Happy Friday!!

I love this song.  Maybe it's the simplicity.  Maybe cause it's a headbanger.  Or maybe because of the message.  All I know is that it is hot.

Started from Monday, now we here!!  It's the weekend, baby.  Let's get it!

Age Ain't Nothing But A Number

This lady is 76.  Just let that sink in for a moment.

Mrs. Ernestine Shepherd. 76 years old.

When we hit 40, we think it's too late to get in shape.  We accept what we are because, hey, that's just how it is.  Ummmmm, that would be a lie.  If you are blessed to be able to move and you are healthy enough to do so, then you can make it happen.

Mrs. Shepherd did not start working out until she was 56.  Let that sink in for a moment.  56. 

She started going to the gym with her sister.  After her sister died of a brain aneurysm, she was devastated and stopped going to the gym.  With the help of a friend, she decided to return and was determined to get fit. 

The outcome?  In 2007, at the age of 71, she entered her first bodybuilding competition and took first place.  She has been on a mission ever since.

She runs, strength trains, and is a fitness trainer.

I love her story because she is evidence that you can be healthy and in shape at any age.  No excuses.

Just get started where you are.  Be your own hero.

Attitude

I really love Earl Nightingale.  His voice is perfect to listen to and his message is perfect for life.   Here he expounds on the importance of having the right attitude.   Listen and enjoy.  Oh, and have a notebook ready.  You'll want to take notes.

Sugar Really is Evil

Pretty, but oh, so evil.  Seems to describe most of the women on reality tv.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up.  

My favorite game as a kid.  Why?  Because I would imagine what the sweets would taste like.  Yeah, I got it bad.

 I love sweets.  It is a problem.  A habit.  An addiction.  And to add to it, I recently discovered a new cupcake shop near my home.  Houston, we have a colossal problem.

The cupcakes are cute and delicious, and I went for three days straight.  The only reason why I missed a day is because they were closed, but I went back the next day.  Yeah, buddy... I mean no, buddy- this is nothing to celebrate.

I would like to break up with sugar.  Tell that good for nothing dog to leave me alone and go bother someone else's sweet tooth.  But it be callin' me (in my Pookie voice).  UGH!!

Yes, it causes weight gain.  Yes, it causes spikes in energy, and you crash.  None of that bothered me, but this one right here..... this evil little thing causes wrinkles!  Hold up... now, you have my attention.  I can lose weight, but wrinkles???  Those bad boys will stay unless you do botox- no needles in my skin- or get a facelift.  Umm, that would be a negative.

Sugar speeds up the aging process.  I've known that for awhile, but now that I am about to hit 40, it has really sunk in.

Years ago, I bought The Perricone Presciption by Dr. Nicolas Perricone.  He provides a very detailed explanation of what sugar does to the skin.  Basically, when you eat a food high in sugar or a carb that converts to sugar quickly in the body, your blood sugar shoots up; and the process glycation begins. Glycation is when sugar attaches to collagen (helps to give skin its resilience), and it makes the skin tough.  The skin becomes more suspectible to aging.  WRINKLES ON DECK!

So, I am really going to watch my sweet tooth.  My plan is to stay off the sugar crack for a month.  It's hard to escape sugar completely because it is in EVERYTHING, but I don't have to add to it by eating cupcakes and cake pops and frosted cookies and chocolate.  Lord, let me stop before I do something I regret........

I suspect the first few weeks may be difficult as I will be going through withdrawal.  I am sure I will be a beast each morning as I drive to work, but it will subside.

I am not saying that I am never going to have anymore sweets because that would truly be a lie.  But I am going to lessen my intake quite a bit.

Oh, did I mention it's Girl Scouts cookie time?   The Universe is trippin'.

Very informative.  Bottomline, sugar sucks.

Happy Friday!!

This is my favorite song off of John Legend's 2005 album Get Lifted.

This is exactly what you should do on a Friday- honestly, everyday.  Live it up..................

Self- Image

Day 2 of the 30 day test

The older we get, the more aware we are of time.  The time we have already spent and the time we have ahead of us.  That's the magical thing about getting older: you have an awareness of time and of yourself that you didn't have in your twenties.

