Most people know Einstein for his theory of relativity; however, he does have some good bagels and makes for a funny bobble-head character, but I think he was a philosopher / social scientist as much as he was a physicist. I love this quote from Einstein: “Intelligence is your ability to adapt to change.”

Is life and intelligence relative? Sure, it’s relative to your own understanding that is. Let me add that there is a lot more to our surroundings that our own comprehension. That’s why it’s not easy to adapt to change. When changes happen, especially the ones we didn’t expect or cause, they can throw us off. So Einstein is asking how smart are you? Those who have intelligence can adapt and thrive during change. How smart you are is dependent upon how well you can make the necessary adjustment to life switches that are out of your control.

I believe your mind is a mentor to your emotions. So, your level of adaptation will be dictated by your mental strength not emotionalism. My motivation is for us to adapt to changes well. You might be going through changes in status, numbers, benefits, category, hierarchy, relationships, team members, etc., and if so let’s be smart by being a true team player.

To change with the changes:

·         practice easing up

·         seek to understand

·         think the aftereffects through

·         itemize what to take and what to leave behind

·         be open to new possibilities

I love an analogy a mentor shared with me a long time ago. He said all conflicts come from one party not getting their way, and then not learning what to do with it. If you have to be a rebel, be a respectful rebel. Instead of being a single rider riding your horse directly charging all the others, ride alongside them for a while, then attempt to steer them your direction. Being stuck in the past, stuck in hurt, stuck in mental blocks, stuck in being upset over changes… use your intelligence and adapt well.

The mature realize you can't change people, you just have to work with people. Grow as a person and grow others, be workable and be adaptable.

Word.

If you think you had an adventurous weekend, I may have you beat. I had a surprise birthday party for my daughter who turned 14 (dear Lord I’m not old enough to have a 14 year old- nonetheless, here we go!). We invited 15, and 35 8th graders showed up at my house Friday night. I am not even joking. The doorbell just kept ringing, and most parents just waved from their car as they drove off with the largest grin. And I got the license plate numbers just in case they didn’t come back… Even the Papa John’s lady left in a hurry.

All in all it was a great time. No broken bones, holes in the wall or stains on the carpet. Megan, my daughter, was thrilled that so many of her friends came out to wish her a happy birthday. The look on her face when she walked in was worth every bit of anxiety I went thru the entire night. And to add to being a glutton for punishment I agreed to let 7 of her friends stay overnight. I’m either going to win dad of the year or my official insanity license. Well, I suppose that is one of the benefits of having a bachelor pad. If I did have a wife, I probably wouldn’t have one after this weekend…

The next morning I made breakfast for everyone and the girls were sitting around the table talking. They started talking about all kinds of stuff, some light and some heavy. I was so impressed when I heard Megan tell a good friend, “Ya know, I have found that life opens up when you do. Even though you have to live in that situation, it doesn’t have to define who you are.” In my heart I said “Yes!” Isn’t it great when you see that your kids actually do listen and they do get it? I love those moments and can’t wait for more.

So, my motivation for us is to simply open up to life. Let’s take the advice of a young person who is still positive, creative, imaginative, and full of belief that the world of possibilities are not out of reach; instead they are right in front of you.

It’s not about life happenings, but life openings. Happenings are out of your control, but openings are paths that we create for ourselves and others. Life sure does happen, but more importantly life sure does open! With this new year, it’s about broader thinking, new horizons, healthier habits, lifestyle increases, limit crushing, record breaking, and visions turning into reality.

“Everyone can see the same sky, but not everyone sees the same horizon.”

Happy New Year!

I’m so glad it’s finally here. I am sensing a lot will come into fruition for us in 2012. We have worked hard and have seen good results, and the culmination of all that will be fantastic this year.

I’ve had the words “new associations” in my head for several weeks and am putting that into practice right now.

