Vitamin D for Muscle Growth

This Powerful Compound Promotes Muscle Gains

Vitamins are typically associated with protective functions that support overall health and wellness. For example, vitamin C has antioxidant properties that mitigate the many negative effects associated with oxidative damage to biomolecules such as DNA within the human body.¹ Vitamin D is somewhat different. Like other vitamins, it promotes overall health— but it also plays an active role in promoting muscle growth and strength.

 Vitamin D is a fat-soluble, steroid-like vitamin that functions as a prohormone— aiding many different processes such as the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorous, promoting bone health.² Furthermore, low levels of vitamin D— which are prominent in the western world— correlate with several diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.

 Some of the muscle-promoting properties associated with vitamin D apparently stem somewhat from the similar chemical structure between vitamin D and steroid molecules like testosterone— as studies have shown vitamin D can bind the androgen receptor³, perhaps mimicking some of the muscle-building properties of testosterone. Vitamin D can also bind and activate the vitamin D receptor— which directly regulates the expression of hundred of genes⁴, with several of the genes turned on by vitamin D directly involved in generating muscle growth and strength.

 Increased Testosterone and Androgen Receptor Levels

 Among the genes regulated by vitamin D, a few appear to be involved in the production of testosterone.⁵ A study by Wehr et al.⁶ investigated the association of vitamin D levels with testosterone in over 2,200 men. The study showed a strong correlation between vitamin D levels and testosterone. The group with the lowest vitamin D levels had the lowest testosterone measurements, and the group with the highest amount of vitamin D possessed the highest testosterone.

 Interestingly, Wehr et al. also found that higher levels of vitamin D produced lower amounts of the sex hormone binding globulin protein (SHBG). Since testosterone circulates in the bloodstream bound mostly to SHBG and only a small fraction is unbound— and thus biologically active where it can activate the androgen receptor— vitamin D's ability to lower SHBG levels will give way to greater testosterone activity.

 Thus, vitamin D not only increases the production of testosterone but it also increases testosterone activity by diminishing SHBG's inhibitory influence on testosterone function.

 Since the production of vitamin D can be produced in the human body by exposure to sunlight, the differences in sunlight-induced vitamin D production should vary throughout the year. Thus, in another part of this study, Wehr et al. further validated the relationship between vitamin D and testosterone production by uncovering the tight correlation between vitamin D levels and testosterone production throughout the year. The researchers demonstrated that high vitamin D production in the summer months corresponds with greater testosterone levels, and vice versa during the winter months.

 Altogether, this study highlights vitamin D’s capability to raise or maintain testosterone levels. The research emphasizes the importance of consuming enough dietary vitamin D— especially during the long winter months, when exposure to sunlight is diminished and the need for dietary vitamin D is the greatest— in order to stimulate or maintain testosterone production.

 In addition to increasing testosterone levels, vitamin D has been shown by researchers at the Dutch company Organext Research to stimulate the expression of the androgen receptor in isolated skeletal muscle cells. The increase in androgen receptor stimulated by vitamin D promoted the proliferation of muscle satellite cells into new muscle fibers, potentially leading to increased muscle growth. In addition to the influence of vitamin D on the androgen receptor, the researchers found that the anabolic steroid nandrolone decanoate stimulated the expression of the vitamin D receptor in isolated skeletal muscle cells— and that the combination of nandrolone decanoate and vitamin D had a overwhelmingly synergistic effect on satellite cell conversion into muscle tissue in isolated skeletal muscle cells.

 These results suggest that consumption of vitamin D along with anabolic steroids should be extremely influential on muscle growth. What's more, given that anabolic steroids have negative side effects that are amplified by consuming large quantities of these drugs, ingesting smaller doses of steroids supplemented with vitamin D should mitigate some of the side effects associated with steroid use while still stimulating significant increases in muscular size and strength.

 All in all, vitamin D's ability to increase the amount of testosterone and androgen receptorshould powerfully stimulate muscle growth— not only by initiating satellite cell proliferation, but also by cranking up protein synthesis in muscle tissue— considering that testosterone and the androgen receptor function cooperatively to stimulate muscle cell protein synthesis.

 Anti-aromatase Activity

 According to an investigation by Krishnan et al.,⁷ vitamin D considerably decreases the expression of the aromatase enzyme— most potently in fat cells. Since aromatase activity in fat cells can decrease testosterone levels by catalyzing the conversion of testosterone into the estrogen-like compound estradiol, vitamin D’s ability to decrease aromatase represents another mechanism in its arsenal for increasing testosterone.

 In the above study, mice were given large quantities of the steroid molecule androstenedione— which can be converted to the estrogen-like molecules estradiol or estrone by aromatase. Some of the mice were also given a daily injection of vitamin D, while the control group received no vitamin D injections. The mice that received vitamin D showed a significant decrease in the expression levels of aromatase and a lower amount of estradiol or estrone, specifically in fat cells, compared to the control group that received no vitamin D.

 In addition, the researchers in this study showed that vitamin D diminishes aromatase levels and activity in isolated human breast cancer cells, which is a cell type that typically expresses large amounts of the aromatase enzyme. This finding implies that vitamin D functions similarly in humans by diminishing the quantity and activity of aromatase. Moreover, the researchers also investigated the influence of vitamin D in combination with aromatase inhibitors such as Arimidex on aromatase activity, also in isolated human breast cancer cells. Interestingly, their results showed that vitamin D enhances the effect of aromatase inhibitors. Since some bodybuilders and athletes consume aromatase inhibitors during anabolic steroid cycles to prevent the conversion of steroids into estrogen, vitamin D in combination with aromatase inhibitors should more potently decrease aromatase's ability to convert anabolic steroids into estrogen— thus preventing some of the unpleasant side effects associated with anabolic steroid use such as the development of breast tissue, also known as gynecomastia.

 In conclusion, vitamin D has the powerful ability to regulate the expression of specific genes that are intimately involved in muscle growth. Moreover, most people appear to have suboptimal amounts of vitamin D due to dietetic inadequacy and a lack of sunlight exposure. Consequently, vitamin D is evidently a necessary and influential supplement for the athlete, bodybuilder or recreational weightlifter for gaining muscle and increasing strength.

http://www.musculardevelopment.com/articles/supplements/14548-vitamin-d-for-muscle-growth-this-powerful-compound-promotes-gains.html#.VeOzcCVVikp

Step In The Right Direction

Do you know how many steps you take in a day? You can, with a pedometer. In fact, wearing one is a good way to gauge how much activity you're getting while just going about your daily activities. It can tell you whether you're active enough or whether you should build some more movement into your day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Surgeon General recommend a minimum of 10,000 steps per day (roughly four miles). If that seems like a lot, remember that every step you take during the day counts toward the total. When you add up all the steps you take walking among the different rooms in your home, down the hallway at work, and to and from your car, you'll see that it's an achievable goal. If you don't own a pedometer, consider buying one. Look for a basic model that's easy to operate and easy to read. You don't have to get anything too expensive — there are many decent basic models available for less than $20. Start by wearing the pedometer for a few days to get a feel for how many steps you're taking now. If it's less than 10,000, challenge yourself to work your way up there. Little changes like parking further away from your office or the store, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and walking over to talk to your work colleagues instead of shooting them an e-mail can really add up. Remember that the number on your pedometer is an estimate of your steps. If it is off by a few steps, don't worry about it — just focus on how much you are moving during the day. This week, buy and use a pedometer to keep track of your activity level. Soon, you'll find yourself looking for excuses to get moving!

Top 3 Tips for Hard Gainers

--> Treat each set like an all out sprint.


Have you ever tried sprinting as fast as you can for 400 meters,
which is one time around a high school track?  You'll be
lucky to get to 300 meters before you start sucking for air.
Training to failure during an exercise is like sprinting all
out around the track.  You'll probably only be able to do
8-10 repeats which is why your muscle building workouts
should be shorter.  The harder you train, the less you can
stand.  Typically, you will only need 3-4 super intense
workouts per week to maintain your muscle mass or grow new
muscle mass depending on your caloric intake.


--> Rotate your reps around every few weeks.


Your body will adjust to reps and sets faster than any other
training variable like rest periods, tempos or exercises.
The more variety you can incorporate into your program, the
less chance of your body plateauing and adapting.  During
some of my muscle building workouts, I'll have you rotate
through workouts that consist of 5x5, 4x10, 3x15, 6x6, 4x12,
2x20, 10x3, 5x8 etc  You'll constantly be stimulating all
your different muscle fibers to ensure maximal muscle growth.
With the first tip above, treat each set like it's an all out
sprint and stop "pacing" yourself.  Your weight training
workouts should not be treated like a marathon.


