A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD

How does a trip around the world sound?

What about on foot?

I have heard from several different sources in the personal development industry that we often overestimate what we can accomplish in a year, but also underestimate what we can get done in 5 years.  Well, what about a lifetime?

A riddle which comes to mind is, "How do you eat an elephant?". Answer, one bite at a time.

And of course there is the quote by Lao Tzu, "The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.".

How often do we look at the length of the journey or the size of the elephant and decide it's too big, would take too long, or too difficult and stop there instead of taking action?

So again, aside from asking for a very long snorkel, what would you say to having to walk around the world?

Now, what if you had to complete this journey IN ADDITION to your every day life?

According to the American Podiatric Medical Assocation, the average person takes 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day, which they estimate add up to 185,000 KMs in a lifetime - four times the circumference of the globe.

What is something you want to accomplish in this lifetime?
What is the first step in this journey that you will take now?

Your friend and Coach,
Bryce

Book Review: Eat Right For Your Type - Dr. Peter J D'Adamo

A few weeks ago (in the blog Food For Thought) I first mentioned the book, Eat Right For Your Type by Dr. Peter J D'Adamo and the results I am reaping from his research on the topic.  About 10 days I wrote  a follow-up (Food For Thought, Part 2) to that with the darkside of NOT eating well.

Today will be a quick lesson learned and then the review of the book.

MY BABBLINGS

In addition to following the guidelines set out by Eat Right For Your Blood Type I am just about to complete week #2 of P90X (an INTENSE 90 day exercise program).  On Tuesday, I completed the exercise routine and promply drank my 'Recovery Drink' (a protein shake of sorts formulated by the P90X group) and then, after a much needed shower, enjoyed your standard protein shake. 

About an hour later I found my energy levels crashing and soon my drive to do any work.... followed by my drive to do anything.  I found myself staring at my computer with no drive or desire to do any of the things I know are important or like to do. I did a few techniques to snap myself out of this brain fog, but alas, nothing was working for more than a short burst. Very frustrating considering a) I am a Coach and b) I am eating and exercising to have MORE energy.

Then the obvious dawned on me, the protein shakes are whey based which is derived from milk.  Being Blood Type O, I need to avoid dairy.  The next day I did my routine without the powders and I felt great! No brain fog, no drop in energy or mental clarity!

The fundamental awareness gained was the impact the most powerful drug we consume every day has on not only our body, but our mind.... that drug being food.  The effects are obvious (both immediately and the next day) when it comes to things like alcohol, so why not see food in that same light? 

THE REVIEW

And if you are interested in finding out what foods can give you super powers and which may be your kryptonite, Eat Right For Your Type is THE book to read.

I would highly recommend that EVERYONE read this book.  Even if you don't end up applying the guidelines, at least you can start making informed choices. Its the equivalent of going to the gas pump and having the knowlesge of choosing between Diesel, Biofuels, or the different octanes of gas.

What I love about this book is that it is written for a broad range of people.  For those of you who like to cut right to the chase, you can open to your Blood Type section and your customized guide is laid out for you breaking down food into 16 different sections (with charts) as well as Meal Plans, Recipes, Supplement Advisory, Exercise Guideline, and Personality Traits. Furthermore, the food categories are then clearly broken down into which foods (with an extensive list) are Benefitial for your blood type, Neutral, and which to Avoid.

For those of you that need a little more convincing and like to understand the method behind the madness, there is a very interesting history of blood type evolution alongside the human race.  It also dives into the scientific side of things as well.

Dr Peter D'Adamo does an incredible job of condensing TONS of information into an easy to read book and does an equally amazing job of balancing the scientific mumbo jumbo with common everyday language. This book will not make it to my bookshelf as I will be refering to it WAY to often.  Instead, it will be the perfect coffee table book.

Our bodies and our minds effect one another and we are all unique.  This book is a crucial piece of the puzzle in understanding the bigger picture of how we function as indivudals.

Go get it!

Your friend and Coach,
Bryce

Two Questions regarding Mastery

At 7am today I met with Dr. Amanda Chan for my Entrainment session. 

[So what the heck is that? The easiest way to explain it is that it's all the benefits (and more) of a chiropractic session, without all that nasty heavy duty cracking.  The technique is called Network Spinal Analysis (as founded by Dr Donald Epstein) and Dr. Amanda is one of the few in Ottawa who is qualified to perform this techinique... plus she's awesome! Check her out at http://www.bodymindstudio.com/.]

