Do you know why most people never achieve their lifelong dreams?  I believe there is one distinct reason why people settle for mediocre and that is simply the fear of the first step. Why they are afraid doesn’t matter, all that matters is getting past that initial step. Realize this one key concept: the first time is always the toughest, after the first attempt is under one’s belt the consecutive ones get progressively easier!  Very simple, very to the point, just the way I like it!

People tend to look at the whole ordeal as one super-tough, ultra massive juggernaut of a mammoth abstract mess!

In my last article I talked about simplifying and making things concrete.  This article continues that approach by taking a major undertaking in your life, a mammoth project that scares the living hell out of you, and approaching it from another angle. Like I said before, I am not in the business to create new ground breaking concepts; I am here to take what already exists and simplify it. I am here to get you to think differently because the old way doesn’t work; if it did you wouldn’t be here…

Here is my concrete portion of the article.  This is a concept that everyone understands and many people have used this example before. 

I bet many have seen a baby begin to walk for the first time.  I have watched all three of my children with this undertaking, and all three times it was shear amazement to me. The determination they show is astounding and the lack of fear is amazing. If you stop to think about it, here is a being that experiences new things every single day of their waking lives. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment and think about the first time you push yourself up onto your own two feet. I can imagine comparing it to an adult standing on the very top of a 6 foot step ladder with nothing to hold on to.  Picture yourself doing that and tell me it doesn’t create some sort of anxiety!  Now imagine falling off that ladder and having the drive to do it all over again until you succeed!

Why would a baby show no fear in doing something as huge as standing up for the first time, not knowing the consequences of falling or possibly getting hurt? Are they super brave, and laugh in the face of danger?

No, I don’t think babies are brave, I think they just don’t know any better and lucky for them, ignorance is bliss!  Their ignorance to life is their key to bravery in that they simply lack the reference to the dreaded “fear of failure” that cripples so many adults in the world.

Our gift of awareness, our ability to analyze our thoughts, is also our Achilles Heel!

Our unconscious mind records every single event in our lives and it records how we reacted to those events as well. The problem is if we fail to consciously define whether our reaction was indeed the one we intended we could end up setting ourselves up for disaster in the future. A baby hasn’t developed that habit, at least not yet…

So, you’re an adult who has dreams (we all do) but you’re too damn scared to do anything about it.  Now what? 

1. First off, if anyone is telling you that you can’t do it, ditch them! They are a cancer and they need to go, period! They are not in your best interest and all they are doing is projecting their own fears on to you. Misery breeds company…
2. Second, stop thinking how scary the whole idea is.Really, what the hell is so scary about pursuing your dreams? Are you afraid you might actually succeed? Wow, what a shame that would be, to actually live your dreams… [Insert sarcasm here!]
3. Next, determine the very first thing you need to do to get started and do it!Don’t be a wimp and hide like usual. You’ve been there and you know inside it doesn’t work…
4. Once you get started on a new venture, or learning a new skill, pat yourself on the back! You have just bypassed probably 95% of the rest of the world who are content sitting on their butts and complaining how the “doers” are doing it wrong anyway!

Remember this and recite it to yourself every single day while you’re working away diligently at you’re goals, “The first time is always the toughest!”

Thanks,

Gerry

Here I am 3 weeks into my weight training challenge and I have begun to notice major

Week 3 Progress

progress.  Now, I haven’t noticed much in the appearance department but I definitely feel a lot stronger in my everyday life.  For the last decade I have been bothered with a “bad back” and thought it was something I had to live with.

Boy was I wrong.

A major portion of my training has been in developing my core strength (abs, lower back, and hips) which I always believed I was pretty solid there!

Nope, not even close.

Over the years I developed the habit that whenever I bent over to pick something up I would need to support my upper body by leaning one elbow on my knee to eleviate the pressure on my lower back.  That has begun to cease as I have been developing confidence in my back.  Proof of a solid core being important, in Week 1, one exercise was to do decline sit ups.  This exercise has you lie on a bench where your feet are higher than you head and perform a sit-up.  I tried it for the first time and the pressure on my lower back was immense.  If I would have pushed through it, injury would have resulted.  I let my trainer Dickie know about it and we substituted an exercise that gave the same results with less back pressure.  2 weeks later and I did 2 sets of 12 repetitions of decline sit-ups with zero pain or pressure on my lower back.

I now believe a good indicator of a weak core is the old “support your weight by resting your elbow on your knee when you bend over” maneuver.  If you catch yourself doing this, then maybe it’s time to investigate strengthening your core.