--> Stick to the bread and butter movements.


Anybody who has used my No Nonsense Muscle Building program
will know that my exercise selection is not very fancy. I stick
to all the "bread and butter" movements that emphasize
horizontal pushing (chest), horizontal pulling (mid back),
vertical pushing (shoulders), vertical pulling (lats), hip
dominant (deadlift variations) and quad dominant (quad
variations) exercises.  You're not going to see any Bosu balls
or balance boards or rocking chairs in my mass programs.
Just the good old fashioned exercises that allow you to load
up the bar with the most weight and "give her."


I nicknamed Vegas, the "City of Superficial" since so much
emphasis is stressed on out ward appearance but I have to
admit that it feels pretty good chilling by the pool, cruzing
the strip and hitting the clubs and feeling confident about
your appearance and physique.


I don't think "Skinny Vinny" (my nickname before I gained
41 pounds of muscle) would have enjoyed himself in Vegas
as much because I still remember how insecure I was about
my scrawny frame and never being able to find a shirt that
"made me look big."  Now, I don't worry about that.


Click here to download my muscle building plan
--> http://www.VinceDelMonteFitness.com

Healthy Sleep Habits

Did you know that the quality of your sleep and your weight are connected? It's true. Research has shown that people who get five or fewer hours of quality sleep each night have a significantly higher risk of obesity than people who get seven to eight hours a night. Why? Disordered sleep affects your body in many ways. When it comes to your weight, lack of sleep can increase levels of the hormone leptin in your blood, leaving you hungrier and more likely to snack. Lack of sleep also stresses the body, causing it to process and store glucose differently. Of course, it is also hard to plan and prepare healthy meals or commit to being more active if you are tired all the time. In other words, not getting good sleep is hazardous to your weight! So if you're not getting seven to eight hours a night of high-quality shut-eye now, try these tips for better sleep: *Take the TV out of the bedroom. You should be sleeping, not watching television late into the night. *Avoid caffeine and alcohol near bedtime. Both lead to lower quality sleep. Don't exercise within 30 minutes of your bedtime — doing so may make it more difficult to fall asleep. However, getting regular exercise earlier in the day will promote better rest. *Develop a sleep schedule and stick to it, going to bed and getting up at the same time from day to day. This will help set your body's internal sleep–wake cycles. *Don't sleep late on weekends, which can disrupt your pattern. It's better to get up at your regular time and take a nap later in the day if you need it. *Make sure you have a comfortable bed, bedding, and pillows. Foam mattress pads or toppers can also improve your bed's comfort level. If you still experience trouble getting a good night's rest after making these changes, talk to your doctor. Medical conditions like obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, or restless legs syndrome could be to blame. Most important, don't ignore sleep issues. They tend to get progressively worse over time, leading to larger and larger impacts on your health and well-being. This week, make getting high quality sleep a priority. It's critical to your weight-loss success!

Be Optimistic

Some people think that optimism is about living in a Pollyanna world where everything is nice and bad things never happen to good people. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Optimism really is a courageous state of mind – one that comes from a person's desire, effort, and choice to accept and make the best of difficult situations. Certainly, the road of optimism is not without its potholes. And that's especially true from those in leadership positions. If you serve as a leader long enough, you'll undoubtedly come face to face with setbacks and unexpected events that have the potential to be devastating. People and situations change, and your ability to remain optimistic will surely be tested against fear of the unknown. Refusing to engage in the all-too-common "woe is me" lament takes courage. The optimistic leader believes that defeat is a temporary setback – isolated to a given situation. He or she wants the best possible outcome and therefore concentrates on finding something positive and hopeful in what appears to be a hopeless situation. This is a leader who understands a basic principle of human nature: You usually see whatever it is you are looking for. There is an endearing story about how optimistic people look at situations differently – seeing the potential that others fail to realize. It goes like this: Two researchers were independently dispatched to one of the world's least developed countries by a large shoe manufacturer. Their task was to assess the business possibilities within that country. When the first report came back to the manufacturer' s headquarters, the message read: "No market here. Nobody wears shoes!" A few days later, the second report came back from the other researcher. It read: "Great market here. Nobody wears shoes!"

Multivitamin Supplements

Should you take a multivitamin supplement? If you eat a healthy, balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean protein, you probably don't need one. But if you want to be sure you're getting the recommended daily amounts of important vitamins and minerals, a multivitamin pill can be a good way to do so.

Vitamins and minerals are nutrients found in foods that your body needs to function optimally. Because your body can't make these nutrients on its own, they must come from food or other sources. Some important ones include the following:

Vitamin A: Needed for healthy vision and cell development; also acts as an antioxidant, protecting the body's cells from substances called free radicals. Food sources of vitamin A include liver, fish, fortified dairy products, carrots, and sweet potatoes.

Folic acid: Helps the body make new cells. It's especially important that women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant get adequate amounts of folic acid. It's found in dark leafy greens, dried beans and peas, oranges, and fortified grain products.

Vitamin C: Plays a role in building connective tissue and keeping the immune system healthy; also acts as an antioxidant. It's found in citrus fruits, broccoli, green peppers, spinach, and other fruits and vegetables.

Vitamin D: Contributes to bone health, in part by helping the body to absorb calcium; also plays a role in the immune system. Your body makes vitamin D when your skin is exposed to sunlight, and it's also found in fortified dairy foods and cereals.

Vitamin E: Helps to repair body tissues and acts as an antioxidant. Vitamin E is found in fish, milk, egg yolks, vegetable oils, nuts, and other foods.

Calcium: A mineral used to build bone. It's found in dairy products and, in smaller amounts, in greens like broccoli and kale.

Iron: Helps to carry oxygen to the body's cells. Food sources of iron include organ meats, beef, poultry, beans and lentils, and fortified cereals.

Before you purchase a multivitamin, read the label to see what percentage of the recommended daily amount (RDA) of each vitamin it contains. As you'll see, some brands contain much more than the RDA, while others contain less. It has not been proved that taking more than the RDA is beneficial, and taking very high doses of any vitamin can be harmful. Choose a multivitamin that covers the bases but stays at 100 percent of the RDA or less. In addition, check that the label carries the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) symbol. This will ensure that the supplement's manufacturer adheres to certain purity standards and that the supplement can be easily broken down in your digestive system and absorbed.

And remember, taking a multivitamin doesn't mean you can forgo eating well. No pill can replace the benefits of eating a healthy, balanced diet, but a multivitamin supplement can provide a little additional assurance that your body is getting the nutrition it needs.

Healthy PreWorkout Snacks

Do you often have a snack before your workouts? While eating before you exercise may seem a little counterintuitive — after all, isn't one of the aims of exercise to burn calories? — it can actually be a good move. If it's time for your workout but you haven't eaten anything for a few hours or more, a snack can give you the energy you need to get going. And it can prevent you from being so hungry when you're done exercising that you make poor food choices. The best preworkout snack is one that includes carbohydrates, which provide an energy boost, and protein, which sustains the energy boost and helps you feel satisfied longer. Here are some ideas: -Half a bagel with low-fat cream cheese -An apple with reduced-fat cheddar cheese -A banana with peanut butter -Yogurt with berries -A few crackers with tuna -One slice of bread with turkey The key is to keep your portion small — around 50 to 100 calories. Eat your snack 30 minutes to an hour before you work out, keeping in mind that the body takes a little longer to absorb the energy from foods containing fat. And before you stock up on energy bars or other products that promise to give you a boost during your workout, take note: While these products can be a convenient option, they can also be high in calories. If you do choose a sports bar, look for small ones that contain 100 calories or less.

