Vital-Statements

[Vitality!]

Good afternoon everyone.

Hope this day finds you well.


Here is a brief background on me:


Name: Don

Age: 48 (48 in August 09)

Height: 5’ 7” (with high...heal shoes on)

Weight: 170 (BF 6.8%)


I will post my current goals, and approach on training later.

Occupation: Network Engineer, PC Tech, Marketing Developer, Customer Service Specialist

Associate Degree: General Studies (FSCC)

Bachelor Degree: Computer Information Systems (CIS), (SLU)

Bachelor Degree (2): Business Management, Minor: Philosophy

Master Degree: Computer Information Systems

College Credits: Well over 190 college credit hours.

Awards: Cum Laude Honor Graduate, National Dean’s List, Business Recognition Award.
Developed and implemented a program for my current employer called HISS: Hospitality Incentive Sales System:

Sub Programs :

A company with “Participative Vision”

Sales Stimulus System (S.S.S.)
Split-Infinitive Points System (S.I.P.S. )
Special Thanks and Recognition System (S.T.A.R.S.)
Customer Improvement System (C.I.S. )
Catch and Hook System (C.A.H.S.)
Employee Referral System (E.R.S.)
On-Peak Sales System (O.P.S.S.)
Penetration Attractants for Off-Peak Season (P.A.O.F.P.S. ) (pay-offs)

Military Service: K.A.R.N.G 6-7 years. (1983-1990); Honorable Discharge, one Iraq tour

Military Training: Army Basic/AIT, Fort Sill, Oklahoma

Rank: Lt. (Officer Candidate School, 1 year) 1986

Law Enforcement Experience: 10 years; earned Medal of Valor in performance of duty.

Law Enforcement Training: K.L.E.T.C. (Class #111, 1990, 2007, Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center), Hutchinson, Kansas

Additional Training:

Drug Identification, Interview and Interrogation (Barton College), Narcotics Investigations (KBI, Kansas County and District Attorneys Association), Gangs Investigations (MO Southern State College), PR-24 advanced techniques training, Stun-gun tactics and use, Self-defense Training (still on-going, which includes the philosophical side), and others.

Reason Leaving: Physical injury on the job answering a call for service (Medal of Valor); my wife gave me a personal ultimatum, and I chose my wife instead of the love of my career.

Marital status: Married 25 years (once); two children 20, 23.

Years training: 3

Favorite TV show & film:

TV Show: House, Pimp My Ride, Yo-momma, Jack Ass (to name a few), Films: The Godfather (I, II), K-9, Turner and Hooch, Kindergarten Cop, Powder, and watching topics on The Discovery Channel, The Science Channel, The Military Channel, ESPN Classic, and The Natural Geographic Channel.

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Training and Dieting History
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2006-2007: (First Fitness Goal Attempt)

Starting Weight 2006: 190 pounds (approximate), "very fat", overweight with man boobs. Body fat very high.

Didn't check so not sure on Percentage.

Ending Weight May-June 2007: 152-154 pounds, over 40+ approximate pounds lost.

Ending Body Fat June 2007: 8%

Goal met: 40 pounds of weight lost. Defined ab core, maintaining/building as much muscle--as possible. Reduce back pain, take care of health and dexterity to be in a position to provide care for my wife as we get older.

Ending pics: (I have others)

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June 2007 (Second Goal Attempt)

Weight Starting: 152-154 pounds
Body Fat: 8%

July 2008 (approximately):

Ending approximate weight: 161-162 pounds
Body Fat: 7.8%

Goal Met: One year (approximately) on a careful bulk to "net" a 7-8 pound increase in overall weight, and dip under 8% Body fat.

Ending Pics (I have others):

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Current Goal:
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Start Month: October 2008

"Projected" End: July-August 2009

Weight Starting: 161-162 pounds
Body Fat Starting: 7.8%

Projected Weight Ending: 171-172 pounds (net)
Projected Body Fat Ending: Between 6 and 7 Percent

Goal met: One year to gain 8 to 10 pounds of added quality tissue, and lean back down to less than 7 percent body fat.

Will post the photos here.
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This log will be two logs/journals in one.

1. My training/dieting journal

2. A place for motivational comments and quotes, and various fitness articles, through "Thoughts for the Day" journal posts, and personal requests as they come up from Various forum members.

3. As I get to know various members, they will be forum tributes conformed to their personal journey and triumphs achieved. I will post on how this works in the near future.


Look forward in meeting you all. I will post what the future plans/goals are real soon. Hope you all have a great Tuesday.


Best regards,

Chillen

 

[Vitality!]

Opening "Thoughts for the Day": November 24th, 2009

We have one life; we have one body. ​

(By Chillen)

Each of our recreational activities have a price tag; our health is priceless.

