Profound Learning

“I don’t know who discovered water,

but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a fish.”

Marshall McLuhan

The main article of the Allied Ronin newsletter normally doesn’t mention the courses or retreats available for you to attend. That’s usually left for you to discover by looking left to the “black side-bar announcement column”. But this month, and at the end of this article, we’ll depart from this practice. After reading what’s written below you may want to pay attention to the upcoming schedule, pick something that’s being offered. It could make a world of difference for you, or those you love, or for your business, or for other important matters you care about. If something resonates with you, we suggest you make a call and attend a program or retreat – or ask that one be created for your organization.

• • •

Profound learning does not require a profound situation, but it does require attention. When one is attentive, even the simplest or smallest situation can evoke learning that can be profound. Real learning comes from within. Meaningful lessons reveal themselves to the alert mind. Stay alert!

It’s the last weekend of May, and I’m sitting in Room 25 of The Falls Motel in Thompson Falls, Montana. This is my 12’ X 12’ cinder block, concrete box home-away-from-home for four days. It’s Saturday and approaching the time to leave for the first morning of Developing Your Warrior Spirit, the name given to the weekend training with the Samurai Game®. Shane English and I will conduct it. Our participants, students of a youth-at-risk boarding school along with some of their parents, are waiting for us down the road. Hopefully it will be fruitful, if things go as they did for us at a similar facility in Amargosa Valley, NV, three weeks ago.

Thompson Falls is green; at one time a thriving logging community. You see the logs and log cabin “factories” up and down the river. A constant roar of the water would seemingly entice one to go fishing, yet no one is fishing these waters. I wonder why, because the fish are here for the taking. Yesterday evening on the drive back from reconnoitering the boarding school, Shane and I watched osprey making their runs over the water. One cruised just above our car with its catch in talon. The mountains are high and lush, and they stretch forever with plenty of deer, elk, big horn sheep, bear and who knows what else. I have no recollection of ever seeing such densely packed old growth pine, fir and spruce. Abundance is everywhere if you look for it.

A café on the south side of the street appears to be the town’s cross generational hang out: all day long breakfasts, old timers with cowboy or VFW hats, young bucks wearing sweated through ball caps (properly turned bill-to-the-front) and their pony-tailed sweethearts. You pay your waitress (no male food servers work this café) who carries her own stash of cash on her belt. Even if you pay by credit card, your receipt goes into her wallet. She says it’s about personal responsibility. The sign outside reminds all to support the local team. The restaurant window frames a red-white-blue banner laden memorial across the street reminding passers-by to honor the town’s MIA and POW. There’s been one of each from Thompson Falls.

Amargosa Valley, NV, on the other hand, has the distinction of being as remote a desert entry point into Nevada via Death Valley as you’ll ever find. A search on Google Earth before arriving there earlier last month indicated that the most prominent piece of industry was a gas station turned bordello. (Or was it vice versa?) What I didn’t notice on Google Earth was the expansive underground nuclear repository trapped inside the mountains to the west. That fact was explained when I arrived in town. The terrain and environment here? Flat, scrubbed and parched. An expanse that extends seemingly into who knows where. Like the forest surrounding Thompson Falls, it, the desert, seems endless and in its own way abundant. The road to the school is straight. The speed limit is 35 mph, but anything under 65 is too slow for local traffic. The Longstreet Inn, Casino & RV Resort is town’s regular Friday night entertainment for family, the dating scene and parents whose children now reside at the boarding school. The Longstreet has slot and video poker machines, lively karaoke and a hired-in husband/wife band who entertain on a weekly basis. If the Longstreet’s pace is too slow, just step across the street to the biker bar. There, no challenge goes unanswered. [Does any challenge ever really go unanswered?]

But it’s the kids, our next generation, whose lives are at stake, literally, that summon us to Thompson Falls or Amargosa Valley. It makes no difference – if you’re a troubled kid taken or sent by your parents to live in one of these facilities in either of these towns you’re here for a serious reason. And if you decide to hop the fence or run out the door, you’re screwed. Not from a legal perspective. Rather, you’re flirting with death because there’s nowhere safe to go. And that’s the point, isn’t it. In life there’s really nowhere safe to go. Safety is an illusion. But you have to go somewhere with your life, don’t you? It’s more dramatic for the kids in these facilities in Thompson Falls and Amargosa Valley, because the reason they arrived here in the first place was that they were already flirting (literally) with death and there was probably nowhere else safer to go.

A train rumbles through Thompson Falls every so many hours and passes adjacent to my concrete block motel room; one rail into town; same rail out. It reminded me of Amargosa Valley’s one road in, same road out. Neither place is separate from the outside world. Remote, yes, but not separate. I consider that no matter how alone I sometimes feel, I’m really never separate from the world around me. There’s always a rail or road in and out.

A van pulled up while Shane was arranging for our rooms in the motel office. From it two older looking men with white whiskered chins, one wearing a black flat brimmed hat, emerged went inside to register. The hat’s expanse and color spoke loudly, “We’re Amish”, or at least that’s what I heard it say. I mention this respectfully because no one actually spoke those words. It was just my interpretation. And truthfully, being Amish is A-OK. [I have to be careful to not judge others because of the “ish”, “ic” or “ist” that any article of clothing or dialect announces. What’s more important is, that another’s “ish” or “ic” or “ist” really isn’t anyone else’s business.] An elderly woman (at least she looked elderly) wearing a blue sharply-ironed-and-starched-apron-like dress sat slumped with her head in hand. Rubbing her brow, she stayed in the back of the same van from which the men emerged. A small starched white bonnet with tie string topped her head. Tied low-cut black flat-heel shoes, soles well worn, covered her feet.

She looked ill, so I asked her if she was OK. “Yes,” she replied and smiled, “I’m just hot. It’s been a long trip.”

When someone smiles as warmly as she did to an inquiry it usually means to me that they appreciate the contact. So I continued, “Where are you from?”

“Idaho.” (her)

“That’s a long ways. That’s where my grandmother was from.” (me)

“Yes, we’ve been on the road for three days.”

“What are you here for?”

“A wedding.”

“That sounds nice.”

“Yes. My husband is getting married.” Then she smiled again.

Her answer gave me pause. Did she really say what I heard?

[Do other people really say what I hear?]

Many years ago I was diagnosed with tinnitus. The ringing in my ears that once was a now-and-then bleep, finally became one continuous loud tone. Now it persists non-stop. When I’m tired or if I focus on it, the tone can be as loud as the constant chatter of customers at Starbucks and I resort to lip-reading. Sometimes it’s so loud I cannot hear what someone is saying even if they’re right next to me, prompting a request to repeat. When I get a “why?” response I’m tempted to say, “Can’t you hear that ringing?” [What do you listen to frequently that is so loud that you cannot hear what another is saying?]

So when I heard the woman say what she did, I doubted my listening. On the one hand her declaration seemed unreal. And on the other hand, I wasn’t certain if her voice had momentarily dropped off my listening radar. Out of self-consciousness I didn’t what to blurt out, “What did you say?” Looking back, I’m pretty certain that she said exactly what I thought she had. Strange as it sounded to me, it’s what really happened.

Our interchange ran its course and as it did the two white chinned men stepped out of The Falls Motel office. The dark eyes beneath the black broad brim looked squarely at me and frowned. The mouth beneath the eyes beneath the black broad brim began to move and with some degree of instruction. The woman in the starched blue apron dress responded and climbed out of the van.

[This particular event is still churning through my mind, and I find myself thinking about equality and freedom and prejudice and limitations and incarceration and power and beliefs. Do you think about that too?]

A few hours later, alone in my room, I watched Jay Leno host his final Tonight Show. My small TV is bolted to the concrete wall just above the mini-fridge that doubles as a stand for a microwave sitting six feet from the radio alarm clock inside the box that’s my home until Monday. These technologies all work as effectively as would the most expensive plasma screen HDTV, or stainless steel fridges, or high quality sound systems, or – well you name it. Mine are just smaller and located in a more compact place. Before watching Jay Leno I checked email via the motel’s wireless. [Life’s essentials are everywhere if you look for them. The questions is: What’s become essential over the years?] I’m not separate from the rest of the world, but if I don’t pay attention it sure can seem that way.