Whats cool about this approach is that you are working on your body and mind at the same time! So often, she will ask me what we are working on today and I will say whatever I seem to be pondering or having challenges with in my life (just like coaching). Today I mentioned mastery.

For me, mastery is about owning a particular skill or area of your life! Taking intellectual knowledge and moving it to emotional and then physical knowledge (i.e.: where something is just habit and you don't consciously think of it).  Studying and practicing something until it is a part of the very fiber of your being. In short, it is the opposite of dabbling.

As soon as a lay down on the table, two questions came to me which I spent my session exploring:

1) What are the qualities and characteristics of Masters (i.e.: those who have obtained a level of mastery in an area of their life)? Put another way, what does it mean to be a Master?

2) What does it take to walk the path of Mastery?

The hamster is spinning the wheel pretty quick in my head, but before I share with you my thoughts, I would love to hear yours.  Please place them below in the comment box (anonymous or not).

Your friend and Coach,
Bryce

Book Review: Life's Golden Ticket

Hi everyone:

One thing you will start to see more and more of on this blog is Book Reviews.  A part of my own personal growth as well as to learn how to become an even more effective Coach, is reading books. In order to give you some insight into what books might be worth a read, I will be posting a quick summary and review of all the books and audio programs I complete.

Links are included to Amazon if you want to order yours right away.



This is the perfect book to start my book reviews.

At just over 200 pages, this is an easy read you won't want to put down! It is written by Brendon Burchard (Experts Academy as well as High Performance Academy and many other high quality/value seminars and online courses).

Life's Golden Ticket will help you connect with yourself and what is trully important in life. Its a wonderful story of man who goes looking for answers and ends up on a magical journey of self discovery.  Brendon Burchard manages to keep the writing light while we examine some of our own heavy issues. A must read for any personal development enthusiast and/or Coach.

I wish I could give more details, but I dare not spoil the surprises and amazing tail to be told. Just go get it already!

Dream your life. Live your dreams.

Your friend and Coach,
Bryce

Food for thought, Part 2

Only 2 posts ago I wrote about the strange effect 'Eating Right For My Blood Type' was having on me (all positive).

Well, over the weekend I had the opportunity to become aware of the effects of NOT eating well. Two of my friends were married over the weekend in Owen Sound, which is about an 8 hour drive from Ottawa. As is my excuse with most road trips, this meant I got to take a break from my usual strict routine and endulge in the greasy... carb filled... processed side of the food chart. You remember the Food Groups right??? Pizza (Bread), Milkshakes (Dairy), French Fries and Onion Rings (Vegetables), and Hamburgers (Meat) and Alcohol (Liquids).

To be honest, yes, it was fun to endulge! But not without consequence (to me and others).  First the obvious ones:
- Fuzzy thinking (lack of mental clarity).  Although the serious case of the stupids made for an amuzing trip home, it was actually hard to pull together a cohesive thought.  In fact, I still feel this.
- Lack of energy. More precisely, my energy was a lot more volatile. I would feel short burst of high energy followed by long periods of burnt out exhaution.  Any motivation would come and go very quickly.  I also noticed my moods were starting to follow this pattern.
- Digestive challenges (i'll spare you the details)
- Weight gain (5 lbs in 4 days... )

THE TWO SURPRISE ONES:
- Nightmares.... lots of them.  I can't remember the last time I had nightmares, let alone consistently.  For 3 nights in a row I had anxiety driven nightmares which woke me up throughout the night. It also meant I slept much longer than usual to get the same feeling of being rested.
- Muscle fatigue. On Monday, I did my P90X routine, and although I had the energy to complete the video, my muscles felt weak.

By now, we all know the importance of eating right. However, most people still don't pay nearly enough attention to this area of their lives and the immediate and long lasting benefits one will receive from doing so. In my opinion, it is simply because we associate too much immediate pleasure by endulging cravings and pain in not doing so and/or eating the alternatives.

If you never stop (even if temporary), you will never be able to realize the benefits which await you.

SOOOOoooooo...  I challenge you to eliminate one thing from your diet for 14 consecutive days. Chose something you know you shouldn't be eating AND (this is very important) decide on at least 3 alternatives you will use instead of this AND buy these alternatives before you start.

