Conquering Your Demons For Success.
Knowing that we need to work on our strengths is a very important part of success but, do you know where that strength originates?
We are not created with all the strengths for success. We are conditioned by challenges we have in our life and we inherited some attitudes from our family and friends.
Here is the martial arts metaphor: In the movie Dragon : The Bruce Lee Story, Bruce’s Sifu (Teacher) Nip Man told Bruce that he must conquer his demons or he would pass them on down to his children.
You will gain strength through facing your own demons. Your demons are the fears we have that we must face and with the warrior attitude defeat, conquer then move above and beyond with renewed strength and confidence.
I remember when I was in school if I had to stand up and give an oral report or take a failing grade I would take the bad grade.
I faced that Demon later in my life and joined Toastmasters International and started to love being in front of a group of people and sharing the things that can inspire and motivate them to move toward their own success.
Think about of all the areas in your life that you gain strength from. Think about the challenges that made you stronger. What are some of the Demons you had to face?
Better question……What are some of the Demons you need to face, defeat, conquer and move beyond today?
Think about the challenges you have accepted that at the start you didn’t think you could conquer, but as you faced them you grew from it and now you are above and beyond it.
Why should we know where we gain strength from? Because, once you know this you can pay more attention to that area of your life and focus on building that strength.
When you find people, places and things that inspire or motivate you to go for your greatness and to work toward dreams that are hoped for….. you gather strength.
Conquering Your Demons For Success.
Knowing that we need to work on our strengths is a very important part of success but, do you know where that strength originates?
We are not created with all the strengths for success. We are conditioned by challenges we have in our life and we inherited some attitudes from our family and friends.
Here is the martial arts metaphor: In the movie Dragon : The Bruce Lee Story, Bruce’s Sifu (Teacher) Nip Man told Bruce that he must conquer his demons or he would pass them on down to his children.
You will gain strength through facing your own demons. Your demons are the fears we have that we must face and with the warrior attitude defeat, conquer then move above and beyond with renewed strength and confidence.
I remember when I was in school if I had to stand up and give an oral report or take a failing grade I would take the bad grade.
I faced that Demon later in my life and joined Toastmasters International and started to love being in front of a group of people and sharing the things that can inspire and motivate them to move toward their own success.
Think about of all the areas in your life that you gain strength from. Think about the challenges that made you stronger. What are some of the Demons you had to face?
Better question……What are some of the Demons you need to face, defeat, conquer and move beyond today?
Think about the challenges you have accepted that at the start you didn’t think you could conquer, but as you faced them you grew from it and now you are above and beyond it.
Why should we know where we gain strength from? Because, once you know this you can pay more attention to that area of your life and focus on building that strength.
When you find people, places and things that inspire or motivate you to go for your greatness and to work toward dreams that are hoped for….. you gather strength.
Navy SEAL Inspired Baseline Workout
Navy SEAL Inspired Baseline Workout
by Jason Earls
Navy SEALS are the most elite branch of American Special Forces, and most military experts consider their training to be the most difficult to endure in the entire world. A SEAL candidate (“SEAL” stands for Sea, Air, and Land, all elements in which a Navy SEAL operates) must survive BUD/S training, which stands for “Basic Underwater Demolition / SEAL” training. BUD/S lasts seven long grueling months and you may be surprised to learn that during that time there are no actual weights or weight-lifting involved. The majority of BUD/S training involves only body weight exercises (calisthenics) such as: pullups, pushups, situps, dips, running, air squats, lunges, etc., (although logs and boats are used regularly, and the boats are usually loaded down with sand, or an instructor, water, or all three). Very few individuals actually complete SEAL training since the Naval Special Warfare Command is looking for a select group of elite men who are highly-motivated and would rather die than quit. Due to the rigorous physical conditioning, the men who pass SEAL training are some of the most physically fit specimens on the planet. Hence, wouldn’t it make sense that if you wanted to get in shape, you could simply adopt some of the training patterns used at BUD/S, perhaps even pretend that you will soon attempt Navy SEAL training yourself, and by default wouldn’t you get in the best shape of your life? Of course you would, so let’s get started.
