The Believe Book by Dan Zadra & Kobi Yamada

The tagline of my business is Believe. Become. Succeed. This short video exemplifies why the first step towards lasting success is belief.

New Years Resolutions

With the New Year comes New Years Resolutions and around this time of the month peoples motivation tend to lose momentum.

Usually come January 1 people have declared an overt goal like wanting to lose weight, wanting to change jobs, or wanting a different kind of relationship. These are outer directed goals, but with each outer goal there is a deeper inner motivation for wanting to achieve the goal or change. That is sometimes referred to as a covert goal. For example a person may want to double their salary but the core motivation is they want increased freedom, security, and power.

Once a person taps into the covert driving force or reason for wanting the change then and only then will they get sustainable results. Once you tap into this true agenda you can create action steps, move forward, and most importantly have lasting results.

Asking yourself the following questions will help you tap into the core motivation for wanting any change you may desire.

1. What is missing from the current situation and why is it desired and important? Put another way, what has remaining unchanged costing you? For example, if you are over weight you may be missing the ability to run around with your children because you lack the energy or get easily winded. This has cost you valuable bonding time with your children.

2. How do you benefit from remaining the same? For example if your goal is to stop smoking you may benefit from continued smoking because you enjoy the social time that you and your peers have while sharing a cigarette.

3. What costs are to be paid in order to make the change? For example, you may want to change jobs but you may have to take a pay cut to do so.

4. What are the benefits for the desired change and why? For example, changing relationships may provide you with and increased sense of freedom and that freedom is important to you because your partner is very over protective.

After answering these 4 questions in as much detail as you can you will have a better idea of why you really want to change (or not) and what it will take to reach your desire goal.

GOOD LUCK!!

Beauty of Mathematics

Although I am not a particularly religious person.... I tend to be more spiritual in nature, I personally believe that God (or Universal consciousness as some call it) resides within. I think no matter what ones religious or spiritual affiliation this video is great food for thought.

ENJOY!

Self-Talk

"Whether You Think You Can or Can't, You're Right."
--Henry Ford

You may not realize how often you say negative things in your head, or how much it affects your experience but altering your self-talk can have a tremendous positive impact on all aspects of your life. Try the following strategies to help you become more conscious of your self-talk.

Write in a Journal! Putting to pen a general overview of your thoughts or writing down how you feel and then reviewing the contents later can help you see patterns of defeating self-talk.

Karate Chop Your Thought! The next time you notice yourself saying something negative in your mind, you can stop your thought by saying to yourself “Stop” or by doing what I like to do..... and Karate Kick the thought! Its true. In my mind I visually kick the thought away. I began using this tool when I was a kickboxing instructor but you can find something that works for you. Get creative! Find something you identify with.... Chef Emeril would probably say “Bam!” Then try and replace the negative thought with something positive.

Replace Negative Statements with Milder Wording: As a personal trainer I like to use the word ‘discomfort’ instead of ‘pain’. I do this because ‘pain’ is a much more powerful word, and discussing your ‘pain’ level can actually make your experience of it more intense than if you’re discussing your ‘discomfort’ level.

Turning more powerful negative words to more neutral ones can actually help neutralize your experience. I don’t allow my 7-year-old daughter to say the word ‘hate’ or ‘stupid’. Instead we use ‘dislike’ and ‘not so smart!’ I try and practice what I preach, so instead of, “I hate traffic! It makes me so angry” I say, “I don’t like traffic. It annoys me.” It really helps during times of high stress.

Change Self-Limiting Statements to Questions: Self-limiting statements like “I can’t handle this!” or “This is impossible!” increase your stress in a given situation and they prevent you from searching for solutions. Instead turn the limiting statement into a question. “How can I handle this?” or “How can I make this possible?” This will open up your imagination to new possibilities? You may even want to grab a pen and paper and write down anything that comes to mind. Without being critical let your ideas flow and a solution will most likely present itself.

Facing the Giants Wholeheartedly

This video clip is from the movie Facing the Giants. It is a wonderful example of how people can sell themselves short and not maximize true inner potential.

