You could run from it, avoid it, dismiss it, even hide from it. Or you could walk right through it.

In this video I share how a group of courageous people use the fear of being burned to break through what’s been holding them back and in the process have an opportunity to transform their lives.

Whether crossing a busy intersection, performing a complex strength training movement or delivering a keynote presentation our ability to FOCUS on the task at hand is imperative to our success. But equally as important is where you direct your focus.

In this episode of Max Mind Set, I hone in on the importance of FOCUS and the keys to achieving it.

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“Together Jim and Tom are a fitness force for good!” ~ Listener

Great fitness and nutrition tips along with amazing guest experts make up what is one of the most informative and motivating fitness shows on the internet.

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The power and reach of Facebook as we already know seems to be just about endless. We can literally reach out and touch a perfect stranger or be touched by a perfect stranger form the other side of the world.

I received the below message in my Facebook messages not long ago and at first I was leery and suspect… as you know there are also a lot of less than desirable even sleazy characters out there that also want to reach out and touch someone. But after a little looking into I felt compelled to reply.

The Message:

“Hi Tom, I’m xxxx xxxxxx and I live Indonesia. Well, we never meet each other of course, and I always wondering about how come you get such a great body, I mean that’s an amazing body you have there you know. For me, If I have that kind of body, I’ll be very proud to myself. To achieve such a great body it’s already a big step for me in my life, I mean I’ve got no confident too much to stand outside. So, I think if I send you a message, at least you can help me a little.”

Sincerely,

xxxx xxxxxx

Reply:

Hi xxxxx,

I appreciate your very sincere and flattering message. I have never been to Indonesia but I love your culture and I have had the opportunity to study your martial arts Silat. Do you study?

Regarding your body and confidence. Building an athletic body or becoming a bodybuilder is indeed something you should and would be proud of… however you should also be proud of who you are regardless.

During my early years of Kung Fu training I learned that pride in many respects is the enemy and humility is the goal. Being humble and Confident is a magical combination. If for some reason your body r physical self image is reducing your confidence than you should work on changing that.

There are all sorts of ways to build the body but the fasted way is through progressive resistance or weight training and healthy and abundant eating.

If you can get a hold of them there are several great books on the subject – like Shawn Phillips, Strength For Life. When I first started training a spent countless hours reading and learning about training techniques and methods. I would than apply what I learned in the gym or in my basement using some home made exercise equipment. You can do exactly the same thing.

Do you have a gym or athletic club that you can afford to join near by? If so I’m sure they have some one there who can give you some basic training instructions to get you started.

You can also look up some of the “Body Weight” exercise and workout programs on YouTube and get started there as well. In any case, it will take time and discipline to build the body you want. Be patient and keep at it no matter what and it will happen.

But the best advice I can give you is when you look in the mirror mentally direct your body to change but reward what you already have with gratitude and humility.

Good luck and stay in touch xxxxx,

PS. I also have a fantastic Confidence Training program you should put into place in your life… it will help guide you to the next level. Inner Game of Confidence

Do you reply to your compelling Facebook messages?

I’ve been quoted as saying “All achievement is based first on the strength of your WILL.” The strength of will I talk about of course is the WILL to start, the WILL to go on, to be more, and to achieve at the level of our potential and the Will to WIN.

We witness it more often than we would think‚ but we don’t always recognize it when it’s happening.

Last night I had the opportunity to see it in one of its most distilled and acute forms and I have to admit I was moved. Which is somewhat telling – in that, its purpose is to get us moving and keep us moving.

Last night I attended a FIGHT, several actually. More specifically I was at the Denver Athletic Club for the “St Paddy’s Day Punch Out” pro boxing matches‚ I know I know, not a very sexy name is it?

I’ve been to countless fights before I have also had the distinction of having been on both the teaching and “learning” end of more brawls than I care to remember.

