Month: November 2017

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and, as any regular reader of this blog knows, I love lists of “5 things…”.  So, here is my professional recommendations for what not to eat this Thanksgiving.

1) Foods you don’t like.  Seriously, why waste precious calories on things you don’t enjoy?  True, you might have to take a little bit of everything to satisfy your guests who brought food, but take just enough to satisfy them and hide what you don’t eat.  Everybody will be happy.

2) Green Jello with pears and Philadelphia Cream Cheese balls.  Does anybody really like this stuff?  My maternal grandmother always made it when we visited.  Yuk!  I’ll pass.

3) Fewer than a “thin” slice of every type of pie.  You cannot be rude and not try every dessert.  It just isn’t polite.  My paternal grandmother had her own understanding of what a “thin” slice was, however.  Thankfully, my metabolism was much greater back then.

4) Too much turkey.  Just kidding!  Turkey should be the dominant item on your plate (unless you are vegan—then, thanksgiving kinda bites).  I love turkey and would gladly eat myself into a tryptophan coma.  But, of course, you have to save room for everything else—especially #3.

5) Tofurkey.  Seriously!  This is just an abomination.  I respect the choice to be vegan, but eating tofu in the shape of a turkey is just wrong.  There will be plenty of delicious vegan alternatives at the table.  Respect your non-vegan guests and skip the fake turkey.  Please!

In all seriousness, unless you absolutely must cut weight during the Thanksgiving holiday—and I remember these times, as a wrestler—let this be a day to just relax and enjoy.  Be sensible, but don’t be miserable.  In preparing a menu, be balanced.  Cook as light as possible, but enjoy.  Let this be your one gluttonous meal of the year.  Go light on the breakfast and save for the big meal.  Live today for tomorrow we die-t!

Blessings this Thankgiving!!

Carpe momento!

 

Image: http://clipartix.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Thanksgiving-turkey-free-clip-art-3.png

My Facebook page has been bombarded with sponsored posts about combating the so-called “Dad-Bod”, which, as best I can deduce, is anything short of shredded.  Supposedly, I don’t need to work out.  I can gain muscle and lose fat by simply taking a supplement.  If you believe the ads, this is what the likes of Arnold Schwartenegger, Sylvester Stallone, et al. do.  Things that make you go “Hmmm.”

I wish it was just a matter of taking a supplement.  Unfortunately, it takes effort—a lot of effort!

I also question this idea of the “Dad-Bod”.  The notion the everyone needs to be “shredded” is nonsense—not to mention unhealthy.  We “dads” should be concerned about muscle mass and body fat, but, unless one is an athlete, more than a modest amount of muscle mass is purely for show—and a lot of work.  Despite the clever advertising, muscle mass can only be built with resistance training.  Low percentages of body fat (<9%) are not reasonable unless one is a physique athletes in the competitive season.   A more reasonable Dad-Bod is about 12% body fat (which is still a bit of work).  Body fat charts often allow for increases in the ideal range as one ages.  Personally, I don’t agree.  Aging is not an excuse for declining fitness.  A range of 12-20% for males is reasonable across all ages.

So, skip the supplements and do the following to avoid the so-called “Dad-Bod”:

1) Lift weights.  Weight lifting is the only way to build and maintain muscle mass.  The older we get, the more challenging it is to add mass.  Key is to build mass early and maintain.

2) Include some cardio.  Some cardio is necessary for improving and maintaining cardiorespiratory health.  The benefits for improving body composition are probably quite individualized and adhere to the principle of specificity.  Nonetheless, fat loss is dependent upon calories burned exceeding calories consumed.  More activity is always a benefit.

3) Add 2-3 HIIRT workouts be week.  High-intensity interval resistance training (HIIRT) is a time-effective way to facilitate fat loss (see “HIIRT”, November 18, 2017).  If time is limited, this should be the priority workout (barring more ambitious fitness goals).  Just remember, these are less effective than weight training and HIIT cardio for improving VO₂max.

4) Baby steps to cutting calories.  Avoid the futile cycles of dieting.  Focus on long-term lifestyle changes.  Cutting calories here and there add up to significant losses and long-term maintenance over time.  Simple things like watching the %ABV in beer (remember there are 30 kcal per %ABV per 12 ounces of beer) can avoid the “Dad-Bod” beer gut.  Focusing on the caloric density of foods helps cut calories (e.g., substituting egg whites for some whole eggs).

