Motivation - Driven to Succeed Mind Over Body!

I had some powerful thoughts recently on Motivation. I was reading a book about our Aussie Champ Sally Pearson, and I feel that Motivation is a huge driving force within all of us.
It can be for whatever pursuit we attain it to, sports, career, athlete success, business, relationships... the desire to just make something come full circle starts with a goal, or an idea. A vision, an inspiration... a dream perhaps.

Some of us are Not motivated. We are not particularly driven to do anything substantial. Perhaps reasons for this are varying, it can be the place we are at right now in life. What I want to talk about is what drives a person to follow through, and what sustains momentum? What essence keeps motivation strong? I will not go into excess detail I tend to ramble too much in my blog posts, so I will try to keep this short. Two main principles I have discovered for me personally have been:

Discovering your Passion. I love this T.D. Jakes quote:

I believe all the primary success masters have adopted this simple mindset of - if you do Not enjoy what you do, that can be your career or job, or chosen interest/pursuit you will not succeed. Find or discover your True passion and it will be your true purpose.
That is a first guiding principle I found worked for me, and opened up paths and realms of possibilities.

Principle One: Purpose and Passion - or Love.

Loving the passion, and getting such a high level of enjoyment from it, you are forced to always do it. How many things do we honestly maintain for a long period of time we dislike?
If you paint or like writing Poetry, but you only get a low or moderate level of joy, perhaps look into something that draws your creative energy stronger - into feelings... not short term emotional reward; but something that feeds you the feelings of happiness and pleasure.
If you embrace exercise and fitness but do not like certain activities, change the exercise to something you do enjoy, or change the mindset approach.
If you do not like working at McDonalds, get the hell out of there and push yourself forward.
If you are in retail, but dream of something big - but a family member or some fear holds you back from trying to think about something else - think big, shoot the fear down. Perhaps you are from a family that expects you to accomplish something according to what they believe. What they believe is right for you - You might be expected to be a Lawyer, and frowned upon for expressing a desire to follow a different path - ignore them - this is Your Life - Not Theirs. If you allow yourself to live under the control and expectations of others, allow yourself to be dictated to by the opinions; good or bad, of others - if you listen to the Naysayers - you will be doomed. This leads me into the next principle because you are held back by the above by a strong force:

Second principle - Fear and the required Dissolution.

Fear is the number one enemy. It prevents most of us from everything.
It comes from the mind - but you can slay it. You can learn to beat it.
Most people have fears of failure - what if I try and fail?
What will my friends and family think?
What will I think of myself?
Failure will come - to everyone - but learn to embrace rather than hide and avoid it.
Each little obstacle is just another hurdle you can jump and you must keep hold of hope, you and focus. You never know, the path might be clear for the next 100 metres until the finish line. If you think, that hurdle was too hard... there are twenty more ahead - I might hit the next one with my knees, and fall down. I will lose. I do not have the energy or strength left in me to reach it. It's too hard. You will not get to that finish line in life. The Motivation has been lost. It escaped you. The bad aspect of your mind won - it beat you down like a champion boxer, it gave you a KO, but the sad thing is - it was Not better than you - it was not a champion that beat you - it was a shadow. It was something within yourself you allowed to break you down, largely in part from your own negative thinking.

I was listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival the song below at 4am this Sunday Morning during fasted Steady State Cardio - ... Run Through The Jungle.
It got me onto the thoughts of how war time and extreme life challenges force motivation. I need not discuss or raise opinions about war and killing - what I want to emphasise is the mindset in order to survive and endure hardship - in order to stay motivated.
I heard recently that a person who was in the Jewish filled death camps observed the people around him, he wrote or noted that the people who gave up, had no motivation to survive, usually met this fate. The people that had some drive within, the fighters that embraced a mindset of - I want to get out of here, and tell the world what horror took place - I will Not allow myself to die in this shit-hole. These people cannot beat me. I want to tell my future children and grand-children of the atrocity - so this never happens again... these people had something worth living for - a sheer drive to continue. The motivation needed in order to last... of course not all of them did survive; but the majority of the stronger minded people walked out to share the tale. The people who said this is it. I give up... generally one would be led to believe, endured a tougher time and relented first mentally.

Mental strength is paramount. The Mind is more powerful than the body. You need to learn that success is based on how you think, and what you think - what you create in your mind - how you visualise your goals - and how you sustain the motivation needed.

