Be Inspired

What inspires you? Is it watching a live sporting event? Is it waking up early in the morning to drink your coffee and watching as the sun rises in the eastern sky? Is it reading an interesting book? Is it spending time with others in spiritual fellowship? Is it experiencing the wonder of God's creation?

What do you do when you're inspired? Do you go to work happier? Are you able to get along with people better? Do you become more creative? Do you enjoy life more? For me, all of the above are true.

Inspiration is one of the keys that unlocks the doors to creativity and contentedness. This is why the title of my post is 'Be Inspired'. I want my readers to make a list of things that inspire them and try to do or experience those things more often. Make an effort to be inspired at least once every day, if not more frequently.

When I am inspired, it not only helps me work better, be more creative, keeps me zealous and makes me enjoy life more; but it also gives me hope. Hope and inspiration are strong motivators towards a greater degree of success and happiness. If you find inspiration, you will likely find hope.

Here are some things that inspire me, big time:

1. Experiencing the Oregon Coast and spending time at the beach

At the beach in Lincoln City, Oregon

2. Going on a hike, deeply breathing in the fresh air

3. Reading an awesome book

4. Writing

5. Watching a good movie

6. Listening to music I love

7. Driving on the highway in my 1999 Ford Mustang with the windows down on a hot day

8. Having a good exercise session

9. Traveling to exotic locations

10. Performing hard physical labor on my parents' acreage.

11. Having special family time with my wife and kids

12. Remembering good memories from long ago

13. Having camaraderie with my loved ones and friends

14. Winning

My club team won the President's Cup up in Portland

15. The early morning sunshine when the day is young and full of promise

16. Spending time with God and His people


Sometimes being inspired just falls into your lap, but other times you have to make a conscious effort to be inspired. Don't settle for a humdrum, drab existence of seldom being inspired. Be inspired daily! Being inspired will help you do your best in everything you do. Leave some comments: What does being inspired look like to you? How does it feel when you are inspired?

Incorporating Fitness Into Your Identity

All of us have an identity; I'm not just talking about our names and Social Security numbers or identification documents, rather, I am talking about how the world sees us and how we see ourselves. You have much control over your own identity. I see many people who are tossed about in this world who let other people and their circumstances largely shape their identities. A person should take charge of and responsibility for their own identity. Humankind is made up of individuals who are uniquely morally responsible agents, and that someday we must all give an account of ourselves to the Creator for the way we lived our lives. If you haven't I guessed by now, I operate from a Christian worldview. Even though I am an unashamed Christian and write from a standpoint as such, I still believe my blog posts are for everyone. My beliefs are part of my identity.

In the future, I may elaborate on the topic of identity, but for today's blog post, I am going to concentrate on incorporating fitness into your identity. Many people incorporate less than stellar things into their identities, rationalizing it by saying something like "This is just who I am." I have met people who have an identity they have accepted as being a fat man, and actually had become proud of it. If you accept and embrace a problem you have, your motivation to change virtually ceases to exist. In this case, the obese person has no problem consuming vast amounts of junk food and is not interested in exercise because they don't have a strong desire to make positive change. The problem is that obese people are at increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer and all sorts of other physical maladies. It even becomes more difficult to do such things as using the restroom, taking a shower, putting on socks/shoes, and getting into a vehicle - something that fit people often take for granted.

On the other end of the spectrum, some people incorporate being physically fit, athletic and healthy into their identities. I was one such person throughout high school; eating healthy and constantly exercising every single day. I pushed myself to the limit frequently because I felt deep down that it was my destiny to be physically fit and an accomplished athlete. It was a part of who I was; a part of my identity. I was fortunate enough to have parents who reinforced this identity;  fitness and athletic achievement were prized in the household I grew up in. I was a serious soccer player, but dabbled in track, cross country, wrestling and basketball. When it came to sports and physical performance, I put an extreme amount of effort into making sure I was one of the top performers.

Ripped and lean at Beach Iredale, Fort Stevens State Park during the summer between junior and senior year of high school. I was wearing my delayed entry poolie dog tags after enlisting in July, 2001. I was 17 yrs. old in this picture.

When I left my parents' house, my eating habits and exercising habits fluctuated. Being in the Marines, I generally was required to perform physical training, but the stress of four deployments and of being in a constantly stressful environment took its toll on me and my level of health and fitness took a tumble. It didn't help that I did not practice adequate self-care. Eventually, my wife and I decided it would be best if I left the Marine Corps and move our family back to Oregon. My bad health and stress followed me into civilian life and my weight shot up to almost 300 lbs. I nearly resigned myself to being heavy for the foreseeable future.
It wasn't until my friend Jason introduced my wife and me to Isagenix that I made a comeback, health and fitness-wise. I lost a lot of weight, fast, just by being on the 30-day system. I lost the big gut I had grown and the fitness part of my identity came back into the forefront. My energy and zeal for life returned to me and I began to feel good about my health again.