Are you giving your absolute best?!!

Too often we are swayed by what others think; and worse yet, all too often we talk ourselves out of what we are trying to do. We rationalize why we should take the easier road, or settle on heading in a different direction. Those that walk closest to their potential do so because they know, burning deep within them, exactly what it is that they are driving towards. They are able to block out any negative influence that deters them from their goal. They blindfold themselves to it!

Keep a clear mind and stay on your path by recommitting to excellence every single day. When you wake up in the morning look yourself in the mirror and say out loud "I recommit to being the best I can be today." This is also a great time to set a specific intention for yourself as well.

Upon arrival to my fitness camp the participants write down their intention for the day. Some real examples are: I intend to.....

Get organized.
Avoid junk food.
Be kind to myself.
Keep my temper in check.
Stay motivated.
Be happy with my kids after school.

So try and recommit yourself to excellence each day and set your intentions for that day. Like I always say, "You can't hit what you don't aim at!"

Surrounding Yourself With Positive Energy

Surrounding yourself with positive energy is one of the best ways to create the inertia needed to tackle life head on and achieve your goals. The following are four great ways to keep you in a productive positive frame of mind.

1. Uplifting Music: Listening to music that not only has a soothing melody, but an uplifting message, can be great for developing positive self-talk a crucial element in dealing with stress.

2. Inspirational Books: Books on strength, personal power, enlightenment, or self-help are good resources to help you achieve a positive outlook on life. Rather than triggering habitual self-defeating thoughts, you can find yourself thinking of new can-do concepts when times get tough.

3. Positive People: One of the most important ways you can get (and keep) positive energy in your life is with the company you keep. Do your friends uplift you, or bring you down? Are they critical, or complementary? Ideal friendships provide support when you’re down, fun when you’re up, wisdom when you’re lost, and positive regard. Good friends can inspire you to reach greater heights, and see your strengths even when you don’t. Pay attention to how your friends make you feel, and if they’re less than supportive, start putting your energy and time toward people who are better suited to be your friend.

4. Practice Affirmations: Positive affirmations are a great tool to reprogram your unconscious mind from negative thinking to positive. The idea is to take positive statements of what you would like to see manifested, and repeat them enough so that they’re part of your way of thinking and seeing the world. The following is a list of some great affirmations.

I always give the best in me and the best in everything comes to me.

I am a powerful prosperity magnet!

Every cell in my body vibrates with energy and health.

My body heals quickly and easily.

I am my own unique self - special, creative and wonderful.

I choose love, joy and freedom, open my heart and allow wonderful things to flow into my life.

Start surrounding yourself with the kind of energy that will help you achieve your goals. I am POSITIVE you'll be glad you did!

Embracing Change

This past August I had the pleasure of being the guest Expert Wellness Coach on the TV show Navigating Your Life with Dr. Nat Williams. The topic of discussion was change. What better time to explore the concept of change then the transformational fall season.

How do you view change? Do you embrace change or fear change? Do you view change as an opportunity or something to resist at all costs?

People who tap into their inner passions and achieve high levels of success easily adapt to change because, to them, change is simply another way of taking charge of their lives and fully living. They completely embrace the idea that life is a journey, a becoming, a growing. Life IS change.

Fear is often the basis for any negative notions a person has about the concept of change. If you have fear surrounding a change you want to make it is important to build a strong relationship with your fear by identifying the fear and then taking action to alleviate the fear. Writing down your fears or sharing your fears with a friend often helps ease some of the trepidation.

Once you face your fear, you'll find that it begins to lose its power over you. Instead of you becoming confined by the emotion, you now have the upper hand and can take action.

The next step is to be very clear about what it is that you want to change and exactly what achieving the change means to you. When you know something is important to you and why it’s important then a fuel burns inside you to achieve your goal and you can use that fuel to overcome fear and drive you forward.

Create a list of why you want to change and keep that list in a place you see often, such as in your wallet and/or on your bathroom mirror. Before you know it your fear will be a thing of the past and your transformation will have begun!