"No excuse, no matter how valid, is impressive"
This is so true! We all have excuses for why we didn't do it, why we were late, why it won't work etc. Many excuses are valid but if you have committed to something, and/or are expected to do something (ie. be to work on time) NO excuse is impressive. Impressive is solving the problem before you need an excuse. Impressive is choosing to do things differently to avoid needing an excuse.
Meet Eddy....my "not impressed by my excuses personal trainer" from Just Fitness of Alpharetta (yes, that is a wig)
I have every excuse as to why I can't do what I'm suppose to be doing when it comes to this body building thingy. You never think it will be so bad when you sign on to such a commitment... Ok, That's not true....I suppose some people do and that's why they don't give it a shot....I however, always think "how bad can it be??"
The workouts are easy peasy....the 5:30 am, the Friday evenings, Saturday mornings, the pain associated with the ridiculous amount of weight I'm attempting to move...i can do all that, I rarely make excuse when it comes to the work-out (other than the occasional "I can't lift that, it's too heavy). It is in the eating and drinking where I lay the excuses on heavy.....the incessant eating and drinking is more than I can handle...it's making me nuts!! Ya, I know...poor me. My goal by show time (April 7th) is to put on 10lbs of muscle, which means LOTS of eating.....and lots of drinking....the pre work-out drink, the post work-out drink, and don't forget the gallon (or more) of water a day.
Gaining these 10 lbs are not as simple as
grabbing a pop tart or running through drive-thru. Many days I leave in
the morning and don't return until afternoon where I regroup and then
head back out to shuffle 3 kids all over town for this, that and the
other. Going from breakfast to 3pm without eating was just my thing! Now
I need to plan and plan good (this does not come naturally for me).
I'm constantly cooking eggs, chicken, and tilapia and washing out small
containers to fill with tuna, peanut butter, or that Greek yogurt
stuff -- I'm packing a lunch box everywhere I go....this of course makes
me late getting out the door for almost everything. ....I have valid
excuses!! Impressive??? ....not so much.
I showed up 15 minutes late to train the other day. The kids, the eating, the preparing meals for the day...I couldn't get out of the house! Excuses. When I complained of feeling lightheaded Eddy asked me If I was drinking my gallon of water......yup....I had more excuses. Seriously, am I suppose to take a potty break every ten minutes all day long??!! Have you ever tried teaching a pilates class with a full bladder?? (Is this TMI?) .....Excuses, I have a whole bunch!
When I feed Eddy my excuses for why I didn't drink enough water, or eat enough chicken, or drink my 2 protein drinks he just smiles.....I quickly came to realize what that smile was saying..... "If you really want this you will figure out a way to do it....you can't get there without doing the work" (He and his pleasant smile are the bomb!)
One thing I know for sure.... Excuses will not bring me to the end result I want!!
What does Primo say??? Work Hard, Persevere, Believe...................I can do this..... No more excuses!!
"Have patience with all things but first with yourself. Never confuse your mistakes with your value as a human being. You're a perfectly valuable, creative, worthwhile person simply because you exist. And no amount of triumphs or tribulations can ever change that. Unconditional self-acceptance is the core of a peaceful mind.''(St. Francis de Sales)
I had the pleasure of working with a great group of young leaders last night. I hung with 16 8th grade girls from the local National Charity League for an hour and half for self reflection. The way I see it... how we see ourselves is a direct correlation with our self-worth/self Esteem but also with how we will treat others.
We spent our time telling stories and dissecting Primodonna...what...what?? OK, not really dissecting this sweet wacky girl character but using her funny body parts to represent our own lives. Sound complicated? Not really........check it out:
Her Feet represent those things that ground us! Her body/core aka power house represent our strengths...our skills.......Reach down to your gut where he resides-
Don’t you know your strength comes from inside?
This competitive spirit dwells in us all...
So many times he waits for your call.
