Can Your Life Be Too Easy??

“Awwww your life has been too easy and now you want to complain about it?  FUCK YOU!”  Yeah  I know, its a horrible blog topic, people have real problems, and its whiny, but this shit is my blog.  So yeah, I’ve had it real easy, pretty much gotten everything I wanted, definitely had everything I needed and more, and what has it done for me now?  DICK!  If I didn’t like something, I didn’t have to do it, so now guess what I do?  Quit everything.  Never had to do things that make me uncomfortable, now guess?  I avoid pretty much all uncomfortable situations.  My testicles are metaphorically the size of peas.  So why the self hate, its not really self hate its just looking at myself in an honest attempt to see why my life is where it is.  I believe we all need to do this.  Remove that rose colored lens and by god don’t listen to someone else’s opinion because they most likely are gonna polish any piece of shit you have created.  If you are have the opposite problem and you look at your life through shit colored glasses, then you are probably not seeing your life realistically either.  Anyway, yes my life has been too easy and it made me soft, honestly its too easy right now.  There was only one time in my life when I cut myself off and gave myself no other fucking options.  People said I was crazy and even though every night I had extreme worry and I felt stress…  I felt a whole lot more FUCKING PURPOSE.  I have a friend who is pursuing his higher education and currently living at home, he is a non traditional student as he is in his early 30’s.  He is doing everything right to facilitate his schooling, keep his debt low, and also help his mother, but when I talk to him there is something missing from his life.  Its the fucking challenge, its the stress (outside of school), and the purpose.  So don’t always look to make your life easy, one day you will look down and your reproductive organs will be shriveled and you will find that you have become soft and weak.
We’re all gonna make it.

©BrentMW


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The Beatles And Deliberate Practice


There is a story about the Beatles when they first became a band, it says that their first gigs were playing music at The Indra and Kaiserkeller which both offered live music during its open hours.  This means that they played music for hours upon hours, 7 days a week!  What it also means is that they probably had to play music written by other people and therefore had to learn new styles that quite possibly were out of their comfort zone.  Now what made them arguably the best compared to many other people that have followed similar paths is that they were constantly working on what they were either unfamiliar with or not good at.  It is tempting to want to find something you are good at and really drive it into the ground because honestly, it is hard to stay motivated when the only things you ever practice are that which you are bad at.  Often we want to practice what we are good at so that we can feel good about ourselves and impress others.  So to separate yourselves from those that are great, use deliberate practice, don’t let your ego dictate your focus.  Always focus most of your efforts on that which challenges you the most and puts you outside of your comfort zone, don’t focus on that which will make you feel good or impress others in the short term.
We’re all gonna make it.

©BrentMW


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-Mark Twain

I stumbled upon this quote today and I felt compelled to write about it.  I feel that we have gotten to wrapped up in cliches and they have lost their power.  I used to say, “cliches are cliche because they are the truth”.  So instead of quickly dismissing them we should try to gain the wisdom that they hold.  Life is too short to be wasting time.  Life is too short to not experience something you desire.  Every morning when I take my walk, I have at least one moment where I think, “what is stopping a car from hitting me right now?”.  At certain low points I would say I even welcome it.  Imagine though at that moment when the lights are getting dim and all of your future plans are cancelled.  All the things you thought you would have time to do.  The sensations you have never felt or will never feel.  The lips you will never kiss…  Can you let it all go so easily?  Or maybe you live a long and healthy life but don’t pursue the experiences you have always wanted to, would that be harder to swallow?  So don’t just read this and get motivated in this moment, then tomorrow spend the day looking at funny pictures of cats.  Do the thing, have the experience, tell the person, because tomorrow that thing, experience, or person might not be here anymore.
We’re all gonna make it.

©BrentMW


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Good old fashioned pyramid sets

If you are a natural bodybuilder, the old school pyramid set is one of the best ways to build muscle.  It includes a nice warm up, strength work, and a muscle pump.  It is pretty simple, start out with the weights light and do between 12-15 reps, then move up in weight and do 10-12 reps, increase the weight again and do 8-10 reps, continue until you are only able to rep the weight 1-4 times, this should be lower than your 1RM because you will be fatigued.  Now for the fun part, on your last heavy set, immediately strip some weight off and with no rest do as many reps as you can, then repeat.  I like to do this until the weight is light enough that I can do 12-15 reps again, that is when I am finished with that exercise.  This will provide you with a good warm up acclimating you to the heavier weights, some neuromuscular work, and some endurance/muscle pump work.  This is a great way for beginners to start working out and advanced trainees looking to change it up.  Weight training is simple, the old stuff still works.  Just don’t be afraid to work hard.
We’re all gonna make it.

