Video by Kosi
Transcript by Gangaji

“Any thought that you have had about yourself, however deflated or inflated, is not who you are. It is simply a thought. The truth of who you are cannot be thought, because it is the source of all thoughts. The truth of who you are cannot be named or defined.

Words like soul, light, God, truth, self, consciousness, the universal intelligence, or divinity, while capable of evoking the bliss of the truth, are grossly inadequate as a description of the immensity of who you truly are.

However you identify yourself: as child, adolescent, a mother, a father, an older person, healthy person, sick person, a suffering person, or an enlightened person – always, behind all of that, is the truth of yourself. It is not foreign to you. It is so close that you cannot believe it is you.

The truth of who you are is untouched by any concept of who you are, whether ignorant or enlightened, worthless or grand. The truth of who you are is free of it all. You are already free and all that blocks your realization of that freedom is your own attachment to some thought of who you are. This thought doesn’t keep you from being the truth of who you are. You already are that. It separates you from the realization of who you are.

I invite you to let your attention dive into what has always been here, waiting openly for its own self-realization. Who are you, really?

Are you some image that appears in your mind? Are you some sensation that appears in your body? Are you some emotion that passes through your mind and body? Are you something that someone else has said you are, or are you the rebellion against something that someone else has said you are? These are some of the many avenues of misidentification. All of these definitions come and go, are born and then die.

The truth of who you are does not come and go. It is present before birth, throughout a lifetime, and after death. To discover the truth of who you are is not only possible it is your birthright.

Any thoughts that this discovery is not for you, now is not the time, you are not worthy, you are not ready, you already know who you are, are just tricks of the mind. It is time to investigate this “I” thought and see what validity it really has. In this examination, there is an opening for the conscious intelligence that you are to finally recognize itself.

The most important question you can ever ask yourself is: “Who am I?” In a certain way, this has been an implicit question asked throughout every stage of your life. Every activity, whether individual or collective, is motivated at its root by a search for self-definition. Typically, you search for a positive answer to this question and run away from a negative answer. Once this question becomes explicit, the momentum and the power of the question direct the search for the true answer, which is open-ended, alive, and filled with ever deepening insight.

You have experienced both success and failure. After a certain stage, early or late, you realize that, who you are, however that is defined, is not satisfying. Unless this question has been truly answered, not just conventionally answered, you will still be hungry to know. Because, no matter how you have been defined by others, well-meaning or not, and no matter how you have defined yourself, no definition can bring lasting certitude.

The moment of recognizing that no answer has ever satisfied this question is crucial. It is often referred to as the moment of spiritual ripeness, the moment of spiritual maturity. At this point, you can consciously investigate who you really are.

In its power and simplicity, the question “Who am I?” throws the mind back to the root of personal identification, the basic assumption: I am somebody. Rather than automatically taking that assumption as the truth, you can investigate deeper. It is not difficult to see that this initial thought, “I am somebody”, leads to all kinds of strategies: to be a better somebody, a more protected somebody, a somebody with more pleasure, more comfort, more attainment. But when this very basic thought is questioned, the mind encounters the I that is assumed to be separate from what it has been seeking. This is called self-inquiry.

This most basic question “Who am I?” is the one that is the most overlooked. We spend most of our days telling ourselves or others we are someone important, someone unimportant, someone big, someone little, someone young, someone old, never truly questioning this most basic assumption: Who are you, really? How do you know: that is who you are? Is that true? Really?

When you turn your attention toward the question “Who am I?” perhaps you will see an entity that has your face and your body. But who is aware of that entity? Are you the object, or, are you the awareness of the object? The object comes and goes. The parent, the child, the lover, the abandoned one, the enlightened one, the victorious one, the defeated one. These identifications all come and go. The awareness of these identifications is always present.

The misidentification of yourself as some object in awareness leads to extreme pleasure or extreme pain and endless cycles of suffering. When you are willing to stop the misidentification and discover directly and completely that you are the awareness itself and not these impermanent definitions, the search for yourself in thought ends.

