Challene of the Day - "Turn Fear into Motivation"

Today, breach your own comfort zone in order to experience true, inner growth. Think of something that scares you worse then seeing your little sister without her make up on, and then go tackle it! Your fear, not your sister! (I love you Becca. :)) You will never be able to expand yourself if you are not willing to step out and take risks. Let your fear motivate into taking on something that you would normally shy away from. That is my challenge of the day for you, as well as myself! Let's get back up in a couple days and swap stories to see what happened!

Nugget of the Day -- "The Long Haul"

Success doesn't happen over night, unless of course you win the lottery, and quite frankly, I don't know if you can consider that success or luck!?! Point being, any kind of personal satisfaction or self made success is gonna take tons and tons of work. It is the experiences and even hardships along the way, that will mold and make who we are and what our end result will be. So get down to it. Make your plans for the long haul, and conquer anything and everything along the way. Of course, you won't succeed in everything, but it's the heart and attitude in which you try. That, in and of it self, can be considered personal success. Take your lumps like a man and be willing to continue forward. With great success, comes great reward, and nobody gains that reward without putting in overtime. Put in the time and let yourself shine.

Nugget of the Day -- "Eat It up!"

Don't ask of others what you can find out and learn for yourself. Knowledge truly is power! I strive to expand my learning every day. I never want to go to sleep at night with the same information as when I rose earlier that morning. I continually strive for more - more questions, more answers, more reasons why, more knowledge of how things work. I was one of those kids growing up, that asked his parents "why" to everything! Jonathan, go clean your room... "but why?" Jonathan take out the trash... "why?" Jonathan stop beating on your sister.. "dad, why?" Not only in instances such as that, but more insightful ones, such as how things work, why my parents believe what they believe, or why they would or wouldn't let me do certain things. The big issue is once you are old enough, you should be looking and searching for these answers for yourself! Don't just take your parents or your friends or your teacher's word for it. Go out and figure it out for you. Develop your own beliefs and convictions! Develop your own unique process of learning. Stay hungry my friends. Keep an intense hunger and thirst for knowledge!

Nugget of the Day -- "Tried and True"

Sometimes those closest ones to you can turn out to be the biggest road blocks along the way. They may have good intentions, but ultimately, you live your life with passion and with the correct guidance from above. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something - not your parents, not your siblings, not your friends, not anyone! Sometimes the things you do and the paths you take, will make sense to you and you alone. Be sure to stay true to yourself and to the one who guides your path.

Nugget of the Day -- "Reflect and Conquer!"

It is important to find a new life lesson in each day. It may not be totally new to you, but it could be from a different perspective. A good idea is to have a time of reflection at the end of each day, looking back on all of your activities and advancements, or even set backs. What can you take from the previous twenty four hours, and how can you grow as an individual because of it? Some lessons, we will have to re-learn over and over again. These are the issues that obviously take the most work and dedication to conquer. Have the time to yourself to formulate a plan, but also ask those nearest to you for their guiding light. No man can complete the journey alone. So tonight, reflect and tomorrow, conquer!

Nugget of the Day -- "All In"

If you continually beat around the bush, you are never able to benefit from the bushes fruit. I decided not to bore you guys today with an article, but rather, leave you with that small quote. Whoever and whatever creeped into your head as soon as you read that statement, make it your goal to take care of it this week. Leave nothing hidden in the closet. As it is said, "The truth shall set you free."

Nugget of the Day -- Head Up, Arms Outstretched

Always keep that head up, even in the darkest hour. Stay true to yourself and the one above. How can you see the blessings he wants to bestow if your head is down with your chin on your chest?! Don't forget, things could always be worse, and there is always someone out there that DOES have worse circumstances than you! Count each blessing that your little mind can think of. Ready, goooooo...... Now get back to me in several years, if you ever get done counting that is haha! My point for today is no matter what you're goin through, keep on the straight and narrow. Something far beyond what you could've ever imagined is just right around the corner. Just don't miss it by sulking and worrying about what you don't have at the moment. Keep your eyes on the prize and those arms wide open, ready to catch the blessings!

Nugget of the Day -- Partner Up!

Yesterday, I talked about pushing through the breaking point, and today, I wanna sort of follow up on that a little bit. One of the key ingredients to any work out is a work out partner that is gonna push you and make you strive for a better session. Going at it alone is very easy to lose motivation and focus. A spotter is there, not only to push his partner, but also not to let his partner get crushed by a crazy amount of weight. Both of these concepts easily translate into life lessons. It is so important to surround yourself with "work out partners" that will push you and always attempt to bring out the best in you. You will not always like the way these people will be on your case, but one day you will look back and thank them for being so instrumental in your life. It's so easy to cut corners, when you're all alone and nobody is there to see how you got to the end result, but with a parter or spotter, there is great accountability to strive for greatness. In order to put on muscle for whatever your journey may be, you cannot take the easy route. If taking short cuts is for you, then you'll probably end up the same flabby, old, out of shape wimp you always were. Secondly, when the going does get tough, and it always will, you wanna have that spotter there to be able to grab the weight when its pressing down on your neck. Let's be honest, no matter how beastly you are - Gov. Arnold, Sly Stalone, or even Van Damme, these guys still have/had (haha) partners working out with them and spotting theme every step of the way. Sure, you will probably get to the point where you think you're straight beast mode, and you will try to lift it all on your own. And that may work out for a short period of time, but it's as true as gravity. You'll come down eventually, and you will need someone by your side to take the burden off. As a fellow member of the male species, I know how hard it is to swallow that pride and ask for help. Trust me, do I know that lesson! But with humility comes success and great rewards!



