adaptation, awareness, belief systems, Beliefs, change, courage

Nobody can teach you WHO YOU ARE.

Who are you?

Have you asked yourself that question? Yes, maybe once, twice, countless times or maybe never.

From when we are children, most of us have already been asked the question about “what we want to become”.

Right from a young age most of us have had the question fired at us. “Son/daughter what do you want to become when you’re older – a doctor, a lawyer, a fireman, an engineer, a carpenter … ?”

Most of us are brought up in a culture that tells us “you are what you do.”

In my 23 years in the gym and talking to thousands of people, I have found that when people are asked “tell me about yourself”, most people immediately talk about their career as if it was the ‘be all and end all’ about them. A complete definition of ‘who and what they are.’

I think there should be a clear distinction between who the person is and the activity they perform as part of their ‘job’. We’re all just individuals and we’re all doing something. But that something should not define who we are. That is only a small part of who we are, who YOU ARE.

It is important that you never forget that YOU are more important than what you do.

Always.

Keep working towards discovering the REAL YOU. Not the YOU that your career defines you as or the YOU that you work very hard to fulfil others’ perceptions of you. Find the real YOU. That is a journey indeed. A journey in to the heart of darkness as the great author Joseph Conrad described so eloquently.

You need to constantly build on the first ‘A” of my Triple A Approach to Life and Whole-self development and that is to increase ‘Awareness’. Awareness of no one else but YOU, of your SELF. I believe that this is the first step towards any worthwhile, sustainable personal development – to be more aware.

You will find that the more aware you become, more and more of your problems and most of the stress in your life will dissolve too. But, there is a price to pay to develop this awareness. A great thinker once said that “Awareness, in and of itself, is transformative.” This is almost spiritual-like, as you ‘clean up your own act you find that you build a profound effect on the world around you.

You see, there is a connection – a definite nexus between ‘what you do inside and what happens in your life’ and when you work on increasing your awareness, you are forced to consider and question your belief system and various beliefs that comprise it. Some of which had been adopted by you as a choice or without a choice when you were growing up. These beliefs helped form your perception of reality. Your version of ‘the truth’. You kept these beliefs because in kept you safe in your family while growing up.

But times change. You grow up. Those beliefs which influence the way you feel and behave attract certain situations and people in to your life and what situations and people you become attracted to. So, it follows that what you BELIEVE generates most of what happens in your life. When you work at increasing your awareness of YOU, you will come to this conclusion too.

So, my point is this, by increasing your awareness, you will question certain beliefs that may have served you well when you were a kid up until you were 10 years old but does not serve your purposes now, TODAY. It kept you safe or you felt a sense of security when you hung on to these beliefs in your family when you were child.

Here’s the thing, I have found that with increased awareness, you are able to LET GO certain beliefs but you have got to be brave to do so because it is difficult. Matter of fact it is one of the scariest things to do if you’re not used to it. Letting go a belief takes a lot of courage and you have to summon up the courage to do it if you are serious about getting the best out of your life.

“Why?” you may be asking, “should we LET GO these beliefs?”

Well, its simple: because you CANNOT keep believing something that DOES NOT serve you! That is one possible definition of insanity.

But don’t rush it. We’re all at different levels of awareness so go easy on yourself. It takes some time and practice to get good at it, just like anything else, for example we’re all at different levels in our training in the gym when it comes to lifting weights and building muscle.

So, if you accept that what you believe generates most of what happens in your life, and if you don’t like attracting the same kinds of situations or people in to your life then you have got to let go of those ‘self-limiting beliefs’ that are holding you back.

A lot of the price you have to pay to create your new perception of reality is: YOUR ATTITUDE and you are 100% totally responsible for that, aren’t you?

There is no doubt that what you pay attention to determines a lot of what happens in your life. True indeed. So, with an attitude of gratitude make a decision to pay attention to or FOCUS on what you want from life, not what you don’t want.

When I was in my teens , I saw the world with a different philosophy to the way I see the world in my twenties and it was different still in my thirties. My picture of the world and my definition of truth has changed considerably. The ‘truth’ as we see it is really our version of the world based on our beliefs and belief systems.

They, however, don’t necessarily have anything TO DO WITH THE TRUTH. They are versions of the truth. Not absolute truth, only relative truth.

Therefore, if truth is relative and does not have 100% certainty, DO NOT FEAR letting go self-limiting beliefs – beliefs that DO NOT SERVE YOU well, anymore. Accept that if ‘the truth’ changes and is dynamic, not static then there is no need to remain RIGID in your beliefs that feed the truth.

There are not many certainties in life but one thing I know with a high degree of certainty is that EVERYTHING CHANGES.

Everything!

So go with the flow and so be like water and be fluid and flexible with your beliefs and find the REAL YOU, who you ARE, what your real needs are (as opposed to the things you just want) and when you are living according to your REAL needs (somewhat achieved through spiritual growth).

That is probably a point where you will teach yourself more of WHO YOU ARE.

Nobody, I repeat – NOBODY can teach you who you are …. But the REAL YOU!

All the best in your decision.

Until next time,

adaptation, awareness, Beliefs, change management, choices, communication, courage, decisions, desire, game of life, gratitude, habits, hope, Imagination, long-term strategy, love, no

Sometimes, local is BEST.

You learn from children and then learn from us.
It is a two-way learning experience, not one way (parents to children like some people think)

My children love going on holidays. They love being on holidays during school holidays.

They have just experienced Christmas and New Year’s celebrations and are still on holidays.

My wife and I decided a while back that we will try and experience more of Sydney, more of NSW, more of Australia before we embark on our discovery of all the other ‘foreign places to visit before you die’.

