SwimUpStream

Challenge

2009-11-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

On Monday November the 2nd we posted a new idea about ‘Currency’ and that every person has different currencies or values that are unique to their individuality. Depending on the stage of life we are in, values or currencies may change while some remain forever the same. Understanding this as well as knowing that when we live by our values we are more likely to succeed, think how far we would get if we accepted ‘Challenge’ as one of our personal currencies.

Embracing ‘Challenge’ as a personal currency means that we appreciate the value in doing new things and avoid the complacency we often naturally accept instead. Doing something new brings the opportunity to learn more about life and to experience things we have not before. By being open to challenge we will ultimately find ourselves accomplishing more than we ever thought we would.

Here are some simple challenges that we can consider to better our lives:
1) Rather than doing the same 30min treadmill run week by week, try it outside and build up week by week until you can run for a total of 60min. Not many people can run for 60 straight minutes, which usually is enough to cover 10km.
2) An artist who enjoys drawing and painting could try using computer applications to create what they normally would on canvas. Conversely, those only ever to use computer programs to draw can try simple pen and paper.
3) At work, try something different. A hair stylist could learn how to color hair rather than only be known for their cuts. A teacher could start coaching one of the school teams to find a new way of connecting with the students.
4) If you play on a sports team, try playing a different position. It will give a greater appreciation for other viewpoints as well as improve your weaknesses.

The hard part of challenge is just that – it is hard. New challenges take us outside of our comfort zone, force us to work at what we are not usually good at and often make us fall on our face. Yet falling followed by the act of getting back up to make another attempt is one of the most powerful choices we can make which forces us to grow and be better. Challenge brings adversity and perseverance through adversity does not just build character, it reveals it.

While challenge promotes growth, it is important not to take on more challenges than one can handle at a given time. The best way to approach a challenge is to face it head on, learn and master it before taking on another. Having challenge as a personal value is something that will shake the foundations of routine, overcome plateau and make us stronger individuals better equipped to face some of the tougher challenges that life may throw at us when we least expect it.

Good or Bad?

2009-11-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. ~ William Shakespeare

There is no reality; only perception. Accepting this means that you embrace the fact that, no matter what happens in your life, how you interpret the event is up to you. Whatever meaning or value a particular circumstance has for you will be the meaning or value that you give it.

The key point is that where your perceptions are concerned, you have the ability to choose differently from what you are currently choosing if you wish. When it comes to how you see things, you do have a choice.

One of the harshest tests of this truth occurred in the life of Dr. Victor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist who was captured by the Nazis during World War II and held prisoner at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Writing afterward of his experiences in the camp, Dr. Frankl described the obsessive control that the guards exercised: each day, he and his fellow prisoners were told when to sit, when to stand, when to work, when to eat and when to sleep – and they were told whether they would be allowed to live or die.

In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Dr. Frankl noted that in the face of these unending atrocities, he discovered one very important aspect of his existence that the guards could not control. They could not control what attitude he took about his suffering. They could not force upon him how he would interpret and react to his treatment.

At a particular moment in the midst of his imprisonment, Dr. Frankl made a life decision. He saw that if he were made to suffer these terrible events in his life for no meaning, he would go insane. He decided, instead, to live by the principle that, we only know and experience this life through the meaning or relevance of perceptions that we assign it.

The lesson in Dr. Frankl’s experience is the realization that between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. ~ Dr. Victor Frankl

Most of us can't imagine

2009-11-11T08:43:00.000-08:00

Today being Rememberance Day in Canada and Veteran's Day in the United States, it's important that we take stock of just how lucky we are and why we have such luck.

In light of the recent economic crisis, so much attention has been focused on finance, business fundamentals, and scraping by that many of us have been nearly 100% focused - on us.

Hence the title of today's blog - most of us can't imagine. I have a 13 month old son at home, and I can't imagine leaving him or my wife as I head off to war, yet that is what so many of our veterans have had to do, and so many of our soldiers are doing right now to protect the rest of us from having to make such sacrifices.

Unbeleivably, my grandfather was one of 5 brothers who went to war, and luckily enough, all 5 returned. Can you imagine how his parents felt?

We live in a time where bugets are tight compared to what they were 14 months ago. Big deal. Most of us are so lucky that we don't know the price of ultimate sacrifice. It is important though, that lucky as we are, we are not naive to this fact. People you will never hear of died to help provide the freedom that we enjoy.

This post is not written for us to feel guilty; rather to feel loved by our veterans and our current soldiers who ensure we have the kind of life that we can go about our business and pursue our dreams rather than fear for tomorrow.

Make the most of your life to ensure their sacrifices are not in vain, and when you see a veteran or a soldier decked out - we can all take a few steps out of the way to meet them and thank them. We owe them at least that.

Thank you troops!

2009-11-10T12:51:00.000-08:00

Canadian's Invade Virginia by Gary Robins

I'll do my absolute best to keep this to a readable length here...

I was shooting for a sub 7hr run time which would have been a near 23 minute improvement over my 08 run time. The 08 race was my first ever fifty miler as I'd only started to fully concentrate on running, verses multi-sport, four months prior. The 09 version ended up being my second ever 50 miler and a much better race for me.

I obviously had to go out harder off the start verses last year but I was definitely surprised to find myself alternating the lead with Montrail U.S. runner Geoff 'The Alaskan Assassin' Roes (if no one else has referred to him by this name yet then I get to claim it when it sticks!) through the first 20 miles of the race. Lon Freeman was never more than a few steps behind and Valmir Nunes was always visible when we hit an exposed switchback area.

(Goeff Roes leading, me in second, RD Clark Zealand poaching the course!)

At the half way point of the race I was nine minutes ahead of my 08 pace and right on target for a sub 7hr effort. Geoff had managed to distance himself from me over the previous climb and he hit the mid-way aid just three minutes up. As I departed I could see Lon coming in just a minute back.

After departed the mid-way aid you venture into the longest climb of the fifty miles. In 08 I had to walk most of the climbs, this year I'd trained myself to be better on the climbs and faster on the runnable terrain. The course is 90% fire roads so I actually did some road mileage and my first road race in over 5yrs while preparing for the course. Although I did manage to run the entire course, save one section of about 200 meters, both Geoff and Lon had proved to be better up-hill runners than myself. Knowing this I had prepared for Lon to catch and pass me, which he did within about ten minutes. He managed a larger gap than I anticipated though and eventually he gained five full minutes on me. Little did we then know, Geoff was on a constant acceleration and while the rest of us just struggled to hang on Geoff simply ran the second half of the course faster than anyone had ever dreamed was even possible.