I will include a great video interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger on this topic. Place your attention on the mind aspect he discusses, and the people who speak to him of the desire. The people that crave on hunger and feed from it, as opposed to those who do not.

Nourish your motivation with passion - feed it heaps of calories, fatten it up everyday - make it obese in fact. Fuel the mind, Research. Read. Watch. Listen. Learn. Be inspired. Create. Share ...Grow.
and RUN THROUGH THAT JUNGLE OF FEAR - beat the odds and come out the other side Victorious.
There will be times you will doubt, you may want to entertain quitting. Think about the reasons you are doing it - perhaps the soldiers in this clip thought about that loving wife back home, the family they intended to reunite with. Think about why are you doing this? Focus - and continue the march.

Like I always say Improve the Body the MIND follows!

If you have any questions I am happy to answer and help when I can, I am Not motivated by money or a desire to profit from my positive encouragement. I do not have a website that wants you to outlay large sums of money in order for me to feel whole. This blog is public and not advertised it is free and basic. I have been ignored by many of the highest profile fitness and health industry bloggers. I do not care, I will continue to enjoy what I love doing. Character is everything - arrogance and ego are ugly. I just try and promote my social media interests to feeding my own goals - the gratitude I receive from others telling me - they can learn from this. What I have faced and the challenges I can share - how I have learned from them. What I can show to others;  a light that remains behind a closed door. If you want to open it up, look into changing things - start with an idea, a dream, a vision. Build on it. Look into mental fitness such as meditation and nutrition for the physical, get yourself active and help your body learn to love you back. Then things start to happen, things can open up. You can gain confidence. I was watching the Biggest Loser this time last year, and when the Trainers spoke of the concept - Let go of the Past - In order to move forward - I was thinking at that point in time ... How??? Is it possible??? I Wish I could. Please explain how this is possible?

Now I understand. Now I get it. You grow, the strength comes from the manner in which you learn and adapt and apply. With growth comes mass - you get bigger, mentally and physically. Stronger in mind and body. I am not talking about bodybuilder mass I am talking strength of heart, mind and body in terms of gaining true Power. The strength to start to view the world differently. 

If you want a truly great tip; if like myself - you faced some severe mental challenges and issues in the past the book called "Your Erroneous Zones" by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer may just be the blueprint you will need to get started. If you have faced challenges you cannot let go of, or just think the past cannot possibly be forgotten - consider investing in it - if there was one book I needed to read - if the world ended, and I was forced to hold one book for the rest of my days - and if the world was troubled - that book would be my gift to myself. If I can share this gift with one person and it changes their life, my work is done.

like Dr. Wayne W. Dyer says:

if you change the way you look at things, 
the things you look at will change.

Why I believe You Should Get Commando Fit - The Aussie Steve Willis Way

When you commit to something of importance, you make what some call "sacrifices". In the pursuit of health and fitness, we make many. In Fact, more than most. But you need to adopt the mindset that these are not "sacrifices", you are not in fact giving away something. In the definition of the word I will remove religious connotations (For I do not refer to the spiritual aspect for the purpose.)

noun

1. an act of slaughtering an animal or person or surrendering a possession as an offering to a deity.

verb

2. give up (something valued) for the sake of other considerations.

When you decide to put your health and fitness and well-being first, some might think this is a sacrifice. Not everyone is born perfect, we did not all adopt healthy eating and nutrition from day one. We face challenges in life. When those challenges start to overwhelm us, we look inward. We decide to change, or we consider change. Those of us that are strong enough to face this, and no longer continue to reside in the comfort zone of life, choose to succeed. We want something better. We are tired of the things that have held us back. I wrote in my previous blog the motivational video that said:

Most people you know what they do? Most people go through life, quietly and safely, tip-toeing their way to an early grave. 

Now I get great displeasure from even writing that here, but sometimes truth is hard. Brutal truth is even harder, and those lines apply more to this topic than any other I can think of.
I have made every single sacrifice in my pursuit that I never believed I could ever dream of making, I have cut out foods and embraced challenges I never thought I could actually follow through, nor stick with, let alone Enjoy and embrace.
It has been the best and wisest choice I have made in the history of my 38 years on this earth.

