08 Monday Jun 2020
Posted in Workout Routine
The Gyms are finally opening in my neck of the woods and I am stoked!
Workout routine:
Monday – Saturday: Full-body weight circuit (1 set to get back into a full-fledged weight lifting routine.
See you at the finish line!
Dave
06 Wednesday May 2020
Posted in Wisdom Wednesday
Tags
Engaged, Love, passion, Time stands still, Unique, wisdom, Wisdom Wednesday, Yours
Where does your joy come from?
What is the one thing you would do for free and feel completely fulfilled?
Is there one thing you could do that makes the time fly by because you are so engaged with it?
All of us have that one thing we love to do, but never have time for. I realize many in my readership still work, still have responsibilities, and that requires a certain amount of your time. What do you do with the rest of your day?
The “rest of your day” is what remains when you’ve handled the things you “have to do”. Maybe you work. Maybe you have a family to take care of. I just finished a Master Class course by James Patterson. When he began writing his first book, he wrote every day at 5 am before he went to work. By the way, his “work” at the time was copywriting. So writing is James Patterson’s one thing.
If you look at any of the greats, you’ll see they gravitated toward what they loved and made it work. If you find that one thing or a few things you really love doing, no one will have to tell you when to do it. You won’t be able to wait.
If you want to pursue something in your life, pursue that thing you love doing. You’ll naturally put everything you have into it. You won’t need to drag yourself to do it. You’ll outwork everyone else in the field because it is just that much fun—to you!
I wish I could wave a wand and tell you what yours is. I can’t. It took me many years to figure that out for myself. Your area could be drawing, pottery, playing an instrument, or playing video games. It could be reading. It could be collecting stamps, coins, or something else. Heck, it could be blogging.
Take some time to think through this. Maybe on a Saturday or Sunday when you have more time on your hands. Whatever your day is to do this type of thinking/contemplation, take some time to do it.
How did I find my “thing” you ask? Well, I looked at my life and sought out that thing I did when time evaporated. What was I doing? What did I do? When I was young, I played Dungeons and Dragons. I had to create adventures for a group of my friends. This creation called for drawing out maps, creating characters, putting together plots, and doing enough of that to keep four of my friends busy for up to 8 hours every time we got together. Writing. Writing is the time I lose myself. Writing is when I gain the most joy. Writing is my thing.
Am I a great writer? Who knows? Will I be a best-selling author? I don’t care. I love to write and create worlds that I enjoy. This is all for me and no one else. I’m taking Dan Brown’s Master Class (he wrote the Da Vinci Code and many other books). He stated the same thing in one of his classes. “Write what you would want to read. If other people like it—terrific. If not, who cares. It’s your book.” (I’m paraphrasing).
The whole point of finding what you love is for you. It isn’t about making a lot of money or being famous. It is about doing what completes you. What is that thing? You find that and you’re on your way to a very fulfilling life.
Well, that’s all I got for today, folks. I hope you have a terrific day!
Until next time…
Dave
30 Wednesday Oct 2019
Posted in Wisdom Wednesday
Tags
Attachment, Detachment, Fear, Frozen, Ignore the Naysayers, Love, Paralysis, passion
“If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” – Dale Carnegie
Fear hits me from time-to-time. sometimes I’m fearful that my writing won’t be good enough when I begin publishing my work. Sometimes I fear that I won’t learn to be a good programmer so I can create applications people will want to part with their money to own or use. Sometimes I fear that this blog will go nowhere. I’ll write here and no one will care one way or another.
Fear only takes hold when you are attached to something you want or desire. Eliminate that want or desire and fear dissipates. It’s hard, but it makes sense right? When I look at my writing or blogging fears, I only care about what others think of my writing when I desire or want others to like what I’ve done here. When I write for me, the fear disappears. The same thing happens when I remember that I am doing all the things I do for me and me alone. If someone likes my book, they’ll purchase it. If they don’t they won’t. I have no control over who will like or dislike my book. I have no control over who follows my blog or who elects not to. I have no control over anyone other than myself.
It’s comforting when I realize that all I do is for me and me alone. If, by chance, another person enjoys my writing, my blog, or my future applications, awesome! If not, who cares?
