This blog post is a current reflection of my own actions, habits and lifestyle; good and bad.

While looking back at my own health & fitness goals I gotta say, I'm on a pretty good path.  At least much better than I was any of the years before now.  I have found a good routine of maintaining my health & fitness which has taken me years to achieve.  Still... currently I don't seem to be moving forwards and I'm not moving backwards.  I'm comfortable; and being comfortable for me isn't comfortable!

I must admit my biggest hurdle for taking my health & fitness to the next level is drinking.  I LOVE MY MARTINI'S and I'm having an issue cutting back on them.  Hell it's taken me a few years to perfect my martini recipe, why would I waste all that time spent?!?  Ohhh they're so good and if you ever come over I'll make one for ya!  I still have the occasional beer or two but for the most part I try to stay away from them after reading this article (http://foodbabe.com/2013/07/17/the-shocking-ingredients-in-beer/).

Now to be fair to my little liquid friend the martini, he's not the full culprit of this story.  It's the decisions I'll make after having one of two of these suckers, usually leading me into some kind of late night crap food fest. It's a sad snowball effect.  Not to mention all of the other side effects alcohol has to your body that we rarely think or know about.


That all being said, one of my goals is to etch off those last few percentages of body fat, and this liquid heaven isn't helping.  I must say I've made some huge strides over the years.  It used to be that I would have 2-3 beers a night justifying my actions by complaining about the stress of my job or life in general.  It was an easy 'out' and it seemed to work, although I know there are much healthier ways to de-stress!

Now I keep my 'partying' to Friday and Saturday nights.  I'm not saying that I don't sway from that every now and then but it's kind of the deal I've made with myself.  So here's the problem, I'm a numbers guy.  If I'm drinking 2 nights of the week that's nearly a third of my week!  What the hell?!? How come the week seems so long and the weekends so short, yet somehow 2 days is almost a third of my week???  It sure doesn't seem like a third of my week is 'weekend time.'

What's also hard is that I love going out with my friends!  If you know me personally or follow me on Facebook you know we do some really fun and unique things almost every weekend!  The problem is many of these events include or have alcohol and I fall into peer pressure far too easily.  Okay okay I'll admit that I'm sometimes even the instigator!

So here's what I've come up with... I've created this card to help me with my goals.  I figure I can keep my schedule of 2 nights a week 2 drinks per night but that's it!  If I want to go crazy one night, I have to sacrifice a full night.  But the best part of this card (at least for me) is I won't want to cross off all the little martini's.  It's now a game and each time I cross one off I'm losing.   Also by having a visualization of what I could be giving up by having my little martini's, I'm hoping that will be enough to keep me away.  I'll let you know who wins!




I challenge you to this, if you're having problems quitting a habit that is keeping you from your goals do the same.  Track it, learn about it, and then come up with a plan to correct it.  You may not always win but progress is progress no matter how small.  In my example I turned my strength of loving challenges against my weakness the martini.  Do the same yourself.              

I don't have all the answers, I just take it day by day.  I look at the progress my own health & fitness has made over the past years and all I can do is be proud.  I know I'm on the right course and maybe by writing about this it will give me the push I need to do even better.  But in the end everyone has to make their own decisions and choices on what they want and what's important to them.

If you're having similar issues what are they?  And how have you found ways to overcome them?

I wanted to discuss an idea I was introduced to a while back in Darren Hardy's book 'The Compound Effect.'  The entire book was a life changer for me (one of the only books I plan on reading at least once a year) and I wanted to share one particular section that I found really interesting.  That section had to do with our WHY.

The reason WHY you do something can be the deciding factor of whether or not you'll be successful or not. I believe when taking on new challenges most people map out a plan on how to get there; makes sense. Sometimes we get there, sometimes we don't.  If we don't, we often go back to the drawing board and map out a new plan.  We repeat this over and over until we either quit or succeed.

What if we don't succeed?  Are we just not capable of attaining our goals?  Or is the reason we failed because our WHY wasn't strong enough?  I'd like to argue that next time you're feeling down because something didn't go your way, consider changing the reason WHY you're doing something instead of changing your methods.  

