Growing your dream, while working your job.

So many of us have a idealized image in our head of what chasing our dreams truly looks like, a fantasy of what life as a dreamer would be. this picture usually involves dramatically quitting our job, heading out into the world to pursue said dream and immediately being showered with money, adoration, and being on the top of our dream world. We look at people in our dream profession, be it music, art, or some aspect of the business world, see them thriving and think "hey that could be me". We see the accouterments of success, what ever that would be for our chosen dream, be it big house, fancy cars, time freedom, or anything that we think means success in that field. What isn't as visible is the hard work that went into achieving that dream.

We cheer on co-workers as they leave to pursue their dreams, we pat them on the back, we throw an office party for them and wish them the best, never daring to ask the question of "how"? When we envision dream building we thing that it must happen in exclusion of all other pursuits, that we must be focused entirely on building that dream. Jim Rohn in his famous talk on the "power of part time", talks about, in reference to network marketing, the power of building a business part time that out paces your full time income, the power of the story of that, and the ability to make that happen. While this talk is focused specifically on the network marketing industry, it applies quite aptly to our dream building as well. The ability to forge one's dream, part time, while still earning a full time income is a powerful thing.

When we through away the idea that we must focus entirely on our dream in order for it to succeed, myriad options become available. The pressure that our dream "must succeed in a finite time frame, because as you well know, the day that you leave a job is not the day that the electric company stops caring if you pay your bill, or the day that the grocery store starts gifting you with free meals. If we truly desire to pursue a dream full time we're not only pursuing that dream, but also have submitted ourselves to pursuing a full time income that must be replaced as well.

The beauty of pursuing our dreams is that they don't have to be an 8 hour a day job, they don't need to be all consuming. You can build your dream, while allowing your "day job" to provide the means to pursue that dream all the more effectively. You can become your own investor, putting money you earn working into your dream and while it may seem a hindrance to quick growth, nothing will stall any venture more quickly than missing a mortgage payment, or having a car repossessed. Nothing is more frustrating to the struggling dreamer than having to stop dreaming to worry about paying the bills.

Therefore structure your dream and work on your dream with your "day job" as the funding source, as the instigator that allows you to achieve rather than the chain that is holding you back from realizing your full potential. Go out in the world, dream big, make a difference, and when the time comes you'll have a solid foundation on which to rest when it does come time to truly walk away and pursue your dream full time.

Let the haters fuel your passion, not diminish it.

I'd like to take a moment and point out something that every person that has a "hustle" or big goal to achieve in the new year is going to run into, haters. It seems as though the social media maelstrom that is ever present in modern society, has let people become more and more critical of others, both their successes and their defeats. This isn't a new construct since the advent of social media, people have always been jealous and doubtful of others ability to succeed, it's simply that our connections allow others to voice these concerns more readily.

In anything that you do, others will look on in doubt and disbelief, my theory is that it's not that they don't want you to succeed on principle, it's that your success will make their stagnation that much more apparent. For those that do, those that don't are always quick to remark. Recently I've begun my own journey to what many would call an improbable goal, something that won't easily be achieved, something that will take hard work, dedication and much sacrifice on my part to accomplish. While I've worked very hard to cultivate a positive circle of doers and dreamers around me, there's still those in my life that are stuck in their own ruts, not dreaming, not moving forward. Personally I won't be satisfied with the "status quo", not for myself or my family. Too many times have I found that to do one must only dream. We as human beings are incredible in our capacity to create our own dreams, to affect our destiny's and too forge our futures in the image we desire.

Throughout your journey however those haters will pop up, so what do you do to handle them? My suggestion, and the process I follow is this. I imagine my dream, my goals as a fire that burns within me. I do this mostly because it's the best way to describe my own yearning to be "more than" what I currently am, to progress constantly and explosively within my own life. Instead of the haters extinguishing that fire, or lessening it's fervor, each and every time someone doubts my dream, or speaks to lessen it in any fashion, I picture them dumping gas on my passion, causing it to swell and gain in strength. The urban colloquialism of "haters gonna hate", is a simple reality of life, people will attempt to drag you down to their own stagnancy, to their own mediocrity, however I encourage you to hear the "hate", to embrace the haters and allow them to fuel that which drives you forward.

