The Man in the Arena

Seeking freedom in Life is much like being a man in the arena. You attract an audience, who, since they sense you know where you're going, will watch you with anticipation.

Some will cheer when you win; others will cheer when you fail. It doesn't really matter -- for the audience isn't responsible for your performance.

You are!

And the 'mob' doesn't really care about whether you win or fail the way you do; whether you live or die.

They just want a good 'show'. All they want is entertainment. Do they care about your practice and discipline? No, they only want to discuss the outcome without considering the great work and effort that went into the process.

And so it is in Life...

People who discuss you and your behavior behind your back -- or point out what you're doing 'wrong' (without you asking for their opinion) -- are those gossips who use you as a form of entertainment.

And how do people usually use entertainment? To take their mind off of their own problems.

Step into the Coliseum of your own life and you become someone who will bear watching. This also means that you're bound to become someone else's excuse.

So don't let that mob distract you from staying focused on your battles. For if you do, defeat becomes inevitable.

Remember...

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

- Teddy Roosevelt, Sorbonne Speech

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I look forward to meeting and talking with you in the forums.

See you there soon.

Your Friend,

Jay Julio