We just love ‘holidaying local’.

I recently asked my wife her view of the benefits of holidaying local and we agreed on quite a few points and the top 3 were:

We experience less stress
We would like to be made more aware and make our children more aware of the beauty and variety of local destinations and the excellent service they keep.
We get to enjoy all the comforts that we would like to enjoy at a fraction of the cost

Don’t get me wrong, overseas travel is wonderful too. The lure of a different culture and people and food. All fantastic. However, there is so much of Australia I have not seen and have not experienced yet and one of my ambitions is to learn more of the country and its people that I have adopted.

So much to absorb. So little time.

The thing about overseas holidays that really get to me is that even up to the point of getting through the gates and on to the plane, we all seem to be rushing around. Trying to be busy. Sometimes it certainly seems that you have to speed up to slow down, which is, funnily enough the ultimate goal of being on a holiday.

We’re looking to ‘soft our minds’.

When you’re holidaying local, you don’t seem to have that problem. You firstly just tell everyone you know that you’re on holidays and treat it strictly like that or don’t tell anyone at all. You don’t take calls and you don’t return calls. You pretend that you’re holidaying overseas. Difficult to do? No, it isn’t. I simply do this by doing exactly what my two children do when they play ‘pretend games’ of princes and princesses and so forth. They don’t come out of their character roles when they play it and so my wife and I try not to either.

We ‘pretend’ we’re on holidays overseas and enjoy all the trappings but with less cost.

Holidaying local allows us to do more of what we love to do when we are on holiday and that is to ‘be on holiday’. Not spending your time travelling and in transit and increasing your stress levels for no real benefit. Nope, I like ‘softening my mind’ when I am holidaying and unlike overseas planned holidays, I like a little bit more certainty.

Like ordering at McDonalds (once in a while for most of us I hope), the certainty of knowing what I am going to get is reassuring to me. I don’t particularly like surprises. I don’t think most people do either.

I try to, however, not to over exaggerate holidays and all the great time my family experiences together during them. Instead, I remind my children that holidaying is something that we do some of the time. When you look at it as a percentage of our total time spent throughout the year, it is very small. So, when we look at it in this frame, we know exactly where to emphasise our existence – and that is in the beauty and chaos of our simple, daily lives.

I’ve always believed that one aspect of a fruitful life is to see opportunities to make the ordinary – extraordinary. Not overseas. Not in your dreams. No, simply in your everyday life. Try to make the everyday a ‘wow’ experience – for you and your loved ones.

You don’t have to look very far. Just look local. Discover more of the beauty and variety of excellent services that are on offer in your local city or neighbouring city. I’m sure you will find something new if you took the effort to look.

That is the thing though – this approach will take some effort, effort on your part to make the ordinary – extraordinary.

Whenever my family eats, one of us says our prayers not only to bless the food but to also to give thanks for all my family’s blessings. ON top of this we ask for God’s guidance and strength to help and guide our family and friends here and abroad. I try to instil in my children, an attitude of gratitude – daily at a young age.

Giving thanks to God, multiple times daily, reminds us to be in the present but more importantly reminds us not to take anything for granted. It reminds us of how lucky we are. It forces my kids to be in the ‘present’.

I also strongly believe that giving gratitude regularly to your GOD and saying THANK YOU for your blessings is like a bridge from where you are now to the life of your dreams.

My children are getting better at praying now. I tell them to think and deliberately ‘feel’ the words of gratitude that we say in our prayers as saying THANK YOU is a ‘feeling’.

Sometimes, just sometimes, it can be better to stay home and enjoy the family home and environment that you inhabit, something that some of us who live very busy lives don’t really get to do. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is to take some time out to ‘soft the mind’.

This is one of the keys to finding your own definition of success in your life as I believe the better you get at ‘softening the mind’ the better you attract success in to your life.

Remember: your mind is the most powerful success tool you have. Give it rest to get it to perform at its best.

All the very best to you and your family,

Until next time,

Keeping it simple is key

I AM.
Me .. & my constant companion – Mr Fuzzy/Fussy Cuddles

adaptation, awareness, Beliefs, dreams

I spy with my little eyes …

Training in my Old School Gym adopting Old School Training techniques with a modern twist. Know the basics. Apply the basics. Adapt to the basics. Keep it simple and keep it continuous. Its the most efficient, most effective and safe approach to building a muscular physique in the gym. Find a gym with minimum distraction if you desire results. Focus! Paul.

Time will tell what truth our children search foratvel

Marvel at the intelligence behind their thinking
We (my wife and I) play a game with our children we call “I spy with my little eyes” whenever we’re sitting for any length of time. It could be anywhere but mostly when we’re in the car. The kids enjoy it. I mainly like the game because it teaches my kids to be in the ‘present’ and helps increase their awareness of their external environment.

It also challenges them to compete and think. I sit back and marvel at the intelligence behind their thinking and how fast they embrace change.

My daughter is getting quite good at playing the game now and is thinking of ways to make the guessing harder. She dislikes losing but I try and remind her that tasting defeat and failure teaches you to appreciate success and winning, when it happens.

“And it does happen” I tell her.

“Patience is key”.

My kids watching my wife exercising (doing Deadlifts) in the gym…
They’re learning about how strong their mother is … and the importance of healthy lifestyle choices

Roller-coaster of life
She has not fully understood the idea of the virtues of patience yet but she is responding to losing much better now than she used to. She is not afraid to have another go. She is slowly learning to face her fear of failure, of losing. A very important lesson to understand in the roller-coaster of life.

