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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Team METAL!!!

Our Team Passion has a Team METAL Emerging within and it makes me happy :-) I don't know why this could ever be but I seem to be attracting fellow METAL Heads into this Team Beachbody opportunity. How sweet is that? Fellow Metal Heads Uniting under the Banner of Health, Fitness, and METAL!!! \m/\m/

Are you a Metal Head? Do you give a care about your health and fitness? Join us :-) Pick a metal screen name! So far we have the following people and their screen names:

Lisa Kauppinen: fit2thrill
Angela Jones: rockerangie
Leah Burlington: ladymetal
Daniel Siltala: metallidad
Antoinette Salazar: metalprincess
Jacqueline Koepfer: fullmetaljackie
Daniel Lenegar lenegarrawks
Melissa Mysinger: highwaytomel
Tom Birkenmeyer: metalpalace

Friend up with one another on facebook! Metal heads Unite \m/\m/ and for the kittehs >^..^<

Tom - Metalpalace

6 Foods with Hidden Sugar by Joe Wilkes

The average American eats approximately 1,500 pounds of food every year. Of that, 160 pounds are primarily sugar. Of course, sugar is delicious, and I know I'm the happier for its existence, but of all the things we consume, it has the least nutritive value. In fact, except for the energy in its calories, there's not much to recommend about sugar. It's a prime source of empty calories, and for those of us who are trying to lose weight, sugar's the first thing we should start trimming from our diets. But here's the problem—despite our best intentions to remove excess sugar from our diet, the food industry has found more and more devious ways of slipping us the sweet stuff. Whether the food industry calls sugar by another name or adds it to foods we never thought would have needed it, our sweet tooth is constantly being bombarded. Fortunately, with stricter labeling laws, we have a fighting chance at cutting back on sugar.

Why does the food industry want to fill us so full of sugar?

It's basically the same as any other industry. For the oil industry to make more money, it needs us to use more of its product by driving more miles. The food industry needs us to use more of its product by eating more calories. The problem is that the American food industry is already producing around 3,900 calories per person per day, which is way more than we need. One solution to this surplus is to sell the food cheaply overseas, which the industry does. The other solution is for Americans to eat more calories. And sugar and its corn sweetener brethren are great calorie delivery systems, as they pack a huge caloric punch, without causing much satiety, or feeling of fullness. Check out Steve Edwards' "Sugar vs. Fat" article for more about why sugar is the world-champion fattener.) Most people would probably stop eating steak after they reached 1,000 calories, because they'd be stuffed, but after you drank 1,000 calories from your Big Gulp cup, there's still room for dinner. The other reason the industry pushes sugar so hard is that it's cheap to produce, and the cheaper the calorie, the larger the profit margin.

Sugar in labels—hiding in plain sight.

One of the best ways to disguise the amount of sugar in a product is something the government already requires—printing the information in grams. Most Americans only have the foggiest idea of how much a gram is, because we're unaccustomed to the metric system. So when we pick up a can of soda that contains 40 grams of sugar, we pretty much shrug our shoulders and pop the top. And that attitude is all right with the soda industry! But what if the label said that it contained over 10 teaspoons of sugar? If you saw someone ladling 10 teaspoons of sugar into their morning coffee, you'd think they were crazy, but that's how much people consume in a typical 12-ounce can. In a 64-ounce fountain drink that you'd get at a movie theater or a convenience store, you get over 53 teaspoons of sugar—almost two cups! Naturally, people would probably think twice if the nutritional information on products was given in measurements that were meaningful to them. But until our heavily food industry-subsidized government decides to change its policy, it's a metric world, we just live in it. But we can take note that four grams equals one teaspoon. So when you check out the label, divide the grams of sugar by four, and that's how many teaspoons you're consuming.

Sugar, by any other name, would taste just as sweet.

Another strategy the sugar pushers use to get us to consume more calories is to rename the offending ingredient. We know to stay away from sugar, but how about molasses, honey, sorghum, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, glucose, fructose, lactose, dextrose, sucrose, galactose, maltose, or concentrated juices like grape or apple? Another path to profit that the food industry has discovered is that instead of harvesting relatively more expensive sugar cane and beets, the industry can produce sweeteners in a laboratory more cheaply and with just as many calories as beet and cane sugar. And with some sweeteners, especially the popular high fructose corn syrup, it is believed that your body will be less likely to reach satiety than with sugar, so you can consume more. Mo' calories, mo' money. Another advantage to these doses of -oses is that, aside from the fact that many people won't guess they're just different forms of sugar, they can be spread out in the ingredient list required by law, so that it won't be as obvious that what you're consuming is pretty much all sugar. When you look at a list of ingredients on a product, the manufacturer is required to list them in order of amount, from highest to lowest. So they can bury a quarter cup of fructose, a quarter cup of sucrose, a quarter cup of dextrose, and a quarter cup of corn syrup in the middle of the list, so you won't be as likely to notice that when you add them all up, the main ingredient in the product is sugar.

