Seek First To Understand

I have gone through times in life where I am selfish. I still do, but I would bet that if you asked Ami, my wife, how I have done over the last 17.5 years or so she would admit that I have come a long way.

When I decided to quit my UPS job in 2014 and go into business for myself I knew that I needed to learn to do two things: listen and serve. I figured that if I could do those two things I would at least give off a good impression.

I had no idea that learning to listen would take so much effort and require so much energy. When I was first attempting to listen with no self interest I would leave conversations exhausted because of all the brain power it took to focus. It turned out that this meat head had not been working the muscles in his brain.

Now listening is much easier. I kind of enjoy it actually because I am an introvert by nature and don't typically like talking about myself. All I need to do is ask a question occasionally and most people eat it up that someone is actually listening and just keep talking. The disadvantage of this at times is that some people tend to hoard the conversation without any interest in me but that's ok.

My last frontier to conquer when it comes to listening is being able to listen and understand my daughters. I am not perfect with adults but doing much better than ever before. My kids however, are still waiting for a focused father to stop what he is doing and truly listen to them. I will conquer this challenge.







The moral of the story is that I believe we first need to seek to understand the other person with no expectation of being understood. As hard as it is we need to be entirely focused on serving others. With time this love will always return 10 fold back in our favor but only if we don't expect it. In no way am I claiming perfection at it. Jesus was the only perfect example of this.

I learned this from Steven R. Covey and Jesus. Most people, I believe, if listened to first will then return the favor. This is how both parties win and the only way both parties win.


It may not seem like barbell therapy, but taking the sincere time to listen to others is truly a workout on the brain.

Quote of The Day:

Stephen R. Covey said "Seek first to understand, then to be understood."

It's Not All or Nothing

It has taken me a lot of practice to realize that when shooting for a goal it does not have to be an all or nothing endeavor. If this was the case, nobody in history would have ever accomplished anything. Success does not require perfection. All it requires is the uncommon application of common knowledge and my understanding of that is that when we are moving towards a goal and opposition comes that knocks us down or derails us we just get back up or get back on the rails. 

If you are trying to eat healthy and you end up eating two pizzas or a carton of ice cream because you go to a party, or you feel depressed, be grateful you screwed up and then start eating healthy again the next day. The adversary uses guilt to make us believe that any goal is an all or nothing quest. Guilt tries to tell us that if we are not perfect then what is the use of trying? Nothing could be further from the truth. Those that expect perfection and settle for nothing less you never hear about because those are the people that give up because it’s impossible for us mortals to avoid screw ups. Mistakes are part of necessary growth. 

Never base your self-worth on your screw ups but on how many times you keep getting up. All or nothing will get you nowhere. Maybe we should use the term “try or nothing.” If we are trying and keep trying this is the faith required to find success. 

This reminds me of a true story where a man bought a gold mine. He mined the vein of gold until it went dry. He looked and looked, dug and dug through the mine trying to find where the vein picked up. He did all this himself and eventually gave up out of frustration. He sold the mine to another gentleman who hired a surveyor to locate the vein. The surveyor told him that it picked up 3 feet from where the first gentleman originally stopped digging. It ended up being one of the biggest gold finds in history. The moral of the story is, “Don’t stop three feet from gold.” We are all capable of finding that vein that will propel us to victory. Maybe we need to reach out and find some help and help others as well.  

Anything is possible for your body with proper nutrition and exercise. Ask me and I can tell you how!

Isagenix and Aging! No excuses!

This lady is 80!

I had this dude come up to me in church last Sunday and say, "You need to stop working out because you are making the rest of us look bad." At this point I figured he must have been joking and I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

However, then he went on to say that I was going to get fat and unhealthy when I got older because it was part of life. I have had people tell me this since I started lifting as a sophomore in high school. People that were younger than I am now would tell me this. Well now I am 38 and in the best shape of my life.

This gentleman at church must have been in his 60's and was obese. How the hell can an obese person give advice to a physical specimen? They can try but as President Gordon B. Hinckley, late LDS President, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the greatest bodybuilder of all time, would say, "Don't listen to the naysayers."

