A New Day

Live in the moment. But what does that mean? I read something in Einstein's Dreams about a town where people had no memory beyond the day they were in. They had to consult a book to discover where they lived. Each encounter with their spouse and children was a new one. A new lover every night. Yet the same lover. How do you make love and passion stay?

I have been using this blog as a potential trap for people to discover me and how wonderful I am (and I am) with hopes they would join my network marketing business. It's no scam. It's great and I am planning on retiring early with the money we make from that and our online activities - book sales, e-book sales, affiliate marketing, etc. It's a wonderful life.

But this blog is moving on. My other blog is dedicated to helping people and building business (both at the same time) so this blog is now shifting into my randomness.

Living in the now. Extolled by Ekhardt Tolle. Embraced by me, at least to a degree. I plan for the future and think about the future and live for now.

Self Esteem and Transformation - Bits from the past

Yesterday Deb asked me if I wanted to retain a website that was coming up for renewal. The site is my 10 minute transformation. The odd thing is that I pretty much had totally forgotten about this site. I didn’t even remember if I was using it or not; just thought it was a good domain, actually.

So I entered it into my browser and it contained an e-book and exercise that I had written probably around two years ago. It was, and is, all about using techniques to help re-program your mind to get yourself unstuck and move on to better things. (Sometimes I really wonder where the time goes, and other times I wonder where my memory went.)

It brought to mind a second site I have, Self-EsteemBuilder, which has a similar function, except that one is about how people with good self-esteem have more success in their lives. It also takes you step by step through a process to improve your self esteem. Both these sites have been up and running for a few years and have gotten a fair amount of traffic, but sometimes I wonder if people really take the time to use the information. If you stop by those sites, let me know what you think and what results you have. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Pinch test

I have to get a pinch test and see where I am at with my body fat percentage. As a gut feeling (oh, man, that was not an intentional pun, but I can’t remove it once I type it) I think I am around 15% or so. It really is tough to tell and this is why I always tell people that the scale weight is not the most important issue when it comes to true health.

I have had targets when I am trying to slim down and they always take lean mass into the equation. Thinking about the “prime weight" for a man 5′ 10″ tall, I could be anywhere from 130 to 175. How does that figure? I guess when you have government agencies figuring health guide lines, you get weird answers. That’s all I can figure. I try to stay around 12 to 18 percent body fat, and that works for me. Getting lower, just to prove that I can, well, I can relate to that as well. I think anyone into fitness has a desire at some point to see their abs poking through, but maintaining that while living a normal life with a normal diet is tough once you get past 40 (at least in my experience)

My body mass index (BMI)is currently a 28, which is considered overweight, but that doesn’t take muscle mass into consideration either, so what is the ideal way to figure out what you should weigh? When I was in the military they used the BMI to give max weight allowable, and I was allowed to weigh 179, I think. Really I don’t think there is an ideal weight for a specific height. Even if you are at a low percentage of body fat, having a lot of lean mass still isn’t good for your heart. It is having to work harder pumping blood around your gargantuan frame. It’s your choice how large you want to get through lifting, but in my opinion, you should keep it reasonable. Now make your own decision as to whatever that means.

Thinner people generally live longer and have better stats (heart condition, blood pressure, etc) but that doesn’t mean thinner is better.

just my two cents…

Bush and the Shoe

The thing is that it probably doesn’t even affect Bush. All the crap that he has gone through in the past eight years have him pretty much jaded, I would guess.

How would it affect you? I think the majority of people in this country would probably benefit from having a shoe impact their forehead. I am not advocating podiatric aerial assault here, I am just saying that there are many folks who are sleep-walking through their lives.

How many people around you complain about their jobs, yet do nothing about it? They look forward to complaining for another 20 years. The news is (and this isn’t really news) you can’t count on a lifetime of employment from a single, or even a couple, employers. Gen X and beyond realize this.

Older folks think there isn’t loyalty to companies among youth, but I say why should there be? Truth be told, companies in general don’t much care about their employees beyond getting today’s work done. There are definite exeptions, most notable among privately held smaller companies, but those are not the rule.

The thing is, we need to take care of ourselves. Unless you are working at building multiple streams of income, you are at risk. Work a few hours here and there to build electronic products, do affiliate marketing, network marketing, your own brick and mortar business, a franchise, whatever.

