I just completed my Personal Power tapes yesterday after buying them in 1989. Yes, there is such a thing called tapes, and yes, that was over 20 years ago! I remember being up late one night (probably procrastinating about doing a term paper or something) and watching this infomercial about some guy named Tony Robbins. He seemed to say all the right things… fear of failure, pain vs. pleasure, neural associations… yada, yada, yada… I was hooked. Long story short, I bought the program and it basically sat in my closet for all eternity (an exaggeration but you get the idea).

I did try to complete them from time to time when I felt a sudden burst of “personal power” but I could never sustain it. I’d get about 3-5 days into it and just lose interest. It’s easy to listen to but doing the written exercises/homework and REALLY thinking about the answers is quite difficult. At times, it was simply an exercise to list some fears or things I needed to do. Other times, it really made me think about the actions I take. I gained a new understanding of myself and why I have this fear of things and why I don’t follow-thru and procrastinate.

I feel like I have a new sense of self and the things I’d like to accomplish both personally and also with my wife, family, and friends. It’s only been a few days since I completed the program and already, I’ve failed at doing a few tasks that I set out to do. But, I’m not shaken nor upset with myself. I understand why I didn’t follow-thru (some were because of legitimate reasons and/or things that come up that you just can’t foresee a day in advance, or hour, or minute, or whatever!). I have to be accountable to myself when such things occur and as long as I can determine that it’s part of life, I’m OK with it. I just re-schedule, re-adjust, and re-format.

It’s a powerful thing to not be afraid and wonder why I did the things I did. Life is so short and we only have so much time to do things. It isn’t worth wasting on trivial things or to beat myself up for doing something stupid. We can only live our lives to the best of our ability and that should be good enough.

We don’t need to answer to anyone except ourselves. We are our own judge and jury. And, for those of us that believe in a higher power, more power to you for that. I’m not here to judge you for what you believe in. We all need something to believe in but most importantly, we need to believe in ourselves.

Whether you use a personal development program, or a mentor, or a psychiatrist or whatever/whoever, you are your own rock. You control your own destiny. Believe in yourself and everything will fall into place.

What is writing without boundaries? It’s essentially a brain dump. I learned about it from my MasterMind accountability partner and thought it was a great idea. Here’s how it works. Wake-up in the morning, go to your computer (or use a pencil/pad), and just write. Write whatever comes to mind.

Hmmm, what’s the point of all this? That’s a good question. I was skeptical myself. But, as my partner eluded to in our conversation, you just might find a gem in the pile of you know what. Most of it will probably be the rantings of a lunatic. No rhyme or reason. Just a bunch of random thoughts that would make your psychiatrist weep.

Well, I gave it a shot yesterday morning and… voila! I think I came up with a potential blog post. It’s pretty raw but with a little editing, it should be just fine.

So, how on earth did I get started? Well, I set my timer for 15 minutes (didn’t want to get too ambitious) and sat in front of my laptop. For the first few minutes, I thought “what the heck am I going to write?” I was still a bit hazy without my morning coffee but apparently it’s best to do this right when you get up… while your mind is still without all the chatter that inherently will sink in as the day progresses.

I’m happy to say that by the end of the session, I felt like I could’ve kept on writing. I was very proud of what I accomplished and will continue this practice indefinitely. Maybe I’ll experiment at different times of the day, different places, different method of deliveries, who knows? Just a slight tweak could unleash a mountain of stored thoughts and experiences that are waiting to be tapped.

What are you waiting for? Free your mind and knock down those boundaries…

Image by Steve A Johnson via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

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The World Domination Summit will held in Portland next month. In a nutshell, it’s a convergence of people who have the common mindset to live unconventionally, do what they love, and live a meaningful life. I was fortunate enough to land a ticket for this coveted event and I’m really looking forward to going and meeting new people…

But, I have to admit there is a part of me that’s scared as heck to be going. Although I’ve made great strides this past year to break out of my introverted shell, I’m still painfully shy and it’s taken all I can muster to put myself in challenging situations.

I recently attended Chris Guillebeau’s The $100 Startup book launch at Vroman’s  in Pasadena (my wife was nice enough to bake cupcakes as well!). I know it seems like such a tiny deal but in my mind, it was a monumental event. I made it through and even met a cool guy name Tom Allen who had biked all the way down from Vancouver, Canada (he was from England to boot). We had a nice conversation and I learned he had made a movie called Janapar which was about his biking adventures. After watching the trailer, I’ll definitely check it out.

In addition, I’m planning a series of events to help break out of my comfort zone. It’s not something I’m doing temporarily, these were activities I’ve been planning to do for some time… in fact, some of them for years!

