Name That Tune.

As I sit here writing this to you, I have thoughts in my head that were generated from listing to U2’s song “40,” I first remember this song from the MTV days back in my youth. The song combined with the video as it is the last song from their “Live at Red Rocks” show back in 1983 is very powerful and this is the song that they end all of their concerts with, very positive way to end their shows. Each member slowly stops playing their instrument until finally they are all gone and off the stage. I just came across from YouTube the version they did in Chicago and WOW. Thinking about the video and the song brings me to the point of knowing what I want to do in life. Thinking about the song and thinking about going back to my roots as far as what I wanted to be when I grew up. I am grown up and not where I want to be in life and who is really? I look back in grade school and how much I enjoyed being in the drama club, doing plays and every once in a while when there was silence in the audience just trying to say a word to make people laugh. I was not confident enough in high school to do that, and I have no idea why. Today I think about how I handed out one of my personal business cards and it says “Leadership/Motivation” training and someone kind of laughed. I did not really think anything of it because I know that goal will be achieved. Music can be a trigger in your head to relive the past and today for me I think, why are we not working at jobs that we want to be doing? Forget about the economy that is a moot point.

There is a saying I am sure many of us have read or heard and that is: “Find a job you love and you will never work a day in your life.” My goal is to be on the “Platform” like Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, and Jack Canfield to do day in and day out what they do. When someone makes a small gesture demeaning to me, that only makes me want the goal even more and to look at how I can work harder to achieve that goal. I can honestly say that the only person I know who loves what they do is my mom. She is a Yoga instructor for the recreation center where she lives. She does not go to a job, she goes to her passion. It is not to late to dig deep into your soul to be a kid again and ask yourself what it is you want to be when you grow up.

Think what can you do to get to where you want to be or I should say rather be. What steps can you start to do right now in order to be there? Write those steps down, set dead lines for those goals and a final date. Yes the final date can and will possible change however I firmly believe that without writing them down and seeing the goal on a daily is nothing more then just a dream. I have a simple sticky note on my laptop with the number 5, the date of October 3rd -2and October 10th -5. Meaning that I want to drop 2 pounds by the third and 5 by the tenth of October to achieve my goal. I have also expressed my goal not only with you but with my Personal Trainer Eddy, and after one workout I know this goal can and will be accomplished by October 10th. Now go find that song to remind you where you want to be in your life.

Are you working at the job you want to be working at? Simple “Yes” or “No” will be the poll question.

Shout out to all of you who keep coming back to read and take part in the polls. Thank you.

Spinning times 2

Motivation comes in all shapes and sizes. I want to tell you about Jodi who motivated me to do both of her spinning classes on this past Saturday. I had planned on just doing the 8:00 Am and then lift weights for another hour. My good friend Jonathan and I both agree that out of the three spinning instructors Jodi is the best. Why would somebody subject themselves to two spinning class on a Saturday? I can only explain that I was motivated some time during her first class. Jodi is wonderful with getting her students involved and it is funny watching her techniques to start off the class. First she makes sure that your bike is ready to go by helping you adjust the seat or the handlebars. Second she starts right on time, I hate going to a meeting or a training session and it starts late. Jodi does something that when I worked in call centers did to start off my classes, with a motivation saying or some type of question. She uses the same motivational quote at the begging of class and repeats it about half way. I wear a heart rate monitor watch to see how I am doing. I look at it several times to check on my personal progress to just be amazed that fifty minutes have gone by and to say I think I can do better in the next class. Both Jonathan and I did her second class.

Jodi does not know me but during the class she gets off her bike to walk around to help individuals with their posture on the bike or might say in a coy way that maybe you need to increase the tension on your bike. I swear she is a Jedi master using the force on my brain so yes I do increase the bikes tension. I burned over two thousand calories and can not tell you how amazed I was with my own personal growth. I know too many of you this is nothing but to me knowing I could do this mean a lot to my sense of accomplishments.

Monday night is a new chapter as far as a new Personal Trainer. I was able to meet him on Saturday while getting ready to do more cardio on the rowing machine. Our Personal Trainer for the next two weeks is named Eddy. We talked goals and what supplements I am currently taking. I am looking forward to a new chapter working with Eddy. Nothing against Nigel but just curious to see how Eddy plans his workouts for me. My two week goal is to drop 5 pounds so we will see. I will keep you updated.