5) Don’t waste money on supplements.  There are virtually no supplements that are substantially effective in affecting body fat—especially in people with already high body fat percentages.  Save your cash.  Eat smart and exercise effectively!

6) Be consistent.  Enough said.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow!

Carpe momento!

I am quite vocal about my feelings about applying the labels of “HIIT” or “Tabata” to what we exercise professionals used to call “Circuit Training”.  HIIT- and Tabata-style training can have beneficial cardiorespiratory effects, but it must be clear how these are defined.

The research by Dr. Izumi Tabata and colleagues, published in 1996*, employed an extremely strenuous protocol (IE1 protocol) that included 8 rounds of 20 seconds of very high intensity cycling (170% of VO2max) followed by 10 seconds of recovery four times a week, with an additional steady-state workout on day a week, for six weeks.  For most, this intensity is nearly impossible.  Moreover, it is absolutely impossible when performing the weight-bearing type exercises that many exercise leaders incorporate in what they call “Tabata”.

HIIT can include an extensive variety of intensity:recovery combinations.  These intensities must be high, or we would have to refer to it as moderate-intensity interval training (MIIT)—which can be beneficial, too.  In general, the high-intensity intervals need to exceed 80-85% of maximum.  The lower the intensity, the longer these sessions need to be to produce significant cardiorespiratory improvement.

There are several issues with performing cycles of weight-bearing resistance exercise for cardiorespiratory benefit.  First, there is a high risk of injury.  As one fatigues, one’s movement mechanics will break down.  The only way to continue is to slow the movement or allow for poor form/technique.  The former reduces the stimulus for adaptation; the latter leads to injury.  Second, the intensities of these movements are simply not great enough or for a long enough duration to promote substantial improvement.

Are these so-called “HIIT” workouts useless, then?  Absolutely not!  For one thing, not everyone is looking to substantially improve VO2max.  In addition, these are possibly more effective for burning fat than traditional aerobic exercise.  There is reasonable evidence that these workouts promote a longer post-exercise energy expenditure that traditional aerobic exercise.  That is, they can turn up the metabolic furnace for several hours allowing the exerciser to keep burning calories (perhaps for as much as a day or longer).  They also improve muscle endurance.  They won’t, however, substantially improve cardiorespiratory endurance or muscle strength.  So, specificity applies—you will want to incorporate other forms of exercise to get gains in these areas.

For clarity sake, I propose adopting a new label for these body-weight circuits (for the record, I am not the first to coin this label—bummer).  I would prefer to call this “high-intensity interval resistance training” or “HIIRT”.  The name might just be catchy enough to be trendy, and it better captures the nature of the exercise.  I still use quotation marks around “Tabata” when referring to short duration, ultra-high-intensity interval training on stationary cycles, rowing machines, etc. (though “burst training” is still a better label) to differentiate the training from longer HIIT programs for cardiorespiratory endurance and to demonstrate understanding that we are probably not coming close to the prescribed 170% VO2max.

HIIRT would be reserved for high-intensity body-weight (or otherwise resisted) intervals—what we are seeing as a trend in many fitness centers.  These should be directed at muscle endurance and body composition (not considered “cardio”) and can be performed several times a week in conjunction with a strength and/or cardiorespiratory training program.

Typical HIIRT programs include circuits of several exercises (e.g., 5) performed for a specified duration (e.g., 20-30 seconds) or repetitions (e.g., 10-20 reps) repeat for a specified number of sets (e.g., 5) with a period of rest (e.g., 30-60 seconds) in between.  There is a tremendous opportunity for variation.  Another way I like to do HIIRT is with a partner—alternating sets until the circuit is finished.  My favorite Bulgarian bag HIIRT workout is my “Core 550” workout.  The Core 550 takes less than 10 minutes and includes 10 sets of 10 repetitions each of:

Hip thrusts (think kettlebell swing).

Side toss, right.

Side toss, left.

Spin, right.

Spin, left.

The rest between sets (not exercises) is usually 30-60 seconds.

This is great for burning some calories. I estimate 150 kcal for the session with a 17-kg bag, not counting the elevated post-exercise energy expenditure.  It is also great for an athletic core (because of the extensive rotational acceleration and deceleration).

Be creative.  Most of all, spread the word.  Let’s make “HIIRT” the standard label!

Be your best today; be better tomorrow!
Carpe momento!

