Virtuosity VI

Virtuosity Certification

“The global rationalization of virtuosity is evident in world records and world championships, professional and academic credentialing, prizes for scientific research and literary, production and much more”

- Transnational governance: institutional dynamics of regulation

By Marie-Laure Djelic, Kerstin Sahlin-Andersson

Measurement against a fixed standard is one method. World records - Championship Games.

What are the subjective measures used to mark virtuosity?

Does a slip of paper with a score or a peer award provide virtuosity? Is a Nobel or a Pulitzer prize a sign of virtuosity?

What's your measurement for your personal virtuosity?

Virtuosity V

Virtuoso Team – An elite squad. Revolutionaries that are catalysts for big change. Unlimited by the conventional approach to teamwork, they are frequently contentious and always less comfortable.

A single virtuoso can be an agent of change. A team of virtuosos can be the catalyst for major changes.


The Manhattan Project was composed of the preeminent physics and mathematical minds in the United States at the time, literally virtuosos in their fields. They produced major breakthroughs in the fields of physics and mathematics that are still being studied today.


To produce an incremental change, put together a team, To produce change with impact, put together a virtuoso team

Virtuosity IV

Virtuosity - “performing the common uncommonly well.” - unknown

10,000 hours of work according to Gladwell provides “true” expertise.

To commit to that amount of work over any period of time implies a passion that goes beyond the normal dilettante.

Credit: TiM_BiG

What does it take to find that passion?.

If something is worth doing, is it worth doing passionately?

What's worth 10,000 hours of your life?

Virtuosity II

Virtuosity - The technical skill, fluency, or style exhibited by a virtuoso or a composition.

Attribution:   KatieKrueger

Malcom Gladwell's Theory that it takes 10 years or 10,000 hours to reach true expertise.

“Achievement, he says, is talent plus preparation. Preparation seems to play a bigger role.”

"Be like Mike" - Play like Sharon Isbin....

The final answer: “Do The Work”

Virtuosity

We watch in awe as the hands of Sharon Isbin create an orchestra of sound from six strings.

Solo or with accompanied by a solo cello or a string quartet (Linden String Quartet) watching the passion expressed as she recreates a composer's written notes and tempos.

Then the serenity on her face when the composition is complete.

For the hour and a half performance there was a lifetime of effort preceding it.

Virtuosity can be achieved in anything. Are we willing to pay the cost?

It's All Relative – Isn't IT?

One Gallon of Gas at $3.60 – unit pricing $0.028 per ounce

One 24 ounce coffee from Quick Trip at $1.49 – unit pricing $0.062 per ounce

Over twice as much – Want to compare Starbucks Latte Double Espresso on an ounce by ounce basis?

How many MPG does your coffee get?

And does it get you closer to where you want to go?

The Oath

I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

5 U.S.C. §3331

The Oath all Federal Employees must swear when taking a Federal position (Paid or Unpaid). The same oath is sworn by uniformed personnel as well.

Nowhere does the Oath to uphold the President, Congress or the Executive Branch .

At what point does an individual decide that, they are in violation of the Constitution.?

AND if so what should the course of action be?

Just following orders hasn't been a valid defense since 1945 (Nuremberg).

Fast Food vs. Slower Food

 Fast, slow, calories only or the taste factor. What you eat sometimes says something about you, but it may also say something about your needs at the time.

Burger and Fries

If you make a continual diet of fast food with the only variety the name of the fast food joint, you may want to consider for your family’s sake increasing your life insurance.  Between the “bad” calories and assumption you’re too busy to slow down (Type A), you’re opening yourself up for major health problems.  There are times when a fast food meal is appropriate.  There’s no other options; there really isn’t the time or the meal is coming from elsewhere.

A sit down meal, allows time for digestion, reflection.  The act of having to use “real” silver and “real” plates reinforces the ritual of the meal and the company.  The interaction allowed by having someone else serve the food allows the participants time to interact especially with family style service where the dishes are passed from one person to the next.

Applying it to life, we can’t operate in a continuous rush around mode, there has to be occasional periods of downtime to allow for reflection and digestion of life's experiences.  

