You never know what’s going to happen as you place your feet on the floor in the morning and start your day.  Mine was typical until I got to work and started walking through the hallway to get some ice from the ice machine in the cafeteria.

I noticed in the hallway a large bird about the size of a pigeon hopping along one wall.  I could tell right away that the bird was weak.  I mean, if it wasn’t, then why wouldn’t it take off and fly away?  So it was there hopping away from me, and my heart really went out to this little bird.  I knew that it must have been in the building all weekend with no food or water or way out.  It looked dirty and afraid.  Now we do have pigeon problems and I’m not that much of a lover of these little fella’s when they leave their “mess” all over the place which is pretty hazardous.

But seeing this bird, out of its home environment, trapped with no food or water and literally close to dying, I couldn’t bear the thought.  I tried chasing the little guy down the hall towards and open dock door, but he wasn’t cooperating. And I felt bad that I was probably stressing him and scaring him more during the chase.  So I made the decision, leaped forward and swept him up in both hands.  I was expecting a few pecks and bites, but he didn’t struggle at all.  It’s as if he had given up or knew that he couldn’t get out on his own.

I walked over to the open dock door, leaned out and gently tossed him low to the ground near a patio.  There was water all over the ground from a dripping water spigot.  I eased back into the building, washed up and went to get my ice.

I decided to return and see what he was up to and as I peeked around the corner, the little bird was underneath the dripping water spigot.  I think he was getting a bath and drinking some badly needed water.  What an encouragement to me!  If I had left him in the building or he had been in an area where no one could have found him, he surely would have died.  It took someone intervening on his behalf,  someone to care about his predicament and take action.

I have someone who did that for me. He noticed my condition, saw that I would die and made the decision that He would save me.  I was scooped up so to speak, placed on a different path and set free.  He did it because He cared enough about my life and wanted me to live.  He didn’t have to do it, He wanted to do it!

So,… how are you going to go about your day today?  What or who will come into your life where you may be able to offer some help or receive it?  You just never know.

If you found this article interesting or it helped you in any way, please take a moment and forward it using the “Share” button below and then give it a little “Tweet”.  Have a super day!

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To all my friends out there I get a chance to share with you a short video on why I do what I do.  My inspiration came from a good friend of mine Dave Cook and his post yesterday about Bologna Juice.  Funny title right?  But a great post for any of you just entering into the business of “Doing business”.

Have a look and let me know what you think by commenting below and if you like what you heard, please “Share” it using the button below.  Enjoy!

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My Weight Loss Story

I’ve been wanting to write this for some time now but never really got around to it.  So, pen in hand…uh…keyboard at the ready, …here I go.

I can’t say that I was overweight, unless I go by the CDC center’s guidelines on obesity which says that my BMI greater than 30 I would be obese.  Well then, maybe a tad, but you never would have known it for the golf shirts.  The start of my weight loss journey found me in a hotel room in Atlanta, GA, lying on the bed, eating a doughnut while flipping through the TV after a hard day at work.  Feeling lethargic would be saying it mildly.  I came across the at home workout program, P90X infomercial.  I was amazed at what I saw.   Those guys on TV were moving, jumping, doing pull ups, push ups and things I never knew existed.  It looked hard, it looked like a killer workout but it looked like it got results!  Now this was truth TV.

I never knew you could get results by doing a workout at home.  I’ve never been one to workout at home with a DVD either.  Now I knew there was no magic pill to weight loss, but seeing this P90X workout made my mind say, “Here’s the magic pill”.  I picked up the phone, ordered it and haven’t looked back since.

The P90X workout came in the mail that week and I eagerly opened it and read all the material.  I set my workout journey to begin on the following Monday with doing my “fit test” on Sunday.  My wife watched while I was doing my fit test and laughed a few times.  How encouraging was that?  Actually it pushed me harder and helped to cement my resolve.  I threw the mental switch in my mind that I was going to do this, stick to it and get in shape, “the BEST shape of my life”!  Part of the fit test included doing pull ups.  Easy right?  Wrong!  Wide grip, overhand I did an amazing 1 and ¾.  Very embarrassing.

Monday morning 4 am came bright and early,…well not so bright, but early.  My at home workout with P90X started by popping in the DVD “Chest and Back”.  So what do you think I did?  Lots of push ups and lots of pull ups.  Well, lots of attempts anyway.  I logged all of my results on a P90X workout sheet .  All throughout the P90X workout, Tony Horton kept telling me to “do my best and forget the rest”.  That’s what I did, my best.  I couldn’t do near as many as everyone on the workouts, but I  felt a great accomplishment at having started the ball rolling and moved past the inertia keeping me in a life of unhealthy living with no exercise.  And guys, playing golf riding in a golf cart doesn’t count as exercise.

So I’m not going to go through all of the 12 DVD’s that come with P90X at home workout like Chest and Back, Plyometrics, Shoulders and Arms, Yoga, Legs and Back, Kenpo, Stretch, Core Synergistics, Chest shoulders and Triceps, Back and Biceps, Cardio and Ab Ripper but to tell you that it is a 90 day at home workout program that will absolutely change your life.  How did it change mine?  I’m glad you asked.

