Calm Without Focus. April 30, 2009
Posted by christopherwarden in My Journey, Random Ramblings.add a comment
I’m sitting here by a crystal-clear pool at 6:55 am, Phuket time, stillness
Poolside -- Calm, Getting Focused
around me (outside of the chorus of birds in the trees above), and my mind in a weird state of flux. . .
. . . where it feels ‘empty’ and, at the same time, feels like it’s racing.
You know the feeling?
It’s a sense of calm, without focus.
It’s ironic that I’m feeling this way, because the purpose of being here (aside from experiencing a life of indescribable luxury and beauty) is to get me out of my element, with few distractions, to get things done. . .
. . . and to accomplish that, I will surely need to reattain calm, with focus (or at least focus on the right things) 
This will be an interesting experiment for me to learn just how much a person can do beyond their wildest imagination because, as my colleagues and I have discussed, Phuket is the perfect place to get things done because of the serenity, beauty, silence, etc. that surrounds us. . .
. . . and at the same time, that serenity, beauty, silence, etc. can inspire one to do a whole bunch of nothing . . . but relax!
‘Thailand Supercamp 2009′ begins shortly — lots to learn, lots to implement . . . lots of time to elevate my ability to focus (on work).
Here goes nothing!
Adventure = Freedom. . . April 29, 2009
Posted by christopherwarden in goal setting, Life Lessons, Random Ramblings.add a comment
= awareness/spiritual awakening.
Unfortunately, we get into the rut of ‘day-to-day, same ol’, same ol” and either miss the opportunites for adventure staring us in the face — if not just outright ignoring them.
I’m in Seoul as we speak, living a dream, experiencing adventure, truly feeling all that is great (maybe a little ‘scary’) about LIFE coursing through me. . .
What do you have planned in terms of adding a little adventure to your life? If your answer is ‘nothing’, what are you waiting for?
Signing off from my first ‘warp speed’ blog post. . . flight to Phuket leaves in 30 mins!
The Secret to Limitless Success Begins Right Here. April 15, 2009
Posted by christopherwarden in Can't Miss Perspectives, goal setting, Life Lessons, My Journey, Words To Live By. . ..3 comments
For those of you that visit my blog regularly, you (hopefully) get the sense that I’m a relatively positive person, trying to provide service that is helpful, constructive and as inspirational as possible.
And I try to live with this mindset well beyond the walls of this blog ‘project’ that I’ve been nurturing.
Of course, I’m human. . . and I surely don’t always succeed in living up to my expectations.
I get down on myself. I let fear get the best of me, stopping me from completing goals in a timely manner (if at all).
I have days where I’m too judgmental; where my emotions get the best of me and result in my holding onto anger. . . or showing less compassion to others (particularly the ‘others’ that I care most about) when they need it most.
I have days where I throw my hands in the air and wonder if I’m on the right path. . . or wonder what that path even is. (Funny how that happens regardless of the spiritual strength I try to cultivate on a daily basis!)
Thankfully, I’ve got plenty of support around me to pick me up when I need it — family, friends, peers. . . and great books.
Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill is the most recent source of inspiration that I’ve read. And, ironically, just weeks after having bought and read it, I was given a pdf download of Chapter One as a free gift.
This book is remarkable, and the insight I’ve gained from it has already helped me immensely.
The least I can do is pass this gift on to you, with the hope that inspires you to reach your greatest potential so that you can enjoy boundless success in every aspect of your life.
Enjoy the read. . . and thank you for your support!
What Will Be The SINGLE Event That Changes Your Life? April 13, 2009
Posted by christopherwarden in goal setting.add a comment
In a continuation of Dax’s Goal Setting Series, I present you with his guest post from today — thanks Dax!
_______________
I Never Knew This Could Happen. . . . It Could Happen To You!
Dax Moy
I’ve been re-writing a few sections of The MAGIC Hundred today in order to update a few of the chapters with things I’ve learned since I originally launched the program in January 2007.
As I was writing away, it dawned on me how much my life has changed in the 2 short years since the program was released and how a simple decision at one moment in time can DRASTICALLY alter the hundreds, thousands and even MILLIONS of moments that follow.
You probably know what I’m talking about as it’s happened to all of us, but I’ve got to tell you, when I started out with my ‘little idea’ all those years ago (even before I wrote the program) I had no idea where it would eventually lead me. No idea at all!
I mean, when I left the regular army about 8 or 9 years ago I had nothing.
No qualifications (I’d left school at 16 without taking my exams), no money (I was completely broke) and no obvious means to get either. To make matters worse, I had a young wife, 3 young kids and another one on the way, and nothing remotely approaching the slightest hint of how I was going to support them, let alone give them the things that every father and husband wants to provide for their family.
