Thursday, October 31, 2013

Be Useful

Before I start to type away and find out what flies out through my thumbs (blogger app on phone), I wanted to say (type) how pumped up I am for the podcast to launch.   I've been day dreaming about this for quite a while now and I've been a part of some really inspiring conversations and I listen to some super inspiring pods and this is just a great fit.  For those of you who has no clue what a podcast is, t's basically a radio show.  Pretty simple.  The beauty of it is that we can record these "shows," anywhere at anytime and put them out via the website and iTunes... To be honest, just seeing the name on iTunes is going to excite me.  
Sooooo many stories, so many things that go on that I'll enable to share and if just one conversation or topic, motivates or helps one person, it's all worth it.  That's the beauty of reaching and connecting.  Being able to connect and then having that energy passed along in some form to more people to manifest and take it to another level somehow, that's awesome.
We'll have on guests from all different types of genres, entrepreneurs, trainers, nutritionists, motivational topics, music, whatever.  And when you want to listen to one, you can right on your computer or download to you ipod for your jogs.   I havent listened to a radio station in moooonths and my ipod is 75% loaded w differet casts.  Think of this... Even Alex or Lindsay or carls class can be recorded, you can download it and do it again at a later date.  That's sweet!  The primal strength class wouldn't work that well.... You'd hear me say "5 sets of back squats," and then you'd just hear people mumbling "F you," under their breath :)

 During my session in my garage Sunday night, after every set of squats, I wrote down a thought.  #1 was/is "Be Useful," and that actually plays right into what I wrote above and also asks a question.
What exactly does it mean?
It means.... Anything, really.  It means to ask yourself the actual question, "what can I do to be more useful today?"
To who?
To everyone and everything around us and yourself.  
How can you be more useful at home?
How can you be more useful at work?
In the community?
With your friends
How can you be more useful with yourself??  That's a big one. What can you do in your day to day activities to improve the situation or yourself?  
Be useful.  
There's a term "he's a tool," or whatever and I don't see that as a negative in a certain light.   I'll be a tool for you if it's towards a useful cause that can improve something.  Isn't what I do already that?  Isn't the podcast a tool?  Aren't the training sessions tools?   Sure they are, they're something we use to better ourselves and that could mean physical or mental or spiritual or anything else.  A tool is something we need to help achieve a goal or mission and I'm cool w being a tool like that and I'd want the same thing in return.
Be useful.  
It's about being assertive.  
It's about recognizing you're needed and then taking the initiative to step up and turn the thought into meaningful action.   
It's about not being lazy and making good choices at any given moment and not just when the spotlights on.  
Be useful. 
How can you help?
Now go help.
(Rereading that blog... It'll be so much cooler, more intense as a podcast.)
Sometimes I hear "Jesus!  All I see are Blue Chip quotes and posters on my Facebook feed!"
Yep, it's called being useful.  Maybe they'd prefer I post about getting drunk or some drama or some model pics, hard to tell.  But I'm using Facebook as a tool to reach and connect, however I choose.


Saturday, October 19, 2013

The Grind(er)

He said "It's highly unlikely, but for you it'll probably happen, you're a grinder."


The Grind
There's no map, there's no plan.

The Grinder
He doesn't give up, he's nonstop hustle.

The Grind
Is like humidity, you're in it, its all around you
And you're not escaping.
The Grind
Is like a current, moving The Grinder where needed.


The Grinder 
Doesn't want to leave anyway... he wants the heat.
Its all he wants.


The Grind
Is a magnifying glass unlike any other.  
You find out exactly who you are.  
In The Grind, you're exposed completely for better or worse.  
You can't hide and you cant close your eyes.  


The Grinder
Is a hunter.
Hunting for a passionate piece of life to sink his teeth into.
He's not concerned at all with dirt or mud,
He knows the glory is there.
He knows the glory is in The Grind.
He doesn't get off at the first exit for the easy road.
He's searching for something greater
 And the term "Good Enough," instantly exposes enemies.


The Grind
Is fire and extreme heat, so much so that the sweat is always in your eyes.
Your pulse beats with the rhythm of The Grind, 
You've become one with your atmosphere.
The Grind doesn't leave you and it never fades.
The Grind sees and records everything and 
Plays it back for you every time its needed.
The Grind is home.