I realize I am in a unique position. I am retired and financially secure. It’s easy for me to take this attitude when my livelihood isn’t at risk. For others, this may not be as easy as it is for me. I get that. However, you can still achieve the same thing for yourself. When you develop an attitude of detachment, you do the best you can with what you have, and leave it there. You’ll discover how great it is to stop worrying about your critics. The key is to do things for yourself.
If you have a job, you need to please your boss and do the best you can to keep your job. But if you are pursuing things on the side like writing, online teaching, writing a mobile app, or whatever, this is the time you give yourself a break. Do it for the love of doing it. I enjoy writing. I enjoy learning. I enjoy reading and learning. I enjoy keeping myself healthy. I enjoy spiritual pursuits. I only do what I love to do. You can do the same, outside your day job.
You may not have as much time as I do, but you can still get a lot done with the limited time you have.
One of the biggest discoveries I have made since retirement is the benefit of completing small actions toward my goals every day. For example, I set a goal of reading 48 books this year (4 books a month on average). I read one chapter a day. Sometimes, if I have more time than usual, I read more than one chapter. Currently, I am at 61 books so far this year. Just by consistently reading one chapter each day without fail. This compounding is powerful. You can do the same thing.
When I write, I goal myself to write 500 words a day in my book. I started in January and I’ll finish the first draft by the end of this year. Again, 500 words a day, which amounts to about 15 minutes of work. I also write articles for my blog every day, journal every day in the AM and PM, and write discussion board responses for the online course I am taking. None of these feels like work because I absolutely love everything I am doing. It is a joy to get up in the morning and begin my work.
Fear is a powerful emotion. It can stop you in your tracks or talk you into believing that any effort you make is a waste of time. It will tell you that your work is not good enough. It will paralyze you. Let fear go by letting go of any expectation of outside applause or approval. Do the work or side hustle you’ve committed to for the love of it. If you don’t love it–STOP. This is your time, not your boss’ time. This is what you choose to do when you are not on the clock. Love what you do, lose your need for approval. The folks who love what they do will always do better than those who do not love what they do.
I’ll stop here. I hope all of you have a terrific Wednesday!
Until next time…
Dave
15 Monday Jul 2019
Posted in Motivation Monday
Tags
Commitment, Dedication, Exercising, Focus, Learning, Meditating, motivation, passion, Reading, Writing
Image by rawpixel from Pixabay
Happy Monday!
What do you have planned this week? I had a great conversation with my wife yesterday. She just placed 2nd and 5th in two different bodybuilding categories at a competition in Las Vegas. I asked her what she did to get into the shape she got into for the competition. Here’s a bit.
Two workout sessions each day in the final 8 weeks. She does 1 hour of cardio (treadmill) followed by 45 minutes in the Sauna. She eats only chicken, rice, oatmeal (dry), protein shake, and egg whites. In the last 4 days, prior to the competition, she ate only chicken with ¼ cup of rice in the evening. Her weight training sessions are an hour to an hour and a half after a long day of work (she’s a special education teacher). She eats about 1.5 lbs of chicken each day. The only thing she can drink is water. No coffee, no tea, no soda, no protein shakes, nothing.
Sounds tough right? Not if you are driven, dedicated, and motivated and love what you are doing. My wife loves exercise and lifting and competing. To her this is not that big of a deal. She inspires me.
The picture above is in Las Vegas this last Saturday. So proud of my wife!!!
So what do you want to do, but can’t seem to get yourself to do? Take a measure of your motivation. Do you really want to do this? Is there something else you would rather do? Find something that really motivates you. Maybe your drives lead you to writing a book, starting a business, learning a new language, traveling, or something else. Find that thing. Find the thing you can dedicate your time to without breaking yourself against your own willpower.
We all need to exercise and eat right. These are a given, but we don’t need to put ourselves into a situation like my wife does. She does it because she loves it. Find that thing that you need to put a little effort into, but is really effortless. We all have that one or two things that we are excited about.