At Camp Rilea running cross country for Cascade High School in 2001. The flag is at half-mast due to the 9/11 bombings of the World Trade Center. I was 18 years old in this picture and was taken after I played 90 minutes of intense varsity soccer the day before. It was the last time I tried to do soccer and cross country at the same time.

It doesn't matter what your background is, what you have been through or what bad characteristics you think are in your identity. The past is the past; grow from it, learn from it and move on to a better present and future. Make a decision today to start eating right and exercising; taking fitness and ingraining it into your identity. Do not give yourself the choice of giving up and going back to an unhealthy, out of shape state of being. Win the battle in your mind, because if you get past the lust for unhealthy food and the desire to abstain from challenging exercise, it will change your life for the positive: you won't get sick as often, you will generally feel better, you will be able to sustain more free time activities, you will be able to do more with your kids and just feel so much better.

Quit making excuses; they hold you back. The Marine Corps has a saying in response to excuses: improvise, adapt and overcome. Don't repeat the lie in your mind "I can't" because you will start believing it and it will become part of your identity. Instead tell yourself "I can and I will!"

Being physically fit helps you accomplish more, and will make you feel like you can do virtually anything. It will improve your quality of life and will allow you, more often, to 'Seize the Day' rather than saying "I'm tired, I'll do it tomorrow." I'll give you a little hint: it won't happen tomorrow, either, because you'll still be tired until you decide to do something in order to lose weight, get healthy and willfully (sometimes painfully) move that body!

When you make fitness a part of your identity, you will have less a chance of falling back into the rut of identifying yourself as someone who wasn't meant or doesn't want to be fit. Take your life back! Set fitness goals and after meeting them, set some more. A goal is like a basketball hoop; basketball would look pretty silly if all the players did was throw a ball around the court and never shot the ball. Live life the same way as you would play some of your favorite sports: with goals in mind. In fitness, if you don't have goals, you are more likely to fizzle out. To be physically fit, set smaller goals you can achieve easily in order to keep your motivation up in addition to larger goals.

Ask yourself every day how you are making fitness a part of your identity. Daily work towards your fitness goals. It's okay to treat yourself every now and then, but make low glycemic, nutritious meals the norm. It may feel like you are depriving yourself at first, but it will be worth it in the end.

Someone snapped a picture of me doing push-ups in late summer 2001, at about the time I turned 18 years old. 

The Illusion of Perfection in the Lives of Others

Oftentimes, people look at others and regard them as people that have everything together: good marriage, nice cars, nice house, good job and on it goes. I have looked at others in this regard at times during my life and have been slightly envious of them. Have you ever looked at a person or a couple and thought "These people have the world at their fingertips; they have a perfect life."?

I have learned from experience that nobody has a perfect life and that everyone has their problems. At the surface, people can present themselves as successful and happy, but beneath the surface their life could be going down the toilet or they could be really unhappy. Don't fall for the facade!

Think about it: do you really know the state of a couple's marriage? Some couples project the image of being in-love and happier than two love birds, but privately they could be on the verge of divorce. When many couples actually do divorce, most of their friends and family are so shocked and say things like "I thought you two were doing so well, what happened?" This is because the couple wanted to make it seem like everything was fine and well with their relationship until they could no longer hide the fact that it was disintegrating.

Do you know someone who drives a nice car? How far did they have to go into debt in order to drive a hot set of wheels like that? Can they afford the paint repair when someone opens a door into theirs in the Wal-Mart parking lot? Sometimes people become slaves to their possessions; will you envy them then? Maybe you think their car is nice, but they think it's not good enough and are just thinking about the next best thing they can get. Are they content with the things they have? Sometimes you never know.

A person or family may have a gorgeous house, but more important than having a spectacular dwelling is having a happy home. Do the children respect and obey the parents? Do the husband and wife get along? Does a person live in an incredible place all alone, but somehow still feels empty? Why be envious, when you don't know the whole story?

Nice, big house

Have you ever looked at someone and thought "This person has such a good job, I wish I had half the career he/she has."? Have you thought of the chance that this person hates their job, but is dependent upon the money it brings in and they are afraid to try something else? It might be a high stress job that takes a devastating toll on their health, but they present a good appearance to make it seem like they are happy and successful.

Don't waste your life being envious of others or wishing you had their lives. Have you ever heard the term 'Be careful what you wish for'? When you wish you had another person's life, much of the time you do not know what you are wishing for. Rejoice in your own life and count your blessings. Take an inventory of your strengths and weaknesses and use them to create goals to get to where you want to be in life. Work hard to make your dreams come true. You are a unique and talented individual, use that to your advantage and achieve! One of my favorite Sergeants Major I had in the Marines had a quote at the end of every email saying "What you lack in talent, make up for in hustle." If you lack talent, practice hard to get better.