Working at those for a few years, done in the right way, can replace your current income and make you independent of the traditional job you may now hold. Even at that point you may choose to remain with your current employer (if they are still around) but it will be by choice, not because you have to. And that makes all the difference.

Beating Europe at their own game, by golly

I recently read an article that compared fitness and regular use of “active transportation.” What is active transportation, you might ask? I had the same question.

Active transportation means walking, biking or using mass transit. I guess the mass transit is in there because you have to walk to the bus stop or train station. (Unless there has been a change, I am pretty sure that trains and buses aren’t using the Fred Flintstone propulsion method.)

What this all boiled down to was that Europeans burned more calories than the average US citizen – converting to annual pounds lost here’s the score: Europeans 5 to 9 pounds, Americans 2 pounds.

Unfortunately the effect is cumulative, so as time goes by the weight stays with you. If Americans would get more active, we could be losing an additional 3 pounds per year, and perhaps the obesity rate would drop.

What are you doing to contribute to this? One way that you can add exercise to your life without going to extremes is to walk when you would normally ride. Examples: taking stairs instead of the escalator or the elevator, park at the end of the row instead of circling like a vulture looking for that front row space, walking from one end of the strip mall to the other, instead of moving your car a quarter mile.

I realize these aren’t active transportation and don’t have anything to do with your daily commute or driving habits, but they can impact your health by burning a few extra calories a day. Every little bit adds up.

What I read stated that Europeans average 237 miles of walking per year, while Americans averaged 87. Here’s the question, are you competitive? Are you going to let some European walk more than you? I say no. We can walk as well or better (and more) than any other citizen of this planet, by golly! Let’s get out there and do it. I am going to get my 237 miles in before the end of the year, how about you? Let’s see with 14 calendar days left, that’s only 16.9 miles per day. Totally do-able! Well, maybe not. Breaking it down as a realistic goal for next year, that is less than one mile per day. Are you up to the challenge?

Symmetry and Balance - Yin & the Yang

I worked out today and concentrated on my legs. This is something that gets neglected by a certain element of gym rats. I often see guys with huge chest and arms, and they have on sweat pants to cover the toothpicks that are supporting them. This is usually combined with a tank top to show off their well developed arms.

This is the opposite of a pyramid. You need to have a firm strong foundation to any structure and that includes your body. I usually do leg press, squats, leg extensions, leg curls, seated calf raise and standing calf raise. (Calves often get overlooked as well.) Today I found a machine that works the tibialis anterior, which runs parallel to the shin. This is sort of a toe raise exercise - Just one more thing to add into the routine.

Balance doesn’t stop there. You have to think push-pull when you work out. What muscle or muscles are the opposite of what you are working? Think of them as being in pairs; bicep-tricep, back-chest, quads-hams. If you don’t work them evenly, your body will start to ease into the direction of the overworked muscle.

This also applies to the rest of your life. If you spend too much time on the physical, the mental suffers. If you spend too much time on making money, your spiritual side will suffer. Balance in all things.

a video version, of sorts is here

happy holidays

There is a spiritual awakening happening around the world right now that, I think, has organized religion shaking in their boots. People are starting to realize that we are all in this together and that the things that divide us have been artificially created by those who wish to control us.

Do you have the freedom to decide what you think or do you need to have someone decide for you? When I started attending the Unitarian Universalist church (hereafter referred to as the UU) I was informed that it was a stupid group because they didn’t tell you what you had to believe. This was from someone who was told what to believe at least three times a week and would consult church elders if he encountered a situation beyond his ken. In my mind that sounds a lot like brain washing to me, but free will has me accept that everyone makes their choices in life and I am not the judge of others. Sounds similar to a quote from a famous old book, doesn’t it?

I think there is great wisdom to be had in religious doctrine, but I don’t think that all the answers lie there, or that you have to buy the cow to benefit from drinking milk. No disrespect intended in that comment, just a metaphor.
The key to the UU I think is the root word of Unitarian. Isn’t it better to unite in the truth of peace and the golden rule? There are so many thoughts that are universal in all the great teachings. These are the truths, and through studying them all with no pre-judging, you can see that love is weaved through the fabric of them all. Hate is not. Hate not. Judge not. All you need is love.

Don’t’ judge a person because they wear a burka, or a turban. Don’t judge a person because they have a crèche in their yard. Don’t judge if they don’t recognize your god, or if they don’t recognize any god. We have more in common than not. All religions and all groups have their bad apples, but in general we all value life, love and family. Although the real time of the birth of Christ was nowhere near December 25th, let’s take this time to realize that we can have peace on Earth, and not just now, but all year ‘round.

