furious resolve if not Survival

Of course it was Rusty Linquist that had to get me thinking.

I felt like I had no other choice but to offer the following (you’ll need to venture back towards yesterdays post and explore the comments if there’s a hope you’ll understand what this means):

I’ll ponder if the greater risk comes in not taking the action to prepare for the summit, overcome my fear, and achieve a milestone shared with few others that breathe all manner of “rare air”.

The demise element takes it’s pivotal form in whether it happens as a surprise, and less so an eventuality. So, I must train my body and prepare my mind to blend courage, furious resolve,/1 and planning into a best option – survival.

I love the development behind the potential that Raison d’etre represents. So, much promise reflected in an ever broadening sea of opportunity. It’s like the subjective meaning(s) attributed to Gare du Nord – another French play on words. It’s both a place (that takes people to other destinations) while also serving as a kind of battle cry /2 for a warrior code that may longer exist in that evolving culture (the French Foreign Legion in Africa facing Muslim hordes). God… the irony. And, the lessons to be learned over what might define heroism, and a reconciliation with my own soul.

Thanks for chipping in Rusty.

Brian Patrick Cork

1/ If I ever own another boat, I’ll name her Furious Resolve. And, by God, I’ll sail her around the word, nestled in her womb while raising my arms (and often) to (again) God and all His elements!

2/ “We make our stand here!”

mount rainier won’t rate “hors categorie”, it may be a Kobayashi Maru, certainly a Raison d’etre

I begin training, and this very week, for our planned, certainly hoped for, summit of Mount Rainier in June.

As consistent readers of this Blog are fully aware, I like to use three distinct phrases to describe dramatic events in my life…

And, they include:

Hors Catégorie

Hors Catégorie is a French term used in cycle races (most notably, the Tour de France) to designate a climb that is “beyond categorization”, an incredibly tough climb. Most climbs in cycling are designated from Category 1 (hardest) to Category 4 (easiest), based on both steepness and length. A climb that is harder than Category 1 is designated as hors catégorie. The term was originally used for those mountain roads where cars were not expected to be able to pass.

As an extreme athlete, I specialize in attacking (running and riding) these types of grades.

Mount Rainier does not rate Hors Catégorie. But, we know this is going to be tough. And, an enormous milestone in our lives. I’ll admit apprehension. I don’t know if it might be fear. With transparency I submit this is a dimension of the effort that is new to me and warrants exploration. Could that be the truest test through this adventure?

Is this why Kobayashi Maru keeps creeping into my thoughts?

Kobayashi Maru

The Kobayashi Maru is a test in the fictional Star Trek universe. It is a Starfleet training exercise designed to test the character of cadets in the command track at Starfleet Academy. The Kobayashi Maru test was first depicted in the opening scene of the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and also appears in the 2009 film Star Trek. Depictions of the Kobayashi Maru test are a fairly popular subject in Star Trek literature. Non-canonical examples of Kobayashi Maru tests have been described in many Star Trek novels. The test’s name is occasionally used among Star Trek fans or those familiar with the series to describe a no-win scenario. As a cadet, Kirk beat the test by, essentially, cheating (he reprogrammed the game to fear him). However, he was awarded a citation for “original thinking”. Much like how Kirk cheated to win, characters are frequently depicted as coming up with very innovative or surprising ways of handling the situation.

Although I don’t consider myself a cheater. And, certainly the men around me must agree. I strive daily to be innovative, a thought leader, and tend to come up with solutions for problems that consistently stump others. I’ll attribute this to my career-path as an entrepreneur in naught but the truest sense.

Is my mind reeling with these thoughts because my subconscious is preparing me, some how, and in doing so, forcing my body to training limits I’ve not recently attempted? I know that I must be ready. There is danger, certainly. Yes, I must be prepared for many eventualities, including, as my family attorney advises me – demise.

This must needs lead me, and you’re coming with me, to…

Raison d’etre

Raison d’être is a phrase borrowed from French where it means “reason for being”; in English use, it also comes to suggest a degree of rationalization, as “The claimed reason for the existence of something or someone”.

The French concept is more elaborate than a simple statement. Once the reason an object exists is defined, criteria to measure the object’s degree of success can be enumerated. For example, a phone has the purpose of enabling communication between two people. Some phones meet that goal better than others. When measurable criteria are known, gaps can be identified that show where the particular object fails to meet the prototypical object’s reason for being. When gaps have been fully identified, strategies can be implemented to close the gaps and bring the object closer to the true fulfillment of its raison d’être.

In the truest sense of raison d’être, French philosophers lay an elaborate road map of descriptive text that contrasts the current status of an implementation of a prototypical object with the purist view of perfection that the object should achieve without the hindrance of imperfections. The philosophical road map brings to a crescendo the imperative urgency that motivates participants to immediately take the steps necessary to achieve all the intended qualities that an object was designed to exemplify.

There is no point to this post. It’s just me telling you like it is.

…well… That is unless you’re interested in knowing more about me. And, now you just might.

Perhaps this is another opportunity to kill the bear.

My Grandad said many things. All of them were terrific. One of them was: “Face your fears, lad, and do it anyway”.

Is fear, and the attempt to defeat it, representative of Hors Catégori?

Is simply facing it that Kobayashi Maru?