Hide and seek. You're it.

So, if you're like me, you may have sworn off soda except for special occasions, and turned the candy bowl into an unsalted-almond bowl. No more sugar, no more problems. Except for this problem—the food industry has cleverly snuck its sugars and corn syrups into products where we never would have thought to look for sugar. It's good for the manufacturer. It jacks up the calorie load, can enhance the product's appearance (high-fructose corn syrup gives hamburger buns their golden glow), and can keep our sugar jones simmering at a low boil, in case we ever decide to go back to the real thing. Here are some types of products whose labels could bear more scrutiny.

1. Spaghetti sauce. A half cup of store-bought sauce can contain as many as three teaspoons of corn syrup or sugar. While some of the naturally occurring sugar in tomatoes and other vegetables will show up on the nutrition label, most of the sugar is added. Look for brands that don't include sugar or its aliases or make your own from fresh or canned tomatoes.

2. Ketchup. Ketchup can be 20 percent sugar or more. Not to mention that you'll get 7 percent of your daily sodium allowance in one tablespoon. Look for low-salt, no-sugar brands, or make your own, using pureed carrots to add flavor and texture to the tomatoes.

3. Reduced-fat cookies. Most brands of cookies now offer a reduced-fat version of their product. Nabisco even offers its own line of low-fat treats, Snackwells. But while you're patting yourself on the back for choosing the low-fat option, check the label. The sneaky food manufacturers did take out the fat, but they replaced it with, you guessed it, sugar. Many times, the reduced-fat cookie is only slightly less caloric than the one you want to eat. And because there's no fat to make you feel full, you'll be tempted to eat more "guilt-free" cookies. And just because there's less fat, it doesn't mean you'll be less fat. Fat doesn't make you fat. Calories make you fat.

4. Low-fat salad dressing. Like the cookies, manufacturers have taken the fat out of the dressing, but they've added extra salt and sugar to make up for it. Check the label to make sure you're not replacing heart-healthy olive oil with diabetes-causing sugar—because that's not really a "healthy choice." Your best bet? Make your own vinaigrettes using a small amount of olive oil, a tasty gourmet vinegar or fresh lemon juice, and some fresh herbs.

5. Bread. Most processed breads, especially white hamburger and hot dog buns, can contain a good bit of sugar or corn syrup. That's what gives them the golden-brown crust. As always, check the ingredient label, and consider getting your bread at a real bakery or a farmers' market—it's the best idea since, well, you know.

6. Fast food. Needless to say, fast food is generally not good for you. But even if you're staying away from the sodas and the shakes, everything from the burgers to the fries to the salads is a potential place to hide sugar. Check out the ingredients carefully at your favorite restaurant. You may be getting more than you bargained for.

10 Reasons to Eat Organically—and Locally - By Steve Edwards

"Think globally, act locally" isn't just for bumper stickers anymore. This grassroots politics–type slogan has become an important way of thinking about where your next meal should come from. But the implications here are far more than political. Buying local—as well as organic—foods allows you to protect your family by feeding them in the safest way possible. Here are 10 reasons to add "visit the local farmers' market" to the top of your to-do list each week.

1. Local foods are safer. Or at least you can find out if they are. Organic food standards are high, but there are still companies out there attempting to cloud the rules. When you buy locally, it's easier to check out what you're buying, and you won't have to hire Magnum, P.I. to do it. The great thing about local media is that they love to cover this stuff. If for any reason a local farm is mixed up in nefarious activities, there's a good chance your paper has a reporter dreaming of a gig at The New York Times who'll be on the job for you. Even if this isn't the case, you can be inquisitive at the farmers' markets—you'll be surprised how quickly you can get up to date on the local scoop. Farmers who adhere to a strict code of ethics love to talk about others who do, and those who don't.

