Adam Kayce

It lies within you, thirsting.

Like a baby bird chirping desperately for its mother’s return to the nest to bring the food that will keep it alive, there is a yearning that lives within you, and it calls incessantly. It can be satiated with the smallest of moments, and it has a camel’s resistance to thirst, but if you ignore it too long, it will shrivel and die.

And as it does, color will fade from your world. Meaning will ebb away, enjoyment will wither, and you’ll sit around trying to remember a time in your life when richness existed. You’ll get dry, stiff… and when you hardly recognize the crusty you that you’ve become, you’ll chalk it up to being busy. Or being a parent. Or being a professional. Or getting older.

But it has nothing to do with any of those things.

The Urgent Call is your spirit’s need for connection. Like the migrating herds of the plains of Africa, who travel thousands of miles every year in search of life-giving food and water, your spirit has an essential drive to feel its connection to all around it. It’s the reason we seek community. It’s the reason we search for purpose and meaning in life. It’s the reason we feel better when we’re on a spiritual path, and it’s the reason that it doesn’t really matter what path that ends up being.

What matters is that you connect.
What matters is the Urgent Call gets listened to.
It doesn’t matter how your Urgent Call gets fulfilled, only that it does.
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Evernote rocks. Let me just sum it all up, right here, right now.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I still have conversations with people all the time where I mention Evernote, and they say, “Huh?” And that just blows my mind.

And the latest reason why I love them? Because not only have they produced the most awesome, flexible, useful piece of organizational software around, they also have a great sense of humor. That’s rare, people.

What I use Evernote for, just to give you a heads-up:

• managing all my client projects
• storing any and all info I find while out searching the interwebs
• recording all my recipes
• brainstorm-rain collection
• notes about places we’re thinking of moving to or visiting
• read the second one again, and let it sink in. Seriously.
• essentially everything I want to remember/record/store for the future, on subjects like WordPress, web design, CrossFit, nutrition, spirituality, personal development, family stuff, marketing, copywriting, and more.

Seriously, if you haven’t checked out Evernote, you’re bonkers. It’s awesome. It’s life-transforming. And—hello?—it’s free! Come on, now, people! Go get you some.

Ever notice how certain times of the year have a certain “energy” to them? I’m not just talking about the obvious seasonal changes, either; my auspicious rhythms tend to revolve around birthdays (I just had one), school vacation times, tax season, and New Year’s. Maybe it’s just the whole “collective consciousness” thing, even though that can sound like it’s on the fringes between common sense and froo-froo philosophy. Wherever the meaning comes from, I sure notice the effects in my life, and I’m guessing a lot of you do, too.

As Autumn approaches, so do my urges to clean house

And as much as “cleaning” has been associated with the Spring, I tend to do a big cleanup and realignment of priorities in the Autumn. Maybe it’s the product of going to school every Fall from age 5 to 35 (K-college, then grad school and teaching seminars). Or maybe I’m getting ready for hibernation; who knows.

On my docket now are reviews of two products I’ve promised to do, but let slide in the face of busy-ness and upheaval. That’s not to diminish the value of the products, by any means; I thought they were great, each in their own way, and in their own intended use. (Okay, enough jabbering – on with the show!)
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I watched The Ramen Girl last night. I know, I know… not exactly the kind of movie you’d expect from a carnivorous, Olympic-lifting male, but I did. And you know what? I enjoyed it. Truth be told, I actually like romantic comedies as a genre—call me a sensitive, new-age guy, if you must—but what I enjoyed most from The Ramen Girl wasn’t the trials and tribulations of Brittany Murphy, or even the food (and I love food movies).

Mmm... steaming hot ramen.

What I enjoyed most about the movie, without giving away too many details, was the main ingredient that Brittany Murphey’s character, Abby, learned to infuse into her ramen that made it special: spirit. Because in the end, this was not a movie about ramen, or romance. It was about finding one’s place in the world by focusing on the how more than the what.

