When I was younger, I dreamed of becoming a professional basketball player. I would practice a little bit, but not enough to get to an elite level. I held a basic belief that many children hold to this day — I thought that people were either born with talent or they weren’t. I looked at basketball players like Michael Jordan who is still the GOAT (Greatest of all time) Sorry Lebron, Kobe etc. Jordan was and still is the best…. I would look at Jordan and say things like wow he is so lucky to have that level of talent. I didn’t believe it was possible that I could ever reach close to his level. Maybe, just maybe if I would have known what I know now I could have been a professional basketball player. If I could have known and seen what was possible way back then, if I could have seen the hours that professional athletes put in to become the best at their craft, maybe I too could have believed that it were possible and done the work to make it happen. However, that didn’t turn out to be my path and because of that my path is now helping others either find their path or when they already know their path, of helping them to actually walk their path that they feel called to walk. I help people understand these days that they can have anything they want if they will just believe they can have it and keep showing up day after day, week after week, and year after year to get what they really truly want. I help them to understand if they just keep playing the game they are going to figure life out. Back to my little kid self if I would …

Whoosh! The hockey puck left my stick towards the goals, but soared high missing the net by just 3 inches. Another shot… Clank!.. The puck hit the post… Another shot…Clank! it hit the post again. I let out a mild yell of frustration and kept skating. Have you ever felt that you were not achieving what you wanted  in your life or business? You  kept trying and trying and kept failing and failing? Sometimes it feels we are not getting anywhere. Today was my first time playing ice hockey in almost a year, and I really wanted to score a goal. I kept taking shot after shot to no avail. Many of the shots missed the net entirely, others got closer but clanked off the goal post and then the ones that were on target, the goalie continued to stop. And then with just a few minutes left to play in the game, I had one more chance to score. I raced the puck down the ice on a breakaway. I came in on the right side of the goal and deked to the left. The goalie slid across the face of the goal but I was just a step ahead of him and backhanded the puck across the goal line into the back of the net. GOAL!! I had taken more than 10 shots and missed almost every single one of them. I had received some great passes that I couldn’t put into an open net. But most importantly, I did not give up, I kept skating hard. I kept taking shots, and at almost the last possible minute, I put the puck in the back of the net. What would have happen if I had just got frustrated after missing all those shots and gave up? I would …

We have heard countless motivational gurus talk about having morning rituals. For a while, I followed Tony Robbins, Hour of Power. Then, it was the Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. When I was following The Miracle Morning, I even had a kitchen timer that I would use to perfectly complete each of the ten minute tasks. When I was doing it I felt great, however on the days that I missed it, I would feel off and frustrated.  These programs each have great advice in them. Of course if you read, write in a journal, do affirmations, exercise, pray/meditate, and visualize; it will have a positive result on your life. And many have found this as they have followed each of these programs with some level success. One of the reasons people enjoy these programs is because it creates a feeling of accomplishment so that no matter what happens in the day, you feel that your day is a success. However, you can do the same thing in a few minutes by simply making your bed each morning. More importantly, remember you already are a success, even if you do nothing today. You’re okay! You don’t need to be jacked up, amped up or anything more. You just need to be you. I feel we often go to rituals that other people have created for us in order to tell ourselves, “I have done this persons morning rituals and so I am allowed to feel good for the day.” If you don’t believe me try something. Create a checklist of simple mundane things such as brush teeth, eat breakfast, and shower. After each thing is done check them off, and when even those three things are finished you will feel a sense of accomplishment and it won’t take an hour, …

