3 Things You Should ALWAYS Have With You

In today’s day and age, everything is on a mobile device. It’s a major convenience, but it has also caused us, as a society, to be glued to a screen all the time.

Don’t hear what I am not saying, because I love all the things I can do with my phone. I communicated with my web developer for a month any time I needed to while he was in BALI…… That’s right. You probably have never heard of the place but it’s an island in the middle of Indonesia.  If you’ve never heard of Indonesia, ask The Google.

But, there are 3 things that I always have with me (excluding my Phone and Wallet) and these are 3 things I think every man and woman needs to have on them AT ALL TIMES.

1. A Good Pen and Notepad

In my opinion, this is a much better alternative than typing it in your phone. Why?

When someone says something and you pull out a notebook and write it down, it lets them know what they said is important, and people like to feel important. When you are with someone or a crowd of people, they’ll never know if you are actually typing down information or are just texting, zombie scrolling, or searching Amazon. Being glued to a phone is unattractive and can be viewed as rude to our older generation.

It has been proven that you remember more when you write things down. You can also draw pictures if you need to. I can’t tell you how many times I have pulled out my Field Notes to draw a picture to explain something or give a visual to someone. And lastly…. what if your phone is dead?

I use a Field Notes. Nice and Durable and easy to write on. It also fits in any pocket.

I also use a 1.0 Uniball Pen. I like the click pen instead of a pen with a top because I do not like to have to keep up with the top. I like the 1.0 instead of the 0.7 because I like the larger point. I also just love the way it writes.

2. Business Cards. 

I am going to get laughed out of the building with this one, but hear me out. A GREAT business card is priceless. I am not talking about a cheap one. Spend the money and get one that sticks out. I have a 32 point business card with painted edges and rounded corners (edges painted with fluorescent green and all 4 corners rounded at 1/4″).

I know, details. But I was always taught, “There’s dollars in the details.”

I ordered them from Jakprints It’s a company out of Cleveland. They do a great job.

So why do I spend $.07 on a business card when I could get on Vistaprint and get a million cards for $49.99? Let me say this…95% of the time I give out a business card, (literally 95% of the time) the person I am giving the card to says, “Wow, that’s a nice card,” and it sparks a conversation. When you are engaged in longer conversations with more substance, people remember you. People do business with folks they remember. In a society where everything is digital, it’s always great to physically give them something in their hand that makes them remember you.

So, what needs to go on your card?

• Name
• Company if you have one
• Logo
• Email
• Cell phone (if you want to)
• What you or your company does
• Social media handles

This is a must. You will never catch me out without one.

3. $150 CASH

This one was taught to me by a mentor of mine named Randy Keifer. Randy is a dear friend and has so much wisdom. Why cash? There will be many times when you will not need this. We live in a digital age and we can swipe a credit card and get just about anything we need. But CASH will always, and I repeat ALWAYS be king.

There may be a time when you’re out and about and you need that money for something. What happens if you’re in the middle of nowhere and you need some help? You find a good deal and the place only accepts cash! How many times have  you been to the store and you have stuff to buy and the credit card machine is down?

Also, there is something empowering about having that cash on you. It’s hard to explain, but when you have it, you have more confidence knowing you have it. Also, if you are in a spot where you need to give, or the Holy Spirit prompts you to bless someone, you have that ability.

The key is, when you spend it, immediately replace it.

 

These 3 things may seem a little old school, but sometimes old school is okay.  People respect you when you understand the digital age and function in the new way of doing things, yet still have a traditional way about you. Respect from the young and the old.

Check out this video where I go more in-depth as to why I believe these are things you should always have with you.

 

Share and let me know your thoughts below in the comments!

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Paleo Sweet Potato Chili

Indulge yourself in a bowl of spicy chili that is full of beef and sweet potatoes. It’s thick, rich, and slightly sweet while being grain free, sugar free and dairy free. If you’re looking for a low sugar, healthy option, you won’t be disappointed with this recipe!

We’ve done this as one of our mealfit Ready meals and got amazing reviews!

Prep Time: 13-17 min

Serves: 6

Ingredients:
• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 large can (29.5 oz.) tomato sauce
• 2 cups petite diced tomatoes, with juice
• 3 cups beef stock
• 3 carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 5 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ tsp. thyme
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1½ tsp. black pepper
• ½ cup chili powder
• Dash of oregano
• Dash of red pepper flakes

Instructions:
• In a large saucepan, brown ground beef, onions and garlic. Drain off the fat.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Mix well, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes or until the sweet potatoes and carrots are cooked through.