I want to share some numbers with you on my progress in gaining strength.  I wanted to give percentages of increase (or decrease) in strength progress but there was one problem I had to overcome.  Sometimes the weight would increase, but the number of repetitions I completed would be different.  How would you compare the two numbers if they had two variables that are different?  The answer was to find a common denominator, a formula that would make the numbers apples to apples.

I found a site that when you input the weight and repetitions would give you a general “maximum” weight for 1 repetition.  You can find the site HERE.

Since I am competing in the “Dead Lift” and “Bench Press” exercises, it only makes sense to make those the core routines and base the rest of the exercises around supporting them.

The Dead Lift requires strong legs, hips, and lower back (now you can see the importance on a solid core).  Here are the progressive numbers so far:

Dead Lift

Week 1:  190lbs. for 8 reps = 236lbs. for 1 rep.

Week 2:  230lbs. for 8 reps = 286lbs. for 1 rep.

Week 3:  300lbs. for 3 reps = 318lbs. for 1 rep.

Week 1 – Week 2 = 286lbs. – 236lbs. = 50lbs./286lbs. = 17.5% increase

Week 2 – Week 3 = 318lbs. – 286lbs. = 32lbs./318lbs. = 10% increase.

Overall to date – 318lbs. – 236lbs. = 82lbs./318lbs. = 25.8% increase

Bench Press

Week 1:  160lbs. for 8 reps = 199lbs. for 1 rep.

Week 2:  170lbs. for 4 reps = 186lbs. for 1 rep.

Week 3:  195lbs: for 2 reps* = 201lbs. for 1 rep.

*This weight is actually a Personal Record, as I have never lifted more than 185lbs. in my entire life!  Did I mention the bench press was my weakness?

Week 1 – Week 2 = 186 -199 = -13lbs./186lbs. = -7% decrease (What happened here?)

Week 2 – Week 3 = 201lbs. – 186lbs. = 15lbs./201lbs = 7.4% increase (That’s better!)

Overall to date – 201lbs. – 199lbs. = 2lbs./201lbs. = .009% increase (It may be a small one, but it’s still an increase!)

I believe the progress issues I have with the bench are the combination of 2 problems.  One is out of my control, but really insignificant compared to the one I can indeed control.

#1 Issue:  I have long arms!  This physical attribute will create a bump in the road of progress for anyone.  I have to move the weight further to go through the complete motion, thus using more energy (short arms are an advantage).  I believe this to be highly insignificant compared to the next anomoly.

#2 Issue:  My own mind!  I have shied away from bench pressing since high school.  I am not sure why, other than results never seemed to come no matter how hard I trained at it.  I know one problem I had before that was brought to my attention was my hands were not spread wide enough. (narrow grip puts more emphasis on triceps rather than pectoral (chest) muscles.  Now that I have finally moved more weight than ever before I believe I will begin to make quicker progress over the next couple of weeks.

So by overcoming issue #2 I believe will ultimately make #1 totally irrelevant in my opinion.  (The mind will always trump the body!)

As you can see this challenge is indeed a mental conditioning experiment for me just as much as a physical one.

Thanks,

Gerry

The Beginning!

Making Progress!

Week 3 Progress

Back again, Week 2 of the 14 Week Challenge toward completing my power lifting

Making Progress!

competition goal on November 12, 2012.  The first week’s lift went very well and was basically a “warm-up” to get a feel where the weights should be.  In typical Gerry fashion I pushed myself harder than I probably should have, but it’s a habit I obtained from wrestling many years ago.  I experienced a little soreness on the next day, but still went for a 3 mile run.  The second workout of Week 1 saw lower energy and tiredness, but the workout is designed for that.  It was a lower intensity lighter workout who’s sole intention was to get some reps in, not for setting records.  After the second workout of Week 1 I had 4 days off to recover.  I ran at least 3 miles each day except for Saturday.  Saturday I was extremely tired and sluggish and had to even take a nap in the early afternoon. The rest of the weekend went by and I recovered fairly quickly.

Heading into Week 2, Day 1 I felt very strong and very motivated.  I lifted some pretty heavy weights and I felt I made a ton of progress in one week.  My weight hasn’t changed as I am hovering around 202-203 lbs., but I feel I am getting leaner as well.  I was seriously amazed at what one week can do.

I have dedicated to 2 days a week for this program, which is about all one needs to do in lifting.  Common wisdom used to push for 4-5 days hitting the weights, but not with “strong man” style weight training.

As I figured up front, the routine only takes me an hour to get through it (including a 5 minute warm up).  So I am only training in the gym for 2 hours a week, but they are a VERY productive 2 hours.

