I don't usually ever have a problem coming up with things to write to you, but today, for some reason, I'm a little stuck. Perhaps it's Divine Intervention. I've been thinking about doing this for some time now, so I'll do it today.

I've written before that I'm a very blessed person. I am grateful for all I have. I am grateful for each day I'm alive. My life really does get better each and every day. So today I want to give back.

Listed here are my favorite charities. They are the ones I donate to on a regular basis. I'd be thrilled if you would make a donation to any one of them. I'd be just as thrilled if you decided to not donate to one of mine, but to one of yours instead.



http://www.wish.org/



http://www.livestrong.org/



http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/



http://www.gojcc.org/



I know that this is a weird post from me, however, we all have been blessed in so many ways, perhaps we can take some of our good fortune and "pay it forward"



Til next time...

The mind....

I’m back from the Tour of California, and being around such “can-do” people taught me several things.

First, the notion that road cyclist are these small/lean breed of slow twitch fiber endurance man, was somewhat shortsighted. Some of these guys are BIG, 6-2, 6- 4 and over 210 pounds of solid muscle was not rare. I used to think of road cycling, as these “T-Iny” aerobic animals slightly built, that can peddle all day. Sure enough there are few of those types, but now, with cross training and weight training these guys have the thighs (and shoulders) of linebacker’s – With the types of courses they now ride, they need the muscle to generate mega watts of power needed to climb the steepest of mountains quickly.

During a ridiculously hilly 15 mile time trial in Solvang, Ca, 107 cyclists attacked the course with the intensity of a rabid dog. This course had multiple hills with better than 12 per cent grades, steep switch backs, and curves that even made my stomach turn while we were driving the course in our Ford Expedition. The top riders averaged a little over 30 miles per hour (the average speed of the 107 cyclist was 27 miles per hour). Sure there were step down hill stretches, but really, 30 miles per hour on hills, you can only imagine what those riders could do on our flat lands.

The second thing and probably the most gratifying thing I observed was the attitude of all the people I worked with, not just the folks that I worked with everyday (the security team) but the entire staff. We were all committed to make something work – no matter the conditions, or circumstances. We all helped to put on an event that the world was watching (for true!) and overcame unexpected challenges.

We ran into situations everyday that fell outside the norm, and the 900 or so people that worked the Tour decided to make it work. We all set our minds to accomplishing something great – and we were successful.

Over the past eight days working closely with all of these people, and having the privilege of observing these highly trained athletes made several light bulbs go off in my head.

Often we collectively look at our world in terms of the limitations that it offers – not necessarily the opportunities. Our mind set is such that these opportunities have multiple limitations attached. It is not uncommon that we base our choices out of fear that some thing might not happen, rather than making a choice out of curiosity or adventure. That each choice or action has guards of curtail at every exit is not reality - or should I say it is reality, but just one of a hundred possible realities.

A small reality is the product of small thinking or a small under developed mind. I did not see that at the Tour… I saw athletes taking opportunities, reaching back and making choices, not out of fear that something bad would happen, but rather the fear if they didn’t go after it they would not achieve.

Please know this: all monsters and demons, demigods and every demiurge come from the mind. The weak body, the shit job, the poor wage and the putrid future; come from the mind as well. Bullies, bad men and ugly folk, trace them back and you will find that they all stem from the mind.

The villain the vicious the vapid and the vainglorious, are rotten apples that have fallen from the mind tree.

Depression comes from the mind.

So does the vanquished and the hemmed-in and the haggard.

The mind is responsible for all.

Don Juan Matus said “that our reality is but a single room in a house of a hundred rooms and with training we could learn to access the other 99, in fact with training we could actually get out of the house”.

The 100 realties come from the mind.

The house comes from the mind.

The realities outside the house, they all come from the mind.

But the mind is controlled by a gargoyle. The gargoyle is called ego, and ego likes to feast on sense gluttony, it spoils on excesses and it thrives on limiting beliefs, doubt and blame.

And small realities.

It (the ego) likes small "safe" realities. We choose not to risk, because of what terrible thing might happen, rather than what could happen that would get us closer to our goal.

The ego comes from the mind.

So train the mind in the art of austerity and self discipline, they are the anti-thema of ego - its harbinger of doom.

Foster moderation, adopt self control, give birth to integrity and hard work and you will be shocked how quickly you will reach your goal(s).

Once you control the mind you become the architect of all that comes from the mind.