©BrentMW


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Why I like pain

Who is happier: Someone who wins the Lottery or someone that breaks their neck and becomes a quadriplegic?  I heard this question years ago and did some research about it recently.  There is an interesting write up about the Adaptation Principle in the book The Happiness Hypothesis, to quickly sum it up it says that there is not much of a difference between the happiness of the Lottery winner and the quadriplegic because we adapt to our situation.  When I first heard this idea, the answer at the time was that the quadriplegic actually ends up being happier after 10 years.  This is because stress strengthens us.  That is the reason the stress of weight training actually produces a physical response.  When we aren’t certain about something the pain can be unbearable, but have you noticed once you are certain the pain is decreased and you begin to adapt.  It is basic desensitization and exposure therapy which we have all experienced without knowing it, usually because we had to.  First day on a job, approaching someone attractive, new gym, becoming newly single, etc.  They all provide some level of pain, often in the form of fear, but once we were certain about the situation our bodies began to adapt and things got easier.  So why do I like pain?  Because I know that my idea of the pain is always worse than the actual pain felt and when I experience pain it means I am going to get stronger.  So my advice to you is to do things that scare you and listen to things that hurt you, you will survive and your life will be easier because of it.
We’re all gonna make it.

©BrentMW


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It’s REAL simple!

Our Sensei used to tell us.  “Want a successful life?  All you have to worry about is three things: Family, work or school, and JUDO”.  I didn’t realize how profound that was until years later.  The first two are obvious but how can Judo handle the rest of your life?  Simple, when you do Judo, combat sports, or any serious competitive activity you find that the only way you can excel is to live a life that will facilitate this.  The last Judo practice for the week ended on Thursday, which happened to be a day that my friends would meet for food and drinks at a brew pub.  So after the hard workout I would eat some food and enjoy a 24oz beer as a reward.  When I started to get serious about my conditioning and my competition I noticed that the Tuesday practice after having the beer, even that small amount, I felt like I had taken one month off!  I then did what anyone serious about Judo would do, I stopped having that beer and I didn’t feel any loss.  The question is, do we stop certain behaviors because we don’t want to do them anymore, or is it more likely that we will stop when something important is affected by them?  How many women do you know that smoke and drink but then quit immediately when they become pregnant?  So what can you do?  Get serious about something in your life that will force you to change your habits.  If you smoke, get serious about long distance cycling, if you are overweight, get serious about doing a bodybuilding competition, if you are not excelling in school, get serious about joining a club or society that requires a certain GPA.  Get out there and do something that makes you accountable!
We’re all gonna make it.

©BrentMW


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Too BIG to start?

I have a friend who is a massage therapist.  He is very well known in my hometown and has built a large network.  His practice is successful and he has goals of creating something much larger with a focus on wellness.  So I asked him recently about his progress and I got an interesting answer, he said, “I have a lot of things I want to do,… I have to be fully committed,… I want to do it right”.  This sounds great right…?  Maybe, but if doing it right means everything has to be perfect then this is an absolutely HORRIBLE idea!  We often don’t pursue our goals because it is not the “perfect” time.  I am guilty of this also but this blog is testament to my evolution.  I am running a daily blog without owning a computer!  What’s your excuse?  I just want to emphasize that there is no “perfect” time, circumstance, situation, etc.  We create the “perfect” situation by laying the foundation and building on it until we have the “perfect” environment for our idea to grow.  If you want to create a Youtube channel because you have information to share, make a tripod and use your phone to make videos.  If your content is good you will get views and will build momentum, then work towards getting a better camera, HD editing software, then a more professional background, etc.  If you want to start a career as a personal trainer, start training people close to you, then get a job at a McFitness gym, then get a quality certification or degree, work at a more high end facility, begin purchasing equipment…  Understand the idea?  If you thought of everything you would have to do to make a dream a reality you would never start, don’t think of all the steps it will require, think of what steps you can take right now in that direction.
We’re all gonna make it.

