Can You Believe it?

Really can you believe it? Can you believe that in 2008, that the United States of America has elected their first African-American President?! I can say that I'm not surprised and at the same time shocked. I grew up in an culturally diverse area where I had best friends who were white, Asian, Latino and African American.

In many cases we still encountered many acts of racism, threats, and bias in many situations. Yet we still grew up believing that not everyone feels the same way as those who did these things against us. We believed that "America" was not like that. These people treated us the way they did based solely on our race.

Today I stood in line for over 2 hours in the rain while waiting to vote and I must say that I am proud to see that today my fellow "Americans" have shown that my beliefs as a youth have been shown to be true. That we "Americans" are able to look beyond our skin color and see one another for who we are as people not as different races.

While I don't agree with all of President Elect Barack Obama's view's and policies, I am struck with a thick lump in my throat seeing that an African-American has been elected to the highest office in the country.

I'm proud, in awe, struck with respect, and honored to be an African-American today. I would've never thought that God would've allow me to be alive when we had our first minority president. I"m all over the place with my thoughts and trying to get my words together right now, but I think you all who are reading this can get what I'm trying to say.

Pray for Obama, that he realizes that without guidance and direction from a Sovereign God he can have us in the same situation we have in our country right now (financial crisis, unnecessary war, housing market flop, etc). Pray that everyday, not just in the first few days, months, or years of his term, he is continually reminded of his responsibility and duty to us Americans who voted for him to lead us in this crazy time in our history.

Thomas B. Strong

Contemplation-Consideration-Participation

Day after day I'm amazed at why people seek professional help. Whether the help be from me, their coach, their consultant, or best friend. Many people seek help so they can weigh their options and then decide. Is that really the best thing to do?

I can understand that in some situations they don't need to make a decision right away. However, when you or me or anyone else has goals laid out that need to be accomplished either for our health or for our financial success we need to follow this success simple strategy.

This strategy is so simple it is only one step.

Step 1. When you ask for advice/direction/etc, it is not for you contemplation or your consideration. It is for your participation.

If your car is out of gas and you ask your mechanic what is wrong with it and why it wont start and he replies, "It seems that you need gas, put some gas in it and you'll be set". Do you contemplate whether or not that is the best thing for you? Do you say to yourself...I don't know I think it needs oil. Or maybe it needs windshield wiper fluid. Of course you don't!

You know if your car isn't starting and the gas gauge is on E that you need gas. The E doesn't stand for exhaustion, and your car doesn't need to just rest.

Now let me switch gears and sit on my soapbox for a second here. This may sound harsh to some but it's my blog and I can say what I want how I want :).

If you ask your trainer/coach (me) what you need to do to get rid of fat on your (insert body part here) and I give you a an answer based upon my experience and expertise, know that your bodyfat will not leave your body as long as you contemplate and/or consider my response. It will not leave that area until you participate and follow that advice.

If there is one thing that burns me up it is when someone asks (and pays) you for your advice and after you give it (knowing 100% that it will get results) the person does nothing with that information. It's like the old saying that knowledge is power. Really that is not true. Applied knowledge is power.

So the moral of this story is. If I say you need to change your diet in order to drop fat, then change your diet. If I say to change your workout in order to see results then do it. Don't be paralyzed by contemplation and consideration. Begin the act of participation.

Step 2. Follow Step 1 over and over.

Thomas

What is it worth to you

What is your __________ worth to you? This is really the fundamental question about your values? When you say you value something, you are really saying this is worth a lot to me.

Your:

• husband or wife
  
• health
• marriage
• job
• finances
  
• faith
• appearance
• children
• reputation
• character
• integrity

All these are things that we say are worth a lot to us. How do we really judge or assess each of these? I say the easiest way to see how much we care about anything on this list is to look at our schedule and see how much time we devote to it, look at our bank account and see how much money we spend on it, and then look to our prayer life and see how much we lift it up before God.

Perform your own assessment and see what things are worth the most to you in your life.

B. Strong

What's In Your Food

What's In Your Food

Last month, I posted several entries about simple, yet effective nutritional strategies. The message was clear, eat real food and stay away from the processed, artificial junk that fills most store shelves. Forget about all the fad diets, complex calculations, and worries that you were a few decimal points shy of hitting a certain nutrient percentage for the day.

I don’t follow any diets. I don’t count calories and I don’t count nutrient ratios. If you do, that is fine, but don’t spread fear to those who prefer a more basic approach to life (there are bigger problems in our world today). The Keep It Simple approach to nutrition works well, even if it isn’t very marketable from a business standpoint.

Personally, I eat real food when I’m hungry (ex. fruits, veggies, meats, eggs, fish, nuts, etc.), and I bust my butt in the gym. If I want to go out for a nice bite to eat, I go out and don’t lose sleep over it. Nutrition doesn’t need to be complex. More and more people want to discuss the nutrient habits of our ancestors (which is fine), but many who do seem to forget that our ancestors didn’t sit around the fire calculating specific ratios on the abacus.

Furthermore, why do so many nutritionists harp on the importance of reading the labels? What happened to eating food that doesn’t have a label? Why not instead promote fresh foods that will spoil? If you pick an apple from a tree, it doesn’t come with a label. The more real food that you can eat, the better. If you must fall back on an old chemistry class to determine the ingredients listed on a package, there is a good chance that it was not intended for human consumption.

