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!!!!!

Goals or Systems

Welcome to 2015 and I hope that everything is going well for you after 10 glorious days. This time of year is notorious for New Years Resolutions, goal setting, feelings of motivation, a drive to be a better person, a cleansing of mind, body and spirit and the pure hope that this year will be different. I applaud each and every person that on January 1st throws a bunch of ideas into a basket and prays that at least one of them sticks as a new habit or change going forward.

The problem with most resolutions (we will call them resolutions for this post) is they are just a hope or a prayer of a better life. How much time and effort do you put into the steps needed to make these resolutions happen? Most people have a goal of loosing weight but either don't quantify how much weight or the system/process needed to get you there. Yeah you can sign up for a gym membership but once you get in the gym do you have a system in place for accomplishing your resolution? If your resolution in the new year is to be more productive at work...well what steps are in place for that to happen?

I am a huge believer in resolutions or goals but the when, where and how to accomplish them is the problem. I like everyone else like to start the year off on a clean slate and push myself to be better than the day, month and year before. I however push my goals throughout the year with constant adaptation and change. Every Sunday afternoon I sit down and write for awhile about how my goals are coming along, are my systems in place for those goals working and if not what habits or traits can I follow to be better.

I keep coming using the word systems in the article for the shear fact that goals/resolutions are nothing if you don't have a system in place for achieving that. Take the weight loss/getting in shape example. If your top goal is getting in shape then you should break in down into a system for accomplishing it and holding yourself accountable to change. It would look like this...1. Sign up for gym membership 2. Hire a trainer or consult someone of knowledge so your not wasting your time doing the wrong exercises 3. Invest time in nutrition knowledge to support your recovery and gains 4. Find a training partner with same goals to hold you accountable 5. Plan your week i.e. MWF 60 minutes of exercise 6. Reward yourself for change...i.e. I get to shop for new clothes with my transformation.

The last you also don't want to overdue is trying to implement too many goals at once. There are a few people that can manage lots of change at once. Most people will achieve amazing results if they just focus on one thing at a time. Its fine to have 10-12 resolutions for the year but I ask you to maybe only focus on one a month and really excel and then by the end of the year you will have true transformation and accomplishment instead of frustration over minimal or failed results.

The following are my goals/habits/systems that I am implementing for the 2015 year and beyond.

1. 10-10-10 for Lake Placid Ironman (details soon to follow...figuring out a few health issues currently).
2. Learn, establish and execute a monthly podcast focused on health (nutrition, exercise, mental strength and motivation)
3. Daily Thank You Cards
4. One book a week
5. Improve 1% everyday
6. One month no alcohol with potential for more
7. Weekly Saturday Blog posts with one video post a month
8. Listen to one podcast daily
9. Fill my cup before I fill anyone else...I failed miserably in 2014 at not investing time in myself
10. Once a month date night with my wife
11. Sunday goal setting for the family...every member develops individual goals for the week

These are the main facets of what I want to accomplish and improve upon in 2015.

What are yours?

Thanks to everyone who has dontated to my Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation goal for Ironman Lake Placid. I am about half way to my goal with 7 months to go. No donation is to small or to large and I appreciate anything and everything you can offer.

Make It Count!!!!

Happy Holidays and Random Fillers

First off let me say Happy Holidays from The Oergel's. I hope that you are doing everything you can to get the most out of your life. I personally have been blessed beyond belief with mostly everything in the picture above. These four individuals are the sole purpose of me wanting to be a better person everyday and constantly striving to improve myself through individual interaction, self study and personal development.

I know everyone is busy with their holiday schedule but I thought I would share with you 5 random blog fillers. They are quick and to the point but strong enough to push you to the next level.

1. Selflessness - This time of year seems to really push people to think outside themselves. We buy gifts for others, donate more to charities, embrace families that are in need of help, spend more time with family and friends and so on....well my question is why can't you carry this trend throughout the year. I know plenty of people (my wife included) that never think of themselves first. Their first thought is always to take care of others. I am not saying they don't take time for themselves but these people understand the dynamic of the small things in life that if done help people constantly.