Here's an example given to us in the book, I just really wanted to add the visualizations to it :)

If I laid out a 50ft 2x4 wooden board on the ground and asked you to walk across it for $100 would you?  I think most people would say yes, I mean what do you have to lose right?

What if I took that same wooden board and placed it across of two neighboring skyscrapers.  Would you now walk across it?  I'm guessing you'd say 'hell no!'

What if I said you need to walk across it or you would automatically die.  What would you do now?  I'm guessing you'd walk across the board now right?

The point of this example is to illustrate how important your WHY needs to be.  The wooden board and the distance didn't change in any of the examples above.  But the reason for WHY you were walking across it did. Sometimes you said YES and sometimes you said NO. The only difference between you saying YES or NO was the reason WHY you'd be walking across it.

So I challenge you to do this... the next time you're trying to achieve a goal and it isn't quite working out for you; instead of coming up with ways to change how to reach that goal, consider changing your WHY instead.

The great thing about having strong WHY's is that you can have as many of them as you like!  I've found the more the better, and some will be stronger than others.  Also multiple WHY's will help out when other WHY's fail. Wanting 6 packs abs will keep me away from McDonald's in the summer but that WHY may fail in the winter when I'm covered up.  But, if my WHY is to have 6 pack abs, not get cancer, and live as long of a life as possible; I'm pretty much covered for not going to a fast food joint.        

Let's face it, life is tough.  And when life gets tough the thing that separates the people who keep going from the people who quit is their WHY.  Make sure yours is strong and I believe there is nothing that can stop you from achieving any goals you set.

I saw this the other day and I just had to write about it.  They renovated my local grocery store and put this in the middle of the store.  This new 'stay healthy' and 'live well' sign is, I'm assuming, their answer to living healthy?  A huge 'stay healthy' and 'live well' sign above the pills, supplements and other various drugs.  Way to go!  Ah... what I wouldn't give to meet the person who designed this.

Now I believe pills, supplements and drugs have their place in the world of health and nutrition but it seems as though that's the first place we turn to now-a-days.  Have an issue?  Hmm maybe there's a drug that can fix it.  I mean it certainly can't be something you're doing to yourself right?  


We all need to TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for our actions, and in many cases our inaction's.  Just because some medical minds have come up with a solution to fixing YOUR problem doesn't mean you should  live like it's okay to continue to make the same mistakes.  And remember, you're not just affecting yourself anymore. Many of the people I see making these mistakes have children, and guess who they're learning from?  Telling your child to not do what you're doing simply doesn't work.  YOU HAVE TO BE THE EXAMPLE.

I want to keep this one short but my point is to take care of yourself and lead by example.  Be the change you want to see in the world, don't just sit back and complain about it.  I'll admit I'm not perfect or anywhere close, but I am trying.  Don't continually band-aid problems, start to look for ways to fix the origin of the problem instead.  I think if we all worked on this a little more we would see a lot of positive change all around us.

I want to start by saying this IS NOT A BLOG ABOUT RECRUITING.  I'm not even going to mention which organization I'm a part of.  Of course that information is not hard to find.  Also this blog wasn't written to debunk any common myths related to Network Marketing.

This blog is about the reasons I joined Network Marketing and why I think more people should seriously consider it.  My hope is that after you read this you'll understand why I decided to pursue this lifestyle and hopefully, become a little more knowledgeable on what Network Marketing COULD do for you.

References
Deaths from 9-11 approx 3,000 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks)
Deaths from obesity approx. 300,000 (http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/calls/obesity/fact_consequences.html)

If you've known me for a while (college and before) you know that I was a huge Coca-Cola drinker.  I would literally drink about a 3 litter a day.  I knew it was bad for me.  I saw the ads with sugar cubes and such.  I even saw the specials on TV showing me how you could fight rust using Coke.  I was still hooked and continued drinking it, I'm not sure why.

I'm not here to talk you out of drinking it, you'll have to come to that conclusion yourself or suffer the consequences.  Like anything else in life it's 100% up to you.  All I want to do is make an observation to all of the Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Vanilla Coke drinkers out there.

