Priority Is What Leads You To Happiness

 I woke up today feeling so overwhelmed.  Actually looking at it, this whole week has just been a tough week.  I am normally the person who is not shaken when it comes to change, and I can easily adapt to the situation in a way that allows for a graceful appearance.  This week was a little different.

We just moved into our new home.  I mean the thought of actually being in a place that you can call your own is pretty exciting, not to mention all the little behind the scene processes that occur as well.  I would say that having to move mixed with changing addresses and not to mention making sure everything was working, oh and of course setting everything up, that had me tied up for most of the day.  Now why do I mention all of this and what is the purpose for this today?

Throughout it all I managed to workout.  Yep, I was determined to make sure that I keep it up.  I may have been away from computer life for a while, and not able to make specific meetings like I wanted to, but I made it possible to workout everyday.  This is because I have working out as number 3 on my priority list. 

If you really want to do something it normally gets done.  I have made working out so important that if I don’t I typically feel like I did not do a whole lot for the day.  I know that is not the case for everyone, however stop for a second and think about the things you view as super important.  Do you skip many days without doing the activity that you feel is really important? 

The items you view as very important go high on your priority list.  This list is endless really because your mind is always thinking of something that it wants to do.  The only problem is that we have a tendency to only be able to focus on a few things each day and time has a way of not allowing for everything to get done. I bet you the first five items on your priority list do get done at least.

My list goes as follows:  God, my family, my workout, my personal development, and lastly my business.  Each day I am fairly successful with making sure that I touch on all these items.  Now I know that family and business are so vague and have categories that branch out like crazy on their own, however as long as I do something to keep me on track with reaching my outcome within those departments, I feel like it is a great day.  If I were able to throw the ball with my nephew, study with my nieces, read to my daughter, and snuggle with my wife, I would say family has been taken care of for the day.  If I am able to talk to someone and help with that person’s health for the day, then my business has also been touched also.  My workout is third on my list so it is going to get done. 

Here is the question for you.  If you put down on paper what it is you feel is the most important to you, and then you look at what you do in that day, are you going to find that the lists add up, or are they going to be different?  If you are experiencing pain in your life right now, chances are that your lists are not compatible.  What are the most important things to you?  Make sure you remember those items in your everyday motion of life.

Own yourself! Run your life!

Mastering a Skill

 I can remember 2 years ago when I first purchased P90X.  I was excited but nervous at the same time.  For all of my life I had done sports and was in a position to be pushed daily by a coach.  My inner core was not built for doing a workout on my own.  So once my time with playing was done I fell into a bit of a nasty routine called over consumption.  I took in way too many calories then I was expending and it caught up to me fast.

So on day one of P90X I found myself really questioning whether or not I could get it done.  I really liked the push-ups but found myself struggling with pull-ups.  Through the rest of the week I found myself loving Kenpo X, but finding it hard to finish Yoga X.  I really was not set out for it, or so at the time I believed.

What helped me get through day in and day out was the simple fact that it was set up for achievement if all I did was press play.  By the end of the first week I found myself feeling firmer and that feeling had me wanting more.

They say that it takes 21 days to loose a bad habit.  With that being said it also takes 21 to acquire a good habit as well.  By the time month two of the program came around I realized that I was waking up in the morning with working out high on my priority list.  No more sitting on the couch during an episode of my favorite rerun, instead it was time to pop P90X in and press play.  My priorities shifted and due to that my inner core was now different. 

I look back at the person I was two years ago and I can’t help to think about what would have happened had I not persevered and got through that first month.  I now love pull-ups and even though the Yoga X is still not my favorite I have a strong respect and understanding for the importance of the workout. 

What does it take to master a skill?  Consistency is the answer.  No matter what it is you will find yourself starting out a little shaky.  But over time you get better and better.  Working out is the same way. Day in and out you will find yourself being able to do more and more, the key is to stick with it! And just because you struggle with something today, with just enough practice you will find yourself knocking out whatever it is you thought was hard before. 

So the next time you say you can’t do something, just rephrase and say you are currently not a master at it, and know that if you are patient and stick with it, you will own the situation. 

Own yourself! Run your life!

Things We Take For Granted

Last night I was running and wound up spraining my ankle.  On the drive home I was thinking to myself how upset I was to be hobbling around and really found myself in a negative state of mind.  Suddenly it hit me; there are so many people that are in my situation day in and day out.  They wake up with aches and pains on a constant basis.

By the time I got home my ankle was throbbing and I knew that it was going to be a couple of days before I got back to doing anything remotely close to the way I was doing it before.  But at least I had that day to look forward to. 

At least I have the ability to go out and really give it my all without experiencing the pain of a body part just completely shutting down on me.  I am just like the rest of you when it comes to working out.  There are some days when I just don’t feel like working out and make every excuse in the book why I will not be participating with physical activity.  Sometimes I even blame a little bruise or soreness for taking it easy. 

This sprain has opened my eyes to what it really feels like to not be able to go as hard as you really want to.  To have a paralyzing feeling, and have something in your body truly holding you back from doing the things you really want to do.