Did you see Jay Leno’s last Tonight Show, too? Wasn’t it a sweet reminder of how simplicity and the average can be profound. But, you had to pay attention.

There were shots of Jay taking on the daunting task of replacing Johnny Carson seventeen years ago. Leno’s much grayer today, and of course Carson is long gone. There were shots of Leno introducing Conan O’Brien to the world on his (O’Brien’s) first ever appearance on TV, juxtaposed against the Conan who showed up tonight to accept Leno’s well wishes for the future.

Legendary James Taylor honored this last show and its audience with a slow and poignant rendition of Sweet Baby James. I wonder if someone, somewhere may have said, “Oh that’s soooo old! Hasn’t James Taylor got anything new?” But when you come to think of it, every time James Taylor sings Sweet Baby James it is new. Isn’t it?

And there was a humorous, yet thought provoking reminder of the price we pay (both real and perceived) when human beings go through life and aren’t challenged to pay attention and learn. This night it came in the form of sketch episodes for which Leno is famous. It’s called “Jay Walking” - a name that carries double meaning when you think about it. The sketch is where he walks the streets of Los Angeles with microphone in-hand asking far more sophisticated looking people than you’ll find in either Amargosa Valley or Thompson Falls (Yes? No?) the simplest questions to which they have either no answer or the wrong answer.

Tonight’s examples went something like this:

• “Who was our nation’s first president?” (answer given – “Ah, Ben Franklin?”);

• “What country borders the United States to the north?” (answer given … “Ahhhh. Ahhhh. Ahhhh.”);

• “What president of the United States had the nick-name ‘Tricky Dick’? (answer given with firm degree of certainty – “Bill Clinton”).

• “Our nation’s capital is Washington, D.C. What does the ‘D.C. ‘stand for? (answer given – “Da Capital”)

Leno marked his finale’ by bringing a young woman onto the stage. She was the first child to be born to any of his Tonight Show staff seventeen years ago. He produced her picture as a newborn to prove it. He then began to name one-by-one all of the average people who have worked for his show and who met each other during careers and fell in love and had children. With that the curtains opened. There they all stood by the scores – mothers, fathers and children. He tickled one of the kids running around the stage. Then he, Jay Leno, laid down on the floor and along with all of them, simply smiled and waived goodbye. He really didn’t have to say much. It was a simple, yet profound way of acknowledging the fact that every story, every person, every generation has a beginning and an end, as do the various situations of our lives.

We all have many options that eventually lead to a single road in and a single road out of every event. We meet average people along the way. They become our friends, our families, our clients, our adversaries, our enemies, our benefactors. They matter. Simple? Yes. Profound, only if you think about it.

Allied Ronin took shape sixteen years ago. The year after Leno inherited his job from Johnny Carson. This work has afforded me the opportunity to visit and be with people in some important and historic places. Hero’s Square in Budapest, Hungary. The Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Imperial Temple of Heaven and the magnificent Beijing Hotel in PR China. The Winalow Palace, the Wieliczka Salt Mines, the Wawel Castle and Auschwitz in Poland. The ancient castles and battlegrounds outside of Bratislava, Slovakia. The Great Pyramids, the Sphinx and the National Museum in Cairo. The memorials dedicated to Dr. Sun Yet Sen and Chiang Kai-shek in Taipei. Anne Frank’s home in Amsterdam. And I should also mention the Vietnam Memorial Wall, the Lincoln Memorial, World War II Memorial all located in, you guessed it, “Washington, Da Capital”.

It bears saying again and again that people in “important” places really are the same and quite like the people in the “not-so-important” places. We all face similar issues. We all have similar joys and concerns. We encounter similar challenges. We want similar things for our kids and our parents and our neighbors. We take joy in wining and cringe in some fashion at losing. Jobs, health, prosperity and relationships are important the world over. The opportunity to learn about all of this exists everywhere at any given moment – provided, that is, if one is alert and pays attention, including along the dusty road in Amargosa Valley or aside the railroad track in Thompson Falls.

Over the next few months the Allied Ronin journey will include the programs and events listed in the black announcement bar to the left. Most of these are open to the public, i.e. available to you. All involve profound learning in healthy, constructive and respectful environments. This commitment was made in 1994when Allied Ronin was founded, and it is a significant departure from many programs offered elsewhere. I will add, that if you are interested in some top-notch offerings by others you might start with the list found at www.AlliedRonin.com/Associates.htm. These include the work of: George Leonard, Richard Strozzi-Heckler PhD, Kathleen Kane PhD, Susan Hammond, Madeline Wade, Lisa Ludwigsen, Jenaro Pliego Fox, Pawel Bernas, Pawel Olesiak, Andrea Burgis and others.

If you are of the mind to attend any of the upcoming Allied Ronin retreats or seminars or Facilitator Training, I look forward to seeing you along the way and soon. If your interest can be served by one of these, then pick up a phone and call the contact person listed, or send an email to the appropriate address. If you want something designed uniquely for you (as in coaching or consulting) or your family or team or organization, just make a request. No call, no email, no request goes unanswered.

It’s 7:45a.m., Saturday, May 23, 2009.  I’m sitting in my friend’s home in Grass Valley, California, waiting to drive down the road to lead a day and a half workshop with Samurai Game® at the Aikido’Ka aikido dojo here in town.   

Just moments ago I opened an email that another friend, Ken Nanbu, passed away last night in Honolulu.  Twelve years ago Ken gave me my first bokken (wooden Japanese training sword) to use in Samurai Games.  Since then it’s traveled  the world for that purpose.  And it was instrumental in my first seven years of aikido training .  It’s been a constant reminder of his friendship and the fact that even the smallest gesture or gift can make a big difference. 

The remainder of Games this year will be dedicated to his memory.  He was a generous person.

Hitting a Point Again

Hitting a point again. A few days ago I received a surprise gift from a West Point classmate I haven’t heard from in a long time, Dr. Judson Belmont. The gift, a book, “Shackleton’s Way” by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell. Sir Ernest Shackleton, explorer and captain of the ill-fated Antarctic voyage of the Endurance (1914-1916) is one of my favorite subjects when it comes to leadership. I sometimes use the Liam Neeson narrated film “The Endurance” in the Allied Ronin Leaders’ Retreats.

In the book’s introduction the authors quickly lay out the challenges that Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven faced, challenges that seemed to escalate exponentially month on end, challenges that are worth considering in light of today’s sad times. Somehow, though, all survived. How? The author’s put it in two words, “Credit Shackleton.” We should not underestimate the power of the individual when much is at stake.

Morrell and Capparell write – “According to Napoleon, ‘a leader is a dealer in hope.’ Shackelton knew how to keep hope in plentiful supply….” When it was preposterous to think they could get out alive, he convinced his men that only a fool would say they wouldn’t.’”

So, I’m hitting the point again from my just published newsletter. If you are in a leadership position, people are depending on you, looking for you, relying on you. For what? For the simple idea that one must go it again for another day.

Some years ago many of my colleagues got caught up in a jargon fostered by numerous training organizations. “There is no hope,” they would say in effort to have people take personal responsibility rather than sit idle and wait for a rescuer to come fix their situation. From that perspective maybe it worked, and got people off their duffs to get on with it. But, when one becomes convinced that hope is a meaningless thing, let’s be assured that hopelessness isn’t. Hopelessness leads to all kinds of maladies. Strong arguments exist that hopelessness undermines the body’s immune system. Hopelessness causes corporate cave-ins.

I’m not talking about false hope – the kind that comes with false promises. I’m talking about the will to continue generated by strong spirit. And when team spirit is waning, people look for a leader (anyone really) who can keep a spark of hope alive within.

Don't Lose Your Attractiveness

A Little shoeshine boy never gets low down

But he's got the dirtiest job in town

Bendin' low at the peoples' feet

On the windy corner of the dirty street

Well, I asked him while he shined my shoes

How'd he keep from gettin' the blues

The past couple of weeks have included some interesting conversations with owners, managers and executives of a number of organizations, small and large, in product and service industries, all hit by the economy. Odds are they will be touched by now-in-the-news more-to-worry-about health scare. No one is immune from these conditions. We don’t live in vacuums. We are connected.