2. Organic foods are safer. Organic certification standards are the public's assurance that their food and products have been grown and handled according to sustainable procedures, without toxic, synthetic, irradiated, or genetically modified elements, including chemical fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, and other additives. At least that's what the law says. But even though many companies still cheat the system, most of them play by the rules. These rules are in place to help both soil longevity and the health and safety of the consumer. Many Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved pesticides were registered long before extensive research linked these chemicals to cancer and other diseases. Now, the EPA considers 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides, and 30 percent of all insecticides, none of which meet organic criteria, to potentially cause cancer. You can't always be certain you're getting safe food, but eating organic foods stacks the odds in your favor.

3. Organic food tastes better. Many people would be amazed to taste the difference between garden-grown fruits and vegetables (and wild meat) and the offerings you find down at your local mega-grocery-mart. The main reason for this disparity has to do with something called trophic levels, which is determined by where plants and animals fall on the food chain. When food—even natural food—is manufactured, as when plants are grown in poor soil with some added nutrients, or animals are raised using drugs and a non-native diet, their physiological chemistry is altered. This doesn't just change their nutrient content—it changes the way they taste.

4. Organic food is more nutritious—which stands to reason, based on the whole trophic levels thing. When soils are depleted and then fertilized, only certain nutrients are added with fertilizers. This results in the loss of many of the plants' original phytonutrients. While these lost phytonutrients aren't necessarily a major component of any individual plant, they add up in your diet and become a major component of who you are. This lack of phytonutrients in the plants in our diets has a lot to do with many modern-day maladies. With regard to meat, it's basically the same story. Animals that are fed a poor diet are, as you might imagine, less healthy to eat, because they're also missing out on essential nutrients thanks to the trophic level paradigm—just like you are.

5. You won't have to eat genetically modified organisms (GMOs). A GMO is a plant, animal, or microorganism whose genetic sequence has been modified to introduce genes from another species. Because the long-term impact of GMOs on our health isn't known yet, they're forbidden by the Soil Association Standards for Organic Food and Farming. Furthermore, in order to qualify as organic, animals can't be fed GMOs, nor can they be fed antibiotics, added hormones, or other drugs. It is not currently required, however, that GMOs be mentioned on food labels, so it's very likely that anything not certified organic contains some GMO ingredients.

6. Your drinking water will be safer. The EPA estimates that pesticides contaminate groundwater in 38 states, polluting the primary source of drinking water for more than half the country's population. Because organic farmers practice water conservation and don't use toxic chemicals that leach into your groundwater, organic farming leads to less waste intrusion into our aquifers, which helps keep your drinking water healthier.

7. Your kids will be healthier. The toxicity of pesticide residue is determined not only by the chemicals used, but by our body weight in relation to how much we consume. This means that your children are even more at risk than you are. It's estimated that the average child receives four times more exposure than the average adult to at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food. To try and minimize this risk, buy organic, but also make sure that your family eats a wide variety of foods.

8. To help farmers and farm communities. It's estimated that the U.S. has lost more than 650,000 family farms since 1990. The USDA estimates that half of the U.S. farm production comes from only 1 percent of farms. Organic farming may be one of the few survival tactics left for the family farm and rural communities. The majority of organic farms are still small-scale operations, generally on fewer than 100 acres, and using an average of 70 percent less energy. Small farms use far more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices than large-scale farms do. For example, small farms use manure to fertilize soil, naturally recycling it to keep the land productive.

Industrial farms produce so much manure that it's a human health risk. The overspill of manure has contaminated water wells with E. coli and other pathogens. This brings up another subject: Industrial farms still—though now illegally—feed animals the ground-up remnants of other animals that aren't naturally part of their diet. This has led to pathogens like E. coli getting into our foods in the first place.

Furthermore, farm workers are much safer on small farms. A National Cancer Institute study found that farmers exposed to herbicides had six times more risk of contracting cancer than nonfarmers did. Due to their direct exposure, field workers on conventional farms are the most vulnerable to illness as a result of pesticide use. Organic farms eliminate that risk by eliminating harmful pesticides and other chemical inputs from their practices.

9. For more humane treatment of animals. Factory farms treat animals like commodities. They are usually kept in tightly confined pens or cages and often never move more than a few feet for their entire lives. They are also fed the cheapest foods available, no matter how it affects their—and then our—health. Besides the fact that a host of illnesses have entered our world as a direct result of this practice, it's also just not nice. Animals on organic farms are far likelier to be raised without cruelty. They are also fed a diet much closer to what they would eat naturally, and studies tell us—surprise!—that these animals tend to be significantly healthier than their factory-raised counterparts.