Here are the things I enjoy every day. I love exercising, reading, writing, meditating, and learning. I also love video games, movies, and music. I exercise every day. I read every day. I write every day. I meditate every day (twice), and I love learning (I’m learning computer programming via Codecademy). Initially, I had to figure out how to get all these things into my day. Once I figured out how to get all of these things into my day, I moved to tracking them by putting them on a to-do list that repeats indefinitely. I used Google tasks for this process. Google tasks is available in your Gmail account, can be displayed to the right of Google calendar, and is an app you can download to your phone. Since most of my work is on my computer, I keep track of what I’ve done and what I haven’t done on my computer using the task list in Google Calendar.
Start small, especially if you are trying something new. When I built my reading habit, it was literally reading just a few pages each day. Now I’m up to a chapter a day. I read a few pages in my Bible and then I read a chapter.
What about scheduling you ask? Well, that depends on your life. I’m retired so my schedule is a little more dynamic. I tend to just tackle what I need to in no specific order. My exercise routine used to be first thing in the morning, but that’s tough when either my Mom or I have to be home to take care of my Dad. He has “episodes” where he literally passes out and someone must be here every day with him to make sure we are around to revive him if this happens. So, I have to work around my Mom’s errands and such so one of us can be with Dad. No problem. I can exercise with my exercise bands, I can use one of my exercise apps. The rest is all at my computer, so not a big deal.
You may be working, so you’ll have to look at what you want to do daily and physically schedule this stuff in on your calendar at specific times. Find out what you are truly passionate about and get to work.
Here’s my plan for the upcoming week:
I hope each of you has a great week!
Until next time…
Dave
30 Saturday Mar 2019
Posted in Spiritual Saturday
Self-discipline is an absolute necessity if one is to have a productive spiritual life. Replace old tastes and preferences with new, better ones. But do it in the name of the Holy Spirit, with love and a sincere heart, or nothing will come of this experiment.
—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul
Self-discipline is nothing more than doing what you agree to do. These agreements can be about your exercise routine, your diet, planning your day, and any other topic you can think of that requires effort. A person who can evaluate themselves and come up with a game plan to improve weaknesses or bolster their strengths are powerful people. They can do anything because they are willing to commit and stick with it.
Change is difficult. Evaluating yourself is difficult. Holding yourself to a new standard is also difficult. Self-discipline enables these and more.
So many people just ramble through life. They occupy their time with meaningless activities with no forethought. Think about all the people who literally live on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or Pinterest. What are they accomplishing?
Are you happy with your life? If so, change nothing. Keep doing what you are doing. It’s your life. If you’re happy and fulfilled, why change anything. This article is for the rest of us that are not happy with our current circumstances. We want to lose weight, get in better shape, eat better, and build skills that will garner us the ability to make an income throughout our lives.
Where do you start? This is probably the hardest thing to do—decide. We only have so many hours in the day. What will you spend your time on? Do you want to write a book, start a blog, or create poetry? Do you want to learn a new language? Do you want to start an exercise program? Do you want to start a business? What other things can you do each day that will contribute and build?
I started my search online. I wanted to know what I could do to improve my life, make lasting change, and build skills that would provide me with an income as I pursue a third career. I chose specific areas of my life to look at. These areas are Physical (eating right, getting enough sleep, and exercise), Mental (reading and learning every day), Social (staying connected with friends and family and make new friends and connections), and Spiritual (daily meditation, religious readings, attending spiritual events and retreats).
The areas I want to learn are two-fold. Write books (nonfiction and fiction) and learn how to write computer programs. Once I began my investigation into these areas, I found all kinds of resources to help me on my quest. These are now daily habits that I dedicate my time to. I write every day for this blog and work on my books. I also code every day. I have made great strides in both areas because I do a little each day to add to my abilities.
I need a little discipline in these areas because I love both. I love writing and I love coding. They are closely related because a programming language has rules and a whole new language to learn to enable my code to work. Book writing is a combination of actual writing every day and learning the craft. I try to read a writing book daily and find courses online that can teach me the various aspects of writing whether these classes are on grammar, style, or the specifics of writing a book. There are books on plot development, world building, and character development. The learning never ceases.
