action, adaptation, awareness, Beliefs, hope, life

Don’t wait for Perfect.

Case-by-case basis.

One of the things that I have learned in my life so far is that life is not perfect.

I learned long ago not to expect it to be. The thing is, Life was never meant to be perfect and it (Life) never will be. This is just one sub-set of the significant area of Awareness.

You can address this imperfection in life in many ways and determine the response on a ‘case-by-case’ basis. A sound strategy, theoretically anyway.

Feel the hurt, the disappointment.

One way I have adapted to this truth that ‘life is not perfect’ is just trying to be the best I can be. I learned this a long, long time ago from one the best teachers I have ever had in my life, about life – my grandfather.

He was a man of few words but he was wise. A few times I returned from school with less than expected results and I felt disappointed, he would always say to ‘feel’ the hurt, the disappointment.

My grandfather would sit down with me and say “be the best you can be, boy! Be the best you can be. That’s all you have to do.” The operative word is ‘trying’ as sometimes one’s patience can be tested. I strongly believe that you just have to make the very best of it – Life that is.

Learn from your errors and try not to repeat it. Every error, every mistake is just a reminder that you’re human and that you are far from perfect. In all situations. Try to be proactive. Choosing to respond rather than to react.

Have an open mind and an open heart.

To fully immerse yourself in life, I think you have to have an open mind and an open heart. Having a closed mind and heart can be very limiting to you. With this open mind and open heart, you can fully embrace whatever life offers you – good and bad, scary and friendly.

Life could offer you either the ugly or the beautiful. Most of the time you don’t know what to expect. Reminds me of that line Tom Hanks said in the “Forest Gump” movie:

“Life is like a box of chocolate. You never know what you’re gonna get.”

And do you know why?

Simply because life is not perfect. Don’t make it out to be.

I say, reach out and absorb everything life hands out to you – the good and the bad; the scary and the friendly and the ugly and the beautiful. Absorb everything. Respond sufficiently and appropriately. Adapt accordingly.

Then say thank you to your God.

Be present, everywhere.

You may ask why? Well, for one thing – you’re alive! Wherever you are (as you read this) – be here, be there.

Be present, everywhere. You have 86,400 seconds a day. My challenge to you is to live, really live those 86,400 seconds. Everyday. Hint: be present….. Except for those 28,800 seconds you’re asleep.

Life doesn’t get any better than this – in the “NOW”, that is …. For now, anyway.

Because the one thing we all have in us is our innate ability to HOPE, but not just hope, we need ACTIVE Hope. Active Hope is believing “it will be” and having the courage to take sufficient and appropriate actions towards making it a reality. “It” being whatever it is you desire so deeply.

Never stop believing. Never.

And don’t wait for Perfect …. To happen before taking action. Before making a decision/taking the opportunity/making a choice. And we all know what happens when we choose, don’t we?

We are responsible.

All the very best in your decisions and continue to be more inquisitive about life.

Until next time,

action, adaptation, ageing, life

Give ‘The Finger’ and feel good about it.

It was only yesterday that I had to GIVE ‘the finger’. And I felt good about it.

You must be thinking, “gee Paul, isn’t that a bit vulgar?!”

Well, you’re entitled to think what you want to think, but before you form an opinion, read a little further.

I give ‘the finger’ at least once a week here in Sydney and it gives me a sense of gratitude when I do. For me, this gesture that involves “the finger” is just one of the many ways, however small it is, to GIVE.

Yes, you read right – to GIVE. I really feel great when I give ‘the finger!’.

Let me elaborate…

Olivia and I were on our way home from our ‘Daddy-daughter’ excursion yesterday. As we turned off the main road, I slowed the car as I saw an elderly lady on the curb wishing to cross.

I came to a complete stop, looked up at the lady as I raised ‘the finger’ (my index finger) and she smiled at me.

The finger was raised (some of you probably raise the hand) with a little nod of the head and a responsive smile, acknowledging her and giving her right of way to cross the road. The elderly lady slowly made her way, moving her aged frame, step by step past the front of the car. I studied her movements and tried to ‘feel’ the discomfort she was feeling as she walked.

My observations told me that she obviously had postural issues that impacted on her ease of mobility (in this case, simply walking). It appeared she had excessive scoliosis and her gate was severely limited. And the expression on her face gave me some idea of the pain she was experiencing each step she took.

But I wondered, no I am certain she wasn’t always like this. She once was walking straighter, bouncing around full of vitality and walking as if there wasn’t a care in the world. When she was younger …. Part of HER STORY.

Everyone has a story. She is writing hers as you are the author of yours.

It makes me think about the millions of other aged persons in the world who experience unwanted discomfort in carrying out the most basic of tasks like walking, every single day. Not a nice way to live out the remainder of their lives.

It is a slippery slope for a lot of older men and women from a physical stand-point. For all of us actually as we are constantly ageing.

Fewer skeletal muscles due to atrophy and lack of muscle-use compounds the difficulties experienced in mobility (refer to my previous blog for top 3 pointers to get started).

But the thing is – physical pain is not the worst part!

No, I believe it is the mental, spiritual and emotional pain.

The lack of mobility leads to the worst problem: the persons’ deteriorating ‘sense of self’ and ‘self-worth’ and ‘self-image’. Now this is where the risk is highest. An exaggerated view of the lack of the above issues can cause an accelerated journey towards the grave. Why? Because I think they lose their dignity. Nobody likes to lose their sense of dignity… and should not be allowed to.

Nobody. Every person has a STORY.