10. To promote a vibrant economy. Organic products only seem more expensive because people base their cost on their sticker price alone. However, retail price represents a mere fraction of their true cost. Market prices for conventionally grown foods don't reflect the costs of federal subsidies to conventional agriculture, the cost of contaminated drinking water, loss of wildlife habitat and soil erosion, or the cost of the disposal and cleanup of hazardous wastes generated by the manufacturing of pesticides. Compared to local farms, there's also transportation—and the pollutants that result from it—to consider. All of this means that essentially, you can pay now or pay later—just remember that you're going to be charged interest, mainly in the form of a socially and ecologically diminished world to live in.

What if you can't find organic food? One of our members, who lives in a rural area, went to her local market and requested healthier options. Now the store owner can't keep them on the shelf. You can, with a little initiative, make a difference. After all, retail stores are in business to serve you. If this doesn't work, hit the Internet. Since "organic" is the current buzzword of the food industry, there will be options. And of course there's always your local farmers' market.

For more information on organic and local produce, check out the Web site for the Organic Trade Association, or type "Community Supported Agriculture" into your favorite search engine.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

"The math is just too obvious to miss" - Ron Barnhart

I've been using Shakeology for about 6 days now. I've got Chocolate and my wife has the Green Berry. I absolutely love it.

Other "meal replacement" shakes that I've tried didn't taste very good and I'd get hungry real quick. Shakeology has a great taste and what really surprised me was how well it fills me up. It actually fills me up more than the breakfast that I used to eat.

I agree with Tom...the math is just too obvious to miss for those who really want to improve their health. Even beyond the money you can save, it would be so easy to make a healthy switch that would easily cover the cost.

For example, how many people are buying 2 or more 20-oz sodas per day (I know I used to about 10 years ago)? Or, how many people go to starbucks once a day? Replace just one unhealthy item like this and all your doing is redirecting dollars you already spend. No additional output required and you replace a health-draining item with a health building item. For me, this is a very easy decision.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Tons of undissolved Vitamins in our sewage - People are peeing their money away

A friend wrote me with this and it is so fascinating I wanted to share:

"My friends dad works for a sewage treatment plant. With nothing grossing me out too much I asked him one day what the #1 thing he see's after our waste is gone. Expecting to hear jewelry and other valuables that accidentally get flushed. But nope. He said it is undigested vitamins that pass straight through our system without ever absorbing and dissolving. I do realize that some vitamins are better than others but he said it can be measured in tons with the amount of undissolved vitamins he see's. Kind of interesting."

How many of you out there are peeing your money away with Multi vitamins and other supplements.  You know where I'm going with this if you know me..   The body actually uses Shakeology.  Shakeology uses WHOLE FOOD ingredients.  If you take one nutrient out of a food without the others the body has no idea what the heck to do with it so it just gets pee'd back out.  You're peeing your money away all the while thinking you're getting valuable nutrients.  All of the 70 plus ingredients in Shakeology are WHOLE FOOD ingredients.  Don't believe me?  Here are just a "few" testimonials sent to me, not downloaded from an infomercial, but actually sent to me from real Shakeology users.  These drastic life changing results would not be possible if their bodys were not actually using the nutrients in Shakeology, period!  Testimonials: http://teampassion.info/testimonials.html

Tom - Shakeology Enthusiast :)

Sunday, February 13, 2011

An American Culture in Denial and no sense of self preservation..

My friend Tom Rolfson wrote this and I think it's brilliant. My hope is this spreads like wildfire and lights a fire under more people to begin stepping up to own their lives. The biggest reason... We don't have a choice otherwise our way of life is over in only a matter of time. Unless we collectively change our belief system as a culture then we are digging our own graves. Maybe that's the real reason terrorists haven't struck again since 2011. Just a thought.. They took notice and noticed we are doing the job on ourselves for them so they can sit back and watch our "no self preservation" unsustainable culture with our 80% death rate derived from bad choices we make every day:

By Tom Rolfson - Fellow Successful Entreprenuer:

