OakleyOC

I’ve lost it . . .

2011-03-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

. . . Fatty weight, some body fat percentage, an inch off the waist, that is … and more importantly, an addiction to rice in my meals (for this Filipino guy, that’s quite a feat!). It’s rare that you’ll ever hear me speak the words “I’m on a diet,” and, don’t worry, you still won’t (technically)! I work out regularly in the wee hours of the morning. I train/compete at running events throughout the year. Just today I rode my bike for an hour on an all uphill route. I consider myself in pretty good athletic shape, and I believe those who know me personally would agree. Probably because of my active lifestyle, but my metabolism has yet to slow down, as I can still eat various guilty pleasures and not gain weight, not work on a Santa belly, or even worry about counting calories. However, I knew I really should look at what my intake was, and be more aware of my food. This thinking prompted the beginning of one of my most non-scientific of real-life experiments, and just recently… I’ve decided to take it back to the roots of eating and take on the “Caveman Diet,” also referred to as the hunter-gatherer diet, the Paleolithic Diet, or simply paleo. I wouldn’t do this write-up justice if I didn’t credit the coaching/tips/recipes from my friend Erica Goldsmith to this new eating lifestyle that Ruth and I have made a commitment to work on. The almost two years prior to Erica being crowned Miss West Virginia USA 2010 she adopted the paleo lifestyle of eating, and she continues with paleo to date. Not that I have any desire to (or even have a chance of) winning a Miss USA title, but I figured a fellow TRX Training fitness junkie who can keep up with a full schedule, maintain a decent eating regimen, and still have high energy, well, her eating lifestyle just might fit into my similarly unorthodox schedule of activities. As with most dietary approaches, paleo has its critics, especially ones referring to it as a fad diet. Those who know me well know I’m the guy who will shop at Costco for bulk pricing on ribs, steak, pork chops, etc. I’m the guy who will admire the garnish, I mean the vegetables, at restaurant meals and who will leave them on the plate, except to perhaps sample them once in a while, or if Ruth asks me to set a good example to our kids by eating my veggies when our kids are present. So, paleo is a fad diet? I’m not so sure about that, at least not in my situation the past 30 days …and going forward, as this lifestyle is a part of me now. Here’s the skinny on paleo as I see experienced it: there is no strict measurement of food, or a time of day to eat, or a firm pattern of days to eat this or that, or fancy fluids or meals to purchase, or calories to count. Not that there’s anything wrong with those other diets (just my opinion), but we’re talking about a diehard carnivore, so this “unga bunga diet,” seemed right up my alley. I need to add the fact that in May I’m participating in my first OC Marathon (wearing combat boots from The Boot Campaign, in support our troops!). For me such training meant carbs, carbs, and more carbs equated to my energy for training. Erica shared some reference material on “paleo for athletes,” (as my go-to rice, potatoes, pasta, etc., aren't paleo) as I didn’t want my OC Marathon training to falter because my energy stores were low. Sure enough I’ve not complained about lost energy. In fact, I feel as though my energy level has gone up, probably since my body doesn’t have to waste energy burning off processed foods! I also need to add that I almost fell into analysis-paralysis of this lifestyle. It was the last full week of February and, as it sounded right, I told Erica that Ruth and I would start on March 1st. (It was neat that Ruth was going to go paleo with me as well; yay, for spousal support!) As we hit Friday, February 25th, Ruth and I decided that that Saturday we’d begin. Talk about a Filipino guy who eats four servings of starchy white rice (yummmmm) in three meals, and to start paleo on a weekend where temptations are all around? Geez, Louise! Shocking you out of your comfort zone usually works best, right? (Now we’ll make the rest of this just about me as I know females do not disclose their weight loss statistics. Just a smidgen, however: While Ruth didn't have weight loss issues before paleo, she lost weight during this time as well, loves the healthier cuisine/snacks that we eat … and a happy wife is a happy life!) In my first seven days of paleo, I shed six pounds and dropped three percentage points off my body fat percentage. My energy levels didn’t falter (even though I ditched my rice & breads), and I actually felt more energetic during my 5:30 AM workouts. Overall, by the end of this initial 30 days on March 26, I lost 9 pounds, ditched 6.5% body fat percentage, and gained self-awareness in my choice of food ingredients. I’ve lost craving for processed food, and gained more energy to fuel my workouts. Our kids love the "caveman" desserts and snacks (granted we're not forcing anything on them). At this point in their lives, they're growing kids. While Ruth and I have supreme rule over their diet, if they're 70% paleo with us out of their own curiosity, that's better than having 100% grumpy kids who'll find ways to secretly consume ice cream, hot dogs, rice, etc. Remember this eating lifestyle is supposed to make you enjoy life better, physically and mentally. Ruth and I would rather to have open communication with them on their likes, rather than force something on them. I digress ... What I like about this lifestyle is something Erica (and other paleo veterans) reminds me: you can’t be 100% paleo, 100% of the time. I know what I should avoid, and I enjoy what is recommended. I enjoy the results of this lifestyle, and this lifestyle lets me enjoy random non-paleo items, without damaging what I’ve set in motion this past month. The whole purpose was to have a better lifestyle; not for me to suffer (hence why I shun against the term “diet”). How could I have a better lifestyle if at a friend’s surprise luncheon I have to just watch others enjoy what’s served, while I preach about my new lifestyle as I eat a carrot stick? Hypocrite! LOL! One Saturday, a neighbor poured some beer in two steins and walked it over to me one weekend our kids played together. In our conversation of my upcoming races and training, the topic came up about my marathon training, which I briefly described my eating lifestyle as I finished the drink he poured. He felt so guilty that he handed me a beverage that didn’t meet the criteria. I laughed as told him that it was nothing to be bothered with, and this lifestyle gave me leeway. Now his interest was piqued, as we casually spoke about paleo more. Mission accomplished about getting the word out that this is NOT a diet. At home I’ll cook what’s scrumptious (paleo-style) for my family, but I’ll not restrict our kids’ craving for a bowl of ice cream, a batch of starchy steamed rice, or even alter our scheduled Daddy-Son lunches where they get to choose where to eat and talk, without Mommy around. So, again, what that it’s “only” 70 percent of the time that they’re our little caveboys? I’ll take that over 100% of haphazard eating that contributes to obesity. I love that they enjoy my caveman bread, my caveman cookies, etc., and even assist in making them since they prefer to snack on them! I love that they even joke about my caveman lifestyle and the usual quibbles about cavemen not owning iPhones, cavemen not wearing Oakleys, or cavemen not driving cars. Such as how casually Erica introduced this lifestyle to my family, I believe I’ve gotten the message across the next generation in my household just as subtly … and those messages/methods are the most effective ways to gain support. So a note to my friends who now know what my eating lifestyle is these days … PLEASE do not discount me for pot lucks, receptions, picnics, happy hours, etc. I can still throw down with the best when it comes to eating, and I can still whip up delicious food on the grill or in the kitchen! I'll still drink and do shots with you! LOL Just to make a point, the food I ate during these 30 days is not what most would consider “diet food,” and the following are a sample of these easy-to-prepare AND delicious caveman meals … unga bunga …

BBQ pork ribs

Chicken, with peaches, almonds and raisins

Curry shrimp, with spinach

Grilled golden pompano w/ sea salt, ground black pepper, with Chinese broccoli

Blackened pork chops, w/ pompano/onion/bell pepper omelet (yes, this was a breakfast)

Steak (black/red peppers) and eggs (sea salt/paprika) (yup, for breakfast)

Cookies: almond meal, honey, cinnamon

Cookies: coconut, chocolate nibs

Caveman Brownies: pear, almond flour

Cookie sheet: almond flour, dark cocoa, raw agave

Oozing chocolate lava cake: dark chocolate, almond butter, almond flour

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I had to include the Oakleys in the pictures. BTW, I'll run out of Oakleys to put in the pictures, before I'll run out of paleo dishes and goodies to make! So now you see that this longtime carnivore (and STILL one!) didn’t have to starve himself the past 30 days. However, this caveman did: enjoy his delicious meals/portions, maintain his energy for the marathon training, learn new recipes along the way, drop some body fat percentage points, and lose & keep off some weight.

In summary ... Things I had to work on:

paying more attention to what "alternative" ingredients I could use in my cooking

browsing through new recipes and adding new cuisine to my palette

controlling myself in cooking ALL the delicious desserts that are paleo-friendly

Things I have found to be positive experiences:

maintaining a lower body fat percentage

maintaining a lighter body mass (good for running LOL)

powering through longer workouts due to increased energy

liking the more critical "chef's taste buds," as my taste buds are more aware

loving the fact that this is NOT strict when it comes to casual non-paleo eats/drinks

enjoying the fact that I still LOVE all the foods I eat

continuing to be happy that my family supports paleo (makes for easier kitchen duty)

(OK, I'll have to sneak this in here: increased libido, not that there were issues before)

I told Erica that should paleo become a lifestyle for me, I would love to share the paleo lifestyle with at least ten others, in order to continue to spread the word …and some of these ten have already hit me up, so I’m happy that I have intrigued interest along the way! You think you want to eat better choices, manage the weight/body fat statistics, curious about the food I shared above ...or just want to sample my oozing chocolate lava cakes? ...then hit me up! LOL

Life is short, and you should enjoy the fruit of your labor. Why settle to torture yourself over what you can or cannot eat? Opt for a lifestyle, instead of a restriction … and enjoy!

Oakley-dokely!

Thankful for Life Lessons

2010-11-24T14:13:00.000-08:00

(all photos in this blog entry were shot for The Boot Girls and The Boot Campaign, and are courtesy of professional photographer Scott Roeder of Scaughty Photography)

In 2005 I had a successful LASIK surgery. After wearing glasses or contact lenses since sixth grade, I became the poster child for LASIK, as I could see better than 20/20, I didn’t suffer from any “halo vision,” and my eyes did not dry up. It was neat to be able to purchase sunglasses and not have to pay the extra $200 - $300 to convert them into prescription sunglasses, or if a particular style could even be converted. Gone were the days I had one pair of prescription sunglasses, as my sixty-nine pairs of Oakley eyewear can tell you … I loved it! Then on October 16, 2010, I felt blind to the world around me.

My friends and I regularly participate in the Irvine Lake Mud Run (ILMR), a 5K muddy obstacle course along scenic Irvine Lake in Orange County, CA. Nothing like thousands of runners tackling hills, mud pits, walls, nets, and even more mud, all in the name of fun! On October 16 our Gavin’s Groupies team planned something special, with two runners who running blind: John Flores, Team Captain of the Gavin’s Groupies team, and model Heather Rene Smith, would wear specially designed goggles. These goggles were spray-painted so John and Heather would not be able to see. This was a way to experience how a little two year old, Gavin Stevens, experiences the world around him.

Gavin was born with Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), a very rare, genetic hereditary disorder that causes blindness in infants and children.