Because….everything comes from the mind.

Glad I'm back, Til next time.....

Haven't posted in a while

Haven't posted in a while, I'm out in Northern California working the Tour of California Professional Bike Race.

It is a 635 mile week long bike race that has world champions, Tour of France, Italy and Spain winners all vying for the yellow jersey, some cash but more importantly getting ready for the European tours and the Olympics.

When I get back into town I'll have a lot of material to electronically "speak" about.

Til then stay warm...

The Big Mo...

This is the first time in a LONG time that I am excited to be involved in the election process.

I've watched all the debates and have been studying each of the candidates vying to be the President of the United States.

There's one trend I see that really makes or breaks a campaign.

Do you know what it is?

MOMENTUM.

Once a candidate gains momentum, all of a sudden more people start to back them and the campaign is full steam ahead.

Democratic candidate Barak Obama won a few big states in the primaries and now has tremendous momentum. Momentum works the other way as well and can lead you into a tailspin.

Just a few months ago, Rudy Guiliani was the clear leader and he chose to focus on Florida and LOST all momentum. It was one of the biggest political demises we've seen since the famous yell by Howard Dean.

So what does MOMENTUM have to do with you.

Everything.

Getting STARTED is the hardest part on your path to your dream goal.

Losing that first pound. Making that first dollar. But once you follow a blueprint and start to taste success, momentum will carry you forward. Momentum is a powerful tool when it leads you in the right direction.

Why don't you start your momentum today?

Til next time...

Silly me...

I was having a little pitty party for myself the past few days. Thinking that I was too overwhelmed to go to the gym and workout because work is too hard, and life is too tough.

Silly me....time to go to the 24 hour gym

Hope this inspires you... click on the link below.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ooQKUYQ_WgQ

Til next time.....

Great Question

I had a great conversation with a new client the other day in the gym... She said, "I hate cardio. But I also hate being fat. Do I have to do cardio to get lean?"

I must answer this question at least once a month when I am lecturing or working with new clients. The answer NO.

No you don't have to. But it makes the whole process a lot tougher. Nothing magical happens when doing cardio - it just burns calories.

High intensity cardio burns more calories than low intensity cardio.

Low intensity burns more calories than no cardio.

I think most people don't like walking on a treadmill and being completely bored. I understand that. But if it's traditional cardio that you dislike - you can do some "non-traditional" cardio and burn even more calories.

Is going for a walk for 30 mins each day really all that bad? Get your Ipod on, some good music or an audio book and head out the door.

Cardio is just a tool to burn calories when you're trying to get lean. It makes no real difference in terms of fat loss whether you burn the calories off, or don't eat them in the first place.

The main thing is the you just get moving. Burn calories and watch what your eating. Simple huh...

Til Next Time...

CLA fights cancer...

I thought I'd share a little information about a promising "good fat" called CLA or "conjugated linoleic acid". Recent university studies point to some promising findings.

CLA is found naturally in dairy products and red meat, however these products also contain significant amounts of saturated fats ("bad fats"). Research does indicate that CLA consumed in its natural form is the preferred intake method and that grain-fed sources of these animal products have the highest amounts of CLA.

Although it’s still not fully understood, CLA likely works by helping to regulate protein and fat metabolism in the body. This in turn can result in a reduction of overall body fat and an increase in lean muscle mass.

In animal studies, CLA has also been shown to protect against many different types of common cancers and to help prevent heart disease. CLA may also play a role in supporting immune function. Human studies are still in their infancy but early results are promising.

Bodybuilding and fitness athletes have been supplementing with CLA for some time now. It is viewed as an excellent support supplement for individuals interested in promoting lean muscle mass, fat reduction, and overall health.

My advice is to check out the research and decide for yourself. Whether you choose natural sources of CLA in your diet or you decide to supplement is up to you. However, do look at the research available particularly the "breast cancer research", which clearly shows reduced risk with adequate CLA intake.

Til Next Time....

Is Knowledge Power?

"Knowledge is power." - Francis Bacon, English philosopher

"Knowledge is that possession that no misfortune can destroy, no authority can revoke, and no enemy can control. This makes knowledge the greatest of all freedoms."

- Bryant H. McGill, American poet

I was brought up to embrace and believe the preceding quotations. My father, often reminded me that he wouldn't be leaving me a huge amount of money. Instead, he would help put me through college, because no one can "take away your education."

