The big picture is wonderful and very important, but can sometimes be overwhelming.  Many spend all day getting excited about what the end product is, but fail to realize that it’s the critical inch that gets everything started and keeps it going.  If you look at a painting, you see a beautiful piece of art, you see the painting as a finished product, but what you don’t see is how much passion, time, and effort went into creating this miraculous thing hanging on the wall in front of you.  It’s the critical inch that made that painting.  It takes the critical inch to get to the worthwhile mile.  In football, our coaches used to tell us “this game is a game of inches”.  As a running back at the time, my goal was to get into the end zone, I didn’t care about an inch, I needed 55 yards and 7 points on the score board and then I’d be happy, but now that I am all grown-up ; ) I realize what they meant.  I have seen games won and lost by an inch, I have seen people become so obsessed with the end product that they just crumbled and gave-up because the ‘inch’ was never acknowledged and the small steps became too tedious.  Creating and changing your life, doing something great, these things are all done by the critical inch.  If you love something or want to do something, stay ‘in it’, keep moving inch by inch and all of a sudden you will look up and see a beautiful painting sitting right in front of you.   Today focus on what is in front of you, what needs to be done now, and take comfort in the fact that you are taking one step closer to your end goal.  Stay committed to the moment.

THE POWER OF “NO”

Ever since my son was born he has been teaching and re-teaching me all sorts of valuable lessons, and recently he reminded me of something that I think all of us need to remember: THE POWER OF THE WORD “NO”.   For example, I ask him, “Do you want some juice?”  He replies, “NO.”, it’s as easy as that, no hesitation, no remorse, just full commitment to the word.  Such a simple word, “No” yet if used properly it can silence a crowd, stop a person dead in their tracks, and liberate anyone brave of enough to us it.  We live in a “YES” world, big business thrives on “YES”, but in the long run we as consumers, as people and or health and wellbeing suffer. “YES” is easy, “yes” is why we are an (in every sense of the word) unhealthy nation and slowly becoming an unhealthy world.  Yes feels good, but No, comes with a cost, a different kind of responsibility than “yes”, and a different kind of sacrifice.  My son isn’t afraid to say “No” he just knows what HE wants and he isn’t afraid to reject any offers from dad, or of hurting someone’s feelings, just because he’s being true to himself.

Today, try to use the word “no” in your life.  Try to stand up for yourself and say “no”. When you want to go have another burger or purchase another item that really serves no purpose in your life, say “no”.  When you’re being mistreated, either by your own actions or by the actions of others, say ‘no’.  Just say “No”.  “No” could change your life; it could change the world.

Here are some ways you could use the word “NO” in your life.

1.  “Would you like to supersize that?”  (A) NO

2.  “Would you like to buy a second TV for 30% off?”  (A) NO (how many TV’s do you need.

3.  It’s a Thursday, you have a big day at work tomorrow and your friends ask, “hey, lets go out and have some drinks tonight”, you went out last Thursday, felt like hell the next day, you have no control over your alcohol consumption, but you love going out.  You want to say “Yes”, but the (A) “NO”

Over the past two years I’ve been all over the world. From the UK – to Canada – all the way back to LA. I’ve been receiving many emails asking for help and guidance, and I have finally found a way to connect with everyone. I am now able to connect with people from across the globe and find practical approaches to your exercise, nutrition and lifestyle needs. In my 10 years of training I have had the pleasure of working with many people from many different walks of life, and the one thing they all have had in common was their need/want to live a healthy and full life.
Through our skype calls you will be able to connect with me one-on-one. In our dynamic sessions we’ll not only work through nutrition and exercise training, but we will also find strategies and solutions to problems and hurdles you face in your life. The sessions are 100% confidential and intended to help you turn your life around. Take control, take charge, and let’s find the gateway to your better life.

Let me help you find your inner compass of wellness and vibrancy, so that you know how to thrive long after our conversations are over.

I have been receiving many emails asking me for help. I do wish I could answer them all, but unfortunately, some of the messages require more than just diet and exercise types. So I have decided to share with you a message I sent to my 9 clients during this years show (AYTSML). It may seem harsh at moments, but it’s the truth about obesity, it’s the truth about changing your life. I want everyone that watches our show to know that what these guys are taking on is much larger then them and it takes more then just exercise and diet. I hope you can use this message and apply it to your challenges in life. Enjoy.

Here you go:

We are all different and what works for one doesn’t work for the other, but we are all human and we all want the same thing: to be happy and to be fulfilled. I can promise you this, if you think for one second that going back to where you were will give you those feelings, you are gravely mistaken. You will soon find that all you where doing was covering up the truth. This doesn’t make you wrong, it makes you a living, breathing being, but you must keep trying to find what works for YOU – never give up, never be too afraid, too complacent, too closed up. Instead be open to solution, open to life, fearlessly willing to do whatever it takes. We all carry something we have to deal with, something that weighs us down, for you it is your weight and food is your drug. You will justify every reason for why things are the way they are, but this is you deflecting responsibility for yourself and for the ones that look up to you and love you. You will be everything but honest with yourself and the ones that are trying to help you because you have so much to protect, and those friends: guilt, shame, and remorse, (the ones you a have acquired through your addiction) really hate any kind of criticism. You will wake-up and have moments when you feel sooooo ready to take on the burden, much like you did at the beginning of this program, use those moments to at least make you feel as though you are in control again, but know that that voice that was created so many years ago will not go away. You may quiet the voice, but it will come back, it may get louder and louder and LOUDER. Statistics state that will go back to your old ways, but if you are like some of the few, you will know how to deal, how to cope, how to live with that voice and nurture that voice. That voice is your inner child, it is a part of you that must be cared for and loved, not ignored or pushed down. It is you, just a much younger version of you. If you are one of the few, you will find a whole new world before you. One that is not easy, one that comes with a whole different kind of weight, but one that you can feel good about, that will give you the chills when you think about where you’ve been and where you are, one that will bring a tear to your eyes and the eyes of others as they hear your story. This has always been your choice. This show doesn’t create miracles, YOU DO. Odd’s are you will go back to your old ways, but f$%^ the odds, f&*^ statistics, be one of the few.

When it comes to changing your life you have to change your routine and habits. Most of us know this, but don’t want to face it, especially when it comes down to the action of it all. It takes surrender and sacrifice, letting go of those things that we hold so close. Sometimes it’s a video game (Jack), sometimes it’s the right food rather than the wrong, and sometimes it’s a person, it’s all relative. Jack let go of the things that weren’t serving him. He showed how some hard work can not only get the weight off, but it can open many other doors, and the possibilities are endless. Here’s to Jack. You are the real deal buddy.