Don’t forget to TAG us on Facebook or Instagram if you make this cozy, paleo meal!

Mama’s Breakfast Casserole Recipe

This is a busy mom’s best friend. Make 2 – 3 of these and freeze them, or make one on the weekend for the week and it makes breakfast a breeze in the morning!

Serves: 4 – 6

Ingredients:

• 6 Sausage Patties
• 1 Sweet Potato
• Olive Oil for drizzle
• 2 pinches of mealfit Anything Goes Seasoning
• 6 Eggs
• ½ cup Heavy Cream or Milk
• 1 ½ cup Cheddar Cheese (divided)
• Cooking Spray

Directions:

• Set your oven to 400 degrees.
• Spray your sheet pan with cooking spray and place the sausage patties on one side of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

• While the sausage is is in the oven, take a mandoline and slice your sweet potatoes very thin.
• Put the sweet potato slices in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Then season with one pinch of Mealfit Anything Goes Seasoning and toss to coat the slices.

• Crack 6 eggs into a bowl and pour in ½ cup of heavy cream (or milk).
• Add the other pinch of Mealfit Anything Goes Seasoning.

• Beat the eggs, cream, and seasoning well.
• Add the 1 cup of cheddar cheese and whisk again.

• When the timer goes off, add the sweet potato slices to the other half of the sheet pan and put it back in the over for 5 minutes.
• While it’s cooking, spray a 9″ x 11″ baking dish or disposable half pan with cooking spray.
• Take out the sausage, place in the dish or pan, and mash with a fork.
• Place half of the sweet potatoes on top of the sausage, pour in your egg mixture, and shake the pan a little to settle it.

• Place the other sweet potatoes on top, then layer the other ½ cup of cheddar cheese on top.
• Cover in foil and bake for 15 minutes.
• When the timer goes off, take it out, remove the foil and bake for 5 more minutes.
• Let cool and enjoy!!

You can also get this breakfast casserole at Mealfit in Cookeville, TN – so come by and pick one up!

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How To Smoke Chickens

This step-by-step recipe is for 8 half chickens or 4 whole chickens.
To see the process in action and follow alongside Thomas, check out our video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5u2hRYeNEw&t=263s

• Brine
  • Put 2 hand fulls of sea salt in a half gallon bottle. Then fill the bottle up with hot water and stir to dissolve the salt.
  • Put 2 drops of Lemon Essential Oil in the bottle of salt water.
  • Place your raw chicken halves in a cooler or bucket. Use the bucket if you are putting it in the fridge to brine. Use a cooler if you do not have a fridge big enough to fit them in.
  • After you placed your chickens in the cooler or bucket, cover the chickens half way and then pour the salt water mixture over the top, along with 2 cups of white vinegar.
  • Then, cover the rest of the chicken with cold water.
  • If you are using a cooler you need to put in a bag of ice and close.
  • Let the chicken sit in the brine overnight. This helps tenderize the meat and will make it juicer when it’s time to cook it.

• Rub
  • The next day, pull out your chicken and pat dry.
  • Season the underside of the chicken with Magic Dust. This is one of our rubs that we have created in-house. It’s seriously amazing! It does not have any spice to it, so if you want a little kick, you need to add some cayenne to it. Flip the chickens and season the meat side. No need to rub it in – just let it sit.

    
    

• Plastic Wrap
  
  • Place the chicken on a sheet pan and wrap the pan with plastic wrap.
  • Place in the cooler for 2-3 hours.
  • OPINION: Some people think chicken should be cooked at room temperature. This means the chicken should be at or close to room temperature before putting on the heat. My thoughts are to experiment. Cooking is all one big experiment anyway! Try it once cold, then try some at room temperature.
  • Let me know what you think.

• Pecan Wood
  • I use 2 sticks of Pecan or Cherry wood in my smoker. I do not like the intense smoke and flavor of Hickory because it gives chicken a dark color and deep taste. I think it’s fine for beef, but I don’t prefer it for chicken.
  • We take our wood and cut it to 9 inches. We also split it so it is not as thick.
  • We only use 2 pieces because we want the initial smoke on the meat but do not want to smoke the whole 2-3 hours .