How Olympic Athletes Can Help You

-by Vincent DelMonte Here is ONE thing I've discovered as a common theme from Olympic athletes that you can apply to your own 12-week transformation... -> They have created SPECIFIC habits that do not require thinking <- You would never hear an athlete say, "I am going to workout today and try and eat better today..." This is not SPECIFIC enough. Here's what they WILL say if they were following one of my programs... "I will go to bed at 10:30 pm the night before so that I get 7.5 hours sleep and rise at 6 am to cook my 1/2 cup of oatmeal and 2 scoops of protein powder and 1 tbsp of natural peanut butter. I'll drink 1 liter of water, take my fish oils, multi vitamin and drink 1 cup of black coffee and then leave my house at 6:30 am. I'm going to do day 1 of my Metabolic Overdrive program which will begin at 6:45 am and finish at 8 am and I will be doing shoulders and rotational work. The goal of today's workout is to finish the entire workout in under 55 minutes. I will finish my workout with 20 minutes of walking on the treadmill at 4.0 mph and a 12.0 grade. I will have meal 2 at 9 am, meal 3 at 12pm, meal 4 at 3pm and then go to the trails and run for 45 minutes at 4:30pm. Today I'll be doing a 10 minute warm up plus 5 minutes hard alternated with 5 minutes easy until I reach 45 minutes. I'll finish up with 15 minutes of static stretching and then alternate 1 minute of hot water with 1 minute of cold water on my legs and shoulders while I shower. I'll have my last meal at 6pm. I'll be in bed for 10:30pm tonight." Notice a few things? -> the specific wake up time? -> the specific amount of food at breakfast? -> the specific start and finish time of the workout? -> the goal for the workout? -> the pre planned cardio workout? -> the pre planned meal times? -> the pre planned PM cardio workout? -> the specific bed time? The reason athletes are SO successful is because they have built certain HABITS over a long period of time. They no longer need to "think about it..." Thinking is an athletes greatest enemy. They just do it out of habit. You have probably heard the saying, "It takes 30 days to create a new habit..." Most athletes have created these habits before they even reached their early teens (but it's NEVER too late). Well, I just listed about 12 habits that could take 30 days each to form. Imagine if you build one of these habits into your life every 30 days? You could build 12 new habits each year! I highly recommend that you become your own coach and create your own SPECIFIC plan and that you write it down on paper at least one week in advance so that you can see it and visualize it and so that you are no longer "hoping" or "wishing" for success. Go into your personal schedule and pencil out your next 7-10 days of training just like you schedule our your meeting, class schedule, social life, family time and errands. Your goal is to ELIMINATE the "thinking" that goes into your training and create habits that become natural. For this week, pick just ONE habit that you wish to focus on. Maybe it's setting your stop watch so your beeper goes off at 10:15pm each night to remind you that you need to be in bed by 10:30pm or whatever new time you wish to set for yourself. Once you master this habit, lets tackle another one.

Gold-Medal Workout

Muscle-Building Body-Weight and Resistance Exercises The Gold-Medal Workout To look like an athlete, you need to train like one. Our Olympic workout shows you how By: Alwyn Cosgrove, Photograph by: Thierry des Fontaines Pound for pound, Olympic gymnasts are perhaps the strongest athletes in the world. But it's not because they pick up a lot of heavy objects. "I don't lift weights at all," says Team USA gymnast David Durante. "I'm either practicing gymnastics or doing body-weight exercises." Which just goes to show that you don't need high-tech training equipment to be strong and muscular. One problem, though: "Not just anyone can mount the still rings and do an iron cross," says Durante. "It takes years to develop the specific muscles that allow us to perform our routines." And that's why we've created a plan that will let you train your muscles the way a gymnast does but without having to be a world-class athlete. By combining the classic body-weight exercises (you'll add resistance to some) and cutting-edge training techniques found in this workout, you'll build shirt-splitting muscle, real-world strength, and a more athletic-looking body. And you won't have to spend hours at the gym -- you'll be in and out in under 40 minutes. Get the full workout at www.menshealth.com

Resisting Food Ads

Have you ever noticed that the foods advertised the most heavily also tend to have the highest calorie counts and lowest nutritional value? Promoting junk food and fast food is big business. Companies spend millions of dollars a year in an attempt to get you to choose their burger or chip over another brand. These highly advertised foods are plentiful, easy to get, inexpensive, and engineered to taste good. Ironically, there is little advertising promoting the foods we should be eating — like whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and beans and legumes. Bombarded with powerful advertising images saying that nutritionally poor foods are best, it's no wonder we're reaching for the wrong foods! Some have compared the effort of trying to eat healthy in modern society with trying to be a recovered alcoholic in a town with a bar on every block. How can you maintain a healthy weight in spite of the pressure to eat unhealthy foods? Try these tips: Get the info. After you see an ad that makes junk food look tempting, boot up your computer, check out the manufacturer's Web site, and find the nutrition information for that food. When you see that the food is packed with calories, fat, or sodium, it probably won't seem so appealing. Empower yourself to make healthier choices. We've all been in a situation where we need to eat and the only options for miles around aren't particularly healthy ones. If you find yourself with nowhere to go but a fast-food restaurant or convenience store, you need to know which choices are better than others. Reach for fresh foods like salads and sandwiches with lean meat and vegetables. Hold the dressing, mayo, and other high-calorie toppings, or have them on the side so you can easily control them. At the grocery store, stick to the perimeter. Most heavily advertised, processed snack foods live in the inner aisles of the grocery store. To avoid temptation, skip those aisles altogether (or just pop in to retrieve healthy items on your shopping list). The perimeter aisles, which typically house fresh foods, are where you want to be. Question the ads. Would you be as tempted to eat that cheeseburger if it were promoted by an overweight and out-of-shape model (which would be more realistic) rather than the thin, fit, happy-looking one taking a bite? Is the food really the best choice for you and your waistline? Do you really "need" it? Probably not!

Coping With Cravings

You know, those urges that tell you to stop everything and eat a certain food? The truth is, these cravings and urges are normal and to be expected. They are not a sign of failure. Instead, they provide an opportunity to learn what your triggers are. Try thinking of cravings as ocean waves. Just as a wave recedes after it peaks, a craving will recede if you do not feed it with your thoughts or actions. Instead of giving in to a craving right away, give it some time to pass. Distract yourself for a few minutes by reading or writing in your journal, taking deep breaths, going for a walk, talking about how you feel, or using such positive self-talk as "This urge won't last forever, and I am in control. I am feeling uncomfortable, but I can wait this out." Remember, bingeing might make you feel better for a short while, but you will feel better in the long run if you find a healthier outlet instead. After a few minutes, check in with yourself. Feeling better? If not, give yourself a few more minutes. Once the intensity of the moment passes, look back and try to analyze what was going on at the time the craving began. Can you identify what triggered it? A feeling? Situation? Person? Event? Once you've identified the trigger or triggers, develop a short list of other ways you can react to them besides eating. In time, you'll learn to recognize situations that trigger cravings in advance and be better prepared to face them. Be patient with yourself. It takes time to break old patterns. Remember, the more you confront your cravings, the better you will be able to deal with them. So when you experience a craving, don't run away or give in. Use it as an opportunity to become aware of what you really need. Soon you'll be riding the wave instead of the crave!

Think Outside The Box

Have you ever had one of those "Aha!" moments, when the solution to a seemingly impossible situation just comes to you, or suddenly you see the situation in a whole new way? So often, we can get stuck in a rut when it comes to problems. We may fixate on one solution, trying to make it work time and again, rather than moving on to another approach. Thinking outside the box can help you break out of a pattern that isn't working. For example, let's say eating fast food too often is a problem. After thinking it over, you realize that it's not a love of fast food that does you in. It's that as you drive home from work, you often are so hungry that when you see that fast-food restaurant's sign, you stop and buy dinner there — even though you have a healthier option waiting at home. After brainstorming a list of possible solutions to this problem, you decide to try having a healthy snack before you leave work and then driving a new route home that doesn't pass that fast-food restaurant. Suddenly, your old strategy — to rely on willpower alone to bypass the drive-through — isn't needed anymore. After a few weeks, you look back and see that thinking outside the box worked. Instead of stopping for fast food, you're avoiding getting too hungry, taking the new route home, and eating a healthy dinner. Well done! This week, spend some time thinking about some of the old problems standing in your way of success. Try looking at them in a new light. Is there another way to approach them? Give it a try.

