Putting things off until tomorrow or next week will almost always turn into another tomorrow or another week—or worse yet, never.

Procrastination becomes a habitual and conditioned behavior that will destroy any chance of real achievement.

There are several ways to procrastinate:

1. You can put things off by never choosing to do anything
2. You can also put things off by choosing to do something, but never starting it.
3. You can put things off by starting something, but not continuing it.
4. You can continue, continue, continue, something, but never finish it!

Those four approaches to achievement require no time-line or accountability, and offer very little in the form of reward or success.

The fifth approach—start, continue, and finish—does require you to set a time-line, hold yourself accountable, and take massive and consistent action. In the achievement process, it is vital, even though the task may eventually get done, that you do not put off until tomorrow something that you could have done today. Doing so sends a message to your unconscious mind and the universe that “maybe you’re not really that serious about your objective. Maybe there are more important things, like e-mail, TV, or hanging with your friends.” Is that the message you want to send, or are you serious about achieving your desired outcome?

There is a caveat, however: If you find at any point in the pursuit of your goal that you’re just not falling in love with the idea of achieving it, then maybe what you’re pursuing just isn’t what you really want after all. If your goal was to learn how to play golf and it turns out you hate the game, why continue? Call the goal completed, and move on to something you are passionate about. It is not a failure –only feedback. If you continue to pursue it just because you feel like you have to finish what you start – your likely hood of procrastination will go up 10 fold.  And you will ultimately feel like you actually did fail –and with good reason.

The number one way to end procrastination forever is to do only what you are passionate about and love doing. If your goal is to lose weight but you hate going to the gym, you will continue to put off going to the gym until you wind up not going at all. If your final desired outcome is to look and feel great, and losing 20 pounds will help you achieve it, find a way to achieve your sub-goal that does not involve having to go to the gym or doing something you hate.

One of my coaching clients had just that very dilemma. He absolutely hated having to work out, especially indoors when the weather outside was beautiful. We tossed around some ideas, and he finally remembered that he loved to play volleyball as a kid. I suggested that he seek out opportunities in his community to play the game for fun or sport. As it happened, there was an outdoor volleyball court in the nearby park, and a group of people would get together to play three times each week. He watched for a couple of games and then asked if there was a chance for him to join in. Sure enough, he wound up playing three days per week for almost 90 minutes each day for the next three months. Not only was he able to lose the weight and gain the energy he wanted, but he made some really great new friends along the way.

Forcing yourself to do something you don’t enjoy or flat-out hate will almost assuredly lead to procrastination and failure.

Remember: Procrastination kills achievement.

Was Arnold Schwarzenegger just lucky or did he have a strategy for success?

Recorded live during an on-line training – In this video I share some of my goal achievement insights with a tough interviewer and a live audience and answer the question “do we really have to set goals to achieve what we want in life?”

Check out this short video and share your thoughts and your strategy for success below…

Do you know, like and trust your body? In this short training video filmed during a live teleconference we talk about the importance of “body rapport” and the brutal truth about who you are at your core.  Look and listen for the parts of the message that resonates with you and please share your thoughts.

Thanks,

~ The Achievement Mentor

There may be several motivators for wanting change in your life. Not all goals and desires are driven by the same thing.  Some may be driven by your conscious desires or wants and likely go beyond your survival needs for food, shelter, a sense of security and, I dare say, sex. Our conscious desires are the things we want, the things that add joy, pride, or fun to our lives. They are the things that better us or keep us from getting any worse off -the new car, new home, abundant bank account, and our soul mate.

On the other hand, one of the great motivators for many of us may be a distain, or dissatisfaction for what we are already experiencing in our life – a painful relationship, lousy job, or the feeling of scarcity.  Assuming you are just standing still – You are always either moving toward something you desire or moving away from something you no longer want in your life. Quite often, which direction you are moving is only a matter of perspective or how we frame it.  The goal of finding a new job or pursuing a new career, for example, could be based on one of two perspectives:

1. You can be moving toward a new job with better pay and more benefits.
2. Or you can be moving away from a crappy, dead-end job with little pay and no bennies.

Sometimes you can even do both. You can simultaneously be moving toward something you want or desire and, at the same time, be moving away from something you fear or dislike. Too often, however you’re not moving at all.

So the question is are you living in the energy of scarcity while struggling to move away from something you can no longer tolerate in your life.

Or have you clearly identified what you do want – not just what you don’t and are you moving towards it with a sense of abundance and certainty.

The answer to that question will in many respects determine your outcome and how much you enjoy and appreciate the result.

What are your thoughts?

The Achievement Mentor

During a recent coaching call I was asked by someone who was facing a challenge that would require her to turn what she perceived to be a weakness into a strength. If she was not able to do so, it would likely lead to the inability to achieve her objective. I shared with her a story about a young Judo champion who was able to turn adversity and a perceived weakness into a gold medal strength. And since we are all faced with those challenges from time to time I thought I would share the story with you.

It’s the story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident. The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.

