Give it up!

That's right...Give up what you have been holding on to.

We're taking about that Great thing, that you know is Great, but you
have been keeping from all of us.

What's the deal? Are you going to hide it until we're all gone?

Come on, just Give it Up already...and Shine like you are supposed to.

Yours in "Let's see it" - Coach

Every Generation Needs...

To learn the stove is hot.
And in doing so, we sometimes get burned.

Getting burned is usually a great lesson for us not to do it again, for
the pain of doing it is usually bigger than temptation of doing it again.
Just understand that we have to learn lessons in life and occasionally
we burnt, it's just the way things go.

So if we continually need to get out the ointment with certain
situations in our lives, we may need to heed the lesson and learn.

Yours in Lessons - Coach

I was stopped last night...

On my way out, by 3 of our Zappos Athletic Performance team members - Peake, Lauren and Josh.

They challenged me to write today's blog about rainbows, a donkey and
Tom Jones singing in the background? Sometimes we need to accept the challenge, so...

When warm rain has subsided as you are riding on your donkey, and the
beautiful rainbow has appeared overhead, just think of Tom Jones
belting out some sweet tunes as you arrive at the base of the Temple.
Your minions then lift you effortlessly off your donkey and put you on
their shoulders and glide you up the steps of the Temple and set you up
like the Royalty you are - for eternity.

And sometimes when we accept a challenge, it may not turn out a
masterpiece - but the point is, sometimes we just need to accept the
challenge.

Yours in "Accept the Challenge" - Coach

Banquet or Bust...

Feast or Famine.
Or whatever analogy your choose. Life sure has it's ups and downs!
When we are in the "Flow" and things are "clicking", it easy to be
feeling great and on top of the world.

Conversely, when things aren't really going too smoothly and stuff seems
to be coming at a faster pace that we would like, it's real easy to get
"down in the dumps" with our body and our minds.

So just knowing there will never be constant feast or constant famine,
we can take the times of difference in stride.
Yours in "Ups and Downs" - Coach

There is only one color red...

But a world of different shades.

The same goes with the people in our lives - they may be limited in
number, and we see them as one "color", but what are the different
"shades" that make them up?

What are their dreams? What's their favorite movie or book and why? If
they could do or be anything...what would it be?

How can you better help them, and what can they do to better help you?

It all starts with you, to start to see all the "shades" of the ones
close to you...and in doing so, the ones closest to you...get even
closer.

Yours in "Finding Out" - Coach

Be Yourself...

And if you think you're not as good as you can be, you can be someone
else!

Were not talking about being another person, but being the person you
can be.

Often times, we have a hard time being ourselves, because we are not
too happy or content, with who we are.

But that doesn't need to stop us from being the person we want to be,
or know that we can be... and once we become that person we admire - we
can be ourselves.

So just start today, upgrading the real you, by doing things you have
always wanted to do and become the person you always wanted to be.

Yours in "Being Yourself" - Coach

When we are in need...

We just need to read.
Whenever we need something in our lives, getting a book, article or
information on the subject is the way to go.

We have all, most likely, read something when we are searching for an
answer to our question and the words seem to jump off the page, when it
comes to our concerns, making our answers clear as a bell.

So when we are in need, instead of continuing to roll the question
around in our head, with no end to the cycle - simply reading about the
subject of our question usually does the trick.
Yours in Getting some "Outside" Advice - Coach

Compartmentalize?

You betcha...it can help keep us sane.

We are talking about the "Flow" of what we all do, day to day.

We can get overwhelmed and even "frazzled" by the constant onslaught
of things we are doing or attempting to get handled - we do one thing
after another, many times, without a lot of structure to what we do.

And since Structure Dictates Function, why not put a little structure
into the process to add a little more efficiency to what we do - it
usually gives us more free time in the long run.

So instead of working on this and then that, group the same tasks that
we do on an ongoing basis, and handle them once an hour, once a day or even once a
week...because by the time we get our heads around a new task and
complete it and go on to another, we could have done the same task that
was saved and "compartmentalized" in a much more efficient, and time
saving manner.

Yours in "Compartmentalize" - Coach

100 Calories a day...

Over the course of a year, is either 10 pounds gained or
lost...depending if 100 calories a day is added, or subtracted
from our normal diet.

Doesn't seem like a lot of calories...but over time, things do add up.

Simply being mindful of the little extra that needs to be done, for
whatever result we are aiming for, is pretty comforting.

Yet, many of us seem to want to be heavier or lighter NOW...and get on
a program that ends up not being sustainable.

So if we want to be 10 pounds heavier or lighter next year - take that
small amount of effort that is needed to make it come true.

Yours in "100 Calories a Day" - Coach

Let's be Grateful...

For what we have, and for whatever comes our way.

There are many who are less fortunate than us, and some work much
harder...for much less.

We have a place to sleep, food to eat, clothes to wear and our choice
to take it from there...and for some, the rest is just a bonus, but it
really is a bonus to all of us.

Luxuries become necessities in short order, so we need to be grateful
for all that we have, and all that comes our way...for most likely, it's more than most.

Yours in "Being Grateful" - Coach

Many of us have our time off...

Where we can cut loose or just relax.
And that's great - we all need to balance out.
But does our time off also contain "quality" time?
We can all work and relax, but that only takes in consideration our
lives, and is the right ticket if we are alone and have no friends or
family.
In understanding that most of us have more than us, in our lives, we
probably need to take in consideration, spending quality time with others.
Who will you designate quality time with?
Yours in "Family and Friends" - Coach

Ever make a financial blunder?

We all have, and if life gave us do-overs, it would be great, but
that's not how life works.

Losing money is never easy because making it can sometimes be
difficult, and making up for lost money can mean working double time or
maybe just smarter.

But understanding our mistakes and poor choices when it come to our
dough, can actually make us stronger than we were before...in keeping and
growing what we got.

We can agree that our mistakes can make us stronger and build a plan
from our experiences, to better our future, or we can dwell on the past

• which does no good.

Reverse Psychology?

They say...it sometimes works - check this out.

Maybe not try to be so "cheery" when you "rise and shine".

Wake up mad at the world, and use this word for everything you do in
the morning - "Horrible".

If you have someone else in the house, you can let them know how
horrible you slept and feel, and let them know how horrible your day is
going to be. Then move on to how horrible your bathroom is...and your
toothbrush...and your bed...and clothes...

It may sound silly but, we've done it, and it's hard to make it past
getting dressed to see how ridiculous your talk is, and you end up
laughing.

Yours in "Try it, it works" - Coach

We may never live...

In a Perfect World, but we can sure make our Lives Great.

No matter what happens around us, we have the choice to focus on the
greatness around us or the imperfections.

Perfection is actually over rated anyway, nothing is perfect and we
shouldn't expect them to be.

So if things are perfect, or going perfectly in our lives - It's OK,
that's just the way things go...it's what we focus on that makes the
difference.

Yours in "Proper Focus" - Coach

We have to train our...

Body and our minds, otherwise our body and minds are not trained.

May sound a bit rhetorical, but it's true.

Our minds and bodies are a "clean slate" when we are born.

So it's up to us on how we train them. We have the choice of training
them with "good" stuff which help us grow positively, or "bad" stuff
which will lead us down hill.

That's the beauty of it...it's all up to us on how we train - and the
results will follow.

Yours in "Proper Training" - Coach