I went from weighing 187 lbs. to 162 lbs. in 90 days!  Now that’s true weight loss! You can see my before and after photo here.  Did I change or what?  Does it work or not?  Pictures don’t lie,…well if I photo-shopped them they would, but I’m NOT that smart.

I believed in this program so much that I clicked on one little button on my online website that Beachbody gave me when I ordered P90X and I became “A Coach”.  Now I get to encourage others to start their at home workout journey just like me and see success in weight loss, just like me.  And I get paid to do it.  Now that’s just icing on the cake… not that I’m eating it mind you

So there you have it.  Lots of sweat left on the floor, lots of fat burning and fat loss and I’m on my way to being in the best shape of my life.

If you think this article was helpful, please take a moment and “Share it” using the button below so some other “lethargic, doughnut eating, hard worker” can discover the same “magic pill” that I did.

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Walking In A Fog

Have you ever had one of those days where you just seemed like you were in a fog? Or maybe instead of a fog, you just “felt” out of sorts? Well that’s happened to me, and recently I might add. It was just a weird day. The second one this week matter of fact!

I was doing most things like normal, waking, exercise, starting work and doing the normal daily grind. But I also had an appointment later on in the day to something that I had never done before. I was to have my picture taken by a professional photographer. Maybe this is what stress is? Not really experiencing true high intensity stress, but stress behind the scenes. I made my appointment and everything was OK. I was actually asked to pose certain ways trying to convey an attitude to the camera so it could actually capture more than just my picture. (Some would say I have enough attitude!) That was weird to say the least. For me anyway.

Waiting for the pictures to be downloaded and then make my way home, I still felt “out of sorts”. As I write this now, I’m feeling a bit better but you know, it has to have been that unseen stress in my life.

What’s that you are carrying around today that is making you feel this way? Can you identify it? Can you place a name on it, think it through then find something in your day to relieve that stress? I actually hit the gym at my house, worked out hard and focused on the movements, the weights, my breathing and just cleared my mind. It helped!

So what’s the point of my little rant here? Well…. just to let you know that you are not alone. (Or is it just me?) Seriously though, too many things come into our lives where we just feel like we are all alone, left out in the cold, no one to care about us and no one there to help. If you’re reading this, then I pledge my helping hand to you. If you need a shoulder, need a friend or just need to let loose on the keyboard, then here I am and this space is just for you!

Let the new wind blow through your life today, catch a breath of fresh air, close your eyes, breathe deeply and clear your thoughts……..you’ll find that the fog will be lifting once you open your eyes.

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Trim Kitchen Tuesday’s

Climbing Michi’s Ladder

Michi’s Ladder is really no ladder at all but a VERY helpful guide to get you on the fast track to weight loss, diet control and basically transforming your body into the one you want it to be by eating healthy foods.

Take the foods you eat and swap them for the ones listed on tier 1 or 2.  As you eat from lists 1 and 2 you’ll improve the chances of your losing weight.  How can you not?  Look at all those great foods!

The lower tiers also have some healthy foods but note that they are calorie dense or not as nutrient rich as the foods in tier 1 and 2.  So consider carefully how you can maximize your calories you consume each day.

Here’s a big note:  Frying foods actually drops into a different tier.  So if you fry foods in tier 1 or 2, they actually fall down into the lower tiers, so don’t do it!

Foods should be eaten, raw, steamed, poached, grilled, baked or broiled.

So take some time, read Michi’s Ladder and choose the healthy foods that your body will love you for it!

Click HERE to get Michi’s Ladder

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Motivational Monday’s

Do A Brain Dump

What gets you up in the morning? What things do you look forward to, or who do you have on your mind that you want to go see?

Waking up and getting started to a brand new fresh day is something we should all look forward to. I know that at times in our lives we all have some things that are troublesome, fearful or downright dreadful that we have to contend with each day. But for the most part, we generally have a day in front of us that we can make it what we want it to be.

I recently sat in front of Darren Hardy who at the ripe age of 18 was earning a 6 figure income and is now Publisher of Success Magazine. He brought many great and new insights into our conversation, encouraging me in ways that I have never thought possible. Just being around him made me feel like a new person. Drawing upon his strength, wisdom, knowledge and experience was truly a once in a life time occurrence. (unless I get a special invitation some time in the future to see him again).

One of the things that he said to me was an analogy of how our lives can be compared to a glass of dirty water. Picture a glass filled with the dirtiest, muckiest muddy water you can think of and then apply that to how our mind and brains are at times. We so fill our lives with stuff, junk and issues that are so unimportant, irrelevant and useless that our brains and mind are like this glass of dirty water. Good for nothing.

So how do we purge that crap from our minds? With the glass of dirty water we could just dump it out, wash it and refill it. But we can’t do that with our minds. But what we can do is take that glass of water, set it under a tap running with fresh clean water and let the glass be purged of the dirty water by the constant flow of fresh, clean, life giving water flowing into it.

