I Dub Thee…The 10 Patron Saints Of Self Improvement
March 23, 2008 | In Mindset |
John at The Pageless Book tagged me for a Ten Saints Meme. In case you don’t know, John blogs about spirituality and religious tolerance. While he tagged many others who blog more on these issues, he also tagged me. Maybe he wanted to annoy me, or maybe he just wanted to give my blog exposure. Either way, I found this post a challenge as I choose to highlight individuals who all had an influence on self improvement. Most of these folks are deceased; however, there are few very much alive and well. Most are serious, but I mixed in a few funny ones as well. I hope you enjoy my take on this idea.
1. Anne Frank - patron saint of bloggers and other writers. A first, this may strike you as odd; after all, Anne Frank was killed by the Germans in World War II. However, she left behind a diary, that I’m sure everyone has heard of. Although I’ve only read excerpts, what struck me was her honesty and detail. She left behind a personal record of what it was really like to live out the fear of that time. Anne’s words are vivid and real, with an immediacy that makes you feel as if you are right there with her. Although she was only a teenager, her way of writing is an inspiration for all writers, and especially bloggers, since many of us chronicle our lives to various degrees.
2. Elizabeth Blackwell - patron saint of daring to follow your dream. Elizabeth Blackwell become the first woman doctor in 1849. She struggled against a system that didn’t believe women should be doctors. Finally getting admission to medical school was the first hurdle, but she faced others, such as not being allowed to participate in classroom medical demonstrations. Despite all this opposition, she did indeed graduate, and graduated first in her class as well. She persevered for years to attain her dream, as she described: “The idea of winning a doctor’s degree gradually assumed the aspect of a great moral struggle, and the moral fight possessed immense attraction for me.” This makes her very worthy of the sainthood of daring to follow a dream despite all obstacles.
3. Laurel Mellin - patron saint of healing the past. Laurel Mellin is the driving force behind The Solution Method. While many others help her with the program now, she is still on the forefront of making the program better and better. The Solution Method is the only psychological method that has had a lasting impact on me. All the tips and tricks I’ve heard over the years dealt with various aspects of healing the past and living the life you were put here on Earth to live. However, The Solution Method is the only program that put all the pieces together in a clear picture and provided a solid process for really learning the skills to live your best life and heal much of your past completely. (To read more, please check out The Pathway.) Her work has truly been life changing for me and I honor her with this sainthood.
4. Elle Woods - patron saint of proving everyone wrong. Elle Woods in the first of my fictional characters; while the people are made up, the ideas behind their sainthood are genuine. In the movies Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2, Elle is seen as an airhead valley girl. She is blond and silly, focusing on beauty and her tiny dog whom she carries around in a purse. No one believes she has what it takes to get into Law School, let alone be any good at being a lawyer. At every turn, she is sneered and laughed at. Despite all that, she goes on to prove everyone wrong and be the only lawyer on the team who can prove her client innocent. Of course, this was just a movie, and movies have good ending with the heroine getting her happily ever after, but the message still remains. Like Elizabeth proved in the 1800’s, women are as capable of success as men. We are often underestimated, but come back strong to prove “we’ve got the stuff.”
5. Trinity - patron saint of kick ass chicks! I absolutely loved The Matrix. It is pretty much my favorite movie ever. The second and third movies weren’t as good, but the first is totally kick ass. And, Trinity stands out as kick ass as well. She was sexy, fit, fierce, and yet willing to show her fear at the same time. She was confident, and fabulous with a high kick or a knife. She rode a motorcycle like nobody’s business and defended her friends to the brink of death and beyond. While obviously, we all can’t be exactly like Trinity (after all, Carrie Ann Moss worked out hours a day, was swung around on wire, and had a stunt double), the character of Trinity still has a lot of qualities we should all aspire to. So, I make her the honorary saint of kick ass chicks - kicking butt and not even worrying about names.
6. Samwise Gamgee - patron saint of loyal friends. Sam is the first of my male participants in this list. From the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, Sam was the only one who was with Frodo all the way to Mount Doom and the destruction of the ring. Up to the very last second, he was willing to do what it took to not only destroy the ring but protect Frodo as well. No matter who stood against them, Sam fought valiantly. He was a true and loyal friend and so earns the honor of patron saint of loyal friends.
7. Yoda - patron saint of inner power. I’m sure everyone has heard of Yoda, Jedi Master from the Star Wars movies. At first I considered him for patron saint of motivators, due to his famous line to Luke Skywalker: “Do or do not, there is no try.” While he was great at motivating Luke to reach inside himself for the power of the force, Luke wouldn’t have been successful if it wasn’t already there. True, in the fiction world, Yoda could actually sense the force in Luke, but really, isn’t the force the life force that runs in all of us? While some of us are better at living up to our potentials that others, we all have the same capacity to draw upon our innate wisdom and power. So, if you feel down about your life, then perhaps you can remember Yoda and how he taught us to reach deep inside ourselves for strength.
8. Jacques Cousteau - patron saint of marine biologists. Jacques Cousteau is one of my personal heroes. Inventor of the SCUBA tank (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus), he made it possible for humans to see underwater life for extended periods. This opened up the ocean to exploration as never before. With is movie The Silent World (and the book of the same name) in 1956, he popularized underwater biology. This also gave those who had never been to the ocean the ability to see life underwater as if they were there. Jacques Cousteau died in 1997 at the age of 87, but throughout his long career, he worked to preserve the oceans and educate the world on just how important they are to our survival. Marine biologists everywhere owe him a debt of gratitude and that is why he is the patron saint of marine biologists.
9. Ray Krock - patron saint of entrepreneurs. In 1954, Rock Krock officially established the McDonald’s Corporation, later buying the Corporation from the McDonald brothers in 1961. He was 59 years old and over the next 23 years built the franchise to the point where 10 months after his death in 1984, McDonald’s sold the 50 billionth hamburger. Ray Krock had a vision and he pursued that vision with a vengeance. He had the business savvy to build McDonald’s up from almost scratch to the start of the huge corporation it is today. Pursing his business vision was so successful, I dub him the patron saint of entrepreneurs.
10. Tom Venuto - patron saint of true fitness the proper way. Tom Venuto is a very successful body builder who wrote the e-book Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle. He covers all aspects of nutrition, as a solid basis in nutrition is 80% or more of peak fitness. As a body builder, he knows what works to shed fat and build muscle and he describes how you can do the same. One of the main things I like about this book, and probably what has made it so successful, is that he doesn’t have a “one size fits all” gimmicky approach to fitness. He believes in a personalized approach and the power of feedback on your progress. He explains how fad diets wreck your metabolism and how to yours if it has been damaged by them. He explains that fitness is difficult, but achievable for everyone. He is motivating and very knowledgeable. He has the credentials to back up his claims and cuts through the speculation about what works and what doesn’t. He teaches you how to figure out a plan that works for your unique situation. Many, many people have found success using the principles in this book and therefore I dub Mr. Venuto the patron saint of true fitness the proper way.
So, in order to keep this meme going, I tag Peter at iwillchangeyourlife.com who tagged me for a eulogy a few months ago; now I’m returning the favor. I also tag Jonathan at awake@thewheel , who’s blog I very much enjoy reading, even though I don’t get a chance to comment on it that often.
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