Saying Good Bye to an Old Friend.........

This Thursday, 28 January, I said good-bye to a dear friend. My cat Maxmillian died. Max joined my pride in the fall of 1996, after the olympic games and after I was burglarized. I adopted Max during graduate school as I sought to create some normalcy in my life after the burglary.

I went to a sketchy part of Atlanta to the shelter that had advertised cats for adoption. I knew when I saw him, Max was my cat.

We traveled via MARTA back to Buckhead to my apartment, and Max did want to be in the box that was provided and he almost escaped as he jumped from the box and ran across the front of my apartment building. He came to me when I called his name. (SHOCKING!)

Fourteen years later, I spent the day with Maxmillian, reminiscing with him about the journey of his life. Max taught me a great deal about life.

1. Always ask for what you want.

Max loved shrimp. He begged when I was eating it. Because he was so vocal, he always got some shrimp. By asking, he received. If you don't ask, you will never know if you would have gotten what you wanted.

2. Sometimes you need to go back to bed and start the day again.

My mom was visiting Atlanta. We couldn't find Max. Max had curled up under the blankets back in bad. Periodically, when I couldn't find Max, I would look and there he was under his favorite blankets taking sleeping on my bed.

3. A nap gives you a whole new perspective.

Cats are notorious for napping, hence the phrase, 'cat-nap.' Max was no different. Sleeping in the middle of the day, created a new perspective. During graduate school, I adopted this attitude of afternoon naps and I was able to maintain focus.

4. Taking a break to play keeps you youthful.

Max loved to help me study. As I was writing my thesis and working on other projects, Max was always ready to play. Whenever I crumbled a sheet of paper with from a mistake, Max was there waiting for me to throw it across the room. He would chase the ball of paper across the room and play with it and then ask for another.

5. Stretch when you get up.

Upon rising, Max would stretch. Before getting up, before curling up, Max would stretch.

6. Be loyal to your friends.

7. Love unconditionally.

8. Listen.

9. Always be well-groomed.

10. Love your friends.

Maxmillian, Madeleine (my other black cat) and I were living in Union City, NJ when Shadow came to live with us. Shadow had managed to tree-himself on a snowy February morning. After luring Shadow down from the tree, he joined the family. Shadow was a small-terror, but he quickly became my cat. Shadow and Maxmillian became best 'cats'. Where one was, the other wasn't too far behind.

I was truly blessed to have had Maxmillian as my cat. Now, it is just Shadow and I.

I am glad that Max was around to remind me of the basic things that make life great.

I will miss you, Max.

The Path Least Traveled

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.' --Ralph Waldo Emerson

I tend to do my own thing, go where others may not think to travel, journey on a different route. NOT that I don't believe the mainstream, but because I don't believe the mainstream.... completely. I have learned that to achieve excellence, I need to be traveling on a different path.

As it should be true with you. In order to achieve your fitness or performance goals, you need to travel a different path..... in training, in diet, in overall lifestyle.

And that is where the problem lies.

LIFESTYLE CHOICES.

Our preconceived notions about what our body can and cannot do are killing us. Many of us are afraid to push ourselves a little harder, run a little faster (even if for half a block), do something new, stop eating junk or anything else that is inhibiting ourselves from achieving our best selves.

We cling to these ideologies and beliefs that we will accomplish A, B, or C ...... and many of us struggle with time management to put these in motion. And the end of 2010 will arrive with more empowerment for each belief to be clung to, although it was these very things that harmed us.

Today, I want you to start a journal. I want you to write in your journal what it is you are trying to accomplish. I want you to thoroughly evaluate what is holding you back from getting there. And then I want you to ask yourself, what will happen if I don' t achieve these goals? How willing am I to risk wasting another moment, day, year to not push to the achievement of these goals? Am I willing to be content with the results I have achieved in the past? Answer those questions completely and honestly.

Many of us do the same thing over and over. Each year we start out with a new focus, a new objective. This year is going to be better than the last, and by March, we have some how dismissed the goals and are now putting forth mediocre efforts. Maybe not because we don't believe we can achieve but because what we are doing doesn't work. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly, and expecting different results, and yet, we do this every time we take on the goal. We pursue it with a vengeance with the tools that will not help us accomplish this.

Some of it is not your fault. I have been reading a lot of diet/exercise/training books. (I find the industry interesting. Everyone is in it for a buck. Granted we all need to eat, but sometimes it is utterly ridiculous). The books that indeed show the greatest long term results, call for a lifestyle change. The average diet/exercise/training book is a feel-good book, that is designed to make the reader feel good about the current beliefs. These are not designed to motivate a serious change.

IN A WAY, THESE ARE PREPPING YOU FOR FAILURE.

Now that you are angry, either at the people telling you lies, or at me, because you think I am lying, do something. How valuable is your goal? You will not see the results until you get serious about your goal. PERIOD. I cannot say it any better, clearer, LOUDER.

It is time you got serious.

Now that you are getting serious, it is time you find someone who can assist you in achieving your goal. A mentor, a coach, a friend..... someone you trust. Someone who will help you orchestrate the complete life changes, someone who will be your cheerleader, and advisor. You can choose several people to assist you in your goals.

As NIKE says, JUST DO IT.

You have everything to gain.

Just take the road least traveled. That is where your victory lies.

Motivation vs Knowledge

'I have found that encouraging people to exercise when they have not expressed the desire is useless. It has been my experience that the average person needs a source of inspiration more than a source of information.' ---Dr Max L Irick, physcian


Ain't this the truth?
As a fitness professional and coach, I can share countless tidbits and anecdotes and studies that have information on why and when and how we should exercise, what we should eat and how much water we should drink. And some people will take this information and do something with it, while others say well that's nice or take offense and walk or maybe even run in the other direction.

In this, I have reflected greatly on my interpersonal relationships with clients and potential clients. (Having done some work with Mary Kay, I got turned off b/c my director kept telling me I need to see everyone as a client and everyone as a potential sale. My response was and when as a business owner do I get ME-TIME!)

And in my coaching business, I have become pretty selfish in that respect. I demand ME-TIME! And I am willing to share my knowledge and expertise...... but the Me-Time is necessary so that I can give my best to my clients and be the best for me.

I have also learned from my friend @footdr69, that she is more motivated by her desire to beat my daily steps, than all the numbers and calculations i have in my head to help her achieve her fitness goals. But because we have the common goal of taking a daily step count, she is more open to my answering questions that will help her accomplish these goals. Motivation has become a source of information.

This has taught me that while I have a bizillion letters after my name and strive to stay on top of my education and continue to learn more to be the best coach I can be, I need to be a motivator. I need to know how to get people moving. I need to know how to challenge someone to push herself to walk more steps in a day, train for a race whether a 5k or a marathon, to lift the 10#, 15# or 50# dumb bell, or drink water over soda. I need to motivate this individual so the knowledge I have gained from studies means something.

My clients need to be challenged and motivated and when they know I can do this, they are then interested in what I have to say.


So, I challenge you to be the best you can be this year in fitness.

What is it you are setting out to accomplish?



Here are some of my goals for 2010:

-run a marathon with my cousin for fun
-run 500km
-take at least 10,000 steps every day
-be active every day

-start my second master's degree
-expand my presenting/educating network
-build a sense of community with my clients
-do something with the manual therapy skills i have gained.

I look forward to hearing about your goals and what motivates you.
Remember, I am here to help you accomplish these goals.