The New Mental Diet

By: Brian Tracy One of the most powerful personal programming activities you can engage in is positive self-talk. Be your own cheerleader and talk to yourself positively all of the time. Think About Your Dreams As it happens, the average person talks to himself in a negative way. As much as 94 percent of your inner dialogue tends to be about the things you fear, your worries, the people you're angry at, your problems, your concerns and so on. You have to consciously keep your words, your inner dialogue, consistent with what you wish to accomplish. The Most Powerful Antidote Psychologists have proven that the words, "I can do it," are the antidote to the fear of failure that often holds you back from trying. Repeat these words over and over to yourself whenever you feel fearful or doubtful about anything that you want to attempt. Say very enthusiastically to yourself, "I can do it, I can do it, I can do it!" When you start saying, "I can do it, I can do it," you drive that message deep into your subconscious mind. This message lowers your fears and builds your self-confidence. Make A Million! Another thing you can say to yourself is, "I make a million. I make a million." Impress that message into your subconscious mind. Whenever you think about your work, say over and over again, "I'm the best, I'm the best, I'm the best." Making any one of these three statements, or anything that is positive makes you feel good about yourself and causes you to be more motivated. You become more focused, more determined. Wealthy, successful people have a continuous inner dialogue that is positive and constructive and uplifting and consistent with their goals and objectives. Feed Your Mind Continually Feed your mind from morning to night with words, pictures, information and ideas consistent with your goals for financial success. Develop the habit of thinking positively and confidently about wealth accumulation. Read stories, books and articles about other successful people. Think about how you could be like them. Visualize yourself, imagine, fantasize, pretend in your mind that you are like the kind of people that you admire and respect and want to be like. Select A Role Model Psychologists have proven that role models are essential for magnetizing your mind with the qualities and characteristics that you wish to develop in yourself. Pick a person that you admire. Whenever you face any kind of difficult situation, ask yourself, how would this person act in this situation? What would this person do? How would this person behave? You'll find that when you think about how someone you admire might behave, your own thinking becomes better and you tend to act at your very best. Become An Expert Read everything you can find about your business. Become an expert in your field. The more you learn about your profession, your trade and your craft, the more confident you will become that you can do well in it. Action Exercises Here are two things you can do to put yourself on the new mental diet for financial success: First, repeat to yourself, over and over again, the wonderful words "I can do it! I can do it! I can do it!" Whenever you are anticipating any new goal or opportunity. This affirmation builds your self-confidence and conditions you for success. Second, monitor your mental diet the way you would your physical diet. Be sure that you feed yourself throughout the day with positive stories, words, pictures and conversations about the things you want to have in your life. Refuse to read, watch, listen to or discuss things that are negative or depressing. This will make a tremendous difference in how you feel and how you act.

If You're Out There

- by John Legend If you hear this message, wherever you stand I'm calling every woman, calling every man We're the generation We can't afford to wait The future started yesterday and we're already late We've been looking for a song to sing Searched for a melody Searched for someone to lead We've been looking for the world to change If you feel the same Then go on and say If you're out there Sing along with me If you're out there I'm dying to believe that you're out there Stand up and say it loud If you're out there Tomorrow's starting now Now, now No more broken promises No more call to war Unless it's love and peace that we're really fighting for We can destroy hunger We can conquer hate Put down the arms and raise your voice We're joining hands today Oh I was looking for a song to sing I searched for a leader But the leader was me We were looking for the world to change We can be heroes Just go on and say If you're out there Sing along with me If you're out there I'm dying to believe that you're out there Stand up and say it loud If you're out there Tomorrow's starting now Now, now Oh now, now If you're ready we can shake the world Believe again It starts within We don't have to wait for destiny We should be the change that we want to see If you're out there Ooooh If you're out there And you're ready now Say it loud Scream it out If you're out there Sing along with me If you're out there I'm dying to believe that you're out there Stand up and say it loud If you're out there Tomorrow's starting now If you're out there If you're out there If you're out there If you hear this message, wherever you stand I'm calling every woman, calling every man We're the generation We can't afford to wait The future started yesterday and we're already late

Live Today How You Want To Live Tomorrow

In the moment you ask, and believe and know you already have it in the unseen, the entire Universe shifts to bring it into the seen. You must act, speak, and think, as though you are receiving it now. Why? The Universe is a mirror, and the law of attraction is mirroring back to you your dominant thoughts. So doesn’t it make sense that you have to see yourself as receiving it? If your thoughts contain noticing you do not have it yet, you will continue to attract not having it yet. You must believe you have it already. You must believe you have received it. You have to emit the feeling frequency of having received it, to bring those pictures back as your life when you do that, the law of attraction will powerfully move all circumstances, people, and events, for you to receive…. How do you get yourself to a point of believing? Start make-believing. Be like a child, and make-believe. Act as if you have it already. As you make-believe, you will begin to believe you have received…. Have faith. Your belief that you have it, that undying faith, is your greatest power. When you believe you are receiving, get ready, and watch the magic begin! -Rhonda Byrne, “The Secret”

Gratitude

Truisms about the power of gratitude in unlocking abundance range from a saying from the Hausa people of Nigeria - “Give thanks for a little and you’ll find a lot” - to this strong testimonial from author Sara Ban Brathnach: “Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities, it is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend…. When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present - love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure--the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth.” If you want more money, if you’re feeling impoverished, if you’re feeling stressed out, you’re not coming to abundance from the right place, the way to turn those feelings around and restore positive energy and flow is to simply say “Thank you.” be grateful for what you have because if you’re not grateful for what the Universe has already given you, it’s probably not going to give you any more. Keep firmly in mind that there are people on the planet who don’t have food, who don’t have medicine, who don’t have water. There are people who don’t have children, or a family. There are people who don’t have a girlfriend or a boyfriend or a husband or a wife. There are people who don’t have a job and would be grateful for one. There are people who have to walk because they don’t have a car. Now contrast that with what you have -- and say “Thank you” for everything, no matter how large or how small. Did you know that nearly one billion people entered the twenty-first century unable to read a book or even sign their name? or that half the world --three billion people -- live on less than $2 A DAY?! So let’s leave it at this: TO BUILD WEALTH YOU MUST FIRST BUILD POSITIVE ENERGY BY APPRECIATING THE REAL ABUNDANCE YOU ENJOY, THEN USE THAT ENERGY TO BEGIN ENERGIZING YOUR FINANCES AND YOUR FORTUNE.

Boost Your Productivity

By: Brian Tracy Push to the Top All successful people are very productive. They work longer hours and they work better hours. They get a lot more done than the average person. They get paid more and promoted faster. They are highly respected and esteemed by everyone around them. They become leaders and role models. Inevitably, they rise to the top of their fields and to the top of their income ranges, and so can you. Everything is Learnable Every single one of these tested and proven strategies for managing your time and doubling your productivity is learnable through practice and repetition. Each of these methods will eventually become a habit of both thinking and working. The Payoff is Remarkable When you begin applying these techniques to your work and to your life, your self-esteem, self-confidence, self-respect and sense of personal pride will go up immediately. The pay off for you will be tremendous, for the rest of your life. Make A Decision! Every positive change in your life begins with a clear, unequivocal decision that you are going to either do something or stop doing something. Significant change starts when you decide to either get in or get out, either fish or cut bait. The Vital Quality of Success Decisiveness is one of the most important qualities of successful and happy men and women, and decisiveness is developed through practice and repetition, over and over again until it becomes as natural to you as breathing in and breathing out. Why People Are Poor The sad fact is that people are poor because they have not yet decided to be rich. People are overweight and unfit because they have not yet decided to be thin and fit. People are inefficient time wasters because they haven't yet decided to be highly productive in everything they do. Become An Expert Decide today that you are going to become an expert in time management and personal productivity, no matter how long it takes or how much you invest in it. Resolve today that you are going to practice these principles, over and over again until they become second nature. Action Exercises Here are two steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action. First, hold your own feet to the fire. Resolve to start earlier, work harder and stay later. Don't let yourself off the hook. Second, become an expert in time management. Learn and practice time management techniques every day until they become habits.

The RUB Inside

The RUB Inside We were all “idiots” when we were young children. Born with a natural curiosity, we loved to explore. We took the most direct path to whatever we wanted. We had no knowledge of fear or failure. We took pleasure in achieving successes, no matter how small. We looked forward to the little treats and hugs that accompanied every achievement, from our first wobbly step to our first word. Those early years were the “idiot” years. And then something happened. To be precise, rules happened. Suddenly we were rewarded not for individual achievement but for conforming to an ever more elaborate set of social, behavioral, and academic rules. Exploring a winding path while the rest of the class marched neatly in twos on a class field trip became cause for a tongue-lashing. Playing in a distant neighborhood with unknown friends got us grounded. It wasn’t long before we learned the world’s lessons: Don’t take risks. Don’t do anything different. Stay close to home. Watch out for danger. Listen to your elders (and betters). All we heard was “No. Stop asking so many questions.” Most of us promised ourselves we’d “do our own thing” just as soon as we grew up, left home, graduated, got a job… whatever. But the reality is, those pesky rules just stuck with us through all the years of higher education and career building. We stayed on the straight path. We did what was expected. We obeyed. And what was our reward? Today we’re Right side Up and Broke--we’re RUB’s -by Robert Shemin, Author “How Come That Idiot’s Rich and I’m Not?”

