Podcasts about heroically

The pasuk says that Hashem smelled the pleasing aroma of Noach's korban and then declared that He would never again destroy the world as He had done with the Mabul. The Midrash explains that Hashem not only smelled the aroma of Noach's korban, but also the aroma of the fiery furnace into which Avraham Avinu was willing to be thrown. He smelled the aroma of the furnace that Hananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah were cast into, and He smelled the aroma of all of His precious children throughout history who were willing to sacrifice their very lives for Him. We are commanded to love Hashem with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our money. That means being willing to give up even the most precious things to us in order to show our love for Him. Every form of sacrifice is precious to Hashem. Sometimes it means enduring embarrassment. Sometimes it means giving up comforts. Sometimes it means changing our plans. Whatever it may be, Hashem cherishes every effort we make for His sake. Sometimes Hashem even makes it clear just how much He treasures those sacrifices. A Rosh Yeshivah from B'nei B'rak told me a remarkable story. When Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zatzal, was niftar, he was asked to travel to France to deliver a hesped in a shul where his father had once been the rabbi. The Rosh Yeshivah agreed — but on one condition: he never missed his daily shiur at 12:30 in the yeshivah under any circumstance. If the organizers could arrange the trip in such a way that he would not miss his shiur, he would go. They arranged a flight on Thursday afternoon, allowing him to give the hesped Thursday night and return Friday morning — since there was no shiur on Fridays, it would work. But then, another shul in France, a six-hour train ride away, called with the same request. It was a shul where his father-in-law had once been the rabbi. They asked if he could stay for Shabbat, deliver the hesped motza'ei Shabbat, and fly back Sunday morning on a 7:00 a.m. flight. He made the calculation and realized that flight would not land in Israel until around 12:30 — too late for his shiur. So he politely declined. He flew to France that Thursday without even bringing luggage, expecting to return the next morning. But then the second shul called again. This time they had worked out a plan: if he would speak motza'ei Shabbat, then drive six hours overnight to Switzerland, he could catch a 6:00 a.m. flight that would land in Israel around 11:00 a.m., giving him time to reach the yeshivah by 12:30. This would mean spending Shabbat there with no belongings, traveling six hours by train, then another six hours by car through the night — to save one hour in flight time, just so he would not miss giving one shiur. He asked his wife for permission, and she gave her blessing. Heroically, the Rosh Yeshivah delivered both hespeidim with great inspiration. When he arrived for the early flight, it was delayed by half an hour. They landed in Israel at 11:30, and by the time he reached passport control it was 11:50. He was in the foreign passport line with about 50 people ahead of him. After all his sacrifice, it seemed that he would miss the shiur after all. But then, as if an angel was sent from Shamayim, an officer approached him, asked for his passport, stamped it immediately, and told him to pass through without waiting. Such a thing had never happened to him before. Next came the mandatory COVID test. The lines were long and crowded — except for one line that was practically empty. He quickly got his test and continued on his way, arriving at his shiur at exactly 12:30. When a Jew is willing to sacrifice for Hashem, Hashem shows him just how much that sacrifice is cherished. Avraham Avinu never knew how much he was accomplishing by walking into the furnace or by being ready to sacrifice Yitzchak. Hananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah never knew how much their loyalty would inspire generations. And every one of us, in our own way, when we give up something for Hashem, is adding to that eternal "pleasing aroma" that rises to Shamayim. The more we are willing to sacrifice to do Hashem's will, the more love we show Him — and the more Hashem shows His love for us.

