Managerial Class Paper

What Makes Me Tick

Merriam-Webster online defines conscious as an adjective originating from the Latin conscius, meaning “to know.” I am not saying that I know anything, in fact I feel quite the opposite. From what I have seen of life nothing truly exists in such a constant state as to be 100% establish, 100% of the time. Not time, not mater, not space, and certainly not people. Knowing is unimportant and unnecessary to success. If you wait until you know, then you have waited too long. As opportunities arise chances must be decisively taken and we must allow hope to guide us, devotion to sustain us, and faith to pull us through. Triumph only provides contentment equal to the investment, risk, and loyalty required to achieve the outcome.
Consciousness as a motive is best explained by the following definitions;

“Done or acting with critical awareness.”
In order to see life as simple and clear as possible receive all possibilities and clues. Do not be misguided by hopeful projection or dismissive rejection. See what is, not what you expect or want to see it. Don’t beat yourself down or puff others up by augmenting reality. Find the truth by being aware of your reactions, perceptions, influence, and beliefs. By coming to an understanding you develop trust, align your efforts, and empower your positioning for success.

“Marked by strong feelings or notions.”
Act with passion, pursue with enthusiasm, question everything, consider with empathy, and appreciate all efforts. Invest yourself truly in a worthy cause and fear not. You get out what you put in and through sincere attempt boundaries will expand, barriers will be defied, perspectives will be refined, and you will find yourself become part of something greater than yourself.

“Capable of or marked by thought, will, design, or perception.”
I greatly value ambition, but more so I value active pursuit of ambition. A goal half realized and undefined is still reason enough to take action. There is always better or more than what is. Failed attempts are still a step forward when achievement is accepted as a cycle not a point, a stairway not a finish-line. Not only is purpose essential, but also a sense of control, power, progress, and accomplishment as we pour endless efforts and hours into a task.

For me, as a “conscious” being, what makes me tick is;
- Trusting basic truths as a base from which I can move forward.
- Being part of a noble and worthy cause.
- Making headway and gaining on a chosen outcome.

So I made it back to McMinnville after a lot of driving back and forth and doing a lot of different things. Chris and I left Friday for Olympia, enjoyed some tasty home cooked steaks and played some cards with his family. We spent most of Saturday driving up to and hanging around Seattle with some of his family friends to watch an indoor meet at University of Washington. We did the workout early and then enjoyed a GIANT fluffy walnut pancake before heading north. The racing was really good and we were able to watch the fastest women's 3k in the world this year. (8:56!!!!) It was deffinately motivating for our own young track seasons. The long workout and the trip made for a short night, followed by another morning run and then an afternoon watching the superbowl and spent evening wandering around Olympia.

Olympia is a beautiful area with all the water and tons of nice little coffee shops and bars and shopping because of the focus on supporting local business. Since I am but a poor college student I only had the opportunity to partake in the previously mentioned glorious walnut pancake and a shared pitcher of wheat beer. Chris's house is outside of Olympia about 30 minutes off on it's own in the trees. It is so dark out there because there aren't many houses around and it is so quiet and peaceful. It is a really nice spot with his grandparents on both sides very near by. All of his family were extremely friendly and it was nice to finally meet Chris's mom. I had only meet his dad and sister once before and so it was nice to get all the embarrasing stories about Chris hating to shower and breaking his arm and all sorts of fun little facts about when he was little. :)

Monday I headed back South and dropped Chris off in McMinnville because he had work all this week at a private accounting firm here in McMinnville. He is processing paperwork that I know nothing about and has been working quite a bit for them. Just perfecting that resume' i suppose. After the 8 hours of driving I was ready to pass out and spent the rest of my break visiting with Grandma and my mom and dad. Doing some running and getting some antibiotics to kick this killer cough I have had for a couple of weeks. I hope that with the cough gone and with being able to breathe again in a few days I can potentially run a personal best in the 5k this weekend at our meet in Moscow, ID.

I will be sure to update after the race. Tyler (my friend from home) and Shawn and Chris (my roommates) will all be running the 5k also on Saturday morning, along with Arian, a freshman on the team.

Wish us luck! :)