Nobody has all their ducks in a row, so to speak. If you only knew the truth, you may not be envious of others at all. Live your dream; live your best life and be an extraordinaire. Some people want you to be envious of them because it feeds their ego so they present a better-than-reality facade of themselves to the world. Don't feed their hungry egos; live your own life and be content to be you.

Please leave some comments. Do you know of anyone who has tried to present their lives as perfect but later it was apparent it was all a lie and their walls came crashing down? Share your story in the comments.

Body Weight Squats

They go by a couple of different names: air squats, unweighted squats and body weight squats. I use the term 'body weight squats' since people tend to say 'huh?' less often when I tell them what workouts I do. Body weight squats are just what they sound like: squatting your own body weight. I prefer these squats over weighted ones because I have knee problems from my time in the Marine Corps. When I did weighted squats in the past, my knees suffered the consequences, despite the fact I practiced the proper form.

You can also do air squats practically anywhere, that's one of the reasons I love them so much. The main reason I love body weight squats so much is because they are such major and incredible body fat burners. Obviously, they strengthen your legs, but they also hit many other muscles in your body such as your abs. You will most likely feel the burn most, however, in your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and gluteal muscles (your buttocks). When you finish with your set, your legs should have a satisfied and tired feeling. Try to consume protein right after doing the body weight squats.

Some of you may be wondering how to execute a proper body squat. It's easy and I will show you step by step:

1. Spread your feet more than shoulder-width apart, giving yourself a good stance for balance.

2. ***Optional*** Put your arms out in front of you with one hand on top of the other or side by side for additional balance

3. Squat down so that your thighs and lower legs create an upside-down 90 degree angle. !Caution! Do not go further than 90 degrees, for if you do, there is increased risk for injury. As you squat down, stick your buttocks way out so that you look like you are sitting in an invisible chair. Keep your back
straight, but not uncomfortably so.

Looks like I got caught on the way down or back up. You get though point, though, right?

4. Come back to your original starting position and repeat steps one through three for the desired amount of repetitions.

As for repetitions, I do 100 of them at a time. Beginners might want to start out at lower reps and do a few sets. However, I would try to get as close as you can to 100 reps; it will give you a good challenge as well as an exhausting set. For those of you who find 100 reps too easy, you can always do more :-) I do them quickly to add an aerobic element to my workouts.

I often do multiple sets in a day, so at the end of the day, I might have done 400 to 500 squats. My muscles recover quickly because I get the right nutrition through my Isagenix system which includes a lot of high quality undenatured whey protein.

Doing intense workouts like body weight squats will probably make you tired and hungry. Consume foods that are high in protein and fiber. The fiber will help you feel full and satisfied. Try to get 8-9 hours of sleep each night. Not getting enough rest or the proper nutrition is a good recipe to get sick, which really throws off your health and fitness groove.

Give me some feedback on how you like the body weight squats. They are one of my favorite exercises at the moment.

Physical Fitness

It's unfortunate, but about two-thirds of Americans are obese. Sustained, physically demanding work is not the norm any more, as society and technology has progressed to a point where we need a much lower population percentage of farmers and other physically demanding labor than we did 130 years ago. We have forklifts that take the place of several strong-backed men. Many of our manufacturing processes are now automated. The list goes on, but the point is, Americans, and other people living in industrialized areas of the world are much less active in their daily lifestyles than they were four generations ago. On top of that, food has become less nutritious due to the large-scale industrialization of farming, leading to nutritionally depleted soils and poisons contributing to the diminished nourishing ability of the foods we eat. Look at the foods we love: chips, sugar sodas, burgers, fries, fried foods, processed foods, beer, hot dogs and many more unhealthy edible items.  Collectively, we live more sedentary lifestyles and we eat less nutritious food.
A person living in the modern world must consciously make an effort to:

1) Exercise effectively and
2) Ensure they get proper nutrition to support increased activity levels.

For most people, it's definitely not easy. We wake up tired at 6:30 or 7:30 A.M. because we watched television shows online until midnight. If we eat breakfast at all, it may be something less than nutritious. We go to work and sit in front of a computer screen all day while eating unhealthy snacks and an unhealthy lunch, rarely getting up from our desks. At midday, we plan to go to the gym after dinner, but on the way home in our car, we suddenly feel drained. After dinner, we plan to take a rain-check on the gym and tell ourselves we'll hit it up tomorrow. Twenty minutes after the kids are in bed, we suddenly have enough energy to watch a couple hours of television while eating more unhealthy snacks. This seems to happen on a daily basis during the workweek for many working adults.

