Rockin’ Reno

 

Reno Event, Al and Glenn

What happens when you pull together 500 people who…

Have high energy? 

Great leadership? 

Are excited about a new paradigm to feeling great? 

And ready to take hold of their own financial future? 

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUV-QV_jp0w

Well, when you combine all of those things in the dynamic city of Reno, and a huge portion of those 500 are guests leaning forward in their seats during the presentations, you’ve got an event that absolutely rocked this past Tuesday night. 

I can’t say enough great things about the event.

And, with our Road Tour every city was really good–many were great and even exceptional. But, Reno was off the charts. Just totally off the charts. Of course Stephen and Regan were fantastic, but so were all of the hosts and participants and people and guests and…

So much of the success of an event is decided before anyone first sets foot in the door. And, what I mean by that is it’s often pre-determined by the leaders in the room and their spirit and excitement coming into the activity that helps drive to a successful event.

That, coupled with bringing lots of qualified people to hear some great news. 

This past week, that’s exactly what happened as we wrapped up the Road Tour in Reno–there’s no hyperbole there when I saw it’s the best event we’ve had in a long time. It was absolutely electric by the end of the night.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0G5U84Iq0M

And hangin’ with the Reno leaders was a hoot as well. 

Stay tuned for a Road Tour highlights video, for now enjoy this stuff from the Rockin’ Reno team. 

I don’t have any good stories from the event–only great ones, and the leadership there is fantastic. There is no way I can give credit to all the names of people who made such an impact. 

Congrats, team, on such a great event. And, thanks for making the final stop among the best events we’ve ever held.

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Thoughts from 3am

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I have heard of counting sheep. Drinking warm milk. Reading boring text. Taking S4. Prayer and/or meditation. Ambien. And others, in order to fall asleep. At some point I have tried all of these things. But tonight, I thought I would add “Blogging” to the list of dream-inducing events.

I do not think this will become a very widespread sleep aid, because when you start to write your mind starts to churn…Next thing you know you’ve ripped open the bag containing a remaining few pieces of wheat-free oatmeal “Snackimals” (sorry RoZo, I owe you half a bag…and, yes, Dad realizes that I step over bounds when I eat snacks with cute characters on the front that carry a suffix of “imals”) and am slurping down some green tea while a racing mind transfers mid-night thoughts through synapses (who are neither increasing repair or reducing damage at this very moment) to a keyboard to the blog to your screen.images-1

So now I’ve got some calories, caffeine, and stimulus. All of which, in some way, must be related to a restful night sleep. But perhaps it will be a crash tomorrow night and thus restful, rather than tonight.

I think the restless energy I have is due to a few things. And I’m not just talking DNA, though that is also logical as well.

It has to do with hope and goals, and how the body and mind are intertwined with commitment.

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For starters, I’m awake because I want to get in shape. I know this is a juxtaposition and sounds like an odd reason? But here’s the implication for the moment right now. I am happy that I’m making progress w/ my bodyfat goals; monthly I get a test to track results–my latest is 22%, down 1% from a month ago. But I am disappointed I’m not moving along fast enough at my current rate to get to 15% by end of my target date in June. And, it’s no one else’s fault but my own! I would like to blame a lot of sources, including the guy who invented putting Oreo’s into ice cream. But the reality is for me that losing bodyfat isn’t so easy and my focus is just on “shutting up and doing it”, apart from blogging about a few experiences along the way. And regardless of what got me in my physical shape today (ummmm, hmmmm….that would be me) it’s also my responsibility to get me out of it. And it’ll take more discipline and hard work and there’s a lot of moments when I won’t be liking the journey.

So the reason I’m restless is Spin class starts in a few hours and I was really determined before attempting to go to bed at a late hour to make it up in time for this class. You know when you don’t have many hours you can sleep in a night and then you’re worried you’re going to oversleep, so the little rest you were going to have simply gets more restless? Yeah, that’s what’s in play right now.