We were living in high crime council accommodation on a housing estate in North London (in what in the U.S would be known as ‘projects’) and claiming social security benefits in order to pay the bills and get by and dreaming of ways to improve upon our situation so that we could give our kids some of the better things in life.
I took many temporary jobs including bodyguarding, roadsweeping and even working in sewers in order to get the little bit of extra cash we needed and supplemented my income with my Reserve Forces pay from my territorial army unit weekends, camps and courses, but as fast as I was able to earn a little money it seemed to be eaten up on bills of every conceivable type so that, no matter how hard I worked, we were never able to get ahead.
It was frustrating to say the least but, like most people, it was a frustration i just had to learn to tolerate. After all, my bills had to be paid, right?
Then one day after an army weekend, I noticed one of the other guys in my patrol was reading a book in the back of the truck on the way home. He was coming to the end of it and as he finally turned the last page he glanced up and noticed me looking in his direction. Seeing I was bored he offered me the book, which I gratefully took and in that moment… started a chain reaction of events that would totally transform my life!
I’m not exaggerating.
I read that book all the way home, persuaded my patrol-mate to lend it to me until later in the week and took it home and read, and read and read.
Now, what was surprising to me was that this wasn’t a new book. It was old. REALLY old, like 1920′s, yet as I read through it I felt as though it had been written specifically with me in mind as it described many of the very things that I had been going through and, more importantly, why.
It told me to hold a major definite purpose uppermost in my mind, pursue it with all vigor and not to quit on it until I accomplished what I’d set out to accomplish.
So I did!
I’d always had an interest in fitness and having boxed, done martial arts and been a soldier, knew that I was naturally gifted in this area as well as passionate. I’d seen ads posted for gym instructor jobs but when I enquired they told me to go get a civilian qualification and they’d consider employing me. Trouble is, I didn’t even have the £325 I needed for the YMCA gym instructor course, but the book said that I shouldn’t let that put me off, so I set about getting a bunch of temporary jobs to raise the cash.
Eventually I did the course, got qualified and went back to the gym where they told me they only had work for me for 2 hours a week in the shifts that no-one else wanted and that the pay was a measly £5 an hour. I took the job and again, changed the course of my life.
In short, that job led to me becoming a personal trainer, becoming a trainer led me to owning my own studios, owing my own studios led to me working directly with people like Bob Proctor and Joe Vitale from The Secret and working with those guys led to me writing the MAGIC Hundred Goal Achievement Program which sold over $107,000 in the first 7 days of launch and that has led to me traveling the world, speaking at international events and teaching my own rapid goal achievement philosophy to thousands and thousands of people.
Since making that first teeny-tiny decision to read that book instead of going to sleep like my patrol-mates, literally EVERYTHING about my life has changed and I find myself in the weird and rather unlikely position of being some kind of ‘goals guru’ to people from all around the world who I’ve never even met and earning more money than I ever thought I’d earn whilst traveling the world and having all kinds of adventures.
It’s very strange indeed!
Nice, but strange : )
I now live the kind of life that I’d only dreamed about before with travel all over the world to jungles, deserts and arctic wastelands as well as luxury hotels, secluded islands and all manner of other places that I’d only ever seen in books before I started on this amazing journey that my life has become.
But looking back at how I got to this point in my life and the opportunities I now have before me, I can honestly say it all started with reading that one book. It’s as though that one decision was like setting a compass bearing just slightly off course to the original path I’d been on at the time, yet which over the weeks, months and years has moved far off the original course to deliver me to the place I’m at now.
I guess you’re wondering ‘What’s this got to do with me?’ right?
Well, nothing I guess…
…and EVERYTHING!
You see, just as my own life has been created by each of the decisions I’ve made along the way, so has yours.
Everything you’ve experienced so far is the result of the decisions you’ve made (or failed to make) up to this point.
That’s a fact.
The good news is that that means you can also decide where you want to go, what you want to do and who you want to be just by the simple and straightforward act of making a decision right now. I mean LITERALLY right now!
Just choose to act on something you’ve been putting off, something you’ve been ‘thinking about’ or something that’s been tickling away at the edge of your mind and you too could find yourself living the life of your dreams in some not-too-distant future.
I mean it.
It happened to me so why not you?
Make a decision TODAY my friend.
Set a new course!
Truth, joy and love
Dax Moy
www.themagichundred.com
P.S – I almost forgot, I bet you want to know what that book was that started off my magnificent adventure, right?
Put your best guess at my Magic 100 blog and I’ll tell you tomorrow : )
(I know, nasty huh?) : )
Heal Thyself. April 10, 2009
Posted by christopherwarden in Health, Training/Nutriton/Health Tidbits.1 comment so far
Massage.
Chiropractic work.
Yoga.
Physical Therapy.
Stretching.
Acupuncture.
Corrective Exercise.
Trigger Point Therapy.
MAT.
The list of activities we can participate in, the variety of healing modalities (and combinations of them) we can utilize is endless.
