Jim's Place

Video of me in June 2004...I was a big old boy!

Wow! I just came across a short video clip of me in June 2004. I must have been around 330 lbs! Heck! I may have even weighed more! Click here to see me before Body-for-Life, when I was at my all-time highest weight. It's only about 30 seconds so it should download quickly.

It's inevitable...

Often I hear people express their frustration with trying to stay on track with Body-for-Life or another fitness program they have attempted. Sometimes they are tempted to call it quits and just take it easy... And then there are those who keep putting off starting an exercise program until the 'time is right'...

To those folks I just want you to think about a few things...   

Step back and take a look at your life... Are you willing to live the rest of your life fat and out of shape? How are you going to feel in the elder years of your life when you realize that you never achieved one of the biggest dreams you ever had - to finally live up to the potential that has been crying to be realized for oh so long... Is that OK? Is it alright to let all those naysayers who have doubted you win? Are people going to remember you as just another dreamer who never had the class and character to pursue his dreams with courage and determination? Are you willing to sign up for a lifetime of regret by letting your body go? We both know the answer... Absolutely not!!!

So then it's inevitable... At some point you MUST find a way to come to terms with any issues that have kept you from FINALLY achieving your dreams. It is no longer a matter of IF but WHEN it will come to fruition... So now I ask you to treat your Body-for-Life program as not only a fitness challenge but as your destiny... That regardless of any setbacks or frustrations you may encounter that you are no longer going to settle for being less than your best. Let the rest of the world wallow in mediocrity and living day-to-day in regret. It's time for you to show what you are made of...to once and for all let the athlete within you emerge...

Of course, when you dare to commit to excellence there will be many who will tell you that you don't need to be in that good of shape and that you are fine as you are. But I dare you... Go ahead and try to settle for living by others' lower standards. I dare ya! The truth is you can't... You wouldn't be reading this if you were willing to settle for a life of unfulfilled dreams...

So just be grateful that God has blessed you with the desire to excel... Put another log on the fire and let your passion burn! Get in the gym and take on life full force. You're going to have a great BFL challenge!!! Of course, there are no guarantees in life (You want a guarantee? Then buy a toaster!!! Yuk! Yuk!)... But I will guarantee you this...

Give it your all for 12 weeks...the exercise...the food and nutrition plan... Do your absolute best! I guarantee that you won't have one ounce of regret... In fact, you just may finally see the REAL and glorious you coming to life...after so many years of lying dormant. Instead of asking "How can I do this?" you'll be asking the much more empowering question "How can I NOT do this?!!!" Conversely, if you continue to put it off I can also guarantee you'll have a ton of regret!!!

Knowing that at some point you are going to have to rebuild your body in order to live the life you dream of I say let's get going NOW!!! You're lucky to have found such a great and effective program like Body-for-Life. With your passion and commitment and BFL you are going to be so jazzed after 12 weeks! You'll finally be excited about your life and where it's going... That after all these years you are finally becoming the person you always wanted to be...

It's inevitable...   

Another silly video update...

Check out my latest video update! I just completed week 2 of C5. Click here to see how it went...

C5 Week 1 Update on Video!

I just created a webcam video reflecting on my first week of my 5th Body-For-Life challenge. Check it out by clicking on C5 Week 1 video update When I tested it, it downloaded quite slower than usual so perhaps the Typepad site was a bit overloaded at the time. Hopefully, it'll go much quicker for you...

Are you ready for some football?!!!

On the way to the gym today I thought about my recent setback and how best to deal with it. I noticed that I was still trying to determine how much of it was due to illness and how much was my fault. Then it hit me…it didn’t really matter. Yes! It’s important to learn from your mistakes but then it’s time to leave it behind and get rolling! But too often, we are tempted to beat ourselves up by playing the ‘blame game’…

“How could I have let this happen?!”   

“All that progress and then I blew it!”   

“Now I have to start all over!”   

I’m tellin’ ya, that kind of thinking doesn’t help anything and only puts you into a disempowered and negative mood…not exactly the emotional state that promotes excitement and progress in your BFL challenge!

So I decided to adopt the perspective that I just suffered an ‘injury’ – like pro football players do! Notice how pro athletes treat such setbacks. Usually, they don’t get caught up in blaming anyone or anything. They don’t waste time beating themselves up. Instead they immediately change their focus to “How can I get back in playing condition?” They accept that injuries and setbacks are a normal part of the game…and that the only way to avoid them is to never step on the field. Of course they get frustrated and disappointed like anyone else but one of the key things that separates them from the world of wanna-be athletes is perseverance and determination.

So may I suggest that you view any setbacks as simply an unfortunate injury that will heal before you know it? Sure it’ll take a little ‘physical therapy’ to get back into playing shape. But just remember…most people live their lives day-to-day in a permanent state of setback. They have resigned themselves to being spectators and never taking the risk of getting ‘injured’… But you are one of the few who has dared to jump out of the stands and onto the field while the masses continue to let their bodies go…

But you know what they don’t know…that inside of you is an athlete who won’t settle for being a spectator ever again. Sure you may be a ‘rookie’ who will make mistakes along the way, but you are willing to stay the course until you learn the ropes and become a consistent performer. You know it may take more than one season, but you simply will not let setbacks keep you off the field…

So put that setback in the past…it was just an injury… Now it’s time for you to get back into the game! Get your game-plan ready, suit up and let’s play ball!!! It’s going to be a great season…

The past does not equal the future...

I just started my 5th Body-for-Life challenge today after a rough C4 and I reminded myself of this saying from one of Tony Robbins' courses...

It’s easy to base your expectations of the future on what you have experienced in the past. And if you have had one setback after another in your attempts to lose weight, you’ll probably have to work hard not to have nagging doubts about your newest attempt to get in shape. Of course, many of us have had numerous times in our lives when we were sure that ‘this’ time we would succeed at getting the weight off...only to be disappointed yet again. And it doesn't help your confidence when others are also doubting you with comments like “What makes you think that you’ll be successful when you’ve failed so many times in the past?”

But you are not destined to repeat the past. Just like in the NFL, when a team makes the playoffs, it’s a whole new season… It doesn’t matter what your win-loss record was during the regular season – you are now starting with a clean slate. Regardless of how many times you’ve been disappointed in the past you can still choose to believe that THIS time you will succeed. For me, I ‘started over’ more than 25 times in the last 10 years before I succeeded in dropping over 100 lbs in the last year on Body-for-Life.

Today, I too was once again nagged by concerns that the weight might come back after picking up quite a few pounds over the last few months. So on my way to the gym, I had another one of those crucial little self-talks…

“Alright Jim! Let’s get rolling on C5! This is going to be a great challenge! So what if you had a setback, that doesn’t stop you from making tremendous progress and achieving your ultimate goals. Remember buddy, it’s the direction you are headed that’s important - not so much where you happen to be right now… You’ll get those extra pounds off in no time and you’ll be smokin’!!! Certainly, there are no guarantees in life, but one thing is for sure…you can’t move forward looking in the rear-view mirror… So let the past go and let’s get going!!!”

I’m sure a lot of my BFL buddies also had a rough time during the holidays. But those were just bumps in the road... I just wanted to encourage you to keep your focus on doing your best and trust that the rest will take care of itself…

So are you ready to get truckin'!!!