That’s what we can do with our minds and our lives too. We can start introducing new things that help us rather than hurt or hinder our lives. For example, it’s been said that we are most like the 5 people that we surround ourselves with. Who are those people in your life right now, not contributing to a good healthy you? You might just need to consider making new friends who will help you succeed in life instead of those who are holding you back or keeping you trodden down. Examine all the things in your life this way, regardless if it’s friends, food, fitness or whatever. Do a little today, a little tomorrow and slowly purge that crap from your life and eventually you’ll look back and see that you’ve changed tracks and now are on the path to freedom, success and a more rewarding life.

So wake up today, grab a new handle on life, create new habits, meet new friends, eat a more healthy meal, exercise today and see if what I’m telling you won’t make an improvement in your life! Guaranteed!

Decide this today, Commit to it, and experience Success!

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Motivational Monday’s

Second Chances

Have you ever gone to the dentist for a routine cleaning and come away feeling refreshed and new and like the slate has been wiped clean? (no pun intended) Well the other day I had my regularly scheduled visit and I felt just that way upon leaving the dentist office. It wasn’t that I had a bad report or anything, on the contrary everything was great.

But later that night I had the time to reflect a bit on my teeth being cleaned and how great they felt right at that moment. Now I regularly brush, do the oral hygiene bit and all, but I could be better at some of the things that go the extra mile. Like using the water pick every day. My decision that night was to take this second chance since my teeth were primed and ready to receive the royal treatment each and every day. So I feel good about having a second chance.

What about eating right or exercising? I always know in my mind that if I don’t succeed one day with eating healthy foods or doing that exercise, then I have a brand new day the next day. My second chance. Life is great that way. We can wake up and know that today is a new day, starting out fresh to make things happen right.

How about at work? You’ve struggled with that co-worker over the week, or put off doing that project or task. Again, today is your second chance. Meet that someone at work and before any work related business happens, tell them “Good Morning, How are you today?” Start the day off right with genuine concern and cheerfulness towards others. Eat that frog of a task. You know the one. It’s been lying on your desk for weeks. Go ahead, take a big bite and like the comedian says “get’er done”.

So what’s your second chance today? Write and comment below and let me and others know what it is. When we share our life struggle, they don’t seem as hard to take, so share away!

Decide, Commit, Succeed!

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Fast Easy Weight Loss

OK……so what’s fast?  That’s one of the questions I’m sure is on your mind because how to lose weight quick is pretty common for most people.  The second one may be, how much can I lose?  The third may be, how to lose weight easy?  Fast easy weight loss can be broken down into just a few simple thoughts, ideas and actions.

As the summer sun warms the white sandy beaches around here, a lot of people bring out those bathing suits and try them on only to look in the mirror gasping at how much weight they’ve gained over the winter and Holiday’s.  Now it’s crunch time, the vacation is set, hotels booked and the new bathing suit at the store is on your mond as the one you want to wear.

Let’s look at this a moment…

• How to lose weight quick -First you need to know how many calories it takes for you to breathe, pump blood, grow hair, blink…you know, basically to stay alive.  My number (called RMR, resting metabolic rate) is 162 lbs. x 10 or 1600 calories.  Second, I need to know how many calories I burn in a day apart from any exercise. So 1600 x 20% is 320 calories.  So leading a sedentary life, only doing those things to get me around town, the house and the sofa is 1920 calories.

Here’s the fun part.  I know that I want to lose 5 lbs.  And I want to do it quick.  So the simple math behind this is, burn more calories in a day then you take in.  One pound is equal to 3500 calories.  The “fast” part of this question is, what are you willing to do?

• How much can I lose – Staying with the 5 lb example let’s apply the math above.  If I want to lose these 5 lbs. in 5 weeks.  That means 1 pound a week which I think is a good goal.  So that means I have to eat less than 3500 calories than I normally would have.  So… each day I need to consume 1420 calories.  I’m saving 500 a day and at the end of 7 days I will have lost one pound.  Five weeks will yield a 5 lb. loss.

• How to lose weight easy – OK, so now you know the magic formula.  But let’s kick it up a notch.  Let’s say I do some exercising each day of the week.  And that exercise burns 500 calories.  So the simple equation here is that by eating less and burning more, I can lose 2 lbs. a week.  Now I will say right here that your body needs fuel, so I would not encourage eating less.  Take the one pound of weight loss by doing the exercise.  Not only will you lose weight, you may even build a little muscle which will also help you to burn more calories in the future. So I may have embellished a bit on the headline how to lose weight easy.

Have fun!

All lifestyles aren’t created equal, so take that in mind when reading through this post.

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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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Hi there everyone!

Just a very quick post on the healthy breakfast I made this morning.  Super easy, super fast and not loaded with tons of fat.  Just crack 8 eggs, saute’ them in a skillet with just a little spray oil on the pan.  Remove the eggs, and add to the pan a cup of baby spinach.  Saute’ till reduced in size somewhat.  Toast a piece of whole grain bread and you have the beginnings of a great meal to start the day.  If you need a tad more carbohydrates, just have a half cup of FACE yogurt.

The calorie count for this meal is; 233 calories, 1g fat, 19g carbohydrates, 36g of protein.

In the video I show you how I chart all my calories throughout the day.  It’s a great, fun and easy tool to have along and know where you are in your calorie count.

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