Ip Man & Immigrants

The title of todays post is the title of the movie I find really interesting. Of course, as every movie about martial arts it has a lot of scenes with fighting etc, but for me it's meaning is a little bit different. A quote from the movie to start my today's post :


Miura: [after witnessing Ip Man single-handedly defeat ten Japanese fighters at once] What's your name? 
Ip Man: I'm just a Chinese man. 

Here's today's list of the things I am thankful for  :

1. Rubik's cube :) It started in my college, when one our teachers said it's not really a big deal to solve a 3x3 cube. After he said so, everybody in the class wanted to prove he's right (or wrong) and bought their own cubes. It turned out that solving a 3x3 cube is not as hard as it seems at first, as a lot of people did actually learn how to solve it, after one or two weeks. A nice cube's cost back then was like 25 PLN's or smth, (equal to 8$) but I didn't want to spend that much, so I bought a cheaper one that successfuly broke in 5 minutes:D That was the end of the rubik's cube story for me until last year when I bought a small one which can be eassily hidden in a pocket. Of course now with internet access and some free time I've learned how to solve it in just one week. But for me it has two meanings : first, really simple - it improves memory, imagination etc. Second, more personal - for me it means moving forward and "sharpening the saw" as S.Covey said in his book. I look at myself 5 years ago - shy, financially unstable with not really high self-esteem. Now , of course not everything, but a lot has changed. And thanks to the memories connected with rubik's cube, I am sure about that:) 

2. The stories of success of people who were or are immigrants. I also percieve myself as immigrant as I'm not living in country of my origin which is Ukraine. So first year of studies in a foreign country was a bit difficult. But only now I've realized that these "so-called" problems I've experienced are normal when moving to another country. And stories of such people as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Arnold Schwarzeneger, and Levi Strauss are a good proof for that. So yeah, although it wasn't easy at the beginning, I feel I've made a right choice and stories of people mentioned above help as a motivation when I sometimes feel down :)

3. Free Wi-Fi (nowadays in most of the restaurants). It might sound silly, and I might sound like a grandpa saying  "in my days there was no ...blahblahblah" but once again - thank you life for free wi-fi in public places :) I try to stick to the rule "hustle while you wait" and if sometimes I have a choice of "doing nothing and staring at the wall  OR reading an interesting article/book online" I definitely choose the second. Yep, there are pros and cons of constant access to internet, but today I don't complain and just appreciate the fact that I'm writting this post in a cafe sipping on my favourite rooibos tea...cheers :)

As usual, nice quote , also from "Ip Man" movie to start a good Saturday (or have nice thoughts before going to sleep on Friday) :

Yip Man: Kung fu is more than a system of fighting. It's a system of thought. You must outthink your opponent, whatever form he takes... because some of them will be more than just men. 
Voice of Young Bruce: What else could it be Si Fu? 
Yip Man: We all have inner demons to fight. We call these demons 'fear', and 'hatred', and 'anger'. If you don't conquer them, then a life of a hundred years... is a tragedy. If you do, a life of a single day can be a triumph

Take care everybody and don't forget to have fun:)
Bryvus