I just thought of something. It’s kind of funny to me, because this has never crossed my mind before. And I only thought that it was strange that I hadn’t thought of it before. So here it is: What if I started training the way that I am now, when I got out of college? That would have meant that I never stopped working out, but that I took what I now know about training and nutrition and implemented it. What if I started living a healthy lifestyle back then? If I had continued to be active and made some changes to my training so that I would meet my current goals earlier, than who knows what kind of shape I would have been in for the last 26 years. Who knows what I would be doing. I’m sure it would have had quite an impact on my life. But no matter what, I would not want to go back and change it. I’m actually glad that I didn’t live a healthy lifestyle my entire life. Being fat and out of shape was something that I needed. Maybe it sounds strange to you that I would say that. You might wonder why, I’m glad that at one time I was so out of shape that a doctor told me that I was going to pop. I’ll tell you why. It’s because I overcame certain challenges to get to the point in my life that I am at right now. It wasn’t easy. In doing this I was able to strengthen my mind. I was able to learn how to control myself. I am also able to put myself in other people’s shoes and understand what they are feeling and I know what they will have to go through to reach their goals. At one time I was in someone else’s shoes. Sometimes it seems like it was a dream. I remember the person that I was but it doesn’t seem real to me. I have learned so much more in these last 3 years then I have during the rest of my life. The reason for it is only because of what I put myself through to get here. A lot of the things that I have learned are about myself and it helps me relate to other people. From my point of view, most of the things that I learned, could only be learned coming from a miserable place. What I mean by that is that I had mentally put myself in a place that was full of misery (lack of goals, drive, determination and confidence. And an abundance of depression and negative thoughts.) I was able to dig myself out and end up on the polar opposite side.
If I hadn’t faced any of these challenges, than I probably wouldn’t appreciate what it took to get there. More than likely I would be a cocky prick, who may understand what hard work is, but doesn’t realize what people go through when facing tougher challenges or for that matter any challenges. I would probably take the things that I had for granted and feel entitled. I still don’t have everything figured out and I am constantly learning. I am also increasing my goals. If I ever become satisfied I might just fall back into my old ways. I need something to drive me. One of those things is passing on what I have learned to others. It’s only fair, because I constantly get knowledge, motivation and inspiration from others.
I’m Glad That I Use To Be Fat And Out Of Shape: Although I Was Not Happy Or Jolly
I want to QUIT!!!
You’re going to reach a point on the way to a goal, when you’re going to wonder if it’s really worth it. It’s going to happen because you have other things on your mind. It’s going to happen, because it’s too hard. It’s going to happen because you’re in pain. It’s going to happen because someone says, “YOU CAN”T”. It’s going to happen because in some way you believe them.
It’s not going to happen because you’ve come too far. It’s not going to happen because you’re not a quitter. It’s not going to happen because you’ve been here before. It’s not going to happen because you want it bad enough.
It’s up to you. The choice is yours.
You’re going to continue because your goal is a PROMISE that you made to yourself and you will not break your PROMISE.
It’s Halloween – What are you giving out? Something Healthy?
Now that I live a healthy lifestyle, people ask me a lot of questions about nutrition. Particularly regarding what I eat. Whenever Halloween comes up I am often asked about what I give out to the Trick or Treaters. I guess they are expecting me to say that I give out sweet potatoes or something else that I eat regularly. Just because I eat a certain way doesn’t mean that I’m going to rob some little kid from the fun of extorting me into giving them candy. The way I look at it is that if I gave out something like apples, than they would probably throw them at my car the next time they saw me drive by. I remember when I was a kid there were probably only about 2 houses that gave out apples and they usually ended up being bad mouthed by all of the little kids in the neighborhood. On the other hand if you were the guy who gave out big Butterfinger bars than all of the kids would respect you for life. What you give out on Halloween is all about status. You’re on top if you give out huge candy bars or a handful of them. Keeping this in mind, I have to give out candy.