Reflecting on the conversations I have some concerns, though not regarding the economy or the flu.

First, in a number of cases there’s a substantial degree of fault-finding and self blame in their voices, “What did I do wrong? I should have known better? How could I not have seen?” It’s as though each has an invisible rubber mallet, with which he or she is pounding their own head.

Second, they are hard at work pushing to change what’s so. They are working to find ways to rectify current situations. That’s good - there’s nothing wrong with honest hard work. Yet, knowing them and their work ethic, which in every case is very high, it’s the tired tone their voices that’s bothersome. I see their shoulders heavy and laden, and their eyes with dark circles.

Third, and this is most alarming, I’ve noticed a degree of withdrawal from contact. Withdrawal from the people that surround them from the outside their organizations, people who could and would provide support.

National Public Radio recently reported on companies cutting their advertising budgets, and how this withdrawal not only impacts the buying public, but also the electronic and print media that would otherwise run the ads. What a shame. Because at same time they are cutting, someone else could be seizing an incredible opportunity to fill that void.

Any withdrawal creates a void. As the void grows it leaves fertile ground for someone else to walk in, fill the void and promote their product, service or cause. Radio, TV and print media are in need of advertising right now, and may be willing to make deals. The buying public depends on advertising. Ads that “stick” have an advantage as we move through and emerge from the rough economic waters that we’re in. Bet on it, we’re going to move through this sooner or later. I hope whoever takes advantage of the void will have honorable products and services to sell, because the public will be affected. What sticks? Tone and simplicity. (Some reading this can recall the Oscar Meyer ditty or the “Winston tastes good like a ---.” Remember?)

In the midst of the storm there are many things to jettison, but your attractiveness is not one of them. For better or worse, you are your own advertisement. Don’t’ lose your attractiveness.

I’m not going to question motives to look back and work hard and withdraw. Not in the least.

On the one hand, self-reflection is a necessity. It’s good and natural to examine self for things missed. Similarly, hard diligent work is important, especially now. Roll up the sleeves. Get going! Yes, we all feel defeated now and then, and at times want to withdraw from contact throughout our lives.

But right now, particularly in these times and for these people and those who depend on them, remember something: regardless of the industry, everyone is in the sales business, and nobody can sell anything – from resume’ to idea to cars to homes to going out for a date - when they are overly self conscious, down in the mouth and living in withdrawal. On many occasions my mentor would say, “Every conversation is a buy/sell process. Think about it.”

Isn’t everyone, regardless of job or position, somehow selling something even when they don’t know it? Teachers, preachers, lawyers, politicians, hair stylists, radio talk show hosts, janitors, soldiers, carpenters. You name the job, the position or the person, something – an idea, product, service, future position, desire for a new relationship, whatever – is being suggested or offered. And if the offer is absent a healthy or vibrant or hopeful or positive possibility, then an opposite possibility will be suggested. And in that case, whatever downward spiral is happening will be perpetuated.

We are constantly marketing ourselves, even when we don’t know it. Others are noticing. It’s human nature. This is important. Why? Because the vast majority of people assume that others have what they themselves don’t. They seek “what’s missing” from those they perceive as having a larger capacity for that something – guidance, assurance, and leadership, whatever. This weighs heavily on people at the top – managers, owners, execs --- mom’s and dads.

As rotten as things are, what got us here is water under the bridge. This is not a to imply we shouldn’t take a look back periodically. But what’s most important is to remain present and focus on the future. My high school track coach, Gene LaVelle, would admonish us when he caught us looking back too often. “Stop it,” he’d say, “and get your eyes on who’s in front of you and on the finish line.” My football coach, Gerry Peters. Same thing. I played (not very well) guard, and would glance to see if the ball carrier was behind me when I would be running a pulling play. “What are you doing?,” he’d yell. “Get your eyes on where you’re going! You’re job is to create the path!” There were days as a kid when our family didn’t have money to buy things. Mom took us window-shopping. It was fun; it got us out of the house; and it was physically healthy too. We had to walk to do it. It got us dreaming. We have to look forward; we have to dream.

Before a home is constructed blueprints are drawn. Blueprints are temporary; they can be changed anytime and often are. Your mind is always looking for a picture to create. If you don’t know what the future looks like, or if the picture in front of you is dismal, then make up something, anything, worth looking at. At least for one day at a time; look at it, if only for that day. Go to sleep looking at that image. Give your mind something worth dreaming about.

Keep asking future oriented creative questions. Right now there are human beings looking for the goods and services that every one of these companies, whose leaders I spoke with, provide. Who are the people doing the looking? Where are they located? What do they look like? Where do they come from? They are out there. The particular goods and services these organizations provide have been in demand for a long time, through past recessions and depressions and scary times and wars; the demand will continue to exist in some form well into the future. These organizations fill valid needs; needs that will not disappear.

Employees, staffs and venders are just as worried. They are looking for people who have the capacity to hold on – but not sinking ships. The employees, staffs and venders want to believe that their leaders are fundamentally OK. This is a heavy burden for those at the top; one that takes strength to carry. None of us makes it on our own. We are social beings. We look for strength in others. And that’s worth remembering, because strength is attractive.

Hard working, good people right are now on the job market seeking to be around others who have good products and/or services – and who are willing to display strength. While a leader may not now be in a position to hire, he or she is certainly in a position to be heard. People are listening. What are they hearing from you?

During times of stress, what do others seek? Relief. Confidence. Creativity. Flexibility. Dignity.

Yes, they seek money. True, true, true. But money is a result of action, and what it solves is temporary. Systems tend to move toward disorder, and systems involving money are not exempt from this. It is always on the move, and daily it moves into and out of our lives faster than anything else. The sound and constructive qualities that attract the people who generate the energy that produces the money, these are up for grabs all the time. These qualities of strength are especially built and sustained during stressful times.

I’m in the midst of reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, written with one question in mind, “Why do some people succeed far more than other?” In case after case Gladwell documents examples of real people who came from humble backgrounds, went through hard times and succeeded in life. He points out that they didn’t succeed in spite of their humble backgrounds and hard times, they succeeded because of their humble backgrounds and hard times. And they succeeded because they were surrounded by people from similar humble backgrounds and hard times, who provided them continual intellectual and emotional support.

Yes, look back. But don’t make it a self-defeating habit. Talk about and go to sleep on strengths, not faults.

Yes, withdraw now and then. But remember, no one makes it alone. The people that really matter are the ones who show up in your life for more than a celebration or a party. They are there when the manure hits the ventilator, and they don’t leave because of the odor. They are available for you to extend into when times get tough and you want to withdraw. So don’t’ withdraw! Take advantage of their presence. Maintain contact with them – at all costs.

Yes, work hard. But take care not to work yourself to exhaustion. Remember that every muscle must periodically relax or it will break down. That physiological fact reflects a universal principle. You have to take care of yourself, especially under stress. Gene LaVelle and Gerry Peters also used to say - when we were tired, or we lost a meet or a race or a game, “Shake it off! Take a break! See you at practice.”

People are seeking you. Someone is looking for you. They won’t be able to find you if you are absent or too wiped out to stand up.

Don’t Lose Your Attractiveness!

A Little shoeshine boy never gets low down

But he's got the dirtiest job in town

Bendin' low at the peoples' feet

On the windy corner of the dirty street

Well, I asked him while he shined my shoes

How'd he keep from gettin' the blues

He grinned as he raised his little head

Popped a shoeshine rag and then he said

Get rhythm when you get the blues

Come on, get rhythm when you get the blues

A jumpy rhythm makes you feel so fine

It'll shake all the trouble from your worried mind

Get rhythm when you get the blues

Mark Walsh (www.integrationtraining.co.uk) of Brighton, UK, has just posted on his blog (www.integrationtraining.blogspot.com) an impressive series of responses from teachers around the world regarding how aikido is informing and can be used to inform business, life and relationships. I'm very pleased, and humbled, to have been included in the mix of respondents. Others included were: Richard Strozzi-Heckler, PhD (my teacher and an Allied Ronin Associate), Paul Linden, PhD (Founder & Past President of Aiki Extensions), Quentin Cooke (UK), Pawel Olesiak (Poland - another Allied Ronin Associate), Christian Zandt (the Netherlands) and others.

