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Monday, February 24, 2014
Life is what you make it!
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Positive Thoughts lead to Positive Living
Belief…Confidence…I am
possible…Life matters…Motivation…Courage…Exceptional.
See these words?
They echo positive thinking.
Today’s message is to flood inspiration into your mind to be a positive
thinker. Your thoughts can literally
change the way you live your life.
You can become more, do more, achieve more, get in the best shape of
your life, help more people and become exceptional, just by creating a habit of
positive thinking. Once this way
of thinking is ingrained into your brain, you begin to instill deep beliefs
that will guide you to creating strong values. You build a confident and optimistic mind. You find the good in all that you
do. You find resilience in the
tough times. We live in a society
that is flooded with negativity.
This negative realm directs us off path of achieving our
aspirations. The positive thinker
achieves the “impossible” and finds a way when there is no way. I am a big believer that when you
create a positive outlook on life and yourself, you produce the ability to
accomplish almost anything you desire to achieve. This concept of optimistic thinking takes consistent mental
conditioning. Our brain is a
powerful muscle and building a strong belief system in our daily life and
ourselves is possible. But just
like we need weight training to build stronger muscles in the body, we need
mind conditioning to build a strong and positive brain. Here are a few drills that you can
begin to implement in to your day to condition your thoughts.
1.
Start your day with something positive. The best thing you can do when you
first wake up is to fill your brain with positivity. In the morning, our mind is fresh and ready to take on the
day. The worse thing you can do is
watch or read about everything negative happening in our world. This is a mistake many people
make. I encourage you to find an
inspirational story or video that will set you up for a successful day. Filling your mind with optimism is the
first step of reprogramming this thought process. Literally do this every morning. Remember, “Vision
without action is only a daydream”.
Make it a reality by following through.
2.
Be aware of your thoughts. “Change your thoughts and you change your
world”. When I work with
people on their nutritional habits, the first thing I have them do is write
down all of their food. This is
such a critical component as it creates awareness for the individual of what
and how much is going into their body.
Let’s use the same strategy for our thoughts. We must first be aware before we can make a change. What is the first thought when you hit
that alarm in the morning? Is it,
“Ugh, I just want to go back to sleep?”
Or “Let’s take charge and
create success today.” What is the
thought when you look in the mirror?
Is it, “I’m fat, I hate the way my body looks.” Or “I am proud of the way my body
looks. I am working hard with my fitness
and nutrition routine and I will continue to push myself.” Get that thought in the head and
quickly change if it is a negative one.
You will see the benefit it will have on your day-to-day life.
3.
Eat healthy and workout. Your body and mind work together. Optimizing the significance of each day
runs parallel with taking care of your body. That is why eating high quality foods and daily exercise are
a must. When you feel good
physically you will feel even better mentally. You will be more apt to battle through tough times and hard
days when you are physically strong and resilient. Also, exercise releases dopamine and norepinephrine, which
will give you a sense of confidence, esteem and the “I can take on the world”
mentality.
4.
Surround yourself with optimism. You have to take a close look at
everything in your life. Who do
you surround yourself with? What
music do you listen to? What type
of TV shows do you watch? What do
you put into your body? Trying
your best to eliminate negativity will set you up to think more positively. Turn on the television right now and
crime is happening, people are arguing over politics, TV shows are vulgar and
offensive and it’s everywhere. This negativity can destroy any seed of hope
that we may otherwise have in striving for our goals. Do your best to put yourself in a position of consistent optimism. Your mental state will become toxic if
negativity is always in your life.
Exchanging negative thoughts and actions to positive ones will get you
from being uninspired and de-motivated, to feeling uplifted, driven and
determined for greater self growth.
A happy and abundant life is completely in our hands. The work must be done to create
exceptional living. You have the
abilities. You have the determination. You have the will power. You just have to put in the constant
ACTION day in and day out to achieve great things.
To another great day,
Stay Inspired!
Friday, January 17, 2014
Motivation, Focus and Effort - Game Changing Words
Motivation, focus and
effort. These are the words
that I taught 75+ elementary kids during their training session this last week.
A sudden abundance of excitement and enthusiasm came over me when I was coaching
them. These kids are starving for
positive mentorship. I strive to be
their chisel to guide their minds to life, optimism and wellness. At the beginning of the session, I
brought the group around me and began my pre-workout lesson. I told them they “would be learning
three valuable words today”. I
passionately expressed that these words could help them achieve high
endeavors. “You could become
doctors, business owners, high level athletes, and reach lofty heights when
understanding these words. When
these words become stuck as habits, you can achieve your goals.” As I finished the workout and was
walking back to my truck, it hit me.