• Cold Cooker
  • After you pull the chicken out of the fridge (or if it’s room temperature), we are ready to load the smoker. I use a Southern Pride Spk 500 Smoker. It’s digital, uses propane to lite the fire, and burns wood for the smoke.
  • I put the meat in a cold smoker because I want as much smoke as possible on the chicken to start. In a cold smoker, the fire will burn and the wood will smoke for the entire time the cooker is getting up to the set temperature.
  • When the temperature reaches 250 degrees, the cooker will shut off until the temperature drops to about 245 degrees, then fire back up.
  • If you are using a charcoal smoker, you may want to get your temperature to 250 degrees and then put the meat on – this will help avoid the extreme high temps you may encounter when trying to get it up to temperature.
  • The smoke will continue to roll on those smokers.

• 250 Degrees
  • Place the chicken in the smoker bone side down and set your temperature to 250 degrees.
  • Do not open the smoker for 2 ½ hours. Let it roll!
  • If you are using a manual smoker where you have to control it, keep an eye on it. Keep it no higher than 260 degrees.
  • When In doubt, keep it lower than higher.

• 2 ½ – 3 Hours
  • Go for 2 ½ hours and then check the internal temperature using an internal meat thermometer. Check the temperature in the breast – it should be at least 155 degrees. It will continue to rise even when removed from the heat.

• Cooler Half Sauce – Half Dry Rub
  • Once you have taken the chicken off the smoker, place them in some butcher paper and drench them in your favorite BBQ sauce. Wrap them in the paper and place in a good cooler – do not open it until you are ready to eat (up to 4-5 hours).
  • This helps the sauce penetrate the meat and make it more tender.
  • If you are making this for a crowd, sauce half of the pieces and leave the other half just the dry rub – everyone has different likes and dislikes.
  • Take it out right when you are ready to serve it. Enjoy!

    

To see exactly how we did it and to follow alongside Thomas, check out our video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5u2hRYeNEw&t=263s

 

Why You Should Read Every Day

To many people, reading is a waste of time. “Get out, take action, and go!” is what they say. But I think it was Abraham Lincoln that said, “Give me three hours to cut down a tree and I’ll spend 2 hours sharpening my ax.”

There are so many reasons why we should read every day – hundreds of them actually – but today we are going to look at the top three. When I say every day, I mean literally every day. Successful people in any field (business, sports, food, investing, etc.) are never the product of one event that made them successful. Their success is the sum of daily disciplined tasks, rituals, and routines that make up who they are. Reading is one of the most important daily habits. It dramatically correlates with higher education and income, as well as overall happiness.

 

1. Exercise Your Mind

We regularly obsess over the best ways to exercise our bodies: how to trim or strengthen them and what to feed or keep away from them. According to a study at the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, mental stimulation like reading can help protect memory and thinking skills, especially with age. The authors of the study even suggest that reading every day can slow down late-life cognitive decline, keeping brains healthier and higher functioning for longer.

Another study on the brain benefits of reading fiction was conducted at Emory University. The researchers found that becoming engrossed in a novel enhances connectivity in the brain and improves brain function. Interestingly, reading fiction was found to improve the reader’s ability to put themselves in another person’s shoes and flex the imagination in a way that is similar to the visualization of muscle memory in sports. Reading has been shown to help prevent stress, depression, and dementia, while enhancing confidence, empathy, decision-making, and overall life satisfaction.

2. Constant Education

I liked The Hunger Games as much as the next person, but I’m much more excited about changing the way I live because of ideas that I find. Reading will develop the ideas, thoughts, and processes inside of you. It also helps with vocabulary and allows you to communicate in a way that is more understandable to people.

I’ll use Warren Buffet as an example. Buffet says, “Read 500 pages every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”

I try to read one spiritual, one business, and one other type of book at all times. Many times, the other is a “How-To” book of some sort. At the time of this post, I just finished a book on being a better negotiator.

3. Habit of Millionaires

Want to know one habit ultra-successful people have in common?

They read. A lot.

They believe that books are a gateway to learning and knowledge (see point #2). Take one of the richest men in the world, Bill Gates, who reads 50 books a year, or Warren Buffett, who spends as much as 80% of his day reading. Elon Musk is an avid reader and when asked how he learned to build rockets, he said “I read books.” Mark Cuban also reads more than 3 hours every day.