Is ever seeking ways to remember the face of my father that Raison d’etre, for me (we dare not blow it).

Peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

Brian Patrick Cork

little things with BIG impact

The great stories from the Athens Finale tournament are numerous. And, they will be chronicled, as best I am able here, over time – and, elsewhere, certainly.

I’ve coached Michelle Higgins since she was eleven. She was on my first Shocker team and created a lot of learning opportunities for me as a coach.

I think Michelle gave me three of her best matches this weekend.

It was the little things. She seemed to hustle more than usual, and was engaged around the ball. She also took two hard ball shots to the head and stuck with it. When I was on the pitch in the last match looking after Lindsay (“I’m okay… GAME ON!”), I had an opportunity to take a quick look at Michelle (I wanted to see her eyes after the last shot she took). She had tears, but she gave me a brave nod.

All I could do was give her a kiss on the top of her head, and feel more pride than I could ever convey.

Damn. Life, and the stuff of life, is sweet.

Thanks Michelle.

Coach Brian

that would be Degevolution

Rusty, who, as it turns out is my new Mormon Brother (I’m not a Mormon, but Rusty is nonetheless, my Brother), and I have concluded that texting, for example, is one of those innovations that fall under a new term “degevolution”.

I’ll pause, here, and grimly advise you that Rusty is the author of the aptly named: Mormon Conversations. I’ll warn you in advance, though, in reading this Blog, you will find yourself amidst unsettling information that includes the debunking of certain myths that include: “Magical Underwear”. You may well, also, find you like this fellow with a big family, and a heart and life story, to match. He’s a pretty fair writer. Certainly better than me (but, that’s easy). And, perhaps more notably, there is transparency, rather like Drew Tilghman, and some useful observations in-and-around a life well-lived.

In any event, but, also in truth, we were using the word devolution. However, I looked it up, and it’s already being used for an entirely separate purpose. So, for the moment, and, certainly relevant to this post, it’s utterly useless to me, and my self-important desire to create a new word that is meaningful and useful (and, a potential blunt-edged weapon worthy of making one of my inarticulate points).

Let’s see if we can work degevolution into our working lexicon. I’ll need your collective help and support with that.

By the way… I use so many comma’s that I have this sudden concern I might read like James T. Kirk. Obviously, you’ll need to be a fan of Star Trek to truly appreciate this (I am, but, call me not a Trekkie).

Meanwhile, Rusty and I found ourselves discussing his life ambitions this afternoon. Our dialogue, however, has it’s genesis with me commenting on his Blog – which in turn had him visiting my Blog, and stumbling upon one of my posts: Texting and Driving To Death.

We (collectively the father of eight children), decided that texting is one of those technologies (or, is it a derivative of technology?) that is degevolutionary because it facilitates educational and social awkwardness while also adding a barrier, to, what some of us, might deem as good or meaningful communication. …and, well, if you do it while driving, you might kill our children.

I suspect Rusty is reading this post, and possibly scratching his head. We, in truth, only had bits and pieces of this discussion. I’m taking enormous liberty, here, and expounding on a tangental thought. So, hopefully, Rusty is also grinning, and content with the spirit of this posting effort.

Thanks Rusty (but, let’s hope we are much more famous; at least highly regarded, for other contributions).

Peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

Brian Patrick Cork

great Mistakes

I say it all the time.

However, I was reminded, and only this morning (while coaching a CEO whose book you’ve likely read), that I’ve not offered this thought, on or through, this Blog.

A rule, and it must needs be a rule to live by is: “The worst mistake you can make is one you repeat”.

Mistakes can almost always represent foundations for an opportunity to finish well. I’ve certainly made some big mistakes, and all of them; each and everyone – as painful as they can be, are a kind, if certainly not gentle, reminders of greater potential.

This can be, but need not be a corollary to my earlier post: opportunities to Shine, Really.

Charles Darwin will have his chin on fist with his gaze firmly upon you, and at every opportunity.

We must, after all is said and done, represent ourselves as Prudent Gentlemen.

Peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

Brian Patrick Cork

grateful I Can be thankful

Today, because I do this sort of thing, and often, I’ll be exploring the difference between being grateful and thankful.

They can be defined the same, perhaps. However, I’ll propose they’re not.

The possibilities are likely without limit. The opportunities to expand my own life’s vista, naught less than profound.

Or, I’ll get bogged down in endless nuance, and drive everyone around me, certainly within reach, utterly mad.

Nonetheless, If you’re reading this, and there are many of you that do, I don’t have to work too hard to represent and reflect both adjectives in good cheer. You are all in my life, in some form or fashion. I’m the one richer and better rounded for it.

Peace be to me Brothers and Sisters.

Brian Patrick Cork

mount rainier Beckons

My friend William “Bill” Wallace, and yes, he is my dear friend, has asked that I summit Mt. Rainier with him.

We were at Hudson Grill in Alphartetta. Certainly, there were spirits involved.

…I’ll wager of several varieties.

I’ve said yes. And, our goal is for June 2010.

There will be updates. Indeed. And, this story promises to be naught less than epic, to be sure.

Training begins, in earnest, December.

The mountain beckons. But, it’s friendship, and the promise of high adventure, that’s the beacon.

Peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

Brian Patrick Cork