For the last year I’ve had the incredible opportunity to play The Phantom in the 25th Anniversary U.S. Tour of The Phantom of the Opera. I’ve criss-crossed the country and have my fair share of travel warrior stories.
8 REAL Tips To Make Sure THIS IS YOUR YEAR!
The “New Year” is fast approaching and I imagine many of you either gearing up to make a vision board for the…
Growing up I was a pretty quiet kid. I was the only child for 6 years, so entertaining myself was easy. I was…
by Yann Girard
We focus too much on things other people say. Instead of focusing on the things that work.
And when you focus on the things everybody else says all the time, you’ll never figure out what really works.
One of the central propositions of Existentialism is that existence precedes essence…
This week I both lost and gained hair. We buzzed my hair even shorter and I got my wig(s). I love both options. I went from dark pixie to now bald or elbow-length princess curls. I figure that if I don’t get to feel normal with cancer, I might as well look different, too. My mom drove…
Earlier today, I heard the most annoying phrase in the world — “I deserve this.” It wasn’t said about love. It wasn’t said about family. It wasn’t even said about an award. What’s worse…it wasn’t even said by a child.
Who needs a Passion?
It was lazy Friday evening in office, sitting with peer group, sipping hot coffee, staring same old PC screen. While discussing in how many different ways this professional life has ruined our respective personal lives, each member of my peer group was actually fantasizing about what if we were not part…
Remember the excitement you felt when you launched headfirst into your latest project? That bliss of knowing every door was open and the opportunities were endless.
But then, if you’re like most people, something happens as you near the finish line.
Quit trying to hack your life. Also, try to hack your life. You’re not a brand…
(Wagah border #2)
Attari Border…..? Has anyone heard of it?
Here I am sitting in a blue chair outside my dorm. Silently listening to the sound of the rain that…
A startup friend and I were commiserating about how, after leaving the management consulting…
“I like the religion that teaches liberty, equality and fraternity.”
I am a daydeamer. Or simply a dreamer, you may say. And most of the time, an optimist. Or more likely a sloppy one with so many dreams, and fantasies, and things I wanted to achieve.
In college I broke my leg ice skating. A failed attempt at a pirouette landed me in the ER with a not-quite compound fracture. The pain was unbelievable and I had to undergo emergency surgery, which kept me in the hospital for a few days. When people asked about me, wondering where I was…
If I had to sit down and make a list of the biggest changes between age 25 and age 35, I think I’d…
This is cross posted from my Facebook page in order to hip those reading this blog (which, it seems like there are a few of you, welcome — thanks for reading my ramblings) as to why I’ve been radio silent for the past few weeks. Some stuff is going on:
“Can I please have a slice of the coconut cake?”
I saw it, just standing there all alone. It was the very last slice on the giant cake stand. It was just standing upright under the round clear glass cover. As if it was just waiting for someone to take it with them. And with…
Every year since I graduated college, I’ve put up a Christmas tree in my apartment.
I’m glad you’re alive and such a great writer. I laughed out loud exactly 4 times.
You know that song Thunderstruck by AC/DC?
When I was a little kid, I thought they were saying Wonderstruck. To be honest, I’ve always liked my version better. Sorry AC/DC.
Loss is always near by and it’s not fair the way this world treats you, I want it to stop for a moment, just to dry my eyes before moving forward.
A little more reminiscing is all I need, and in the night I think, “just keep going, continue, it’s never the…
My first adventure began during the hot summer of 1988 in soviet Tallinn, Estonia. Holding my mother’s hand, I waited to board…
I’ve tried writing this post so many times and no joke, every time it would start glitch-ing out. That’s okay. I didn’t like how I wrote it that first time anyways. Who cares if it took two hours and I was almost finished *forced laughter*
如果要說「我有一個夢」這件事。*我想應該會從五歲開始說起。
— — —
I’ve never shared anything that isn’t directly related to technology, but I thought it would be a good idea to share this since it…
Favorite Life Lessons, Hacks, & Practices. Valuable life lessons can come from anywhere and anyone. I have serendipitously learned some fantastic life hacks and wisdom from all sorts of people and media ranging from a 711 employee all the way to a security…
If you point one in any 10 men and ask him about his first puff, 8 of them would say that he is hoping for it to have it with his friend. But for me, my first puff came because of my friend. Yes, the reason behind my first cigar was the words that I have spelled out at my friend. The worst part of it…
最近很流行一个词，叫“狗带”，实际上是英文“go die”的谐音。见过最多的用法莫过于“还没有睡到凯凯王，不能狗带”......好吧，玩笑话。只能说最近天天舔屏果然有效=。=（默念“不要污要优雅”三次
其实本来是想写点严（jiao）肃（qing）风格的文字的，结果由于现在心情太好难说愁，也就暂且以这种调调继续下去——嘛反正逻辑都是一样的，皮夹克换风衣罢了。
前两周自己在家几乎成天浪，刷剧刷到飞起，自然书看的不多。当时是蛮开心的，可是和一直以来的情况一样，到了晚上必须进厨房做饭时，愧疚感成吨地压过来，简直要喘不过气。比起…
Yesterday I had gone to airport to receive my friend from London. As I saw him, he had a sense of pride on his face,he had…
(sung to the tune of “I Want Candy”)
I know a cup that’s rough but sweet!Its got a taste that can’t be beat!It’s got a flavour that I desire!Looks like the roaster controlled his fire!I like coffee! I like coffee!I like coffee! I like coffee!
