I recently met a new friend, Kim, who was walking by and noticed that I was reading a motivational book.  Asking what I was reading, I responded that I was reading “Eat That Frog” by Brian Tracy.  This led to some good conversation about inspirational and motivational books to help you.  I truly believe from that encounter that Kim is going to become a good friend.  You can look at person and tell very quickly that they have a heart that cares for others, a drive that moves them forward in life and a DNA, or “Determined Natural Ambition” that sets them apart from others.

We met again and enjoyed some great conversation and also talked a bit more about books that help us to grow.  I was trying to recall some that I had recently read, but I’ve read so many and started and stopped others only to pick up another one, that I could only name a few at that time.  Inspired by our conversation, I came home and looked on my bookshelf.  I have over 50 at a quick glance.  I decided that I would grab a few of my favorites off the shelf and just put them here as a recommendation for you to read at some point in your life.  They’re all great and I’ll add to this list at a later time, but for now here’s a few to get you started…

• EAT THAT FROG by Brian Tracy – His sub title of “21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time” truly fits what’s inside the cover.  From planning your day to focusing on results to motivating yourself into action are just a few of the topics covered.
• SPARK by John Ratey – is a great book to read about how the mind and the body interact to help keep us healthy and strong.  Our brains are much like muscles that can grow with use or wither from inactivity.
• FAILING FORWARD by John C Maxwell – What makes achievers excel?  Why do some people skyrocket while others plummet?  These are just some openers that John speaks to in this book.
• WHO MOVED MY CHEESE by Spencer Johnson – How we deal with change in our lives so that we can enjoy less stress and more success in our work and our life.
• THE MAGIC LAMP by Keith Ellis – “Goal Setting for People Who Hate Setting Goals”.  This book was originally recommended to me by my good friend joey Petri and I’ve found that this book is very helpful for me in gaining momentum.  there is a process to the madness called “L.A.M.P”, but I’ll save that for you to find out what it means.
• GO FOR NO by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz – OKay, in a nutshell “Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones, but “No” Can Never Hurt Me”
• MADE TO STICK by Chip Heath and Dan Heath – My friend Tony Horton (author of the famous workout P90X) recommended this book to me.  Why do some ideas thrive while others die?  And how do we improve the chances of our worthy ideas?  This book is AWESOME!  Thanks Tony!
• TRIBES by Seth Godin – Do you want to be a leader or a follower?  Tribes are all the rage these days, but someone has to lead.  Surprisingly that could be YOU!
• THE SLIGHT EDGE by Jeff Olson – My good friend Judy Zavislak has shared this book with me and I must say it’s one that has really made a huge impact on my life.  The slight edge over time will make me into a person that I cannot even fathom today.  Doing the right thing albeit ever so small, each and every day will help me to succeed in those dreams.
• THE RICHEST MAN IN BABYLON by George S Clason – Take a journey back in time to learn economic tips and tools for financial success that are still applicable today.

All of these titles can be found quickly by clicking on my Recc Books.  But if you are anyone like me, you might already own these treasures.  Just dust them off and give them a read.  Please check back here after you do and share with me and others your comments on these books…or others.

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OK, OK.  I give in.  Sometimes I’m as confused as you about all these technical terms in life that people around us spout off like they were born with that vocabulary.  Seriously though, there are a few terms that we just need help with.  And with everyone wanting to lose some weight, gain some muscle or just down right want to know what the heck is a “BMI” then I’m here to help you today!

BMI stands for “Body Mass Index” and in a nutshell provides an estimate of how much your weight is muscle and bone and how much is fat…yuck.  Now let me just say right now that BMI is a better health gauge than weight alone, but it’s not perfect so we’ll discuss other more accurate measurements in a later post.  A normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9 with 25 to 29.9 being overweight.  A BMI of 30 or greater is considered to be obese.  I have a great post coming that really shows you how we in the United States are doing from State to State as reported by the CDC.

To calculate your BMI do this; divide your weight in pounds by height in inches squared.  Then multiply that answer by 703.  OK, we’re back to math aren’t we and we all hated that in school, and least some of us any way.  So a 5 foot 9 inch man weighing 190 pounds would have the following BMI.  69 inches times 69 inches equals 4761.  190 pounds divided by 4761 equals .0399.  Multiply .0399 times 703 and we get a BMI of 28.  Now here’s the inaccuracy of it.  A heavily muscled person could be classified as overweight or obese when obviously they’re not.  So take your own physical condition into account when doing this.

If you deal only in metrics, send me a short message or reply here and I’ll do it in kilograms and meters squared… that ought to be fun!

Coming soon we’ll talk about Body Fat measurements using calipers ….

Enjoy!

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