Pearls of Wisdom with Jan Kliewer
January 14, 2008 @ 3:48 PM
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1 Karma:
In our everyday life, each action we take has its consequences, and whether you opt for wisdom and altruism or the darker side of the force, I have witnessed that fate is there to thank you or punish you according to your choices. And it’s true for skating also! We have the chance to live our passion and discover spots around the whole world, so when meeting kids less privileged, we always give a little hand, be it advice, be it some product… We’ve all been there, it’s important not to forget about it!
2 Nothing is for granted:
From experience, when reaching a certain point, we are tempted to think it’s all easy from there, and then rest on our laurels. I think only the desire to one up one’s self is the way to keep on progressing. After all, we’ve all missed a trick we thought we had wired years ago. The key is always questioning yourself.
3 Perseverance:
Personally, in 18 years of skateboarding, this is what has made me progress. You have your good days, and your bad days. Sometimes, I have fought with a trick for three hours and it just did not seem possible. Coming back the next day, I got it in three goes.
4 Self-control:
I think we’ve all get a fit of rage at one point or another, for good reasons or not, the thing is to learn to channel it. My outlet is skateboarding. Instead of evacuating my anger on myself or, even worse, upon others, I go for a good session and come back soaked and somewhat washed of all my problems. Right away, I see things a lot more clearly.
5 Open-mindedness:
The richness of skateboarding is its diversity, because each of us is different. Sometimes this ends up with cliques amongst us, and I find that a shame. It’s important to be able to all get along despite our differences. United, we’ll stand stronger!
6 Humbleness:
Whatever good things come your way, it is necessary to keep your head on its shoulders and feet firmly on the ground. The wind can turn quickly, and I live in fear of the injury that could end all I have built. You are never protected…
7 Instinct:
It is the way I live, and until now I’ve never been deceived. By listening to my feelings, I know what I should go for or not, and the rare times I did not listen to my instinct are often the ones I got hurt.
8 Don’t judge a book by its cover:
It is essential to go further than your first impressions of people, and forget about your preconceptions. After all, skate or not, most people have something you could learn from. You just need to take the time to listen to them.
9 So be it:
Enjoy each day like there’s no tomorrow, as you never know what it’ll bring with it. Life is short, so each moment of happiness is one you’ll never regret. In skateboarding, you have hard times in the beginning, then one day comes pleasure and even if you never know how long it will last, you have to enjoy it to the fullest.
When I see what I have lived because of skateboarding, I can’t regret one second of it. Carpe diem!
