PURPOSE and DETERMINATION - Keys to Victory at the 2011 WSOP

With the WSOP starting this week I thought I would just mention two principle words that will greatly affect who wins a bracelet and who doesn't.  Those two words are Purpose and Determination.  

DETERMINATION 

Determination is a word that may be easy to say, but not so easy to execute.  Which is the reason why so many experts and professionals quote it as a necessary quality needed to succeed.   While we think we may know what determination means, often times it is more of a generalized term or concept in our head.

The dictionary defines determination as:  "firmness of purpose; resoluteness" 

Which is why these two words go together.  You can't have one without the other.  They are in a sense married, and go together like peanut butter and jelly.  Like Laurel and Hardy.  Like...well, you get the idea.  Determination starts when your purpose encounters obstacles and challenges.  Any purpose without challenges is not much of a purpose.  When you encounter challenges,  is when the level of your  determination will be tested.  Your level of determination can actually determine who you are as a person, and what you will accomplish in this life.  Low levels of determination will produce little more then survival.  While high levels of determination, can produce a life worth living.

PURPOSE

One of the struggles early on in my life, was to have a clear and defined purpose for my actions.  Without a clear and defined purpose it becomes easy to drift, and rather difficult to be resolute at anything.  Your purpose, in the sense of your doing-ness in life, must be something that inspires you! Almost as much as breathing.  You don't think about breathing, you just do it.  Your purpose is such.  It's not something you have to think about because it is a part of who you are as a person.

If you are unsure of that, then that's when it becomes necessary to find a good coach, guide, or mentor to help you.  Btw, I happen to be available if you should qualify to be one of my students.  Luckily, I've had a few great teachers and mentors in my life, and who have given me the tools necessary to teach effectively.

So it takes both, purpose and determination, to accomplish anything significant in life.  Especially if it is something that requires a consistency of effort over a period of time.   Which is what it takes to win a WSOP bracelet in 2011.

Hope to see you in the winners circle this year!

Kenna James

Last Months Meanderings

It's been a month since I posted my last blog, and I apologize to those faithful readers who make the effort to tell me how much they enjoy it.  I love to write, but as a perfectionist, it takes a lot of time to quantify and lay out my thoughts on a page that serves a greater purpose then dumping the meanderings of my daily life.  That said, here are some of my meanderings in the past month.

Fast Eddie Felson, a mentor of mine, who is better known publicly as "Fast Eddie," Felson, has agreed to make a rare public appearance in speaking at my first Live Poker and Life Seminar at The Silverton Casino in Las Vegas in July.  The subject will be on how to become a professional.  The material which I've been in developing with Eddie is awesome, and I am looking forward to really making an impact on those players who really want to learn and understand what it takes, and how to do it.  It's not the kind of material you will find in any book, I can assure you.  Eddie's main purpose in teaching is help people operate and manage better, and I'm confident you will find his presentation compelling.

With only two weeks before the World Series,  I'm still looking for a sponsor for the series.   The one I had lined up backed out, so after training hard the last 3 months both physically and mentally, I may now have to play a different schedule of events then I had hoped.  Years ago I would have been crushed, but after 12 years, you learn to roll with the ups and downs of the business.

Heading to Vegas this weekend to support the Saphire Foundation for Prostate Cancer.  There's a poker tournament Sunday night at the Saphire Gentlemen's Club in Las Vegas, which I will be running and giving poker lessons.  Then a golf tournament on Monday which should be a hoot with the girls of Saphire acting as caddies.  The club has bought out the whole golf course, so it should be a lot of fun!

I was in the second row of the debut of the Glendale Pops Orchestra last night.  Kenny Loggins and David Benoit were the featured artists and they were awesome!  I also got to meet and go back stage with David Cassidy in another concert earlier this month.

On a rather personal note, this last month saw the death of my uncle George.  He was a great man, and a true cowboy.  Then there was the death of online poker which was a significant blow professionally. But I've learned that even though their are big swells, and low troughs in the games of poker and life, you don't have to rise and fall emotionally through the journey.  You just need to learn how to navigate and manage well.  I'm doing the best I can, and I hope you are too.

Enjoy the Journey,

Kenna James