Investment Advice for 2nd Quarter 2014

Nope. Not going to give you the latest stock tip or mutual fund advice.

This is far more important than that.

Ask yourself.

Which is more valuable to you, your money or your time?

I mentioned a couple weeks ago I was reading “The One Thing” by Gary Keller. The chapter I am on now is called “A Balanced Life”, which the author convincingly breaks down is a myth. But it was a couple paragraphs I read last night that really struck me hard. Keller writes:

“I once knew a highly successful businessman who had worked long days and weekends for most of his life, sincere in his belief that he was doing it all for his family. Someday when he was done, they would all enjoy the fruits of his labor, spend time together, travel, and do all the things they’d never done. After giving many years to building his company he had recently sold it and was open to discussing what he might do next. I asked him how he was doing and he proudly proclaimed he was fine. “When I was building the business, I was never home and rarely saw my family. So now I’m with them on vacation making up for lost time. You know how it is, right? Now that I have the money and time, I’m getting all those years back.”

Some highly dubious rationalization, I thought to myself, but still I could see where he could be coming from. But then the next phrase erased any smugness and dug the knife in.

“Do you really think you can ever get back a child’s bedtime story or birthday? Is a party for a five-year-old with imaginary pals the same as dinner with a teenager with high-school friend? Is an adult attending a young child’s soccer game on par with attending a soccer game with an adult child? Do you think you can cut a deal with God that time stands still for you, holding off on anything important until you’re ready to participate again?”

I should know this better than anyone. I have 6 children, the youngest being 7 and the eldest 27, and I can’t believe how fast time has flown by. On Saturday I took the girls out to breakfast and then the afternoon was dedicated to Andrew. It was a great day. I need to do that more often.

And it’s not just family where we can’t make up for lost time. There is no deal to be made with the Creator to get time to stand still because I am “too busy doing other things.”

Every day we choose not to train when we should can never be reclaimed.

Every set we work to only 80% when the goal is 100% is lost.

Every time we pick up 30 pounds when we could have done 40 is time wasted on being less than our best.

Every night we go to bed at midnight when we could have turned the TV off at 10:00 is an opportunity to get better that we missed.

Every bite of junk food that passes between our lips causes us to be less healthy when we could have chosen better.

Harsh? Unrealistic?

Consider this. When you invest your money you expect a return. You want a hard working fund that will grow your wealth.

Is it any less important to put max effort into your time investment?

When you invest your time into getting proper sleep, exercise and nutrition  you will actually GAIN time – you will be more energetic, more productive, and enjoy life more.

That’s growing your health.

And wealth without health is a zero sum game.

Invest Wisely.

Make It Happen!

Coach Dean

Willpower. You Have It Or You Don’t?

Reading. It’s something that I love to do, so when I have a few hours on a plane, the Kindle comes out and I get to it.

This trip I finally got started on a book I have had for awhile; “The One Thing”, by Gary Keller. I am about 30% of the way through it and already I have been picked up some great nuggets.

One that fascinated me in particular was the chapter on Willpower. I like many get caught in the trap of either “you have it or you don’t”. He calls this myth “Willpower is always on will-call”.

Our experience tells us this is just not right. Sometimes I can look that cheesecake in the eye and tell it “no way”, but at others the thing is half gone before you can say “neufchatel”.

Why is that?

Well it turns out that willpower is a renewable energy – literally. Keller likens it to the power bar on your cell phone. Every morning you start with a full charge, but as the day goes on, every time you draw on it your using it up. At the end of the day you are toast. You know this to be true. For instance think about the times you are more likely to make poor choices relating to diet. If you are anything like me it’s at night, when you are drained (no pun intended) from the days mental and physical efforts.

Keller gives the analogy that willpower is like fast twitch muscle. That’s the stuff we use when we sprint or go all out on the ski-erg. It’s very powerful, but has no endurance.

But it’s not hopeless. We don’t have to accept defeat.

Did you know the food we eat can actually affect our level of willpower?

You see the brain takes up about 1/50th of our body mass, but uses 1/5th of the calories we eat. It is fascinating that the parts of our brain that regulate breathing and nervous responses don’t care if we skip a meal, but the prefontal cortex, which is responsible for focus, short-term memory, solving problems and moderating impulse control gets hammered when it isn’t fed. And even more fascinating is that the brain works much like our muscles. Feed it a low grade, high sugar and simple carb diet, and it crashes fast. But foods that keep blood sugar stable, like proteins and complex carbohydrates are the fuel of high achievers, as shown by studies that have measured task accuracy.

The bottom line is that willpower is a mental muscle that doesn’t bounce back quickly, and you literally have to “feed your mind” a healthy diet to help recover.

And maybe I am a geek, but I think it is really cool that the same food that helps me burn fat and build muscle also helps me have the willpower to make the good food choices that helps me burn fat and build muscle.