Not novices to the muddy fun at ILMR, it was always neat to see that at each race the ILMR organizers continued to top the previous race with more muddy surprises and challenges. However, imagine running a 5K muddy obstacle course blind! Imagine the day of a race you were to lose your sight. How would you find your way to just make it to the start line? How would you know what obstacle awaits you? How would you even take that first step? Would you even take that first step … and miss out on the fun others would have just taken for granted? John and Heather took that first step, in order to bring awareness to Gavin and the mission of the Gavin R. Stevens Foundation. As such with someone losing their sight, friends and family are around as support, and Jayson Nelson volunteered to be John’s guide and I was Heather’s guide. It was an eye-opening experience for me.
Heather and I didn’t practice the blind/guide coordination, and quickly we learned how it would be in real life should one be stricken with blindness out of nowhere. Let me just add to the equation that John, Jayson, Heather and I wore combat boots from The Boot Girls, to support our troops, as it made it that much more difficult to not step on each other’s feet when I’d say, “turn left,” and I really meant “turn right.” Come on, how many times has a sighted person had to verbally say such directions? It was quite humorous at first, but I think we were both using humor to hide the fear, the fear of uncertainty. Oh my goodness, what were we about to get into?

At the start of the Gavin’s Groupies wave, the organizers of ILMR asked Troy Stevens, Gavin’s dad, speak to the crowd about our Foundation, who the Gavin’s Groupies are, and what John, Jayson, Heather, and I were about to do. Whatever fears I had about tripping over Heather five steps into the race were slowly going away, as Troy spoke about all the Gavin’s Groupies teammates wearing orange, and how we were there to help find a cure for Gavin’s blindness … SOON. It was an emotional talk by Troy.

Around me I could see the sea of orange shirts and I could hear the cheers, and it was comforting. My strategy with Heather was to interlock our arms and I would turn her hand the direction we were to go, and provide verbal cues about hills, dips, mud pits, etc. Oh boy, easier said than done. Heather was blind before we got to the start line. I had to describe the hundred yard dash to her, as it led to a hill where we would have to hang left. She was already asking what we needed to do first, what was just ahead of us, how far away it was. Oh my… During Troy’s talk I felt calm. Now that Heather was asking me all these questions, I started imagining the running sound of the hundreds of runners in the wave we were in who were behind us, stampeding behind us as we charged across the field. The horn sounded and our wave took off!
I looked at John and Jayson to observe their stride, and they were fearless (Oh, did I mention the four of us did some friendly trash-talking among us before the race? Such grownups … who knew? LOL). I observe folks on a daily basis, looking at verbal, auditory, and kinesthetic cues, to see if they’re congruent or in conflict with each other. That start of the race had to be one of THE MOST classic example of congruency ever. There was no holding back from Heather that she was friggin’ shocked at this experience: squeezing my arms and hands, the haste in her tone of voice, and the words she used … yeah, no mixed signals there! Could it have been the sound of shoes pounding the pavement around her? Could it have been the uncertainty of the terrain her boots made contact with with each stride that she took? Or could it have been the misdirection of her guide (ahem) who had problems with his left/right directions, causing some minor crashes?

We made the first hill and turn relatively OK, and we were not trampled upon. As we reached a downhill slope Heather went at a lot faster pace than I would’ve expected. Considering we were interlocked at the arms, she went forward, I slowed down, she slowed down, and I went forward… we could’ve been a pair of bobble-heads filming a skit. What the heck? Couldn’t Heather read my mind?

It was at this point that it really clicked, “Reggie, she’s blind and you are her guide. You need to build trust, and trust is a two-way street.” I should no longer rely too much on mental telepathy. She should no longer rely on my cracking jokes when we ran into each other. We should experience our surroundings together. This was BLIND MUD RUN LESSON #1. (It was a much-needed epiphany for us to get through 5K of this.)
I found that while I tried being proactive and describe the layout way in advance, it didn’t matter too much. What was important was the here and now. BLIND MUD RUN LESSON #2.

Aside from the fact that Heather was blind, she is quite a capable person. Know that she can handle herself; as long as I don’t steer her wrong, I should concern myself to focus on us moving forward. BLIND MUD RUN LESSON #3.
When I sensed uncertainty from Heather, it was my job to recognize those signals and counter them with acts of confidence, so she could build trust in my judgment and direction. It was fun to crash into each other and into our surroundings, but it was more important to let her know that I knew what I was doing and that she could trust me. BLIND MUD RUN LESSON #4.

At times I had to let go of our interlaced arms, place myself ahead of her, and face her, so I can test the terrain sliding down the muddy embankments. Doing so, Heather could just slide down against my arm, knowing I’d stop us both at the bottom. BLIND MUD RUN LESSON #5.
At times I had to loosen my grip of death, when the path was flat, clear of rocks or hills, so she could enjoy as much of the surroundings as she could. It was neat to see her smile and actually run with some freedom. BLIND MUD RUN LESSON #6.
This was the ILMR, where mud and fun mixed well together. Enjoy life, have some laughs … and dunk your friend in the mud, given the chance to do so! It’s pretty rewarding to enjoy some fun, especially as your goals are well at hand. BLIND MUD RUN LESSON #7.
I’m not a swimmer and I don’t execute the best swimming strokes at all. Being so close to the edge of the lake at times, and with Heather crashing into me she didn’t know any better that it was too close for comfort for me running closest to the edge of the water. Face your fear, run along it, and it will just blend in the background with everything else. BLIND MUD RUN LESSON #8

Folks would stare, point, and make comments, at our mishaps during the course. When they found out Heather was blind, their demeanor was open and helpful, and offering cheers of encouragement. Awareness of other people’s circumstances helps bring the inner Good Samaritan out of people. BLIND MUD RUN LESSON #9
Over the course of various walls, hills, mud pits, tires, and rocks, I observed Heather’s transition from showing signs of excitement change to fear to confusion to trust and to accomplishment. Our official photographer for The Boot Girls expertly captured moments of our race, and as I look back at those pictures, each picture is definitely worth a thousand words. I consider Heather a close friend, but I found out even more about how she views life, from the interaction and conversations we had about the course, in addition to the casual interaction and conversations we had about random topics. Sometimes during the most obscure and challenging times is when you find out the most about the people you surround yourself with. BLIND MUD RUN LESSON #10 … wait a second … these lessons don’t seem to apply to just BLIND MUD RUNS now. Wow.
This whole experience gave me a perspective of Gavin’s life, and others who do not have sight. Gavin relies on his family and friends to support him, but he also wants to experience life as he “sees” it. Gavin has trust in those who he has built a relationship of trust with. It’s not a matter of just verbal cues or physical cues, but a matter of his experiencing the world together with them. As a sighted individual, I felt blind to some of the emotions associated with walking, running, falling, and getting up. I was humbled by what I experienced that day. I was humbled by how two year old Gavin impacted me this way. I was humbled by how The Stevens Family opened their world to Gavin’s Groupies.

We walk around with blinders that we inadvertently place there, which hinder us from what we want to do, while those without sight live life blind to barriers as nothing could hinder them from what they desire to experience. I’m dedicated to helping find a cure for Gavin’s blindness, as I know Gavin will do amazing things. I hope you can help us? (check out our video on this page)

Oakley-dokely!

Bring On The Men!

2010-06-25T05:53:00.000-07:00

I thought there simply was not a more fitting title for this blog.

My friends know I'm up for just about anything fitness-related. Whether it's a new series of fitness DVDs, an invitation to participate in a mud run, or more recently, an opportunity to work out with some fit folks at Pure Barre at their newest location in Mission Viejo. I heard about Pure Barre through friends, and I might add an important factor, my female friends. I accepted an invitation to Pure Barre's "Bring On The Men!" the weekend of June 19-20. Guys were encouraged by their female friends to experience 55 minutes of the Pure Barre Technique (PBT) that has the motto: Lift, Tone, and Burn!

My friend Ashley Affeldt (everyone say hi to Ashley, above) sponsored me for this unique opportunity, and, wow... let me tell you all about my day at Pure Barre...

WARM UP: As with any fitness program we started with a warm up. Granted I've not worked out in front of room full of mirrors in a while, I found it actually helped me see how my form was during this phase of the workout. It also gave me a chance to see all the guys and gals in my class, so there was that bonding experience going already.

As you can see I'm already out of sync, this whole reverse-image-in-the-mirror and following Monica Pommier (Instructor, Owner of the Mission Viejo & Newport Beach studios) movements, was confusing for me. How will I last the full 55 minutes? On the one hand my lack of coordination was saved by some floor exercises and some work with the weights. On the other hand, I soon realized this was the calm before the storm.
The competitive nature in me prompted me to sneak a peak in between sets at some of the other fellas and it looks like we were all on par with our female counterparts thus far.
CORE WORKOUT: Soon the core of the PBT began: Thigh, Seat, and Ab Work. I underestimated the intensity of the PBT as Monica led us through some of the most intense, but small, isometric movements combined in a class. If not for the high-energy music I would've been too focused on the burning feeling these movements created on key areas of my body.

About a month ago I suffered a crazy hip injury that knocked me out of my workout routine for three weeks, and at this point I wasn't sure if I should tell Ashley that this "Manly Man" may have to bow out. However, I found that the exercise movements of the PBT provided the burn, but since it did not involve any bouncing or jumping, I would have to find another excuse to not go through this intense program. Monica had to help adjust my stance a couple of times, but other than that, I continued with the program.
After various focused exercises my abs, hips, glutes, and arms were telling me in unison that THIS had to be one of the most intense 55 minutes I have ever worked out...yet my recently-recovered hip was still intact! I spoke with the other guys in the class and we all had the same sweaty, exhausted, and relieved look ... giving me some cue that I was not the only guy wondering how Ashley, Monica, and our female classmates could do this regularly and not smell of Icy Hot.

I'm very grateful for Pure Barre welcoming me and the other guys to "Bring On The Men" as guys very seldom get a chance to participate in fitness classes for females. Personally I like to try various programs and routines, as I'm usually asked by both guys and gals alike, "What would you recommend if I want to...?" I consider myself very well-versed in some of the innovative programs out there, but was not so much with the ones that especially focused on goals and areas on most females' checklists. I also consider myself a pretty fit individual and may have done a great job masking my pain. In the days that followed my abs, my thighs, and my glutes were STILL burning from ONE session at Pure Barre! I cannot make that statement about my previous or current programs.

I hear that Pure Barre invites us guys twice a year to experience how the PBT works out the body through zero- to low-impact movements, providing effective results in a short amount of time. You can be sure I'll have my guy friends check it out for themselves, if I haven't already flooded them with stories from my one day with Pure Barre. As for my female friends, you all are fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in the Pure Barre classes. It's no wonder talk about Pure Barre has caused more studios opening up. It works and more folks want to experience it. On Saturday, June 26 the Mission Viejo studio will have a Grand Opening Party. Please check it out for yourself and speak with Monica, other Pure Barre instructors, and the Pure Barre students!

Thank you, Monica (above) for inviting us guys to Pure Barre for "Bring On The Men!" It was quite a rewarding experience!

