KNOWLEDGE OF SELF

“Ninety percent of the world's woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties, and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves.” SYDNEY J HARRIS

They say there are two seasons in Chicago, construction season, and Winter. I witness construction season first hand as this is also "ride to work season" for me personally. I've seen buildings vacated, demolished, and carted away in trucks. Foundations excavated and re-poured, steel frames erected, buildings constructed around them. Essentially the exchange of one aged structure with a new one in it's place. Streets go through the same process of renewal. One week a stretch of concrete is scraped and removed, hot black asphalt laid down in its place. Just as I begin to enjoy this smooth new surface under my tires, a thirty foot hole is dug in the middle of another road just down the way. A city in a constant state of repair and upgrade.

Successful, progressive human lives go through a similar process when people are intent on improving themselves and living a healthy life. The food and drink we consume is the foundation for our physical well being. Our training and exercise build physical strength and endurance in our muscular, vascular, and respiratory systems. The media we ingest; books and articles read, films and television watched, Internet content browsed, all contribute to the structure of our minds. Relationships we hold with family, friends, co-workers all shape our experience and interaction with the world. Our knowledge, beliefs, actions, abilities, and compassion compose our inner framework. Our bodies are the exterior structure.

The older we get, the better we understand ourselves. With each passing day we should have a clearer picture of the unique traits that make us, us. From a very early age we begin to form tastes and opinions. Our cultural surroundings, family and friends have a large influence on what we think and how we feel. Early on, it occurred to me that popular opinion frequently, even more often than not, was off-base or incorrect. Something felt wrong for such dynamic, multi-dimensional beings to be corralled into a uniformed, linear line of thinking. Since my earliest memories, it was important for me to "think outside the box". It was clear that most people had a diet of "low hanging fruit", preferring to chose from what's right in front of them, and from what everyone else is doing.

I think my early enthusiasm and attraction to film came not only from sheer entertainment, but also how it was a subject not taught in school. Such a hugely influential medium almost absent in our education. The same existed with music, outside of radio and television, finding your own sound required research, exploring record stores and liner notes. Before the Internet, sports, outside your local market, also took some effort to get the whole picture. Growing up in an American League market, naturally I was drawn to National League baseball early on. The public library was the only true resource outside of magazine subscriptions to keep up with what was happening outside of Boston.

These factors combined to build a foundation of me, my interests, and my ambition.

Next week I take on a new position at a new property, only my second job since moving to Chicago six years ago. Though moving to an advanced position at a vastly superior hotel, I still won't be "max realizing" my potential. Although I take great pride in my work, I'm not yet truly yielding the impact I am destined to. As long as I can remember, my tastes and opinions have influenced my friends and contemporaries. The movies and music I enjoy, the sports figures and teams I follow, my photography, illustrations, use of language, and philosophy have long left an impression. My passion, research, and knowledge have increased exponentially since studying film all those years ago in Boston. I know myself better today than I did yesterday, and my future creative endeavors remain an unwritten script. I will continue to push my creative efforts while trusting each of you are taking similar steps towards becoming the most unique, authentic, and expressive individuals you can be. I've been taking inventory of my abilities and experience lately while generating a list of talented and inspirational friends with similar constructive interests. I very much look forward to the future, and my creative collaborations with them.

And by them, I mean you.

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.” LAO TZU