The other reason is that about three weeks ago I initiated a meeting for Univera’s top leadership that began this afternoon and continued through dinner. It’s a group called the Elite Leadership Group (ELG) which was an invitational meeting for select Blue Diamonds and FLC members. They’re the best of the best in our field organization (of course there are other great leaders as well–many of which come in later this afternoon at the Diamond level). So I’m hosting what is a “next level leadership session” and the starting point for this couldn’t have gone better. I’m not suggesting I drove the good start; to the contrary, what drove the good start is that the leaders came in with the aspiration to unify and focus on the things that matter most. In order that, as an organization, we have the ability to move forward with unsurpassed clarity and confidence in a business-market that lacks both in most current worldwide endeavors.

So I’m restless because of a racing mind filled with excitement about our business; the products, the culture, and the financial renewal that it can bring so many people. I’m excited about being united with a core group of people whose motives don’t need to be questioned. And I’m excited about the work session with have today, first with the ELG and then followed by an afternoon with the rest of our “all in” Diamond leadership in Univera. Someday we’ll look back on March 18-19 and see it as transformational. Not just the people who were there. But, more importantly, the commitment we collectively made to do the things that needed to be done to achieve greatness.

And with that, I’m now going to test my “blog-as-sleep-aid” theory to see if I was able to expel the energy and decompress for another hour of sleep–or if I just wound up all the more. 🙂

No doubts, take Lasix only as prescribed by your physician. Levitra is one of the best-known medications of all time. What is the most significant information you must study about levitra vs cialis? Most doctors say the effectiveness of Levitra is well documented. Absolutely, a sexual problem refers to a problem during any phase of the sexual response cycle that prevents the individual from experiencing satisfaction from the sexual life. Whilst sex is not vital for good soundness, it’s doubtless significant for anyone. Why it happen? What kinds of professionals treat sexual diseases in men? A common class of antidepressants, which include Zoloft — can kill the mood in bedroom.

Secret Diet Revealed!

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It’s finally arrived. The secret diet. It’s the magic bullet. And it all comes from a peer reviewed medical journal, the New England Journal of Medicine.
south-beach-diet
Ready? Would you guess South Beach? Atkins? Zone? Pritikin? Grapefruit diet? The amazing Inthinity System from Univera? (http://www.youtube.com/watchv=XLmglkG45jQ)
You’re wrong.
And you’re right!
The magic diet? It simple. It’s the diet called Sticking to it.”
Seriously, that’s what the findings were from the New England Journal of Medicine. The short of it was that, generally speaking, any diet will work so long as you stick with it (which is the harder part). Despite lacking any type of nutrition background, from personal study even I would debate with the study author the importance of whole grains, a low glycemic index, lean meats, organically grown if possible, and the like.

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But I think the results here are telling–which is that while all of that might be important, when trying to achieve weight loss what matters most is simply sticking with it.
Which is why I have never mocked anyone for spending–even wasting perhaps–a lot of money on exercise equipment or DVD’s or meal plans or whatever-it-is that people try to chase to find out what’s best for them. Think about the amount of money we waste on sheer junk that goes into our lives, whether that be games or trinkets or food.
And to spend some dough on something that might end up making an impact on your life is a pretty good bet. What I’ve learned is that a part of the secret to weight loss and healthful living (for ME) is to find something I love to do–and that’s taken some trial and error.
The more important piece is, of course, to finally settle on something and do it consistently.
So I’ve worked first on my consistency, but I’ve played around with finding the things that I enjoy most. For example, the last six weeks I’ve consistently done both weights and cardio 3-4 times per week, almost always using the elliptical for my cardio. But I got a little bored and wanted to mix it up a bit.
So this week I tried a few spin classes which I have absolutely loved. It’s an hour of instructor led encouragement with self-pacing, an aggressive heart rate, adrenaline pumping music, and sweat. Lots, and lots, and lots of sweat.

