January 19, 2022by Brian WeinerNo CommentsChanging The World One Thought At A Time., Lessons From The Mountain

Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

Is overwhelming might a definitive factor in life? In many cases, that would appear to be true. But… to make life more interesting, there are many cases in which that has not been the case.

In the time that I have been refocusing on going into the metaverse, there was clear knowledge that Facebook was already on the path, by calling themselves Meta. As with the world of NFTs, the fact that there was a chance of making money in the space led countless others to instantly pay attention. While we have been taking our ideas for the metaverse that we put together 16 years ago, there have been story after story of other companies on the same path.

Walmart announced they were going there, P&G, Apple and yesterday, Microsoft purchased Activision/Blizzard, in order to put themselves into a prime position to play. I am certain that Google must have similar plans, along with 100 other companies.

So why would anyone else dare enter the territory?

I picked this aphorism from the show Billions in which Paul Giamatti’s character, Chuck Rhoades, the District Attorney for NYC, Southern District, shares that he says this to himself before going into any large trial.

I keyed into that moment and jotted the phrase down, because it represents a philosophy that came to me during karate training. If you are going into a battle of any kind, your mindset has to be pure. Regardless of appearance. Regardless of even common sense. A winning perspective starts by defining your place in this moment of history and an understanding of what you bring to the equation that your opponent(s) do not.

If this sounds like philosophy and not real world… Let’s look at the former, intimidating British Empire. Certainly the Microsoft/Facebook/Google/Apple of their era. In their time, a poorly outfitted group of regiments from the American colonies stood up against King George III and forged a new nation. A couple hundred years later, the same was accomplished by Gandhi in the work to liberate India from the British Empire.

Now look at Karate Kid. Or Rocky. Or Flashdance…. Stories of the little person rising above their rank in order that they may take their place on the stage.

Legends and lore, history and contemporary times are full of stories of the proverbial David v. Goliath fight. They are markers in the history of humanity to continually remind us of today’s aphorism. They stand as symbols, as beacons of light and hope (from yesterday’s aphorism) to stay the course. Stand your ground. Look the enemy in the face, see them for what they are. Formidable… yes. Intimidating… most certainly. Impossible to beat? NEVER. 

If you want to achieve something of magnitude in life, regardless of whether it is on the world stage, or in your own tiny microcosm of life… there will be force against you. It will be scary. It will make you so afraid, you want to run in fear. It will make you question every ounce of who you are and what you are made of.

Most important… when you find that inner courage. The determination to stare straight into the eyes of your enemy, you must see them like the proverbial board that I speak about breaking at the end of a black belt test. The board is an illusion. You must KNOW in your heart that you are passing straight through it. You must KNOW beyond any shadow of a doubt that you are the right person to be right where you are and that your destiny is to prevail, regardless of the perceived outcome of this apparent conflict.

That is the winning formula and nothing less will suffice.

Stay the course. David did beat Goliath. And so will you.

Happy Wednesday!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8MZRoMdkso

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Written by Brian Weiner
When I was 5 years old, I discovered that the lemon tree in the backyard + dixie cups + water and sugar and I was in business. I have been hooked on that ever since. In 1979, I borrowed $14,000 to create a brand new product... photographic greeting cards with no text on the inside, called Paradise Photography. That was the start of The Illusion Factory. Since then, The Illusion Factory has been entrusted by all of the major studios and broadcasters with the advertising and marketing of over $7 billion in filmed, live, broadcast, gaming, AR, VR and regulated gaming forms of entertainment, generating more than $100 Billion in revenue and 265 awards for creativity and technology for our clients. When I took a break from film school at UCLA to move to Hawaii, my mother did not lecture me. Instead, she took 150 of her favorite aphorisms and in her beautiful calligraphy, wrote them artistically throughout a blank journal. That is the origin of the Lessons from the Mountain series. Since then, on my journeys to the top of a mountain to watch the sunrise, I have spent countless hours contemplating words of wisdom from the sages of all races, genders and political persuasions, constantly accumulating the thoughts to guide me on my life path. I hope you enjoy my books. Please let me know your thoughts, as I highly value your feedback!