In this third installment of our series on the Jinshin no Ran, we are covering the battles that took place in the Nara basin.   Of course, while the fighting focuses on the generals, most of it was done by conscripts--farmers and other common people called up to fight. For more, check out of podcast webpage:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-131   Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is episode 131: The Jinshin no Ran, Part 3: Fighting in the Nara Basin   Maro stood under the tsuki tree and gazed at the walls of the great temple.  The gates and tiled roof were truly an incredible sight.  Maro's home wasn't that far away, but until he'd been called up for service to the government, he hadn't thought much beyond the valley where he and his family tilled the land.  Their life had been largely spent in the village, tucked up in the valley, farming rice, hunting in the mountains, and gathering firewood.   He remembered how, years ago, his brothers had been the ones to go and do their service.  They had been called up to build some kind of giant fortress on the top of a mountain.  The stories they  brought back were incredible—it was one thing to hear tales of the outside world from merchants and itinerant priests, but it was different to hear them from someone you actually knew.  Now, it was Maro's turn.  But he hadn't been called up for labor—he was going to have to fight.  He tried to psych himself up.  Many of the men and, frankly, young boys who were there with him were in a similar boat.  Some were old hands, having served multiple times.  Others were new and, like Maro, there for the first time.  None of them were professional soldiers, though you wouldn't know that by the way some of them swaggered through the camp.  They had been called up quickly, with only a little information.  Apparently Prince Ohoama, they were told, had rebelled against the government.  He and his men were gathering in the east and at any moment they could attack the capital in Ohotsu, and from there they would swing down and attack the ancient capital.  So here they were, several hundred conscripts, pulled from households around the ancient capital, gathered and waiting for their weapons and armor so that they could then get their marching orders—quite literally. Suddenly, Maro heard a commotion in the north.  He couldn't see what was happening, but the murmurs turned to shouting.  Prince Takechi, the son of the demonic rebel, Ohoama, was here, coming from the north with hundreds of expert soldiers on horseback!  Panic set in, and even though a few of the officers tried to quell the disturbance, it wasn't enough.  Afraid for what might come, Maro and those like him broke ranks and fled.  Maro gave little thought to what might happen to his family and friends if he deserted—he was no longer thinking rationally.  Along with his compatriots—his would-be brothers-in-arms if they had been given any—he hoped that he could hide, and that, if he survived, maybe, just maybe, he could somehow make it back home in one piece.   Welcome back.  Content warning for this episode—we are going to be talking about war, including death, fighting, and suicide. As I noted at the start, this is part three of our look at the Jinshin no Ran, the Jinshin War—sometimes translated as a “Disturbance” or a “Rebellion”.  This was the war between the supporters of Prince Ohoama, also known as Temmu, and Prince Ohotomo, aka Koubun.  Ohoama's side is sometimes called the Yoshino or even the Yamato court, as he had quote-unquote “retired” from the world and become a monk at a temple in Yoshino, south of Asuka, in the old area of Yamato.  Meanwhile, Ohotomo's supporters were the Afumi court—including most of the ministers running the state from the capital in Ohotsu, on the shores of lake Biwa, the area known as Afumi.  So let's take a look at what has happened so far, and then we can get into the events we are talking about today: a look at the soldiers who were fighting, their gear, and then some of the fighting that went on—specifically the fighting that happened in the Nara Basin.  I'll do my best to organize things based on the rough timeline that they seem to have occurred. Now previously, we had covered how Ohoama, brother to Naka no Oe aka Tenchi Tennou, had given up his title as Crown Prince and retired, supposedly to prevent any concerns that he might rebel and try to take the throne, but this wasn't enough for Ohotomo and the Court, who had begun to raise forces against him.  And so Ohoama and his supporters had just made a desperate dash eastwards, across the mountain roads to Ise.  From there they secured the Fuwa and Suzuka passes, two of the main routes to the East Countries.  Ohoama had then sent out requests for assistance to those same countries, hoping to find allies who would support him against the apparently legitimate government in Ohotsu. We are told that Ohoama was joined at this time by two of his sons: Prince Takechi and Prince Ohotsu. And here I want to pause to note something that I didn't point out last episode: These princes were not quite as old as you might think from the way they are portrayed in the Chronicle.  Prince Takechi, who had been given command of the troops at Fuwa Barrier, was only 19 years old.  Granted, that is only 4 years younger than their rival, Prince Ohotomo, and only a couple of years younger than the famous Minamoto Yoshitsune would be when he joined his brother in the Genpei Wars, over 500 years later.  Prince Ohotsu, however, was a bit younger, as he is believed to have been about 10 years old at this time, which likely explains why he is not so prominent in the narrative.  I mention this because the Nihon Shoki often omits details like age and can make it seem like these were all seasoned adult men and women, when it may have been that they were simply of high enough status to be mentioned, even though others were likely running their affairs for them.  In Prince Takechi's case, while he was likely old enough to take charge of the forces at Fuwa, it is also clear that his father was nearby and overseeing things, so everything didn't rest solely on his son's shoulders. Meanwhile, the Afumi court was raising its own soldiers.  While their delegation to the East was stopped at the captured Fuwa Pass, they also had sent word to the west.  Kibi and Tsukushi are specifically mentioned, but we know that they were raising troops elsewhere, including in the home province regions of Yamato and Kawachi. Here it should be noted that the Nihon Shoki is pretty clearly pro-Temmu, in other words pro-Ohoama.  There is some evidence from textual analysis, however, that the Temmu portions of the narrative differ from the Tenchi portions.  Torquil Duthie, in his book, “Man'yōshū and the Imperial Imagination in Early Japan”, recounts how scholarship has identified at least two—possibly three—different groups of compilers who managed different reigns.  The Tenchi narrative is more neutral, while the Temmu narrative provides a bit more of an accusatory tone, and both narratives provide slightly different accounts of the same events—notably the death of Naka no Oe, Prince Ohoama taking vows, and Prince Ohotomo succeeding his father.  On the other side, Duthie mentions  the Kaifusou, a collection of Sinitic style poetry created in 751, just 31 years after the Nihon Shoki, where in the introduction, the author seems to be much more sympathetic to Prince Ohotomo and his cause, implying that Oama was the one rising up against the legitimate government. I mention this just to help us remember that our primary source is not exactly neutral about all of this, and we should keep that in mind as we are trying to sort out what was going on.  The narrative also often makes it seem as though the outcome was inevitable, but we should remember that at the time all of these events were going down, the people involved couldn't have known how they were going to turn out— in the moment, anything could have happened, especially in times of war. Speaking of which, we know that the two sides were raising troops, so let's talk about what we know about those troops and what combat may have looked like at this time.  While we don't exactly have detailed accounts, there is a lot we can piece together through the archaeological record and other sources.  To that end we have evidence of armor and weapons, as well as shields, and we can also look at haniwa through the 6th and even early 7th century to give us an idea of local armor styles.  Let's first look back on how soldiers were conscripted.  Each household seems to have been responsible for supplying a soldier, when required.  They were also to supply their equipment.  This included a sword, armor, bows and arrows, as well as a flag and drum. In historical parades, today, we often see row upon row of soldiers kitted out in matching clothing, appearing relatively cohesive and well-regimented.  In truth it is hard to know just how similar any one group might have been.  Based on later historical examples, it is safe to assume that many of the soldiers may not have had much armor, if any, and even if they did it might have been made of wood or leather, which were unlikely to survive to the modern day. Of course, I would also question just how often they were able to afford everything mentioned.  And since we are told that as the government was gathering soldiers it was also opening up storehouses of weapons and armor, I suspect that indicates that not everyone had their own.  And even if they did, it may have been of questionable quality. That said, if a warrior did have armor, it was likely one of two types, variations of which were both found on the continent. The first type is characterized by a solid, circular cuirass, often called a “tankou”, or short armor.  These were made of strips of iron that were shaped on a wooden form and then riveted or tied together into a solid cuirass, which is why it is also called a type of “plate” armor.  One side of the armor was hinged and could open so that the wearer could get in.  There are some tankou with a hanging skirt of tassets that flare out as well, protecting the legs, and even examples of pieces that also go around the neck, shoulder guards, and arm guards.  The tankou seems to date from at least the 3rd or 4th century, with changes in design over time, and we know that it continued through at least the 6th century. Compare this to the keikou, or hanging armor.  Keikou was a kind of lamellar armor, made of individual scales, later known as “sane”.  These metal scales, also known as lamellae, were held together with lacing, and made for a much more flexible, and presumably comfortable, armor.  The tradeoff for this comfort was that keikou likely took a lot more labor to make, and thus were considered a more elite armor, possibly used by men on horseback or at least by those leading the troops.  Looking into the future a bit, we know that in the 8th century there were “tankou” and “keikou” being donated to the Shousouin repository at Toudaiji.  However, it isn't clear that “tankou” and “keikou” in the 8th century referred to exactly this kind of armor, and we may have been dealing with something else entirely, because there is a lacuna in our understanding of armor on the archipelago between the end of the Asuka period and the appearance of the more familiar yoroi in the Heian period comes about.  There are conjectured transitional armors, based on continental models, which are thought to have been used.  Still, at this very point in time, when Ohoama is mounting his rebellion against Ohotomo, the Keikou and Tankou are generally thought to have still been in use, and this is generally how you will see the two sides represented. As for weapons, perhaps the most common that we see is the bow and arrow.  Archery is extremely practical, not only for its ability to be used from a distance, but also because in times of peace people can use the same bows to hunt, thus making hunting prowess a kind of stand-in for military prowess.  The way of the bow—in fact the way of the horse and bow, or Kyuuba no Michi—would be the main pillar of martial prowess in the archipelago for centuries.  The iconic sword, while important—it was, after all, one of the three sacred regalia—was more of a side-arm, deployed in close quarters combat.  It was still important, as it could be easily carried with you.  However, it is more likely that massed troops might have had spears and various types of polearms, providing reach.  Those are harder to just casually carry around, however, especially if you are mainly using a bow.  Perhaps that is part of the reason that we don't hear as much about such weapons, and most of the focus seems to be on the archers and on swords. There were also at this time shields.  We know that the Hayato of southern Kyushu were particularly known for them, but there evidence that they were more widely used.  After all, a shield made of wood would have made an important defense against a rain of arrows coming from the enemy. As for the horses, some of them may have even had their own barding, or armor, though I suspect, again, that was rare, and reserved for elites.  All of this together gives us some idea of what it may have looked like when Ohoama and Ohotomo's forces engaged in battle, though it is still conjecture.  We know that they had spears, and swords, and bows.  We know that some of the first men that Prince Ohoama picked up on his journey was to conscript archers to his service, who then were pressed into taking a government post station.    We also don't necessarily see a lot of individual fighting described in the records, though there are exceptions. Later on, there was a tradition of individual warriors calling out challenges in the midst of battle, that became an accepted practice in the early culture of the bushi, or samurai, but we don't see that in the Chronicles.    Certainly we see moments of individual valor which are remembered, likely because of the benefits that the hero's descendants could then claim for themselves.   But for the most part it seems that the people actually doing the fighting were groups of conscripted soldiers, not the hired warriors of later periods.  Even among groups like the Mononobe, the Be of the Warriors, it isn't clear that they would have been the ones on the front lines—not if they could help it, anyway.  Most of these were farmers and similar commoners, who were called up to fight as necessary.  Some of them may have seen action over on the Korean peninsula, or even in local skirmishes.  Others would have been fresh out of the fields, joining the ranks for the first time.  They were not exactly volunteers, but also didn't have much of a choice.  It was the draft on steroids. I also suspect that the act of conscription, where a soldier was offered up by a household, or family,, meant that desertion would mean that their family would be punished. While the elite generals providing the men were no doubt gauging how this would affect their own political and economic fortunes, I imagine that the average soldier had much less agency and could look forward to many fewer rewards.  In fact, I suspect his main goal would have been one of survival.  Perhaps if one fought well, they could earn something more for themselves, and perhaps there were cultural concepts of loyalty to one's local elites and leadership.  And maybe there were leaders who inspired them to do great things.  However, works like the Nihon Shoki were rarely concerned with the lives of the common people, except when it shined a light on the sovereigns and their court.   It was much more concerned with how this affected the upper caste of society. There is also the question about just what kind of fighting this system led to.  Again, these are not the bushi—a warrior class who prided themselves on their martial prowess.  And neither were they standing armies.  While there were likely some who regularly served and trained and found they had a skill at war, how many were simple farmers who were now holding a spear instead of a spade?  These are things to keep in mind as we follow along with tales of glorious victory or ignoble defeat. So, that's a glimpse at who was actually doing the fighting.  As for the timeline of the battle, let's get into it.  But first, a caveat:  as we should be used to by now, the exact chronology of the events listed in the Nihon Shoki is not entirely clear.  The Nihon Shoki provides a narrative, but often it includes actions that took several days or even weeks on a single date where the events apparently culminated.  Using cues, such as “one day later” or such things, we can piece together a narrative, but I may not have it 100% accurate.  It doesn't help that the Nihon Shoki seems to focus on different campaigns separately, even though much of it was happening at the same time.  That's compounded by the fact that all of this was being recorded much later, and so there is also a great possibility that even some of the seemingly clear dates were also wrong, or were adjusted to make for a better flow in the narrative.  So I'm going to do my best to piece together what I roughly feel was the chronological order, but just be aware that dates may not be all that precise.    In the coming conflict we see several main arenas.  First, there is the area around Lake Biwa, from the Fuwa pass towards Ohotsu.  This was Ohoama's main path to try and put an end to this whole affair—to make his way to Ohotsu, the capital, and cut off the head of the snake.  To do that he would have to leave his defensive position and venture out around the lake, where Afumi forces no doubt lay in wait.  At the same time, there was also fierce fighting in the Nara Basin, with Yoshino and Afumi forces clashing there across the plains.  And we cannot forget the Kafuka, or Kouka, pass over to Suzuka.  If the Afumi forces could push through to Suzuka, then they could march along the coastal plains of Mie up through Owari and come at Ohoama's forces from behind. In previous episodes we covered the leadup to this part of the conflict, and while there had been some fighting at the post stations on the road to Suzuka, as well as captured envoys at Fuwa Pass, so far we haven't seen any major fighting.  If the timeline in the Nihon Shoki is to be believed, the first serious clashes seem to have occurred in the Yamato region and the Nara basin. In general, however, there seems to have been two main campaigns.  There was the fighting in the Nara Basin, and then there was the fighting along the shores of Lake Biwa. Everything started off at the end of the 6th month with Ohoama's mad dash to capture the passes at Suzuka and Fuwa, where he waited while he gathered up men from the Eastern countries.  While that was happening, the Afumi court was out recruiting men for their own war.  This would lead to some of the earliest formal battles between the two sides taking place in the Nara Basin, originally a recruitment center, it turned into a battle zone.  Yoshino aligned forces would push north, only to be blocked by armies coming down from the capital at Ohotsu, as well as forces coming through the gap between Yamato and Kawachi, where the Yamato river leaves the basin through the western mountains.  The fighting happened largely over the course of a week or so.  It started around the 29th day of the 6th month, and seems to have ended between the 4th or 6th day of the 7th month.  So keep that in mind. As you may recall from last episode, two brothers, Ohotomo no Muraji no Makuda and Ohotomo no Muraji no Fukei, upon hearing that Ohoama was rising up, both feigned illness, using that as an excuse to leave the court at Ohotsu and return to their family compounds in the Yamato region.  From there, Makuda made haste to catch up with Ohoama and his men, but his brother, Fukei, stayed behind to see what he could do in Yamato. Originally, Fukei's success was limited.  He started calling various allied families together and tried to drum up support for Ohoama, but he could only gather a few tens of men.  Not the hundreds, let alone thousands, that would be needed.  At the same time, the Afumi court was conscripting men of the Yamato region into service.  This was being organized by Hodzumi no Obito no Momotari and his younger brother, Hodzumi no Obito no Ihoye, along with Mononobe no Obito no Hiuga, who had all been sent to Yamato on the orders of the Afumi court, apparently arriving shortly after Fukei.  This group set up their base of operations at the Wokamoto palace—it was, after all, the official government presence and they were the official government representatives —and they used the grounds west of Houkouji, aka Asukadera, as their assembly grounds. Ohotomo no Fukei knew that something would have to be done.  If those conscripted Yamato soldiers were formed into a proper army and sent out, it could cause a lot of trouble for Ohoama and his men.  And fortunately, Fukei had a man on the inside: apparent ally, Sakanouhe no Atahe no Kumage, the officer in charge of the Wokamoto Palace, working for Prince Takazaka who resided there.  And so Fukei had a plan—he would impersonate the Royal Prince Takechi, son of Ohoama, and pretend to lead a force of cavalry to attack the camp at Asukadera.  To strengthen the illusion, Fukei would come in from the north, which is where Prince Takechi and his men would presumably be coming from.  Now remember, Fukei only had tens of people that were actually on his side at this point, and the camp was presumably much larger.  If they didn't fall for his ruse, Fukei would be marching straight to his death. Fukei marshalled his troops at the house of Kudara, which is to say “Baekje”, and then left out of the south gate.  He then had an accomplice, Hada no Miyatsuko no Kuma, dressed in nothing but a loincloth, mount a horse and gallop as fast as he could towards the camp.  You can imagine the confusion in the camp as this wild, naked man gallops up to them in a panic and starts telling them that Prince Takechi and his men were on their way with a huge force. When the conscripted soldiers heard this, they panicked.  While the men were gathered, it seems that they hadn't yet been outfitted with weapons and armor, so the entire camp broke and fled.  And so Fukei was able to waltz in with his tens of men and take the camp at Asukadera, capturing Prince Takazaka and those sent from Ohotsu to levy troops.  Fukei's ally, Kumage, the man on the inside, helped with this, along with the soldiers under the command of him and the Aya no Atahe.  And so they were able to disperse the conscripted Yamato forces before they were even assembled.  However, it turned out that someone was missing.  Hodzumi no Omi no Momotari, who had been appointed leader of the operation, was not at Asukadera.  It turns out that he was over at the Woharida Palace, where he was reviewing the armory, taking out the weapons and armor for the troops that he thought were still over at Asukadera. And so Fukei continued the ruse: he sent a messenger to summon Momotari, claiming to be a summons from Prince Takechi himself. Momotari, hearing this, likely knew that he had lost, but he apparently maintained his dignity.  He didn't run away or rush to the camp.  Instead he approached on horseback in a leisurely fashion.  When he reached the encampment, now under Fukei's command, one of the soldiers shouted at Momotari to get off his horse, but Momotari, likely trying to keep what remained of his dignity, was slow in doing so.  The men around him didn't care one whit for his dignity, however.  They grabbed his collar and pulled him off of the horse, dragging him to the ground.  He was shot with an arrow and then a man drew his sword and struck him and killed him.  We aren't even told who did this deed, just how it was done. As for the others, Momonatari's brother, Hodzumi no Ihoye and Mononobe no Hiuga were bound, but eventually they were released amongst the troops, where they were no doubt watched carefully.  Princes Takazaka no Ou and Wakasa no Ou, the representatives of the Afumi court in Asuka, were made to follow behind the army.  With this victory under his belt, Ohotomo no Fukei sent messengers to Prince Ohoama, at the Fuwa pass, to let him know what had happened.  When the messengers finally reached Ohoama we are told that he was quite pleased with the result.  After all, it meant that his rearguard was that much more secure. We are told that these events took place on or about the 29th day of the 6th month, around the same time that Ohoama was overseeing the troops at Wazami, only a few days after he and the real Prince Takechi had made their way to that camp.  Things were evolving quickly.  Fukei's success drew others to his banner.  Miwa no Kimi no Takechimaro, Kamo no Kimi no Yemishi, and othes all joined Fukei's forces, “like an echo”.  With a now more sizeable force, it seems that Fukei believed he was ready to take the fight to the Afumi court.  He and his advisors drew up plans for invading Afumi, selecting men to be deputy commanders and military commanders, providing a hierarchy and some organization.  From there, a few days later, he began to march north from Asuka, towards Nara. Now Nara at this point was just a name for the northwest area of the basin—they probably didn't even think of it as the Nara basin back then.  But it was along the road that led north, through the mountains, and from there through Yamashiro and eventually on to Afumi.  As Fukei was headed north, however,  he received word that there was another force coming from the Kawachi in the west.  And so he split his forces.  Sakamoto no Omi no Takara and others were sent with some 300 troops to take a defensive position at Tatsuta.  Sami no Kimi no Sukunamaro was also sent with another several hundred men to Ohosaka… no, not that Ohosaka.  Afusaka in modern Kashiba, in western Nara Basin.  This area would have been a strategic defensive point for any troops taking the road from Kawachi, so if anyone got past Sakamoto no Takara, Sukunamaro and his troops would be waiting. The now General Fukei also sent Kamo no Yemishi with another several hundred men to guard the Iwate road, to defend that approach as well.  Now Sakamoto no Takara, who had been sent to engage the troops coming from Kawachi, reached the area of Hiraishi when he heard that Afumi forces were occupying the nearby castle of Takayasu mountain.  You may recall that Takayasu was one of the Korean style fortresses that had been built in anticipation of a possible invasion from the continent, and it had even been repaired a few times.  Now it was being used not against an outside enemy, but in an internal conflict. Takara and his men marched up the mountain, intending to attack the castle, and here we should probably give a better idea of just what this castle was like.  If you think of a modern Japanese castle the thing that likely stands out, no pun intended, is the Tenshukaku, or donjon; the multi-storied tower located somewhere inside the walls and moats of the castle proper.  This would be an ideal location to spy over the walls and see where the enemy were, as well as an area from which one could make a last ditch stand. The castles of the Asuka period were not like this.  They were built off of a continental model, and their defining feature was not the donjon—though they likely did have gate and guard towers set up so that one could see attacking forces.  No, the defining feature was really the walls.  Long, compacted-earth walls, possibly lined with stone, which snaked around the top of a mountain.  This castle style leveraged the natural contours of existing mountain tops to provide its defense.  It didn't hurt that they also provided clear views of what was happening on the plains below, and required attacking troops to march up a steep mountain climb and then attack uphill.  The tradeoff was that these weren't the kind of places that people would live, when most of the infrastructure of the state was in the fertile plains and surrounding areas.  So these castles had granaries to keep troops fed, and perhaps some basic buildings erected within the walls, but they were largely a practical design. You can still go see the Takayasu ruins, today, and you don't have to hike up the mountain as Takara and his men did.  Instead you can take a cable car up to the top, or even a regular car on the roads that drive up to the old castle site, though how much you can see I'm not sure.  There are also other castle ruins and even old kofun on the mountain, as its prominence has been recognized as important in many different centuries. There likely weren't a lot of troops manning the castle, certainly not enough that they felt they had much chance of defending it.  So when Takara and his men made it up to the top, they Afumi forces burned the granaries, so as to deny him any supplies, and then took off, discretion being the better part of valor.  Takara and his men spent the evening at the castle, no doubt recovering from their hike up.  Remember, this wasn't just a leisurely stroll—they were no doubt fully kitted out for war.  When they woke the next morning they looked out over the surrounding countryside, of which they now had fantastic views, and   Takara noticed a large army coming down along the Ohotsu-Tajihi road.  They carried flags, which I don't know how Takara could have seen at that point, which identified them as being the enemy - troops of the Afumi general, Iki no Fubito no Karakuni. And so Takara and his men descended from Takayasu, crossed the Ega River—now known as the Ishi river, and engaged Karakuni's army.  They were only 300 men, however, and Karakuni had a much larger forcem so  Takara was unable to maintain a defense.  And so they made a strategic withdrawal—in other words retreated—back to Kashikosaka, apparently a part of Afusaka, where Ki no Omi no Oho'oto had been set to guard.  So Ohotomo and the Afumi court finally scored a win. Besides his victory against Takara and his men, we are also told that Karakuni had come upon Kume no Omi no Shihoko, the governor of Kawachi.  Shihoko had been gathering troops to go fight for Ohoama, but he was found out by Karakuni.  Karakuni captured him and was going to execute him, but before he could, Shihoko took his own life, instead. As Takara was retreating and setting up a new defensive position, Fukei had his own problems to worry about.  As he was camped with his troops on Mt. Narayama, one of his men, Aradawo no Atahe no Akamaro, addressed him and suggested that they should make sure to fortify Asuka, just in case.  Fukei agreed, and sent Akamaro as well as Imbe no Kobito to guard the Okamoto Palace in Asuka.  They also made sure to remove the planks from any bridges, using them to setup fortifications along the road.  Now any army that wished to cross would either have to swim or they would need to come across the narrow beams that were all that was left of the bridges.  This was not ideal at the best of times, but you can imagine doing it as troops on the other side were shooting arrows at you.  And yet this has become a near classic trope in Japanese war stories and it won't be the only time it comes up in various historical contexts.  It wouldn't even be the only time it shows up in this current conflict. A day later, Fukei found himself engaged with an Afumi general, Ohono no Kimi no Hatayasu, on Mt. Narayama itself.  Despite Fukei having had time to set up a defensive position, the Afumi forces overwhelmed Fukei's men.  They were defeated and Fukei himself barely escaped with his life.  Fukei fled south with only one or two men, also on horseback, with Hatayasu hot on his heels, only stopping when they reached Hatta and the Yamato river.  At that point the fortifications were in place, and Hatayasu likely knew that any trying to cross the river after Fukei would likely not go nearly as well as it did at Narayama. As for General Fukei he kept going all the way until he reached Sumizaka, which appears to be in Uda.  There he fell in with Okizome no Muraji no Usagi, at the head of several tens of thousands of men.  Usagi had been with Ohoama , but upon hearing of the fighting in Yamato, Ohoama had sent him  and others to go back through the Suzuka pass to provide reinforcements.  One can only imagine how happy Fukei was at this point to see Usagi and all of thise men.  Fukei turned back around and encamped at Kanatsunawi—possibly modern Imai-cho, Kashihara city.  There he was able to gather many of the dispersed troops back into a force once again. About this time, Fukei heard that the Afumi forces were also approaching along the Afusaka road.  So now they were approaching from both the north and the west.  They were also taking several different roads—inside the largely flat area of the Nara Basin, they likely had several choices.  Takara and Oho-oto had been unable to meet the enemy and had kept retreating, likely seeking a defensible position.  As they did this, Fukei came from the east with his reinforcements.  He made it to where the roads branched at Tahema—modern Taima—where he fought with Iki no Karakuni nearby Ashi-kie pond, possibly somewhere near modern Chimata.  During the battle, one of Fukei's men, a brave warrior known to us only as “Kume”, drew his sword and rushed straight into the midst of the enemy army.  Of course one lone man wasn't likely to do much, but he inspired a cavalry charge, and men on horseback followed closely at his heels.  Seeing this force bearing quickly down on them, the Afumi troops broke, and soon it was a rout.  Fukei's men pursued, cutting down the Afumi soldiers as they fled, until Fukei finally reined them in. At this point, Fukei then admonished his troops that their goal was to take out the ringleaders, not to just indiscriminately murder the common people.  Remember, which side of the battlefield you ended up fighting on was largely a function of who had conscripted you, and Fukei evidently knew this.  As the men were still retreating, though, Fukei noticed that the Afumi general, Karakuni – one of those ringleaders - had gotten himself separated from his men.  Fukei ordered Kume—presumably the same one who had charged the army in the first place—to shoot at him, but Kume's arrow missed, and Karakuni made his escape.  Rather than pursuing, Fukei returned back to his headquarters. Once there, Fukei now learned that there were enemy forces approaching from the East, as well.  So Fukei took the army and divided it into three, defending the Upper, Middle, and Lower roads, and he took personal charge of the forces on the middle road, likely so that he could easily keep in touch with the other forces.  He was also waiting for the next challenge, and he didn't have to wait for long: the Afumi general Inukai no Muraji no Isogimi approached along the Middle Road.  He halted at Muraya, but his deputy commander, Ihoriwi no Miyatsuko no Kujira, attacked Fukei's camp with 200 specially picked soldiers.  Now it turns out that when they reached the camp, there were only a few people actually there at the time, including one Tokumaro, described as a slave of Ohowidera temple, and four “people following the army” – in other words, these might not have been actual soldiers.  .  Nevertheless, together this small group rallied, formed an advance guard and went forward, shooting arrows at Kujira's forces.  Kujira, not knowing that Fukei's camp was all but empty, halted his advance. Meanwhile, over on the Upper Road, Miwa no Takechimaro and Okizome no Usagi, who had been sent by Ohoama from Fuwa, fought with the Afumi army at the Hashi Misasagi—which is assumed to be the Hashihaka kofun, and they overwhelmingly defeated the Afumi army there, such that they was able to pivot from there and swing their forces over to the Middle road.  There they slammed into the flank of Kujira's army, who had stopped to trade blows with Fukei's camp.  Many of the common soldiers were killed, and the general, Kujira, ran off, mounted on a white horse.  Unfortunately for him, the horse took a misstep and tumbled into a muddy-rice field. Kujira was bogged down in the mud and having trouble getting out.  General Fukei, seeing this, sent a brave soldier of Kahi to shoot at Kujira, but as the soldier came up to the edge of the rice paddy, Kujira whipped his horse vigorously, and got it to extricate itself and Kujira, who galloped off and escaped.  Fukei, for his part, returned again to his headquarters and camped with his men there.  Though they were ready for another conflict, nothing ever came.  The Afumi forces had withdrawn.  The battle for the Nara basin was over, and the Yoshino forces were victorious. General Fukei, however, was anything but finished.  Remember, he had planned to take the fight to the Afumi court, and so, having subdued the enemy forces in Yamato—which is to say the Nara basin—Fukei marched out through Afusaka to Naniwa, and then marched on Yamazaki, where he set up camp.  From there, he sent messengers to all the governors of the Western Provinces.  He forced them to give up their keys, their posting-bells, and their posting tallies—basically he had them formally submit to the Yoshino faction, and thus to Ohoama. Meanwhile, Ohoama had his own campaign to conduct, and it kicked off in the middle of Fukei's defense of the Yamato Home Province.  He also would engage various generals in battle, but we'll save that campaign for Part Four. But before we go I do want to point out, once again: this wasn't a simple and straightforward matter of attack and defense.  Notice that generals on both sides sometimes were victorious and sometimes had to flee.  You can only imagine how, after the defeat at Narayama, General Fukei must have felt that all hope was lost, only to run into a force ten thousand strong come to relive him and his paltry troops.  But it could just as easily have been that he didn't make it.  In fact, how many warriors died?  Heroically, perhaps, but still died.  And if there were no descendants to carry on their name and remember their deeds, then who knows how many people just didn't get written about at all.  And then there are all of those common soldiers.  Individuals without any recorded name, but who nonetheless were there and who fought. They may not have been the people that later authors cared to write about, and yet they were all someone's child, and possibly their sibling or parent.  They loved and laughed, and certainly died.  All to determine who would sit next upon the Yamato throne.  One has to wonder if winning or losing really changed anything for them, or perhaps they won simply by surviving. And on that cheerful thought, I'll take my leave.  Until next time, thank you once again for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  