What are your passions? What would you like to do with the rest of your life when you retire? Do you want to keep working? Do you want multiple streams of income? Take time on a weekend and think about some of these things. Once you have discovered what you’d like to do, add that to your day. Do a little on these areas each day. How long does exercise need to be to be a benefit? How much writing do you want to do each day? What can you fit into your schedule after your workday is done and you’ve attended to your home responsibilities?
When you start out, put in a half-hour or so to each thing you’d like to try. I would recommend grabbing one item you’d like to add to your day. Then, once you’ve solidified your newfound habit, add another and another, until you are hitting all the things you want to pursue. You’ll be amazed how many things you can do by chipping away a little at a time.
Well, folks. I hope you are having a great Saturday! Enjoy your weekend. If anyone is interested, comment on this thread. I am more than happy to give you some ideas to help you move forward.
Until next time…
Dave
11 Monday Mar 2019
Posted in Motivation Monday
Tags
Achievement, Goals, Meaning, passion, Planning, Procrastination, time, Waste
“Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has the same number of hours and minutes every day. Rich people can’t buy more hours. Scientists can’t invent new minutes. And you can’t save time to spend it on another day. Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving. No matter how much time you’ve wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow.” ―Denis Waitley
I love this quote. I remember reading it a few years ago. It was an epiphany for me. It forced me to ask, “What do I do with my time?” My answer at the time was a little embarrassing.
I love video games. I love movies. I love TV shows. I used to waste an unbelievable amount of time on these things. I’d work, I’d come home and flick on the TV or the XBOX and that was my night. When I look back, I realize how much time I wasted on frivolous things.
Entertainment is fine. We all need to relax our minds from time-to-time. When this entertainment takes over your life, it is no longer fine. I used entertainment to escape my responsibilities—the important things in life, like exercise, meditation, writing, reading, and learning. Now, when I am seeking entertainment, I enjoy it. It isn’t a numbing experience. It is not an escape or a means of procrastination.
There’s a good exercise you can do, to see how you are spending your time. Write everything you do in 5-minute increments for 5 working days. You don’t have to be exact. Just capture as much as you can to see where you are putting your time. The results will amaze you when you take your 5 recorded days and look at what you did or didn’t do.
We all have more time than we will admit. When I did this exercise, I discovered that I was wasting my life. I got up, ate, went to work, worked, came home, watched TV, and went back to bed. What a dismal unengaged life right?
What do you want to do with your time? Do you want to exercise? Do you want to read? Do you want to write? Do you want to build and run a business? The possibilities are endless. Choose the things you want to do and get them on your schedule. My first choice was exercise. I wanted to get in shape and feel better. So, I carved out some time in the morning to exercise every day. This is where I started.
Now, that I am retired, I structured my day with a bunch of activities. Reading, writing, learning, exercise, and meditation all take up a part of my day. I also enjoy reading the news, keeping my email in-boxes cleaned out, and interact on a few social networks. These are the things I enjoy doing. All of them contribute to the goals I have set for myself.
What are you going to do with your day? What are your goals? Where do you want to be at the end of the year? In five years? You can do whatever you want to do. It is up to you. Make choices. After you’ve chosen the areas you want to pursue, plan how much time you want to spend on each area of interest. Then get these things on a daily list or calendar.
Go out and find self-help books on planning, goal setting, and time management. Watch some YouTube videos. Take some online courses. You can also ask yourself, “What have I always wanted to do but never had the time to pursue?” If you’ve done the above time-tracking exercise, you realize how much time you really have. Go after this thing you’ve always wanted to do. Maybe you wanted to learn how to garden. Maybe you want to start a coin or stamp collection. Maybe you want to start an exercise routine, take up yoga, or learn to ballroom dance. The possibilities are endless.
Life continues. Time continues. Why continue to follow the same path if you are unhappy with it? You can do whatever you want to. Weigh your options. Explore. Choose. You’ll be glad you did.
Until next time…
Dave
25 Monday Feb 2019
Posted in Motivation Monday
Tags
Content, Contributing, motivation, passion, Unique, Walt Disney, Writing
“I believe in being an innovator.” Walt Disney
Read more at: Brainy Quote
There is so much content available online and it continues to perpetuate itself. Making your own contributions online is daunting, particularly when you second-guess yourself. You ask yourself questions like: Who will find my work? Who will like my work? Am I good enough?