Tracking my Insanity

2010-06-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

My friends know me for being a pretty active guy in terms of fitness. In the past couple of years, I've been the guinea pig and crash test dummy for P90X and the TRX Suspension Training System. The results are crazy awesome and it's why it's cool whenever I hear my friends purchase these fitness programs and take on the challenge!

Not to disappoint, it was bound to happen...a program that describe the state I was in in wanting to punish my body further...INSANITY. I started the Insanity: 60-Day Total Body Conditioning Program. I started my 60-day journey on June 7th with a Fit Test of eight exercises to establish a baseline for my improvement. I consider myself pretty fit, so when I really did push myself to log this initial measurement of my performance. As with anything that can be measured, it can be improved. I decided to shoot for a 10% improvement on my counts by the time my Fit Test came in two weeks.

Two weeks later, on June 21st it was time to see how I fared, not sure if the 10% improvement in two weeks was aggressive or not. The first two exercises I didn't hit my 10% targets, so at 5:30am (when I usually work out) it was not looking too promising. Fortunately as the Fit Test went on, I was able to hit my 10% targets for the remaining six exercises...I was pretty stoked!

In two weeks it will be time for my third Fit Test, and I'm thinking an increase of 5% from my June 21st results might be a more realistic goal. In any case, seeing my overall improvement from the first Fit Test was encouraging. Even the first two exercises where I missed my mark, I'm pretty proud of the increase from my initial fit test. Overall, I'd say it was a pretty darned good performance. There was no merit in hanging my shoulders low after missing the mark on the first two exercises.

It's important to stay focused on the big picture and not getting hung up little things.

Oakley-dokely!

It's been a while!

2010-06-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

Wow! Looking at the last post there have been a lot of activity that I really SHOULD have blogged about. Fortunately Facebook has pictures, videos, and some story to tell about the last seven months in the the active life of OakleyOC!

In January, I missed the deadline for the World Famous Camp Pendelton Mud Run ... again. The Xterra Trail Run at Crystal Cove was postponed again as Mother Nature was having fun with her rain machine.

In February, Mother Nature continued to pound sunny Southern California with rain the week before the Xterra Trail Run at Crystal Cove was to happen. It became known as the "Crystal Cove Curse," and was set for an April 25th date.

In March, it was all about continuing to train for Irvine Lake Mud Run happening on April 17. It was exciting to have about 30 people register for our socialMUDia team, comprised of Twitter, Facebook, and in-real-life friends!

In April, the Irvine Lake Mud Run proved to be a HUGE success. It was not so much that the venue was scenic and challenging at the same time. It was more about the socialMUDia team having a wide spectrum of fitness/running levels combining into a team that had a lot of fun that day. Also in April the Xterra Trail Run finally happened! It had to be THE MOST CHALLENGING 5K that I have ever run! Nothing like punishing yourself on a beautiful outdoor trail in Crystal Cove, and reaching the top of the course towards the end where you see a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean! Simply amazing!

May was a recovery month for me. While I wish I had a better story for my hip injury that knocked me from running for three weeks, I don't. I was casually running through a parking lot and decided to hurdle over a parking barrier. I landed fine, but I may have twisted incorrectly. It didn't help I had the Xterra race the next morning. By that Monday I could not lift my left leg using its own muscles. Walking around with a cane, electroshock therapy and physical therapy for three weeks and my doctor cleared me to train again ... for the June 5th Playa del Run in Huntington Beach!

On June 5, I participated in a 5K Beach Run at the Playa del Run in Huntington Beach. It was June Gloom time, but just being along the sand for the race was refreshing. It was my first race since my infamous imitation of House, M.D., and I didn't feel any pain during or after the race. There was a second part of the Playa del Run event ... a one-mile sand sprint with obstacles. That was so much fun as there was the challenge of the stop and go motion in between obstacles on loose sand, in addition to the mere fact the race was on loose sand! Nevertheless, I survived without any injury!

I promised myself after the above, it was time to put myself through the INSANITY: The 60-day Total Body Conditioning Program. Follow my progress through the next 60 days!

With any program, whether someone else's or one that you create, set up a log and your goals. How can you hit a target if you can see the target? Set a target and visualize it!

Oakley-dokely!

And like a good neighbor...

2009-11-03T10:15:00.000-08:00

The fastest route to a destination is a straight path. Whether I’m diving out of a plane from 12,500 feet or facing a 145 foot long mud pit before the finish line, that option holds true. However, pulling the chute at 7,000 feet I was able to observe a 360 degree view of the surroundings I generally do not see. Perhaps, if I didn’t crouch down and waded through the cold mud I would not have corrected the knee problem I developed mid-way in the race. As they say “It’s the journey, not the destination.”

When I lived on the East Coast my home and car insurance policies were with State Farm Insurance. When I bought my engagement ring, through my MULTIPLE attempts at proposing at the right moment (and chickening out) I was happy to know that the ring was insured by State Farm. After our wedding we moved to Orange County and one of the first things we did as a couple was to visit our local State Farm Agent, the late Jonathame Wang, and his son Steven Wang. After completing our initial evaluation and writing of policies, we continued to develop our relationship through additional policies as we entered various life stages. I would even stop by just to hang out with the staff at the office and catch up with everyone.

It was sad news when Jonathame passed away in 2008. However the calm came from knowing he lived up to what he advised my family and many others, that life insurance is for those we leave behind. Steven continued in advising my family and as we hit another life stage, we added an additional policy this summer.

As part of a reorganization within State Farm, my family’s policies were somehow transferred to a new agent. We were surprised with this development and we worked on having our policies serviced back to Steven and his office. Our requests were met with some resistance, and for a brief moment we felt our relationship over the years was falling apart. Over the course of three weeks we eventually received a post card from our “new” agent confirming the fate of our long-established relationship with Steven, and with State Farm for that matter.

As with any journey we expect some bumps on the road and we could’ve taken the “easy road" and switched all of our policies with another insurer. That decision would have been swift and without much emotion. However it would also feel like instead of floating around in my parachute, I was essentially cutting off my harness. That journey would come to an end quickly.

As people use social media for various purposes, I’m friends with @StateFarm on Twitter. I made a general comment about my situation, within 140 characters of course! I received a Direct Message from a Public Affairs professional at State Farm’s Corporate HQ that the appropriate individuals would hear my concerns. This person added, “Let me know how it turns out…I’m happy to help.” Within a few days my family received notices in the mail that all of our policies were back to being serviced by Steven Wang and his office. Various comments, pros and cons, toward social media exist and people forget that it’s not a “thing,” but rather a community. I’m going to sound like a commercial for State Farm … BUT … through the Twitter account @StateFarm “…and like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” Thank you, @StateFarm! You demonstrated well your commitment not only to the social media community, but also to the community of policy holders who value relationships fostered over the years.

Our journey continues with State Farm, and I’m certain various life stages will occur, prompting updates to our policies. This chapter had its bumps, but that experience made this portion of the journey a memorable one. Most see me as the mud running, skydiving, mountain biking, fitness training, Oakley loyalist, who loves to BBQ and support local Orange County restaurants and businesses. I also want to point out that I’m a CPA, an Investment Advisor … and I’m licensed to write insurance policies as well. I have colleagues who would gladly reciprocate these professional services back to me and my family. Nevertheless my family and I choose to stay with State Farm because of Steven and his staff. We were fortunate to have met Jonathame and Steven when we first settled in Orange County over a decade ago. We’ve found that our relationship with their legacy will continue through many life stages in the years to come!

As with any journey it’s easy to take the quick way out. However memories built on relationship and time? Those live on well past that mile marker in the mud!

Oakley-dokely!

*****
I am not being compensated to write this plug: I just want to provide Steven Wang’s contact information for those who want to just even meet Steven and his team. You’ll find Steven exudes the relationship-building that is important in addressing personal and confidential needs.

Steven Wang
State Farm Insurance
15333 Culver Drive
Irvine, CA 92604
(949) 552-3600

Got it right the first time

2009-10-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

Wow, I’ve not made an entry since after my first ever mud run? The summer plans and back to school adjustment for the kids REALLY took charge!

On October 25, 2009, I participated in the Inaugural Irvine Lake Mud Run with my friends, spread out over team and individual participants. It was great to have my friends join me as we’re all just about getting together for fun. Going into this event, for the most part, we never competed in timed events (except Karaoke contests…right, @PaulTTran?). Coming out of it, we joke about the memories from our first timed event (@RicDizon joking that it was his belly that edged out @PaulTTran by 1/100th of a second; at one point during the race @smashgirl even yelled out "Reggie!" to me just say hi, as she rounded one of the trails that ran above where I was). That is the kind of experience we looked to have at this mud run, and we’re proud to say that this event delivered BIG TIME!

STAFFING: Brent Weber with his megaphone theatrics made sure he was “that guy” that the thousands of people had to listen to in order keep the pace and direction of the day’s events in line. My friends and I would ask when/who/what questions, and would hear Brent in the background with the answers. There were volunteers set up at various check points as we made our way up and down the scenic trails at Irvine Lake. These volunteers were helpful at reminding us which direction to go, how far we’ve run, and what’s coming up next.

TIMING: The race started about ten minutes off mark, but I believe that everyone appreciated that ahead of time Brent already alerted us about the slight delay. However, as the event was run in waves, when my wave (fifth and last wave) was cleared to start, we were only a couple of minutes off mark, so we made up time and avoided any long wait.

FLOW: There was a long ways to maneuver along a trail of uphills, downhills, and loopty-loops before we hit the first obstacle. This allowed us to get our momentum going, as well as to spread out the participants, avoiding bottlenecks at the obstacles.

SAFETY: I found that the trails were cleared well for the participants. “Taking over” a beautiful lake shore while preserving it for long after our footprints have blown in the wind, I felt the trail was well-prepared. While this is not a full on “trail run” I found that the rocks, craters, etc., provided a nice touch as we faced the challenges of the hills and loopty-loops. I volunteered for a mud run, not a serene treadmill run, and I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary of what an average mud runner should expect to come across running in Mother Earth’s playground.

SETUP: It was neat to see professionally-constructed obstacles, and not temporary parking control barriers. The location of the obstacles was spaced well to avoid bottlenecking. Running through the mud pits the only challenge was the mud. Compared to my first mud run, the 145’ long mud crawl initially gave me flashbacks of scraping my knees in sharp gravel and being poked by rebars that were accidentally left during the construction of the obstacle. At yesterday’s event, as I crawled under the markers and made my way across, it was all mud! The sun was shining and this was the last obstacle before the final hill to the finish. I decided just flop my body in for a quick “freshening up!”

SUMMARY: The steps involved in the planning of the Inaugural Irvine Lake Mud Run could have been good, great, bad, or total chaos...who knows? However, the greatest of plans are without merit when they’re poorly executed. I am certain that the planning of an inaugural mud run is a big challenge for any organizer. Executing a successful one such as Paul Rudman and his team did for the Inaugural Irvine Lake Mud Run must be a tremendous uplifting feeling. Great job, guys!