My shout out has to go out to the staff here in Sacramento at the radio stations. Saturday was a concert fest that was very fun that was being sponsored by one of the stations. The people of Sacramento have been such a great group of people so I am going to miss all of you from this market. Thank you for everything and “The Killers” concert was awesome! They put on a great show with high energy.

I have a poll question about these social networking sites. I have just updated my LinkedIn page. I over heard a conversation while waiting for a plane about how this gentleman found a job. He used his connections on LinkedIn to get the job posting. So the poll question is do you use those sites?

Have a great week and check in will you.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Personally it has been a long week. On that note from one of my GREAT friends and MENTORS Denise “B” sent me this great list:

Try everything twice. On one woman's tombstone she said she wanted this epitaph: "Tried everything twice.loved it both times!" 2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. (Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!) 3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!
4. Enjoy the simple things. 5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with HIM/HER. 6. The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. LIVE while you are alive. 7. Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge. 8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it.. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help. 9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is. 10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. I love you, my special friend. 11. Forgive now those who made you cry. You might not get a second chance. And if you don't send this to at least 4 people - who cares? But do share this with someone. Remember! Lost time can never be found. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.


Monday I am going to work with a different Personal Trainer. Our friend Nigel has to workout some personal issues in his life. Our new Personal Trainer is Eddy and I will let you know how it goes. If anybody is in the Sacramento area on Saturday come on by for “A Day in the Zone” the band Train is the head liner for the event.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND

I WON’T DIE ON THIS HILL TODAY

The NFL has completed week two of their schedule for the 2009-2010 season. Being from Chicago I should be very happy that the Bears are 1-1 after two weeks of the season. A year ago the Bears opened their season against the Indianapolis Colts on the road. During that day I was very happy and looking forward to being able to watch the game since it was on national TV. I ended up listing to the game in my car at the local Target parking lot. My world came down that evening and the game was secondary. I wanted truly for my marriage to work, even during the counseling sessions and feeling that this is going to make our marriage work. That night it was over. I was going to be a statistic that I did not want to be, divorced.

I think about that saying of “Time heals all wounds.” There is still a wound there however as low as I felt and going to a very dark place several times over, I can honestly say I feel happy a year later. The steps were not easy but the support of family, friends, and knowing the importance of being a father is how I got through my day. The feeling of somebody not wanting to love me and giving up on our family hurt to the point of going down a path where there was no turning back was the only option I could think of. I had to really dig deep down to find some light on the situation. To make my own personal problems even worse was that I was about to be laid off from the project I was on. However a few weeks later a new project would happen. I would need to be traveling for a job that did not include the ability to fly back to Colorado to see my son at all even on the weekends. The project was a six week HELL except one very bright light. Knowing I was going to be working with a very good (some times quirky but who isn’t) friend Jonathan, who was my life savor.

The healing process was not immediate at all since this was less then a month into the divorce process. Jonathan kept me “focused” on staying out of the dark places in my head and helping me stay engaged on the little things in life. He is also a great mentor. Jonathan was always teaching me things such as placing an instant rice bag (normally you would microwave this) on top of a car on a sunny day can heat it up. I do not recommend this at all but you had to be there. Jonathan would not let me die on any hill during our time plotting through the Midwest. With his kindness and humor I was able to endure bad hotels with long working hours. Sometimes I do think if I would still be on this Earth and the sad truth to the matter is no.

Today here in Sacramento it is another beautiful day. I am working with a great group of guys and the project was extended. If had I taken the easy way out I would not have this new opportunity to share my life with you and more importantly my son who I credit with keeping me on this planet. To go from desperation to today was not easy but it can be done!! Stay motivated at the gym by setting small goals. Join a group like Toastmasters. Write your feelings down. Lastly the most important lesson I learned through all of this was to seek help. I kept working with the marriage councilor as my therapist. That way I did not start all over with someone new, they already knew the history so a shout out to Daryl Gedney. She is brilliant and very thought provoking. My Colorado friends let me know if you want her number.

Life is good and yes it has its ups and downs. However there is one certain in my life and that is. I WON’T DIE ON THIS HILL TODAY!

HAPPY FRIDAY

THANK WHAT EVER OR WHOM EVER DEITY THAT IT IS FRIDAY.

It is Friday and wanted to play the “High and Low” game with you. If you are not familiar with this it is great to start a dinner conversation with friends and family. What you do is say what was a great part of your day (high) and what was not so great (low). I want to do it for the week.