My best work days start out something like this:

• I wake up at about 6:30 A.M. with plenty of time before my 8:30 A.M. show-time at work. I drink my Ionix Supreme to maintain good health, followed by a few small glasses of water.
• I take a few of the dietary supplements that do not affect my stomach
• I do 50 lunges using the proper technique, followed by 100 bicycle crunches, 30-40 leg extensions, a max set of bench-pressing a lightly-weighted barbell and sometimes I will throw in some light dumbbell curls or iron crosses.
• Quickly after finishing my short workout, I drink my Isalean or Isalean Pro shake from Isagenix and take my Ageless Essential vitamins. During my breakfast, my sons are usually awake at this time watching something like 'Cat and the Hat' so I sit there watching it with them while drinking my shake, taking my vitamins and pounding the agua. 
• I shower and do the rest of my morning hygiene routine before getting dressed and going to work.

Granted, I don't always do this routine before work, but I always feel best when I do. It's basically a warm-up for the day and leaves me feeling energized and gives my muscles and metabolism a quick little jolt to start the day out with.

While at work, I take opportunities to walk to other agencies in order to talk to colleagues face-to-face if they work downtown like I do. During my first and last 10 minute breaks, I will do 20-30 push-ups followed by 100 body weight squats and 300-500 arm rotations. I may also do some ab-work, depending on how I'm doing for time at this point. I don't do the same things every time, either.

During my half an hour lunch break, I often take a brisk walk outside during nicer weather to the point where I break a mild sweat and begin breathing harder than normal. On rainy days, I have a mall two blocks from where I work and take a walk in the mall. I even sprint up the escalators when nobody is in the way. If I don't feel like walking during lunch, I go to the break room once again and do more body squats or lunges, some ab-work and more push-ups.

The point I'm getting at in telling you all this is that you can keep yourself active throughout the day, and it's fairly easy. You can exercise anywhere and you don't need a bunch of fancy equipment. Don't get me wrong, state of the art workout equipment is nice when you have access to it, but most of the time, you don't. To reach a better level of physical fitness, oftentimes all it takes is for you to get off your duff and get moving all throughout the day.

A dramatic increase in physical activity without giving your body proper nutrition is like trying to race your Corvette, but putting sub-par gasoline in the tank beforehand. Not only will your car's performance be adversely affected, you also may damage your machine. Your body is the same way.

If you are trying to lose body fat, reduce the amount of calories you consume. People in industrialized nations tend to consume far more calories than necessary. If you actually monitor your caloric intake for a day, you may be surprised at how many calories you are consuming. Eat foods that are low in fat and simple carbohydrates. Go for the whole grains when looking for carb-rich foods, but don't overdo it. Include lots of protein in your diet so when you work out, you will build muscle which burns fat and keeps your body properly fed. Do not starve yourself.

Keep your body strong, particularly your immune system. Eat foods that boost your immune system and keep your body running smoothly. I have heard people say that vitamins and supplements are not necessary if you eat all the foods with every nutrient in them. Who really wants to eat all of that food? Taking the right vitamin supplements gets your body what it needs without buying out the grocery store on every visit.

There are many other components of physical fitness, but I feel that this is a good introduction. You do not have to spend hours working out every day in order to stay in shape. Stay active all day long and eat the right stuff.

***Friendly Tip*** Take some Vitamin C right after an exhausting workout to keep your immune system up to avoid getting sick.

Need Motivation?

What motivates us? In some respect, different things motivate different people. However, there are some common motivators that most people can agree motivate them such as monetary rewards, respect, love, prestige/pride, esprit de corps, good health, physical appearance, faith or closely-held beliefs. This is, by no means, a comprehensive list, but it’s a good start in order to get my readers thinking about things that motivate. What motivates you? To create a correlation between today’s blog post and and my previous one, I would like to point out that motivation is an exceedingly important factor in accomplishing one’s goals. In order to continue working towards a goal, continued motivation is of the utmost importance. For example, have you ever started on a project or endeavor of some sort with a ton of excitement and motivation, only to have that zeal fizzle out gradually over the next couple of months? I know I have, for sure!

    

What causes a loss of motivation? Sit back readers, and I will tell you over the next few paragraphs. Identifying what kills motivation will help you to avoid those pitfalls and hopefully be more successful in accomplishing your goals.

1. Fatigue will kill your motivation faster than you can imagine. You not only need to pace yourself, but you need to ensure you have enough energy on a daily basis. Get enough rest at night and eat nutritious food. Do not spread yourself too thin because this leads to both fatigue and burnout. Strive to live a balanced life. 

