Staying in Shape

It has always been my mission to cherish my body and mind in many ways. I try to protect my mind from being exposed to negative input and keep a focus on what I want rather than what I don’t have. I use personal affirmations on a daily basis to stay focused and review my goals and action plan every day.\r\n\r\nI also have an addiction to working out. I think the endorphins keep me calmer throughout the day. I like to exercise in the morning when possible, followed by a high protein breakfast and vitamin supplements. Kinda gets it all out of the way at the start of the day. Then I can focus more on the wonderful things that are going to happen in my life that day.

I like to do cardio for 30 minutes, followed by 30-45 minutes of machine and free weights.

Jazz in Raleigh

I discovered this great Jazz bar in downtown Raleigh on my own and went to check it out. They do not serve any food and have a 6-page specialty drink menu. It started hopping at 8:30 when the Dixieland band started. Every night is a different style of Jazz. This could end up being one of my favorite hangouts. Introduced myself to friends I had not met yet. It was a blast.

Goals and Action Plans

I have a couple of thoughts about what I have done over the years to make tomorrow better than today and to know my family will be looked after. I always had plans for my future, however, when I was young, they were carried around in my head, as my great-niece described today, as some kind of sticky note, stuck on the bulletin board of my brain. Incredibly that got me through until I was in my early thirties. I had finished high school, completed my term in the military, extended my education to being certified as a Respiratory Technologist and Cardiopulmonary Pump Technologist, completed an undergraduate degree in Bachelor of Science, married and had a daughter.

I remember being at my brother, Mike’s house and seeing a set of personal development tapes on his bookshelf by Brain Tracy. I asked to borrow them. I listened to them and they changed my entire life forever. What incredible changes can come as a result of small millisecond decisions? The lesson here is that I arrived at a crossroad of existence, and recognized it. The key here is that I recognized it. I am never sure how that works, except to the fact that when the universe offers you a morsel of insight, grab it quickly, and act upon it. The more of these you grasp in your clutches, the more the universe will offer you. If you pass them off as weird, or doesn’t make sense, or “that’s not me”, the universe will not offer as many in the future. You must be open to receiving them, and acting upon them, in which case you will see more, sooner.

I took those tapes home to Elora, ON and listened to them in my basement office. They were called the Psychology of Achievement. One of the tapes talked about goal setting and required that I sit down and write out what I wanted my future to look like and what would be my major definite purpose in life. I was instructed to write out the answers to about six questions, of which here are three.

  1. If I could do anything I wanted, what would I do, if I knew I could not fail?
  2. If I won a million dollars (make that 100 million today), what would I do?
  3. If I only had six months to live, what would I do

Questions are the answers in life, I have learned. It helped my design the following areas of my life that I use as daily areas of focus to help me create the life and lifestyle I have always wanted.

On Goals and Actions

  • Fun
  • Personal Growth
  • Play It Forward
  • Finance
  • Family – Extended
  • Health & Fitness
  • Spiritual

Once I designed the areas of importance to myself, I then attached daily action plans to manifest those into reality. They all start with an idea. However, an idea, not written down, with an action plan is simply a dream, destined to be discarded to the pile of regrets. My rule is: “If it is not written, it is not so.”

Crystallize your Dreams into goals and action plans and you will be amazed at how your reticular activating system will bring those into reality.

Discovering Out of the Way Restaurants in Raleigh

I was introduced to this really quaint restaurant for the artsy folk, young and old. They had live music on a Sunday and it was packed. Tucked away in an industrial area. I had to go back a couple of days later just to enjoy the ambiance without the crowd. Well worth the find. It reminded me of Elora, ON in the eighties. Baklava to live for…everything fresh and very vegan as well.

Way to Go!

I keep seeing these kinds of lists that Successful people do that most others do not. I hate FB for sharing, because most people will judge and that is not my purpose. I simply want to live my life to the utmost.

Here is one that portrays my daily affirmations.

Thanksgiving US 2013

Things to be thankful for this year.

I woke up this morning and looked down and there was no tag on my toe. I knew it was going to be an incredible day!  I love that joke. No matter how many times I use it with people on a daily basis, it always brings a smile to their face.

Things are great! Mary is feeling well, I am safe and well. Those closest to me are safe and well. I have friends and family who are grateful I am here. Life is good. I am grateful.

I spent US Thanksgiving with sister, Molly and her kin – that’s family in North Carolina talk.

I provided some entertainment after dinner.

It’s What It Represents

I went to see Jeff Dunham last night in Kitchener with magnificent daughter, Mary.  She bought me one of the best presents of my life, wait for it…… a Peanut doll!  Why, you ask would a 65-year-old man want with a frickin’ doll? Easy…..it makes me laugh!

I have been looking back through pictures of me throughout my life and have discovered something amazing, I laugh a lot!  Videos that I have taken and posted in my biography have me laughing on the audio.  How cool is that! Isn’t that what we all want, happiness? If I can laugh a lot, I am convinced, I will experience more of life than if I don’t.

Kelowna, BC Delivery for Rapidgo

Kids; there is so much excitement surrounding a long, arduous road trip. I took a load of lighting fixtures out to Kelowna, BC in February 2007. I was a bit apprehensive leaving, even though I knew the truck was safe and I had credit cards in case of breakdown. It was the middle of winter across Canada. It takes 13 hours of driving to get out of Ontario, two days to Calgary and then arriving in Kelowna the third afternoon. Grueling. I slept for 24 hours and still felt my body buzzing from the road. Refreshed, I started back at about 4am. To look good, I took the truck through a car wash before leaving Kelowna. That turned out not to be such a great idea when the locks froze and I was on the outside of a locked, running truck, in the middle of absolutely nowhere.Rogers Pass 1 (2) (640x426)

Headed up to Rogers Pass. The Canadian military use howitzers to fire on potential avalanches. There are sections of the road that are covered in concrete to protect from avalanches every year. Rogers Pass 3 (640x426)Rogers Pass 5 (640x426)

Reached Rogers Pass. Cold, cold, cold!

Kelowna Return 1 (640x426) Leaving Kelowna, headed back 4am.Kelowna Return 2 (640x426)

I got out to take this picture and inadvertently hit the door lock on my way out. Thinking I was smart to have a backup key in my pocket, I thought I was safe until I realized that washing the truck before starting out in the cold led to the locks freezing. I went from lock to lock for quite awhile, breathing on the key and then trying it in the frozen lock. Fortunately, it finally worked. A real McGyver move.

Kelowna Logging Rd 2 (426x640)

The road my GPS gave me was actually a logging road that is not used in winter. There are no poles, lanes, roads or anything for 3 hours. Locals told me I could have died up there and not been found until Spring.Kelowna Return Beaverdale (640x426)

Local Beaverdell restaurant, deep in the BC interior. Kelowna Return BC Interior 2 (640x426)

Headed toward the US border. Beautiful morning. crisp, with frozen mist on everything.Kelowna Return BC Interior 1 (640x426)Kelowna Return BC Interior 3 (640x426)Kelowna Return Rd Closed Detour 2 (640x426)

Got into Montana and found out the road I was on had been closed several hours before. This is the re-direct route. It took me 3 hours to go 50 miles. Couldn’t see any further than this for the entire time.Kelowna Return Rd Closed Detour 1 (640x426)Kelowna Return Rd Closed Detour 3 (640x426)

Never so glad to see an interstate again.

Kelowna Return Montana (640x426)

Montana got much better.

Kelowna Return Chicago 2 (640x426)

Chicago skyline. Yay, only 11 hours to home.