I try to explain to her that losing is like falling off her scooter when she is riding her scooter. What’s important is not that she falls. What’s important is that she learns to catch herself better each time she falls and pick herself up faster. And ….

… try again!

This time, with a little more care. With experience, comes smarts.

So, using the scooter analogy, I tell her that when she loses a game of “I Spy with my little eyes’ to dad – to me, or her mother she needs to firstly, accept the loss graciously, learn from it and then ….

… try again!

She does. And she is now winning more games then she is losing and has learned to respond to losing more positively.

Very soon, she will win all the games I play against her. One day in the future, she may remind me of the importance of accepting a loss and being gracious in defeat. I look forward to that day. It will remind me that I will be in another phase of my life and also that we’re all never too old to be reminded of life’s lessons.

Enjoy a swim … enjoying regular Family Time is critical to strong 💪 foundation of character

Re-set our personal GPS

It helps to re-set our personal GPS (Goals) for Life if we have gone off course a little.

What is your GPS for Life like? Does it need re-calibrating? Don’t be afraid to do so. Its never too late to re-align your GPS for your Life just like we do when we refer to maps on our phones when we need direction. It never too late just like you’re never too old to join a gym and start lifting weights towards a better YOU.

A small change in direction may result in a huge change in where you end up at the end of your life just like a miniscule difference of 1 nautical degree could change a ship’s destination point by tens of kilometers. Don’t just use your eyes to see what’s in front of you, use your eyes (through imagination) to see what is not there yet.

Desire it. Feel it in your heart.

Reflect. Take some time out to reflect on your life these holidays, in all areas in the sphere of your life – relationships, family, career, financial, spiritual, physical. If you’re waiting to add it to your list of resolutions in the New Year, great!

Reflect on the falls you have had (and lets be honest, we all have had some to date). Take the lessons. Learn how to fall better in the future. Have no fear. Have no doubt. Each fall leads you closer to a better result.

Re-set your GPS, we all need to do so every so often as we journey through life. The New Year is a great time to do so – to catalyze and crystallize your GPS as you work towards a better you.

A better life.

Be safe this festive season and a prosperous 2015 to you!

Until next time …

foundations of a gritty strong character Begins in the Family … in the home …

My children striking their version of one of the seven compulsory poses in bodybuilding – the “Front-double biceps” pose.
… and strike!

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,

a better life, action, adaptation, attitude, authenticness, awareness, Beliefs, better choices, care empathy, change, change management, choices, consciousness, dreams, Energy, game of life, habits, Imagination, life, long-term perspective, long-term strategy, muscles, patience, perseverance, perspective, responsibility, truth, Vitality, you

Inside-out Roll.

Front double-biceps with Olivia and Zachary for the camera.

Family Traditions

My family and I enjoy eating Japanese Sushi. We have it once a week.

It is part of one of our young family evolving traditions – eating out at this point in our lives. My kids enjoy kids tuna and rice sushi pieces and my wife normally digs in to whole larger versions of the sushi roll. She specifically requests for the “Inside-out Roll” with either tuna/avocado or salmon/avocado.

I normally have one or two of these Inside-Out Sushi Rolls in addition to fresh or cooked garlic prawns with a touch of seaweed. Delicious. A weekly treat for the Valentine’s in this phase of our lives.

The inside-out roll got me thinking about life.

How it could symbolise one of the important lessons of life, relating to change and that to change any worthwhile aspect of our life, as part of our self-growth, we need to turn ‘inside-out’.

Just like that sushi roll.

We need to turn ‘within’ to live, happily, without. I have to make a qualification though – you adopt the 80-20 rule ” or principle”, with regards to letting go of things or comforts of life, depending on where and how you choose to live.

To make any change to ourselves, we need to turn ‘inside-out’, to change within to change without.

Eliminate and de-clutter the ‘noise’ that has been uploaded in to your brain since the cradle

Change – REAL CHANGE – comes from the INSIDE-OUT.

Yes, you can make superficial small changes on the surface, but in order to make significant changes and sustain them, you cannot just trim the edges of the bushes. You cannot just rake the leaves off the ground under the tree. The leaves which represent attitude and behaviour.

Nope, you cannot just focus on the ten percent of the ice-berg that you see above water and do some ‘band-aid’ quick-fix personality technique.

Nope, not good enough!

For sustainable change to a significant area in your life, you need to dig at the roots of the tree. You need to work on the ninety percent of the ice-berg that is under the water. You need to get at the cause. You need to get to your belief systems, to become more aware of your fundamentals. Your philosophy of your life so far.

You need to understand YOU better and understand the philosophy or paradigm you adhere to that defines your character at this point in time. Your being. And the lens through which you see the world outside.

It is quite obvious that if we want to make relatively smaller, insignificant changes in our lives, we can perhaps appropriately focus on our attitudes and behaviours. However, if we want to make significant, quantum change, we NEED TO WORK ON OUR PHILOSOPHY. Our basic paradigm.

This is how change, sustainable significant change, can only come about successfully by working on yourself from the inside-out, just like that tasty inside-out sushi roll.

So, what can you do to make change happen that could have a positive and possibly significant impact on your life?

Try this: become more patient with yourself.

Just like muscle growth, patience is key. So, to change the world, change within. Change is essential to life. If you’re not changing, you’re not living. With change, one is forced to consider adapting.

It is in the process of adaptation, that one appreciates growth (with muscle growth and also with life growth). Changing within to live without, allows for growth. A worked muscle is usually a little ‘tender’ the next day or two. Implementing change inside-out leads to muscle growth, leads to self-growth.

Just like muscle growth, self-growth is tender, a little precious even. Work on it. Persist. Build change from within. Then, preserve it.