If I have learned anything about nutrition (and life) it is to prepare. Quite often we turn to unhealthy alternatives because they are convenient, so make your healthy choices convenient.

Set yourself up for success and let me know how it goes.

Dream your life. Live your dream.

Your friend and Coach,
Bryce

Are you ready?

Tony Robbins has said that "It is in the moments of decision that your destiny is shaped." For the context of this blog let's simplify to "It is in the moments that destiny is shaped."

If your moment to shine... to perform... to serve... to STEP UP and make a meaningful difference... called upon you, would you be ready to answer?

If the sales opportunity of a life time stepped into an elevator right now, what would you do?
If your ultimate career opportunity presented itself, are you prepared?
If the person of your dreams sat down next to you, do you even know what you would say?
If you had to make a decision right now that would define the direction of your life, would you know how to weigh out the options?

If life called upon you right now, are you ready... mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually?

"What we practice in private will be rewarded in public" - Maxim

Intellectually I understood this maxim and just recently it really started to hit home, but it wasn't until this evening that it became a part of me at a fundamental level.

As some of you may know, in addition to Coaching and Training, I am a Wedding Officiant. As I arrived onsite to perform a ceremony today, I was quickly ushered into a side room where I could see both the bride and groom together and the groom was sitting down crying… these were not tears of joy. It was only 15 minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to begin and he had just found out that his mother had been rushed to the intensive care unit of the hospital.

'Fortunately' I had watched a training video just 3 days ago which gave me the framework to best handle such an intense and delicate situation. Using this framework as well as the skills I have learned and practiced as a Coach, I was able to step up and make a difference in a moment of need.  What took place next was the most powerful ceremony I have ever witnessed or been a part of. Peace prevailed allowing Love to shine through.

If it wasn't for all the hours I had spent learning and, more importantly, reviewing and practicing my skills in private, there is no way I would have been ready to play my part.

I don't say this to impress you, I say this to impress upon you the importance of 'practicing in private' or as the Boy Scouts of America would say, to "Be Prepared.".

Too often we only prepare or practice when there is an immediate perceived benefit.... a planned event such as an interview.

Life, however, is what happens between the plans.

Dream you life. Live your dreams.

Your friend and Coach,
Bryce

Food for thought

If you have felt something all of your life, how would you know if it is good or bad?

In my on-going pursuit to live life to the fullest, 2 weeks ago I switched my diet according to a book called Eat Right for Your Blood Type.

It makes sense that that not all diets are meant for all people.  In this book Dr. Peter J D'Adamo goes into great detail to list the foods that are either beneficial, neutral, or harmful depending on if your blood type is O, A, B, or AB.

So again, 2 weeks ago I switched my diet to take out things like Corn and Potatoes (2 of my staples ever since I was born!!!) and eat according to my O blood type. I had a very good nutrition plan in place before this, so I didn't notice any major differences right away. However lately I have started noticing small things such as not feeling any little aches in my bones/back as much, more mental clarity, and what can only be described as a more stable flow of energy (i.e.: less ups and downs.. peaks and valleys). 

But the biggest difference and adjustment has been that its rare I feel trully full!  All my life (or at least as long as I can remember), I would eat... eat... and eat some more and then feel full for about 30-60 minutes afterwards.  You know... that feeling that you get after a nice big turkey supper (just not that extreme! ha ha).

Now, there'll be a big plate of food in front of me, which I devour in my usual ferocity, but when I am done I don't feel full.  The hunger is gone and I don't have any real desire to eat any more, but I don't feel full. Even now, I question if I should keep eating until I feel this feeling of full I have been feeling all my life. After all, feeling full used to be the signal to me to stop putting food in my mouth.  Could this have been wrong all my life?  Is this how you are meant to feel?

All very strange and gets me curious as to what other feelings I may be experience which are either wrong or misleading.

What thoughts or feelings have you had your entire life (or a long time) which you have just accepted as life but in reality may not be appropriate?

Your friend and Coach,

Bryce

Misunderstood Magnets Mislead

How often have you heard the expression, "Opposites attract."?

You have probably heard this so often that you accept it as such and WHAMMO you have a belief installed into the fiber of your being.  A belief which affects the decisions you make and the way you see and shape  your world on a conscious and unconscious level.