• Attend my first Toastmasters meeting*
• Join a hiking group through Meetup**
• Attend a geeky tech Meetup (coming up next Tue, 6/19)

What does this all mean? It means I’m still scared as heck of going to WDS, but I made a commitment to attend and I’m sticking with it. I know it’ll be a fantastic event that I can look back on with fond memories… and hopefully, it’ll be one of my life-defining moments as well.

* I attended last Tue (6/5) and it was a pleasant experience. I think I’m going to join.
** Went on the hike last Wed night (6/6). Great workout, nice people, and awesome views.

Cold showers are like pushups for my self-discipline ~ Jason Shen

After reading the The Flinch by Julien Smith, I decided to try his first challenge of taking a cold shower to exercise my “flinch response.” It was quite an experience to say the least. My first one was on April 6, 2012… I haven’t looked back since.

Why would someone purposefully refrain from not adding hot water? I was thinking the same thing on that fateful day. But, I was feeling a bit bold and decided what the heck… you have to try everything once in your life, right? The anxiety, the heart palpitations, a tingling feeling in the back of my neck… yep, it was all coming to a head when I pressed down that little knob on top of the water spout. Then, that two second delay seemed to take forever before the cold water came shooting out of the shower head.

I won’t bore you with all the details but let’s just say I was hoot’in and holler’in enough to give my wife a good chuckle. But, after about a minute or so, I settled right in and finished by business. I was a little frazzled but not so much that I actually had a big smile on my face. I survived and actually felt a sense of accomplishment. Yes, taking a cold shower is an accomplishment in my book. Little victories mean a lot.

I started doing research on why someone would do such a thing… other than for the sake of just “doing it.” I found a great post by Jason Shen on his experience with cold showers. Check out his post as he really had some great references about the meaning behind them. He really summed it up best and I have to wholeheartedly agree with his explanation:

It also helps me temper my emotional responses to things. I no longer have the panicky feeling that a ton cold water on your skin gives you for more than a few seconds when I take my cold showers – I’ve trained myself to calm down and overcome this natural response. And I’ve noticed this ability to temper my response overlap into other areas of my life.

In this respect, I think cold showers have really helped in one particular area of my life. I’ve accepted that I’m an introvert and not very comfortable in social situations. However, I’ve been really pushing myself to overcome this fear and going out into the social arena. And, I’ve noticed that in those situations where I’d get that warm, tingling, sweaty, anxiety-filled response, I’ve been able to mindfully talk myself down from the ledge.

Is taking a cold shower a big part of that response? You bet I do. I feel on a sub-conscience level, my body is reacting the same way it does when that cold water is about to blast me. Along with strengthening my mind through personal development reading, studying and exercises, I feel it’s a great combination for my personal growth.

I’m not saying this is a cure-all for everyone having similar experiences in their lives. However, sometimes in life, you just have to say WTF and go for it. Like I said before, you have to try everything once in your life, right?

Image by Steven Depolo via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

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Colin Wright‘s book on How to Be Remarkable is a quick, easy read with bite-sized morsels that can be read in one shot or over the course of days or weeks. Available on the Kindle at a mere 99 cents, it’s an investment well worth its value.

In my opinion, there aren’t any major epiphanies. It’s a lot of common-sense knowledge that most people (including myself) tend to forget, are too lazy to initiate, or just plain scared to do. As I was reading, I began to realize the title can be a bit misleading and here’s why.

I thought it would enlighten me to become… well, remarkable.

remarkable. adj. Worthy of attention; striking.

After reflecting, I came to one conclusion. Being remarkable isn’t about leaping tall buildings in a single bound.  It’s about living a meaningful life while being kind, considerate, helpful and living without fear. Why? Because I tend to believe that most people (including myself… I know, there’s a theme here) AREN’T living their lives to their fullest potential.

We should all strive to be remarkable…

I haven’t been very successful in past challenges, but I’m still trying every chance I get. I feel it helps strengthen your resolve and boosts your self-confidence when you do them. It’s a way to prove to yourself that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.

My 30 day challenge for May is to not watch any television. I have a habit of zoning out in front of the TV for hours at a time. As a result, I waste precious time that could be better spent. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still go back to watching TV after this challenge, but I hope to practice more self-control and be selective of what I watch. Those hours spent watching reruns of The Big Bang Theory on TBS will be history!

When starting these challenges, try to keep them simple. Back in Sept 2011, I did a 30 day challenge to take a photo a day for a month. While I won’t win any photography awards, I did feel a sense of accomplishment after I finished. Make it a fun, easy, whatever… just give it a shot! What have you got to lose?

Matt Cutt’s TED Talk said it best… quick, simple, doable!