Every year at this time people use and even overplay the word “new.” With New Year’s Eve it’s not like there is magic dust mixed in the confetti that transforms us into new people and ideas. However, it is a unique time to make a fresh commitment to ourselves, family and business. So, when I say new associations, I don’t mean a departure from what you have known, but rather adhering to a newer set of values, a fresh sense of self esteem, and a renewed vitality.   

In 2012 we are associating ourselves with new business, new finances, new relationships, new fitness routines, new character and new mentalities. When you are tempted to fall back into any rut or small thinking, nope- because you have new associations. You are associating yourself to newness and advancement. Go ahead and expect as you do the right thing, for the right things to work for you!


“You have done what you could — some blunders and absurdities have crept in. Forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”

Emerson

I just received the coolest dad in the universe award over the weekend. I let the kids open one present, it just happened to be the Xbox Kinect, with 3 games. Hmm, wonder who just couldn't wait.. It was money very well spent. If you don’t know what the Kinect is, it’s an interactive game system with the Xbox where you have to get up and move around – a lot- to play the games. You don’t hold any controller so it’s complete free motion. The kids and I “worked out” all weekend. I am totally ok with spending money on things that promote health verses gifts that add to a sedentary life or add excess calories. Gives new meaning to “Put your money where your mouth is…” and “It’s the gift that keeps giving…”

I brought that up to give an idea on keeping the holidays healthy. Here are 5 tips for holiday health:

 
1). Keep your healthy routines!

Typically the last quarter of the year is when people let their healthy routines slide. Don’t do it! I know we wear more clothes and it gives the impression we can hide more. Don’t fall into the trap. Keep up your training, clean eating and positivity. The same vision you began with last January, where is it? You can only seize what you can see, so see yourself fitting into those pair of jeans and still being able to wear the same shirt you wore in April. This season, let’s work on not having one set of larger clothes and one set of skinny clothes. Let’s reach our goals and have a same sized wardrobe that fits your transformed physique!

Remember the 3 C’s: commitment, convenience and consistency. You will have such a jump start in January if you maintain your healthy routines now.

2). Take advantage of the weather.

Make fall fitness fun by getting outdoors! The leaves are changing and it’s a great time for hiking, walking, tennis and simply being outside.


3). Stay focused on categories not calories.

For those 5 ON 5er’s you have heard this before, let’s keep it up and encourage others. For most, we don’t have time to count calories, and focusing on categories is a better option. Here are the 5 categories for eating: water, fruits, veggies, lean proteins and whole grains. By thinking in terms of categories you can actually make more food equal fewer pounds. That’s good news huh? For example, you could have 1 medium size muffin at 720 calories or you can have 1 pineapple, ½ cantaloupe, ½ kiwi fruit, ½ papaya, grapes, 2 pears and 2 whole wheat rolls all totaling the same- 720 calories.

When you are deciding what to eat, if it doesn’t fit into those 5 categories, it doesn’t fit into your routine! Obviously we have Thanksgiving day and Christmas day, and we all deserve a hall pass for those. However, in between those days eat light, eat right and keep it healthy!

4). Keep your brain trained!

Mental training is a must. If you are not training your brain alongside your muscles, you will have a difficult time making it thru difficult times. Take a few minutes every morning and give your brain some stretches. Read motivational material, get inspired, come on- you have to be your own best coach! Your day becomes more tolerable if you establish mental concrete and a mindset of readiness. Getting yourself grounded and focused before you leave the house makes a big difference.

Let me give you some good exercise quotes to work out your brain:

·         You are in the habit of rising to the occasion.

·         It’s not about things around me changing; it’s about things in me changing.

·         It’s easier to maintain a positive attitude than it is to regain one.

·         The grass is not greener on the other side, it’s just how you manicure the grass you have.

·         I have mental and emotional stability. I will not slow down and will accomplish this goal.

·         Work the plan and plan the work.

·         Discipline brings freedom! Freedom is the energy of life.

·         Your preparation determines your destination!

·         Those things which we fear we cannot do, those things we must do.

·         Keep your head in the game! Stay focused.

