Arthur F. Coombs III - Hard Easy: A Get-Real Guide for Getting the Life You Want

Copyright 2020 by Arthur F. Coombs III

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the publisher. For information or permission, write: Arthur F. Combs at www.ArtCoombs.com.

This is a work of creative nonfiction. The events herein are portrayed to the best of the authors memory. While all the stories in this book are true, some names and identifying details may have been changed to protect the privacy of the people involved.

Editorial work and production management by Eschler Editing

Cover design by Brian Halley

Interior print design and layout by Marny K. Parkin

Ebook design and layout by Marny K. Parkin

Published by Scrivener Books

First Edition: 2020

ISBN 978-1-949165-16-6 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-949165-17-3 (Hardcover)

To my children and bonus children. I trust youll all live long, healthy, happy lives. You have heard verbal snippets of Hard-Easy more than you wanted. Now that this is completed, I will back off the Hard-Easy lectures. OkayI just lied. I love you way too much to back off. Point of fact, I am guessing you will not read this book because of the anxiety it may conjure from those previous Dad speeches. Therefore, if other readers do not tell you about this dedication, you will never know. And that will be easy-hard or hard-easy. Just depends on your perspective.

To my wife, Barbie, who I know will read it. Why? Because you love me that much. You have been the very definition of supportive throughout this process. Thank you for allowing me to discuss, debate, and share most of these ideas with you. Thanks for your contributions. They mean the world to me because your unconditional love is my world. I trust as we move into the winter of our years that the sweet joy of easy will fill our home and hearts with laughter, love, and peace.

Ive always known having Art as one of my best friends growing up had a big influence on me, and now I can put my finger on exactly why that was. As I read early drafts of The Law of Hard-Easy/Easy-Hard , I quickly recognized the concepts Arts not only lived but encouraged me to embrace during the past fifty years weve been friends.

Art is a master observer of human behavior. He notices trends, then experiments with them in his own life. He also sees the best in people and genuinely wants them to achieve their highest potential. This gives him a unique ability to find and push the right buttons to help others realize that potential. I have experienced this button pushing many times, and Ill admit its sometimes annoyed me, but I also have to admit that his observations were usually correct and Im a better man for it.

A good example of this is when, at Arts suggestion, I started wrestling during my freshman year of high school. Id played several sports in junior highsoccer, football, track, etc.but I wanted to invest real time and effort in a single sport. Arts suggestion hit home, and I found that wrestling appealed to me because of its individual and team aspects. Simply being on the team was no guarantee that I would compete against other schools. I had to work for a spot to compete and then defend my spot once I had it. Therefore, I quickly learned that my success in wrestling was directly connected to the effort I put inthe foundation of Hard-Easy.

In wrestling, its simple to find the Easy. Much of the training focused on weightlifting and conditioning, and I was often tempted to do just enough to get through practice (choosing Easy). However, Art, also a wrestler, worked extremely hard in practice and drove me to choose Hard and never let me slack off, and yes, it annoyed me from time to time. Even so, I remained on the JV squad my junior year, a position where I remained undefeated in the regular dual matches. This made me a bit overconfident going into the district tournament at the end of the season. Art tried to push me to keep working hard until the end, but I took it easy and chose to go skiing the week before the tournament. I did fine in the early rounds, but in the semifinals, I lost to an opponent Id beaten before.

This was Hard-Easy in action. I had slacked off on conditioning and lost my edge, leaving me without the stamina I needed to defeat my opponent. I cant say for sure, but chances are my opponent had chosen Hard prior to the tournament and maintained, or even improved, his technique, stamina, and confidence to give him the advantage. During the final round, I had to sit in the stands and, frustrated, watch two wrestlers I had previously beaten compete for the title. I could only blame myself. Id chosen Easy, ignoring my friends encouragement and example to choose Hard.

Art has used the law of Hard-Easy throughout his life, and Ive used it in mine. Through it, weve both achieved successes that bring us joy in many areas: family, career, health, etc. One of the best endorsements I can give for the value of the law of Hard-Easy is as a parent. My greatest wish for my grown children and young grandchildren is their genuine happiness. I know they can reach this by learning the importance of Hard-Easy and putting it to use in their own lives. Art has the same hopes for his own childrens happiness. Ultimately, he could have chosen Easy and talked one-on-one with each of them about Hard-Easy, but one of Arts amazing qualities is his desire to leave the world better than he found it, one person at a time. For that reason, he chose Hard and has dedicated many hours to writing, revising, and releasing The Law of Hard-Easy/Easy-Hard into the wild so it can benefit a much wider audience than just the one in his own home. We both hope youll embrace the Hard-Easy model and use it to create the same happiness for yourself.

Its difficult to separate Art from the law of Hard-Easy, as its practically part of his DNA. His work ethic and the successes that have followed can make him seem more intimidating than your typical guy next door. So I want to introduce you to the Art I know, whose friendship I have cherished since childhood to the present day, where I work with and for Art as chief technical officer of KomBea Corporation, the company he founded.

He and I truly clicked as children, and from then and into our teen years, we spent countless hours together. We saw each other at school, participated in sports together, and then hung out when we didnt have somewhere to be. We often spent this spare time at his house laughing, talking, baking cookies, and being typical American teenagers. We rarely had pocket change to go do much, so we had to get creative to find activities that wouldnt get us into too much trouble. In hindsight, we must have had someone looking out for us because as typical teenagers, we didnt always make the best decisions.

As we grew in both age and common sense, Art and I began going on long outdoor adventures together. What started in Boy Scouts turned into a tradition in college and beyond. The law of Hard-Easy was born on these fifty-mile hikes, where we spent days with whatever provisions and equipment we could carry. We worked hard to prepare for these hikes, which were not only physically demanding but also dangerous, even with proper preparation. As Boy Scouts, our preparation often led to us taking turns carrying the gear of our less-prepared troopmates in order to avoid having to turn back. As young adults and on our own, that preparation gave us the endurance and knowledge to push through challenges, which in turn gave us opportunities and experiences casual hikers will never have. One of the rewards was the taste of McDonalds after a week of hiking and eating freeze-dried meals.