* Tabata, Izumi; Nishimura, Kouji; Kouzaki, Motoki; Hirai, Yuusuke; Ogita, Futoshi; Miyachi, Motohiko; Yamamoto, Kaoru (1996). Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO₂max. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 28(10): 1327–30. doi:10.1097/00005768-199610000-00018

Image source: http://adjustablekettlebellreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/bulgarian-bag-spin-1024×621.jpg

In a class this term, I am using The Sports Gene by David Epstein as the text.  It is an excellent book and quite insightful with regards the success in sports.  As sports is a bit of a microcosm of the real world, it provides insight into success, in general.

Examining the role of the ever-growing list of “sports genes”, one might expect to learn that Per-Olof Åstrand was correct in saying the “to become an Olympic athlete, choose your parents wisely.”  This is true, but there is more to success than mere genes.

Any success requires that 1) we have the right genes, 2) the right circumstances, and, most importantly, we put in the right amount of effort.  A student in my class commented that “it sounds like we can blame our parents for everything.”  That is one way to look at it, but that is not going to end in success.

Athletically, it is easy to see how we can owe our giftedness to our parents.  Good genes alone, however, are not enough to become an elite athlete.  The opportunity—that is, the right circumstances—need to be in place to make success possible.  Consider where Michael Phelps would be had he never had access to a pool.  Phelps has, perhaps, the perfect physique to excel at swimming.  It is doubtful that he would be as successful at any other sport.  And, of course, he has put countless hours in the pool to get where he is.

In life, we could very well have been born into the circumstances of our existence for a time such as this.  I trust we all have a Purpose.  It is no accident that we were born and raise where and when we were born.  One can blame his or her circumstances on the parents, the siblings, the education (or lack thereof), the socioeconomics of the circumstances, race, gender, and/or anything else one might believe has hindered them, however, there is great power in the knowledge that all aspects of our experience and being come together to shape precisely who we are intended to become.  Perhaps, we just have the wrong idea of who this is?

If you care to be successful, examine yourself.  Consider the gifts you have, rather than the gifts you desire.  Don’t bother with what makes others successful.  You cannot compare, and this will only leave you frustrated.  Consider what opportunities you have to be successful.  Act according to your talents.  If you consider yourself burdened by your circumstances, contemplate how these are, in fact, the very catalyst needed to propel you toward success.  No excuses.  Only gratitude and hard work bring lasting success and pleasure in life.  In the argument of Nature or Nurture, it is both!

Be your best today; and be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

My son’s football team finished the season 10-0 and winning their JV (7^th grade) Championship 22-0.  It was a great season and, like all good things, must come to an end.  And, so, wrestling season begins.  He has been practicing with his club one day a week through the football season, but now it gets serious.  He is, of course, ready for the season.

If you read this blog regularly enough, you know I love wrestling.  I was never a great (or really good) wrestler, but it is by far my favorite sport.  I love that my son is participating in multiple sports (football, wrestling, and lacrosse), but wrestling is the keystone sport.  I have worried in the past that he might wrestle to please me, but it has emerged as his decision.  And, while I hope he is a much better wrestler than me, I know that, whether he wins or loses, he will be a better person for having wrestled.  The benefits are many.  If, as a parent, you are looking for a sport to occupy your child in the winter months, give wrestling a try.  Our club coach doesn’t even encourage the youngest kids to compete.  It is all about learning the sport and having fun.  There is plenty of time to compete as they get older.  Until then, they will:

1) Make friends. We wrestle as individuals, but we practice as a team. Many of my best friendships have been made in the wrestling room.  Beyond wrestling, I have made countless other friends are former wrestlers.  There is a brotherhood in wrestling (that we now share with the growing number of women who are joining and growing our sport).

2) Learn discipline. Wrestlers are disciplined. Whether it is managing their weight or drilling in practice, wrestling teaches self-control. 

3) Develop a work ethic. I never worked as hard at anything as I did wrestling. Wrestlers have a twisted love-hate relationship with conditioning.  To this day, I still do not feel like I have had an honest workout unless my shirt is drenched with sweat (the kind of sweat you can wring out of the shirt).  It carries over into my occupational and household work—my wife knows when the bark dust (mulch) is delivered, she won’t see me for the rest of the day.

4) Gain skills that will carry over to other sports. I see the benefits in football and lacrosse. My son plays goalie in lacrosse, and his movement to the ball reflects his hours of wrestling practice.  Many of lacrosse’s best face-off guys are wrestlers (some only do face-offs—referred to as FOGOs or face-off and gos). In football, the balance and quick hands and feet of wrestling are a big benefit.  I would be hard-pressed to name a sport for which wrestling is not of some benefit.