By the time I got into bed I had thought about so many people that were in my life that had either been severely injured or experienced a disease that did not allow them to experience the fun of working out to the fullest.  How dare me make excuses that were not legit only to try to justify to myself why working out is just not a good thing to do for that day. 

Do you find yourself in this situation?  Where you are unmotivated to really pursue the day’s workout.  Where you find yourself making the excuses of why you can’t workout.  Stop and think about the person without a leg who would give anything to run, or the person with lung problems or heart problems who wished they could break a good sweat without health risks.  Think about what we take for granted all the time.  No more excuses.

Own yourself! Run yourself!

Build The Foundation... The Palace Will Come

So how many times have you found yourself working out and wanting to see more results then what you are seeing?  I mean you go home after what seems to be an eternity already that you have been doing this, and you look in the mirror only to see yourself still carrying the extra weight in the areas you do not want to see. 

But wait; when you really think about it you have only been doing it for 3 weeks now and even though it may seem like an eternity, your body is still trying to figure out what it is you are really trying to do.  How much time did it take your body to get into the condition that you are in right now?  If you are out of shape, did you just wake up one morning and look and feel like you were out of shape?  Or did it take weeks, months, or even years to get to the shape you are in?

When it comes to working out you have to consider that your metabolism is going to play a huge role.  You have to eat properly and often.  I do my best to eat six times a day.  I don’t mean huge meals that will leave me on the couch holding my stomach wishing I had forced those last bites.  I am talking about the mini meals as I call them, large snacks throughout the day that is sandwiched between two glasses of water.  This type of eating helps your body feel like it is constantly being fed.  Since it feels this way, your body will be ok with burning off the calories quicker because it trusts that you will provide it with something very soon.  So you want a faster metabolism to burn more calories, which will help you lose weight and make your experience in the mirror a happier one.

Another huge concept to grasp is one about compounding.  If you are a person who tends to see everything as the final result and cannot quite picture the between stages, please try to understand this.  The working out that you provide for your body is not going to change things over night.  Everyday if you put in the work towards your ultimate dream of where you see yourself you will begin to build momentum.  As the momentum grows and you continue on your process you will see more changes at a more rapid pace. 

It is the same concept as saving money.  At first the amount of money that you save may be very small.  But each month if you stick with it, you will see the savings begin to build more and more rapidly.  And as you keep building and investing, soon you look up and you have something that is pretty dang solid.

Your body is your bank.  How are you going to invest?  What are you going to do to ensure that you are going to get to your ultimate goal?  A little today and a little tomorrow are the foundation of what you are trying to achieve.  And that is building a palace in which you live.  Start with the foundation, the palace will come. 

Own yourself!  Run your life!

The Power of The Mind

 I have been focusing the psychological aspect of better living for quite some time.  I know that my goal is to encourage good health and I am into physical training, however to only workout the body will not do much for you in terms of getting the desired outcome with your life.  The brain is the engine that drives the body and if your brain can only go at the capacity of 4 RPM due to the lack of training you provided it, then how can you expect it to get you anywhere at all?

What you want is for your brain to be the engine that most sports cars have.  Something that is able to get you to a destination quickly.  By destination I mean the ability to assess a situation and come up with a plan to make sure that you are happy with its results.  So many times we come across something and are completely leveled with what life threw at us.  I know I have been here before.  When I was just ten my mother passed away and it really knocked me down.  It took me years to actually be able to let go of that pain and actually give my heart out.

Now why the heck am I spilling my life to you?  I mean what does that have to do with mental training?  Well the tests that are constantly being thrown at us by life, things like death, breakups, getting laid off, fights, arguments (the list goes on and on), these things are what help build your brain.  These are the very tests that, if taken on and assessed properly, will place you towards the destination you want. 

So why do you want to have a solid engine running your body?  If you workout daily and have a super fit body, but everything that happens to you in the course of the day really brings you pain or the feeling of un-fulfillment, then what is that generally called?  Depression.  If you are physically fit and can handle the tests life throws at you, and you are able to come out of each day feeling fulfilled, what is that generally called?  Happiness. 

How we get to our destination is determined by how fast our engine will get us there.  It is up to our brain to get us there.

Own yourself! Run your life!

Finding Your Purpose

How many times have you said you wanted to do something and then you not follow through and do it?  For me that answer use to be all the time.  I use to find myself always wondering where my “will power” was or why I didn’t have enough motivation to follow through on something.  I know that over time I have become much better at actually following through on what I intended on doing. 

What has turned me around?  I believe it has been the fact that I have found purpose in all that I want to accomplish.  Let’s face it, if you had a pile of dishes and you saw no point in why they should get done, the chances of them getting done are very slim.  But if you can find a sense of purpose behind it, the ratio goes much higher than slim.  If you can look at those dishes and ask why do I need to do them?  Then ask how will this make others in the house feel?  Now you should have a better understanding of what those dishes being cleaned will mean for you and for the people around you.

I know that dishes are pretty simple, so let’s take waking up an extra hour to make sure you can attain what it is you really want.  For those who want to get healthy and fit but are unable to find the time during their busy day to do so, why not wake up?  If it is a high enough goal, 45 minutes earlier a day won’t mean much.  But if you just think about the concept of waking up early to wake up, is there any purpose to it?

