Your Soul Food Friday for Independence on the Fourth of July 2014

Happy Soul Food Friday for the Fourth of July!

This week:

Other Articles of Independence:

Inspiration– An honorable loss is better than a devious win

While many in the US are disappointed about the USA’s World Cup results, in the wisdom tradition of the martial arts we say a “honorable loss is better than a devious win”.

Here is an illustrative story that demonstrates that character and sportsmanship of self-mastery in the final analysis are where real competition resides- not with an external opponent but with your best self!

This article made my day and I loved reading about this remarkable and inspiring incident.

Our true character is often tested in spontaneous moments like this.

On December 2, Basque athlete Iván Fernández Anaya was competing in a cross-country race in Burlada, Navarre. He was running second, some distance behind race leader Abel Mutai – bronze medalist in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the London Olympics. As they entered the finishing straight, he saw the Kenyan runner – the certain winner of the race – mistakenly pull up about 10 meters before the finish, thinking he had already crossed the line.

Fernández Anaya quickly caught up with him, but instead of exploiting Mutai’s mistake to speed past and claim an unlikely victory, he stayed behind and, using gestures, guided the Kenyan to the line and let him cross first.

Ivan Fernandez Anaya, a Basque runner of 24 years who is considered an athlete with a big future (champion of Spain of 5,000 meters in promise category two years ago) said after the test:

“But even if they had told me that winning would have earned me a place in the Spanish team for the European championships, I wouldn’t have done it either. I also think that I have earned more of a name having done what I did than if I had won. And that is very important, because today, with the way things are in all circles, in soccer, in society, in politics, where it seems anything goes, a gesture of honesty goes down well.”

He said at the beginning: “unfortunately, very little has been said of the gesture. And it’s a shame. In my opinion, it would be nice to explain to children, so they do not think that sport is only what they see on TV: violent kicks in abundance, posh statements, fingers in the eyes of the enemy …”

Leadership– Who is Your Chief Energy Officer?

Click here!

Design Thinking- Unleash your designer’s mindset beyond old school strategic thinking to manifest YOUR destiny and love your work and life (Podcast)

http://filesource.abacast.com/wsradio/weekinmarketing/061114/segment2061114.mp3

Resilience and Reframing– Memorialize Life and Celebrate the Inevitable; How A Women’s Plan to Kill Herself Helped Her Family Grieve

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=323330486&m=324738284

Volunteering– Doing Good is Good for YOU!

https://www.freelancersunion.org/blog/2014/06/04/volunteering-good-your-health-new-study-says/