First off Diet Coke and Coke Zero.  We drink it because the marketing claims better health.  These products have less calories and less sugars then the real thing but the 'same' taste. Of course with that logic why even sell the original but I'll keep moving on.  So in order to give you less calories and make a product healthier I would assume the product would take out some ingredients right?  Let's take a look...

The article flowing around Facebook today finally made me want to write a small blog post about responsibility in reporting.  If you don't know what I'm referring to, it is the article about Miss America 2014 and a number of people being hateful (to put it lightly) to the fact that she is Indian-American and won the Miss America Pageant.


Now my blog has nothing to do with Miss America but at the reporting that was done, and in many ways how most 'reporting' is done.  Post after post today on Facebook seemed to be about my friends screaming about racism and how they couldn't believe there were so many horrible people out there.  Hey I agree, there are plenty of hateful people out there.  But I'd like to rewind for a second and discuss what started this entire thing in the first place.

I have two problems with this article, and guess what, neither has to do with the hateful people out there, that's an entirely different subject that I'd rather not get into.  They have their own opinion and while I don't agree with it, it is their opinion.  Note:  I'm not even going to link out to the article in question because I don't believe it deserves any more attention, I'm sure you can find it if you like.

ONE.  
The facts of this story are straight up wrong, or at the very least extremely misguiding.  There are about a dozen or so horribly negative and hurtful things being said, and I'm sure there are more.  But what it fails to mention is all the wonderful and amazing things people have said. I don't know if this fact is true or not but one person posted that there were 314 million tweets posted about Miss America.  If a dozen or so were negative, do you realize how small a percentage of negative vs positive that is?  If 12 vs. 314,000,000 (negative vs positive) is where we are as a society, than we are progressing, congrats! :)

But this particular article decided to title their article "A Lot Of People Are Very Upset That An Indian-American Woman Won The Miss America Pageant."  Thanks a lot!  What exactly defines 'a lot' of people? Because my numbers are showing something much different.  If you're going to do some reporting why not give us a real statistic that takes into account all tweets for a given amount of time.  By singling out a few horrible ones, and title your article as such, you've now put a whole slue of people into a fury.  Or better yet why re-post the negative ones at all?  Are you improving anyone's lives by doing this?

Ok, I'm pretty sure I know why they did this, it attracts more attention to their webpage.  More people click on links that they're emotionally attached too.  But come on  Is this really what we're willing to do to get some attention?  The sad truth is, it is.    

TWO.  
Do you really and truly care?  Or are you looking for something to complain about.  I don't know about you but I don't even remember the last time I thought about Miss America.  Couldn't even tell you any of their names.  What I'm trying to get at is does this outcome really affect your life in anyway?  Does Miss America even really affect that much in the average persons life?

If this pageants outcome does, or you still really have strong feelings about it are you willing to do anything about it?  I mean it's one thing to complain when something directly affects your life and you're willing to take action.  It's another when you just feel like complaining.  In my opinion if you're not willing to take action, then you shouldn't be complaining.

Look I'm not suggesting I have the answers here but in my opinion I think we as HUMANS should start focusing our attention on the things that really matter.  Making our own lives better and making others lives better.  If we all just focused on those two things, all of this other 'fluff' would simply fade away, and in many cases falloff into the background.

Oh and if you want to stop these people from reporting like this.  STOP reading this junk.  Ok fine, I read it too, but now I'm upset that I did.  You can bet I won't go back to this website from here on out.  If people like this have no audience, things like this won't be reported any more.  But it's going to take all of us to take a stand to not fall into these 'marketing' traps anymore.  Can you imagine how uplifting life would be if a large portion of the news and things being reported on were positive?!?

Oh and if you know someone like this, who truly feels this way; ignore them.  It's not easy but it is simple. Ok I'm done ranting... for now :) Now go be HAPPY and don't let things like this upset you!

I don't know if this is one of those things where the older I get the wiser I get, or maybe I'm more comfortable with myself now so I don't feel the need to go down these roads any more.  What I'm talking about is 'being challenged to do something.'