Gordon B. Hinckley:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_B._Hinckley

"Don't listen to the naysayer"
www.amazon.com/Way-Be-ways-happy-something/dp/0743238303I

Arnold Schwarzenegger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schwarzenegger

"Don't listen to the naysayers"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyhOmBPtGNM

This gentleman was trying to make himself feel justified in being lazy by trying to crush the dreams of someone else. Little does he know that he was talking to a Marine for one, and for two my faith, hopes and dreams have much more to them than to be derailed by a cynic.

As payback I am going to bring him information on Sunday about the potential of isagenix and how it can transform his life. If he is ready he will listen and maybe I can turn a pessimist into an optimist.

I see so many people who are younger than me who are fat, obese, feel like crap or all three who would use the excuse of age like the gentleman at church. On the other hand I know dudes and ladies who are in their 60's and 70's who are in amazing shape and feel amazing about life.

80 year old female bodybuilder!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGOtP0cREg8

Top male bodybuilders over 60!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiHwGDLvixM

The moral of the story is that we can always make excuses in life but they get us no where. Stop making excuses and "Work like hell" to get what you want.

Product of the Day: Total health and longevity system

www.nmp.isagenix.com/en-us/products/pak/total-health-and-longevity-system

Quote of the Day: "Age is no barrier. It's a limitation you put on your mind."

Isagenix And Poop!

According to some estimates the average American has 5 to 20 or even more of mucoid plaque built up in our guts or intestines. You guested it. That's the stuff in the picture. It is toxins and poop that is stuck in our guts.

This stuff plugs us up and prevents us from pooping correctly and actually creates severe health problems. This happens because of the toxic, processed foods we eat, and the chemicals we breath in and touch. Just looking at this picture makes me want to barf.

"A 2016 study published in the journal BMJ Open found that the average American gets 57.9% of their daily calories from ‘ultra-processed foods’ " or toxic food that stays in your gut.

The following is a great article about this toxic buildup.

(https://articles.perfectorigins.com/much-poop-trapped-body)

The good news is that there are nutrients and products on the market that will help us get rid of this crap and make us feel much healthier. The best that I know of come from Isagenix and can be bought from my website. (https://www.nmp.isagenix.com/en-us/products/pak/30-day-system-dairy-free)

All who follow this system will make a serious dent in eliminating that demon, pictured above, from your bowls and send it into the abyss.

Don't worry, you don't have to look as you poop this poop out but you may want to just out of curiosity.

Quote of the Day: "Sometimes all you need to feel better about life is a good poop."

Isagenix Works

I don't think I have ever fallen down in the gym before. I have been wobbly several times but after my last set of leg curls yesterday I stood trying to hold the tears back while walking to get wipes to wipe off my body funk from the machine when my legs buckled and I fell onto my back.

The great thing is that my legs will recover and I will be back at it with another leg day tomorrow. Recovery is vital to muscle growth and Isagenix is an excellent nutritional supplement line to help you recover, lose unwanted body fat, gain muscle mass, perform well, and age healthily. One gets out of something what they put into it whether that is family, business, life, exercise, or about anything else.



My father tried to teach me that the saying "No Pain No Gain" is a myth.

I am a firm believer in "No Pain No Gain" because how can we grow if we are not put in situations that challenge us. If we always do what is comfortable then we will never push our boundaries to get better.

Quote of the Day: "The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow."

Product of the Day: 30 day weight loss and detox system.

https://www.nmp.isagenix.com/en-us/products/pak/30-day-system

PH Balance, Water and Isagenix!

