Is it time to throw...

Down the Gauntlet...not with another, but with yourself?

When is more enough, and when is enough enough?

Your life Can be the way you would like it, and sometimes we just need
to take a stand.

Yours in "When"? - Coach

Ah, what a stretch

And a good stretch always feels good and even better when it's over.

The greatest thing about stretching is that it takes us beyond our norm.

Whether we stretch our bodies, our minds, our abilities or our
perceived limits, the process takes us beyond where we currently are,
or have been.

And the greatest effect stretching has, no matter what we are
stretching, is that it is difficult to go back to our original form.

So stretching anything in our lives allows us to grow beyond where we
have been, and going beyond is always a good thing, as it let's us be
just that much more of what we were before.

Keep stretching to be all that you can be.

Yours in "Keep Stretching" - Coach

In business...

A common mistake that is made, is that they advertise when things are
down, in an attempt to bring in more business.

But in reality, when business is down, working on the structure and
function of the business is what is called for, not advertising.

Advertising is to be done when the business is doing great, that way
they are advertising greatness and it will feed on greatness.

Look at it this way - Would you advertise yourself, when things aren't
going so well? Or would you work on yourself to get better, and then
advertise the better you?

Yours in Thought - Coach

If we really want to get something done...

All we need to do, is focus on it.

We're not just meaning giving it some occasional attention, but to make
it part of most every move we make and part of our vocabulary.

Just like Bubba, in the movie "Forrest Gump". Where all he can think
about is shrimp. He's going to open a restaurant someday and everything
is shrimp to him - barbecue shrimp. lemon shrimp, sidewalk shrimp,
potato shrimp...that's all he talks about.

So next time we really want to get something done, make sure our
focus is part of everything we do, considering if it's in alignment
with what we want, and a part of who we are, and part of our talk?

Remember this type of focus - slow and steady - will help us achieve
whatever we need to handle.

Yours in "Focus" - Coach

Ever start back exercising...

Only to find out that you started out doing too much, too soon?

We sometimes get ahead of ourselves, and the aches and pains of the
exercise serve as a demotivator to keep up our plan.

Usually time has passed since we were on an exercise program and we
tend to start were we left off...but as the saying goes, "we ain't what
we used to be" really speaks volumes when it comes to
our bodies.

You see, if we don't use it, we lose it, and with exercise we need to
start slowly, and over time we can gain it back.

Otherwise, we make every excuse in the world, not to go back to
exercising...when we start doing too much, too soon.

Yours in "Slow but Sure" - Coach

Don't let go...

If you have a dream - don't let go.

If you have a plan and things seem to get in the way - don't let go.

If your sight gets clouded, remember you still have your vision - don't
let go.

It is your life - don't ever let go.

Yours in "Hanging in there" - Coach

Things aren't going your way?

Well, stand in line, there are many others waiting too.

We would all like things to go our way - all the time - but that's not how life works.

But thinking back, we can remember times when things were really
"clicking" and we seem to be controlling the "dial" on the success
machine.

And those times will be back, when we least expect it, and we will be "clicking" once again.

We just need to be patient and do the things we may not like to, and
handle the things we are supposed to, because things will soon be going
our way, once we handle the things that were in our way.

Yours in "Getting things Handled" - Coach

Take the Time?

Whatever we've planned, mapped out or look forward to, we need to
remember to take the time, to take it all in.

The journey is usually 95% of the trip, so why spend and the enjoying
for the end?

Whether we have a family, or a business that we are tending to, as it
grows, it will soon be over and we must not "jip" ourselves along the
way.

Hardships, struggles and sacrifice are all trading in our time, for
something better, so we need to be reminded that hardships, struggles,
and sacrifice are better than our alternatives and should be viewed as
such.

Love every step, cherish the ones who have been there along the way,
and embrace the ones that have helped... just as you enjoy your
favorite meal - taste every bite - it will soon be over.

Yours in "Take the Time" - Coach

Success starts when...

Taking responsibility begins.

Success and it's meaning takes different forms, with different people.

No matter what success means to us, to bring about our success, we need
to take full responsibility for it.

We can dream without action, to bring about or success, or hope that it
falls from the sky, but that way of thinking is usually not the best bet.

By taking full responsibility to bring about our own success, we can be
in the drivers seat and we also can look forward to feeling great, once
we achieve it.

Yours in "It's up to us" - Coach

A shock is sometimes good for us?

You betcha...and the only reason it is a shock, is because we weren't
ready for it.

When we are shocked by a situation, event or even a cold shower, it's
just because we are taken by surprise and have a hard time getting our
heads, or our body around what just happened.

And getting shocked simply elevates our internal structures and
functions to rise to the occasion.

It's the "fight or flight" reaction of our body - where our autonomic
nervous system shifts to meet the demand - the sympathetic nervous
system takes over and the parasympathetic nervous system cools down -
all to better help us deal with what we didn't see coming.

So our body rises to the occasion, and so can we, and sometimes a
little shock is what we all need to get us out of "idle".