That's why when I started reading Larry Winget's book, Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life, I was a bit taken aback when he started attacking the "myth" that "knowledge is power."

He does have many other "myths" that he lists in this rather confrontational book. In his defense, Winget warns the reader upfront that he will be an irritant and will probably make us angry.

He hasn't made me angry. Actually he has made me think! Maybe it's a "Larry Thing", but a lot of what he writes make sense. His basic premise is that, "What you think about, talk about, and DO something about is what comes about." Start with thoughts translated into beliefs and coupled with action will produce the results we want.

Back to "knowledge." I love amassing it, but, thinking about it, I realize that I can easily be buried and distracted by all of the information available today. I can, and often do, spend valuable time reading blogs, visting websites, listening to podcasts, attending webinars, learning about sales and copywriting, searching for videos, traffic, and on and on. Yes, Winget is right. My fascination with knowledge sometimes takes me away from the actions I should be doing to get where I want to be, because it is spreading me in too many directions.

How about you? Are you so tempted by "knowledge" that it is robbing you of your powerful actions?

Til next time....

One more...

"Knowledge may give weight, but accomplishments give luster,

and many more people see than weigh."

- Lord Chesterfield, British statesman

Truth IS stranger than fiction...

Who says truth isn't stranger than fiction, but the following does make sense. I hope you enjoy the information, it's accurate. Sounds just like something a higher power would do.

Here is just a short list of examples of Whole Food Signatures.

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and YES science now shows that carrots great ly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape look s like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain (come on be honest, you were thinking something else!), a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the number of Sperm, a way to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Grapefruits, Oranges , and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

Good to the very last minute!

How cool was that!

A Super Bowl that was good to the very last minute! The Giants had the ball. Eli Manning was in position, and he proved that he was more than ready to take control of the game.

Now, I do appreciate all the people I spoke with last week saying how crazy I was thinking that the Giants hand any chance with the Patriots. I especially liked the taunting calls before kickoff – (funny how those folks didn’t call after the game!).

During the last game of the season - I'd seen all I needed to see. Even though it was the regular season finale, between the Pats and the Giants (the Giants lost by three)…I saw something in Eli’s eyes. There was this focused look on his face that you don’t often see. But when you do, you almost get stopped in your tracks. Then you could just see that look grow during the playoffs.

If you think back to yesterday’s game at the beginning of the fourth quarter. I remember watching Tom Brady walk off the field. Not the cool, calm, collected Brady he normally is when he has all day to set up his passes. He looked warn out and rattled.

Then you looked on the sidelines with Eli on the bench and you just got the feeling that this guy was not going to be beaten. He was calm, and focused. My buddies agreed… there was an air about him that he was not going down without a fight.

Whenever you see pouting and whining - you know the tide has definitely turned - no matter what the score. Another bad sign for the Pats… A few minutes later Brady marched the Pats down the field for the go-ahead score.

The other side cheered wildly. Started to give me a little grief, but I stood steadfast in my resolve. "Don't celebrate too early," I said. "The game isn't close to being over."

Eli put on his helmet and took the field. As he did so you could feel his absolute belief and total conviction. He would not be beaten. And then the "miracle" pass. Not the Immaculate Reception - but pretty close.

The game was just as well as over. In fact, it was over before it started.

Forget the score. Forget who was in the lead for what amount of time. Just watch the eyes of the quarterbacks. Read the face. It'll tell you all you need to know.

Despite winning three previous Super Bowls; despite guiding the Patriots to an almost perfect season - the fact is Brady and the Patriots didn't want to win as much as Eli Manning and the Giants. He just didn’t seem AS hungry.

So much of success is nothing more than "staying hungry." It's all about DESIRE.

Who wants it the most?

So tell me, how much do YOU want it?

Unfortunately, I’ve learned several painful lessons (more than I want to count), as a competitive athlete and coach. Through those trials and tribulations I can tell who is ready for success and who isn't.

Some are ready when the game begins – but after things get a little rough and "the game" isn't as easy as you'd hoped - if you take the person's "vision pulse" - you may find it has dimmed significantly. I see this all the time. You can see it in the eyes and on the face. And where it BEGINS is in the mind.

Being successful and wanting to win is a feeling that vibrates from every cell in your brain and body. Even if you say you want to win - whenever you lose you can point to the other guy and say, "Well, he must have wanted to win MORE."

That was the story last night. And it's the story every day of our lives.