Perhaps it started as a kid when you were playing with magnets. Next thing you know this belief was applied to the dating world and so we search for our opposite.

What if this belief wasn't true?

What if opposites repell and likes attract?

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I first started to question the theory that 'opposites attract' after reading in many different personal development and success books how 'likes attract'.  A simple example would be if you focus your mind on riches and you get riches, conversely you focus on debt and you get debt.

Given that universal laws apply universally, how could two laws exist which directly contradict each other?

As it turns out one of them doesn't exist (except for in our minds) and you guessed it, it's 'Opposites Attract' when instead the reality is that LIKES ATTRACT and OPPOSITES REPEL.

THE MAGNET UNDERSTOOD

The below shows the magnetic lines of force surrounding a magnet. As you can see, they come out of the North end at enter the South end therefore flowing South to North.

The following shows two magnets with like ends pointing towards each other.  Yes the like ends will repel each other which seems to go against the point I am making, however if you look at the flow of the magnetic lines, which is the natural force at hand, they are OPPOSITE (i.e.: they are flowing directly against each other) and therefore are REPELLING.

The next picture depicts the reverse.  As you can see, even though we have them labelled as opposite ends, it is again the underlying natural force which follows the Universal Law, which is that LIKES ATTRACT.

OK, so that explains magnet, but what about relationships? How does the Universal Law of Likes Attract apply?

Quick definitions: by Relationship I am referring to everything from a friendship to an intimate relationship and Attraction does not necessarily mean physical attraction.

Simply put, you are attracted to those who you feel are like you.  There are common bonds between you and all of your friends, wither they be good or bad bonds.  An example of bad may be drug or alcolohol use/abuse.

At work, you and your colleagues have a common bond or mission; that of the company.  In organization where there is not a clear mission, or where departmental missions are stronger than the overall mission, you will see departments and people repel as the organization falls apart.

This can also be seen in sports teams... the common and dominating force is that of winning! If an individual has a dominating force other than that of the team (for example: showing off), that person will be repelled by the team and the overall force of the team will be lower UNLESS you can align their 'showing off' with the team winning.

Going back to individual relationships, when you first start dating somebody, you go through an interview like process where you are seeking out all of the common bonds.  What is interesting, is that you don't need to agree to have the bond. For example, two people who are very passionate about sports but different teams.  Even though they have opposing opinions, the common bond is the love of that sport!

This would also explain that you tend to attract people who are going through the same struggles as you.

OK, SO HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?

Consider yourself one big, walking, talking magnet.  If you don't like what you are attracting, ask yourself what there might be in your life that is attracting this (and of course remembering that LIKES ATTRACT).

The other lesson goes hand in hand with focus.  A popular example would be getting out of debt.  If you want to get out of debt, instead of focussing on paying off debt, focus on gaining money.  A real life example, I have a fishbowl on my desk with a picture of my future Harley on it.  A few months ago I put $40 in it as an experiement to start attracting money.  I then found myself throwing in change and the odd bill into it.  One day my dad was visiting and he even felt the attraction and threw some money in.  I still have a ways to go before this money attracts the Harley, however the point here is if I had never started I would have no money in there.

Like attracts like.

Dream your life. Live your dreams.

Your friend and Coach,
Bryce

PS - Kinda makes you wonder what other beliefs you may need to reconsider....

The Power of Making a Decision

"It is in the moments of decision that your destiny is shaped." - Tony Robbins aka The Man

Whether your conscious of them or not, you are making thousands of decisions a day.  The challenge is, you make the same ones or poor ones.You can have anything you want in life simply by DECIDING to make it so.

That being said, let's check in on what the true definition of making a decision is.  According to Dictionary.com the origin comes from "to cut off from".  Meaning, when you have made a TRUE DECISION, you have cut off from all other possibilities.

There is an old story about a great warrior and leader who sailed with his army to face a fierce enemy which outnumbered them.  Upon arrival, he ordered the boats to be burned. When questioned of his intentions, he responded that now the only way to survive is by winning! And as the story goes, that is exactly what they did.  A perfect example of making a true decision.

Furthermore and in my opinion, when you have made a true decision, action in the direction of that decision immediately follows.  Otherwise, you haven't decided, you are still considering options and/or reaffirming your desire.

To continue the riddle theme from my last post....  There are 5 birds sitting on a wire, one decides to fly off, how many are left?