2.  Another thing that destroys motivation is a lack of progress or a lack of results. Are you finding you're not making the progress you think you should? Are things moving too slowly? This might be a good time to reevaluate your goals. Are they specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound? Sometimes goals change or your plans for achieving goals change. That's okay! Make new goals, or find new paths to accomplish your goals! You may also need to adjust the time frame to accomplish your goals. Be resilient and make your goals resilient and adaptable, also. This is really where a life coach would be convenient, but a good friend who is invested in you can be a viable second choice. Make sure you are not doing things that sabotage your own progress. If you are finding it difficult to meet benchmarks or make sufficient progress, you may want to try a new venture. Take an inventory of your talents and what you like/dislike and decide what to do in light of your progress and ability/desire to continue in that direction.

3. Some people may not like me for saying this, but alcohol and drugs can really mess with your motivation. If you are trying to accomplish goals, stay sober. Abuse of alcohol and use of illicit drugs can easily become an addiction, which then moves that substance to the center of your life and does not leave enough room to effectively stay motivated to accomplish your goals. At this point, your motivation is to feed your addiction, not to get ahead in life or do something else productive. If you're drinking everyday, you're drinking too much. Keep alcohol use to one day a week and have a plan to be safe beforehand; do not drink and drive or allow yourself to be in situations where you are likely to do something stupid. If you're involved in illicit substances, you may need to see an addictions counselor to begin treatment. Substance addiction is powerful, and people ensnared by it don't realize the danger until it is too late. In addition to this, a person addicted to substances is not a good candidate for life coaching because their ability to think and make decisions on a daily basis is compromised. When it comes to alcohol, moderation is key. If you have friends and family members telling you repeatedly that you drink too much, you might want to take a yearlong break from alcohol or even stop completely. To an addicted drinker, long-term, sustained sobriety seems anathema.

4. If you want to keep your motivation up, stay away from 'Debbie Downers;' people who are negative all of the time and especially who put you down or crush your ideas. If you're around negative people all of the time, it WILL wear on you. Limit your time with negative people, and you may want to let them know that their negativity is really bummin' you out. Being honest and direct is the best service you can do for negative people; enough negative feedback about their negativity and they will be motivated to change. Something valuable I learned in the Biblical Leadership and Ethics class at Corban University while pursuing my MBA is to emphasize the positive and minimize or redirect the negative. I like being around people who do this, and I think most people do as well. Being around positive people will bring you up, and being around negative people will bring you down. Have you ever heard the old saying "Misery loves company"? People who are miserable like to make other people miserable, using them to feel better about themselves because they are then not the only one who is miserable. Don't be used by a negative person.

5. Make an effort to not be negative, yourself. Stay positive! Adopt a good attitude about life every morning you wake up. I find that when I wake up and do a quick workout and drink one of my Isagenix shakes, it puts me in a position to start the day right and continue in that positive direction. Make a decision to do everything in your power to have a good day. When you're staying positive, it's much easier to be motivated. Do not let your own negativity rear its ugly head. You can do a lot better in life by staying positive and having a good attitude.

6. Do not isolate. Stay connected to people who are motivated by the same or similar things as you are. If you're an aspiring author, join a writer's group. If you're an up and coming entrepreneur, associate yourself with a group of people who are heading in that direction. If you are an athlete, make friends and associates who are interested in fitness. Your combined excitement and positivity about your shared interests/goals is a force multiplier for your motivation and theirs, also.

I could write volumes and volumes about motivation. I am almost certain I will continue writing about motivation in this blog because it is the key to accomplishment. However, for now I must bid you adieu. It has taken me several days to complete this post because I have been busy having fun on my vacation.

My secret identity has been compromised. 

How to Create Goals that are S.M.A.R.T.

How can you get to where you want to go if you paddle in circles? Trying to succeed in your endeavors without setting S.M.A.R.T. goals is a lot like paddling in circles.

Have you ever tried throwing yourself into a task only to find out that you have no idea of where you want to go and how you want to finish once you're right in the thick of it? Chances are, you neglected to cast a vision, to set proper goals, and decide what success will look like when you get there. The need to set proper goals is of the utmost importance if you want to be in a much better place six months from now than where you are now.
Just setting goals, however, is not good enough. If you set vague goals, they're not going to help you much because it's hard to measure vague goals or define the time limit on them. Goals must be S.M.A.R.T.:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound

In regards to both specificity and measurability, the example of weight loss can be shown in the illustration of their collective value. It seems a little pointless to set a serious goal such as 'I want to lose weight.' A specific and measurable goal would be more like 'I would like to lose 20 lbs. 
Now, let's add the aspect of attainability: would you be able to realistically lose 20 lbs? There are ways to make goals attainable...such as changing the time frame of the goal or getting a treatment for your thyroid gland which will make it more realistic to lose weight in a timely manner, etc. A goal does no good if you cannot attain it within a reasonable amount of time.