I like the concept of mud runs. I thought my first one I participated in gave me that sense of accomplishment after I completed it. I recommended mud runs to my friends after that experience. A novice at it, I blogged about some things I would probably do for the next one. I blogged today on the same topics in order to compare apples to apples. There were some negative comments about my first mud run event that were on my blog, or elsewhere. It at least confirmed that others had their opinions as well, and were willing to express them. Thank you.

I STILL like the concept of mud runs. Now it doesn’t take a genius to get the hint that I preferred my second experience better. My teammates this time around were first time mud runners. I had friends who ran in other teams or as individuals, and they got their friends to run as well. Darrell Robinson, my good friend from my high school and college years flew all the way from Virginia Beach because I had a feeling that this would be a great experience to share with him. I would’ve really felt bad if all these friends would have resented participating in this mud run. I’m happy to hear that everyone is looking forward to running in the April 10, 2010 Irvine Lake Mud Run!

I close with the echo of the quote: “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” With my experience at the Inaugural Irvine Lake Mud Run, I’m happy that the challenges from my first mud run did not repeat at my second mud run. I’m happier that the based on my friends’ experience yesterday that they would ALL repeat that experience with me again. I’m thrilled that I have friends who now want to experience their first mud run in April 2010. The biggest affirmation of the aura of a fun and challenging experience of them all … I’m ecstatic that my wife wants to run on April 10, 2010 for her first mud run ever!

Oakley-dokely!

**************
My teammates from The RED C (Reggie, Eric, Debbie, Chelsey) did awesome for their first time mud run:

CHELSEY VETURIS: College Student, spreading cheer to everyone as she's a cheer coach, runs regularly, has a cute dog Ally. On Twitter @ChelseyVeturis is one-third of the “OC Triumvirate,” a respected source for the goings on in Orange County, CA. A special shout out to Chelsey especially, as midway through the mud run, she walked with @OakleyOC a few times after my slight knee problem.

ERIC DIXON: USA Track & Field (USATF) Certified Level Two Track Coach. Founder of Tachyon Training Center, Eric continues to compete at the World Championships, recently finishing 4th in the world in his sprinting championships. He also trains various Orange County athletes in speed conditioning. His longest timed races are done in 60 seconds or less. Nevertheless, Eric joined in the mud run for some fun and time with friends.

DEBBIE WATKINS: In addition to finishing her studies to be a Nutritionist, Debbie also operates SoCal Dog Walking, teaming with individual clients, pet stores, and vets. Debbie helped set the tone for The RED C’s teamwork by suggesting the team name that was made up of our initials.

Pictures from the 2009 Irvine Lake Mud Run

The following videos are courtesy of @RochelleVeturis and @ChelseyVeturis:

Video 1 from the 2009 Irvine Lake Mud Run

Video 2 from the 2009 Irvine Lake Mud Run

OC Mud Flop

2009-07-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

The OC Mud Run on Saturday, July 18^th was its inaugural race. As such there will be complications to overcome and some mudslinging (all pun intended) after the fact. What’s unfortunate about the experience is the bad taste left in a lot of people’s mouths (again, all pun intended … fellow participants, you know what I’m talking about!). If I were one of the organizers of this event, I would have taken notes from the world-famous Camp Pendleton Mud Runs. Granted these are US Marines who live and breathe planning and order. Nevertheless, using their model is only half the battle… proper and effective EXECUTION is key.

Having a local Orange County location, with decent registration fees, and proper execution would have contributed to a lasting memory … on the positive side. I have shared some of my gripes with fellow OC Mud Runners who are Twitter friends of mine (OakleyOC) as we were excited about putting together all the runs and workouts together in order to get ready for race day.

I’ll list some of my concerns here but from a different angle, one that focuses on corrective suggestions. (You can get the disgruntled version if you Tweet me.)

As with any organization, event, or family setting, it is important to list out these gripes and concerns. What’s even MORE important is the part where we suggest corrective courses of action, lest we repeat our flawed actions. There’s quite a list of observations already noted on the Eco Mud Run Tour's Facebook page, but I’m certain many would agree that proper planning and execution at a FUTURE mud run in Orange County would be welcomed. Let’s not kill the event; let’s just kill the execution style. Here’s my two cents:

STAFFING: I’m all about volunteers, regardless of age, as long as they provide value to their role at the event. Let’s train and prepare the volunteers to guide the participants; let’s have them live and breathe course layout, guidelines, pace, direction, etc. The participant needs to just run, run, run, and look for volunteers to guide them should any confusion arises. In unknown terrain a participant would like to feel relieved that trained/prepared/competent/willing guides are around. There also needs to be “that guy” or “that girl” that is prominently directing the events on race day … to avoid multiple happenings, yet exponentially multiple confused participants.

TIMING: Races need to start on time. Every participant knows the race goes on without them. It’s essential that published start times are adhered to. There’s a difference between being wimpy about the heat in mid-July versus having your warm up and game face countered by prolonged delays. Also, early morning races tend to be better than midday races. Add sun to mud, and you may not have the best mud conditions around anymore, unless those sections are hosed down again. (Again, STAFFING concerns here.)

FLOW: Thousands of bodies stampeding on the trail need to be met with similar/multiple obstacles spread wider. The tendency will be to migrate to the target with less resistance. Two narrow side-by-side obstacles created unnecessary bottlenecks. Participants will appreciate not losing their momentum by having to pause three to five minutes to have a turn at the obstacle. Fighting for position is key, and the hard core participants are out front. Being only about two or three rows in, I didn’t expect the bottle necks I experienced that day.

SAFETY: As an organizer I would have disclosed to participants that the sections with stagnant water were adequately tested for general safety and health concerns. While no one should make it a practice to swim in stagnant water, seeing that there are a couple of sections where it’s just water, it might make sense to slosh through it as quickly as possible. However, if the toxic levels were adequately tested and disclosed some might find it refreshing to swim through. There might be some health concerns brought up if the organizer’s intent was a net sprawled OVER the lagoon, later to be changed to a row of inner tubes, further changed to just open water…and later have cases of infection documented that related to the murky trenches that were not intended for prolonged skin contact.

MUD: I’m not an expert in this field but I would take a guess that “mud” may be inherently different than “topsoil?” The mud pits at military boot camps and at other mud runs may not be as aesthetically looking/feeling as the Glen Ivy mud section for the kids and parents (that section rocked for the kids by the way), however, I would probably refrain from adding anything closely resembling the aroma and texture of “freshly/naturally fertilized earth.” I’m all about communing with nature, but …

SETUP: I’d have a supervisor inspect the setup of various obstacles for general safety and common sense. Yes, in a fight for my life in the jungles of enemy country there’s no question that the path less traveled by inspectors may be the best ones to stay under the radar. However on a mud run course a supervisor’s inspection and sign-off might have documented/corrected the bed of sharp gravel in the sections intended for crawling on hands and knees … as well as the two rebars I knelt/crawled on in the sand crawl towards the tunnel.

DIALOGUE: As with the advertising of the event to the participants and the sponsors, it might be common business sense, even just overall people sense, to respond to these recent concerns brought up through this Facebook fan page. I would probably do it sooner than later, as people would probably like to know that this wasn’t a fly-by-night organization, but rather a group of people with a similar sense of fairness and good intentions.

SUMMARY:

I appreciate the time and effort to bring the event to Orange County. It is not easy to execute an event like Pendleton does (hoo-ah!). However, with proper planning AND execution, one can plan quite an event that will be worthy to stand in the thick of it all (again, all pun intended) and be judged on its own merits. The best laid plans don’t matter if poor execution is what’s observed. (Again, STAFFING concerns here to direct the flow of the event.)

I look forward to hearing from the organizers, perhaps even through a representative. I have experience in “heated negotiations” and I’m sure there are others on the Eco Mud Run Tour's Facebook page even more experienced than me. However, SOON some sort of communication with the event organizers is needed to address these participants’ concerns. Otherwise, this will become a one-way badgering that will yield no fruitful ending and will most likely propagate ill-feeling and/or medical/legal lawsuits.

Staying silent doesn’t necessarily mean innocence, or guilt for that matter. In some folks’ eyes though, staying silent in a situation like this doesn’t help with goodwill towards fans (or previous fans). PLUS, there are some who just like answers!

Oakely-dokely!

Foosball lesson

2009-07-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

I have a nice championship foosball table at home, and recently my wife has been beating me (close games I might add). It’s neat how we can get pretty animated during these daily matches, while our stationary players stuck on steel rods just spin away. Last night after a great workout she challenged me again. I prefaced this match with a, “I hurt my left wrist from tonight’s workout, so my backfield won’t be scoring goals tonight.” (I have a killer spin that scores a majority of my goals from the lower left corner!) She said that was just another excuse to her beating me … no mercy, I tell ya! (This time my pain was for real, though.)

With not much torque action with my left wrist, this game I focused on my front lines to keep the ball past midfield and the backfield was strictly for blocking goals and feeding to the midfielders. Fast forwarding to the end, I won 10-6. Simply awesome!

Each time we take the field my four steel rods of foosball players take their positions and play their plastic hearts out. Sometimes they win and sometimes they lose. Nevertheless when called upon, they’re never late for practice and they’re always there at the games come rain or shine. One thing that kept them united was the coach’s guidance, and the players’ commitment to play until the whistle blew.

Isn’t this what the coaches see as the “big picture?” They’re constantly evaluating the players’ strengths and weaknesses and adjusting the game. In the past my backfield provided key goals, yet the other rods of players were always there and still part of the team. When called upon, they delivered as they were part of the team. They earned their place on the team and as they say, “A team is only as strong as its weakest member.” Last night the weakest members were the backfield, and the rest of the plastic players stepped up and scored goals and defended the midfield. Together they were able to beat the dominant dynasty my wife’s been coaching on the foosball table the past few weeks.

When you’re on a team you practice as a team, you play as a team, you win as a team, and you lose as a team. Each one earned a spot on the team, while some make receive more of the spotlight. It’s fine. Remember, the team name is what’s on the front of the jerseys, not what’s on the back. Don’t be just another number; be a team player. Earn your place on the team, but more importantly, earn the respect of your team. Be prepared to be in the shadows, but continue to play your part.

This is true as well in family life. Yes the figure heads are there to provide for the family, and the little bobble heads in the family continue to do their thing. When the little bobble heads have trouble with a school project do you let them suffer to burn the midnight oil on a second grade presentation or should you offer some suggestions for a more comedic approach in order to ace that oral? When you’ve had the most tiring day ever, do you lay down for some me time, or should you ask if your spouse’s day was even more frustrating? You can be the most relaxed and refreshed bobble head in the family, but your fellow bobble heads may soon bobble into shambles before your very eyes.

As my left wrist recovers, it looks like my four steel rods of foosball players will do just fine in the art of teamwork as they always have.

On a team, expect to be in the superstar’s shadow, but continue to play your role well, as you earned that jersey as well. Are your actions ready for the spotlight should that moment arrive?

Oakley-dokely!