At about the 33m mark (55km) you hit the first real singletrack terrain of the course. Last year I nearly died through here, so this year I made sure to have something left in the tank for it. Once you complete this 5m/8k loop the course is predominately downhill to the finish line...which has always been my strength. I wasn't even two miles into the loop when I heard a runner from behind. Valmir was still lingering and with foot speed the likes of which I will simply never possess, he scared me enough to push my through the undulations of this loop. Thankfully and surprisingly I would not see him again until he crossed the finish line.

I exited the loop and was told Lon was four minutes up on me. I was feeling way stronger than I thought I would this late in the race and I vocalized that I thought I might still be able to close that gap over the final 10m/16k of the race. The next few aid stations told a different story though as the splits coming my way were growing, not shrinking.

As I hit the final aid station of the day, and with but 3.5 miles to go to the finish line, I was given one more split,

"Lon left here...exactly...two minutes ago."

I chugged a cup of fluid and rocketed outta there. It was almost all down till the final 1m section of road to the line. In the end this information was not accurate, as Lon had a closer to 4min lead at that point, but it was the perfect fuel to allow me to go with an all or nothing approach to end the race. Whether I cramped up and had to walk didn't matter at that point, only top two went straight into Western States and that was my primary goal at the starting line. My final km split times, gravity assisted of course but none the less my legs still had to turn over and absorb the punishment, were:

-4m17s /6.54mile
-4m27s /7.10m
-4m12s /6.45m
-3m37s /5.49m
-3m42s /5.57m
-2m44s (700m of flat road to the line) (3m48s pace /6.07m)

I crossed the line in 7h00m28s...missed out on a sub seven by under thirty seconds and an auto WS entry by two minutes...both tough pills to swallow, but by far and away this was my best performance south of the border, and my first major race that I'm truly happy with the time I laid down. Clark Zealand, David Horton, and the hundreds of others who make this race possible and can somehow convert a 50m fire road run into an incredible trail racing experience, THANK YOU SO MUCH yet again!! I might just have to return again next year and claim those missing 29 seconds.

In the women's race, the girl I've been flattered to call my girlfriend, Tamsin Anstey, in her first EVER 50 miler and just third attempt at running an ultra, laid down the 5th fastest woman's time in the 27 year history of the event!! She has promised me that she'll do a race report that I'll proudly post on here for her...till we get her up and going on her own blog in the near future.

-Special thanks to my amazing friend Hays Poole who drove 2.5hr from Raleigh, North Carolina to help support me during the race. He was a ROCK STAR who I can't thank enough!!

Full results here, oh yeah, and I forgot to mention, Geoff 'The Alaskan Assassin' Roes...well he kinda destroyed the course like no one thought possible and ended up with a new course record of 6h27m!!! That's over 21min faster than the legendary Dave Mackay's run time, and in my humble opinion, solidifies Geoff as the outright U.S. Ultra Runner Of The Year for 2009...congrats Geoff, it was a pleasure and an honor to meet you this weekend!

Congratulations Dianne Wood - In her own words..

2009-11-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

The unimaginable has happened! I just got word (I am away on vacation) that I won the Nutrition challenge. I am incredibly happy and I can’t believe it. Thank you so much Emmery – who read all those food logs and Richard, and Josh, and Kate, and Kati, and Chelsea, and Josh, and Justine…who all had a part in supporting me and the other participants in this challenge.
The nutrition challenge

For the month of October, which included Thanksgiving and Halloween (just saying)
I committed to myself and to Innovative to do the Nutrition & Fitness Challenge. I was tired of my muffin top creeping over my jeans and after my long fun summer of BBQs, restaurants and sitting by a friend’s pool drinking Sauvignon Blanc, I was ready. The scale had reached a new high and my regular routine of working out 3x a week at Innovative with the odd run on my own was not enough to check the balance – so to speak.

I think the key here is that I was ready.

I have to make a plug for Innovative here. The Innovative team is so supportive and truly dedicated and I felt that I had and incredible amount of genuine support to succeed in the challenge. Each trainer was prepared to put in time and went over and above the call of duty to do so. It was truly touching. THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS.

I started the cleanse a few days early – it didn’t count…but it got me in the habit of not having a glass of wine, doing a food log and thinking about how I was going to change my eating patterns. It was a big adjustment and although the food logs were very helpful there were many nights I would finally settle into bed and just be falling asleep only to jar myself awake and remember that I had to file my food log.

The parameters of the cleanse were narrow but we were encouraged to follow them with common sense. For me…my enemy is flour (and wine). No one can take down a Panini like I can and perhaps no one enjoys pasta like I do (I was probably Italian in a past life). Anyway…I challenged myself to “think outside the sandwich” and took wheat off my list. I also read that Wayne Dyer lost 80 pounds by removing sugar from his diet. He didn’t even drink juice, so I lowered my fruit intake a lot and only ate berries on my sugarless oatmeal in the morning to prevent me from feeling sorry for myself. Wine I sadly discovered was the equivalent of eating a half-cup of white sugar.

The loss of flour was really helpful in so far as I started eating salad with a bit of protein for lunch. I also stopped ‘sink eating’ (eating while I was cooking dinner for my kids) and I started eating small amounts of ‘legal food’ several times a day, (Hummus, vegetables, linseed bread, rice crackers, grilled steak etc.). I did not eat past 6:30pm. If I was truly dying I would make a big bowl of air popped popcorn and spray it with my new best friend …a $34.00 bottle of spray balsamic vinegar stuff. 50 squirts=10 calories!

I didn’t realize until I was almost all the way through the challenge that I
1. Ordered as much food in a restaurant as my husband, and ate it all.
2. Ate so late
3. Ate so much flour
4. Found sugar in so many unlikely places
5. Ate large meals and then starved myself till the next one
6. Ate what I WANTED not what I NEEDED
7. Could avoid butter and fat more easily than I thought.

I think what I noticed more than anything was the things I wasn’t having rather than the things I was having. I had many a dinner of No Dessert and many an outing with No Wine and many a dinnertime with No Butter etc. The nutrition challenge was one thing, but on top of it was the Fitness Challenge! 9 tasks to be completed with a trainer. 24 th street hill run, figure 8 run, 10K run, 3 official races, 3 bike challenges.

Every weekend there was a running race. My friend Virginia, without me even asking, supported me in my running. Thanks Virginia!