In an effort to both find all the lore necessary, and also prove one Sean from For Azeroth Wrong, Ali takes us through all the possible lore that can be extracted from Horrific Visions just like those black blood extractor things we wind up destroying during world quests. We promise not to drain your sanity too! Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/livelaughlore Follow us! Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/livelaughlore.com  TikTok = https://www.tiktok.com/@livelaughlorecast  Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/livelaughlorecast/  YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCawbWDBP7qEl24CZ2GUoSGg 

On this edition of The Sideline Guys Powered by Gainbridge, Pat Boylan and Jeremiah Johnson provide instant reaction to Tyrese Haliburton's game winning four point play against the Bucks. The two will discuss where it ranks among recent all-time top moments, and debate whether it can help spark the Pacers going forward.

Today we've got another Heroic +1 for you featuring wisdom from Caroline Adams Miller.   If you're enjoying the podcast, make sure to subscribe!   And…   Quick question for you:   What if you could transform your energy, focus, and relationships in just 101 days—and become the most Heroic version of yourself?   The 101-Day Heroic Elite training program is your invitation to a life-changing journey:   (1) Optimize Your Energy: Master the fundamentals—Eating, Moving, Sleeping, Breathing, and Focusing—so you wake up energized and ready to conquer the day.   (2) Achieve Peak Productivity: Train your focus and align every action with What's Important Now (WIN). Create before you react and get more done than ever before.   (3) Deepen Your Connection: Strengthen your relationships with yourself, your loved ones, and your purpose.   (4) Track Your Progress: Flourish in measurable ways, from energy and productivity to biomarkers like VO2 max, body composition, and more.   Heroic Elite isn't just another program—it's a forge for transformation. With elite coaching from Brian and Alexandra, the Heroic Elite Field Guide, and a supportive community, you'll create unshakable habits that last a lifetime.  

The Minnesota Vikings made key plays at the end to prevail over the Crooked Chicago Bears 30-27 in overtime to move to 9-2. Here's the Winners & Losers from the game.   --- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/purpleftwpodcast

In this episode of The Defender Bible Study, we're taking a break from our study on the book of John to dive into what it means to embody a "heroic archetype" in ministry, beginning with a powerful message from our friend Ken Norwood, CEO of Kenergy Coaching, LLC. Drawing from Acts 11:19-26, Ken shares insights on how ministries can embrace a heroic posture, using the example of Barnabas to illustrate three foundational elements: understanding our mission, living with discipline, and remaining determined despite challenges. This episode calls us to step boldly into our unique mission, rooted in Christ, while making impactful, intentional choices that shape a courageous ministry culture. LIFELINE CHILDREN'S SERVICES The mission of Lifeline Children's Services is to equip the Body of Christ to manifest the gospel to vulnerable children. Our vision is for vulnerable children and their communities to be transformed by the gospel and to make disciples.FOLLOW US Facebook, Instagram, Twitter The Defender Podcast: Subscribe on iTunes | Transistor | Spotify The Defender Bible Study: Subscribe on iTunes | Transistor | Spotify 

There's a mitzvah from the Torah to love Hashem. The Pele Yoetz writes, someone who loves Hashem would choose to do His will even if he would lose as a result. If he would be told that for doing mitzvot he would be punished and for doing averot he would be rewarded, but Hashem's will is for him to do mitzvot, it would be a no-brainer – he would do the mitzvot happily, knowing that he's bringing satisfaction to Hashem. Sometimes people take upon themselves to do extra mitzvot with the hope of seeing improvement in their lives, but then things don't change and, at times, they even get worse. That is a time when the person could truly show his love for Hashem. He could say, "I'm so happy I did those mitzvot. it was Hashem's will for me to do those mitzvot, regardless of what I got out of it." The Chovot HaLevavot writes about a pious man who was living in dire poverty. He did not have what to eat; he did not have a change of clothing; he couldn't even afford a candle to be able to see in the dark. And one night, he got up and he said, "Hashem, You have starved me; You have left me with no clothing; You have put me in the pitch black. But I take an oath by Your strength and greatness, even if You would burn me in fire, I would only increase my love to You and take delight in You." The pasuk says we are to love Hashem in all circumstances, "בכל לבבך, ובכל נפשך ובכל מאדך." What does it mean "בכל לבבך – with all of our heart"? The Chovot HaLevavot, in the Shaar Ahavat Hashem, brings two explanations: One is בכל כבודך – we have to be ready to sacrifice even our honor for the sake of Hashem. How many times do people get shamed, and they don't know where to put themselves. A person could become disgusted with his life because of an embarrassing situation that he suffered, or the person could say, "Hashem, I know that was from You. I'll accept it as Your will. I'll continue loving You, no matter what." The second explanation of ""בכל לבבך is with all of our desires. This means if there's something that we want to do very badly but it's against the halacha, we have an opportunity, at that time, to show our love to Hashem and hold ourselves back. "בכל נפשך" means a person has to be willing to give up his life for Hashem, if that's what's called for. "בכל מאדך" means a person has to willing to give up all of his money for Hashem, if that's what's called for. I read a story about Rabbi Shlomo, the father of the Be'er Mayim Chaim al HaTorah. He owned a beer factory and, on one Erev Pesach, he was so busy he wasn't going to have a chance to sell the factory to save himself from the prohibition of owning chametz. So he commissioned his good friend who was going to sell his chametz. He said, "Could you sell mine also?" And he happily agreed. After Pesach, when Rabbi Shlomo was on his way to reopen his factory, he saw his good friend on the street. And when the friend saw him, his face turned white. He had forgotten to sell the chametz and, now, everything in the factory was forbidden for benefit as חמץ שעבר עליו הפסח. Not only was he going to have to get rid of hundreds of gallons of beer, but also the containers and vessels which the beer was stored in became useless, since they were made out of earthenware and couldn't be koshered. He had just discovered he lost everything. Heroically, Rabbi Shlomo said, "We say every day that we are supposed to love Hashem with all of our money. When does a person have an opportunity to love Hashem by giving up all of his money? Today I have that opportunity and I will not squander it." He lovingly accepted his fate and he pledged his love to Hashem on the spot. Many times, people attempt to grow in religion. They pray harder to Hashem for salvation, they do things for zechuyot, but they get let down. And it could be, time after time, if instead of complaining or getting angry at Hashem, they could seize their opportunity and show their love to Hashem instead, then they would soar to the greatest heights.

In this special Fallon Flashback episode of The Tonight Show Podcast Alan Ritchson talks about an embarrassing moment during his audition for the series Reacher and stopping a burglary while on a date with his wife.

Today's +1 features wisdom from Stephen Covey.   Heroic: https://heroic.us ← "Heroic is the best self-development platform in the world." — John Mackey, co-founder & former CEO of Whole Foods Market   Want access to more wisdom in time? Get access to over 1,500 +1's (just like this!) and 650+ Philosopher's Notes (distilling life-changing big ideas from the best self-development books ever written) and a LOT more with our Heroic Premium membership. Learn more and get 30 days free at https://heroic.us

Celia Pacquola is an actor, writer and comedian, who's worked extensively in Australia and the UK and is known best for her work on ‘Utopia', ‘Rosehaven' and her prolific stand up comedy career. She is the current host of the hit TV show, ‘Thank God You're Here!'Sammy J is an Australian comedian, writer, composer, and broadcaster. He's played in Edinburgh, Montreal and London, had a sitcom on Netflix, is one half of the man/puppet comedy duo “Sammy J & Randy", creates satirical sketches for ABC TV and currently hosts the breakfast show on ABC Radio Melbourne.In this episode we discuss:-Having our self worth defined by our careers-The unconditional love Celia's child has for her and how beautiful that is when we feel our life's loves (in a our career) are conditional.-Sammy's appreciation for nature, the clarity he finds when he's out there and how comedically subversive it is in a modern world to go bush.-The flux between sharing, giving and receiving in our work.-The 5 P's to reclaiming your power.-Sammy cheekily hating on sport!-Trusting the stress and the anxiety pre performance.-The fear of it all being taken away, and how that might actually be a good thing.-The antidote to narcissism is zooming out and not being the centre of our own world or anyone's world.-Meditation taking time, patience, diligence, like any practice should, and it's gateway to flow state.-Not upsetting people as a radio host.-Sentimentality being the least cool thing in comedy.-The difference between being depressed and needing deep rest.-How to deal with awkward and uncomfortable conversations when you ‘Love everybody and tell the truth.”-Becoming irrelevant as we age.Subscribe to our YouTube channel @gobehindthemaskFollow us on Instagram and TikTok @gobehindthemaskVisit our website for more information and register to begin YOUR journey behind the mask.www.gobehindthemask.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, guest Christian de la Huerta talks about Living Heroically. This talk was recorded live at Unity San Francisco on June 9th, 2024.

Living Heroically Spiritual - Dialogs With Dr. Cousens & Dr. Sacks 3/25/24 SUPPORT RICHARD SACKS: https://www.givesendgo.com/richardsacks http://www.worldpeacemeditation.net/ A new LIVE series with Dr. Gabriel Cousens, M.D. & Dr. Richard Sacks, Ph.D., host of Lost Arts Radio LOST ARTS RADIO EMAIL LIST FREE SIGN-UP: https://globalleadersconsulting.activehosted.com/f/1 LOST ARTS RADIO SUBSTACK: https://lostartsradio.substack.com LOST ARTS RADIO STORE: http://shop.lostartsradio.com http://www.drcousens.com and http://treeoflife.mn.co http://www.planetaryhealingclub.com and http://www.lostartsradio.com/live Help keep us on the air: REWARDS PROGRAM - http://www.subscribestar.com/lostartsradio