But they’re only tools.
No treatment done TO the human body is ever going to be more effective than the ‘treatment’ done BY the body on itself.
As such,the above treatments, when used effectively, aren’t meant to heal — they’re meant to create an opening for the body to heal itself.
Use the diverse tools of exercise and therapy to assist in healing. . . the body, with this assistance (and it’s intelligent design), will do the rest.
“When Should I Begin?” March 31, 2009
Posted by christopherwarden in Can't Miss Perspectives, goal setting.Tags: goal setting, inspiration, motivation
add a comment
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that Dax Moy had offered to share his insights on goal achievement as a guest author on my blog. Tonight, the first post appears. . .
Thanks for contributing Dax!
_______________________
“When Should I Begin” (pursuing my goals)?
Dax Moy
If there’s one question I’m most commonly asked about goal achievement and success, it’s
“When Should I Begin?”
It’s a very common question.
People are of the belief that there is some special ‘buildup’ they have to go through in order to achieve what they want or that they have to ‘prepare’ or ‘get ready’ or have all their ducks in a row before they can finally go after what they want.
They tell themselves they’ll start to pursue their goals…
…tomorrow
…next week
…next year
…when the kids get out of school
…when the kids go back to school
…when there is more time
…when things settle down
…when there are less bills
…when there is more money
…when the moment it right
And all the while they delay the pursuit of those things that would make them happiest because of… something. Some ‘reason’ for why they couldn’t possibly go after their goals right here, right now.
So here’s my answer.
(I think you know it already) : )
Start right here, right now with whatever resources you have at your disposal to build the life that you most dream about having.
You see, you can carry on dreaming about the things you want or you can do something about them.
You can let the daily routine of your current life run the show or you can make the changes you want to see.
You can keep putting off and delaying your happiness until ‘someday’ or you can begin doing the things you know you are capable of doing TODAY!
The choice is yours.
You have the power to choose.
You see, it’s all too easy to fall into the same old routine of saying to yourself ‘someday I’ll do it but right now I just have too much on my plate’.The truth is, you will ALWAYS have tons of things to do, tons of people to see, tons of places to go, chores to be done and bills to be paid.
That’s life for us all, right?
But if you don’t at least START building the life of your dreams, regardless of how busy, tired, stressed, broke you are then you stand zero chance of ever getting there don’t you?
So start today my friends.
Start today.
You don’t have to do much. You don’t have to change the world in an afternoon. Just change one thing. Do one thing different to how you did it yesterday and you’ve begun to move your life on a different course. This is the REAL ‘secret’ of goal achievement.
It’s taking action.
But you knew this already, right? : )
DAX
The Final Piece Of The Goal Setting Puzzle. March 30, 2009
Posted by christopherwarden in goal setting, Health, Mind/Body, Training/Strength & Conditioning.add a comment
All of the goal setting ‘pieces’ are important, but this one brings added insurance that you’ll push forward and see your goals through:
For each goal, name the sacrifices you’re willing to (or have to) make. . . and then make each sacrifice until the goal is achieved.
You might have to purchase a few textbooks.
Hire a consultant.
Add 2 additional workouts to your week.
Fly across the country.
Quit a job.
Overhaul your nutrition habits.
Work longer hours and spend time away from your family.
Create quality time with your family and work fewer hours.
Whatever the goal, the point is that you will have to sacrifice something to accomplish it.
So. . .
- Define those sacrifices.
- Figure out if each goal is worth the sacrifice you’ll have to make (and if not, adjust your goal(s) accordingly!).
- Mentally prepare to make each sacrifice that’s required.
- Sacrifice over and over again – as many times as you have to, for as long as necessary – until each goal has been achieved.
. . . and then reap the rewards of your success.
Goal Setting — Where’s Your Sense of Urgency? March 29, 2009
Posted by christopherwarden in goal setting.Tags: fitness, goal setting, goals, Health
1 comment so far
So far, I’ve outlined the process of goal setting as setting specific goals, asking “why” you want them and writing them down. Now it’s time for you to write down when you want them by. . . the reason summed up well by these three quotes:
Most misfortunes are the results of misused time. — Napoleon Hill
The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot. — Michael Althsuler
The secret of success is a sense of urgency about getting things done. — Author Unknown
Neglecting to set specific dates for completing goals – or setting dates, but putting them too far into the future (long-term goals notwithstanding) - provides no sense of urgency. “I’ll get 
around to it later” is the thought that commonly prevails, and doing it much later (or not at all) is the all-too-familiar result.
Combat this by setting specific dates for goal achievement — dates that provide reasonable time to complete your goals, but that also push you to take action because they’re lurking in the not-too-distant future. . . and fueling your sense of urgency.
