Earlier this spring I made some observations about Emily Brontë and encouraged us to toss out youth as a barrier to the pursuit of any endeavor.

I have now read Wuthering Heights and want to make just two simple observations.

1. Emily’s writing is beautiful. I am sure this was partly a product of the times in which she lived. The way they spoke and wrote is very different from the way we speak and write. Even though most of you speak English as your primary language, her English is different. Let me offer an example, even though I know I could have found a better sample with a bit more time. This excerpt is from Chapter VI. The narrator is the servant Nelly:

Heathcliff bore his degradation pretty well at first, because Cathy taught him what she learnt, and worked or played with him in the fields. They both promised fair to grow up as rude as savages; the young master being entirely negligent how they behaved, and what they did, so they kept clear of him. He would not even have seen after their going to church on Sundays, only Joseph and the curate reprimanded his carelessness when they absented themselves; and that reminded him to order Heathcliff a flogging, and Catherine a fast from dinner or supper. But it was one of their chief amusements to run away to the moors in the morning and remain there all day, and the after punishment grew a mere thing to laugh at. The curate might set as many chapters as he pleased for Catherine to get by heart, and Joseph might thrash Heathcliff till his arm ached; they forgot everything the minute they were together again: at least the minute they had contrived some naughty plan of revenge; and many a time I’ve cried to myself to watch them growing more reckless daily, and I not daring to speak a syllable, for fear of losing the small power I still retained over the unfriended creatures.

I do not write or speak like that. The impact of the language on me is to transport me into that older world. The language itself helps with the setting of the book in northern England in the early 1800s. It also gives me a great appreciation for the beauty of our language.

2. Reading old books is healthy. I tend to read a wide variety of books from the latest business works to the English classics.  I find myself wondering how modern readers, especially younger readers weaned on a diet of text messages and hashtags, will be able to read and understand. I will admit that this could just be a concern from an older person, but I suspect that the wisdom of the ages may become virtually inaccessible to all but specialists who may devote their lives to such writings. It is a language and reading comprehension concern I have. I take it as a challenge to read some of these great books to see how well I can read and understand and to find out what all the fuss is about. I usually finish the old book completely understanding what all the fuss is about. I just wonder if we are losing our ability to do this. Where will we be in fifty years’ time in our ability to read and understand the classics?

Before I read Jane Eyre by Emily’s sister Charlotte, I just wanted to make these observations. It is a good thing to stretch ourselves with both the older language and with the themes explored by these classics of English literature. I am sure all of these same points apply to the classics of each language, and I find many of these same benefits when I read English translations of great books that were originally written in other languages.

Feel free to use the comments to make an observations of your own. What classics have made an impact on you?

]]> https://forwardstory.com/2017/06/a-couple-of-wuthering-observations/feed/ 0 https://forwardstory.com/2017/05/i-dont-have-the-language-for-that/ https://forwardstory.com/2017/05/i-dont-have-the-language-for-that/#comments Fri, 19 May 2017 12:47:40 +0000 Mark L. Casey http://forwardstory.com/?p=2162 The Main Barrier to Understanding

Nearly every day I find myself in conversations where the main barrier to understanding is language. Every area of knowledge has specialized language that must be mastered to truly understand.

Let me offer some examples:

• Medicine – “adrenocorticotropic”
• Engineering (Mechanical) – “draft”
• Engineering (Electronic) – “impedance”
• Math – “quadratic equation”
• Philosophy – “ontology”
• Athletics/Cricket – “wicket”
• Theology – “soteriology”
• Software – “LAMP Stack”
• Financial Markets – “derivatives”
• Law – “habeas corpus”

If you will begin to observe the times that you struggle to understand something, you will notice that the problem is usually not that you are not smart enough. It is usually that the speaker is using a specialized vocabulary that you do not yet possess.

I say usually because there are some concepts and fields of study where the ideas themselves are abstract enough or complicated enough that rare intelligence is required. For everything else, though, I am arguing that language is the key to unlock the doors.

It may be that learning is really about words. It may be that education is simply starting with a very basic vocabulary based on the ABCs and then continually building that vocabulary. Of course, I am not saying that we must just learn words. The words that we learn must be understood, else they will produce no meaning and we will forget them. These words must be connected to concepts. The words are abstract symbols that stand-in for the concepts.

I recently sat in on a two hour meeting with electronics engineers doing a schematic review. I am not an electronics engineer (EE). Let’s analyze the situation. Three of the people in the room shared a common background and a common language. They all studied engineering in college and have now been working in electronics circuit design for decades. That common background includes immersion in math and science. It also includes expertise in electricity and micro-electronics. They all understand the computer-based tools they use to design their circuits, and they also understand the way the electronics will be manufactured. About the only thing I share with them is that I understand the manufacturing side. So I sat in that meeting for two hours in wonderment at how much I do not know. I had fun just trying to make a note of all the terms I did not truly understand. I was inundated with terms and acronyms that I could not define.