Jason Kelce from the Philadelphia Eagles, went through a McDonald's drive through and gave an employee something special.   AND   2 Baristas Heroically Fight Off Robbers, Then the Starbucks Employee Gets Fired   To see videos and photos referenced in this episode, visit GodUpdates!   https://www.godupdates.com/jason-kelce-mcdonald-s-fan-surprise/ https://www.godupdates.com/starbucks-employee-gets-fired/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Today on Don't@ME...Praising Heroes of Kansas City, Travis Kelce Is Working With Biden & Charlie Weis RIPS Tony Romo. 3X NFL Team Captain, Jack Brewer shares his thoughts on the Kansas City victory parade shooting. And "Wager Talk" Betting Analyst, Mark Zinno gives Dan his best CBB bets for the weekend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The S-Curve is a very simple concept.  Over time, a newly promoted employee goes through distinct stages in their performance achievement.  Initially, their performance declines as they grapple with the new set of responsibilities.  Gradually they get the swing of things and start to do well at their new accountabilities.  After a period of becoming comfortable with their role, they start to stagnate as they stop growing. Within these stages are many nuances.  We select people for promotion based on their history and our hope for their future.  We expect that good work and result production in the current role is an important indicator of talent and ability and that these attributes can be transferred into their leadership role.    One of the astounding things about modern business in Japan is that firms abandon these individuals at this point. Puzzlingly, they do not provide their newly promoted leaders with any great assistance to succeed.  The newly promoted are given the baton of command and left to themselves to use trial and error or copying what their previous bosses did, to work out how to lead.  Sounds like a plan except what if their previous boss role models were totally mediocre leaders.  This is how to create generational decline in a business and nobody would be voting for that. You really have to wonder how we could still be using such a failed model in this modern day and age, in such a sophisticated country like Japan?  This country has a constant, savage battle for market share, going on across all industries.  The struggle for survival is real and yet the development of the people in middle management who can make a difference is being hamstrung by inertia.  Companies just keep doing what they have always done.  That is not very smart if your competitor is making the changes to succeed and you are not. Part of the issue is that promoting one person doesn't fit into any comfortable time frame for the machine. If ten people get promoted at the same time, then perhaps some group training can be arranged.  The green eye shade types hunkered down in the accounting department run the numbers, calculate the per head cost, the per hour numbers and conclude that this is doable. However, if it is just one person, then the calculations blow up and the required training gets the thumbs down as too expensive. Consequently, there is no mechanism for developing these new leaders to play the role they have been handpicked for.  Individual coaching is ruled out as too expensive for such a low-level position.  For the senior Directors of course, an Executive Coach is deemed an acceptable expense, but not so for the newly minted section head. It is a case of “congratulations, work hard and good luck” and that is the full extent of the training programme.  Here is a hint for everyone - look for training companies like us, who offer public classes on leadership, where you can ship the newly promoted person off to a class with others in similar situations, assembled together from other industries and companies.  This is not hard and it is not expensive. In the meantime, the new leader is struggling to work out what they should be doing in this unfamiliar leadership role.  Of course, the section targets haven't been adjusted down to account for their struggle or lack of experience in this new role.  Initially, they work much harder than before as a player/manager to get to the required numbers.  This works for this first year and then what happens?  The next year the targets are higher again, and they are doing even more individual work. Not much leading is underway to get to the target for which they have responsibility because they don't have any time.  They are not leveraging the team to produce a team result. Heroically they are trying to do it all by themselves. By year three, they blow-up and can't match the increase in targets. Then the machine concludes they are a dud as a leader. They are replaced with the next victim; no lessons have been learnt and the cycle kicks off again. It doesn't have to be this way.  Get some new leader training and support for them. Then they will start to produce results from the whole team.  The initial struggle with the unfamiliar starts to sort itself out. Through the training they discover the leverage points around having access to people, to get to the numbers, as a team.  They are still doing some trial and error, but it is off a base of knowledge and ideas, rather than desperate guess work.  They are executing on what they have been trained to do and they are now fine tuning it for their own idiosyncratic reality.  There is a pivot point which must be cleared though.  This is to move from working in the business to working on the business.  A newly promoted leader, after three years of experience, has now worked out what to do and they are doing it well.  But this is where stagnation can set in.  They slip effortlessly into their Comfort Zone.  The machine is well oiled and working and they are just repeating the same steps over and over.  It would be good if business was left frozen at this point and not continually evolving or if their rivals were dormant and not innovating and pushing hard. Obviously that is not the case and there is no margin for cruising in modern commerce. If there is a culture of learning established in the organisation, then the new leader is constantly encouraged to educate themselves and look for kaizen style improvement as well as possible innovation leaps to grow the operation.  They are also pushing to get further trained as an experienced leader.  If they are smart enough, they cannot just be satisfied with what they were provided with as a new leader.  The leadership training content is quite different, because now they are operating at a more complex stage and need more complete solutions.  In Japan, very few leaders get this advanced leadership training because of the over-reliance on OJT – On The Job training.  In fact, in Japan, most leaders are not leaders at all because they are stuck as being simple managers.  They get the work done on time, on budget, at the required quality – all great and necessary.  However, they are not competent enough around bringing everyone together and persuading them on the direction for the business or developing the abilities of their staff, which are the additional tasks for the leader beyond running the machine well. Leadership is a journey, there is nothing particularly new and you would think we would have all worked this out pretty well by now.  In Japan, that is not the case and there is a big opportunity to improve the productivity of firms through further developing the ability of their leaders.  If your leaders are relying on trial and error, then you have a big problem which needs fixing and fixing right now.    

The San Francisco 49ers outlasted the Seattle Seahawks, winning 28-16.Jacson breaks down Seattle's fourth consecutive loss, what it means for the rest of 2023, and how we should be viewing the franchise in the grand scheme of things.Grab your official Cigar Thoughts stogies right here: https://anthonyscigars.com/product-line/Cigar-thoughts-ctCigarThoughtsNFL.com

Corporate learning isn't working. Heroically, time and treasure are being spent by company leaders to improve staff performance. Inherent in that goal is that we as recipients learn something new or re-learn what we supposedly should know already. Talking to companies interested in increasing people performance, we have noted some common barriers to making learning work. Business conditions, markets, the competition are all in a state of flux and change is now "constant". Companies attempt to respond. The clarion call goes out to the troops to rally behind the latest change. New policies, slogans, work methods, and systems "cascade" and are met with disinterest or just tacit compliance. The changes usually require everyone to "learn" to do things in a new or different way. The desired order is usually (1) learn, (2) change, (3) improve results. The breakdown point in this continuum is the one in the middle – change. The organisation may want improved performance, but is met with the mindset of "I" agree in principle, but no thank you - "I" don't want to make any changes to what "I" do now. Insanity is defined as doing the same thing every time and expecting a different outcome. This "no thank you" attitude drives leaders nuts. So why don't we want to change? Actually we are changing all the time, and with the influx of powerful hand held technology, which we lug around 24 hours a day, we are the leading generation of change adoption. Having some cool new piece of technology is fine, as far as change goes, but getting on board with the latest corporate direction is not as appealing. The bosses return from the executive off-site brimming with exuberance and high hopes, to find the troops don't really buy into the change proposal. "Seen it all before" cynicism runs wild, and top down direction is resisted. By the way, "we own the world we create". So when there is no creation or ownership, leaders, at best, get passive compliance from subordinates. In the adoption of the new, change necessitates exposure to RISK. We are generally risk averse, that is why we are all firmly entrenched in our Comfort Zones. We have all learnt to reduce risk, so that is why we take the same route to work every day, eat the same range of cuisines, listen to the same range of music, have the basic same circle of friends, and have the same group of close colleagues at work. Hey, it's comfortable and we will have boiled down a lot of complex choices to settle on these few safer alternatives. So don't ask me to go through the whole process again and make changes, thank you very much! Break out of our Comfort Zone? Successful companies work on this to successfully drive the culture change required to meet the organisation's goals. The barrier is the learning process inside most companies. There is no content component to expand their people's Comfort Zones. "Learning" is often just data download, purely technical or simply product knowledge driven. Now is a good time to take a measured look at your current learning content. Where is the bit to build the confidence to take risks, to really expand those Comfort Zones, to actively adopt change, to learn, to improve performance? Will we ever learn?

Hughesy went on an incredible rescue mission on the weekend to save his wife who was locked inside their bathroomSubscribe on LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/podcast/hughesy-ed-and-erinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Known as "Honest John," John Hart was regarded for his authenticity and dedication to the patriotic cause. Learn how this farmer from New Jersey participated in public service for nearly 30 years and lessons to learn about this Signer from The Garden State!Support the showNEW! Visit georgewashingtoninstitute.org for the one-stop shop of all things Friends & Fellow Citizens and George Washington Institute!JOIN as a Patreon supporter and receive a FREE Friends & Fellow Citizens mug at the $10 membership level or higher!SUBSCRIBE to our e-mail list for the latest news and updates from Friends & Fellow Citizens!NOTE: All views expressed by the host are presented in his personal capacity and do not officially represent the views of any affiliated organizations. All guests on interview episodes are solely those of the interviewees and may or may not reflect the views of the host or Friends & Fellow Citizens.

The way that Hashem deals with a person is based on his deeds. Usually Hashem does not make that obvious, but when He does it gives us a lot of chizuk. A man told me someone owed him money and was not sticking to his payment plan. Recently, the man really needed the money and so he tried to contact that person who owed him and discovered the person had moved out of the country and he had no way of tracking him down. Initially he was very angry, especially since he needed the money so badly and it appeared that he would never get it back. This past week he heard a class about the power of not holding grudges and decided to forgive the man for the pain he was causing him. The very next day, he was called into his boss's office and the boss handed him a completely unexpected bonus. It was for even a little more than what that other man owed him. He thanked Hashem for giving him the money that he needed and saw very clearly how his act of forgiveness was appreciated. A woman told me, because her husband struggles so much to pay the exorbitant tuition for their five children, his rabbi gave him a leniency to use his maaser to pay for most of that tuition. Even with that, he still struggles. He has a very good job but it is still not enough to cover their expenses plus that tuition. For this year, the woman decided to try and convince her husband not to rely on the leniency and instead give maser to regular charities. This seemed like it would put them in a much more financial struggle, but with complete emunah, she kept pushing him. They found out during the summer that relatives of theirs were going to send their son to public school because the tuition of his yeshiva was way too high for them to pay. They secretly contacted that tuition committee and lowered their tuition and then they paid the whole thing by themselves. They then made a significant pledge to a different yeshiva to be paid over the course of a year. The tuition payment for their relative plus the yeshiva donation equaled up to the full maaser that they would be obligated to give that year. Heroically, they gave their maaser and did not allocate any of it towards their upcoming tuition this year. When they met with their tuition committee, shockingly they gave them a significantly lower tuition than they had been paying in previous years . Two days later, her husband got a phone call from a client giving him an unexpected job that would earn him enough to pay for half of that year's tuition. Literally a few minutes later, another client called and gave him another unexpected job which would earn him enough to pay for the rest of the tuition. Something that was always such a huge burden for them the entire year was now removed in one instant, in the zechut of their tzedakah. One final story of a rabbi who started a new shul this summer to help the people who lived in a certain neighborhood. He was able to give them a learning program in the morning and at night, and all of the congregants grew tremendously over the course of the summer. At the end of the summer, the rabbi had a lot of expenses to pay for the shul and, after trying his hardest to raise the money, he was still short $3000. He asked Hashem for help to finish paying it. Low and behold, he received a phone call from a man saying he heard about his shul and said he himself had started a shul some years back but last year they had to close down. He just asked his rabbi what to do with the leftover funds in the shul's account and the rabbi told him to give it to another shul that did similar work to his. He told this rabbi he had $3000 in the account that he wanted to give him. Hashem is involved in everything we do. When we do things l'shem Shamayim , Hashem gives us even more help.

Heroically fighting a cold, Rafe talks of a wedding he recently attended and the lessons that were learned, most importantly how children and grandchildren are the greatest blessings one can receive and how they fulfill our duty as Imago Dei.

Vulnerability is like peeling an onion, sharing stories of how self forgiveness awakened self-worth so that self-love flowed through my being. I told of when I was 13 coming home from a student trip to the Mediterranean with presents for everyone but nothing for myself.  I told of bat shit crazy negotiations with my second husband based on fear of his wrath. I told of stories as recently as a few days ago being lifted into possibility by my girlfriend's helping shift my point of view around the state of my restructured business.  And I shared the joy that my self love is at an all time high given the power of the psychedelic somatic integration work added to my 20 years of quantum psychology spiritual technology work as an intimacy expert.  Damn I'm humbled, grateful and so alive. In this solo episode I also shared... How we're ascending from being selfish or selfless into self-FIRST-ness, a term I learned by reading the book 5D human by Andie SantoPietro. How integrating the wounds around the criminal assault will energetically pave the way for Justice to prevail. How my equine body-mind-spirit facilitator helped me to stop apologizing for my existence, take up space, and pour mercy into my heart. How my capacity has deepened to set people free in my VIP psychedelic somatic integration work so they can stop repelling the love, intimacy and connection they deserve. If you're ready to trust yourself, live without apology, splay your heart wide open, follow its truth and be free... Then let's connect for an Intimacy Breakthrough Experience. Register at: www.AllanaPratt.com/VIP Enjoy saving by using the Intimate Conversations Podcast Scholarship Code: INTIMATE --------------------------------- p.s. Take my complimentary intimacy blind spot quiz: https://app.allanapratt.com/quiz38089841 This assessment has been carefully designed to discover the areas that may be stopping you from attracting or keeping a healthy intimate relationship. ❤️ Schedule your intimacy breakthrough call with me today! http://allanapratt.com/connect The Intimacy Discovery Call goes right to the core of what's really creating the barrier to deep connection, fulfilling sex, and heart-centered intimacy. It's a one-hour deep dive that sheds a light on the blind spot that's been sabotaging your best efforts. You will feel safe, seen, and understood as you move from confused to more clarity, insecure to more confident, disheartened to hopeful. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, you will be one solid step closer to having the thriving relationship you desire, feeling certain you can fully break through your blocks and finally clear on your path to reach your relationship goals. The Magic Mind team created a super offer for me to share with you delicious people.You get up to 50% off your first subscription or 20% off your one time purchase with my code INTIMATE. You can get it at www.magicmind.com/intimate, and redeem the discount code INTIMATE.

Buddies embark on an intellectual quest to help the world laugh at itself.  They believe in each other & worse off they believe in their combined powers to discover truths about social behavioral mysteries. Heroically, but with total humility, they plan to save humanity with their epiphanies.  In this ep, HoHs discuss forced social interactions. Subscribe and experience HoHs on Facebook, Instagram, & via www.heroesofhumility.com   

I had the pleasure of speaking to the amazing Christian De La Huerta. Author, TedX Speaker, Personal Transformation Coach With 30 years of experience, Christian de la Huerta is a sought-after spiritual teacher, personal transformation coach and leading voice in the breathwork community. He has traveled the world offering inspiring and transformational retreats combining psychological and spiritual teachings with lasting and life-changing effects. An award-winning, critically acclaimed author, he has spoken at numerous universities and conferences and on the TedX stage. His new book, Awakening the Soul of Power, was described by multiple Grammy Award–winner Gloria Estefan as “a balm for the soul of anyone searching for truth and answers to life's difficult questions.” Christian is the creator and teacher of several self-development programs designed to help people get free and step into their authentic power in order to enjoy lives of meaning and purpose and relationships that work. His mission is to help catalyze a revolution of consciousness for the sake of humanity's evolution. He speaks so eloquently it is no wonder he speaks all over and is an award-winning, critically-acclaimed author, he has spoken at numerous universities and conferences and on the TedEx stage. For most of us, the past couple years have afforded an opportunity like never before to stare into the face in the mirror and ask difficult questions. The ongoing acts of becoming ourselves did not simply stop because the world was in a global timeout. In fact, he would suggest that because our lives paused for a time we were able to lean into what it means to become more deeply ourselves! Christian offers in-person Soulful Retreats, Treks, and Breathwork sessions.   You can reach out to Christian at the following: Personal Purpose | Home | Soulful Power Awakening the Soul of Power - Christian de la Huerta (soulfulpower.com) Freedom is a State of Mind.  Thank you Christian, I enjoyed speaking to you so much and would love to stay connected! See you at one of your retreats.  :)  

Greg McArthur, Julie Olivett, and Teresa Maldonado join Dan with an update on their firings in the wake of heroically stopping a shoplifter at their grocery stores, and to respond to a tone-deaf statement from the corporate headquarters at King Soopers on the matter.

In this episode Sascha and I discuss our brave ventures out into the land of disappointment. We share tales of heroism from encounters with needs we cannot meet and valor from wanting things that might not want us back. We discuss my father, Sascha's mother and how they might be the reasons we are broken or might be the exact medicine our souls need to turn themselves smooth.We would love to share our disappointed, disappointing hearts with you.