©BrentMW


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My Current Diet

I have been experimenting with this diet for two weeks now with great success.  I am not yet sure how low of body fat it can take me to, but I am sure that it will help anyone lose unwanted fat fairly quickly.  I weighed in this morning at 200lbs and that was after a high carb weekend.  The diet is extremely simplistic and requires only cooking for 1.5 hours, 1 day a week!  This diet requires commitment but so does everything worth doing.  Here is what I am doing:
Mon-Fri

• Breakfast:  Coffee w/ Half &half and a little sugar
• Lunch: Around 8oz of meat, 2 hard boiled eggs, 1 half avocado
• Dinner: 8oz of meat, 1 half avocado, 1 half can of Chub Mackerel w/ balsamic vinegar, 1-2 servings cottage cheese
• Drink:  Water=half gallon minimum, 1 cup of milk

Sat-Sun

• 2 full blenders of Green Smoothie each day.  Here is one recipe but I urge you to get creative: http://weareallgonnamakeit.tumblr.com/post/50130891380/hypertension-and-what-i-am-doing-about-it-this

On Sunday I went and bought 10 chicken breasts, a dozen eggs, 5 avocados, 3 cans of Chub Mackerel, and the fruits and vegetables for the smoothies.  Monday morning I baked all 10 chicken breasts with simple seasonings and Parmesan cheese, and hard boiled the eggs.  Now I have my 5 days of meals.  I currently have the time on the weekends to blend 2 smoothies per day, if you don’t, blend two in the morning and put one in the fridge.  Don’t worry about nutrient loss, doing this is better than not doing it because you are afraid of nutrient loss.
Doesn’t chicken (or any meat) get boring every day?  YES!  Here is how I keep it exciting:

• 1 tablespoon of sweet pickle relish
• 1 serving of ketchup
• 1 serving of mustard
• Now you got some saucezzz

Good luck, let me know if you try this and how it works for you.
We’re all gonna make it.

©BrentMW


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How powerful are your steps?

A few years ago I was listening to the local university radio station well after midnight.  During this time you will hear all sorts of interesting audio.  On this night I happened to tune in half way through what sounded like a Native American prayer set to music and a storm track.  I really didn’t think much of it until the end when the man said something similar to, “The weakest step towards the top of the mountain is stronger than the most powerful storm”.  I later researched this to find the exact quote but was unable, so forgive the paraphrase if you are familiar with it.  What can we get from this?  Motivation?  Sure, but I have been shifting away from the idea of motivation and focusing more on action.  Action breeds motivation and this quote can be used as a foundation to build your life on.  It doesn’t matter what opposition you face or how slow you pursue your goal.  It only matters that you keep moving forward, even if the steps are “weak”.  The truth is any step towards an accomplishment is more powerful than we can imagine.
We’re all gonna make it.

©BrentMW


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Do you give yourself no choice?

Someone close to me recently underwent gastric bypass surgery.  I am not writing this to criticize that option if you are overweight, I would recommend other means of weight loss first but that is my own personal choice.  The interesting part of this story is the conversation I had with this person recently and what they said, “After doing this I was thinking that I probably could’ve just done it on my own without surgery”.  Now whether or not this is true is debatable but lets focus on the difference between their situation currently and before.  Before the surgery restricting calories was not a “MUST”, this person didn’t have to eat any particular way or exercise, therefore they didn’t.  In their current situation restricting food intake is an absolute “MUST”.  There are no other choices!  Now lets apply this to life a little more generally.  Do you brush your teeth every day, shower, go to work, cook, etc?  With some exceptions the answer is probably a resounding yes.  What is the common denominator that causes these daily actions?  You have made these actions a “MUST”.  In your mind you can’t live your life without performing these tasks and magically… They get done EVERY DAY!  So that’s the secret to designing a life and adding lifestyle changes.  You have to make them a “MUST”.  Don’t live a life where you require others to put restrictions on you which force you to take certain actions.  Take the actions you know are consistent with the life you want.  Although this is a slightly off topic, I want you to remember this, when a person is given too many choices without discernible or preferential differences, they often wont make any choice at all.  Don’t give yourself any other choice but success.
We’re all gonna make it.

©BrentMW


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Are you looking to be offended?

Here is a video I think deserves your time, although it is satire I believe it rings true for most people.  I recently wrote an article about what traits make men attractive to the majority of women.  I described someone who is passionate, takes action, has information to share, and lives a life with great purpose.  I got a response from a reader flaming my post and their reasoning was because they already possessed these traits in themselves.  So what your saying is… My article is bad because I am telling others to strive for the character traits you already claim to possess??  Which brings me to my point, are you looking to get offended?  I believe that because the article was directed towards men trying to improve their “game”, this immediately triggered some negative inner emotion in this person based on certain rules they have created for the world.  This resulted in a negative reflex to it before they could actually digest the content and purpose of the article.  So next time something offends you take a step back and ask yourself, “Am I really offended or if this is just a knee jerk reaction based on rules I have created for others to follow?”.  You have no right to create rules for others, the only person you should be creating rules for is yourself.  Apply this idea to all areas of your life and become aware of the rules you have set.  You will find yourself becoming offended much less and your relationships with others will become enriched.
We’re all gonna make it.