I thought it was great that the challenge started out with a 5km. We did the Run for the Cure. No problem. It was a good warm up. The Turkey trot was fantastic because after Thanksgiving dinner who doesn’t want to get out and move some of that gravy off your butt. The challenge included a local 10 km and then there was the fun and amazing sea wall run…the James Cunningham. The biking challenges were ridiculous. I never bike. I dusted off my mountain bike, filled up my tires, found one of my kid’s bike helmets and was off. I absolutely hated it…at first. But after I rode the Stanley park ride…I could see myself attempting longer rides. I thought I was going to bloody well die doing the Cypress ride but thank god Tracy told me that getting up to the highway was the hard part and that the ride up Cypress was gradual and wasn’t the killer. Had she not told me that, I might have thrown in the towel after riding to the top of 21st Street. I can’t tell you how good it was to get to the second look out. I literally couldn’t believe I did it; the ride home was a great reward. Actually…I would do it again.

I learned something really important and really interesting:
Exercise is about strength, and health and food is about weight.

That means if you want to lose weight….of course it is a good idea to exercise but you aren’t going to lose weight by only exercising. You are going to lose weight by changing how you eat.
I also learned that weight loss is not fast. It is infuriatingly slow but it is steady. I just kept thinking about how long it took to put it on. Watching what you eat as well as exercising is obviously the key. Upping your fitness routine tightens you up and shocks your body into working harder. I think I was at a plateau and my body was used to my fitness routine- so adding some extra challenges was a good idea to bump me into a new zone. (wow…that really sounded athletic!)

I think the greatest thing about the challenges was that in the beginning I hated every single one and at the end of each one I loved them. I surprised myself. I couldn’t believe I actually could do these things and to tell you the truth…after a few of them, I even called my Mom.

Thanks to all the trainers and friends that supported me.
What’s next?

Challenge

2009-11-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

Challenge. It may be defined as a demanding or stimulating situation that tests someone's abilities. It offers people the opportunity to find deeper powers within themselves and to discover things about themselves that they never really knew; they are what force us to go beyond the norm. But, ‘life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they’re supposed to help you discover who you are,’ Bernice Johnson Regan.

Everyone understands the benefits of being challenged and most of us recognize that we need it in order to become better in the long term, but what no one mentions is how difficult it is on a daily basis, to be constantly pushed to be better than you were yesterday. It is uncomfortable. As health professionals we do it everyday, demanding more from our customers than their perceived best, but when is it enough?

Never. People challenge you because they care; they see your potential and want to help you reach it. They believe in you. If you let them down you are letting yourself down, because they demand no less than your best. And even if you can’t appreciate it right now, they genuinely want to see you succeed.

Work hard to not let these people down. Be glad that they see something worth challenging. And don't let the challenges paralyze you; use them to discover who you are.

Fun race to follow... The 2009 Adventure Race championship

2009-11-05T12:10:00.000-08:00

The Adventure Race World Championship 2009 is starting this week in Portugal. The new edition will once more welcome the best international adventure racing teams, allowing them to explore the amazing beauty of the central region of the country. It will be an opportunity to see the best teams in the world to compete between them at the highest level in Adventure Racing, demonstrating their skills and their knowledge. Estoril Portugal XPD Race aims to showcase the potential of Portugal as a prime location for Adventure Racing and the skills of the Portuguese for organizing large international sporting events.

The Adventure Race World Championship 2009 in Portugal will once more welcome the best international adventure racing teams, allowing them to explore the amazing beauty of the central region of the country. It will be an opportunity to see the best teams in the world to compete between them at the highest level in Adventure Racing, demonstrating their skills and their knowledge.

The 2009 edition of the XPD race will be organised as follows:

-Dates: 8th to 13th of November 2009

-Total estimated distance: 700/800 kmLength/

-Format: 5 days (approximately 120 hours to complete the race)/Non-Stop

-Support: Provided by the organisation

-Teams of 4 members with at least one female member that have to stay together at all times.

2 teams from Canada will be racing #12 Kinetic and #9 ATP,Salomon. Jen Segger from Squamish will also be there racing with a USA team # 18 NUUN,Feed the Machine.

These teams have been training together for a year for this race only and some have raced many years to arrive to this Championship.

Go check it out and see what these amazing athletes are putting themself through for 5 days, 24hours a day. http://www.arwc2009.com/en/home.php

Take the time to look at pictures, you will be amazed and hopefully inspired by what they have to go through.

For something a little easier, you can always think about racing in the following for next season. It's a great way to start!

Innovative Fitness Canuck Place Adventure Race

Momar Adventure Race

Suburban Rush

Full Moon in June

Vulnerability is Strength

2009-11-04T10:33:00.000-08:00

This week I have had the privilege of hearing many people's stories; both teammates and customers.

What is so rewarding for me after writing my story 5 years ago and sharing it I don't know how many times - is when people feel "lifted" through sharing, and then realize that there are okay on the other end.

The opened up and trusted someone and that trust was not abused.

They shared their deepest darkest secrets and instead of that knowledge being used against them they were set free.

They shared their most vulnerable side with someone else and it helped bridge a gap in understanding.

...and with enough time, self work, and then understanding - they can use their story to help others.

We all have a story. Some are plain, some are sad, some belong in movies that would make all of us cry. What many of us fail to realize is a) we often aren't the ones holding the pens (we are letting our story get written for us; we are victims) b) we are re-writing the same chapter over and over (we haven't broken the cycle) or c) we have a best-seller and we aren't sharing it!

This week alone I've had people share their stories of abuse, death, insecurity, guilt, self- sabotage, and gender-trust issues. While each one had a different origin - NONE are/ were hopeless and all can lead somewhere positive.

We must remember as we take our next breath that we can grab the pen at any time, we can write a new chapter, and it's never to late to change or own life or help someone else change theirs by sharing what might well be our own best seller.

There is strength in your story if you allow yourself to be vulnerable to tell it.

race your race.

2009-11-03T12:25:00.000-08:00

Story by Jill Koenig

Think back to a time in your life when you tried something new.
When I was a teenager I volunteered to work the water station at a 10k (6.2 mile) race.
It was called the "Heaven Can Wait" 10 K run and ironically, it was sponsored by the local cemetery. My job was to pass out water to the runners. I remember being so excited to see all the different kinds of people who passed by and grabbed a cup of water. Some ran past, some walked past and a few wheeled past. I saw so many types of people doing it, I thought maybe I can do it too! So the next year I signed up for the race and gave it a shot. Back then I didn't do much to prepare except jog around my neighborhood. I never tracked how far I jogged, or timed myself, I just ran around. :) I had no time goals for the race, no specialized training, no game plan, nothing. Needless to say that I prepare differently when I run races today, but back then my only goal was to finish. On the day of the race, it was incredibly hot and humid. I remember struggling at about the 5th mile, thinking, "I must be crazy, why did I do this? What was I thinking? And at one point, I said, "I am never doing this again!" Have you ever felt that way about something? You eagerly undertake a goal and in the midst of it comes a moment of struggle, and you realize it is much harder than you imagined it would be?
That first 10 k race was quite an experience. I jogged, I walked, I jogged and I walked. At times, I didn't know if I could finish. Then came a defining moment.