Lay the groundwork and create foundational goals to propel you forward

Next, a goal must be relevant in order to benefit a person. You would think it would seem obvious, but you would be surprised. If a person is already underweight, it probably would not be a good idea to lose 20 lbs. In fact, if that is the case, a counselor that specializes in eating disorders may be needed in that instance. 
Finally, effective goals must be time-bound. If they are not, the procrastination monster will keep you from your goal indefinitely. Adding the component of time-binding, a good weight loss goal will look something like this: 'I would like to lose 20 lbs in two months by increasing my level of activity and decreasing my caloric intake, due to the fact that my doctor told me I should lose that amount of weight in order to live a more heart healthy lifestyle." This sentence encompasses a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. If your goals do not meet these criteria, you will likely not accomplish much. 
If you do not make your goals specific, you will not know when you have accomplished them. If goals are not measurable, you will not be able to determine what you have accomplished when you reach your goal. Goals that are not attainable will only lead to disappointment and burnout. Goals that are not relevant will not get you to where you want to be and will lead to 'spinning your wheels.' If goals are not time-bound, it gives a person license to put off accomplishing them indefinitely. 
Any good goal should meet all of the criteria above. If you have a goal that does not meet the SMART criteria, consider making your goal SMART so you will actually get somewhere. I hope at least one of you benefits from this blog. Thanks for reading, and I hope you didn't find my switch from 2nd to 3rd person pronouns distracting, but engaging :-) Give me feedback.

Vacations!!!

Horses at Stone Island, Mazatlan

Tomorrow starts my first official day of vacation. I get about ten paid days of vacation a year and it is an exceedingly nice benefit my employer offers. Now I can savor a little bit of summer with my family and forget I have a job for about a week. I wish all employers offered their employees vacation days, because I think vacations are important, both for the employee and their employer.
Vacations allow a person to relax and recharge. It is their time to be free to sleep in, spend time with family, go on vacations, and get away from all the stresses of work. I have made some of my very favorite memories on vacation and I suspect many of you have done the same.

Mexican Coastal Cuisine

Do not, and I mean DO NOT stress about work while on vacation. If you own your business or are a manager, make sure to put a subordinate in charge, or ask a peer to step in and keep an eye on things while you are away. I learned to leave work at work while on vacation by experience: I spent parts of a couple of vacations typing up reenlistment contracts and retention bonus documents. This contributes to stress and the feeling of not being able to take a vacation. Working while on vacation may make you look good in the short-run and have immediate benefits, but it will probably catch up to you later down the road in the form of burnout, family troubles, physical illness or stress-related injury. Try not to even think of work while you are on vacation...you may want to set an alarm on your cell phone to remind you when it is time to go back to work when vacation is over :-)

Mazatlan Coastal View From Our Balcony

Last year for vacation, my wife booked a round trip flight to Mazatlan, Sinaola, Mexico during the month of September where we had scheduled some time at a resort through our timeshare membership. My parents and in-laws watched our children, so my wife and I were able to spend a relaxing, stress-free, luxurious vacation in beautiful Mexico. The water was warm, the weather was hot, the food was spicy and the drinks were cool. It was an amazing vacation. It was one of the most refreshing periods of my life and I have good memories from it.

Coconut Plantation

This year, my wife and I are not as fortunate enough as to be able to go to an exotic location for vacation; my wife is in her third trimester with our third son and we have allocated additional funds from our income to other projects. I had originally planned to work on my MBA during the summer, but last month I felt a break from academia was in order so I stopped attending and will pick back up in the fall term. Considering these factors, we did not schedule a big vacation this year. We will, however, be going to Lincoln City in Oregon where I can chase my kids on the beach, watch the sun go down with my wife from our balcony and look at the pretty blue sky and dream. I always try to breathe in deeply, the fresh briny air of the Oregon Coast.
My dear readers, I hope at some point this summer or fall you are able to go on a vacation and take a load off for at least a short while. If you work in an office to rise in the world, spend time outside in the fresh air and exercise. If you work outside for your career, try cooling off in a pool or enjoy an air-conditioned movie at the theater. Remember to breathe deeply every now and then: it will slow your heart rate and help you to relax.

Me during my vacation to Mazatlan in September, 2012

What You Should Know About Going To College Part II

Part Two

What Degree Should I Pursue?

For a long time, I didn't know what I wanted to be when I 'grew up' in a manner of speaking. One of the many reasons why I joined the Marines was because I did not yet know what career I wanted to pursue or how to get there. I had some college credits through the local community college by taking advanced classes in high school when I first joined the Marines, and I had my military training, much of which was recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education (ACE). I began going to Central Texas College and started on a 'general studies' associates degree. I was within three classes of graduating when I decided I didn't really need an associates degree at the moment and transferred to Liberty University, which accepted all of my other previous credits, including my military training. Liberty is a full-fledged University accredited to award associates, bachelors, masters and doctoral-level degrees. I began to pursue my baccalaureate when I knew I was interested in psychology and helping people surmount obstacles to reach success in life. This decision was spurred by my becoming a Career Retention Specialist in the United States Marine Corps where I started helping Marines build a vision for their future and helping them accomplish goals. An interesting anecdote, at this point is that I wrote the Wikipedia page for Marine Corps Career Retention Specialist.