In this new year, I have one major goal to tackle, and while I'm not naive in the fact that it's going to take work, and it may take much more work than I've originally dreamed, I know that I will concur that goal, because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone-it I don't care about the haters! I encourage you all to take on a similar stance towards haters for if we all reach for the stars, the light will only allow each of us to shine brighter against the darkness.

New Year, new goals.

2015 is upon us. We're already 5 days into the year, resolutions have been made, and many have probably already been broken. This year I won't be focusing on "resolutions" but solid goals in several aspects of my life. For those that don't know, physically last year was a time of ups and downs for me, I completed my first triathlon, and then had two surgeries, both for gout, that kept me sidelined for the rest of the year. Thanks in large part to the healthy eating habits, and great nutrition in my ViSalus shakes I have been able to, even with a physical activity level near zero, keep my weight under control, and while I have gotten a little bit softer over the last 4 months, I've kept the "beer gut" at bay!

2015 will be another rough year physically as I'm still recovering from one surgery and have one more scheduled for early in the year, so I'll be sitting on those aforementioned sidelines for most of this year as well. While I could look at this as an end of the road, I've been able to recognize it for what it is, simply a road block along the way. In some ways being able to keep my physical goals lower than they have been in the past, i.e. this year I'm simply looking to maintain a healthy weight throughout my invalid phase, I've been able to focus more clearly on my business, personal, and professional goals for the new year.

So here they are my personal, business, and financial goals for 2015:

Personal: While I've taken on a lot as far as job responsibility in the past year, going from working at an MSP to running IT for a reasonably sized regional company, for the most part entirely alone, I've struggled throughout in maintaining a separation and distance from my work and home life. My goal in 2015 is to devote more time with my family, to miss fewer events and to be there more both for my son and my wife. I will also grow myself, in several areas, fitness, gaming, and online journalism to help support my business goals.

Business: My business goals actually reside in several areas, a brand launch with a new friend that is already gaining momentum, my ViSalus goals, and the launching of an entirely new venture that finds me in a vertical that is new to me as far as monetizing goes. For the brand launch, along with my partner I hope to have built a 50k user Facebook Fan base by mid year, and be talking about expanding our purely Facebook presence into a full-featured website with e-commerce capabilities. For my ViSalus business, this year I will hit regional director, and be driving a BMW, helping countless others achieve their goals along the way. As for my new venture, it's been a project that's loomed in my mind for quite some time, and I've honestly been "too scared" to give it a go, but my biggest goal for this is to, in some fashion, have created a reliable revenue stream out of this avenue by mid-year, at which point I plan to refocus and see where it can take me.

Professionally: Two bigs goals in this field, one is to establish myself as a programmer, which will mean learning software development from scratch, and devoting a large amount of time to study of that craft. Along with this developing in my current IT niche, both with certifications, and continued education will be key to realizing my long term (post 2015 goals).

There you have it, my goals for 2015. While I hadn't exactly planned on "penning" these out in this particular forum, I'm glad that I did and hope that you will join me in keeping me accountable, and please take a moment in the comments below and share some of your goals for 2015, and I will do my best to check up with you!

Happy New Year to all, and may your 2015 be a year of realized and exceeded expectations!

The $60 T-shirt that I will never wear.

A few weeks ago I picked up a t-shirt that I payed $60 dollars for, it was for a half marathon here in my home town, one that I had registered for months ago. Unfortunately I've been plagued by injury the past few months and my training has gone to the wayside. Instead of prepping to run 13.1 miles, I've been waiting for a date for surgery on an injured foot. Picking that shirt up, and subsequently seeing all of my training partners and friends complete that race was hard for me. While I was naturally enthused at their successes and genuinely happy for them, sitting on the sidelines isn't an easy place to be for me.