Remember: it is never too late to start a weight-bearing exercise program. Never too late, no matter how old you are and how out of condition you are in.

Start. Today. Start – Now!

Two or three times per week. Put yourself in that old lady’s shoes. Seize life by the horns and take back control of your state of mind to lead you towards building muscles. Take back control of your body. Your spirit. Take care of your WHOLE – SELF.

Think about it.

Build this anti-ageing magical essence (muscle) and EMPOWER the most important person in the world to you: YOU. You have the power in your hands now to partially help your state of dignity in old age. Put those weights in your hands and lift. Lift as if your life depended on it!

The sad thing is that IT DOES. The quality of your last 20 years of your life in old age depends on the available muscle you have. Do yourself that favour before it is too late.

Back to my drive with Olivia ….

As the old lady approaches the other side of the road she looks back, produces a thankful smile and GIVES me ‘the finger’ too.

I was grateful for that gesture. I gave respect and she returned it. Thank you.

I smile again in response and say a little prayer for her as I stepped on the accelerator and drive off home with a sense of gratitude but also a sense of sadness too.

A sadness in my heart for the pain and discomfort that that lady and many aged persons like her in the world experience every single day, slowly eating away at their dignity and quality of life.

The scary thing is that these ‘aged-related illnesses’ are increasingly affecting younger generations today, but I will leave that observation for a future blog.

If there is one gift you could buy yourself or your mum/dad or grandparents that could have the biggest impact on a life – buy them a gym membership and get them help to empower themselves (physically). That could turn out to be the most important gift you may ever buy for you or your loved ones.

Everyone now, all raise ‘the finger’ to yourself in the mirror and just DO IT! Remind yourself about what “the finger” represents – respect. Respect to YOU.

“Do what? “, I hear you say.

I say: “Build, protect and preserve your muscles. It WILL serve you well in the years ahead.”

All the best in your decision.

Until next time,

Side Triceps.
Australian Natural Bodybuilding Championships.
Lost by 2 points.
Final placing: Runner-up.

action, ageing, awareness, body, diet, eating, life

Muscle: the REAL potion of youth.

Remember this: the older you get, the more important muscle becomes.

Believe me, I have seen the anti-ageing effects of continuous muscle-training in all ages, particularly the aged. Muscle is the real potion of youth, the real anti-ageing substance.

It is very important that you factor this in to your life now: build muscle and preserve it with everything you have got. You don’t need to look try to build so much muscle to try to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was younger or the current Mr Olympia, nor do you need to look like Ms Figure Olympia either.

However, the more muscle you have and keep will lower the risk that your last 20 years of your life isn’t the most unpleasant experience of your life.

It is your ‘preventative insurance’ for the quality of life you will have in the last quarter of your life.

Plan now. Act now.

If you’ve noticed, most of today’s messages in the health industry focuses on us doing everything we can to reduce our risks of heart attack other heart-related illnesses and the benefits in the short-term (ie. Weight-loss, muscle building etc). Well and good.

But it is the long-term that we should all be focused on. Don’t get me wrong, these messages are important but I believe they lose their relevance as we move in to the second half of our lives, particularly after 60 years. I have concluded this in my observations of men and women past 50 years in the gym over the last 23 years.

As we move through our 50s and then 60s, one of our main focuses in life is about thwarting the natural progression of ageing towards, which is ‘slowing down’. When the body ‘slows down’, it fundamentally means that the body’s systems won’t work as well as they once did, and you don’t have to look very far to observe examples of this. Look at your own family or extended family. Are your perceptions of your older parents and grandparents changed? Are they showing symptoms of ageing already? What about you?

This is where your ‘muscles’ are able to assist you. But first you have to be willing to help them.

The deterioration of self, due to ageing is inevitable and some ‘rust’ will form and illness can set you back. However, the potion of youth – your muscles can ‘off-set’ the on-set of ageing. Specifically, it is what you eat and do to support them that can slow down the deterioration rate (like the depreciation rate of a car).

This, my friends, is the ultimate benefit of all those hours of sweating with the weights in the gym – it is more of a long term strategy, like superannuation. You will have the POWER to make the most of the 20 or 30 or so years ahead.

Why?

Well, people use to ‘kick-the-bucket’ naturally much younger in the recent past. Now, medical advances has meant we are living much longer than our forefathers did. Living longer is important but it is not the most important thing. Why would you want to live out the rest of your life not being able to carry out normal daily activities pain-free. I think it is more important to make the most of the extra 20 to 30 years.

This, however, is dependent on you finding ways to keep your body (especially your muscles) and brain going.

From what I have deduced from helping hundreds of elderly people in the gym over the last 20 + years is: that the key to living long and having a quality life after 60 is not just to avoid illnesses. No, the key is mostly – your muscles.

Yes, your muscles!

They do more than just move you around and ‘flex’ and extend when you need them to. They hold the keys to your anti-ageing formula but the important thing to remember is your muscles are more vulnerable than you think. If you don’t already know, apart from the aesthetic benefits of muscle, it does much more for you. After water, protein is the 2^nd most abundant substance in your body and protein is the building blocks of your precious potion: muscles.

Muscle helps every one of your body’s cells and organs. It helps reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes and ensures that your brain gets the fuel it needs to function optimally to ensure that the body’s functions operates optimally too.

So, if your body is to have any chance at all of enduring the retirement plans you’ve made for the years ahead, it needs your help. NOW.

You need to treat the investment you make in your muscles now and in to your old age as you would your financial security in old age.