Relax and Recharge Completely

By: Brian Tracy Regular relaxation is essential for a long life and personal effectiveness. Here are some techniques for relaxing physically that are used by the most successful and highest paid people in America. Take Time Off Every Week First of all, work only five or six days per week, and rest completely on the seventh day. Every single study in this area shows that you will be far more productive in the five or six days that you work if you take one or two days off completely than you ever would be if you worked straight through for seven days. Get Your Mind Busy Elsewhere During this time off, do not catch up on reports, organize your desk, prepare proposals, or do anything else that requires mental effort. Simply let your mind relax completely, and get busy doing things with your family and friends. Maybe work around the house, go for a walk, engage in physical exercise, watch television, go to a movie, or play with your children. Whatever you do, discipline yourself to shut your mental gears off completely for at least one 24-hour period every seven days. Get Away on Mini-Vacations Second, take one three-day vacation every three months, and during that time, refrain from doing any work. Do not attempt to catch up on even a few small things. If you do, you keep your mental gears in motion, and you end up neither resting nor properly doing work of any quality. Take Big Chunks of Down Time Third, take at least two full weeks off each year during which you do nothing that is work-related. You can either work or relax; you cannot do both. If you attempt to do a little work while you are on vacation, you never give your mental and emotional batteries a chance to recharge. You'll come back from your vacation just as tired as you were when you left. Give Yourself a Break Today If you are involved in a difficult relationship, or situation at work that is emotionally draining, discipline yourself to take a complete break from it at least one day per week. Put the concern out of your mind. Refuse to think about it. Don't continually discuss it, make telephone calls about it or mull it over in your mind. You cannot perform at your best mentally if you are emotionally preoccupied with a person or situation. You have to give yourself a break. Go For a Walk in Nature Since a change is as good as a rest, going for a nice long walk is a wonderful way to relax emotionally and mentally. As you put your physical body into motion, your thoughts and feelings seem to relax all by themselves. Eat Lighter Foods Also, remember that the process of digestion consumes an enormous amount of physical energy. Therefore, if you eat lighter foods, you will feel better and more refreshed afterward. If you eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain products, your digestive system will require far less energy to process them. Be Good to Yourself Since your diet has such an impact on your level of physical energy, and through it your levels of mental and emotional energy, the more fastidious you are about what you put into your mouth, the better you will feel and the more productive you will be. We know now that foods high in fat, sugar, or salt are not good for your body. The lighter the foods you eat, the more energy you have. Action Exercises Here are three things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action: First, plan your weeks in advance and build in at least one day when you will relax from work completely. Discipline yourself to keep this date. Second, reserve, book and pay for your three day vacations several months in advance. Once you've paid the money, you are much more likely to go rather than put it off. Third, decide that you will not work at all during your vacations. When you work, work. And when you rest, rest 100% of the time. This is very important.

Monumental Advantages of Weight Training

Professor of exercise physiology Gianni Maddalozzo of the University of Oregon has done research focusing on osteoporosis and muscle strength in adults between the ages of 40 and 80. The test subjects suffer with sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass that occurs naturally with the aging process. The findings are either extremely exciting and provocative or alarming and discouraging depending on your views of fitness, more specifically weight lifting. Professor Maddalozzo also states initially, that this loss of muscle mass is inevitable. By comparison to other diseases, sarcopenia is quite subtle, siphoning one fifth of a pound of muscle per year between the ages of 25 and 50 and then advancing the pace thereafter. At 50, muscle loss can total a pound per year. The symptoms, not recognized until it’s too late due to the fact the body will not get thinner but accumulate fat to fill the void, may not be detected until the unsuspecting victim takes a tumble and breaks a bone. The victim finds little muscle left to build on during rehab from his injury. Professor Maddalozzo and others are leading a crusade to illuminate us to the monumental advantages attained from weight lifting. Research suggests sarcopenia not only diminishes muscle size and strength but has also been linked to weakened immune systems, early stages of heart disease, diabetes, weaker bones, stiffening of the joints and poor posture. Muscle also plays a central role in protein metabolism, affecting our response to stress. A decline in overall metabolic rate can also be attributed to diminishing muscle mass. Further research is expected to draw a correlation between muscle mass and cancer mortality. Views are changing; there will be more emphasis on weight training and the accompanying nutritional component, protein necessary to develop that muscle mass. Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, PhD, a professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine states, "We used to discourage older adults from lifting heavy weights. Now we're telling them they can't maintain overall health without it." After age 50, you can't get by just doing aerobic exercise. Robert Wolfe, PhD, a professor of geriatrics at the University of Arkansas says, "But it is far more effective to begin resistance training before the process gains momentum. Intervention in the middle years is necessary." Although the federal government has not mandated it, some agencies such as CDC advocate weight lifting to help curtail the devastating affects of sarcopenia. Muscle mass or the lack thereof has also been linked to common diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The results of a study published in Circulation, a scientific periodical, in 2006 connect sarcopenia to insulin resistance, elevated lipid levels in the blood, and increased body fat, especially visceral adipose tissue. Research also concluded that long term adaptation to resistance training lowers cortical response to acute stress; increases total energy expenditure; relieves anxiety, depression, and insomnia; and demonstrates beneficial effects on bone density, arthritis, hypertension, lipid profiles, and exercise tolerance in coronary artery disease subjects. A study conducted about a decade ago at East Tennessee State University revealed some interesting facts about cardiovascular exercise and its inability to create muscle tissue. Forty-three healthy subjects 55 and older were studied. Twenty-three of the individuals did only aerobic activities like treadmill, bike, and elliptical trainers for 30 minutes 3 times per week for 4 months. The remaining 20 individuals split their time doing 15 minutes of aerobic activity and the remaining time lifting weights and using machines. There was a significant increase in bone density and muscle mass in the split-routine group while the aerobic group showed no gains in muscle mass or bone density.

Your Belief Becomes Your Reality

By: Brian Tracy The Determinant of Your Success Perhaps the most powerful single factor in your success is your beliefs about yourself. We call this the Law of Belief. It says simply this: Whatever you believe, with feeling, becomes your reality. Whatever you intensely believe becomes your reality. That we have a tendency to block out any information coming in to us that is inconsistent with our reality. What Successful People Believe What we've discovered is that successful people absolutely believe that they have the ability to succeed. And they will not entertain, think about, or talk about the possibilities that they'll fail. They do not even consider the possibility of failure. Positive Thinking Versus Positive Knowing You always act in a matter consistent with your beliefs. The most important belief system you can build is a prosperity consciousness where you absolutely believe that you are going achieve your financial goals. We call this positive knowing versus positive thinking. Positive thinking can sometimes be wishing or hoping. But positive knowing is when you absolutely know that no matter what, you will be successful. The Foundation of Willpower Another principle related to your beliefs is willpower. We know that willpower is essential to any success. Willpower is based on confidence. It's based on conviction. It's based on faith. It's based on your belief in your ability to triumph over all obstacles. And you can develop willpower by persistence, by working on your goals, by reading the biographies of successful people, by listening to audio programs, by reading books about people who've achieved success. The more information you take into your mind consistent with success, the more likely it is that you will develop the willpower to push you through the obstacles and difficulties you will experience. Beat the Odds on Success Remember that success is rare. Only one person in one hundred becomes wealthy in the course of a lifetime. Only five percent achieve financial independence. That means that the odds against you are 19-to-1. The only way that you're going to achieve your financial goals is if you get really serious. To succeed, you must get serious. You must get busy. You must get active. You must get going. Remember, everything counts. Resolve to Achieve Greatly Self-mastery, self-control, self-discipline are essential for anyone who wants to achieve greatly. And control over your thoughts is the hardest exercise in self-mastery that you will ever engage in. See if you can talk and think about only what you desire and not talk or think about anything that you don't want for 24 hours. Then you'll see what you're really made of. It's a hard thing to do but with practice, you can reach the point where you are thinking about your goals and desires most of the time. Then, your whole life will change for the better. Action Exercises Here are two things you can do to build a belief system consistent with the financial success you desire: First, continually repeat to yourself the words, pictures and thoughts consistent with your dreams and goals. Whatever you repeat often enough, over and over, becomes a new belief. Second, set a goal for yourself to think and talk only about the things that you want for the next 24 hours. This will be one of the hardest things you ever do. But if you can keep your mind on what you want and off of what you don't want for 24 hours, you can begin to change your entire future.