When the question “Who?” is followed innocently, purely, all the way back to its source, there is a huge, astounding realization: There is no entity there at all! There is only the indefinable, boundless recognition of yourself as inseparable from anything else. You are free. You are whole. You are endless. There is no bottom to you, no boundary to you. Any idea about yourself appears in you and will disappear back into you.

You are awareness, and awareness is consciousness.

Let all self-definitions die in this moment. Let them go, and see what remains. See what is never born and what does not die. Feel the relief of laying down the burden of defining yourself. Experience the actual non-reality of the burden. Experience the joy that is here. Rest in the endless peace of your true nature before any thought of I arises.”

During my college years, I nearly decided to major in music composition (albeit not for my only college A minus, in Music Theory II of all classes!). Oh how things would have been different going that route ;). Despite my about face to the business world, I’ve still been inspired by and enjoy great film compositions. Over the last twenty years, Hans Zimmer has composed many of the film industry’s best movie songs. With over one hundred film scores to his credit, along with a handful of prestigious awards, he is considered the go-to composer among Hollywood directors. He is best known for his use of electronic music sounds with traditional orchestral arrangements. Below I’ve highlighted 13 of Hans’ most memorable and epic songs. For now it’s just the recording, but hang tight and I’ll eventually include some background info for each song. Enjoy!

BACKDRAFT – Show Me Your Firetruck (3:31)

Released in 1991, Backdraft is the story of two Chicago firefighter brothers who don’t get along but have to work together while a dangerous arsonist is on the loose. This score is considered by many to be Zimmer’s first highly successful and enjoyable large-scale merging of an orchestra and choir with his electronics.
Buy on Amazon: track | album

CRIMSON TIDE – Roll Tide

KING ARTHUR – All of Them

THE DARK KNIGHT – I Am Not a Hero

TEARS OF THE SUN – Kopano Part III – The Journey

THE DA VINCI CODE – Chevaliers de Sangreal

THE THIN RED LINE – Journey to the Line

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN – Drink Up Me Hearties

THE LAST SAMURAI – Safe Passage

THE ROCK – Hummel Gets the Rockets

BATMAN BEGINS – Molossus

GLADIATOR – Now We Are Free

INCEPTION – Time

BONUS TRACK – Mind Heist by Zack Hemsey

Mind Heist, from the Inception 3 trailer is one of my favorites of all-time. The music carries the scenes perfectly as we get a brief teaser of the story. At first I thought Hans had written this piece (since he scored the film and many of the same characteristic Zimmer features are present), but I later found out that the credit goes to Zack Hemsey, who has proclaimed on his blog that he is certainly not Mr. Zimmer. Is Zack the next Hans? Well, with songs like this, I’d say it’s a good start!

These famous words by the Briton Rudyard Kipling grace the entry way above the players’ entrance to Wimbledon’s Centre Court. They are from his famous poem “if,” which is featured in the following promotional video to the 2008 Gentlemen’s final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Mr. Kipling’s (1865-1936) poem first appeared in his collection ‘Rewards and Fairies’ in 1909. It is a blueprint for personal integrity and self development, explaining that becoming a man (or better person) doesn’t take place through a single event, but through acquiring attributes over a lifetime of events. As Alan Chapman notes, “It is perhaps even more relevant today than when Kipling wrote it, as an ethos and a personal philosophy.”

The poem’s full text is below:

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream — and not make dreams your master;
If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run –
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And — which is more — you’ll be a Man my son!

1. WEAR NICE CLOTHES
Since 1963 entry conditions for the Championships have stated that except for a cardigan, pullover, or headwear, competitors must be dressed predominantly in white. In 1995 this condition was clarified to mean ‘almost entirely white’ (source). This hasn’t stopped a special few from making unique fashion statements:
Before you make your own fashion statement in business, think about how what you wear reflects on you. It probably isn’t the best idea to roll in to big meetings dressed in your pajamas. Find something you like, infuse it with your own style, and make sure it fits the situation.

2. PAY YOUR RESPECTS
Up until 2003, players traditionally bowed/curtseyed to members of the Royal Family on entering or leaving Centre Court. Now they only show their respects for the Queen and the Prince of Wales (source).
In business, some people have been around longer than you. They are older, wiser, and believe in an institutional pecking order. Whether or not you think they deserve it, show them some appreciation, and you’ll be surprised just how far that gets you.