How, you may be asking yourself?

Here are my top pointers:

Ensure you consume adequate daily protein levels.
1. I have concluded that most adults consume less than adequate levels of daily protein for their age and lifestyles. Understand this, just like a car, your body amasses normal wear and tear as the years pile up. Your body needs protein for repair and muscle re-building. You need more of some things when you’re older than you did when you were younger and PROTEIN is one of them.
Your muscles have memory and need a re-minder
1. We all need some reminder in life that we are ‘needed’ and the same goes for muscles. You have muscles everywhere and it is vital that you focus on working your ‘whole body’ when you train with weighted resistance.
Design a program that includes: resistance training, relevant cardio exercises and flexibility and balance routines to help stave off the debilitating effects of ageing.

It is vital that you remember that your immune system ‘steals’ from your muscles every single day, just to function normally, but particularly when you’re ill or it notices a ‘foreign’ substance in the body. You can start to lose a lot of muscle if you have more than 3 days of immobility and being bed-rested.

Don’t speed up the process of ageing by resting more than you should. Lying around robs you of muscle which you cannot afford to lose. Stay active as much as you possibly can.

“See” the nexus between the effort you invest in your muscles now and the quality of your daily life in your old age.

Save yourself first – NOW for a better quality life in your future. Invest in your muscles today for a better life tomorrow. It would certainly make your mobility during your travel plans in old age much more enjoyable.

All the best in your decision.

Until next time,

Most muscular pose.
World Natural Bodybuilding Championships, NY USA.
Represented: Australia.
Placing: 4th.

a better life, action, adaptation, adequate sleep, ageing, awareness, balance, belief systems, Beliefs, better choices, care empathy, caring, change, change management, children, choices, compassion, creation, dads, dads love, daughters, Energy, examined life, game of life, God, habits, kids, life, long-term perspective, mind, needs, parenting skills, perseverance, relationships, responsibility, self discipline, self improvement, self love, self-respect, sleep, Vitality, you, your life

I am.

My young gritty Viking Pirate Prince already getting in touch with his “feminine side’ and enjoying beauty – in cars, watches, buildings … and others
He has the best coach in the world at his disposal.

A Restful mind in Sleep is a peace of Mind.

Sleep consumes one third of our lives. Yet, most people know little about this daily excursion into our inner world. The exact functions of sleep and dreaming have been debated over the ages but are still not really known.

Sometimes we all find it difficult to fall asleep when we want to, laying there staring at the ceiling, tossing and turning.

Feeling restless.

You may have too much on your mind or not much at all. You may be over-tired or you may not be. You may simply feel restless even though you seek restfulness. For whatever reason, we all find it difficult to fall asleep when we want to. Sometimes.

Some of us, more than others.

I AM.

I. AM.
GOD?

I play many games with my children. They keep evolving. I like to think I do, too.

One particular game I play with my kids is one I call “I AM”.

You see my son has had problems for a while now falling asleep in his bed. As a result my wife and I take multiple trips to and from his room to try and settle him to sleep at night. Most of the time we just let him sleep in our bed. Most of the time he gets away with it. Until not too long ago, I introduced the game to him.

“What’s the name of the game, daddy?” asked my son Zachary.

I said it was called “I am”.

“How do you play it?” asks Zach.

I told him that the objective of the game was for him to say “I am” to every question I asked him. Only that phrase but with a few conditions for him to adhere to:

Lay still
Look me in the eyes
Whisper the answer “I am”

It’s been successfully implemented on almost every night I put my son to sleep. He doses off to sleep as he repeats the answer of “I am” to every question I ask him, most of the time with a little smile on his face.

Every time.

I thought up this game for two main reasons:

To get him to fall asleep with improved regularity and with minimum resistance
To condition his neuro-wiring as a foundation for his strength of mind

My gritty Warrior Viking Pirate 🏴‍☠️ prince 🤴

I know reason number 1 has been achieved so far.

As modern neuroscience confirms sleep (including napping) is critical for the health of your brain and you as a human being. Brain health, neurotransmitter release and sleep are intimately entwined. Studies suggesting that psychiatric disorder and neurodegenerative disease are often connected to some form of sleep/circadian rythym disruption.

So, work on improving your sleep patterns and focus on quality of sleep rather than quantity for your overall health.

Responsible for transmission of critical electrical, chemical & hormonal messages -internal communication

Who’s daddy’s … ?

I will know if reason number 2 is achieved in about 10 years and probably for the rest of his life. Time will tell the fruitfulness of this game that will ultimately be for his benefit.

The questions I ask him are repeated and are quite similar to these:

Who’s daddy’s smartest boy? …. And he would say … “I am”.
Who’s daddy’s kindest boy?
Who’s daddy’s strongest boy?
Who’s daddy’s fastest boy?
Who’s daddy’s caring boy?
Who’s daddy’s happiest boy?
Who’s daddy’s loving boy?
etc

Zachary would fall asleep answering “I am” to every question some of which I repeat. My daughter Olivia, who is two years older does not have problems falling asleep but I also play the game with her.

She loves it. Calms her down even further.

A “sense” of who they are is learned from the first man of significant influence in their lives –
us. Dads.

The power sitting dormant in your subconscious mind.

Just like the many other universal principles in life like for example, water seeks its own level or that matter expands when heated. It is a universal truth that whatever you impress on your subconscious mind is expressed in the physical realm.

It is akin to saying a prayer and your prayer is answered because your subconscious mind is principle. Like all principles, the facts are universal and unchangeable. It is just the way things operate.