So about 2 weeks ago I started to only drink "Real Water" (www.realwaterutah.com) which is alkaline water that registers as an 8 on the "Potential Hydrogen" scale or PH scale. www.chemistry.elmhurst.edu/vchembook/184ph.html. Since most of what we eat from the grocery stores and restaurants is acidic, something a little more alkaline like Real Water helps balance out our bodies. The ideal state we want our bodies in is neutral to slightly alkaline. This means we want our bodies to be at a 7 to 7.5. Battery acid registers as a 0 and bleach registers at 14. Drink either and you are dead. Let your blood get below neutral and you die to. The following is a great article on the importance of keeping your body in a neutral to slightly alkaline state. Please read because it may save your life.

www.myhdiet.com/healthnews/rev-malkmus/acidalkaline-ph-levels-determine-whether-you-live-or-die/

So what can we do to bring our bodies back to a 7 when most of what we consume registers acidic. For starters we need to consume the proper water. The body is 60% water. More interestingly the heart and brain is composed of 73% water and the lungs are 83% water. Muscles consist of 79% water. How in the world can the body and our vital organs operate properly if we consume so little water or worse, consume soda and energy drinks to quench our thirst instead?



The short answer is they can't. Worse yet, what if the water we do consume is acidic. You guessed it. A lot of water sources are acidic. Check out this web page to determine the acidity or alkalinity of your water: (http://18fordycej.weebly.com/ph.html).
I now drink Real Water which is at an 8 or alkaline.

On January first I set a goal to gain 30 pounds of muscle by the end of December. I started at 220 pounds. I have been as high as 240  three or so weeks ago, but now I have settled at around 232 for the time being. I stopped eating so much, but I still have the goal so count on seeing me at 250 by December.

I have never been this shredded and I owe it to Isagenix. (www.nmp.isagenix.com) One thing that separates Isagenix nutrition from many others is that it too helps your body consume things that support a PH balance of 7. My wife, Ami has been on the stuff for 3 weeks and has not had this much energy and felt as good as she has in many years. Probably not since she had our first daughter which was 14 years ago. To me Ami is already hot and has a hot body, but she has had a lot of sickness in her life. She has been to the point of nearly dying of health problems a few times.

These pictures were taken only 3 weeks ago at the start of her isagenix journey and she is extremely small so losing more than a few pounds of unhealthy fat will not be her journey. Isagenix will help get her body back to a sick free state and build muscle mass so she can live life with all the energy and strength she has every hoped for. God brought her isagenix to help free her body of sickness.


I thought I felt pretty good but after 2 months of Isagenix and a couple weeks now of Real Water, at 38, I am bouncing off the walls with energy. It is proven that disease and sickness cannot exist in a body that is PH balanced. I feel closer to that balance than I probably ever have.

Humility

So I was in the gym on Wednesday and started off with some barbell military press. I warmed up and was pushing pretty hard. Between sets I like to stretch if I am not doing super sets and so that's what I was doing. I was reaching for my toes to stretch my lower back and hamstrings between one particular set and when I stood up I felt my lower back give way again and so for the last 3 days I have been walking like a man with a walker but without the walker.

I managed to finish my workout on Wednesday and did some bench press yesterday but so far I have decided to skip the gym today. I am walking straight up today but I am still getting shooting pains in my lower back and I am having a hard time relaxing any muscle in my back.

Thursday I went in for an ashiatsu massage at the Zion Massage College. If you have never had one of those I recommend it. To say the least it kicked my butt and I loved it. It only cost me $32 and when you buy 10 you get 1 free.
www.zionmassagecollege.com

Today I think I will go and ride the bike and do some row machine as well as some other stuff that will not put too much stress on the back. I saw a doctor for my injured back a month ago and he told me to keep working out and keep moving. I knew this already but it's nice to hear a doctor say it.

The moral of the story is that even if we have injuries we can find a way to keep moving and stay consistent because if we want to be successful at anything consistency has to be king. We don't have to be perfect, just consistent.

Quote of The Day: "Discovering my superhero abilities, one injury at a time"

Product of The Day: Isagenisis to repair damaged cells and healthy aging.

www.isagenix.com/~/media/60a20aa857fd45c7a40a091d35b8de17

Workout of The Day: Go on a walk and stretch

www.builtlean.com/2011/05/25/basic-stretching-exercises-routine/