©BrentMW


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Why you SHOULD care what others think.


We are inundated from birth with the life lesson, “don’t worry about what others think”, and for the most part this is a good idea but I am here to ask you to consider the opposite.  Simply put, live a life that causes others to think of you as an inspiration.  You should care immensely about this and it should occupy your mind during every waking second.  We can go around living our lives only to please or inspire ourselves but if our standards are low then we wont be producing nearly enough quality actions to create a life worth writing about.  If during your attempt to live an inspiring life you get criticism from people that can’t see themselves doing what you are, then this is when I suggest you apply the first lesson and don’t worry about what those people think.  Remember, when you set big goals you get big opposition and if you need support, reach out to others that have accomplished similar or larger goals than you are currently pursuing.  NEVER seek advice from armchair quarterbacks, these people are all around you disguised as your parents, relatives, friends, and anyone else living an uninspiring life.

We’re all gonna make it.

©BrentMW


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THE DISHWASHER
First you should always consult your physician before starting any exercise plan.

Here is a workout that is scalable to any fitness level.  Its called the Dishwasher.  I invented it after being inspired by the idea of metabolic conditioning and my desire to replicate the exhaustion of a tough Judo match.  For this workout you will need to head to your local track that is equipped with a Steeplechase hurdle as shown in the picture.  It is also beneficial if it has a nice turf or grass football field.  Here is how you do it:

• Warm up sufficiently (5 minute brisk walk and mobility drills)
• Begin at the goal line near the Steeplechase hurdle and do 10 Burpees
• Immediately sprint 100 yards 80-90% effort (this is why a field is helpful)
• Without rest get on the ground and do 20 situps
• After this without rest, backpedal 100 yards to the starting point
• Jog to the Steeplechase hurdle and do 15 inverted rows
• Finally jog a lap
• That’s one set

Remember the point of this is to work 80-90% effort through all the exercises until you get to the lap.  This is an active recovery period and you will probably feel like walking but don’t.  The point isn’t to run the lap in a sub one minute time, it is to not quit.  I used to tell my workout partners, “I don’t care how slow you have to go, just don’t quit!”.  In a judo match you don’t have time to walk or relax, you can lose a match due to inactivity, you have to keep going even if you are doing the zombie walk.  If you can get 10 sets of this circuit with good effort, you are in great shape!  I think we started around 5-6 and worked our way to 10.  Oh and the reason it is called the Dishwasher, its because you don’t want to eat anything before, it will clean your plate.  Have fun!


We’re all gonna make it.
©BrentMW

Are you where you want to be? YES!

I am going to boldly state that… YES you are exactly where you want to be.  Physically, emotionally, mentally, career, etc.  Now let me first make the distinction that I know the naysayers will immediately point to.  Obviously there are many things NOT under your control.  If you were one day walking down the street and a drunk driver crashes into you causing paralysis, I am not stating that you are in that position because you want to be.  Please don’t waste your time trying to find similar situations, your life needs you right now.  What I am referring to are things you can control, which happens to be most aspects of your life.  I don’t care who or what or where you are, there is ALWAYS SOMETHING you can do.  I often get resistance when I say this because people put false controls or limitations onto themselves, they give away their power and imagine they are helpless.  If you fall into the last category and you are completely without control, then sometimes the only way to get it back is to remove yourself completely from the situation.  Uproot yourself and start over but I warn you, if you don’t change your mentality you will end up back in this situation again.  If you are not quite as deep there is still hope for your current situation.  But We’reAllGonnaMakeIt, I am depressed and I don’t want to be?!  As a species it is hardwired into us to pursue pleasure and avoid pain, so ask yourself, in what way does being depressed allow me to pursue pleasure and avoid pain?  Do you get pleasure from people around you relating to you when you talk about depression and does it avoid the pain of feeling lonely?  This is just one example and maybe not related to your struggle but if you are willing to shine a light on yourself and honestly examine why you do what you do on a daily basis, you will be able to take control of where you are and place yourself exactly where you want to be.
If this helps you in any way that’s all that matters to me.  We’re all gonna make it.
©BrentMW

Give It All Away

 Give It All Away

 

I’m starting this blog in hopes that one person will read it and their life will be made better because of it.

 

If this helps you in any way, its been worth it.  We’re all gonna make it.
©BrentMW