But as I watched what I can only describe as a “Rocky” style epic battle I reflected on a lesson I learned years before which is, it isn’t always the opponent with the most skill, training, or conditioning that winds up on top, although those things are all critical factors.

It is the strength of WILL that may ultimately determine your outcome.

Two men standing toe to toe with one single goal between them, WIN. Only one can achieve this goal‚ but both must. It dawned on me, as I watched the nonstop exchange of blows, that for many of the fighters on the card this wasn’t just a fight‚ this was their life. Winning or not winning could mean the difference between paying the rent and being tossed out on the street, putting food on the table or going hungry, taking care of their family or the demoralizing affects of feeling like a failure.

Like those fighters, who’s WILL has been strengthened by need more than desire or want and through pushing themselves well outside their physical, mental and even emotional comfort zone almost daily; we all have more inside us than we know.

The fighter trains and prepares both body and mind but never really knows exactly what will show up in the ring when he or she suddenly realizes they’re in a war. Will they quit, just hold on, or fight to the death if necessary?

It’s like that in many of our own lives. We’re unofficially in training every day via our personal struggles but we can only guess, hope or speculate that when we are challenged to do battle beyond our conditioning or preparation that what will show up WILL be what we need to show up. That we will have the inner strength and WILL to not quit, to push beyond what we t believe are our limits and go the distance.

There was one particular fight last night that from the very onset appeared to be unevenly matched. As one opponent imposed his WILL on the other it began to look as if the lesser opponent should simply throw in the towel and cut his losses before they cut him. Instead he fought on – and at one point it was apparent, at least from a fellow warrior’s eyes, that he had already defeated his number one adversary the very thought of quitting. As a result everyone in the audience was on their feet and cheering for the underdog even though they knew he wasn’t going to win. We were inspired.

He finished the match and was able to walk away with his head held high, bloody but high.

How will you show up? No one was born a winner or a loser just a chooser. You get to choose how you show up… if your WILL is strong enough.

Have you ever had a partner, coach or friend who pushed you a little harder than you actually wanted to be pushed?  I mean they demanded more from you perhaps than you yourself even thought you had?

When I was training for competition I always had a training partner and the very best training partners were the ones who were the MEANEST, toughest and most demanding.  I once trained with a guy I can only describe as a complete psychopath. I never trained harder or looked better… I hated the guy but loved the training.

Then there were those times when I had to face the iron alone. I remember my 3rd attempt at winning the Nationals – I had taken the bronze and the silver consecutively the two previous years and you might say this was the moment of truth. If I didn’t win it my third time out I would have lost the power of all that momentum and as they say “3 strikes and you’re out” .

Yet, I was having a tremendous amount of difficulty finding the energy and discipline to train and diet the way I knew I needed to.¬† For some reason the motivation just wasn’t there.

Have you ever been in that place ‚Äì where you knew you had to get moving and even knew exactly what you needed to do but simply couldn’t find the gumption to do it?

In hind sight I realize now that part of what was holding me back from unleashing everything I had was a lingering unconscious doubt as to whether or not – I was really good enough to win the whole thing Рto be a full fledged champion. Sure, I was good enough to come close – even within one point of winning the previous year- but the whole enchilada????

And so the ENERGY around my preparation had gone MIA. On top of that my psychopath training partner had also gone AWOL – so I was going it alone.

If you have ever trained for an athletic event, body transformation challenge or contest you know that the real serious training begins at about the twelve week mark. When I began to realize there was a problem I was already at the10 week mark and in the worst physical, mental and emotional shape of my life. You could say my BOTTOM LINE wasn’t looking so good.

I needed help DESPERATELY ‚Äì so I reached out to my mentor Tony Pandolfo who I hadn’t seen or spoken to in a few months. I remember calling him out of the blue late on a Sunday night and sharing my challenge.¬† He didn’t try to coach me or even sympathize he simply told me to show up in the gym at 6am the next morning and that I had better be ready to rumble.