Yours in the "Next Level" - Coach

What's your Fun Day?

Not that we can't have fun everyday...but what is the day you designate
specifically for fun?

We pick Saturday - It's our day when nothing has to be done, but
countless things could be.

Waking up with the day planned for fun, or open for fun, is a pretty
exciting day to have within your week

We can have fun doing nothing and just laying around, reading or
watching the tube. It can be day designed to anything our hearts desire
with friends and family.

Many of our friends have a fiesta or party on
Saturday night - just to enjoy a celebration and "top off" the past
week.

Which day is your Fun Day?

Yours in "Making Life Special" - Coach

Tough times?

All depends.

This current economic time will pass, and it may not be as bad as it
seems - or could be - only time will tell.

But we can handle anything life brings us...thanks to our amazing brain
and it's cognitive abilities - pertaining mostly to the mental process
of perception, memory, judgment and reasoning.

We just need to be mindful to not have it "effect" us negatively and to
act accordingly... having our choices and actions be in alignment with the
current
condition...that way, we will not be "affected" by the current
condition.

When it rains - it can "effect" us and get us wet, but it won't
"affect" us if we put on a raincoat - pretty simple.

We just need to do what we need to do, until the clouds clear, or
complain, make poor choices and get wet - while we are wishing for
sunshine.

Yours in Choice - Coach

If your future...

Is a blank Canvas...what are you going to paint?

Just to make things clear - your future IS a blank canvas - and is
waiting for you to do your magic!

We can always paint our future in a traditional fashion - with a house,
kids and a picket fence. Or maybe a little a little different with a
loft and a sports car...or paint our future with just being a little
more in touch with nature.

However we choose to paint our future - it's up to us - we just need to
pick up our mental brush and start the process - and don't worry about
the details for now - they usually fill in by themselves.

Your in "A Masterpiece" - Coach

A diet high in...

Simple carbohydrates, can actually make us more hungry.

Carbohydrates break down into either glucose which
can be used for energy or fuel for the body, or glycogen which can be
stored by the body, as a reserve to be used later when the body demands
it.

And simple carbohydrates are the ones that are usually processed or
refined, which is the reason they break down into glucose so fast -
making us more hungry - more quickly.

A better bet is to consume more complex carbohydrates, which are the
carbohydrates, starches and sugars found in their natural form, like in
fruits and vegetables, where it takes much longer to break down - thus
making us less hungry - less quickly.

And complex carbohydrates are healthier for us and they don't spike the
insulin response as much as simple carbohydrates.

Yours in Health - Coach

The clock keeps ticking...

Regardless, if we are asleep or awake.

And many of us worry that we are racing against the clock.

We're not advising that we waste time, or think that we have unlimited
time in our lives to what we want. We are just saying that we need not
worry about time, and the clock ticking, when it comes to things that
really matter in our lives.

Take the time for the important things, for we are trading our time for
importance, which always has the best outcome.

The only thing we need to worry about is when the clock stops.

Yours in "What Really Matters" - Coach

Romance doesn't only...

Have to mean turning up the intensity on a love relationship.

Romance can be part of all that we do.

When we see the beauty in everything we see, we can fall in love with
all that there is.

Looking at nature can be a beautiful sight, and what ever we eat can be
delicious...just being in a conversation with someone we care about
can be wonderful, and all there is at that moment...instead of searching
for the next moment.

There are so many things in life that we can be romantic about, and
romantic towards, we just need to stop our searching and be in the
moment.

Yours in "Romance" - Coach

Maybe Burger King has it right?

"Have it your way" is a pretty good credo.

And why not "Have it our way"?

Take your life to the "Next Level" - good - "Have it your way".

Just declare the way you want it and take the steps to get it.

Want a better body?... perfect, just make a plan and follow it.

Better relationships?...excellent, do what it takes and you got it.

For anything in your life, just speak up - stay the course...

and you can "Have it your way".

Yours in "The way it is" - Coach

On average, adults need about...

2000 calories a day, and it's because we, on the average "burn" about 2000
calories a day.

Different activities require more fuel, the more strenuous - the more
fuel, and less strenuous means less fuel needed - it's a good rule of
thumb.

Sitting quietly, "burns" 84 calories per hour, while walking "burns"
252.

So when you do the math - sitting quietly all day and night - we "burn"
about 2016 calories.

So if you don't want to cut calories from your diet, just knowing there
is simple math going on that can help us "burn" more calories by upping
our activity, is pretty sweet.

Yours in Health - Coach

Did you know...

One of the greatest secrets in life is having both wisdom and patience?

They go together splendidly.

One can be wise and full of knowledge without a lot of common sense -
as seen in the "absent minded professor".

Or one can have patience without wisdom, and it won't get them very far.

But Wisdom coupled with Patience is the perfect match...by allowing you
to know what to do, and when to do it.

And we've all heard before - "Timing is Everything".

Yours in "Wisdom and Patience" - Coach

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