The Power of Repetition

Have you ever heard that expression: "do something uncomfortable over and over again until it becomes comfortable?"  If you haven't, now you can say you have.  Hahaha, all joking aside and in all seriousness, while the above looks like another one of "THOSE" fortune cookie quotes we read once and then discard, what it really is, is THE key; the key to building momentum.

You see one of, if not, the most important skill practices we can develop is that of actively repeating something over and over again, until it becomes second nature.

If you play sports, think about the first time you threw a baseball or shot a basketball, I am willing to bet you did not do it with the same ease and skill that you are able to do it today. 

What changed?  You did!  You changed by consistently practicing over and over again.  You changed by throwing 1000's of balls and shooting 1000's of baskets.  You repeated the movements and actions over and over again until they became second nature to you.  




Or what about when you learned to tie your shoes?  Do you remember how hard that was? How impossible it felt trying to make those darn loops.   You stuck with it though, you kept trying and trying, you did not give up when you failed to tie your shoes, you persisted and then all of a sudden, BAM!  You got it!

Now you don't even have to think when you tie your shoes.  It's like your hands do it on autopilot.

This is the power of repetition... the power to make anything you do no matter how foreign or awkward it may feel, become second nature with consistent repetition (practice).

You have a tremendous amount of power inside of you, the power to do virtually anything.  All you need to do to unlock this power is to pick something, stick with it, and repeat, REPEAT, REPEAT!!!

Enjoy the photos,




Carpe Diem,

Jesse 

P.S. If you like my photos, check out my photography site for more great pictures!  Just click here!

Be Present to Live a Fulfilling Life

How is 2013 going so far?  Is it the year you want it to be, or is it starting off a little slower than you had hoped?

More importantly, have you made time for you, made time for what is most important to you?  Have you made time for friends, family, your health, your PASSIONS?!?!

Every day I seem to find more reminders in the world of just how short and how precious life is.  I think we would all be in agreement that it will be hard to find someone who disagrees with this.

Yet everyday I hear stories of "life just passing by," essentially people not taking time to get present with what is most important to them, what matters most.

Why?


I want 2013 to be the most successful year for you ever!  When I say successful, I mean more than just career/financial success.  I want you to be successful in living.  I want you to have fulfilling relationships, superior health, control of your time, more Free time; and I want you to be fully present to enjoy it all.

One of the things I have begun doing in 2013 is holding a weekly poker game with a group of guys.  I used to play regularly several years ago and I loved it.  I loved it because it gave me a time to connect with other people and created an opportunity to bond and strengthen relationships.

What is something you could start doing to bond, to connect, to strengthen relationships with friends and family?

I promise you that the more present you are in your interactions with people, the higher quality relationships you will have.

Watch the short video below on the importance of being present. 

If you have already seen it before, watch it again, being present, living a fulfilling life is worth it.

What is something you could do today that will help you become more present in your life?  Please share below.  We will all learn more and live better lives by working together.  :)

Enjoy the pics,

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

Lance Armstrong vs. Everyone else

As you probably know by now Lance Armstrong has supposedly admitted to blood doping and lying about it while he was winning his 7 Tour De France titles. 

I scan the news everyday and he is getting crucified right now.  It is hard to find an internet site, a paper, or magazine that does not have his picture plastered on it with a headline that reads something like "Cheater," or "Liar." 

I am curious, what do you all think about this?

As someone who is in the Fitness and athletic industry I can understand why he did it.  I do not personally believe in it, but I get it. 

When you are competing at the elite level like that there is such a small margin that separates the winners from everyone else.  If you are better than everyone else, you will win, pretty simple right.  Well, what if "everyone else," starts using performance enhancers.  They provide just enough to lift them from 3rd place to 1st.  What is the guy who was the best supposed to do?  How is he ever supposed to win, to reclaim his rightful spot at the top, unless he does what everyone else is doing?