So far my routines have consisted of actually doing the lifts I am competing in (Dead Lift and Bench Press) as the core, with the remaining exercises being mainly support exercises.  Plus, tack on a few exercises to work on the opposite muscle groups so I do not get disproportional.  All in all each session only consists of 7 different exercises that take care of a full body work out.

Week 1 and Week 2 have consisted of mainly getting a feel for the weights and to get reps in and focus on solid techniques.  Week 3 will see a decline in reps and an increase in weight.  Remember I talked about heavy weights with lower reps build more muscle mass faster than lighter weights and higher reps.  This tactic works even better with me, because I will probably shed more time off my weight training.

Mark Sisson

I also want to discuss my diet that I have currently been on for roughly 5 weeks now.  On July 10th I made the choice to adopt a total primal diet and primal lifestyle.  I spent a lot of time researching what the lifestyle consists of and how to incorporate it.  I visited many websites that were very informative, but I just couldn’t find that exact place to trust.  Most of the other one’s felt sort of gimmicky and felt like they had something to hide.  Then I stumbled on a site that helped me make my mind up and switch right then and there.  The site was www.marksdailyapple.com and the man behind the site is Mark Sisson who not only preaches the diet, he preaches a lifestyle as well. The other beauty thing is he practices exactly what he preaches and everything about his site is transparent.

So, check out his site, and I will keep you posted again next week with a follow up picture and I’ll put some numbers up to show you my progress.  As always thank you to Dickie White at Iron Works Gym for all your help.

Thanks,

Gerry

Week 1: The Beginning!

Week 2: Making Progress!

Image via Wikipedia

Why are so many of us procrastinators?  Are we lazy?  Usually not.  Are we bad people? No.  So why do so many of us push off the tasks we know need to be completed in order to forge ahead?

These questions have been on my mind for quite some time.  I recently wrote Habits Can Make or Break You: The Definitive Guide to Success which touched on the system I use to create the habits that will support achieving my goals.  I feel it is a simple, effective way to finally move forward.  But I fear there may be a problem…

Many will never take the first step to incorporate the system, and will continue to run on the hamster wheel of life spinning into oblivion.  Others will jump in with both feet and completely change their routine because the “system” is the only way, only to lose steam after only a few days or weeks.

Whatever the scenerio, both end up in a crash and burn fashion, leaving people with a bad taste in their mouth.  They blame the system rather than blaming their behaviors. Procrastination is a powerful HABIT that effects many people and robs a lifetime of dreams.

Why do so many possess this habit?  Does procrastination really serve a purpose in our lives, or is it a bad habit like smoking?

I believe procrastination has resulted from a combination of simply not knowing the next step and either a fear of success or failure.  Couple that with mis-prioritized poorly planned tasks and it is no wonder procrastination is rampant.

Even though I have developed the habit of working from a list every single day, I still find myself putting off some things on that list.  After reflecting on the tasks that constantly get put off I have determined that every task falls into the following categories of why they get passed over.

• They are too vague in description: For example, “Work on finances” is a task on my list today.  Every time I glance at it, it creates a mild discomfort like something is missing.  It’s painful, and it will probably not get completed.
• They may be insignificant and unworthy:  Sometimes a task may not be worth even doing at all.  Many times we get caught up in insignificant “busy” work that does not bring us value, and does not move us forward .  Often times these tasks are someone else’s emergency due to poor planning, and you are their solution.  Their emergency becomes your emergency.
• A prior mistake was made:  Sometimes we procrastinate on certain tasks because we have made a mistake on a similar task before.  Maybe we were disciplined harshly for it, or it cost us something of value and we have become gun shy.
• Just plain overwhelmed by expecting to much:  This is a big one, and is usually my main problem. “Biting off more than you can chew” is the best way to describe it.  I tend to over-estimate how much I can finish in a day.  If I have too many tasks, I revert to doing the minor “quick” tasks and push off the big tasks I really should be focusing on.

Now that I have finished my 28 Day Challenge, I have decided to undertake another fitness goal that is way outside my comfort zone.

All throughout my adolescent athletic career, lifting was one of the weakest of my many undertakings.  I was never excited about lifting and only did it under pressure from my various coaches.  Even when I did enter the weight room, it was never consistent and sporadic at best.

The main reason it never stuck was because at that point in time (1991-1994) lifting was done with the “muscle isolation” technique.  A majority of exercises that were utilized focused on a single joint movement to isolate a specific muscle (think arm curls and leg curls).  I think the theory behind it was that the more attention given to a specific muscle made it grow stronger, faster.  Now, I am not a lifting expert, so it could have been partially true because some of my peers had great success with it.

