The Art of Enduring

When I’m not capturing the shores of palm tree lined California or Oregon’s wild and prehistoric coastline, one of my favorite things to do is watch movies.

I’ve been a film buff since my childhood growing up in Lancaster during the 80s. It's a desert city in the middle of nowhere near the Mojave. 

My parents were pretty clever and only let us watch tv on weekends. During the week it was removed so we could focus on schoolwork. Understanding these limits, my brothers and I would stay in bed most of the day to catch up on our favorite shows and movies.

Sci-fi and martial arts films have been staples for me since then. I recently watched the extended cut of Kill Bill, directed by Quentin Tarantino, who’s known for Pulp Fiction and Sin City.  

It’s over four hours of old school inspired martial arts, with cinematography that feels similar to Game of Death and the Chinese Connection by Bruce Lee. Tip: don’t let your littles watch these.

I discovered a knowledge gem inside the movie and that’s what I’d like to share with you so read on if you’re curious 🌊

Where’s Bill?

The main character, Black Mamba (played by Uma Thurman) is on a revenge mission to find someone named Bill, and it's complicated.

Throughout the movie, she is pushed to her physical, mental, and emotional limits:

• Yakuza assassins want her life
• Her master trains her to the extreme
• She’s trying to save her daughter’s life
• She wants Bill's life

Her master Pei Mei (played by Gordon Liu) is ruthless. He’s insulting, dismissive, and straight up doubtful that she can pull her mission off. During training, he constantly makes her do things that feel impossible.

Every day, Mamba carries heavy gallons of water up a very steep flight of stairs. She pounds her knuckles into solid wood until they're bloodied and blistered. She spars with her master and gets beat down.

But over time, something magical happens. She endures and keeps going, no matter what obstacles are next.

Her determination to find Bill is the fuel. As Mamba keeps learning and leveling up, you see her becoming the warrior, and person, she was always meant to be.

It’s about the way she shows up for herself with and puts in consistent work to accomplish a goal that once seemed unreachable. Mamba endures and becomes the one who’s kicking life’s ass.

This is her journal of transformation, and she ends up embodying the exact thing she was seeking. And in doing so, Mamba earns the respect of Pei Mei, because he sees the work she’s putting in, and he sees the results.

How Enduring Applies to Your Life

Underneath Mamba’s story, there’s an incredibly powerful message you can apply to your own life.

Life tends to throw obstacles your way. Sometimes it’s easy to feel overwhelmed but once you find a purpose or goal, you approach everything differently.

You have to find that internal spark, focus, and determination and be willing to put in the work.

As you consistently go through the same process that Mamba did in the movie, something will change and shift inside you. You gain confidence from enduring the pain and struggle.

To level up and be kick ass at life, you always have to be learning new skills and knowledge. Even when it feels like life is giving you a major beat down, you have to get back up and brush yourself off, and keep enduring.

The Zen Sass Master Path

Are you curious how Mamba’s story of endurance applies to my life?

When I moved from Portland to the Oregon Coast in Bandon, there were specific things I needed to learn to accomplish my goals.

I had to figure out how to live in an entirely new place and:

• Learn about how the community works and where I fit
• Find the locations and areas where I would enjoy living
• Understand where the best groceries and food options are at
• Where to travel, play, and relax around the southern coast

It was very difficult to live out there because there’s limited resources and opportunities you find in large cities like Portland. I needed a lot of grit and endurance to make it happen.

As I acquired each new piece of knowledge, it made living there a lot easier but realized that Bandon was not the right fit for my traveling lifestyle. Only six months later, I moved to San Diego, CA to start my life over again. 

Templatize Your Life

Now I have a secret living template in my back pocket that I can use anywhere in the world. In San Diego, it only took about a month and a half to learn how to live in one of the most expensive cities along the Pacific coast.

When I go back to San Diego to live again, I’ll be able to thrive because I have the skill sets necessary to be successful out there.

The takeaway is you don’t need a vengeance mission to kick ass in real life. You just need to have the willingness to put in the hard work and keep going every day, no matter how hard it gets and overcome whatever obstacles may show up in your way.

So go out there and find your Bill, or whatever that is. Just maybe consider keeping the samurai sword training at home.