Bear in mind that I had been training at around 3:00 in the afternoon and had never considered myself a morning person.¬† But I also knew that unless I wanted to be “mourning” my own defeat in 10 weeks I had better get to bed early, show up early and be ready to go at 6 am.¬† Something I would not have done on my own.

Now other than the morning thing ‚Äì wasn’t too worried about keeping up with Tony ‚Äì he was after all almost 40 years old at that time and I was in my prime at only 27.

That may have been the worst “ass”umption I have ever made in my life.

While I had my head in the men’s room toilet getting rid of what was left of my pre-workout breakfast, Tony was banging in the stall door ‚Äì demanding that I get back out there and finish the workout.

Man he was MEAN‚Ķ but it was exactly what I needed to get the ENERGY back to where it needed to be.¬† He knew I had the ENERGY AVAILABLE ‚Äì I just wasn’t MANAGING it at that moment.

He knew as did I that if I were going to win I would have to tap into and manage that available energy every single day for the next 10 weeks. And if I was truly a champion – well beyond those 10 weeks.

That was the year Tony and I brought home the GOLD at the Nationals.

From that experience forward I have never been shy about asking for help when it’s needed – or giving it when it when it was asked for and sometimes before.

Thanks,

~ The Achievement Mentor

He had a pretty good chuckle as he read part of the quote to me, “The best thing people can do to fight obesity is to stay fit.” no shit, he said.

And indeed it certainly doesn’t take a “expert” to know that. But here’s the thing the truth in the simplicity of that statement cannot be denied. Why should it take volumes of written information and billions of dollars in pharmaceuticals, and medical procedures to put that fact into practice.

Yes, it doesn’t take an expert to know the formula so the real question becomes why are we as a nation not following it?

Well let me ask you this how do you know when you really know something? It is my experience that you only really know something when you put it into practice when you do it. If all the majority of American have done is read or heard about it and have not introduced it to the cells of their body through the actual doing of it it’s no wonder they don’t know it yet!

If people really knew the truth in that quote on a cellular level they would be far more compelled to act upon it. Perhaps a shift in our collective motivation psychology from avoiding or “fighting obesity” to achieving and staying fit may help in becoming at least a little more acquainted with the truth although we may not fully “know it” yet.

But what the hell do I know? After all I was the “expert” being quoted in the paper.

You tell me what can we do to change the direction obesity is going in this country or should I say fitness is not going.

I know times are tough and we’re all feeling it at one level or another.

It is also a time of opportunity and a chance to define who you are. ¬†It’s how you handle adversity and challenge that will define not only who you are but whether you will prosper or just survive in the years to come.¬†

Hardship and challenge can give you purpose and meaning and become the catalyst for greatness.

I was listening to the Today Show this morning as I was writing an article inner strength when I overheard Matt Lauer mention a familiar name.  Augie Nieto the founder of LIFE Fitness and a prominent leader in the fitness industry for nearly three decades. 

A few years ago Augie received a life changing diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease). It meant a slow humiliating and painful death.¬† Augie wanted to end it and even tried to do so.

Then he made a decision that his illness had meaning and that he could use it along with his influential list of contacts to truly make a difference.  He and his wife immediately got to work and created Augies Quest a foundation to raise money for aggressive treatment and cures for MDAs and ALS and in just three years they raised over $18 million dollars.

Now at age 50, Augie is approaching his role as co-chairperson of MDA’s ALS division with the same ironclad will and determination that catapulted him to entrepreneurial heights in the fitness world. Greatness is defined by our action under adversity not when things are easy.

You too can make a difference in some small way everyday… find a way to make yourself, me, and others proud of you.

Obviously beating your kid is NEVER a good idea! And yet, the horrible things you say and the destructive actions you do to yourself  is in every sense being a bully to your body.

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

Body Rapport is to know, like and trust yourself; to consciously strengthen your mind body connection.