The problem I had with it, was that it consumed a lot of time to work in this focus.  It would require me to lift 4-5 times a week for nearly 2 hours each day (8-10 hours a week in the gym?).  I really did not want to spend that much time in the gym so I opted not to. Well that led to me being uncomfortable in the gym even to this day.

A little over a year ago I ran into a great friend and a highly motivating person.  His name is Dickie White and he owns Ironworks Gym in Binghamton, NY. I met him when I began training Mixed Martial Arts at CNYMMA since they share the same facility.

Dickie is a highly educated individual in developing huge amounts of strength. Plus the beauty thing is he practices what he preaches, as he has dominated his first 3 amateur fights in MMA by ending the bouts all within the first round.  He knows what he is talking about, not just because he read a book, but because he trains his own body, as well as the bodies of many very successful wrestlers from the junior high school level all the way up to the collegiate and U.S. Olympic and World team levels.  He has also developed a few programs that can be purchased and used on your own if you cannot get a chance to train with him personally. One program in particular was developed with Tamden “The Barn Cat” McCrory who fought and dominated in UFC 96 and is currently staging a comeback.  As a matter of fact I promote one of his products on the greatnessinsideout Resources Page.  (Check it out!)

Now that we have Dickie’s background out of the way (which is quite extensive), I want to talk about the program he has developed for me.  I am a pretty busy person who has limited time (I am a husband and the father of 3 children), and limited patience as well.  I like things to move along quickly and really need to move along efficiently or I get impatient. The program Dickie developed consists of lifting 2 days a week, and each day has between 6-7 exercises that work out the ENTIRE body, and get this, it only takes an hour to complete!  Talk about quick and effective, right up my ally!  So how is this possible? How can you get a total body workout with only 2 hours of weekly gym time and be ready for a POWER LIFTING COMPETITION in only 14 weeks?

The answer is extremely simple.  It’s called multi-joint exercises that utilize very heavy lifting.  The old paradigm of muscle isolation and a lot of reps are over.  Dickie explained to me that lifting something very heavy even just one time is the equivalent of lifting lighter stuff 3-5 times (even more efficient, awesome!).  Weight is the key, more so than the quantity of repetitions.  Of course the technique has to be correct as well so I don’t risk injury.

Some of the tools of the trade consist of sandbags, medicine balls, atlas stones, and even chains and giant rubber bands!  Add to that the flipping of giant tractor tires and it is quickly apparent that this style is totally outside the realm of what most deem “normal” weight training.  Some of the old fashioned exercises are still highly effective like bench presses, squats, and dead lifts and really are still the staple of this type of training.

I would like everyone to follow me over the next 14 weeks as I will be posting my progress on here weekly (including pics).  Also check out Dickie’s programs and buy them, or if you live near Binghamton, NY, schedule some time to talk with him (you can reach him here).  Most of all, create a goal that is WAY outside your comfort zone, something that scares the hell out of you and then do it.  Also read my article on the power of Habit Forming and you will thank me later.

Please comment on your comfort zone goal below or “Like” my Facebook page and tell the community what your going to accomplish this year and then DO IT!

Thanks,

Gerry

Welcome back everyone!  I have been very busy the last couple of months and have put writing on the back burner.

Yesterday (8/7/2011) I finished up my self proclaimed “28 Day Challenge”.

Mark Rockwell

This challenge was basically me training for the Kelly LeBare 5K Race. Roughly 28 days ago my long time friend Mark Rockwell challenged me on Facebook to compete in this race.  He is having a fantastic journey, (click on his name above and READ it. It’s a true story of guts and determination!) and has motivated me to step out of my physical comfort zone to shock my system. (It couldn’t have come at a better time!)

Stepping out of your comfort zone

I have never been a big time runner, and my view of running was something you did to train for wrestling. Short sprints, and running to failure and exhaustion was the basis of running. Sure, I ran 5Ks during the triathlons I competed in, but I never took running seriously, and never trained consistently at it.  This was going to be a major shift in my physical paradigm, and really required a different way of thinking from me.  (Thus the shift in comfort zone).

SMART goals are not as smart as your habits.

Along with this 28 day challenge I decided to try a mental challenge as well.  I realized there is a correlation to achieving goals and forming supporting habits.  Now, this is by no means a new idea and the goal setting “experts” have been talking about habits and goals for quite some time.  I believe these experts just delivered the idea in the wrong order. I think the traditional concept of SMART goal setting is too complicated and clunky to be successful.  In addition to the “clunkyness”, I feel it assumes that once the idea and the steps are identified, it will be done on shear “WILL”.  Willpower is an exhaustible resource in my eyes because forcing yourself to do something will eventually return less and less positive results as time goes on.  (Think New Years Resolutions!)  I believe cultivating the habits that will support your goal pursuit are far more effective than any super complicated goal achievement plan.