You are unique. You have a voice. This voice is different. There are people who want to hear your words. Get it out there.
I love blogging. I love writing. I blog and write because I have things to say. I like to put my “two cents” out there.
When Disney came on the scene, there was no such thing as a theme park or full-length animated film. He brought both ideas to the market. Today, millions of people flock to Disney’s theme parks and watch his movies. Mickey Mouse is an icon known across the globe.
You never know who will read your words. You never know who will enjoy them. Get them out there. Pursue your dreams. You’ll never know until you do it.
Some people don’t like to write. That’s ok. Pursue the things you love. Pursue your unique interests. We all have a place in this world. Your passions are where you need to focus your time and effort. There is a need for your unique contribution.
Every single person we consider great, started with an idea. Henry Ford’s idea was the automobile. Edison’s idea was the light bulb. Disney’s idea was creating products that allowed people to escape their normal lives and experience “The Happiest Place on Earth”. Disney sold happiness and wonder. Who wouldn’t want to buy that?
If you know where your passions lie, pursue them. Even if you only have time to dedicate an hour a day, use that hour to pursue that passion. You’ll feel more alive during that hour than the rest of your day.
If you want to make money pursuing your passion, research. You could write a book about your passion, write a blog about your passion, or even teach others about your passion by creating course content for YouTube or an online education hub like Udemy. There are people who have monetized their passions in the same way. Look around. You’ll find these people and learn how they did it.
My Week
I’ll be working on my 2nd draft of my book. I’m doing a chapter a day. This week will be chapters 6-10. My daily exercise regimen is in the home because of the bad weather we are experiencing in Michigan. I’ll be getting back to the gym in March.
I’m reading 5 books. I enjoy reading multiple books at a time. I read one fiction book, a book on history, a religious book, a self-help book, and a book on philosophy. I use a service called Scribd. Scribd is a service that gives you access to books, magazines, audio books, and papers. It is a terrific service for the $8.99/month. I recommend this service if you read as much as I do.
I read digitally. It takes a while to get used to reading this way. My folks have had a real difficulty reading digitally. They still enjoy reading paper books. Print books take up too much space. Digital books allow me to get as many books as I want. They take up zero space, other than the digital space they consume on my phone or computer.
I hope all of you have a great week!
Until next time…
Dave
18 Monday Feb 2019
Posted in Motivation Monday
Tags
Focus, Investigate, Love the work, motivation, passion, Paying the price, Productivity, Resistance
“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four-hour days.”― Zig Ziglar
One of the biggest challenges in life is to figure out what we will do with our lives. I remember contemplating this question when I was about to finish high school. Many of my friends already knew what they would do. Not me. I did not understand what I wanted to do.
Looking back, I would have told myself to choose an area of interest and try it out. As I have matured, I realized that every profession requires a certain price to pay. If you choose a particular area, investigate this area by reading about the people that exist in that field and excel. Learn about what they have to do to be on top of their fields. When you see the price, they are paying you can decide about your willingness to pay the same price. You can do this over several career paths to find the role or roles you will pay the price for.
Once I discovered my desire to be a writer and pursue my dream of learning computer programming life smoothed out. I felt a congruence in my life I had not felt before. When I wake up in the morning, I have a sense of purpose. I know what I will do and I look forward to it.
Once you realize that you’ve made a good choice, you have no resistance to learning, or the work involved in your profession. Writing and programming are a joy. Each day I write, or work on a programming project, it feels like fun rather than work. This was the final confirmation for me. When I realized that my work was really more like play, my efforts in both areas took off.
Like the above quote suggests, focus is the way to productivity and achievement. When you observe people that love what they do for a living, you sense a joy of purpose. The work they do seems effortless. They will work harder than their peers. You can see the joy they experience when they do this work. You can also see people who are in the wrong position. You see them procrastinate, complain, and do the bare minimum to earn their paycheck. There is no love or purpose behind their work.
This is the key difference between people who are engaged in meaningful work they love and people in the wrong role. Their passion overcomes the price they pay to be in that profession. This passion provides the drive to be the best in their field because it is not work to them. They embrace the training and outside learning the job requires. They work longer and harder. Their work is of a higher quality.