According to Tom Corley, author of Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals, rich people (annual income of $160,000 or more and a liquid net worth of $3.2 million-plus) read for self-improvement, education, and success. Whereas poor people (annual income of $35,000 or less and a liquid net worth of $5,000 or less) read primarily to be entertained. Successful people tend to choose educational books and publications over novels, tabloids, and magazines. And in particular, they obsess over biographies and autobiographies of other successful people for guidance and inspiration.

You are not Warren Buffet, nor do I expect you to be. The key to being great is to take the first step. Give yourself a daily reading goal, such as 30 pages, and you will get a ton of wisdom under your belt.

Block it off. Make an appointment with yourself to read daily. I promise you will not regret it.

 

 

 

 

Top 3 Reasons You Aren’t Getting Lean

One of the greatest parts of my job is seeing people’s progress. I love getting text messages and emails where people tell me they have lost 15 pounds in a month since starting mealfit. Another great one is when they tell me they have had to buy all new jeans because the old ones don’t fit anymore. These messages are priceless, and they make my day.

Often when people come to me for advice, they say that they have been trying to lose weight, but nothing seems to be working.  After talking to hundreds of people, I have reduced it down to 3 mistakes that people make when trying to lose weight.

1. No Plan

I was talking to my son’s teacher the other day, and this is what she told me:

“You know, I leave work and I am honestly not sure what we are going to eat, so we just go to the local drive thru.”

Here is another line I get thrown at me time and time again :

“When we get home from ball practice we are so tired we really just don’t want to think about cooking. We tend to just go to the pantry and figure it out.”

I believe part of my mission is to help people avoid the drive thru and eat in a way that keeps them fit and healthy. The 2 people above have fallen prey to not having a plan. The old adage of  “Failing to plan is planning to fail” could not be more true when it comes to the food we eat. When we do not have a plan we stumble into eating foods that are full of grains, sugar, and preservatives. All of which are making our society obese and lethargic.

When people have a plan, they are 7 times more likely to succeed than when they don’t.  Think about it; when you go to work, and you have a schedule that you must stick to you are so much more productive than you would be when your day is not mapped out.

Get a plan that will tell you what to buy, what to eat, how to cook it. A great and easy way to do this is to check out mealfit Plans. I know that it can be hard to prepare your meals each week, so with mealfit Plans I will give you a complete meal plan along with a grocery list of what to buy. I promise it will make staying prepared so much easier! It also helps to make this process mindless so that you can spend your effort on other things — like your business or family.

2. Less Fat = Less Fat

Fat is a macronutrient. It shouldn’t be used to describe someone’s appearance. How would it sound if you called a guy that is yoked with muscles on top of muscles “Protein”??

It makes no sense. Since we have done that, it has been virtually impossible to convince people that FAT is not bad for you. When wanting to lose weight our daily goal should be to reduce our intake of sugar.  When we reduce our sugar intake, our blood sugar stays steady, thus keeping us from being hungry throughout the day.  A low sugar, higher fat diet will increase our satiety and overtime reduce our weight and decrease our body fat.

 

3. Stop Eating

I’ve heard it a thousand times — consume less calories than you burn. This methodology has driven most of the female population to work out to the extreme and eat next to nothing. While this will increase your weight loss, it is not something that will keep weight off. Also, it is very unhealthy. When you don’t consume enough calories, your body goes into starvation mode. Thus, shutting down your metabolism and holding on to weight that could be lost with proper diet and exercise. Not to mention, the loss of energy and cognitive ability that comes with not consuming enough fuel.

In order to get lean and do it effectively in a healthy manner, consuming the right foods in the right amount is crucial. I would love to give you an amount that is optimal for everyone, but everyone is different and it will vary from person to person.

Throughout all my conversations of helping people with losing weight or leaning out, I have realized most have some misconstrued ideas of healthy eating. The above things are issues that produce results, once people apply them. If there was 1 thing I could leave you with as you proceed on your weight loss — Have a plan, and stick to it.

