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This guy is one of my favorites when it comes to helping me embed a positive mindset in everything that I do. Most of the time we let the past stop us from being or doing what we desire and block us from achieving more success.

Or just getting started in the right direction.

Take 3 minutes and listen to this video.

I guarantee you’ll snap into a whole new way of thinking.  It might just be the kick start you needed!?

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I just wanted to share some of the events, and thoughts that have pushed me onto the path to follow my passion.  You see, we all share one thing in common.  We can all make a difference and no matter how big or small, wealthy, poor, middle class it doesn’t matter!

The choice is ours to make and when you find what your purpose is in life, NOTHING CAN STOP YOU from achieving the dream.

Please take the time to listen to this brief video below and share it with whom ever you think could use a lift.  Remember you are someone and you are special!

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Hey guys!  It’s not often that a group of unknown talented musicians get together and create an atmosphere worth grabbing your attention.  On Sunday August 1, 2009 several groups took time out to give back by sharing the gift of music with those who have either been through breast cancer or know someone who is battling this disease.

At one time they gave a round of applause to a young lady who had a double mastectomy two weeks prior to the event.  She still was able to gain enough energy to enjoy the show and cause.  The benefit was to honor those who are fighting/fought and to raise funds for the care/treatment/amenities that are needed for the Yale New Haven cancer treatment for patients.

I have to be honest,  It is such an honor and a privileged to give back to such a wonderful group of people.  As most of you may know I have lost several people in my family to various forms of cancer.  So when I was asked if I could be apart of this event, I did not have to think twice about it!  I said YES before the sentence was finished.

I just wanted to take time to share this story and prove that we can all make a difference in someones life just by doing little things.  By doing these little things for others, big things and good things will happen for all involved.  The universe loves the discipline of reciprocity and I can only speak for myself, but what an awesome feeling throughout the day.

It feels great to give!  So I challenge us all to find an event or cause where you can give your time and help those who need you to be their inspiration.  Who knows, sometimes the action of giving your time can be that inspiration for you!?

I always talk of how keeping or creating a positive mental mindset can create an incredible outcome.  Well, on this day the energy and atmosphere was full of it!!  If those with cancer can give it their all to fight their battle, then we as people can give it our all to get and battle anything that we want/desire in our lives.

Vincent van Gogh

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I know you’re probably sitting there reading this saying to yourself, “You have to be lucky to be successful”.  Really??

The most common phrase that we hear is that “success is a state of mind”.  Some people argue that success is a natural result of proper planning, preparation and focused action,  but there are also many exceptions.  Have you wondered how two people can attempt the same objective in the same way and only one of them succeed?  Is it sheer luck?  Timing?  Tenacity?  More often than not a person’s mind-set will determine if they fail or succeed.

Mind-set refers to your predominant state of mind day to day.  It’s what you think about, focus on, and expect from daily experiences.  Think negative thoughts, expect the worst.  Feel pessimistic about your options and that’s exactly what you’ll draw into your life.  Stay positive.  Expect the best, focus on a successful outcome, most of the time you will achieve it.

3 Reasons Mindset Is Important

1)  A success mind-set boosts your confidence and self-belief.

A lack of belief in yourself usually comes along with a sense of powerlessness and futility, which is the exact opposite of a success mind-set.  Lack of confidence means you see no point in trying to be successful because it won’t happen anyway.  Obviously, this type of mind-set is a recipe for failure in any endeavor.

Having a true success mind-set, on the other hand, means you believe in yourself and your capabilities.  You believe you can succeed at nearly anything you try, and you’re willing to give it your best shot.  Even better, the more you do try, the more confidence and self-belief you build – until you’re virtually unstoppable!

2)  A success mind-set strengthens your determination.

Without a success mind-set, one failure is enough to convince you that pursuing your goals is a waste of time.  Tenacity and determination don’t exist in your world.  If you don’t become a raging success the first time you try, you surmise that it simply wasn’t meant to be.  Unfortunately, few things worth having are obtained so easily!

A success mind-set, however, strengthens your awareness that a failure is not the end of the story – it’s just one more way that didn’t work out the way you planned.  In fact, a true success mind-set makes it obvious that the only true failure occurs when you stop trying.

3)  A success mind-set encourages fruitful actions.

Have you ever found yourself wandering in circles because you didn’t know the best way to approach a specific goal?  Perhaps you had an idea of the best course of action but you felt intimidated by some of the action steps required.  As a result, you may have kept sabotaging your efforts as you searched in vain for an easier or less frightening way to your goal.

With a true success mind-set, you’ll always know the most effective action steps that will lead directly to your goal.  You have the inner confidence and determination to pursue them,  which is a sure recipe for success.

- Go for your dreams.
- Think positive.
- Believe
- Believe you can do better.
- Learn, grow and develop.
- Take chances.
- Give it 110% effort.
- Expect the best in every situation.
- Never fear failure.
- You fall down, get back up.

Stay passionate, Stay creative, Stay motivated.  Patience, persistence, yields success.