Answer: It depends on your definition of decision.

In the old definition, 5 birds would remain, as making a decision didn't hold any weight.
In your new defitinion, 4 birds would remain, as action would immediately follow.
And if that bird was a leader, no birds would remain.

OK, time to get real.

If you don't already know, I am hosting my first public seminar in a couple weeks (June 2, 2010 see the events section of my website for more details,  http://www.brycehealey.com/ ). Its FREE and you are all welcome!

How did this become a reality? I decided.  Honestly, it was something I knew I would do 'one day' and had talked about it several times, but had not decided to.  So how did I decide???  Well... I was in the shower and the thought of doing a seminar popped in my head... AGAIN.  And I said to myself "Enough is enough." Immediately after my shower and barely dry, I booked the venue. ACTION!

So...  now I had a date and a location.  All I needed was an audience and what it was I was going to say.  Minor details.. ha ha. Fast forward to today, already I have 10 people confirmed and the framework for my speech is complete.

And again, how did this become a reality? I decided. One simple decision backed with action.

So perhaps now or this weekend, start making some decisions.  If its been a while start small or maybe for now its simply the decision to start making and acknowledging true decisions when you make them.

Either way, the path to your destiny is paved with conscious decision making.  And you don't want to know what the other path is paved with.

Your friend and Coach,
Bryce

PS - If you liked this post and need help in this area. Contact me for a free coaching session OR if you prefer a do it on your own method, Tony Robbins' Person Power is the best there is on the topic.

Problems are a sign of life - Important video link included

Hi everyone!

It took a second try, (i.e.: I had to repeat Day 1), but I am now officially on day 2 of the 10 day challenge!

The positive thoughts/emotions are useful, but what is making a profound difference in my world is the focus on solutions.

How often do we analyze, dwell, and even move on only to revisit our problems?  This is not to say you should ignore problems, but once you know a problem exists and what it is, get solution focused. What I have personally noticed over the last couple of days is by focussing on the solution I am naturally pulled in the direction to take action and soon the problem is gone.

To quote Norman Vincent Peale, the father of positive thinking, “Problems are a sign of life, and if you don’t have problems you had better start to worry because the only people that don’t have problems are in the grave!”
















Accept problems as a challenge, as an opportunity to learn and grow. And most important, acknowledge that your problems are QUALITY problems.

Please watch the following video and as you do, ask yourself, 'How would my life be different if I adopted some of his positive beliefs?'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=9xwCG0Ey2Mg

Dream your life. Live your Dreams.

Your friend and Coach,
Bryce

The Ten Day Challenge! - Day 1

Hi everyone:

Yesterday my coach (yes, even coaches have coaches...  everybody can benefit from a coach) invited me to take Tony Robbins' 10 day challenge. For those of you that have his book "Awaken the Giant Within", it starts on page 309.  For those that don't have it....  buy a copy now.  This book will change your life.

The essence of the challenge is this: For the next 10 consecutive days, refuse to dwell on any unresourceful  (negative) thoughts or feeling.Or to state this in the positive: Focus only on resourceful throughts or emotions.

To be clear, this doesn't mean you aren't allowed to temporarily experience a negative thought as let's face it, they will happen. The purpose here is to not DWELL on them.  As described in the challenge, when you realize you are experiencing a negative thought or emotion, you have 1 minute to break the pattern.

If you dwell longer than 1 minute, you restart your 10 days.

Again, my coach extended me this challenge and I have excepted.  In turn, I am extending the challenge to all of you!  Are you up for it???  Come on... I triple dog dare you.. no stampsies or erasies.

This is day 1 for me... and so far so good! I will do my best to blog each day so you can follow along.  Furthermore, I encourage all you who are brave enough to accept the challenge to post your comments as to your progress.

And as if a challenge isn't enough to motivate you.  For all of those who do decide they are man/woman enough to do this....  contact me through my website (http://www.brycehealey.com/) and I will give you a FREE coaching session in which I will give you a few tools of exactly how to break your negative state.

The first step in creating a breakthrough in your life is awareness, which this exercise will give you plenty of.

Life's a trip. Give'r!

Your friend and Coach,
Bryce

PS - FREE is good, and the next best thing is an amazing deal and my new coaching packages are just that! Check them out at http://www.brycehealey.com/Get_Started_Now.html.