CHOP WOOD CARRY WATER HOW TO FALL IN LOVE WITH THE PROCESS OF BECOMING GREAT JOSHUA MEDCALF Copyright © 2015 Joshua Medcalf. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law. ISBN: 978-1-4834-4178-8 (sc) ISBN: 978-1-4834-4177-1 (e) Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them. Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only. Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock. Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 11/30/2015 CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chop Wood, Carry Water Chapter 2 Building Your Own House Chapter 3 Faithful in the Small Things Chapter 4 One Eye For the Journey Chapter 5 Nothing is a Test Chapter 6 Where Do You Find Your Identity? Chapter 7 Guzzling Salt Water Chapter 8 Evil’s Best Weapon Chapter 9 What Went Well? Chapter 10 Insta-everything Chapter 11 Wandering Eyes Chapter 12 Rough Side of the Mountain Chapter 13 Harnessing Power Chapter 14 Diet Coke Chapter 15 The Path to Mastery Chapter 16 I Aim With Everything Chapter 17 Bamboo Chapter 18 Road Signs on The Path To Mastery Chapter 19 Be Where Your Feet Are Chapter 20 Goal vs. Mission Chapter 21 Surrender Chapter 22 Famous Failures Chapter 23 The Illusion of Partially Controllable Goals Chapter 24 The Fight Chapter 25 Principles Instead of Feelings Chapter 26 Warrior Dial Chapter 27 “They” Chapter 28 A New Name -Final Thoughts- “What do you do with all your time?” “Drowning Without a Mission” Ready to apply everything you learned?! Thank You’s -CHAPTER 1- Chop Wood, Carry Water For as long as his family could remember, John and his younger brother Jordan had been in love with the samurai culture of Japan. When John was only eight years old, his family visited many places in Asia. He and Jordan excitedly explored every place they visited, and dreamt of returning one day to become their favorite type of samurai warriors: archers. A year later, tragedy struck as the family was in a bad car accident and Jordan was severely injured. The rest of the family was pretty banged up, but Jordan was barely hanging onto life in the ICU. For the first few months John sat at his bedside, only leaving the hospital to shower two times a week, reading him stories throughout the day about the samurai culture that they both loved so much. Every night they would fall asleep to Jackie Chan movies. John’s parents even let him miss the first month of school. Eventually after five months of being in the hospital Jordan was cleared to go home. The doctors said he would never again be able to talk, walk, or feed himself. Jordan still found ways to communicate and play with John and they became even closer than they were before the accident. John always admired his brother’s upbeat attitude and warm energy despite his circumstances. The doctors said for Jordan to go through a normal day it required as much energy as it does for an average person to run a marathon. As John entered his teenage years, he never forgot their shared love of the samurai, and over time his fascination turned to deep admiration and lasting respect. He began to think more and more about pursuing it in his future. Finally, when he turned eighteen, John bought a one-way ticket to an ancient city in Japan, intent on fulfilling his boyhood dream. He enrolled as an apprentice to a small community of samurai who lived outside the city walls, practicing their timeless traditions. There, he knew he could become a samurai archer. When John arrived, he was greeted by a friendly old sensei named Akira. He helped John unload his bags and get settled. As they walked the grounds, taking a look at the advanced training areas and shooting ranges, John grew more and more excited. This place was amazing! He couldn’t wait to get started. But the next morning, Akira gathered the newly arrived apprentices and informed them of their first task: for the rest of the morning, they would chop wood and carry water. John was surprised and confused. He addressed his teacher with the proper title of respect that they had been taught: “Akira-sensei, what do you mean?” The old man explained that their community was outfitted with every modern convenience, except for heat and running water. Instead of using gas or electricity, they burned wood for heat when the weather grew cold. And in order to use water in the bathrooms and kitchen, it had to be brought by hand from a well outside. Thus, in order for the community to use water and stay warm during the winter, the community depended on everyone to chop wood and carry water. “But when will we get to shoot?” John wondered aloud. Akira just smiled. “Shooting will come soon enough. But first you must chop wood, and carry water.” John was frustrated, but he obeyed. He trusted his sensei’s wisdom, and knew that in time, they would move on to more exciting things. -CHAPTER 2- Building Your Own House The next day was hot and muggy. John sweated as he drove his axe through log after log. His shoulders ached as he hauled bucket after bucket of water from the well into the house, and his hands began to blister from the friction of the axe handle. It was frustrating watching men old enough to be in retirement homes chop wood and carry water so effortlessly. But he kept working, remembering Akira’s words that, “shooting will come soon enough.” Finally, after the day’s work had finished, Akira took John aside. He handed him a cup of cool water and told him a story. He told John