Two Weeks in Hell

6:50 a.m. First alarm goes off. Screw it, I showered last night and I shaved yesterday. Hit the snooze button.

 7:20 a.m. Second alarm goes off. Do I want to get up and cook breakfast or do I want to savor this glorious moment in my bed? Hit the snooze button.

 7:50 a.m. Third alarm goes off. I have to leave for work within 40 minutes. Plenty of time to get ready. Hit the snooze button.

 8:20 a.m. Fourth alarm goes off. I have to be ready for work in 10 minutes, but this isn't my first rodeo. I brush my teeth while applying deodorant, quick face wash, splash on some Burberry cologne and out of the door by 8:30 a.m. 

I have tried numerous times to become a morning person but failed. Ironically, I feel at my best when I wake up early, workout, cook breakfast and actually put an effort into what I'll wear for the day. I've read, "How to Make Yourself A Morning Person," and "Why Morning People Rule the World," and "What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast," and on, and on, and on. But I still hit that snooze button.

But this week, I've discovered two important workings. First is Marcus Aurelius' The Emperor's Handbook. This book is a new translation of Aurelius' Meditations. By far the best book I have ever read and that's a profound statement. I plan to apply this book not only in my personal life, but also in my career, and without a doubt, I will become a better person. Second, I discovered Two Weeks in Hell, a Discovery series that documents the grueling process to become a U.S. Army Green Beret. Never again will I complain about a workout.

So as I'm nonchalantly drinking a nightcap bourbon drink, I come across Two Weeks in Hell on Netflix. Intrigued, I started the series and was immediately captivated. Forget Marshawn Lynch, these dudes are true beast modes. Within an hour of arriving at camp, the candidates are taken to a sand pit. Anyone who has ever conditioned for a sport knows anytime someone mentions "sand pit," your stomach begins to turn. Precisely why one of the instructors outwardly demanded, "No one throws up in the sandpit! Understood?" Within the hour, candidates were voluntarily withdrawing from the program, throwing up, and becoming so delirious one candidate was asked by a medic, "Do you know where you are?" and the candidate dazedly responded, "Hash browns." Yes, he was that deranged.

 Anyways, back to my comfy couch where my legs are propped up, drinking my delicious bourbon drink, while watching these brave men pour their hearts and souls into a program that has an over 60 percent failure rate. I'm watching these men suffer in order to be a part of a cause he truly believed in. These men put everything on the line to become part of an elite group of soldiers that are (to put bluntly) paid crap and are constantly fighting in enemy territory so that I can casually sip my bourbon and watch on as if I am Commodus himself. Indeed, I was abashedly entertained.

 Then yesterday I read this quote from The Emperor's Handbook. "In the morning, when you can't get out of bed, tell yourself: "I'm getting up to do the work only a man can do. How can I possibly hesitate or complain when I'm about to accomplish the task for which I was born? Was I made for lying warm in bed under a pile of blankets?

 But I enjoy it here.

 Was it for enjoyment you were born? Are you designed to act or to be acted upon? Look at the plants, sparrows, ants, spiders and bees, all busy at their work, the work of welding the world. Why should you hesitate to do your part, the part of a man, by obeying the law of your own nature?"

It should be reiterated again and again that we are here for a purpose. We were not placed on this earth to be lethargic. Yes, of course, relaxation is needed. In fact, it is just as important as working diligently. However, as Marcus Aurelius said, "Like eating and drinking, rest has it's natural limits." I was not born to lie in a bed. It's time to get up.