2. Accountability - During a recent morning reflection I thought about the concept of a mentor. While I have had some amazing people in my life look out for me and help me along I have never had someone that I called a mentor. That being said even though I am almost 40 there is never a its to late point in our life's. I proceeded to set up a lunch with a man I respect more than he will ever know to simply ask him if he would mentor me. The problem at the end of the day I couldn't figure out what the hell he would mentor me in. So he and I flipped around the title and make it more of an accountability partnership. Someone to help keep you on track when life tries and bring you down and you may not have the energy to respond. Many people also use accountability in their marriage, exercise routine, professional setting, etc. End goal is to have someone around who helps build you up and not break you down.

3. Goal Setting  -  I think this topic is one that has lost its meaning overtime. The word goal is constantly thrown out into the world and when we hear it we get excited for a millisecond then the excitement wanes either when you get overwhelmed and give up or don't know how to structure a goal. I personally use about 30 minutes every Sunday to not only plan out the weeks goals but also to make sure that I have been following the path to completing my larger goals. The weekly/daily goals are the foundation for my larger goals. These are the most crucial ones needed to make sure that I am on track. This is also where most people get lost. They say they want to accomplish X but never revisit their path to make sure they are doing the necessary leg work. The last thing with goal setting is I challenge you to think big and go for the big goals. Goals that are large and initially make us uncomfortable are some of the most rewarding goals you will accomplish. They will teach you more about yourself and what your made of and constantly improve your confidence in yourself and those that support you.

4. Double Sided Match - Most of us get extremely busy in life and are constantly burning the match at both ends. Whether its lack of sleep, poor nutrition, excuses for exercising, stress of a job, faulty self improvement or not listening to your spouse once the match burns up and goes out you will be in a personal state that is hard to come out of. So why not invest the time in yourself. Learn what strategies work for you. Take the time to learn how simple changes in diet, 20 minutes of exercise and listening to your spouse can boost productivity in your life. We are blessed with a very technological world now and the ease of information at our hands is incredible. I have recently been listening to some of the smartest people in the world on podcasts during all of my long runs. The wealth of information to improve oneself is inspiring. So I challenge you to go be inspired and take care of yourself so you can help take care of those around you.

5. Daily Rituals - Some of the most successful, brilliant, creative minds of our time all have one thing in common from my readings. They all had daily rituals for success. Most of them started with a 30-60 minute ritual every single morning. Whether it was meditation, self improvement, exercise, certain nutritional movement patterns or just simply being present in time they all woke up every single day and went through their routine without out much thought to what was next. This allowed them structure to start their day. A time to build upon and reflect about where they have come and where they are going. An ability to be calm instead of waking up late, running frantic getting ready, eating a terrible breakfast and showing up to their first task unprepared these individuals where already a step above the rest. Over the past year I myself have set in motion the first 60 minutes of my day which starts at 5AM 7 days a week and allows me to always know my next move.


Hope some of you can take pieces of these fillers and apply them to your life. I also challenge you to put your goals out into the world for other people to see which allows them a sense of accountability.

Make It Count!!!

Also thanks to everyone who has donated to my Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Ironman project. I am grateful for your time and donation. For everyone interested in donating you can find the link at the top of the blog and remember every penny helps.

Interactions

Hard to believe how fast this year has come and gone. I hope that deep down you were able to make the most out of 2014. Did you accomplish the goals you had in place for the year? Where you able to invest the time in yourself to make YOU a better person? Did you overcome obstacles because you were resilient in your drive to succeed? My hope and prayer is that you can answer yes to these questions and many more like them.

Now if you are still plugging away at goals and still trying to dig deep and Make It Count then keep on truckin and don't give up. Life is more than just a day, week, month or yearly goal set in place on January 1st. Life is a constant, changing, evolving creature that requires you to always be present and to always adapt to change. Individual and family goals should require not only present time consciousness but a target of 10-20-30 and beyond years. What you build now will make who you are down the line. I can also say that with 21 days left in the month that its not to late to create new goals for 2014 if that is something you are interested in.