High-Last weekend getting a few more hours to spend with my son.
Low-Only getting a few hours with him.
High-Writing this blog.
Low-Hoping to get a bigger response.
High-Great week of workouts.
Low-Still not eating enough.
High-Working in Sacramento.
Low-Knowing that in October moving to another site.
High-Working with a great team.
Low-Not going to work with them again on the next site.

Have a great weekend, apologize for the shortness it has been a long week. Next week the anniversary I want to never celebrate. Have a day.

Sleep VS Gym and the winner is........

Ok here it is however I should be sleeping but I care about you. It was a 12 hour day today and lucky for me I was not driving the car. If I did drive (five of us and we have two cars) yes ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Little Neddy (from the movie “Three Amigos”) would be sleeping. We need to thank our lucky stars that Jonathan A.K.A J-Money was literally in the driver seat because he drove us to the gym. As tired as we were he and I went. I am so thankful that we did not take the easy way out and not go to the gym. Jonathan and I don’t workout together, but we do inspire each other. It is very important to have somebody to motivate you, to push you to do a better job at work. The point is this; if you are in a career that you don’t like then that attitude is going to infect the rest of your co-workers. Most of you don’t have the 1950’s 9-5 jobs, no we have 10 or more hour a day jobs. I personally enjoy working with the people on this project and that truly helps since we do work long hours. The flip side has been working with people that you would rather not be in the same room with. When you are in that situation you need to find a positive of some sorts. Personally when it comes down to that type of situation my outlet is the gym. I have one rule on the road and that one rule is that I stay away from “adult beverages.” I would rather take out my frustrations in a gym lifting, running, or getting pushed around by Nigel the personal trainer at Gold’s Gym. Focus on what you do enjoy about your job rather then what you don’t enjoy.

I want to give a quick thank you to a great friend of mine Chris K. Chris is a long time friend and was the best man at my wedding. I would say Chris is the brother I never had. He and I have gone through very similar situations of the dreaded divorce with in the past year. We try and keep each other motivated by hopefully realizing that we are better then the women we married. Chris started writing his blog and to me very cool knowing somebody who has a passion and wants to write about those things. I have added his link to his blog to the left of the page under "My Blog List. Chris gave me some great advice about being a blogger and that was, this should be fun (I am some what paraphrasing) and not a job. Well for me my goal was and still is to be a motivational speaker so as the Chinese proverb states “Find a job that you love and you will never work again.”

Today’s poll comes from the conversations I have been having with my mother. I currently do not have health insurance and with the recent passing of a wonderful friend “Mac” it was a huge awaking for me. I could not afford to be in a hospital right now. My point though is that I go to the doctor for the most part once a year for a check up, and when I did have my insurance I was taking Nexium for my acid reflux disease. Right now the cost of health insurance is insane so I would rather be lucky then spend the money, stupid I know but that is how I roll. Anyway I want to see how many of you are in the same or similar boat as me.

Ok off to dream land but here is some advice for you (free of charge) and that is DON’T POKE THE BEAR.

TTFN

Monday Means Nigel

Before I get started I first want to thank all of you who emailed me, called me, and posted on the blog. THANK YOU!! Next up the big question was how many times a week I was going to write? Not a clue but I do want to do a new poll a day. So please check every morning and PRETTY PLEASE pass the link around. Ok on with the show.

Currently it is 10:55 PM on the West coast and I am writing to you from Sacramento, California. I have been back from the gym for about 45 minutes. I HAD to take a hot shower. WHY?? Well let me explain. The hotel where we are staying at for the project set us up with memberships to the local Gold’s Gym. At first I was very intimidated thinking that I needed to look like the Governor back in his prime days. However things have changed for the better with Gold’s meaning you can look like me, the average person and fit in. I have yet to see a so called “muscle head” in the gym. Today is Monday and that means two sessions with my personal trainer Nigel this week of today and Wednesday. Let me tell you why I am working with a personal trainer. First I got a great deal of eight sessions for less then what a normal half hour would be. Second what ever my routine of lifting and doing cardio was not getting the results I wanted. My goal this year was to drop at least 30 pounds with a 34 inch waist line. Well I am not there even though I am under 200 pounds and do feel that parts of me are looking a bit better. My motivation was to kick it up a notch to get the results I truly wanted. Yes a lot of my physical fitness stems on the fact that my diet is poor in the sense that I do not eat enough to keep my metabolism moving. I am not out trying every fast food place (I will confess that our first week I did go to In & Out Berger only once) in town. The hotel food here has many carbohydrates along with not a lot of choices for health breakfast. Plus like I said I don’t eat enough. Many health magazines recommend 5-6 small meals a day. I am up to maybe three.