Happy Solstice, Kwanza, Yule, Christmas, Chanukah and Ramadan to all.

Arnold Schwartzenegger and Me

I ghost wrote a book on weight training a few years ago and I thought I would share a few insights that I got from a professional. Most of these are things that I think about on a regular basis, and some I think about as I watch people do things that are incomprehensible to me.
I try to concentrate on the muscle(s) that I am working. Although this may sound like common sense, it definitely isn’t (at least from my observations.) If you want to get the most out of your time at the gym, you should think about this one. Are you going through the motions, but randomly looking around and thinking about anything but what you are doing? If you are doing bicep curls, think about your bicep muscle as you are doing the curl. Have your grip tight on the handle or around the dumbbell. Squeeze it tight. Think about your muscle working constricting, lifting, moving the steel. Feel the fibers in your arm. Lift to your capacity, not some weight that doesn’t challenge you. If you can do twenty reps, stop and increase the weight. If you can’t do six reps, lighten up. You should be doing between six and 12 reps to gain strength.
If you need to use your body to swing the weight up; it’s too heavy for you. Your lift should be coming from your bicep with your elbow relatively stable. Smooth easy motions two or four count as you raise the weight, two to four count as you lower the weight. (that count can be for any exercise you are doing)
I see people doing strange things with dumbbells all the time. If you don’t know what you are doing, ask someone. If you are too embarrassed to admit you don’t know what you are doing, I would suggest The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding written in part by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
If you don’t want to spend the money on that, shoot me an e-mail, and I will answer any questions you may have. I am not a certified expert, but Deb is, and between us we have over twenty years of experience in the gym and have done tons of research and reading.
On a side note, did anyone read the article on Dr. Jeffrey Life that was distributed by the associated press? I’m not endorsing using testosterone or human growth hormone, but it was an interesting article and I’ve meet Dr. Life a few times through “Body for Life” the Bill Phillips book and associated transformation contests. Dr. Life is a really genuine person and is there to help anyone who approaches him.
Stay healthy and keep balance in your life. Until next time…

Healthy Eating - Diet doesn't have to be a four letter word

Healthy Snacks and Meals

Sometimes it's tough to figure out what to eat. Like, I am standing in front of the fridge and staring at the same things and just can't even start to form a plan of attack.

Planning snacks as well as meals is important when you are trying to eat healthy. If you pick up chips at the store expect that you are going to have some; don't try to fool yourself into the "these are jsut for the kids" line. Why would you want your children to eat them anyway? Healthy eating habits have to start young. So what do you do?

I start with the basics. Eat your way through the produce department. There are lots of strange looking things in there that you have probably never trid. I'm in the same place. There are still things that I just look at, pick up, smell and put back. What are we missing out on? Talk to the produce people, preferably the manager. She can tell you how to prepare, what you have to do, what it compares to. Spagetti squash is much different than regular squash. Granny Smith apples are a completely different taste than golden delicious.

Moving on to more complicated (although still simple choices, I really like fruit in cottage cheese. Simple and pretty well balanced. I buy frozen fruit and that makes it even easier. No chopping or slicing that way. Fresh is better, but in the morning I am usually pretty pressed for time (even though I get up way too early)

If you want a slight change on that one, adding yogurt instead of fruit gives your meal a whole different taste. Deb went into her apple pie recipe, so you can check that out as well. Oatmeal thrown into the mix gives you lots more combinations. If you have a favorite recipe, drop us a line or make a comment. the more healthy options we have, the less likely we are to get off track.

Another time I will get into another line of thought on this, which is meal replacement shakes. After years of trying different brands and adding a plethora of ingredients, we have some killer tasting shakes; you;d hardly know they were healthy.

Until next time…

Aerobic Exercise and Heart Health

I have talked before about burning calories is accomplished through the movement of mass over a given distance, and that means that running or walking two miles gives you the same caloric burn. That is just physics talking, and research has shown it to be true.

However that does not take into account the benefits of higher heart rate that will come with jogging, running or any other activity that raises your beats per minute. Aerobic exercise has been proven to reduce your standing heart rate and that is a good thing. Consistent aerobic exercise has also been proven to have a positive impact on blood pressure. Some folks have actually reduced or eliminated the need for blood pressure medication through exercise and proper nutrition. Proper nutrition for pretty much everybody includes taking vitamin and mineral supplements.

