“Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming” – John Wooden
(Click on Pyramid to view larger version)
“Ever more people today have the means to live, but no meaning to live for.”
How do one achieve Success and Happiness?
“Dont aim at success-the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long run- the long run I say, success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think of it.” – Victor Frankl
The back copy of MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING reads:
“Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s memoir has riveted generation of readers with is descriptions of life in Nazi death camps & its lessons for spiritual survival. Based on his own experience and the stories of his patients, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward. At the heart of his theory, known as Logotherapy, is a conviction that the primary human drive is not pleasure but the pursuit of what we find meaningful. Man’s Search For Meaning has become one of the most influential books in America; it continues to inspire us all to find significance in the very act of living.”
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?
“As each situation in life represents a challenge to man & presents a problem for him to solve, the question of the meaning of life may actually be reversed. Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of life is, but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.”
WHY LOVE?
“Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him. By his love he is enables to see the essential traits and features in the beloved person; and even more so, he sees that which is potential in him, which is not yet actualized but yet ought to be actualized. Furthermore, by his love, the loving person enables the beloved person to actualize these potentialities. By making him aware of what he can be and of what he should become, he makes these potentialities come true.”
Here is a collection of quotes from Man’s Search For Meaning to fuel your soul:
“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
“Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how.’”
“Each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.”
“What is to give light must endure burning.”
“For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment.”
“Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone’s task is unique as his specific opportunity.”
“The last of human freedoms – the ability to chose one’s attitude in a given set of circumstances.”
“Only to the extent that someone is living out this self transcendence of human existence is he truly human or does he become his true self. He becomes so, not by concerning himself with his self’s actualization, but by forgetting himself and giving himself, overlooking himself and focusing outward.”
“Challenging the meaning of life is the truest expression of the state of being human.”
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
“When we are no longer able to change a situation – we are challenged to change ourselves.”
“I would go to bed feeling like I didn’t even want to live”- Jerry West
As reported on NBA.com, NBA legend Jerry ‘The Logo’ West
“says he has battled depression since childhood, when his father would beat the future Hall of Famer, causing low self-esteem that has plagued him despite a successful career as one of the NBA’s biggest influences.
“I would go to bed feeling like I didn’t even want to live,” West says in a segment airing Tuesday on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.”
“I’ve been so low sometimes and when everyone else would be so high because I didn’t like myself.”
Athletes are viewed by society as physically and mentally superior, often represented as pillars of health and well-being in popular culture. Too often they’re mental & spiritual well being is overlooked because there strong physical appearance.
Meditation Practice:
Athletes may benefit from Mindfulness practice’s such as this cognitive visualization:
This simple practice brings awareness to our core identity by creating space between our awareness and negative thoughts. A key teaching point is to recognize that
Looking back:
In anticipation of Jerry Wests’ talk lets look back at some other NBA stars who have spoken out about depression. These players have played an important leadership role in sport & society as a result of speaking about their mentally tough times.
Vin Baker
“When I got to the NBA, success was very early for me. All-Star games, Olympics. A lot of things came to me fast. Those are the things that, I think, hurt me, as far as a person was concerned. Not so much as a basketball player, but as a person. It came very fast.”
“When you’re doing certain things on the court, a lot of the time people just trust your talents. They don’t know what’s going on inside your heart and your mind. And it becomes very difficult to relate that, you know, I might be struggling with something.”
Delonte West
“At this point in my life, you kind of hide behind the personality that’s created by the fans or the media,” he said. “But we’re still people, too. Besides the fame and the finances, you still have to deal with emotional and family situations on a daily basis just like everybody else.
“In the gym, I’ve always found peace. At this age, I want to become more of a complete person off the court. At times, I struggle with that. So I feel stronger that I did seek help and I’ve got a plan of action for this year off the court. Some of that may include group sessions or inpatient time. If that helps me be the best basketball player that I can be, man, I’m all for it.”
Dennis Rodman
As athletes, coaches, consultants and management in sports we must ask ourself 1 simple question. How can we make it better?
Love & light.
“We are not connected, we are inseparable” *
Last night I watched a debate between Deepak Chopra & Leonard Mlodinow in which they discussed their new book War of the Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality, and, above all, the maturity in seeking a purpose and meaning of life.
The tittle of their book (Keep in mind I have yet to read the book) paints a picture of one verse the other when in actuality, through their dialogue, we realize that these are simply two very different paradigms which ask different questions & therefore provide different answers.
The ‘best’ choice between Spirituality or the Scientific paradigm depends on what you want to know.
A sense of camaraderie was noted early when in response to a question regarding the body/mind duality, Deepak playfully remarked ’We are both non dualists; Leonard believes in only the physical reality & I only the conscious reality.’
Both agreed that the War of WorldViews: Science vs. Spirituality is very real in our global consciousness:
I say that Spirituality knocked out science because throughout the evening more and more I got the feeling that Deepak (spirituality) was like the older brother to Leonard (Science).
The debate was no maywheather cheap shot; both men showed mutual respect for each others paradigm and religion as well considering it was held in a church. However in the end, all parties, including Leonard (surprisingly more often than I would have thought), seemed to agree that spirituality answers questions we as a society not only want to know, but need to know.
@DeepakChopra once tweeted, “Science asks “What am I observing?” Spirituality asks”Who am I that observes “?”
