Parents have plenty of opportunities to teach their children. As a father of four I am constantly engaging in conversations with my kids offering advice, providing my perspective on life, or simply listening to what they have to say. For me, having children has been one of life’s greatest blessings. Not only do we get to teach, but if we keep an open mind and pay attention there’s plenty that we can learn from our brilliant little men and women. Over this past weekend I happened to be the student and my 10 year old son was the teacher. He was participating in a wrestling tournament against some of the top wrestlers here on the Jersey Shore. Going into the tournament he was ranked 2nd out of 14 boys in the 64 pound weight class. He ended up in the finals against a very talented and much more experienced wrestler. My son jumped out into an early lead and it seemed like he was in control of the match. Halfway through the second period my son was on top and trying to maintain control over a very shifty and slippery opponent. He ended up getting too high, enabling the other wrestler to toss my son over and onto his back. Five seconds later he was pinned. Match over. Devastation quickly set in as my little warrior laid face down on the mat. He slowly got up to his feet and despite an obvious attempt not to cry the tears came. His behavior over the next 2 hours is what inspired me to write about determination. The event started at 9am, and we returned home at 6:30, tired and hungry. My wife told my son to take a shower before they were to go out for a quick bite to eat. Instead of showering, my wife found him in our play room exercising. At dinner he decided to bypass the usual chicken fingers and fries and chose to order  “something healthy”, grilled chicken and steamed veggies. Upon their arrival back home he came into my bedroom without even saying hello and asked me if I would sign him up at a local training facility that specializes in sports-specific training. When I asked him why, his answer was pretty straight forward. “I’m not going to lose to that kid ever again!” The next day, all on his own, he went for a jog. Three laps around the block. What a great lesson I just learned from my fourth grader. He reminded me of that competitive fire that used to burn so much stronger inside of me. His determination and will to win was inspirational. I saw a look in his eyes that I have never seen before. I can’t predict whether or not he’ll beat that kid the next time they wrestle, but one thing I am certain of is that he won’t be the same wrestler next time he steps onto to the mat.

Are you ready for the challenge of your LIFE? If you are in need of transformation, change, or searching for tools to help you unleash your potential, and are serious about investing in yourself, send us an email 49Days@powercenternj.com. Our 49 Day Warrior Challenge program is an intense and life changing daily commitment and we want to share it with YOU!

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I wish I had $100 for every time I heard someone say that they hate their job. I’d take the thousands of dollars and write/self publish the book; ‘Finding Fun Jobs for Dummies’. I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones when it comes to my profession. I own my own business, which has its fair share of challenges, but because I love what I do, it makes any and all of the struggles that come with wearing several hats well worth the effort. I can vaguely remember certain adults that would warn me and my friends about our bleak future. Another phrase I wish I had $100 for every time I heard it was: ‘enjoy your youth’. Back then I really didn’t fully understand why so many adults would share those exact sentiments but now that I’m all grown up I know exactly what they were talking about. For some strange reason it appears to me that many among us hit a certain age where they no longer have the ability to truly enjoy themselves. We have this strange habit of staying involved in situations that breed unhappiness. Relationships are another example of this. How many people do you know that are unhappily married or completely dissatisfied with their partner of choice? I couldn’t count all those that I know on both hands and feet. I find that human behavior is simultaneously fascinating, shocking, confusing, and mind bending. Why do we continue to do things that cause us stress, aggravation, ill health, heart ache, and numerous other forms of suffering? Things that breed anger, disappointment, bitterness, regret, guilt, and the entire lot of repercussions that repeatedly slap us around. I think there are several answers to the question of why, but the one that stands out in my mind is fear of change. We find ourselves stuck with the same old circumstances and we’re afraid to break the pattern. We’re afraid we might hurt someone’s feelings. We’re afraid of the hard work it will take to reinvent ourselves. We’re afraid of what people will think of the sudden changes. If you’re doing something/anything that doesn’t bring you joy then stop doing it! Take a leap of faith. Fill your life with people that lift you up instead of drag you down. Find work that you’re passionate about. Tap into your creative abilities and ignite your spirit. Stop complaining, stop whining, stop talking about how miserable you are and take that energy and put it into the changes that will lead to a happier existence. Every one of us has the God given right to be happy and I believe that’s exactly what God wants for all of us - to be happy. Don’t waste another precious moment, do it now. Do whatever it is that brings you Joy. Live the 7 my friends - it will help make the transition that much smoother.