Just an "average person"

2009-07-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

You will become the average of those people you choose to associate with and surround yourself with.

Read that a couple of times and think about the sense it makes.

Whatever subjective scale you benchmark against, when you associate with folks in the 8s and 9s, and if you consider yourself a 5, then your performance will eventually average somewhere between 5 and 8. Now if you consider yourself a 5, yet STILL associate with the 3s and 4s, mathematically you can find the average you'll eventually progress towards.

Ask yourself ...

When you've set a goal to bench press some really heavy weights, will you train with the person who is at the gym working on toning/maintaining, or others who can bench press Smart Cars parked in the parking lot?

When you want to win the 4x100 at the company's upcoming relay race, will you train with the weekend joggers, or with those who can catch up to a runaway shopping cart about to hit your freshly-waxed BMW?

When you strive to build a profitable business, do you network with those who work to get paid or those who are able to pay others to work for them?

When you are the founder of a start up company making phenomenal growth in your industry, do you want to be advised by other start up newbies or by those who have seen both the good cycles and the bad cycles of start ups?

You will become the average of those people you choose to associate with and surround yourself with.

Now some may think I'm crazy for reading this out of context, but there are some that will totally understand my next statement...

"I hope to surround myself with a bunch of failures."

I will let the following article speak for itself:

"Peter, I'd like you to stay for a minute after class." Calvin teaches my favorite body conditioning class at the gym.

"What'd I do?" I asked him.

"It's what you didn't do."
"What didn't I do?"

"Fail."

"You kept me after class for not failing?"

"This," he began to mimic my casual weight lifting style, using weights that were obviously too light, "is not going to get you anywhere. A muscle only grows if you work it till it fails. You need to use more challenging weights. You need to fail."

Calvin's onto something.

Every time I ask a room of executives to list the top five moments their career took a leap forward — not just a step, but a leap — failure is always on the list. For some it was the loss of a job. For others it was a project gone bad. And for others still it was the failure of a larger system, like an economic downturn, that required them to step up.

Yet most of us spend a tremendous effort trying to avoid even the possibility of failure.

According to Dr. Carol Dweck, professor at Stanford University, we have a mindset problem. Dweck has done a tremendous amount of research to understand what makes someone give up in the face of adversity versus strive to overcome it.

It turns out the answer is deceptively simple. It's all in your head.

If you believe that your talents are inborn or fixed, then you will try to avoid failure at all costs because failure is proof of your limitation. People with a fixed mindset like to solve the same problems over and over again. It reinforces their sense of competence.

Children with fixed mindsets would rather redo an easy jigsaw puzzle than try a harder one. Students with fixed mindsets would rather not learn new languages. CEOs with fixed mindsets will surround themselves with people who agree with them. They feel smart when they get it right.

But if you believe your talent grows with persistence and effort, then you seek failure as an opportunity to improve. People with a growth mindset feel smart when they're learning, not when they're flawless.

Michael Jordan, arguably the world's best basketball player, has a growth mindset. Most successful people do. In high school he was cut from the basketball team but that obviously didn't discourage him: "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career, I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game wining shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

If you have a growth mindset, then you use your failures to improve. If you have a fixed mindset, you may never fail, but neither do you learn or grow.

In business, we have to be discriminating about when we choose to challenge ourselves. In high risk, high leverage situations, it's better to stay within your current capability. In lower risk situations, where the consequences of failure are less, better to push the envelope. The important point is to know that pushing the envelope, that failing, is how you learn and grow and succeed. It's your opportunity.

Here's the good news: you can change your success by changing your mindset. When Dweck trained children to view themselves as capable of growing their intelligence, they worked harder, more persistently, and with greater success on math problems they had previously abandoned as unsolvable.

A growth mindset is the secret to maximizing potential. Want to grow your staff? Give them tasks above their ability. They don't think they could do it? Tell them you expect them to work at it for a while, struggle with it. That it will take more time than the tasks they're used to doing. That you expect they'll make some mistakes along the way. But you know they could do it.

Want to increase your own performance? Set high goals where you have a 50-70% chance of success. According to Psychologist and Harvard researcher the late David McClelland, that's the sweet spot for high achievers. Then, when you fail half the time, figure out what you should do differently and try again. That's practice. And according to recent studies, 10,000 hours of that kind of practice will make you an expert in anything. No matter where you start.

The next class I did with Calvin, I doubled the weight I was using. Yeah, that's right. Unfortunately, that gave me tendonitis in my elbow, which I'm nursing with rest and ice. Sometimes you can even fail when you're trying to fail.

Hey, I'm learning.

*******
Peter Bregman speaks, writes, and consults about how to lead and how to live. He is the CEO of Bregman Partners, Inc., a global management consulting firm, and advises CEOs and their leadership teams. He is the author of Point B: A Short Guide To Leading a Big Change.
______

Find value in failure, in the proper context AND in the proper action ... not inaction ... that you take. You will become the average of those people you choose to associate with and surround yourself with.

Oakley-dokely!

Independence

2009-07-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

Wow I can’t believe a whole month went by without an update to my blog. Actually I can … as there were a lot of events during June that ate as much spare time I could spare!

As we approach July 4^th I’m reminded of the word Independence. Not only should we be thankful for oppression the early Colonists fought against and won, but we should remember the independence we have in life.

Often people search far and wide for that thing that will take them to the next level. Whenever a team reaches the finals do they feel like they’re always the underdog? Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is how the individual perceives it. Look at from the team that is NOT the underdog. Do they want to just feel like “ehhh … we’re going to win again” because they’re perceived that way? Perhaps they want to elevate their game to produce a VICTORY instead of a WIN.

Whatever situation you’re in, you live in an environment where you don’t have to remain bound by others' limitations on you. You’re in the “land of the free” and you should be able to free yourself! Most of the time these are mental limitations that are keeping you from your independence from these limits. As the 4th of July weekend approaches, think of times you asked your parents for something when you were a child and were innocent of these perceived limitations. The world was open to the doctor/ballerina/President of the United States, who also liked finger painting. What about the Super Bowl champ/NBA star/Park Ranger, who could also take time to build castles from empty boxes? When did you start to take away your own independence? Were you the one who taught yourself the word can’t?

It’s comforting to be reminded of this discussion during my sons’ flag football season that we spent a lot of practice with in May and June. The sports league they participate in have a great balance of sportsmanship and competition.

My Justin was the youngest and the shortest on the team, and played well in his first season. Being part of a team with a spectacular winning season cannot possibly match the gleam in his smile whenever he rushed for yardage because the bigger kids could not run and reach for his flags that were so low to the ground. It was difficult to stop him, because no one told him that he couldn’t get past the kids that were taller, bigger, and faster.

Joshua’s aerial assault in passing developed, because no one told him he can’t run out of the pocket and just fling the ball five to ten yards out, and it was up to the receiver to catch those bricks coming at them.

Yes, on occasion Justin would end up being tackled by accident (in flag football there's no tackling!) because the big kids would come crashing down on him to get his flag. Yes, Joshua hit some faces, both on offense and defense, because he’d let loose on his passing arm. However, they both matured from their experience this season, and they are eager to do flag football again next season … as both had a great time at a winning season.

If Justin had been a startup company competing in the same industry as a more seasoned company, should he shy away from that competition? What if he desired to be in that industry after studying it for a year and worked hard researching and planning? What if he knew he’d have fun at it, while knowing there would be some obstacles along the way?

What about Joshua? Who knew you could harness so much power from a conductor or a generator? Yes the results can be overpowering at times, but perhaps others observing this discovered power can collaborate on controlling and focusing that power?

Whatever you do in life, take a look at limitations others have set for you. You and only you have the power to liberate yourself and get independence from those limitations.

Oakley-dokely!

Memorial Day

2009-05-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

OakleyOC returns to blogging on Tuesday.

I just wanted to point out that we should not forget the men and women to gave their lives to preserve our rights that we sometimes take for granted.

Thirty-three years ago this month my family and I immigrated to this wonderful land from the not-so-cool situation in The Philippines. Thank you for welcoming us!

Oakley-dokely!

Commencement Speech

2009-05-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

As many 2009 graduates cross the stage they’re tasked with heeding their respective keynote speaker and the commencement speech delivered that day.

As you cross the stage at Your Life University, remember the following words from OakleyOC, your Honorary Doctorate of Motivation, and keynote speaker today:

***start of Commencement Speech***

NEVER GIVE UP

As I look from this podium I see eager eyes and I see glassy eyes. Now those with the glassy eyes … it was a great party last night, huh? (crowd laughs) The ones with the eager eyes … you missed out! (crowd laughs harder)

How many of you truly know what you’re up against after you cross this stage this afternoon? You’re facing one of the lowest moments since the past six years of your undergraduate years. (crowd roars) However one thing you must remember is to NEVER GIVE UP. Many will challenge you in this thinking, and by many I refer to your friends who HAVE given up and want to keep you from reaching your potential. Your Admissions Office didn’t give up on you when you maintained Summer Sessions year after year, in order to move on to the next level in your respective coursework. Your Sorority Sisters didn’t give up on you when you kept breaking your nails during your missed tackles during the Powder Puff Flag Football games. Your fellow ROTC cadets didn’t give up on you when you could not keep your shoes' luster gleaming during inspection. They didn’t give up on you because everyone, I repeat, everyone, has the same shot at life. Take everything in perspective, and not just what you see in your own little world. Take that last comment how you want to take it. Yeah, yeah, I live in Orange County, too, so I can make that comment. In fact, let me share a story I recall. In fact, you English majors may even call this a parable. (crowd laughs)

(”OakleyOC, I love you!” shouts someone from the crowd)

One day a wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country so that the son could see how the poor lived. They spent a day and a night at the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "Very good, Dad!" "Did you see how poor people can be?" "Yeah!" "And what did you learn?" The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the house; they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard; they have the whole horizon." When the little boy was finished, the father was speechless. His son then added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are!"

(silence, then the crowd applauds)

Just when you thought that brand new BMW you’ve got waiting for you in the driveway made you rich, you’re actually pretty darn poor, huh? But I certainly hope you NEVER GIVE UP since you should be feeling so darn poor right about now. (crowd laughs)

Each one of us is given the same opportunity as the person sitting next to you. You History majors will call that inalienable rights. (crowd laughs)

If everyone out there goes into interviews, day after day, week after week, the ones that give up are GUARANTEED to not be offered a job. If everyone out there pushes aside all the challenges everyone will face, you’ll find that “the strong will survive.” See? I plugged you Darwinism majors out there! (crowd laughs)

They call me OakleyOC because of all these awesome looking optics from Oakley that happen to land on my face from time to time. (assistants roll in two crates of Oakley eyewear) Why do I have so many? To see through all the various crap out there! (crowd laughs) See through all the crap and push forward with your vision. NEVER GIVE UP! Who’s going to catch this O ROKR? (OakleyOC begins tossing Oakley eyewear into the crowd, but always towards the same section) Who’s going to catch this Thump? What about this Oil Rig? What about this GasCan? What about this Jawbone? Oh wait, not that one.

