How cool is this? The complete catalog of Beatles music is now available on Spotify! Yes, it's also on iTunes Music, however Spotify continues to be my choice of a streaming service.
I cued up a long (but not) forgotten favorite: Maxwell's Silver Hammer
I'm setting Spotify to shuffle and am excited to hear what follows throughout the long weekend 🙂
Amy and I are hoping you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!
This week's Power of 3 mix.
Premium Members, follow the link below to download this new mix.
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Right click to download this 3 song harmonically mixed track
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Please enjoy this holiday music gift from the team at ICI/Pro.
Happy Holidays!
This week's Holiday Mix includes:
Right click to download this Holiday Mix
To download the above media on a Mac:
Right Click on the blue underlined link
Select “Download Linked File As”
Select a download location
Once file is completely downloaded, find it in the location you selected
Drag the file into your iTunes or Spotify library OR
Right Click on the file and Select “Open With”
From the drop down menu select “iTunes” or “Spotify”
File should begin playing and is now part of your iTunes or Spotify library
To download the above media on a PC:
Right Click on the blue underlined link
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Select a download location
Once file is completely downloaded, find it in the location you selected
Drag the file into your iTunes or Spotify library OR
Right Click on the file and Select “Open With”
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File should begin playing and is now part of your iTunes or Spotify library
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In my early 30s when I had disposable income and time, I did a lot of self help and motivational seminars. You name it, I tried it. Always looking for a way to find a better me, a more successful me. One of my favorites was Tony Robbins. I attended 4 seminars and spent a lot of time and money. To this day there are things I sayings and lessons I still use. I was hooked until it started to feel more about the money to them than actually helping people. But that doesn't take away from the fact that many of his lessons and principals are incredible. Who else has mentored so many amazing and successful people ?
One line that I loved and use in a different for is this “if you're WHY is big enough, you will find a way.” Â In My class for the last 12 or so years I say my version of this which is “what's your REASON.” I'll say something during a hill Climb it right before a sprint “what's your reason to be here, to work harder, to push further” etc then I will say something like “If it's for your health, do it for that. If it's for your kids do that”
etc, etc.
So this week I want to write on this idea because last weekend I had a “what's my reason” moment that in hindsite was so rediculous, but got me thinking a lot about my reasons and why I do things.
Now don't make fun when I tell you this. I was invited to a small gathering last weekend. I showed up a little late, last person to arrive actually. As I walked in I was INSTANTLY blown away by the person standing clear on the other side of the room. Like the kind of blown away seen in a romantic comedy lol. Actually, the perfect example so you can visualize is the scene in Dumb and Dumber when Jim Carey sees Lauren Holly and it zooms into her while music starts playing. Haha.
So I walk in, starts meeting people, shaking hands, learning names, checking her hand for a ring (the usual stuff a single guys does) lol. Before long though I realized that if she had a partner he was not there and no wedding ring. Probably haven't been this taken by someone in 30 years! Â The conversation in my head seemed normal at the time but looking back I was being an idiot. Things like, she's too pretty for me. She'd never want to date me. Maybe if i worked out harder. Maybe if I got a more cool hair cut, nicer clothes, and on and on lol. The longer we all talked the more evident it became that she was too
Young for me anyway. Probably 28 or 29. My dreams were dashed before I even got to know her lol. It probably took 4 days before I could stop thinking about her lol. I've always been that kind of love sick dreamer though haha
Anyway, the point of the story, and the direction my thought process went was, how we will put something off or neglect it until our REASON (or as TR says “your WHY) is big enough. I've been wanting to get in better shape, stop drinking dt soda, and eat better for YEARS. And from the moment I opened that door and saw her smile I was ready to never eat another cheese burger, never miss a workout, and do anything I could to get her attention lol So how stupid is that ? What's more important, a girl or my health??? Why am I putting off getting in the best shape of my life when in reality ALL my reasons to do so are more important than meeting a women? I have kids who need me, a million goals to accomplish, and friends and family who want me around. I'm not joking, that night I was so taken that I would have signed a contract to do anything needed if it meant I could wake up next to her every day lol Crazy right ??