The status of our on-going health is the most important above and beyond any exterior physical thing we acquire in our life or the temporary good feeling one wants from an exterior substance.

Exterior physical things can be replaced; but, there is only one of each of us.

When all the smoke clears about our differences in opinion on what "looks good" in the physical (or what is a healthy habit), what matters in the end, is our inner well-being and health. Our greatest wealth is our personal health.

Some of us can be blind to this truth, until its taken from you like a thief in the night. And, what this thief leaves behind, is a paling gloss of what was once thought to be important and revealing the inner pigment of what is.

The "unnamed thief" reveals and exposes reality. We sometimes will not know when, where, how, and sometimes why, this "unnamed thief" enters. This "unnamed thief" enters seemingly immorally, without warning, and in some cases without explanation of its cause, but it will awake within you.

Our goals within diet fitness "do have a price tag", but our health is priceless.

Yes, we all have diet and fitness goals, and they have a price tag: I am not willing to pay the expense of looking good (or "knowingly" put something in my mouth) and put my health in past tense. I will increase the odds that I will be healthy, knowing I can not completely eliminate them.

Our bodies carry us within this one-chance-at-life journey; the beliefs we carry about certain issues within our life ought to be examined thoroughly, as once we reach the death bed one will learn whether they were right or wrong. Stubbornness on convictions can be death to one and not know it, until......its too late.
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Train the Brain:

("Cells that fire together wire together.")

We spend a lot of time educating ourselves on various aspects of diet and training, but very little, if any, on training our brain on how to handle the biological/physiological functions that tend to interfere with our goal quests. As time moves on in this journal, I am going to provide various thoughts, ideas, and what not, to stimulate thoughts on how to handle these (such as the food craving, etc). So stay tuned.

Here is an example what is coming:

When I go to the store, I have this mentality:

1. I look for foods that are bulky and carry the nutritional value that fits within the macro nutrient and calorie value I seek (. Staving off hunger perception one).

2. I look for bulky food items that will "stave off hunger" (for the times I may need it), that a carry a good nutritional value but carry a low calorie impact on my diet. There are so many food items to assist with cravings they are nearly endless, and SHOULD BE implemented into ones war on cravings. Specific refrigerator items to combat cravings, perception two.

Reasoning:

Gives you the TOOLS to work within a system of RULES

Proactive involvement in the hunger complications to improve diet success.

So, when I go to the store, I just do not buy items for my main diet. I am proactive and look for foods/beverages that will aid my cause when I am hungry and feel like binging, but prevent it........(synopsis)
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If you can't afford to hire a trainer/dietitian, than you are required to "some degree" to become your own personal trainer/dietition within your own lifestyle, and earn the rank of: The Doctor:


The best doctors in the world are "Personal Doctors": (written by Chillen)

Doctor Diet: no quite-riot to the diet;

Doctor Trainer: the no-brainer and the painter of the muscle-gainer;

Doctor Fat: goes at-bat to combat fat to make the stomach flat;

Doctor calorie: the internal art-gallery to attend the external shooting-gallery;

Doctor Inspiration: sets the foundation sensation to end frustration;

Doctor motivation: creation plantation to end temptation and bring mental vibration;

Doctor Mind: designed and combined not to be confined to get behind and maligned to the self-kind.

Doctor Willpower: Devour the control-tower and empower the super-power.

(Chillen)

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If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place.

One step at a time you are moving forward and this prevents you from staying in the same place and being stagnant. You are getting after it!

The best way to predict your future is to create it:

The decisions you made yesterday determined where you are today.

The decisions you make right now, will determine where you are tomorrow.


Within your personal goal is a LEARNING AND EARNING process.

Breathe in what you have learned about yourself during your journey and DO NOT FORGET the things you did to PRODUCE results.
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Keep yourselves in line..........stay proud and be tough.

We on the WL are with you.

Chillen

 

[Vitality!]

Thoughts for the day (2)

Cultivating Burning Desire ​

(Steve Pavlina)
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When asked during an interview how he managed to reach the top as a professional bodybuilder and Hollywood actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger replied with a single word, "Drive!"



All great success ultimately begins with an idea, but what makes ideas become reality is the fuel of human desire. An idea by itself can give you a temporary feeling of inspiration, but burning desire is what gets you through all the perspiration necessary to overcome the inevitable obstacles along the way.

Take a moment to think about the goals you've set for yourself. (You have set goals, haven't you? If not, go read the article on setting clear goals.) How committed are you to achieving these goals? Under what conditions would you give up? What if you could significantly increase your desire to achieve these goals? What if you wanted them so badly that you knew with absolute certainty that you would absolutely, positively never ever give up? When you are truly 100% committed to reaching your goals, you move from hoping to knowing. If you want something badly enough, then quitting is simply not an option. You either find a way or make one. You pay the price, whatever it takes.