Competing to win against your opponent
Doing your best may be the component;
Dig deep within as you go on life’s ride,
I tell you again strength comes from inside
Primo is there, so go out on a limb
He’s waiting and waiting for you to go find him!
**( a snippet from the upcoming Primo book)
I understand your theme for the week is ‘looking to the future’…. Your future is out there (pointing out the doors)... But it is not some place that you are going to, as much as it is some place that you are creating, and what you create will depend on how you think and how you act .
Each finger of Primo's "unusually large hands" represents a personal skill/ trait/attribute that when combined become 'Primo's High 5 Principles for Success'. How one thinks and how one acts in accordance to these principles will create your future...........Are you creating the future you want?

P = Perseverance
R = Respect yourself and others
I = It is all in the attitude ("It's is not who you are that holds you back, it is who you think you are not")
M = Make the right choice (you can choose right or you can choose wrong...either way, you will get a result....are you getting the results you want?"
O = Open your mind to new opportunities (often times the greatest things that happen to us are the unexpected thing that come into our life....be open to new opportunities)
I asked the kids to make a commitment to themselves on May 27, when they walk out those doors for the very last time, to persevere in all they do, to respect themselves and others, to maintain a positive attitude, to make the right choices in life, and to always be open to new opportunities!!!
** I've known many of these kids since kindergarten, a few I saw get on the school bus for the very first times as tears ran down their parents faces, .... I'm so proud of them and wish them much health, happiness and success in middle school and in the FUTURE!!
.....................It's a beautiful thing!!!
"Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late" Habakkuk 2:3
It’s in the waiting.........
I don’t know about you but I need momentum to keep me motivated.
So if momentum = mass x velocity.... And velocity = distance/time.....(my 4th grader has a test on this tomorrow)
Then I need a whole lot of stuff to start moving quickly so that I will stay motivated!!Don’t we all feel this way? It’s just not easy to wait on something you want to happen.
Are you waiting for something??
Funny thing is…life doesn’t always work that way. When an old friend I hadn’t seen or spoken to in a long time, left me a message the other day and reminded me about waiting for Gods timing…I took it as a sign from Above.
Be patient....wait...when the timing is right, it will all happen... you don't have to like it-- just do it
This picture of me below waiting for “that” perfect wave is an awesome metaphor for life.

There’s a Derks Bentley song “when you know who want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to start right now” ….well, I feel the same way about my life calling………. When what you want to do with the rest of your life finally comes into focus, you don’t want to wait around, you don’t want take the time for the learning curve…you want the rest of your life to start right now!
Now, I find that in the waiting sometimes it may feel like procrastination….”I’m just waiting for the right time” …hhhmmm…. Not gonna fly!
So be patient but don’t sit around and wait…spend your time working toward building that momentum… do the ground work, stay diligent to the end result, plan, seek answers, seek knowledge, step out of your comfort zone, face your fears, be prepared… cause when HE feels it’s the right time…….there may be no slowing down.
Patience………it’s a beautiful thing!
Its January 2011...wasn’t it just January 1992?? Weren’t we just planning for Y2K?
The years are going by in the blink of an eye…
How does that make you feel?
Whatever the case may be...
Think of January as a clean slate
January is like a white board in a school and the janitor came in over winter break and wiped it clean…
January
Is a time to Review the past year.
January
is a time to Renew yourself and to renew your future
January is a time for a fresh start
What would it look like to Review your past year?
Did you keep your list of resolutions from last year?
REVIEW the list—Pat yourself on the back for the things you got to--
Acknowledge those things you didn’t …and decide if they need to stay on the list for this year.
What developed in the course of the year that you never expected?
I always say..."you don’t know, what you now" -
When I made my 2010 resolutions, I didn't even know what Toastmasters was...and now my biggest goal is to complete my "Competent Communicator" manual and becoming a public speaker!
What I’m saying is... have your new year resolutions written down but keep an open mind because you don’t know what opportunities are going to come into your life.
Spend some time to review the past year - Because...The years are going by in the blink of a eye!