I used to be the guy who, if you wanted me to do something, just bet me I couldn't  The sad part is, there usually wasn't any reward, it was just a simple bet.  It was a need deep inside me to 'prove myself' to other people.  I had to show them that they were wrong and that I could do anything I put my mind to.  I'm not claiming this part of me has fully gone away, I still enjoy a good challenge every now-and-then, but recently I see others making the same choices I used to and I think to myself, 'ugh is that, or was that me?'

I heard a commercial on the radio the other day where a woman was trying to empower other women.  She said the same old tune, 'tell me I can't do something and I'll show you I can.'  Then in the background you hear a bunch of other women cheering for her and her 'can do' attitude.  What I'm wondering is what kind of message are we sending when we hear or do things like this?  Is it truly a positive one?

Growing up my parents were always very supportive of me.  They always instilled the idea that 'I can do anything I put my mind to.'  Great values in my opinion, especially in a day in age where more and more people seem to be willing to give up before even trying; and where failure is now looked so far down upon instead of being realized as an act of trying to accomplish.

My question is, where did we find the need to prove that point to other people?  I know I can do anything I set my mind to, why do I feel the need to prove it to you?  In most, if not all cases, I don't even care about the task you are assigning to me.  It's not going to improve my life, and when it's all said and done, you're just going to give me a smile and say, 'I can't believe you just did that.'  Then we'll chuckle about it for a few minutes and then it's over.

If this is you my point is this, dig deep within yourself and ask yourself why you do these things.  Are you simply looking for attention that you aren't normally getting?  Or is there some other need deep within you that isn't being fulfilled?  Maybe you should challenge yourself to fulfill that need first.  Or at the very least really consider the challenge.  Does it align with your own personal goals?  Will it improve your life in a meaningful way?  Will it at least improve others lives in a meaningful way?  What is the real reward you're getting out of this challenge?

In my own case I think it's just a simple need for attention.  Maybe I wasn't being taken serious enough within my own group of friends.  Maybe I just felt like I wasn't being heard.  In either case I think I just wanted the attention.


I think our new message should be something like this.  'YOU CAN DO anything you set your mind to!  But choose to do the things that are going to be MEANINGFUL to your own life, or the people's lives around you.'
If this blog hasn't changed your mindset then I want to throw out some challenges of my own for you...

1.  I challenge you to become truly happy.
2.  I challenge you to make other people's lives better.

Good luck and I bet you can't do it!

NOTE:  I want to explain something.  This blog is the step before you start a fitness and nutrition plan.  This was written to hopefully help you get your mental attitude straight before you go into your plan.  If you're looking for fitness and nutrition tips and tricks, I'd love to help you, but that's not what this is about.  In my opinion this is more important.  Getting your mind right before you change your body in any way can drastically make things easier later down the line!



I doubt there's anything I could say during this blog to get anyone to stop weighing themselves, but hopefully after reading this blog you'll stop putting so much stress and concern on what the scale says and shift that focus and energy into what really matters.

Let's start at the beginning.  Do you really want to lose weight?  Almost all the people I know trying to lose weight would answer 'YES of course I do.'  I'd like to argue that in fact you don't want to lose weight.  Let me explain further...

When you daydream of losing weight, what do you think of the most?  How you'll look in a swimming suit? Maybe the feeling of more confidence?  Maybe the activities you'll be able to now perform better; running, jumping, pull ups?  Something else possibly?  The point is this, it's not the weight loss you desire, it's the measurements, the feeling and or the actions that you truly desire.

Lifting weights somewhere along the line got a really bad name for only being for men who want to be outrageously muscular, or for women who for some reason want to look a bit 'freakish.' Ever see these pictures, or similar ones to them below?  The truth is lifting weights alone does not yield these results.  And unless you are trying, and trying extremely hard, you will never look like the pictures below. These men and women did not just walk into the gym one day, pick up some weights, and wake up the next morning looking like this!

I am targeting this blog to all the ladies out there who are worried about lifting weights and or not even considering a program like Beachbody's Body Beast!  It's my intention to calm your nerves about lifting weights, and lifting heavy weights at that!