My point here is that some of you close to that section over there stopped reaching. Why? Did you give up? What did I just say? NEVER GIVE UP! Can I hear you say that? (crowd joins in)

Now calm down, everyone, so we can all get out of here alive. Campus Police is looking nervous over there. OK ... Where are my whiners? Do I have any whiners in the crowd?

NEVER GIVE UP

Let me give you whiners out there some examples of winners, those that never gave up:

Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, and Jimmy Johnson accounted for 11 of the 19 Super Bowl victories from 1974 to 1993. They also share the distinction of having the worst records of first-season head coaches in NFL history - they didn't win a single game.

Johnny Unita’s first pass in the NFL was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Joe Montana’s first pass was also intercepted. And while we're on quarterbacks, during his first season Tony Aikman threw twice as many interceptions (18) as touchdowns (9) . . . oh, and he didn't win a single game. You think there's a lesson here?

Stan Smith was rejected as a ball boy for a Davis Cup tennis match because he was "too awkward and clumsy." He went on to clumsily win Wimbledon and the U. S. Open. And eight Davis Cups

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball teams. One of his memorable quotes: I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

NEVER GIVE UP. Say it with me NEVER GIVE UP. As you move past your crazy antics you’ll do when you cross the stage to pick up your rolled up posters of your beautiful campus (crowd laughs) remember to, what? … NEVER GIVE UP. Remember to look through the crap that’s out there and, what? … NEVER GIVE UP. There’s a ton of crap people will throw in your path, so just look through all of that crap. And to make that a bit easier, taped underneath your seats is a pair of Oakley Jawbones. Your families, your loved ones, your friends ... they're all looking forward to your success. Heck, they’ve waited SIX YEARS for you to graduate today! (crowd roars)

NEVER GIVE UP! (crowd applauds and yells, "Oakley-dokely!")

***end of Commencement Speech***

Look past the crap that many amateurs view as failures and NEVER GIVE UP!

Oakley-dokely!

Do you BELIEVE?

2009-05-19T12:35:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your emails and DMs (for my Twitter followers). As noted in my last post I had to help a friend get over some troubling news recently. Your dose of Oakley-dokely is back again ...

The Los Angeles Lakers will play Game 1 tonight against the Denver Nuggets. This morning I heard a Charles Barkley say in an interview that the Lakers are talented players who are focusing, hence, surviving, on talent. Sir Charles said that the Lakers could play with such intensity in every game, and in every minute, and definitely show on everyone’s radar that they are the best team in the NBA. Unfortunately Sir Charles believes the Lakers aren’t playing with such intensity all the time. What struck me was that Sir Charles said that the Lakers will play like this with the series with Denver, since the Lakers have Game 7 at home. Hopefully not, as I have a feeling the Nuggets are going to bring their A game to Game 1 in order to set the tone. Do you think the Lakers believe in providing fans a victorious Game 7 sudden death moment at home, or do you think the Lakers believe in stretching the series to Game 7 to save themselves for the championship?

The focus today is on a perceived safety net versus belief.

Goals are one thing, but taking actions that produce results to reach those goals are another thing. It is important to set goals to gain focus in daily life. Do you find yourself setting foot to achieve something that was easy to accomplish to score mini-wins? I hope so, as instant gratification is something we don’t take too lightly. However, when was the last time you set a goal that you truly believed was worthwhile, and that you truly believed would be a bear to accomplish? If I caused you to draw a blank for a bit, do you owe it to yourself to look beyond the safety net ready to catch you when you slip?

If you knew that there was a reward you desired to receive, would you be all in? Picture a loved one, someone you really cared for. OK, do you have that person in your head? Come on, this will work better if you do. You can choose a spouse, child, friend, pet, etc., but choose someone you couldn’t live without. OK, good; now we're ready.

If I told you that I will give you $10,000 in fifteen days if you can sell x number of widgets, would you accept the challenge? Nine times out of ten, the average individual will accept the challenge. What have you got to lose, right? At the end of the challenge say you don’t complete the challenge successfully. What happens? You go on with life as if nothing happened. You're back to your same routine. Now let’s change the challenge a bit. I will still give you $10,000 in fifteen days if you can sell x number of widgets. Would you still accept the challenge if I told you that you will not see that loved one EVER again should you not successfully complete the challenge? Nine times out of ten, the average individual may NOT accept the challenge now. Why? Why bother taking a challenge if you do not possess the belief that you will succeed? Do like to fail just for kicks?

The person that possesses such a strong belief will not rest until the job is done. The point here is that money is not even the object anymore. The challenge could’ve been for 10,000 pats on the back. The point is having conviction in the actions you take, making your actions count for something. Look around you in daily life and observe those who believe in themselves. Do you find yourself marveling at their belief and accomplishment? Is it time you believed in YOURself? When you believe strongly in yourself, that is powerful, as that belief guides you through sustained actions, which help you reach your desired outcome. It is then and only then that others will also believe in you.

Charles Blondin of France was the greatest tightrope walker of his time. In the 1850’s he strung a tightrope from the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls to the US side, and crossed it, in front of 10,000 onlookers. He yelled, “I am Blondin! Do you believe in me?” Of course the crowd roared, “We believe! We believe!” He then asked the crowed if they believe he could cross back to the other side, this time carrying someone on his back. Again the crowd yelled, “We believe! We believe!” Then Blondin asked the crowd what that person would be that would ride on his back as he crossed the tightrope. The crowd became silent. In the end one individual did step forward to volunteer, and in a long and tense journey across the tightrope, they both successfully made it across. The entire crowd believed, but only one TRULY believed.

Do you want to go through life waiting to land in your safety net? Would you prefer to live life exercising your belief in yourself? Make your actions count and TRULY believe in yourself.

Oakley-dokely!

Winning and losing

2009-05-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

Each time I hear about winning and losing, one icon towers above … Vince Lombardi. I remember one of his many quotes, “Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser.”

In all matters, sports, career, or life, never settle. It doesn’t necessarily mean to be first, second, third. This can refer to the individual who goes through life playing it safe, not taking chances. Life can mean many different things for each person, but one thing for certain is you should do something to improve it. Do something!

You ever get that feeling where you sat around all day, without a worry, go to sleep and wake up the next day refreshed? Not unless you were sick all day, right? If you were able-bodied and for one day you just stared at the wall and did nothing constructive, the next day your energy level would still be as deficient as it was the prior day. On the other hand, what about where you ran around all day doing errands, taking care of things back-to-back, to the point where by the time you laid to bed at night you felt like you conquered the world? This is because you prepared a list of things to accomplish, in a period of time, and you saw it to completion. You competed to check off your list, you put your game face on, and you succeeded.

To win in anything you have to compete. When you compete, you put all your efforts toward that goal and you finish the job. These actions help you win. Don’t go into things half-heartedly. If you do, you might as well not take on the challenge.

Not only do you need to do it because of you, but there are others that may be watching. In a boxing match you have two individuals ready to pound each other to pieces, or so their press conferences show. Finally in that first round of their match you see the intensity of the winner, and you see the unpreparedness of the loser. You can already see in your head the ending where the boxer will say he was not ready, didn’t train properly, etc. Why would you get in the ring with someone you’ve been talking crap about? You have to play to win, not to lose.

Not to take anything from anyone’s talent … thank you Manny Pacquaio for an awesome two-round knockout this weekend … but talent is sometimes not enough. When your mind is not in the right mindset to win, you will not win. When your preparation is not at peak capacity, you cannot expect to win. I hate to call people winners and losers, so I’ll let Lombardi do it for me, “Show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser.” Get two prepared, motivated, and talented boxers in the ring, and you will get a slug fest that EVERYONE will be on their feet on, no matter the outcome. In the end people will remember each fighter's determination and focus to win. How do YOU want to be remembered in your actions in the workplace, in the home, or in your life ... as a winner or as a loser?

When you enter into competitions, do so with a focus to win. When you enter a new role in your career, do so with a focus to win. When you enter a new stage in a relationship, do so with a focus to win. Otherwise don’t even bother. There will be some rough spots along the way, but that’s expected for anything worthwhile tackling. Another Lombardi quote is, “The real glory is being knocked down to your knees and then coming back. That’s real glory. That’s the essence of it.” When you pour all your efforts in to win you cannot lose, as one final Lombardi quote that says it the best, “We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.”

Psych yourself to win, and prepare for a battle that may suck the energy and wits out of you. However, put your mind in a state of winning. Doing so influences your action, and your actions will lead to a result. Which mindset do you have right now, to win or to lose?

Oakley-dokely!

A Win vs. a Victory

2009-05-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

Each time the NBA winds up to the Finals I often remind myself of the difference between a win and a victory.

Whether you’re rooting for the favored team or not, when all is said and done, look at the expression of the players of both teams after the final seconds run out. It might be difficult at first but associate the win with one team, and the victory with another team. My opinion is that oftentimes a great series that takes it to the sixth or seventh game, those labels are split between the two teams. The series that end in four games usually has one team taking a win, and neither a victory. Or is it?

When the heavily-favored team dominates a game 150 to30, that was just a blowout … no, just kidding; it’s actually just a win. Not to take anything away from the winning team, but they were expected to win. On the other hand if the struggling team takes the series to seven games, and loses, did they really lose? What if they had depth issues all season, injuries left and right, barely winning their post-season games AND taking the championship to the seventh game? Many teams wish they would have made it that far. Who would’ve thought they would make it this far?

In life we are put through a series of tests, whether they are standardized tests in school or tests in life. Growing up I saw a lot of material items that was left to be desired, as that’s all they were, due to financial constraints. Nevertheless, I saw a few childhood friends get their wins in life early on, or so it seemed. From sporting the bling, driving in their expensive vehicles, flashing their cash and buying whatever they wanted … all as such a young age, too. As many other childhood friends grew out of the hype of this easy life of hustling on the street, we all later realize that we who have survived this long actually accomplished a victory. Each time we hit a milestone in life, positive or negative, was a victory as I guarantee you that many in the outside world did not see us surviving, let alone accomplishing much.

In an earlier chapter in my life, I can remember when I reached the final oral interview panel for the FBI Special Agent Selection System. I can remember how much focus was put on the neighborhood I grew up in, and how I managed to pull through. (I just want to add that today I wouldn’t dare walk through my ol’ neighborhood now without a protective detail of mercenaries.) However, I remember during my FBI screening that after basically defending myself fit, due to list of childhood friends who were now probably on their watch list, I experienced a paradigm shift at some point. It was one of those “wait a second, I didn’t make it this far to feel inferior about my background” and I ended up feeling prouder during the remainder of the interview, knowing, no, feeling the victory I had accomplished in life sitting in front of those senior FBI Agents.

A win is a moment celebrated and may soon be forgotten; a victory is a feeling that lives on within us and is forever.

As many of you feel like you’re not winning at anything: school, sports, career, or relationships, what about LIFE? I encourage you to look back at your life and the victories you’ve failed to celebrate. Stand proud at what many can only imagine, yet you’ve lived through and pulled through, VICTORIOUSLY.