One goal I have for you is to make every interaction you have with someone a memorable one. Each and everyday make sure that each time you come into contact with an individual that you take whatever time needed to invest in them. The reason I bring this up and why I think it is so important is you never know what stage of life that person is in. Yeah the holidays are great at rising peoples spirits with hope and love but at the same time it can be a very stressful sad period for someone who has lost everything they own or maybe lost a loved one this year. Unfortunately these individuals don't wear a description on their sleeve saying I am having a hard time so its imperative that every time you interact with someone you make sure that they go away feeling like they are the most important person in the world.

Perfect example of this is yesterday while my little lady and I were Christmas shopping we came across an older lady who seemed confused and mumbling words under her breath. I decided it was my duty to make sure she was ok so I asked if there was anything I could do to help. She stated that her husband of 60 years passed away this fall and ever since she feels lost and almost like each day has no meaning. I proceeded to talk with her for a few minutes all the while trying to make her feel like she mattered still. Well a few minutes turned into what felt like hours and soon enough she walked away head held high with a huge smile on her face stating how happy she was to have crossed paths with me and how excited she was to be spending time with her childrens families who she feels she shut out since her husband died.

The biggest ingredient into interactions is to first listen. The people that are having a hard time and need a little extra will give it away immediately. Listening is not as easy as it sounds also. Think about your last interaction. Did you truly open yourself up and listen to every word or did you start to formulate a response in your head while they were still speaking? Most people follow this trend of only listening half way while at the same time thinking of what they are going to say next.

The second ingredient for a successful interaction I believe was ingrained in me growing up in the midwest and also living in Texas for awhile. That ingredient is to SLOW DOWN and not rush the process. Living on the east coast now I understand most people are busy and as a result are in an extreme hurry to get everywhere in record speed (or if you are sitting on the highway your not getting anywhere with our traffic). Well take this as a warning to slow down a few gears and enjoy life. You will get more out of life, you will enjoy the opportunities that come your way more and you will have the opportunity to affect more people's life in a positive manner than if you sped by them with blinders.

The photo at the top is of course me and one of my beautiful ladies. While I know exactly what she and my other daughters are going through in life at this point I still try and wake up each day and make each interaction with them incredible. I made a promise to myself a long time ago that when I had kids I would go out of my way to be an amazing father and always be there for them. I believe positive interactions with them now will help mold them into remarkable adults later in life.

As always I don't have all the answers I am just trying to take what I have learned in life and sharing it with you. Remember to Make It Count!!!

Thanks to everyone who has donated to my Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation event. No donation is to small and every penny I am grateful for as it goes to an amazing cause.

I in Team

Growing up I think just about every coach or mentor I had at least one time during the journey stated "There is no I in Team." To tell you the truth as a young immature athlete or growing business professional I never really gave credit or thought to that statement. At the end of the day I think I was selfish enough to believe that the world revolved around myself and only myself. That the only way to get stuff accomplished was to throw everything onto my shoulders and push forward. Of course there were major accomplishments along the way but now looking back on it I failed a lot also. What I can also look back upon is that with each accomplishment I unconsciously at the time had a team in place and when I failed it was typically because I was to stubborn to reach out and ask for help when needed. Instead of asking a team member for assistance I would pile on the tasks and become over crowded with deadlines and tasks steering me away from success.

Any one that knows me knows that running and triathlon are my hobbies and passions in life. The time management, personal goal setting, commitment to excellence and extremely deep soul searching that happens during these events constantly drives me to do better. Most people would also look at these activities as an individual sport and while I agree slightly I believe it takes a team to accomplish your dreams. I know that when every Ironman race roles around I need my family to support me number one, I need the help of a coach to help set a plan in place, I need friends who are better than me to push me outside my comfort zone, I need a sports medicine staff to keep me healthy and most importantly I need my chosen circle of support to constantly give me the energy and motivation to succeed.