(Note: the author of this article is NOT a Navy SEAL and has never served in any branch of the military.)
To even enter BUD/S training, a candidate must be in extremely good physical shape just to walk in the door. After studying various Navy SEAL documentaries, SEAL web sites with workout programs listed, plus youtube videos made by legitimate SEALs, the following baseline was discovered which provides a “ground” level of fitness that a person should possess if they want to do well at BUD/S. Here is the baseline:
- 100 excellent pushups.
- 15 good dead-hang pullups.
- 100 strict situps.
- A four-mile run completed in under 30 minutes.
The four “benchmarks” given above are what one Navy SEAL listed as his baseline level of fitness before entering BUD/S training, and he said that he did extremely well and consistently remained in the top performance percentages of his entire class, and eventually passed to have a 20-year career in the Navy SEAL teams.
So if we take these four basic exercises: running, pushups, pullups, and situps, and construct workouts around them, always keeping in mind the baseline level of fitness above, surely we would get close to fulfilling our maximum potential for physical fitness. Or course it will take loads of will-power and self-motivation to continue training day after day toward this goal, but it’s already assumed you are a highly-motivated, fire-breathing, combat-focused individual since you are reading this article in the first place.
Here is an example of what might be considered an “intermediate” level workout constructed around our four basic exercises:
One circuit:
- Run a half mile without stopping.
- One set of 20-30 pushups.
- One set of 3-8 pullups.
- One set of 30-40 situps.
Repeat this circuit 2 to 5 times.
Note that we are doing pullups, which are performed with your palms facing away from your body, not chin-ups in which your palms are facing toward your body. (Chin-ups are easier than pullups and thus chin-ups are never performed at BUD/S!)
Many different workouts can be constructed around the four basic exercises given above, limited only by your imagination. But you should always try to keep the original Navy SEAL baseline in mind and aim for those numbers. Giving yourself a “PT test” once every month or two is also a good idea, just to see how you are progressing. As soon as you attain the amount of reps and time given in the original baseline (or even get pretty close), it’s guaranteed you will be in extremely good physical condition!
Another primary thing most Navy Seals agree on is that you will have to be an excellent runner to do well in BUD/S training. Navy SEAL candidates literally run everywhere they go, covering numerous miles per day, which is great thing to keep in mind if you are trying to get in good shape, since the more running you do the less body fat you will have.
Once you have established a good level of fitness by training with the four basic exercises for, say, 2 to 5 months, you could try an advanced workout such as: “cumulative total in one day of all exercises”:
- One maximum set of pullups.
- One maximum set of pushups.
- One maximum set of situps.
- A maximum effort run for mileage.
Then you would write down your reps and mileage after this circuit, then spend the rest of the day (working on-and-off with as much, or as little, rest between circuits as you wanted), repeating the circuit again and again and recording your results, attempting to accumulate as many reps in each exercise, plus as many miles as possible. After your last circuit of the day you would total up and record whatever you were able to accomplish. Keep in mind that a Navy SEAL would be able to do roughly: 150 pullups, 400 pushups, 400 situps, and run 15 miles (plus swim about 6 miles) all in the course of one day.
Hooyah and good luck reaching your fitness goals!
-end-
Flip The Switch
From 2010
Flip The Switch For Success.
Some of you may or may not know that my wife owned a commercial cleaning service for years before she got sick and had to give it up. I did keep one account because of the ROI (Return On Investment) and the investment was my time. The account is a big church that is near my home and I can knock it out in no time and the account pays very well, all good reasons to keep it. Last Saturday night my wife was having a good day and wanted to go with me and help with the church. We left out about 7:15 pm and pulled into the church driveway around 7:20 pm.