I appreciate Mark's efforts to include me. This helps spread the word about Allied Ronin's global impact. I will be traveling to the UK mid-October to deliver the Samurai Game® (www.SamuraiGame.org) in Brighton. Mark will be one of the many attending. I'm also headed to Honolulu, Mexico City, Queensland Australia and other places with the Game. Call me if you're interested!!

April 20th, 2009

Not wanting to overdo two points I keep hammering on, but …

You can thank my daughter, Caroline, and her husband, Sean, for this. At they Christmas gave me a copy Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, whose other books include The Tipping Point and Blink, and said, “You have to have to read this!” I’m usually jumping between three books at any one time, and over the past weekend Outliers finally entered by cycle. Gladwell’s purpose in writing the book is to bring an understanding of success that is outside of the box – especially the box that we’re so used to here in the U.S.

No long entry here, but have to report in on what it’s revealed thus far.

Point #1.

Gladwell opens with a story of an Italian village, Roseto Valfortore, whose inhabitants have surprisingly low rates (almost non-existent) of heart disease. Not only that, those who immigrated from that town to the U.S. and established their own little community in eastern Pennsylvania, reflected the same phenomena.

This led to investigative research – with hopes of uncovering what exactly was going on through the generations. Was it diet, quality of air, amount of exercise, genetics? Alas, the research showed that it wasn’t their diet (they eat meat, fat, etc.). It wasn’t that they are non-smokers (they’re not). It wasn’t that don’t imbibe in achohol (they do). It wasn’t that they have the best 24-Hour Fitness-like facility (they don’t), and it wasn’t their genes (no better than anyone else’s), nor the climate (other towns nearby were comparatively off the charts). The answer was … It was the people of Roseto themselves.

The researchers “looked at how the Rosetans visited one another, stopping to chat in Italian on the street, say, or cooking for one another in their backyards. They learned about the extended family clans that underlay the town’s social structure. The saw how many homes had three generations living under one roof, and ho much respect grandparents commended. – They counted twenty-two separate civic organization in a town of just under two thousand people. They picked up on the particular egalitarian ethos of the community, which discouraged the wealthy from flaunting their success and helped the unsuccessful obscure the failures.”

The research found, in short, that the reason for long life and good health in Roseto pointed in one direction – community.

I am struck by this and how much it mirrors the work of Richard Carlson and Joseph Bailey in their Slowing Down to the Speed of Life.

Point #2

Chapter Two of Gladwell’s work is “The 10,000-Hour Rule”. Here he discusses the profound fact that research shows a major determining factor in high rate of performance in any field is … PRACTICE. Whether it’s soccer, ice hockey, being a violinist, chess, computer programming – those people whose environments supported their putting in the time rose to the top. Not necessarily because they were any better … but because they practiced, practiced, practiced more than anyone else. No matter what … the thing that separates the poor from the mediocre performers is PRACTICE. What separate mediocre performers from good ones is PRACTICE. What separates the good from the great is PRACTICE. Over and over the research shows that at about 10,000 hours of practice a human being enters the realm of mastery.

In short. The truly great performers at anything are those who practice.

I am struck by this and how much it mirrors the work of George Leonard in his Mastery and by Miyamoto Musashi in his Book of Five Rings.

Get the book, Outliers. It’s a good read. You’ll enjoy. But don’t just read. Do something!!!

More later. But right now I have to slow down. This evening I’ll return to the mindful community that I’ve been part of for the past ten years and with them I’ll continue my practice!!

I just received a request from Mark Walsh INTEGRATION TRAINING (+44) (0) 7762 541 855, Business Website: http://integrationtraining.co.uk/ , and blog: http://integrationtraining.blogspot.com/ . Mark lives in Brighton, UK. We met when two years ago when he was in the U.S. studying aikido at the dojo where I train http://www.tworockaikido.com/. He's been very involved internationally with Aiki Extensions http://www.aiki-extensions.org/ and has extensively served in Brazil and Cyprus and elsewhere.

Mark's note today read: "I'm writing an article about aikido and business. Specifically I'm asking aikidoka who are business owners/directors to answer five questions and will collate these. The finished article will appear on my blog which gets around 15,000 visits per year and probably AJ (which gets many more hits) so is a nice piece of publicity for anyone who takes part.If you would fw this onto any other aikidoka business owners you know I'd appreciate it. The questions are below if you'd like to take part. All the best, Mark"

Here then are his questions and my responses - worth making available here at my blog site as well:

What is your business?
My business is Allied Ronin Leadership Training & Consulting http://www.alliledronin.com/, doing business worldwide and serving the public, organizations, government agencies and universities (e.g. the UN Secretariat, AIESEC International, Texas A&M University, Verizon Wireless, Nokia, Societe Generale' Corporate Banking, Organizational Behavior Teacher Society, etc.) with highly experiential leadership and team effectiveness programs - and most known for internationally as the sole facilitator training and certification representative for The Samurai Game® http://www.samuraigame.org/, a creation of George Leonard Sensei http://www.tam-aikido.org/. My blog site is http://www.alliedronin.blogspot.com/

What is your aikido grade and affiliation?
I hold shodan rank and study aikido under Richard Strozzi-Heckler Sensei at Two Rock Aikido dojo http://www.tworockaikido.com/. The affiliation is California Aikido Association http://www.ai-ki-do.org/

How has training in aikido influenced your business?
Aikido directly influences my work -blending, listening, somatics, embodiment of constructive principles, maintaining integrity. These are relevant to everyday life - private, public, business, organizational behavior. In a world otherwise dedicated intellectually to learning sound leadership and management practices, this approach (i.e. using aikido movement and translating into everyday language and business terms) really sticks with people. They open to a whole new world of appreciating themselves, their partners, their families and who they have previously considered their adversaries and competition.

What do you think the wider business community could learn from aikido?
Most importantly: (1) the profound need to become present to what is happening around you (be here now); (2)20to remain in contact with self and others; (3) be mindful in all your actions and behaviors; (4) daily strive to serve others, no matter what; (5) every day is an opportunity to increase one's capacity to relax under pressure; and (6) each and every day presents THE opportunity to practice - practice - practice what is important in life. These are crucial elements and particularly relevant during these times of global economic and political stress (on the macro scale) and family life or being a good student (on the micro scale).

Anything else you'd like to share about aikido and business?
Aikido became a platform for the transformation of my work when I first met George Leonard Sensei and Richard Strozzi-Heckler Sensei in the late 1980's. But I didn't give myself permission to step on the mat until 2000, and then only after suffering a major accident - severely breaking my hip. I figured if I didn't at least give it an honest effort I would forever be saying, "Maybe I could have and I wish I would have." Since then the art:(a) has provided me a foundation for gracefully handling the pressures and stresses of being in business for myself in a highly dynamic and changing world;(b) has become a most effective way to communicate basics that are important fundamentals to business and personal relationships - fundamentals that need reinforcement every day off the mat no matter how successful one is or becomes;(c) provides dynamic and undeniable evidence for individual and group understanding (or lack thereof) of what it takes to be effective in the world - as single person, a person in relationship, a dad, a mom, a teammate, a manager, an executive, etc.; and(d) provides a way (even if only infrequently practiced) to increase constructive capacities regardless of one's career path.
signed - Lance M. Giroux 707-769-0328

BREATHING AND SERVICE

Some Things Need Repeated Attention

"I don't know why it is. Why the next generation can't learn
from the one before until they get knocked in the head by experience.
I'll tell you one thing for sure. The only things worth learning are
the things you learn after you know it all.
Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States
(p. 153, Plain Speaking by Merle Miller)

Before we get started I need to say that this month's article is not about the physical act of breathing, though breathing is a good metaphor to use as we begin. Remember this as we transition about half way through.

In the mid-1970's Miyamoto Musashi and his Book of Five Rings caught the attention of American businesses; a significant feat for someone born in 1584. One of Japan's most revered samurai, Musashi was considered invincible as a swordsman. By the time he was 30 he had defeated more than 60 opponents, all contests to the death. His philosophy focused on practice as the Way for those who want to learn strategy.