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So much sweat, in fact, that it leads me to a blog confession here to my colleague… Rachel, you know that golf shirt you lent me tonight before I left the office? Well, I did use it, as I explained I would, to hold my spot on one of the spinning bikes while I changed.
But in those spinning classes you get really really sweaty. Dripping. Like out of the shower kind of dripping. And, there was nothing else near me that was dry, apart from this lone, white, Univera golf shirt. I waited as long as I could…but I ended up using your shirt as a towel. So I owe you a shirt. Yet, just realize, you have contributed in a very unique way to my wellness, and this blog entry. Thank you. 🙂

So here’s the magic article, and it’s a really simple finding. Ironically, I wrote a blog entry a few days ago, as it relates to vocation, and my suggestion was simple.
Find something you love to do. And then just keep doing it.
And, it seems, a study published in the NEJM suggests the same principle applies as it relates to weight loss.
It’s Not What You Eat, It’s How Much

Dieters everywhere — yo-yo dieters, crash dieters, fad dieters, dejected and jaded dieters — may take heart.

A new study offers a flexible take on what it means to diet while underscoring fundamental rules about weight loss.

Researchers compared a low-fat, average protein diet, a low-fat, high-protein diet, a high-fat, average-protein diet, and a high-fat, high-protein diet in 811 middle-aged obese people over two years. Each group lost an average of 13 pounds after one year, though slowly started to gain it back in the second year, bringing the average lost after two years to nine pounds.

Click here to read the entire story.

No doubts, take Lasix only as prescribed by your physician. Levitra is one of the best-known medications of all period. What is the most significant data you must study about levitra vs cialis? Most doctors say the effectiveness of Levitra is well documented. Absolutely, a sexual problem refers to a problem during any phase of the sexual response cycle that prevents the individual from experiencing satisfaction from the sexual life. Whilst sex is not vital for good soundness, it’s doubtless important for anyone. Why it happen? What kinds of professionals treat sexual diseases in men? A common class of antidepressants, which include Zoloft — can kill the mood in bedroom.

Lose It!

lose-it

There are all sorts of gizmos, gadgets, and fads as it relates to weight loss. We all know that and each of us probably has a story or two of some purchase we either regret, or are embarrassed to admit, because it was one of those too-good-to-be-true panaceas.

So often we enjoy a bit of comedy about those of us who try different things and approaches, especially Americans who are among the most overweight of world citizens yet spend millions and millions upon exercise equipment that often gets used more by the owners closets than the actual owners themselves. But I’m never one to criticize to trial.
Here’s why.
Different things work for different people. And, sometimes, it just takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what is going to work for you.
I don’t particularly like fad diets or fad equipment with unmanageable claims and unrealistic testimonials, however much we want to believe the “I can get rich and gorgeous overnight” shticks. I think we can all agree that the simple and effective premise is burn more calories than you consume and over time you’ll lose weight, feel better, gain greater levels of energy, and just feel better.
Certainly, much has been learned over the past few years about nutrition and this has a bearing on success. My personal belief and what I TRY (try!) to adhere to is a whole foods diet, comprised as much as possible of locally grown produce (organic whenever possible) with lean meats while focusing on foods that also carry a low glycemic index (though I’m sure someone will catch me from time to time sneaking a Top Pot donut). I just know this approach works for me, and it’s nutritionally sound (BTW, let me recommend a great book: Michael Pollan “In Defense of Food”).
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The eating plan I’ve used with the greatest amount of success is the South Beach Diet–despite
the name, I don’t think it’s fad-ish at all, in fact it’s a really simple concept and its biggest downsides are probably time and expense (it takes time in preparation and it does costs considerably more than a $1 box of Mac and Cheese to eat fresh whole foods, though it’s also not cost prohibitive).
So I’m a big fan of finding the tool that works for you–I don’t think people can be pushed into a specific corner and must rigidly adhere to this exact style of meal plan, and endure this specific a workout. Part of this is about finding out what works for you. Then, of course, the other part, is simply doing it.
Which is exactly what I’m trying to do personally. My physical goal for the year is to have 15% bodyfat by the end of June of this year. I started out QUITE a ways away from this, far enough away that I’m embarrassed to share the number, and while I’m much closer today I still have a good ways to go. So I’m trying to kick it into higher gear so I make my target with some time to spare and so it doesn’t require a binge of sorts (which isn’t good either).
One of the tools that I’ve found and used over the past month is an Apple iPhone application called “Lose It”, which also happens to be a FREE download.
And I “Love It.”
The reason is simple. It gives me daily accountability on my caloric intake, since I add all of my meals and snacks into the daily planner. It keeps tabs on me day to day, and week to week, against my targeted progress of weight loss. Beyond this, though, it also lets me log my exercise. And it offsets the calories I burned due to exercise against my daily allowance. So if I want to go for that glass of red wine, it’s an easy reminder that I’ve got to offset this somehow–either via reduction in other areas, or working out. And if I blow it one day, like I did yesterday (we went skiing and the matter exceeded my mind–before I knew it I was eating half a cheeseburger and some chili with cheese–which led me, along with a few other indulgences, to be OVER my daily allowance by 700+ calories–even after accounting for the calories I burned while skiing!!!) I can still see my progress for the week and work to offset the damage I did yesterday by eating well today and working out.