In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established     as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,   to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths.” – Isaiah 2:2-4 Friends, So often we skillfully distance ourselves from pain, shame, loneliness, and fear. Heroically (and understandably), we set off on a myriad of self-salvation projects.  The contexts, details, and templates are different and often endless. But what if the parts of us committed to self-protective habits are not inherently bad?  The compulsive reach for relief from a false comforter.  The teeth-gritting heroism of doing the "right thing.” The addiction to appearance and reputation.  Our regular rage against authority or our unquestioning posture of a bended knee before it. What if the part caught in these compulsive behaviors is, at its core, a valuable aspect of our personhood that is ripe for redemption when connected to the love and life of God?  Friends, we want to suggest that there are no bad parts of our hearts as men and women made in the image of God, but rather, parts meant to reflect the image of our beautiful Triune God that have become disintegrated, marred, and desecrated.  Perhaps we would experience the compassion and unconditional love of Jesus in even greater measure if we took the next step in believing and embracing this.  Let's keep diving deep—together. Here's Part 4 of our series on Parts Work.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

On Sunday, former NFL running back, Peyton Hillis, celebrated his 37th birthday with his family, friends and loved ones, thankful to be alive and well. Only weeks earlier, he had found himself in a desperate and dangerous situation far from shore.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

1 Corinthians 16:12-24 | West Brazelton

Today's Heroic +1 features wisdom from Ben Bergeron's Chasing Excellence. Get more wisdom in less time with a Heroic membership. Get started for FREE today: http://heroic.us Ready to actualize your Heroic potential? Move from Theory to Practice to Mastery: https://heroic.us/mastery Join 12,500+ Heroes from 110+ Countries by becoming a certified Heroic Coach: https://heroic.us/coach About Heroic: Heroic integrates ancient wisdom, modern science, and practical tools into a beautifully-designed app to help activate your best. Premium Heroic members have access to 600+ of the absolute greatest personal development books distilled into 25-min PhilosophersNotes and 50+ hour-long masterclasses on all areas of a flourishing life. #challenges #antifragile #courage #personaldevelopment #heroic

Which Will It Be, Hero? As we've discussed, Brian Cain is an inspiring human being.   He works with some of the greatest athletes in the world and has helped them go to the next (NEXT!) level.   We've talked about a bunch of Big Ideas from his two little fables: The 10 Pillars of Mental Performance Mastery and One Percent Better.   Today we're going to revisit One Percent Better for ONE more wisdom gem.   But…   First…   Pop quiz!!!   Question: What's 1% of a day?    Do you recall?   (And do you recall that trying to recall something is one of the most powerful ways to dominate Learning 101? Yep.)   Answer: 1% of the day is 14 minutes and 24 seconds.   Note: I've changed the countdown on my Timex watch from 16 minutes and 40 seconds (which is 1,000 seconds) to 14 minutes and 24 seconds (1% of the day!!) so I can measure my meditation and deep work time blocks and, well, a bunch of stuff in 1% increments. Super fun. We'll come back to that more as we have fun seeing if we can make at least 51% (!!!) of our days Heroically intentional.   For now…   Here's the wisdom gem I want to focus on…   Brian tells us: “If you don't have a plan, how are you getting better? The problem is when you stop getting better, you start getting bitter, and nobody likes being around people who are bitter all the time.”   That's Today's +1.   Are YOU getting better or are you getting bitter?   It's a simple question with far-reaching impact.   Which will it be, Hero?   Here's to continuously refining our plans to GET BETTER lest we go the wrong direction and get bitter.   +1. +1. +1.   ALL DAY.   EVERY DAY.   ESPECIALLY TODAY.

Personal Humility + Indomitable Will    Jim Collins is my all-time favorite business thinker.   He's written a bunch of great books including Good to Great, Built to Last, and Great by Choice.   But…   My all-time favorite business book is Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company. (Thanks again for the rec on that, Gibson. )   I still need to do a Note on all those books and create a series of Notes for all the business books I've read but have yet to distill.   For now…   I want to talk about one of Jim Collins' Big Ideas on what he calls “Level 5 leadership.”   Here's how he puts it: “Our research showed that having charismatic leadership doesn't explain why some companies become great and others don't. In fact, some of the most disastrous comparison cases had very strong, charismatic leadership in the very era that the companies fell or failed. Rather, our research found that the critical ingredient is Level 5 leadership. The essence of Level 5 leadership is a paradoxical combination of personal humility and indomitable will. The humility expressed at Level 5 isn't a false humbleness; it's a subjugation of personal ego in service to a cause beyond oneself. This humility combined with the fierce resolve to do whatever it takes (no matter how difficult) to best serve that cause. Level 5 leaders are incredibly ambitious, but they channel their ambition into building a great team or organization and accomplishing a shared mission that's ultimately not about them.”   First: “Personal humility.”   We subjugate our personal egos in service to something bigger than ourselves.   Second: “Indomitable will.”   As in…    INDOMITABLE will. (Wow.)   We have a fierce resolve to do WHATEVER it takes (no matter how difficult!) to best serve the cause.   (Goosebumps.)   Combine personal humility and indomitable will and we have what Collins calls “Level 5 leadership.”   Only…    You know what I thought of when I read that passage?   I thought…   If, as Joseph Campbell says: “A hero is someone who has dedicated his or her life to something bigger than oneself”…   Then…   I say…   Jim Collins just described HEROIC Leadership.   And…   That's Today's +1.   Let's fiercely resolve to stepping up and into our Heroic Leadership potential—combining personal humility with INDOMITABLE (!) will to do whatever it takes for however long it takes to fulfill our Missions.   And…   Let's do that…   TODAY.   Day 1. All in.   LET'S GO.   P.S. Check out this +1 on (Heroically!) Fierce Ambition for another take on the subject, inspired by Doris Kearns Goodwin and her brilliant book Leadership in Turbulent Times.

Friends of the Rosary: The truth of the Resurrection and life everlasting, which is central to our faith, has few mentions in the Old Testament. Moreover, many followers of the Law of the Prophets believed that the end of earthly life was the end of our human existence. Only a few passages sensed that the Resurrection was part of the history of salvation. Yesterday, in the first Sunday reading, in the book of Maccabees (2 Mc 7:1-2, 9-14) we heard about it. Heroically, seven brothers accepted martyrdom. One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said: “You are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever." And he added, in a serious warning to the wicked who tortured and maltreated them, "It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by him; but for you, there will be no resurrection to life." Ave Maria! Jesus, I Trust In You! All Saints, Pray for Us! + Mikel A. | RosaryNetwork.com, New York • November 7, 2021, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

Welcome, welcome, welcome to our postgame show! Hangover Time is hosted by Alphonse Sidney and he's joined by Tiffany Meeks, Alex Musibay, BrassJazz and Kenny Spence. - Spo must answer for his crimes - Tyler throws the game away  - Dedmon's Defunct Garage - What they doin over there? Let's laugh at the Lakers TICKPICK.COM/HEATBEAT today and use the promo code HEATBEAT to save $10 on your first order of NBA tickets! Join our discord to be able to ask guests questions CLICK FOR THE DISCORD CHAT INVITE https://discord.gg/Ctk9h4SGaB STREAMS ON Twitch.Tv/MiamiHeatBeat BUY OUR NEW MERCH! shop.miamiheatbeat.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An Update on Our Targeted Thinking Protocol   In our last +1, we continued our discussion about what to do when you're going 0 for 12 in life and discussed the importance of doing that ONE thing that is most important RIGHT NOW.   Then, because I can't go longer than a few +1s without referencing my tattoo that serves as the one-word summation of my entire philosophy, we brought my right forearm into the discussion and celebrated the ancient word ARETE.   (Cue Maui from Moana's “You're welcome!” for the incessant repetition. )   Today I want to chat about YET ANOTHER way to win that ultimate game of life—closing the gap between who you're CAPABLE of being and who you're ACTUALLY being RIGHT.THIS.SECOND!   It's time to chat about Targeted Thinking. (Again.)   Since our last chat, I've refined my thinking on it. Here's how I currently practice and teach it. (See Basic Training Objective 2, Lesson 5 for more!)    Actually…    First…   Here's how I framed it in that +1 from a couple of years ago.    Step 1 of Targeted Thinking is to step out of Victimland and take a step into Heroicland by asking ourselves a simple question: WHAT DO I WANT?   Note: Victims complain about what's not working in their lives. Creators create what they want in their lives by asking THAT question. (See Power of TED* for more.)   Then, once you've gotten even an inkling of clarity on what you want in any given moment, the follow-up question is simple: NOW WHAT NEEDS TO GET DONE?   In prior +1s, we brought that wisdom to life with discussions about its efficacy in dealing with chicken poop and flat tires.    Today I want to hone our practice by adding a few more steps to the Targeted Thinking protocol.   Yes, knowing what you want is ESSENTIAL to the process of living Heroically and creating a better life. And, of course, taking action in pursuit of creating that ideal, is also essential.   And…   Before we even get to asking ourselves what we want, I think we need to step back an inch or three and ACCEPT REALITY EXACTLY AS IT IS.   This is what Byron Katie describes as “Loving What Is.” Which, as we've discussed, is just a modern take on the ancient Stoic practice known as “The Art of Acquiescence.” (See the +1 on Suffering = Pain x Resistance and the +1 on Deo Volente + Thy Will Be Done for more.)    So…   Step 0 with our updated Targeted Thinking protocol is simple: Acceptance—complete and utter acceptance of EXACTLY what is happening right now. Period.    That, of course, is much easier said than done but the wisest among us get the power of this practice.   Then…   Once we've stopped arguing with reality (reminding ourselves that we will ALWAYS lose when we argue with reality!) we are ready for the first step in our protocol.   Step 1. Asking ourselves: WHAT DO I WANT?   Feeling energetically sluggish? Unproductive or lacking purpose at work? Disconnected from yourself and/or your loved ones?   Perfect. Accept that.    Now… What do you want?   To feel Heroically Energized? Heroically (and Purposefully) Productive? Heroically Connected?   Awesome. Spend THREE SECONDS (!) getting a little more clarity on that.    Note: We're not talking about a 3 months worth of 30-minute journaling sessions to get clarity.    SPEND THREE SECONDS RIGHT IN THE MOMENT YOU FEEL WOBBLY THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT.    Got it? Awesome. That's Step 1.   Step 2. Ask yourself: What can I do RIGHT NOW that would take me one step closer to getting more of what I want?    AGAIN: We don't need a 101-page polished strategic plan you're going to submit to some higher authority for a grade here.    SPEND THREE SECONDS RIGHT IN THE MOMENT YOU FEEL WOBBLY THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO GET MORE OF WHAT YOU JUST DECIDED YOU WANT.    Got it? Awesome. That's Step 2.   Now we're ready for Step 3.    This is, unquestionably, the most important of all the steps but it's useless unless you do the first ones.    Here it is…   Step 3. TAKE ACTION.   SPEND THREE SECONDS GETTING INTO ACTION DOING THE THING YOU DECIDED YOU NEED TO DO TO GET MORE OF WHAT YOU JUST DECIDED YOU WANT.    (Yes, that's a lot of ALL CAPS. )   To recap.   Step 0. Accept your current reality.  Step 1. Create a Target of what you want.   Step 2. Decide what you can do RIGHT NOW to move in the direction of your desired outcome. Step 3. Take action.   Final step?    +1. REPEAT that process.   All day. Every day.   ESPECIALLY TODAY, Hero.   Day 1. All in. Let's go!   +0. +1. +2. +3. +1.

Alchemizing Bread Crumbs, Dishes and Legos   Alexandra just walked into my office to tell me that she thinks our rooster, Happy, is dying.    Before we talk more about that…   Yes, our rooster's name is Happy.    Emerson and Eleanor are phenomenal pet namers. We have Happy the Rooster, Lovey and Floppy and Spikey and Longbeak and Goldie the chickens.    Then there's Zap—the dog that showed up on our property one New Year's Day a couple of years ago and adopted us. And don't forget Wags, another awesome dog who decided he wanted to move in one day as well.    Now…   If you've ever listened to one of my Zoom calls, you've probably heard a rooster in the background.    Sometimes, I have to admit, I find his crow charming while other times I find it distracting—whether it's on a Zoom or in my morning meditation when he's doing his thing RIGHT outside my office window.    But…   This rooster is truly an awesome rooster. We hatched him ourselves and he does his job protecting his hens Heroically well and he's not an ornery guy like his dad rooster was.    So…   When Alexandra came in and told me she thinks he's dying (while she does her country-nurse thing with him to try to save him!), I felt a deeper sense of sadness than I've felt when we've lost some other chickens and found other dead creatures on the property.    I always use those moments as another Stoic reminder of Memento Mori but this one hit me deeper.    I really like this guy!!   Then I thought of a story Alexandra shared once. It was about bread crumbs.    I forget the relationship book from which she got the wisdom but the basic idea was this…   In a significant long-term relationship with ANYONE (let alone a spouse or kids) there will INEVITABLY be things about that person that annoy you.    Maybe they leave bread crumbs on the counter (which irritated the author of the book who told the story) or maybe they leave the dishes out or maybe they leave their Legos all over the house if they're kids (which, in his less-than-enlightened moments can irritate the author of this +1 ).    Or maybe they do any number of things people do because they're human and none of us are perfect.    It's easy to find those little things annoying.    And…   What if…   One day…   Those breadcrumbs or dishes or Legos or whatever weren't there because that loved one was no longer there?   All of a sudden we'd MISS those breadcrumbs or dishes or Legos or whatever.    That's what I thought of when I heard Happy might not make it. He hasn't been crowing for the last several days because he hasn't been feeling great. I already miss him.    And I want to make sure I don't let those little things my kids and wife and others do that I might find annoying distract me from the fact that their presence in my life—with ALL the imperfections—is a profound GIFT.    In fact, what I try to do these days is use those VERY things I used to find annoying as THE TRIGGER for me to appreciate just how blessed I am.    I hope our rooster makes it so I can remind myself of this wisdom every time I hear him crow.    Cock-a-doodle-do!!!   Day 1.    Let's go. 