At one point near the end, a 70 year old man ran past me, very very fast, and I felt embarrassed that I was 50+ years younger than he and I couldn't even keep up with him.
I felt defeated for a second but then I realized something. He was running his race and I was running mine. He had different capacities, experience, training and goals for himself. I had mine. (remember my goal was merely to finish). How often in life do we compare ourselves to others and feel disappointed in ourselves when we really shouldn't? After a minute, it hit me that this was a lesson I could draw from. I learned something about myself in that moment. I turned my embarrassment into inspiration.
I decided that I would not give up on running races, in fact, I would run even more races and I would learn how to train and prepare properly and one day I would be one of those 70 year olds who was still running.

As I crossed the finish line, I was proud of my accomplishment. I am so glad I didn't give up on running. Today it is an incredible source of joy in my life. I have run several races since then, 5ks 10ks and I run purely for fun. I have studied running books, made friendships with other runners and I can report that I love it now more than ever.
In life we all have those moments where we compare ourselves to others. It's only natural. Don't allow those moments disempower you. Turn them into motivation and let them inspire you. Use them to show you what is possible.

Every struggle is rich with opportunity.

You define your own race when you define your own Goals.

You decide your race and you decide your own pace.

Life is a series of races.

There are lessons in every race.

There are life lessons to be learned every single day.

If you don't win the race, but you get the lesson, and grow, you are truly a success.

You are a winner.

Live Your Dreams.

Currency

2009-11-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

Countries are like individuals in that they are all different and all with their unique skin color, language, customs, laws, food and financial currencies. When we enter another country we know that we must abide by new laws, customs and use the currency of that country to get what we want. In Japan, we understand that bowing is the way of greeting people, removal of shoes when entering a home and that to purchase anything we need to have Yen. We would not get far with its people if we tried to pay for your food with Canadian dollars or failed to take off our shoes upon entering someone’s home.

Individuals, like countries are very unique. Every person has grown up with different values and experiences making them the individual they are today. For most of us, we are in contact with people all day and have to deal with different personalities in different situations. If we think of individuality like we do countries we realize that we cannot use our same personal style of thinking and communicating with every single person if we are to get them to listen, trust and to follow our lead.

During our daily interactions, it does not matter what position we are in whether teacher, manager or student, we interact with others and we all have chances to lead people with our individual approaches. But what happens when we use our unique approach and we cannot connect with someone different than us? This outcome is from not having recognized that our currency is not being accepted and we have to use that person’s currency if we are to succeed with them. Essentially, we have not recognized what this person values and what intrinsically motivate this person to succeed. Everyone is different and to effectively lead others we have to appreciate what type of leadership and communication they need. Great leaders will recognize this and make efforts to know other peoples currency.

Whereas one person may value achievement and challenge more than the next, this person will respond well to challenge after challenge in which they then have the chance to see themselves win each time. For someone else who values and needs recognition, to be given a new challenge every week does the opposite of motivating this person to go further. Yet if you were to recognize this person for the things he or she does well, you are feeding their individual currency and have better chances of connecting with what motivates this person to succeed. Currency is different with each person like a country and individual currencies could be any of the following: independence, social, inclusion, security, praise or support.

What is important to note in all this is although knowing our currencies is important we must not continually see it as the be-all end-all way of leading or being lead by others. For example, if your currency is inclusion do not always wait to be included by someone else. Take initiative over your currency to get yourself included. If your currency is to be recognized and you are not getting it will you turn to a negative attitude and lose your motivation? Or will you take the higher road knowing that you are the one in control of your life and continue to make things happen even if you are not being seen for them?

Everyone has different upbringings and values something different. If we can see this in people and change our approach we will be more likely to succeed in relationships on any team whether at work, at home or on the playing field. Conversely, understanding our own currency and knowing that if we are not getting it will we then make change to still follow our goals and stay motivated? Take the time to think of your values and what makes up your currency. Share it with others and take the time to see the different currencies of people you work with in your life.

Trial and Error

2009-10-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

My sister has taken pictures of tourists on Virginia Beach, sold jet skis in Miami, worked in a café in France in exchange for French lessons, learned massage in Thailand, and has worked as an extra on a movie set in Italy.

She has studied Criminology, looked into getting her real estate license, decided she wanted to be a Model, then applied for Journalism school, and most recently has figured out that she would like to write documentaries, and design eco-friendly clothing. And, each time she believes she has found what she wants be ‘when she grows up.’

Growing up everyone else is in control of your life, your parents, your teachers, your coaches, etc., and they all demand and expect something from you. Then you hit a certain age, and are left to our own devices with the expectation that you will be able to take charge of our life and lead it in the direction you want to go. But which way is that? How do you know where you want to go when everyone else has been taking you there?

In my sister’s case, she has decided to visit a Life Coach to help her make order out of her life and find direction. I think that the most important word in the previous sentence was ‘decided.’ You need to make a decision about where you want to go, it may not be the right one and may lead you farther away from whatever it is you are looking for, but somewhere along the line you need to take control back over your life and start making the calls, good or bad.

It’s through this process that we are able to learn about ourselves – what we like, don’t like, what we can, and can’t live with. Life is trial and error and the only way to learn is to make a decision.

Hallow's Eve trail run 2009

2009-10-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

There is something exhilarating and intense about trail running that drives people in droves towards it. Compared to the steady, rhythmic pace of road running, the twists and turns, the ups and downs, the hopping and falling of trail running keeps the mind more alert. For those of us that grew up climbing trees, jumping off of rocks and swinging off of jungle gyms, trail running offers us an excuse to revert back to our youthful nature and conquer these obstacles once again. Most people can confess to jumping in puddles as a kid and having complete disregard for getting dirty or falling down. Dressing up like a ninja, or like a princess or to become Batman while running through the forest would be the finishing touch in completely becoming a kid again!