These words are not just for kids; this is for any individual looking
for monomaniacal living. Oh you
like that word right? Monomaniacal is defined as intense
enthusiasm for a specific subject or idea. Life needs to be lived with intense enthusiasm. To
me, there is no other way. This
life philosophy gives you a wealth of inspiration, passion and desire. Attaining motivation, having laser
focus and showing strong effort in all that you do will guide you to more
abundant living.
The Three Words that can change
your life…
Motivation.
Motivation is a powerful word.
Inner drive to do pretty much any task, strategy or action step to
achieve a specific objective is motivation. Motivation must first come from your inner soul. You cannot use other people until you
have lit the flame. Once the
motivation flame is lit, now others can help you grow and maintain the
fire. When you find a time where
motivation has deflated, you must quickly find ideas, people or stories that
will help you regain the drive.
Motivation is a trait that all of us can express. Live with enthusiasm and stay motivated
to do so.
Focus. Focus
gives you direct attention to a task, goal or mission. We live in a busy world where our focus
is always being pulled in many directions. The old saying goes, “If you try and do everything, you will
be good at nothing.” Become laser
focused on your most important priorities. Master major things.
Do your ultimate best on a few projects, instead of being average on
many. This focus will give you
ultimate direction to achieve your highest endeavors.
Effort. Effort
alone can be a game changer. Winston
Churchill said, “continuous effort, not
strength or intelligence, is the key to unlocking your true potential.” You do not have to be the strongest,
biggest, smartest or fastest; just by expressing more effort, you become a
better YOU. You expand. You grow. You reach ambitious goals. You strive for excellence. This trait takes you to your ultimate best you.
Write these words down. See them everyday.
Work on them. Share them to
other people. Instill them in your
life. Your life will change.
Stay Inspired!
Monday, January 13, 2014
Life Mastery leads to....
Motivation and enthusiasm is at an all time high right
now. I have been reading, writing
and making moves. JLEvision has
lifted off and I am inspired to give you the best content I can to help you
reach your goals. What about for
you? How has the first 2 weeks of
the New Year gone for you? Today,
I talk about becoming a student of life.
This is something that has really hit me the past couple years and I
want to share some valuable insights with you….
Life mastery is not living some perfect and fairytale
life. Bumps will be in the
road. Challenging times will
arise. But striving for this
mastery of life has many benefits that will guide us to awesome living.
Life Mastery leads to…
Happiness: Without this, nothing else matters. No money, fancy cars, or big houses can
make you happy. You might be
thinking, “Shoot, if someone gave me $1 million, I would be very happy”. Yes, you are probably right. You would be happy for a little
while. But if you are not happy
right now, in this moment, then eventually that “money happiness” will wear
off. Happiness must come from
within and striving for this “happy place” is so critical to wake up each day
ready.
Health: We need to be healthy, fit and strong to live at
ultimate levels. If you are
overweight, underweight, sick or lack energy, you are simply falling short to
your ultimate best you. Healthy
living is balanced living.
Creating physical, mental and spiritual health is important to gain this
sense of balance. Take the time to
exercise, as this will pump endorphins into your bloodstream giving you the
sense of confidence and esteem.
Spend time reading, praying or whatever works for you to grow your
spirit. The human spirit is one of
the strongest forms of mankind.
And work on your mental conditioning. Drive positive thoughts into your brain and limit the
negative thinking. Powerful things
happen when optimism is on your side.
Relationships:
There is nothing better than a great friend and relationship. The people in my life have helped shape
me into the man I am. Vice versa,
the wrong relationships/people in your life can suffocate and “poison” your
life. “You are the direct
reflection of the top 5 people you spend the most time with,” says Jim
Rohn. Look around you; you are
just like the people you are always with.
Make the change if needed.
Deeply cherish the awesome people in your life and never take for
granted your relationships.
Resilience: Obstacles are destined to be in our path. Becoming a student of life will grow
and produce resilience. We need
this spirit for the though times that life bring. As I was running 300 miles, I came to the conclusion that
determination is stronger than weakness.
Finding this deep determination in the toughest of times will force us
to grow and expand into stronger and more resilient individuals.
Discipline:
Daily discipline might be the most important ingredient to living an
awesome life. Without discipline,
the goals do not get achieved and your life becomes mediocre. This habit of discipline will get you
up in the morning for that early workout, force you to write in your journal
and mold your mind to believe ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.
