“Nothing can hold you back when you’re not holding back a thing”. – Atreyu

This is post #13 in my quest for 30 in 30.

Ninjas have become quite the the popular guys lately. Everybody is making ninja references in their writings and admittedly, I’ve made ninja references myself in a recent post. There’s even a new blockbuster coming out about a Ninja this month. They have seemingly taken on the roll of hero in a lot of minds. But the ninja are really nothing more than samurai with lower standards.

It’s my personal feeling that a part of ones standards should include a code that they live by. For myself, I have adopted the way of the samurai known as Bushido as my code. I do my best to emulate this way of living in my day to day. It, like my standards helps to guide me through my life and helps me when faced with challenges. The principles  of Bushido may have been the code of an ancient warrior class but they are quite relevant in today’s society. If more people lived by this code the world might be a better place.

Here are the seven principals of Bushido.

Honesty & Justice 義
Be acutely honest throughout your dealings with all people. Believe in justice, not from other people, but from yourself. To the true Samurai, there are no shades of gray in the question of honesty & justice. There is only right and wrong.

Polite Courtesy　礼
Samurai have no reason to be cruel. They do not need to prove their strength. A Samurai is courteous even to his enemies. Without this outward show of respect, we are nothing more than animals.

Heroic Courage　勇
Rise up above the masses of people who are afraid to act. Hiding like a turtle in a shell is not living at all. A Samurai must have heroic courage. It is absolutely risky. It is dangerous. It is living life completely, fully, wonderfully. Heroic courage is not blind. It is intelligent & strong.

Honor　名誉
A true Samurai has only one judge of honour, and this is himself. Decisions you make and how these decisions are carried out are a reflection of whom you truly are. You cannot hide from yourself.

Compassion 仁
Through intense training the Samurai becomes quick & strong. He is not as other men. He develops a power that must be used for the good of all. He has compassion. He helps his fellow man at every opportunity. If an opportunity does not arise, he goes out of his way to find one.

Complete Sincerity 誠
When a Samurai has said that he will perform an action, it is as good as done. Nothing will stop him from completing what he has said he will do. He does not have to “give his word”. He does not have to “promise”. Speaking and doing are the same action.

Duty & Loyalty　忠
Having done some “thing” or said some “thing”, he owns that “thing”. He is responsible for it, and all the consequences that follow. A Samurai is immensely loyal to all those in his care. To those he is responsible for, he remains fiercely true.

You may consider taking on this code as your own. I say do it but only because it’s been usefully to me. Even if you’re not considering the way of the warrior I suggest you do your best to live by a code of ethics weather it be completely original or adopted from one already in existence. It’s an invaluable tool.

Thank you for being here. Talk to you tomorrow.
-JB
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Today’s Music: Honor
by: Atreyu
Available on:

“Wanna be startin’ somethin’, got to be startin’ somethin’”

- Michael Jackson

Want to see something scary?

Today is October 31, 2009. Halloween. While it is my favorite holiday and I love a good scare I have something much spookier on my mind today. Tomorrow it will be November and one thing November is known for is a little thing called the National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. This is where one dedicates the entire month to writing a novel. I’m not sure how many of you have ever tried to write a book before but it has a mountain of difficulty all by itself let alone trying to compact all of it in a 30 day span. There is a lot of intensity involved and it can be very stressful yet very rewarding at the same time. So NaNoWriMo is upon us and this year I am NOT participating. I have several stories to tell and currently have ample time to tell them, however I decided that it would be best to get a different project I’ve been working on under way before taking on another.

Got to be starting something.

I have this little blog here that I started so I could help some people but haven’t done anything with. So in honor of those who are participating in NaNoWriMo I have decided to attempt something significantly less daunting.  My personal test of strength will be making one new blog post per day for the entire month of November. Now, this is not some grand feat. Many bloggers do it every day. I however am far far away from being one of them. See, I have this little issue while looking at a blank page. While several writers can poor their words onto the page to fill it, I seem to experience the opposite effect. I look at a blank page and it’s blankness poors into my mind until I forget what it was I wanted to write. It’s ridiculously upsetting for someone like me who, as I said, has stories to tell. So while it’s not writing an entire book in a month, it’s a decent personal challenge that I’m looking forward to seeing through. I’ve got to start writing again sometime, so why the hell not!

And another thing…

Oh, one more thing, eventually I’m going to get around to telling you a story about how I became an FM radio DJ at (barely)16. But in the meantime, I’m getting back to my disc slinger roots and incorporating a little music in my posts. There will be (topical, I hope) song lyrics thrown in along the way and I’ll add a link to various ways you can find the song out there on the old interweb. Bringing the world together through music,that’s what I’m all about. Ok, I’m not entirely about that but it’s a nice idea. I think music makes experiences more memorable, more meaningful and more well, musical.

Thanks for being here. Talk to you tomorrow.

-JB

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Today’s music:

“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”

by Michael Jackson

Available on:

P.S. I know we’ve all probably seen this before but it’s so damn funny and appropriate. Writers out there, don’t let this happen to you.