Although there still are many people who won't admit that supplements help your body's overall health, even the American Medical Association has finally come on board. According to an article written in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2002, "people who get enough vitamins may be able to prevent such common chronic illnesses as cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis."

20 years prior to that, they were still of the opinion that people could get all the nutrition they needed from eating healthy. With the depletion of our soils, this is no longer the case. The soils in this country, aided by artificial means, are growing beautiful looking plants, but the plants no longer contain the nutrition they once did. With the depletion of the micronutrients in the soil, there isn't much for the roots to draw up into the plants we eat. Some people think that they can bypass that by eating organic foods, but most of the farms that are growing organic, still have not been able to replenish the soil to the degree it had 50 years ago.

I have said in other articles, and I stand by this firmly, that unless you supplement your diet with quality nutritional supplements, your body cannot function to its highest levels. Quality supplements have both the quantity of ingredients you need, and those ingredients are obsorbed by your body in the digestive processes. Unfortunately many multivitamins don't meet those requirements. I urge you to do research on what you are taking, and don't take the manufacturer's word as gold. Anything you are taking should be independently verified as both containing the ingredients listed on the label and that those ingredients are bio-available.

Cardio

Did about 22 minutes of cardio this morning. This is the fifth day of the early rise gym routine. I have a lot of background with running starting with cross country in high school (about a million years ago) Part of running back then was beating back the dinosaurs with our clubs. It was more like today's biathalon instead of running and shooting, we were running and clubbing. Ok, diverted a bit there. It's my comedic nature...

anyway, I was recently training to run a marathon, when I twisted my ankle wicked bad. I was taking out the trash, so the injury was unrelated to the grueling running schedule, but since I was going back to a full time job, I decided not to get back into that time consuming cycle. A little divergent there, as well, but background helps.
My point is that I was asked how someone could increase their speed in their running routine. I suggested interval training, which is what I am doing now.

This is easier to keep track of on a treadmill. Every third minute, boost your speed up a few notches above your normal pace. When that minute is complete, drop the speed back down. Repeat through your run.
After doing that for a half dozen runs, switch it up. This means that the faster pace is kept for two out of every three minutes. After another half dozen runs you should be able to have the entire run at the new faster pace.

I am not talking about jumping a significant amount. If your normal pace is 5 mph, the increased pace might be 5.2 mph. If you keep the interval training going, after a few months the pace should be up to maybe 5.5 or 5.6 mph. Do only what you feel comfortable with, and always consult your doctor before starting any exercise program.

On another note, I have now lost 5 pounds since starting at the gym 11 days ago. This is a combination of eating better (not eating great, but better - more whole foods) and the exercise. Next week I am going to start the Reset program. The average weight loss on that five day program is 6 pounds. We'll see what kind of numbers I can put up.

Pursuit of Happyness

I recently watched an older Will Smith movie, Pursuit of Happyness, where his character lost mostly everything, but kept taking steps to reach his goals. It really has many life lessons built into it, yet stays entertaining and engrossing. (at least to me it did)

It reminded me that we all have goals and obstacles that we need to overcome to achieve those goals. How large are your goals? What do you hope to accomplish and what do you need to do to get there?

I've talked a few times about having specific steps to reach goals, but the thing is that in the middle of everything, life comes along and throws a wrench into the gears ( or a spanner into the works, for my English readers) then what you do defines you.

Do you shrug your shoulders and say, "Oh, well..." or do you grit your teeth and build a bridge over the barrier?

I have friends in the network marketing business who have taken years to build their business to a level where it supports great lifestyles, and I have some friends who took literally a couple months to get to the same level. What do they have in common? They didn't quit, they had a plan and they stuck to it. Fighting the good fight until you win.

I have to occasionally tell myself not to get discouraged and to know there are curveballs that get thrown at me. As long as I keep going, life gets better. Joining a business, you have to know that with mentors and a plan, with vision and tenacity, with hard work and persistence, you can be where you want to be. The pursuit of happiness will turn into living a life of fullness and happiness.

Vision and Action

How do you see yourself in ten years? Not a rhetorical question. Unless you can picture yourself in ten years and visualize the steps it will take to get there, how are you going to get there?

I truly believe the best way to attain goals is to believe that you have already attained them. What does that mean? It means holding a vision in your head and heart. It means having the feeling of accomplishment even before you start physically doing the things that will make it a reality. Create that new life, that new car, that new ________. Create it in your mind and it will come to be.