On October 25^th a handful of IF customers and coaches did exactly this as we dressed up in our Halloween best to participate in the Hallow’s Eve 10k and 22k trail run. The morning started out at Lynmour Jaycee House in North Vancouver with a crisp, overcast setting to stage the morning’s run perfectly. The mood was lightened with many people’s outrageous costumes and it helped relax the nerves of many nervous participants. Both the 10k and the 22k run started up Lillooet Rd before ducking into the North Vancouver Cemetery. As an eerie morning fog rolled up the hill along with us, the Halloween atmosphere couldn’t have been replicated any better. After a quick hill climb up the street, both courses duck into the trails of Lynn Canyon Park.

The North Shore offers some of the most beautiful and most challenging trails that BC has to offer and sometimes it’s hard to believe that all of this is right in our own back yard. These trails have everything from mildly undulating graveled paths, challenging switchbacks, bridges crossing creeks and trails running through towering forestry. Not to mention enough puddles to jump in to fill your heart’s content! There were a number of steep stairways that definitely ramped up the heart rate and slowed a number of runners to a slow climb. But no one said that the Hallow’s Eve trail run was an easy race.

The course was lined with amazing volunteers who sported their festive costumes as well and kept everyone motivated with great humor and loud cheers. Aid stations of juice, water, gels and Halloween candy kept everyone fueled and hydrated and this race wouldn’t have been the same without those volunteers who made this happen.

The final leg of the race was a nice downhill trot through the same cemetery that we ascended through earlier that morning, back down Lillooet Rd to the finish line at Lynmour Jaycee Community Center. Like any race, it’s always an amazing feeling to cross the finish line and be done and share your stories of the journey with your friends, like how Mike Fugman forgot to wear body glide and chafed his nipples bloody, for example. After a complimentary coffee and hot chocolate at the finish line, everyone went home to rest up. In November IF will be coming back to the North Shore as we will be taking on the Phantom Run on Saturday the 14^th, and we hope to see everybody there!

story by Cory M.

Pumpkin Run 2009

2009-10-28T04:53:00.000-07:00

The Great Pumpkin Run –Doing it for the Peace Arch Hospital Foundation! by Martie H.

On Sunday October 25^th IFers came out in droves to lend their support for their local hospital. The morning was brisk but that didn’t stop participants of all ages from dressing up and showing their pre-Halloween spirit.

With so many family friendly options there was an event for everybody to get involved in whether it was the 1k walk/run or the 5 k walk/run. A local band got us and warmed up and ready to run. We all lined up under the orange and black balloons on the grounds of the hospital to begin our race. A quick and hilly route took us through beautiful White Rock providing gorgeous ocean views along the way. We ran with hippies, a muscle man and various heroes.

Upon our return we were greeted by family band, delicious healthy snacks and story time for the kids. What a great opportunity to get active with the whole family and lead by example. A great time was had by all and we helped contribute to foundation funds new life-saving equipment and health initiatives for our community.

Can’t wait to see you all next year!

Misconceptions..

2009-10-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

With so many dating shows, reality TV "of Love" shows, it seems that so many people have some very bad misconceptions of romance, love, and beauty. We have novels such as Twilight by Stephanie Meyer which basically says that love = stalking, controlling spouses and a romance based on obsession rather then actual chemistry or affection. We also have a somewhat recent drama between Chris Brown and Rihanna, where she basically shows the world that it's okay to stay with a man who beats the hell out of you.

Such messages corrupt and harm those who do not know any better. When I hear about a couple that goes through such hardships where the man is punching and biting his girlfriend, yet she humbly comes back to him because she loves him, this makes me wonder what goes through the minds of these people. We've seen it before on shows like Jerry Springer, and for some people this is a very ugly reality and something that occurs every day in their own homes. But because it's on Jerry Springer, where the "white trash" of America go up on stage and make complete fools of themselves for the world to see, we only associate such behavior from the stupid and unattractive people we've seen on the program. We immediately look down on the act, and we shun those people for going back to ones who abuse them, and we think to ourselves "that couldn't possibly happen to someone with more than half a brain".

But what about when it's Chris Brown and Rihanna instead of the Springer guests, and because it's Edward Cullen and Bella Swan instead of the white trash, the message changes. What is even scarier is that this sort of behavior, this neglect, obsession, abuse, and harm is being pushed to the side (and in some cases, even glorified) because the people in question are nice to look at. Say what you will about their personalities and characteristics (or lack of), but Chris Brown, Rihanna, and Robert Pattinson are not bad to look at. We would describe them as attractive, hot, and sexy. So we ignore their wrongdoings because of their beauty and good looks, either forget or condone the violent acts. With this, we are basically telling the world and our children, "It's okay, because they're hot and they love each other."

This message is displayed even strongly in today's media, but this time around the targeted audience are adolescents and young adults. Since we're already brainwashed since our toddler years to associate beautiful looks with happiness, the TV advertisements, reality shows, movies, television shows, the music industry, and most importantly the fashion industry do their best to reinforce this theory.

It is not only a broken record, but most of the time very hypocritical to say that "looks don't matter" and "it's what's inside that counts." When you really get down to the logical aspect of this argument, looks are temporary anyways. That hot guy you pick up in high school will not look quite the same when he's thirty years older, especially if he parties hard in his school years. That pretty girl may look smoking in that bikini when she's 18 but will she look that great when she's 50?

For the high classed/rich demographic, plastic surgery and spa treatments may help you with your aging process, yet how many people in the middle and lower class can afford such things? Many of us are lucky (especially in this economy) if we're able to make enough money to keep our homes or fill our refrigerators. Getting a liposuction, tummy tuck, or acupuncture once every two weeks is really a trivial matter that we can't bother ourselves with.

I'm not saying that women and men should not put time and effort into making themselves look good. When you wear something that you look good in, you'll feel good. When you feel good about yourself, you gain confidence. And when you look presentable, you'll look approachable. What I am saying, however, is that making your exterior as beautiful as possible and staying attracted only to the people who "look good," is not all that it's cracked up to be. I'm also saying that pardoning the sins of those who are easy on the eyes when you would have condemned anyone outside of that statistic for the same crime is ridiculous, unfair, and sends a harmful message.

Life isn't a fairy tale. It's time for a reality check.

.

Boundaries

2009-10-23T13:39:00.000-07:00

“Boundaries make a child feel safe.” Dr. Deborah Langenbacher

Children naturally experiment and push boundaries in their quest to mature and learn to be a part of society. Not everything they try will be right every time. Parents are part of their lives to correct them and teach them appropriate child behavior.

Being a friend to your child is one way to sidestep the conflict, responsibility and pain of being a parent. It's also a good place to hide if you don't know how to parent. But your role in your child's life is to be their parent. Being a parent is not an adversarial relationship, but one in which clear lines are drawn about who is in charge. When you find yourself and your child thinking alike, or spending a lot of time hanging out together, it may be time to rethink your role. If you are not creating a solid, secure base from which your child can explore the world, you are probably being a friend rather than a parent.