"I've seen far more millionaires and billionaires do GOOD things for their communities and strangers than I have do bad. With 83% of ALL American jobs created by those same people... it's what built our country from the start and has sustained it through hard times. I know right now of one very wealthy home builder who is selling homes BELOW his cost to build them... so he may keep his people employed and keep his company whole for when the real estate market turns around and he will financially thrive again. This happens far more often than most people "in the trenches" ever realize. I've been in a very unique position because of my networking and custom accounting software company to be privy to see this.. hundreds, perhaps thousands of times. Small business owners who often do not cash their own paychecks so they may meet payroll and the bills to keep their company in operation. Once they turn the corner and achieve great success, many say they should pay a higher percentage of taxes... but what those who say that often do not realize is the price these people paid to achieve that success. MOST people will not risk and put forth that effort. The reason such a small % of people have such a great percentage of the wealth is NOT for lack of opportunity, race, religion or age... Col Sanders was in his late 50's or 60's before he became successful, Oprah, Walt Disney, and countless others started with nothing and became billionaires. They weren't bigger, faster, taller, smarter, prettier... they just did what others were not willing to do... put it on the line.

The gluttony that is killing us IS the appetite which is fueled by the attitude of entitlement... which is fueled by the belief that the government will "take care of us" which is fueled by the lie that the government knows best. Since Roosevelt and "The New Deal"... virtually every entitlement or government regulatory agency has failed... yet people still believe that somehow the government has a plan and things will be alright. I AM afraid our dollar will collapse and DO have provisions in place to use Euros. People will FREAK if they see gas at $10-12/gallon and $10 for a loaf of bread. I'm not a survivalist in the old fashioned "hide in a bunker" sense... but I'm more and more concerned there will be bloodshed in our streets as people who are incapable of providing for themselves are left hungry when the government cannot provide for them.

But perhaps worst of all is our food stamp/welfare program... we now have 3rd and even 4 ENTIRE generations of families being raised without contributing a single dollar to it. We've developed a system which gives people an abundance of dollars in unhealthy food, they then (most often unintentionally) eat to the point of obesity and the conditions of heart disease, diabetes, other osteo or ortho problems which then render them "disabled". Once that status is 'achieved'... they are entitled to a lifetime of food, shelter, clothing, healthcare and there is still no accountability for doing further damage to their bodies. How do we stop this? What can be done to break this cycle? It's quite obviously out there and isn't hard to see if you look for it."

King Solomons words in a paraphrase called "the message" from Proverbs

You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closerly; let it teach you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions. So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed? A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day of there, sit back, take it easy - do you know what comes next? Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest!

Tom - Diamond Leader Independent Beachbody Coach
http://teampassion.info/metalpalace

Only A Life lived for others is worthwhile

"Do you believe in your mission? Are you confident that you can accomplish great tasks? Do you expect to achieve your goals? These are necessary ingredients to lift your talent from potential to fruition.


I need to say one more thing about mission. It needs to include people. Only a life lived for others is worthwhile. As you fulfill your mission, will others around you say...


"My life is better as a result," or "My life is worse as a result"?


If you think it won't be the former, then the mission may not be worth doing." - An Exerpt from A John C Maxwell book entitled, "Talent is Never Enough" that I whole heartedly agree with!

Tom - Diamond Leader Independent Beachbody Coach
http://teambeachbody.com/metalpalace 

Friday, February 11, 2011

For Seriously I Am The BEST Boss I ever did Have Before...

I let myself wake up whenever the heck I want to every morning. Under my own direction I increased my income over 700% in 2010. I've helped a lot of people change their lives; making my life not only successful but VERY significant and relevant in the lives of others. I let myself choose who I want to work with and DONT want to work with. And when I do something valuable I actually get paid for 100% of that value! I gave myself permission to begin doing these things in August of 2007!

When I had a job years ago I was only paid about 1/3rd of the value I bought to the company. I built someone elses dream who later said thank you by shipping my job off to India. I had to bite my tongue a lot I could not express my true-self without risking disciplinary measure or loosing my job.  I was not allowed to choose who I wanted to work with. I had to wake up at the butt crack of Dawn every morning.  I was lucky if I saw a 2% annual pay raise.