The sun had gone down and it was a misty and cool fall night. As I pulled into the driveway I noticed a car slowly driving around the church and then it drives away. As usual I drive around the building and pull up on the right side of the building and under a big shelter that is attached to the building. I park where the entrance to the building is on my wife’s side of the vehicle. She gets out and unlocks the building door. The door is a big steel door with reinforced glass in the top half of the door and it has an automatic lock on it as soon as you shut the door. She was standing inside the building holding the door open a bit waiting on me. “I’m normally the one waiting.” I’m getting my cell phone out of the seat as I hear a car driving up behind me. The car is the same car we saw before and it goes around the side of me then pulls in front of me at a right angle. Now I’m pinned in on three sides and my wife is about 10 feet away on the
other side of the vehicle.
This is a situation that I don’t like. Flip The Switch. Because of my training I quickly assessed the “what ifs” and prepared my mind to take action. The “what ifs” are all the scenarios that could possibly happen. I did this for fun when I was younger, but now I’ve made it a habit. I feel like “Jason Bourne” at times. I make a game of it with my wife at times when we’re out to dinner or shopping. As this car pulled up and around in front of me I was standing on the driver’s side of my vehicle with the door opened. I noticed the car was a mid-size and it was black. The windows had some tint, but the way the street lights hit them I could see the silhouettes of 4 people.
They had also parked in the shadows of the building so I couldn’t get a quick look at any of them before they exited the car. I looked over at my wife and she knew that I didn’t like this situation and she also knew that if these guys attacked me to pull the door closed (self locking) and call 911. Let them think you’re strong when you’re weak and at times weak when you’re strong. Two guys jumped from the car very fast and walked my way. I reached inside the car and picked up my cell phone and just kept my hand inside the car as if I had something I didn’t want them
to see, like a hand gun. “If they thought I had a hand gun…fine.” As I completely stood up and held my hand inside the car, they stopped in their tracks. They were just at the front of my vehicle. One guy was a bit taller than 6 ft. at about 198 lbs. dark hair with a long leather coat. The second guy that jumped out was about 5 ft. 7 in. with a dew
rag and reddish hair. I knew right away these guys were not there for choir practice.
I was already looking for targets that I could strike that would do the most damage in the quickest amount of time. We train to target eyes, throat and groin as primary targets. I already knew the direction I wanted to lead them so I would have the advantage. I was looking for the most successful route that I could go if I had to engage. As I stood there face to face with both guys I looked the big guy directly in the eyes. We didn’t say anything for the longest time. I said; How you doing? They stood and looked at me some more for a few seconds, almost like they were trying to find some words to speak. The big guy started to ask some questions about the church and when would the Pastor be in and some questions that seemed like rambling. I told him I couldn’t help him and they stood there for a few seconds without saying a word, it felt like minutes. They turned and got back in their car without taking their eyes off me and I never moved, still with my arm inside the car. They drove off at the speed of a snail. I stayed in that position until they pulled out onto the highway.
The whole event lasted about 2 minutes. That may not seem like much time, but I’ve fought in the ring with 2 minute rounds that seem to go on for an hour. Your life can change within a flash. A flash of violence can be life altering or life ending. This scene could have had a very bad ending. My wife in times past would go to that building by herself. What if she was alone that night? What if I had been away from my vehicle? What does this have to do with being successful or personal development?
I thought you’d never ask!
1 – When you need to be successful in any situation, you must train yourself to take action!
Most people will never take the kind of action I’m talking about. If your life depended on it you
would “flip the switch” and go for it. If you plan to start a business, call sales leads or just work on your career you will need to “flip the switch” and get moving.
I teach street self-defense and it looks and is violent at times. I tell women in my class “you
must have the ability to flip that switch and commit to doing as much harm as you can as quick
as you can.” Do not leave it to chance. Just as in business you have to commit and never leave
success to chance.
2- Always learn and practice what you learn. In successful martial arts you have to fight and
spar to test your skills. In business you have to test your skills and learn from your failures.
When you know what you can do and what your strengths are you are better prepared to act
on your plan of success.
3- Learn to make successful judgment calls through practice. In the martial arts we need to
practice over and over to get our distance and timing down. We learn to make the correct
judgment and that saves us from getting hit.
A successful business must also practice through assessment and judgment to determine the
success of that business.
4- Study, Practice, Assess Then “Flip That Switch” For Success!
To Your Success!
Lynn Lane