Take Action

It has been a busy week with my wife gone at her National Sales meeting, extreme cold in the mid-atlantic, two family members having surgery and the daily grind of getting things accomplished. All that said I haven't had much thought towards putting together a blog idea this week. That all changed after I came across this video and it reminded me how much people dream big and thirst for success but never TAKE ACTION!!!

Human are great at dreaming big but never putting the building blocks in place to accomplish those dreams. We hear stories and watch movies about great success and I think many people believe that individual just woke up to success one day. While that may be the case what people don't see are the numerous failures or all the blood, sweat and tears that went into waking up that morning. You hear all the time about Edison's game changing inventions but you don't hear about the 10,000 failures that went into that one success. You hear about Ford's success in developing the V8 engine but not the years of people thinking it was impossible yet Ford stayed the course knowing that if the proper actions and mindset are in place that success will happen.

I have treated thousands upon thousands of patients over the years and the one difference that sets people getting better from those that struggle are the patients that take action. The ones who take what I educate them on and implement those cues into their daily life. Its the little things done daily consistently that will change your life forever.

All the successful people in our rich history can be put into one category called Mr. or Mrs. Activationist and those that typically fall short and just never reach that level fall into the category of Mr. or Mrs. Passivationist. I don't need to go into to much depth as I am sure those reading this fall into the first category. The Activationist creates not only incredible concepts but then takes those concepts and puts them into action. Sounds easy but taking action is the step people tend to never take. Whether its fear, nerves, financial or just confidence many very intelligent people never take the one step that could possibly lead them down an amazing journey/path. The Activationist also reaches out for help when needed knowing full well that sometimes it takes a team in order to succeed.

I watch my kids daily not only dream up an extremely creative world full of potential but I also see them almost 100% of the time implement their thoughts into some form of reality. They are not scared of failure, they are not scared of what people will think of them, they are not scared of loosing money (mostly because its mom and dads money), they are not scared of hard work...they just want to live and have fun.

 Why can't we as adults live, have fun, take chances? You don't need to rely on anyone else to get you off the escalator of life as its your sole responsibility to take ACTION and make the most out of what you are given. The person that says they can't do anything is stuck in life and they wait until someone tells them what to do. The problem with this is that you have no freedom in your choices and your success. You will always be working hard to bolster someones else's dreams and not yours. You will will not see how easy success can be if your mindset is stuck inside the box. You will be like the people of the escalator who instead of just taking an action step forward your life is full of the why me attitude which will limit your progress in believing you can overcome anything.

Make It Count!!!!

Let It Go!!!!

In an attempt to balance life's positive and negative energy I made a foolish decision to slowly let Mrs. Negative, Mr. Energy Drain, Mrs. Failure, Mr. Obstacle and Mrs. Why Me enter my illogical thought process. The unfortunate side of this is that this is the way many people live day to day. They easily let in the negative aspects of life and let those thoughts burn like a wild fire. In the immediate time frame it is much easier for us to have a negative mindset as it easily gives us a way out. It gives us the ability to not take any accountability for our actions (always blaming someone else for our short comings), it gives us the gift of living the comfortable life which never allows you to reach for the goals that bring out the best in you and most of all takes all the energy out of life.

A common trend among the most successful people in life is that they have rewired their thought processes to include Mr. Success, Mrs. Obstacle Is the Way, Mr. Take Charge, Mrs. I Will Make a Difference and Mr. Every Opportunity Is a Chance To Grow. You think there is any coincidence that their mindset equals their success?

This morning I let a situation occupy my thoughts and actions which gave the situation more credit than it really deserved. I got heated about how people where reacting to it which drove me to respond in a not so Jake fashion. Instead of taking a second to step back and survey the scene and respond I jumped straight in and my immediate reaction was that of a negative approach. This continued a downward spiral until my daughter said stop right now daddy and than continued to sing a song to me....

She started to sing the song "Let It Go" from the movie Frozen. I immediately stopped, brought my thoughts back into my core, thought about how foolish I was reacting and immediately joined my daughter in song. Yes having three girls I have seen the movie about 146 times so the songs chorus is not something foreign to me. Actually singing out loud and acting goofy was just what I needed.

Whether she knew it or not her actions of telling me to "Let It Go" was perfect timing and just what I needed. I was reacting to something so small but giving it a mountain of negative energy and she saw that I was not my typical happy dad.

My point in this blog is not to tell you to live this perfect, positive, smile all the time life. I know that at times that is not possible. What I do know is we have the power of choice, thoughts and the ability to take negative events/thoughts/actions of others/ourselves and "Let It Go". Evaluate the importance of the event and quickly make a choice as to what energy you will give it. If the event is a life changing event than go for it 100% and make a difference. However if the event is (negative/non-productive energy) like most events that occupy the day and will eventually cause you to redirect your energy towards something that doesn't build you up then I give you permission to out loud sing your own version of "Let It Go".

Remember life is up to you and what you do today going forward will make your legacy.

MAKE IT COUNT!!!!

Hour Of Power

Recently a patient asked me "Jake how do you fit everything into your schedule and still seem to be pretty calm, collected instead of frantic or exhausted." My quick response was the typical time management is crucial and you have to set aside time for what is important to you...we have all heard the typical response in the past. In reality what really allows me the chance to fit everything in and develop a constant win-win mentality is what I refer to as my HOUR OF POWER. Its what I do the first 60 minutes of my day that sets up my day, week, month and year. Its somewhat of a flowing routine of items or actions that I do every morning that helps me focus and prepare for what lies ahead.