Reading a book over a week rather than skimming through 200 pages overnight.  Absorbing the knowledge rather than skimming the cream.

Breaking Bread

Any gathering in the South is incomplete without the presence of food.  Funerals, Weddings, Family Reunions, Church Homecomings and any other excuse for people to gather is an occasion for breaking bread.  With these gatherings, the food provided is usually “potluck”, with each family bringing a special dish. 

These occasions are only peripherally about the food. Food is an excuse to share and renew old bonds or create new ones.  Breaking bread or sharing food is the mechanism for building trust and a base for longer relationships.  The breaking of bread either in pairs or in larger groups breaks down the more artificial barriers to sharing thoughts and ideas. 

As a rule, there is no joy or sharing by eating alone.

Who do you need to break bread with? 

Meat and Two Sides

A traditional meal in a Southern Café at noontime, is the proverbial meat with two side items and of course a biscuit and SWEET tea.  The side item choice usually includes one or two dessert type choices.    Very little prepared processed food, just fresh reasonably healthy food. Whatever you put together as a combination, no one will think anything of it.  You’re the one eating  

Life can be like that two, a  main course and choice of two items.  How your life combination choices are made is totally up to you.  As bizarre as they might be, you’re the one living them no one else. (You can also use them in any order as well ).

Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men?

Classic phrase from the radio show the Shadow (for trivia buffs, read by Orson Welles).

How can we know what evil lurks in the hearts of our follow man, neighbor, car pooler, co-worker…?

History has shown that when groups are formed, the more anonymity, the more aggressive some members will become, Hence, the existence of Trolls on most internet groups.  With perceived anonymity and no accountability to the group, people tend to follow group think even when they know they’re on the wrong path.

That may be why most mobs tend to form at night, evil doers operate under cloaked hoods, criminals use masks.

Everyone one has a dark side ( the yin and the yang), how the other side is expressed is up to you.

Read Emerson’s Self Reliance, and reflect on your virtues and how they are different from the “crowd” or “mob”

Kinder Gentler Canadians

That kinder gentler Canadian thing just didn’t seem to work last night.

 Picture Credit:  Vancouver Sun

Vancouver lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals and almost immediately the destruction began.  The looting started shortly after.

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Wild Thing (Mitch Williams) of the Philadelphia Phillies received death threats from Philadelphia fans after bad performances during the 1993 Baseball World Series.

What is the trigger for fans to become so obsessed with a team or player that they lose focus ?

What turns a group of fan(atic)s from a tribe to a mob? 

Do the tribes you work with and build have the same potential for evil as they do good?

As the radio announcer said many years ago – “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of me?”

Independent vs Shared

Independent vs Shared

"The man that stands by himself, the universe stands by

him also."

--EMERSON, Behavior

“To celebrate Emerson's 208th birthday, The Domino Project is republishing a work of art that's especially relevant today. Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson urges readers to trust their intuition rather than conforming to the will of the majority.”

Self Reliance is only one of many essays written by Ralph Waldo Emerson.  The Domino Project edition is an annotated edition, with selected passages commented on by various authors.  

As a challenge to myself, I read the unannotated edition (free download from Gutenberg.org: Essays By Ralph Waldo Emerson)before reading the annotated version.  Simply to form my own opinion and then correlate those opinions with The Domino Project edition. Using the Kindle edition, it's easy to have a sense of what others have marked, noted and highlighted, using the synch.  Working with an imported edition of Essays, forces me to examine the essay(s), with my own lens not the shared lenses of others.

Sharing and collaboration have a place in the universe.   

Having your own thoughts and ideas is the basis for your life and how you face the universe.

Codependent

Men do what is called a goodaction, as some piece of courage or charity, much as they would pay a fine in expiation of daily non-appearance on parade. Their works are done as an apology or extenuation of their living in the world,--as invalids and the insane pay a high board. Their virtues are penances. I do not wish to expiate, but to live.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson – Essays “Self Reliance”

Photo: globalchf.com

How often are we “shamed” by a casual acquaintance into donating or purchasing some item for a cause we either don't know or care about. OR even worse actively oppose

Donations can be time, money or goods.