Passion: Having
this intense enthusiasm towards life, your family and friends, your job, your
health, your faith…basically anything that you come across, will give you an
excitement to LIVE LIFE to the fullest.
There is no other way.
Enjoy the journey of life.
Take on the obstacles. Get
from the day! Live with
passion. This life mastery habit
will be contagious and others will follow. The world will be a better place when we are passionately
moving towards a consistent goal.
Start now to become a student of life. Start with a book. Start with a walk around the
block. Start with a positive thought. Your life is in your hands.
Make today a little better than yesterday and don’t settle
for mediocrity.
I challenge you!!
Thursday, January 9, 2014
5 daily practices to give you awesome days
You need to take 10 minutes to read today’s blog. Not only am I giving you 5 extremely
important practices to add to your life but also I want to feed inspiration
into your veins. Inspiration is
the fuel that wakes you up in the morning with a positive mindset. It gets you to the gym when you “have
other things to do”. Inspiration
drives motivation in to your brain, which then creates the action needed to accomplish
your biggest goals. Inspiration
gives you the “hustle mentality” and as we know having extreme work ethic
drives success. We cannot get
caught in living our life mediocre.
This leads to average relationships and financial health, inadequate
physical and spiritual well being and subpar living. We all have the opportunity to do big things and it takes
personal responsibility to make this happen. Stay away from excuses. Stay away from pessimism. Stay away from unhealthy ways. Direct your attention to positivity. Be accountable. And be laser focused in becoming the
best you can be. Everyday counts,
so start right now in readjusting your thoughts and ways. Add the 5 practices below to your day
starting today. Don’t wait. With everyday you wait, you waste
opportunity. Go for it now! And watch your life take off!
5 Daily practices to give you awesome days:
1.
Workout.
Working out releases endorphins.
Secretion of endorphins leads to the feeling of euphoria or
excitement. If you want to succeed
in life, you must be healthy.
Healthy doesn’t mean you have a 6-pack ripping through your shirt or
bulging biceps. Healthy means
balance. Healthy means you have
freedom to move pain free and be active.
Being healthy means you do not have anything holding you back to achieve
greatness. This should be imbedded
into your weekly schedule. One
hour a day is only 4% of your entire week. We all can spend 4% of our week focused on our physical
strength. Our physical strength is
directly related to our mental and spiritual well-being. So if you want to reach your ultimate
self, exercise is mandatory.
2.
Read something motivational and inspiring. Many people get up and immediately turn
on the news or read the newspaper.
As keeping up on social and economic affairs is important, I do not
recommend it be the first thing you do in the morning. The morning is the perfect time to feed
positive vibes into your brain and wake up that inner motivation. This initial daily practice will build
momentum for you to have not just good days but fantastic days. Starting your day with an inspiring
story or a motivating book will develop optimistic thinking. As these positive thoughts are put into
your mindset, positive action will ensue.
Positive action leads to the accomplishment of some ambitious
goals. Start with these guys: Jim
Rohn, Robin Sharma, Brian Tracy and John Maxwell.
3.
Focus on the positives. “How’s your day going?” “Well, just getting through another
day”. This might be the most
negative view of life. But yet, I
hear this answer to that question so much. Too many people just “get through the day” when there is so
much we can get from the day. Each
day is not just “another day”. If
you live with this philosophy you are probably the one making excuses, blaming
other people and not taking responsibility for your life. Each day is full of opportunity,
growth, wellness, motivation, relationships, perseverance, and so much
more! When you decide to direct
your thoughts to this positive outlook, your days will improve. You will hold yourself accountable to
your goals. You will start achieving
those goals. You will find
resilience when times are tough.
This simple mindset shift can have a dramatic affect on your life.
4.
Drink water. Every single cell in our body needs water in order to absorb
nutrients and expel waste products.
Headaches, poor energy levels, lack of focus and subpar performance are
just a few side affects of dehydration.
Many people go through their day without drinking enough water. This simple strategy can jumpstart your
energy, improve your athletic performance and increase your cognitive
function. First thing in the
morning, grab a glass of water instead of reaching for the juice or
coffee. Make sure you have a water
bottle by your side the entire day.
You are more likely to drink water if it is in arms reach.
5.
Inspire others. If you can make this a daily practice you will completely
change the community and world you live in. Start with two people a day. Do a good deed, buy them lunch or send them a positive
story. If you truly do this
everyday, that equates to 14 people in a week or 728 people in a year. You change the world you live in by
inspiring others to be great. The positive
change one person can make can be remarkable. It just takes daily action.