Image by Sarah Reid via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

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January 2012 began with a different mindset for me. I decided to live without goals. My first thought? I assumed I would flounder and wander aimlessly in a daze. All kidding aside, I pretty much stayed on track with most of my “choices.” However, could I continue this for the rest of my life?

A review of my previous post mentioned that I wanted to lose weight. Well, I’m eating a lot healthier and feel both physically and mentally stronger than when I began. However, due to back pain flare-ups, I couldn’t be quite as active as I wanted. Despite that setback, I’m beginning to gain a different outlook and feeling a lot better in the process.

Yes, I think a fair amount of people would say you’re just tricking yourself… goals, choices, lifestyle… it’s all the same. And, in some sense, I do agree that in the grand scheme of things, it all points to the same thing. But, I do believe that words are powerful tools which have a deeper impact than we could ever imagine.

Having a mindset of making choices puts it all in perspective. It makes it real… I feel that when you set a goal and then only concentrate on that goal, the realness (if that’s a word) or impact loses meaning. When confronted with a choice of eating a big, greasy burger or a fresh salad, I’d choose the burger because in my mind, I’ll just work it off later, or start tomorrow as was my usual justification.

I won’t deny that I love to eat burgers (moderation is the key) but I feel like making a choice brings it to that very moment, it makes it real and in-your-face. It’s not something that’s going to happen six months down the line. Losing weight is not a goal… there, I said it. Choosing to live a healthy and active lifestyle is… losing weight (and keeping if off) is the result.

I say put yourself in the present moment by making a choice. And, returning back to the question I asked myself, could I continue this for the rest of my life? How could I not?

We should all be thankful that we have the opportunity to make a choice. There are many people in the world that don’t have that luxury…

I’ll leave it at that.

Image by Horia Varlan via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

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Choosing not to have goals is exactly that, it’s a choice. Yes, I was a bit confused when I read the philosophy behind having no goals. Rather than having a goal to “eat healthy,” I make it a choice. It just becomes a part of my life, and therefore, it’s something I don’t need to strive for.

For example, one of the things I listed as a goal was to lose 15 pounds. Instead of making this a goal, I’m making a choice to eat healthy and exercise regularly. If I do those things, I’ll lose the 15 pounds. I want to become a web analyst. Well, if I make a choice to study, learn, attend events, apply what I’ve learned, etc., I’ll become one.

I have a category for goal setting which I used to help me focus for the coming year. But, if all goes well with this 30 day experiment, I’ll convert it to my bucket list. And, it will become a “things I want to do” list versus a “goals list.”

I know it sounds so simple… we all know it’s difficult to execute in real life. Well, there’s no time like the present right? I’m starting now because I choose to…

Here’s the inspiration behind this post if you’re interested: http://zenhabits.net/100-days/. This was a guest post on Leo Baubata’s site by Joshua Fields Millburn of The Minimalists.

Being on time is an art form.

It can be elegant… it can be hectic.

Do you know someone who is on time but really isn’t? They hit you like a whirlwind and then need a few minutes to gather themselves. This is not being on time.

When you aren’t on time, it’s disrespectful to the people you’re meeting (unless you have a legitimate reason).

By being on time, it shows you’re thinking of others. That you care and respect others and everything they have to deal with. It’s a courtesy that I feel is thoroughly lacking in our society today.

When was the last time you cared?

Image by wwarby via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

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I was inspired to write this after reading Jan Wong’s My 100th Post and a 1000 Awesome Things (congrats again Jan!).

He shared a wonderful Ted Talk by Neil Pasricha about The 3 A’s to being awesome:

Among the three, Authenticity really resonated with me. Neil talked about a football player by the name of Rosie Grier. He was part of the Fearsome Foursome of my beloved Los Angeles Rams back in the day (before they moved to St. Louis *sniffle*). Anyways, he talked about how Rosie loved to knit… and, wasn’t afraid to let it be known. Even wrote a book about it! Can you imagine a modern day player admitting that in this day and age?”

Over the past weekend, we visited Legoland because our little nephew was in town. He wanted to see the Star Wars exhibit which was recently built. Honestly, I loved my Legos as a child (still do to some degree) and LOVE my Star Wars. But, in reality, I never had an inkling to visit this place. “I’m not a child for goodness sakes!”

Well, it was a cool experience to say the least. I loved checking out all the neat Lego structures like the NY skyline, the Vegas Strip and wait for it… STAR WARS movie scenes. The Force was very strong with these exhibits (in Darth Vader voice for added effect).

So, what’s the big deal if I like Legos, Star Wars, Wicked the Musical, Lord of the Rings, 80′s hair band music, Indigo Girls, Backstreet Boys… etc, etc. It’s simply awesome when you know who you are and don’t care who knows it! *big grin*