Oakley-dokely!

Keep things in perspective

2009-05-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

What separates the champion from an amateur? We can spend a volume on this topic, but one of the key components is keeping things in perspective.

Kobe Bryant lives about fifteen minutes away from me. If one day we go one-on-one on the blacktop it would be a mismatch: size, ability, and preparation. Had the case been one-on-one in hacking into computer code before hot molten lava spills from above, the mismatch could possibly turn to my favor. What about if instead of hot molten lava, it’s just a bucket of water?

The point I make here is keeping things in perspective.

A pickup game at Kobe’s house: I know it’s just a game; he knows it’s just a game. At the end we both kick back with our family and just laugh. I may actually scored some points along the way. However, if I talked smack and he called me out at the Staples Center and all the world is watching, I will basically be fighting for pride, because I’m about to be the laughing stock of the year. Kobe may see the fire in my eyes, and to make sure he displays his skill and sportsmanship, he gets his game face on … and schools me, in style of course. This isn’t because he’s not under any pressure. It’s because he is trained to perceive the pressure situation and deal with it. He’s still under pressure from the fans at the arena and on the airwaves to perform in Kobe-style. He’s still under pressure to watch out for an over-aggressive opponent who might inadvertently injure him from a wild move.

All in all the champion will keep the situation in perspective. The champion knows it’s not a life or death situation. The champion knows this is just a game. The amateur, on the other hand, may actually perceive this as a life or death situation. The amateur begins to make mistakes because his perspective is off. Remember this is just a game.

In any level of sport: its regular season, quarterfinals, semifinals, or championship game, preparation is essential to keep things in perspective. Champions do not lose their cool at each stage. One of the differences between one-time champs or three-peat champs keeping each game into perspective. Some say this is keeping your cool. In the NCAA’s March Madness it’s always neat to see 15^th seed teams progress to the next round. They’re the underdogs but for them it’s just a game, a game that they will play just like all the other games they played that got them to that 15^th seed. The higher seeds may have lost their perspective and may not have played like all the other games that got them the higher seed.

As we progress in our school years, in our career, in our family, or in our life, condition yourself to put things in perspective. My seven year old son is going through multiplication exercises and should focus on those twenty math problems on the sheet. At homework time he should just look at this stressful event as what it really is, just twenty math problems on the sheet. It’s not going to kill him to work through them. He might as well pull in all those addition exercises he’s learned from previous stressful events. Remember, it’s just another sheet of math problems.

Expanding on this: you did not become Director of IT to panic at a server upgrade, you did not become the Pastor of a Church to panic at a scandal, and you did not make it to final round of Who wants to be a millionaire to panic on the last question. Keep your cool.

One day when I do have that one-on one with Kobe I plan to play it like any other game. I will not remember it as a day I missed my shots, walked, or tripped on my shoes. I’ll be just as clumsy with the handling, and I’ll be just as off with my shots. It’s just a game. Why ruin the moment? One thing for certain is that I played a game against Kobe, and I’ll remember that game as we sip on some drinks afterwards as we watch our kids play in the backyard.

There are far worse challenges out there that may actually be life threatening. Whatever life throws at you, accept it as a challenge, and put everything into perspective.

Oakley-dokely!

Would you buy you?

2009-04-30T14:25:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure reconnect with my friend Michelle recently after a couple of decades. It’s interesting to find out how we’ve changed, and how we’ve stayed the same. After all these years one thing that remained true was how postiveness (that’s not even a word) just beams from her. From seventh grade on, she could tell you the best news, the worst news, and just so-so news and you would feel reassured in the end that you were not “going to kill the messenger.”

One of our recent conversations was my comments on dealing with a person of power who just brings you down when having conversation with that person. We will not get into the specifics of that conversation or individual. However it does help me focus on “how do you sell yourself?”

The easiest example to discuss is the topic of selling is how it relates to products actually for sale. I know a neighbor who observed a local grocery store’s non-moving products (the non-national brand versions). With his background in packaging he asked the store manager if he could run a pilot program for select items. The approval sent him on a project to repackage the products and put them back on the shelves and track the sales. The non-moving items sold, without having to drop the original price! This interesting concept of repackaging and selling is not a breakthrough concept, but, rather, an exercise that needs revisiting more frequently.

Take the example of my friend Michelle. After 20 years if the initial contact sent back and forth displayed a packaging that was not congruent, we would have just had a cordial recap and may stay buddies. Would I buy Michelle again after all this time? Would Michelle buy herself again? Would I buy myself again? What if people put a façade up just for the reconnection? That would certainly work as well, right? But the truth will come out eventually, and at that point, you’ve lost a customer, and word of mouth has an upper hand to any further fake repackaging.

Whether it’s a first date, a job interview, or any form of initial contact, you have about 90 seconds or less to engage in two-way window shopping. How often have you examined yourself to see if you would buy you? Are you in moments where you exude the thought: “Here is a person who has self-respect. Her demeanor shows she is credible and important. I should treat her that way.” You owe it to yourself to look and feel your best. I’m not asking you to wear custom-tailored apparel every waking minute, or to have reconstructive surgery for various enhancements.

Honestly, I live in Orange County, CA, but I was raised in Prince George’s County, MD. In PG County, you can ONLY have self-respect to survive. It’s amusing to come from that environment and move to The OC and just observe people. Don’t get me wrong, I totally LOVE Orange County and many many many OC individuals. However, you do not need to wear flashy clothing or have surgeries to sell yourself positively. It certainly doesn’t hurt, though. However, at the end of the day would you buy yourself? If all you had were your good looks, your clothes, your cars, your money … that’s all that people would look at you as resembling. You will be invited to the VIP events, you will be invited to sit in the reserved booths at sporting events, you will be in the company of the A-list individuals … but so do others. In the long run, genuineness and self-respect contribute to your overall self-confidence, your self-packaging, and your acceptance.

On July 18^th Orange County will have its inaugural OC Mud Run. We’ve never run in the mud before (except as kids), let alone 5K of it, plus obstacles. Our team is comprised of a fashion model/golfer, student/entrepreneur/golfer, hotel mgmt/dad to two All Star soccer daughters, dad/TV & movie star/motorcycle rider, and dad/Oakley fanatic/newbie sky diver. We are definitely not your typical action sports dream team … or are we? We’ve teamed up and will endure a 5K obstacle course in the mud, along with many other competitors. We’re competitors in our own respect, yet we respect each other more importantly. Our team name and motto for this event is: “Pride Chickenz: We may be chickens … but we’ve got pride!!!”

Do you think you’re important? Do you think you deserve respect? Do your actions sell you properly? Would you buy yourself?

Oakley-dokely!

Begin with the end in mind

2009-04-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

Many goals are set, while just as many remain just goals. Take for instance the traditional influx of gym memberships sold around New Year’s, let alone the sales of prepaid personal training sessions. I’m not here to talk about the genius of these marketing pushes around the first of the year, rather to discuss the goals that never make it past the first week of February.

I’m betting that many of these goal setters have great intentions, but lacked focus. It is not normally easy to maintain focus; it’s actually quite challenging. Focus takes a lot of effort, and as humans we are naturally out of focus all the time. You have to intend on staying in focus. Think about the time you had a great workout: your favorite sports drink flowing through you, your sweat pouring through your pores, and an hour later your adrenaline levels are soaring. On your next workout you concentrate on the previous workout: comparing your efforts to your current workout, feeling lackluster for not matching up, and next thing you know you’re workout is just a waste of your time and energy. The next workout you concentrate on your subpar workout and continue the cycle. Next thing you know you’ve lost the motivation to work out and your gym membership becomes a memory. Why is that?

Distractions such as “what I did yesterday” chip away at your focus. Learn from the past and let go of it. Most drivers, I hope, get into a car and drive defensively, just as we were taught in driver’s education. Look ahead, check your side mirrors, check the rear view mirror… After all that checking, I certainly hope you don’t forget about the road immediately in front of you. Using “what I did yesterday” to get you through today is just like driving a car and perpetually staring at your rear view mirror. Do not be distracted by yesterday. Focus on today. You cannot change the past. You are not into tomorrow. Focus on today, since you have control to shape today.

When you did not achieve success in your workout goal yesterday, do you throw in the towel?

Success is not an event, it is a process. Any champion will tell you that that this process takes a considerable amount of time. When time is involved maintaining focus is essential. Think about the kind of challenges did Hank Aaron have to overcome. Aaron said, “I think what separates a superstar from the average ballplayer is that he concentrates just a little bit longer.” Are your challenges relatively comparable to the ones Aaron had to face day-in-day-out? Those that can direct their focus to complement their talent, condition themselves to reach various levels of success.

Make every action count. Determine where you want to go and how you’re going to get there. Remember the rearview mirror driving example. Begin with the end in mind. I know friends that occasionally drive cross county. We can learn a lesson from these hard core drivers. They map out point A to point B. They know how many miles it will take. They know how many days it will take. They know how many pit stops they will take to reach point B. They know what point B looks like, so they’ll know they arrived. It doesn’t matter that there was ugly weather in the last state. It doesn’t matter that a thousand miles away if there will be a stalled vehicle that might cause a traffic delay. What matters is that this very moment, driving at night when traffic is lighter, that the driver needs to:

· Focus on staying awake

· Focus on as far as the headlights are lighting the way

· Focus on reaching a predetermined end of this stage of the journey

· Focus on reaching point B

Without maintaining focus, how will you reach your goal? Stay focused on results, not the difficulties involved. Maintaining focus conditions you for self-discipline, not self-pity. Challenge your excuses (as that’s what they are, right?). The clock is ticking and you don’t have enough time for excuses. Focus lifts you and increases your energy. Why? You get to momentarily enjoy your mini-wins that lead up to bigger wins.

My friends know that I work out to stay in shape, and to keep up with my active five- and seven-year old boys. That is my focus. My focus is not to be able to bench press Smart cars in my spare time. However, I do have a friend who has focused on more massive goals. Strength training was key to him in football, baseball, and track & field. As he continued on with progressing in his career in IT and completing his masters degree in Computer Systems Management, he maintained focus in his body building goal. Some of his successes along the way include:

· 1^st place and overall – NPC Lenda Murray Classic

· 1^st place – NPC Maryland State Champion

· Four IPA World Records – 275 lb. class

· Eight-time Maryland State Bench Press Champion

· Six-time Maryland State Powerlifting Champion

· Three-time Eastern National Champion

· Two-time National Champion

Recently, Sherwin (“Big Sherwin”) Pagtakhan was recognized by a sponsorship from Muscletech, beginning yet another stage of an incredible journey. Every bit of success builds to the next level of success. If the current stage of success takes a bit more time, would you consider Big Sherwin unsuccessful?

In seven weeks Big Sherwin has a major competition which I know the preparation will test him further. What’s involved is quite a handful: diet, gym time, diet, family time, diet, career, diet… Focus will be key in mapping his point A to point B over the next seven weeks. This stage of his journey is not unlike previous stages. It doesn’t matter what he did yesterday. It doesn’t matter what he’ll do five weeks from now. All that matters is today. He didn’t get to the big leagues haphazardly, but through focus. Big Sherwin, your friends and family are pulling for you. More importantly, we know your focus will pull you through.