Think about what kind of relationship your child has with their friends. Friends are equals. Each feels free to tell the other what they think, and to be a confidant. Childhood friends drop each other and move on to other friendships, experiencing all the different personalities that life has to offer. Friends don't guide, nurture, and protect each other; they don't set boundaries and limits for each other.

You may wonder why I am writing about being parent when I have no children of my own. It’s simple, if you were to re-read this blog and substitute ‘leader’ for ‘parent’ you would understand the association. Professional boundaries are important because they define the limits and responsibilities of the people with whom you interact in the workplace. If everyone on your team understands what to do, how to do it, and when to do it, then team members will feel safe in their roles. An effective leader (or parent) understands that failing to define boundaries, having no boundaries, or having inappropriately rigid boundaries can have an unfavorable impact on their organization, employees or family.

Fear or Opportunity

2009-10-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

Today I was asked how people go from fear of their challenging workout sessions to actually looking forward to the workouts. The answer is very simple, and very difficult (for some). It is quite simply a choice. A choice between being fear-based or opportunity-based.

When we are fear based, we exist at low levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs: reward and punishment are our motivators. "If I get through this wall sit I get a rest" and so on. Fear is about survive. Opportunity, on the other hand, is about THRIVE.

People who are opportunity-focused ask themselves, "what am I capable of today?" "Can I do more than last time?" "Maybe I can beat my own record"
Opportunists see the forest through the trees and are able to perpetuate opportunity out of challenging circumstances. For example, today during the same hour customer in question posed the axiom to me, another customer was able to, while working their tail off - shout encouragement to another customer who was struggling with their workout. The opportunist combined helping others with helping themselves and improving their fitness into the same hour.

Opportunists move themselves (and others) forward at almost every juncture. Fear-focused people often fail to move themselves forward even during something as positive as exercise. If fear is the driver - the 'little extra' required to push new fitness levels and actually observe what's going around you during moments of adversity- is buried beneath the fear.

We must realize that while the above example pertains to exercise, the lesson applies to our social lives, finances, business, everything. We either maximize by focusing on (and thus seeing and capitalizing on) opportunity, or we are consumed by and thus paralyzed by fear.

It is literally a series of choices stemming from our mental focus that separates the most successful people you know - from the cautionary tales.

What's driving you?

Moab 2009... What a trip! by Meyrick Jones

2009-10-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

I just returned from Moab, Utah where I spent three days mountain biking with an awesome group of riders from Innovative Fitness.

Moab

Cool little town in the midst of seemingly endless amounts of awe inspiring red rock, desert-like terrain. TONS of world renowned mountain biking. If you like to ride, you should DEFINITELY put Moab on your "list" (you do have a list right?)

We spent three 4-6 hour days riding mostly intermediate to expert level terrain - some awesome downhills, some technical, rocky trail, plenty of "ledgy drops", lots of slickrock.

The final day was the highlight for me. We drove to 8,400 ft, rode to about 9,000, then descended to about 4,000. That, my friends, is about 10 minutes up and a couple of hours down, in other words, a ratio that = FUN. We were blasting down Hazard County, Upper and Lower Porcupine Rim, and Kokopelli until my rear tire couldn't handle the fun anymore and punctured about 3/4 mile from the end.

I know many Innovative Fitness customers and trainers read this... if you are looking for a fun destination that is manageable for almost every skill level GO TO MOAB!! Our local guides (Rim Tours - Brooks and Sylvie in particular) did a great job of splitting groups up when appropriate, so everyone got to ride to their ability and enjoy every minute.

It was totally awesome. I may be able to procure some video from a friend who sported a helmet cam. We'll see...

In the meantime some more pictures:

This was Day 2 at Bartlett Wash - an awesome area for enjoying the Slickrock.

These next three I call Unnatural Van Fixation... I just love vans (esp. vw) and bikes and the two together meant I had to take a lot of photos...

On Day 3 I had a minor tumble and smacked my shin on a rock.... have a look (go ahead, click to enlarge.) It was visually disturbing to say the least... but not that painful (thank goodness).

Day 1 at "Baby Steps".

Day 2 at Bartlett Wash. (I need a new pose...)

Brooks (our lead guide) - 62 and a damn good rider. He made everything look easy. Powering up slickrock sections that I swear are 45°+. Unbelievable... hat's off.

These trees are beautiful... don't know what kind they are...

It was an awesome group, a spectacular location, unbelievable weather, and tremendous riding by everyone.

Thanks for reading!

Idea!

2009-10-19T07:40:00.000-07:00

An idea is a thought, a stimuli and a catalyst for action. Each and every day we generate countless ideas and one of the great things about human beings is that we have the ability to express our ideas to others. How good does it feel when you tell your idea to someone who then supports it by saying “great idea”? It is empowering yet compare that to how you feel when you speak an idea only to have it immediately shut down. Obviously there are good ideas and bad ideas and bad ones should be recognized before they turn into action but too often we dismiss our own and other peoples ideas before as soon as they are voiced. It is in our nature to think practically and realistically which sometimes narrows our spectrum of what actually is possible.

How does one know if an idea is good or not? If you were to ask 10 people and 7 or more said it was a no good would that make your idea unworthy? Being a believer in possibilities and knowing that most of us think at a conservative level, it is in this writer’s opinion that most people doubt and chances are the idea is a good one. There are many real life examples all around us of people who were told their ideas would never fly and who are now soaring. The ones who plow through doubt and skepticism are those who take risks and believe that bringing their idea to fruition depends on their desire and determination in doing so.

Never be afraid to voice your ideas, hear what others have to say but do not allow them to shut your ideas down. Your ideas are deep rooted to your values, beliefs and what you are passionate about so bringing them to life is entirely dependent on you. Take your idea and let it be manifested into a world of possibilities by taking a risk and taking action. You will never know if your idea was great if you don’t believe and take that first step.

Gratitude

2009-10-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

At some point in time we will all come to a place in our lives where we feel stale; where we feel we no longer have anything more to contribute to the group we are associated with. Hopefully for us we have come to this point on our own terms and have not had to wait for others to make us aware of this shift, because in controlling our own destiny we must have the awareness to know which way to bend the winds.