And… How to Make Yours Heroic    In the last few +1s, we spent some time talking about how to win the game of life by focusing on WHAT'S IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW.    I'd like to continue that discussion. And, this time, I'd like to invite my friend Sean Casey back to the party so he can share HIS insanely (!) inspiring take on the subject.    Quick context.    As we've discussed, Sean was voted the friendliest guy in baseball. They nicknamed him “The Mayor.” He's now part of Major League Baseball's Emmy-winning show MLB Tonight.    He also has his own podcast. It's appropriately called “The Mayor's Office.”   Recently, he had a guy on his show who was also a fan of Heroic. They had a little chat about the app.    And…   Sean WENT OFF about how the app has changed his life. It's probably the best overview of the app (especially for sports fans!) I've ever seen.    It's so good that I want to share it here now. So, let's head to The Mayor's Office for a special field trip. I'll see you in less than two minutes!!   !!!   If that doesn't fire you up, I don't know what will!! Haha!!   That's Today's +1.    Here's to making the game of life Heroically fun!!    As always… Not someday…   TODAY.    P.S. Here's the transcript from that segment above! !!   I look at it this way, and Brian Johnson talks about this. If you, me and Chinch went out and played baseball right now, and we were on this open field and I pitch to Tim, Tim crushes one, Chinch goes and runs and gets it. We come back. We're like, “yeah, this is fun!” Well, that's not as much fun as if we take the foul lines and we run 'em down each line and we put foul poles up. We put a 330' sign in the corner, 385', 410'. We put a fence up that says, if you hit it over this fence, you get one point. If guys are on base, you get three, four, you know, 2, 3, 4 points.  This guy, we're gonna put a mound up with a rubber. It's gonna be 60 feet, six inches away because that seems fair. You're gonna throw it to me. We're gonna compete. We're gonna get after it.  Holy [edited]. Here we go. This is a ton of [edited] fun. Right?  I think of that as Heroic.  Heroic is my foul lines… It's my game! It's my game of life.  So I line up, what are my routines? What are my habits? What am I gonna do to win my morning? What am I gonna do at night to get better sleep? What time do I need to get upstairs? What book am I gonna read? How am I gonna serve my kids today? How am I gonna serve my buddies today?  And all of a sudden at the end of the day I go, man, that was a great game today. Holy [edited].  You know what I mean? It's like, you start creating your own game because you've created the boundaries and that Heroic app…when you're shooting that arrow into your targets, it's a dopamine. It's just like, man, this is so freaking awesome.  And all of a sudden you start to realize, wow, you've created some habits and routines that is giving you the life that you've always wanted. Let's go, let's go.

Mets Collapse NFL Week 4 College Football Fishing Scandal Kim K Antonio Brown

HPD Sergeant HEROICALLY STOPS Potential DISASTER at Houston Texas Shopping Mall! #drinkjavy Get your supply of Javy Coffee here today: https://bit.ly/3B7iUMn My Patriots Supply! Click Here: http://www.preparewithblackandwhite.com/ Get 25% off! We Are The Number 1 Conservative Sports News Entity In The USA on YOUTUBE! Make Sure You Subscribe on Podcast & YouTube! Make Sure You Subscribe on Podcast! Available on Google Podcast, Spotify, Castbox, Apple Podcasts (ITunes): https://anchor.fm/blackandwhitesports Become a Paid Subscriber: https://anchor.fm/blackandwhitesports/subscribe The podcast is all about the world of sports news, sports reactions, and the games. Website: www.blackandwhitenetwork.com Get your MERCH here: https://teespring.com/stores/blackandwhitesports

It is apparent from the Gemara in Masechet Berachot daf 20 that when a person is moser nefesh and gives up of himself to follow the will of Hashem, that makes the person worthy of receiving a miracle from Hashem. Rav Shemuel Razovsky, the Rosh Yeshiva of Ponovitch, explained the connection between the two based on the Malbim in this week's parasha, Kedoshim, explaining the words of the midrash אם מקדשים אתם עצמכם, מעלה אני עליכם כאילו קידשתם אותי . Says the Malbim on those words, if we will rise above our nature of being drawn towards physicality, and rather sanctify ourselves with spirituality, then kavayachol, Hashem will rise above the way He made this world, which operates according to the rules of nature and He will deal with us in a way that transcends nature. On a Shabbaton of teenage girls who were struggling with religion, Rav Chaim Zayid made an inspirational speech encouraging the girls to go above and beyond their limitations. One of the suggestions the Rabbi made was in regard to their use of smartphones. After the speech, on Sunday morning, one of the girls approached the Rabbi and said she had just spent 4000 shekel on a brand new phone. “It's very difficult for me to get rid of it now,” she explained. “Do you know how hard I had to work for that 4000 shekel?” Then she said, “I might be willing to do it, but on one condition,” she said she had a sister who was 18 months old and a short while before this contracted a dangerous virus which affected her breathing. The doctors were saying her lungs weren't operating properly and there was nothing they could do to change it. It was just a matter of time until it would be over. Her mother sits by her bed day and night and she won't leave her for a moment. She asked the Rabbi to end everyone's suffering and ask Hashem to take back her sister's neshama as quickly as possible. The Rabbi was taken aback by the request. He said, “Although the doctors have no hope, we always have hope.” He then added, “You are now going above your nature and you are going to accept something upon yourself lima'an Hashem. B'ezrat Hashem, Hashem will go above nature and heal your sister.” In the middle of the next week, Rabbi Zayid was not surprised when he received a phone call that, miraculously, the baby began breathing on her own and in an amazing turn of events, the doctors were proven wrong and she made a full recovery. Going above our nature is truly wondrous. I heard a story about Rav Chaim Kreisworth when he was younger. The Rabbi who related the story said that Rabbi Kreisworth had to wait over a year to receive a bed in the yeshiva he was learning at. He used to walk back and forth every day a long distance to his lodgings and it was a very big inconvenience. Finally, a bed opened up, but shortly after that, another boy came to the yeshiva and he was searching for a bed. He asked the young Rabbi Kreisworth how he could get a bed. When the Rabbi told him it could take a very long time, he became saddened. The boy then asked, “Maybe someone who has a place to stay would give me his bed?” Heroically, Rabbi Kreisworth gave this boy his own bed that he waited so patiently for. Later on, when the Nazis, yimach shemam, invaded, one of the soldiers seized Rabbi Kreisworth and took him to his commanding officer. This officer was known to shoot every Jew who was brought to him, on the spot. This time, however, he told the soldier to take him to the outskirts of the town and kill him there. While Rabbi Kreisworth was being led there, he said to Hashem, “Please have mercy on me. I know I don't deserve anything, but please, in the merit that I gave up my bed that was so hard for me, please let me live.” When the soldier had him there at the edge of the town, he fired three shots into the air to make it seem as though he shot his prisoner and then he told him to run. Rabbi Kreisworth ran throughout the night until he reached a point of safety. He eventually survived the war and went on to become a great Torah leader. Mesirut nefesh produces wonders. Shabbat Shalom.

After spending 69 days in the hospital with COVID-19, Maya McNulty, still presently recovering is making a difference and helping others fight the COVID battle. In this special Podcast Episode, Maya talks about how she got COVID-19, the Coma, her recovery, symptoms, and what's happening today in Maya's world. This is an inspiring story of Survival. Learn more about Covid Wellness Clinic https://www.covidwellnessclinic.com

Today on the Matt Walsh Show, after a year of controversy, Lia Thomas the trans swimmer finally went to the swimming championships this week and dominated the field as expected. The media and the left have been twisting themselves into knots to justify this insanity. We'll talk about it today. Also, Democrats in California introduce a dog and cats bill of rights. And a parent at a school board meeting delivers the best smackdown of CRT we've heard yet. Plus, BLM crowd funds bail for an attempted assassin while the people who donated to the Canadian truckers are hunted down, doxxed, and shamed. In our Daily Cancellation, we'll take a look at the New York Times article which hails our “age of anti-ambition.” I am now a self-acclaimed beloved children's author. Reserve your copy of my new book here: https://utm.io/ud1Cb The world's best-selling LGBT author (me) now has his own merch line: https://utm.io/uedoZYou petitioned, and we heard you. Made for Sweet Babies everywhere: get the official Sweet Baby Gang t-shirt here: https://utm.io/udIX3Stream Daily Wire's newest movie SHUT IN, already with a 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and our newest docuseries CHINA: THE ENEMY WITHIN. dailywire.com/watchHaven't gotten your preferred pronouns badge? Head to my Swag Shack to grab yours today:https://utm.io/uei4E Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"...start your day off with a thanksgiving, not a complaint..." Monét Souza joins us to talk about the Heroic Minute and how turning our attention to things we are thankful for rather than the things we wish we had can transform not only our day-to-day lives, but also our encounter with an abundantly good Lord.

Bill finally sits down with Kevin Wells, author of Priest and Beggar. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/william-wannall/support

Is hard work the main driver of where we land in life? Is it that those who enjoy the benefit of excess, simply work harder and are more deserving than others? Is poverty a pathology? Is it the result of laziness, and hence deserved? Nelson challenges our narratives on what drives success. He pushes us to unpack what makes us lull ourselves with certain storylines. He calls us to recognize the randomness in our circumstances, and inspires us to empathize with those less fortunate than us. With a bit less luck, they are who we could have been.

My friend Nelson Chiwara and I discuss the meanders, twists and turns of his improbable and mesmerizing life journey: from destitution and poverty in rural Zimbabwe to opportunity, excess and success in New York City. How much luck is needed to anesthetize bad luck? Can our ability to dream tangibly lift us up? Is it hard work that sets us on a different life trajectory? Who are the silent heroes and unexpected determinants of our wildest life turns? I am in awe of all that Nelson has defied to build his life; I am even more admirative of his state of mind, his general disposition and powerful wisdom. Pure inspiration. Happy listening.

Are you Ready to live Heroically? Today I am Proud to have Award Winning author and speaker Christian De La Huerta on the show to discuss his new book “Awakening the Soul of Power” which is the first in a new series called “Calling all Hero's” His book focuses on freeing yourself from things that hold you back from being who you can be. It was difficult to edit down this conversation to a more manageable length as I had such an amazing time just talking to Christian! It was truly enjoyable to just talk to the man, his book is not one you would normally find on my reading list. While we do not agree on every point, we agreed on a great deal about where we need to go as people. It was a lot of fun to have a conversation with a man and be able to have differing view points and still respect each other. He has some very important points. Below is  links to Christians website, Mailing List and Where you can order his book. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did. Website: https://soulfulpower.com Book: https://soulfulpower.com/Awakening-The-Soul-Of-Power-Book/ Amazon Listing: https://amzn.to/3rqQFC1  Mailing List: https://soulfulpower.com/      BUY FALLIBLE MAN MERCHENDISE!! - https://www.thefallibleman.com/shop Products on Amazon - https://a.co/dgzEr5S Our Off Brand TFM Novelties – tfm-novelties.redbubble.com For More Details about vid check out my website - https://www.thefallibleman.com For Inquires about Speaking for events email: Info@thefallibleman.com Support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/thefallibleman   Donations Paypal: brent@thefalliblemna.com Ethereum Donations : 0x4848d989fD14E323C41550f329Da00bA50F3a98c Bitcoin Donations: 1GQmjCW2m2kRdmNWr9Yz7tr6QpJVobztxQ XRP Donations: rGn9S7AK6aZGDNN8EgcQMdynRp1dHBmQgz   ------------------------------------Social Media----------------------------------------- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/@THEFALLIBLEMAN/ Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@thefallibleman?lang=en Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/fallibleman Twitter - https://twitter.com/thefallibleman Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/thefallibleman/ Parler – https://parler.com/profile/thefallibleman/posts Minds - https://www.minds.com/thefallibleman/ Instagram Clothing Account - https://www.instagram.com/@THEFALLIBLEMANDESIGNS Facebook Clothing Account - https://www.facebook.com/thefalliblemandesigns The Fallible Man Podcast – Everywhere you listen to podcast or https://thefallibleman.podbean.com/   ____________