Sustainable Self-growth and muscle growth occurs best through the inside-out approach. Remember, though, for growth to be positive, you need to work hard at maintaining the environment that helps create that growth.

Both are two of the most important investments you will ever make in your life.

Good luck!

Until next time,

Cheers & Ahoy!

The Old Cap’n Viking Pirate

Back Double Biceps
Placing: 2nd in Australia

Champions practise a lot of visualisation and simulation.
To create magic, you need to fuse the worlds of sanity (where you are) with insanity (where you dream/imagine you are, before you are).
That is difficult.
That is one of the key keys.
Don’t stop. Trying. Believing.
Keep on … keeping on. You’ll get there. Everyone always does.
Especially, if you do it with your heart. and ….
with LOVE.

adaptation, Beliefs, dreams

Shaken and stirred.

Can you see “me” in my son? Can you see you in your son?

Testing the Boundaries.

I like James Bond movies.

I think I am not alone in this department. A lot of men probably love him (and most women, too). They probably love the idea of him, more than anything else.

He embodies the alter-ego of almost every man on earth. I think every man secretly harbors thoughts of playing out a James Bond fantasy act at one point in their life or another – the fast, slick car that turns heads. The constant jetting in and out of countries. The object of desire of women wherever he goes. And more …

But it’s a dream for most men. Not all, I must add.

A dream to live for.

My son – Zachary (we call him Zach or Zachie) has made me aware of many lessons in life so for. I was made aware of another ‘life lesson’ over the last two weeks. Well, he had been trying to teach me something but I stubbornly and blindly missed it for two weeks and it was only yesterday that it dawned on me.

You see my son has just turned three years old recently and I have noticed that he had been quite rebellious over the last two weeks. Well, that’s how I viewed it. That was my perception of the behavioural changes I had noticed. He wouldn’t respond when called, sometimes, even after being called multiple times. He would blatantly disobey any requests that his mum or me would make of him. He would regularly, cheekily do the exact opposite. He would test our patience with many daily situations and raise our tolerance level for disobedience.

He was and still is ‘testing the boundaries’. He was challenging our authority, questioning the norm. Fair enough!

The future and how you will live it is of paramount importance.

Children begin at a very young age to take control of their lives. Many children I suspect, just like mine, learn how to control their parents’ lives as well, long before they know how to talk in complete sentences.

Whining receives attention. Crying receives consolation. Begging begets goodies. Tantrums create havoc. It is easy to incite mummy against daddy and sit back and watch the show. Just like on TV!

All relationships have a ‘power and control’ button and just like the tide of the sea, ever-so constant, the ‘ebb and flow’ represent the delicate balance of the ‘give and take’ of the relationship.

It is the life-blood of all good long-term relationships. Learning to be a better master at managing this skill is essential to any relationship.

Anyways, I have finally learned the life lesson he was trying to make me aware of and this is where James Bond comes in. You see, James Bond always states the way he likes his martini drink, saying “shaken, not stirred’. That’s the way he likes it.

Sufficient and appropriate for that particular type of drink but not the best option when it comes to life.

Zachary’s inquisitive and rebellious behaviour these last two weeks was one that not only shook but he also stirred it. Hard. With no fear. Without order. No systematic approach adopted here. Nope!

He questioned the status quo. He challenged the way we were doing things. Our current beliefs.

You see it got me thinking about life.

This is a very important practise for everyone in life: To question over-riding theory and paradigm of the day. To question where you’re headed in your life. To reflect on the life you have lived so far, to learn whatever you can from the mistakes and failures you have experienced. But, it is the future and how you will live it that is of paramount importance.

Nope, it is your dream and idea of the future you would love to live – now, this is what is of paramount importance.

You can only do this by firstly, questioning your philosophy in life, in particular, questioning your ‘belief systems’ that got you to this point in life. It is your belief systems – consisting in part of, your values and principles you adhere to in your daily life, it is this that is the compass that guides you. Your GPS as you chart your course through the sea of life.

Captain of your Ship.

As Captain of your ship.

That is exactly what my son Zachary was doing.

He was questioning, through his actions and behaviour, the limitations of ‘the way we did things’ with regards to certain areas in our life (eating with his hands rather than use his utensils). He was questioning the relevance and the basis of certain beliefs we adhered to. His inquisitiveness and zest for life was stretching the boundaries we had placed on him. He was, in effect, challenging the ‘status quo’. Rocking the ship.

And its ok. It is vital. For him. For us, as a family. Asking questions and thinking of alternative solutions is vital to our country. Our world. It is through this questioning attitude that new beliefs are spawned. New ideas created. Ideas, when implemented, results in innovation. Innovation that leads to better life – better education; better health; better communities; better relationships; better quality of life.

A Better attitude to life.

I guess, just like any child his age, it is their imagination that drives them. Belief systems have not been imprinted on their brains yet. Belief systems have a significant impact on an individual’s life and how he/she turns out in adult life and goes as far as where he/she ‘ends up’ in life.

It is your GPS for your life.

Your thought patterns (on self-image, on self-esteem, on self-worth etc), your daily deliberate practices (habits); your character (the ‘essence’ of who YOU are) and ultimately – your ship’s course (destiny/destination) in life is dictated by your GPS (your belief system/philosophy).

To change direction of your ship. To change course, you have to re-set your GPS. You have to re-set your belief system, especially, if it has negative consequences in your life. Beliefs that inflict ‘self-imposed’ limitations on your daily life. Beliefs that were imprinted in your brain when you may have been a child, without you having a choice in accepting it. Before you could choose. These beliefs may have been im-printed by people that had some influence over you in your child-hood – your parents, your grand-parents, uncles, aunties, friends and friends of families, teachers in Primary School, coaches. You name it.