that in Japan they have a deep love of architecture, and there once was a man named Kota who built some of the finest houses in all of Tokyo. His work became world famous due to his dedication to the process, his willingness to beat on his craft, and his relentless devotion to keep learning, even late into his career. Eventually though, Kota grew tired of building homes for other people and he was ready to retire. He had been building homes for over thirty years, and he was ready to move on. He wanted to travel and spend lots of time with his grandkids. One day, Kota approached his boss, and turned in his two-week notice. His boss said, “Kota, we are forever indebted to you for the magnificent work you have done for our company, and we are so grateful you have worked for us for so long. We do have one favor to ask of you though. Could you please build one more house? It is a very important house, for a very important client, and everyone in the company agreed it needs your magic touch!” Kota was frustrated. He would have to cancel two trips and postpone his new life, all for one house. He told his boss that he needed a day to think about it. After talking it over with his wife, he gave in and decided he would build one more house. But he told his boss, “This is the very last one!” But while Kota had agreed with his head to build this last house, his heart was no longer in it. He had always been very hands-on through the entire building process, always selecting the finest materials by hand and making sure every detail was diligently tended to. But this house was different. He viewed it more as an obligation than an opportunity. He delegated much of the work, and consequently a lot of things started slipping through the cracks. The house would be up to code, but as it started to come together, it was obvious that it lacked the “wow” factor that Kota’s other homes were known for. Kota knew in his heart that this was far from his best work, but he was over it and ready to move on to the next phase of his life. The next phase was much more appealing and important to him than the present phase. After four months had passed, Kota finally finished the house. He went back to his boss, telling him, “I did what you asked. Now I am asking, one last time, for your blessing to retire.” His boss said, “Thank you Kota! We just have one more thing!” Now Kota was beginning to get really upset because he thought they were going to ask him to build another house. His boss reached into his desk and pulled out a very small black box with a red ribbon tied around it. He handed the box to Kota, and said, “We are so grateful for you, Kota. This gift is a token of our appreciation.” Kota pulled the ribbon, opening the box to discover a set of shiny new keys. His boss smiled, “The house is yours! You deserve it!” Immediately, his heart sank. Unbeknownst to Kota, the whole time he had been building his own house. If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have cared so much more. He would have only used the finest materials, and he would have overseen every detail and given it his all like he had always done. But now, it was too late. Akira looked at John and said, “The only thing that is truly significant about today, or any other day, is who you become in the process. Each of us are building our own house. Sometimes you might think you are building for your school, your family, your company, or your team, but you are always building your own house… I hope you build wisely.” The story hit home for John and he really started to think deeply about his own life. He sat in silent contemplation while wondering if he had been building his house wisely. -CHAPTER 3- Faithful in the Small Things As the weeks passed, John grew more comfortable with life in the community. One day, he woke up to find all the other apprentices crowding excitedly around an announcement that had been posted in the dining hall. It announced that each year, the incoming class of apprentices would be able to compete in an archery tournament. John could barely contain his excitement. He loved competition, and he was intent on winning the tournament. He couldn’t stop talking about it that morning as he finished his daily routine. Finally, Akira grabbed his shoulders, and sat him down. He looked deep into John’s eyes. “John, Mother Theresa always told people, ‘Be faithful in the small things, for it is in them that your strength lies.’ The temptation while you are here with us will be to focus on all the big sexy goals, like winning the tournament, and becoming a great samurai archer. You must fight that temptation, and stay focused on chopping wood and carrying water. Do you recognize the name Ingvar Kamprad?” John shook his head, no. “Good!” Akira smiled wide. “Ingvar was a young boy who spent four or five years selling individual matchsticks door to door in his small town in Sweden. He was often laughed at when he would tell the other boys he couldn’t play, because he needed to ride his bike three hours into Stockholm to purchase another box of matches.” John couldn’t believe his ears. “Hold on! You mean to tell me that this little kid was really selling individual matchsticks door to door, for years?!” “Yes, John. This is a true story. When Ingvar was seventeen years old he decided to name his company. You might have heard of it: Ikea is worth over one hundred fifty billion dollars today.” John listened in awe as