Not sometimes. All of the time.

True?
Neuroscience is still at the level of where medicine was in the 1700s
A long way to fully understand who we are….
Who “I AM.”

The Power of Belief.

The subconscious mind works according to the law of belief. The Bible and probably most other religious texts is littered with examples of the power of belief.

I see my children’s minds as a bed of rich soil that will grow whatever types of seeds I plant and intend to grow. I believe in the power of prayer and the law of belief and why this game of “I am” aims to sow thoughts of happiness, goodwill, right action and success in my children’s minds.

Believe or not believe.
Get your ass off the pole of the fence (stop sitting on the fence!)
Choose.

Hopefully, the magic of the ‘compound effect’, like compound interest on a loan or investment … with time, these wonderful seeds of thought in the garden of their minds, will reap a generous harvest for them.

I have always believed that “the world within creates the world without”. This is a truth and there is a definite link between the subconscious and your conscious minds. As I have discovered in my life, and part of my line of work in helping others achieve their best and their goals – the subconscious mind is very sensitive to your conscious mind.

I learned something from my grandfather when I was very young – that nothing can stop you or anyone … but all is as thinking that makes it so.

Watch your thoughts, I say.

Learning and absorbing our habits every single day of their initial phase of their lives is what our young Princes do.
Teach them well.

Learn and apply the most important & powerful LINK.

Having a deeper understanding of this link gives you the power to help accomplish your goals. It is effectively praying and communicating to God.

Believe or not believe.

Prayers always get answered but you have to be a believer. This unwavering belief happens to be the law of the mind.

You have to believe in belief itself!

I will assist in being the captain of their ship in their early years of life, helping them navigate their conscious mind with the understanding that their young subconscious minds will take and accept as true what they confirm in their ‘I am” answers before falling asleep.

A ‘sick day’ from school day for us here, 4 years ago now.
Enjoying the entertainment at Sydney’s beautiful Luna Park.
I never let schooling interfere with my or my family’s education.

Simple is uncomplicating Beauty.

“I am”: a very simple, yet powerful affirmation of nobody else but – ‘you’. An affirmation of the communication from your conscious mind to your subconscious mind. It is simple, yet complex … and Un-complicating of Real Beauty.

A prayer. Repeated.

Beauty comes in the human form.
It is a living masterpiece.
On display, from a masterful poser/artist, the human body exemplifies beauty and truth rolled in to vibrating ball of flow of muscle.
The hard part is to CREATE beauty. We all have the ability within us.
To create a beauty through the human form is genius.
Providing the scaffolding for your childs(ren) character building towards a ‘beautiful character’ is like sculpturing a great physique.
Everything matters, however, small it is.
GIGO for their minds:
If you want to create champions and leaders , feed them daily champion & leadership thoughts.

Try it, see how you feel after a month.

Try this game with your kids and see if it helps with their sleeping. Try it for a month. The main benefit however, is in the strengthening of the mind. Just like building good quality muscles you have got to be persistent and consistent with daily application of the relevant principles.

You could even try it with older kids (adults) too. Maybe even you. Just change the affirmation questions and find a quiet time and place (preferably just before falling asleep) and create a better you.

Create a better life from within starting with “I am”.

The old Cap’n Viking Pirate.
Me, a Simple-complex Man.

Remember: you reap (your destiny) what your sow (your seeds of thought).

Until next time,

Cheers & Ahoy!!

The Old Cap’n Viking Pirate … & thoughts and words on belief, subconscious mind and I am.

The Brain 🧠.
The mind.
I AM.

action, awareness, Goals

The inspiration in YOU.

It has only been a few hours in to the New Year’s first day and I have just woken up. I sit here in my bed typing this blog.

My kids have woken up, got their dose of holiday chocolates from me and are watching their favourite morning cartoon tv. My wife is reading articles on her tablet.

A typical day in the Valentine household in this phase of our life.

We witnessed a fantastic New Year’s Eve fireworks display on Sydney’s Harbour bridge and surrounding areas at 9pm last night. Our children loved it. My son asked to be lifted on to my shoulders on our 3 minute walk home and fell asleep by the time we returned. What a day and night it was for both of them. Stimulated on all their senses to the nth degree.

The day before, I met an old University mate at a local tavern for a few drinks and catch up as we watched Australia play test cricket on the big screen. The venue was packed. You didn’t have to strain very hard to overhear other patrons’ conversations. There were all sorts of topics – relationships, politics, the state of the economy, the state of the world and personal affairs and so on. One particular conversation struck me for the briefest of moments and it went something like this:

“Where did the year go aye mate?” I heard the person sitting in the table to the left of me say.

“I don’t know, just been so busy” came a reply.

“Yep, very busy for me too” confirmed the first speaker.

Got me thinking.

Got me thinking about time and moments and the insatiable desire to ‘rush’ through life.

As I reflect on that piece of conversation and the year that has been I ask myself questions about the speeded up, frentic culture that most of us live in our modern world and the best use of our time, of our 86,400 seconds of each day.

Most of us talk about being ‘busy’ like it was an Olympic sport. Everyone seems to be going through their day and subsequently, their year ‘busier’ than everyone else they know. So much so, that if they weren’t doing something productive, wise or useful, they would experience a sense of panic.

Have you sensed that panic?

Whilst I can understand the desire to be busy, or at least looking busy (most office workers would know this especially if there is an ‘open plan office layout’), I argue that going at ‘full throttle’ all day, every day, may not be the best use of your time.

It is important to slow down and take stock.