Lots of people have seen The Secret and Pass it On and movies of that nature and Create their vision and then are dissapointed that it doesn’t come to pass, but nothing happens unless you take action. Take for example the mastermind group (leadership team) that Deb and I are a part of. Deb and I had to work to become part of that team and we have to continue to work to retain our position on that team. That involved a detailed business plan.

That plan included a vision statement that had to be detailed and specific about where we are in the future. Not where we want to be in the future, but where we are in the future. All details present tense. It also included steps we have taken to get there and details of those steps. Blogging is one of my details; it keeps my path defined and is the stepping stones on that path.

Vision and Action - two huge parts of success.

Many more articles hereleadership

21 days

It takes 21 days to make or break a habit. Think about that for a minute. This could be going to the gym, quitting smoking, eating breakfast, quitting drinking, or whatever else you can think of.

When I quit smoking, it was cold turkey. (why is that so appropriate this time of year? I wish I had some cold turkey to make a sandwich)Back to the quitting smoking, the physical cravings are supposed to be gone in 5 to 10 days, but the mental ones are done at 21. Not that the feeling of something missing isn't there occasionally, but the mental 'habit' is gone.

What would you like to start or stop? For me, it's getting up early to go to the gym. Today was day 1 of that. I got on the scale the other day, and I weighed 202. Not good. When I was training to run the marathon (October 2007) I weighed in at 175. That was a lot of miles, but I have sworn to keep it under 200 ever since I was at around 220. Time to get it done. video version

Self Esteem = Success

No matter what anyone tells us, we most believe the things we tell ourselves. I am not talking about talking out loud, of course, but of the self-talk that we all have going on inside our heads all the time. How many times have you talked yourself out of something before you take the first step? Sometimes this really serves us, and sometimes it prevents us from achieving our goals.

Do you wonder why you don’t succeed when you see other people that seem less likely to succeed do better than you do? It’s not that you wish them to fail; you just wonder why they didn’t. Do you blame other people for your failure? Do you think they had a teacher that made the difference, and you missed out on that information? That may be the case, but the greatest teachers in the world do not make so much of an impact if the student is not ready for the lessons.

To be better prepared for the lesson, you need to be comfortable with yourself. Many people are putting on a front; showing their ‘best face,’ when all along their best face is their true self. Why do they do that? In most cases it is because we are uncomfortable with ourselves. You are more amazing and wonderful than you realize. No one else on the planet has had the experiences you have had, or can do all the things that you are capable of, yet when someone compliments you on a job well done, do you brush off the compliment? Have you ever said, “oh, that’s nothing” when you get a compliment? That is an insult to the person who gave it to you. You are telling them that they don’t know what they are talking about.

Perhaps it is you who doesn’t know. It is self-esteem raising its’ head. Think back on your life. You have had some amazing successes in your life, yet you may not like to acknowledge them. Maybe you have been ‘on your own’ since you graduated high school. Maybe you didn’t graduate, but are still making it in the world. Perhaps your successes are bigger or smaller than those. Think about your past and admit to yourself that you are special. There are people around you who are so grateful to have you in their lives, whether they say so or not. Maybe they have said so in the past, but you didn’t know how to handle that, or maybe you said thank you when you got the compliment.

The successes you have had, when added together and spoken aloud can greatly increase you self-confidence. Whether you think the world of yourself and go proudly about your business, or if you are a wall flower at a gathering, you can use a boost to your self-esteem and self-confidence.
Free tool to Build Self Confidence
Free tool to Build Self Confidence

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EFA's (Essential Fatty Acids) and their impact on health

this is the 25cent tour:
By now you have probably heard about the benefits of having more "Omega-3" fatty acids in your diet, and if you haven't it is time that you looked into it. Even the Food and Drug Administration, not known for being on the cutting edge, has jumped on the bandwagon with their less than stellar endorsement, "Supportive, but not conclusive research shows that consumption of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of heart disease." From any other organization that might not sound like much of an endorsement, but from the FDA, it's nearly as good as it gets.




Other research has shown that Omega-3 fatty acids can help support heart and brain health, blood pressure, skin health, joint health and eye health. Another area that has seen benefits is the weight loss arena, and most people in the US and worldwide, could use a little help with that.