5) Gain self-confidence. My shy son can get lost out on the football field, but in wrestling it is man against man (or woman). A wrestler wins or loses as an individual.  There is nowhere to hide.  One believes in himself or herself or one does not.  Wrestling can put an athlete in difficult positions.  The wrestler learns to struggle and to overcome.  There is a phrase: “In wrestling, there are only winners and learners.”  Failure breeds the desire to try again.  Practicing from a disadvantaged position, teaches the wrestler to fight to the finish and never give up.

6) Learn life lessons. Life is very much a wrestling match. As legendary coach, Dan Gable, said: “Once you have wrestled, everything else in life is easy.”

Whether competitively or only in physical education, I think every kid—boy or girl—should try wrestling.  True, I am biased, but I know of no one who has ever regretted wrestling.

Monday night, as the season kicked off with the annual welcome meeting, my son’s coached announced the largest number of participants in the club’s history.  This is great news for a sport that has seem some decline—a sport that has rallied to remain an Olympic sport and remain a priority to the NCAA.  More importantly, this give hope for the sports lasting influence in the lives of these young boys and girls and the men and women they will become.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow!

Carpe momento!

It is not unusual lately to see various sized tires around gyms and athletic fields.  Some coaches and fitness trainers swear by them.  Personally, I don’t.  Now, I am not entirely opposed to incorporating tires into some training, but at the expense of what training?  (Remember: “opportunity costs”.)

The most common exercises one is likely to see being performed are flips, deadlifts, farmer carries, partner pushes, and sledgehammer work.  None of these meet the criteria for specificity, in my humble opinion, but, if variety is of interest, and one is willing to sacrifice other potential aspects of training, there can be some (limited) value.  So, I’ll consider each of the aforementioned variations.

Tire flips.  Most common of the tire exercises, tire flips are frequently performed by athletes and non-athletes, alike.  They are praised for building explosive power, but do they?  Rarely have I seen someone flip a tire in a truly explosive fashion.  Perhaps because the tendency is to “go big or go home.”

One very important consideration is the definition of power.  Power is the product of force and velocity (P = F x V).  Power is optimally trained between 200 and 300 degrees per second.  Much slower, we are looking training strength only.  Much faster, we are looking at speed.  My preference is to train strength with conventional strength training—e.g., traditional squats and deadlifts.  Gains require overload.  Thus, for tire flipping to be effective, the exercise must be performed at an appropriate angular velocity (200-300 deg/s) and allow for incremental progression of resistance (i.e., tire size)—something that is not very likely at most gyms.

I would leave the tire flipping to Strongman competitions.  Football players, wrestlers, et al.?  First, consider specificity.  A better use of tires might be partner pushes.  Olympic cleans are likely a superior option.  I also love the explosive potential of Bulgarian bag training.

Deadlifts.  Deadlifts are a great exercise.  I consider them among the “basic 5”.  The downside of tire deadlifts is the challenge of progression.  In the long-run, the traditional deadlift is likely more beneficial.  This is not to say that tire deadlifts might not add some “fun” to conditioning exercise.

Farmer carries.  Tires are one of many variations of this popular conditioning activity.  There is not necessarily anything wrong with farmer carries.  Indeed, they are great for core bracing and stabilization.  These also build grip strength in the hands and forearms.  These are a great component of a conditioning workout, but we keep coming back to opportunity costs.  If you have time and it fits your goals, then why not?

Partner pushes.  If you want to keep the tires on the football field, then these might be the best use of them.  I like this for linemen in football or any athlete who must absorb force and explode through the legs to counter this force.  To perform the partner push, the athletes oppose each other in an athletic stance. Keeping the elbows in, the athlete drives with the legs and arms to propel the tire toward the partner.  The partner receives the tire and returns it explosively to the other.  Performed with good technique and explosively, these have a place in conditioning drills.

Sledgehammer work.  If you don’t have the good fortune of working a construction job that requires you swing a heavy sledgehammer, then you might want to do these for some “fun” conditioning.  Like tire flips, these are intended to develop power—in the opposite direction.  Unlike the heavy tire flip, the sledgehammer motion (or motions—the swing can be varied) is more likely to be performed with sufficient velocity.  It also requires acceleration and deceleration of the core muscles (like the Bulgarian bag).  On top of it all, it is great for releasing one’s frustrations.