How to decide what candy to give out. Well none of it is good for you so do you go with something that you like? Maybe you go with something that you don’t like, just so that you don’t eat it. If that’s the case, I’m handing out Jolly Ranchers. It’s not really the taste that I don’t like, but those stupid things will break your teeth if you aren’t careful. Once that happens there is no way that you will ever eat one of them again. If they don’t break your teeth they stick to them for about 2 hours. Everything you eat for the rest of the night will have that Jolly Rancher Taste. I could go with Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups and Butterfingers. The kids will scoop those up fast. But what if I barely get any kids. I’m stuck with candy that might tempt me just enough so that I cave in and have to eat it. I actually like to experiment quite a bit. What if I take a handful of Butterfingers and blend them up with my Muscle Pharm Combat Birthday Cake Protein Powder. Come to think of it that might not be a bad idea. I protein powder to my candy or candy to my protein powder. Yea, I’m eating a bunch of sugar, but I am getting my protein in.
Screw it. I’m turning the lights out and pretending that I’m not home. Can’t wait to try out my new recipe.
Muscle Pharm Snickerdoodle Sweet Potato
I love sweet potatoes. It’s a great carb and there is a ton that you can do with them. I’m always willing to experiment with them. So far it usually works out pretty well. This one tastes awesome. You can eat these hot or cold. I’ll cook 5 or 6 sweet potatoes at a time so that I can make these things fast later in the week.
1 Sweet Potato
2 Scoops Snickerdoodle Flavored Combat (Muscle Pharm)
*You can try your favorite brand or flavor out but I’m not responsible for the results
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Pierce sweet potatoes several times with fork
Place in oven for 45 Minutes
Puree in Blender
Add Raw Honey, Cinnamon and Vanilla Extract
Can be served either hot or cold
Health Benefits
Sweet Potatoes
Helps with the prevention of heart attacks
Helps produce collagen which helps healing and maintaining youthful skin
Increases Energy
Brightens Moods
Supports Thyroid Gland
Builds Healthy Bones, Heart, Nerves, Skin and Teeth
Helps production of Red and White Blood Cells
Helps resistance to Stress
Helps with Immune Functioning
Helps Regulate Heartbeat and Nerve signals
Helps Ward off Cancer
Anti Aging
Snickerdoodle Combat
40 grams of Protein
Easy To Make Baked Chicken, Feta Cheese and Tomatoes
6 Chicken Breasts
3 large Tomatoes
12oz of Feta Cheese
4 Basil Leaves
Frozen Lemon
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Dill Seed
Coriander
Olive Oil
Place Chicken Breasts in baking pan. Sprinkle all seasoning over top of chicken. Tear up basil leaves and put on chicken. Grate Frozen Lemon over chicken. Slice tomatoes and cover chicken. Sprinkle Feta overtop of chicken. Lightly pour oil over everything.
Pre-Heat over to 350 degrees
Bake for 40 or 45 minutes
Health Benefits
Chicken
High in Protein (Builds and repairs Muscle)
Fights Alzheimer’s
Fights Cancer
Tomatoes
Contains antioxidants
Fights Cancer (prostate, cervical, stomach, rectum, breast and mouth)
Lowers Cholesterol
Helps keep digestive system healthy
Detoxify body
Alleviates Type 2 Diabetes
Good for Healthy skin, hair, nails, teeth and bones
Fights urinary tract infections and bladder cancer
Prevents Gallstones
Lemon
Helps the body become Alkaline by increasing PH
Antibacterial
High in Vitamin C
Strengthens Blood Vessels
Great for the Heart
Good for Teeth and Bones
*Lemon Juice can destroy tooth enamel. Dilute with water or something else.
Helps rid the body of kidney stones and other kidney and bladder problems
Black Pepper
Contains Antioxidants
Anti-Inflammatory and Antibacterial.
Great for the digestive Tract.
Reduces Gas in the intestines.
Speeds up metabolism.
Supports weight loss.
Fights fat by breaking down the fat cells.