Why do most of you submit yourselves to that?  Most of you only have a job and nothing else in place by your own choice so that you may emerge in a position a couple years from now to have the option of firing your boss.   If only having a job is for you that's cool I'm happy for you.  But as for me... Yuk!!!  If you want out of a go no where build someone elses dream get paid only a fraction of the value you bring to someone elses company then I'm calling on you to get started and get started asap.  It's probably going to take a couple years minimum to get there.  But that couple years is going to pass anyway JUST LIKE THAT LAST COUPLE YEARS DID THAT GOT YOU WHERE YOU ARE TODAY.  Change something I promise you will be somewhere different when the next two years pass by. Put that time on your side working for you instead of against you.  Exercise your god given autonomy, change your philosophy that's not served you the way you wanted it to, and CHANGE YOUR LIFE!  Get rid of the head trash of self doubt.  We've all been there especially me.  Guess what!  I was good enough and SO ARE YOU :-)  If you believe you are good enough to design the masterpiece of your own life then it crystallizes into your new reality and life changes :-)

Make sense?   It's a natural law.  Change the input and you'll get a different output.

Talk to me about Team beachbody coaching.  That's my vehicle.  I figured it out.  I teach it.  It duplicates easily.  It works!  It's easy to set yourself free in this Team Beachbody coaching opportunity especially if you're not an "amateur golfer learning to play golf from another amateur golfer"

Before you write me Watch this video.  Turn everything else off and watch.  It will give you rock solid info so we can have that meaningful discussion about your life and where it's going if you do or don't change something: http://teampassion.info/metalpalace

Tom - Diamond Leader Independent Beachbody Coach

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Something about Money and false Altruistic Moral Egos..

Money by itself is stupid in my opinion BUT some of us have got to get over our FALSE altruistic sense of moral value when it comes to money.

- You know in your heart and in your soul that if only you had more money you could afford to put your kids through college.

- You know that if only you had more money you could afford home care for your parents instead of having to put them up in a nursing home, or, taking care of them yourself on top of everything else you've got to do and face the real possibility of clinically exhausting yourself.  That's a real scenario for most people between the ages of 35 and 50 years old.

- You know that if only you had enough money then if something were to happen to your job you'll be ok and your family will be ok.

- You know that if only you had enough money , god forbid something happens to you, your family will be taken care of.

- You know that if only you had enough money you could afford to eat healthy organic foods and consequently LIVE better and feel better.  If you desire to help others you know you'd be more capable to.

- You know that if only you had enough money you wouldn't feel the unapologetic squeeze of a merciless economy.

- You know that if only you had enough money then you wouldn't have to live in the fear that a  paycheck to paycheck life style tends to cultivate.

- You know that if only you had enough money then when an emergency comes up, they are inevitable it's not a question of if but when, you won't have to worry about how you're going to come up with the money.

- You know that if only you had enough money you could buy your freedom and buy back your life to spend your time how YOU want to spend your time and not how someone else demands that you spend your time.

And if you're feeling ambitious in a humanitarian point of view you know that if only you had millions and BILLIONS of dollars then a LOT of kids in the world who are literally starving to death would be fed and given the medical attention they need.   You know that we'd be closer to the discovery of a cure for heart disease and cancer which we so desperately need.

Imagine if you quit being selfish, you went out there and made as much money as you could and that money was instrumental in finally finding a cure for cancer and heart disease!   Can you imagine how much less pain and suffering would result from that?  I'm not just talking about the agony of the patients stricken with these diseases but I'm also speaking to the pain and sadness of surrounding loved ones.  Most of my grand parents and an uncle, so far, I've lost to cancer.  Everyone is affected by this I know all of you are to so I know you know what I'm talking about it's one of the most relatable things I can think of.

One of my life goals is to make a Billion dollars, donate 99.9% of it to leaving the world a better place than I was born into it, and donating the rest of the .1% upon my own death because I can't take it with me.  Just imagine if everyone would get over there false sense of altruistic moral ego about money and had desires to make as much of it as possible for the purpose of service toward others.  Imagine what kind of a different world we'd live in.

Here is something about money.  Money isn't evil.  It has no agenda.  It has no feelings.  People are both good and evil with shades of grey.  Money is not the root of evil or good.  Money is what you do it.  Money has as much to do with fueling evil as does the fork for making a fat person fat.  It's the philosophy that the person holds that drives money for good or evil.  Likewise it's the philosophy that the person holds that drives the person to use the fork to cultivate good health or bad health.    It's the philosophy that the person holds that drives the person to use a tire iron to fix a tire with it or to commit murder with it.    Money doesn't do anything to people.  People do things to people and some people have a very false altruistic moral ego about money.

I'm not going to vilify anyone who reads this and still has no desire to earn more money.  In fact I am totally fine with it one way or the other.  Mother Theresa was poor and she is among the most selfless people throughout the earths history.  But don't equate money to moral value because they really don't have anything to do with each other.