It's time to do something about it! Share with a friend if you enjoyed this blog.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Big Things in 2014 - Action is required
We are 7 days into the New Year and motivation and energy should be high. The New Year seems to revitalize people’s vitality and liveliness. Goals are set, plans are created and the “plane is lifting off”. What will you do differently this year to keep this way of life consistent?
Too many times, people set limits on themselves. Most of the time these limits are
self-imposed and I am telling you now, you can break through those limits and
accomplish big things in '14.
There will be major obstacles that will sit in your path in the upcoming
year. How you react and respond to
these obstacles will define you as a person. The worse thing you can do is quit, lie down and give up. Do the opposite. When these obstacles arise, get up,
move forward and push harder.
Believe in your abilities, surround yourself with supportive people and
find your inner determination.
This will take major ACTION.
Be unique in '14.
Reinvent yourself. Go
against the grain. Have the tough
conversations. Be passionate. Be honest. Show courage.
Inspire others. Get super
fit and healthy. Eat the foods
that will give you strength and stamina.
Get laser focused to make these things happen.
This year, more than any other, go for the ultimate. Do not give in to pessimistic people
that will not support your goals.
Do not accept average. Stay
away from stagnation. Find
motivation in the toughest of times.
Push yourself harder than ever before. Help others find inspiration. The LIMITLESS mindset is in our control. Constant ACTION will be needed for this
to happen.
As 2014 sits in front of us, it is completely up to YOU to do
the things you aspire, reach the goals you set and push your comfort zone. Go all in my friends! Stay on track the entire year. Simply, make it happen. This will be a big year and big action
will be required.
Here are 4 daily tactics from Robin Sharma that I want to share with you:
Monday, October 7, 2013
Motivation
Motivation
must first come from within
In all my
experiences in the fitness industry, the #1 reason people quit an exercise
program is from a lack of motivation.
Starting the program is the easy part. Staying with it over the long haul is hard work. See the thing is, people look for quick
results. They expect to see
results in their fitness program in a few weeks. I am going to tell you right now, this is not how it works. The first few weeks is just breaking
the ice. Don’t think 3 weeks;
think 3 years. The individuals who
are the most successful with their fitness programs are the ones who decide to
make it a lifestyle habit. Yes,
this person still must overcome obstacles, plateaus and lack of motivation but
when it’s a habit, they continue with their program and bust through their
discouragement.
According to Wikipedia, motivation is the psychological
feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal. Motivation to wake up in the
morning to prepare a healthy breakfast must come from within. Motivation to get to the gym when you
have “other” things to do must come from within. Motivation to choose healthy options when out to eat, must
come from within. You cannot look
for other people to motivate you when you do not have the inner drive to do it
yourself first. You must take the
first step. Once you have
generated this motivation, I am telling you, the possibilities are
endless. You can now use others to
spark that flame, give you inspiration and then many things become
possible.
Let me be
upfront with you right now.
Obstacles are bound to happen.
Let downs will be in our path.
There will be a time when results will be halted and how you handle this
will determine who you are as a person.
Successful people, who are fit, healthy and live with motivation, are
able to overcome roadblocks and become stronger because of it. They don’t look at it as a setback or
something that cannot be handled.
They focus on the next positive thing they can do. Maybe it’s a minor change to the
workout design. Maybe it’s dialing
in the nutrition plan for a few weeks.
Maybe it’s finding a great fitness coach to guide and push them past
their plateau. Whatever the
missing puzzle piece might be, you have to stay motivated to continue moving
forward and going after your goals.
The worse thing you can do is quit, lie down and settle. Don’t let this happen.
How you do anything is how you do
everything. If you are motivated in your fitness
routine, you will be more likely to find motivation to be a better business individual
and this motivation will spread to your family and friends. Your motivation will become contagious
and others will be inspired to follow in your footsteps. What do you do to find this
motivation? Well first, you must
decide that you are going to consciously work on your inner drive. You are going to ignore negative
thoughts that enter your head. You
are going to construct a strong belief system in yourself and in other
people. You are going to push
yourself past your comfort zone.
You are going to set ambitious goals. You are going to surround yourself with other motivated and
positive people. You are going to
create a game plan to be successful.
All of these tools will aide in your motivation. You just have to be committed to
working on them daily, weekly and yearly.
Honestly, do it the rest of your life. Not the next 2 weeks, THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!
Go write out some goals, create a few action steps for those goals and
START! Nothing starts without the
first step. I encourage you to get
motivated and go after that dream.
Don’t stop until you get there, because when you get there, you are
going to be motivated to keep going!
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