Worry about perfecting only after you get started!

So I decided to put my theory to the test by creating a 28 day challenge.  I did not spend any time planning or structuring it.  I just started doing whatever felt right and adjusted my course to fit my needs.  I basically made it up as I went along and here is what I discovered.

Habits are solely the greatest tool you can cultivate in order to achieve success!

I have been fighting a losing battle to an addiction to tobacco for the majority of my life. Addictions are basically habits coupled with physical dependence.  I wanted to put the theory of using a habit to change a habit to the test and decided to consciously quit nicotine and replace it with exercise by linking both habits in my mind and tracking the results daily.

Parallel to my “habit for habit” theory, I began testing another habit theory based on task

My Daily List

planning.  Have you ever heard the saying, “Plan your work and work you plan”?  If not, it’s extremely powerful to spend a few minutes planning out your day in advance.  By planning I mean figuring out the most important tasks that move you further in your life’s goals.  I know we all have daily tasks that require our attention, but many end up making those the bulk of their day and never make the important “moving forward” tasks a priority. According to Anthony Robbins, ”Most people fail in life because they major in minor things.”

Every morning I woke up, just after brewing my morning coffee, I would sit down and write down my daily task list.  At first, I had to consciously remind myself to do this, to put pen to paper and “think about the important stuff”. Luckily is was very easy to do, and it was fun for me to do it (I am a notorious list maker by nature).  After about 6-7 days I realized that instinctively I was reaching for my list without even thinking about it.  I became very excited that a positive habit could take hold so quickly.  I attribute the success to a couple of factors:

1. Consistent, daily practice of the habit:  I did it directly after making my coffee (also a habit) and…
2. I would reward myself by checking that off the list every day.  (Habit forming should be part of your daily list of tasks to do.

After the second full week of my daily list habit, I felt I needed a “recap”, a review of my progress, so I decided to incorporate a weekly review/look ahead habit.  This habit has been quick to develop because I think it “piggy backs” the list habit and gets absorbed and included.  (Piggy backing may be another strategy that I am going to experiment with). The reviews allow me to track my progress, and it sparks ideas for the future.  It essentially gets me to plan the future by recalling what I finished in the past.  While reviewing and planning, I can begin to see if any future habits will need to be created, or quite possibly eliminating bad habits I already possess.

I can safely say that 28 days later I have developed 4 distinct positive habits that, although in infancy stage and require daily conditioning, are indeed on auto-pilot and support the behaviors I will need to succeed in any goal I decide to pursue.

In summary, when your goal has been decided on:

1. Begin by working from a list every day. (First and greatest habit in my opinion, and will support any goal you have in life!)
2. Determine what habits (unconscious behavior) will best support your goals.  If you have bad habits (smoking, drinking, junk food), consciously replace that habit with a healthy positive habit (running, walking, biking).  All you have to do is mentally tell yourself, “I want to replace smoking with running, and tell yourself that every time you find yourself craving a smoke, or you decide to feel like running.
3. Write those habits on your daily list, and cross them off every time you complete them. (Don’t forget to include the “list habit” as well!)
4. Create the weekly review/look ahead habit and do it once a week.
5. Most of all enjoy the progress, and the challenge.  Also remember to focus on the big picture and if you hick-up one day acknowledge it, blow it off and move on. These are lifelong habits and one day here and there are not going to destroy the grand scheme of things.

Image by angietorres via Flickr

While doing some research, I stumbled upon an interview with a few wealthy individuals called “Conversations With Millionaires.  It was basically one man interviewing several millionaires about how they walk, talk, think, and act.

One interview really blew me away, and I had a major paradigm shift.  Since I was focusing on researching for my goals ebook, I was tuned into anything on the subject matter.  During this specific interview, the interviewed millionaire was talking about goal setting and what worked for him.  He spoke about the beginning of his journey, and how he had found a mentor to help him.  His mentor had told him to create a goal of being a “millionaire”, but not to create it to be rich like one, but to create it to develop the character of a millionaire.  That very thought was extremely huge to me, and I began to think about goal setting in a different perspective.  If you establish your goals with this mindset, of developing the character first, the results will come automatically.  That’s a huge paradigm shift.