Here is your note of caution...

The thing about having this kind of money is it takes time to build. Years in fact.  I like knowing I'm in the 2 - 5 year plan instead of the 15 to 30 year plan (if you only have a job odds are you'll never get there anyway).  That time is going to pass by anyway.  Since it's going to pass by anyway and you have the benefit of knowing it's going to pass by it's up to you to decide if your dreams are big enough dreams that you won't be denied.

In America nothing stops you from being successful and you don't have to ask for permission to become successful.  In fact it's quite the opposite.  The tax code in America incentivizes wealth.  I'm living proof of that.  In 2010 if I did not own my own home based business I would have spent SIXTY THOUSAND DOLLARS PLUS more than I needed to.  Dang right this country incentivizes and creates opportunity.  No one will tell me otherwise.

Take advantage of the great opportunities in which you and I live and live your life in the service of others.

Tom - Diamond Independent Beachbody Coach

 "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world" - Anne Frank 1952

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

After something tears your heart out

Last time I got real depressed I just buried myself in my team Team Beachbody business. And then it made me well off. What was I sooooo depressed about? One of my best friends abandoned me, No job, couldn't find a job, couldn't afford to eat out with friends or anything else, I was afraid of the future because I didn't own my own life yet, I depended on my parents to survive etc. A few great things about the distraction I chose is that it wasn't arbitrary. I was able to declare my own financial independence from it and "fire my boss" which drastically increased my freedom. I helped change the lives of thousands of peoples which was and is very emotionally gratifying for me. That experience alone taught me that when I invested myself in other worthy people, taking the focus off of me realizing this is bigger than I am and not about me, I began feeling better. TONS better. 2010 was an incredible year for me and it was built on a LOT of depression and over all "hard times".

One thing about life that I wish more of you out there would realize is that you are always in the midst of a struggle, just getting out of one, or you are going to get a phone call tomorrow. And you do not control that. You control your response to what happens to you. Whats going to drive you forward is your dream and then “why” you're doing it. Your “why” is what's going to generate your life NOT what happens to you that you have no control over. Life is never going to suddenly become easy so that YOU can be successful. That's why if YOU are still waiting for things to get easier, to have more money, to have more time etc then YOU are NEVER really going to get started until YOU change your personal philosophy and belief in yourself. Otherwise you're just that same common average person who year after year is still saying, "maybe next year". My response to that kind of average thinking is, How sad. How truly sad for you and the life your creator wanted you to have. Change your philosophy and change your life. Procrastination is the corner stone of ALL poverty. Experience has been my best teacher in this. And yours to if only you will heed the lesson of your life and respond to what happens to you differently than you have in the past.  There is no other way to own your own life and begin designing the life of your dreams. Own it!

The other two things I did that was just as important as burying myself in my Team Beachbody biz is I did my P90X workouts every day AND stayed connected to my network of support. The ONLY meaningful advice I have for setting yourself up for long term success in drastically increasing your freedom, your health, and your capacity for helping other people for LIFE is to join the Team Beachbody community, get on Shakeology, get yourself a team Beachbody Program, and get and STAY CONNECTED to others doing the same thing who all want to succeed together. I won't even waste my time, or yours, recommending anything other than Team Beachbody. There are so many gidgets, gadgets, magic pills, potions, and crap being peddled to us that the obesity crisis in our country is not going to end unless Team Beachbody is successful, period.  It's hard work, discipline, a new set of philosophies, a life style change. If you don't have the balls, the brass ovaries, the guts, the sheer desire, and an open mind then this isn't for you and neither is designing the life of your dreams unless YOU change first.

We don't need to be counselors to help each other. We are human beings. By nature our creator designed us to interact with each other. Through our compassion coupled with our collective wisdom and resources we can help each other :)  If you partner up with the right people, cultivate the right nurturing relationships, surround yourself with positive nurturing relationships that push you to grow closer toward the full development of your human potential then you and your friends will literally carry each other to the next higher level.  If you don't have those kind of friends then get new friends.

Tom - Diamond Independent Team Beachbody Coach 

P.S. Hundreds and THOUSANDS of people cheering each other on! You cannot loose if you plug into this. Sign up for FREE JOIN us http://beachbodycoach.com/metalpalace click the Join link and sign up for Free. Get plugged in with us and start designing the Masterpiece of your life that each day is a micro cosm of. Start today