Maybe, just maybe you should consider just for a moment, the best use of your time at this time of the year is to do absolutely nothing instead of being ‘busy’ or looking busy to get the most out of your 2015. Yes, that’s right – do absolutely nothing before you start working on your New Year’s goals and resolutions for 2015. I am sure you and most people you know aim to or are working through goal-setting for the year already.

Sometimes, when you slow down and pause or stop for a little while, you increase your sense of awareness. This increased awareness taps in to the wisdom that is in each and every one of us and reveals answers to the questions you need answers to.

You need to be a little patient. It is worth the wait.

However, this takes a bit of courage as you need to exercise a bit of humility to admit that “you don’t know the answer” to everything and in particular, that ‘you don’t know what to do with the moment you’re in”. This takes a bit of practise. It is not as easy as it sounds.

When your subconscious mind accepts that it does not know all the answers, it sets forth a series of steps that allows this inner wisdom, this inner voice inside of you to spring forth. You just need to do one thing –

You need to quiet the mind.

By quietening the mind, you give yourself the best chance to allow that voice, that source of inspiration in you to reveal itself to you. You don’t need to wait to be inspired by people who climb Mount Everest or complete marathons. You don’t need to wait to be inspired by survivors of cancers or other killers of our time – God bless them. No, you don’t need to wait to be inspired by your teachers, your spouse, your partner or your coach. No. You don’t need to wait to get inspiration from quotes thrown about on various social media sites.

No. You just need to learn to be a little bit more patient, slow down and pause. Pause long enough to allow you to quiet the mind.

And listen.

Allow the inspiration in you to spring forth. It may take a few minutes but sometimes it may take a little longer. Be patient.

Doing absolutely nothing, not being busy, may just allow you to tap in to the inspiration – the wisdom that is in you and every one of us. This may just be the very thing that you need to help you to springboard you towards achieving your goals and New Year’s Resolutions for 2015 and beyond.

You may surprise yourself with the wealth of wisdom and the inspiration in you.

All the best!

Until next time,

action, awareness, Beliefs

To live in Hope.

I love the word ‘hope’. I always have.

It is a simple word that encompasses so much. I love it because it allows you to dream and imagine, imagine a better you, a better street, a better community, a better suburb, a better state, a better country and a better world.

Hope inspires every believer to be more. To give more to life. To live more life in their years. To give more to the lives of others.

However, it seems that all acts of hope can open up people to ridicule because it can be seen as unreal – impractical. Many think of hope as nothing more than wishing, because it does not exist in the physical realm. Because people cannot ‘see’ it, they believe it does not exist. The funny thing is that I believe that we all want things we think are impossible but most have better sense than to spend any money or commit their lives to them.

This is where non-believers have it wrong.

You see hope is the reality that already ‘is’ before it actually happens. Hope allows people to ‘connect’ and communicate with God and commit to actions to fulfill their dream. The thing is that God will meet them half way …

In today’s world where there is a lot of decay, the only practical action is to have ‘hope’. This is the only true way of being really practical but it is very difficult. It is very difficult in today’s world because many societies are impractical. Many do not believe in wishful thinking.

If we are to truly live in hope than we need to be impractical. People who are hopeful commit themselves to hope-envisioned actions which are frequently in opposition to the actions of peers.

It takes courage to live and act in hope. It is however, the only practical action as it is the only action that escapes the scrapheap of yesterday’s trends and overcomes the decay of the moment. It is the only action that moves everyone past anger, hurt, guilt, sadness, selfishness and all other examples of decay of the moment.

It is the only action that survives unspeakable crimes to you, to me, to our families, to our communities, to our nation and to our world.

So, clench your fist, grab life by the horns and give it your best go.

Lets all unite and give hope (wishful thinking) and hope-envisioned actions a try – for a better life.

Let’s live in hope for a better life for all …

Until next time,

action, adaptation, awareness, body, diet, eating, Energy, Goals, habits, muscles

Eating right actually takes less time than you think. Tip # 8: Limit and substitute your cups of coffee.

Not too long ago I was guilty of having one-too-many with this one.

It can be addictive.

I admit I drank anywhere between 3 and 5 cups of black coffee per day. I have worked my way down to a maximum of 3 a day, taken at the right time. But I have implemented an important change and it is my primary suggestion in this blog.

What about you? Do you have coffee? How much do you have per day?

When used sensibly, caffeine-rich beverages can be a smart ‘pick-me-up’ drink to boost your alertness and satisfy your caffeine ‘hit’ during your work day. It fires your adrenaline which in turn helps mobilize fat cells and taps in to stores of glycogen (stored carbohydrates) for energy.

Here’s my suggestion or tip (Tip # 8): Try to limit your succeeding cups of coffees by switching one or two cups of coffee with decaffeinated tea.

I must admit I have learned this one off my wife who is quite diligent in substituting caffeinated-free tea for cups of coffee. I learned that it can surely trick your body in to thinking its getting what its used to, without adding extra calories (depending on how you take it) to your daily total.

Even if you drink your coffee like I do (straight black), I have also learned that too much of it can still be one of the reasons your progress in body re-engineering is stalling. You see, excess caffeine triggers more of the release of the stress-hormone “cortisol”. Why is this not ideal? Well, the cortisol regulates many biological functions – from blood pressure to efficiently using the proteins, fats and carbohydrates that you consume.

Sound good? Yes it might sound good but having too much cortisol in your system can be detrimental to your brain, leak calcium from your bones and may lower your immune system.

Not good.