Cardio workout?  Tire circuits are often performed for cardiovascular benefits.  (Need I address these so-called “Tabata” workouts, again?)  These are certainly not going to greatly improve one’s maximal oxygen consumption (VO₂max), but they are beneficial to general conditioning and fat loss.  For athletes, they are also good team builders.

Overall, I would leave tires to be recycled, but, if you have them, use them for a bit of “fun”.  Be cautious, though, in how and how often you use them.  Consider your goals and the positive alternatives to achieving these goals.  Choose wisely.

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“Make each day count by setting specific goals to succeed, then putting forth every effort to exceed your own expectations.”—Les Brown

Nothing of value comes easy.  Success is earned, and it requires effort.  Even the “lucky” one had to put himself/herself in the path of opportunity.

I don’t know what bothers me more: to see someone not put forth the effort to success yet expects the same reward as one who does, or a system (e.g., the educational system) that allows one to progress with minimal effort.

A hard lesson in life is to work very hard and not win.  More often than not, however, this will be how life will turn out.  Someone else gets the promotion.  Someone else gets the trophy.  Someone gets paid more.  In such cases, there are three options: 1) give up; 2) acceptance; or 3) work harder.  Working harder seems counter-productive, because we are already getting screwed (in our minds) for our effort, but it is the only logical path.  It is the only way we will excel and succeed against those who are beating us out of what we want.  If we are honest with ourselves, though, we are not doing all that we can do, and that person who is ahead of us is doing more.  True, that person might be getting an unfair advantage, but so what?  How much greater is the reward when we do win.

Someone always has to work the hardest.  Why not me (you)?

Perhaps, it is not a matter of just working harder but of working smarter.  Stop doing things that impede your progress.  “Opportunity costs”!  Concentrate your efforts on what produces success.

Take pleasure in the pain.  I have often used the analogy in exercise of the man who is hitting himself in the head with a two-by-four.  When asked “Why?”, he responds, “Because it feels so good when I stop.”  Now, I don’t suggest that hitting one’s self in the head with a piece of wood is the appropriate path to success, but the reason we take the difficult path is that the feeling upon completion is elating.  Embrace the challenge.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

The CrossFit Games claim to crown the “Fittest of the World.”  While, certainly, the competition requires high levels of fitness, the notion of fittest is an interesting question.

In exercise science, physical fitness is defined in two broad categories: health-related fitness and motor skill-related fitness.  Health-related fitness includes cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle endurance, muscle strength, flexibility, and body composition.  Motor skill-related fitness includes speed, power, agility, coordination, balance, and reaction time.  The “fittest” would have to be the top overall in all of these fitness components.  Fittest should follow the principle of specificity.

Quite possibly the best representation of all-around athleticism and “fitness” is the modern decathlon (100-m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400-m, 110-m hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and 1500-m) for men, and the heptathlon (100-m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 220-m, long jump, javelin throw, and 800-m) for women.  Neither of these, however, captures the full essence of “fittest”—nor do the CrossFit Games.  So, is there a competition to crown the “fittest”?  Probably, not.

It is interesting to consider what would be the necessary components of a true “Fittest in the World”.

Ironman Triathlon?  Certainly, the Ironman triathlon demonstrates extraordinary cardiorespiratory endurance and muscle endurance in three exercise modes—2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride, and 26.22 –mile (42.2 km) run.  But then there are ultra-triathlons (distances greater than the Ironman), and, of course, there is the Iron Cowboy (James Lawrence) who completed an amazing 50 Ironman-distance triathlons in 50 states in 50 days in 2015.  Fittest in the World??

Muscle Strength?  Of course, the fittest would also have to demonstrate muscle strength—as measured by one’s one-repetition maximum in a number of lifts.  But, would these need to be Olympic lifts (snatch and clean-and-jerk) or power lifts (deadlift, squat, and bench press) or a combination?  Or, maybe, it should be demonstrated by the Strongest man competition events (e.g., Atlas stones, Axle press, dumbbell press, etc.)?  Or (given my Scottish heritage) the Highland Games events (e.g., caber toss, stone put, Scottish hammer throw, etc.)?  Clearly, there is some specificity that is not captured by the CrossFit games.

Muscle Endurance?  Well, I would concede, the CrossFit Games does well at capturing the muscle endurance component of physical fitness.

Flexibility and Body Composition?  These are considered “optimal” levels of fitness.  So, personally, I would excuse these from the competition.  (After all, if one can complete an Ironman distance and squat a ton, who am I to questions the amount of body fat?—Though, one would have to expect that optimal body composition and flexibility will follow optimal fitness.)