It was on this particular day, in an Airbnb near to the Johannesburg airport, it occurred to me that I might be a strong contender for the title of world's preeminent dumbass. I woke up, bags packed, ready to head out when I was struck by a realization: I had failed to secure a visa for Vietnam, my intended destination. Without that visa, I wouldn't be able to enter the country.As an American, I'm somewhat accustomed to presenting myself at the gates of a country and announcing, "I'm ready to come in now." A boy is then sent to collect my baggage, and I'm received in celebration as a hero of capitalist tourist bucks. I can show up pretty much anywhere on the globe and expect this sort of treatment. Vietnam is not one of those places. And while some countries will process an online visa application in a matter of minutes -- I once obtained an Australian visa between the time of my arrival at my airport of embarkation, having only then discovered one would be required, and the departure of my plane -- the one for Vietnam takes a least a couple days to process. Between the breathtaking heights of my smugness and my profound inability to accomplish even very simple tasks, I think my girlfriend, Haily, was pretty impressed.Working within the available parameters, a plan was formulated posthaste. I would go to the airport, as originally intended, and smile real big at the airport attendant checking my papers. Perhaps I'd be able to pull off the subterfuge of slipping onto the plane without proper documentation. If I made it that far, I'd be able to deviate from my stated itinerary by stealing away during my layover into a country that would allow me in sans visa.Owing both to the ingenuity of the strategy as well as my aptitude for covert action, the plan worked. I was on my way to Hong Kong.And what a truly delightful thing it was to find myself on a flight to Asia. For in performance of my usual ritual at the outset of a flight of any significant length -- to scroll though every available in-flight movie, consider the potential merits of each at length, and mark the ones with promise for potential viewing over the next twelve hours -- I discovered a cinematic work that aroused in me a great deal of interest. It was a Chinese movie -- clearly a rip off of the lucrative Todd Phillips flick, the Hangover -- called "Girls versus Gangsters."The film details the initiatives of three protagonists -- Xiwen, Jialan, and Kimmy -- young women from northern China of approximately marrying age, whom, having between intimates of long-standing though not always amicable relation, set off together to celebrate the impending nuptials of their friend, Jinjin. As is the standard motif in the genre, the action begins when, after a night of especially vigorous carousing, the trio awaken to discover that they have failed to maintain an account of the whereabouts of their compatriot. This sets (as they say in the script-writing business) a clock. For their misplaced friend is to be married in a matter of hours. The objective of the trio is to set off into the Vietnamese jungle -- the treacherous environs in which our heroes now find themselves -- in order to locate Jinjin and ensure her safe and timely return for the ceremony.In the scene of crucial plot-thickening, the trio wake up on a beach. They are naked, though they remain semi-modestly buried under the sand. "Semi-modestly" because the sand around each of them has been sculpted to resemble a nude and voluptuous female form. Jialan and Kimmy -- whom we've learned are, if not quite full-on nemeses then engaged in rivalry -- are hand-cuffed to a heavy box, one on each handle. A familiar train of dialogue (though with the novelty of transpiring in Mandarin Chinese) follows."What happened last night?" asks Jialan."Where's Jinjin?" asks Xiwen. Having failed to provide an answer, she exclaims, "I lost Jinjin!""Xiwen," says Kimmys, "When did you get a tattoo?"Covering themselves in banana leaves, à la Adam and Eve, the trio teeter through the jungle. At length, they come upon what is evidently a Korean café. Why there is a Korean café in the middle of the Vietnamese jungle is a question no one poses."Maybe there's a handsome Korean guy inside," says Kimmy, optimistically.Then the audience is treated to a moment of pure movie magic. The girls hear a series of thunderous stomps. The camera pans from the ground up in slow motion. There are Jurassic Park style rumbles with each step. A nearby glass of water trembles. Eventually the camera reveals who has emerged in such dramatic flair from the Korean café. It's Mike Tyson. Shirtless.Romantic music plays. Jialan stares at Mike, mouth agape. Mike bites his finger provocatively. He bites his lower lip. The jungle gets even steamier.Abruptly, Kimmy interrupts the fantasy. In English, she says, "Excuse me, do you have any clothes you can lend?" In a clever turn of conversational redirection, Mike Tyson responds, "What happened to you?""We just woke up on the beach like this," says Kimmy."Listen," Mike relates sagely, "trust me. S**t Happens. And I know too well. Man, alcohol's hard to resist, right?"Right, Mike."Hey, just come to my room with me," he offers. "I'll see what I can find for you girls to wear."They enter Mike's room-slash-hut-slash-café. On the wall are pictures of Mike slugging people in the face. Also his belts.Jialan: "You have got so many championships."MT: "You like watching boxing? I'm half American, half Korean, and I won most of my fights in the US and Korea."Jialan: "You are mixed?!"MT: "Yes." (He isn't.)"Do you speak Korean?" Jialan asks.Mike replies, in Korean, "My name is Dragon. You're so cute.""Thank you Dragon oppa," says Jialan, also in Korean.Mike goes to peruse what sartorial options he might be able to offer the girls. There is, of course, a tiger in Mike Tyson's closet. The tiger's name, also of course, is Tony. MT dismisses Tony and the jungle cat never makes a reappearance.As it turns out, Mike Tyson only stocks boxing trunks. No tops of any kind. Which he elucidates in the deft line "Nowhere. There's no top. I'm the topless king." The girls, having no other recourse, each hike up a pair of trunks to their chest, in a kind of MMA-fantasy romper."Wow, good looking ladies," remarks Mike, conveying a sentiment that is semantically, if not syntactically, clear. "Looking really good."Then Mike turns to the problem of the box and chain. He can't break the chains, because his hands are weak after so much fighting. He mentions a friend who is a locksmith. We never meet this friend.Remembering their mission, the girls take leave of Mike Tyson.Jialan: "I'll be back soon."MT: "Please. Please come back. Come back. I love you so."At this point the movie begins to lose the thread of the plot. Or at least I didn't have the exegetic tools to keep up with what was going on. What I can tell you is, at length, and for reasons I failed to ascertain, Mike reenters the plot. While Jialan is otherwise occupied, he engages in a heartfelt conversation with Xiwen."You find your friend yet?" asks Mike. The answer is obviously no, as she isn't with them. Xiwen points this out. "Ah," he offers in consolation, "don't worry she'll be fine."Mike hands her a bottle of green tea."Want a soda?" he asks. Mike evidently doesn't know what green tea is, despite being the proprietor of a Korean café in the middle of the Vietnamese jungle. Xiwen nods assent.Mike tries to open it. He can't. Weak hands.Then in a bid of romantic endeavor, Mike asks Xiwen about Jialan's interests. The main thing is Korean dramas. A show called "Descendants of the Sun," in particular."She watched it four times," says Xiwen."I watched it five times," he says."Wow," says Xiwen. "Why?"Then Mike Tyson spots Xiwen's tattoo and on that basis makes a diagnosis: "Vietnamese fiancé?" Xiwen is surprised at Mike's powers of inference, to have derived this fact on the basis of such scant evidence. He indicates toward the tattoo. "Now, though I'm not that good at my Vietnamese" -- why in Vietnam then, Mike? -- "it does appear to be Vietnamese."Later on, the climax of the film begins when the girls find themselves critically imperiled, yet on the verge of reuniting with Jinjin. Heroically, MT emerges onto the scene. He is wearing military fatigues, in what is evidently an homage to a Korean drama, probably, I imagine, Descendants. There is a car chase scene. Then a Mike-Tyson-bursts-out-of-his-clothes-like-the-Hulk scene. Then a boat chase scene. Ultimately, Mike proves victorious over the nefarious forces that be (the "Gangsters" of the title, as it were). He sees the girls off as they make their way back for Jinjin's ceremony."Oh!" calls Mike to Jialan at the last second. "Can I have your WeChat number?"In the denouement, we learn that (spoiler alert) Jialan breaks up with her boyfriend -- whom no one really liked anyway -- and ends up with Mike Tyson. It was with this perplexing and strangely enticing series of images seared into my mind that I found myself arriving on a new continent.I would soon be landing in glorious, glorious Asia.To arrive somewhere with fresh eyes is a special thing. It is enthralling to find oneself in a place one has never been. A sort of virginity, it is a moment that cannot be reclaimed. But there is also something about having been somewhere, left it, and finding oneself returning to the place one has been. It is to be received as an old friend. A recognition that, yes, some things are just as I left them. Yet some have changed, and I am unlikely to encounter them restored to their previous state in any medium save for memory. To return is to have an established relationship with a place, and to feel that relationship -- as is the nature of every relationship -- evolve with time's restless shifting.It was this sense of returning that I felt upon landing in Hong Kong. It is a place I have found myself drawn back to over the years. The city -- the island, the culture, the harbor, the Chinese Special Administrative Region, whatever it may most accurately be called -- holds special meaning for me. In my first trip as a solo traveler to Asia, as a fresh college graduate, this was my first port of call. To me it will always symbolize a sort of gateway to this continent, which for the rest of my life will call me back to savor experiences new and old, to unexpected enlightenments and familiar joys. Not entirely unlike Istanbul on the opposite end, it is a juncture of East and West. It is a place I knew. It is also a place that, impressed somewhere deep within its eternal memory, knew me.My first call was at my hostel. I had booked a single night there, confirming the transaction and shutting my laptop just as I was about to hop on the plane. Hostels in Hong Kong aren't as appealing as they tend to be elsewhere in Asia. In most Asian cities, hostels are a kind of minor resort for tourists, with ample room for beer pong, late night dance parties, and then, for the professionals, another round of beer pong. In Hong Kong, they are essentially just apartments with decently large square footage. A couple barracks rooms and a couple bathrooms. Several stories up. A check in counter maybe.I had gotten into the airport around seven in the morning. I arrived at my hostel well before check-in. I made it nonetheless into my building, and when I finagled my way into the apartment door of the hostel I spied on the desk a number provided for early or late arrivals. I texted it, and a few minutes later a sleepy figure emerged through the doorway and reluctantly but mercifully set me up with a bed. The place seemed good enough, spare though it was. I liked the location, in the heart of Kowloon. Most crucially of all, it had solid air conditioning. I booked a spot there for my remaining nights.Coated in the grime of long distance travel, I was eager to take a shower. This provided another reminder that I was now in Asia, though a slightly less welcomed one. Germane to these tightly packed Hong Kong hostels are the cramped showers. They are undifferentiated from the bathroom area as a whole. In space of about three skinny Chinese chaps, there is a toilet, a shower head, and a sink. Whatever business you intended to do, it can be done here -- though not always with an overabundance of grace. Almost immediately, I succeeded in getting myself wet, along with everything else in the restroom. I tried to spare the toilet paper, but to no avail.Freshly laundered and eager to engage the city, I took leave of the hostel. It had been winter when I left Africa, having come from the southern hemisphere. Now I found myself in the sweltering Asian summer. It took me all of about thirty seconds after leaving the hostel to become comprehensively sticky in a coat of sweat. It took me another thirty seconds to become thoroughly confused by the sights and sounds of Hong Kong. (Actually not even that: a delivery guy had to help me negotiate the building's exit, as it required I pressed a button before leaving; it'd been a while since I'd been confronted with that technology.) Kowloon is intensely Chinese, in the overwhelming way that all Chinese things are intense to one unaccustomed to encountering them. Many of the city's façades are covered in bamboo labyrinths, which act as scaffolding for the not insignificant number of buildings under construction. Piled high, story upon story, are signs, banners, and advertisements, contending for attention. The mass of them are so aggressively seeking one's notice as to be almost indecipherable -- presumably, even if you speak the language -- like so many beggars hassling tourists in an urban corridor. I had become acclimated to the mellow pace of Africa. Being in Asia made me feel like Will Ferrell's elf in Time Square.Time to get down to business. 10:30 in the morning. Five different breakfast establishments on my street. Each one of them full of patrons. All with pictures in the window of dishes I wouldn't normally associate with breakfast. The furthest one had a small queue, only one couple, and I took the wait to be a good sign. I saw they had pineapple buns, which is what I'd been hoping for. Then I spied an attractive dim sum stall across the street, where I could get my food for takeaway. I took a moment to contemplate the tantalizing prospect of dim sum. But then when I took another look at the queue for the other place I saw it had grown to a half dozen parties of Hong Kongers. I wasn't about to give up my spot.At length I earned a seat in the restaurant. With Hong Kongers always having one eye on efficiency, I was seated at an otherwise full table top with three other mostly silent eaters. My first round was a p-bun and a cup of coffee. Contrary to its name, the traditional Hong Konger pineapple bun has no pineapple in it, but is basically just crusty white bread sprinkled with sugar. The top is dimpled in a manner resembling a pineapple, if one is willing to look at it with a certain level of generous imagination. It comes with a pat of butter, several times overgenerous. The coffee is what we typically think of in the West as Vietnamese coffee, which is basically coffee-flavored condensed milk. My serving was delivered to me approximately three and a half seconds after I ordered it. Promptly, I drank my coffee -- which proceeds from the cup at the rate of molasses -- and distributed p-bun detritus on my lap and the table before me. I ordered another round, and enjoyed my bun and coffee as the morning transitioned to midday. The restaurant was a flurry of constant activity. People waving over waiters. Parties coming and going. The bussing of plates. Even the lobsters seemed industrious. My colleagues-in-consumption stared fixedly at their phones. I stared at them. I was officially in Hong Kong.As I had only really ingested sugar so far, I did go across the street for dim sum. I looked up at the cashier and contemplated my options. The cashier gave me a look that said, "For f**k's actual sake, please order something so we can get on with it." I picked something, then handed the cashier a fifty. I reached down to jingle around in my pocket for coins, but she had already produced my change before I could even retrieve the currency from my pocket. I took a seat on a nearby stoop to dive into my steam-emitting box of treats. It was only while biting into the first pan-friend dumpling of scalding broth and meaty goodness that I seriously injured myself. I consumed the second one unharmed, which I think implies that I'm something of a quick learner. As I enjoyed my dim sum, several questions occurred to me. How, for instance, did I manage to cover myself in sticky dumpling residue so quickly? The observation that I had somehow contrived to spread it all the way down to my ankle aroused in me a certain scientific curiosity. And why put the soup in the dumpling? Why not just put it in the bottom of the box where it invariably ends up anyway? Biting into one of those little suckers is like biting into an over-inflated balloon: it requires a level of pressure slightly beyond what you'd like to give, which you must achieve experimentally. Eventually, and always unexpectedly, it explodes in your face in dramatic fashion. It's lack gnawing on a frag grenade, but tastier.I sat on the steps of a bank on Kowloon's main drag, Nathan Street, and watched Hong Kong go by. It occurred to me that I was the only person in the city who didn't have an urgent need to be somewhere. So when I finished my dumplings, I strided off, pretending that an important person in a high-up office somewhere was tapping their watch and expecting to receive the quarterly Wellington financials from me, like, yesterday. My striding, blessedly, took me to that beloved old haunt of mine. Nowhere in particular.One of the enigmatic thrills of Hong Kong is that is one is dripped on by innumerable urban waterfalls fed by unseen tributaries. In a city of high rises rarely outfitted with central air conditioning, there are a practically infinite number of AC units to rain condensation on the heads of passersby. Chinese banyans line the urban thoroughfare of Nathan Street. These trees consist of many constituent tines, which seem to vie democratically for the direction in which the tree as a whole will grow. Further down past the banyans, the sidewalk is dotted with Indian gentlemen, who, upon identifying a white guy in their midst, thrust a business card in his direction, promising bespoke suits and shirts at a "very good price for you, my friend." An industrious segment of them quietly offer intelligence about where to purchase weed -- more likely oregano -- from undisclosed suppliers. The jewelry shops are innumerable. Every single person seems to be wheeling around a suitcase. Where they're all going, I have no idea. I thought about making my way down to the waterfront to the harbor, which is the best part of urban Hong Kong, maybe the best part of the urban world. But I decided to wait to savor it until sundown. It is after nightfall that one see's the true glory of the fragrant harbor from which Hong Kong takes its name.Given that my circadian rhythm was still on Africa time, I was ready for a respite in the AC. Maybe also to grab my suitcase before I head out again. I retired to my hostel and settled in for a world class Africa-Asia nap.In the evening, I entered the metro station at Tsim Sha Tsui. Of a sudden, I was engulfed in a squall of Hong Kongers, more being pushed and pulled by human current than coherently moving in any direction. (One doesn't necessarily walk the streets of Hong Kong so much as negotiate them.) I was fortunate to find a break in the current long enough to swim my way over to an "Add Value Machine," so I could re-up on transport funds. Experimentally, I put my Octopus card in the slot and began to work my way through the labyrinth of available options. Though I had been the only one at the machine moments ago, I was now the lead of a queue. Then a voice came from behind me."What are you doing?" said the woman.Oh, I wondered, am I not doing it right? I retrieved my card from the machine and inquired as to what course of action I might otherwise take. She grabbed my card, shoved it back in the slot, and tapped away on the screen."See?" she said.Having elucidated this gambit, she proceeded to snatch a fifty from my money clip and feed it into the machine. That wasn't necessarily what I had intended to do. It wasn't necessarily against my wishes either. I just hadn't planned that far ahead yet. I withdrew my money clip before she could donate more of my cash to my Octopus fund."That's great," I said. "Thanks." She handed me my card back, and I immersed myself once again in the convective swirl of human activity, praying that it swept me toward the appropriate subway line. Whereas Kowloon is a world built on the capital of traditional China, Hong Kong Island is devoted to the monetary capital of the Chinese nouveau riche. On opposite sides of the harbor, these are the two main hustle-and-bustle areas of Hong Kong. They provide a compelling juxtaposition. It's not that one is devoid