Coffee (black coffee) can certainly assist you in losing fat but only when used at the right time. When should you use it to maximize fat loss? I try and take it 20 to 30 minutes prior to my cardio session or workout as this is shown to assist in the mobilization of more fat cells and use.

However, like I mentioned earlier, excess caffeine taken at the wrong time, can have a negative impact on your weight loss too. Excess cortisol raises insulin levels as your sugar levels rise. This encourages the body to store the excess calories as fat.

Again, not good.

Also, coffee acts as a diuretic and so forces water out of your body via increased toilet visits. In fact for every cup of coffee you drink, you may likely need to drink two cups of water to replace the amount of liquid the coffee drink forces you to urinate out.

Not good again.

This is not good but compounds this effect is that people replace this first cup of coffee with another cup and so become even more water de-hydrated. This is not ideal also in your quest for building and keeping good lean muscle mass.

If you find yourself in this situation do yourself a favour and stop this cycle now by substituting that second cup of coffee with a de-caffeinated cup of tea.

I thank my beautiful and loving wife, Cathy for this one.

It should only take you a minute of your time.

Total estimated time for previous 7 tips (b/f) = 20 minutes

Add time for this tip (Tip #8) = 1 minute

Total estimate time to apply All Tips (8) = 21 minutes.

My top 8 practical Tips to a better, healthier you takes only an estimated 21 minutes out of your day. Safely, supporting my original goal of proving to you that my top 10 tips to eating healthy takes less time than you think – in this instance it should take you a grand total of 21 minutes to eat healthy in your day.

Don’t tell yourself that you don’t have the time to do this. Instead ask yourself can you afford not to do it.

Apply Action.

Adapt.

Try it. Feel better!

Until next time,

action, awareness, Body shape, dreams, Energy, game of life, Goals, Imagination, muscles, risk, workout, you

The BEST workouts – the fusion of chaos and structure.

Relaxed with dumbells.

After 23 years of gym training, I would define my best workouts as what the subject heading states.

The best workouts are the ones that ‘flow’. It is the fusion or culmination of chaos and structure.

You want your workouts to be a continuous progression of 15 to 60 second ‘focused moments’ within a rough plan. Chaos and structure fused together. You want a workout to hang together like a champion team with many muscle parts moving along cohesively as ‘one’ with one objective.

So, how do you make your workouts more orderly and have structure? How do you go from the myriad of workout possibilities and the chaos of research and conception to the necessary order of the actual workout? How do you choose between low reps or high reps? Which is better? Should you use heavy weights or moderate weights or feather weights? How long should you rest between sets? So many questions, so many answers.

Its neither in the questions nor the answers. Its in the intention. Your intention.

It can all get quite confusing and overwhelming, so much so that it would stop well-intentioned beginners in their tracks enough to quit even before they get started. Very sad indeed. They have so much information, most of which contradicts one another and so it leaves them with a feeling of not knowing where to start.

What I have always tried to do in almost all areas of my life is to manage my funnels better, to keep things simple. This includes my approach to my gym training. Keep this in mind.

When it comes to muscle, building quality muscle it is very similar to life itself. It builds on two principles:

1. Simplicity
2. Continuity

Here’s what I find helps:

1.Visualize and simulate.

In other words I try to arrive at my completed workout (in my mind) before I begin it.

I always have a ‘rough plan’ in mind. Here, a rough plan is like the scaffolding of a non-existing building, its there and provides structure and a bit of security but I don’t usually stick to it like glue. Nope, most of the time I do something completely different.

So, I have a rough plan – but I don’t stick to it!

“Why have a plan?” you may be thinking.

Well, I have found over the years that a rough plan will serve you better than an elaborate one or none at all when it comes to getting the best experience and results from workouts. You see, workouts generally have a way of making itself up as you go along due to the many variables you are faced with when you are in the gym within a rough plan.

Some variables you may likely experience is fluctuating energy levels, unavailability of machines, lack of focus, lack of sleep, rude patrons and so on.

2. Know what your goals are: be specific and then stick to it!

Whilst a rough plan is ideal, knowing what your specific training goals are is critical and will serve you much better than a general, loose one. You need to know what it is you’re trying to achieve before you go lift any kind of weights. What are you striving for – strength, power, endurance, better shapely physique? For example, if you want to train for strength then training like a marathon runner in the gym will highly likely end in disappointment.

Know where you stand and where you mean to go and be very clear about it. A workout is also not meant to be a walk in the park or sleep walk!

3. Dream it before you lift it.

Workouts are usually more enjoyable and shorter when its been thought through first. That is what I have concluded in my over two decades of deliberate practice of contracting and extending skeletal muscles in my entire body.

I ask myself questions – what am I trying to do here with this set of this particular exercise? What am I trying to achieve? How well am I doing each rep of each set of each exercise? What am I trying to feel after doing it? What am I looking for? Unless you’ve got answers to those questions, you’d better keep your hands away from those weights or don’t rush in to it or you may increase your risk of injuries. Better still, seek help from a suitably experienced professional.

Whilst training goals and a rough plan gives you structure and order the danger is that you can spend all your time planning and doing nothing. The truth is we discover weight training through training. Its that simple. You do your hardest training doing the training, the actual physical lifting – not in your mind.

A workout process gives you that sense of achievement at its completion among other things. Out of the process of its own unraveling. Out of the process itself chaotic – the thinking of the sets of the exercises and the order of the exercises that make up each workout and then the execution of the actual physical workout.

.. the road ahead ..