In my life I have had the good fortune to not really know addiction. At least not the ones we cringe about. Sure I have some not life threatening ones (pizza, fresh chocolate chip cookies, TH (only my friends will
Know what TH is lol) but none of the big ones like smoking, alcohol, gambling, etc. BUT I have a family full of addicts who can't stop doing/using the above. And I see how they have given Into it like there's no other solution. But I have to wonder if their “reason” was big enough and in their face enough, if they would stop. I see signs all the time that (in my opinion) would be a big enough reason to stop. If your kids tell you they don't like Sunday's during football because you're always drunk, to me THATS a reason. Of your doctor tells you that you have emphysema and you could die from it, than why 30 years later are you still
Smoking ?? I could go on and on, but my point is that maybe it's not as simple as someone's “Reason” or their why. Maybe if the individual doesn't have the inner strength or worse, of they love themselves more than others, maybe the reasons and the why don't matter. I would HATE to think that could be true, but these days I'm not sure. To many of us (myself included) are doing shit we know isn't good for us. Maybe if my doctor says “if you don't stop drinking diet soda you're going to die on (enter specific date because I am too superstitious to make one up) then I maybe I wold stop ? I really wonder. Am I strong enough ?
Two things you will hear me gush about my kids and my gym. I make no excuse for either. Even when married, my ex and I would be on date night and 10 minutes in would be looking at the baby came to stare at what we created. And now that I am dating again, if the person asks ANYTHING about my kids the phone comes out and photos start flying. They are my everything, my REASON. Any parent can relate. My gym though is different. The management is like a family to me, no doubt. BUT ALMOST as important as that is, teaching those classes. With all the crap we deal with on a daily basis, all the information overload we have to sift through, when I am in that spin room and in my “zone,” I like to tell myself that at least one person taking class is there for a reason. A reason so big, so powerful to them that they would be willing to give up 90 minutes of their day to be with me for class. And if they are, than it is my obligation to give them everything. Maybe it's someone who feels overweight or ugly. Maybe someone whose spouse abuses them and they need to feel strong again so they can leave. Maybe the doctor gave them bad news about their cholesterol. It could be a million things. And if I don't BRING IT then I have added to the problem instead of being part of a solution because now they have 90 less minutes of their life to solve what's hurting them.
I say this ALL the time in class. Spinning has GOT to be about more than spinning a wheel. It's got to be about more than listening to my playlist. If the point was to be able to say “I went to the gym today” than simply sitting on the parking lot in your car with a happy meal and smokes would be much easier than what we put these people through right ?
So the next time you teach, remember this. People in that class are there for a REASON and what the reason is doesn't have to make sense to you. But as passionate instructors we owe it to them to help them in their journey. And the best part is while we are helping them with their “reason,” we are benefiting in a million ways ourselves. I love what I do and am grateful for the opportunity. My list of things I made in the hopes of being the guy who got to be with the girl from the party was a GREAT LIST !!! I just need to apply it to the right “reason.” Â And in addition, that whole incident reminded me of two very important things. One, I am still not back to my old confident self and need to work on that. And two, that it's time I align my priorities better because I have a lot more to do for a lot more people. And WHEN I do, a girl like that will love me not for my waste size but for the man I am on the inside. If you ask me, that's a pretty fucking good REASON !!! (See previous post for explanation of the use of the F word here. It was on purpose).
Peace !!
Jay
Take a listen to this new one that dropped last Friday by American Authors.  While it may not be destined to be as popular as ” Best Day of My Life” and “Believer”, it's still pretty catchy and makes a great fast flat road.  I'll also be using it as a warm up.  Here is “Pride”:
Over the years I have filled a folder with story ideas, most of which I haven’t begun to develop yet. My plan was always to publish a book of short stories one day and a few of those you have already read in previous posts. Every week I sit down with the intention (great word) of taking one of those ideas off the list and writing to you. But lately it seems that my life has had a different plan and (in my humble opinion) has laid in front of me some great seeds to plant a new thought down into words.
If you haven’t noticed yet, I am over the top in love with my kids and my role as a father. The other day I thanked my ex for giving me these kids. It was in the context of her thanking me for taking care of my daughter who needed to go to Urgent Care for ear aches. It was my ex’s day, but she couldn;t get out of work, so I went to get her. We have finally begun to be able to work as a team which is a great feeling in itself.
Anyway, she thanked me for taking her and I said something like “I enjoy being able to be there for her when she is in need or in pain. Protecting her gives me purpose.” It’s the last line I want you to remember because when i said it I knew I had always felt it, but never verbalized it. I kind of had one of those “hmmmm, did I write that?” looks on my face haha. It hit me that right now it’s my main focus, and that’s a good thing. When my marriage ended I had a huge feeling of loss, and if I was being truthful I would say it was less a feeling of loss for my ex, and MORE of a feeling of loss of my purpose. We all probably do this to ourselves right ? We create our identity based around the things we “choose” to be our purpose. And so although I lost the purpose of Love and protecting my wife, I never lost the role and purpose of doing that for my kids. That to me is a magical feeling.