Your Ideal Self and Life

By: Brian Tracy Your self-concept is made up of three parts, each of which affects each of the others. Understanding these three parts enables you to put your hands on the keyboard of your own mental computer. When you learn to take charge of the development of a new and positive self-concept of selling, you can then control your sales destiny for the rest of your career. Determine Your Direction The first part of the self-concept is the "self-ideal." Your self-ideal largely determines the direction in which you are going with your life. It guides the growth and evolution of your character and personality. Your self-ideal is a combination of all of the qualities and attributes of other people that you most admire. Your self-ideal is a description of the person you would very much like to be if you could embody the qualities that you most aspire to. Strive Toward Excellence Throughout your life, you have seen and read about the qualities of courage, confidence, compassion, love, fortitude, perseverance, patience, forgiveness and integrity. Over time, these qualities have instilled in you an ideal to which you aspire. You might not always live up to the very best that you know, but you are constantly striving to be a better person in light of those qualities that you value so highly. In fact, everything that you do on a day-to-day basis is affected by your comparing your activities with these ideal qualities and your striving to behave consistently with them. Clarity is Essential Successful salespeople have very clear ideals for themselves and their careers. Unsuccessful salespeople have fuzzy ideals. Successful salespeople are very clear about being excellent in every part of their work and their personal lives. Unsuccessful salespeople don't give the subject very much thought. One of the primary characteristics of successful men and women in every walk of life is that they have very clearly defined ideals and they are very aware of whether or not their current behaviors are consistent with their idealized behaviors. Set Challenging Goals Part of your ideals are your goals. As you set higher and more challenging goals, your self-ideal improves and crystallizes. When you set goals for the kind of person you want to be and the kind of life you want to live, your self-ideal rises and becomes a greater guiding and motivating force in your life. Your Future is Unlimited Perhaps the most important thing for you to realize is that whatever anyone else has done or become, you can do or become as well. Improvements in your self-ideal begin in your imagination, and in your imagination, there are no limits except the ones that you accept. What is your ideal vision of the very best person you could possibly become? How would you behave each day if you were already that person? Asking yourself these questions and then living your life consistent with the answers is the first step to creating yourself in your ideal image. Action Exercises Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action. First, dream big dreams. Set big, exciting, challenging goals and ideals for yourself in every part of your life. Allow yourself to imagine a wonderful life ahead. Second, think about how you would act if you were an outstanding person in every way. Then, practice being this person, as though you were acting a role in a play. You'll immediately notice a difference in your behavior.

Three Keys To Personal Power

By: Brian Tracy There are three personality powers that top leaders use to increase their personal power and influence. Your Emotions Are Contagious The first power you can develop is enthusiasm. The more excited you are about accomplishing something that is important to you, the more excited others will be about helping you to do it. The fact is that emotions are contagious. The more passion you have for your life and your activities, the more charisma you will possess, and the more cooperation you will gain from others. Every great man or woman has been totally committed to a noble cause and, as a result, has attracted the support and encouragement of others in many cases, thousands or millions of others. The Key to Charisma The second personality power that you can develop is expertise, or competence. The more knowledgeable you are perceived to be in your field, the more charisma you will have among those who respect and admire that knowledge because of the impact it can have on their lives. This is also the power of excellence, of being recognized by others as an outstanding performer in your field. Men and women who do their jobs extremely well and who are recognized for the quality of their work are those who naturally attract the help and support of others. They have charisma. Prepare Thoroughly for Every Event The third power of personality that gives you charisma in the eyes of others is thorough preparation, detailed preparation, prior to undertaking any significant task. Whether you are calling on a prospect, meeting with your boss, giving a public talk or making any other kind of presentation, when you are well-prepared, it becomes clear to everyone. The careers of many young people are put onto the fast track as a result of their coming to an important meeting after having done all their homework. Get on Top of Your Subject Whether it takes you hours or even days, if an upcoming meeting or interaction is important, take the time to get on top of your subject. Be so thoroughly prepared that nothing can faze you. Think through and consider every possibility and every ramification. Often, this effort to be fully prepared will do more to generate the respect of others than anything else you can do. Keep Good Notes Remember that the power is always on the side of the person who has done the most preparation and has the best notes. Everything counts. Leave nothing to chance. When you do something related to your work or career, take the time to do it right the first time. You are a work in progress. You are always growing and improving. Your job is to become the very best leader you can be, and you can - with regular and persistent practice of these personality powers. Action Exercises Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action. First, get excited about your goals and your work if you want others to be excited. Express your belief and commitment to others at every opportunity. Second, dedicate yourself to a lifelong process of getting better and better at what you do. Prepare thoroughly for every event. Set an example in everything you do.

Be An Optimist At All Times

By: Brian Tracy Everyone wants to be physically healthy. You want to be mentally healthy as well. The true measure of "mental fitness" is how optimistic you are about yourself and your life. In this newsletter, you learn how to control your thinking in very specific ways so that you feel terrific about yourself and your situation, no matter what happens. Control Your Reactions and Responses There are three basic differences in the reactions of optimists and pessimists. The first difference is that the optimist sees a setback as temporary, while the pessimist sees it as permanent. The optimist sees an unfortunate event, such as an order that falls through or a sales call that fails, as a temporary event, something that is limited in time and that has no real impact on the future. The pessimist, on the other hand, sees negative events as permanent, as part of life and destiny. Isolate the Incident The second difference between the optimist and the pessimist is that the optimist sees difficulties as specific, while the pessimist sees them as pervasive. This means that when things go wrong for the optimist, he looks at the event as an isolated incident largely disconnected from other things that are going on in his life. See Setbacks as Temporary Events For example, if something you were counting on failed to materialize and you interpreted it to yourself as being an unfortunate event, but something that happens in the course of life and business, you would be reacting like an optimist. The pessimist, on the other hand, sees disappointments as being pervasive. That is, to him they are indications of a problem or shortcoming that pervades every area of life. Don't Take Failure Personally The third difference between optimists and pessimists is that optimists see events as external, while pessimists interpret events as personal. When things go wrong, the optimist will tend to see the setback as resulting from external factors over which one has little control. If the optimist is cut off in traffic, for example, instead of getting angry or upset, he will simply downgrade the importance of the event by saying something like, "Oh, well, I guess that person is just having a bad day." The pessimist on the other hand, has a tendency to take everything personally. If the pessimist is cut off in traffic, he will react as though the other driver has deliberately acted to upset and frustrate him. Remain Calm and Objective The hallmark of the fully mature, fully functioning, self-actualizing personality is the ability to be objective and unemotional when caught up in the inevitable storms of daily life. The superior person has the ability to continue talking to himself in a positive and optimistic way, keeping his mind calm, clear and completely under control. The mature personality is more relaxed and aware and capable of interpreting events more realistically and less emotionally than is the immature personality. As a result, the mature person exerts a far greater sense of control and influence over his environment, and is far less likely to be angry, upset, or distracted. Take the Long View Look upon the inevitable setbacks that you face as being temporary, specific and external. View the negative situation as a single event that is not connected to other potential events and that is caused largely by external factors over which you can have little control. Simply refuse to see the event as being in any way permanent, pervasive or indicative of personal incompetence of inability. Resolve to think like an optimist, no matter what happens. You may not be able to control events but you can control the way you react to them. Action Exercises Now, here are three actions you can take immediately to put these ideas into action. First, remind yourself continually that setbacks are only temporary, they will soon be past and nothing is as serious as you think it is. Second, look upon each problem as a specific event, not connected to other events and not indicative of a pattern of any kind. Deal with it and get on with your life. Third, recognize that when things go wrong, they are usually caused by a variety of external events. Say to yourself, "What can't be cured must be endured," and then get back to thinking about your goals. Develop amazing self-confidence and be unstoppable in everything you do! Think of all the things you could do if you enjoyed super levels of self-confidence... your career would be booming, offers would be flying your way, everyone would want to be with you. You would have more opportunities to find that "special someone."

Give Up or Get Up!

Every leader experience both good and bad days. The key question on your bad day is: Are you going to give up or get up? And how can you get up? 1. Rise above self-pity. Failure is an attitude, not just an outcome. 2. Think positively. Success come by going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. 3. Learn from your experiences. Failure isn't failure unless you learn nothing from it. 4. See alternatives. All successful leaders vary their approaches. 5. Develop a sens of humor. Laughter id the shortest distance between two people and the fastest way to get perspective. 6. Be realistic. The first job of the leader is to define reality. 7. Establish new goals. Failure is an opportunity to begin again, but more intelligently. 8. Develop a passion. Your own resolution to succeed counts for more than anything else. 9. Broaden your base of support. No single venture should support your entire emotional life. 10. Separate your self-worth from your performance. A positive self-image prepares you for success. John Maxwell Leadership Bible

