What I Believe I Do.

I'm a Beachbody Coach.

That just means I'm an online fitness coach for Team Beachbody. We're the people who create and distribute home-based workout programs like P90X, Insanity, Focus T25, P90X3, 21 Day Fix, and a host of others. Unless you've abstained from television for the last 5 or 6 years, you've seen the infomercials at all hours of the day and night.

So, yes, I sell fitness programs. We also have supplements, equipment, workout apparel and Shakeology, what I think is the best health shake of it's kind on the market today. (It's a dense daily dose of superfood nutrition, you know!)

But that's the surface of things. I was thinking about this a few days ago and then the other day read this quote by John Maxwell in his book "Everyone Communicates, Few Connect" - When you make a commitment, you create hope. When you keep a commitment, you create trust. That's a great quote. It's something to live by. But then I realized something -

I don't sell fitness products. I sell hope.

People come to me and want to get into shape. They want to get healthy. They want to feel better, have their clothes fit better, be more comfortable in their skin. I tell them they can. Not because I want them to buy some workout or drink, but because I know it. I believe it. I did it and, really, I'm nothing extraordinary (I am adorable, however) and I know that if I did it so can they.

It will take work on their part. I know they can do it. It will take sweat, a little confusion, a lot of swearing at the trainers on the tv but I know they can do it. I believe it.

I believe in them before they believe in themselves. I have hope. I have enough hope so that they'll begin to hope to. "That this time it will work." "This time I'll stick with it." "My coach believes I can do it." "He has hope...now I do to." "I trust him."

That's what I do. I sell hope.

And I just realized I'm completely wrong. I don't sell hope.

I give it away. And I think that makes me a pretty rich fella.

10 Misconceptions About Death-Rays

 

If you’re an aspiring super-villain or already have a bit of experience under your nefarious utility belt, you’ve probably already completed several advanced degrees in the disciplines of physics, engineering, medicine, philosophy, as well as some training in the mystic arts and realms. You have also already found space for your criminal lair and are stockpiling equipment, computers, research, and all manner of weaponry. 

 

One of the staples in the super-villain repertoire is, of course, the Death-Ray. And as many types and sizes they come in there is also a lot of misinformation concerning this standard piece of equipment. What follows is a brief, and I hope helpful voyage into the one weapon no evil-doer can be without. So without further ado, please note 10 misconceptions about death-rays. 

 

1.       “The Death-Ray must cause death.” False! The Death-Ray can and should be used to cause all manner of discomfort! From the comical maddening itch beam all the way to the projectile vomiting and explosive diarrhea ray, make each weapon your own! And don’t forget the unrelenting orgasm ray – you are a super-villain, after all!

2.       “The Death-Ray should be a certain size.” The death ray can be as large or small as you desire. A garage door opener sized handheld device, a traditional ray gun, or even a massive device that takes up the roof of a skyscraper! It’s your death-ray!

3.       “The Death-Ray should only be used against the hero.” Negative! The neighbor who lets his dog poop in your yard is a prime candidate for the death-ray! Rude people, government offices (the DMV comes to mind), and simply anyone who rubs you the wrong way are all targets for your wrath.

4.       “You must have a working Death-Ray to hold the city hostage.” No. You can always assert you have a working instrument that can kill thousands but only have an untested prototype. You’re a super-villain. Lie.

5.       “You need millions of dollars to build your death ray but you need a death ray to get millions of dollars.” As a super-villain you must develop and, more importantly, use out of the box thinking! Rob a bank or two, poison the city’s water supply, build a tiny death ray and kill a few dozen people, kidnapping, ransom, blackmail, etc. are not beneath you. Please note the super in super-villain. I mean, we’re talking about death-rays here…we’ve already established you’re not a nice guy.

6.       “The Death-Ray should be powered by fissionable material.” Untrue! Your death ray can be powered by whatever material you decide! Nuclear, electric, hydrogen, hydro – it’s up to you! And it doesn’t even have to be stable! Imagine the fun when the hero defeats you and the death ray blows up anyway! Good times!

7.       “It takes too long to construct a Death-Ray.” One word – Henchmen. They’re easy to hire, cheap, not the brightest bulbs (let’s face it – if they were criminal geniuses they’d be higher on the villain food chain) and, as an added bonus, they die – frequently. I mean, they’re even more death-prone than red shirted security men on Star Trek!