Flash forward to today. After making my first Waffles EVER (the Disney Cruise with the kids last week resulted in my kids deciding that Waffles Rock, so I bought me one and the ex one, and now we are waffle people since our kids are hard as hell to get to eat anything), I had my kids on my lap on the couch hugging and kisssing. My daughter Taylor asked to see my phone, which she always does, and I knew if I gave it to her she would be on Youtube watching a bunch of mind numbing LPS videos. If you have kids you know what that is, but if you don’t it’s basically what Cabbage Patch Kids were to my generation. Little dolls that people (mostly adults) do voices to and make really stupid little shows that my daughter is addicted to. But I digress haha So instead of letting that scenerio play out again, I asked if she wanted to watch some of my saved videos of when she was a baby at the hospital. She said YES YES YES !! =)
So I went through a bunch and we all laughed and smiled and it was great. Several funny comments came out of it like Taylor refering to herself and saying “Oooooohhh mmyyyyy gaaaawwwwdddd I was gorgeous” lol and “What happened to mommy’s face” which was swollen from giving birth and weight gain from being pregnant. I said “Taylor her face is swollen from GIVING YOU LIFE” lol I forgot they had never seen their mom heavy because when not preggo she’s barely 110 lbs. Surpisingly she didn’t notice or mention her dad who at the time of her birth was a disgusting 242 lbs which was the heaviest I had ever been. All related to stress and frustration with my career. They know me now, a sleek 190 lbs lol
The last video I played was titled “Taylor’s first Bath.” It was me recording the nurse giving her a bath in the hospital. She basically SCREAMED the whole time, until ONE MOMENT at 2:58 into the video. You will have to go to thie link to watch it if you want to know why it brought me to tears……happy tears. And why my daughter said “I knew it was my daddy.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKlEbsQqVEM
Watching this today with them made me remember a quote I have said in class for all my 20 years. Not sure where it came from or if it’s something I reworded from another quote, but it’s always been a powerful one. I’m not taking credit for the quote, but I am also not giving it to anyone because I am not sure who coined it and I need to get this story over to Dennis to post so you will have to look it up yourself haha. The quote I use is “Life is filled with Days that meaning nothing, but MOMENTS that mean everything.” Before I throw that line out in class I usually say something personal and only after building the moment up, so in this short post it may not have the same pizzazzz lol but here itt goes. I would say “I may not remember what tv show was on, or what I had for lunch on the day my kids were born, but I CAN describe perfectly the first sound they made. Then I say (insprational music and trumpets kick in here please haha) “That’s because LIFE is filled with Days that mean nothing, but MOMENTS that mean everything!!!” Then I usually tell them I don;pt cae if they forget the rest of class, but remember this one sprint 20 years from now. There’s a lot of “lines” I have over used in the last 20 years, but that one (in my opinion) isn’t due for retirement just yet.