The Grinder
Loves the pain for without it, 
There would be no appreciation for lack of.
The Grinder
Needs darkness present for its the light that directs him.
The Grinder
Only knows the Grind.




They ask "What should I do?" 
I answer with something along the lines of "Get busy."  
Its all I know.  When it hits the fan, get busy.  when you need a little more, get busy.  
When you need an escape, get busy.
It's Grind Time.
"What should I do?"  Better get your goal sheet in order and get busy.
People think the answers are in some escape plan or external and its not, its never been.  
Its right here (tap your chest).
Every bad situation I've been in, I got out of the exact same way.
Grind.  
Every time I've had my back up against the wall.
Grind.
When a goal is locked in and its my target.
Grind.  
Exhausted?
The Grind
Doesn't care, get busy.
  
"What should I do?"  Get those goals locked in and get focused on yourself. 
Never mind the distractions.  


In The Grind
Distractions are all around and attacking.  
In The Grind, they want to see you off course, challenged and flop.  


The Grinder
Wants the obstacles, he wants hurdles.
Because more than anything else, The Grinder
Loves to annihilate the hurdle and completely conquer
Any and all obstacles.
He smiles are setbacks.
He protects The Grind,

And The Grind will protect him.



And when you accept the life and stop retreating to your happy place, The Grind operates with you and for you.  When you accept The Grind, The Grind is your ally.  Its current, it's vibrations excel you in the direction you weren't meant to be.

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In no particular order, kids, you and The Grind and they're all intertwined and weaving all around at all times. 
"Why do you do what you do?"
The Kids.
My grind, my love, my passion is to do whatever I can, wherever I can, to help create a better environment for kids.   Any and all kids.  And I think there are many, many levels to this.  I think the environment is essential and not just how I treat kids when present, not just when with me.  If I can motivate a coach to be better, that's creating a better environment.  If I can motivate a parent or a teacher, that's creating a better environment.  So on a level, my goal is be the absolute best version of myself I can be and NOT hide my thoughts and actions away.  Creating a better environment for the kids is everything, absolutely everything.  

You.  
Its all about creating a better world and there are so, so, so many ways to do it.  I've just been lucky enough to have found this awesome avenue that's not a teacher, not a coworker, not a boss, not your parent or relative and through my own exploration, I'm able to spark conversations or a thought to just slightly adjust our course, just subtle enough that it doesn't create any explosions but also just enough where we can feel a slightly altered direction.  And in that direction, we can feel a new angle of sun and wind.  We have a new perspective and view on the same streets we've seen our whole lives, but now, they're new again and new everyday.  

The Grind.
I love it.  I get so burnt out but I cant stop.  I don't know if I want to stop.  My schedule... If I wrote it, you'd think I'm lying or bragging or asking for pity or something, I don't know.  It wears me down, but its OK.  I bounce back rather quickly and I have to... for myself.  Because The Grind of what I mentioned above "The Kids," and "You," its to important to me. 

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Learning from Loss; Another Tool; No Days Off

Friday night was tough.



And after the game, I really didn't have any thoughts, I usually don't after losses.  I linger on the field... I stare into outer space... I just stand around waiting for something to settle.  A thought or feeling that can clarify what just happened. 
I heard a coach once say "I hate losing more than I love winning," and I absolutely relate to that.  
Wins never really effected, losses did.  Wins were expected, losses weren't.  When you prepare and you're confident, a loss never really enters your mind as a possibility, so when they happen, it feels surreal.  And unfortunately, I have never felt unprepared on a Friday night.  Ever.  I may have been w some teams that I knew were outgunned or maybe they had a little something we didn't, but I also felt prepared and I always, ALWAYS knew my teams had heart.  Always.  And when you're prepared and you have a an undying will to succeed, anything can happen.  Anything can happen.  Writers can post predictions, people can place bets, and those on the outside can feel how they like, but unless you're one of the 30-40-50 guys involved on what goes on under the lights and on the grass.... Anything can happen.

