Chasing the dream, and the rest will follow : )

   This video struck me as one of the best told stories I have ever heard.  It is told by the one and only Tony Robbins.  Tony is the man in peak performance and has studied NLP.  What I really like about this video is that it shares how Sly had a clear vision as to what his muse was.  Furthermore, he pursued his goal and has reaped the benefits of chasing his dream.  It seems much too often that individuals let their dreams slip by.  As we age past our teenage years, we tend to settle for what seems comfortable.  But I think that the lack of comfort really helps us grow.  A simple analogy that crossed my mind today was as we progress from 9th-12th grade( High School) we are challenged by more and more difficult courses.  These courses build on each other to form a foundation for our learning.  In life we must learn to challenge ourselves and build on the successes we obtain.  Though, we must equally learn from our mistakes, as painful as they may be.  

    A mentor of mine, Tom Bailey Jr., once told me that one of the hardest things to deal with as one ages is regret.  I think the regret of not having chased your dreams must be hard to deal with.  As I am typing this,  I am in the process of changing various aspects of my life.  ”One will either endure the pain of hard/smart work or the pain of regret.”  After it is all said and done, doing what you wanted to do will satisfy you better.  Stay focused and define your goals as clear as daylight!  Btw- the quote above is written on the wall of the Pacers locker room : ) 

Friday night and I am uploading pictures of myself.  Hmmm,  I get I am very serious about my diet.  When I was in H.S.  I weighed about 130 pounds and about my sophomore year of college I was up to 205 pounds.  The notion of being huge was always one of my goals, but now after years of being a bit on the heavier side I am through with gaining mass. Alas, my goal is to reach 6-8% bodyfat.  I play lots of sports and have realized that it is better to be strong, quick, and in my opinion lean.  This is a older before pic, but I think it will do the trick.  This diet was started on May 19, 2008, I will follow up this blog on June 30, 2008.  This post is part I.   Dieting has become a more normal thing with each day that passes.  Other than mood swings and a few cravings here and there, I feel leaner.

Moreover, I have been following the advice of 2 individuals, Tim Ferriss has some awesome suggestions on his site, and my best friend Stan Newton.  Cheers to living leaner and I am looking forward to my cheat day, aka calorie freeforall.

I ran into this site not too long ago.  Asksunday is a service provider of virtual assistants.  Basically, what this means to you and I, is that we can create more time by having an assistant at the touch of our fingertips.  I was considering posting this next week after I had tested the four free requests that they offer.  But, after some considerations, I am posting my results thus far.  Asksunday has got me hooked on the buzz of virtual assistants.  I outsourced looking for a good dentist that I was looking for.  Sure, I could have done the research myself but during the day I rather be working or working out.  Next, I decided that calling the customer service line of at&t was a headache that would only raise my blood pressure.  So how did Asksunday fair on this tedious task?  Awesome.  Though they missed a few details, they had the forethought to call me within a few hours so they could recollect any missed data.  Today, AT&T called me and had a service tech come to my apt and handle the issue.  This would have taken me at least an hour on the phone to get this squared away.  I have them preset to number 7 on my mobile.  Yes, you do give up some of your personal info, but you do that in almost any transaction.  They were very cordial and their english was impeccable.  I don’t want to write a book in this blog, so thats all I have to cite…………… I will keep everyone posted!!!!!!!

What you see here is salmon grilled on a small bed of brown rice and broccoli.  I had this meal with a small side salad and a glass of Chardonnay.  This meal is very balanced and a healthy dinner time choice.  Salmon is considered some of best protein you can take.  The brown rice contains complex carbs which are used more efficiently by your body.  The broccoli is key for fiber and has lots of other benefits.  The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition stated that broccoli is the number one food to help prevent colon cancer.  Some other benefits included prevention of cataracts and strokes.  These are enough reasons for me to be motivated to consume this funny and odd shaped green veggie.  The wine has its own benefits also, but I just enjoy it with salmon.

As I continue my trek through the world of health I recommend these simple 3 things to follow:

1. Eats tons of greens, spinach, broccoli, and dark green lettuces.  
2. Drink lots of cold water.  I personally like room temp but cold is better.
3. Focus on complex carbs and avoid all white carbs.  Try not to eat any carbs after 5pm if at all possible.  