of tradition and the other is not. But while Kowloon holds up its aging buildings with massive latticeworks of bamboo, the Island side's central district has no need for such erections, with its rows of Gucci, Patek, Hublot, and their ilk. This is the part of the city designed to satisfy the seemingly infinite capacity for Chinese consumption of the gaudiest and most expensive trimmings of Western culture.My first call of the night was at a cocktail venue, The Quinary, notable for a drink they call the Earl Grey caviar martini. On the menu, it's described as vodka, elderflower, "Earl Grey caviar and air." What the "air" refers to is essentially Earl Grey bubble bath piled high atop the martini glass. It's a non-standard ingredient, and so it wasn't immediately apparent to me how such an ingredient was intended to be consumed. I sucked in a breath-full (as one is wont to do with air), which was so aggressively flavorful as to inspire a brief but enthusiastic coughing fit that all but blew off the top of my martini in the manner of the Big Bad Wolf. The "caviar," I was delighted to find, consisted in a small deposit of Earl Grey mini popping boba at the bottom of the glass. Popping boba -- which are marbled-sized saccharine capsules of flavor that can usually be ordered as accoutrement in one's bubble tea -- are, in my opinion, a most underutilized cocktail ingredient. Taking a look through the rest of the menu, I inquired about the nature of their wasabi-infused vodka. The barkeep embarked on a lengthy discourse on its origins and constitution, then offered me a taste. I believe she was under the impression that I was a cocktail critic of some note, because I was there early in the evening, making technical inquiries, sitting on my own, and jotting down my reflections. I was then treated to a sample of their marshmallow vodka. It came in a miniature Coke bottle, filled with what is pretty much an alcoholic version of the marshmallow fluff that one can buy in a jar. It was delightful. The good news for The Quinary is that my review is two thumbs up; the bad news is that I'm not actually a cocktail critic.The bartender who had offered me the gratis drinks introduced herself as Shao Li. It being too early in the evening for the crowds to roll in, she occupied her time by chatting with me and engaging in the repetitive activity of relocating a tincture from a large glass to a smaller one with an eye dropper. She performed this activity for about thirty minutes, conveniently located at a station adjacent to where I sat. In my mind, I knew it was a ploy to be in my presence in order to drum up conversation with me. Not to mention that it was a thinly veiled metaphor for coitus. Alas, I was too poor to afford another drink at this bar, even a free one. Our dialogue winding down, I agreed to come see her when I next visited HK. She waved as I walked out. As soon as I did I realized I was still wearing the jeans I had changed into so as not to look like a schmuck at a cool bar. I considered whether I should go back in, change in the restroom, and reveal myself to be not only a schmuck but an absent minded one at that. Not at chance. I chose to remain sticky and uncomfortable. Sometimes the moral victories are the hardest to endure. Fortified by the heady assurance that a sizable number of our planet's women have an undisclosed desire to sleep with me, I made my way to a spot of familiar joy. An alleyway carved into the crowded hillside of the Island's commercial zone. There one can find kind all the artifacts necessary for happiness. Steaming woks of amalgamated flavors and spices. Tiny red plastic stools. Sweating bottles of cold everyman's lager. Making my way through, I inspected the dishes of each patron until I found one I liked, and put in an order for "that one" at the appropriate stall. The lady indicated that it was "pork rib in salt and pepper." Which wasn't my interpretation of what I saw, but I was willing to go with it. Much to my chagrin, I could not afford a Tsingtao ("Ching Bao") beer to go with it since I only had enough cash for the meal. Soon enough, the dish came, which presented me with an occasion to consider the conventions for anglicization of Chinese cuisine. "Pork rib in salt and pepper" neglects to disclose, at the very least, the presence of chilis. At any rate, I was happy. Next I called at 7/11 for reunion with my old friend, Pocari Sweat. Pocari Sweat is a glorious beverage, a milky white electrolyte drink with a crisp, Columbia blue label. The stated marketing pitch of the company is that it "resembles" the body's "natural fluids." I don't know if the company's executive board has ever seen sweat before, but it isn't the bodily fluid that is most directly imitated by a milky white solution. Setting aside any discussion of its actual merits, the drink reminds me of my first time in Asia.At this point in the evening, I was overcome with a desire to go back to the Quinary to see if Shao Li was still there. It was nice evening. I wished I had someone to share it with. Perhaps she was about to get off from work and wanted to go out for a beer. Alas, just because one is inclined toward creepy and deranged thoughts does not mean one is required to act on them. So I didn't. Instead I took the Central-Mid-Levels -- which has the distinction of being the world's longest outdoor escalator promenade -- up until the hillside of Hong Kong Island becomes residential and sleepy rather than bustling and studded with hip restaurants. Then I descended further until it was again commercial and posh. I was quite lonely by the time I got to the bottom of the hill. I thought of the insight Chris McCandless jotted down before perishing, alone and unkempt, in the Alaskan wilderness. "Happiness only real when shared." Hoping to inspire a rebound in my spirits, I headed toward the Hong Kong harbor ferry. This is what I'd most been looking forward to since stepping foot in Hong Kong. The harbor is truly a magnificent sight. Viewed from the Kowloon side looking toward Hong Kong Island, the commercial high rises put on an epic display of urban lights against the backdrop of the world's most delicious hillside. Beholding this sight is like conducting an orchestra. It is the feeling of watching something so splendid and so tremendous unfold before your eyes. Each section performs its own part, while inexplicably remaining concerted with the rest. Taking the ferry across, I squished into a corner of the boat, on the upper deck with about 100,000 Hong Kongers. They were all carrying on in conversation and not, I couldn't help but feel, at a whisper, either. Disembarking from the ship, I covered the waterfront. My hope at this point was to repair to a dreary pub where I'd sit alone at the bar and the man behind the counter would tersely serve me an ice cold Tsingtao. I searched for a while in the streets of Kowloon. No dice. So I settled for a bubble tea and retired for the evening. Before doing so I was presented with the evening's final joy. I went to the ATM to withdraw some currency. The transaction ended with the directive, "Please take advice." It means 'receipt.'As our double-decker bus made the bend, the top of it seemed to lean into the oncoming lane. It put me in mind of the bus scene in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which darts through the road with such belligerent haste as to imperil the story's hero. Or at least it would have, if I wasn't scared for my life. Sitting on the upper deck, I was confident in my assessment that the bus was actually tipping across the other lane of traffic and over the sheer cliff on the other side. I swear I could see down to the bottom of the gulley below. It was a hot day. The air was solid with humidity. Not entirely unlike trying to breathe Earl Grey air, actually. It was the kind of hot that would be of interest to scientists hoping to induce a chemical reaction or a breakfast-enthusiast attempting to fry an egg. I was going hiking. That is, if I didn't succumb to the driver's psychopathology first.Hong Kong is actually famous for having some of the world's greatest hiking trails. Or at least they're good ones. I'd heard they were world-class. But it's not immediately clear to me what would so distinguish one hiking trial from another in any objective sense like that. At any rate, I was to tackle the fabled trail known as the Dragon's Back.That was my plan. It was also the plan of a non-negligible number of Chinese tourists. The bus screeched to a halt at a nondescript location where there appeared to be an opening in the otherwise impenetrable thicket of brush lining the roadside. The driver called for Dragon's Back. I alighted along with a good deal of the rest of the bus. I was eager to get out ahead of them, so as not to be caught in a traffic jam. Mercifully the open stretches of the trail were partially covered. I followed the rascally meandering dirt road lined with brush. Slight uphill. Even with a healthy shade, I was drenched in sweat by minute fifteen.Shortly, I came to the kind of staircase one climbs in a movie to reach an ancient master of an esoteric martial art. Thin wooden steps, rising approximately forever into a thin cloud cover. The top of the hill became apparent only at the culmination of the steps. Or at least the local maximum. The ridge fell and rose with a consistent periodicity, rather like a dragon's back, as it were, or at least the scrawny, undulatory Chinese conception of the creature. I emerged into a cleared hill top, which became a punishing landscape without recourse to the cover of flora. It did, however, unveil a spectacular view. Before me was a glittering sea of Hong Kong's islands. Situated on a peninsula was a scattering of urban settlements. My sweat was thick and dense. I took a polaroid.As a consequence of my dillydallying, I became intermingled with pack of young Asian women. One had on a miniature Marc Jacobs backpack and a flannel, like it was the first day of 8th grade and not a death march through HK jungle mountains. I felt that demonstrated a lack of respect. From the apex of the ridge I felt that I could reach up and touch the sun, hot as it was. I was perspiring about a liter per minute by now. In the distance the sea continued to sparkle and the ridge to undulate. The islands gave the appearance of an old Chinese painting, depicted in geometric rather than linear projection. The lot of them proceed towards heaven rather than into the distance. I jetted past the Asian girls. Reaching the crest of another notch in the dragon's back, I could see freight headed for Hong Kong harbor. Azure water. Gum-drop islands. Glimpses of far-off settlements. Other islands could never be so verdant, or have such perfectly sculpted mounds or sit in such a blessed, glittering sea, or periodically expose the brilliant high-rises off in the distance. I was in a watercolor painting. It was unfairly beautiful.Taking creative measures to deal with the heat situation, I took off my synthetic shirt and put it under my baseball cap so it draped over the back of my neck. I put on a tank top in order to retain a semblance of decency. I looked like an a*****e. But I didn't care. The shirt was cool and damp and protected my delicate skin from the sun. Relinquishing into mercy, the trail dove into a cover of eucalyptus trees. Using this respite into coolness to reapply my eighteenth round of sunscreen for the morning, I was overtaken by a white man forty years my senior. I heard him pass the Western couple behind me. He greeted them, "Pretty warm, eh?" The man was tan and spry, obviously a retiree. Also obviously a hiking enthusiast, the kind that having a job doesn't allow for. As he zoomed past me he gave me his signature "Pretty warm, eh?" I nodded. I looked like a sea monster, one who required constant moisture or will otherwise shrivel and expire. He looked prepared to take the trail. He didn't have a shirt draped over shoulders like a jackass.Dragon's Back Log, 11:00 AM. Supplies check: Water, two-thirds gone. Sunscreen, running on empty. Position, maybe a third of the way through the trail. Only one party member remains alive.I passed a couple going the other way. I greeted them with a "Pretty warm, eh?" They agreed, then shot one another a look to suggest that they may have missed a key memo on standard greetings while hiking in Hong Kong.Soon enough I came upon a creek, which ran through the trail. A Chinese couple had stopped to dip towels in the water for placement under their hats. They didn't look like dumbasses. They looked like geniuses. It occurred to me that this was probably an obvious thing to do for anyone who had ever been on a hike before. I scurried by, not wanting them to think that it was their ingenuity which gave me the idea. Fortunately, I soon came to another creek. I removed my head dress to douse it. I wanted to remove all of my clothes and submerse myself in the fresh, clear water. But I thought better of it, given that my retiree friend was also refreshing himself in the running water.I decided not to linger, so I could get a head start on him. Alarmed by my sudden progress, he put his cap back on and gave chase. To his credit, I doubt he had come all the way to Hong Kong to be bested by some punk kid with a shirt on his head. He soon overtook me without a word. There was nothing I could do about it. It was evident that he had no intention of taking names. He was only here to kick ass.The trail swung onto the backside of the mountain, under the merciful cover of foliage, safe from the sizzle of the open sky. I was happy to trade temporarily the glories of the sea and islands for protection from being broiled alive by what at this point seemed the unnecessarily proximal star at the center of our solar system. Now rather acquainted with the trail's flora, I started the notice the fauna. There was a spider the size of Papua New Guinea. Its legs were longer than mine. It looked like it could snatch a bird from the sky, like a baseball player straining to catch a ball at the top of an outfield fence. Only instead of a baseball, it would be a robin or a small eagle. Eminently creeped out, I scuttled onward. I added this spider to my list of concerns, which at that point contained looking like a foolishly novice hiker, sunburn, dehydration, and tigers. If you were on this trial, I think you'd be concerned with each of these as well.At length, I reached a juncture at the bottom of a slope. I saw the retired man inspecting a map. When he noticed my approach he took off. I followed his course. There were signs for "big wave beach." Periodically, he checked behind him to make sure I was in his wake. We were on a paved road now. I dodged back and forth in the lane to remain under shade cast by surrounding foliage. I stopped at another look-out point. I could see several communities of high-rises, erected in uniform pylons. They were so tightly packed and similarly constructed that they looked like the spiky erections of iron dust when a magnet coaxes it skyward. As we made our way closer to the beach, I saw the retiree split off on a more direct route. Neither wanting to deliver the blow of whooping his ass in the final stretch nor to let him have the satisfaction of whooping mine, I continued on my present path which would descend with unhurried leisure toward the bottom.Then the beach came into sight. In a flash of sudden insight, I understood the objective measure of a world-class hiking trail. To have all that previous wandering be rewarded with this? Just perfect. The hill from which I was descending swaddled the beach in a lush wrapping of vegetation. In some mirror image of the circles of hell, it formed a concentric ring of utopian vision. At the heart was the bay, ensconced in the Platonic ideal of white-sand beach, opening up into the luxuriant hillside. The name "big wave" less described the largeness of the surf at this particular beach as much as the smallness of surf in these parts generally. I took off my hood so as not to gave myself away as a schlub, in case I ran into Shao Li on the beach. Only having breached noon, the beach was still uncrowded. Maybe a dozen or so families. It felt like my own little share of real estate in Hong Kong heaven. When I turned the corner from path to beach, the sea was spread out before me as it faded from cloudy and sandy to idyllic cerulean. It was spangled with the same intensity as the view above, though now I could reach out and touch it. The water was warm, like a tepid bath. I waded in and immersed myself in the the strip of infinite blue. As the beach began to fill up, I noticed there were, in my estimation, entirely too many families and not enough bikini-clad women. I did not, for the record, encounter Shao Li.In the water I roamed like a wild animal, with no pattern to govern my behavior. Sometimes floating, sometimes swimming; sometimes shallow, sometimes deep. Never with any particular destination in mind. The only sounds were those of the happy children and the waves languishing along the shore. Intermittently, there was the gentle awk and splonk of the neophyte standup paddle boarder capsizing.After about an hour of grazing in knee deep water, I reemerged from the water and repaired, still wet, to the beach café where I acquired a well-earned Dragon's Back pale ale. While enjoying my beer I spotted a couple long-sought bikini girls from afar. I finished my beer and reequipped myself to go back in the water. Upon entering I realized it was a false alarm -- a mirage of sorts -- and dripped out of the water, this time to enjoy a Big Wave IPA. As soon as I did, the girls came back. I swear.Satisfied with my experience in the out-of-doors, I headed toward the nearby lot where a van waited to take beach patrons back to civilization. On my way I acquired a mango popsicle. Then I spotted a sign that promised "Ancient rock carvings - 330 m." I debated momentarily whether this was worth extending my time in nature. I decided to go back home. Who gives a s**t about rock carvings anyway? I boarded the van to take me back. Waiting for the vehicle to fill up, I saw another sign. "Ancient rock carving - 500 m." I pretended not to notice, failing to fool anyone involved in the situation. It was then I remembered who gives a s**t about rock carvings. I do. F**k it. I got off the bus, put on my headdress, and went back toward the beach in search of rock carvings.Eventually, I found them. Doubling back on my previous recollection, I now remembered why no one else gives a s**t about rock carvings. The delta between rocks and rocks with ancient carvings in them is not, as it turns out, that great. The saving grace of the endeavor was that I did, on my way back to the van, acquire another mango popsicle.Taxi hour. The time in the middle of the night when the streets are devoid of all vehicles save for a trickle of black and yellow cabs. Some zip by on their way to the airport. Some return a pair of lovers to wherever it is they plan to spend the remaining hours of the night. Some just idle on the side of the road, killing time until called into action. One night I couldn't sleep and so found myself on the streets of Hong Kong, the lone soul wandering the streets in human form.My time in Hong Kong was coming to a close. Visa issues sorted, I would soon be reunited with Haily. I had loved my excursion to Hong Kong. But I had also missed Haily. In case you couldn't tell, a part of me longed for a companion to enjoy it with. Happiness only real when shared.And so we would be together again soon -- elsewhere in Asia. We continued as we had before, in our summer devoted to going places and seeing things. Her family in Vietnam. Taking the train though Java. Bali. Friends and family in Singapore. There are stories to tell from those adventures, too. But I will leave them out of this collection, to allow them to remain as stories that belong only to us.The final episodes in the season take place at another time, in another season of the year and another season of life. They skip sideways along the Asian continent, to a portion of South East Asia on the same latitude as Hong Kong. The Buddhist stronghold of dark political history, still processing its own militant reaction to a colonial past. South East Asia's largest country by land area, but one of its smallest in terms of tourist figures. A place that I fell in love with from the moment I first stepped a dusty sandal on its soil. The final destination of the first season of Notes from the Field: Myanmar.Next Episode:Thanks for checking out Season 1 of Notes from the Field. If you’ve enjoyed it, please consider becoming a premium subscriber. I’m trying to do more of this kind of travel writing in the future. But as you can imagine, it’s hard to have these kinds of experiences while also holding down a job. Your subscription goes a long way toward helping me to do that. Use the link below, and you’ll get 50% off an annual subscription. Thanks! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit codykommers.substack.com/subscribe