not an act but a habit

just finished watching "jiro dreams of sushi" on netflix with dad and found it to be very inspiring and interesting. the film chronicles the life of a top tier sushi chef in Tokyo and his strive for excellence, which when brought to a level as his is infectious.
I am inspired by his constant dedication and focus in his work, how is genuine lobe of what he does channels into excellence in his life. through his constant and diligent hard work he has attained a degree of excellence that stands in contrast to the mediocrity of the world around him. his work is inspiring to me to achieve even a small degree of his excellence in my life and stands as a role model to me. definitely a movie to watch again when inspiration is needed in the future. as for now I am struck in awe and thought as to how I can achieve excellence in my life. am I missing opportunities for excellence in my life? where is excellence in my life? at what cost should I strive for excellence?
I am reminded of the quote by Aristotle that

"We are what we repeatedly do . . . excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

what habits do I have the bar me from achieving excellence?
this is something I will have to give some thought...

Business

Are businesses successful due to the genuine ingenuity and utility of their business model or to the willingness of their employees to compromise.

Photo roll

winter

thoughts come to me.
it has been overdue for an update of my comings, goings, and thoughts that I feel at this time compelled to share.
fall semester is over and with it the bittersweet feeling of accomplishment and failure to live up to certain expectations. accomplishment because I have finally finished my anatomy class strong. So much I have learned and appreciate of anatomy. I have come to respect this study but also to yearn for more knowledge, knowledge of not the fancy "official nomenclature" that I have racked my brain over, but a thirst of the how things work.
failed expectations of my failed math class. yet another black mark on my transcript. the third so far. spring semester I return for my mathematical penance.
but to top it all off I have been accepted (barring external forces) to be a student teaching assistant for the anatomy lab program at UVU. this is an experience I look forward to as I will reinforce and expand my anatomical knowledge as a teach and assist the learning of anatomy. I am looking forward for the opportunity to teach peers as it has become something that I think I rather enjoy doing, yet it will stretch me as I will have to meet expectations that are unknown to me as of yet.

holiday break
thankful for the time to recuperate and pursue leisure at my pleasure for a change. I have managed to keep a decent sleeping schedule despite my habitual nocturnal affinities. company has not been too far thankfully and have kept loneliness at bay for the most part.
Christmas brought familial friction as things have not improved between mom and dad, I am just thankful for a wonderful brother that I have. I get teary eyed just thinking about his return to alabama with elisa. looking forward to heading to the south rim of the grand canyon with dad tomorrow. hopefully it will be a good time for us to have. updates to come of our adventures.

new year
I cant decide if new years resolutions are a good thing or a bad thing for me, just another exercise in futility. its not that I feel restricted in my capacity for change but that change is so difficult to enact in ones life. not because of ones inability but of ones own tendency to fallow the known and trodden path.
things I wish to change to avoid the slide into mediocrity

• become more open and sharing. this is something that I would like to change as I tend to have a hard time with it. being reserved is simply a more natural state for me but it limits the human interaction that I need to grow.
• serve more. I remember fondly of the opportunities I had to serve,namely my experience working with nick in the special needs class at timpview. the time we shared together I think were beneficial for both of us and for me made me a more compassionate and patient person. a reminder that my life is to be lived to the fullest with excellence and virtue in abundance.
• diet. this is something that I have slacked on this past semester as I more than would like to admit found solace from the pressures of school and work in food rather than in facing them with constructive matters.having a good diet, regular exercise means abundance of joy and tranquility in my life. not having the feeling of strength and vitality through diet and exercise means unhappiness is sure to follow.

thanks for listening...