So often we think that if we just had enough stuff… looks, fame, fortune etc. that we would be happy. The truth is, no amount of any of those things will ever make you happy. Happiness comes for a place inside of you of growth and progress, when we are growing and progressing often times we are happy. Our entire culture has pitched us this lie that unless we look a certain way, or have certain things we are not good enough. The truth is that you are perfect just the way you are. This article is meant for those who don’t feel comfortable in their own skin and feel that if they looked a certain way, they would be happy. The reality is that you will never look like the models in the magazine And THAT’s OKAY because neither will the actual models. Nothing is real anymore, You are at the store going through the checkout aisle and you see a magazine cover with a beautiful model on it. You look at that model and say, “why can’t I look like that?  I wish I was thinner. I wish I was taller. I wish I was shaped different. I wish had a bigger this or a smaller that. What would I have to do to look like that?” You begin to be sad and down because you feel that no matter what physical transformations you made, you could not look like her. You  are 100% right. The truth is that no matter what you did you could not look like that person. The reason is because that person doesn’t even look like that – they are just a product of a lot of work- called photoshop and more. We have created an insane standard of perfection in the world. …

We’ve all been at that party when a 45 year old man starts talking about the highlight of his life, The state championship game that he played in almost 30 years ago. He was the star quarterback.  You have heard him tell the story so many times of how with only 3 seconds left on the clock down by 5 points he dodges 20 players on the defense and scores the game winning touchdown! There is nothing wrong with remembering our successes of the past, but when we begin to live there it does us a disservice because it makes us feel comfortable again and when we are comfortable often times we do not doing anything to create new stories and new adventures in our lives. How many people are really listening to this story. Generally only one person and that is the person that is telling the story.  We tell our glory stories so that we can relive that moment when we felt our life was going awesome and to relive those same emotions, and sometimes even when we want to make ourselves look good in front of other people. Another reason we do it is because we do not feel that our life has progressed to a certain level and so we go back to the time in our life that we thought we were on top of the mountain. It’s okay to remember the great experiences of the past, but NOW it’s time to create new ones. No one cares what you did 30 years ago. What are you doing now? What are you doing in your life that is worth sharing? What adventures are you embarking on? What are you working hard towards? What if you could take the great lessons that you learned through your …

Almost 40 years ago, In the winter of 1980 one of the greatest moments in American Sports History took place in a small arena in Lake Placid, New York. The game was between a USA hockey team made up of 21 year old college kids that had never played together before. Their opponent, the Soviet Union was a much bigger and stronger team. They were experienced, having played together for quite a few years. They had won the past 6 Olympics in a row (56, 60, 64, 68, 72, and 76). Not to mention they had beat the NHL All Stars a few months earlier 6-0… Beating this team would take an absolute miracle… Miracles are not often created overnight, and if the USA was going to win over the Soviet Union it would be no exception… Seven months before this game, team USA began to be trained by the great coach Herb Brooks. He began to push them much further and harder than many of them ever wanted to be pushed. There is even a story about them tying a game against Norway in which they hadn’t given their all.  The coach made them do wind sprints for an hour after the game was over. The rink manager got sick of waiting and turned the lights off on them, but the coach kept forcing them to skate in the dark. They may not have been the most talented, but they would be the best conditioned in the Olympics. After 7 months of brutal practice, they were as ready as they could be. And when they showed up to play the Soviet Union in the semi finals, they were ready and they ended up beating the Juggernaut Soviet Union team in dramatic fashion… in the miracle on ice. If you …

It’s incredible what human beings are capable of when our back is against the wall, one of these individuals was Steve Callahan who survived 76 days adrift in the ocean with hardly any supplies… As Human beings we are capable of creating,  great, and wonderous miracles. Why is it so often then that people live lackluster quiet lives? Have you ever began to wonder what makes people get real results in their lives? More often than not, it is desperation, when they see that the only way out of that trial is through it, they begin to work hard. There is an excellent book called Deep Survival that has a lot of great stories in it about wilderness survival. You may be thinking, I don’t even like the wilderness, why should I care? Interestingly enough you can actually learn a great deal from these experiences. When these people are in the middle of nowhere because of a disaster, they have to quickly accept their situation. Once they have accepted the possibility of dying and realize that it could happen, they start working hard so it doesn’t. One of the survivors from one of these stories states “Time stolen is much better than time given”. These individuals fight against all odds to survive.  One of these stories is about Steve Callahan. Steve’s boat got hit by a whale in the middle of the ocean causing it to break. He said to himself, “Don’t cry now, don’t break, be a man of action; a man of action does whatever he must, isn’t afraid and doesn’t worry. He said he met adversity head on, and used all of his energy on being positive and forward motion, and constantly would say “I want to live, to live, to live.”  He ended up surviving 76 …