January...what better time to renew faith in yourself and to renew your goals-
Spend time renewing your future-
Hopefully you already have your 2011 resolutions written down, and hopefully you’ve already made copies and you have one next to your computer and you’ve given the other to a friend so they can hold you accountable,
But I want this new list to be bigger!!
Sometimes these goals are going to feel overwhelming and daunting and sometimes its going to be easy to talk yourself into thinking you don’t really have to do it… believe me, I know! ! I also know this…
Making a positive change in your life is almost always going to be painful…initially
Believe that you can work through the pain
Believe that with hard work and perseverance you make things happen
Believe in yourself
And while we are on the topic of believing, let me remind you what the great Gandhi said…
“Our beliefs become our thoughts, Our thoughts become our words, our words become our actions, our actions become our habits, our habits become our values, our values become our destiny”
Its January 2011
2010 went by in a blink of an eye!
Rejoice in the experiences of your past -- because they are the foundation of your future!
Rejoice in who you were created to be!
Rejoice in the blessings of another year!
Happy New Year....It's a beautiful thing!!
"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."
Here I sit at the back corner of the public library... my stomach full from excessive amounts of water, almonds and Luna bars.I have bulimia of the fingertips... I've spent hours agonizing over something of importance that I can write about. A single page Word document has 6 starts to 6 different speeches. Frequently I break into Explorer to Google something…anything. To eventually find myself one click away from purchasing the latest anti-wrinkle miracle …thank God I snap out of it and get back to the vomit on my page. I continue to write. Somehow it just happens -- It takes shape, it makes sense and the pieces of the puzzle start to fit; first the four corners, then the boarders, then small parts of the picture inside...until they all connect. Beast to beauty. It doesn’t stop there … I read and reread, cut, paste, cut, paste...it's all there, just needs a better arrangement. It will come, it always does.
Try it!Writing……….it’s a beautiful thing!
*** NOTE TO READER**** Uugghh...technology-- if you are signed up to receive this blog automatically then you received this post already but it wasn't ready for you to read. It was the uncut version of last weeks Toastmaster speech...When I took a break to have breakfast it automatically published....seriously, I know I didn't do it, I don't know what happened....Here's your slightly cleaned up version ![]()
~It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.~ unknown
Fear, lack of confidence, not believing in yourself
Self Doubt….will stop you in your tracks.
Self doubt simply can not exist if you want to reach your goals and achieve your dreams-
Self doubt is a huge obstacle that many of us face-
Self doubt is sneaky….You can't always recognize it….it disguises itself...
.. as lack of knowledge, as lack of understanding, lack of time….
"I need to learn more"
"I need to do more"
"I need to take a class first"
"Once I finish all this…then I can focus on that."
Recognize it and admit that it is you holding yourself back-
I know this first hand….
I have a goal…a dream – I want to be on stage in front of large groups of kids and adults and I want to motivate and inspire them to be motivated and inspired…..
But I say to myself…
I can’t do that…
Who am I?
I haven’t accomplished anything great
I haven’t built and empire, I haven’t lived through anything horrific (knock on wood)
I don’t have experience speaking in front of crowds….
I am holding myself back from reaching my goals….
It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.
How do we face this monster called self doubt!
Check out these 3 Steps (key is...You have to do them!!)
Step #1
Know that GOD doesn’t make junk….and that each and everyone of us were created to have some sort of impact in this world…to make some sort of difference even if it’s in just one person’s life.
Keep A Journal
Keep this journal handy , read it and add to it often.
STEP #2
People say motivation doesn’t last…well neither does bathing, that is why they are both recommended daily….I love that quote by Zig Ziglar.
Get your daily dose of motivation-
Get your daily dose of motivation….
Step #3
… this I believe is the most important way to overcome self-doubt and to gain belief in yourself.
#1 Keep a journal
#2 Get your daily dose of motivation
#3 Surround yourself by people who believe in you.
No more fear, no more self doubt, no more excuses…
It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.
...It's a beautiful Thing!!