I’ve never been a big participant when it came to New Year’s resolutions - I’m not really sure why - I guess it’s due in part to the fact that I’ve never been much of a goal oriented person - I mostly do things spontaneously - taking things as they come or figuring it out as I go - I’ve found that this method or approach to life will only get you so far and I’m not completely satisfied with where I’ve been and where I am at this stage of my life - So with that said, I’ve decided that this year is going to be different - I’m going to try something new - I’ve decided to map out a new course of action - I want to see just how far a new system can take me - This resolution I’ll be embarking on is going to be a pretty tall order but I feel like I’m up for the challenge.

For over 8 years now I’ve been sharing my love for health and fitness with the hundreds of people that have walked through my doors here at The Power Center but I know there is so much more that I can and should be doing - I feel like I’ve got some awesome information to share and I haven’t done a fraction of what I could to get this information to the millions of people that can use a little help - So my resolution is to create a much bigger platform than just my small operation at The Power Center, making the ChiForce message much more accessible for others - especially those that don’t live in the Red Bank area - This platform will include a newsletter, books, video messages, DVD’s, and much more - So I better stop writing this blog now because I’ve got a lot of work to do.

Have a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year!

John Nies

‘MOTHER NATURE’ that is! Are the two of you on good terms? Do you tell her how much you appreciate her and her unconditional love and generosity? How is she feeling? Is she in good health? These are important questions that need to be addressed and discussed among all of her children - the collective US! - Mother Nature with her consistent blessings is always taking care of us but do we return the favor?

Our culture, with all the machines and technology, makes it very easy for us to become disconnected - once we cut the cord between ourselves and nature all hell breaks loose - it’s obvious that many start to take earth’s provisions for granted and some of us end up having absolutely no regard for her at all.  The results of this disregard have been devastating - pollution is everywhere - you can see the smog in the air, landfills are now an accepted part of our landscape, and our oceans, rivers, lakes, streams and underground springs are victims as well.

Before the invention of the combustible engine the large majority of the earth’s human inhabitants were hunters, fisherman, farmers, and gatherers. The dynamic of the relationship between humans and nature created a very strong bond, deep respect, and an overall appreciation for the earth and the abundant bounty she provides. If there once was a connection or respect for nature it was lost somewhere during the last hundred years or so - Technology was and still is intended to make our lives easier, more manageable and more convenient - this may be true but at what cost? Many of those conveniences are major contributors to the aforementioned destruction of nature which I believe is a direct correlation to the drastic decline we’re seeing in people’s over all health and well-being.

I believe there are solutions to all of our earthly problems but the only way we stand a chance to correct them is if we make an effort to reconnect - Work on creating a closer relationship with Mother Nature and stop taking so much while making an effort to give back or at least show her a little more well deserved respect and appreciation. I could give you many suggestions on how to reconnect with nature but I will give you the the one that’s at the top of my list - grow a garden - This simple task will immediately change your perception and appreciation for nature -

In closing I want to say that I think Planet Earth is in desperate need of our immediate attention and I also think she is well worth it - after all she is our Mother.

(Entry made by John Nies)

The following is one of the definitions for intentions that I liked —  A course of action that a person intends to follow; The goal or purpose behind a specific action or set of actions

We all know that this can be used for both good or bad - Look around and we’ll find plenty of ‘good’ ones in the World but unfortunately there’s a whole lot of ‘bad’ one’s out there as well. The word came up a few times over the past week and it prompted me to think about my own history of intentions - For the most part throughout the short time I’ve been on this earth I think mine have been pretty good and yes I’ve had a handful of bad ones that led me down a road I’d rather not go back down - even in reflection - intentionally doing bad things leads to nowhere you or I ever want to go - it’s a very dark, dangerous, and scary place and the karma or the effect of your cause will ultimately create misery and suffering.

Id rather discuss and focus on the good one’s - I love the old adage: we reap what we sow - unless a good intention is backed by right action and a burning desire to bring things to fruition chances are the end result will be a big disappointment for all those involved - all good intentions do not have positive outcomes which is why people like Aldous Huxley were quoted saying things like “Hell isn’t merely paved with good intentions, it is walled and roofed with them.” Many good intensions are given up on, disposed, and left behind - resulting in disappointment, discouragement, resentment and even some guilt can be thrown into the mix

I believe that a focused mind, a strong body, and a bright spirit will help us see our best of intentions through - all the way till we reach our goals where the fruits of our efforts are ripe for the picking - In order to give us the best opportunity for success it’s so important to take care of the whole person that we are mind, body, spirit, and emotion - May all of your dreams come true.

John Nies

Why not? After all, they say there’s strength in numbers - Whoever ‘they’ are? - Well whoever ‘they’ are I happen to agree with them and here’s why - Take the first word of the three - ‘FAITH’ - that is a very powerful word - I can’t imagine going back to living the life I was living when my faith was fractured, questioning, and unstable - with faith we can enter into the realms of everything and anything is possible and man what an awesome feeling that is! - As we all know life will sometimes hit us hard challenging us with different types of adversity - creating anger, frustration, doubt and confusion which can sometimes leave us questioning our faith - now watch how word number two is going to make ‘FAITH’ even more powerful than it is all alone - ‘PATIENCE’ - by practicing patience we develop an ability to roll with those hard punches life hits us with - in time patience will thicken our skin and soften our hearts, teaching us very valuable lessons along the way - combining patience with faith enables us to accept things for what they are and see that perhaps things do happen for a reason - now lets add the third and final word into the mix - ‘TRUST’ - another big, powerful, and important word for us to contemplate - when we truly trust our faith then we absolutely have nothing to fear and without fear we are at peace - when we are at peace we are happy, we are connected, and once there we are able to direct our energy and focus into more meaningful and purposeful endeavors - Strength in numbers? - what do you think?