Those with an intense, burning desire to achieve their goals are often referred to as being "driven." But is this special quality reserved only for a privileged few? Certainly not. With the right approach, anyone can cultivate a deep, burning desire within themselves and move to a state of total commitment, knowing with certainty that success is as inevitable as the sunrise.

So how do you cultivate burning desire? You begin with an outside-in approach, altering your environment in ways that will strengthen your resolve while eliminating doubt. If you take the time to do it right, you'll establish a positive feedback cycle, such that your desire will continue to increase on a daily basis.

Here are eight steps you can take to cultivate burning desire to achieve any goal you set for yourself:

1. Burn the ships.

I'm not going to pull any punches with this one. If your goals are really important enough to you, then you can start by burning the proverbial ships, such that you have no choice but to press on. For instance, if you want to launch your own business, you can begin by making the commitment to quitting your job. Write a letter of resignation, put it in a stamped envelope addressed to your boss, and give it to a trusted friend with firm instructions to mail the letter if you haven't quit your job by a certain date.

One Las Vegas casino manager made the decision to quit smoking. He didn't feel he had the personal willpower to do it alone, so he took out a billboard on the Las Vegas Strip with his photo on it along with the words, "If you catch me smoking, I'll pay you $100,000!" Was he able to quit smoking? You bet! (Ok, bad pun.) This is called willpower leveraging. You use a small bit of willpower to establish a consequence that will virtually compel you to keep your commitment. As Andrew Carnegie once said, "Put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket!"

In the classic book The Art of War, Sun Tzu notes that soldiers fight the most ferociously when they believe they're fighting to the death. A good general knows that when attacking an opposing force, it's important to create the illusion of a potential escape route for the enemy, so they won't fight as hard. What escape routes are you keeping open that are causing you not to fight as hard?

If you don't burn those ships, you are sending the message to your subconscious mind that it's ok to quit. And when the going gets tough, as it inevitably does for any worthwhile goal, you will quit. If you really want to achieve your goals, then you've got to burn those ships to the ground, and scatter the ashes. If you're thinking that the average person won't do this, you're right -- that's why they're average.

2. Fill your environment with desire boosters.

Let's say one of your important goals is to lose weight. Get some poster board, and make your own posters that say, "I weigh X pounds," where X is your goal weight, and put them up around your house. Change your screensaver to a text message that says the same thing (or to some equally motivational imagery). Get some magazines, cut out pictures of people who have bodies similar to what you'd like to have, and put them up around your house. Cut out pictures of healthy food that looks good to you, and post those around your kitchen. If you work in an office, then alter your office in the same manner. Don't worry about what your coworkers will think, and just do it! They may poke a little fun at you at first, but they'll also begin to see how committed you are.

3. Surround yourself with positive people.

Make friends with people who will encourage you on the path to your goals, and find ways to spend more time with them. Share your goals only with people who will support you, not those who will respond with cynicism or indifference. If you want to lose weight, for instance, get yourself into a gym, and start befriending those who are already in great shape. You'll find that their attitudes become infectious, and you'll start believing that you can do it too. Meeting people who've lost one hundred pounds or more can be extremely motivating. If you want to start a new business, join the local chamber of commerce or a trade association. Do whatever it takes to make new friends who will help you keep your commitment.

Although this can be difficult for some people, you also need to fire the negative people from your life. I once read that you can see your future just by looking at the six people with whom you spend the most time. If you don't like what you see, then change those people. There's no honor in remaining loyal to people who expect you to fail. One of the reasons people fail to start their own businesses, for instance, is that they spend most of their time associating with other employees. The way out of this trap is to start spending a lot more time associating with business owners, such as by joining a trade association. Mindsets are contagious. So spend your time with people whose mindsets are worth catching.

4. Feed your mind with empowering information on a daily basis.

Inspirational books and audio programs are one of the best fuel sources for cultivating desire. If you want to quit smoking, read a dozen books written by ex-smokers on how to quit the habit. If you want to start a business, then start devouring business books. Go to seminars on occasion. I advise that you feed your mind with some form of motivational material (books, articles, audio programs) for at least fifteen minutes a day. This will continually recharge your batteries and keep your desire impenetrably strong.

When you absorb material created by an extremely passionate person, you'll often find yourself feeling more passionate as well. A great book I read was Pour Your Heart Into It by Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks. As I read the book, I was absolutely amazed at how someone could be so fanatically enthusiastic about coffee. Other enthusiasm-building authors/speakers I highly recommend are Harvey Mackay and Zig Ziglar.