I want to introduce a man many of us already know as a household name in Australia, Commando Steve - also known as Steve Willis, born the same year as me 1976.
His motto is There are No Excuses. He has been a major factor and involved in the Australian version of The Biggest Loser. He joined the army in the mid 1990s, hence the Commando term, He started off working Infantry before joining the special forces. He later studied Personal Training whilst working as a labourer. He has said in interviews that the military enabled or enforced a strict sense of discipline and motivation in him that transpired into his current mindset.
He is a beast and in the gym a powerful force beyond his years, I am certain he puts many a young hopeful to shame - even when they decide foolishly to test him.

I am spending alot of money on eating clean and my lifestyle, again, back to the sacrifices element. But I do not see this as any sort of sacrifice. I would rather look at it as an Investment.
Yesterday I needed to exercise serious budget restraint, I had the option of buying his latest book or to be more sensible and get it later when I had more money.
I decided to weigh up the options in the city as I walked toward Target. I listened to the inner voice that said you are not that bad you can invest in this.
It was only $16, a crazy price that I tweeted the other day, and Target replied which was most amusing I liked this - and the time they replied was around 7pm - On the ball for a company!

I love this book already so much. I must explain I am not promoting this book or person for any motivation of a financial nature or reward. This blog is free and public and I have no desire to change my methods of inspiring and helping others from my heart not from my wallet.
I am simply trying to get some of us to look at life from a different angle. The Commando angle - are you sick of your life? Are you unhappy with the weight around your mid-section?
Do you want to change but are not sure how to apply making or adopting these changes?
Are you tired of being tired? Do you want to live longer so you can live to see your children get older and grow into wonderful human beings?
Do you want to get rid of the worry you are dying slowly and cannot do anything about it?

The book impressed me highly with the recipes, The exercise guides with proper form and guidance I can refer to when needed.
The mindset shines through.

Worth every cent and I have a feeling it will reimburse me for the future in more than dollar value.
Here is a video for Commando Steve: and below it the cover picture of the book.
It is titled Get Commando Fit I will link Amazon for my international friends:

http://www.amazon.com.au/Get-Commando-Fit-Book-Series-ebook/dp/B00N1ZX7SS

Lastly, well done Steve a true Aussie champion dedicated to a cause and goal to inspire and help others - Bless you and shine the light forward.
Please consider coming down to Tasmania soon and do some book signings and promotions of health and fitness - get the Hobartians off the couch!
Respect.

My Personal Experience with Mental Health and Nutrition the Healthy Lifestyle benefits to alleviate it

I must say this is a special subject dear to my heart, many of you out there suffer the awful nightmare that is mental illness, mental health or anxiety... I have been there myself in some dark places in the past. This blog is personal it does not attempt to provide a blatant prospect of curing it or for you to suddenly find yourself without the torment your mind inflicts on you, it simply offers what worked for me and how there is one word that remains critical in life - that you must always hold onto, especially through the shadows when the darkness and cold trap you - the word is simply:

Hope.

For me I discovered the true power of Nutrition and exercise, two powerful elements. I know the meds probably make you feel strongly unmotivated, as they did to me, and you have difficulty getting from bed most mornings. But the latest science is saying that Nutrition is the next big therapy because eating and fuelling your body with proper food has so much benefit.

On November 5th 1981 in the Brisbane Courier Mail Australian Newspaper it was reported that this man, Dr Abram Hoffer a psychiatrist believed the consumption of junk foods over a long period of time can cause fatigue depression and sleeplessness. He believed it had led to a Western form of malnutrition. He said: 'About 90 percent of people who go to psychiatrists have conditions due, in varying degrees, to poor or inappropriate nutrition'.
Dr Hoffer believed 'A person who is really healthy from a nutritional point of view is seldom unable to deal with psychological problems.' The junk foods he mentioned included white bread non dairy creams made of chemicals commercial French fried potatoes all foods that had sugar added like peas pastries cakes and canned foods like soups.

As you might imagine he was laughed off the face of the planet for even suggesting this "crazy nonsense" at that point in history.

I had to edit the video and change it to a short version the old one failed to play audio on some mobile or cell devices, so enjoy this tribute or reference to Abram Hoffer and his specific reasoning on how the system gives a person little hope and that all schizophrenics and people with mental illness are most often led to believe recovery or living a normal productive life will never be possible.