“How” comes from within

The fact that Abby learned to make a great bowl of ramen is secondary to what it required of her to do it. She got the recipe right long before she was able to make a meal that was worthy of being served to her customers, because she was taught that making soup isn’t just about getting a bunch of ingredients and assembling them. It’s about heart. Unless your soup has spirit, it hasn’t got anything.
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You probably know I’m a CrossFit addict by now. It’s more fun than a cooler full of coconut milk, more effective than erosion, and anyone can do it just about anywhere. However, done on its own, with no regard to your nutrition, isn’t going to get you nearly as far or as fast as if you pay really good attention to what you’re eating and why.

Enter: Primal.

It’s not that CrossFit doesn’t have a nutritional recommendation: it does. And it’s about as simple and clear as it can get: Meat and veggies, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, no sugar. And any CrossFitter worth his/her salt is going to be able to rattle that off like a well-grooved mantra. And, at the same time, knowing what to do and actually doing it are often not the same thing at all.

I’ve read all kinds of fantastic nutritional information before, and have for years, but never have I been able to make it a lifestyle like I have since adopting the “Primal Blueprint Eating Plan” like I have with Mark Sisson, at Mark’s Daily Apple.

Primal living is, in my own words, a prescription for eating the way we’ve evolved to. Our genome has honed itself for over 2 million years, adapting to a particular style of eating that didn’t really fluctuate until about 10,000 years ago. And, since that “recent” shift, we’ve done nothing but go downhill, health-wise, except for the hygienic changes that have increased our average lifespan. It’s pretty clear if you look at how we’ve evolved to eat that it makes a lot of sense to stick close to our own internal genetic recipe. After all, you wouldn’t pour rocket fuel in your car’s gas tank, right? It’s just not designed for it.
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Do you have a goal? Professional, personal, or otherwise? I bet you do, whether it’s to get a certain number of clients per month, to stop eating grains, or to learn to juggle.

Now, let me guess: You’ve got a system worked out to get you there, don’t you? You’re going to attend networking meetings, write blog posts, and update your LinkedIn profile. You’re going to only eat at home so you can control your meals, and throw all your old grains into the compost heap. You’re going to watch that Juggling For Fools video, and practice your juggling fifteen minutes every night after dinner.

No matter what the goal is, you’ve got a system, I’m sure. How am I so sure? Because systems are said to be the key to achieving everything these days. Just think about productivity… there’s GTD , ZTD , and Hipster PDA’s; Blackberries, Franklin Planners, and 37 Signals. What’s best? That’s like asking, “What’s the best kind of music?” It all depends on you, what you’re doing, and what works for you.

The point, in any instance, is not what system you use… it’s that you stick with it.

If you’ve dabbled in productivity systems for any length of time, you know what I’m saying is true, because everyone has discovered, researched, and spent time on setting up some kind of system, only to have the thing gather dust and fall by the wayside.
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Blogging is arguably one of the best, most fundamental actions you can take to further your business, your self-expression, and deepen your understanding of your place in the world. Don’t just take my word for it; ask Seth Godin & Tom Peters…

But there’s a big difference between writing for the heck of it, and actually expecting to get some positive return out of it. There’s also a big difference between writing a five-post boom-and-crash, and blogging for a lifetime.

Hoping to get some help both of those points, I recently watched an excellent video by Mr. 4HWW, Tim Ferriss, and I thought it was fantastic. He calls it “How to Blog without Killing Yourself”, and says, “one of my favorite presentations I’ve given in 2009.” After watching it, and taking notes of the highlights for myself, I’d have to agree.

Now, for anyone reading this who’s anti-Tim, just let me say this: On one hand, that’s cool. Like who you want, and don’t who you don’t. I’ve got no beef with you. But, if you’re thinking to leave me a trollish comment because you’ve got an issue with him, then answer this: Who are you? What have you done with your life so far? How many people have you impacted? Smile on your brother, y’know?

What I’ve written below is my own personal commentary on the notes I took from the above talk. He covers a lot more than what I took notes on, which is why I recommend you watch it – my takeaways are going to be different from your takeaways, by necessity and design. My hope in adding my notes is that it’ll help add some context to quotes taken entirely out of context, and lend some insight from my own personal perspective, for what it’s worth (and hey, if you’ve read this far, then maybe it’s worth enough to you to keep reading…).
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I love to chant. When all else fails, it’s one of the few spiritual practices that doesn’t ever let me down.