At one point in the debate it was stated how science doesn’t have a value/moral system and how it can literally train educated barbarians. Showing sciences true immaturity Leonard blurted out ‘better then uneducated ones’. Deepak’s rebuttal displayed once again the maturity of the spiritual perspective:
In this bout Deepak was the veteran & Leonard a rookie.
Here is a quick look at some of the questions in the debate and my best attempt to share Deepaks answers:
Q: Is there really a clash between the world view of Spirituality & Science or is this just a catching tittle?
Deepak: There is a clash, both sides of religion and scientists have fundamentalists.
Q: Does religion have a good side?
Deepak: All religions come from experience of transcendence. All religions have their origin in transcendence. All religion forms a sense of morality that comes from that experience.
Q: Does science have a good side?
Deepak: “Science has enriched the magnificence, wonder, awesomeness of our existence….Science humbles us into reverence.”
Q: Mind/body duality?
Deepak replied to this question by bringing to light neuroplasticity which is a fairly recent finding in Neuroscience which displays how our thoughts literally change our neuron pathways, and genes by creating protein which leads to gene transcription (telomerase). He notes how this finding lead The Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider & Jack W. Szostak winning the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology.
What they agreed on:
What they disagreed on:
The final blow:
Science’s footing tripped on itself when Deepak made this one sweeping statement which, for me at least, showed the inherent weakness in Sciences authority in the ring:
Post fight remarks:
The moderator of the debate closed the event with a passage Deepak wrote at the end of the book. Below is the quote which displays spiritualities humility in extending its hand to the scientific community to walk together in a search for a cure to societies illnesses and to unite in #CosmicConsciousness.
“All around us people ache with emptiness and yearning; there’s a vacuum to be filled, and it’s a spiritual vacuum. What other word really fits? Only when people are given hope that this ache can be healed will we truly know what the future holds. Let science join in the cure, because otherwise, we may wind up with marvels of technology serving empty hearts and abandoned souls”- Deepak Chopra
* Deepak Chopra quote.
Answers through meditation from Brent Hogarth on Vimeo.
(This was originally posted in 2010 when I first arrived back from India; as you can see in the video I was clearly still there 
I remember going to a Deepak Chopra Retreat in the summer of 09′ and hearing him say “the real medicine society needs is medicine for their awareness”. At this retreat I took some of this medicine of awareness and have been continually seeking it ever since in my meditations & other peak experiences such as in sport/athletic participation.
To begin with here are some scientifically proven Health Benefits of Meditation:
How I see it is quite simple.
We have a mind and we have a body. Our body has a natural physiological and biological intelligence which runs efficiently without our conscious effort (so long that we provide it with water, food, and air etc). However, our thoughts which we have an intimate relationship impose and excite the cells of our entire body at any moment…. We see this when we think of the fight or flight response wherein just our perception places our body into a Catabolic state rushing adrenaline over us to provide energy to either run or kill the immediate physical danger such a lion, buffalo, or tiger. This phenomenon is also studied in great detail in Somatic Psychology. However, I don’t see any of these beasts walking around my neighborhood these days & Im sure you dont either so its clear that this natural reaction is something we must transcend to stay healthy and happy in out current society. Therefore, as Buddhist scripture teaches, the real danger or animal is our delusional thoughts.
So why Meditate?
If there were any such thing as a magic pill to health, wealth, and happiness, meditation would be it. The only reason its not in every homes medicine cabinet is because it is not a product that a manufacturing company can produce, trademark and make millions on.
In meditation we release our ego, which is responsible for imposing a violent “WILL” onto the bodies natural biological intelligence.
To understand how this is so, one must first hypothesis that possibly they have a ‘real self’ which does not include their body, mind, or senses, but rather is their ever present witnessing awareness. We have all experienced communion with this awareness during peak experiences wherein we become completely identified with an object or experience such as viewing nature or experiencing orgasm during sex. However, by identifying with the body, mind and senses we commit what some spiritual teachers have considered the Fundamental Error or Original Sin because we deny our true self which then plants the seed for the EGO and its neurotic thoughts of greed, anger, jealously etc. The Ego acts in this manner because it communicates from a state of inadequacy and limitation as the body is a daily victim to the laws of Time and Space. Therefore, the Ego works violently to conquer its sense of inadequacy and fears through gaining control of possessions, others and their own body. Its a vicious cycle in which only introspection through meditation or another means of shedding the EGO can overcome.
In meditation we surrender the ego and therefore experience the ULTIMATE ANSWER to all the confusion and suffering, which is only brought on by the EGO. By going beyond Time and Space we attune to our subtle consciousness or ever present awareness which resides in freedom from all suffering and the possibility of limitless potential. In this sense, Meditation is the ultimate form of true SELF ACCEPTANCE.
I’m about to begin my yoga practice at this great by donation yoga studio in San Francisco. You may like to check it out sometime, take a look inside…
Namaste
“This book is about a vision and a dream. When I was named the head coach of the Chicago Culls in 1989, my dream was not just to win championships, but to do it in a way that wove together my two greatest passions: basketball and spiritual exploration. On the surface, this may sound like a crazy idea, but I sensed that there was a link between spirit and sport.”
You cant question weather or not Phil Jackson has an enlightened practice. The rings & hardware speak for themselves. Im excited to begin to read and bring his wisdom into my practice.
I have dedicated my life to studying the most successful leaders in the world of sport, business, & life. Through investigating their philosophies to success, I discover and translate the core characteristics of their identity -specifically their lifestyle practices, beliefs and values, so that they can be applied immediately to measurably improve your game. 
