The path forward...It's all about me

It’s interesting how some things seem to just fall into place. I tried to get BlizzCon tickets earlier this year. I have a friend who was able to snag some and I thought why not. I love San Diego. I love gaming. I could use a short weekend break from it all. I was not able to procure my ticket to BlizzCon this year. They have a system where you try to get tickets during a certain time slot. I was not quick enough on the draw. It worked out though. Had I got the tickets I would have had an interesting decision. Fix my fractured finger and forgo the money I spent putting into the trip or fly to San Diego for the weekend and forgo my surgery. BlizzCon started the Friday I went in for surgery. Fortunately, I didn’t have to make a tough decision because I didn’t get the tickets (or would getting the tickets have changed everything? hmmmm).

Recently, I finished Everything Is Fucked: A Book About Hope by Mark Manson. It’s helped me tremendously with figuring out why I’m in a rut (documented in my previous post). Ultimately, it’s all about me. How I choose my struggles and conflicts in life. If I choose to self-indulge, I will become (was) miserable.

I started What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter. I’ve only just started and it’s giving me a lot of insight into how it’s all about me. How what I say and do has an impact on others. Both positive and negative. It’s a book for professionals moving up the management and executive ladders. From the book I’m learning that I can respond better, if only for my own sanity.

I joined an accountability group for the month of December and one of the things I want to get back into is meditation (the other is to blog on a weekly basis). Last night, I started researching Buddhism. I’m finding that Buddhism is all about me. How I respond to things is up to me. How I can use the practices of Buddhism to gain wisdom and enlightenment.

All three have a similar message: It’s all about me. I get to make the choice around how I respond to things. The anxiety I have is on me. The frustration and griping I have at work is on me. The lack of purpose is on me. To get there will require practice, patience, and self-reflection. I’m particularly excited to dive into Buddhism. I’ve already added a couple blogs to my RSS feed on top of the research I’m doing. Like What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, I need to be mindful of how I am responding to things in life. Today I put some of the book into practice.

Someone presented an idea and instead of tweaking it or debating it (which I often do), I said “great idea” and “thank you.” I do believe in authenticity, so I wasn’t saying it to say it. It was a good idea and something I presented to my guys as a possible solution. Like the BlizzCon trip, it’s interesting how things tend to fall into place and workout. I feel like I’m finally on a purposeful path.

If you have some Buddhism resources, I would love them shared in the comment section. You can also reach out to me by email or Twitter.

The Martian: A Fantastic Novel and now a Matt Damon movie

The Martian: A Novel is a book written by Andy Weir that has been turned into a movie set to release this November. The book is about an astronaut in the near future who gets left behind on Mars. He must learn to survive Mars' harsh environment while waiting for a rescue that could take years. The format is in the form of a journal logged by a character who deals with high stress situations by using humor, that is quite entertaining.

I first heard about the book on Adam Savage's podcast Still Untitled, I read it in February, and now I'm giddy after watching the trailer today.

There's also this video, which I found yesterday, giving a small peak into some of the humor from the book that I expect to get translated into the movie:

The movie isn't without its suspense and drama as Whatney, Matt Damon, must solve complex problems to continue to survive. I highly recommend the book, if you haven't read it already. According to Savage, who has talked to NASA personnel about the book, the technology and math in the book are solid. It's easy to read and also very affordable at $6 - $16 depending on the version you want, Kindle to hardcover. If you enjoy reading this is a must read for the Summer.

Three books that changed my life

Bill Brenner had a post back in February that talked about a series Jennifer Minella was doing that asked security professionals to name three books that changed their life. Since then security pros like Dave Kennedy (I read reworked from his list, which was pretty good) and Jack Daniel, among others, have contributed to the series. It's a wonderful series that gives a small peak into the mind of each person that has contributed. I don't expect to be asked to contribute my short list of books anytime soon so I've decided to go ahead and post my list here.

1. The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell

This story of King Arthur is unlike anything you've ever read. It's a well researched, gritty, and realistic take on a story that often times gets overly romanticized. The book follows the story of Derfel, one of Arthur's warriors (yes, warrior not knight) who interacts with all the characters in the original story: King Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, Guinevere, and many others you've heard of and not heard of. It's a fantastic story and the best part is, it's only the first of three books in The Warlord Chronicles. The book changed my perception of the world and showed me that stories can be overly romanticized and that there is probably more to the story.

2. Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose

Growing up I watched WWII movies The Longest Day and A bridge too far quite a few times, so naturally when I discovered Stephen E. Ambrose I became hooked. I've read just about every WWII book Ambrose wrote. Band of Brothers was the book that stuck with me the most and at one point I even explored the possibility of joining one of the Army's airborne units. The movies are just as good as the book, but the book has so much more than what could be shown in the 10-hour HBO series. Richard Winters, a main character, of the book is someone I've come to draw inspiration from in both my work ethic and effort to become a good leader.

3. Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers

This book changed my life completely. It taught me to recognize fear and embrace it. I was reading this book at the recommendation of a program that was teaching me how to talk to women. I got much more out of the book than just talking to women, though. I learned how to look at opportunities that made me nervous or fearful and embrace them, because it was an opportunity to grow as a person. Fear is something that we all deal with daily. How we handle and respond to it not only defines us as a person, but it can also shape us into a better person.