Note the part in the video where he discusses some key elements that are sadly neglected by the mental health system - getting a person under a stable roof and comfort, then giving them the full support needed and also giving them the chance to eat all the nutritious food. This is something most people with mental illness are incapable of enjoying, due to many different factors.

I might add a positive story because I feel I need to offer a light:

Speaking of my experience - my second episode in my teens was a drug induced Psychosis, and I was discussing a story with someone who touched my heart more than the drugs or therapy ever did yesterday. Many of you would know the UK band The Stereo MCs?

It was 1993 I was in Psych, and in a hell of a place mentally, the darkest hell hole of shit stinking motivation sucking health damaging, soul destroying - a landscape littered with carcasses of people that some are no longer with us, many of them are dead from suicide or drug abuse or the illness just crippled them, broke them in half and eventually won.

Important note: I give FULL CREDIT to the wonderful nurses and doctors, most of them are so highly dedicated to the cause of helping us they sacrifice everything in their lives to pursue the gift of healing and trying to allow anyone to get better. They put their hearts into the patients they treat and take the pain back home with them to their families and loved ones some nights and days - bless you all!

There was this one nurse, a male nurse. He was super cool, like a strong good looking man that all the females admired (yay!) and he was into gym or athletic based sports stuff too I think from memory.

He sat down with me many times and in the midst of the haze tried to give some advice to me.

He suggested the drugs I had done like Lsd and mushrooms and marijuana were capable of destroying me, in fact he even said some people have never recovered fully from acid and it drove them to death, because when your brain is wired like mine, the drugs just do not suit it, they do not suit the best of minds at the best of times, but when you have certain tendency towards factors this is even worse.

But one-day early into the admission he did something most profound, he came up to me, he knew and understood we both shared a passion for music, he handed me a cassette tape and simply said You need to listen to this album.

It was a band I have never heard of and I loved hip hop as well as all kinds of music, I was a budding Graffiti artist and anyway I was drawn to it.

The Stereo MC's - Connected.

This album turned out to be therapy, the lead singer Rob commented yesterday on Twitter perhaps #alternative medicine in a light hearted manner to me which made me smile.

It kept me going through some dark times with the uplifting positive lyrics and message.

You listen to the album you can tell the lyrics are written by someone enlightened and a powerful mind - I have not heard anything quite like it ever since.

The nurse allowed me to duplicate a copy (Sorry Rob but this piracy was beneficial and I did end up buying multiple copies of your cd later lol)

I played that album quite a lot to death in fact and my dear Mother loved it more than me LOL, she actually told me and encouraged me to play it more !!!

So what I am saying is that certain things in life can give you a glimmer of light and hope.

I got off drugs and never took them again.

Never relapsed again. I am 38 years old now.

I battled some serious anxiety issues but with Nutrition and exercise/healthy lifestyle I have not endured an episode of that since the end of winter 2013.

I got back in touch recently with the professor of adolescent psychiatry who treated me in 1991 Prof Dr. Robert Kosky, a highly respected expert in Australian circles, he retired a month or two ago.

My story sent him into this a most happy man, he told me some things that stood out:

Colin, I believe firmly that if you stick to your strength training fitness nutrition and healthy lifestyle, you will never have another issue for as long as you live.

Also he added it may surprise me he leaned away from harsh meds in his later years and toward more natural holistic treatments, I only add this because one of the meds he prescribed me back in 1991 was subsequently banned worldwide, after it was eventually discovered it was causing instant death in some schizophrenic patients.

If you are on medication you ALWAYS NEED TO CONSULT your doctor and never consider ANY CHANGES WITHOUT speaking to them, this includes EXERCISE.

I got an ECG done a full health check up on my heart ... never throw yourself into fitness without getting the all clear and consulting the right people who know.

Anyway this is all I needed and wanted to say enjoy the video interview and I will add a Stereo MC's video also just for great memories and to Rob Birch - Respect! - I will add when I looked you up and discovered you are a fellow gym rat and healthy lifestyle/exercise advocate and lover - and not into the concept of abusing illegal drugs - it just made me contact you! Thanks for replying it made my day - as promised here is the blog I wrote that I told you I might consider sharing. Enjoy. and You may Retweet if you desire but a fave would be enough!

Edit I will add another video another great motivational Matuesz M from YouTube I think the concepts in this one apply to this blog