Ask yourself why you want to workout? What kind of feeling is that going to bring to you for the day and in the long run?  It is what we ask ourselves that can get us our purpose.  We can find purpose in anything if we ask the right questions.  Now does working out seem more achievable now that you have asked questions that will give you some real reason for doing it in the first place? 

Now think about what it is you have been putting off, or have found a hard time really being able to get into a constant flow with doing.  Figure out your why?  Why do you want to do this?  What is going to happen if you do this?  These two questions will help you find your purpose.  And when you find your purpose, well that will change your actions from a “should do” to a “must do”!

Own yourself! Run your life! 

How Do Our Rules Affect Us?

What is happiness?  Our rules make up our life and it is these very rules that either allows us to feel good about the moment or have another feeling, a feeling of disgust, or overwhelming, or even just being bored.  It is our rules that are making our life.  What are rules?

Everyone has them.  They are what make our lives work.  For example it is what helps us decide whether or not we are going to have fun or feel pain.  If you see something you may want to do, like jumping out of a plane, you reach for your rules to see if this is something that will work for you.  For some of us the thought of jumping out of a plane is way to painful to think of, bringing too much fear and uncertainty.  For others it brings this sense of pleasure, having so much excitement.  The ultimate decision is left up to our rules. 

Growing up I always heard statements like, “ just take a leap of faith” or “think before you do”.  All of these simple sayings that I grew up with have helped form my rules.  I am completely into fitness.  So a rule that I have made a must do everyday no matter what is workout.  Another one is making sure that I take in the proper nutrition to fuel my body for what I put it through.  I have that high on my priority list and because of that it is a must for me to do. 

For those who tend to struggle with their health or their nutrition, the first question I will ask is this; is your fitness something you SHOULD be doing, or something you MUST do?  The difference between those is huge.  On the days where you may not want to workout, or it just seems like it is going to be a busy day, your SHOULD rule is not going to bring anything into action.  If you MUST do it then you u will find a way to get it done.  It may not always be easy or even the fun thing to do, but it is a priority and because your rule is a MUST then you will make sure it happens. 

So what can you do to change your rules?  Here is something that has helped me.  I ask myself what it is that I really want.  I mean really want!  I place it high on my priority list.  Anything that is top five on my priority list I know is a must.  If I ever have the thought of not doing it for the day I have my list right there with me knowing that I really want to accomplish this certain goal.  If I don’t get this activity done then my want will not be met.  The thought of me looking back when I am older and regretting not accomplishing something I wanted so badly brings me enough pain to get the job done.  Eventually this becomes easier and over time it is imbedded in my head as a rule. 

So although we have rules now that run our life, we can change them.  It takes a few things.  The understanding of what you really want is one of them.  Another is making a priority list; followed by making sure you do something towards your top 5 priorities every day.  The biggest thing is to do it everyday.  It is not going to be easy at first.  But every time you feel like you are not going to get it done, look at your list and ask yourself are you where you want to be? If the answer is no then ask this, is the task you are about to ditch out on the answer to getting you where you want to be?  Start today!  What is stopping you?  This is the time for you to take charge!

Own yourself! Run your life!

Stepping Outside The Comfort Zone

In all of my years as a youth I was taught to stick to something until you were good at it.  I realize that mentality also put me in a situation where I was constantly doing the same thing.  By me doing the same thing I developed habits and formed boundaries with trying new stuff out.  It was not until recently that I grasped the understanding that in order to be more I had to step outside my comfort zone.

To step outside of the comfort zone means to strive for more.  I mean think about it, you cannot get more by producing the same results right?   So how can you expect to reach a certain goal if you are not doing the uncomfortable thing to get to that goal?  Lets face it, we are a species that loves our certainty. 

I made it a resolution to make sure that I try other workouts.  I did not want to continue the road I was down with always knowing my results or what was in store for my workouts.  I had been doing P90X and Insanity.  Those were the only workouts that I had done for a long time! And so I have now started a new program and absolutely love it!

Turbo Fire is really impressing me.  I am only 4 days into it but can feel a difference in my body.  I am no longer stuck with the same old routine of doing my workouts.  This has brought a totally different twist to how I am doing things.  I recommend it to anyone really wanting to have an uplifting, motivational type workout with good music and lots of sweat.  How many times have you passed up an opportunity to try something new and then backed out by making a lousy excuse?

I started thinking how much fun would life be if I just stuck with what I knew and never tried to do something different?  Can you answer that?  If all we did was live our day knowing the outcome because we never wanted to change up our routine, or never wanted to try something new, would that really be living?  No it would not be, because as humans we also need uncertainty in our life to make things enjoyable and not boring. 

So we now know that we need certainty yet we also need uncertainty. I have a challenge that you can do.  This challenge will allow you to step out of your comfort zone and still be able to be in it enough so you are not uncomfortable all the time.  Once a week make it a conscious decision to do something completely out of your norm.  If you never dance for workout do that.  If you are a treadmill person, then find yourself on the bike.  If all your knees can handle is the elliptical, then take it to the swimming pool or the bike.  The goal is to do something you never would think to do. 