No Such Thing As ‘Easy’ Strength Training March 26, 2009
Posted by christopherwarden in Mind/Body, Training/Strength & Conditioning.1 comment so far
Strength training isn’t easy, and it’s not meant to be. (Surprised?)
This isn’t to say that your training has to go to the opposite extreme of killing yourself . . . but make no mistake, if training is easy, if it’s not challenging you physically (and/ or mentally, emotionally and spiritually) you’re likely doing one of three things:
1) Training at an intensity that’s too low to stimulate change.
2) Training your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses.
3) Allowing your body to compensate during a movement, thus enabling your body to ‘work around’ its weakness(es).
Train ‘easy’ in terms of #1 and, well, you’re not going to see much (or any) change to your strength, endurance or any other fitness parameters for that matter. You’ve got to give the body a reason to adapt - if you don’t, it won’t.
Train ‘easy’ in terms of #2 and you might feel good about the weight you pushed around or the way you look in the mirror, but you’re failing to take advantage of one of the great reasons to train – to strengthen your weaknesses, thus improving overall performance (and appearance). “You’re only as strong as your weakest link” is the quote to remember here. . .
Train ‘easy’ in terms of #3 and you’re sacrificing the ability to overcome an injury or weakness that has detracted from your ability to function well in your day-to-day life. You’re enabling the dysfunction to dictate movement, which will not only put you at risk for further imbalance, but will also keep you from optimally enhancing performance and function.
The words ‘challenge yourself’ imply different levels of exertion to different people, but the point is, when you train, the work needs to challenging without being impossible — challenging enough physically to stimulate change, challenging enough to get your body and mind come together, challenging enough to increase your body awareness so, at the very least, you can appreciate all that you’re physically capable of.
‘Easy’ doesn’t work in training, especially if you’re training for results. Challenge yourself to improve during your training . . . And the ‘easy’ will come when it really matters – when you’re doing all the things you love with ease, with plenty of reserve left in the tank.
The Secret Beyond “The Secret” March 19, 2009
Posted by christopherwarden in goal setting, Life Lessons.2 comments
Have you seen the movie The Secret?
If you have, you know that it essentially became the goal-achievement ‘bible’ overnight due to it’s very simple, but very powerful message about how you can be, do and have practically anything you want from life if you do one or two key things:
1. Think about what you want on a regular basis
2. Think about it positively
That’s essentially it. That was the “secret” of The Secret!
It’s a great point. I mean, how easy is it for us to become unfocused or to lack clarity about what we’re trying to accomplish? It stands to reason that taking time to focus on our objectives would be beneficial, doesn’t it?
I’m sure it’s also pretty obvious to us that our chances for starting and achieving our goals would be much greater by “thinking positively” as opposed to walking around continuously with dark clouds over our collective heads, yes?
So, The Secret shares a very simple, powerful piece of advice – and that advice has gone on to help millions of people fulfill their dreams. At the same time, many have tried to follow this advice only to fall short and become dismissive of the whole goal achievement”thing”.
Are you one of them?
I certainly used to be.
I’ve lost track of the number of times I had goals in mind, had positive thoughts about accomplishing them, and still got pummeled by life to the point where I’d come up short and wonder if goal setting programs were just a waste of money and time.
Then I came across another goal achievement program with a different perspective, namely that
clear, positive thoughts about our dreams DON’T automatically become reality. Sure, they have the potential to, but there’s no guarantee.
This perspective sounds just as obvious as The Secret‘s “secret” message, but reading it struck a chord with me.
There’s something more to getting what you wish for than having clear thoughts about it… Otherwise every little thing that we put into our mind and frequently thought about would make our dreams reality . . .
The same holds true on the “thinking positive” front . . .
As I mentioned earlier, thinking positive is surely going to do us a whole lot better than walking around with a negative mindset, but it’s absolutely no guarantee that your goals will come to life.
If “thinking positively” had that power, we’d be able to sit in the middle of a busy street, smile and think, “I won’t get hit, I won’t get hit, I won’t get hit” and sure enough, every vehicle would harmlessly pass you by.
(I’m thinking that’s a strategy none of us would like to rely on…. )
The truth is, there’s more to achieving goals than smiling, thinking clearly and positively about your goals and having them come to life.
What’s the real “secret” to achieving your goals?
Actually, there isn’t one — not one hidden thing that, when exposed, will bring your goals to life. The ‘secret’ is that you need a specific strategy that’s proven to work. . . as opposed to relying on hope or wishful thinking.
What’s the strategy?
Stay tuned to my blog over the coming week. . . Dax Moy, author of The MAGIC Hundred has offered to discuss the strategic details with you, my loyal readers and his perspective is definitely one you’ll want to hear!
And while you’re waiting. . . please drop a comment about this post! What do you think the “secret” to goal achieving success is?
Thanks for reading!
Christopher
www.christopherwarden.com
The Secret(R) is a registered trademark of TS Production LLC.