I’m Gone
My life is more about what goes on inside my mind than outside my body. I constantly remind myself that life is not only that, that courage and nerve are needed. I’m not the only one to do that — my friends and family are always eager to comment on how introspective I am. I refuse everything, as if the word “no” was…
Nostalgia Post 2k15
We went back to the University and peered out of some windows we used to look through when we were denizens of that place. Things look almost entirely the same from the outside, but it’s guts have been replaced by something almost unrecognizable. Blue took this much harder than I did. She felt like part…
I Was at Yeshwantpur railway station, Bangalore, India around 10:30 pm to send off a friend. Suddenly a train came and the…
40 days in Australia
When I heard people say that it was nice to go on exchange because you could learn about different cultures and how to work with them, bla bla bla, this was something I always thought about: Bla bla bla. C’mon, Brazil is already a fucking multicultural country and I have so much to do here. Why should…
Some days ago I came across an article which read “The top 10 regrets of 10 old people”. And another one which read “The one thing which Steve Jobs regretted in his deathbed”.
While the article was tempting to read, I realized the gravity of reality just later. There are…
As a first generation Muslim student, my experiences in life thus far are different from most students. In this digital story, I will aim to abridge the differences and familiarize others of my identity and faith. Hopefully, this will allow me to sharpen my communication skills with…
There is this situation that makes everyone- even the most self assured- panic, it’s that fork in…
The answer to tonight’s comic is “dog”http://www.dieselsweeties.com/archive/3953
As an individual you have immense intrinsic worth. You are not defined by the job you have, the title you hold, the groups you…
Roma, lì 08 Dicembre 2015
This article might bore you unless you’re stoned or love to contemplate life and philosophy.
Microadventures are awesome - the 9–5 daily grind, not so much - but helpfully Al Humphreys has suggested a…
When you’ve been writing for 75 days it sorta becomes a little easier than normal – except for Tuesdays. This day only seems to be getting harder.
Alexis and I have been through a lot. This is the origin story.
So much of Inner Life is spent erecting defence mechanisms to protect you from others. Why do you feel so threatened?
I think you’re so synical that it’s like a force field that is keeping the right man away. We all have the ability to keep destiny at bay, meaning that our attitudes can block connection with those who we might have a positive karmic destiny and relationship with. Of course, how such a relationship turns out depends on how the two people interelate…
ADAM VE KADIN
Adam kurduğu cümlenin onda böyle bir üzüntü yaratacağını hesap edememişti. Sadece iki sözcük insanı bu kadar şaşırtabilir miydi?. Adam bunu…
.
Yesterday, I found myself in an encaged wire structure a hundred feet off of the ground. Frozen. Humorously paralyzed by the height. My natural instincts rushed over me, should I go back to stable ground or do I continue to the other side?
We’ve all been there. There are the breakups that take you no time to get over. You’re out at the club with the boys three days later, feeling like…
Man, it’s really hard to let go and take the low road in life.
For the longest time I’ve felt like I’m driving myself crazy. News, bad drivers, entitled pricks, difficult customers, insane employees, business dips and hills, ya know? life basically. I’ve always wanted to write, for what reasons I’m not sure, mainly because in a country where being PC is a religion…
People ask me why I created Live the Hero, and like any other human being I’m tempted to give some…
My first eWorkbook is available just in time for those who want to get a head start on 2016!
Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of…
Love it, Wil. There’s a great line the new Who episode “Blink”, “Sad is happy for deep people.” It’s sort of a motto now – I pull it out whenever people complain at me for having a “Sad Songs” playlist or I mention that I enjoy rainy days. Sometimes, it’s just nice to be sad.
When treating a laceration, one does not let the would continue bleeding until it can be sewn up. First the bleeding must be taken care of, then the wound must be cleaned, and only then can stitches be applied to insure proper healing. We have not even controlled our bleeding yet, and education is the stitches.
I disagree. There is ‘The Answer’, but we are still away from finding it. In my opinion we will reach the answer one day, but the real ‘problem’ (luckily) is that there will be others questions beyond the answer. We will never stop searching for answers, but that doesn’t mean we won’t find the one we’ve looked for year.
