The Pack

Last week, I went to a high school combine. It was entertaining to hear the trainers, parents and other spectators size up the guys in the check-in line and on the field.

One particular guy was standing in the line, and immediately my trainer pegged him as the guy to watch. As predicted, this guy received recognition for his outstanding performance at the event.

How can one guy in line stand out before he even performs?

My trainer described it this morning after our water workout as “something that makes you take notice.” Sometimes it’s that person’s appearance of being in the zone. Other times it’s an athlete’s eagerness to be at the head of the line or to stand out front during the drills. Perhaps, it is the small act of staying engaged in the group conversation with the coach or trainer who is imparting some important advice.

I thought for a long time this morning about that conversation. Although we repeat the proverb “don’t judge a book by its cover, name one person who has the ability to ignore the book jacket. It is right in front of us, and we make initial evaluations of books (and people) based upon them.

Whether its sports, business or relationships, we have the ability to conduct ourselves in a way that pushes us ahead of or further into the pack. These small choices begin to color our book jackets.

Are you satisfied with your book jacket? If not, make sure you are moving forward and doing all of the small things that it takes to stand out.

Even a height-challenged Zacchaeus posted up in a tree to get recognized by Jesus…Sometimes out-of-the box, tree climbing solutions are just the trick!

You Can’t Stop Jadakiss-At Least That’s What He Said

When I am handling the “administrative” portion of my life, it is pretty much a given that I am completing my duties with background music. Chubbie Baby’s Superstar Status, Jeezy’s Circulate, DJ Khaled’s Go Hard and Playaz Circle’s Look What I Got can give me motivation to get pretty much anything done.

After hearing a song 500 times, you always want to put something new in the rotation, and today I am proud to bring a new single into my play list. Let’s give a hand for Jadakiss and Can’t Stop Me.

It has all the beat and refrain to lead you to move mountains. Or, in my case, get over the hurdles at the track with correct speed, timing, ease and form.

Yeah, it all goes back to soccer, club kids.

My only point of contention is that the song is too short. If anyone comes across Kiss, let him know its hard to get through a high rep set before the song is over-add another verse!

Connect This Buddy!

Stilettos, Seven jeans and a vintage, Mad t-shirt rounded out my outfit on Saturday night. Things were looking fabulous for my appearance at a house party.

As expected, lots of people from my gym were in attendance. The music was solid. All White Bricks by Gucci Mane and Soldier Boy’s Turn My Swag On received a rotation. The grill was fired up, and there were lots of dominoes to be played.

All of a sudden someone appeared with a Connect Four and placed it on the table. Before I knew it, I was engaged in heated competition with several guys from the gym. The circle of onlookers grew, and the moments were tense. I am pleased to report that I took home the championship title in a few rounds. Unfortunately, I was smashed unknowingly in the final round. Fatality!

I now have a new zeal for the game. If you find yourself in my area with a spare Connect Four, let me know. I am always up for the challenge….

Don’t Be Fooled: It’s The Monster Plantation

“That’s what you get for trying to be first! Tell her Wise.” I was squatting and panting to catch my breath when I heard this comment yelled over the music in the gym today.

I had just finished a nine set, hurdle suicide drill, and struggled to maintain form, speed and track of the hurdles that I had cleared. The result was a slight straddling of the next to last hurdle so I could recall if I needed to stop and go back or if I needed to clear the last hurdle to do the final stretch run.

Amidst the yells of encouragement and scolding from the session leader, I was not expecting to hear what I interpreted to be a you-need-to-stay-in-your-place-(girl) declaration to all of the guys in the session.

The taunting comment added salt to the wound of what I would consider one of my most “confusing” performances. My brain rang the alarm, and all reinforcements came rushing in. “Silence is the best response.” “Leave the gym immediately.” “Dude’s issue with you beating guys on the drills is his problem not yours.” “Apollo Creed AE wouldn’t ever say that.”

All the truth of those statements didn’t immediately stop the stinging. But what did put me back on track was a recollection of stories.