When you first start college and don't know what degree you want to end up getting, I suggest pursuing a degree in general studies or a related field so you make sure you get all the basic required classes completed that are relevant to most degrees. In almost every instance at a regionally accredited institution, you will be able to change your major. Most degree plans require a substantial amount of electives, which gives a student a chance to take classes they are interested in and see if they want to make a career out of one of the subjects of those classes. Another strategy to implement when trying to decide on a major is job shadow someone in the profession you are interested in. Many organizations, especially nonprofits, will jump at the opportunity to have another volunteer intern (This is also a good strategy for getting a job).

You do not usually need an associates degree in order to pursue your bachelors degree, however, you usually need a bachelors degree in order to pursue a masters-level degree and usually need a masters degree to go for a doctoral degree. There are many exceptions to these rules, though. The average time commitments for degrees with the student attending full time are as follows: associates, two years; bachelors, four years, masters, two to three years and doctoral-level, two to three more years. Exceptions to this, though, are always the rule and you will generally find that every school has different requirements. Keep in mind that masters and doctoral-level degrees tend to be more specialized and a bachelors degree most often has you complete a more varied education. ***Handy Note*** A bachelor's degree is often called a baccalaureate, pronounced 'backa-lore-et'. See Merriam-Webster's definition if you don't believe me :-)

If you are one of the few who know what they want to do right after high school, congratulations; you are on a set course and will hopefully be pursuing your life's work shortly after graduation. In my own personal experience, females more often than males know what degree and occupation they want to pursue right away. Do yourself a favor: don't pursue a degree just because of the money you will make if you complete it. Pick an area that you are interested in and a degree that you can foreseeably make a good income at, as well. It wouldn't make much sense to become an architect if you hated drafting in high school or pursue a medical degree if you're squeamish around bodily fluids. Follow your dreams and develop a good plan to get there.

Online, On Campus, Blended?

 Keep in mind that I am biased in favor of online education or blended formats because that is where the majority of my college education comes from. I have attended many on campus classes in such subjects as American Government, Writing 121,122 and 123, Introduction to Probability and Statistics, Introduction to Mass Communication, etc. I do enjoy on-campus classes, but I don't have the most time in the world, and I think I learn better in an online format.
With online classes, missing a lecture is irrelevant. You have all the material you need when you order your course material and the instructor or school adds the content of the course. I also don't like spending gas money to get to and from campus and having that block time commitment. I can do my online classes at 10:30 PM at my desk in my underwear. In addition to this, I am a working adult with a family so to have the extra time commitment of on-campus classes is not very realistic during this current stage of life.
The benefits of an on campus college education are many, however. Some people may view this as a detractor, but at an actual college campus you can have a complex and interesting social life and get to interact with students, staff and faculty from all walks of life. In addition to this, you can play sports at the campus and do scholastic activities. Some people collectively refer to this as 'the college experience.' It's something that, for the most part, I missed out on and replaced it with 'the Marine Corps experience', having to get my college here and there.
My point is, you can get a quality, accredited education in an online, on campus, or blended format. Different occupations require different formats of college courses, so do some research into occupations you are interested in before getting your heart set on a particular format. You may also want to ask a potential future employer to see if they prefer to hire candidates that graduate from online or brick and mortar institutions. Many times, it does not matter, but to some employers and in some professions, it does matter. An important thing to note is that most colleges do not specify if the degree was earned on campus or online on the actual diploma if they maintain both an online and brick and mortar campus.

Conclusion

I believe you, the reader, now have enough information to successfully pursue a college education. It's never too late to get more education. If you would like additional information, please leave a comment on my blog or shoot me a message. Anytime you notice errors on my blog, please let me know and I will investigate.

What You Should Know About Going to College Part One (U.S. Specific)

Part One

In my opinion, most people of average intelligence or greater should attend college and get a degree. There are many colleges out there, and you may see a lot of ads online and on billboards across your town advertising the advantages of attending a specific institution of higher education. With so many colleges vying for your attention, time, energy and money, there are a few things you should know before even contemplating the allocation of your resources towards post-secondary education:

Accreditation

Is the college you plan to attend accredited by a legitimate accrediting agency? There are a lot of phony accrediting agencies out there and phony colleges that pretend to be accredited, but the legitimate colleges and accrediting agencies are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. To learn about accreditation in the United States, click here.
Unfortunately, some people have found they have a worthless degree at the end of their college program at an unaccredited institution because the place they attended is not legitimate. If you are planning on attending a college, do your due diligence in making sure your short list of schools includes institutions that are all legitimately accredited. To see a listing of all legitimate accrediting agencies, go to U.S. Department of Education Recognized Accrediting Agencies

Nationally or Regionally Accredited?