This leads me to appreciate that in any field of study that I want to understand, I must be committed to learning the language. However, it is not just learning the lingo, it is actually understanding the words, terms, and acronyms. There is a recursion that has to take place to really understand a new term. Recursion means “the act or process of returning or running back.” If a new term is a specialized twig way out at the end of a limb, I need to use recursion (go back) to first understand the limb it is attached to. If I don’t understand the limb, I keep going back to the branch, then the trunk, then the roots. At some point I find the concept that I already understand. If that point is at the roots, then I start building back up to the trunk, branches, limbs, and finally to my specific twig. This is the way language and understanding builds.

This is the reason that I respect all disciplines. To function at a high level of understanding we all had to build our knowledge. Whatever your field of knowledge, you have invested time to master the language. If you decide to learn something new, it starts with language.

In recent years I have become unashamed to say to someone “I don’t currently have the language for that.” I then recursively explore the language with them to arrive at knowledge.

Do you have some examples where your field of expertise has specialized language that is a barrier to understanding? Have you run up against a language barrier that you had to overcome to achieve a goal? Please share these in the comments section.

At Forward Story we are always interested in information that relates to the way our bodies work and the way families work. I have discovered a book that deals with both. The book is The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults

It’s a shame this book was not available when we were raising our teenagers. It might have made the whole experience even more enjoyable for both them and us. Having listened to an interview with Dr. Jensen, who is herself the mother of teenage sons, I believe this book can truly help you if you are a parent, or a grandparent of teens. Also, if you work with teens as a teacher, counselor, or mentor, I think you will be able to produce value from it as well.

If you read the book, please share with us what you think about it:

Saturday is a good day to recap the activity from our Twitter feed from the past week. Not sure what Twitter is all about? That’s OK. Neither are we (or at least it remains somewhat mysterious to us). There is no denying, however, that there is some very valuable information shared on Twitter. That is what this weekly feature is all about. Click the links below to check out the good stuff. Here are my Top Tweets from this past week, great for retweeting (whatever that is). If you missed these, follow Forward Story on Twitter.

By the way, if you are wondering what the @ and # signs are all about, these are Twitter’s way to identify the Twitter handle (@) for the person who tweeted (for example, ours is @forward_story) and to allow for an indexing or categorization of the tweet by using one or more hashtags (#). Feel free to ignore these and just follow the link for the content we are sharing with you.

Here are a few recipes from people we trust:

Danielle Walker ?@againstallgrain Cashew Milk Recipe #paleo #glutenfree #againstallgrain http://grainfree.ly/1Iz2v4V

Civilized Caveman ?@CookingCaveman Fluffy Blueberry pancakes that are going to change your life. http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/recipes/breakfast/gluten-free-pancakes/

Maria Emmerich ?@MariaEmmerich Sunflower Seed Crackers http://buff.ly/1SmO99w #LCHF #keto #lowcarb

JJ Virgin ?@jjvirgin Add a dash of #lemon juice, a pinch of #salt, and some #seasoning to your EVOO for the perfect #salad #dressing. RT

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Cooking

Mark Hyman, M.D. ?@markhymanmd Take back your kitchen & embrace the act of cooking #realfood. http://buff.ly/1GLoIuh

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 Some great information related to health:

Experience Life ?@ExperienceLife Full-Spectrum Eating: 5 Tips for getting more Phytonutrients from @fxmed http://j.mp/1AnP0zI #nutrition #health #phytonutrients

Sara Gottfried, MD ?@DrGottfried Morning Yoga Time It’s almost the weekend… Dr’s orders: Try to do this neck release 8x per day — it helps so… http://fb.me/7ltP3srhC

Health Wire ?@MyHealthWire The “Fab Five” of Fermented Foods @CavemanDoctor http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1079/ #probiotics

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We all need recreation and nature

Michael Hyatt ?@MichaelHyatt Today’s New Post: 9 Reasons You Need More Fishing in Your Life. Read here: http://mhyatt.us/1IololA

My aunt, Susan Adcox, discusses Nature Deficit: Susan Adcox ?@grandparent I’m a podcaster! Listen to my advice for grandparents about giving advice @RoundAboutChat: http://traffic.libsyn.com/parentingroundabout/PR_Round3_052015.mp3

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Learn to Program

Khan Academy ?@khanacademy Learn programming with us in our #SummerOfScripting. We’ll send you weekly emails & contests! http://khan.co/1Ty3uWe

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Books to make your summer more entertaining and enlightening

10 weird but wonderful book recommendations from the super successful by @entrylevelrebel http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/10-weird-but-wonderful-book-recommendations-from-the-super-successful.html via @Inc

Ask the right questions.

– Robin Sharma ]]> https://forwardstory.com/quotes/ask-the-right-questions-sharma/feed/ 0 https://forwardstory.com/quotes/threshing-machine-melville/ https://forwardstory.com/quotes/threshing-machine-melville/#respond Thu, 11 Jun 2015 09:00:42 +0000 Mark L. Casey http://forwardstory.com/?post_type=quote&p=1877 Truth is like a threshing-machine; tender sensibilities must keep out of the way. – Herman Melville from The Confidence Man.