1. The City: Whitney pulled a killer Diane Von Furstenburg outfit for the Jessica Alba cover. Her co-worker Olivia was against the ensemble. However, when it ended up on the cover, Olivia took all of the credit.
2. Story of Dr. Vivien Thomas: He was a pioneer for cardiac surgery, and he was not acknowledged for his discovery until many years later.
3. Slumdog Millionaire: Salim told Jamal to forget about Latika, but time and time again he kept searching.
4. The Alchemist: Santiago was beaten up at the pyramids and told by the robber how stupid he was for treasure hunting.

Although Whitney has not received her just acknowledgement and I am not quite to my goal, the stories of Dr. Vivien Thomas, Jamal and Santiago prove that no one can keep you from your destiny if you stay focused.

It reminds me of a ride at Six Flags called the Monster Plantation. When the ride starts out you enter the house and all these creatures are having fun, and they want you to join along. As your path continues, the lights dim and Billy Bob tells you to turn around. However, the boat continues, the house lights go out and you have to face the monster.

Does the monster eat you? No. You go straight through the mouth and on to an even better party at the end of the ride.

Our journeys are just like that. We are going to come across monsters who choose not to recognize our talents or go out of their way to belittle our attempts to be the best. All we have to do is just keep going, keep looking at the goal and know that we will make it to the big party at the end. Whatever to those Monsters!

Miscellaneous Musings from Miss Martin

I was told recently that there are two ways to participate in the Lent Season. First, you can make a sacrifice and donate the money at the end of the 40 days. Or, you can make a change. At the encouragement of a fellow lent participant, I am doing both. No sweet treats for the season and a dedication to meditation three days per week.

My Lent buddy feels that my mind never stops working. I have been challenged to pursue a mental white space at all costs.

In this entry, I am going to attempt to work towards my journey towards white space this evening by sharing some miscellaneous musings that I had today. Not only will I clear out some random mental chatter, but you will get a glimpse into my internal world. You may love it or hate it. However, you need not worry because you don’t hear it all the time—I do! So who is the lucky one?

1. 10:17 a.m. (at training): Something doesn’t smell quite right. Is it who I think it is? I hope people don’t walk by and think it’s me. Even so, people will find out the truth. I wonder if something is going on. This guy usually has his scent together. Maybe he forgot to put on deodorant. This happens to the best of us.
2. 11:45 a.m. (at Wal-Mart): I don’t care if people are wondering my clothes don’t match. I just finished working out. I hope no one gets to close to me. I just finished working out. I hope they have a cheap pair of high quality scissors in here. I can’t believe somebody got me for my favorite pair of scissors. I can’t believe I misplaced them. Well, I have to just let them go. Change is good, but it needs to be at the right price. $5.00! This is Walmart. Who needs a magnetic scissor cover? Craft scissors are $6.98! Well, I am not paying that. I really feel like I can get a better deal at Office Depot. I really don’t like running around in these wet clothes.
3. 12:45 a.m. (at home): I guess I should stop skipping up the sidewalk to my building people might be watching. Whatever. Everybody should be happy. Maybe they will land a pair of 50 cent, high quality scissors from Office Depot. My hunch was right. I really am glad that I went to see Slumdog Millionaire yesterday. I feel just like Jamal right now. Life is really like The Alchemist. Time to trim my flowers.
4. 3:00 p.m. (on location): Who thinks to ask someone if these flowers are artificial? I wonder if everyone else thought they were fake? Anyway, I think that is a compliment. I can pick flowers so good that people can’t tell if they are real or not. I wonder if that guy feels silly, like he doesn’t know everything about flowers because he’s never seen flowers that look artificial but they were really real. I wish he would’ve taken them off of my hands. I could’ve just re-rearranged them and pulled out the one sunset that had wilted. I really liked this arrangement. It was really wild looking. I am running behind schedule. I should’ve been finished by 3:00 p.m.
5. 3:57 p.m. (new location): What if he did come from LA to do the project? People would definitely be wondering where I got him from. Everything is going to work out great. I am glad Porter had to go. I have to conserve my daytime minutes. It’s a little cold in here. I have to put on my scarf. I am running low on blog topics today. I need to remind my cousin to send the pic of the banana pudding cake. I can write about that.