The New York/New Jersey Giants are heading to the Superbowl once again! I never considered myself a fan of any athletic team but now that I have 2 boys that love football I’ve paid much more attention to both the Giants and the Jets. I must say that what the Giants have done to get to the Superbowl was very impressive. They had to win 5 single elimination games, three of which were played on the road, in order to get to the big game. This is exactly what they did en route to a Superbowl win back in 2007. It goes to show you how you can never count a team out no matter what their regular season record is. Being a former football player myself, all of the excitement surrounding the Giants got me to reflect on my experiences as a football player. As a kid I always loved playing sandlot football with my buddies but when it came to strapping on a helmet it wasn’t allowed. My parents didn’t want me to get hurt, so every year that I went to them with a registration form to play Pop Warner, I got rejected. After years of begging they finally let me play my junior year in high school–and let me tell you, football was so much more than I ever expected it to be. Today I believe it’s the greatest sport on the planet. There were so many valuable life lessons that I took away from my 10 years on the gridiron. Football taught me about the importance of teamwork, leadership, and unity. I learned how to deal with the massive amounts of fear that came with playing. If there was any type of adversity, and believe me, there’s more than you think you can handle, you deal with it and figure out a way to carry on. Mental toughness was drilled into my psyche and it became paramount throughout my football career. Games would often create high pressure situations especially when you needed a come from behind score or a game winning touchdown or field goal. Football taught me how hard work pays off, that being lazy gets you no where in sports, and more importantly, no where in life. I saw how important it was to respect my coaches, my teammates, as well as my opponents. I learned how to overcome disappointments and manage very stressful situations. I was able to recognize the benefits of strength training, conditioning, and eating well. The list of priceless life lessons that football taught me runs long and deep. I loved playing, I miss playing and I’m forever grateful to the game and the coaches that influenced my life in so many wonderful ways. The good news is that I get to share these life lessons and skills with the local athletes that come to the Power Center for my Ultimate Athlete Conditioning classes. Working on speed, agility, strength and flexibility is very important but the mental part of it and the life lessons we get to share, in my opinion, are so much more important. Go Giants!

In 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. One that is considered by many to be one of the greatest speeches ever given. I personally find his speech to be intensely passionate, powerful and inspirational. I wish we were able to tap into Dr. King’s soul in order to feel the unrelenting compassion he had for the people of this earth. He spoke of injustice, segregation, discrimination and the poverty that people were subjected to. The sad truth is that all of those things still exist today. His dream has yet to be realized despite the 50 years of opportunity that has passed us by. When you compare where we are to today versus a half a century ago we have definitely made some obvious progress, but, it is my opinion that we still have a very long way to go, if we truly want to “let freedom ring.” I too have a dream of my own. I imagine a world where we all shine, living/loving life, rising above all of the unnecessary suffering. A world where we thrive instead of living like a bunch of confused, disconnected, powerless victims that are desperately trying to survive. I imagine a world where we come together, uniting as a solitary tribe of generous, kind, accepting and loving people. This may be an absolute pipe-dream but I believe we, as individuals, can create this for ourselves and our loved ones. If we individually evolve to such a level, then we’ll be in a position to help others pull themselves up and out of their misery. I have a dream that more and more people will start to Live The 7, discovering a heightened connectedness with God’s love and light. Once that is obtained then all things are possible. That’s when all of our dreams come true. Dream big, people. Dream Big!

2012 has arrived and right along with it has come the billions of hopes, dreams, resolutions, goals and opportunities, as well as fears and worries. I hope that all of you had plenty of fun bringing in the New Year and are as excited as I am for what lies ahead. My original plan for my first blog entry of the year was to talk about integrity. As I reflected back on 2011 I couldn’t help but notice the severe lack of integrity that stained the world’s landscape. I thought about my own lapses in judgment and vowed to work harder on elevating my own level of integrity. Although I think it’s a very important subject to discuss, my plans were altered thanks to a vivid dream I had last night. I have a huge chalkboard at my place of business, The Power Center, where I display my word or phrase of the week. In the dream I was the first to arrive, but mysteriously someone had already written on the board. It asked the question, Can WE CREATE an ABUNDANCE of PEACE, LOVE, HEALTH, and HAPPINESS? P,L,H, & H are something that I write and  about all the time so I didn’t find it to be so unusual although the handwriting wasn’t familiar. As I stared at the board wondering who did this my mind and body were flooded with images and thoughts that had very powerful feelings accompanying them. I felt like I was being spoken to by a divine source of power. The first three words of the question were the focal point at first. The emphasis on the word WE. I saw images of people of all walks of life gathering together, I got the feeling that everyone was able to let go of their prejudices and fears of our differences and understood that the only way we could be successful at creating this was by coming together as one. Then the feeling shifted and my attention turned to the word ABUNDANCE. The images I saw were people with smiles on their faces admiring the beautiful fields of crops, houses with vibrant gardens, acres of boutiful orchards, children of all ages running around and playing, and an enormous river of pristine water flowing through the middle of it all. The feeling that I had was universal harmony and joy. There was a collective knowledge that there was more than enough for everyone. More than enough provisions, more than enough peace, more then enough love, more than enough health and more than enough happiness! I realize that this image is so far removed from the reality that we currently live in but I believe that collectively we can change the world and make it a much better place. We start by saying yes to the question, Can WE? Then we reassure ourselves that we are all worthy of a life full of P,L,H, & H. Spreading it and sharing it with others has become my life’s purpose and I intend on continuing on that path throughout the year. Please join me in an effort to make this dream come true. Here’s to a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year for All!