Tag Archives: Frank

Be Your Own Great Author

I have heard so many jokes about why you shouldn’t piss off an author. Everything from, “because they’ll write you into one of their books and then kill you off in some unique and interesting way,” to, “you just never know what their imagination will produce.” I always found it rather humorous that people had so much faith in my ability to be vindictive or seek revenge through my writing. But the ultimate irony is that those same people never seem to realize: they are the author of their own story and have far more power over that than I ever would writing them into mine. Continue reading →

Planning vs. Winging It

Leave a reply

This morning, as happens all too often, I saw a social media post that argued planning over improvisation or “winging it.” I saw another one that suggested winging it was always better than planning. Both arguments seem sound to me and I came to the realization that to be truly successful you have to do both. The challenge is that they require different talents and different skill sets. That said, if you can plan AND improvise then you all but guarantee yourself success in any endeavor. Let’s think about this a bit and discuss a few particulars about each approach. Continue reading →

This Holiday Season Wipe Negative Thinking

Leave a reply

It’s “Black Friday” 2018 as I type this. Thanksgiving is a pleasant recent memory and we can finally justify all of the Christmas commercials and music we’ve been seeing for the past two weeks. Alongside the early commercial push for “buy buy buy!” I’ve been hearing friends talk about how the holidays were going to treat them… or more correctly, how they were going to behave during the holiday season. One thing I heard repeatedly was, “Why should I start eating clean and exercising now? It never works during the holidays. I’ll just start January first and make it a New Year’s Resolution.” Because that always works, right? Continue reading →

What Does ‘Exercise’ Mean to You?

Leave a reply

I recently wrote a piece about the difference in perception caused in most people when they hear ‘diet and exercise’ versus ‘nutrition and fitness.’ Just yesterday (as I write this) I was in my doctor’s office and was proud to see his reaction to the new fitness levels my wife and I are demonstrating thanks to our relatively new regimen of eating cleaner and training more. When he asked what we were doing, I carefully didn’t answer “diet and exercise” but HE used the word exercise in our conversation quite repeatedly. It made me wonder what people think when they hear the word ‘exercise’ because some seem so adverse to it. Some seem to think it means something tedious and unbearable. Some seem to think it means constantly repetitive and boring activity designed for very limited purposes. I decided to take a look at the word and how we use it and see what it really means. Continue reading →

Your Plan versus Their Plan

Leave a reply

While I’m going to use examples from my childhood and that of my children, this article does not apply only to parents and children. It applies to anyone who would see you do something different because of what they think is best for you. The honest reality is that sometimes their plan is better but far less appealing. Sometimes your plan is best and they simply don’t know any better until you show them. Sometimes either plan could work just as well but the more successful one will ultimately prove to be the one you believe in the strongest. Let me explain… Continue reading →

5 Keys to Health

Leave a reply

There were various groups of people throughout history from whom we could learn much. That’s not to say that they were 100% right about everything all the time or that their lifestyle should be adopted in a saturation fashion. But when you think about it, there is something we can learn from everyone. When you look back in history and see a culture that significantly stood the test of time, contributed to the overall well-being of their community and were respected (not out of fear) by those they served, it’s likely a group worth paying attention to. The Samurai were such a group. Continue reading →

Is the 80/20 Rule Right For You?

Leave a reply

Before I delve into the 80/20 rule and whether or not it’s right for you, we need to differentiate between which 80/20 rule we’re talking about. If you’re an economics major or work in the financial field, you’ve no doubt heard of the 80/20 rule otherwise known as Pareto’s Rule. It states that roughly 80% of revenue is generated by 20% of the work. If you Google “80/20 rule” you’ll also see references to the 80/20 rule in marriage, the 80/20 rule in marketing and the 80/20 rule in management. None of that is what we’re talking about here. What we’re talking about here is a discipline level: that of 80% discipline, 20% relaxation… or at least loosened restrictions. Continue reading →

Start With Commitment

Leave a reply

I came to a realization this morning. It may not have been a big one, but it struck me as worth sharing. That realization was this: every success story I’ve ever read or heard about started out with someone taking a dream and changing it into a goal. In that moment, when they decide they are going to make their dream come true, the successful person commits. They commit to the work it will take to make their dream come true. They change a dream into a goal and compile the goals into a plan and work that plan until they reach success. Continue reading →

What’s Your Answer?

1 Reply

A few years back I was working security at two parties each year. The parties were hosted at the Georgetown (Washington DC) home of a VERY rich guy and each Independence Day and Halloween he hired a team of security personnel. Every one of us was current or former law enforcement and most of us had executive protection training / experience as well. Those party assignments were the one occasion where I’d see a few people I knew; guys I’d worked with but we lived in different states and our work paths didn’t cross. Continue reading →

Answering That First Hater

Leave a reply

Well, it had to happen. After announcing the new fitness & nutrition business my wife have launched, I got my first message (via Facebook) that read: “Are you serious? You’re doing the Beach Body thing? Isn’t that for women? You give up your man card? Don’t be a p*ssy. Lift hard, run hard. Eat clean. It’s all you need.” Okay. I’ve known this man for about twenty years and he truly believes exactly what he sent. I guess there may be some misperception of Beach Body, its origins and gender specificity… but give up my man card? I don’t think so. Continue reading →