So I'm staring into outer space... Wondering what went wrong.
And two days later, I see... Nothing went wrong.  We just lost more opportunities than we won.  Sounds pretty simple, right? We just lost more opportunities than we won.  We lost more plays than we won.  We gave up more big chances than we made for ourselves.  Every time I say it or write it, looks so simple.
And it is, but it doesn't help when you're standing on the field as the volunteers are cleaning the sidewalks and they want to turn the lights off....

So where do we go?
What do we do after disappointment and loss?
We breathe... We take a brief pause, knock the dirt off our shoulder, and get ready to do it again, but this time smarter,  faster, harder, stronger, better.  
Today is Sunday and it's not an off day, we're preparing to meet another goal on our path of many other goals. 
Friday was a loss but not a failure.  Through loss and pain we build strength.  Through loss and pain we build endurance and our character develops a will power over time that cannot be broken.  

Practice just ended on Monday and it was by far the most competitive, intense, emotional practice we've had yet.  

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I posted today "You know the pressure I feel to not let you waste $10 on a bad workout?  Imagine how hard I'd work to not let you waste $200,000."
I wrote that while on break at Hondros... which is Real Estate school and by Christmas, I'll a licensed Real Estate Agent.

Someone asked "Why," and I have a few different answers but #1, definitely lays with my passion, which is customer service.  I truly LOVE being a part of a process that helps guide people through a situation.  When I worked in gyms, I knew most people were probably intimidated or didn't know what to do and had troubles getting comfortable.  I loved giving the tours and machine intros and helping them ease into the gym.  Same goes here, buying a home is a HUGE decision and people will feel unsure and intimidated and worried and I'll be excellent at covering those bases to help people ease their minds and help them make excellent decisions.  I have no doubts.

Selfishly, I have another reason.  My favorite clients have been wedding parties and pre/post pregnancy mothers.  Why?  Even though its a very small role, I love having that role in helping people feel awesome about their day.  One of my first clients was a girl named Julie, back in the Fitworks days.  Julie was engaged to be married about 7 months after we met and all she wanted was to look amazing in her dress.  So she came in one day with a pic of the dress and explained how it would fit and how she wanted certain body parts to look a certain way and so on.  7 months later... she looked gorgeous!   
So there are wedding parties, step 1.  Then babies is probably step 2 (at some point), and step 3?
Well, a personal trainer is kinda worthless when it comes to step 3 so I'll step out of the Nike shorts and learn to tie a tie :)  and you can bet a whooooole lotta money I'm going to bust my butt to make sure you're stepping through the doors of your dream home when the time comes.

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Sidenote:
As I'm sitting through day 2 of a 9 hour class... I started getting antsy and I thought "THANK GOD I DONT WORK IN A CUBICLE!"  Because eventually my leg started tapping and I started playing some drums with my highlighters and on break I wrote up my workout... which was still about 5 hours away!  Uh Oh.  I was feeling like a trapped gorilla!  So when I got home, I changed clothes and took off on a nice run, pulled out the kettles, loaded up the bench and let loose. 
ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 
Check out the Primal Bells at www.onnit.com

CLASS SCHEDULE
Monday - Power Vinyasa w Lindsay, 6:15-7:15
Tuesday - SAME (subbing for Alex)
Wednesday - Primal Strength Training w Jason, 6:30-7:30
Thursday - Power Plus/BOGA w Jason, 6:30-7:30

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Last topic, inspires by this mornings post to Kristin.

I was listening to podcast while shaving last night.  Three guys, talking about anything and everything.  Somehow, they got on the topic of depression and people being disconnected.  The discussion went on and one guy said "it's a love issue... People are too busy or too cool or too scared to openly confess positive, loving emotions.  Anyone will tell you to F off, but few will say they love you, even if they do."
And it's so true for a lot of people and something that's definitely settled w me lately.  I've never been a hugger, but recently, they've been popping up!  No clue how, but the handshake just looks and feels lame, so I go for a hug!  So weird how it's come along but I'm not fighting it :) if you go for a shake, get ready for a big papa bear hug!

So cheer, sing, dance, celebrate, hug, love, high 5, embrace... Enjoy it all, full go.

This Is Blue Chip