Accepting Yourself Unconditionally

By: Brian Tracy How Are You Treated By Others? Self-acceptance begins in infancy, with the influence of your parents and siblings and other important people. Your own level of self-acceptance is determined largely by how well you feel you are accepted by the important people in your life. Your attitude toward yourself is determined largely by the attitudes that you think other people have toward you. When you believe that other people think highly of you, your level of self-acceptance and self-esteem goes straight up. The best way to build a healthy personality involves understanding yourself and your feelings. Let the Light Shine In This is achieved through the simple exercise of self-disclosure. For you to truly understand yourself, or to stop being troubled by things that may have happened in your past, you must be able to disclose yourself to at least one person. You have to be able to get those things off your chest. You must rid yourself of those thoughts and feelings by revealing them to someone who won't make you feel guilty or ashamed for what has happened. Understand What Makes You Tick The second part of personality development follows from self-disclosure, and it's called self-awareness. Only when you can disclose what you're truly thinking and feeling to someone else can you become aware of those thoughts and emotions If the other person simply listens to you without commenting or criticizing, you have the opportunity to become more aware of the person you are and why you do the things you do. You begin to develop perspective, or what the Buddhists call "detachment." Be Honest With Yourself Now we come to the good part. After you've gone through self-disclosure to self-awareness, you arrive at self-acceptance. You accept yourself for the person you are, with good points and bad points, with strengths and weaknesses, and with the normal frailties of a human being. When you develop the ability to stand back and look at yourself honestly, and to candidly admit to others that you may not be perfect but you're all you've got, you start to enjoy a heightened sense of self-acceptance. Do An Inventory of Your Accomplishments A valuable exercise for developing higher levels of self-acceptance involves doing an inventory of yourself. In doing this inventory, your job is to accentuate the positive and minimize the negative. Think of your unique talents and abilities. Think of your core skills, the things that you do exceptionally well that account for your success in your profession and in your personal life right now. Think About Your Future Think about your future possibilities and the fact that your potential is virtually unlimited. You can do what you want to do and go where you want to go. You can be the person you want to be. You can set large and small goals and make plans and move step-by-step, progressively toward their realization. There are no obstacles to what you can accomplish except the obstacles that you create in your mind. Action Exercises Here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action: First, sit down with your spouse, or a good friend, and tell him or her about something that is troubling you and is still causing you unhappiness. Second, develop perspective on your problem by standing back from it and imagining that it was happening to someone else. What advice would you give to that person? Third, think continually about the good experiences and accomplishments you have enjoyed in the past. Remind yourself regularly that you are a pretty good person and you've done a lot of good things in your life.

Nine, Six, Nine

9.69 seconds. That was the new world-record time set by Usain Bolt in the 100 meter dash this week at the Olympics. Let me tell you how much that one race just changed an entire sport forever - and how this directly relates to you. First, in sprinting, it's been common knowledge that most elite sprinters are around 5'10" and shorter. That's just the way it's always been. If you were taller, you would usually do a different event like the hurdles or high jump. But Usain is 6'5" - he literally dwarfs all the other sprinters. And yet, he just shattered the world record. Now, I can bet you all coaches will look at athletes differently for sprinting. Think about how this relates to life. We are always put into a certain mold. We are conditioned at an early age to believe certain myths as "truths". If your parents were fat, you will be fat. You should just look for a job with good benefits to be "secure". Listen to your voice deep down in your soul. NEVER let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do. There really are no limits.

The Kaizen Method

The Kaizen Method: How to Use this Japanese Philosophy to Achieve Your Most Challenging Goals by Brian Vaszily, founder of IntenseExperiences.com “Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson How many of your big goals, big dreams, and big projects have still not been achieved? How many have been relegated to the “I’ll Get to It Later” or “Maybe Someday” or even the “Forget It, It’s Impossible” files of your life? It’s time to pull them out, because using the kaizen method you can, and you will. Accomplish the great task by a series of small acts. - Tao Te Ching “Kaizen” is an underlying philosophy that drives the Japanese business world, and it is particularly associated with Toyota Motor Corporation. Loosely translated it means “continuous improvement,” and the kaizen method works in accordance with human nature and common sense, resulting in a most efficient and effective way to achieve major goals. In Japan’s corporate world, that translates to the fastest successful completion of large projects and shifts in doing business with big savings in terms of time and money. There are multiple dimensions to kaizen, but for the purposes of rapidly and dramatically improving your productivity and well-being, we’ll focus on its commitment to taking small, manageable steps to make big changes. It is about both shifting the way you see as well as do when it comes to the projects and goals in your life. To understand this, it is important to realize what you innately already know well: the human brain is highly resistant to big changes. Though it may not resemble Dick Cheney, your brain is highly conservative and cannot stand the idea of having to push itself and the rest of you to do things very differently. Big change goes against human nature and so your brain fears what it perceives as likely failure. On the other hand, your brain is a-ok with having to make small changes. Small shifts in the routine are inevitable, they happen every day, and your brain is quite used to them. In fact, your brain would freak out and possibly assume you were dead if it wasn’t routinely facing small changes. So when you read a new dietary book and decide “I’ve got to abandon everything I’m regularly consuming and start eating in an entirely different way” … or you buy a home gym and decide “Instead of sitting on the couch I’ve got to work out five days a week” … or inspired by J.K. Rowling’s billion-dollar-plus net worth you decide “I’m going to write a book series as successful as Harry Potter” … your brain shouts back “No way, that’s way too much to do, too much change, far too overwhelming. Just hand me the remote and let’s see what’s on TV.” And you put things off to tomorrow. And then to the tomorrow after that. And so on. The big projects and the big goals go unachieved. To put it another way, bite off more than you’re brain wants to chew and you’re going to choke. Work With, Not Against, Your Brain … with the Kaizen Method As mentioned, kaizen is as much about seeing as it is doing. If your brain sees that, at the point B you desire to get to from your current point A, you are going to be eating completely different foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks than you currently enjoy, it wants to run the other way. That’s a big change. If, on the other hand, it sees that you merely want to make a small change -- you are just going to replace the soda pop you normally drink at lunch with a glass of water – it thinks, “Yeah, no big deal, we can achieve that, that’s cool.” You will then do that small change and, because mentally it is not an overwhelming challenge, be very likely to succeed. And then a few days to a few weeks later, you can incorporate the next small change recommended in the big dietary program you ultimately want to call your own… “Starting today we’re going to stop eating Twinkies for our evening snack and instead we’re going to eat some kind of fruit or vegetable, okay brain?” “Well I love Twinkies, but if it will help us feel better and live longer and you’re only stopping them in the evening then okay, we can do that.” “Yeah, only in the evening, don’t worry brain.” (Wink wink.) Obviously, using kaizen to succeed at making healthy changes in your life is just one example. Kaizen can and should be applied to absolutely every large-scale project and goal you have: Not getting enough sleep at night? Instead of shifting your life too dramatically and trying to go to bed two hours earlier starting tomorrow, just commit to going to bed ten minutes earlier every night this week. Then next week, work on another ten minutes earlier than that, and so on. Want to improve a combative relationship? Instead of agreeing never to argue again, agree to make one day per week an “argument-free zone.” Then after a month agree to add another day to the zone, and so on. Need to move a hill from one side of your yard to another? Try to push and shove the whole hill and you are bound for failure. Instead commit to moving just ten shovelfuls of dirt today, ten tomorrow, and so on. By breaking your intimidating mammoth project down into small manageable goals – seeing each of the small goals and then only concerning yourself with successfully doing whatever small goal is next on your list – you’ll be amazed at the impossible you can achieve. Kaizen!

How to Overcome Bad Days, Negative People & Challenging Situations by Using Contrast

By Brian Vaszily, Founder of IntenseExperiences.com Ask yourself what it is that is bothering you. Then determine what that thing’s opposite may be, how to contrast it, and do it. Before I start to make this too complex, here’s what your brain may often try to bury but that you’ll find incredibly obvious .. and worth remembering: When it’s dark, you don’t need to stumble fearfully through it. You don’t need to pity yourself for being placed in it. You don’t need to let the dark own you. Instead, shed light. There are innumerable ways at your fingertips to do so … so shed light. Put another way, when you feel consumed by a person, place, situation or state of being that is disagreeable or disturbing, contrast it with its opposite. You have the power, and just as it does in interior design, cooking, painting, and music, contrast can work wonders in improving your bad days and your life. Don’t Try to Analyze the Disturber When Disturbed Unfortunately what most people try to do instead is analyze, think through, and confront the thing that is disturbing them. But that only makes them more swallowed by the thing, and therefore more disturbed. There certainly can be a time and place for such analysis, but it is not when you’re in the jaws of the thing ... it’s when you are calm, collected and back to who you are. Anyone who has ever had a heated argument with their children or spouse understands this principle: the temptation is to make your point, and no matter how forceful the words you choose or how loud they come out, you’re going to do it by God! Of course the same goes for your counterpart in the argument. And so the quarrel goes nowhere but into deeper frustration (and headaches, and compromised immune systems, etc.) for you both. The right move in such a situation – the contrast that should be employed as quickly as possible to prevent verbal bombs from dropping – is of course solitude for both parties. When each person goes to a quiet, peaceful place – their cave, a room of their own, their secret garden – calmness can settle back in and they are far more apt to consider the situation and one another fairly, and eventually come back to the discussion more equitably. Fight Fire with Water, Not Fire And so it goes for all the other challenging situations and states in your life… If you spend your day crunching numbers or pushing papers and its slowly crushing your spirit, be sure to routinely contrast with music, literature, film and the other arts. If you’ve just been barked at by a boss, be sure to contrast by calling a good friend who routinely brightens your life and plan your next outing together. If the mainstream media has you gritting your teeth in anger or shaking your head in terms, be sure to contrast with the positive news you’ll find in the free IntenseExperiences.com newsletter, or in an excellent novel, or in your favorite spiritual texts. If your work demands that you spend your days parked in an office chair, be sure to routinely contrast with sports, exercise and other physical activities. Ask yourself what it is that is bothering you. Then determine what that thing’s opposite may be, how to contrast it, and do it. When you feel run into the ground, reach for the clouds. When you feel stuck, make a bold move. When you fear death, embrace life. When it’s dark, shed light. You have the ability, and though your thoughts and worries are always trying to get in the way, the power of employing contrast to improve your life is eternally obvious. And grey and rainy as it tries to be, today is now a sunny and vibrant day.