Don't let this guy be you!

Nugget of the Day -- Through the Breaking Point

Growing up, I was one of those kids that everything just came fairly easy to me. And you know, it sounds like a blessing, which it might have been, that is until I started to get into new things that gave me a hard time. The transition was pretty tough for me. I didn't wanna get involved in anything that I had to put the time and effort in, mainly because it was so foreign to me. I remember one instance when I was in high school. I was playing golf, the hardest sport on the planet, with my pops and one of our friends, and I was suckin it up big time. I mean I was tearin up the greens left and right, grass and dirt flying everywhere, as well as my golf ball. Finally, I just got to the point where i picked the ball up and launched it down the greenway by throwing it. Needless to say, my ego got the best of me, and I coudln't take it because I wasn't excelling right away. Ah, that was one of the toughest lessons that I have ever had to learn - how to break through the "sticking point." Nothing worth learning and conquering never comes easy though. If you accomplish a task, and it didn't take the blood, sweat, and tears, then how great can the reward be?? It took me years to be able to drop my ego and just dig down and commit to putting the effort into things. The toughest of obstacles equate for the greatest feeling of accomplishment and self worth, when overcome. My challenge today is to find something that you've been struggling with. Grab it by the horns, and go hard after it. Stay focused. Put in all the man hours, the "blood, sweat, and tears." You will surely learn some things about yourself, as well as stretch yourself, along the journey. Then take that feeling of accomplishment and let it motivate and inspire you to move on to the next obstacle to overcome.

Nugget of the Day -- Let Learn and Let Live

Every day is a new day. Take the occurrences from yesterday and let them be a lesson, a lesson you will never have to learn again. Never dwell on things of the past. It is important to embrace all the obstacles that we have run into, but more important to work like mad in order to run right through them the next go around. I truly believe that ALL things happen for a reason, whether it be you stubbing your toe on the step in front of the hottest girl at school or whether God chose to take a close companion away from this earth. One of the hardest lessons in life is to find the good in times such as those, but rest assured, that there always is an underlying meaning. We may not see the fruits right away, or we may not even see them at all, but somewhere, somehow, it is all part of the master plan. Make it your goal today, to meet your obstacle face to face, learn from it, and move on! And next time you see the same thing coming, you bust right through it because you learned from your past and are not letting it get you again! We shouldn't have to re-learn every life lesson over and over. Let each one mold us and make us into the champion of our future. Turn your obstacles into opportunities!

Nugget of the Day -- Just Get Rid of the Box

Simple thought today -- Don't be afraid to "do you." Of course we all have influences that shape who we are in many facets. Just don't forget to add the main ingredient, a little "YOU!" No one is truly original, and it's important to take things from those who have influenced and inspired us. Just make sure you add your own twist to the mix. Don't be afraid to be adventurous and start something new. My motto is, I don't just think or live "outside the box," but i kicked that thing to the curb along time ago, so it's miles away from where I'm at now! Society can have all it's robots and look-a-likes, but I think I'll just do me. You hold the key to true happiness, and it lies within.



I think I need the number for their decorator.

Nugget of the Day -- 5 Years Runnin...

What'd I wanna do with my life? What am I gonna be when I grow up? The infamous questions that every individual is plagued with, basically ever since conception, ha. Well I guess I wasn't really one of the "lucky ones" or should I say, "one in a million," that had it figured out by high school graduation. I have been all over the board with what I wanna do. I mean when I was young, I would have bet you anything that I was gonna be a pistol toting cowboy when I got older! As you can see, I'm still workin on that one to this day, ha. I changed my major so many times while in college, that if I would have completed half of the classes for these majors, I would be the worlds most skilled and well-rounded man! The solitary difference between me now (23) and me then (18-23), is I realized that talk really is cheap. I sat on my tail for five years, running my mouth about what I was gonna do and who I was gonna be, but never put one utterance into action. Now here I am at age 23, and do I have it all figured out, where I'm going and what I'm gonna conquer? No, not necessarily, but I do know that I'm gonna fall on my face, a lot! And the beauty of that is, is that you're not gonna fall, if you're not walking! Start with an interest, something that really lights a fire in you. Formulate a game plan, and put that plan into action. I guarantee that you will be molded, learn more about and stretch yourself, and find direction quicker and clearer, as long as you are taking initiative and doing something! Find inspiration in other peoples journey. It is soooo important to be inspired, and in turn, inspire others!