“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “shouldn’t I be learning more moves?” “This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training. Several months later, the sensei entered the boy in his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy artfully used his one move to win the match.

Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals. This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.

“No,” the sensei insisted, “Let him continue.”

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

“Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

TT

Discover the ramifications of not listening to our body’s messages. Start honoring the biggest part of you by redeveloping rapport with your body.

Year after year the number one resolution made is to lose weight.  Now a days it is easier than ever to stay motivated due to the ever increasing fitness challenges available.  AND the dedication you make to yourself through your efforts may earn you sizable prize money, exotic trips, or both!

Dawn and I just returned from Miami, Florida where we helped Jim Sayih produce over 50 video segments to support 911 Fitness Challenge and CEO Fitness Challenge.  I highly recommend checking out these events as well as good friend, Bill Phillips’, Transformation (ever hear of this one??). 

Also, keep an eye for the inaugural fitness transformation challenge on MY TRAINER.  I have the inside scoop and will keep you posted.

Recently, I received an inquiry about nutritional preparation during a 12 week challenge.  Here are the general recommendations I suggested for this 5′3″ female, very muscular, 155 LBS dedicated contender.

Rules of Thumb:

1. There is a fine line between losing weight and losing muscle.  Her caloric intake should be fine tuned and adjusted weekly to stay on the “cutting edge.”  She may have to drop her daily calories every other week by 50-100 kcalories.
2. The starches have to go.  She should be eating a large percentage of her caloric intake from raw or lightly steamed veggies.
3. Ample amounts of protein.  I would normally recommend in the area of one gram of lean protein per pound of body weight from the best protein sources.
4. Lots of EFAs.  I love Udo’s Choice and it is extremely popular with strength athletes these days.  I would recommend between 10%-15% of her caloric intake come from EFAs.  These EFAs will also aid in recovery and repair.
5. Avoid the Soy (still suspect in the estrogen issue).
6. Lots of water.  Drink a gallon a day at the very least.

As she gets closer to the event she will have to be fine tuned and brought to a peak for her photos which will involve some slight water and electrolyte adjustments, but nothing radical.

She also needs to be doing a substantial amount of cardio training so she does not have to starve.  The trend is to over train near the end but that is quite often a BIG MISTAKE.

I wish Miss X the best of luck for her challenge.  Let me know what fitness challenge you will be entering and any challenges you may face.  –>Post your comment here<–

Here’s to your success!

Next time someone says, “Go Take a Flying Leap.”  You should thank them! 

There’s so much talk today about “taking the next step” or “going to the next level” that I’m tired of hearing about it. The truth is I have never gotten from where I was to where I wanted to be by taking some small step.

Granted every journey does begin with the first step… but for pete’s sake do you know how many small steps it takes to go from being broke to rich, from miserable to happy, from hopeless to triumphant? The truth is I don’t want to find out… I already l know it’s too many. I’ve taken thousands of small steps in my life that didn’t lead where I wanted to go.

But it took a giant LEAP to get to where I am today. To make a radical change or a quantum shift it takes a giant leap of faith. A young man telling his girl he loves her for the first time, an athlete pushing his or her body to the brink of disaster to achieve what “can’t be achieved”, a battered or abused wife finally leaving her abuser. All those things take a leap of faith, all of them take courage, and all of them lead to a better more fulfilling life.  (SHARE YOUR STORY)

My guess is that you are also ready for that giant LEAP in your own life.

If you’re tired of taking one step at a time only to find your true happiness has moved 3 steps further away then join me, Tom Terwilliger and warrior trainer, Aaron Huey for a life changing event that will have you ready to trade in that long slow march to who knows where for one giant LEAP to success and the life you deserve. Go to Experience the LEAP and register… it’s FREE.

Music is commonly used to help induce certain states and feelings. Some music can make us feel more aggressive, or completely relaxed, and still other types of music can induce feelings of nostalgia. We also know that music and exercise has been going hand in hand since long before Jane Fonda’s aerobic video’s hit the scene.

The right music can help produce energy in the body and in the mind simultaneously. Through actual scientific studies researchers have discovered that the frequencies in some music can actually optimize the flow of energy in the body and brain. Through their studies researchers have been able to demonstrate how most people live their daily lives in a weakened state and not able reach their full potential as a result of several external reasons.

They believed that over 60,000 man-made chemicals in our air, food and water supply, actually interrupt the flow of energy in our bodies. In addition, they have also demonstrated how things such as cell phones and mp3 players actually contribute to that weakened state. As a way of counteracting these negative environmental effects some researchers have looked to the possibility of music. Using the harmonic recording of a monk chanting they discovered that there were actual physiological changes in the body and positive changes in brain wave activity. This inspired a search for other types of music that would reproduce the same effect.

They invited musician Mark Romero to a lecture where they were testing people with a number of different strength, range of motion, flexibility, and applied kinesiology tests.

“I actually witnessed how people went physically weak when exposed to some of the negative interrupters such as cell phones and containers that once held chemicals in them. They then had me come up and play some of my music on the guitar and I saw people instantly shift physically in front of my eyes. Where they were weak they instantly became stronger.” says Romero.

