Consistency is the Key

Posted by admin on April 15, 2013
Posted in: Personal Development. Tagged: , , , . Leave a Comment

“I pray to be like the ocean, with soft currents, maybe waves at times. More and more, I want the consistency rather than the highs and the lows.”
-Drew Barrymore

I was talking to a friend recently about the power of consistency. He is working to drop a few pounds to get in better shape as he is a college athlete. He said he had been drinking 3 small glasses of soda (approximately the size of a can) at dinner 4 nights a week. I told him that was probably why he hadn’t be able to drop any weight because he was drinking about 500 calories a night, 4 times a week, so he was drinking 2000 calories a week. I did the math and it worked out to like 2 pounds a month and 24 pounds over the year. Just by making that small choice. I have talked about the influence the book. The Compound Effect, by Darren Hardy has had on my life. And this was just another example. That small choice he was making consistently over time was causing his weight loss to slow. Continue Reading

What Are Health Costs Really?

Posted by admin on April 1, 2013
Posted in: Exercise, Nutrition, Personal Development. Leave a Comment

IMG_1207“There’s nothing more important than our good health – that’s our principal capital asset.”
-Arlen Specter

Talking with people about health and nutrition has sparked some interesting thoughts I have been considering over the past few months. I have a unique perspective, because for most of my adult life I have been the opposite of health. I paid no attention to what I ate, how much I weighed, or any health signals along the way. However, once I started losing weight and getting healthier, I started to see how little I had paid attention to my health. It happened slowly over time, so I didn’t really notice the decline in my health. I know it seems weird to think I didn’t notice putting on about 10 pounds a year, but as I got bigger, I tried to avoid anything that reminded me I was getting bigger. I even would think that if I didn’t change, I was going to die soon, yet I still didn’t change my habits. Continue Reading

How to Do Your Best Work

Posted by admin on March 16, 2013
Posted in: Exercise, Personal Development. Tagged: , , , . 3 comments
Enjoying some rest in Hawaii

Enjoying some rest in Hawaii

“Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest”

-Ashleigh Brilliant

If you have been following my blog, you know that I just got back from an 8 day vacation in Hawaii. Obviously, the trip was incredible, but the biggest takeaway I got from the trip was the need for regular rest. I hadn’t taken a vacation in 10 years so the lessons have been hard hitting. First, let me say that I had a distorted view of rest. When I weighed 300+ pounds, I saw laying on the couch all weekend watching TV as rest. However, that never left me feeling refreshed. If anything, I found myself feeling more lethargic and apathetic. And the more I sat around, the less I wanted to do. I just “never had the energy” to take trips or vary from my routine very much. It was easier to just do what I have always done. Continue Reading

How to Start Really Living

Posted by admin on March 14, 2013
Posted in: Personal Development. Leave a Comment
You might miss this if you're not paying attention.

Sometimes I missed scenes like this because I was on my phone. Doh!

“The quality of your life is determined by the richness of your experiences.” 

-Me (I think)

I just recently returned from 8 days in Hawaii. I know its a rough life. While I was headed up the mountain to zip line, the quote above came to me in a moment of inspiration. It seems to good to be my own, so if someone else said it and I accidentally stole it, I’m sorry. But, the point is, that we only have one life, and it is meant to be lived. I spent 10 years working a job I didn’t particularly like, not taking care of myself, and just going through the routine. You know how when you’re doing something you don’t want to do, you just try and distract yourself to help pass the time? Well that’s what I was doing. I watched 4+ hours of TV every day. I regularly spent all weekend on the couch. I never went out. I ate horrible, stayed up too late, and allowed myself to become a cynical and negative person. Now, the crazy thing is, if you had of asked me anytime in that 10 years, I would have told you I was happy. I wasn’t paying attention to my life. I was simply passing the time. What a waste! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I felt like I was just watching other people’s lives for entertainment, while mine just slowly passed by.  Continue Reading

ABL: Always Be Learning

Posted by admin on March 3, 2013
Posted in: Personal Development. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment
Getting ready to check this out on the plane!

Getting ready to check this out on the plane!

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”
-Henry Ford

So in a few hours I board a plane for Hawaii! It’s ok if you’re jealous. But, as I prepare for the plane ride I usually fill my iPad with music and movies for the trip. This time its full of books and instructional videos. I have been learning a lot as I have changed and grown over the past year. Those in the sales world have most likely heard the term, “The ABC’s of Sales”, which is “Always Be Closing.” I don’t have anything cool like that but for the past year have been thinking about ABL: Always Be Learning. No matter what your occupation or passion, we all stand to get better at what we do. I have heard a lot of people talk about getting 1% better every day. What a great concept. As for me, I keep coming back to the ideas from The Compound Effect, just keep doing small positive things consistently over time. So, on my trip I am going to try and learn more about Olympic lifting. How are you improving? Here is a talk given by the author of, The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy. Aloha!

Movement Quality: The Lost Part of Athletic Performance

Posted by admin on February 25, 2013
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a Comment

Injury

So recently I stumbled on the Crossfit Games, and it got me thinking. I wrote a post earlier about improving athletic performance and talked about the importance of movement QUALITY and not just movement QUANTITY. As I watched these athletes perform high levels of reps using terrible form, I was reminded again about how important moving well is. Regardless of whether you want to just get in better shape, be pain free for your lifetime or become a better athlete, movement efficiency is often overlooked. I am not going to bash Crossfit, it is what it is. I am just going to encourage you to move better. Get a movement screen. Find a trainer that will help you move better while you get stronger and more fit. Check out this video of a movement ninja! Email me or comment on this post if you have specific questions.

What the Heck is Kaizen?!

Posted by admin on February 18, 2013
Posted in: Personal Development. Leave a Comment

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“We are built to resist radical change.”

-Robert Maurer Ph. D

When I started my weight loss journey over a year ago, I was armed with the knowledge that small, consistent positive change over time would lead to huge results. I read this in an incredible book, The Compound Effect, by Darren Hardy. That was the premise of his entire book, and then he set up a system to help people implement it in their lives. As I got near the end of my 100 pound goal, I decided to get a tattoo. I wanted it to have some meaning and to commemorate  my journey. I stumbled on the Japanese word, kaizen. It literally means, “good change”. I thought that was perfect. As I kept doing my research, I found out that kaizen, is basically the same idea of the compound effect, and has been the blueprint to all successful life changes I have seen, not just weight loss. Continue Reading