Two years ago I was a couch potato, to put it mildly. I've transformed myself from obese to athletic, competing in several triathlons, multiple 5Ks and a Tough Mudder along the way. My new life was less about being sedentary and more about sweating. It's funny that as much as "fat kid problems" used to be a mantra of my daily lifestyle, active living, pushing myself and becoming a better me each and every day has become equally as important to me. I've gone from 12 oz curls to building muscle, stamina and endurance. To say that my life took a 180 would be to minimize the impact that this change in lifestyle really had on me.

Along the way I started to enjoy it, the sweating, the hard work, pushing myself harder and accomplishing things that I previously thought I wouldn't be capable of. I was recognized by the #2 Fitness and Weight-loss Company in the world as a finalist for their "Active Couple" award, and was blown away by this. Activity and physical accomplishment became a part of my life.

It was about 3 months ago that I became sidelined by chronic foot issues and all of a sudden found myself unable to accomplish even simple physical tasks requiring me to be on my feet. I spent a few weeks bound to a wheelchair, unable to walk. Until finally I was able to see a doctor that was able to offer me a resolution, and a date for surgery. That surgery is scheduled for 3 days from now and there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel, a reprieve for my physically imposed hiatus from the sports and activity that I've grown to love.

So now I have a red shirt hanging in my closet, it doesn't represent failure to me, but rather a missed opportunity, a door that will open again, a motivation to be a better me once more. This injury has held me back, but it won't hold me down. I will be back on the pavement, I will be back on my bike, and I will be back in the pool and the gym.

I've managed to lose 13 pounds bound to this wheel chair with an activity level close to zero, and I won't stop when I get out of it. While I may not have earned the right to wear that $60 shirt this year, don't worry I'll be back for it next year!

90 Days of serving you.

For those that know know me, you know that I started this year on top of my physical game. I was spending 15+ hours a week training, riding over 40 miles running 10+ miles, and in the gym hitting the weights a couple times a week. I was literally in the best shape of my life. I went from weighing nearly 300 pounds (285 at my heaviest), to coming under 200 pounds and performing the aforementioned physical feats that I previously would've thought impossible.

Thanks to ViSalus and the Challenge, I found a new confidence, a new pastime, and a new source of income thanks to Project 10. My wife and I both won $1000 just for losing 10 pounds, and we were both recognized as Active Fitness Couple at our companies national event in Atlanta, GA.

It truly was an incredible year. As great as last year has been, this year has equally been filled with obstacles. I've suffered with foot pain, elbow surgery, and numerous other physical challenges.  I find myself in a unique position now, two months after I had planned to compete in my first Ironman event, and having to make the decision on whether or not to cancel my last two planned events for the year (the Rocketman Tri & the Red Ribbon Half Marathon), I have extra time on my hands to help YOU achieve your goals.

So I ask you what do you want to achieve? How can I serve you in your fitness or weight loss journey? For my next 90 Day Challenge, I'm here to serve you, to serve anyone that needs the help, encouragement or the guidance in this journey. Ask me anything you want, come to me for advice, for help, for whatever it is that you need. Walk this path with me for 90 days and I can guarantee that your life will not be the same.

I am not a Network Marketer!

My wife & I have gotten a lot of messages lately, a lot of folks talking about different companies, new "opportunities" out there, and while we appreciate our friends reaching out to us, we would both like to go on record to say that "We are NOT Network Marketers!" I know that a lot of people would point out that we are involved in a network marketing company with ViSalus, and while that's true and we do believe in the industry as a whole, we will not be involved with another company. We are not in ViSalus because of "positioning" or the comp plan, although being positioned as the #2 Weightloss company in the World after Weight Watchers & getting paid 11 different ways isn't a bad thing! We aren't involved because someone promised us a downline, or because there's some new super rare fruit in our product that's going to change the world and allow us to cover our driveway in gold. I say all that to say, take your new rare only harvested by the light of the leap year moon, using the left hand of a man that has never done another wrong, processed in the waters of the Egyptian sunlight underneath the largest of pyramids, going to grow my hair, paint my nails, lose my weight, and buy me a plane product, and share it with someone else. 