All major changes in life start with a decision.  And this decision is normally compiled of mini decisions.  By making a decision to do it once a week I know that it can be attained.  And as the days get more throughout the year, you can go from once a week to twice and so on.  The key is taking that first step.  That is the hardest.

Own yourself! Run your life!

Turbo Fire Journey!

Today I started my first day with doing Turbo Fire.  Now for you guys out there that think this may be a really lame workout let me tell you that it is far from it!  This thing kicked my butt!  I have been doing P90X, Insanity and Rev Abs for over 2 years now.  I look at myself as a person who is fairly fit, and also a person who focuses on eating well also.  In my two years of doing beachbody workouts I have always believed that Insanity has to be the most intense program out.  Well I was wrong.

For those who know about Insanity, the program is pretty intense interval training where you put your body to the test for around three minutes and then follow it with a 30 second rest in between sets.  Turbo fire has that same kind of intensity, only the breaks are not as close together.  I am a huge Insanity fan, and cannot wait for the new Insanity: The Asylum to come out, but this has nothing to do with being a huge fan or not.  Turbo Fire has already showed me what it was all about. 

Day one has consisted of a punches and some good music, mixed in with a little bit of dance.  I am not one to dance either fellas, as a matter of fact I never hit the dance floor in clubs, however in the confinements of my house I have no problem hitting the mix with whatever Chalene Johnson is doing.  I know that this program is legit, but my body has not felt this kind of sore in a long time.  I am anxious to see what tomorrow brings.  I will keep you posted on how Turbo Fire continues to treat me, until then remember to:

Own yourself!  Run your life!

Shakeology 4 Months In

So I have talked before about Shakeology and doing a three-day cleanse, but I really cannot stop talking about this product because I believe in it so much.  I have been taking Shakeology now for 4 months and am amazed with what it continues to do for me.  It took me a while to actually get on this product.  I mean I would see all the videos over it after doing one of our beachbody workouts, but I never really took much thought into doing it.

When the videos talked about all the healthy ingredients and all the x factors of what it does for the body I just figured the way I was eating was good enough and I was pretty happy with how I looked so I didn’t see the point.  It wasn’t until I went to a Tony Horton (maker of P90X) Event that I actually took a sample of Shakeology. 

I tried the Green and was somewhat impressed, but then came across the chocolate and just fell in love with how it tasted.  I also noticed that it kept me full during the event so I was pretty anxious to see what a full month would do.  

I believe that all of my extra energy I have had comes from the Shake.  Not only am I 12 pounds lighter, I notice that after taking my shake it gives me a little extra boost.  I am not saying that I am wired and ready to go for days or anything like that, but I get a little pick me up and it really helps.  I have started drinking my shake at the time when I normally am getting down and really bonking due to the nature of the day, which is normally 3:00 PM. 

I know that my body is getting everything that it needs and it helps me feel more comfortable about my nutrition.  I count calories but have found myself not coming close to going over my target since the shakes are so low in calories.  As a meal replacement, this has really helped me stay where I need to be.  

The doctors are saying that Shakeology is a revolutionary meal replacement.  I know that it has definitely changed my life, my wife’s life, and now we give it to our kids who love the way it tastes.  I don’t mind sharing though, I mean it is not everyday that you have a two, five, seven, and nine year old begging to consume something so healthy.

So although I am only 4 months into it and cannot speak for everyone, I will say that I have loved my time doing Shakeology and recommend it to anyone serious about simplifying their nutrition and taking their health to the next level.

Own yourself! Run your life! 

It is Never Too Late

I feel blessed to have found what I believe to be my purpose in life, and I found it at the age of 26.  I know that for the longest time I struggled understanding what my dad use to tell me.  “Remember your Purpose”, he would tell me all the time, sometimes multiple times during the same conversation with me.  When I was a kid I use to look at him and think, “Is this conversation ever going to end?”  I know now that his phrase means the world to me now. 

What is your purpose?  Why do you do the things that you do on a daily basis?  What is it that completely makes you feel like you are on top of the world?  And vise versa, what is it that you absolutely cannot stand doing?  We all talk about what we like and dislike.  I hear it often, and up until recent I use to say these things and not really understand why I did what I did or liked what I liked. 

Your purpose is what gives you meaning.  It is what helps you form what path you are on in life.  So what is it that you are driven to do?  For me my purpose is to serve God and my fellow man by being loving, passionate, caring, funny, exciting example of the endless possibilities when you commit yourself to helping others achieve.  To me that gives me a joy and a sense of significance that is needed to allow me to keep going.  So many times in the past I would find myself questioning what I really wanted to do.

How often do you find yourself wanting to try something out and then choose not to do it only because you don’t have time, or because you are afraid of what people may think?  I use to worry about what people thought all the time, and I still catch myself doing that at times.  What I have to remind myself is that the people that really care about me would like to see me happy, so do what makes me happy. 

So what is your purpose?  Have you been heading along the path you feel will lead closer and closer to living your purpose?  These are not easy questions, but when answered the feeling of not wanting to get out of bed disappears, and life becomes a little clearer.

Own yourself! Run your life!

To Be A Kid Again

Being a stay at home dad is something I never thought would fit me. I mean I am a go-getter, a guy who just jumps at opportunities and loves to be active in many different areas of life at once.  It was not until recently that I began noticing what it was that really had me loving being at home with my two year old.

