Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving can be one of the most special holidays of the year.  When I say "special," I know what that means to me but what does it mean to you?  If in fact Thanksgiving is a "special" time for you what makes it so?  Is it the food?  The communion and fellowship with family and friends?  The traditional football game that plays on tv or the nap afterwords?  Perhaps a combination of all of these things.

Notice that those things however are all just outward activities.  There are those thankless people who go to great strides in slaving in the kitchen in preparation of this feast that may feel that it is far from special.  They may feel that it is just a helluva lot of work!  To entertain and feed so many and then have to clean up afterwards.  For those surely the nap afterwards has to be the most special.  Or perhaps what's special to them is when someone unexpectedly lends a hand or shows their sincere appreciation.  That recognition for the efforts they have made to make this day special for others.

To me the "game" of Thanksgiving is not the turkey but the people.  Wherever you are this special day, winning the game of Thanksgiving is when you relate and connect with other people in realizing the blessing of sharing one of our most basic and common needs - food.  With all our busy lives it is special to take time to rest and find that connection with others.  You will find it in the quiet stillness between bites of that fabulous feast we call Thanksgiving.  Listen and look for it in someone's eyes across the table and then acknowledge it and them with a smile.  That's unity.  That's Thanksgiving.

My New Role

We all play roles in life.  Sometimes professional and sometimes personal.  Which role do you identify with most?  Father, mother, student?  I've played many roles in life and on the stage.  Starting off my career as an actor and morphing into a professional poker player was cool.  But the role I enjoy most is dad.  Albeit I wish I was better at it.  But the roles in life don't come with a script, you gotta kinda figure it out as you go.  If you're lucky you'll find a great teacher or mentor along the way to help guide you and teach you the principles of the game.  That is the first responsibility of a good father I suppose.

The role I am taking on here will be known as "The Poker Life Coach."
In my professional career as a poker player I always wanted to play in the biggest game against the toughest competition.  I accomplished that goal.  Sometimes I won but way too often I lost and didn't know why.  No one could answer that question for me until I found a great mentor who has led me to begin playing successfully in a much bigger game called life.

The competition and skill level has gotten so tough in poker that the amount of effort it takes to compete at the highest level today takes more money and time then most are willing to sacrifice. But poker is one game.  It is a game within a game and after paying my dues and accomplishing what I set out to do in poker, I'm ready to take on another challenge.  Teaching others how to play above the felt!

I'm excited to take on this role because I've always loved the game of poker and saw it as a microcosm of life and wanted to give more then I took from people.  It is my time to give back.  In both games, poker and life YOU are your own toughest opponent.   You are overcoming barriers and obstacles in order to achieve a known goal.  That is the definition of a game.  The parameters of which one sets up to determine the wins and loses.  How do we do that?  Well, it will take more then one blog post to reach that determination which is one of the reasons I created The Poker Life blog.

It's hard when you're in the middle of the game to see it as a game.  And the fact that I say that might even offend some people.  But the ones in the know - know what I'm talking about.  While in the game one can lose perspective and it becomes quite serious, especially for those that are losing. The loses might mean depending on others or not eating and fighting for survival.  And that's where it's great to have a coach.  I hope this blog, which I will contribute to weekly, will serve as your guide along the way and give players in the game a greater perspective and sense of awareness of the games we play.

And for those that want it now and want to study with me personally and privately you can find my website and contact information at; www.winningatpoker.net.  Enjoy the journey but remember....

Success is a journey, not a destination!

Kenna

Make the effort and the rest is easy

Writing has always been challenging for me.  I love it!  But to communicate ones thoughts and ideas accurately on a topic in a cohesive manner,  is no easy task.  I often find myself back spacing, flipping sentences around and striking rambling run-on sentences.  My grammar and sentence structure is often poorly executed.  I haven't spent an adequate amount of time learning the rules and so .  Even so I probably would break them willfully.  Not wanting to limit my self expression.   But interestingly I've recently discovered that it is through limitation that we adequately express ourselves.

I am up for having another go at this challenge to consistently contribute an effective blog that people would enjoy reading and discovering useful information.  Confident that my blog will find its audience I will faithfully embark on this journey in executing the discipline of contributing a regular blog.  Not waiting till I figure everything out but learning the blogging game as I go.

For what is learning but the process of doing and refining?  It's the "doing" part that is the challenge for many of us.  Why do you think Nike's slogan "Just Do It!" was so popular?  It was a great motivating slogan.  Mine is;   Make the effort and the rest is easy.

KJ