The Confidence Man (Penguin)

]]> https://forwardstory.com/quotes/threshing-machine-melville/feed/ 0 https://forwardstory.com/2015/05/identify-your-gaps-to-reach-your-goals/ https://forwardstory.com/2015/05/identify-your-gaps-to-reach-your-goals/#respond Wed, 06 May 2015 14:44:34 +0000 Mark L. Casey http://forwardstory.com/?p=1607 Let’s say you are twenty-five years old and have a goal to become a ukelele player.

Or, let’s say you are fifteen and want to become a doctor.

Perhaps you are fifty-three with a strong desire to be a beekeeper.

Or, let’s say you are seventy years old and want to help relieve hunger in the third world.

Whatever your goals are, you need to identify the gaps between where you are now and what it will take to achieve those goals. What stands in your way? Before you can actually achieve your goal to become a ukelele player, a doctor, a beekeeper, or an aid worker, you have to be honest about what it is going to take to make that happen. If you allow your gaps to go undefined, your goal is just a dream that will likely go unrealized.

What do we do when we encounter a gap or chasm that we need to cross? We build a bridge.

Since some gaps are small and some are huge, there are bridges of all sizes. Some chasms are so large that a bridge is not possible. Have you noticed that there is no bridge from the United States to Ireland? That gap is just too large. We navigate that space in different ways.

Step 1 – Identify the Gap

These are the things missing in your life right now that must be bridged before you can reach the other side. Again, honesty is vital here. You will do yourself no favors by minimizing the task ahead or by lying to yourself about what it is going to take. Be brutally honest in defining the gap. What do you need to learn? Who do you need to meet? What certification do you need to achieve? How much do you need to pay? How long will this take?

Step 2 – Design Your Bridge

Break the bridge down into smaller steps. No one builds a bridge, or a house, or a nation without a plan. Use what you know about the gap you defined in Step 1 to create your plan for bridging the gap. Design it well so that you have confidence it will get the job done.

Step 3 – Start Building

Your bridge will be built by actions. Just as no bridge ever designed itself, no bridge ever built itself, either. The best bridge design in the world will bridge no gap if it is not actually built. Actions taken in the proper sequence will lead you to build the proper bridge and reach your goal. Establishing and following great habits is a key to making these actions effective.

Step 4 – Glance Behind You and Take Heart

Once you have built your bridge and crossed the gap, you will have achieved your goal. Now is a good time to look back over your shoulder at the bridge. See that bridge for what it really is. It is a testimony of the power you possess to envision a Forward Story, to design the practices necessary to achieve it, and to follow through on that design to realize your goal. You should now realize that you can do that over and over again. None of us truly arrive at a point where we have no ambition left. The sense of accomplishment you get from crossing the bridge and achieving a goal provides a powerful shot of confidence that you can use on bridging your next gap.

My gaps are currently gaps in taking my business to the next level and in my health goals. In other words, I am currently working on bridging more than just one gap. I have a couple of bridge-building projects going on right now. As Step 4 explains, I have bridged enough gaps in the past to have confidence that these current bridges that are under construction will take me where I want to go.

What gaps are you trying to bridge at the moment? How is it going?

The fumble happened.

We lost by 3 points.

Into this bitter disappointment our head coach, Richard Bethell, taught one of those lessons that athletics seems especially suited to teach. He said, “Men, when you face defeat, failure, and disappointment you have three choices.” He laid out our choices:

1. You can quit

2. You can make excuses or blame others, or

3. You can go to work

Often the profound is simple. Sitting on that bus all I could think about was football. Many times since then, however, the wisdom of these three choices has fit my life.

I am capable of each choice from time to time. I prefer #3. I try to avoid #2 at all costs. I consider #1 only if the situation makes it clear that I have been pursuing something that is not worth my effort or is bad for me — but I am constitutionally not a quitter.

After my senior year Coach Bethell sent a letter to all of us seniors who played offensive line for him that season. As we went out into our adult lives he reiterated this lesson we had learned two years earlier. He spoke of adversity we had overcome in both our freshman and senior years. Here is an excerpt from the letter he wrote us:

Earlier in the letter he called that loss our sophomore year his “greatest loss as a coach.” He had felt that sting as deeply as we had.

So the lesson remains with me in life to this day. I hope you will make it your lesson as well. When you face defeat in your life you have a decision to make about your future — your Forward Story.

You have three choices. Which will it be?

Don’t Break the Chain!

After a couple of years of sporadically working on my first book, I decided the time had come to get serious. Since I travel quite a bit, I printed out a calendar I can take with me. On May 1st I began rising at 5 AM to write. I write for at least an hour, but often for an hour and a half. I permit myself no sleeping in on the weekends and no excuses because of travel.

This is a photo of my calendar from two days ago.

Don’t Break the Chain

This morning’s writing session made it seventeen in a row for me. I am now in a groove, and I do not hesitate to get up when the alarm goes off. The corgis are not quite sure what to make of it yet, but they will figure it out in time. Of course, by about 9 PM I am starting to think about sleep, but that’s OK.

I am really making progress, and I do not want to break the chain. Thank you Mr. Seinfeld for something so simple and effective.

What project could you move forward with Seinfeld’s calendar approach?