What really bothers me about this whole thing, is why Lance?  Why is he labeled a liar and a cheat.  Why is all the good he has done, being cast aside right now?  Is it to sell more newspapers?  To drive TV ratings up?

I ask because he lied, but so do our elected leaders don't they? 

Here in the USA we recently had the Presidential election.  Over the course the election there are three debates between the two opponents.  When the debates end, one of the first things to happen, is the news organizations cut to the "fact check" room.  The fact check room is just what its name implies, it is a place to check the facts, to see who lied to us and about what.

Why are there not more stories, of equal magnitude to Lance Armstrong, about the lies of the "leaders" of our respected nations?  Why is it that we will excuse them, but not Lance?  Why is it that we will accept their "lies" and misleading's, but not Lance's?  More importantly, why are we so quick to and so willing to forgive and forget what they did, but not Lance?


How many of them have created cancer foundations?  How many of them have helped to raise 10's of millions of dollars for cancer research?  How many of them have helped to save the lives of 1000's of people because of their foundation?  How many of them have inspired generations of people to rise above adversity, to not wallow in their circumstances, but to instead use those circumstances as the fuel for a cause?

Is Lance Armstrong's drug use, blood doping, or whatever it was, is it really worth diminishing all the good he did? 

What happens if it is uncovered that some of the decision makers and governing bodies knew of what is going on?  What kind of message does that send to children?

You can do whatever you need to do to win, as long as it is making everyone involved A LOT of money.  However, once you get to old, or once you stop winning and money runs out, those same people will brand you as a liar, a cheater, and will drag your name through the mud?

Again, I do not think what Lance did was right, but I understand why he did it.  And given the climate of the Tour de France at the time ( how many of the top 20 guys have all tested positive for some sort of performance enhancing drug at this point??) he needed to, to maintain the edge over guys who were almost naturally as good as he was, but were willing to do whatever it took to be a little better.

Honestly though at the end of the day, I am so thankful he DID take whatever he took.  It gave him the edge he needed to win.  And because he won, we loved him for it.  And because we loved him for it, we made him a celebrity and put him on a pedestal.  And from this pedestal, Lance Armstrong was able to become a champion in a different way.  He was able to create and bring about a tremendous amount of positive change to the world.

He was able to Champion a cause that has hit close to home for so many of us.  He was able to Champion Cancer Research, Treatment, and Prevention.

Had Lance not won, there would most likely be no Live Strong, there certainly would not have been the 10's of millions of dollars raised for Cancer research/treatment/prevention.  And those 1000's of people whose lives were saved as a result, maybe you are close to one of them, well they, they would all be dead.  There certainly would not have been the 100's of millions of Lance Armstrong inspired dollars pumped into local economies around the world.  People everywhere were buying bikes, going to cycling events, buying gear, etc... because they were inspired, they were inspired by a man who was given only a 40% chance of living and now was dominating one of the most challenging endurance events.

And lastly, there would not have been generations of people inspired to go out and ride a bike, or to get in shape, or volunteer at the local cancer center, or to take a stand against cancer and refuse to let it get the best of them.

Lance Armstrong is a hero that is what I think.  If we as a society are going to start making witch hunts a focal point of our existence, I think there are better places we could spend that energy (Politicians - hint hint) than destroying the people who are doing what they can to make a positive difference.

What do you think?  I really would love to read your thoughts/opinions.

Please share below, and when sharing, please be respectful of other people's thoughts/opinions.






Carpe Diem,

Jesse

10x Value

I have shared with you all that one of my big goals this year is to provide all of you with 10x the value I deliver.

What exactly does 10x the value mean?

If the investment is a monetary one it is easy to measure 10x value.  As an example, I have a coaching client who i have been working with for about a year.  She told me last week that her income increased by more than 20x the money she invested on coaching with me.

What if it is not as easy as dollars and cents to measure value, how does one go about measuring value when it is not monetary?  How does one measure changes they make in their life?  How does one value their health, their happiness, the level of fulfillment they have in their lives?

I cannot answer those questions for you, only you can answer them for you.