It can be quite daunting to consider all the possibilities and probabilities of risk of each relationship and the impact each had on you and your belief systems. Yes, it can be. But, it still needs to be done if you intend to reach your potential in life and chart your ship in to un-chartered waters. To discover the Captain Cook in you. You need to question their relevance, just like Captain Cook questioned the prevailing belief that the earth was flat all those centuries ago.

The risk of you not doing anything about it is far, far greater to how you live the next phase of your life, especially, the new destination you will Captain your ship to. Your new course in life.

The life you hoped for. The life you imagined.

Its never too late to sit down and write down what your philosophy of life is. What are some of your beliefs? What influence does it have on your daily actions and decisions? Be warned though – you will ‘rock your boat’. This may be a period of genuine unhappiness as you discover many things about your engine of life ( your mind) that was hindering your course through life. You will effectively be doing what my son, Zachary was doing these last two weeks. What he reminded me about some of the important things of life:

To ask questions.
To question authority.
To rock the boat.
To challenge the ‘status quo’.
To pick-apart belief systems.
To ask ‘why not?’.
To be able to choose beliefs that contribute to life – your life, not take away from it.

In life, we all need to periodically ensure that at various stages in life, in particular, as we enter and leave major phases of life, we need to review that our GPS – our beliefs at that point in life, be questioned. We need to question their relevance. Why? Because beliefs, whether you’re aware of it or not, generates what happens in your life. You need to stop continuing believing what does not serve you. What may have been relevant for survival as a toddler or as a teenager or when you were in your twenties, may not be relevant in your forties or post-retirement.

A wise man once told me that if you continue to think and act in the same way, you will continue to get the same result in life.

Change your thinking – change your life.

The foundation of this can be only be done through beliefs analysis. And we know how important a good foundation is to any building or construction work to keep it up and steady.

A relatively easy way of doing this is assessing the impact each belief has on you and your life, once you’ve listed your top ten down on paper. It takes a lot of courage just to do this. Don’t be scared.

We need to re-imprint new, relevant beliefs into our minds. We need to upload a new, improved GPS on to our brains. To help make us better Captains of our ships in the sea of life. As one of the greatest men that ever lived once said:

“The same thinking that has led you to where you are is not going to lead you to where you want to go.” – Albert Einstein.

We need to become a child again. Imagine more, like Einstein encouraged. Imagine better but also imagine responsibly.

My wife insists that I am the biggest stirrer she has ever known. True. But so is James Bond. Oh well, I’ll have to leave that one for another blog.

In the meantime, you need to ensure that at various legs of your charter and captaincy of life, that your consumption of the ‘fluid/drink of life’ is –

…. Shaken and stirred! Very un-like James Bond.

But, that’s perfectly alright. Some dreams are not realistic anyway. Accept it.

That’s life.

Bottoms up!

Thank you, Zachary.

Until next time,

p.s.. thank you too for reading this far … I hope you’ve got some value from this blog.

WHY NOT … paint my chin-beard, purple, I thought? My children were not impressed … ha ha ha!!

adaptation, Beliefs

The Gifts of love and honor.

To give is to receive, so we’ve been told.

To give a gift, one does not intend to request it back. Or, wish for an equal or better value in return. The intention is for the recipient to keep the gift. Unconditionally.

We would all have our top ten gifts we could categorize as the most valuable gifts that we could give someone. Someone we care about. Maybe a stranger even. Some may place the most valuable as the ones with the most dollars. That is one view.

A gift, nonetheless.

In my opinion, and it is just my opinion, the most valuable gift you can give someone is to love them as you love yourself.

To truly understand this, I feel that firstly, one must love God. You need to learn to love your God if you don’t do it already. Love unconditionally.

You then need to love others. Unconditionally, still. In doing so, you need to seek and find value in yourself. This is important. Very important.

These are three parts of the many parts that make up the big word that is ‘love’. All three can be bundled up and used to help us all. These three fundamentals are without a doubt, one of the most effective ways of battling the on-going, destructive power of low self-worth, that we all face at various points in our lives. Little hurdles, little battles. Some battle more than others.

Genuine love is a gift. Something we give to others. Unconditionally.

It isn’t bought by their actions or dependent upon our feelings at the moment. No. It may carry strong emotional feelings but a gift is not supported by them.

No, it is a choice, a decision.

A decision we make every day, that someone is special and valuable to us.

We all have these people in our lives. Think about the people you give your genuine love to. Your mum, your dad, your siblings. Your wife or husband perhaps. Your children, your grandchildren, your nephews or nieces. You know who I am talking about – they represent the ‘special people’ in your life.

The people you value more than any other in your life, in the whole-wide world.

For me, it is undoubtedly, my beautiful wife of thirteen years and my two beautiful children we have been blessed with. My love for them is to infinity and beyond.

We recently returned from a beautiful spot in NSW, about 4 hours from Sydney. Was a lovely few days. I tell my little Valentine’s that these little trips are Valentine Vitality Vacations. My children enjoyed it, they enjoyed the different environment. They enjoyed the activities we did together as a family. We all did. A change is always good, in all areas of life, no matter how small or subtle it is.

A wise man once said: “ Life is about change. If you’re not changing, you’re not living”.

Very true. One of the keys: adaptation.

The trip got me thinking about how special they were to me – my wife and kids. Got me thinking about the immensity of their value to me. I’m sure many of you also think about this same thing too.

I simply just love them. Unconditionally. To love them is my gift to them and it is a gift for me, too. That they choose to accept my gift.