If you know exactly what you want to do and are sure you will be doing it for a long time, then a Nationally Accredited Institution may be right for you. These places of learning are usually for technical or trade schools and often offer specialized training in specific vocations. You have probably seen many of these places advertised during daytime television for such things as medical billing, medical assisting, dental assisting, computer drafting, cyber security, criminal justice, etc. If you want to get into a specialized trade, then a Nationally Accredited school may be what you want. Degrees from these institutions, however, are not as prestigious or recognized equally in the academic world as compared with degrees from regionally accredited schools. You would almost think it would be the other way around, huh?
Regionally accredited institutions of higher learning usually offer a well-rounded education that gives you training in writing, history/social studies, mathematics, psychology, computer technology, literature, philosophy, arts, physical fitness, business and science in addition to the courses in your major. General requirements for each institution vary. Religious colleges will often require some classes in their particular set of religious beliefs. I personally recommend attending a regionally accredited institution, but I am biased. The college I attended for my baccalaureate, Liberty University, is accredited by SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) and the college I currently attend, Corban University, is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities; both of which are legitimate regional accrediting agencies.

 

Paying for College

If you live in the U.S. then the federal government can help you pay for school. Let's face it: most Americans do not save enough money for college or have the money to pay for it outright, so they must rely on grants and loans to pay for their education. You can get information about federal student aid at www.fafsa.gov where you can apply for a Pell Grant (money you do not have to pay back) or Stafford Loans (money you DO have to pay back). I suggest approaching loans with extreme caution: debt can be crushing and suffocating. For certain aid programs, like the Pell Grant, you will have to qualify financially.
There are a variety of other grants and loans you can apply for, also, but ensure you go through scrupulous agencies for these. Some places might try and trick you into a scam or high interest loan. I could go on and on about student aid, but it would take a long time.
Scholarships and grants can be found on such sites as www.fastweb.com. College 'ain't' cheap, but financial help can be had. Even your intended college can help find you grants and scholarships to pay for school at their institution.
As for me, I paid for college using the military benefits of active duty tuition assistance and the Post 9/11 (Chapter 33) GI Bill to pay for college, in addition to the Pell Grant for my undergrad. I have no student debt. Being in the military is a major commitment and requires a lot of sacrifice, but it does offer major benefits such as money for education.



To Be Continued...

This  blog post is becoming quite the novel and I need to move onto other things for now. I will be back later with part II, which will hopefully conclude today's blog about attending college. Readers, feel free to comment and leave suggestions. You can also ask me questions about education; I am quite knowledgeable :-)

Something Shining and New

 Hello Viewers,

This is my very first  entry on my new life coaching blog. My purpose in writing this it is to share my life and knowledge of life coaching, nutrition and fitness in order to inspire, encourage and motivate people visiting my site to accomplish their goals and dreams. I invite you, my readers, to view my profile and get to know me a little bit.
I am a life coach, writer, and for my day job; a case manager. I can wear several hats; my activities and skills are as vast as my interests. Currently, I am taking a hiatus from my MBA Program and plan to start up again in the fall. My baccalaureate was in Psychology with specializations in Christian counseling and life coaching from Liberty University.
I would enjoy receiving emails from readers asking me questions about anything pertaining to life, nutrition, fitness, life coaching or whatever comes across your minds. Of course I will not be able to write about everyone's questions in my blog, but from time to time, I will address questions from my readership in a blog article.
At a minimum, I will write a blog entry every week, barring extenuating circumstances, of course, such as not having access to a computer due to backpacking in the Himalayas or being detained by foreign authorities, et cetera. I plan to do a lot of blogging about fitness at first, because I am in a real fitness kick these last couple of months and I have some exercises that can be done anywhere that I think my readers will find useful.
Eventually, I will invite guest bloggers to write for me to spice things up a bit. Soon, I will add more pictures and embed videos. I want this blog to be exciting, useful, and captivating.
Just a few ground rules: Obscenities are not welcome on my blog. They lower the intelligence level of any conversation and do not meet my criteria for staying positive. My second ground rule for comments on my blog is that I would ask readers to not make any disparaging comments about God; please be respectful. My third rule is more of a guideline, and it is that I would ask my readers to build each other up in the comments section and refrain from bad-mouthing one another or engaging in angry debates. I want people to come to my blog to be uplifted and motivated after reading it. Thank you to everyone who will take the time to read this.

My email is jamajorslifecoach4life@gmail.com