There are many reasons why we become stale in life, some real and some perceived, but all that any reason means is that it is time to go in a new direction. In moving forward we do not have the time to invest into something that we feel we are no longer creating the impact we would like to in whatever sphere we are stagnant in. Once we come to the realization that we are not in a phase, that our feelings are valid to ourselves, then we must find a way to move on, to recreate, and to reinvent.

Three things are greatly important when we come to the realization that we need to find new avenues to explore; 1) that we recognize how we got to where we are, 2) that we sincerely thank all the people that supported us in our efforts, and 3) that we make the move without disrupting flow.

No one got to where they are without someone taking a chance on them and making an investment in them. Everyone is also not the same person exiting a situation as they were entering it. This is why the reflection process is so important. In the reflection process we must understand not only who gave us the chances we received, who helped us accelerate the learning curve, but also recognize the gains we have made internally and see how the situation allowed us to grow as an individual. We must allow us to see the whole transformation and recognize that while we were the main contributor in our success, there are many others that helped motivate us along the way.

In recognition we also must offer thanks. There are many people that surround us who continually go unrecognized for their contributions to our success. It takes absolutely no effort on the giving end to say “thank you”, yet means a ton on the receiving end. Remember there are many different ways to become inspired and that the odds are likely that you will be thanking people who helped you by less traditional means, but helped you none the less and are equally deserving of your gratitude.

The hardest part of reinvention is not disrupting the flow on the others who are in their moment. Change is disruptive only when we believe that we are more important than we are and make change disruptive. If we have done it correctly, we will have educated others in the same way that they have educated us, therefore moving on in a manner where waves are made but flow is not compromised.

With 150 blogs now to reflect on, it is time to move on. Thanks Matt for the chance; past present and future. Thanks contributors for inspiration and making my brain think. Thank you readers for viewing, disagreeing, trying, thinking, and exploring.

game fazed.... Easy Decision

2009-10-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

thanks Luke for sharing your experience.

Running a half marathon for the first time earlier this year was fun. The word "marathon" is in the title, which sounds very impressive, but so is the word "half", which softens the horror of doing a long distance run for the first time. "Half marathon" is not as scary as "Very Hard 21km." Though I had run 10km numerous time without problem, the push to another level was exciting but as with any first time, a small source of anxiety. I sat down and talked myelf into the senisble approach; 8 weeks of training, realistic goals, new shoes, lots of stretching.... all the right things to keep me on track for success. Planning for success. The day of came and I woke up a half hour before my alarm went off (6:30am on a SATURDAY!) Refreshed, I had a small breakfast and reviewed my goals for the day... Half marathon in 1:45mins, running in my target zone of 120bpm, shouldn't be a problem. Put on my shorts, tied my shoes up tight, and headed out the door. Preparing for success.

Approximately 10km into the marathon, my heart rate monitor broke. The screen went blank, and started beeping out of control, which as anyone else can attest to became very annoying, very quickly. I tossed the watch aside which addressed my immediate problem, but it brought on a new reality... how I was going to deal with this unexpected hurdle? With all the training, the preparation, the first half in the bag... do I let it rattle my concentration, and lose focus, or do I accept the challenge, rise up to conquer it and face adversity head on.

Having kept a healthy pace and being in tune with my body, I decided to pickup up the pace slightly. Within a few minutes, I caught up to a pair of runners coasting at a pace slightly ahead of my own. After a quick point to my wrist and few words, I joined them on their run. At first I was worrying about endurance and my split times until I realized this was A) wasting energy and B) sabotoging my afternoon (not to mention all my training). With 3km to go, I hit the wall (better yet, the wall hit me.) I figured this might happen and was actually relieved it came much later than expected. My mantra became "one foot in front of the hour." Eventually I crossed the finish line. The damage? 1:38mins. How did this happen? 1:45 would have been a personal best (By 2 and a half minutes over training)... Discussing this with one of the other training coaches, we came to a realistic conclusion. Reviewing.

Too often we are tied to our programs, our plans, our zones, our times, our... everything but our bodies. While all the elements I just mentioned are vital keys to any succesful program, (without them I wouldn't have found myself feeling ready on race morning) however, when adversity strikes as it did, the aids I used to train myelf became irrelevant, and I was left with one remaining piece of the puzzle; my body. The decision was quick (mulling over it and feeling sorry for myself were far too easy options) and though I briefly questioned my decisions later in the race, it was truly the only was I was going to come out feeling great - giving it my all. Posting a personal best was already a goal, but I had managed to outdo myself just by listening to my body.

~ Luke Purm

Why we play the game

2009-10-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

It's always fun to watch people begin their journey.

Three such people come to mind right now as part of a contest modelled similarly to the "Fitness Fantasy" concept called the "Herald Health Club".

Our 3 contestants did their first weigh ins and the week one results ranged from no loss to losing 27 pounds. While no change may be de-motivational after such hard work, and 27 pounds is as close to life-changing in 1 week as I've ever seen, we have to learn to look behind the numbers.

While three people are competing, there are a few caveats to remember...

1. The most important competition is INTERNAL. We are offering an adventure trip to Maui, but gaining your life back is the bigger prize and that is what we've heard from all 3 contestants!
2. Many people gain weight their first week because of increased fluid, vitamin, mineral, and nutrient retention as well as amino acid and protein synthesis (the beginning stages of adding new muscles tissue).
3. There's no guarantee the rapid weight loss can continue. Here's hoping it was the result of following the systems to the T, eating enough of the right foods, and getting way more active - but if anyone (these 3 or anyone in the world) tries to 'cut corners' in terms of weight loss, their bodies will catch up to them.
4. Many factors are involved in changing your life (not just weight) and thus our competition was structured with that in mind. We don't know who's going to win now and we probably won't know by week 6 either. It's anybody's contest and that's the point of today's entry...

5. Anything worth having in life is up for grabs. The winners in life are made and they are conditioned, they are not born. It is within your grasp to attain the skills you need and assert the attitude you need to be successful. That's why we play the game of life - because we get to decide what a 'win' means for us and then we get to take the field and make it happen. Life is not played out on the sidelines if we truly want it to count.

Communication

2009-10-09T00:15:00.000-07:00

There have been amazing advancements in the way we communicate over the past 20 years, making our ability to keep in touch with others simpler and more efficient. We now have the ability to be reached at any time from just about any corner of the world. These advancements have opened our accessibility to the world and the world to us, yet have distanced ourselves for the one thing that is most important; us.

Because we now live in an age where we have access to anyone at any time and vice versa, we have lost the ability to connect with ourselves. We no longer have the ability to disappear and reconnect to our internal beings, which is essential in any level of success. Our work days are now longer because we can get as much work done away from the office as we can in it (creating unpaid overtime), our social lives are now busier because we have no escape from others connecting with us, and our family lives are no longer just for family because of the constant interruption of ringing phones and alerts no matter where we are.