·         Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it!

·         Your food should be your medicine and your medicine should be your food.

5). Create family holiday fitness traditions.

This is a great time of year to get your family involved in healthy living too! Create some fun fit traditions. Taking a hike together before you cut down the tree, as you shop spend some extra time walking, go caroling, have Sat night game night (Wii or Xbox Kinect is great, things that cause them to get up and move around), do a race event together, walking the neighborhood together viewing Christmas lights, family ski trip, ice skating, take a trip to Great Wolf Lodge (indoor water park and resort in Concord, NC), Thanksgiving day flag football, etc.

Also, if your days seem to just get busier during this season, move your workout to the morning. That way as things do come up, you have already got it done!  

When we hear the Christmas tune, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” one of two voices follow in our heads. The first is “Yes it is” and warm fuzzies follow. The second is “Whatever, I’ll be glad when this is over so I can relax.”

I do appreciate the reminder to be giving, share love and be happy this time of year, but I do understand how pressure can mount due to business, anxiety of party planning, family in town, and depression can be a real issue for some during the holidays. My motivation is simply for us to breathe and release.

Practice taking in a deep breath, and as you do take in a positive thought. When you exhale, release pressure and negativity. Do this as many times as you need to throughout the day. Appreciation and a greater sense of gratitude will follow. 

I was thinking yesterday about the issue of contentment. I think a solid leadership life lesson is that the grass is never greener on the other side, it’s just how you manicure the grass you have. Think about this, things wouldn’t change even if things would change. The “make it better now” and “hurry up and move on” mentality is not healthy. There is so much power in the word P R O C E S S.

I posted this on facebook yesterday and it bears repeating:  “Let's get away from wanting to get away. You are where you are for a reason(s). Bloom where you are planted. Turn the mountain in your way into a gold mine.” We can’t leave prematurely and cheat the process. Besides, if you leave the situation would you leave the lesson with it? If so, then you are not ready to leave. It’s about constant growth my friend. Instead of uprooting, grow your roots deep.

Cheers!

I know it’s a busy season for us, maybe an understatement, and I am sure sometimes you feel as if you just need a break. Well, consider this: instead of needing a break, how about we break out? Maybe we need to be broken instead needing a break.


In order for a muscle to grow or strengthen, it has to be torn down first. A remodeling job means you first bulldoze the property and establish a new foundation. So, if you are not achieving wellness in your life (personally or professionally) think about a mental remodel. My motivation for you is to break out of any unhealthy thought patterns, jealousy, bitterness, negative outlook, gossip, looking out for number 1, unclean eating and drinking, and exercise overlook. We talk a lot about physical wellness, but emotional wellness needs to be discussed for a balanced life. A Chinese proverb says “The only one you hold in prison by holing onto anger is yourself.” Let’s break out of values that don’t bring health to us and others around us. 

“Your candle looses nothing when it lights another.”

Also, break out of the mental limitations!  Whenever I do a fitness assessment with someone I always ask visioneering like:

·         “What is the highest ideal for yourself?”

·         “How do you want to look and feel?”

·         “Let’s talk about a vision for a healthier you.”

·          “The healthiest you, what does that look like?”

There is so much value in reaching beyond your current limitations and establishing mental concrete! Take your mind thru Yogalates, Tai Chi that wall and train your brain!

I was explaining to someone last week about an ancient Greek philosophy that states you can’t live a holistic life without your mind, body and soul being in unison; balanced and healthy. She was taken back and said “No way I can that.” I said, “then you are right.” I challenged her to knock off limitations she had placed on her mind. Break out of the mental box. Why associate your true ambition with limited reach? You can achieve what you perceive!

 Give yourself a fresh mindset, positive and giving. Your inlook will determine your outlook. You give energy back to yourself when you put energy into others around you. Take that to the bank and cash it every time…

I heard Auto Zone’s commercial yesterday that had this announcer with a deep raspy voice say “Get in the zone!” That charge stuck out to me, and it came right in the middle of my temptation to slack off. “It’s the weekend, it’s Halloween, the holidays are coming up, we wear clothes that cover us up anyway, comfort foods are for the cold winter months…” Ah, but the greater good trumped the excuses. The reason was because I am in the zone.


