Staying Ahead of the Bulls

"If you are heading towards a goal based solely on 'that is the way it has always been done', then you may be heading towards disappointment." - Despair.com

Every year in Pamplona, Spain, the encierro or "running of the bulls" takes place during an eight-day festival around mid-July. It is performed in honour of Saint Fermin in Pamplona, but was born from necessity.

The goal? Get the bulls from outside the city into the bullring.

It starts at a corral in Calle Santo Domingo when the clock on the church of San Cernin strikes eight o'clock in the morning. It is than that the bulls begin their rough and tumble run for 825 metres or just over 1/2 mile. This is the distance between the corral and the bullring.

Usually only taking three to four minutes, it can be a painful run as young men run in front of the bulls. The intent is to show their bravado while trying to avoid being trampled and hurt. A run that means certain death for the bulls eventually in the ring.

Daily, we can feel similar to running in front the bulls.

We are running to get or stay ahead of whatever it is behind us. Our goal seems to be survival until we make it to the bullring where success and glory is found. We only need to ensure we are not trampled along the way as we repeat this gallant run every day.

Today will be the day I reach ring.

Maybe running with the bulls each morning is not the way to go about it. Maybe there is a different, more appropriate way for you to succeed. It could mean that you simply need to try a new way. Running with the bulls might be one way of reaching your goal. Not running with the bulls might be another.

If you keep getting gored in your pursuit each day, try something different and achieve your goals with new thought, new ideas and new desire.

Stay inspired my friends.

Conversation

"It is not what we learn in conversation that enriches us. It is the elation that comes of swift contact with tingling currents of thought." -Agnes Repplier

Day one of @EMCWorld is complete and day two is well under way. As I sit in the quiet, relaxing bloggers lounge, it contrasts with the hubbub of activity out on the floor. If you have ever been to a large conference, the number of people flowing through it can be overwhelming at times.

For breakfast most mornings, I liken it to the "Running of the Bulls". At times it seems like a narrow Spanish street filled with people and bulls running through it. Then again, I don't mean to say people are running in a mad rush of confusion. What I mean is the well directed funnelling of people into a huge banquet hall. It is an amazing feat to pull off the feeding 10,000 people.

And in that crowd of walking, picking up food, finding a chair, and eating, there is conversation. There are people talking to each other about a wide variety of subjects. Since we are in Las Vegas, many of those conversations revolve around how much someone won or lost in the casino.

Others will be giving introductions of themselves, the latest sporting event, and at a conference such as this, technology. In the high level view it may seem like just a lot of noise. But listen carefully and you will hear people connecting.

People are talking and sharing with each other. They are learning something new or reaffirming something old, but they are talking. Folks will gather new friends and also touch base with old friends. And each of these connections will advance each of us even further.

By connecting with others you gain new insight that will lift your life even higher. By connecting with others we give them something new in their life. By connecting with others we strengthen the human experience.

Connect with others and see how your life will gain from it. You may think you are adding to the noise when in fact you are actually adding to your life. Enjoy the noise.