This weekend I went to Rocky Point, Mexico with a large group of singles. The weather turned out to be pretty good, the resort we stayed at was incredible, and the food was amazing. However as we ate those glorious carne asada tacos, one thing really caught my eye. If you haven’t been to Mexico, I need to remind you most of these taco shops are outdoors. They have a type of canopy above your head to protect you from some of the elements and even little fences to attempt keeping out unwanted visitors. But many visitors still get through and one of those visitors was what caught my attention on this trip – a dog. Throughout Mexico and many other countries, Dogs run wild through the streets and even make their way into the taco shops. They go around and beg for scraps to survive on… And this is the insight that I had while I was there. Dogs can be fierce; they can also be playful, but ALL of the Dogs that I saw in Rocky Point had become little tiny beggars. They walked slowly, cautiously with their heads down. They approached people with a sadness in their eyes. They were not fierce, nor were they fun, happy and energetic. They had allowed life to wear them down, and they all looked like life had beaten them. They went around begging for their food almost knowing that they would not get it, instead of walking into the restaurants and taking what they wanted. Didn’t they know how powerful they were? Didn’t they know if they started growling, barking and running at me that I would be running out of the restaurant faster than you can say the word, “Taco.” Didn’t the dog also know that if he was …

At times I hear people say that they wish all of their problems would just go away. They think that if the problems went away they would be able to really enjoy their lives. What if I told you that there is a beautiful tropical paradise free of all challenges, adversity and problems. There are enough residents that you would not be lonely, yet not too many to make it overcrowded. When residents arrive almost all of their perceived problems disappear into thin air. They don’t worry about money, taxes or the government. And where is this glorious tropical paradise, that I speak of? It is a cemetery off the coast of Hawaii. That’s the only place that people don’t have problems or challenges. Having challenges is a good thing because it just means you are alive. And you will always figure out a way to overcome your challenges, you just have to get creative and start listening to your inner voice. No matter what you are struggling with there are many people in that cemetery that would take on your challenges in a heart beat just to experience even one more day in this life. Our life is a gift, and when we are not caught up in our thinking of how hard things are we feel that way. So what about those moments that we don’t feel life is a gift? Just take a few deep breaths, get a little bit of food in you, call a friend, watch a funny movie or something and just get back to your old self. We are incredible, powerful, human beings and when we are happy and feeling good its amazing what we can do. We just have to get through the hard days some times, when we can get through …

We all have big dreams, desires and goals. However, Let’s face it, starting to learn almost anything new can often not be very fun. Whether you are learning a new instrument a new hobby or anything else, it can take a while to get the hang of it. And its usually not till we get the hang of it that we begin to enjoy it. So how do we get through that first part? And how do we even learn to enjoy the beginning? In school, there were a few different techniques that our teachers and parents used to help us get up this learning curve. Some of the parents and teachers punished you if you got bad grades or maybe took away some privileges. And because you wanted your privileges back, you forced yourself to get down to business, study and get good grades. However, the really good teachers went with a different approach, which I think is the best one of all… They made it FUN!!!  Whoever said learning had to boring and dull? Think back to kindergarten, 1st and maybe even 2nd grade and 3rd grade… didn’t your teachers try to make learning fun? I remember my teacher in 3rd grade Mrs. Hoffman, we were learning our multiplication tables and each student had a paper ice cream cone on the wall with their names on it and for each set of multiplication tables we passed off we received a paper scoop of ice cream. I have always been very competitive, and because I wanted my scoop to be higher than every one else’s the fastest, I learned my multiplication tables. It was only because she made it fun. We can use this same technique now! We must learn to enjoy the process of learning and just dive …