8.       “The super-villain must be there to activate the Death-Ray.” Perhaps in the past but in this digital age one can set off a very satisfying beam of death from thousands of miles away. Timers, remote control, and good old fashioned mental telepathy are all viable methods. And remember your henchmen! They’re happy to press the button you’ve plainly marked ‘lights’ on the Death-Ray panel thereby activating the ray and destroying the eastern seaboard.

9.       “My girlfriend, wife, other-dimensional lover will hate me if I use the Death-Ray to kill millions.” Possibly. But, chances are she knows you’re a super-villain already so I think one can be certain she likes the bad boys. Using the death ray may just make her frisky! I would, however, incorporate more leather into your super-villain costume and even the death ray itself. Chicks did leather. And scars. Get a scar.

10.   “I’ll get captured if I use the Death-Ray.” Well…it is a death ray and you’ve just killed hundreds of thousands or even millions. They will be looking for you, they won’t stop, and chances are they will capture you. Don’t worry. I suspect you’ll be a legend before you get to prison. Also, you’ve built a death ray! The first one is always the hardest – I suspect now you’ll be able to build one using a paperclip, the cardboard in the middle of a roll toilet paper, and a rubber band. And a little plutonium. But you’re a super-villain in prison. Plutonium is a dime a dozen there. And don’t forget – prison is full of henchmen!

 

I hope this short essay has allayed your fears and answered some questions about your death-ray. I look forward to reading about the mischief you’ve created soon.

 

Happy Death-Raying!

 

Goals: If It's Write, I Guess I'm Wrong!

I'm an advocate of personal development books, or tapes, or mp3's, or videos. I've gleaned a bit of insight into myself and others and have had several "ah ha" moments. The thing about all that stuff is that its pretty much variations on a theme. If you've read Napoleon Hill, Jim Rohn, John Maxwell, Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins...well, it's worthwhile, insightful, and each puts their own spin on things.

One thing, however, that's pretty much the same, is how they approach goals. Basically, to achieve a goal, you've got to write it down, every day in some cases, read it every day, write the steps you'll take to get there, make it personal and timely; for example, "I am a senior vice president on Dec.31, 2014" or "I own a Corvette Stingray on Jan 1, 2015" or "I earn $50,000 a month by Aug 31, 2014." You get the idea.

And I did that. For a long time. And I know I'm going to catch a bit of flack for this but - I have never achieved a goal that I've written down. There. I said it (or typed it).

You see, in my case, it seems that as soon as I write it down, there's a great big subconscious "Yeah...right!" that comes calling. No matter how much I want the thing, writing down that goal is pretty much a sure sign I won't achieve it. And I've tried. Everyone says this is the way to do things. In fact, just last week in a meeting it was said that if you don't write down a goal its just a wish that will never happen. I let that stuff go. Dream boards, written goals, etc...well, I always wondered when does it go from being a goal to a constant reminder of continual failure.

I thought there must be something wrong with me.

Then I read "Start" by Jon Acuff and he wrote a whole section about this. How goal setting in that manner worked for the author, and you have to do it this way, so you give it a try. How everything about the previous thirty of forty or fifty years you've spent on Earth indicates you won't do well with this approach but they say do it this way, this is the only way. And you try for a week or a month or a year and it doesn't take and you (I) assume you're lousy at goal setting and quit. He says its like you're a bird reading a book about how to be a fish.

And that's me. Right there. So I thought about the things I did achieve and how I did that. When I set out to buy a sports car I knew there were things I had to do so I was mentally focused on it...every day. Didn't write a thing down but I knew I had to save this much money, I had to make sure I worked these hours. And I did. When I started my weight loss and fitness journey I never wrote that goal down but I was focused on doing the work every day, eating better, getting it done and lost 50 pounds.

So, for some of us, writing these things down is the worst possible thing to do. Some of us know where we want to go and get there without having a scrap of paper or a dream board. Some of us just have a daily mantra of "Do. Go. Do. Go." It may not conform with the goal-setting mainstream but it beats feeling like a failure.

So. There it is. Now here I go and do.