Motor Skill-Related?  What would be the ideal combination of speed, power, agility, coordination, balance, and reaction time?  Speed, power, and coordination are captured in some of the aforementioned competitions—especially the decathlon/heptathlon.  Agility and reaction time might require some additional events.

In this era of highly specialized athletic bodies, it is likely that the “Fittest in the World” would be more like DaVinci’s Vitruvian Man.  As I have been considering this topic, Alex Viada comes to mind.  The author of The Hybrid Athlete has squatted 700 pounds within a week of running a 50-mile ultra-marathon.  He regularly defies what we exercise physiologists once saw as impossible.

Mikhail Baryshnikov also comes to mind.  I have heard it said that he could have excelled in any sport.  Had he not defected to the US in the 1970’s and there had been a true “Fittest in the World” competition, the Soviets may have had the perfect specimen to train and dope to fittest success.  He may indeed be the ideal Vitruvian model for “Fittest of the World”.  Teamed with a trainer such as Viada, my money would be on Baryshnikov.

There will be two keys to being the “Fittest in the World”.  First, the Fittest will have needed to choose his/her parents wisely (the fittest female will likely test positive for androgen insensitivity) and have the perfect genetics to succeed in both endurance and strength/power—ideally born and raised on Mount Olympus for the combined benefit of altitude and the genetics of a god.  Second, the Fittest would have to be extremely smart about training and recovery–and might also need to know his or her way around the laboratory.  (Movie recommendation for a good understanding of the world of doping from increased performance: “Icarus”.)

Perhaps, the most reasonable competition to crown “Fittest in the World” would be to expand the Olympic decathlon to include swimming, cycling, weightlifting, wrestling, archery, gymnastics,… and, well, every event.  And how, of course, would one train for all these events in a 168-hour week? 

Perhaps “Fittest in the World” is beyond our reach.  Better we choose to be our best today and be better tomorrow—our personal “fittest”.

Carpe momento!

“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.”–Reba McEntire

Success in life is, first, a rather relative concept.  If our perception of success is someone else, we are missing the point of life.  Real success can only be measured against our individual potential.  We are not called to be “the best” (maybe we can be the best at something or maybe not).  We are called to be our best.  We are called to be (extra)ordinary in our own way.

Reba suggests we need three things to be successful in life:

A wishbone.  We need to have a dream.  We need to have a passionate desire to be something.  Having a wishbone is not, however, a reliance on chance or good fortune.  There is no magic in the clavicle of some edible fowl.  Nor are there leprechauns, fairy godmothers, wishing well, etc.  Success requires effort.  The wishbone to which Reba refers is really just a goal-oriented mindset.

A backbone.  To have a backbone is to be able to stand.  Likewise, it is the ability to withstand.  Life is not easy.  We will be challenged.  We will be opposed.  We will be told we “can’t”.  To have a backbone is to say, “I can!” and “I will!”  To have a backbone is to know that one is entitled only to what he or she earns.

A funny bone.  Nothing is more important than the funny bone.  As we pursue success, we will have to confront failure—missing the mark.  To be successful, we have to first be able to laugh at ourselves.  We must not be so serious all the time.  We have to work hard, but we have to have fun in the process.  Life it to short not to be so stern all the time.

Success is not as hard as we tend to think.  If it seems so, then, perhaps we are seeking the wrong person’s success.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow!  (This is success.)

Carpe momento!

Believe me.  I question the path I am on almost daily.  We can be easily frustrated.  But….

We have to realize that where we are, today, is not where we will be tomorrow.  This does not mean that we are on the wrong path.  It simply means that it is necessary for us to pass this way to get to tomorrow—and beyond.  The “right” path is not necessarily the easy or comfortable path.

Trust the path you are on.  Being on a path and moving forward is progress.

“If all difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all” (Dan Rather).  Understand that these difficulties have a purpose along the path—for us and/or for others.  The “why” may not be known until we look back on the path somewhere far along the way.  There may be things we might wish to have done differently, but the moment has passed, and there is no certainty that doing anything differently would change where we are today or where we might end up tomorrow.

The best we can hope for is that our best is sufficient for today and that tomorrow will be better.  Trust your path.  At the end of the day be grateful for the knowledge and the strength you have gained.  When you rise tomorrow (if you do), be grateful for yet another opportunity.

Carpe momento!

Image: http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/03/61/86/3618686_ff234448.jpg