Now Go Get what You Want!!!

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I was having a conversation with one of my clients the other day, about the use of meditation.  It’s use can be very beneficial to our mind, body and spirit.  I believe very strongly that we can tap into our inner self, activate and/or engage the brains incredible power.

You see, we all have the ability to make our brain work for us.  Sometimes we allow our brain to play tricks and deceive, even skew our perceptions of what our personal reality should and ought to be.  Below I have listed some helpful healing affirmations that can be used to encourage the subconscious brain to heal from the inside out.

Re word or use as is to help your needs and empower your soul.

You are the pure spirit of your own reality, share and teach others to harness the minds great power.

1.  I am and will always be strong and healthy.
2. My energy and vitality are increasing every day.
3. I am open to the natural flow of wellness now.
4. My inner guidance leads me to the healing modalities that are right for me.
5. My abundant health and wellness are my birthright.
6. I give thanks always for my strength, my health and my vitality.
7. I am and will feel stronger and better now, today and everyday here after.
8. I am and do love taking good care of myself.
9. I will nurture myself and it will be my highest priority.
10. I give thanks for the opportunity to balance my mind, body and spirit.

These affirmations can go a long way and will also help you commit to creating a better well being, a better inner self, a healthier self.

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It breaks my heart to see folks that are not willing to open their hearts to others.  We sometimes don’t know why some people can not allow themselves to love or be loved.   I personally have fought my way through this dilemma.  Most of the time it is because we have been hurt really bad either mentally or physically, and we no longer have that trust in our heart for others.

Several years ago, when I was in my early twenties.  I was proud to be in the relationship I was in, I was happy.  I was enjoying the other persons companionship.  It seems in a blink of an eye all that changed, by a dramatic, but yet subtle circumstance.  I found myself in a position we all think we will never be in.  I too was crushed by emotion.

It was as though my life had been turned up side down.  I felt betrayed, lonely and extremely vulnerable.  There was nothing anyone could do or say to get me out of my funk.

After the dust had settled…  I had to pick myself up and get on with it!  You too can learn to love and love yourself!  Here are 10 of my favorite love affirmations, feel free to use them to claim your love back.

10 Affirmations For Love

1. I will (be) and I am ready for a healthy, loving relationship.
2. All of my relationships are meaningful and fulfilling.
3. When I share my love with others the universe mirrors love back to me.
4. I see everyone I meet as a soul mate.
5. I will trust the universe to know and show the type of partner who is perfect for me.
6. Today fear is no more and I open my heart to true love.
7. I am and always will be grateful for the people in my life.
8. I am and will always be the perfect partner for my perfect partner.
9. I deserve a loving, healthy relationship.
10. I deserve to be loved and will always allow myself to be loved.

These are just afew affirmations that can help.  Take any of them from above, create your perfect affirmation that fits your current situation and objective.  When you’re feeling down, keep them handy to remind yourself that you are worth it!

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an interview by Geovanni Derice with Mike Geary – Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

I had the pleasure of being interviewed recently by a fitness
professional from NYC, Certified Personal Trainer, Geovanni Derice. The
interview is below and I think you’re going to like it… I reveal some
of the hardest hitting strategies for getting rid of that stubborn
stomach fat to uncover those flat six pack abs that everyone wants.

“GD: Welcome Mike to our
4-ever-Toned Fitness Journal. For those who do not know you, please
tell us a few things about yourself and how you can help our readers
with their fitness and health.

MG: Thanks for having me,
Geo. Well, to go back a little, I have been heavily involved in fitness
and sports for about 17 years now, ever since I was a teenager. Being
involved in sports in high school got me interested in strength
training and conditioning.

At that point, once I started feeling more energetic, getting
stronger, and looking better, I was instantly hooked for life. I’m 33
now and still addicted to the way living a healthy and fit lifestyle
makes me feel energetic, confident, strong, and youthful on a daily
basis.

I decided earlier in my 20’s that I wanted to make the commitment to
help other people experience the excitement of being fit and getting in
the best shape of their lives, especially since we’ve reached an
epidemic of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, depression, etc.
That’s why I became a fitness professional. It just gives me so much
satisfaction to help others, who have struggled for years to get in
good shape, and show them that it can be done, and it can be fun in the
process.

I’ve expanded over the years from just reaching local individuals
with personal training, into being able to help people all over the
globe achieve their fitness goals with the reach of the internet. I
only hope that my passion for fitness inspires people to take action
and improve how they look and feel for life.

GD: Now Mike, there’s so
many things out there as to what works and what does not work… if you
had to pick 3 things that work time and time again to get flat lean
abs, what would they be?

MG: The first and most
important thing to get control of in order to lose your belly fat and
get flat abs is cleaning up your diet. Exercise is important, but your
diet is king when it comes to losing body fat so that you can see your
abs.

There’s so much confusion these days about what a healthy diet that
promotes fat loss really is… after all, we are bombarded by
conflicting messages in the media about what is healthy and what is
not, and you have all of these gimmicky diet books about low carb, low
fat, high protein, vegetarian, fasting, atkins, south beach, liquid
diets, and hundreds more. There’s so much conflicting info, that the
average consumer doesn’t even know where to start when it comes to
eating for fat loss.