At this point you might be asking; what is an omega-3 fatty acid, anyway? You aren't alone in asking this question. There are three acids that are considered to be part of this unique group, ALA or alpha-linolenic acid, DHA or docosahexaenoic acid and EPA or eicosapentaenoic acid. We'll break these three down a little bit to enhance better understanding.




ALA can be found in a variety of natural sources. These include, but are not limited to, flax, chia, kiwi, hemp and soybeans. ALA, like all the O-3's, is not produced naturally in the body, but must be introduced through natural foods or supplements. Some studies have found a positive link between ALA and cardiovascular health.




Some fish oils have been found to be rich in DHA. Commercially manufactured DHA is generally made from microalgae. DHA is metabolized by the body to produce docosenoids, a very potent hormonal family. DHA may also help to combat cardiovascular disease. Some studies also indicate that it may help to combat some neurological diseases such as ADHD, Alzheimer's disease and others.




EPA can be gotten by eating fish or taking fish oil supplements. Some varieties of fish that contain EPA are cod, mackerel, salmon and sardine. Those fish in turn did not produce the EPA through internal processes, but rather through consumption of microalgae. EPA has been found, in some studies to combat inflammation and can also help with neurological disorders.




Most people get a good portion of Omega 6 fatty acids in their diets, because that comes from commonly consumed items such as bread, beef, chicken and eggs, but they don't get the Omega-3's to balance that out. It is generally recommended to get at least a 3:1 ration of omega-6 to omega-3's; some experts think there should be a 1:1 ratio. Because most people don't eat a great deal of fish or consume quantities of olive oil or flax, one alternative is taking Omega-3 supplements.




If you choose to take supplements, I would ensure that the supplements you take have a high degree of bio-availability. Many products on the market, including Omega-3's, vitamin and mineral supplements have 100% of the recommended daily allowance, but the products are not absorbed by your body and at best produce expensive by-products. Some of the pills and tablets never even dissolve in your system and simply pass tight through you, intact.




Not to end this article on a negative note, I will say that we have come a long way in the past ten years. Only a short while ago the FDA didn't even think that supplementation was needed. Now they have faced up to the reality that the food we consume does not contain the nutrition our bodies so desperately need. This endorsement by the FDA has legitimized many findings and has spurred our research community to find things that can help us with the onslaught of debilitating disease. I highly recommend finding supplements that are backed by scientific testing by independent laboratories and make sure those supplements have a high degree of bioavailability.

too long

It's been a crazy year, and things are finally settling down again.
quick updates:
I moved into a new house
I am working as a trainer, corporate stuff, communication, equipment, etc - manager, actually.

I helped form a paranormal association, and have been on quite a few ghost hunts. More on that in future posts. Http://www.GhosthuntersPA.com

I joined a comedy improv troop, http://www.DutchBlitzkrieg.com

I am starting a new business, http://www.TheAllHealthNetwork.com to help people get healthier and grow and market their business online.

I totaled my motorcycle one month ago, and had to take time off the training schedule. I am back to the gym now and feeling better than in a long long time. Amazing the power of good nutrition and supplements to help me recover so quickly.

Upline support Open hearts and home

It's really incredible. Heshie and Werner, my mentors in USANA have opened up their minds and their home this weekend. They invited 18 people to a four day boot camp to teach us some of their skills. Heshie is a speaker and motivator and prior president of the national speakers association and owner of the JetNetting Connection. Werner recently became the oldest westerner to climb Mount Everest at age 69!! he did management training for fortune 500 executives and is a totally amazing person. They brought us into their home for the bootcamp and are pouring their experience and knowledge into us. (there is also talk of another camp for leadership)

think about that - a four day camp with two recognized experts - in their home - spending the night there, eating laughing sharing, learning, growing. free. (everyone pitched in for food and such...)
How many people have that support in their organization? I've never heard of anything like it before. would you be interested in having support like that...with a product that is independently rated as the best in north america?

Many companies claim to have the best product and have endorsements of celebrities and doctors, but how many are independently judged as being the best of the best? there can be only one...

contact me if you are willing to work hard to secure a phenomenal financial and healthy future for yourself and your family.

"Captain and Crew" Saved from Mutiny from the Bountiful

A parallel story to my alien hand article is something from "the Master Key System" and "Mentors in Motion" called the Captain and Crew.
The Captain is your conscious mind, the crew, your subconscious mind. Who calls the shots?