The “Circle of Life” Indeed.

Think about it. Just make sure you fuel up first.

Make It Happen!

Coach Dean

What is your definition of easy?

I received this from my friend and mentor Martin Rooney in an email awhile ago, and as I re-read it today it really resonated with me again. I am sharing with you because I suspect I am not the only one who needs to take action on what I know I need to do, rather than what I am comfortable doing.

Does any of this resonate with you?

——————–

“12 Mugs of Christmas” from the Makers of UMP!

We have a lot of “UMP” lovers at that train with us, and although you may not know it Beverly International, the makers of “Ultimate Muscle Protein” is a family owned and run company, just like Get Fit NH.

Roger and Sandy Riedinger are as passionate about providing the best quality supplements as we are about providing the best training, and that is one of the reasons we love doing business with them.

Sandy just sent over some recipes that she wanted us to share with you that she is calling “The 12 Mugs of Christmas”. There are some really great drink recipes using UMP. Some of them are sugar free, some of them can be adapted to be sugar free, and others are best saved as a post-training recovery drink.

Which one are you going to try first?

Thanks Sandy, and Merry Christmas!

Download your copy of “The 12 Mugs of Christmas” by clicking here

An Attitude of Gratitude

I’ll admit it.

I can be a serious ingrate, and it is so hypocritical.

How many times have I told my kids to say “thank-you”? How many times do they have to be reminded anyways?

And yet how many times do I catch myself sweating the small stuff, and ignoring the blessings around me?

It is so easy to get caught up in the milieu of our daily lives that we  forget how good we really have it.

When is the last time you sat in 110 degree heat, in the sand, in a faraway country, never really relaxing because you never knew if and when someone was going to take a shot at you or send a mortar round your way?

Probably wasn’t something you did over the weekend.

Yet thousands of men and women over the last decade and more have been there, done that – for you and me.

On Veterans day and every day we should be grateful. This has nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with basic decency, honor and respect.

We take it for granted. Families separated by distance and sometimes death. Dads and moms who leave children behind to serve in the name of our country. Husbands and wives who don’t see each other for months at a time, and sometimes never again.

Did you ever consider the impact on a family whose mom gets called overseas, followed by dad, leaving their 18th month old child with grandma? My heart aches when I don’t see my family for a few days, yet children pass milestones and birthdays, and all mom and dad can do is watch from a distance and feel the loneliness.

Next week my oldest son Timothy is graduating from Ranger School down at Fort Benning, Georgia. He actually lived there for 3 years of his life when I was stationed there, and this is the first time Nancy and I will be back since then. Tim is not a dumb kid. He is married, has a degree in criminal justice, and served as a Vermont State Trooper.

What drives men like Tim to give up relative stability, be away from his wife for months at a time and put himself in harms way?

I don’t pretend to know, but I am grateful they do.

So here’s my challenge to you today.

Be grateful, and then put some action behind that gratitude.

Maybe on Veterans Day it is as simple as saying thank-you, or paying for the Dunkins for the man or woman in uniform ahead of you in line. I think that is something I should start doing everyday, not just November 11th.

Don’t just let this day pass you by as another day off, let’s make something good happen today.

Let’s give someone else a reason to be thankful – promise?

Thank-You.

Coach Dean

Speaking of gratitude and Thanksgiving…

Our schedule for the week of November 25th is as follows:

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday – Full Schedule

Thursday, Friday – OFF

Saturday – World Famous “Pies Off The Thighs” post-Thanksgiving training gala. 8:00am @ Get Fit NH Concord – Be There!

What Are Your Possibilities?

Today is Monday. I am writing this sitting in the airport in Charlotte, NC, waiting for my flight to take me home after a fantastic weekend with Martin Rooney and the tremendous coaches and people from the TFW Familia I am honored to call my friends.

As I sat here reading a book (“Making Classroom Assessment Work”, thank-you Steve Rothenberg) a sound in front of me caught my attention. It was the sound of a young mother playing with her baby, who is maybe 8 or 9 months old. I could not help but smile as I watched them play, smile and laugh with each other.

Mom kisses on her baby,and the baby smiles, laughs and claps. It struck me hard. I was looking at unlimited possibilities. Who would this baby become? What did life have in store for her? I can only imagine the hopes and dreams that her parents have for her.

And then I looked at some of the people sitting beside this happy pair. There were a few startling contrasts to the first scene. These people looked beaten down by life. They were waiting to be carried to some destination unknown to me. Some of them looked like it was the last place on earth they wanted to go.

Now I don’t know those people, what there life has been like. Are they happy? Do they like their work? Are they following their dreams, or have they given up on them? Do they realize that as long has they have breath their are still endless possibilities that await?

Do you still see all the possibilities in front of you?

You have a gift. You have the gift of a new day. You have the gift of making today better than yesterday.