Relief from respiratory problems
Sea Salt
Alkalizes the Body
Contains Minerals
Good for the Cardiovascular System
Good for the Brain
Good for the Skin
Important for Hydration
Boosts Immune System
Helps maintain Sugar Levels (good for Diabetes)
Prevents Osteoporosis
Prevents Muscle Cramps and Spasms
Reduces Cholesterol
Reduces Inflammation in respiratory system (Good for Asthma)
Olive Oil
Contains Antioxidants
Contains probiotics
Improves Blood Vessel Function
Boosts the immune system
Fights Cancer
Fights Heart Disease
Regulates Blood Pressure
Fights Diabetes
May help fight Obesity
Fights Arthritis
Fights osteoporosis
Bay Leaves
Antiseptic.
Contains antioxidants.
May fight cancer.
Aids in Digestion.
Good for the nervous system.
Good for Cardiovascular system
Coriander Seeds
Anti-Inflammatory
Anti-Bacterial
Lowers Blood Sugar
Lowers LDL (Bad) Cholesterol
Increased HDL (Good) Cholesterol
Fights Free Radicals
High in Iron
Aids in digestion
Coriander
Anti-Inflammatory
Anti-Bacterial
Lowers Blood Sugar
Lowers LDL (Bad) Cholesterol
Increased HDL (Good) Cholesterol
Fights Free Radicals
High in Iron
Aids in digestion
Feta Cheese
Contains B-12
Contains Calcium
Sticking To Your Promises
Everyone has a day when they just don’t feel like following through with something. Sometimes I get into the gym and am dreading part of my workout. I just feel out of it. Usually, I get into my workout and by the time I get to what’s been traumatizing my day, I feel so energized that I just get it done. Even if I’m not into it yet, my training partner will be and I will have to do it. Just so that I don’t hear him run his mouth. Actually, I would feel like I let him and myself down.
A week ago we decided that we needed to bring conditioning back into our workouts. We have been doing very little of it for a few months and it’s becoming very noticeable. So we said that we would do it 3 or 4 days a week. Our conditioning can last for 10 minutes and it can last for an entire workout. It might not last long but if you aren’t in shape it sucks. We can get more out of 10 or 15 minutes of conditioning than if we ran for 45 minutes.
I got in today and we got our workout done and I wanted no part of conditioning today. Something I woke up thinking about. If you are hitting it hard, you will feel like you are drowning because you are so out of breath. I say to my training partner, “Lets get our conditioning done.” He says, “No, I don’t have time today.” Now all of the sudden I really want to do it, so I start talking crap to him. After calling him out, I say, “Hey, we made a commitment to do it 3 or 4 times a week. And it will only take 12 minutes. You don’t have 12 minutes? Today will be day 2 and we will still have 1 or 2 more days left. Are you going to break your PROMISE?”. He gets this look on his face like he is going to start calling me a couple of choice names.
We got it done in 12 minutes. It was not fun but both of us were happy that we followed through with our PROMISE. #PromiseToFinishWhatYouStarted
Don’t Be Afraid To Ask
If you want something bad enough than you have to do everything that you can do to get it. No matter what it is up to you. You have to first make up your mind up to do it and then you have to take action. There will always be people who will tell you that you can’t do something. You will have to ignore them or better yet use what they say as gasoline for you fire. There are usually people who are willing to help. They might not be easy to find but you’re going to have to ask. There are obviously always people who you can pay for advice or help but that can get costly. Sometimes it is the best option. But there are plenty of other people with experience that are willing to help. You will come across a few that don’t have time for you. I love it when someone asks me how to do something or wants me to recommend something while I’m at the gym. (As long as they don’t do it in the middle of a set or circuit). I love seeing other people make gains and even more like to see them change their life.
