Strength for Life

32 Million Examples of How... Awareness Changes Everything

$32 million is a lot of money.

Imagine in your pocket you hold a winning Powerball lottery ticket ready to be redeemed for $32 million.

There’s just one catch, you don’t know it’s there. You have no (ZERO) idea whatsoever that in your pocket at this very moment is more wealth than you can imagine.

Will you reach in your pocket and discover it? Maybe something will spur you to remember you purchased this ticket. Or perhaps you’ll toss your pants in the wash and it will become just some meaningless scraps of paper in your laundry.

At this moment your life is as it was in the moment before. Nothing has changed. You’re facing the same struggles, battles, worries and challenges as five minutes ago and pretty much the same as yesterday, last week and even last month.

Yet, you and I know that this imaginary “you” is sitting on what may very well be the key to your freedom, joy and happiness. All you have to do is become aware of it.

Sure, this is a dramatic example but then again is it? What if we are all just one epiphany away from uncovering the key that will set us free. Perhaps it’s all really as simple as becoming aware of that which we don’t know we already have. 

:: List to My Live Seminer: The Strength of Awareness ::

Could it be that the key to your fitness freedom, to your best body and more importantly to your best life—a life of happiness, joy, love and freedom is both as difficult and as easy as becoming aware of it.

I subscribe to this oft quoted undeniable truth that awareness changes everything—and if you’re read my book, Strength for Life, you already know this.

The Miracle of Wiggling Your Toes

I need your help with this quick experiment.

Wiggle your toes. Shoes on is fine. Move them up and down or any way you can move them.

Now stop. Easy stuff, right?

Now, consider that your body is made up of over 100,000,000,000,000 (100 trillion) cells and through some miracle of nature those trillions of cells have developed and organized in such a way that all you need do is think and your toes instantly wiggle.

The operative word here is “miracle,” not amazing, interesting, impressive, cool or astonishing. The fact that you can wiggle, wriggle or move your toes is nothing short of a miracle.

Now, let’s take this experiment to the next level and further revel in this miracle. Think about and see yourself doing 10 pushups, 10 sit-ups and jogging for 10 minutes—then do it. Act on the thought—bring the thought into existence, aka manifest it.

All you need do is generate a thought and your body moves. It’s not painful, nor particularly stressful or draining. You mind suffers no cramps or lactic acid burn from thinking your body to move.

Exercise is really nothing more than advanced toe wiggling. It’s that simple.

Ironically, millions of people are, at this very moment, waiting for a miracle to get them moving—to motivate them to exercise their bodies wisely. When in fact the miracle is already present—but like all miracles it’s of no value if you don’t see it, appreciate, let it in.

The Shape of Dara Torres’ Life

Already the proud owner of 9 gold medals, she went to her first Olympics before the Tiger Woods, of the pool, Michael Phelps was born and now she’s qualified to swim for the US in Bejing by winning both the 50 and 100 meter freestyle—swimming’s premier sprints.

Unless you’ve been away on a very deserted island, your iPhone rendered useless by a spilled pitcher of marg’s, you’ve heard about Dara Torres’ nearly superhuman performances at the tender age of 41. 

No question, Dara Torres is at full Strength

If you’re in your 20’s, it’s pretty cool to see someone “nearly your mom’s age” kicking-ass like this. If you’re in your 30’s her record setting performance may bring relief and hope that 40-something isn’t all “that bad.” And if you’re in your 40’s or beyond, Dara’s strength is elevating, inspiring and perhaps a bit of a wake up call for your own life potential.

For it seems that for many, once across the big 4-0, age becomes the central reason (aka excuse) for why they are struggling to get in (and stay in) shape. I’m not one of those opportunistic hype-sters you often find promising you there’s no such thing as age. Age is real—what’s not is the way it impacts most people, much more rapidly and drastically than it should.

Fact is your

life, my life, everyone’s life has a shape. Unfortunately most people’s lives are shaped like a cross section of a speed bump. They rise up, arch over and through their peak and don’t wake up to their declining condition until they’re well into the descent. It doesn’t need to be this way. You can change it, at any age.

How to Create a New Shape to Your Body and Life

In Chapter 2 of my new my book, Strength for Life, I explain how we’ve been conditioned to accept this early and unnecessary demise—and how you can change The Shape of Your Life, both figuratively and literally, in short order.

How to Stay Strong in a Weak Economy

Are you feelin’ it?

You know, that impending sense of doom, the inner-dialogue that starts every time you look at a gas pump or turn on the news? You know, we’ve had it pretty good for a lot of years and perhaps we’ve taken the good life for granted.

While everyone else is focusing on how to s-t-r-e-t-c-h a dollar or what bus route will get you to Walmart, I’ve got a different bit of advice for you in these challenging times.

Rather than trying to manage your emotions go straight upstream to the control room and take control of your focus—your attention. Stop staring at the gruesome details that cause unrest and stay composed, focused and strong. Know what you are doing and where you are going.

The hidden truth that few realize is that your life is quite literally the manifestation of your belief system. What this means is that if you see the world as a scary place that going to bring you great challenges, then it will be just that.   

Tim Russert: Big Man, Big Loss (and 1 in Half a Million)

As you know by now, we lost Tim Russert last week. A sudden, tragic and painful loss, he will be missed by his family, friends and so many millions.

Tim was a brilliant man with a huge heart whose authenticity and values were clear to see. I appreciated him, along with millions of others, for who he was and the job he did for all of us.

Like all lives, it’s sad when they end but Tim’s passing is further reaching than most for he impacted so many. The good news is he made a difference the bad news is that means all the more people will feel the loss.