Thanksgiving was a very special holiday for me when I was a kid - it was the only Holiday that would bring the large majority of my family together - Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and all the cousins spending the long weekend together - great food - lots of laughs - and a whole lot of love going around. Back then I never gave it much thought but now as an adult as I look out into the big world and see so many people faced with tragedies, hardship, and adversity.

Come Thursday there will be more than enough food and drink on my table - my house will be warm, comfortable and safe - I will be surrounded by a beautiful, loving wife and our four healthy, energetic, charismatic and charming kids - I will have the right to say whatever I please - I can walk out to my backyard and play with my kids and then eat the last few raspberries off my raspberry bush - I can choose to sit on the couch and watch any of the 1000 channels on the boob tube - I can take my dog to the beach or any number of parks that are within 10 miles of where I live - I can pick up the phone or get on my computer to text, call or email my brother in Fiji, my mom and relatives in Ohio, my Dad in Arizona, my Pop in Florida or my buddy in Germany

I could go on and on but I think you get the picture - we have so much to be THANKFUL for - we are truly blessed and I pray today for those who are less fortunate than so many of us who live with so much abundance - I pray that they at least have something to eat and have someone to share their love with - Wishing all of you a safe, healthy, happy, and peaceful Thanksgiving. God Bless.

Several years ago I was training under the watchful eye of my mentor in San Jose - California. Interestingly enough he was very knowledgeable about my life and my choices - both in the past and present - although our conversations were very brief and infrequent he had a way of saying exactly what I needed to hear when I needed to hear it. On this one particular day as I was up on the roof of his Dojo working out he walked up onto the rooftop deck telling me to stop what I was doing waving me over to join him for a minute - I walked over and stood next to him alongside a small table - As I approached I noticed he was holding a piece of chalk and he had started writing something on the table - once he finished he tapped on the table as if to say - read it!

“Must be very careful! Food can be vitamin and mineral or food can be poison!”

I looked up at him and he continued by adding: “When you have control over your mind you can decide what to eat and what not to eat - when you lose control of your mind the body decides what you eat with cravings”

What I found to be totally ironic then - which I find absolutely normal now was the fact that I had been naively thinking that there was nothing wrong with consuming extremely large amounts of sugar at that time in my life and he knew it - This was when the term ‘Fat-Free’ had taken the country by storm reassuring consumers including me that devouring boxes of Snackwell cookies and quarts of ‘Fat-Free’ frozen yogurt among other sugary treats wouldn’t compromise my physique or my health - Man was I wrong - What I thankfully came to realize was I was a total sugar junky and I needed to break the habit - I call it a habit because I believe sugar to be an addictive substance and a powerful one at that - It took me quite a while to get my consumption down to a minimum which was no easy task. (To Learn more about the ill effects of sugar I highly recommend the book ‘Sugar Blues’ by William Dufty)

Sugar is only one of the many poisons my teacher was referring to - we all need to be very careful of the plethora of chemicals and other additives that many of the food companies are using in the growing/raising/manufacturing process of many of their products - binders, fillers, dyes, preservatives, hormones, pesticides, and nitrates to name a few. Isn’t it time we take control of our lives, learn how to prevent deadly diseases like heart disease and cancer before it’s too late? Food is one of the most precious gifts that Mother Nature blesses us with - let’s not take that for granted - I always try to eat as close to nature as nature intended - be careful if what your eating comes in a bag, box or a can - chances are you’ll find one or more of those additives that will eventually compromise your well being.

We truly are what we eat so, Think before you put it in your mouth - do your research and due diligence finding out where your food is coming from and what methods do they use in producing it - support your local farmers and try to eat organic - it’s well worth - Here’s to your Health.

What a great word - persistent - I often reflect back to the days of my youth when my life revolved around sports - If it weren’t for being forced to attend school I would have happily spent all day, every day playing just about any sport I could find. To say I loved competing is an enormous understatement - most of my fondest memories are related in some way to my athletic career - I remember being part of many brutal battles on both the football field and the basketball court - No matter where I played the competition was often fierce and there were many times when I came face to face with many exceptional athletic warriors - Although there were many times when I would be opposing athletes with superior talent, that was never my main concern - I found a different breed of athlete to be much more of a challenge and nemesis than the best player, talent wise - It was the ‘persistent’ pest that would give me fits - the kid that would never quit - the one that kept coming full speed play, after play, after play - Those were the athletes that pushed me to my limit and those were the type of athletes I wanted on my team.

I think that having a ‘never give up’ approach to life results in success more often than not - Being persistent requires discipline and the right attitude - it all starts with how you approach each day - Are you the type that wakes up dreading the day you’re about to face or are you the type that jumps out of bed ready to take on whatever life has to throw at you? Keep in mind that you were designed to have full control over your thoughts and actions - that is the gift that we are all born with - Free will - If you feel like you have lost some or all of the control in your life I suggest trying to “Live the Seven” - The ChiForce program will help you regain that control enabling you to live the life you imagine for yourself. The simple act of changing the way you think about things can start to turn negatives into positives and you will find it much easier to maintain the ‘persistence’ you’ll need to accomplish all that you set out to do. The mind is a very powerful tool - put it to good use.