For Those Feeling Sorrow

A Short Note for Those Feeling Sorrow By Brian Vaszily, Founder of IntenseExperiences.com It is our human inclination to want to feel good. To be happy. That is what we do and should strive toward – happiness. But that does not mean that you won’t experience sorrow. If you live life, sorrow will happen. The more you live, and the more you love, the greater the rewards, but also the greater the sorrows. Some of these sorrows will come and then eventually go. But other sorrows are so deep that they will remain for good. For example, the sorrow of breaking up with a first girlfriend or boyfriend, while it can be remarkably intense at the time, will fade over the years into a learning experience, one you may even smile at someday. The sorrow of losing a child, on the other hand, will remain a part of you for as long as you remain. Whether it may someday fade or forever linger, when you are amidst it, sorrow is sorrow. The pain cannot be rationalized away. The pain cannot be masked. Nor, however, does the sorrow mean you are not allowed to feel happiness. Indeed, the sorrow is there to be embraced so that, even through it, you may feel a greater sense of joy. Not necessarily the joy of immediate laughter, but the deeper joy of gratitude. Instead of trying to run from or mask sorrow, it is there to be embraced and nurtured. Sorrow means you were given a gift; that pain means you were given something worth rejoicing in. In a world with absolutely no guarantees, you were granted something beautiful for a while. Whether it was a relationship or another being that was important to your being or something else, you were granted a gift so worthwhile that sorrow has blossomed inside you now that the something is gone. Imagine a world without such gifts. That would be true tragedy. “Tis better to have loved and to have lost then to have never loved at all.” As usual, the Bard was right. Amidst your sadness, rejoice that you were given something that is worth the sorrow you feel now that it is gone. All things including sorrow have a side that points toward shade and a side that points toward sun; be sure to also dwell on this sun side of the sorrow … the beauty, the joy, the gift of whatever or whomever you were given, in whatever amount of time it was granted to you in its physical form. And if, by the way, you feel you did not cherish the gift that is now gone enough while it was here, recognize these two keys: first, just as you forgive others for being human, you must forgive yourself. Think of someone you love dearly – perhaps this is the very person you are feeling sorrow over – and then ask yourself what you’d forgive them for. Are you not worth that same level of compassion? Second, remember that you have done something right enough to recognize the value of the gift … you don’t feel sorrow for something you don’t cherish. And it is never too late to feel such gratitude, to cherish. That is the beauty of the gift. You may no longer be able to get what or who it is that you hurt for back. But the bounty of the gift remains. Your sorrow proves it. So embrace it. It will help you remain aware of the greater happiness that the sorrow is wrapped within. It will help you move toward all the joys you so deserve. And there are plenty of them. They too are waiting for you.

Motivational Quotes

The Motivational Quotes In order to be effective truth must penetrate like an arrow -- and that is likely to hurt. -- Wei Wu Wei It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. –- Harry Truman The longer you stay in one place, the greater your chance of disillusionment. -- Art Spander Many of the things you can count, don't count. Many of the things you can't count, really count. - -Albert Einstein The dreamers are the saviors of the world. -- James Allen I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am in. -- The Bible, Phillipians 4:11 (NASB) Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. -- Howard Thurman It is never too late to be what you might have been. -- George Eliot He who cannot forgive others destroys a bridge over which he himself must pass. -- George Herbert It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are. -- e.e. cummings Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something. -- H. Jackson Brown Jr. What may be done at any time will be done at no time. – Scottish Proverb The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you. -- John E. Southard How does one become a butterfly? You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar. -– Trina Paulus In times like these it helps to recall there have always been times like these. -- Paul Harvey Say what you want to say when you have the feeling and the chance. My greatest regrets are the things I did not do, the opportunities missed and the things unsaid. -- Jim Keller We read the world wrong and say that it deceives us. --Rabindranth Tagore Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. --Carl Jung You can have anything you want if you are willing to give up the belief that you can't have it. --Robert Anthony It is not what we take up, but what we give up, that makes us rich. — Henry Ward Beecher If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be too cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down. --Annie Dillard The true measure of an individual is how he treats a person who can do him absolutely no good. -- Ann Landers Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional. We cannot avoid pain, but we can avoid joy. -- Tim Hansel The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. -- Henry David Thoreau Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you’re alive, it isn’t. -- Richard Bach It’s not about time, it’s about choices. How are you spending your choices? -- Beverly Adamo Every great story on the planet happened when someone decided not to give up, but kept going no matter what. -- Spryte Loriano (submitted by Beverly Adamo) My main goal in life is to be the person my dog thinks I am. -- Author Unknown (submitted by Kathy Anderson, Florissant, MO) Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less.
 -- Rabbi Julius Gordon People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle. -- Thich Nhat Hanh (submitted by Tara McClintick) Too may people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are. -- Malcolm Forbes(submitted by Steve) When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So, what the hell, leap. -- Cynthia Heimel No seed ever sees the flower. -– Zen Saying Happiness? 
It is an illusion to think that more comfort means more happiness.
 Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply,
 to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life,
 to be needed. -- Storm Jameson (submitted by Bobbie ) The best way to predict the future is to create it. 
 --Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee (submitted by Kandy Kremnetz) Hindsight is an exact science. -- Guy Bellamy (submitted by Penny) The elephant strides at its own gait -- but the dogs do trail behind and bark. -- Kabir (submitted by Teresa Molinaro) We are where we should be, doing what we should be doing, otherwise we would be somewhere else doing something else. --Richard Stine (submitted by Kim Gebron) The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of Heaven. -- John Milton We are disturbed not by what happens to us, but by our thoughts about what happens to us. -– Epictetus A great many people think they are thinking, when they are merely rearranging their prejudices. -- David Bohm (submitted by Valter Prahad) A light heart lives long. -- William Shakespeare (submitted by Sarah Gaulden) You are your own scriptwriter and the play is never finished, no matter what your age or position in life. -- Dennis Waitley (submitted by Jennifer) When you get to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught how to fly. -– Edward Teller (submitted by Barb Schenk) I always win. Because I come out of every situation still whole, still new, and still capable of moving forward. Every experience of my life moves me on to my next experience. All my experiences teach me wisdom, give me courage, and set me free to go on living. -- Kenny Shultz (submitted by Sherri Fransen) Some days you’re the dog some day you’re the hydrant. -– Unknown (submitted by Justin Doyle) The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes. -- Frank Lloyd Wright (submitted by Sarah) How people treat you is their Karma. How you respond is yours. --Wayne Dyer (submitted by Itala) Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right. -– Henry Ford (submitted by Tom Finn, Woodbridge, IA) When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. -- Jimmi Hendrix (submitted by Julie Glenn) We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. -- Aristotle (submitted by Kate) If you aren't going all the way, why go at all? -- Joe Namath To carry a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee. -- William Walton Our ultimate freedom is the right and power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us. -- Stephen Covey All sin lies in harming others unnecessarily; all other "sin" is invented nonsense. -- Robert Heinlein Thus I reel from desire to fulfillment and in fulfillment languish for desire. -- Goethe Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought. -- Albert Szent-Gyorgi As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world -- that is the myth of the atomic age -- as in being able to remake ourselves. -- Mahatma Gandhi It is not how much you do, but how much Love you put into the doing that matters. -- Mother Teresa You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses. -- Ziggy, comic strip character created by Tom Wilson (submitted by Parm Singh)