It is through trial and error and deliberate practice over time that a genuine gym enthusiast discovers what it is he or she is really trying to achieve and how he or she needs to bind it together in some order – some framework. He finds his or her muscle success formula.

You may find you asking yourself how each set you doing of a particular exercise contributes to your physical goal. I know I have always done so and still do.

If you’re diligent enough you may find yourself getting to the end of each set doing it rhythmically, economically and competently and moving progressively towards your specific goals. This is ideal.

You may find yourself feeling one of the best feelings you could feel in your lifetime, a feeling that only a few gym enthusiasts feel. I have trained people that have trained for over 30 years and have not felt this feeling.

This is a feeling that is as elusive as the Tasmanian tiger. You see anyone can lift weights but not many people get to learn to lift weights the right way and really ‘feel’ what you’re meant to feel in the worked muscle and your whole body. All my clients past and present feel it in their workouts. Its a gift from me to them.

A feeling that all bodybuilders refer to as the ‘pump’.

A feeling that I call the ‘essence’. A feeling that is climaxed through the ideal reps of the ideal set which makes for the best workout – the fusion of chaos and structure in and out of the gym. Its almost like daily living in some ways.

… but that essence ain’t vanilla essence!

You friend in muscle and body transformation success,

Until next time,

action, adaptation, ageing, awareness, Beliefs, courage, faith, game of life, habits, hope, life, long-term perspective, you

An attitude of gratitude.

Some wise person once said:

“Its not your aptitude, but your attitude that determines your altitude in life.”

Pretty wise words, don’t you think? You probably don’t need to look very far – look at the immediate people in your circle of life to see examples of this aphorism.

Maybe even you.

Being grateful for all that we have is a way of thinking.

You probably have your own way of giving appreciation to whoever you speak to. Whichever way it is, the essence of it is communication and routine. Ideally, giving thanks should be done daily and not only when you’re in real trouble or at a special occasion, like a funeral for example.

It can be done at any time convenient for you.

Me – I try and say a prayer of thanks every time I eat a meal. That is a minimum of six times a day. You pray for the meal to be blessed, thank the good Lord (or whatever higher force you believe in) for your blessings and ask for continued blessings for you, your family and friends and the world at large.

My wife and I have always prayed together, before consuming our meals and we also try to say a prayer before sleeping at night. Our kids have come along and they also join us in prayer. They take turns in leading the prayers now that they are both older.

It’s a family habit. Part of our daily routines.

But I believe there is more to gratitude. It not only reminds us of not taking anything for granted. It humbles us. It puts a certain level of perspective on life.

It is essentially the choice of attitude of the person and their attitude to life. There is magic in being grateful. There is magic in having a thankful spirit.

This magic, I believe, is POWER.

Yes, power!

How is that, you may ask?

Well, I believe a thankful spirit has the power to overcome anger with love; it has the power to subordinate fear with courage; it replaces sadness with happiness and has the power to feel not jealousy but genuine joy at another’s success.

Having a thankful spirit and an attitude of gratitude has the power to inspire productivity and innovation over lack of creativity. Being grateful releases guilt with an heart of forgiveness.

An attitude of gratitude has the power to allow one to grow with an abundance of love
and self-sharing over greed and hatred.

It is a form of power, not as you know it but power none-the-less. An intangible one at times.

So, there you have it, some reasons why I believe that an attitude of gratitude is power.

Knowing that it is a form of power is not power. No, ‘knowing’ is potential power. Applying an attitude of gratitude on a daily basis, now that is power. The power rests in the choosing.

Check your attitude and work on your attitude of gratitude if you think you need to. You may just surprise yourself with how much more you get out of life, by giving more in to it, through choosing your best attitude, always.

Feel, really feel, that intangible power.

Start with a ‘reverse bucket list’ to put some structure to it. Some people do.

What is it? Well, a reverse bucket list is simply a list of things you have done, places you’ve visited and opportunities you have experienced in your life to date. How is this an exercise of gratitude you may be thinking?

You see, when you write it down and then look over what you have written, you can reminisce and be grateful for what you have achieved and done in your life so far. You may even shock and surprise yourself with what you have achieved.

Keep adding to that list as the seconds of life tick by …reminding yourself how lucky you are to be breathing and living life.

When I take my first breath upon waking every morning, I say a quick prayer of thanks to my God, thanking him for being alive. That is the best gift, I believe, anyone alive has been granted.

My whole focus from that moment on is to see how it is that I can be of service to and help people get what they want out of life to the best of my ability.

Also, remember, its not just about adding years to your life, its also important to add life in to those years.

Ask yourself how are you going to best achieve that?

Hint: reflect and give thanks.

Until next time,

Balance & symmetry brings you closer to harmony … to beauty …closer to infinity. Just like mathematics does

action, adaptation, awareness, Beliefs, game of life, habits, life, long-term strategy, perseverance

Do it WRONG to learn to DO IT RIGHT.

I like this hat.

Experience, matters.

I’ve always believed no experience in life is ‘bad experience’, in absolute terms. Even bad or unfortunate experiences. There is always something you can take away from it. Something you can learn. Something that would add value to your life in the future or possibly now, however small it may be.

I also believe that life is too short to try to get your experience with everything ‘first-hand’. It is better to learn from the experience of others. Seek appropriate coaches. Relevant mentors. If you’re lucky enough to. You could certainly cut the learning curve by a significant amount in anything you set out to accomplish. You don’t have all the time in the world. You could save time. Save your life for more important choices.

Save – you, perhaps?