So, you have an obligation to yourself to use the time in a way that will serve you well, and heck, the thirty days are going to pass anyway; you might as well be closer to your goals than you are today.

I wrote my goals down.  I have several, but there are two that I have to cross off my list first.  By accomplishing these two goals, it will give me some momentum and get me ridiculously excited about what I am able to do.

 Isn't that the bottom line?  You can only do what you think you can do, what you believe you can do.  If you don't think you can do it, then you won't do it.   That's why we have to see ourselves as capable people; when we do, we prove ourselves right, but we can also see ourselves as incapable people, and unfortunately, we can prove ourselves right about that too.

We act out of the way we see ourselves - our self-image.  We, also, tend to judge our capabilities from what we did in our past.  Because we do, often times we are not able to do more than what we have done.  But when we realize that we are capable of being and doing more than what we have been or done, then we take off.  Then we become what we know we are able to become and often times much more.  

Les Brown said that we have to act out of our future self not our current or past self.  If I keep acting out of my current self, I will keep getting the same thing.  But if I change my self- image, use my imagination to see myself achieving my goals and my dreams, then I become limitless.

Let's go.

 

Earl Nightingale speaks on self- image.  Enjoy.

30 Day Test

If you have not heard of Earl Nightingale, let me be the first to introduce him to you.  He will inspire you with his wisdom and give you the push you may need to live the life you want to live. 

He did an audio recording titled The Strangest Secret and this video clip is from that recording.  In this clip, he discusses how you can change your life in 30 days.  Just give it 30 days full on and see what happens.

Here are a few gems from the recording- I always take notes when I read or listen to videos.  Always a student.

We can achieve nothing without paying the price.  What is the price? 
1) Controlling our thoughts
2) Cutting away the fetters from the mind and allowing it to soar as it was designed to do.  Realize that your limitations are self-imposed.  Use your imagination for good.
3) Use all your your courage to force yourself to think positively
4) Save at least 10% of what you earn
5) Action- ideas are worthless unless you act on them

For the next 30 days:
1) Write down your goal in great detail, carry it with you, and read it everyday.  Don't worry about the how- leave that to God.
2) Think about your goal in a calm and cheerful way.  Don't let petty things get you off course.
3) Quit running yourself down.  Be kind to yourself.
4) Change the image you have of yourself- see yourself as a success
5) Act the part of the successful person you have decided to become
6) Do more than what you have to do

On the back of your goal card, write:
 Ask and it shall be given.  Seek and you shall find.  Knock and it shall be opened unto you.  For everyone that asks, receives, and he that seeks, finds.  And to him that knocks, it shall be open.

Powerful stuff.  Here is the video.  I promise you will be glad you listened to it.

A Round of Applause

Like half of the households in the country, I watched the Ravens win their second Superbowl.  I am a football fan, so I watched for the game- not the halftime show even though I knew it would be spectacular.  It was Beyonce performing after all, and the girl can definitelty put on a show.

Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook were going crazy for King B.  Loads of comments on how good she looked after having a baby.  Good for her!

But what about you?  Don't you rip it in your life too? 

She has so many advantages that regular folks don't have: a nanny, a chef, a personal trainer, and a schedule tailored to her.  Most have us have no nannies- except Grandma and sometimes she be trippin, no chefs - a microwave does not count, no personal trainer- your Insanity video with Shaun T is pretty close, and forget a schedule that you like- too many of us don't even have jobs we like.

 In spite of all of these challenges, we are still DOING IT!!!The alarm goes off, you hit the floor running, doing, being, and still manage to take care of yourself in the midst of all the craziness. 

She killed it at the Superbowl, but don't forget to pat yourself on the back.  You kill it every single freaking day.

A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO YOU!!!!!

Beauty

Electric Relaxation

A Tribe Called Quest on deck...........

I listened to this joint today during my workout.  You know you are listening to your jam when you stop in the middle of squats to twerk a lil' sumthin'.

A smooth and sexy joint.  Enjoy.

Shorty let me tell you about my only vice.  It has to do with lots of lovin' and it ain't nothin' nice.  It ain't nothin' nice.  It ain't nothin' nice.