All I can do is make a pledge that however you decide to answer those above questions, it is my pledge to do all that I can to help you live those answers, and make 2013 your best year yet.

I think the 10x value is a good motto to live by.  It is something we can all do.  It is a great North Star to follow.

Think about it... if you work in customer service, it does not take a lot to deliver more value to the customers.  Calling someone by their name, smiling when you interact with them, listening, genuinely listening to their concerns will instantly add 10x value to customer's experience.

The above is true in any industry.  All of us can think of something we can do just a little bit better that will add 10x the value and then some.

10x value is a great motto for out personal lives as well.  Imagine what your health and your relationships will look like if you started adding 10x more value to those. 

Now the big question, how can you add 10x more value today, tomorrow?

Staying on this 10x value theme, I wanted to re-share a couple of videos I have recently posted to the 1000 Challenge page.

In addition,  I would like to tell you all about "The Happiness Guide."  It is my free gift to all of you.  The Happiness Guide is a compilation of my 50 best tips to live a happy, more fulfilling life.  Just go to my website www.jessebrisendine.com to download your free copy of it.

If you haven't already seen the videos below, I hope you enjoy watching them.  If you have seen them before, I encourage you to watch them again.  They are full of ideas of how you can make 2013 your best year ever in all aspects of your life.

Enjoy the videos,

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

 

Your Wondeful Life in a Jar

Happy New Year!

2012 is gone which means 2013 is here!

I hope this blog finds you working hard on all your 2013 goals.  It is going to be a great year, if you decide to make it so.

To help you all make this year the best one yet, check out the various facebook groups I have created to help you achieve all your goals.

 In 2013 I Challenge Myself To____

1 Million Positive Pounds Challenge

The most common New Years Resolution people make is a fitness related one.  If you are one of those people and would like a little extra support, professional guidance, and accountability, look no further than my exercise accountability group.  Check out all the details here.

I was at the gym the other day and overheard the following conversation:

"Man, I have had the worse day ever today."  The guy then explains in vivid detail about all the horrible (which really were not all that horrible in the grander scheme of life) things that happened to him that day.

The person listening to his rant responds, "Wow, that sounds awful.  I hate it when you have days like that, in fact, I had one like that recently."  He then goes on to describe his horrible day, again, in vivid detail.

It got me thinking.  Why is it that when it comes to the negative we can recall every single vivid detail and then some.  Not only that but we tell every single person that will give us an ear about all the horrible things that go on in our life.  Why do we do this?

Yet when it comes to the positive days, and the positive things that happen in day to day life, they get swept under the rug.  Often times barely a mention, let alone sharing with the world.  And when asked to recall details they get retold in far less vivid detail than the negative days.  

Need evidence, look no further than status updates on facebook.  We all have those friends who are all to willing to share, with the world, every "horrible" thing and piece of drama in their life.
 
On Monday, I was telling the above to a good friend of mine.  Then she told me about this great idea she had heard about.  Taking a jar and filling it up with notes on all the positive things that happen to you throughout the year.

You can fill it up as often as you like.  The whole idea is that this is another tool to help develop a positive mindset. 

Lets be honest we all need a little help focusing more on the positive and less on the negative.

On Tuesday I shared the photo she sent me and people seemed excited about it.  Many of you said you wanted to take the challenge with me.

 I write you this to help get the accountability ball rolling.  I have my jar, I even named it, and have put my first few notes in it, as you can see below...

I am not going to lie, looking at my jar seemed a little intimidating at first.  I mean, can I really fill a jar this size with positive things that happen?  And then I remembered my jar of change I shared with you all during the 1000 Challenge.  That jar started with a few pennies and grew to over $400 in lose change.  The metaphor, things from small beginnings can grow and yield big results.

Get your jars ready and start taking note of just how great your day to day life is.

Happy 2013.  Together we will make it the best year ever!

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

I'll be Home for Christmas

Christmas is just a few hours away... I swear it was just Christmas the other day, well at least it felt like it.