[As tragic as Tim’s passing is, it’s important to note what Dr. Oz said: “Of the 450,000 people a year who die of heart attacks in this country, probably half of them never knew they were at risk of a heart attack.” That means Tim, as special as he was in many ways was just 1 in nearly half a million each year who die from heart disease. That seems like too many to me.]

In every major life event, such as death, there are life-lessons to be learned: Allow me to share a few that come to mind in this case.

The first and most obvious is you never know how long you have. Thus it’s wise to avoid things that lesson your odds of seeing tomorrow—like ignoring your health and wellbeing.

Walking the Tightrope of Health?

When Good Companies Do Bad Bars

Nutrition bar. These two words together get me thinking of old joke about Military Intelligence being an oxymoron.

I don't eat nutrition bars, I don't make them and I don't suggest others consume them either. I can hardly begin to count the number of people whom I've talked to who have told me "I can't seem to loose this excess weight..." who I later discovered were replacing meals with nutrition or energy bars.

The problem is it's hard to balance the need people have for these bars to taste like a candy bar with any reasonable level of nutrition quality. And then, of course, you throw on the profit issue and it's like tossing gas on the fire.

Here's another great example of why they're are for the most part a bad choice: WIRED magazines look at the PowerBar Protein Plus bar.

If you have to have a bar--and believe me there are times when they are convenient--here are a few guidelines:

1. Make sure it's really a serious need not just a reaction to be too lazy to invest 2 minutes blending a rich, nutrition shake, like Full Strength. I'm talking some travel situations and more often long biking or hiking sessions, etc.

2. Choose a better bar which means your likely not going to get one as a primary protein source--accept that they are likely and best used for carbs. This is why I prefer something in the CLIF line or a natural version with Larabar... which is much smaller but can work at times.

3. Don't make a habit out of these things... use them like you'd use a crescent wrench, now and then when it's the right tool for the job.

Here's to your strength and freedom.

Shawn

Why We Struggle with Fitness

Summer is near. And you know what that means… time to push the “get fit” panic button for ‘tis the bathing suit and beach season. Even if you don’t do the beach, it’s nice to feel good about wearing some seasonal appropriate clothes.

This has me thinking this morning about why so many of us are inclined towards a fair-weather relationship with fitness. The pattern is to go through stretches where fitness is on the back-burner then suddenly, it’s full tilt fitness! We’ve got to get fit and we want results now.

Fit is generally something we’re “trying to get.” It’s an endless struggle, a mountain that is always being climbed but rarely being summitted (I know, that’s not technically a word but you get the drift. It’s a little of my mountain climbing speak coming through).

Why do we keep buying into the new diets, reaching for the latest, greatest next fitness hope?

There’s a lot going on here; the way we run our lives, our motivation, our commitment, our true intention, etc. These all play a role. But there’s something else, an aspect of our relationship with fitness, with ourselves, which underlies and transcends all these.

Why Today is the Wrong Day to Start Your Fitness Program

Jack LaLanne is the original fitness guru—enthusiastic, motivating and authentic. This is simply the way he is—it’s not some persona created for TV.

Today, you can hardly turn on the TV without getting a dose of some over caffeinated, ponytail slinging, tattoo sporting fitness guru screaming at you to get moving, NOW!

Well, today I’m going to tell you why those who implore you to get moving now, to start getting fit today are wrong.

And I’m not just talking about the way they say it—but the fact that this over hyped, urgent approach to fitness is counterproductive to the desired result. For most it will actually set you back—quite possibly the #1 hidden reason for fitness failures.

From Stress to Stress
If you’ll follow along with me, I’d like to make this experiential. Here’s what I need you to do:

This is test to post video

What's the deal with cantalopes?

Smart Girl, Dumb Cookie

A cookie with vitamins? Seriously...

Have you seen Hungry-Girl? Like me, she has a new book out so it's hard to ignore her. She's done an amazing job of creating a large audience of hungry-girls to whom she offers recipes and various tips and tricks on how to eat. It's not really nutritional advice just "opinion" on eating.

Well, today I get an email from Hungry Girl (I have to admit I don't know "her" name) and on it is boldly featured a cookie called a Vitatop. Evidentially, these are cookies with vitamins on or in the chips.

Seriously... no joke.

Now, I love food as I make clear in Chapter 10 of my new book. I support a healthy relationship with all foods--a sort of Nutritional Freedom, the freedom to eat great food and enjoy a high energy, vibrant life. It's quite literally the antidote to dieting (see the 10 Steps to a Lifetime of Nutritional Freedom in my book). I'm not into dieting.

But this sort of "good and bad" strategy really gets me riled up.

If you want a cookie you should be free to eat a cookie--a real, well done, hopefully organic cookie and even two at the right times. If you do already take vitamins, great. You know when to take those. But this "vitamin cookie" disrespects three parties:

First, it takes you for a fool... so dim that you'll fall for eating more of a "bad" food because the vitamin chip "dressing" relieves your guilt. Now, clearly, you've got to be operating slightly below the "full steam" from the neck up to fall for that one.

Second, it disrespects the vitamin... like so many foods and even supplements, this falls into the "pixy dust" approach at best. It's not an effective or quality delivery of any serious vitamins--that's not even it's purpose. It's the equivalent of low calorie water. Nonsensical.

And finally, it totally disrespects the cookie. You have to know that anyone doing this is not fully and deeply committed to making the best cookie. It's a cookie fraud... and vitamins can not possibly enhance the taste.

My advice, from this Fully-Satiated-Guy, don't fall for this trap... eat a real, delicious, home made (or nearly) cookie when it's in your plans and enjoy it from a place of freedom. And take your vitamins at another time.

P.S. Upon further review I came to discover these "cookies" were really "muffin tops" which is essentially the same thing. Right? I just hope someone is paying proper royalties to Seinfeld for this for it was Elaine and her boss Littman who came up with the muffin top concept.