     You may be asking, why did I choose the $50 bill over the $100 bill?  The answer is simple, a hundred dollars feels like a fifty dollar bill today.  This speaks for how $100 dollars just does’nt buy you what it could 6-8 months ago.  For example, I it used to cost $28( 7 months ago) to fill my tank and now takes $54.  This is an astounding number if you consider how the price of most things have gone up.  You can further confirm this by noticing the price elevations on simple household items at your local grocery store. 

     Is the U.S. economy going to the sewer?  I would beg to differ.  Though times are tough for many of us these times present us with golden opportunities to invest in.  The housing market has suffered the most and I would still be weary of purchasing real estate.  But, you can bargain so much better now than before.  In some scenarios I have seen home owners be able to get bargains on renovating their homes.  This is caused by the fierce competition our economy is experiencing.  Furthermore,  outsourcing has become more popular than ever before.  Elance offers exceptional services at prices that would be near impossible to match here in the states.  

My Notes:

• Invest in your company(s) 
• Make a weekly budget and stick with it(much like a diet, if you don’t stick with it you won’t get results)
• Price Shop: with so many competitors worldwide explore your options and spend wisely.
• Write where you need to go before going.  This is simple but is commonly ignored.  I have tested this and saved about 25%-40% in fuel not to mention time, I value the latter more.  More to come on how writing saves you so many many headaches.  

Lake Nicaragua

Nicaragua,  has not been credited enough.  This comes mainly because of the political unrest that has plagued this country in the past decades.  Though far from perfect, Nicaragua is due international respect. Here are a few facts about Nicaragua

• Nicaragua at one point supplied most of the meat to McDonald’s
• Nicaragua is considered the safest country in Latin America, check with homeland security if you have doubts.
• The cost of living is cheap.  It is a good experience to see and feel the culture.  
• The people of Nicaragua may be very poor but they will give the shirts off their back to any guest at their home.  Yes, I do consider this a fact.

Ok, so if you are reading this you know im about to chop the hair off.  Its too hot outside and I need to take a break from messing with it for awhile.

How is everyone else doing?

Best

Jose

The name Virgin, has become such a strong brand that it is almost impossible not to notice. As I did my usual grocery shopping at the new and improved Wal-Mart in Plano, Tx, I stopped to notice Virgin had its own wine. Virginvines has positioned themselves as a good choice for wine. I tried the Chardonnay and was quite pleased. I am by no means an “expert” in wine, but can tell you for about $8/bottle it was some damn good wine. Virginvines will definitely give the other wineries some competition. Furthermore, branding has become so key to super companies. We have seen this in Coke, Wal-Mart, and other such entities. As these companies establish their niche they seem to quickly move into other sources of revenue, from banking to new sub-labels such as Virginvines. Enjoy Virginvines with some memorable company. ### I am still learning Wordpress, so please excuse my learning curve, I will have the spacing down asap.

  Okay,  I know sweets are bad for you but on those “rare” occasions when you must have a sweet I recommend cupcakes from the Buttercup Bake Shop in NYC.  This place is very friendly and is very underrated.  They are super friendly and have some great desserts besides their cupcakes.  I am from Texas and we have high standards for desserts.  But, I must admit these desserts give any a run for their money.  Treat yourself and let me know your thoughts.

 Basically, what to do to keep yourself sane and happy without resorting to the cheesy bar scene.   I have felt at times that being in my mid-twenties I must resort to going out to bars and hanging out with people I don’t know and probably won’t ever meet again.  One may assume that there is nothing wrong with this except the fact that you are a product of your enviroment.  Lots of bad habits come from consistent exposure to these scenes.  Anything from becoming an alcoholic to starting fights are common scenarios are bars that we as society have become accustomed to.   Here is what I propose as some solutions: 

1.  Plan early morning activities that require a clear sense of thought.  For example, meet with a friend in the morning to discuss a book.  My personal favorite is doing a private lesson of brazilian jiu-jitsu with my friend and mentor Carlos Machado.  
2. If you are not feeling social go against the grain and go grab a good book and feed your brain.  We all know that this does not seem to occur in the bar scene.
3. Plan a trip.  At least in this case you will have options to explore different scenes and may even choose not to hit up the local bar scene.
4. Put together a series of events that are both physically and mentally challenging during the day.  This will discourage your desire for a noisy and smelly bar scene.

These are just a few things I personally have applied to my life.  The bar scene can really be cancerous to your health, it drains bank accounts and leaves you with nothing but a vicious headache in the morning.