Time just keeps going by faster and faster.  I was talking with a client about this the other day.  We got on the usual "time goes by so fast chit chat" and I was telling her a story about when I was a kid it seemed like the days took weeks to pass and summer could never come fast enough.  NOW, it all blurs together, and if you blink, you miss out on precious moment of life.

On the subject of time going by so fast, in February it will be three years since my Dad died.  I have not been home since.  On Monday, I am going to head home for the first time.  It is something I have been avoiding, but it is time to go.

More on that in a minute, but first a few quick, and very important announcements.

We had an awesome Ustream chat.  If you missed it and would like to watch the replay, click here.  You can also see all the past Ustream's there as well.  On that note, if anyone has any ideas/suggestions about how we can better improve the web chat experience, please let me know.  I am sorry you all have to deal with the commercials.  If Santa is nice to me, this year I will look into upgrading to the commercial free version unless we can find a better software platform.

Holidays Around the World event is going on.  Be sure to take your pictures and post them to the 1 Year 1000 Challenge page.  This was an awesome challenge last year that had 20+ countries and every continent, save for Antarctica, participating.  To learn more about this challenge, click here.

I'd like to start 2013 off with a ton of momentum by creating some year long challenges for us to participate in. These challenges are big ones, and have ZERO chance of being realized unless you all agree to challenge yourselves throughout the year.  The cool thing is it is a win win.  If we all challenge ourselves and give 100% we will all be in store for the best year yet.

1,000,000 that is right, 1 Million Positive Pounds Pursuit challenge.

The name says it all. 

When it comes to your health, everyone should have a goal!

2 of the most common goals are:

1 - Losing Weight
2 - Gaining Muscle

Health and Fitness related diseases are sweeping the globe. The #1 killer in the USA is Heart Disease, the majority of which is preventable through proper diet and exercise.

I have a goal for 2013, to help produce 1,000,000 Positive Pounds of weight loss/lean muscle gain.

 To participate, or to find out more info, join the Facebook group I have set up for this challenge:  Click here to go to the group page

1,000,000,000 Steps Challenge.

We tried to do 1 Billion steps in a month and we did not quite make it.  I still believe 1 Billion is achievable, but lets stretch it out over the course of the year.  There are actually some members of the 1000 Challenge Community that have been keeping track of their steps still.  I am hoping we can combine forces on this.  Please email me to let me know

In 2013, I Challenge Myself To_____ it is that time of year.  No New Years Resolutions, 2013 is all about challenging yourself to achieve your goals.  I have set up a Facebook group to help hold you accountable to achieving these goals.  Check it out here To join the group all you need to do is take a picture of yourself holding a list of your goals for 2013 with the words "in 2013 I Challenge Myself To" at the top

Holiday Discount... in my last blog I mentioned that until Christmas, I was offering 10% off the purchase of all personal training and life coaching services.  Since I have been a little behind on emails, I am going to extend this offer through December 31st at midnight.  This a great gift to give yourself or someone you care about.

Phew, that was a lot of updates :)

Back to what I was saying before, wait what was I saying?  OH yeaaaa, time flies, and it has been nearly three years since I have been home.

I would be lying if I said I was not nervous about going home.  I have been avoiding going since my Dad died, simply because I am not sure how it will make me feel.

Will I be sad?  Will I be angry?  What will the experience be like? 

After my Dad died I went through the normal emotions of grieving, but I was also very angry and ashamed at myself, angry that I was not in a better position financially to help my Mom after.  And ashamed for the same reason. 

Ever since I was a little kid, I always had wanted to grow up and be able to "help" my parents whenever help was needed.  At the time of my Dad's death, I felt like I let both of my parents down.

Fast forward to this moment and the above leads to the nervousness I am feeling now.  I know that going home is not only going to give me an awesome opportunity to spend time with my family, but it is also going to give me a chance to make peace with my Dad's death and that part of myself I have not made peace with yet.