I am and will always be a kid at heart.  I love joking around and playing games.  I enjoy laughter and being around people who can make me laugh, and I really dislike putting myself in the stresses of daily adult life.  You know what kind I am talking about, where us adults focus on so many things that has no relevance to the day or even the week we are living in. 

The phone bill do at the end of the month causes us so much stress even when it is just the first day of the month.  Or the grocery lists that are never ending and lead to long lines with people who are so rude and inconsiderate.  Or how about the to do list full of things that are not leading to what you really want, but you do them and still are stressed out because what it is you really desire is not being attended to.  All these stresses in our life continually add up and leave us unhappy and just trying to survive.

I was apart of this crowd.  I was constantly in a state of stress.  And although now I have calmed myself from always being in this state, I still find myself going back to this place I call Adult Ville and have to always work on keeping out.

That is why I love my kids.  I stay at home with my youngest during the day and am always in for a new adventure.  Well in her mind it is a new adventure, in mine it is Tuesday midmorning and were doing “play time with her toys”.  After that we hit the grocery store, followed by lunch and then good old naptime.  See there I am in Adult Ville.  But in her eyes every moment is something brand new.  She plays with a toy like it is the first experience with it, but the funny thing is she sleeps with it every day. 

My other three are just the same.  I pick them up from school, and then it is homework, then snack, followed by a little clean up session.  UGH! there I go in Adult Ville again.  To them they come home and are always playing the “what if game”, or hide and go seek in between snack and clean up.  My favorite is the quick nerf gun war where they are all a different character every time.  "I call spiderman! (spiderman doesn't have a gun!) ya huh! His is a web gun that shoots and can catch bullets too! "

Looking at my kids and the way they truly enjoy life has made me a better person.  I want that youthful spirit.  I lost a lot of that before becoming a stay at home dad.  Do I get frustrated to the point where I feel my head is going to explode?  You bet ya!  But I also find myself being able to lose myself from Adult Ville even if it is just for two minutes, and remember what it is like to live in the moment!

Own yourself! Run your life!

Every Good Thing Starts Somewhere

 I know you have seen all the stories about someone who has come up from out of nowhere to be an overnight superstar.  Do you really think that it happened overnight?  To the public, those who have not ever known the person until they came into the light, it looks like it was overnight.  But if you really take a look at what it took to get them there, anyone can see that it took much longer than what most people would allow to reach their dreams, not to mention a much harder road to travel then some may think. 

I look at the road I have traveled and notice that the bumps and potholes in my own road have been some of the best things for me.  Looking back at when I was a college coach, had the hard times not come and really given me a solid lesson in life I would probably still be coaching.  Not that I did not love the sport, lord knows I do.  But what I do now completes every possible feeling I have in my body and I am able to spend time with my children day in and day out without having to hit the recruiting trail, or a road trip for an away game. 

So why do we hate it so much when something comes into our life that makes us feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed?  Why do we allow ourselves to get frustrated or angry?  Why have the feeling of regret or disappointment?  All these emotions are classified as negative actions, but really they should just be looked at as signs to take action. 

What does that mean to take action?  Well think about it.  If I felt hot and was wearing a sweater, I would simply take the sweater off to help me cool down.  That is taking action.  When you feel Overwhelmed that means you need to really prioritize what it is that you need to get done.  Look at the list you make and take action at the highest thing on your priority list.  If you are frustrated, instead of letting that eat you up, stop and think about what you can do differently.  Change your approach to get to the goal you want, be flexible.  Can’t stand the way you feel?  Then don’t you think it is time to change your perception or procedures?

Change how something is done in order to get a new outcome, or simply stop being the victim in everything.  I know when I stopped saying things like, “well it is because of so and so” I began to really see a change in the way my life started turning out.  I no longer made excuses and really allowed for myself to have the responsibility of owning up to what I wanted to achieve. 

None of this stuff is easy to do.  It will not happen overnight, and as a matter of fact I still have to constantly stay on myself to make sure I do not drift back to old habits of feeling these emotions.  The more you can catch when an emotion is in you that you do not like the better.  Sense it, and make a conscious effort to get out of that state of mind.  Take action.  If you can catch when you have an emotion you do not want, you can replace that emotion. 

The next time you come to a pothole in your road stop and think, "there is a reason for this, I may not know it now and it may not come to me until later in life, but I know that this bump has happened for a reason".  Then after that figure out how to continue on in the direction you were heading, because after all, you are not going to let a little bump in the road stop what it is you want to do right?

Own yourself! Run your life!

What Working Out At Home Did For Me

 At home workouts have completely changed the way that I do things.  Besides the obvious of not needing to go to a gym to workout, and not bothering with traffic to get there, or whether a machine is going to be taken that I really want to use, working out at home has really transformed my thoughts along with my body. 

At one point in my life, not too long ago, I use to rely on everyone.  I constantly was the person that waited around for someone to give me an answer.  I always felt like I needed someone to help guide me along the way.  Now I know that even while doing the workout from the house there is a trainer telling me what to do and explaining proper techniques, however there is a huge element that is being overlooked.  I have to take the initiative to press the play button. 