Once your blood has that particular thing in it, it becomes very difficult to stop it. It takes a minute or two to get in the zone. It takes going against the grain, climbing uphill, consistent sacrifice, realizing you are in the sowing stage (reaping with come), and patience. Then you cross over into a new threshold. You start to feel your goals coming into fruition, you see some results, your blood begins to capture the realization “it can work!” It might be a business zone, it might be a fat loss zone, it might be a financial zone, it might be a family structure zone; whatever the zone… stay in the zone! You have worked too hard to go in reverse.

That phrase may be Auto Zone’s slogan, but what is your life slogan? What do people sense when you are around? What language are you speaking (esp when you are not saying anything)? The longer you stay in your zone(s) the more positive impact you will have. For some it seems easy to get in certain zones. There are many people I admire in this building and am working toward getting in a zone like them. And I think a good reminder is that the best influence is servant leadership and a humble confidence. The gifts we have been given are not for our prestige, they are to be used for the empowerment of others.

In the fitness training world, we talk about zone training. Heart rate zone training is one example. There are 4-5 zones your heart rate can go to depending on your goals. So as you travel to deeper zones take someone with you! Show others how you got there. And stay teachable. If you are green you are growing, you begin to rot when you are ripe.


“Your preparation determines your destination.”

We can all have the potential to become scatterbrained, especially during the really busy seasons. There are no longer non-busy seasons, we have busy, very busy and the really busy season(s). I know when I hit a really busy season because I find myself asking the front reception desk for a temporary badge, we are out of laundry detergent at the house for a week, and I find myself pacing down isle 7 in Target then stop and say to myself “What in the world did I come in here for?”

Outside of an increased dosage of Adderall, what can we do to ensure our thoughts don’t travel at the speed of light in every different direction?

These five practices have helped my scatterbrain go in reverse:

1.       The “Stop and Think” practice

Literally, every time I leave the house or office I pause for a few seconds to stop and think. I ask myself, “Where am I going and do I have everything I need?” That practice of pausing for a few seconds has saved me a lot of time and energy, or reminding me of that email or call I have to return. We are so consumed with the clock that we tend to rush here and there and the goal becomes to beat the clock. Typically, when we do get to the next place, after we have a second to pause, this comes to mind… “Shoot, I forgot…” I have two signs hanging up at my house by the side door (the one we always go out of). One says “Every Day is a Gift” and the other says “Stop and Think.”

2.       Hide your head for 10 min every day

Hide your head in a book, some motivational material, funny quotes, something that peaks your interest and can feed your mind with positivity. Wrap your head in truth, wisdom and practical life principles. By doing this you wrap your mind up like you would a sore knee. You are placing your mind in a cocoon so that a positive metamorphosis can take place.

3.       Release people and situations out of your control

Frustration can set in when we can’t dictate to our surroundings what we feel needs to happen. So, practice patience by allowing people around you to do something other than what you feel they should be doing. That’s a tall order but what it does is releases you from pressure. I don’t mean to say become passive or simply ignore reality, rather find the balance of staying engaged with people and your surroundings but not letting them control your mood, feelings or lifestyle. The bottom line is that the only things you can control are your own thoughts, attitude and responses.  

4.       Get outdoors

This time of year is great weather. I love the outdoors any time of year, but now certainly is great time to enjoy being outside. Making it a point to be outside has a way of naturally reducing stress. Being out in the open has a way of opening us up. The beauty of nature naturally does it for us! Even if it’s taking a walk in the evening, sitting outside at a restaurant, enjoying a Tuesday stretch for 10 minutes outside, it’s worth it! I like to look at the entire year and get my fill of the beach, the mountains and the parks.

