A Very Candid Interview with Jesse Brisendine

Hi All,

You asked for it, here it is... a very candid interview with my good friend Macie Berlin.

If you read any of January's blogs, you will remember Macie as she wrote a very popular guest blog about me.  Click here to check it out.

Before we get to the interview, I wanted to share one quick update.

I should have a website up for the Unlock Your Greatness event by the first week of May.  This site will have a ton of info about the October event: what to expect, how to sign up, etc... I will keep you posted.

Can I just say how excited I am for my first Live Event!  I really appreciate all the love, support, and enthusiasm from all of you.  I am extra excited to welcome many of you to Santa Barbara in October. :)

The Macie Interview.

A few weeks ago I asked you all what questions you would like to see Macie ask me.  She picked three of them, and well, I won't spoil the interview, you are going to want to watch for yourself.

What did you think of the interview?  Would you like to see more interviews like this?  Leave Macie and I a comment below.  We would love your feedback.

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

http://www.jessebrisendine.com
http://www.facebook.com/1year1000challenge

Professional Wrestling & Living Life like a Big Kid

Helllllooooo everyone!

A few weeks ago I had an amazing opportunity to attend WWE's Monday Night Raw at the Staples Center in Los Angeles California. 

I know I know, Professional Wrestling - trust me I have heard it all before:

"It's Fake," "It's not a real sport," blah blah blah

It's fake?!  Has anyone ever watched professional basketball or soccer?  And have you ever seen one of those players "fake" being knocked down or hurt to try and get a ref to make a call on the opposing team?

I'm just saying, it happens.

It's not a real sport?!

Ummmm, hellloooo WWE = World Wrestling ENTERTAINMENT.  It is entertainment plain and simple.  It is a show put on by some amazing athletes kind of like Cirque Soleil.  Key differences being, WWE entertainers tend to be a little bigger and often have speaking roles.

I have always enjoyed wrestling.  As a young kid (age 8) I was a huge Hulk Hogan fan, I considered myself a true Hulkamaniac, and it has always been a dream of mine to see him perform live.

As a big kid (some people call this an "adult") wrestling has always given me the inspiration to access my inner child whenever I watch it.

I have never been particularly close with my Dad and my Brother, and as a kid there were very few times that all three of us did things together to really bond.

As a teenager, one of the things we did do together was watch wrestling. 

Monday nights had become my favorite night of the week because my Dad, Brother, and I were all going to be on the same page as we cheered for our favorite wrestlers and booed the ones we didn't like.

The above is the reason why I am such a fan of wrestling and why I still enjoy it so much today - when I watch it, it gives me that feeling of closeness to my Dad and Brother.

When the opportunity arose to attend Monday Nigh Raw, here was my thought process:

There are two wrestlers I have ALWAYS wanted to see: Sting and Hulk Hogan

I knew Sting was going to be there and I thought there was a good chance the Hulkster would be.

It was the show before the Superbowl of pro wrestling aka Wrestlemania, which meant there was a high chance of an extra amazing show.

Seeing it live would be a ton of fun (I had previously been 2 or 3 times).

It would give me a chance to connect to that feeling of closeness I had with my Dad and Brother.

So I went, and

I had one of the most amazing nights ever.  I will let the pictures tell most of the story, and I will say this.  My face was sore the next two days from smiling so much. 

I was smiling for the fun I had and I was smiling for realizing a dream.

As mentioned before I had always wanted to see Hulk Hogan live... guess what, it happened.

If you have a dream, and you want it bad enough, and you believe in it enough, it can happen as long as you hold the belief that it can happen.

To make it happen you have to be willing to hold onto the belief and take actions to support the belief.

My Hulk Hogan dream was over 20 years old and I still wanted it and believed in it enough just as much as I did when I was a little kid.

Do you have a childhood dream that has come true?  Do you have one that you are still pursuing?

Your dreams are treasures, ones that are worth believing in, and worth doing whatever work is required to make them come true.

Enjoy the pics (some of them are ones I took and the ones you see me in are ones that were sent in from members of the 1 Year 1000 Challenge community who were watching the show on tv).

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

www.jessebrisendine.com
www.facebook.com/1year1000challenge

Brock Lesnar in the ring.  He was the current champion. He is a big big boy!

STING opened the show!  I was just a little excited! :)

This is Ryback.  Prior to seeing him live, I was not totally sold on him.  When he finished his match he took the time to walk around the ring and give every one a high five.  What really impressed me was hearing him say "Thanks Guys" to all of the fans. 

Very special to see an entertainer personally thank the fans he entertains.

Sting opened the show - EPIC.  Sting was the most famous wrestler to never join WWE.  This was a real treat

You have to BOO the bad guys!  Especially when they are doing a USA vs Russia storyline.

Not going to lie... I screamed, yelled, and "woooed" (Wrestling lingo - wrestling fans woo as a tribute to "The Nature Boy Ric Flair") when Hulk Hogan came up.  I did not know if he was going to be there, but I figured there was a good chance he might be there being as this was the show before Wrestlemania.  When the segment started I thought to myself, "If Hogan is going to come up now is going to be the time."  As the segment went on and it became evident they were building for something special, I knew that one of my child hood hero's was about to make his way to the ring.  When Hogan's music hit - my inner child was overjoyed with excitement.

