Making lists of goals has always been really fun for me. Something about writing an idea or a goal down and then being able to cross it off because it’s accomplished is very rewarding. Not only that, but I love measuring improvements in myself and in others. Helping someone make positive changes in their life is an amazing feeling and I’m grateful that I discovered my passion for helping people so early in life.
Coming up with great ideas takes a creative imagination and an allowance of time to think. I believe this can be the hardest part for most people. Just sitting down in a quiet room to brainstorm your future might sound terribly overwhelming, but it’s vital for progression in life. Once you come up with a short (or long) list of goals, you then get to break them down and figure out how to accomplish all of them. When I first come up with a goal, I think about WHY I want it in the first place.
Growing up, I was fascinated with the bodybuilding culture. I used to steal old bodybuilding magazines from the gym we’d work out at when I was 12 years old and read them cover to cover. There were so many things about bodybuilding that drew me in, but one of the most important things was that I ultimately had the ability to take control of my body by disciplining my mind. This was my WHY. I desired a specific outcome from my training and competing, and although at first I may not have known how I was going to accomplish this goal, I had a deep desire to attain my why.
The mind is the origin of your actions and life outcomes.
I’ve always been a dreamer, I love to sit and think and play out fantasies in my head of where I want to travel one day, what I’d like to do with my business and how I’d like to perform during my next physical endeavor. This is called visualization and every successful person in the world visualizes their performances and successes before they actually happen. How incredible is that? You get to sit and think up great ideas and then put the wheels in motion to make them come true. I believe it’s our responsibility to hold ourselves at the highest standards possible in life. It’s our duty to create a life filled with passion, success and constant growth. Success means different things to different people, so you have to decide what it means to you. To me, success is when I’ve designed a life for myself that brings my daydreams to reality. I get to do things I enjoy and I have opportunities to help people do the same. Success is when my mind is creative and productive and when my body is strong and capable. Take some time to think about what success means to you.
I enjoy making stuff happen
My motivation to compete in bodybuilding competitions started when I was about 12 years old. I wanted to be stronger and I wanted to know what it felt like to be able to transcend any physical or mental limitations I discovered within myself. The hardest part was purposely seeking out my weaknesses because it takes a lot of self-trust, honesty and patience- all things that don’t come easy to any human being.
May 2009 Bodybuilding Competition (Fairbanks, AK)
If you’ve ever failed at something, you know how comfortable it can be to just give up, walk away and shove your disappointment to the back of your mind. We’ve all done this when something doesn’t immediately go our way. Maybe we’re embarrassed or even scared of our inability to do something in the way we originally thought we could. The best way to conquer this is to keep doing the things you suck at, especially if it’s something you repeatedly think about or something that you desperately want to accomplish. Your goals should be exciting! They should be products of your imagination and your inner most desires. They may be hidden, but you can usually find them after some deep thinking, or even referring back to what you wanted as a child. Often I resort to old journals I kept as a kid to remind myself of what mattered to me at that time. Sometimes what I find after going through old notes, magazine cut outs and photos I’ve kept from the past is that I still want those things. Maybe I just forgot about them along the way but seeing them again reignites my desire to attain them. Or it gives me a new idea for my business or personal life.
To move forward in life, we must act on our ideas. Whether we fail multiple times or not doesn’t matter. The only way to become stronger and more amazing is to not allow failure to take control of us emotionally. Look deep within for what you want and make it happen. What are YOU doing today to make stuff happen?