When my daughter, Olivia, was old enough to hold a colour pencil in her hand she enjoyed drawing on paper, cardboard. Everything really. Scribbling everywhere and anywhere, with no structure.

No boundaries. No beginning, no end. In her young brain, she thought she was doing it – right. That’s all she knew, with regards to colouring, at that point in time.

One day, I decided I would get her to colour in pictures a little bit better. To change her perception of what she thought she was doing right. I felt I had to teach her the ‘basics’ of colouring. But, what was the basics of colouring?

I thought about the final output (a coloured-in picture) and what colouring was made up of. It was obvious. It was an accumulation of closely set straight lines. So, that was it: a straight line. I had to teach my daughter how to:

1. draw a straight line
2. become better at drawing a straight line

I mentioned this to my wife, and she had some reservations about what I wanted to achieve. I sat down at the table like I normally do with my children and said “Olivia, I would like you to focus on one thing only today, when we draw”.

She said “what dad?”

I replied: “I would like you to just draw lines”.

“Just lines?” she queried.

“Yes. Just lines”, I said.

So, I drew an outline of a square on a blank A4 paper. I then proceeded to show her the fundamentals of getting the best possible result from colouring. I said, firstly, lets:

1. Sit up straight with proper posture.
2. Must be comfortable with balance.
3. Relaxed and focused.

I drew a line from one end of the square outline to the other. Then did another line. And repeated, and repeated and repeated. Until the whole square outline was a shaded in square. I told her how the repeated start and stop of a straight line creates colour, texture.

The object (the square) was now ‘coloured-in’.

I told her how it was important to learn how to draw a straight line and be clear on where the start and stop of the line begins and ends. That, just like in many things in life, a picture or drawing may have boundaries. She needed to be aware of them and stay within them.

Also, that if she practiced drawing a defined straight line – repeatedly, she would become better at colouring-in.

She was excited. Excited about the challenge.

I drew her several shapes to colour in with straight lines – another square, a circle and a triangle.

I then asked her to try drawing the straight lines as I had just done. To fill in the shapes. One by one, she did. Tentative at first and unsure of its correctness, she made those first few lines. I kept encouraging her to keep going. She was a little afraid to get it wrong.

I told her not to be afraid. That it was ok to get it wrong. I told her to aim to ‘stay within the line’ of the square, circle and triangle. She needed to focus on ‘filling in the gaps’.

She got it wrong. Again and again and again.

She threw hands up in frustration and stormed away. A few times. I sat there and asked her back. “Lets try again, sweetie. You’re getting better. Its ok to do it wrong. You need to do it wrong to learn to do it right”.

She returned. She did. Multiple times. She did learn to do it right.

It seems this is the same for most endeavours in life requiring skill. Talent alone is not enough. Learning the basics. Repeating perfect technique with deliberate practice builds up to something others may refer to as genius in a particular area.

For example, a rugby player that does not practice basic skills such as catching and passing will not get very far. A violinist that does not practice the basics of her instrument, with deliberate structure and purpose won’t get to the next level. A gym enthusiast that does not learn proper exercise techniques of the basic exercises in the gym would highly likely not get the results he or she desires and increase risks of injuries.

Olivia is a champion colouring in kid, now. She colours in with the skill level of kids far beyond her current age. She is very proud of the pictures she very astutely does. I am very proud of the work she does too.

She wasn’t afraid to do it wrong to learn to do it right. She faced her fear of getting it wrong.

That’s my definition of courage. Facing fear, no matter how small it is.

She got past her frustration. She put in the work. She deliberately practiced those lines. She did the basics, in this case – she learned how to draw a straight line, better than she had ever done before, not some of the times, but all the time. She accepted that ‘close enough’ is ‘not good enough’.

She learned to let go of the ‘almost right’ line to make room for the ‘better line’. Just like in life, some of us have to learn to say ‘no’ to the good to be able to say ‘yes’ to the best.

So, dear readers, remember, when things in life get a little bit more complicated and overwhelming, like it usually does, learn to keep it simple.

What do I mean by this? Well, ask yourself what are the ‘basics’ of the situation/task at hand? Then:

Learn proper execution. Repeat. With Deliberate practice. Persevere and persist.

Whichever area of life it is. Become the best you can be at the basics. The compound effect of the basics, executed excellently, in any area of life produces the best work. The best ideas. The best innovation. The best sporting teams. The best businesses. The best of everything.

You can go further … become the best you can be at the ‘basics of life’. Smile more. Say ‘hello’ more. Laugh more. Give more. Love more. You can identify many others.

Once again, don’t be afraid to do it wrong to learn to do it right and never be afraid to ask for help. From someone who ‘has been there’ and ‘done that’.

Then, ask yourself how much of your 86,400 seconds of your daily life do you put aside to become better at the ‘business of LIFE’? That’s right – the business of becoming a better human being – a better YOU. I’m not referring to your work or your business. Or your profession.

No.

I’m referring to the business of life.

Your life.

Until next time,

Changing lives. Empowering people. One life at a time.

Triple A to Life: Awareness. Action. Adaptation.

Category Archives: action

Don’t wait for Perfect.

Give ‘The Finger’ and feel good about it.

Muscle: the REAL potion of youth.

I am.

The inspiration in YOU.

To live in Hope.

Eating right actually takes less time than you think. Tip # 8: Limit and substitute your cups of coffee.

The BEST workouts – the fusion of chaos and structure.

An attitude of gratitude.

Do it WRONG to learn to DO IT RIGHT.