In years past I would get to the gym and find myself socializing or spending more time wondering about what other people thought about my workout instead of just going at it full throttle.  Not to mention the fact that I never really had a set plan.  Of course I read to do this and that on a certain day, but I never had a start or finish to my program. 

Now that I have started and finished programs like Insanity and P90X, I find myself looking to take more initiative in other parts of my life.  I have the confidence now to know I can do anything that I choose to do.  It may sound cliché but it is true.  I have taken up other things at home, like my personal trainer certification.  I have formed a strong belief in myself and know that it all stemmed from a small workout program I ordered just to get in shape.  I got much more with the purchase and it only keeps getting more and more rewarding. 

So besides the fact that working out at home saves me time and money, I have grown to become much more self-reliable.  Would this have happened without ever doing at home workouts?  Perhaps it would have.  All I know is from 2009 until now, without P90X and Insanity, I would not be where I am today. 

That process began the path to owning myself.  What path will get you there?  Take time to think about it.  What do you really want?   What is stopping you?

Own yourself! Run your life

The Time Is Now!

I am currently 17 days into a new year just like everyone else.  I am looking up at the calendar and realizing that the first month is already closing out.  Where is the time going? 

I know that we all have lives to live and we all have said, “Once things die down I am going to focus on that specific goal that I really want to tackle.”  But you just don’t feel you have the time to do it right this second.  How many of you feel that way about your health?  About working out?  How about eating healthier?  I talk to so many people about getting healthy and staying fit and so many people give me the reason of not having enough time. 

Your health is key, or you wont have any time left.  With our society as unhealthy as it is, the time is now.  It does not have to be all or nothing.  How about making some simple choices to help you get on the track that everyone ultimately wants, which is to be healthy and live a fit lifestyle?  I have yet to meet anyone that desires to die at an early age due to some form of disease caused by the lack of health.  Never have I heard “ Yes I can’t wait until I get diabetes!” 

Instead of making excuses that there is not enough time in your busy schedule, please think about how many lives you touch personally and imagine how your lack of being here on earth would affect them.  I am sorry to sound so rash, but the truth is it is time to start focusing a little on what it is you need.  My life has not always been healthy eating and at one point I definitely fell off the workout wagon.  I look back at that time and when comparing it to now I have to say I was not living.  I was just moving on along waiting for the time to pass and the weekend to come. 

You can start slow.  Get out and go for a walk during a business call.  Get fat free milk instead of Vitamin D.  Park further away from your locations.  Get whole wheat tortillas instead of flour.  Take the kids to the skating rink instead of a movie.  So many little things that can generate some activity during the day and help prevent serious pain in the future. 

Whatever it is, decide on just doing two things for a month.  If you haven’t been moving for years and you choose to park far away from places you go, then stick with it.  Watch how fast that momentum begins to go and how quickly you add something to your workout to do list.  The hardest part is the first step.  Take that step now!  The time is now!

Own yourself! Run you life!

Winning The Battle

How do you battle with temptation?  The answer is not as clear as the question.  Some will say that will power is the key.  Others say solid discipline is going to get you there.  Truth is if you have great will power and discipline the temptation can still come out and bite you in the butt.  So how do you feel once you fall to whatever it is that is tempting you?  I know I have this feeling in my stomach that really makes me mad and upset that I submitted to the temptation that keeps me away from my ultimate desire.

What I have been practicing recently is conditioning the mind to feel extreme pleasure with not doing the temptation rather then having the feeling of pain not having it.  For example, I am a sucker for a good mid day tortilla with cheese, I love all Mexican food, and my appetite does not really know right from wrong.  So in times before this practice of conditioning the mind, I would see something I wanted to eat and feel great pleasure with how it would taste.  I never really focused on the instant pain I would have after eating the food. 

Now, once I get the urge to eat something I know is not going to benefit my goals, I stop and really focus on what it is that I want.  For me I want to have an extremely physically fit body.  It is something that is high on my priority list.  Now I know that me eating one or two things that are high in calories and full of junk is not going to kill that vision and dream of mine that day, or even the next.  However, over time if you compound my decisions I will end up in the same place that I found myself 2 years ago, which was over weight and unhappy with how I felt. 

Decisions are an everyday thing.  We make them all the time and the more we stick to our decisions, the more concrete the goal becomes.  The momentum carries us into a better way of living, a way that is constantly bringing us closer and closer to our goals.   With that said lets go back to the moment of my decision with food. 

As I sit there and focus on what I want for myself I imagine my life as a person who accomplished this want, and then I instantly picture someone who was unable to accomplish that goal and I look at the food and piece it in with the life of that person who did not accomplish his goal.  I am able to gain just enough power to overlook that food and move on towards something that is getting me closer to my goal. 

This process seems longer than what it really is.  At first I made sure to really get a good focus in my head so I could feel the experience as if I was there and it were real.  Now, however, I notice that when I get to this fork in the road it is an instant process that takes place.  It is just like anything else, the more you practice the better and faster you get.  So the next time you are staring temptation in the eye stop and think, what do I want?  If I do this will it get me closer or further from my want?  Simple decisions daily add up over time.