Martial art masters remind students that mindful practice and deep breath are foundational for performance and progress. For Musashi these two were embodied realities. He advised others to daily attend to them, especially under the calmest of conditions when no conflict was at hand. In this way, these ideals would become second nature, available and useful at a moment's notice, without having to think about them. With this approach these principles were generally useful for everyday living, and particularly useful during stressful conditions when death was imminent.

We are always practicing something. But most people are practicing things without awareness of their practice or the consequences. They repeat thoughts and actions that become their practices. They don't realize this or where it's taking them. If they did, they might change course. Some practices are healthy. Others, lead an individual into destructive and unsustainable territory.

Normal quiet breathing is both active (inspiration - in breath) and passive (expiration - out breath). In deeper or more rapid breathing the out breath may also be active. Deep breathing can become an object of practice. Through this practice one can develop an ability to bring the body into states of relaxation and awareness, and increase a capacity for flexible action (quick or deliberate) under intense conditions. When faced with surprise, stress, tension, conflict and fear the body automatically moves into rapid states of breathing. With practice, the ability to deeply breath can become second nature, sustaining a person through periods of stress, attack and fear. Establishing a breathing practice is something you can begin and work with on an average day, under any condition, and for as long as you want.

We live within certain boundaries. Breathing is something that you cannot escape. Like gravity, you are subject to and bounded by it. You can't negotiate with it. You can't permanently quit it and remain conscious or alive. You have to do it, or you will pass out or die.

But within boundaries you can learn actions that create many, perhaps infinite, options. Play with deep breathing and you might notice certain positive things occurring for your awareness, sensitivity, attitude and your capacity for effective action under increasing levels of pressure. Surprisingly (or not), you may find your practice creates options and actions, also constructive, for those around you.

This can sound simplistic or foreign. Some may say, "This is way too esoteric." My response: (1) In a courtroom, all other things being equal, an attorney who practices breath control has the advantage over an attorney who hasn't. (2) In an airplane, a pilot who has practiced breath control and who is now facing an emergency, will have an advantage over a pilot who hasn't. (3) A salesman who practices breath control has an advantage over one who doesn't. (4) A soldier who has embodied a controlled breathing practice, shoots more accurately than one who doesn't. The stuff about breathing isn't theory. It's not esoteric or New Age. Lower the voice of your expectations and preconceived notions. - expectations and preconceived notions that become addictions and practiced ways of living in a society used to quick-fixes, instant results, fast food, throw away relationships, drugs for every ailment, ready cash at the ATM, the lottery, and TV reality shows.

Try this. Give breath control, as a practice, an honest daily effort for two weeks. Consciously extend the depth and rhythm of your breath as often as possible throughout each and every day. Set up reminders to keep yourself on track. Notice what begins to happen for you. Pay attention to those you come into contact with, because you might see something constructive happening with them as well. What have you got to lose? Try it. Check the results for yourself.

This month's article is not about physical act of breathing, though breathing is a good metaphor to use as we move forward.

We're always practicing something. Repeated thoughts and actions become practices. Practices that are not constructive and sustainable move groups, organizations and nations into dangerous, destructive and unsustainable territory.

Two hundred ninety-two years after Musashi walked his path, Napoleon Hill's book, Think and Grow Rich, was published. The year was 1937. It, too, caught the attention of American businesses. Today, Think and Grow Rich is one of the most read books of all time.

Hill, a reporter, was sent on an assignment in 1907, to interview Andrew Carnegie. Originally set for two hours, the interview evolved into a twenty-year research project. Carnegie captivated Hill's imagination and suggested he embark on having one-on-one discussions with the world's five hundred most successful people. The interviews were conducted around the globe, during prosperous times and hard times, during World War I and during the Roaring 20's, and ended around 1927. The results proposed some amazing discoveries and possibilities. But Hill's work was not immediately accepted by publishers. Why? It sounded too esoteric.

It took Hill another ten years to find a receptive publisher. During these ten years he and the rest of the world lived through the Great Depression. Hill's text suggested the existence of an important universal secret. This secret, he said, was woven like thread throughout the entire book. He offered that the secret could be revealed on every page, if one diligently looked for it - in other words made a practice of seeking the secret. Today, Think and Grow Rich is arguably the foundation for a widely marketed video, The Secret, and its accompanying book by the same title, which put forth an old and respected idea, The Law of Attraction, placed inside an up-to-date cover. Alas, I doubt that Hill has received, or will receive, proper credit for the influence he had on this most recent iteration.

"[B]efore you begin the first chapter," wrote Hill in his introduction, "may I offer one brief suggestion which may provide a clue by which the Carnegie secret may be recognized? It is this - all achievement, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea!" Then he continued, "If you are ready for the secret, you already possess one half of it; therefore, you will readily recognize the other half the moment it reaches your mind."

Like the martial arts, the business arts have foundational principles, too. Practice is one of them. And as with martial artists, artisans of business or career must attend to and have the courage to uncover the true intentions of what their practices are. In business, money is blood, blood that must flow freely throughout the entire business body, and blood that must be enriched and refreshed by some kind of breath.

What is the breath of a business, without which - or if shortened, or not attended to, or left unstudied, or reduced to slogan status - the blood becomes stale? And without which a business - no matter how well structured - will shrivel or die? Perhaps this breath is SERVICE.

The world is full of smart people, and with every increase in technology we think we're getting smarter. Many people behave as though our technologies and smarts are more important than principles. Some suggest that principles don't matter in a postmodern world. Yet, today's news suggests that corner cutting and sloppiness may be the norm when it comes to the fundamental attitudes of being a SERVANT.

Enron, what brought it down in 2001? Why? (Interesting, the word "why" was once Enron's trademark question.)

Arrogance. Intolerance. Greed. Somewhere along the line that company's pivotal organizational interrogatives became: "Who is our target? What can we get? How fast can we get it? When can we dump the target once we've used it/them up? Where can we hide the truth of our actions?" These questions drowned out a series of more wholesome and principled interrogatives: "What can we honorably provide? Who can we provide it to? On what time schedules can we realistically provide it? Where and how can we do this in sustainable ways such that good occurs for all involved? How can we ensure that trust is built - trust that will carry us and others through tough times when they inevitably come?" And so, a corporate consciousness went adrift without a compass, without a rudder, without conscience, without common sense. It may not have started that way, but over time s-t happens. Lost or less heard were: Whom do I serve? What do I offer? What am I doing? Why am I really serving people and making these offers? Where are we going, honestly? If we keep doing this, where will it lead? What are the long-term consequences of our attitudes and actions?

This month's article is not about Enron, though Enron is a grounding point to use as we move forward.

Most of the people who worked at Enron were good and well intentioned. Enron didn't invent greed. Enron reflected and turned up the volume on it. Enron wasn't a disease. Enron was a symptom of something to be recognize and learned from. But did we learn? Once the ills were exposed, a barrage of bandages, words, slogans, structures, promises and proposed statues treated the issues that Enron revealed. And then what? The hearings were conducted, the committees spoke, the laws were passed, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. We had our morning caffe' latte', our afternoon martini or beer, went bass fishing, attended the symphony or rock concert, kicked the can down the street --- and we quietly got back to the same attitudes and embodied actions that had become habits created by misguided long-term practices. But, we had relief: new jargon, new structures, new systems, new promises and new laws. Whew! We wiped our collective brow and the problem was solved. Yes? No.

The man who for eight years was one of my mentors (1975 - 1983) authored a book. In it he quoted Napoleon Hill, "It would be no great overstatement of the truth if we said that mental attitude is EVERYTHING." Like Hill, he believed in the Law of Attraction. In meetings, in classrooms, in private talks this mentor hammered on the topic of SERVICE as being the foundation upon which Hill's philosophy was based. His opinion was that SERVICE was a major part of the secret. He surmised that those who fail to attend to people and to their needs and to the quality of service rendered, will eventually undermine their own best conceived plans. No one is immune from the ups and downs of business and market cycles. During the period I worked for him we had good and bad days, months, and years. We went through a miserable recession. But, regardless of the ups and downs of our times, we were instructed repeatedly to pay attention: (1) to people, (2) to what they needed and (3) what we were thinking about all of that.

"Service," he used to say, " means - find a need and fill it."
Never did he say, "Service means - create a need and fill it."

There is a big difference between finding and creating when it comes to the needs of human beings.