And for a comical take on reading the labels, take a look at the video below. You won’t run into these problems if you simply eat real food from a plant or animal.

Whats In Your Food Video

Let A Kid Be A Kid Part 2

By Ross Enamait

I couldn’t have asked for a better (worse actually) follow up to my last entry. Nine-year-old Jericho Scott (pictured above) was recently told by the Youth Baseball League of New Haven, Connecticut that he is too good to pitch in the league (full story here). The eight league team, with approximately 100 players has decided that Jericho throws the ball too fast for the rest of the league.

Connecticut is a small state. My own state is kicking kids out of little league because they are too good! What the hell is going on? What kind of message are we sending our kids? Let’s all play nicey nice, but let’s not try to be good at anything. Should we all get together in a group hug and start playing with foam baseballs instead?

Pure Nonsense

The league’s attorney Peter Noble had the following to say regarding Scott’s pitching ability:

“There are a lot of beginners. This is not a high-powered league. This is a developmental league whose main purpose is to promote the sport… Facing that kind of speed is frightening for beginning players…”

How is kicking a 9 year old boy out of the league promoting the sport? As for the comment about beginners, Jericho is only 9 years old! It isn’t as if he’s been playing baseball for 10 years. He is just as young as everyone else, and he’s never even beaned another player while pitching. It seems like the league has enacted a ban-him-just-in-case law.

And for those who are not familiar with New Haven, it is a rough city with gang violence and more than its share of drug activity. Cities such as New Haven need more kids on the baseball field! We can’t turn kids away because they are too good.
The parents who made this decision should be ashamed of themselves. After all, it isn’t as if the 9 and 10 year olds had a meeting and decided to ban Jericho from the league. It is obvious that the parents got together and made this decision. What message is a parent sending his or her own kids? They can play sports, but they should never face an opponent who might be better? Should we pretend that everything in life is fair and even? Should we pretend that there are no challenges in the world? Is that the message we want to send our kids? Is that going to help little Johnny become a better person?

When I played little league, there wasn’t a 9 and 10 year old league. We played with the 12 year olds. At 9 years old, a 12 year old is an imposing monster on the mound. That was part of the fun. There was nothing better than a base hit against a pitcher who was a few grades above you in school. That is what we called bragging rights! Sure, we all had moments of nervousness when an older pitcher threw some high heat, but that was just part of the fun!

No one was kicked out of the league for being too good. We busted our ass for playing time. No one wanted to sit on the bench. Playing baseball wasn’t about being fair. It was about working hard to earn more time on the field. Working hard to become a better player. Working hard to give your team a better chance at winning. These are lessons that carry over into the real world.

Sooner or later your kids will figure out that life isn’t all fun and games. I’m not suggesting that we throw our children to the wolves, but little league baseball shouldn’t be confused with a rabid pack of wolves. Let kids be kids!

Let A Kid Be A Kid Part 1

By Ross Enamait

Below is an excellent article about safety and kids, and the potential problem that one has on the other.

Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids

The author discusses several modern safety measures that didn’t exist when we were kids. The world has changed however. Kids no longer are encouraged to get outside and play. There is no freedom to explore and do the things that kids would naturally do. There are even certain school districts that have banned running at recess. Running has been deemed too dangerous! What the hell is wrong with our world!

When and why did the world become so soft? What happened to letting a kid live a little? Is it really that bad? As kids, we grew up outside. No one wanted to sit inside and play video games. We grew up playing baseball, tackle football, pick up basketball games, etc. We would have stayed out all night if sun didn’t go down.

Sure, there were times when I came home with bumps and bruises, but that was just part of growing up. Life isn’t supposed to be cake walk. Why fool kids and pretend that it is? If you never learn to take calculated risks as kids, how can you be expected to take calculated risks as adults? No one is suggesting that we all live recklessly, but there are times when it makes sense to go against the grain. Almost every successful person in this world did just that on his or her way to the top.

Today, we preach safety and sameness. Kids are always being reminded to take it easy. Don’t do this, don’t do that, be careful with this, be careful with that, etc. The outdoor fields are empty. When I take my son to the playground, we are usually alone. No one else is outside playing. Should it come as a surprise that adults in today’s world struggle with obesity?

What will come next? Will our kids be banned from going outside? Is it too dangerous? Should we all walk around with safety masks? Should we live inside protective bubbles?

The world needs to lighten up. A few bumps and bruises are the end of the world. There are much bigger problems faced by millions of people around the world. Let your kids live a little and get outside with them. Leading from the front is the only way to lead, and your kids will learn by watching you!

Ross

PS - Here are two related entries (here and here)

PPS - Yes, the image above is of me at age 9. What isn’t shown is me crashing into the floor after jumping off my bed in an attempt to look like I could fly. My brother was the remarkable camera man who was able to jump out of the way before I crashed into him. Nothing beats the good old days!

Healthy Digestion

Everyone knows that a healthy digestive track is one of keys to proper health and vitality. Here is a video of what happens when you really take care of your self and add plenty of fiber to your diet.

Good Gut Health Video