I’ve been meaning to write a post about it, just so you all know I haven’t fallen off the wagon completely… But then Fabeku beat me to it. Brilliantly.

Of course, our histories are different. And each of us has our preferences, and brings to it what we do. But all the reasons Fabeku speaks about as to why he chants… how it rejuvenates him, how it cleans him out and fills him up… he could’ve been channeling me, there.

Why it matters

So I chant. Fabeku chants. Big whoop, right? Well, as I’ve been a fan of saying for some time now, when it comes to spiritual practices,

It doesn’t matter so much what you do… but it matters a ton why you do it.

I stopped working as a healer a over year ago now. I was talking about this with my wife the other night, and I told her that one of the big reasons why was because I felt dry. I didn’t feel I had anything left to give… I just couldn’t be there for my clients the way I could before. And to be honest, I was never completely satisfied with my answer as to why that was.
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I was reading a post over at Fitness Fail that was talking about personal responsibility when it comes to health and exercise. Being someone who thinks about these things a lot, I had to leave a comment, and decided to come here and write about it, too.

This question was posed at the end of the article, after talking about the b.s. of the US government’s food pyramid: Do we as a whole have a responsibility to change the health recommendations to something that works?

And here is my reply:

Yes and no, imho, I think that people have their personal responsibility first, of course. And then, those that get called by the personal passion to take the truth to the FDA/whoever should totally do it.

But, not everyone who ‘gets it’ is going to have that passion. They may feel more inspired to open a CrossFit gym. Or a healthy restaurant. Or keep working at their jobs, but share happily with people who ask them, “Dude, what have you been doing?”

Changing the governmental juggernaut is a task that I believe will happen, but not through rebellion. Too much resistance that way. Instead, enough people will be lovingly loud, and change will happen from within.

Just look at Wal-Mart’s environmental initiatives. People have hated WM for years, complained, etc. – nothing. But then, the President/CEO dude gets an awakening moment about going green, and blamo – there they go.

So keep preaching it, brothers and sisters. Share your loving message, and those whose ears are open will hear it, one at a time.

And even though I may have gotten a bit kum-ba-ya there at the end, I do believe that this is how change happens. Just like Margaret Mead said:

Never doubt that a small group of commited citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

We can rail against the powers we perceive, claim unfairness, or judge the policy-makers as evil SOB’s… but if you understand the Law of Attraction, you know that this is not a good way to go about things. It’s downstream. It’s giving energy in the wrong direction.

Focus on what you want to see happen. Don’t sit on your ass complaining about how sick everyone is; if you want to see people get healthier, then work to make them healthier. Focus on health. Focus on transformation. Focus on the goodness.

Image by psoup216 on Flickr via Creative Commons license.

Hi, all.

I’ve had it in mind to write a personal blog for some time. I’ve got a business, an ex-business, a Facebook page, and a Twitter page, so what’s up with this blog?

Good question.

To be honest, I’m not sure where this is going to go. What I do know is that I’ve been writing “for” something other than the joy of writing for so long, I’m beginning to forget what it’s like. I’ve been thirsting for a venue that doesn’t have to “produce”, in the sense of generating business for me and/or my company. I’ve seen friends like this write for no obvious reason other than the joy of expression, and it appeals to me.

And, after years in the limelight (I used to be an “esteemed faculty member” of a seminar company/spiritual movement), I’m wanting a place to let my hair down — well, if I had any left, that is. I’ve grown very, very tired of censoring myself, doing what’s socially appropriate, and toeing the party line for the purposes of acceptance. So, with all proper respect, eff that. No more.

I’m not saying that I’m here to be a crabby bastard… just that I could be, if the mood struck. Most of the time, I prefer not to be. Life’s just better when I’m happy and joyful. But, from time to time, I might get my back-end outta whack about this or that, and who knows, I just might write about it, in the name of being therapeutic and all.

So, with no promises, and no more excuses, here I am.

Image by Tyson Cecka via cc on Flickr.