It’s seldom easy. People around you are going to resist you. They are going to tell you it can’t be done.

“You are going to the gym again? What is that you are eating, broccoli? You’re going to bed already?”

Don’t Listen. Don’t give it one second thought. Do what you know you need to do.

Make the choice today to be better than yesterday. Eat a little healthier. Exercise a little harder. Sleep a little longer.

And then do it again tomorrow. And the day after that.

Start your own “Success Snowball”.

Every time a new day turns, and you make another good choice, the snowball gets a little bigger and a little bigger. Pretty soon it’s so big and rolling so fast that you can’t be stopped, no matter how hard people try to bring you down.

That possibility exists for you.

Do you believe that?

I think we would all be better off if we started every day watching that mom and her baby play together.

Of understanding all that we can still accomplish, no matter how old we are, how much talent we think we have, or our position in life.

But it’s not going to happen by wishing it will.

You need to turn possibility into productivity.

You have to make that first good choice, take that first positive step, and – you hear it from me all the time – you gotta take action.

Don’t Wait.

Don’t Waste Your Possibility.

Make It Happen!

Coach Dean

This is Not a Dress Rehearsal

Derek Andrew Carlson
Born 11/07/2001 : Died 10/14/2002

Life is short. I am reminded of this today. It is October 14^th. It is Columbus Day. It is a day I reflect more so than other days that life is short.

We do not get a Do – Over. I know at times, I wished we did. We have assurance of this moment and no other. On a day like today, I want to make sure I let you know, I am proud of you. I am proud of you for taking steps to be better each day. If our lives cross paths momentarily or for a very long time, I am thankful. I am thankful for you being in my life, for touching my life with yours.

AS you train today and everyday, Train as if this is not a dress rehearsal. It isn’t.

AS you work today and everyday, work as if this is not a dress rehearsal. It isn’t.

AS you eat today and everyday, eat as if what you eat today affects everyday. It does.

AS you hang out with friends and co- workers, give them a high five. You are affecting them. It is your choice to affect them positively or not.

AS you spend time with family, let them know you love them. Tell them. Look them straight in the eye and let them know they are not something taken for granted. They are important pieces of you.

You are not practicing to live. You are living.

So:

live a little bigger.

hug a whole lot more.

tell others you love them a more often and in different ways.

take care of myself better each day.

attack each day with vigor.

This is not a dress rehearsal.

Make Every Day Count

Coach Nancy

Are You A “Can’t” or a “Don’t”?

Words are powerful.

They have the ability to build up and tear down. They can inspire or discourage. Leave us inspired or tired.

And this includes the words we tell ourselves.

I recently read about this experiment from the Journal of Consumer Research.

They took a group of 30 women and asked them to think on a long term health goal, and then they split them up into groups of 10.

Each group got a different phrase to remember every time they came across an obstacle to their health – alcohol, donuts, etc. The phrases they were to remember and recite were:

• Group 1: “Just Say No”
• Group 2: “I can’t miss my workout today”
• Group 3: “I don’t miss workouts”

At the end of every day each women was asked via email how they did that day. When they caved they would have to report it, and they knew it. This was repeated for 10 days.

Remember, every time they came across temptation they repeated the phrase from the group they were assigned to. The results?

• Group 1 had three people who made it through all 10 days.
• Group 2 had one person who made it through all 10 days.
• Group 3 had eight people who made it through all 10 days.

That’s a huge difference between the “can’t” group and the “don’t” group. Eight times better. That’s a big deal.

So what’s up with that anyway?

Why is “don’t” so much more powerful than “can’t”?

Heidi Grand Halvorson of Columbia’s Motivation Science center explains:

“I don’t” is experienced as a choice, so it feels empowering. It’s an affirmation of your determination and willpower. “I can’t” isn’t a choice. It’s a restriction, it’s being imposed upon you. So thinking “I can’t” undermines your sense of power and personal agency.”

In other words when you use “don’t” you are calling the shots, while using “can’t” makes you feel helpless, whether you are or not.

This is not mumbo jumbo or voodoo. This is key.

Are you in charge of your choices or not? Say you are out with friends at a party, and you are confronted with all sorts of goodies.

Is it:

“I can’t have any of that stuff” at which your friends pressure you to eat it anyway, and you go along to fit in?

or

“I don’t eat more than one piece of dessert when I am out” at which your friend are floored by your self-discipline and will power? 🙂

Which makes you feel better?

Which is more empowering?

Who do you want to be?

“Don’t” be a “Can’t”

Make It Happen!

Coach Dean

Let Go Of The Tree

I remember it like it was yesterday.

Walking back home from my friend’s house, down Goboro Rd, when a couple of the “cool kids” rode by on their bikes. They were headed down to the river to swim, and asked if I wanted to come along.