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Strong Like Samson

With anything, it is important to teach our kids tools of life and ways to live. As our kids grow up, we teach them to say their prayers at night and, many times, we will teach the classic, “Now I lay me down to sleep…”

No matter your religious affiliation, many people believe in a God. In the Christian world, prayer is important to us because this is direct communication with God. As our kids grew up, we taught them first and foremost to be thankful and to thank God for all he has blessed us with. Among the many other things we pray for, we ask God to help them to become 3 things, which I feel embody what they should strive for from a biblical perspective:

1. Strong like Samson
“Help me to be Strong like Samson.”
There is a line in a movie that says life will chew you up and spit you out if you let it. In life we have to be strong, and we have to own that strength in 3 ways:

♦ Physically – I think we need to teach our kids to be physically strong. They have to be able to do physical things in life, like “lift this” or “move that.” For example, be able to pick up their bike when they have a wreck or to pick up their sister if mommy and daddy can’t make it there. Physical strength in life is paramount on so many levels that I could write a small book about the topic (but I will leave that for another time).

♦ Mentally – Mental toughness is one of the top keys to being successful in life. We have to be able to handle all that life is going to throw at us. How do we respond to failure? How do we respond to success? How do we respond when things are not going as planned and we want to quit? When the going gets tough, we have to have it between the ears before we have it in our muscles.

♦ Spiritually – Being strong in our faith and having something to rely on that is bigger than us is HUGE. There are going to be times in life when you’re not sure you can make it. If you solely trust in others, they may let you down. We have to be strong spiritually to know that God has everything in control.

Why Samson?
Samson has the reputation of being the strongest person in the Bible. The Bible says that when the child was born, “he grew and the Lord blessed him” (Judges 13:24). The Bible then goes on to tell the story of how Samson was walking through the vineyards and came upon a lion. “The spirit of the Lord came upon him and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands” (Judges 14:6). The angel of the Lord told his mother that this power would grow as the boy got older and as his hair got longer. There are numerous stories in Judges 13-16 of how Samson showed his strength, from killing 30 men to collapsing two pillars that held up an entire building.

Do I want my kids to be exactly like Samson? No, he made mistakes just like all of us do. But I do want them to embody the physical, mental, and spiritual strengths the Lord blessed him with.

2. Tough like Benaiah
There is not a ton about Benaiah in the Bible. I first learned about him from the Mark Batterson book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.  Benaiah exuded toughness.

Toughness. It will get you through almost anything.

When many people think of being tough, they think of the physical aspect. But what most do not realize is the mental toughness it takes to launch headlong into whatever venture you are facing that may be physically taxing.

But why Benaiah? What makes him so tough?

♦ He is faced with an Egyptian giant… and kills him
This is cool, but we have heard this story before (David and Goliath). This time, though, it’s HOW Benaiah did it that makes him stand out. The Egyptian had an enormous spear (weaver’s beam–sized) and Benaiah has nothing but a little club. But no big deal, Benaiah just snatches the spear from the Egyptian and kills him with that instead. That’s hardcore.

♦ Killed a lion
Killing a lion itself is super crazy, but the Bible tells us (2 Samuel 23:20) that he went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day. This is not a deal where he was in a pasture and a lion came up to him; no, out of his own free will did Benaiah go down into the pit and kill a lion. Talk about mental toughness. Lets go one more: it was snowing. I don’t even want to go get the mail when its snowing, much less go fight a lion. I want to teach my kids that toughness will get us through many things in life and how we have to be tough physically and mentally to be great.

3. Wise like Solomon
Soloman was said the be the wisest man in the world. He wrote, he sang, and he taught. But what makes him so wise? And why do I want my children to be like him? In 1 Kings Chapter 3, God comes to Soloman and asks him, “Solomon, ask for anything you
want, and I will give it to you.”

WOW.

And Soloman’s response was, “Please make me wise and teach me the difference between right and wrong. Then I will know how to rule your people. If you don’t, there is no way I could rule this great nation of yours.”

Say what!!! That’s strong!

This is why I want my kids to be wise like Soloman. Because he had enough in him to know that if he obtained wisdom, all the other stuff would follow. He gave up the instant gratification for the delayed riches and honor. It gives me chills to think that my kids and I are praying this into their lives every day.

Prayer is communication with God. When we pour out our hearts he listens. Child-like faith is what causes God to listen. Speak life into your child on a daily basis. In all of these prayers, we explain to our kids why these people are the way they are and why they should want to mimic these traits. It is not just a rote prayer they speak daily; we discuss why they want to be like these 3 giants of faith.

I’d love to hear what you pray with and over your kids every day. Leave it in the comments below.