Own yourself! Run your life!

Being a Beachbody Coach

What we do for a career is what many of us link to who we are.  We take pride in our jobs and do them to the best of our ability or at least that is how it should be.  I get asked many times what is it that you do?  Well that is not an easy answer.

I help people get fit.  You may be asking, “How is that not an easy answer?  It seems you answered it easy enough for me.”  The truth is that within that statement comes many different entities that I touch on.  I am by no means claiming to be a guru or someone that has obtained numerous amounts of money.  What I have manage to do however in a very short amount of time is create a sense of bliss within my head and my body, and this bliss is such a heavenly feeling. 

I took what I managed to do and broke it down into a philosophy.  I practice this daily and have really seen a huge difference in my life.  I try to help get into other peoples lives and teach them what I did in order to get my life on the track that I like seeing my life on.  I love connection. The feeling of lending a helping hand and I love people.  Learning about them and seeing what it is that really inspires them.  Seeing where their passion lies and then helping them map out a plan to seek that action. 

Wait a minute, that doesn’t sound like fitness!  Well it is.  Just like the body, the mind also has to be strengthened and how better to strengthen the mind while strengthening the body.  I take my roots to waking up out of the funk I was in all the way back to P90X.  If Beachbody did it for hundreds of thousands of people and myself it will do it for anyone as long as there is someone there to help them see the big picture. 

That is where I come in, I help others during their journey.  There are 50,000 beachbody coaches out there, but that is not enough.  Not to “end the trend”.  We have a killer lurking our streets 24/7 and not enough help to stopping it.  Obesity is more than just being uncomfortable and out of shape it is a sickness, a slow death that should not be wished on anyone. 

I am apart of an amazing team of people in every walk of life.  From people having their own business to stay at home mothers, doctors, lawyers, professors, and college kids.  All of which have the same purpose to “end the trend.” 

If ever there was a time when you could give back and help others around you, the time is now.  Start with yourself and see how many people get inspired based off of what steps you are taking towards a better way of living.  Never in a million years could you have told me 2 years ago that I would be here helping others achieve a life that they want to have.  It all started with a decision, some commitment, and following that is, as beachbody would say SUCCESS.

Own yourself! Run your life!

Simple Things To Help The Day

 

Today has been a hectic start to a day.  I was up at 5:30 specifically to get things done and managed to not get the feeling of accomplishing anything.  Like I had just woke up and did nothing towards my To-do list. How many times have you had this feeling? 

Now lets fast forward a bit to about 10 AM.  I am going through Wal-Mart trying to get everything on the list for the week.  I am still feeling frustrated about not having that feeling of accomplishing any of my major goals.  I come up to the checkout line and run into Evelyn. 

She greeted me with a smile I had not received in a long time.  Normally I am the one committed to smiling and sharing some joy to others.  I usually make the first effort to make eye contact with people and say hi and greet them with a smile.  Not today, Evelyn beat me to it.  She was taking my groceries in one hand, and bagging in the next.  At the same time she was asking how my New Year was going, and how I was managing the cold.  Our short two-minute conversation ended with her telling me to have a great day and stay blessed. 

I really had no clue about just happened.  I was filled with so much joy all of a sudden.  All the things to get done written in my Phone did not matter.  A complete stranger just warmed my soul to the point that I came out of the Wal-Mart smiling and I had an extra pep in my step.  So what is the reason I am telling this story?

Imagine how much joy each one of us can bring to the table.  I mean here this woman was working at a store and she changed my whole day in two minutes.  How many people do you cross paths with daily that may need a simple pick me up.  The kind Evelyn gave me.  Now why is it so hard to do that?

The main reason is because we don’t do what Evelyn does during the day; we do what I was doing.  I was focused so heavily on me.  What did I need to do?  Why haven’t I done that yet?  Where can I find help for me?  Evelyn on the other hand was curious about others.  She wanted to know about others.  Now granted she was at work and that is her job to ask how I am doing, however her sincerity was felt and I know everyone reading this can vouch that not everyone in store checkouts are warm and nice. 

What I got out of that short time with Evelyn is that there is so much more to life then just ourselves.  Reaching out to others will give you that very feeling of accomplishment that I lacked in the early morning.  If I take care of me but also help people I come across will I not feel like I am doing much more and accomplishing more?  Take time to lend a helping hand.  Sometimes your smile and a couple minutes of your time is all that is needed to change a day!

Own yourself! Run your life!

Reflection is a Must

One of the P’s in Ten-P Training is Prayer.  I have always believed that it is a key component to life.  I never really understood the full concept however up until recently.  When we pray we give thanks.  We share our appreciation to whomever it is that we believe in.  For me it is God, but for others the same feeling of appreciation is expressed. 

When I ask for things to come into my life and change, is that not the same as setting a goal and wanting to achieve it?  I have taken 15 minutes a day to reflect on what I am grateful for, and I have envisioned where my future will be and asked God for guidance.  After these 15 minutes I feel re-focused and ready to take on the day!