Rhonda & I are bottom line involved with ViSalus because we believe in our leaders, from the couple that introduced us to the business right on up to our companies founders. We believe in the vision of our company, to take weight off the world 10 pounds at a time until we end Obesity. We believe in our products because they have transformed our lives, & we believe in sharing the Challenge with others because we are passionate about affecting that same change in the lives of our friends and community. My wife & I are standing behind something that we believe in, and our beliefs will not be shaken as they are built on a strong foundation of love, respect, and personal results. I don't "sell milkshakes", I couldn't sell a hot chocolate to an eskimo, I simply tell my story and allow others to decide if it's time for them to make the same change that I decided to make 1 year ago. I will not be leaving ViSalus, I will not be quitting, and I will not chase the newest shiny on the block.   

#rantOVER

#VItillthedayIdie

#resultstrumpallelse

#Iamstickingaround

#GetONthetrainORgetoutoftheway

The Hardest 200 Miles, laid a good man to rest.

Today I rode a little over 200 miles, spend time with some great friends and had a lot of time to reflect on just what we were doing. I've ridden a good bit in the last 4 years, some of it fun, some of it cold, some hot, most of it because I wanted to get away. Todays ride was not about getting away, but about facing something, honoring someone, and supporting others. Today we rode not for joy or pleasure, although at the end of the ride, there was some of both. Today, we rode for Bear.

Gerald R. Doris Sgt. USMC, those were the words on the pamphlet handed out at his funeral, it's funny that I never knew Gerald R. Doris Sgt. USMC, I only knew Jerry occasionally Wandering Bear, but never Gerald. I didn't know the young man that went so bravely into the breach, that gave away part of his youth and innocence to Uncle Sam in the jungles of Viet Nam. I knew the man that suffered with conditions related to Agent Orange from all those years ago. The man I knew never once complained about his condition, or his health, he took it in the same stride with which he attack the rest of his life, with a vigor and enthusiasm that was inspiring and infectious.

Jerry & I spent a lot of time together, both burning miles on the road, and sitting at a table breaking bread and he always said that I reminded him of himself when he was younger. I always took this as a compliment, but looking back  realize that he meant it as a caution, as words of wisdom passed down from a man with more experience. I took a lot of advise from Jerry over the years that I knew him, I can honestly say that he saved my life, and my marriage. He's the reason that a lot of my biker friends don't see a lot of me, and not at all in a bad way. He taught me that there is nothing more important in life than your family, and no moment more precious than that spent with those you love. This wasn't a lesson that he taught with words, all though he said things like that to me many times, it was his unfaltering devotion to his wife Karen that truly brought truth to his words. Never once did I see him speak a cross word to Karen, never once did he do anything but honor & praise her.

Jerry was a giver, riding to Florida National Cemetery today at Bushnell, I couldn't help but notice the parts on my own bike that were given to me by Jerry, and looking around at the other bikes on the ride, the same was true for everyone. Jerry was the type of guy that wouldn't just give you the shirt off his back, he'd go to his closet and give you a clean one, ironed and ready to go, just to make sure you looked good. His heart and honest desire to give set him apart from other men, and one just one more aspect of the great man that he was.

Today many of his friends showed up to wish him farewell, and many more were thinking of him, and praying for him. The outpouring of love was startling, on www.vtxcafe.com his memorial thread resulted in over 125 posts to date, with more coming I am sure. Bear was a man widely loved by all who's lives he touched.

I had the honor of giving the closing remarks at Bears funeral today, the first time I've been asked to speak at a funeral of a friend. I realized that I didn't say half of what I meant to, nor did a do a fraction of justice to the life that this man led, nor even to the affect that he had on my own life, so I say it here Bear; You were like a father to me, you looked out for me, you guided me in the right direction, and you were always looking out for me, even when I thought that you were just talking, I realize now that you were teaching. I will forever miss you my friend, my brother, my family.

I found this poem that makes me think of Bear, and what he taught to me it's a Pueblo Indian poem:

Hold on to what is good
even if it is a handful of earth.

Hold on to what you believe
even when it is a tree
that stands by itself.

Hold on to what you must do
even when it is a long way from here.

Hold on to life
even when it is easier letting go.

Hold on to my hand
even when I have gone away from you.

RIP Wandering Bear, Semper Fi Marine.