So that began to get my mind rolling, and I started thinking about my character, and the character I need to develop to achieve my goals.  After some intense reflection I developed seven principles that I need to follow in order to achieve all of the goals I have set.  Now keep in mind, these principles are a very basic, boiled down set of rules that apply across all of the goals I have set.  I in no way telling you that these are life principles that everybody should adopt.

1. Flexibility: If the weight becomes too intense for an Oak tree, its hardwood will eventually crack under the pressure.  A flexible bamboo tree will bend under the pressure and spring back stronger than before.  I will bend, but won’t break, and spring back stronger than before!
2. Lead By Example:I cannot expect other people in my life to do what I am not willing to do myself.
3. Focus: When I pick a direction, I need to focus on staying focused.  ”Your focus needs more focus.”- Jackie Chan, The Karate Kid
4. “So What!”: A slogan the Navy SEALS instructors use when they hear a cadet make excuses.  No one cares about your excuse, all that matters is results.  The reason for success and failure does not matter, only the end result.  Whenever I feel like quitting, or the pressure is building, those two little words, “So What!”, real me back in and gets me refocused quickly.
5. Tackle Problems When They’re Small: It’s easier to kill a monster when it’s small.  I am developing the habit of recognizing small problems that left unchecked could result in larger problems, and slaying them up front.
6. Recognizing Breakthroughs Are Just On The Other Side Of Great Resistance: I am developing an acute sense of recognizing my ruts and plateaus in order to realize that a major breakthrough is just around the corner.  With this awareness I focus on my plan and stick to my guns knowing that I am on the verge of breakthrough.
7. Be Like Water: This is a characteristic of Tao that talks of “flowing”, both in mind and body.  Allowing thoughts and actions to come and go naturally, and not be “stuck” on any one thing.  Water can take the shape of any container, can permeate the hardest of materials, and is the life blood of all living things.

What life principles do you need to create in order to achieve your goals?  Let me know in the comments section, as I want everyone to reach their goals.

I am reviewing a product that will help anyone who struggles with controlling their own mind.  If you have ever had the following problems then Renegade Mindset is for you…

• You train like an animal and no one can keep up with you.  Your a gym rat, investing countless hours at the sport you love.  The problem?  Everything falls apart in competition.  Your brain sabotages you and you don’t know why…
• Before your match your nausea is out of control.  You feel like the butterflies are going to burst out of your stomach.  You can’t quite seem to control the adrenaline rushes and when the fight starts you get winded too quickly…
• You have a nagging injury that just won’t go away.  It’s frustrating you because it hinders your training and you just need it to just go away…
• The heavy metal music that used to jack you up just doesn’t work any more…
• You feel like something is missing in your training but you have no one who knows how to help you with mental training and your afraid what people might think if you ask…

This product utilizes the following techniques to quickly gain control of your mind. (directly from the Renegade Mindset site).

1. Neuro-Linguistic Programming or NLP: Brother, don’t sniff your nose at this. NLP is the real deal and I guarantee that the top guys are masters of using it to dominate the bitches that roll into the ring against them. NLP literally hacks your brain to squeeze our mind-bending performance.

2. Energy Mechanics: As you read this, enough energy to light 2 light bulbs is coursing through your body. This bio-mechanical energy is the secret to the supernatural power exhibited by lifetime students of the martial arts. It’s chi. I’ll show you how to tap into this energy and use it to recover from injury, sap your opponents fighting will, and enhance your power, focus, and stamina.

3. Hypnosis: Dude, I’m not talking about swinging a watch in front of your face. I AM talking about training your subconscious to create a lethal fighting machine from the INSIDE OUT.

So if your a wrestler, MMA fighter, a grappler, or any other combat athlete, this program is geared for you.  I believe this product will also work for virtually any athlete who needs to obtain a certain mindset to achieve the highest level of competition.  But I believe this program will even help those who are not athletes.  Business owners, Entrepreneurs, Career driven people can benefit from this program as the context doesn’t matter.

“Give Me 2 Hours – And I will Give You the Secret to Crippling Your Opponent’s Focus with a Glance, Glacial Calm in Fights and the Underground Techniques for Triggering Match-Dominating Aggression at Will” – Renegade Mindset

A lot has transpired the last few weeks.  While training I jammed my neck and herniated a disk between my shoulder blades and pinching a nerve.  The pain and numbness in my hand and elbow brought my training to a screeching halt.  I became pretty frustrated at first, but over the last couple weeks I have started to think about “risk assessment” and “return on investments” and how I subconsciously apply them to my goals.