There is no way for me to be down on my life because I have just seen where I am going, and I just appreciated everything right that I had going on in my life. If you are feeling down and really hating life, or just dragging the day and really not wanting to do a whole lot that day, put everything on pause and start thinking about all the good you have around you.  Start small within yourself and branch out.  I say something like… “I am thankful for my life; the ability to walk each day; to have my health; the roof over my head; a beautiful wife who loves me for who I am.” 

I could keep going, but normally all it takes is for me to express about 5-10 things that I am thankful for and my whole state of mind changes.  I mean what is the point of dwelling on the negative?  What we focus on we become.  I am not saying that my life is perfect, because I have my fair share of bumps in the road.  What I am saying is I choose not to dwell on that because life hands us all the good with the bad. 

Have you ever played a sport?  I played basketball and throughout my years I was able to be apart of winning and losing teams.  I look back at the major difference between what the difference of the winning and losing teams. 

The winning team’s focused on how to improve just like the losing, however when I was on the winning team’s I never thought about the bad that could happen during the game.  I only focused on the good.  During the close game we would always find a way to pull it off, why?  I believe because our conscious didn’t think of any other thing but the possible ways to win.  Never did we think of losing.  But when it came to the losing teams, all I remember thinking about was how not to lose. 

15 minutes a day of solid prayer will get you focused on the positive things in life.  Soon you will find yourself thinking more positive, and before you know it you will be apart of a winning spirit, one that can’t lose.

Own your self! Run your life!

First Week of a New Life

So here we are not even one week into the New Year and I am wondering to myself, “how many of us are still doing what we wrote down on our resolution lists”?  I know that I have already caught myself almost messing up.  I mean lets face it, no one is perfect by any means but I want to at least last a week before I make a mistake and have to get up and hop right back on the path.

I am currently waking up earlier to make sure that I accomplish my personal development.  It is important to me to make sure that I dedicate time to becoming a better person and understanding myself more.  How else am I going to help others go to the next level in their life if I don’t work on getting to the next level in mine right? 

I know that in order for us to get more out of life we have to grow.  I mean you take anything that we have, from a computer to your kids toy box, if there is too much in the computer or toy box then how can you possibly keep fitting new items in either one?  We need to grow.  What are you doing to make sure that you are growing?  Just think about doing little things everyday. 

In Jeff Olson’s “The Slight Edge”, Jeff talks about doing little things everyday and watching them grow. I really never thought of it like that until reading his book.  I always thought of doing a lot at a time or just don’t do it at all.   How many of us see a book and think about reading it but then put it down and say I just don’t have time to do anything?  I mean you see this 500 plus page book and just the thought of 500 pages makes your neck hairs stick up.  I now look at every book as 10 pages a day.  If you read 10 pages everyday how many pages can you get in one whole year?  Seven 500 plus page books can be read in one year by doing this.  Jeff Olson really opened my eyes with that idea.

So my point is that it is going to take some time to get to your resolution.  Nothing happens over night.  Be patient and always focused on what it is you really want.  You don’t have to be perfect, but what you need is persistence and a final goal.  Take every thing one step at a time and remember what it is you really want.

Own yourself! Run your life!

Sacrifice Get's You There

Last night I did something that I had not ever really been able to do.  I wrote out an exact schedule for what my Monday was going to be like.  Now I know that may seem crazy, I mean how can you get it exact.  Well I am here right now on task.  It is 1:00 in the afternoon and I have it down on my schedule to write my blog.  Following this I have a review to do, and prior to this I was putting my two-year-old down for a nap.  I am so happy right now because this is the first time that I have actually followed a schedule to a tee like this.  Normally I get side tracked.  How many of you have been in the middle of something and completely stop it to do something else? 

I am notorious for this.  One of my key goals is to stay focused during the moment.  Whatever I am doing is what I am doing.  I notice that even though it is just day one, I feel as though I have achieved so much in just half a day that the momentum felt day in and day out with this will be huge.  How many of you focus on things that are not in our control? 

I have a habit of trying to schedule the wrong things, like when someone is going to contact me, or when a specific opportunity is going to happen.  I cannot control these.  Rather I can control whether or not I am going to wake up that hour earlier and get my workout done to start the day off.  I can control my actions towards getting the things I desire.  If I want to lose 10 pounds then I can control my calorie intake and the amount of calories I expend during the course of a day to get me to my desired weight. 

If I want to learn how to do a new task, I can prioritize my day to make sure that the new task I want to learn gets done day in and day out.  My good friend Gonzalo Garza (founder of Team Success, which is helping hundreds of kids in south Texas learn proper skills and drills for basketball and also how to live a successful life on and off the court) explains, “the S in success stands for sacrifice”. 

If we want something bad enough we should be willing to sacrifice something that is not as high on the priority list.  I am a movie person.  I can watch marathon’s of movies everyday and love every second of it.  I have had to cut my movie watching down over 75% these last few months due to my goals and what I wanted to achieve in the time frame I wanted to achieve it.  It was not necessarily the happiest decision for me.  I mean it was a bummer to not watch the movies I really wanted to, however it would have been even more of a hard blow if I looked up and saw what I really wanted was not happening due to me participating in something lower in my priority list. 

What can you sacrifice?  Eliminate something, or just lower the time of participation and really go after what it is you want. 

Own yourself! Run your life!