It is one thing to uncover a need through honorable investigation, reveal this need to someone such that his or her life benefits, and then take action to assist the person so that his or her life benefits. It's quite a different thing to concoct a story (system, scam, ideology, method) in an effort to convince a person (or group) he has a need (manufactured, but in reality nonexistent) and then go about getting that person to buy into the invented story such that the storyteller benefits while the person to be served loses. Sadly, I'm not the only one who has been in a boardroom or backroom and heard a manager or boss or executive or teammate demand: "Our job is to make sure we get as much money as possible out of these people. Promise them whatever, but leave nothing on the table. Our function is to get the cash, understand? Now, how much money do you think we can get out of these people?"

Where's the common sense for the long haul?

One who spends time creating and filling needs, may gain in the short run, only to eventually lose over the rhythms of a lifetime. People can be mistreated and fooled for a while, but they are not stupid. The human brain (everyone has one) is a growing, evolving, life-sustaining thing. Eventually most people wake up and wise up. Over the long haul, a focus of creating needs, leads to unhealthy scheming, and enhances a capacity for developing dead-end relationships. Such a practice builds: (1) a short-term, self-absorbed, me-focused perspectives, and (2) long-term reputations of disgust and distrust.

One who spends time in the practice of finding and filling needs, places him or herself in accord with other people. Such a person understands that all things have rhythms; they rise and fall. There are no guarantees of success. They know that there are great forces that can stop a business that has even the best intent at heart, and takes all the best action. But over the long haul, one whose focus is on finding needs, builds a capacity for respect for self and for others, and a capacity to return on a new day, even after defeat, no matter how bad things get. This practice of finding and filling need, builds: (1) an observant other-focused mind, and (2) healthy sustainable reputations. Those involved with an honorable SERVANT, experience him or her as refreshing, attractive and valuable, particularly during times of stress. Like breathing, finding and filling needs can be practiced anytime, all the time, anywhere, and for as little or as much as one asks in return, or pro-bono. All that it takes is attitude and a willingness to look.

To paraphrase my old mentor and Napoleon Hill, it would be no great overstatement of the truth that SERVICE (find a need and fill it) is everything.

Service ought be practiced as though it is an art form. It should be daily studied when times were good. Not as a six-hour management course at a company's annual meeting or as a part time undertaking, but with recurring commitment and mindfulness. It's easy and painless to do. Service should be studied and practiced when times are bad. Not out of necessity, or to patch up a mistake, or for the sake of a slogan or slick corporate mission statement. Rather, because it's the healthy thing to do. Generally speaking, people are looking for others that they can trust. Service breeds trust. During good times those with needs can get lazy, become short sighted, and they can tolerate untrustworthy folks and shoddy attitudes. In bad times, however, untrustworthiness breeds contempt; and contempt can be dangerous, if not catastrophic.

It is most important to take time every day to practice the art of SERVING other people, and sometimes just for the sake of sustaining a keen ability to SERVE. I'm not saying that SERVICE by itself will dig us out of the mess we're in. But without SERVICE becoming and remaining a core issue, we'll just keep on kicking the can down the street.

In 1645, Miyamoto Musashi wrote:
"There is timing in everything. Timing in strategy cannot be mastered without a great deal of practice. Timing is important in dancing and pipe or string music, for they are in rhythm only if timing is good. Timing and rhythm are also involved in the military arts, shooting bows and guns, and riding horses. In all skills and abilities there is timing. There is also timing in the Void. This is the Way for (those) who want to learn my strategy:

· Do not think dishonestly.
· The Way is in training.
· Become acquainted with ever art.
· Know the Ways of all professions.
· Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters.
· Develop intuitive judgment and understanding for everything
· Perceive those things which cannot be seen.
· Pay attention even to trifles.
· Do nothing which is of no use."

Musashi penned this in his Go Rin No Sho (A Book of Five Rings), a few weeks before he died. These words apply to service in the business arts just as they do to good swordsmanship and breathing in the martial arts. His purpose in writing this had nothing to do with making a momentary heap of cash at the expense of someone else. He wrote in SERVICE to others who would walk their path long after he was gone. He wrote so that they could thrive and survive even the worst of times.

©Lance Giroux, 2009

March 15th, 2009

Peet’s Coffee happens to be one of my favorite blog inspiring hang out’s. And today it is again. I have just returned from:

1. 15 minutes ago – meeting with my friend, Lisa
2. 4 hours ago – lunch with my sensei, Richard, after two hours of training at the new Aikido of Tamalpais www.TamAikido.org
3. 2 days ago – spending forty-eight hours with my two oldest children, Pete and Cari, and their respective clans numbering six kiddo’s of their own … and soon to be increased by one (that’ll be Cari’s third)
4. 6 days ago – returning from a few days in Yi-lan County, Taiwan, conducting my seminar, Developing the Warrior Within™ - which happens to include The Samurai Game® www.SamuraiGame.org

Seems like I’m always returning from something, doesn’t it? My friend, Lisa, tells me I’m “a travel’n man.” Well, whatever; I guess she’s right. Fact is, the past twelve days have been full, full, full.

Stopping for a few minutes here in Peet’s I’m reflecting on just how prejudiced I can be. You know, the kind of prejudice that means I’ve already made up a story which becomes a reality that doesn’t match what is really the reality.

On my way to Taiwan, March 3^rd, I didn’t know exactly what I was in for. I still didn’t know by the time I had arrived into Taipei on March 4^th. But on the ride across the island and through the tunnel that links Taipei to Yi-lan County I started to get the idea that this trip was going to be beyond my imaginings. I had heard I would meet a zen master … a nun who is known throughout all of Taiwan aka Formosa aka The Republic of China. What’s her name? I still don’t know. Everyone just calls her “Sherfu” (teacher). But soon I came to understand that she was the driving force behind my taking that trip and wanting my work to help influence her students and followers – many of whom study meditation, flower arranging, calligraphy and tea pouring as practices in mindfulness.

I was somewhat aghast at the prospect. What could I possibly bring to them, given the sincerity of their already established practices? And, with respect to the three other nuns who make up the core group at their temple, how would they receive such a thing as “developing the warrior within” given their peacefulness? When finally I met Sherfu I told her my concern and asked her point blank. She smiled … a wholly (and holy) delightful smile … and replied, “Oh this and you are just what I want. We need to study leadership and decisiveness and taking a stand and how to fend for ourselves.” As another person, Kay (translator and main link person) put it, “Sherfu wants to toughen everyone up around here. They need to not be so reliant on her. Gotta make ‘em stronger!”

Well, well, well. We had a terrific time together we had. And warriors they were – especially the four nuns - were they ever!!! Surely put a psychological poke in my eye that reminded me to not be so short-sighted in my thinking (what can I possibly bring to them, remember?)

A few years ago I stood at and walked on the Great Wall of China. Last week I stood before four nuns and students on Formosa Island. Which do you think was bigger? The answer is clear to me. Never underestimate a Sherfu.

Questions for Thought

Last fall Dr. Kathleen Kane, Professor of Leadership & Organizational Behavior at the University of San Francisco’s School of Business & Management, advised that she had heard great things about the film Man On Wire – a 2008 Magnolia Film production. In December, I purchased the film and viewed it in preparation for the Winter 2009 Leaders’ Retreat. It was/is magnificent!

Beyond a subtle undercurrent psychological study of Phillipe Petit, the French hire-wire walker who in 1974 strode for forty-five minutes between the twin towers of the World Trade Center, this is a powerful true story of what a few people can do when they set their minds to something.

We used the film at the Retreat. In my preparation prior to the Retreat I sat in my office viewing and was struck with a question coming up from within me, followed by another – and then another. I had to hit the pause button, because the flow of questions would not stop, and get paper and pencil to write down what was being generated. We used these questions at the Retreat. Then last week I used the same list of questions (sans film) for the Samurai Game® delivery I did for the Institute of Embodied Wisdom in Westlake Village, California. The people were left speechless.

A few years ago in conversation with George Leonard he remarked that he had seen and was recommending Touching The Void, adding, “It’s the most powerful film of the human spirit I have ever seen.” I saw that film and afterward had to agree with George’s viewpoint. It is above, if not on par with, The Endurance.