I believe to love someone also means to honor someone. Just like love, honor is a gift we choose to give someone that we consider special in our lives.

I recall a line in my vows to my wife on my wedding day included the word “to honor’. I thought about what that meant and I believe, the gift of honoring someone comes before or precedes love. It does not have to only be at a wedding. It could be anywhere, anytime.

Only you can decide who you choose to honor in your life.

Love is put into action once we have made the decision to honor another person. To place a high value on someone. Digest that for a few seconds and have a think about the people you value in your life. Do you honor them? It is highly likely that you do.

Over ten years ago, I made that decision to honor my wife and the river of my love for this beautiful, intelligent, caring, strong, fair and loving woman and life partner – has only increased as every year passes.

To honor is to love.

I intend to give and teach my two children – Olivia who is five and Zachary the art of embracing being a ‘student of life’. I believe, for those of you who have children, we can give the gift of honor to your children by:

Helping them find value in difficult and troubled times
Recognizing and being aware of your own parenting style, its strengths and limitations
Providing a healthy balance in your homes (in all areas of life)
Establishing loving boundaries
Building positive loyalties
Offering honor to God (giving daily thanks for all blessings for example).
Honoring your parents.

With a better understanding of honor, I hope my children, just like you most likely hope for yours, will be more aware of the power of genuine love. And that the actions, that follows, once they have made the decision to honor someone is one that has love written all over it.

The gift of love follows the gift of honor.

Give your gifts of love and honor.

Until next time,

cheers & ahoy!

The old captain Viking Pirate 🏴‍☠️ ⚔️Evangelist muscled 💪monk 🤔😎…& 💓

To pursue your SHIT and never achieving it is far better than never having a go at your SHIT and living with regret forever.

Beliefs, dreams, faith, game of life, hope, Imagination, life, long-term perspective, needs, perspective, time, truths, you

Reach out for your potential.

Relaxed.

Have you reached your potential – in your field of expertise?

Yes? Well, congratulations!

However, if you said “no” then you would probably make up the majority of people reading this blog and in the world (me included). That’s ok, too.

My question is: “Why Not?”.

What do you think are some of the factors that most often prevent the anyone from reaching his or her greatest potential – in whatever field? In my experience as a coach helping people of all ages and skill levels over the last two decades I’ve heard many barriers or excuses that people have told me regarding why they don’t or cannot make the time to go to the gym. Many, believe me.

What I have learned is that when you funnel out all the cr#p and lies people tell themselves, there appears to be two common barriers that often prevent most people from performing to their fullest. A barrier to ‘giving their all’. A barrier to ‘never giving up on themselves’. What do you think it is? Yep, some of you may have guessed it.

The first, as I see it, is a pattern of failures and past mistakes. When each of us look back honestly on our lives so far, we would all notice that we have made countless mistakes. Had a thousand failures. The second related barrier that appears to be holding people back is fear of failure. Yes, that other ‘F’ word: FAILURE.

Someone once said that “Failure is success deferred”. Very true. The key is patience. Most very successful people in all fields of life, most people that have reached the top of their professions or field of expertise, have all failed. Not once, but multiple times in the process of achieving success, of reaching out for their true potential. If you are going to fail, you might as well, fail big, someone once said. So, don’t be afraid to fail, if you’re going to do it in the pursuit of reaching success, then go ahead: Fail big.

Fail big – learn big!

If you’re a Christian, you, like me, may view these barriers through a different set of lenses or perspective. What I mean to say is that from a Christian perspective, the basic tenets of Christianity addresses these challenges most of us face throughout our lives and helps us remove these two major barriers.

As I recall from my early teachings in Catholic classes, being a Christian, we are taught that our past is forgiven; we are taught from a young age that we can start over with a ‘clean slate’. That making mistakes is a very natural part of life. And because of this, it gives Christians the resolve to trust that the mistakes of the past need not hold them back. It need not hold anyone back, even if you are not a Christian (and you are aware of possibilities). Everyone makes mistakes. Accept that. It reminds us that we are ‘human’ and ‘not perfect’.

So, it follows, according to the belief instilled in Christianity, we are taught and encouraged to never fear the “F” word – failure, that modern society looks upon as a taboo subject to talk about. That other “F’ word that everyone is afraid to open up and admit: Failure. As a Christian, because of our faith, we accept that we are not in total control of our lives, that ultimately, God (or whatever God you worship) is in control of your life.

Don’t mis-interpret me, please.

It does not mean that you start thinking that you will always get what you want or always win every competition you enter or always have things go your way or never get fired or never fail in an endeavour. No, it does not mean any of this at all. It does mean, however, that through your faith, and belief – that God can bring good out of every experience for those who trust in him.

The stronger your trust. The stronger your faith. The stronger your belief in God, you do not need to worry about failing. So, go ahead, people, pursue your dreams. Start the projects you’ve always intended to do but procrastinated because you were reminded of your past failures and you fear failing AGAIN.

If the burden, chains and memories of past mistakes or anxiety about failing in the future is removed, you would be FREE to FOCUS, wouldn’t you? To focus on doing your very BEST in the PRESENT. Makes sense doesn’t it? Yes, it does, if you are a Christian. Even if you are not and don’t belong to a religion, you could still see the gift that Christians have.

This is fundamentally how a real, personal Christian faith can liberate souls in need around the world. Around your world, maybe? It is the awareness of these basic Christian tenets and faith that can make it a little easier for anyone – yes, just like you, to reach out for his or her highest potential.