I share this private part of my life with you all because I wan to remind you all that I am human, flesh and blood, just like all of you.  We all struggle at times, we all experience many different emotions, and we all deal with life, and death, in our own unique way.  Sometimes it is easy, or convenient, to dismiss what I have to say, or what I try to teach and bring to the world; because "I am not like you because I do not know what your life is like."

I may not know you and I may not know what your life specifically is like, but I know humans, and I know what the human experience is like.  We are all in it together, happy/sad, rich/poor, healthy/sick, all of it makes up the many fabric's of our lives.

So yes, I am a little nervous about going home.  It is an unknown for me, but I am also excited, excited to see my family, excited to revisit my roots, excited to have a few down days, excited for mine and my Mom's date to see The Hobbit, and excited for the opportunity to grow and move forward in life.

I wish you all Happy Holiday's and Merry Christmas.

Life is only ever going to be what you make of it...

Enjoy the pics,

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

12-12-12

 Waaaazzz UUUUUppppp everyone!


I hope you all enjoyed 12-12-12 as much as I did.  I really love doing challenges like that one, they are so simple, yet so profound if you look a little deeper.

Before I get to that a couple quick updates

Merry Christmas!  Between now and Christmas I will be offering 10% off all Life Coaching and Personal Training programs.  That includes my Zero Limits Boot Camp program.  This is a great gift to give to someone special to you or to yourself.  Email me to sign up or if you have any questions.  Be sure to mention the 10% off promo from this blog

On the subject of Christmas, next week I will post the Holiday's around the World Challenge.  It will be the same format as last year.  This was such a fun event.  Check out the photos from last year

Start thinking of your goals for 2013.  I have a cool new accountability idea to achieve those goals that I will be sharing in the next few days.

12-12-12 has come and gone.  And while these days are fun because we can create cool challenge out of them, they really are no different than any other day, are they?

So why do the challenge on 12-12-12, why not do it on 12-15-12 instead, if the days are the same?

12-12-12 and similar days to it, provides a unique opportunity to bring awareness to a very valuable lesson.  We all love cool little things like this when the numbers on the calendar line up, or when we look down at the clock and it is on 2:22.

So what is the point of 12-12-12 Jesse?  What are you babbling on about?

The point, and the real challenge within the challenge, was to take a moment and just be aware what you are doing.  To be mindful of your life and deliberate in your existence.  You see so many of us run through life so fast that we never stop to "smell the roses."  The moment that you took on 12-12-12 was your moment to "stop and smell the roses."  Think about it...

Some of you resolved to make the day special for different reasons.  Some of you took time off work to treat yourself to something special.  That is great and that is smelling the roses.  It is making time for you.  Putting the busy hustle and bustle on hold to just be present, to be aware of who you are and what you are doing.

Some of you were working that day and more specifically at 12:12pm, but even while working, we still have the opportunity to stop, take a breath and be aware of what we are doing at work.

How many of you go to your job and are on auto pilot, going through the motions, with your only awareness of time being when the day is done and you are free to go home?

So to participate in a challenge like the 12-12-12 challenge forces us to stop and again, be present.

That is the reason I love doing these challenges, it gets us all out of the routine of life and makes us, even if for a moment, present and aware of life around us.

Some of you chose to spend the time with friends and family while some of you chose to honor the memory of loved ones lost.  Some of you chose to celebrate birthdays, while others simply took note of the time and in doing so connected with hundreds of people from all around the world who were doing the same thing.

Life goes by so fast.  So often we reach the end of a day, or a week, and we cannot remember one significant thing that happened that week, unless it was something negative, why?  Because we are not making an effort to be present.

Every day can be a 12-12-12 Challenge Day, every day there is an opportunity to be present, to experience more of what the world and life has to offer.  To be present does not cost money, the only thing it requires is just a moment, a moment where you allow yourself a vacation from the routine and permission to just be.

Thank you everyone for participating.

Enjoy the pics,

Carpe Diem,

Jesse