• “Return on Investments” or ROI is a business term usually targeted to invested money or capital.  I tend to use it quite regularly in life as well.  If you think about it, what is our greatest commodity?  What is the one thing we never have enough of?  I believe it to be time.  Once it’s gone, it’s gone never to be made up and many sacrifice it without thought.
• “Risk Assessment” is another business term I use a lot in life situations.  Risk Assessment forces forward thinking to learn exactly what the reward is, when it will be delivered and is it greater than the initial investment?  Basically it’s asking the question, “If I do this certain action, when can I expect to see results and will they be greater than what I put in?”

I have begun to evaluate my goal of a debut cage fight in MMA next July.  This injury triggered me to think about the risk and ROI.

• The risk: I am a husband and a father of 3 children and I am the sole financial provider.  My career as a commercial electrician is very physical.  What will happen if I become seriously injured and cannot work?  How will we live?
  • The Investment:
    • Spend many hours at the gym training, and possibly sacrifice my body with nagging injuries that are inherent with this type of sport.
    • Spending more time away from my family and missing my children grow up.
  • The ROI:
    • Adding a new reference to the belief that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to.

Since I also believe that there are countless other ways to stretch my belief system, and the investment and the risk far exceed the return, then I think the wise choice for me is to bail on the goal and find another avenue to achieve the same results.  Plus, as a matter of fact I think I had a distorted view that somehow being a “fighter” would impress other people as well.  I am not here to impress others, as the ones who are truly my friends and family will always support me in anything I do.

One last thing to keep in mind is that logic must sometimes give way to heart.  Many have pursued dreams that defy all logic and make absolutely no sense at all.  These “feel” type goals that come straight from the heart are immeasurable in ROI and ignore even the greatest of risks.  These types of goals MUST be followed and completed because if not, the regrets they bring will haunt you for eternity.  With that said, my heart was never really invested in my goal of fighting anyway.

Websters definition of a belief: A state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing. Our personal beliefs, both powering and dis-empowering, are based on our personal references or life experiences.  All throughout our lives, we experience first hand, many things that our subconscious files away for later reference.  The problem is we do not control “what” is referenced because we may not be aware of or even in control of “what”.  We go through life experiencing hap-hazard references that may not be how we intended them to be interpreted.  All these little references begin to build one large belief and we hope it will empower us.  These types of references are know as first-hand because you experience them yourself.

A second type of reference that adds to a “belief” are second-hand references.  These you may get from reading books, surfing the web, watching TV, or listening to friends.  Once again if we are not careful we can pick up negative references from outside sources that can lead to dis-empowering beliefs.  In the book, “Choices and Illusions: How did I get where I am, and how do I get where I want to be?” by Eldon Taylor, he tells a story about a female Eagle named Nina who as a chick fell from her nest and wandered into a chicken coupe.  She was adopted by an older Hen and learned the ways of the chickens.  She learned how to scratch the earth, dig for grubs and be a good overall chicken.    Through second-hand references she believed she was a chicken even though she did not “feel” like one.  She often wondered why she could not lay eggs and all the other hens consoled her and told her, “in time Nina your body will catch up, you just needed to try harder; after all your biological mother failed you and didn’t teach you how to be a chicken”, and “that it wasn’t her fault”.  So overtime she developed many references that created a deep belief that she was a chicken and she went through life not knowing her true potential she possessed as an Eagle.  One day a male eagle spotted Nina and descended on the chicken yard and cornered Nina.  Trapped by the male eagle, Nina crouched down in fear, almost paralyzed by her expectation.  The male eagle asked “What are you doing here? Your an Eagle, you should be soaring through the sky on great adventures, not nesting with chickens.”  Nina being a smart “chicken” had an idea and said to the eagle, “If I am an Eagle that can soar through the sky, and do amazing things, then you’re not going to hurt me?”.  ”No” said the male Eagle, “of course not – what nonsense is that?”.  ”Well, then,” Nina confidently added, “show me. Step aside so I could leave if I choose to.”  The male Eagle stepped aside and Nina seized the opportunity and made best of her plan and ran straight for the chicken house.  Once inside she told the chickens how she outsmarted the dumb old Eagle.  They all laughed and rewarded her with chicken appreciation, “You’re such a smart chicken Nina!”  You have probably figured out the point of the story that second-hand references can be very dangerous and dis-empowering when enough of them create a great belief.