My routine is pretty basic and changes a little during the week depending on whether or not my wife is traveling. My hour of power allows me to focus on the present. Its my way of opening up the day to new possibilities, potential obstacles and prepping my mind/body for success.

I guess the one thing that I have going for me is that I have always been a morning person. No matter the time I get to sleep I have never been one to sleep in. Even in college when we would be out all night I still was up bright and early. It was my mom at a young age told me that life is yours for the taking...if you sleep away life then look how much you are missing out on.

So back to my routine or actions that I take in the morning. Here is a list of things I do almost every morning and has been a huge part of developing the right mindset.

1. Alarm: I typically awake between 4:30 -5:00 daily (even weekends). I also place the alarm clock out of arms reach as to not be tempted with the magical snooze button. Once I am up I am up.

2. Peace of Mind: I love my kids more than they will ever know but in a household of three girls the mornings are the only time in my life when things are quiet. This allows me intense focus with no distractions.

3. Read: Lately I have been on a quest for knowledge. Whether its biographies, business, self-help, motivation, physiology...it really doesn't matter as when you truly open yourself to learning you will be amazed at how thirsty you become for it. I use to maybe only read a book a month but now I am getting about 2 a week.

4. Meditation: This is absolutely new to me. I have read all the research and positive effects but never thought I could apply it to my crazy mind. I always thought you had to be completely clear of all thoughts. I was 100% wrong in that assumption as I have found out. I take about 10-15 minutes each morning to breath, clear the mind, bring thoughts back in, analyze them, think of worst outcomes of the day and how I would react and most important this is a time that I reflected on how grateful I am to have another day.

5. Exercise: When my wife is in town and more on the weekends I LOVE to get out the door at 5AM. This has been my traditional form of meditation over the years as its usually me, my thoughts, nature and a world that is quiet and at peace. Morning exercise also sets the tone for a productive, goal accomplished day.

6. 5 Minute Journal: I have been participating in this ritual for about a month now. It entails 5 minutes of writing in the morning focusing on what your grateful for and what would make the day great and the evenings writing focus is on what made the day grate and what I could have done to improve. I have found this simple exercise absolutely amazing at waking one's self up to your actions of the day. Are you following your own personal philosophy or letting others ideas form your actions.

7. Breakfast: Anyone that knows me knows that I am known for my EPIC breakfast meals. It has always been so important to me to start the day with brain food. Food that helps support my growth both physically from activity but also setting the tone for mental fitness.

8. Goal Setting: The problem with goals is that we always set out at the beginning of the year with these grand goals. I think that this is incredible but the fault comes into what are you doing day to day to support those goals. My morning routine allows me to focus more on the process. Am I planting the seeds daily that are needed for continued growth of those goals or have I unconsciously given up so action is needed to re-invest in myself.

9. Avoiding Panic: Remember the last time you woke up late? You then proceeded to rush around getting ready, skipping breakfast, drove aggressively to work and the rest of your day continued to crumble into pieces. Now contrast this to the opposite...you woke up on time, took time getting ready, mediated, ate breakfast, was able to listen to your favorite podcast on your way to work and not only had a great day but you were productive, team player and a success at work.

10. Maximize Life: This one basically means that you are setting the building blocks in place for success. That you understand the value in investing time into yourself and your actions. That with a somewhat concrete morning routine you are MAKING IT COUNT!!!!

Have a blessed day and enjoy your weekend.

Choice

I recently had a small health scare that not only made me worry about my own well being but also the well being of my kids, wife, my legacy in this world, those around me suffering from disease (whether mental or physical) and those family/friends that are not close geographically to me any more thus not catching up as much.

What came out of the the scare though was a desire to be better and to improve myself daily thus always waking up with the intention of being 1% better than the day before and not going backwards. To not stress over the past and not look forward to what might be but instead to focus on the present in order to LIVE. I have taken many measures over the past week to ensure that my psychological and physical state are in line with the direction that I was to go in life. Some of these changes I will be sharing over time and many of them I am super excited about sharing. 

The big thing that I have neglected over the past year has been taking care of myself. I have always been focused on taking care of those in my environment thus not leaving time to better myself. Most of this came to the forefront with a conversation with my wife recently which really opened my eyes that if I don't take care of myself then how can I really ever truly take care of those around me.

Now back to the title of this blog...CHOICE. During the month of January I really stepped back from most social media and  various other time busts. I needed to reinforce who I am and my beliefs. During this trek I read alot almost completing 2-3 books a week and I also talked to various personalities.  One thing is consistent - you and only you are in charge of your next actions. Everything is based upon how you choose to live. From the entrepreneur who loves the challenge of building a business, to the individual who dealt with a health issue to my daughter who sees a kid getting bullied and decides to step in and protect. Each  individual decided that instead of waiting for things to happen, responding in a negative energy fashion or letting life run over them that they would take action and CHOOSE to live a more fulfilled life.  The power to CHOOSE is YOURS!!!

In January I not only started reading books on motivation, inspiration, success, failure and the drive to be better but I started to meditate.  I also write in a journal daily, develop a "power hour" that sets the tone for the day, also write a Thank You card a day to various influencers in my life.   I exercise less but with purpose (thus seeing results beyond my previous 15 years of running/triathlon), developing goals (small and BIG) which will push me but reward will be immense and finally enjoy every second I get to spend with those I love.

One of my goals is to write a blog post every Tuesday and Friday. My goal is to inspire one or millions.

As always remember to Make It Count!!!!!