Winning generally isn’t about physical strength. It isn't about who has the strongest hands, arms, legs, neck or abs - although physical strength most certainly helps.

It isn't about who is fastest or most skilled, either - even those these qualities also help.

It's about WHO wants it most. It's about who has the strongest MENTAL MUSCLES.

Your mind is and always will be the most important muscle on and off the field.

Those who have played the game at the highest levels and have emerged victorious understand this. Those who have merely played - don't.

So I ask you again, how bad do YOU want it…

Til next time….

Are you where you want to be?

I was sitting with friends the other day at our local Panera, and got a phone call… One of today’s modern miracles (annoyances) is the sound of computerized music mimicking a classic rock and roll song suggesting that you might have an important phone call.

I was annoyed at myself; I had broken my own rule and made the mistake of not putting my cell phone on silent before I had sat down. I quickly pushed the button on the side of the phone that allows your voice mail to pick up the message.

There aren’t a lot of things that annoy me… but the constant beep of a missed call or a voice mail needing your attention has to be in the team photo. Again annoyed, I glanced at my phone to make sure it wasn’t a number I recognized and shut it off.

Soon after our visit was done, and saying the appropriate goodbyes I left Panera and walked to my car, all the while reaching in the side pocket of my coat to grab my phone.

I wasn’t really expecting a call today, especially one like this. You see work was covered and I had already spoken to those I cared about earlier in the day. I was just ready to go on with the rest of my day.

I checked the messages, I had received 3 – I’m not that important. Friends of mine called to inform me that one of our colleagues from my one of my privious lives had died. I can't lie. I was shocked and upset. The news had caught me off guard and I felt it in my very bones.

It turned out that my friend/acquaintance was driving home and, mid traffic, had experienced a massive heart attack that had killed him instantly. It was a huge shock to us, his friends and family because he was a fit man with no obvious ailments. Just his time I guess.

In his early fifties he was a man who loved his cars, and had earned enough in his middle age to treat himself to a particularly nice sport car, the one he had always dreamed of owning. I did have a chance to see it. It was this amazing vehicle, something out of a James Bond movie complete with the blond. He had driven it downtown last year when all of us “meatheads” had a reunion at Navy Pier. Now it was the one where he tragically spent his dying seconds.

There was little we could do, the ambulance had already taken the man to the morgue and his wife had been informed. I didn't know him that well personally, it was always a business relationship, he was from out of town, but I asked my friend to keep in touch and to let me know if there was anything I could do.

The incident had a profound effect on me. I had experienced death before of course; family and friends have passed on during my 48 years on this planet, but something about this passing, even though I did not know this lovely man that well personally, really struck a cord within me.

It was not so much the death its self, which was sad enough, rather it was the depth of understanding and insight that his wonderful wife had demonstrated on hearing the bad news. What she said changed the way I looked at my life. Despite the grief that her husband's unexpected death had brought her, she said she was strangely happy, because he was in the car he had always wanted to drive, traveling back from a course he had always wanted to attend. She was grateful, she said, because her husband was where he wanted to be when he died.

He was where he wanted to be.

How many people can say that?

How many people can say 'your mom, your dad, your brother, your sister' was where they wanted to be when they died?

I had to really think about this, very deeply. Because, if I am honest, I don't know very many people who are where they want to be while they are alive, let alone when they die.

This event has really made me think about my own life; was I where I wanted to be? Was I living to my best potential, or was I taking second best and waiting for the right time to change, a time that never seems to materialize. And was I enjoying the bounty that life had to offer, or was I waiting for some illusive rainy-day to enjoy the coffers of my labor?

Funny how a phone call forced me to take an inventory of my own life. After a few hours of thinking and to some extent grieving, it is clear that that I must clear out all the things that are redundant, and stop doing all the things that do not make my heart sing.

It has been revealing time. I can see from my self inventory - that probably 50% of my life is either baggage or redundant (including some of the people), liabilities that take more from me than they return, habits and beliefs that were past their sell-by date.

It is time to strip things back to the metal, and make myself light, and make it a point of only engaging in the things that delight me.

This is not going to happen over night. But If I start making small changes today and each and everyday forward, hopefuly I will be in a position in my life so that if tragedy strikes unexpectedly (as it is apt to do) and the reaper reapes before my liking, those I leave behind could be happy in my passing, and those I left behind could say 'yea, my dad, my brother, my husband, my son - he was where he wanted to be.'

Are you where you want to be?

Til next time....