I am doing what is called Cross Fit work outs. Many exercises I do with just using my own body weight and relying on keeping my heart rate in my target zone (around 145 beats per minute). Tonight was just legs with the emphasis of the hamstrings and I am feeling it. I know that there are many individuals who can push their bodies without a personal trainer or workout partner. I very much enjoy going to the gym and working out as well as motivating others. I get a kick when people are with the personal trainers and they are not smiling. I know that working out can be and should be rough however you need some fun. I have in the past told people who are working out that this should not be a second job but a hobby that you love to do. I love learning all about cross fit and how far Nigel will push me on every set of exercises. Today at work all I thought about was my half hour at one of the nicest gyms I have ever worked out in and well not to loose the oatmeal I had two hours before Nigel put me through my paces.

I hope this has inspired you to either keep doing what you are doing for physical fitness, or start one. Starting on Tuesday night the TV show “Biggest Looser” is back on for a new season. These contestants are not only going to push themselves to loose weight, but to even stay alive. Many need to loose weight because of things like high blood pressure or diabetes. Once they start to loose weight you just see their reactions of possible saying to themselves “Oh my gosh I can loose weight.” That they can workout and be successful at getting fit. You will be very inspired trust me on that.
I will keep you posted on my progress with Nigel and we will see how close I will come to getting to my goal weight and measurements in December. Until then as the beer commercial says “Stay thirsty my friend.”

Why Not ME??

So here it goes, my goal in my adult life is to be a motivational speaker. Hey why not me??!! I have gone through crap like many people so I have always wanted to inspire. However for what ever reason my trying to inspire turns out to many thinking I am making a joke. Well this is no joke, but I will use some humor. So here we go.

Tonight on my trip from Denver to Sacramento I was reading an article from the September issue of “Success” magazine. The article was about Og Mandino who wrote the book “The Greatest Salesmen in the World.” The article is written by Liz Davis, talks about how life got very low for Mandino to the point of taking his own life until just a simple walk into the public library changed his life. I picked up this issue to read more about Mandino and since I had read the in flight magazines already I needed something to occupy my flight. This one quote from book The Greatest Salesmen in the World was what inspired me tonight: “I will form good habits and become their slave. And how will I accomplish this difficult feat? Through these scrolls it will be done, for each scroll contains a principle which will drive a bad habit from my life and replace it with one which will bring me closer to success. For it is another of nature’s laws that only a habit can subdue another habit.” The book is a quick read and it does very much inspire you no matter what your current employment is or where you are in life, it does not matter. I highly recommend for you to pick it up and read it, and read it again.

I want to take you on my journey to find success and remove negative thoughts in order to get to the next level. What is the next level? Only you know where you want to be and I don’t mean in five years (like in job interviews). Today is where you need to figure out where you want the path that you will create takes you. In his book “The Last Lecture” DR Randy Pausch wrote a simple common sense in chapter 55 titled “Just Ask.” So ask yourself what motivates you and ask yourself “why not me?” This book has changed my life with that one simple principle of, to just ask. Please buy this book and find the “Last Lecture” on the web. If one of those two pieces does not inspire you then I am at a loss. I have just re-read it and after reading it a second time (there will be many more re-readings) I need to do more with my life. For example I want to write very soon to you on how I try and stay motivated after the year I have had: the divorce, seeing my son only every other weekends and the crazy insane travel schedule that I deal with every single week. I need to be a better parent to my son and also stay healthy so I am here on this planet for a long time. Fitness will also be a common thread with in my blog.

We are going to do this together since I still can not find the manual that deals with what life gives us daily. We have manuals for our cars, computers, cell phones, but nothing on just getting up out of bed to get us prepared to face the day with a positive mental attitude. Believe me when I say that has been a struggle for me as well, however I find ways to do it. Simple things like knowing Monday’s and Wednesday’s Nigel the personal trainer I am working with is going to push me is really positive motivation for me. What will get you out of bed?

Well here I go and try to mold this blog with your help. I don’t know where the writing is going to take me but my goal is to express myself to you and see if this will be a good fit for both of us. Please be kind since this will be all about baby steps diving into the blog world and who knows hopefully one of you will actually read this and pass it along to others. Then maybe you can say to yourself "Why Not Me??