The picture above is from my daughters rock star cross country team who this weekend will be competing at the youth cross country national championships. It would be easy for these young girls to get caught up in the fact that running is a very individual sport however they understand the need for the team. They know that every runner counts towards success. Before their last regional race this awesome group of girls developed some team chants to try and get in the minds of the other runners. To show that other runners need to watch out for our team and not just individual runners.

So before you take on the next task at work, plan for your next race or just simply develop goals for 2015. I suggest you look around you and see what team members you have in place. A healthy team atmosphere can help you reach the peak of success faster than if you try and do everything yourself. It is also healthy from time to time to reward you team with gratitude letting them know how important they are to your success.

On a side note thanks to everyone who had donated to my Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Ironman Lake Placid project. No donation is to little and I would be grateful for every penny donated. You can click on the link at the top banner and it will take you directly to my page.

Make It Count!!!!

Proactive vs. Reactive

Everyday when we wake up immediately we are presented with choices as to whether your going to be proactive or reactive to choices and situations. I can go out on a limb and say that most people choose the second way of decided on their actions. Most people are reactive in their thoughts and most of those thoughts lead to negative thinking or results. No matter how intense the situation is reactive people make choices based on impulse where proactive people make choices based on values. 

Reactive people tend to never let go of anything. If someone treats them wrong or does not respond in a favorable way the reactive person tends to hold on to those thoughts and never forgive. The reactive person tends to judge immediately. The reactive person tends to spend most of their waking hours complaining how things are not fair. The reactive person tends to talk behind peoples back or complain about a person without confrontation. The reactive person tends to see the glass as half empty. The reactive person tends to always find the easy way out when the going gets tough. The reactive person tends to loose control easily thus making an easy situation difficult to handle. 

Proactive people on the other hand tend to make choices based on values. Proactive people typically always have the end goal in sight and take the necessary steps needed to get to that end goal without sacrificing an integral step needed for success. Proactive people recognize that they can't control everything but more tend to think about how the can control what they do about it. Proactive people never talk behind someones back but yet confront the individual and figure out a way that both can get along. The proactive person tends to see the glass as half full. The proactive person tends to daily make deposits into their account of returning favors and treating others with respect. The proactive individual tends to stay cool, calm and in control in every situation knowing that no matter what there is always a positive outcome. Proactive people tend to always learn from their mistakes. Proactive people tend to see the obstacle as the way in that every tough situation has a silver lining. 

My question to you is what kind of person are you? Are you the type that gets hot under the collar when someone cuts you off in traffic or do you just let it slide as there is nothing you can do about it? Are you the type that reads to much into an email or text instead of taking the time to fully understand the intent of the sender? Do you use language such as I can't instead of saying there has to be a way? Do you place blame on others instead of fully taking responsibility? I could go on forever with questions like this but I think you get the point. 

I like the picture above from this past weekends youth national cross country championships as I fully believe it relates to a proactive vs. reactive mindset. First let me set the stage for what was going on in this picture that the picture doesn't fully describe. As you can see from their dress its not warm outside. It was actually pretty cold with wind gusts up to 40 MPH. On top of that it was probably the hardest course they would race this whole season. Their mindset could easily been one of complaining the whole course walk about the weather, difficulty of the hills and they would rather be home playing. Instead as I walked behind these three girls all I heard was laughter and a constant strategy session. These girls where deciding where they would push it and where they would settle in. They where talking how they have trained all season for this moment and how there was nothing that could beat them today. Well I am happy to say that most of our team finished in the top 20 and we took the 2nd place overall team title. Can't wait to see what these strong girls do at nationals in a few weeks.

Next time a difficult time or decision arises I challenge you to think about what your reaction will be. Don't ever use language such as I can't but always know that you are capable to accomplishing anything you put your mind to. Figure out the steps needed for success. It may be a difficult road to get there but once the road map is in place stick to your guns and follow the steps needed to set you apart from the rest. 

Make It Count!!!!

Please also visit my link at the top of the page for my next project with the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.