye!” meaning “Ali, kill him!”

The background story to this fight is pretty interesting: In 1964, Ali beats Sonny Liston to become the heavyweight boxing champion at 22. In 1967, after refusing to be drafted in the Vietnam war, Ali is stripped of his title. After three and a half years, he is reinstated and at 29 must fight Joe Frazier in order to regain his title. Ali loses to Frazier in 1971 after 15 rounds. In 1972, relative unknown, Kenny Norton, breaks Ali’s jaw and defeats him after 15 rounds. Ali is considered to be finished. Frazier loses his title to George Foreman in 1973. Then, in order to become the champ again, Ali must contend with Foreman, who is undefeated and ten years younger. At the time, Ali’s record was 44-2 and Foreman was 40-0 with 37 KOs. Talk about a formidable opponent. It’s a good chance that the only person who thought Ali could beat Foreman was Ali himself. Really, that was all that mattered.

When We Were Kings documents the six weeks the fighters spent in Kinshasa. (Don’t waste your time looking for Zaire on the map because that name was abandoned for a return to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.) It’s lots of fun to watch and makes you wish for a time travel machine. A must-see documentary that won an Academy Award in 1997.

Ali training in Zaire

Foreman goes down!
Foreman falls…

Watch out for that fist.

When We Were Kings movie
Watch it! Buy it here.

Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali
Heavyweights

Aside from his skill as a boxer, Ali is respected for his fearlessness and his “do for self” attitude. According to Wikipedia, even as late as 2007, he traveled about 200 days out of the year, lending his name and presence to causes he supports. The more I learn about this tactician, the more I like him. Good…I’m inspired.

Now…does anyone have a video or information leading to a video of Ali on the Mike Douglas show with Sly Stone on July 14, 1974? If so, email me.