When we (Me and my partner Chase Reynolds) decided that we wanted to start The Promise∞Line™ (A motivational brand that encourages people not only set promises (Promises are what we call Goals), but go after them no matter who or what stands in their way.) We knew very little about what it would take to develop an apparel line along with it. However, we did have several connections who were more than happy to help. There were two other apparel companies who have been very successful who we had some loose connections with. One day I decided that maybe it would be worth calling a founder from each one of them and seeing if they would talk with me and give me some advice. What’s the worse that can happen? They tell me to go screw and hang up? Surprisingly or maybe not surprisingly both of them were more than happy to help. They answered every question that I asked. One of them told me that 25 years from now, when some guy calls me and tells me that he has a start-up brand that he is developing, I better take some time and help him out. I definitely believe in paying it forward. The other guy that I spoke with has been someone who we speak with every couple of weeks. He has helped us make a lot of decisions and probably saved us from a number of mistakes. I can’t say enough how much I respect this individual and his company. I sent him a couple of shirts the other day and he emailed me that they looked great and was excited to wear them.
We have taken a lot of pride in developing a brand that means something to us. It means a lot to us to hear from people that we are motivated them and accomplishing what we set out to do. And the feeling of having a mentor who praises your brand is incredible. I find that ever since I turned my life around and started living a healthy lifestyle that tend to stick with a lot of similar people. These similar people have a positive outlook on life and that includes positively effecting and helping others. You never know until you ask.
Finding Your Passion and Helping Others Find Theirs
I’m not saying that the only thing that I like to do is going to the gym and train, but almost everything that I consider my passion has to do with living a healthy lifestyle. And the fact is it’s not just about me, because most of the people who I spend most of my time with do pretty much the same thing. Part of it is helping other people live the same lifestyle or at least the lifestyle that they want. They have their own ideas of where they want to be. And maybe it isn’t a lifestyle but someone who is trying to reach a goal. It’s nice having a positive effect on someone else that is trying to better their life.
I talk with people every day and when I listen to them, they will tell me what they want. You can hear it in their voice when they are talking about how they can see themselves getting closer to that goal. You can also hear it when they feel like they are failing. A word of encouragement or some advice could actually go a long way for them. In the end it is up to them, but the more information that they have or positive reenforcement that they have the more that they can believe in themselves. So when I think about it, the way that I live doesn’t just affect me. I know that I’m not the only one who changed their life and is helping other people do the same thing. Once you believe in yourself others will believe in you and it really could start a domino effect. Once someone figures out that they want it bad enough, they can do anything.
Priorities and Passion
Since I work for myself I can usually arrange my schedule to meet my needs. Up until a couple of years ago I would work over 50 hours a week. When I decided to prioritize everything in my life, I cut out a lot of the things that i didn’t think were productive. So to tell you the truth i cut my work weeks well down below 40 hours. Put it this way most people don’t think that i have a job because I’m usually in the gym every day starting at 9 am and leaving when we are done. That might be 11 and it might be 12. I travel once in a while, which might or might not be for work. Last year it was for a bunch of obstacle races.
The way i see it is that i found the things in my life that were holding me back or dragging me down or were just a waste of time. I cut them out. I decided that i would rather spend time on trying to build something related to fitness or making people better. I still have some things that I feel that I may be missing but overall I am living my passion.
While I searched for something that would allow me to really make a career out of my new passion, I came across a lot of other people who are living similar lives. They have an appreciation for many of the same things that I do and they are motivated and inspiring. They all have set their goals and they focus on them. One of these people is Chase Reynolds a running back for the St. Louis Rams. We started training together during the 2013 NFL Offseason. We pushed each other hard and every day hit a new level of motivation. We realized that we bother were interested in helping other people achieve their goals and we decided to start a motivational brand. The brand is The Promise∞Line™. Chase’s entire life is based on it and my life has been more fulfilling since I found it. If you really want something bad enough you are willing to work on it every day. Stay focused on it. We wanted a brand that has a positive impact on how it makes people think and feel. It’s a reminder of what goals they have set for themselves. We call our goals promises and we don’t like to break them
.
In creating The Promise∞Line™ I have had to start working over 50 hour work weeks again, but I am still getting it in at the gym from 9 until we are done. I’m still keeping my priorities and this time I am working for my passion. I have made Promises to myself and Chase my business partner and we pan on building a brand with an impact.
#PromiseToSeizeTheMoment
#ThePromiseLine
Evolve My Life ™ 