Well being one of the “not so cool” kids, I figured maybe some of that 11 year old coolness would rub off on me if I went, so down the hill we headed.

Little did I know that perched over the swimming hole was an enormous tree, with branches hanging over the river. What seemed like 50 feet up was a branch, and these guys would climb up the tree, onto the branch, and then jump in the river.

Now to this day I am not a fan of heights. And that climb was not on my “to-do” list, I assure you. Now this might not be a story you want to tell your kids, but after not a small amount of taunting, I very slowly approached the tree and begin climbing.

It really wasn’t that high, 20 feet tops, but I still remember the pit in my stomach when I got up to that branch and tepidly shimmied out over the water.

The other thing you need to know is that there was a rock beneath the surface of the water that you needed to clear. As an aside a couple years later they cut down this same tree because some other knuckle headed kid messed himself up pretty bad on it.

So here I am, with a death grip on the tree, the cool kids (and some of my real friends – we still see each other to this day) treading water and egging me on to jump.

It wasn’t like I was the first one to do it. These guys had each successfully climbed and jumped 2 or 3 times before my first trip up. They had shown me it could be done, and they were having a blast.

But I wasn’t quite ready to let go of the tree.

Do you have trees in your life that you are holding onto just a little too tightly?

Is there something that is scaring you, keeping you from getting where you want to be?

You know I let those guys talk me into what I mighta shoulda not have done.

But I usually see the opposite.

We let people talk us out of doing things that are going to move us forward.

People who bring donuts and brownies into work, and then get upset if we don’t have one or two.

“Friends” that think we are too radical for making good choices with our nutrition, or spending time training.

“Here, have another glass of wine”, when one is quite enough, thank-you.

What I have found is people like that are not ready or don’t want to make positive changes in their own life, so they are going to try to drag you down too.

Why do we let people do that? Why do we care that they care we are eating the veggies at the party? Why do we let other people define who we are? If I want to eat carrots what do they care? Why should what they say affect my behavior?

Really? Why do we do that?

So let go of the tree.

Let go of the self-doubt and negative talk.

Let go of the need to please other people so much that you hurt yourself in the process.

You know what?

It’s ok to be the “freak” that makes good choices and takes care of yourself.

And while people still like to poke at you for not eating the donuts, they are also the first ones that will ask you stuff about diet and nutrition.

Because deep down they want what you have.

So my challenge to you is to get your freak on. Dare to be different. Dare to stick to your guns.

Did I let go of the tree?

You bet I did. And when I hit the water I climbed out and did it again.

It’s about time you let go of the things that are holding you back too.

Make It Happen!

Coach Dean

Lay it ALL out there.

“Learn to love Intensity not Duration” Rachel Cosgrove

I just experienced one of those special moments. One that sparks excitement, one that keeps you smiling, puts that spring in your step for the rest of the day and longer, one you want to share, one to be relived.

Fun Friday is a special day in training each week. A time devoted to adding a bit more to the last day of training for the week. Our Fun Friday this week had an element of team to it. On this day you worked with a group of friends to complete the 4 round challenge.

“Wait stop the music, turn off the sound system, (I even unplugged the fan), Listen up”

The ladies at 9 am needed to hear this. I’m not sure why between round 3 and 4 but I was led to stop it all and give this little pep talk. We had six minutes of training left. I knew this round was full of quick transitions. I wanted to see training going on. Like training you would see in an Olympic gym, or preparing for the Super Bowl, or the World Series. I had just read this quote. “Learn to love intensity not duration” by Rachel Cosgrove. This is what I told the group.

“We have six minutes. I want this to be the six minutes of your day. We give give give all day long, we are like a die hard battery just going going going. What if we pushed all the energy into six minutes. Instead of looking like a marathon, all out intensity for six minutes. And on top of that those six minutes are going to be broken down into smaller tidbits of times. Burst of energy – all Out Intensity.” (I then showed them what that would like for our training)

Those next six minutes were special. I saw determination on the faces of those ladies like I had never seen before. They were too busy being focused. There was no time to chat, This was the time to work. And work they did. I am so proud, many of them did more than they thought they could. They gave it their all for six minutes. It inspired others in the room. It is continuing to inspire me. Were they tired? Yes! But they are better because of their effort.

So what can you do? Do you have the intensity to focus on one thing and go all out for it? Can you make one activity more intense by paying attention to smaller details? I know you can. In training the details will get you the results you want. Skipping the details can be the reason  you haven’t reached your goals.

What about other areas? Intensify your nutrition plan? If you pay more attention to the details, each detail each meal, will you reach your health goals faster? Don’t let little things slide. Be an all out player.

I saw a miracle happen today. It was a special moment when the entire room lit on fire. I am so glad I was there. I am so glad those ladies were ready and willing to pour all their intensity into six minutes.

Get Better Each Day,

Coach Nancy