My point…oh how I know it takes me so long each week to get to “my point” lol What can I say, I love to write and if I had the ability to make a living doing it I would. So my stories draw off into many tangents haha. The point is that we all know and live that quote I mentioned. You may not know who wrote it, and you may have never heard it said like that, but you live it just the same. When I look at the life my kids are going to have to navigate through compared to mine as a kid it scares me to death. I only had to know what my teachers taught, how to get to a few tv channels an hour or two a day, and how to DIAL (no, not tap a screen but physically dial a rotary phone), and maybe every so often fix my bike chain. NOW look at all these kids have to learn and all the constant information they have to take in, sift through, and decide which are the things they will store and which are garbage and can be forgotten. And with that kind of dumping of informtation, are they at risk to forget some important things!?!? I’m sure they will, and I’m equally sure it will be okay. And the reason why is that they will only forget some memories…….but my daughter who is 4 and a half, won’t forget the “MOMENT” that her dad cried like a baby when we watched together the “MOMENT” that her dad and her had on May 9th, 2011 close to midnight at Sky Ridge Hospital which was recorded and can be seen at 2minute and 58 seconds into the Youtube video link below =)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKlEbsQqVEM
If you have read any of my posts you probably also know that my class and the gym where I have taught for almost 20 years are also a huge “purpose” for me. Anyone who teaches for any length of time MUST have it as a purpose because its not really something that the majority of us can do to make a living from. For me it’s never felt like a job, at least not at this gym. It’s something I take Pride in, care about, look forward to, and that really does help my feel like I have a purpose in this life. I assume only other instructors read this; however non instructors should know that for us (instructors) we do it because we all have a need to be part of the solution (better health and fitness) and are absolutely addicted to that ever present positive energy that builds up in a class that YOU (the instructor) are orchestrating. And when it’s good, it’s life feeding. When it’s bad, its crushing. As an instructor how many times have you felt like you failed in the attempt, only to have someone come up and say how great it was. If you’re like me, you usually say thank you but because you didn’t feel it you don’t take the credit. Well WHY NOT !?!?!? It’s not just about you !! (yelling at myself now haha). If THEY (the person taking your class) had a “MOMENT” then you just helped one person succeed right ?? Let them have that moment and just do a better job next time right ? And most of all, BE THANKFUL that you were present in someone elses moment. Getting a gues role in a movie still makes you a movie star right ?? =)
If you have kids, do this with your kids but if you don’t than do it with someone you love or who knows you well. If you don’t have anyone around than do it with yourself (mind out of the gutter please). Sit down with a pen and paper and start writing down some memories in as much detail as you can. The example I gave earlier was the day my kids where born. Write it all down and then when finished walk away for a few hours or even a day. Then come back to it and what you will find (like I did) is that all the “memories” will be surrounding the “MOMENT” like an army ready to attack. Being in the Hospital is a memory. Knowing her date of birth is in my memory. Remembering that they gave her a bath right after coming out is a memory. What color my under wear was, lost forever. Which phone I had at the time, couldn’t care less. But what took place on that video at 2 minutes and 58 seconds and lasted long enough to know that it wasn’t a fluke and that a MOMENT, no wait a FUCKING MOMENT (read earlier post to get the meaning of adding the cuss word there lol) was taking place is something that will stay in my mind and most of all my heart, for eternity. And I know that you have those moments too both in your past and in your future. As instructors who get to push people through uncomfortable physical situations, we have the responsibility to anchor their success to something mentally and spiritually powerful so that they can access it later when we aren’t there to help them along. For me I use sappy personal stories like this, but maybe for you it’s something totally different. So find out what yours are so you can REMIND youself of their power, and then use the principal in your class and through out your whole life. There’s so much power in it for them as well as you. It’s what reduced a 190 lb bad ass (kidding) like me to tears on a Sunday morning lol
I’m a Father, I’m a Spin Instructor, I’m a Business Owner, I’m a son, a brother, and American and on and on and on. Some of these roles give me purpose, some also give me memories, and some I have great passion for. But they are all still just “ROLES” just like Jeniffer Aniston plays in a movie right ? She isn’t the person she plays in those movies, BUT every so often I am sure she acts out a scene that she is proud of and for her that’s the moment she decides to remember because that’s her moment. It doesn’t mean the rest of the movie didn’t matter, it just means that if she could only save one clip it would be that one. I had a failed marriage and I can choose to kick myself for the failure, or remember all the horrible parts at the end, OR I can remember the moments that brought me joy like those two little bundles upstairs playing while I type this to you. And because I am able to do that, forget the “memory” but remember the MOMENT, I was able to sincerely thank my ex wife for giving me my children and ultimately a greater PURPOSE than I have ever had. And that my friends is more powerful than any negative thought I’ve ever had!!
I always get to the end of my posts and feel like I need a “Doogy Howser” clever ending line. Something that ties it all in and is funny lol Something that the guys will say “damn I wish I talked that smooth” lol and just in case my soulmate and future wife is reading, something good enough to show all my sweet and caring sides while still sounding like bad ass who could protect her from anyone lol But right now I am drawing a blank and this post is due in a few minutes. So I will end with this — Thank you for reading my posts and for allowing me another week to force myself to look at my life and the world around me so that I may find the beauty and gifts all around me. I was in a dark place for a while and only saw things to bitch about and now I find myself remembering who I was and how I loved life and felt a passion to inspire others. Each day I get less and less angry with my circumstances and more and more in love with the life I currently have. And this is in large part from the purpose I’ve been given to write this post to you all. I hope it’s touched, helped, or inspired at least a few of you. Now go make some moments !!
Peace
Jay