To ask or not to ask that is the success question

Dreamers often fail to achieve their dreams because they keep second guessing what they are doing. They ask questions like: "Is this a waste of time?" "Will it work?" "Why are the results so poor?" and so on. As a result, they act half-heartedly and fail to finish what they have planned. They fail to discover whether their planned action would have worked or not. This article takes a look at whether questions are a help or a hindrance. We often think too much and talk too much and sometimes we talk and ask questions because we are reluctant to act. We may need to copy Tarzan of the Apes. He used words sparingly but was always poised for action whether this meant diving in with a crocodile or facing up to the king of the jungle! Football teams start questioning the referee when they are failing to win. Instead of working hard and concentrating on the game they spend all their energy complaining and harassing the match officials. Their failure to recover from their losing position is almost certain. Some people may have given up jogging because of the questions raised when one of the great jogging gurus died young. Why bother to jog when you can die early just like the majority who spend their leisure time watching TV? No one doubts that many people have fallen ill because of their own actions such as eating too much of the wrong food or because of their inactions such as failing to go for a daily walk or workout. But some of the fittest men and women have suddenly succumbed to disease and died young. Does this mean that we should give up eating in a healthy way and stop going for daily walks? I think not but some think yes. Why bother to live a healthy lifestyle when you may die young anyway? When I started the martial arts, after watching the Kung Fu series which featured David Carradine as a Shaolin monk, questioning the teacher was not a good idea. If you ventured the opinion that a certain move might not work, the teacher would demonstrate how well it worked and guess who they demonstrated on: the student who had had the cheek to question their methods! A less dictatorial teacher would just laugh at the question and the majority of the class would laugh with him. I was always one of the keenest questioners until I learned the painful lesson that it was wiser to keep my questions to myself. We need to realize that questions can often be an excuse for not getting on with the hard work of training and that as you train you will learn the answers for yourself without wasting the time of the whole class. There is much then to be said for taking massive action with maximum effort and keeping any questions for later. You will get much better at whatever you are doing and will find you can answer many of your own questions. Instead of second guessing your copy writing tutor, try following his or her suggestions and see what happens. Instead of doubting your health adviser just do as they say and see how you feel after a few weeks. On the other hand, some questions deserve an immediate answer and can lead to new and powerful developments. In the martial arts world, people started to question whether some of the traditional techniques would work in a street fight situation. I once asked a world renowned martial artist at a seminar in London why people would choose to put a lock on someone's arm by lying on their back with one of their legs dangerously close to their opponent's teeth. He and his associates laughed at my question but neither he nor they answered it. I have since realized that I was right about the danger of getting bitten when using this lock. In addition, lying on your back in order to put on an arm lock is suicide in a street situation. Even if you are not bitten in the leg, your arms and legs are tied up controlling your opponent and one of his friends or even a complete stranger could easily kick you in the head. You could also be run over by a car or bus! Questions like the above and other questions like "Why train for hours to be able to kick someone in the head when it is so much easier to punch them instead?" have lead to the development of reality based self-defense systems which concentrate solely on what will work when you are faced by a psychopath who does not care about rules of engagement or whether you will live or die. These systems make sense and could save the lives of those who do not have the time or determination to train for years in the more traditional systems. They could also save a lot of wasted time learning and practicing techniques that are impractical for the majority of people. So then, questions do have value. We are left with the question whether we should question what we are doing or not? The answer, as is often the case. is to compromise or reach a balance. Questions have their uses but not when we are supposed to be taking action whether we have planned the action or are following the training of an instructor we respect. Questions will still pop into our minds like: 'Is this really necessary?' 'Do we have to do this?" Save these questions up until you have completed the suggested actions and then you will be in a good position to have an informed answer. Ask questions at the start of any project and after it is over or if it goes drastically wrong but, if at all possible, avoid questioning what you are doing while you are still in the process of doing it. Last week, one of my students told me cheerfully that he had just been offered a job in the Royal Navy which would lead to exceptionally high engineering and diving qualifications. The job was clearing mines. I hated pouring cold water on his dreams but felt it was my duty to remind him of the potential drawbacks of his proposed career like getting killed or badly injured. One of my teachers had been blinded when disarming a land mine. This had ruined both his life and his family's. The time for serious questioning or counting the cost was now before my student signed up and found himself in cold, murky water with sharks nibbling at his flippers whilst he was faced with the terrifying task of disarming a strange mine! Questioning at the right time has great value but try not to mix it in with your actions. Once action is started, focus on the end result and only stop for questions if things go disastrously wrong. Feeling tired and discouraged is not a good reason to start questioning what you are doing. If you can’t resist asking the questions early on, at least keep going with your original plan until you receive some kind of an answer.

Gordie taught them all howe

Gordie Howe entered the National Hockey League in 1946 at the age of eighteen. Entering the NHL at 18 has been common among many young professional hockey players throughout the decades, but what Howe did in his career was anything but common. Howe played in over 2,400 games, scored over 1,000 goals and over 1,500 assists during his career. He was on four Stanley Cup Champion teams with the Detroit Red Wings. When Howe was a rookie, the NHL had six teams. When Howe retired for the first time in 1971, the National Hockey League doubled. Clarence Campbell, the NHL president in 1971, said, “Gordie, when you entered into the league, hockey was a Canadian sport. As you exit, you have made it a North American sport!” . One of Howe’s biggest fans was Wayne Gretzky, who played from 1979 to 1999. Gretzky is also one of the greatest hockey players of all time. Howe and Gretzky inspired thousands of players around the world. Howe was a pioneer with hockey expansion because professional hockey is now played on other continents, such as Europe. Howe loved hockey so much that he played over three decades and his passion for the game flourished around the world. 1. Howe played professional hockey for 32 years Howe’s hockey career spanned from 1946 to 1980. Howe did not play for two seasons after his first retirement in 1971. For six of the seasons, Howe played in the World Hockey Association, another professional hockey league, which Wayne Gretzky also played. The WHA ended in 1979. Many of your careers will last many decades. Will you evoke the same passion in your career as Howe did? Howe did not have to come back to play hockey in 1973 at the age of 45, but he did for his love of the game. Howe defines what it’s like to have passion for one’s career. 2. In the 1979-80 season, Howe, at age 52, played all 80 games and was leading scorer for most of the season. For most of you, working many days and weeks in a row may seem tiresome. Howe played one of the most physically-rigorous sports and played in every game in his last season at age 52. He retired after the 1979-80 season. Considering that many professional hockey players retire in their thirties, Howe proved that age is only a number and not a state of mind. How many of you think that you are too old to do something? Gordie Howe didn’t make any excuses. 3. Howe was a very versatile player Howe played positions of center, right-wing and defense and could shoot right or left-handed. He was a physically tough player and was the top scorer of all time until Wayne Gretzky broke his record. Howe’s versatility made him the player that he was. Many of you have skills, but are there other skills that you could obtain on the job or by taking a class that would make you even more valuable and resourceful in the workforce? Howe epitomized versatility and the ability to multi-task before the term “multi-tasking” was even coined. Do you love what you do for a living? You don’t have to be one of the greatest hockey players of all time to love your career. Howe greatly influenced Wayne Gretzky, who is also one of the greatest hockey players of all time. Who are some of the people that you have greatly influenced? Although it may not be likely that you will greatly influence Hall of Fame hockey players, you will influence people nonetheless. You never know if you will greatly influence a great author who writes a terrific novel, the scientist who cures cancer, or a teacher, who may go on to inspire other influential people. You never know whom you will inspire.