4 Step Morning Routine That Will Transform Your Day

I love the morning, and I love getting started with my day. Some people are night owls, and some are morning people. I love the morning.

I think it is important to be as efficient as we can be in all we do. I try to make my morning as mindless as possible. Many successful people focus on making as many decisions as they can mindless. I go into great detail about the theory behind that in this article.

So here is what I do every morning, no matter what day it is:

• Wake up: 4:15 am
• Walk in the living room and press the ON button on the coffee maker that I pre-loaded the night before.
• I drink my coffee black, and I drink 2-3 Cups in the morning before I leave the house.
• After I start the coffee, I go in the bathroom and brush my teeth and pee.
• Next, I pick my clothes up from the designated spot and go into the living room and put on my clothes including my shoes.

I always get dressed to workout. Why? Because those clothes are non-restricting and comfortable. I always put on my shoes. ALWAYS. When my shoes are off, I feel like I am in a too relaxed state. When I get up I am ready to tackle the day, so I want to be in a readied relaxed state. Ready to go fight hell with a water pistol but relaxed enough to not stress about what’s in front of me. Having shoes on helps me be in that ready state.

• Read. I sit at my kitchen table in a dining room chair because I do not want to be in a lounging comfortable chair. I want to be in that readied relaxed state.
  • I do the same thing every morning, again to make it mindless.
    • I read the one year bible (Verses from the new testament, psalms and proverbs.)
    • Read the daily devotional guide that I have. It is only half of one page but the writers of this little thing are so good. I love the nuggets I get out of it.
    • While I read, I write in  my prayer journal the verses that stick out to me and the things God puts on my heart. While I am reading, I make bulleted lists of people and things I am going to pray for. I write them down so I do not forget them.
    • I read what ever spiritual book I am reading at the time. This is a book that has some kind of spiritual teaching in it. As of this writing, I am reading “Deep and Wide” by Andy Stanley.
    • I try to read about 50 pages a day, not of that particular book but 50 total.
    • I then spend sometime in prayer. Sometimes I write the prayers, sometimes I pray silently, sometimes I pray out loud.
    • I then pick up whatever book I am reading and read it for 20-30 min.

• MOVE
  • This is something that I do daily, some days it is 45 minutes and some days it is 10 minutes. My goal is to prime my body. Get the blood flowing and moving from my brain to my toes. I want to grease the wheels.
  • The biggest thing I want to do is get out of breath. I want to breathe hard and sweat.
  • Sometimes that is lifting something heavy.  Taking 20 min and working up to a heavy single or double but staying in rhythm doing a set every minute or every 90 seconds keeps my heart rate going while still moving a heavy load.
  • Some days I run for 20 min and them some days I just walk out to the garage and hop on my C2 Rower and row. The possibilities are unlimited. The goal is to move and get out of breath.
  • Most days, this is not my primary workout. I usually workout in the afternoon with my wife and friends. We have a group of us that lift together in the afternoon. We let the kids run free while we lift in the garage or outside.
  • In a day an age where we sit most of the day, this is HUGE for me. It releases those much needed endorphins that help me think clearly throughout the day.
  • I find that if for some reason I do not get to move in the morning, I am more groggy and have less energy.

After I am finished I usually come in and take a shower and fix breakfast.

I know it is important to make sure you are taking care of the things that need to be taken care of before we get into the hustle and bustle of the day.

You read this and you are probably saying:

• Man this looks hard!
  • You’re right. It is, but you have to do things no one else does in order to be like no one else is.
• I can’t get up that early!
  • Start slow and work yourself that way.
• I don’t have that much discipline!
  • Again, discipline is a muscle, the more you work it the stronger it gets.

In closing, you can do it. Take it one step at a time.

Morning routine everyday:

1. Coffee
2. Dressed (Shoes)
3. Read, pray Read
4. Move

Let us know in the comments if you have a morning routine and what it is!

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Unplugged Book Review

There are so many apps and add ons out there and hundreds being created each day. We are a society that does not do life without our phones in our hand, and we use every app and wearable imaginable to help us track everything from the number of steps we take, to the amount of calories we burn, to our heart rate.

 

In this book, Unplugged, Brian, Andy, and Phil take a look at what has transpired over the last 5-10 years and given us an in depth look at how to leverage technology properly while at the same time getting back to out innate instincts that God gave us.

