Change

"If I always do what I always did, I'll always get what I always got"
unknown

I think it is widely accepted that true change and growth is one of the most difficult things for adults to accomplish. We get "set in our ways" and change becomes almost impossible it seems.

One piece of wisdom that the above quote illustrates to us is that in order to change and grow we most certainly cannot keep doing the same things we do and expect different results.

In order to change we need to mix up our routines, make deep commitments, make a plan and then most of all when we fail or stumble never ever ever give up......

gl with whatever changes you are striving to make today in yourselves :-)

Habits

"I will form good habits and become their slave"
Og Mandino

"In truth, the only difference between those who fail and those who succeed lies in the difference of their habits."

We all have good and bad habits, this is just the way of our nature. Many of our habits are products of our environment and our heredity.

However, the real key to achievement is being able to select and develop those habits of our own choosing that fit our goals and dreams. According to author Og Mandino we can train ourselves through repetition to form new habits. I agree.

It certainly is difficult to break old habits or form new ones that will improve us but it can be done. With a lot of hard work and a little time we can all form new habits such as eating right, exercising, reading or whatever else may increase our edge in fulfilling our dreams and golas.

Have a great day :-)

Endure

Abraham Lincoln




Abraham Lincoln

* 1816: As a teen his family was forced from their home, he had to work full time to support them.

* 1818: His mother died.

* 1831: He failed in business.

* 1832: He ran for State Legislature and lost.

* 1832: lost his job.

* 1833: Borrowed money from a friend to start a business, by years end was bankrupt and spent 17 years paying the debt off.

* 1835: The sweetheart of his youth died while they were engaged.

* 1836: Had a nervous breakdown and was bed ridden for 6 months.

* 1839: Sought to be Speaker of the house and was defeated.

* 1843: Ran for Congress and lost.

* 1854: Ran for Senate and lost.

*1860: Elected Presidant of the United States.

The life of one of the greatest Americans ever, President Abraham Lincoln teaches us a lot. He failed over and over again including suffering many tragedies outside ones' control and yet he never fuly gave up. And the rest, as they say is history.....

Recently I have been failing at my daily grind at the tables. No matter what I play or when I cannot seem to do well. I will however keep working hard and refuse to quit.

Thanks for all you did Mr. Lincoln, not only in service to this Nation but in how you lived your life. You left behind a great example and one I hope to learn from.

Right makes might

"You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong." ~ Warren Buffett



One of worlds most successful and wealthy businessman and philanthropist Warren Buffet makes a great point here. We obviously need to do things right in order to succeed, but sometimes more importantly we need to not do other things wrong.

In my daily journey at the tables I can do so many things well and yet if I do a few things poorly I will lose badly. This principle indeed applies in our lives more than we realize.

Definitely something we should keep in mind and have a great day :-)

Poker Update/Notes:

I am now learning a new game; Pot-Limit Omaha short handed(6-max). I am setting a goal of 4k hands/per day the rest of this year(2010)... updates on progress to follow soon.

Dont Be Afraid

“Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.”

Peter T. Mcintyre

In my daily work at the tables I am often faced with situations where the correct move is not always clear. I have learned however that I do better in the longrun by sometimes trying new things that do not always work out every time. However, as long as I am willing to to not fear making a mistake I learn from each attempt and improve over time.

We need to learn that we cannot always be right when we explore the unknown, but we will learn each time we step out there and try.

Heart

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." Oliver Wendell Holmes

Sometimes I struggle daily with motivation and belief in myself. After happening upon the above quote it reminded me that I already have all I need to achieve anything and it lies right within me.

Sometimes we doubt ourselves and question our own worth and all the while we have everything we need within us to accomplish whatever we want in life.

So have a great day and believe in yourself.....


Poker Update/Notes:

I switched to the full time cash game grind as opposed to the tournament schedule at the beginning of October. So far the transition has been tough. Having conversations with some other tournament players like my friend Julian Rodriguez (Jaeh00d on PokerStars) who have made similar transitions have assured me that at first it is very normal to not do well.

So far, after approximately 45,000 hands of $25NL Full Ring NL-Holdem I am losing at about (-) 2bbs/100. My long term expection and goal is to win at (+) 2bbs to 5bbs/100 over 200,000 hands and then move up to $50NL.

I hope to accomplish this by mid December. I have a lot of work to do and a long ways to go but I know that I have within me what it takes to succeed....

Who is really "Due"

Oh ya, He was "due" !@!

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit"
Aristotle.

In certain circles around my poker acquaintances and friends the term "due" has become quite actually a pop culture term or phrase that describes a person who has succeeded or become successful at something such as winning a poker tournament for a lot of money when clearly others are better players or have played more or worked harder.

Example: A player who is an unknown plays the weekly Sunday Million major tournament online and happens to win it for $200k dollars, they would sarcastically say: "he was due".. Or outside of poker in real life, a woman is rear-ended by a wealthy celebrity while driving. To avoid media attention the celebrity pays this woman a large sum of money in order to keep it private. People would say: "she was due"....

So, who is really "due" in life ? Are the poor and meek destined to remain poor ? Are the wealthy entitled to keep their inheritance ? Is or should life be judged by these worldly materialistic standards ?

I do not claim to be able to answer all of those things, but what I have learned is that Aristotle was correct. We may or may not be able to become wealthy or acheieve the worlds standards of excellence. However, by working hard in any area of our life we can train ourselves through habit to achieve success.

So, I have committed myself to stop worrying about the "dueness" of others and to focus on the areas of my own life that need work and improvement.

I promise that if you will do the same, you too just might find yourself "due".....