The high pitched "wooing" is me... I was just a tad excited :)

I swore that if I ever got to see the Hulkster live, I would Hulk up with him.  As he was asking the audience to make some noise and flexing the "24 inch pythons," I was doing the same (In between taking photos).  And my pythons are not quite 24 inchers

As awesome as it was to see Sting, Hulk Hogan, and the rest of the WWE perform.  The real highlight of the night for me was this kid.  

In wrestling you have "good guys" (baby face's) and "bad guys, " (heals).  They all play their characters out giving the audience the chance to choose a side and choose a side that aligns with basic morality good vs evil.  

When  a wrestler is in character they are, like an actor, supposed to stay in their character always, while the show is going on .  

So many of the wrestlers, when exiting after their matches, stopped to sign this kids sign.  Many of the ones who were playing "bad guys," if they did not stop to sign it, at the very least made an effort to go over and give the kid of high five. Most of the good guys, as you can see by all the signatures, stopped to sign.

As a fan it was so special to see the WWE Superstars making this extra effort to make a young child's night something and one he will always remember.

Daniel Bryan, one of the current fan favorites.  When he comes out everyone stands up and chats yes to his music!

A Memorable Night... Meeting up with Members of the Exercise Accountability Group

Hi Everyone!

A couple quick updates:

1 - As you may or may not have heard, I am hosting my first ever live event!!!! I am beyond ecstatic for this next step in my mission to positively impact the lives of 2 Billion people.  Save the Dates: Friday October 9th and Saturday October 10th in Santa Barbara California.  More details will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.  Be sure to check in here, my newsletter, and the 1 Year 1000 Challenge page for all the details as they come in. :)

2 - The Spring 28 Day Flat Belly Challenge begins on Wednesday.  There are still a few spots available if you want in.  This is an awesome opportunity to get rid of that unwanted body fat once and for all.  Click here for more info

The early part of my career in helping people was spent in the gym doing personal training.  I loved seeing people undergo the physical transformations of losing weight, building muscle, and recovering from injuries.  It was an amazing time in my life.

As much as I enjoyed my time as a trainer, I also found a part of me being frustrated.  I wanted to help more people and my reach seemed limited to who was in front of me at the gym.

I knew I had a ton of knowledge and experience to offer people in the realm of fitness. I knew, as I transitioned away from the role as a full time trainer, that there were still people out there who could benefit from my fitness, health, and exercise expertise.

I also knew that one of the biggest obstacles people faced in achieving their goals was ongoing accountability.  I used to see it all the time; highly motivated people, who showed up to the gym, kicked ass at their workouts and nailed their nutrition.  Then as soon as they stopped training with me and they no longer had the accountability, all their hard earned gains would disappear as would their gym attendance.

One day I had the idea to create a group. My intention in creating the group was to create accountability amongst members while providing a fun, safe, supportive, and inspiring environment for people working towards their health and fitness goals.

I called it the Exercise Accountability Group.

Over the years, the Exercise Accountability Group has now grown to nearly 60 members strong from all over the world!

Last month (March 2015) we agreed to do a meet up in New Orleans Louisiana. The meet up was open to all group members.  Several of the members even participated in a race the morning of the meet up.

Heading to the meet up that night I was a little nervous, actually that is a lie, I was really nervous. :)

Many of the people who were going to be there had been clients of mine for a long time, yet I had never met any of them in person.  Thoughts ran through my mind... What would they think of me?  Would I live up to their expectations?  Did I have enough bad jokes to tell to last the night? What if they did not recognize me? What if no one showed??!?!!

My nerves were quickly eased as Exercise Accountability group members began to show up.  First there was one, then two and eventually there were many.  Conversation lasted well into the wee hours (we finally were kicked out of the bar about 1am).

For me it was such a joy to hear everyone's stories about all their adventures they had been having in New Orleans, as well as learning more about some of the members and their life journeys.  It meant a lot to me to be able to be there with them as they celebrated the race they had run earlier that day.

Often, throughout the night, I found myself feeling a tremendous sense of pride in all the people present as they shared more of their story with me.  There were a lot of smiles, laughs, and tears, as I got to learn more and more about the journey's many had been on and what they have overcome in their life.

When I found a spare moment to myself (usually when I went to the bathroom, which I did a lot on account of the Coors Lite's I was drinking), I could not wipe the smile off my face.  Several years ago I had had an idea to create an environment where a group of like minded people could come together, support, encourage, and inspire one another on their individual fitness journey's.

Fast forward to present day, here I was, meeting up with members of that group who had traveled 1000's of miles to gather in NOLA and celebrate all their accomplishments thus far!

The photos below do not illustrate the journeys so many of these amazing people have been on.  I could spend hours talking about and bragging about all of them.  Since the group is an Exercise group I'll leave you with one amazing fact:

The combined weight loss of the people pictured in the group photo is nearly 800lbs!!! Amazing and Inspiring.

With all my heart I want to thank everyone who has been a part of the Exercise Accountability Group thus far (or is a friend or family member supporting one of the members) and helping me to make one of my dreams come true.  An extra big thanks goes to all the members, and their friends, who made the trip to NOLA.

It was an amazing night that I will never forget.  I will always and forever hold the memories of that night in a very special place in my heart.

Enjoy the pics,

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

http://www.jessebrisendine.com
http://www.facebook.com/1year1000challenge

P.S. we are always looking for new members to join the Exercise Accountability Group.  Only qualifications needed are to have a desire to make exercise and eating healthy a priority in your life.  Click here to get more info and to sign up.