Many of us struggle with balancing our lives at home with our lives at school mainly because of how much they contradict each other, or at least seem to do so. At school, we are expected to excel in academics and make it a priority, at weekends school, we are expected to excel in…
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be at the pinnacle of your success having achieved everything that you have always wanted after working hard for years together? Some of us could have already reached there. Some of us could be on our way.
Big companies or long standing leaders, more than capturing the market capture mind space and create dogma(conventional thinking). And that is their biggest defense mechanism.
But every once in a while you’ll find somebody who is not trapped by that dogma and can…
Year after year you have celebrated New Year by partying with your close colleagues and making different types of New Year resolutions (which almost die unfulfilled every year and then rise like a…
Seriously , it’s not enough that my kid has cancer, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck and have a cough that makes Puchinni’s Le Boheme heroine look healthy (she had TB!) I’m exhausted, it’s freakin hot and now I’m sick to my stomach and vomiting? Seriously… LIFE, what the fuck?
Determining the ‘stage’ of the tendinopathy will have a huge influence on how you manage it.
Very informative post on how to approach and treat tendinopathies in their…
Hey dont bash on but rather be humble in your beginnings. Its the shit we learn from.
What Mushrooms taught me about life.
We are all one family.
We are all beautiful organisms which require a community to flourish.
Sometimes the darkness is better, but we all need light. A delicate balance.
So true ! Support comes from what people say and everything else is just bs. Have the people in your life that support you and the rest fade them away !
Yann, nice write up. Aha, and I found the title really funny :p. Keep writing
Thank you for an honest appraisal of what it means to lean in and suffer the consequences. Often times the term is presented in exhoratory terms as it was all so obvious “lean in ” or “just do it. The reality is there is always a cost.
You mentioned timidity or fear and that rings true for men as well. Men will take risks…
Hopefully Feel Satisfied
It certainly does feel safe inside your comfort zone. There is no stress, no striving, not much noticeable change. Things kind of stay the same. But what kind of adventure awaits you if you push the boundaries a little — or even a lot?
Stairways of lessons
My extended life sister in life and I (rest her soul ) sat having a drink at a local place. She was lecturing me about life. ..that I…
Don’t entrap oneself into a situation.
Individual vs Collective
In the midst of lectures with over one hundred people, large parties, big social events, and crowded side walks it’s difficult to understand what makes you feel unique. In my case specifically, I felt lost in the sea of students. I felt as if I was just a number here at the University. It wasn’t…
Nice!!! Can’t spend much time on what people say.
We have many things to do.
Love the article.
Recently on a trip to Joshua Tree National Park, I was able to simply sit and enjoy the moment.
This moment and enjoyment allowed for a more meaningful and intentional photograph. Every time I see the photo, I can feel the chill of the night, the smell of the desert, the silence of…
I loved hot showers all my life and one day I read that cold showers are better than hot showers and bored I was I decided to give it a shot.
Turns out cold showers are addictive .. the first few times were bad .. The feel of cold water on my body used to…
We go to the new grocery store down the street on Myrtle.
I couldn’t find the bag, I tell her in reference to the blue cloth bag that lines the cart.
It’s okay, she says. We don’t need it.
I was hoping she would say that. I wasn’t so sure myself. I don’t want things falling…
Il n’y a rien de plus merveilleux que le soleil qui brille et illumine le ciel.Je regarde ce ciel bleu, tellement bleu que l’on pourrait s’y perdre. Il est parsemé de nuages blancs aussi purs que le serait un nouveau-né.De loin j’aperçois quelques oiseaux qui profitent eux…
Many have thought that love needs giving each other space to breath and not strangle them for yourself. How much of that is true? How does it deepen your relationship?
When I go to school I feel like I’m trapped in a nightmare that doesn’t end. In a world where people kill other people and wars going on at the…
Businesses, deep down to their core, are stories.
In a world so vast, is it not possible that we can all have what we want? What is the driving force, or the dividing force, between us and the actualization of our visions. To a major degree, myself DEFINITELY included, most of our desires come from the objects we’ve been…
I am a human. Well, considering the piece, I’d think that’s a given (unless I haven’t been updated of the latest algorithm that imitates human writing). But nevertheless, a human with emotions, thoughts, feelings and experiences- which cannot be quantified for you. As a student in the…
“Throughout history we have witnessed the incredible organizing power of people. We have the power to make…
Be afraid — be very afraid.
Be afraid so much that you become a divorced single mother. This childish self indulgence of fear will twist you or your own children into the neglected unstable murderous mass killers you fear the most. Monkey see, monkey do.