Now, add to that short list, Man On Wire. Get it. View it. View it again.
Here is the list of late night questions that erupted from within:
What do you dream about in life?
What do you risk?
What are you willing to risk
How alive to do you allow yourself to be?
How do you express your aliveness?
What stories do you carry with you about failing?
Who counts with you on things that matter?
Who counts with you on things trivial?
Who do you forgive?
Who do you allow yourself to be forgiven by?
What sounds do you attend to?
What have you noticed about your spirit when the odds are against you?
Who inspires you?
Who do you inspire?
Who do you trust?
Who do you allow to trust you?
What stories do you carry with you about money?
Under what circumstances are you aware of your sense of smell?
How capable are you when you find yourself in the midst of exhaustion?
What can you do with a committed team?
What if the team is just you and one other person?
What if you’re all alone?
What is your daily work of art?
What do you practice?
What colors seek your attention?
How invested are you in planning?
How are you when it comes to spontaneity?
Under what circumstances do you exercise patience?
Under what circumstances do you underestimate yourself?
Under what circumstances do you overestimate yourself?
How do you language this in your unspoken words?
What are your capacities?

©Lance Giroux, 2009

An Interview With George Hersh

George Hersh, a native of Topeka, Kansas, owns and is CEO of the GMJ Co., Inc., which is comprised of the Sports Associated Companies (MO, NJ and CA), Topeka Transfer & Storage, Capital City Distribution and O'Neil Relocation which is headquartered in Southern California. Additionally, he owns, manages or holds officer positions in a number of other companies in the mid-west, doing business in the savings and loan, construction, commercial real estate and records management industries. He began his career developing and leading companies in 1981 with the founding of Kelly Port Arcade, which he owned and operated for four years. He is married, has three children and currently lives in Topeka.

George was the driving force behind the creation of the Allied Ronin Leaders' Retreat, and has attended every retreat except two since their inception in 2004, with the most recent one being last week, January 24-28. He is very passionate about issues involving children with disabilities. At the most recent Retreat he agreed to be interviewed for the Allied Ronin e-newsletter.

Allied Ronin: You are a very successful person, but it wasn't always that way. What was it like for you as a young man going to college and going into business?

George: It was very confusing. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know what it was. I had great difficulty reading, spelling and writing. I could see words but didn't understand the flow. Comprehension was hard. As a kid I was hyperactive, felt less than and acted out a lot. Honestly, I felt abandoned. No matter how I tried to express myself to my parents, I couldn't articulate what was going on for me, and they didn't understand. These days more kids can be accurately diagnosed learning disabilities, but in the 60's and 70's very few people recognized the signs.

Allied Ronin: How did you cope with this?

George: I learned to protect myself from thinking I was a failure. I wouldn't ask for help, because I didn't want to seen as less than by other people. I found I could do well in areas other than academics, but at the same time I didn't want people to know that I wasn't like the other kids. I had to be ten steps ahead of anyone finding out that I wasn't all that good. Looking back, it served me in many ways because I've trained myself to always be looking ahead for options and opportunities, seeing connections in business that other people don't see and turning problems into solutions.

Allied Ronin: I agree. You are one of the best multi-taskers I know.

Geroge: You're right, I can work on a lot of different things, juggling many balls, and with a lot of energy every day. The worry, though, when I was young, was that someone would find out that I was having difficulty. But the fact is I struggled through three years of college before anyone knew what was going on for me. The feeling inside me was intense frustration. I did a lot of blaming and felt alone.

Allied Ronin. Well, you've taken big steps to correct this. What did you do?

George. Fortunately, in my 30's I found an organization, Learning Techniques www.learningtechniques.com which was able to help. First, they showed me that the issue was the neural connections that help a person learn how to learn didn't form when I was a young person. Your work here at this Retreat, and in the other things you do for people, is about increasing one's awareness of and then actively practicing with the abilities of the right and left brain hemispheres. Learning Techniques opened me to that notion. Then they open me to the fact that the human brain can grow in its capacity to connect and learn throughout one's entire lifetime. They had me doing a lot of patterning work; and as silly as some may think it sounds, it really works. By patterning I mean I spent hours and hours synchronizing my hand and foot movements to speech and eye movements. Here at the Leaders' Retreat you have Madeline Wade and Susan Hammond working with people on that basic idea for increased personal and professional effectiveness. At Learning Techniques I specifically focused on learning to learn. Their program would be more powerful if they expanded on the idea of what's going on for the person who is struggling; in other words, the psychological aspect. I still struggle at times, but things are much better and I love learning. Another thing that worked for me is that I took their program with my brother. Having a partner and family support really matters. He had similar issues. It helped us both, and we're closer because of this.

Allied Ronin. Let's talk about business. We met over fifteen years ago. One of the things I've noticed is that you have great employee retention. How do you account for this?

George. I want people to enjoy what they do. I want them to make money, and they know it. I want their families to prosper. I want them to take care of the customer and be creative about that. The GMJ Companies are all service organizations. So, for example, when a driver from Topeka Transfer and Storage, which is our United Van Lines operation, or from Capital City Distribution, which is our Mayflower operation, is working a job, he or she knows that what is being wrapped, packed and moved involves someone's sentiments. What the average person may see as a cup and saucer, we see as someone's treasured memory. We really do. I guess I'm just sensitive to people's feelings - and maybe it's because of what I went through as a kid. And while both of those two companies are located in Kansas, they have trucks on the road, serving customers coast-to-coast all the time. Those two companies are examples of the way I've always felt about being in business, which is, I often feel that owning a company is small when compared to being a steward of that company. I didn't create Topeka Transfer and Storage (TTS), I bought it. It's a company with a great history and reputation that's over a hundred and forty-five years old, long before I came on the scene. I feel it's my honor to keep that history, reputation and tradition growing. The people who work for TTS generally feel the same way. They are home, and they are headquartered in my parent's hometown. The simple one-person-things really do matter. The same feeling holds true for the people who work for Sport Associated and O'Neil Relocation.

Allied Ronin. Well, tell us a bit about Sports Associated and O'Neil Relocation, the company that's most recently come under the umbrella of GMJ.

George. Both are great companies. I have to say that first of all. When I compare their capacity for service and the creativity of the people who work there, from executives and senior managers to the guy or gal on the loading dock or working a trade show I have to say they are head and shoulders above the rest of the industry.

Sports Associated is known for superior service in the transportation, warehousing and exposition of motorcycles, specialty vehicles, watercraft and other specialty items. The company was started decades ago by two guys with a flatbed truck and a trailer. Today it's history includes a great reputation serving some of the most well-known names in the world, including Yamaha, BMW and Ducati. Whereas many companies support the same expos that we do (Datona Bike Week, Sturgis, Leguna Seca, the International Motorcycle Show, etc.), SAI is known for going far beyond what the others do. Our people do everything except make and man the display. Our operations manager, Roger, is one of the most creative people I have ever met. When a project comes our way his general comment is, "Don't worry, we can get it done." And the fact is - he's right, we do. In other words, we customize our trucks to move the items - hauling more per truck than our competitors. We set up the displays, we remain on site throughout the shows to assist with display management, we tear down the displays, we move and warehouse the displays and the vehicles or items. Because we do this, we have an experience edge that can't be beat. SAI is a world-class operation that, in my opinion, has no equal. No one, and I really mean this, does it better than SAI. I've traveled the circuit, and laid tape myself with the drivers. This company makes me proud. We have customized trailers that are complete high-tech office and display facilities able to provide and serve state-of-art off-site press introductions. One of our most unique clients is Eagle Rider, who we serve nation-wide moving their motorcycles so they can more easily serve their clients.

SAI can adapt to and serve any kind of trade show, anywhere in the US. What I'm also proud of, and I wish more people knew about this, is that SAI can easily and equally serve specialty needs. Imagine an organization, whether company or non-profit or extended family wanting to provide a special event for it's personnel at unique location, say, the Kentucky Derby or the Super Bowl or a World Series Game or the Presidential Inauguration, or just someplace special that an organization or family selected for whatever reason most important to them. Because of our connections (tenting, local contracts, unions, etc.) we can produce a set-up at remote locations that would dazzle anyone. The SAI people are inventive and love what they do. Sorry, once I get started talking about SAI it's hard for me to stop.