Akira continued. “John, everyone wants to start the next Ikea, but few are willing to be faithful selling individual matchsticks door to door. Everyone wants to build the next Apple or Facebook, nobody wants to sell matches door to door. Everyone wants to become a samurai warrior, but few are willing to faithfully chop wood, carry water. Every now and then a person comes along and accidentally gets it the first time, but most of us have to learn the hard way through multiple failed experiments, which allows us to learn lessons and skills those who had it easier did not develop. Steve Jobs didn’t set out to transform entertainment, computers, music, tele- communications, and education. It happened as a byproduct of passion, persistence, and faithfulness to a small idea. The problem with small is that it isn’t sexy, and it’s often repetitively boring. A guy who played professional golf, was once hit by a bus and the people serving as his doctors told him he would never walk again. But he trained hard, day in and day out, and went on to win a major. He said, ‘Everyone thinks greatness is sexy, it’s not. It’s dirty, hard work.’1 Ingvar didn’t have a sexy idea, he had an idea most people would laugh at today. I can’t even imagine how much grief he took from friends and family. ‘You are doing what?! That is the stupidest idea ever!’ Everyone wants to win championships, but nobody wants to sweep the barn they practice in like John Wooden did for his first few years in Westwood. Everyone wants to be great, until it’s time to do what greatness requires. Dream BIG. Start small. Be ridiculously faithful. Focus on what you can control. Your greatest challenge during your time here will be faithfully keeping your focus on the process, while surrendering the outcome.” John nodded his head in acknowledgement, but the truth was more than he could handle. He thought he understood, but some things can only be experienced to be fully learned.0 -CHAPTER 4- One Eye For the Journey After the excitement of the first few months had started to wear off, John began to get frustrated. The monotony of chopping wood and carrying water every morning and every evening had begun to wear on him. He was only allowed to practice archery for four hours, during the heat of the day. What frustrated him the most, was that he was only allowed to shoot at a straw roll that was only seven feet away from him. He and the other apprentices were also required to attend weekly workshops where they learned life skills and lessons through stories. One day he approached Akira and asked, “Akira-sensei, how long will it take me to become a samurai archer? I have dreamed my whole life of being one, but it feels like it will take forever.” Akira stopped what he was doing and said, “In the West, you want everything instantly, but here you must learn to fall in love with the process of becoming great. Now go chop wood, and carry water.” John was confused, but he went back to his normal daily activities. The months passed, and before he knew it, an entire year had gone by. During the first year ‘acclimation period’ apprentices are not allowed to speak with their family and friends. When John was finally able to have a Skype video call with his family, he was disappointed to share with them that he hadn’t moved past shooting at a target only seven feet away from him, and that the rest of his time each day was spent chopping wood and carrying water. As John talked about his daily routine, his father got a big smile on his face. He asked John who his favorite basketball players were growing up. John replied, “That’s easy: Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.” His dad then told him how Phil Jackson had just released a book, Eleven Rings, and how he was constantly telling the guys on his teams about the necessity of “chop wood, carry water.” No matter whether you are winning or losing, the point was to focus on the process and neither get too high or too low, but instead to control the controllables. After the call, John’s spirits were much better. It was especially hard being away from Jordan, and just seeing him was encouraging to John. A few months went by, and as John practiced, his muscles began to learn the familiar motions of drawing and releasing, and his shots grew more accurate. He began to feel very confident with his bow and hitting the seven-foot target. One day while he was practicing, Akira walked over and John asked again, “Akira-sensei, I am getting better and better each week. How long will it take for me to become a samurai archer now?” Akira smiled, and told him it would take ten years. John was furious. “Ten years? Maybe if I didn’t have to spend so much time chopping wood and carrying water then I would be able to reach my goal much faster!” Akira replied, “If you don’t chop wood and carry water, then it will take you twenty years to become a samurai archer.” Then he turned and walked away. John was even more confused, and he questioned whether or not he should quit. Would it really take him ten years? He wasn’t sure this investment was worth it, but decided he would try even harder. More time passed, and John’s shots became more accurate and more powerful. He came to love the sound of the arrow slamming into the target. THWACK!! THWACK!! Soon, he was certain that he could become a samurai archer in less than ten years. So one day, as they were carrying water back from the well, he pulled Akira