If you are in a position you consider work, maybe it’s time to look at other roles. Research. Investigate these fields. Find out what the top people in these fields do and the price they pay to be the best. If you believe you can pay the same price, try it out. You will never know until you do. The average worker spends roughly 75% of their time at work. Why not do something you love?
This week, I’ll continue my regimen of working on my book, working through my current programming project, reading the five books I’ve selected, and hitting my daily exercise routine. I’ll continue to journal and meditate. I’m making good progress across all areas. I hope each of you has a terrific day!
Until next time…
Dave
25 Tuesday Sep 2018
Posted in Ted Talk
I wanted to highlight this book because I didn’t realize this Ted Talk featured the author of this book–a book I read last year. I think you’ll enjoy both! As a reminder, I am not an affiliate of Amazon and make ZERO if you buy this book. It was just a great read and I believe a book you will benefit from.
Grit is literally the ability to set goals and continue plugging away at them until you achieve them. Grit doesn’t care about failing, missing the mark, or challenges you face along the way. Grit is literally the definition of continuing, regardless of whatever.
If you are having a hard time with a personal goal, kickstarting a workout regimen, changing your diet or anything else you have your sights set on–read this book and watch this Ted Talk!
Changing your life for the better is not about a quick fix. It is not about doing it for a few weeks. Real change– a change that will benefit you forever–requires an internal shift. It requires a commitment to a new way of doing things, a new way of living, a new set of habits that are internalized into your core. You can’t cheat it, you can’t game it, you can’t go around what is required–you have to do it and keep doing it.
I hope each of you has a terrific day!
Until next time…
Dave
21 Thursday Dec 2017
Posted in Quotes
Tags
90-day Goals, Eileen Fisher, Follow Your Heart, Life Fulfilling Work, Listen to yourself, passion
“Life fulfilling work is never about the money – when you feel true passion for something, you instinctively find ways to nurture it.” – Eileen Fisher
This is truly where a rich and wondrous life is gained or lost. Each of us is born with God-given talents. Each of us is unique. Sometimes we discover our talents by accident, other times we have a “feeling” that this is what I’m supposed to do.
I mentioned how goals can sometimes slip from us. I have found that the goals that slip by the wayside are those that either belongs to someone else or it just isn’t the right time to pursue them. You have to be your own judge in this respect. This is why I’ve changed the time I use to pursue a goal. Instead of setting long-term goals or a yearly goal (except my book reading goals), I tend to look at 90 days and that’s it. If after 90 days I lose interest in something, I put it aside and focus on something else.
Sometimes you have a great goal that will go beyond 90 days. That’s ok. I would recommend breaking that goal down into a 90-day window and see where it takes you. If you achieve that interim goal, set another for the next 90 days and see what happens. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.
Your life fulfilling work could be writing, drawing, music, creating a business, creating a non-profit organization, a religious pursuit, or anything not mentioned here. Listen to yourself inside. Experiment. Find out what really wakes you up in the morning and pursue that.
I discovered my love of writing while in school. I attended college in 2003 and didn’t stop until around 2014. I earned a Bachelor’s degree, a Masters degree, and completed all coursework and what is called the comprehensives for my doctorate. I didn’t finish the dissertation but did discover I had a knack for writing. I began writing short stories soon after. None of them are published, but I enjoyed writing stories. I know what I like in a story and know that I can create stories that others will enjoy.
In January I’ll begin work on a number of books. Some of them will be non-fiction, but the ones I really look forward to are going to be fiction. I have so many ideas at this point that I’m taking the time to really figure out between now and January which one I want to start with. I’m close, but still deciding.
Whether my books become best sellers or aren’t bought by anyone is irrelevant. I just want to tell a story and get it out there. One of the best things about publishing a book is that it never goes away. It will be there for people to read forever. It’s nice to think that I will be leaving some semblance of myself that others can enjoy when I’m gone.
Have you found your life’s passion? Have you figured out what wakes you up every day? If so, start putting together a plan to pursue it.
Until next time…
Dave