You asked about O'Neil Relocation. This is a big operation, and again with a wonderful history which began in 1947. It is the newest company to come under the GMJ umbrella. I have been most fortunate to acquire it and the team of people who make it tick, led by Dennis Allsop who started with the company as a salesman and is now the company's president. O'Neil Relocation is a United Van Lines operation and has significant warehousing facilities in the Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas areas. Our trucks and warehouses serve corporations, government agencies, the military and individuals needing household relocation. We specialize in pad wrapped, lift gate, air ride, containerized equipment. Beyond that, O'Neil moves special products: telecom equipment, school fixtures equipment, and equipment for high-end hotels.

I should mention that when GMJ acquired O'Neil we also acquired Corporate Relocation Service, which is a Mayflower Van Lines operation, and also led by Dennis Allsop.

Allied Ronin. What matters to you?

George. I'd have to say first, it's my family - and this starts with my wife and children, and then my mom and dad, who are both still alive. I've been married twenty-five years. Marcia and I have three great kids, all now in college. My dad is in his 90's and my mom's in her 80's, and they're both still kick'n. I hope I have the energy, insight and wisdom they have when I get to be their age. Then it goes to the people who work with me in the companies. I'm a down to earth guy, nothing slick and flashy, and I really relate to the average person, the drivers and accountants and receptionists who I get to live my life with. My truck, more often than not, is my office. I don't need much. I love people.

Another thing is what I worry about. Now and then I worry that things are too easy for my children. Their perspective of me is that I'm someone who is mostly connecting with people by phone and making things happen between people. And, unfortunately, they think it's easy. I don't know how many times I've heard them say, "Dad, all you do is drive around and talk on the phone." They don't grasp the enormity of the risks I've taken and how much patience that takes, and a willingness to listen to what other people need and have to say.

Also, a person's dream is important, and it's important that people get a chance to live their dreams. My dad and mom's business was savings and loan. Being the renegade that I was, I wanted to go off and do my own thing. Kelly Port Arcade was my start back in 1981. I took an idea and made it happen, and if I hadn't done that, maybe I'd be in the S&L business - I don't know. But, I also have to say that taking care of my mom and dad and their interests is important. Especially these days I've always made that a priority and it's given me satisfaction that I've been able to take care of my parents.

Then, and this goes back to what we were talking about at the start of this interview, it's the future of our communities and our nation - really our world. And that future is up to our kids. No big news here. But, a significant percentage of kids have learning disabilities. Because I had difficulty for such a long time, I have grown up with feelings of inadequacy. Now, I know that's not the truth, but for a long time I sure felt that way. One of my dreams is to create a foundation for kids with learning disabilities because I can relate to them. People learn in different ways. There's no such thing as a one-size-fit's-all kid, just like there's no such thing as a one-size-fit's-all customer moving from one town to another. You showed us a video at the last retreat of Sir Ken Robinson's presentation at TED, "Do Schools Kill Creativity?"

Robinson talked about the need to re-think and re-tool how we educate our children. Some kids learn and process information more through moving their bodies than they do through sitting in classrooms or reading books. Some kids are natural born artists. We need to look beyond reading, writing and arithmetic. We cannot afford to let the genius of our future to slip through cracks simply because it doesn't conform to what we think education is. That is a powerful statement of something that we, you and I, share in common; a desire to expand the creative capacity of people - no matter who they are or where they come from.

Allied Ronin. Thanks very much George.

George. Hey, you're welcome. I hope this makes a difference for someone. Truth is, if I can do what I've been able to do - so can anybody else if they put their mind to it.

(Mr. George Hersh can be reached at 816-483-8900 or email ghersh1@mac.com)

A Lesson In Action

Remember last month's newsletter? The topic was breathing as a practice in the face of fear.

The lesson was punctuated on Tuesday, December 23rd. A score of us attended an aikido class at Two Rock Aikido. Richard Strozzi-Heckler, our sensei, moved us into an exercise for which he is uniquely known: walking, turning, standing. A kind of organized chaos. Random and rapid, yet relaxed. The idea: in a confined and silent room, each of us moves and allows the space between us to appear and disappear revealing opportunity for best action. To be in this swirl you are encouraged to forego a plan, other than to allow a sort of gravity (created by the empty space and those around you) to pull you from one direction to another. Its value, either as a martial arts exercise or life metaphor, may be hard to imagine until practiced. Kind of like ice cream - explain all you want; but it's only through taking a bite that one really understands and enjoys. Such is the way with any commitment. A few minutes into the exercise Richard's voice cut the silence, "Pay attention to your breath! It's the platform of our art."

This month's topic for consideration, again for effective action during times of stress, tension and fear, is humor and laughter.

Google search laughter and you'll find a flood of online articles advising its mind-freeing benefit and remedies for creativity. A belly laugh every twenty-four hours is apparently good heart medicine - emotionally and physically.

Author Laurence Gonzales offers his perspective:

· "Every pursuit has its own subculture, from hang gliders and step creek boaters to cavers and mountain bikers. I love their dark and private humor, those ritual moments of homage to the organism, which return us to a protective state of cool. It unequivocally separates the living from the dead."

· "The fact is you have to deal with these things [fear and terror] to the best of your ability. If you don't work with it, it'll get to you."

· "It sounds cruel, but survivors laugh and play, and even in the most horrible situations -- perhaps especially in those situations -- they continue to laugh and play. To deal with reality you must first recognize it as such --- (P)lay puts a person in touch with his environment while laughter makes the feeling of being threatened manageable."

· "Moods are contagious, and the emotional states involved with smiling, humor, and laughter are among the most contagious of all. It's automatic, and one person laughing or smiling induces the same reaction in others. --- There is evidence that laughter can send chemical signals to actively inhibit the firing of nerves in the amygdala, thereby dampening fear."

· "It is not a lack of fear that separates elite performers from the rest of us. They're afraid, too, but they're not overwhelmed by it. They manage fear."
(p 40-41, Deep Survival, 2004, W.W. Norton publisher)

As for me, I recall a cold January afternoon twelve years ago. Laying seriously injured on Capitola Beach, California, I was alone. My fall from a boulder had completely split my left femur. My friend ran for help and returned an hour later with a bevy of paramedics and police officers. "Are you the victim?" they asked, " We're looking for a dead body." "Yes and no," I confessed. "Yes, I'm the (ugh) victim, and NO, I'm not dead." Into a metal basket I went. The pain - horrendous. Our trek, the rescuers figured, needed to be straight out into the ocean, avoid the big rocks, then circle back onto sand once near the ambulance. The tide was incoming. It was going to be a rough trip and we all knew it. Every step's jarring motion produced in me a scream. So I asked the medics, now up to their glutes in salt water, "You guys mind if I do something strange?" "Nah, go ahead," they agreed; and I began humming loudly - more like groaming (think hybrid hum and groan). The tune, "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera. The medics started to grin and laugh. Through half a mile of surf my groaming continued, mixed with intermittent screams. At times, I was smiling too. What a relieving way to overcome the pain (mine) and the work (theirs). It also kept me conscious. It remains for me an unforgettable journey. And for them, perhaps the strangest, funniest and most relaxed rescue ever.

Returning to Tuesday, December 23rd - a few days ago. Something happened that night that was unexpectedly funny (maybe that's what makes humor so powerful -it evokes spontaneity). Richard was in the midst of testing one of the students. The atmosphere was formal and serious, with high expectation for excellence in a display of deliberate attacks and blends. There was tension in the air. "Show me variations from yokomen uchi," Richard ordered. And he continued, "Now, show me variations from morote dori". And on it went becoming faster and more intense - "from katadori" - "from ushiro waza". Then suddenly, making no sense at all, his voice cracked the tension across the room, "Now show me - sand the floor." For an instant none of us believed what we had heard. I started laughing. The laughter became infectious. A warm wave of relief swept the dojo and the person being tested proceeded with ease, grace and dignity, and filled with breath. The rest of us watching, thoroughly enjoyed the art he displayed.

If you have never seen the film, The Karate Kid the "show me sand the floor" is as meaningless as un-savored ice cream. If you have seen that movie - maybe you're smiling too.

Consider this: laughter increases one's capacity for breath.