3. IMPROVE YOUR VOCABULARY
If you expect to win Wimbledon, you’ll need to stick around for the entire fortnight. That’s the duration of the tournament. You’ll also need to brush up on a slew of other words to navigate the tournament, let alone the sport of tennis in general (i.e., “love” isn’t a feeling, it’s a score).

fort·night  [fawrt-nahyt, -nit] –noun
The space of fourteen nights and days; two weeks.
The span of time to win Wimbledon.

While it’s best to speak in simple terms in a business setting so the greatest amount of people can understand you, having a strong control of vocabulary gives you the ability to express and understand the finer, more subtle, points. It also makes you look smart, which adds credibility to whatever you’re doing.

4. TAKE SOME RISKS
Not only do the players at Wimbledon take the occasional chance on a big point, but the fans get in the action too. Wimbledon has long been known for its adventurous streakers. One of the more famous nude jaunts of late occurred during the Women’s 2006 quarterfinal match between Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva, in which fans and players alike were treated to some birthday suit gymnastics. Risk: going to jail, fines, and public humiliation. Reward: 5 minutes of fame and making Ms. Sharapova blush.
A fundamental tenet in business is to maximize return while minimizing risk, but it’s very rare that risk can be eliminated. Simply being in business carries with it a certain degree of risk. Ideally, you’d play it safe and keep risk down while being successful in your business, but sometimes a bigger risk is necessary to jumpstart growth or get to the next level. Just remember big risks are like playing with matches. One wrong move and you could burn everything to the ground.

5. SERVE TASTY FOOD
While most spectators at Wimbledon don’t go for the gourmet food experience, they do have the opportunity to chow down on the event’s signature snack: strawberries and cream. Some years, hungry visitors consume over 2 million berries (source).

Whether its to win or retain business with clients, or to keep morale high on your own team, good food goes a long way to making everyone happy. And happy people translates to better business.

6. FIND RELIABLE VENDORS
Wimbledon has relied on Dunlop Slazenger to provide tennis balls since 1902 (source). Granted, it took them 30 odd years to find the right vendor, but now this is one less thing they’ve had to think about…for over a century.

By finding reliable service providers, you can spend more time working on your business instead of working in it. Gone are the days you have to wonder whether the product delivery will be on time or if the material will be up to par. Now you can focus on retaining current clients and finding new customers.

7. BUILD GOOD HABITS
During the Championships, the Head Groundsman ensures the courts are white lined, rolled and cut every day. It takes regular work to make sure what is by nature a variable surface plays as consistent as possible (source).

Will Durant summarized Aristotle by saying, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Much in business as in life, this holds true. If you want to build a successful company, the cornerstone is dedication to doing the things that lead to success. Success rarely comes overnight, so build the necessary habits to get you there.

8. ALWAYS BE PREPARED
Death. Taxes. And rain at Wimbledon. All certainties in life. In 2009 Wimbledon unveiled a roof over Centre Court, and for the first time in the tournament’s history prepared itself for the inevitable downpours. Now play can continue and everyone stays dry and happy.

At first we were like:

And then we were like:

9. BECOME DOMINANT
Someone must have mentioned to open era players Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, and Roger Federer that good isn’t good enough. These gentlemen won the Championships 5, 7, and 6 times respectively. On the ladies open era side, Martina Navratilova (9), Steffi Graf (7) and Venus Williams (5) have been the dominant players.
A lot of people and businesses settle for second best. They might do something good, only to rest on their laurels and be passed up shortly thereafter. Whether it’s a physical, mental, social, emotional, or even spiritual quality that separates good and best for you and your business, don’t stop searching until you find and implement it. True fulfillment of your highest business potential is on the line.

10. TAKE A STAND
Watch the video. Enough said.

When you believe you’re right, stand up for convictions. Maybe they turn out to be wrong in the long run, but at least you did what you thought was right at the time. Ultimately, it’s about being true to yourself.

If you have any other things Wimbledon teaches about business, please feel free to add them in the comments. Thanks!