Having said that, I realize a lot of people think the idea of a ‘personal relationship’ with God (or a higher force – your God) sounds disturbingly exclusive, somehow presumptive, and more than a little pious. I do respect these peoples’ perspective. They just have not allowed themselves to be made aware of such consciousness. I thought the same thing when I was a young Catholic, questioning my belief, my faith … many, many years ago. But, life taught me otherwise.

According to the Bible, this idea of having a personal relationship with God isn’t at all presumptive. It was God’s idea in the first place. And it is not exclusive. It is available to anyone who accepts God’s offer. It is not too late for anyone to make that relationship and agreeing to the consideration on offer: your trust, your faith, your belief in him/her.

Then …. reach out (with both hands and with all your might) to your true potential through belief. In you. With God.

So, there you have it. Bring out all those little projects you have had in the ‘back burners’ and BEGIN IT. Maybe, that idea for a business that you were afraid to start. Or, it could be that change of career that you were afraid to make – to do what you love to do. There is power in beginning, starting NOW. Begin your walk to the gym. Begin your weight-loss program – AGAIN (even if you have failed many times before and tried everything but failed). Try again. Begin eating better again. Have faith in you, don’t give up on yourself. Especially now, with increased awareness of your faith, that you have God on your side.

Have that difficult discussion with yourself and with God to guide you on your journey to your goals … towards your imaginary self. But this time, with the belief that all your past mistakes, all your past failures is forgiven.

Create your new foundation for what you are building (on a clean slate) and begin putting the building blocks towards your highest potential.

Don’t look at life as a gamble. Instead look at life as a giant, very real game so become a better player of the ultimate game (with the belief that God is in your corner), like a great coach is in a Champion Boxer’s corner, in his ears, in the ring during battle. Have no doubt in you, no doubt in your God.

Remember: doubters don’t win or succeed. Winners don’t doubt, especially with your higher force on your side. Your God.

Reach out. Don’t delay. There is not time to lose.

Reach out for your potential. Today!

Until next time,

a better life, adaptation, attitude, awareness, beauty, belief, Beliefs, better choices, body, choices, compassion, courage, Energy, examined life, game of life, grace, gratitude, hope, Imagination, life, long-term perspective, long-term strategy, love, muscles, perseverance, responsibility, risk, self, self discipline, self improvement, self-respect, success, Vitality, workout, you, your life

Work your giving muscles.

Give.

Giving is a joy.

For the same reason that we should exercise our bodies, we should GIVE. Your body is functioning at its best when it is forced to work, specifically, when your muscles are forced to work. If you don’t do anything and live a sedentary lifestyle, then in the long term you are actually hurting them and yourself.

It is as simple as that.

The thing about muscle training is that you have to ‘expend some energy’. Some people just don’t want to do that, because it means ‘work’. Work equates to pain which equates to fear of it. That’s certainly a very common way of thinking of lifting weights in the gym, but that’s only one perspective.

Another perspective is that ‘working out’ your muscles, when done properly is one of the greatest and most vital pleasures you can possibly experience in your life.

Your lifetime.

In whatever goal you desire, you need to make sure you understand how to use the tools 🛠 necessary to bring about the change you seek.

Energy Crisis WITHIN.

We are constantly reminded that there is an ‘energy crisis’ in the world today. True, there is. The science says this and politicians argue over interpretation of facts about it. Different perspectives again, on a global scale.

However, the biggest threat to man-kind today is evolving within. I refer to the growing energy crisis WITHIN. Within each individual.

There is a direct correlation between what I call an ‘energy crisis’ within and the increase in sedentary lifestyle choices. If you don’t ‘spend’ any energy in the gym and work your muscles, strangely enough, the result is you will progressively have less strength and energy and VITALITY, than if you had.

This individual energy-crisis physically manifests itself in many life-threatening illnesses – both mentally and physically.

First test. Test YOU, always.

Re-charge.

The gym and weight-training is, I believe, one of the last remaining genuine “re-charge points” available for each and every one of us. Yes, available to you, too. Just like your mobile phone and other modern-day comfort and convenient goods need re-charging and energy to function optimally, you do, too.

The more energy and vitality you re-charge and ‘feel’ within you after expending energy working your muscles is akin to what you will get and feel when you GIVE and don’t expect anything in return.

Do you GIVE it just TAKE?

Are you a Giver or taker.

There are givers and there are takers in this world, but I would like to think there are more givers. Are you a giver or a taker?

Do you exercise your ‘giving muscles’?

“Giving muscles?” I hear you say. “What is that?”

Lets firstly look at what it means to be a “giver”?

We can certainly look up a definition if we google it but I will attempt to explain it by referring to some behavioural traits we observe in people around us, and you.

Well, there are many traits – you could say, giving people offer friendship easily; they are caring and empathetic – not only with their money but emotions and knowledge; they take genuine delight in the good fortune of others.

Education through a perception of the truth.
Increasing your awareness, taking sufficient and appropriate actions and adapting accordingly is key towards self-improvement.
Funny thing is that the process also applies to relationships and response.
Vv

Giving is an Attitude toward Life.

Just like making exercise a part of your life, giving is an attitude toward life than it is a specific act at one time or another. Givers have certain openness about them. Givers don’t seem to speak a lot about their ‘rights’. Givers do what is right. They generally find time to laugh and don’t wallow in self-pity. They are forward-thinkers but learn from the past and are keen observers of the present.

Givers do not run constant cost-benefit analyses to see if an opportunity for generosity is to their advantage. They are likely to not get too attached to the material possessions in their lives.

Help people strengthen their resolve, internally, with their own souls
so… that nothing can tear it out. I give knowledge to those who want to learn.

Want Less, Give More.

There are giving muscles in you, in every one of us. We just need to consciously use it and ‘feel’ the life-giving effects of using it. Feeling its essence. It is, in essence, what it means to be human.