Brian Mackenzie is a performance Specialist who founded Power Speed Endurance, and he is an expert on breathing and performance. He has trained Olympic Gold Medalists, CrossFit Games Champions and professional athletes from football, to surfing, to MMA.

Andy Gaplin is a kinesiology professor at the center of sport performance and California State University Fullerton. Andy also has a podcast called Body of Knowledge that is pretty awesome.

Phil White is the coauthor of Waterman 2.0 and Flight Plan.

 

The book is written from Brian’s perspective and he says that we are sacrificing genuine deep interactions with real humans to the artificial community that online apps provide.

This is so true, and is a problem that needs to be fixed.  From the words of Tim Ferris:

“Technology is an excellent tool, but a terrible master.”

Lets talk about the good part of technology:

• Motivation – anytime we have a new “toy” we want to play.
• Insightful – helps us see what we are doing
• Goals – gives us a goal to strive for or beat.

Now lets look at the negative part of technology

• Can keep us from being totally in tune with our bodies when we rely on the technology for too much guidance.
• Newness always wears off of our “toys”
• Too much DATA can be overwhelming and cause people to quit.

Now, there are pages and pages of more in-depth reasons on this in the book. The thing I love is how it opened my eyes to what is happening in our society and how we can use technology and still stay true to how God made us.

My final thoughts: Great book with great examples and studies to back up the claims. There were tons of research hours taken to make this book what it is. It could be a text book in any exercise science class in any university,but it is also an amazing read with tons of knowledge.

The problem you get when you read a book written by someone with a mind like Andy and Brain, is that it is sometimes over your head. Not this one. They have done an excellent job at writing it in a way that everyone can understand. If you care anything about your longevity of life and overall health you need to read this book.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to enter to win a FREE copy of this amazing book!

Let us know in the comments if you read Unplugged, and what you think!

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5 Must-Read Business Books

I read a lot, so today I want to share with you my Top 5 Business Books. All 5 of these books are amazing and will help you in countless ways.

I make reading a priority each and every day, and if you are wanting to do the same, here are some great books to start out with.

• Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kyosiki

This one is one of the first books I read when I was in college. I had just gotten into reading because I did not grow up a reader. Even though my mom read books literally all the time, I was more into sports and not really focused on education. I did the bare minimum in high school and college but still managed to make the deans list a hand full of times. My parents we teachers, and that was what I was going to be.

In Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kyosiki refers to his real dad as his poor dad and his best friend’s dad as his rich dad. One was in education and one was in business. This was the book that for the first time got me thinking about there being something else out there besides a traditional salary job. So much wisdom and motivation in this timeless classic.

• 10X Rule – Grant Cardone

If you ever want to listen to a book, this is the one to do it. It is so good and so full of little nuggets of info that will challenge you and give you ideas. Grant is so motivating in what he says and how he says it. When you get done listening to him you’ll want to go bear hunting with a switch. He gives some of his story of how was on drugs and then goes into how he made it as a businessman on so many different levels. This book is for anyone in business or thinking about getting into business.

• Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got – Jay Abraham

This book has a ton of actionable items. Jay has taken over companies and made them into empires, and done it with persistant and interesting marketing tactics. He gives you the overview of those ideas in this book. There are so many items you can immeditelly pull from him and put into action ASAP. I took one tip that was less than a page and implemented it into my business. It helped me gross over $40,000 extra in 2 months.

Such a great book.

• How to win Friends and influence people

Timeless. This book is on just about every successful business person’s shelf, and for good reason. Life and business is about people. Its not about tricks and gimmicks its about people. Dale goes into the smallest actionable things to do to help with people. The number one thing I pulled from this is “the sweetest sound to a person’s ear is the sound of their own name.”

I teach this to my empoyees, to my kids, when I go speak, everyone and everywhere. This single tip will help you win with people. Don’t let the fact that this book was originally written over 70 years ago turn you away. The advice in it is timeless and will never go out of date.

• #GIRLBOSS

I have recommended this book to at least 10 people and have not met one person that has read it and not loved it. Sophia tells her story of how she started selling on eBay, going from thrift store to thrift store all up and down the west coast to the multi-million dollar success she is now. This is a motivating and inspiring book for all business owner, not just women. She speaks directly and to the point, giving you advice and motivating you at the same time. Great read but even better in audio.

Take some time to read these books, and I promise you won’t regret it.

Let us know in the comments what your favorite business books are! 

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