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So today I “undid”, to a degree, the damage I did yesterday by being 700+ calories under my daily limit. It’s not a good practice to do this habitually for a lot of reasons, but if you have an off day like I did it really helped me figure out what I needed to do to get myself back on track again. And it’s a good reminder for me next time the consequence I have to pay by indulging at that moment of weakness.
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Throughout my daily logs for the past month here’s what I’ve learned about myself personally as it relates to my wellness:
I can’t do it without exercise. It’s impossible.
At least for me it is.
EVEN IF I’m eating really well, without the exercise I’m still right around my daily allocation of calories (~2,200). But what happens is I’m usually still hungry at the end of the day and I’ll be frustrated with my progress because the results are not tangible enough–forget the fancy graphs, I can feel the lack of progress in my clothes, see it on my face, and feel it in my energy levels (despite consuming huge quantities of Xtra, it’s still not exercise in a bottle).
So I have succumbed to the very realization, which most of us already know but still sometimes need to prove to ourselves, that in order for me to achieve the level of wellness I want I simply have to work out.
Lose It is also a great reminder for me, that for some people this little tool can really help. Yet for others, this is just another worthless gadget that will go in the metaphorical closet and collect dust. But you don’t know unless you try, and then most importantly stick with it.
There’s a great exercise/fitness writer named Clarence Bass (www.cbass.com), he’s really quite talented. And I remember him stating in one of his exercise books the simple idea that if you can just get one or two ideas out of someone’s written work than that’s a victory, take what you think makes sense and leave the rest. That concept has really changed the way that I’ve read and studied, or listened to speeches or lectures, etc.
In the worst of moments, 95% of it might, indeed, be worthless and mind numbing. But amidst that time there might be 10% of something really noteworthy and a learning moment. Then, as my dad would say, “Grok the fullness”, and you’re all the better for it.
So today I’m laying claim to “Love It” for the program “Lose It”, which not only has helped get me back on track but has also given me a new appreciation for the ways that tools can help assist on the way to managing ourselves to a better, and healthier life.

No doubts, take Lasix only as prescribed by your physician. Levitra is one of the best-known medications of all day. What is the most significant info you must study about levitra vs cialis? Most doctors say the effectiveness of Levitra is well documented. Absolutely, a sexual problem refers to a problem during any phase of the sexual response cycle that prevents the individual from experiencing satisfaction from the sexual life. Whilst sex is not vital for good health, it’s doubtless great for anyone. Why it happen? What kinds of professionals treat sexual diseases in men? A common class of antidepressants, which include Zoloft — can kill the mood in bedroom.