Month: January 2009

Have too many passions? How to pick which one to go after

A friend of mine feels lost because she has too many passions and she’s not sure what direction to go in.

I know how she feels.

And if you’re scratching your head wondering why you don’t have any passions stop scratching. We all have passions!

We all just don’t have passions that can make boatloads of money. And most don’t make any money. But until you realize that you’re not necessarily supposed to make money from your passions you’ll keep scratching your head.

There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t feel extremely grateful and fortunate for creating my dream business!

Because I remember exactly how I felt when I was at Ernst & Young; I always encourage people to go after their passions.

But again, that doesn’t mean you’re definitely going to make money by doing so. A passion is something you’d do whether you got paid or not.

If you’re able to make money from your passion(s) you’re insanely lucky. Because, for the most part, we can’t control what we love.

We tend to love things we’re good at. But we’re usually really good at things we love. Most likely, because we love doing them (which means practicing and learning)!

But what if you’re in the minority and you believe that you have a bunch of passions that you can turn into cash?

First off, we can all agree that we’re here (like on this Earth) to have fun right?

We can also agree that Leonardo DiCaprio has more fun being an actor than the struggling actor waiting tables right?

An A list blogger probably has more fun blogging than the blogger who has 4 readers including his dog right?

And that 50 Cent has more fun rapping than the rapper that wasn’t offered a record contract right?

I’m not saying that the struggling actor or that the rapper without a deal or the blogger with 4 readers isn’t having fun.

What I am saying is that the people who are the best at their craft, who are the best in the world at what they do, have more fun than those who aren’t.

It comes down to impact. Having an impact on people is thrilling!

If you’re lucky enough to have passions that make cash which passion will have the most impact?

Although I love writing about business and marketing, I now only pursue opportunities that are in alignment with my greatest passion: Helping people realize their body’s full potential.

And I’m convinced that my greatest passion has the chance to make the greatest impact.

And that’s why I consider myself insanely lucky.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions!

Every morning, I write a Daily Inspiration for my clients. I believe inspiration, which is very different than motivation, is a critical component to success.

I always hear people say, “I wish I was more motivated!” Unfortunately, motivation has to come from within. I can’t make someone motivated. But, I do believe (and know) inspiration can make someone motivated.

Inspiration is about igniting that fire within.

I don’t think anyone dreams of being overweight or out of shape or tired or unhappy. It just happens. Just like we all have greatness inside of us (it’s just about finding it), we all have a healthy, happy and fit person inside of us.

We all want to be healthy and fit! We just need someone to bring it out of us. By guiding and leading and inspiring my clients along with daily and personal accountability, I make it very difficult for my clients to make excuses and even harder for them to rationalize those excuses. (Which is why I believe I have created an unbeatable program but that’s for another post.)

And you know what? Sometimes they still do. But that’s where inspiration comes into play!

I’ve thought about starting a separate blog that would just have my Daily Inspiration for each day but I’m still undecided.

Anyway, here is what I wrote for yesterday. I usually write them at 5:30 AM and whatever comes to mind I go with:

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions!”

In our society, thankfully, it’s the people who take action that get all the glory. Not the people who dream of taking action or dream of bigger and better for themselves and others.

In other words, it’s the people who do that get the glory. Not the people who want to do or talk about doing.

I had a friend in college that always said things to me like, “I was going to do this for you but…” or, “I saw this and I was going to pick it up for you but…”

Yes. The thought is very nice. But after a while, I realized this friend had good intentions but never followed through on them.

Some people believe that there is no relationship between what a person is and what a person does. This is bull secretion. Unless you are schizophrenic, you become your actions.

One of the things I really try to do is to follow through on every good intention or thought I have. Otherwise, it’s simply an intention. Not a kind act.

This applies to eating right and exercising, of course. We all know people who’ve been talking about losing weight for years.

Or, the people who say they’ll start going to the gym. Or start eating healthy. Or quit smoking.

“I’ll start next month…”

These people are going to wait until all of their lucky stars are lined up and unfortunately, they’ll be waiting for a long time!

The excuses they make and the rationalizations that go with them make sense to them, at the time. However, we know that when there is disconnect between your intentions and your actions, unhappiness ensues.

Eventually, you’ll start to see through your own bull crap and it’s going to really bother you.

I do believe, for the most part, we all have good intentions. We all want good things for ourselves and others. But we also have another side to us that’s constantly going against our true and deepest intentions and desires.

Some might call it our irrational mind or the devil that doesn’t stop whispering in our ear. “Eat that cookie.” “Just relax!” “You’ll workout tomorrow!” “Screw eating healthy!”

Try making all of your intentions into actions.

You’ll truly be so much happier. And remember, whenever you don’t want to follow through: The road to hell is paved with good intentions!

-A

Coincidentally, President Obama talked about this during his inauguration speech yesterday. Change is in the air! And if any of this rings true, and you’re ready to make a very worth while change, you’d really love it (you just don’t know it yet), if you checked out the all NEW! MyBodyTutor.com. So would I! I live for this stuff and I’m certain I can help you! Or your money back!

[Some really nice comments over at BrazenCareerist.com!]

Creating anticipation will help your happiness and productivity!

Recently, I sold a domain name I owned.

After 6 weeks of negotiating, the person interested in buying the name said something like, “Let’s wrap this up already!” Even though I got the price I wanted, I was the one delaying the closure of the deal because I was enjoying the negotiations!

It wasn’t about the money.

There was something thrilling about writing an offer via email and waiting for the response. The back and forth was so enjoyable! It was, of course, the anticipation.

