Share Your Story to Inspire Others

Hi Everyone!

Over the last month, I have been really honored to have the opportunity to speak at quite a few of the local Santa Barbara High Schools and Jr. High Schools.  It has been a really fulfilling experience for me to share my story with students and inspire them to make choices that will help them to live their dreams.

Each of the talks I give are about 45 minutes to one hour long.  I am not telling them any sort of hidden secret or anything like that.  I am simply sharing my story and I weave it into a theme about choice and the power of it. 

One of the points I hit home again and again and again to students is that we all always have a choice.  We may  not be able to choose some of the events that happen to us, but we can always choose how we handle, how we deal with, and what we ultimately choose to make of those events that happen.

Stories, I believe, are one of the most powerful tools we have.  And it is a tool we all have at our disposal, as WE ALL have a story to tell!  How we choose to tell our story is where the real power lies.  Do we choose to tell the story from the point of view of victim?  Or Victor?!

What do I mean by that?  Well it is the perspective you choose to tell your story from that matters the most.  You can choose to focus on all the wrongs and the injustices that the world has shoved upon you, or you can choose to focus on all the amazing life lessons you learned from those experiences.  The story is the same, what changes is the perspective you tell it from.

The video below really illustrates this concept.  The video is about a kid named Zach, who recently died from a form of bone cancer.  He was 18 years old.  Rather than feeling sorry for himself and be angry at the world, he chose to really make the most of his time and live and love to the absolute best of his ability.  His story has now gone viral (not viral enough in my opinion) and has appeared on news casts, facebook pages, etc...

The video is about 20 minutes long and worth every second of it.  I cried while watching it.  I did not cry because it was so sad he died, I cried because it was so moving to watch someone exist who really got what life is all about.

While you are watching this video, think about what your story is.  What have you learned from it.  How can you use your story to inspire others?  Please share your thoughts, your stories, your insights below.

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

Willpower and a Guest Blog

Hi everyone!

Today marks the start of what will hopefully be a new way that I can bring more value to all of your lives.

Today I am featuring our first ever guest blogger.  I hope that with bringing in new people from time to time it will greatly benefit you all.

Enough rambling from me, onto Katie our guest blogger

Hey All! My name is Katie, and starting today I’ll be doing some guest blogging for Jesse. I’m into all things healthy, am a total foodie and exercise fanatic, and stoked for the opportunity to share my thoughts with a like-minded community.


I can definitely relate to all of you who follow Jesse’s fitness and life coaching programs. In the past year I feel I’ve made (and seen!) multiple positive changes in my life. The daily routine was really getting to me, making me restless and distracted. Wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, work out, go home, eat dinner. Repeat, repeat, and REPEAT. Well THAT needed to change, and the beginning of 2013 served as a perfect wake up call/ clean slate for new resolutions. An attitude adjustment and refocused energy were the first orders of business. Like Jesse’s program promotes, I think the best and most lasting changes are made from the inside out. My nutrition and lifestyle were next. I’ve always been a social, active, and athletic person, but I was slowly losing steam. By being more conscious of what I put into my body and how it made me feel, and whose thoughts I let (and didn’t let) into my head, I began to feel happier and more motivated than ever.


I participate in a group boot camp program daily and sometimes twice a day (I’ll be the first to admit my exercise regimen isn’t typical). In this hour I’m surrounded with encouraging, healthy, and positive people. I’m lucky to call them friends now and lucky to have this daily positive reinforcement. It has helped keep my resolutions on track in a BIG way and helped me to create new goals for myself. Support systems, be it a friend, a Facebook group, or a Twitter follower, are ESSENTIAL to making real change. It’s all about accountability and knowing there are people who really care about your wellbeing. Exercise Accountability Group, people. Do it!


Fun side note: Did you know willpower is real? It’s not just an intangible idea we all talk about NOT having. Check out this article I found about willpower and accountability’s effect on making lasting changes in your life.....
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/sunday-review/new-years-resolutions-stick-when-willpower-is-reinforced.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0


Has joining the Exercise Accountability Group affected your progress in creating a healthier and happier lifestyle?

Best,

Katie

Attitude Adjustment

“A bad attitude is like a flat tire. You can’t go anywhere ‘till you change it.” - Anonymous

I really like this quote, it rings true in so many ways. A bad attitude not only affects how you feel on the inside, it can also effect the choices you make, the effort you put into achieving your goals, the people around you, and who wants to BE around you It’s not pretty.

How many times have you been around someone whose constant complaining leaves you at a loss for what to say to them, even if it’s a close friend or family member? You listen, sympathize, make positive suggestions, but it’s sort of draining, and leaves you feeling a bit down, right? You might start looking for things to complain about (don’t do it!). We tend to mimic the communication styles of those we’re talking to because it makes us feel more connected.

Fact -- It’s important to surround yourself with POSITIVE, SUPPORTIVE people who will keep you accountable, motivated, and encouraged. We in turn have a responsibility to be positive for those around us. It’s a great feeling knowing that you brightened someone’s day :)

What is something you did in the past week/weekend to make someone’s day better?

Carpe Diem,

Jesse