Innovation is a great thing, but there hasn’t been an innovation created that doesn’t contain some type of negative side effect. In fact there are no longer win win situations in technological advancement. For every advancement made in communication, we have taken a step back in our ability to create time away from the world and into our own minds. The more accessible we are to others, the less time we have with our own thoughts. Typical alone time 10 years ago has been replaced with noise, noise from headphones, noise from cell phones, just plain noise from us trying to be everything to everyone.

If we are to be a good anything to anyone we first must have the ability to be good at being ourselves. This is an impossible task unless we find the ability to compartmentalize work, family, social life, and self. I can’t be a good worker when I am updating my social network pages while at work. I can’t be a good father/husband when I am working while spending time with my wife and kid. I can’t be socially competent when my focus is not on the environment I am in; rather it is on other perceived obligations. I sure as hell can’t be a good person when I don’t have the time to actually communicate with myself and reconnect with who I am or what I am becoming.

I’ve said it many times because it’s true, we are the most important entity in our lives and unless we have the ability to figure ourselves out we are worthless to those we surround ourselves with. This means that we have to create our own bubble where we can get away from the innovations in communication that are designed to make our lives easier, and actually begin to communicate with ourselves once again. We must have the ability to be a worker while at work, a family person when with our family, a socialite while with our social circles, and ourselves when we make the time to be alone.

Communication is an essential aspect of creating our own success. Communication with ourselves is usually the piece we are lacking the most, and by not knowing who we are anymore we become our greatest detriment in actually creating our success. With technological advancements comes one great constant, the off button. Get to know it so you can get to know yourself.

4 keys

2009-10-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the pleasure of having dinner with a man who has achieved a lot of success in his life... his family's biography book (according to one of his executives) weighs about 8 pounds... he's earned a few billion dollars in his lifetime... he runs 5 companies... but what impressed me the most (by far) were the simple 4 keys he had to successfully parenting children.

1. Be there. There's no replacement for time with and as he said, ages 0 - 6 are the most important from an early childhood development perspective
2. When you're there, be THERE. I've heard this before as the 100% rule- don't be on your Blackberry when you're with your kids, don't be watching TV and kind of watching them; be with them in the moment.
3. Let them teach you what they want to learn and what they want to do instead of you forcing them to read or listen to 'Baby Einstein'. The rate of children's abilities to learn is limited only by the abilities of the teacher.
4. Teach them to want to please you instead of teaching them to fear you. Fear works until they're 12. Most kids don't get into real trouble before 12, they do after. When kids post 12 are faced with drugs and you parent via the fear regime - doing drugs is just one ,more outlet to 'stick it to you'. If your kids want to do right by you, they'll talk to you and present their challenges to you so that you can help them arrive at the solutions for themselves (not you telling them).

The 4 keys above are easy in theory, hard in practice for 1 reason above all else - patience. If anything, that's the 5th key to unlocking your potential as a parent and your kids potential as a human being.

To all parents out there (myself included) best of luck especially with the 5th key!

Action

2009-10-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

Each day we come across many great lessons and ideas that we know if
implemented would make us better people. We read books, articles, watch
programs and hear people speak to us on what it takes to reach our goals.
Too often however we see/hear great information, become so excited about
how meaningful it is and then fail to use what we have learned in a way
that betters our lives. The end result is that we render great teachings
to be useless and therefore leaving ourselves in a position no better than
where we began. We see, we hear but the implementing into our lives just
doesn't happen as we allow information to enter one ear and then out the
other.

It is not about what you know or how much you know but what you do
with what you know. We have heard this before and the essence this saying
boils down to one word - Action.

Do you take action in life by taking
your thoughts and goals to the next level? Or do you hear and sometimes
take notes on the lessons but then fail to follow through? Successful
people do what unsuccessful people don't by not only planning and having a
vision but following through from A to Z. On the flip side, unsuccessful
people wait for things to happen to them and then often become discouraged
or complain that things are happening to them that they have no control
over. The complete opposite is true - we all have control to make what we
want out of life and that means taking action.

Todays message is one
which I think is important to share with others as we approach the end of
2009. I hope that this message helps kickstart your day as well as your
last quarter of the year. Let this communication be your reminder to 'go
get'. Upon reading this communication, break the habit of being just a spectator
who simply thinks 'good blog now back to my day' and letting a good idea
evaporate into thin air. Instead, take it to the next level - Do and Teach
others to do the same. Implement what you already know and what you learn
by taking action to make what you want happen in your life.

"There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded." -Mark Twain

Space

2009-10-02T00:08:00.000-07:00

A star is formed from cold, dark clouds made of dust and gas. The reason for the cold is so that the particles that form the star can move slowly enough to allow gravity to overcome internal pressure where clumps of matter can form. This creates a protostar, or a star in its embryonic stage, and has the ability to glow, but it isn’t until more mass and density accrue that the protostar gains enough heat to become a star. This process takes millions of years to come to fruition.

Hopefully this sounds familiar to all of us because it is the exact process of excellence. We start off our lives in a dark cloud; we don’t know what our plan is or how it will unfold, yet we take in our surroundings and form our identity. The younger we are the slower the world around us moves so that we can take in as much information as possible. As we age, the speed at which time passes increases substantially and we are asked to obtain more information in shorter amounts of time. Essentially our protostar is childhood.

As we reach adulthood we have the ability to shine, but are merely a fraction of our potential. As we accrue more mass and density, or opportunity and knowledge, we begin to generate heat (passion) for our lives and begin to choose the path for our destiny. When our ability to create opportunity and knowledge catch up with our passion we finally generate the heat necessary to excel in life.

Without passion, knowledge, and opportunity we never develop past our childhood routine slowly following our old habits towards mediocrity. In never gathering innovation from our surroundings we stunt our growth and deny our potential to ever become anything more than potential. Through understanding our surroundings and feeding off of the situations we observe, we then create our identity and begin to not only live up to our potential, but create new levels of potential as we continue to grow.

Like us, stars have a life span that ranges in years. The larger stars go through a variety of changes and eventually explode into a supernova, sometimes producing a black hole. The smaller stars slowly cool and die usually becoming cold and dark dwarf stars. Once again we mirror our outer space metaphorical counterparts. The more we allow ourselves to excel, the greater impact on the world we have, the greater legacy we leave behind. When we choose to become mediocre we slowly wither away, never leaving anything worthy of our birthright potential for others to follow.