Begin with the end in mind. Plan each stage of success that will get you to point B. Maintain focus!

Oakley-dokely!

Vision

2009-04-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

Firms of various sizes are not immune to the current state of the economy. The conditions are very harsh out there. It will be interesting to see the firms that are still standing in a few years when the upward motion of the economy will fuel the momentum we need to see.

The survivability of these firms will be in no small part due to the sustained vision of that firm’s leader. One of the traits that leader will have is vision. Jonathan Swift states, “Vision is the art of seeing things invisible.”

From day one, the leader must be able to dream a vision and work towards inspiring others in making that dream come true. However, that vision must be a clear and worthy vision, in order to inspire others. The leader’s commitment to the purpose of the vision will transfer to others, into their own vision and purpose. When you have this congruence that flows from the top to the bottom, one should not forget that communication of this vision should also flow from the bottom to the top.

Hasn’t it been suggested that you should keep your friends close, and your enemies closer? However, taking the negativity out of the equation, even in company of your closest advisers you should not only listen to those who disagree with you, but to seek them out. An effective leader should not feel attacked when this happens; rather, this is a way to see all points of view. A strong leader must never be deterred from the original vision, especially if that vision was well-conceived. Leaders must be decisive, yet open to criticism. In fact leaders should welcome this challenge. It helps solidify the driving purpose of an organization, down to the rank and file. There will be some course-correction along the way, but as long as it complements the original direction, this should be welcome.

In terms of driving I have had the privilege of driving BMW vehicles for some time now. The Ultimate Driving Machine. From the time each BMW rolled off the assembly floor the end user is fairly certain of the quality of the craftsmanship and purpose of that vehicle. I would not have chosen a BMW if I also did not share in the engineer’s vision. However, the road condition, the weather condition, the occasional valet driver … they may decide to challenge this vision. Going for a drive in that BMW 100 miles an hour from California to Vegas I’m sure I’ll encounter some challenges. Perhaps it’s as simple as one or two misaligned wheels? Next thing you know the tires start cupping and vibrations in the vehicle start shaking the vehicle. While it’s wise to address these challenges really soon thereafter, would it not have been better to seek them out prior to making such an intense (non-cop friendly) task. The Ultimate Driving Machine is not so ultimate anymore, is it? Take the ultimate dotcom that commanded venture capital funding without a solid business plan. Take the ultimate marriage of a couple with no solid plan after the honeymoon.

Nevertheless it is interesting to point out the makeup of the individuals who contribute to a leader’s vision.

I remember reading a story almost a decade ago told by Manchester United’s sports psychologist .There were three men who were laying bricks, and each was asked what he was doing. The first bricklayer stated, “Laying bricks.” The second bricklayer stated, “Earning ten pounds per hour.” The third bricklayer had a much bigger vision and stated, “I’m building a cathedral and, one day, I’ll bring my kids back here and tell them that their dad contributed to this magnificent building.”

The psychologist suggested to the team they can apply these three approaches to the training they were about to undergo. Which team member was to respond:

· “I’m just practicing”

· “I’m earning 1,000 pounds per hour”

· “I’m helping to build the best Manchester United team ever and I’ll be proud to tell my grandchildren I was part of it."

At the start of that day’s training, promptly scoring a goal 30 yards away David Beckham ran off celebrating and shouting “Cathedral 1, Bricklayers 0.”

Leaders must dream their vision, seek others’ dissenting views, inspire others to see the grander vision, and plow forward in unison.

Oakley-dokely!

Finish what you started

2009-04-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

We can learn from those who succeed at anything that perseverance is what’s key to crossing the finish line. That finish line can be anything: completing a project at work, seeing your children mature into adults, or actually crossing the finish line at a sporting event.

(Teamwork is an important topic to cover at a later posting. Today I want to focus on one’s perseverance, to make a point on its effect on personal development and achievement.)

Each one of us begins as equals. Not one of us was born with a towering vertical leap, a blazing pitching arm, a smoking sprinting stride … you get the picture. How many times have we heard of the star athlete’s story where he/she grew up in a small town and have been playing a particular sport since childhood and are now known worldwide as a champion of that sport? List some of the most popular cities in the US along the left side of a sheet of paper. On the right, list some of the widely known athletes and their hometown cities. The list on the right will prove my point.

To make a team, one needs to practice. To stay on a team, one needs to develop. To win a championship one needs to persevere. Rewards go to the last one standing. Remember, it’s the last step of the race that counts the most. It is when the winner is determined. It is when the reward is given. If you took every step of a race, and you stopped and didn’t take that final step to cross the finish line, it’s as if you never took that first step. With the finish line in sight, winners say, “Finish what you started” … whiners say, “I’ve gotten this far, and I’m tired.”

You don’t make it to the championship to coast to a win; you leave everything on the field and come out as champions. It will not be easy; it will be tiring … since the other team will have the same goal as well. That’s what makes watching a championship game more interesting: when both sides are battling it out, giving the spectators a great show, and providing immeasurable rewards of accomplishment to the winners.

US statesman Robert Strauss is quoted, “It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired." We all start strong, with lots of energy and enthusiasm to finish a task. Those who have given up at critical two-minute warnings let the gorilla get the best of them. Those who have given up on their teen’s problems let the gorilla get the best of them. Those who have given up at gold medal games let the gorilla get the best of them. Success in family, in business, in sports, or in anything, is because you were determined to, not because you were destined to.

Sports Illustrated’s “greatest sports moment of the twentieth century” was witnessed on February 22, 1980, during the 1980 Olympic Winter Games. (I highly recommend the movie, Miracle, for this inspirational story.) The Soviet Union had won every ice hockey gold medal (but one) since 1956. Soviet players were professionals, led by ice hockey legends. The United States had amateurs led by Coach Herb Brooks. Moving their way up the round robin brackets the two teams were to finally face each other. To prepare for the game, the Soviet coach decided to rest most of his best players and to have them study plays instead of skating. Coach Brooks continued to skate his players hard, and continued to berate them for any perceived weaknesses. In that famous showdown, the Soviets led most of the contest. However the US players’ tireless training and conditioning, along with their relentless determination, showed towards the end of regulation, taking the lead and holding on to defeat the dominant Soviet players, with the famous sports announcer’s call to tell it all: “Eleven seconds, you've got ten seconds, the countdown going on right now! Morrow, up to Silk. Five seconds left in the game. Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”

Success doesn’t demand more than we have, but ALL that we have. When the clock winds down, did you leave everything on the field?

Oakley-dokely!

Actions Determine Results

2009-04-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

Many individuals have talent they keep hidden and unused. Perhaps it is from that DNA coding that determines if you are one who wants to get things done or if you are one who doesn’t want to make mistakes.

Actions determine results. Make the mistakes and learn from those mistakes. Eventually you’ll run out of ways of doing it wrong, or better yet, people see you venturing out of your comfort zone and they themselves may have the same innovative idea and you can collaborate on reaching your shared goal. However, if neither one of you takes action on your talent (of coming up with an alternative process or coming up with an innovative design), who else will know this talent exists? Actions determine results.

A story I that comes to mind is that a popular activity for tourists in Switzerland is mountain climbing, or “high-altitude hiking” (Talent is Never Enough, by John Maxwell). A group of tourists would sign up for such a package and venture up a slope early morning with their guide. The goal was to make it to top of the mountain by mid afternoon. As they were novices to this altitude they would stop at the half-way house to catch their breath, have lunch and prepare for remaining part of the slope that is more rigorous than the preceding stage just completed. Of course at this point some will opt for the warmth and comfort of the house and remain, while the others venture out to finish the trek up the hill. The ones who stay would party and have a good time. As the light gets darker these people tend to make their way to the window to see if the ones that continued the hike are making their way back yet. Then the room gets quiet … because the ones that stayed would realize they will never be in that part of world again, and they missed an opportunity. When will they ever be back to climb that mountain again?

Do you want to stay in the warmth of your comfort zone and watch others do what you intended on doing? Believe in yourself and your potential. Act on your belief and make the most of every opportunity.

As a father of two boys I routinely find wisdom in the innocence of my sons’ actions. I saw this realization of belief at my sons’ flag football practice this past Saturday. This is Joshua’s second season, so he’s throwing passes, catching on the fly, and running plays. Justin is five years old and the smallest member of the team. Justin would bat the ball down, let his face catch the ball, etc.; yet he knew from watching Joshua last season that he, too, would enjoy playing this season. When the running patterns were practiced, each of the players took turns running to the end zone while being chased down. The seasoned players ran fast and had some moves, but eventually their flags were pulled. No one was successful reaching the end zone. Justin’s turn came up. With his short stubby legs that had football cleats mounted on the ends, and his goal to reach the end zone just like all the other players, none of the older, taller, faster, seasoned players could catch him. Justin reached the end zone on every running play he had the ball. He wasn’t the fastest or the slyest; he was the shortest and knew not to stop unless someone pulled his flags. In due time, he’ll catch on to the catching part; in the meantime, he is quite determined and successful in running into the end zone. Everyone on the team thinks he’ll do just fine.

Don’t try to become someone you’re not. Each one of us is unique. Take an inventory of your talent(s), and take action. Believe in yourself … because if you don’t, who will?

Oakley-dokely!

Sustained Concentration

2009-04-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

My good friend KG wrote me today and commented, "Agh... Just read a new report on the world and U.S. economies - no improvements expected at least till the end of 2010 :-( What do we do???"

KG and I have spoken on occasions on when the uncertain "bottom" will arrive so that we can see the upward direction for a change. While it's still not a mathematical certainty of when that moment will happen, it brings us to look at this from a different angle.

Pick a sport and picture the start, middle, and end of that sport's season. I'll choose surfing. At any surfing competition the spectators cheer on their favorite and in the end the various surfers' rankings will be affected. While global warming and changes in global weather conditions impact the globe on larger scales, the surfers at the competition are focused on the current conditions at this particular part of the globe, at this particular beach, and at this particular competition. The champions know that it's not about how another surfer did or will do, but rather, "what do I need to do from the time I paddle out, catch a wave, and do my thing." That surfer starts thinking about anything else? ... might as well call it a day.

Every once in a while I like to refer to 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class, by Steve Siebold. In Secret #3 Siebold says: Champions Have An Immense Capacity For Sustained Concentration. Whether you are a surfer, a football coach, a finance professional, or an unemployed individual, how you will weather out the storm of current situation depends largely on your sustained concentration to achieve your desired outcome. Catch the first wave or the second wave? Running play or passing play? Hold on to the investment or sell? Watch others lose their jobs or see an opportunity you didn't see before?

First see the desired outcome, and concentrate on reaching the outcome. The waters will be rough ... but who really wins: the one who paddled back to shore or the one who fought a rough wave back to shore?

Oakley-dokely!