So often it is your subconscious mind, unfortunately. How much of what you do and who you are, is determined by echos of the past? Do you feel ugly because some kid in seventh grade called you ugly on a regular basis? (even though it wasn't true) the mental beating of those events scarred me for years. I had no self esteem. All the times people gave compliments didn't help to overcome the echos of "hey ugly."
I had to have my captain order my crew to stop believing those untrue things that were trapped deep inside. It wasn't an easy battle in my mind, and really sometimes that echo still surfaces.

I have trouble sometimes talking to people about business. Will they be offended that I am wanting to improve their lives? No. They'll say no if they are not interested, and won't think anything more about it. yet somehow, sometimes that fear of rejection still holds me back. Even though I have people e-mailing me their phone numbers, sometimes I still hesitate. They want me to call.

Luckily I am getting past that. I think it was from doing lots of cold calls and having rejection slap me in the face. No more. It's nothing personal, I know that, as the captain. The crew is getting the order. We are moving on.

The Master Key System is the basis for the movie "The Secret" and that movie changed my live. It made me realize that I am in control and self mastery was the first step to massive success.

Friday

Is it the weekend already? we have rehearsal tomorrow and I am working at the theater saturday and sunday. We are fixing the ceiling there (finally) Hopefully some roofing work will ensure the new ceiling doesn't get the water damage the old one did. The theater is always short of money, so it will be great when I can afford to really donate to the cause; that and other charities. We already give more than we can afford, but there are bigger things in life than money.

Farmer McGregor and Peter Rabbit

It’s Wednesday and like usual I have lost track of the days. Working at home definitely has its advantages, but time keeping isn’t one of them. If my two younger kids weren’t still going to school I probably would really lose track. For the most part, I don’t care what day it is, but now I am involved in two different plays and I have to keep track for rehearsals. One of them is on the underground railroad and I am a reluctant abolitionist. The other is about Beatrix Potter. I play four different roles in that one; Farmer McGregor, Jeremy Fisher, a tourist and Edwin Moore(the father of nine children.) The best part of the show is that Deb, Steph and Zack are also in it, so it’s a family thing.

The Return

I get the pleasure of driving to the Philadelphia airport today. Deb's flight is coming in around 3pm and the weather doesn't look great. I am so grateful that the precipitation is rain, not snow.
I am looking forward to Deb's return, so I can deal with the traffic and the airport and all the joy that entails. : )

Gratitude

Yeah, more stuff about gratitude. I am looking back at the past year and thinking how happy I have been. I think it's been the best year of my life (and things are only going to get better)

San Francisco Treat

Deb is out in San Francisco to see "The Full Monty" Our friend Chris is one of the stars in the show; he's playing Dave, who I think is the best character in the show. They plan to go to Alcatraz while they are out there, but sadly, I think no Rice a Roni is planned. :( Deb doesn't really like rice much anyway...
She'll be back Monday. I miss her already. I hate sleeping alone, and we are together all the time normally, so it's just so wrong when she's not here.
it's like an empty space in my house and heart.

A Speck of Dust

Yesterday I was heading to the hardware store to buy some mouse traps. We live in the country and when winter rolls in, so do the mice. On the way to the store I passed the farmer's market and remembered that I needed a new battery for my watch. (I got a great watch as a reward for making the Platinum Pacesetter in my USANA business, but it wasn't keeping time.)

I knew there was a man at the market who did battery replacement and watch repair.
The guy checked the battery and said it was good. He added some lubricant and took a swab and cleaned out the works. He said that sometimes a bit of dirt will get into a gear and cause some hesitation. That hesitation when multiplied causes the watch to lose a second here or there, and it all adds up.

Does this apply to business? Do you sometimes hesitate when action should be taken, and think nothing of the delay? My watch was losing an hour a week; what are my hesitations costing me?

Having a professional fix my watch corrected the problem. I could have taken it apart, replaced the battery and poked around. i might have fixed it, or broken it.

Having a mentor or a mastermind group in your life is just like that.

New contacts

Had three opt in's to our PCN page and contacted all of them. Also did a presentation for our USANA business. Looks like a friend, David, may be signing in this weekend. Deb also has a meeting with Bonnie to talk about USANA. That business keeps growing.
It's great to have more folks in our businesses. I am a money magnet. woot.

Mentoring

It's a new year and 2008 is going to be a breakthrough year for us. The best way to make progress and get out of our ruts in through mentoring and mastermind groups. You get out what you put in...