I wish I had met someone like that when I was a child. I believe I would have had the courage and esteem to go to college right away instead of trying to juggle 3 kids and a full time job in my 30s while pursuing a degree. You are blessed to have had someone who not only cared about your well being, but motivated you and was there for you even your…
We always pretend to be okay with the love given by our love ones especially in a relationship. But, as time goes by, when love grows deeper, we tend to be greedy day by day. We want everyday, everything, every moment of our love ones. This is when just love is no longer enough. We want more.
The most important freedom we have is the freedom to choose. Our tool is education which allows us to give people information on which to make those choices. Hopefully more will make a choice based on a high standard of morals and strong values. At the same time we must ask the question: Who defines High standards and Strong morals?
I agree. I make it a point atleast twice or 3 times a week to do Yoga. A time for myself to space out, reflect and think.
When you’re an adult, your parents split the day after you get home from honeymoon, and you all still live in a town of 2000 people, Christmas can get awkward.
Our family has gone through a bit of bitterness and it’s fair share of shouting matches, but boundaries at Christmas keep us together.
Hello guys, How are y’all doing?
So on the 29th of November, 2015, I turned 30. I know I know, I don’t look my age. It’s really Gods blessings, he blessed me with good genes, or maybe I have an aging backwards defect and I dunno? (lol, God…
Hey! I like this thing that you told. I mean yess. My prospective customers will give heed to my product only whn they know its going to benefit him in some way.. ☺
Alcohol doesn’t have to ruin your life.
What’s so funny? I’m the investor in a $100B unicorn. In fact, it’ll be worth $200B if I exit at $2 tomorrow.
Helplessness. I’ve talked on end about horror. What makes horror, how it has evolved, how it is defined, so on and so forth. Today I want to talk about what I feel is a rather base element when I consider something which is disturbing. The feeling of helplessness. A futile state of whatever I do, I…
When was the last time you wrote Santa?You’ve never too old.What would you ask Santa for today?
Well written as always. Agree with the stares and constant honking we get if we stop for a red signal. Hope this rain brings some sort of orderliness to the city.
Posted: December 8, 2015 in Uncategorized
I have been switched to the contemplation about my newly found and bred nature people tend to call disappearance and others even call silence. I know many might not find the point of contemplation but thats because they are…
The personification of theatricality,fitting to a puppet’s life in ways you never imagined; So defined,that they could sustain themselves in limbo.’
Beautiful piece. I have come to realise this in my life and live use it to my advantage instead. Sometimes I forger but sooner or later I remember and take action.
Man, loving yourself completely is tough. The more I try and the more I appreciate myself I’m finding my happiness go up. It’s so easy to see my flaws and hard to celebrate the good. Why is that? Why is it so tough to brag and celebrate when we’re doing well and proud of ourselves ?
What is the silence? It’s just the lack of noise, or something more?I was wondering whether silence could mean absence or not. Personally, I believe that silence is something more, capable to have several meanings. Recently, I have realized that most of the people that I admire the most, are all…
The rains had taught all of us a great lesson, indeed. It’s high time we look back at our own faults and try to overcome them, to avoid a similar thing in the future. However, when things do return back to normal after a long time, we tend to forget everything and resort back to our old ways.
Let’s hope it doesn’t happen this time!
Truth talk : Life
When one walks a road he feels pure, he falsely sees the truth that he believes with his heart. His Brain will accept the truth but the heart is the true thing he will follow till the end of his life. “Follow a road that the heart can accept and regret will not follow”.
Today, a stray cat taught me about the importance of life.
I’m not the biggest animal person. I’ve never had any pets. This might just be me, but I don’t think animals were meant to be in confined areas. I don’t think they like being domesticated, but they adjust because they have no…
Branding is a flashlight on your company. It can shine all that is good. But it also exposes all that is bad.
LOL
Though I am afraid, right now.
I am fearless.
Even, if I die. I don’t fear death.
I will write the best stories about my life.
Job Application. Caucasian African American Hispanic. Human.
Guilty as charged on all 12 counts lol
Well, it definitely make me want to see the film.
Sunrise in Ocean City Maryland December 8, 2015
Today sunrise gives thought to “caring” with one’s life!
Thoughts and Ideas of William W Cook
www.cooksquotes.com
Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Nothing has happened. Everything remains exactly as it was. I am I, and you are you, and the…
So first off sorry to anyone that got caught up reading my blog…I know its been a really long time since updated anyone on my life. But I do plan on getting a better schedule together and keeping track of this. The things Ive been doing and learning have been more then amazing. But yeah this is…
Second Try
Why’d you kill me officer? Because I can.
December 8, 2015-Rest Day
Couldn’t agree more with this article. People struggle with trying to make everything perfect or learning everything instead of just starting SOMETHING.
Hi Wil,
Thank you for your post and letting us take part in your reboot project. Keep going. I’m also some kind of rebooting.
I wonder if you could shed some light on your relaxation techniques or is it something secret?! 😉
it means thinking