5.       Clear the clutter

I have become a big fan of the Container Store. Clearing the clutter around you helps to clear the mind of clutter. In college I used to read over my notes for 10-15 minutes every night and found that I didn’t have to spend hours cramming the night before tests. I have taken that example and applied it to my home. If I clean clutter for 10 minutes in the morning and in the evening, I rarely have to have one big clean. As a single parent, I have had to implement ways to keep the house up. I do that by getting the kids involved in all of the house not just their rooms. We have chore charts but we also make it fun. We do a nightly 10 minute “house rescue” after dinner with loud music. I get a little crazy sometimes and even tie sponges on their feet and give them spray cleaner and let them go to town.

Use these simple tips and create some of your own! You will find that even during the really busy season, your mind doesn’t have to get caught up in a whirlwind.

This is a oldie but a goodie, "In order to go up you have to recognize what you have to give up."

Do you really want more of the same or do you really want to change? That is what you must confront, decide and then do something about!

Do you want to continue your fat loss or do you want fast food? Do you want to trim your waistline or do you want beer instead? Do you want to sleep in or do you want to shape your physique? Are you going to make physical training a priority or let another season slip by? Come on! Now is your time! Build the best you!

Put these quotes on your frig:

·         Looseness in your diet equals looseness around your waist

·         Feeling the pinch now means you will be able to pinch less later

·         Eat light, eat right, stay lean

·         Shortcuts never pay off in the long run

·         Stick to the 70 / 30 rule

Try to remember the 70 – 30 rule. This means that you are never stuffed and you are never starving. 100% is all you can eat stuffed, wheel me out of this feeding troth buffet. 0% is that you haven’t eaten all day and you could eat a horse. If you stay between 30% and 70% full, your metabolism is at its highest peak performance and burning fat for fuel.

100%-----------------70%---------------------------30%-------------------0%


·         Dinner meals are to be “Lean & Green”

Meaning stick to a lean protein and vegetables. Go for fish, chicken, turkey breast (proteins) and colorful veggies (bell peppers, asparagus, spinach leaves…). Try to get your grains in for breakfast and lunch, and taper them off throughout the day.

Keep yourself energized and accountable to your team, and be the encouragement!

How many times have you heard the words “solutions oriented?” 

We all strive to be that way in our jobs, and give our tasks and potential solid energy and thought. My motivation for you  is to apply solutions to your soul. Yeah, I said soul. Some define your soul as your mind, will and emotions. Others define it as simply who you are. Wikipedia says it’s the “incorporeal essence of a person.”

However we define it, it sounds pretty important. A good challenge for us is to find solutions and practices for our inner self. To be solutions oriented when it comes to our mental, physical and emotional health. Simple practices are great and create preventative measures. For example:

·         Make the first 10 minutes of your morning reading some motivational material
·         Plan your workouts for the week
·         Plan out your eating for the week
·         Execute those workouts and clean eating
·         Practice the same sleeping patterns
·         Establish more regular routine
·         Have a 10 min “house rescue” cleaning before bed with the kids
·         Reduce clutter around you- desk, office, car, bedroom (I have had GOT JUNK come to my house the past two summers in a row, and feels fantastic. Unclutter your surroundings and unclutter the mind)
·         Make that doctor or dentist appointment
·         Work on relationship repair, go the extra mile
·         What else for you this week?

You may be familiar with the “Right Livelihood” philosophy. It’s really about simply doing the right thing. I love that we have that as a core value. There is no “living well” without it. And the phrase “business ethics” is not an oxymoron.  Those two can live together, and so can you and soulish solutions. Keep in mind and practice the holistic life. Right Livelihood says the best work situation is one that does not involve lying, dishonesty, harming others or the planet. It is a noble idea and a tall order, but it’s the best solution for genuine happiness. 

It spreads as you live that out. I wanted to share with you what my little 8 year old motivational speaker wrote on my office board at home last night.

Ah, the things we can learn from little ones. I am taking her advice today and living life big time! Why not join us?