The same thing happened with my new website for MyBodyTutor.com. A very tiny part of me didn’t want it to be completed so I could say ‘my new website is coming soon…’ This way, I could just think about the potential of it because thinking about the potential is very exciting.

Anticipation can absolutely make your life better. And sometimes, I enjoy the anticipation of an event more so than the actual event I’m anticipating!

Whether it’s planning trips or figuring out your fun plans for the week or weekend, setting things up for yourself to look forward to will absolutely make you happier.

I try to create anticipation as often as possible. Even in odd ways.

For example, if I get an email from one of my friends that I know is going to be funny and filled with plenty of banter (I can never get enough banter) or any sort of message, sometimes I’ll actually wait a while before I check it. If I get a package in the mail I might not open it for a couple of days. Or if there’s a book or a blog post I’m excited to read, I won’t read it for a few weeks or hours.

Even just waiting 30 minutes to check a text message or an email from someone you’re looking forward to hearing from can work wonders for your happiness and can also boost productivity!

Anticipation and curiosity is a form of tension and when there’s tension you’re going to want to relieve it.

It’ll make you extremely focused if you set boundaries like I have to finish xyz before I check it.

Here are some other examples of odd things I do to create anticipation to get things done:

One. After I cook dinner, and my food looks all beautiful on my plate, I’ll clean all the dishes right then and there (besides, the plate of course). The anticipation of eating my deliciously healthy and warm home cooked meals forces me to get the dishes done. If I want dinner…I have to clean the dishes!

Two. Sometimes, I relent and leave the dishes for after dinner. I drink a lot of water and am constantly peeing. After dinner I usually have to pee badly but before I let myself pee I’ll clean all of the dishes. If I want to pee…I have to clean the dishes.

Three. While I’m using mouthwash, I’ll quickly clean my room. The tension and anticipation of getting the minty burning sensation out of my mouth, forces to me focus on the task at hand! If I don’t want to be in minty pain…I have to clean my room quickly!

How can you use anticipation to make yourself happier and/or more productive?

Try it. It works wonders!

[This post made it to the front of BrazenCareerist.com. Check out the comments by clicking here!]

The All new MyBodyTutor.com is here and how to make this your best year!

Without further ado, I’m really thrilled and extremely proud to introduce to you the ALL NEW! MyBodyTutor.com! I’ll do a post later on in the week talking about what exactly we changed but for now check it out!

I also, want to help you make 2009 your most fit year yet!

So, I’m going to let you in a on a secret I discovered when I was in 4th grade. You ready?

When your actions don’t follow your desires, you’re going to be unhappy! So obvious and so simple…but so true!

I’m sure you have some sort of health and fitness goal.

Whatever you goal is, it’s extremely worthwhile because when you’re healthy and fit, it feels amazing. And life is too short to not feel amazing! Enough said.

I’ve never met someone who doesn’t want to be healthy and fit but yet, 95% of the people I meet aren’t healthy and fit!

What’s the deal? Why are so many people struggling with their health and fitness goals?

I think it’s simple: It’s because it’s way too easy to make excuses. It’s even easier to rationalize those excuses. Believe me. I know!

I quit my full time job at Ernst & Young in January of 2007 to solve this problem in a big way. (If you’re interested in reading about my story with tons of corny pictures click here. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!)

As I wrote about in this post, you need to be brutally honest with yourself. You need to stop making excuses and rationalizing those excuses.

Unfortunately (and fortunately), we’re incredibly good at rationalizing. That’s how we make sense of this chaotic and insane world. Thankfully, it’s innate. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to function.

The problem isn’t that you don’t know what to do. Because you do! (For the most part.)

It’s the doing it – that is the hard part. The day in and day out. Meal by meal. Workout by workout. I call that consistency!

Being healthy and fit doesn’t require you to read book after book. It just requires you to stay consistent week after week.

So here’s your 5 step plan for making ’09 your most fit year yet!

One: If you do have a problem staying consistent (like most of us do!) realize that lack of knowledge isn’t your problem. Thinking you need to read the latest diet book is just another excuse. Still think you lack knowledge? Here you go! 40 free, simple and easy to understand articles I wrote.

(If you don’t have a problem staying consistent then you should be in amazing shape!)

Two: Start holding yourself accountable for your own actions. It’s a great start! However, be careful of your rationalizations because they always make sense!

Three: Change! If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. What are you going to change this year? That is the question. Yes you can!

Four: Make time for yourself. Obviously you’re ambitious and want to make things happen or else you wouldn’t be on this site! But if you don’t make time for yourself (like gym time) you’ll never find time!

Would you ever miss an extremely important meeting with your client or boss!? So stop missing meetings with yourself!

Five: By far, the best investment you can make is in yourself! I know I’m biased but throwing money at the cause is well worth it. Exercise and eating right pays off big in your quality of life! Also, figure out what you really need help with.

(I have found that most people don’t need someone to hold their hand in the gym (for $60-150 per session). What they do need is someone to make sure they get to the gym and eat right.)

Your template for ’09: Be brutally honest with yourself and stay consistent.

If you need that extra push (like many of us do), check out my company, MyBodyTutor.com.

I’ve helped all sorts, shapes and types of people realize their health and fitness goals by helping them stay consistent.

Studies show that when people are about to do something they know they shouldn’t do and are forced to look at themselves in the mirror they hold themselves back. Consider MyBodyTutor your 24/7 mirror.

Consistency is the key to your success. And that’s exactly why I created my company. To help you stay consistent like no other company in the world.