The third type of reference are imagined-references.  These references do not actually happen, they are created in your mind through your thoughts.  Since you sub-conscious mind cannot distinguish between imaginary and reality, if you think something enough it can start to become true as a reference.  In his book “The winning mind set” by Kevin Seaman, he makes reference to Roger Bannister who was the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes.  At the time many deemed it impossible, but Roger Bannister used imagined-references to help achieve his goal.  He would put a piece of paper in his running shoes with 3:58 written on it.  Since he had zero first-hand references to his goal, since he had never done it, and since no one else had ever done it, he had zero second-hand references.  He was left with his imagination, and once again our subconscious mind does not know the difference between real or imagined, he started to build up enough references that he “knew” he could beat the record.  He pursued his goal in small bites by shaving seconds of the clock on each run.  He would tell himself, “If I can run the mile in 3 minutes 59 seconds, I know I can do it in 3 minutes 58 seconds, after all its only one second.”  You can see the power of imagined-references and how your imagination can aid in building your belief system.

Next, lets talk about how to control, change, and create the belief system that will help achieve your goals, rather than hinder them.  Tony Robbins compares beliefs to a table.  A table without legs is basically a piece of wood on the floor and is the equivalent of an opinion.  If you add legs to it, it becomes a useful, sturdy piece of furniture and thus a belief.  Think of your beliefs as the top of the table and all your references as the table legs.  The more references you have, the more legs your table has, thus making it more sturdy and harder to collapse.  Since our beliefs can be powering or dis-empowering, when they have many “legs” they become unwavering and this can be bad news for negative beliefs that we would like to change.  Luckily there is a way, that is simple to comprehend, but it will take some work to succeed.

Here are the steps to changing you belief system to align with achieving your goals.

1. Become aware of your belief system. You need to figure out what beliefs are hindering yourself first.  This may sound obvious but many beliefs go unnoticed or can be conflicting in nature.  This will almost always sabotage your goals.  If you have ever attempted to achieve a goal and given up on it, you need to go back and think about “why”.  Ask yourself why you gave up on it.  Was it too hard?  Did you think you weren’t good enough?  Imagine yourself at the very moment you gave up and recall what you said to yourself.  What dialogue did you use that triggered the give up mentality.  The answer you uncover is the negative belief that you must demolish in order to change for the better.
2. Start to challenge the references to the belief. Do you find yourself saying “I can’t!”, or “I’m not good enough; tall enough; strong enough; fast enough; etc?”, or “That doesn’t happen to people like me.”?  These are references to an overall dis-belief in yourself.  It’s time to challenge those reference.  By asking questions about each reference and then writing your answer down, you will create skepticism in that reference.  For example, ask the question, “What part of this action can’t I do and why?  Is it really the whole action I can’t do or just a specific part?  Is it the unfamiliar that is scaring me?”  As you keep asking these types of questions the truth will soon surface and pinpoint the truth to the negative references.  Once the pinpoint has been made, often it ends up being very minuscule and very manageable.  The key is to wheedle it down to its smallest part.
3. Find the bright spots and give them power. Determine if there are any empowering first or second-hand references and reinforce them.  (I use the term “bright spots” quite often because of the extremely positive visual it paints in my head.)  Reinforcement is done by also asking the right questions and writing them down.  Asking such questions as, “Have I ever accomplished something similar before, and if yes, how did I handle it?”, or, “What was my most amazing accomplishment, and how did I go about doing it?”.  People tend to focus more on the negatives in life rather than the positives.  This forces you to think about the positives and with practice will get easier.
4. Imagine the results of giving in to dis-empowering beliefs. This step will take some forward thinking by imagining what you will feel like if you decide to give in to you negative beliefs.  Close your eyes and really focus on what you will look like, how you will feel, and what you will think about yourself if you give in to you negative self.  A majority of people do not forward think about their lives as negative, because it is painful.  We leave it up to chance and hope our lives will be enjoyable.  For the most part it is, but everyone has at least one dream that if isn’t accomplished creates pain.  It’s called the “shoulda, woulda, coulda’s” and everyone has at least one.  The forward thinking will create pain, hopefully enough pain that it will force yourself to take action, to confront your fears and push through to victory.
5. Visualize success in your future. Since your subconscious cannot distinguish between imagination and reality, visualize major success by pushing your imagined self closer and closer to victory.  Since we know that first hand references (our experiences) support our beliefs, which dictate our view of what we can effectively do, and the results of what we do create more personal first-hand references, wouldn’t it make sense to “think” about “doing” and “achieving” more “results” to create imagined-references.  After all imagined-references create table legs too.

There you go, a five step process to changing your hindering beliefs.  Once again these are simple methods, but they are not effective without work and action.  Without action, you only have knowledge, and knowledge without action results in everything staying the same.  So get up, get a pen, and sit down in a comfy chair and get to work, and you will thank me.