Like training your muscles – for 20, 30, 45 or 60 minutes in the gym, you get back ten times the energy and vitality you expended which re-charges you and your being. Your life. You can’t afford not to invest energy. Give more and ultimately, get more. Add more life in to your years and not just be concerned with getting more years to your life.

Giving is to your benefit – physically, mentally and spiritually.

You don’t have to be a saint or martyr to give. Miserliness in all forms, diminishes you – diminishes us.

Diminishes the human race.

The more you keep, the less you have and the less you are.

Giving is a joy.

Want less. Give more.

Try it if it isn’t already a part of your attitude to life.

This is another of life’s interesting paradoxes.

Until next time,

Writing things down sometimes helps in the communication process.
The goal is not communication. The goal is EFFECTIVE communication.
Making real changes with the knowledge gained from ‘feedback loops’ allows me to formulate the right adaptive strategy for student – ex Australian Wallaby Captain, Phil Waugh.
Vv.

a better life, awareness, Beliefs, better choices, body, dreams, game of life, Goals, habits, Imagination, life, long-term perspective, love, mind, muscle building, muscles, perseverance, responsibility, safe training, skills, Strength training, time, workout, your life

Hard Yakka: Please Apply.

It’s ok to enjoy a treat once in a while. Fruit is great after a meal; it satisfies your desire for something sweet but has fewer calories, then, say, ice-cream.

Having dedication is critical.

Even the best training advice and know-how amounts to nothing unless it is catalyzed and fused with dedication to consistent action.

Read that again – dedication to consistent action or like I have summarized to many gym goers over the years, one of the secrets to maximizing benefits from efforts in the gym is simply being CONSISTENT and PERSISTENT. Many people don’t like hearing these words because they think there is some magic formula, some magic supplement portion, some magical new way of training. Well, I have news for you: there isn’t!

Some training enthusiasts have consistency but are not persistent. Some are persistent but not consistent. To be successful in training or muscle-building you need both traits repeatedly practiced. I believe you need the same two traits to be successful in any other area of life. If you strive to be a better person and getting success out of your training is one of your priorities, then having dedication is critical.

Dedication to anything worthwhile achieving takes a lot of mental, physical and emotional discipline.

Dedication is the unsung virtue in today’s world.

With regards to training success in the gym, dedication alone will be wasted if it is combined with poor training and recovery. Many people look at dedication as painful and a slog but this is far from the truth, which is that dedication is an unsung virtue in today’s world.

It is a virtue because dedication involves and includes discipline which can be seen as doing what needs to be done with consistency and persistence. Many successful people in their respective fields of interest have become successful because for some of them, they have practiced mental and physical discipline, day-in, day-out. Along with talent, we cannot discount all the ‘yakka’ and discipline to deliberately practise their craft over many years in most cases, to get them to where they are. Some of you may not be familiar with the term – yakka, and that is perfectly understandable. It simply is an old Australian word that means ‘hard work’. Please apply. Having the opportunity to apply discipline in your chosen field is a BLESSING. This is exactly what is needed to successful training: discipline or in other words – consistency and persistence.

10kg dumbells will always be 10kg wherever you are on this planet. Keeps you grounded.

Not tomorrow. Tomorrow may never come.

Everyone who has ever lifted weights to get stronger, bigger, smaller, more toned, fitter, healthier and so forth is by definition, a bodybuilder. Muscle-building is not just for competitive bodybuilders, it is an activity for everyone who wants to take charge of their physical appearance and conditioning, regardless of age, sex, culture, race or background. It is for you and everyone in your family, for Everyone you know.

Real bodybuilding is a fantastic goal to have and deserves your best efforts.

The benefits go far beyond mere cosmetics. The training, nutritional and recuperative areas of bodybuilding when implemented in a structured and safe manner, can and will produce extensive health benefits. Like I have said before, by improving your health and vitality you can add more life to your years and possibly years to your life. So, don’t wait any more and ‘get off the fence’ and do something about your training and making strength training a part of your lifestyle, today.

Not tomorrow. Tomorrow may never come.

Your are your brain neuro-pathways

A Healthy Brain is a Happy Life.

Everything we do and feel is governed by how our brain cells, or neurons, connect to one another. What most people think of as psychological makeup is rooted in the biology of these connections. The brain is constantly being rewired and exercise helps keep your brain healthy and balanced.

Exercising with the right intensity, especially like weight-training, is like taking a little bit of Prozac or a little bit of Ritalin, as it elevates the same neurotransmitters, like the drugs do. A useful analogy to make but the main point is that lifting weights and exercising helps balance neurotransmitters – along with the rest of the neurochemicals in the brain.

Keeping your brain in balance can change your life. A healthy brain is a happy life.

I love mathematics and here is a little formula I have come up summarizing success in training or body re-engineering. I have shared this with the many clients I have helped over the years:

Conceptualization/Imagination(dreams and desired outcome) + Effort (know-how and dedication) + Heart (determination of purpose) + Belief (passion) == > SUCCESS in training

So, don’t delay, put hard yakka in to your strength and health training and make it a priority in your life – today!

Until next time,

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Building a World Class Natural Physique takes patience and deliberate practise of key daily habits.

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

Triple A to Life: Awareness. Action. Adaptation.

Tag Archives: consciousness

Nobody can teach you WHO YOU ARE.

Sometimes, local is BEST.

I spy with my little eyes …

To live in Hope.

Inside-out Roll.

Shaken and stirred.

The Gifts of love and honor.

Reach out for your potential.

Hard Yakka: Please Apply.

Thank you for your response. ✨