Isn’t life a wonderful, wild, mesmerizing, and crazy ride? It’s like a roller coaster that rouses every emotion that dwells in our spirit. It can take us to the highest of peaks and down to the lowest pits of despair. We travel through this life alone, as individuals, yet we share so many experiences with each other, be it family, friends, teammates, co-workers, neighbors or complete strangers. Whether we want to believe it or not we are all interconnected, one big family that needs each other’s love, support, compassion, and connectedness. Look how often we are inspired by one another. Look how often we feel each others pain and sympathize when we see someone else suffering. We celebrate each others happiness, accomplishments and creativity. We have the power to take pride in seeing someone else shine. Deep down inside, when we tap into the true essence of our being we can find that part of ourselves that is genuinely happy when we see other people thrive. Unfortunately not everyone is able to get to that place in their heart where they’re able to feel, express, and accept the love I’m referring to. When we disconnect and seperate ourselves from the human family we lose our way and we literally invite suffering into our lives. We only have this one precious life and we only have so much time to make the best of it. When we fail to love ourselves we fall apart. We neglect our body and we invite disease, we neglect our spirit and we’re left with a big empty void, we neglect our mind and we become susceptible to all of life’s temptations and stand the risk of being stricken with mental illness or emotional imbalances. We all struggle at times, we all fall down, we all make mistakes, some of us fall from grace, and some of us feel like there’s no way out. As long as our minds are intact then there is hope for anyone that desires change. When we decide that it’s time be free from suffering our first objective should be the realization that your life is a blessing. There’s only one you - a perfectly unique creation that has every right to be happy and at peace. By practicing self love it’s so much easier to make the right choices. We create a harmonious existence for ourselves by treating our mind, body, and spirit with equal amounts of care. Take pride in loving yourself. Nourish your mind and your body. Shower yourself in self confidence. Revel in your personality and accept everything about yourself. You are the one and only YOU and you have the capability to shine your beautiful light on all those you share this life with. Shine bright my friends. Shine bright.

Are you ready for the challenge of your LIFE? If you are in need of transformation, change, or searching for tools to help you unleash your potential, and are serious about investing in yourself, send us an email 49Days@powercenternj.com. Our 49 Day Warrior Challenge program is an intense and life changing daily commitment and we want to share it with YOU!

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!

This is one of those questions that you hear all the time. Old friends, family members you haven’t seen in a while, old colleagues, or just about anyone that you’ve had past experiences with could drop it on you at any time. Our typical responses are short, sweet, and to the point. “Life is good” is one of the more popular. Short and sweet is fine but let’s put some more thought into it, delve a little deeper into the age old question. How is life? Well for me, life is a multitude of things - it’s mind-bending, amazing, mysterious, mesmerizing, challenging, humbling, educational, fun, surreal, crazy, interesting and definitely worth all of the adversity and hardships it will sometimes offer up. Life is a never ending cycle of evolution. We arrive from God knows where, we’re born into a particular family, under particular circumstances, in a particular community, living amongst thousands of other people that are all in the same boat. Despite all of our differences we are all the same. Human beings that all thrive when we are submerged in and raised with love and we struggle and suffer when we are deprived of that same gift. As we approach this new year let’s all try to love a little bit more. Starting with ourselves. Let go of the past and release the memories that cause you to suffer. Start anew and create the life that fills your heart with love, your mind with peace, your spirit with happiness and your body with health. Do this for yourself and the whole world will benefit, especially those people that you’re closest to. Spread the love everyone and life will be much better than good. It will be awesomeness!