What the researchers discovered was that when the right music plays in the athletic environment there is an instant increase in five physical areas strength, flexibility, endurance, coordination, and balance. All of these five areas were measured in the same environment with the music playing and without the music. Through brain mapping they were able to determine that the music created a response in brain waves much like that of athletes in the “zone.” The benefits include improved focus, reduced stress, heightened creativity, improved intuition and improved memory. They also noted that the body’s ability to heal and recover was greatly enhanced when in this same zone-like state.Romero was informed by the researchers that his music had tapped into specific frequencies that are able to harmonize the two hemisphere of the brain and align that energy with the body and that his music could be a great tool to assist people in reaching their full potential.Out of this emerged an amazing musical technology that can instantly put people into this harmonized state enabling them to operate at a higher level of mental and physical performance. Romero now has a wide range of people using the music as a tool to empower them in their life experience and athletic performance.

“I have people who use the music to help reduce stress in the office, and while commuting and dealing with other stressful situations. I also have people that listen to the music while doing yoga and other physical routines and they notice the benefits.” says Romero.

Romero also says he has people that swear it helps in sexual performance. I have to admit a CD certainly sounds better than a little blue pill! And if my memory serves me the sound track from “Last Tango in Paris” never hurt any.

Join Tom Terwilliger of Coaching Leadership Excellence at Access To Fitness Experts for FREE access to his interview with musician Mark Romero and check out Harmonic Alignment.

The single most important area of the body from both a functional and aesthetic stand point are the midsection or abdominal.  Yet a good number of people even experienced exercisers have a tendency to leave their abdominal exercises until last in their program or workout.

This is a mistake for three primary reasons:

1. For most of us improving our midsection, reducing our waist line, or building those washboard abdominals is or should be a priority so why would we leave it to last. 

2. Training your midsection first in the program serves to warm up those stiff vulnerable lower back muscles and focuses unconscious attention on maintaining good posture thought-out the rest of the workout.

3. When we leave our midsection training for last, we either don′t do them at all or we half-ass it and ultimately making for a weak and unattractive midsection. 

There is an unlimited number of midsection or abdominal exercises that can be performed and yet another common mistake many exercisers make is using the same basic exercise over and over again. If I see one more guy doing sit ups I′m libel to slam him with a right hook. The midsection must be worked from a variety of angles and variety of exercises in to maintain structural balance.

Although we often hear the “abs” referred to as two separate components the upper and lower abdominals they are not.  The rectus-abdominus which starts at the base of the diaphragm and attaches at the pubic region is one large muscle. 

There are however many different components within the “midsection” or core that support or facilitates movement from a variety of angles. Think about how much directional movement we have with our trunk.  We can bend forward and backward, we can rotate, twist, bend, and stretch from right to left and back again.  The only real limiting factor in our trunk movement is our spine. 

The weaker the midsection and lower back muscles are the more restricting or stiff the spine becomes, which is one of the most important reasons of all to maintain the integrity, strength and balance of the midsection. 

The key to developing and maintaining the structural balance and integrity of the anterior of our entire midsection is in working it through all four of its basic directions while challenging the deeper more difficult to reach core stabilizer and postural muscle.

Add these three movements to the beginning of your training program and watch your trunk become as solid as on oak:

Anterior Crunches on the Stability Ball:
Begin by laying back on the ball your knees shoulders width apart and at a right or 90 degree angle.  Hands under your chin. Once in position begin by curling your trunk upward toward your knees while pushing your chin toward the ceiling.  keep your hips and buttocks elevated or perpendicular to the floor as if you were lying on a bench.  Make sure you exhale on the upward contraction and inhale on the way back.  Use caution on the ball, go slowly and you will feel an even deeper burn.  Perform 2-3 sets of 20 -30 reps.

Combo Crunch:
The purpose of the combo crunch is to recruit both the upper and lower regions of the abs simultaneously.   Begin in the floor crunch or sit up position and then bring your feet off at a right angle to your knees.  Once in position begin by contracting your trunk and curling your elbows and knees inward simultaneously so that they meet and touch in the middle.  Exhale as you curl in and inhale as you go back and momentarily relax the muscle.  This one will give you quite a burn.  Perform 2-3 sets of 20-30 reps

Russian Twist:
While seated on a bench, or on a fit-ball begin by grasping a 8-10 lb medicine ball or dumbbell between your hands.  While keeping your elbows bent at a 90 degree angle and tucked tightly against your sides, hold the ball out in front of you at about bellybutton level.  Begin to rotate either right of left keeping your head and eyes forward at all times.  Exhale as you rotate away from center and inhale as you approach center.  Be sure not to over rotatedo the movement slowly and unforced while tightening your midsection as you rotate buy blowing out your air as if you were taking a punch to the ribs.  I generally recommend a slight pause in the middle as you rotate form either right or left in order to keep yourself from gaining too much momentum during the full rotation.  2-3 sets of 50-100 reps