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This week I just want to share with you my performance of the National Anthem at Steinbrenner Field, and the subsequent article that was written about it on the YES Network. Thank you to Hank Steinbrenner, Ray Negron, Aris Sakellaridis, and Jon Lane.  Here are the links.

http://www.myyesnetwork.com/12461/blog/2011/03/25/hanks_yank_can_sing_two

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxTBVlUS4f8

Enjoy!

Hello everyone,

This week I read two books by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. The first being “The Black Swan” (no, not the movie with Natalie Portman), and the second being “The Bed of Procrustes.”  I have been greatly impressed by the way this man’s mind works. If anyone is interested in altering the way in which they view the world, they should read his material.  The following quotes are some of my favorites from “The Bed of Procrustes,” which contains original philosophical and practical aphorisms by Taleb. I hope you find them as thought provoking as I did!

1. “If you know , in the morning, what your day looks like with any precision, you are a little bit dead- the more precision, the more dead you are.”
2. “By praising someone for his lack of defects you are also implying his lack of virtues.”
3. “What fools call; “wasting time” is most often the best investment”
4. “You will be civilized on the day you can spend a long period doing nothing, learning nothing, and improving nothing, without feeling the slightest amount of guilt.”
5. “For so many, instead of looking for “cause of death” when they expire, we should be looking for “cause of life” when they are still around.
6. “The tragedy is that much of what you think is random is in your control, and what’s worse, the opposite.
7. “The fool views himself as more unique and others more generic; the wise views himself as more generic and others more unique.”
8. “People often need to suspend their self-promotion, and have someone in their lives they do not need to impress. This explains dog ownership.
9. “Pure generosity is when you help the ingrate. Every other form is self serving.”
10. “Just as dyed hair makes older men less attractive, it is what you do to hide your weaknesses that makes them repugnant.”
11. “A prophet is not someone with special visions, just someone blind to most of what others see.”
12. “Mediocre men tend to be outraged by small insults, but passive, subdued, and silent in front of very large ones.”
13. “The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.”
14. “You have a real life if and only if you do not compete with anyone in any of your pursuits.”

-Nassim Taleb

 What I love about Taleb’s quotes is that they take what each of us assumes to be true, and shows us that it is to those things that we are most vulnerable. Maybe, just maybe, much of what we are all running towards, we should actually be running from?!  Have a great week, and I hope this makes you think as much as it made me think.

-Adam  

www.thesingingnyyankee.wordpress.com

Quote of the Week from Adam Unger “The Singing NY Yankee”

Week #2

This week’s quote comes from the inside of the Yankee’s locker room at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa Florida (The New York Yankees Spring Training home)

Sorry that the attached picture is a bit hard to make out. It reads..

“God willing – and given the chance – let me carve my name on something bigger than a locker room bench.”

I spent this week in Tampa coaching “Hank’s Yanks,” which is a youth team comprised of kids from different socio-economic backgrounds sponsored by Hank Steinbrenner (owner of the NY Yankees).  Too many times in today’s world of professional sports we are left with the image that the people involved are profoundly selfish. However, this week I personally witnessed the New York Yankees live up to and beyond the quote that is in their locker room.

“Hank’s Yanks” is the brainchild of Hank Steinbrenner and Ray Negron who is a longtime member of the Yankee front office. The team spent this past week practicing and playing games at the New York Yankee’s spring training facility in Tampa Florida. On Thursday, they played a game against The Mariano Rivera all-stars (a youth team sponsored by future Hall of Fame pitcher Mariano Rivera). The game was played at Steinbrenner Field, which was perfectly groomed as if the big team had a game that day.  Players names were announced, and the fans and scouts were in the stands.  Most importantly however, it was the who, not the what that really made the day special.  Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer of all time sat in the stands with his family watching the kids play.  Before the game, Hank Steinbrenner addressed the Hank’s Yanks team and told each and every kid that they were special, and that he personally cared for each and every one of them. Well, Mr. Steinbrenner walks the walk as he stayed and watched all the kids for the entire game giving them words of encouragement along the way. Team Founder/Manager, and longtime George Steinbrenner assistant Ray Negron was there with the kids all week coaching, teaching, and providing them with opportunities that most kids could only dream of.  Later in the game, Brian Cashman the Yankee’s General Manager came to say hello to the Hank’s Yanks team and lend his support.  Throughout the week, these kids literally got to live a fantasy fraternizing with Yankee greats and playing ball on the Yankee grounds.  However, what makes all this magic happen are the men involved, particularly Hank Steinbrenner and Ray Negron.  They have taken the above quote to heart.  They are Yankees that have their names carved not on locker room benches, but in the hearts and minds of the kids that they touch so profoundly. No where is this more evident than with the “Hanks Yanks team. I ask everyone (including myself) reading this, where will you carve your name?

Sincerely,

Adam Unger

I am not a perfect person, and by no means do I have my one purpose in life completely discovered.  However,  by simply acknowledging that I have this purpose as we all do leads me to believe that a better life is possible for us all.  It is with this spirit of giving that I am starting my quote and comment of the week.  I hope my weekly dose of inspiration causes you to think and inspires you to see that every moment of your life has meaning and purpose no matter what!  Please write me back with any comments you have. If you would like to forward this e-mail please do so. If you don’t want to receive my emails just let me know

• Brian Tracy