Fear and Desire

It has been suggested that pain and pleasure are the two main motivators in life -- that whatever we do, it is a function of obtaining pleasure or avoiding, reducing, or eliminating pain.  Everything else, then, would boil down to one of these two factors.  What blows my mind even more is that it isn't actual pain or actual pleasure that drives us, but rather the perception we have that taking a certain action would LEAD to pain or pleasure. 

So essentially what REALLY drives us is fear and desire.

Plan B

If there's one thing I've learned in life it's that you NEED a back up plan.  We can try to "will away" the bad stuff, but do you honestly believe that nothing bad will ever happen in your life?  Besides that, it's not what happens to us that determines our success; it's how we deal with what happens to us. 

Read any book or watch any movie (especially the biographical ones) and you'll discover that the main character in the story comes off heroic, not because of how lucky they were, but how they triumphed over some negative thing in their life.  Iron is shaped through fire, and our destinies are shaped through adversity.  That being said, we need to have an alternate workout plan for those times when life gets in the way. 

Strategic Approach to Fitness

As a trainer, it is almost second nature to tell you all about the success stories I’ve helped to create. In fact, this article will kind of go against the grain as I discuss with you the “not-so-successful” stories.

The message I’m conveying to you today isn’t going to be about successful folks who have lost 50 or 60 pounds on a program (any program) and then continued to lose on their own. Instead, I’m writing about individuals who may have done well on a program, but then lost their momentum after its completion.

Back on Track

I’ve been getting a lot of emails lately from people who have slipped up or gotten off track, or for whatever reason, just plain aren’t doing what needs to be done.  Listen, it happens.  So today, I thought I’d share with you a 4-phase plan that I created to get back on track and get back in the gym. 

Why the magic pill will never be invented (at least not successfully)

The tip of the iceberg.  It's a popular saying.  When I was growing up, it was just a meaningless expression.  Oh, I knew the connotation.  I knew it meant that there was more to the subject, but it was kind of like the term "elbow grease."  It had no literal meaning, only the figurative one. 

One day while listening to an audio clip from Steven Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, the phrase took on new meaning to me.  He stated it in a way I'd never heard before. 

Inspirational

12 Tips to Embrace Adventure

Own Your Beauty is a groundbreaking, year-long movement bringing women together to change the conversation about what beauty means. Our mission: to encourage and remind grown women that it is never too late to learn to love one's self and influence the lives of those around us - our mothers, friends, children, neighbors. We can shift our minds and hearts and change the path we follow in the pursuit of authentic beauty.

Despite having her right leg amputated at age five, Bonnie St. John became the first African-American ever to win Olympic medals in ski racing at the 1984 Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria. In recognition of this historic achievement, Bonnie was honored at the White House by President George W. Bush as part of the 2007 celebration of Black History Month.

In addition to her success as a Paralympic athlete, Bonnie is the author of five books, a highly sought after keynote speaker, a television and radio personality, a business owner, and the single mother of a teenage daughter. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard, won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, and served in the White House during the Clinton administration.

NBC Nightly News called Bonnie, "One of the five most inspiring women in America." She has been featured extensively in both national and international media including: The TODAY Show, CNN, CBS Morning News, NBC News, and The New York Times, as well as People, O, andEssence magazines, to name just a few.

Click Here to read Bonnie's 12 tips for Embracing Adventure in Your Life.