Are you enabling a “cause” or are you lining the collectors or organization's pockets?

Do you know what you're working towards or are you just covering your eyes and hoping the solicitor has your best interest at heart.

Think about that dollar you giving away. It might just go to more effective use buying that guy on the corner with the sign a bottle of whatever.

We are shepherds of our resources. We need to ensure that we put them to the best use. The use WE determine.

Leap

Some people are grateful when you offer them what they want most, but some people are terrified of it. Because to gain your heart’s desire you have to lose some part of your old life, your old self. To do that you have to have courage; without it, you can’t make the leap. And if you don’t make the leap, you have only three choices: You can hate yourself for not taking the chance, you can hate the person for whom you’ve sacrificed your happiness, or you can hate the one who offered you happiness, and blame them for your lack of courage, convince yourself it wasn’t real. That way, you don’t have to hate yourself. It’s always easier to blame someone else. - Anita Blake in “Hit List” by Laurel K Hamilton

Think about what you'd leap for.

 

Would you REALLY mourn losing the part of your life you're leaving behind?

TIME AND PLACE

Is there a right or wrong time? Is there a right place or a wrong place?

How can we tell?

If we lose our place how long does it take for us to recognize we're no longer where we want to be?

More importantly, how long does it take to find OUR place again?

Risk vs Risk

What is the risk of riding a motorcycle without a helmet (Riders wearing an approved helmet reduce the risk of death by 37 percent )? What is the risk of using the internet without anti-virus protection (12 minutes to infection)

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Everyday we make choices of risk factors that may or may not be totally indicative of the real risk. In one case, the risk factor can lead to serious injury or death. In another case, the risk factor leads to a “dead” or “sick” piece of electronics. One may require serious recovery time but the other at the max may only require a replacement

If you jump into that project and it fails – does anyone die or become seriously injured?

If not, then what's holding you back?

"Ne te quæsiveris extra."

Seek not yourself from outside yourself

The opening line of Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay on Self Reliance sets the tone for the entire essay. The recurring theme is:not following the crowd but following your own way. 

Validate your own beliefs.

Dare to stand out. You don't need the power of authority to validate your actions or beliefs. They are yours and yours alone.

You have to stand for something or you stand for nothing.

What are you and your beliefs standing for?

This post was inspired by the #Trust30 project.

About the #Trust30 Self-Reliance Project:
#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey. Sign up to receive the prompts by email.

Job Or Passion

“I write country to feed my family
I write Americana to feed my sout”
Comment by Songwriter at 2011 30A Songwriter’s Festival

Accompanist, Louise Mosrie, Kim Richardson, Jen Foster Performing at 2011 30A Songwriters Festival

Songwriters have a passion for creating.  So do authors, copy writers, graphic artists, painters, mechanics, craftsmen or anyone doing work labelled a "job".  Songwriters may write copy for food, mechanics repair cars for food. Within each of them lies other projects; the songwriter writes and sings about the joys of her family; the mechanic restores a ’67 Jaguar XKE.

Within every “job’ lies the potential for a passion which can feed the soul. 

Look within your “job” and find the spark that ignites a passion. 

Inspired Actions

During some point in our lives, there is a seminal event, part of a book, a movie scene or some random thought triggered by an event that prompts us to DO something.

I totally blame Robert Heinlein for my more impetuous life changing moment.  “Glory Road” for planting the fencing bug (Ok the Dumas novels may have had an influence as well).  “Starship Troopers” for planting the skydiving bug.

There is something about facing an opponent with a sabre waiting for the judge to say “Allez'”  The anticipation of the contact and the call of “Touche”

There’s something about the calmness of a slow flight circling to altitude and the rush of anticipation as the pilot says “Jump Run” and the spotter yells “Door” The sereneness of having other bodies join you in the air, The brief rush as the canopy pops and the leisurely descent to the ground.

Some book, play, event or conversation triggered a life altering action on your part. 

The call to action can be suppressed but won’t be totally ignored.

What was the life altering moment in your life?