In today’s day and age, doing research is not quite the same as our parents and grandparents. It is a hell of a lot easier. However, if ease is the positive, then what is the negative? The answer is the amount of information that is false.

I was training the other night, when a respected friend of mine began telling me about a discovery at John’s Hopkins. He said they found out that if you cut refined sugar & red meat out of your diet, then the cancer cells can no longer live. They apparently feed off of the sugar.

Working out is one my favorite stress reducing activities. To train in BJJ, Muay Thai, and with MMA fighters, you have to be in good shape. One of the problems I had when I first started training was learning how to push myself using my mind instead of my body.

I used to lift pretty heavy in a gym like most other gym rats before I began Jiu Jitsu. I thought I was pretty strong for my size and in excellent shape. Jiu Jitsu changed my whole perception. If you think you are in shape, think again. You see, it is one thing to push yourself in the gym to do another exercise. It is quite another to be out of gas while someone is trying to choke you! You learn how to push yourself pretty quickly.

The other day I opened my fridge to find a surprise random piece of cheesecake from my in-laws. I looked at it, thought about tasting it, and then passed. I am trying to cut out as much refined sugar from my diet as possible, and a cheesecake definitely doesn’t fit the bill. I searched the rest of the fridge, hoping to find something healthier to snack on. Unsuccessful, I looked back at the cheesecake. The way it was cut, it had a small piece sticking off of it. I rationalized that the little small piece is no big deal. All I was doing was tasting the cake. I quickly grabbed a fork, happy with my rationalization, and nipped off the piece.

Enjoy the weekend. Here is a hilarious video about pets to get you on your way….

I always hear, especially from women in my life, that it’s all about the small things. It’s the little things that count the most. They are usually talking about the quality of a relationship when this comes up, but it is true for our goals in life as well.

A lot of times, ambition gets the best of us. We don’t want to take the time to make mistakes, learn and progress. Nope, we all want to be the best at something right away. No one likes to fail. In fact, most of the time, when we do fail, we tend to give up. That is because, once again, all we are seeing is the big picture. If we don’t fit that picture, we sometimes get frustrated and quit. However, we must remember that a big picture is a culmination of all the small details.

“Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!”

–Og Mandino

The reason yin vs yang was developed was to give us an outlet to discuss the secret battle going on inside the human mind on a daily basis. Our mind is our most powerful asset. But with every gift comes a curse, and the mind can be a powerful enemy as well. Yin vs yang was developed to balance people’s lives by shedding light on how to deal with this eternal battle within us.

Each day we face a myriad of choices. And each day those choices we make effect our future. Every single one of them. Sometimes, including me, we make the easy choice. Sometimes we push ourself and make the tough choice. Yet, we always debate internally about which choice would have been better. That is the battle within, the Yin vs Yang. It’s the struggle for the mind to get the body to do what it needs to do. Sometimes, our body does not want to listen. Only our mind can make it listen.

I was driving home the other day from training thinking about the phrase ‘paying attention’. I love history and have always found it interesting how sayings originally developed into common practice. The reason I was intrigued was because of something I noticed during training, but more on that in a bit. Right now I was thinking of the common phrase ‘paying attention’.

I don’t know of any other nouns that have the verb ‘paying’ in front of them that are not associated with anything financial. You don’t, or at least I hope you don’t, go around saying you are ‘paying thought’ or ‘paying observation’. No. The only word not associated with money that I can think of is ‘paying attention’. As stupid as this sounds, I think I figured it out during training.

I believe in the power of laughter. I don’t know where I would be in life without humor. This classic video by the master of comedy, Charlie Chaplin, is hilarious….one of his best.From the film ‘City Lights’, the video shows the tramp in over his head as usual, about to face off in a professional boxing match. It is obvious he has no experience in the ring, but he tries to play it cool. Being unorthodox gives the Tramp a temporary advantage, but he eventually learns the lesson nothing is more valuable than experience.

It’s always fun watching the Tramp learn any life lesson. Enjoy!

Siddhartha is an extraordinary book written by Herman Hesse. I read it while I was in college after reading an article in the NY Times about a guy on parole who straightened out his life in prison mostly because of this book. I decided to give it a try.

It was incredible. It truly opened my eyes to what life was all about. The best way to describe the feeling is ‘enlightenment’. I would recommend it to anyone. And today, I am going to use one of the central themes of the book as a quote for the day….

“Knowledge can be taught, but wisdom comes from experience“