The second thing that works time and time again, is to focus on the
intensity of your workouts and focus on working the body as a whole in
order to get the best metabolic response to lose that stubborn stomach
fat.

In order to really get lean, the workouts should have a high
intensity, with short rest periods, working the largest muscle groups
of the body, instead of trying to isolate specific small muscles like
the biceps, triceps, or calves.

For the third thing, let’s talk about actually training the abs
specifically. When it comes to training the abs, if you want real
results, I always recommend forgetting about the crunches and sit ups
for the most part. They are ok for someone that is really
deconditioned, but most people that already have some training under
their belt need a much better stimulus for their abs than crunches.
Crunches are one of the abs exercises that actually provide the least
amount of resistance, and remember that resistance is what develops and
tones the muscles.

I provide a ton of great abs exercises in my book, but one of THE
highest resistance exercises for the abs, is hanging leg raises (but
NOT the way you see most people at the gym doing them). The key to
doing these and actually working the hell out of your abs is to curl
your pelvis up as you raise your legs. Almost nobody ever does this
right. To be honest, the majority of people cannot do this at first,
but I provide some strategies in my book as to how to progress to doing
these correctly.

GD: What are people doing wrong when it comes to developing the coveted “6 pack abs”?

MG: Well Geo, I know this
sounds funny to most people, but the MAIN thing that people are doing
wrong to get those flat 6-pack abs is… are you ready for this?

They spend entirely too much time focusing on training their abs! WAY too much time spent on abs exercises. Sounds crazy, but it’s true.

Remember, having a flat and visible six pack of abs is all about
getting down to a low body fat percentage. In order to do that, your
workouts must focus on stimulating a fat burning hormonal environment
in your body, and increasing your metabolic rate. That just does not
happen when you focus too much time training a small muscle group like
the abs.

Instead, you must use the majority of your time focusing on training
the largest muscle groups of the body like the legs, back, and chest.
That’s what stimulates your metabolism and the fat burning hormones
that will get you truly lean and sporting a flat sixxer!

GD: Which exercises are the top exercises that people need to do if they are to get maximum defintion with their midsection?

MG: When it comes to
developing the abs themselves, I again refer to any kinds of hanging
abs exercises, as well as some good floor abs exercises like lying leg
thrusts (all described and illustrated in my book).

However, maximum definition in the abs and midsection comes from
losing bodyfat, and the most effective exercises featured in my program
for that goal are various forms of swings and snatches (unique dumbbell
or kettlebell
exercises that almost nobody ever does in normal gyms), squats,
deadlifts, lunges, step-ups, clean & presses, mountain climbers,
sprinting, and other full body exercises and calisthenics. If you want
great looking flat abs, focus on those instead of focusing so much on
training the abs directly!

GD: When it comes to diet
Mike, people really have tried millions of ways to get one thing… and
that is fat loss. What recommendations have you used to successfully
help your clients lose body fat and keep it off?

MG: I have included a fully
comprehensive discussion of this topic in my book, which accounts for
almost half of the book, but I’ll try to make some nice simple
generalizations to get people started on the right path immediately.
The most important thing is that your diet is as natural and
unprocessed as possible. It almost always comes back to the
overprocessing of food that makes it unhealthy, and makes it totally
wreck your metabolism and hormone balance in your body.

For example, why eat refined grains, when you can eat whole grains
(even better are sprouted grains, as I usually recommend limiting grain
foods overall for best results).

Why eat refined sugar, when you can get natural sources of sugar
from a high nutrient whole food like fruit. Why eat highly processed,
refined, and hydrogenated vegetable oils (these are THE worst thing in
the modern diet), when you can eat natural sources of healthy fats like
nuts, avocados, fish, eggs, coconut milk, organically raised meat, and
so forth.

The point is to not fall for some gimmick like extremely low carbs
(although I do believe in a fairly reduced carb intake as that is a big
problem for most people), low fat, super high protein, or any other
combination that has you focusing on one macronutrient vs. another.

Your body needs all macronutrients to thrive and obtain a variety of
vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc. Trying to cut an entire food
group out just works against what your body needs. I get into much more
detail on this vitally important topic towards losing body fat
(especially that stubborn stomach fat) for life in my book.

GD: Thank you very much Mike for sharing with us all of this great information.

Well,
I hope you enjoyed this interview and plucked several nuggets of info
to get you motivated and started on showing off your flat abs shortly.
If you don’t already own a copy, be sure to pick up a copy of my Truth about Six Pack Abs book and discover the entire system I’ve developed for ridding yourself of that extra ab fat for good!

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The media has definitely blown these two subjects out of proportion (Body Image And Healthy Weight).  Now you can fight back with your own positive agenda and discard all their negative propaganda.

You Are A Beautiful Person Inside And Out!!!  Don’t let anyone tell you different.

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