5. Replace sources of negative energy with positive energy.

Take an inventory of all the sensory inputs into your life that affect your attitude -- what you read, what you watch on TV, the cleanliness of your home, etc. Note which inputs influence you negatively, and strive to replace them with positive inputs. I'll give you some good places to start. First, avoid watching TV news -- it's overwhelmingly negative. Do you really need to hear about the woman who was mauled to death by her neighbor's dog? Fill that time with positive inputs instead, like motivational and educational audio programs. If you like to watch movies, then watch movies that are full of positive energy, such as light-hearted comedies and stories of triumph over adversity. Avoid dark, tragic movies that leave you feeling empty afterwards. Dump the horror books, and replace them with humor books. Spend more time laughing and less time worrying. If you have a messy desk, clean it up! If you have young kids or grandkids, spend some time playing with them. Some of this may sound a bit corny, but it will really help increase your overall motivation. If you have a hard time motivating yourself, chances are that your life is overflowing with too many sources of negativity. It's far better to happily achieve than it is to feel you must achieve in order to be happy.

Part two next

 

[Vitality!]

Part two

6. Dress for success.

Whenever you pass by a mirror, which is probably several times a day, you get an instant dose of image reinforcement. So what image are you currently reinforcing? Would you dress any differently if your goals were already achieved? Would you sport a different hairstyle? Would you shower a bit more often?

Although for years I enjoyed the ripped jeans and T-shirt look, I noted that when I visualized myself in the future, having achieved certain goals, I was dressed a lot more nicely. With some experimentation I found a style of clothing that looks professional and is also comfortable. So I gradually donated my old clothes to charity and replaced my wardrobe with clothes that fit the new identity I was growing into. (Consequently, there's a Salvation Army store with quite a stock of gaming industry T-shirts.) I learned this idea from an ex-Navy Seal, who stressed to me the importance of taking pride in your appearance, and I can say with certainty that it makes a noticeable difference. So make sure the clothes you wear each day are consistent with your new self-image.

7. Use mental programming.

This is a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) technique that will help you associate strong positive emotions to whatever goal you're working to achieve. Find some music that really energizes and inspires you. Put on your headphones and listen to it for fifteen to twenty minutes, and as you do this, form a clear mental picture of yourself having already achieved the results you want. Make your imagery big, bright, vivid, colorful, three-dimensional, panoramic, and animated. Picture the scene as if looking through your own eyes (this is very important). This will help you form a neuro-association between the positive emotions elicited by the music and the goal you want to achieve, thus strengthening your desire. This is a great way to begin each day, and you can even do it while lying in bed when you first awaken if you set things up the night before. You should cycle the music periodically, since the emotional charge you get will tend to diminish if you listen to the same songs each time.

Keep in mind that this form of mental programming is already being used on you by advertisers. Watch a fast-food TV commercial, and you'll note that the food is big, bright, and animated -- spinning burgers, lettuce flying through a splash of water, ripe tomatoes being sliced -- and don't forget the catchy tune. So instead of letting others program your desires for you, take charge and mentally reprogram yourself.

8. Take immediate action.

Once you set a goal for yourself, act immediately. As you begin working on a fresh new goal, don't worry so much about making detailed long-term plans. Too often people get stuck in the state of analysis paralysis and never reach the action stage. You can develop your plan later, but get moving first. Just identify the very first physical action you need to take, and then do it. For instance, if you've decided to lose weight, go straight to your refrigerator, and throw out all the junk food. Don't think about it. Don't ponder the consequences. Just do it immediately.

One of the secrets to success is recognizing that motivation follows action. The momentum of continuous action fuels motivation, while procrastination kills motivation. So act boldly, as if it's impossible to fail. If you keep adding fuel to your desire, you will reach the point of knowing that you'll never quit, and ultimate success will be nothing more than a matter of time.

If you apply these eight strategies, you'll add so much fuel to your desire that the fire will never burn out. You'll move towards your goals like a guided missile to its target, and you'll enjoy the process because you'll be so focused on the positive rewards instead of the difficulty of the tasks. If you get enough positive energy flowing into you, you'll soon have positive results flowing out of you. And you'll quickly become the kind of person that others refer to as "driven."

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The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.​

​

(Unknown)

Who tries to put together a puzzle without seeing a picture of the finished product? If you can clearly state and see what your vision is, you’re well on your way to seeing it come to life. The clearer your vision, the more targeted your plan will be. What do you see?

(Chillen)


Best regards,


Chillen

 

[Omega]

Welcome to your diary.

 

[Cord the Seeker]

Good stuff, as always, Chillen.