Thursday is my thinking day. Do you have a thinking day? Or a thinking moment? A time where you turn off televisiontwitterkidsbookslaptopsfacebookcellphones and just think? I know for a lot of moms out there the thinking millisecond is pretty hard to come by. Mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy…

Sound familiar?

With all the craziness in my life lately I’ve had to schedule time to think. Isn’t that a weird thought? Aren’t we always thinking? Maybe we’re not. Let’s look at an example…

I A guy I know, we’ll call him Shmyan, is very capable of putting himself into autopilot and going through the motions. He can do it with his workouts, his job, his family, just about anything he tries to take on. I Shmyan has found that if he gets into this cycle of just checking off boxes and completing lists that his progress as an employee, athlete, and father pretty well stays stagnant. There’s no upward motion.

Every day Shmyan takes 5-10 minutes to just think. Once a week on Thursdays he does the same for a whole hour. He doesn’t think about tasks, or the news, or the latest YouTube buzz. He thinks about complete and utter randomness. He forces himself to get into a zone where he can think progressively. He thinks about Wayne’s World and the Beastie Boys. He tries to put himself in someone else’s shoes. He’ll imagine that he’s Bill Cosby playing Dr. Huckstable on the set of Charles in Charge. Have you ever wondered what would happen if Scott Baio and Bill Cosby got in a fist fight? I have, and I know who wins.

In case you haven’t picked it up by now, I’m Shmyan. Yep, I’m the guy who brainstorms like a freaking lunatic. I create all sorts of random scenarios in order to ultimately create awesome solutions to problems. My process starts out bizarre I know, but after about 15 minutes of craziness I get into a free thinking zone that I love. It’s almost euphoric. Ideas pulse through me and my head gets so clear. I guess it’s my version of a Sudoku puzzle. After the hour (not during) I write down everything that still sticks out in my mind. If the thought left me, I perceive that as it wasn’t important for me at the time.

Here’s a fun little exercise I’d love for you to try. Plaster the comments area with your answers.

First pick a character or person from the list. Then pick a question. Answer the question as your character (really try and think like them) and then as yourself. Close tweetdeck for a second while you do and silence your phone. Just think. See if throughout the day you look at things a little bit differently. Oh, and have lots of fun with this. It’s totally about the creativity!

Bugs Bunny
Tom Brady
Kim Kardashian
Hannah Montana
Mr. T
Bob Harper (Biggest Loser Bob)
Lebron “The King” James
Lance Armstrong
Madonna
Nelson Mandela

Questions:

1. What is one thing every person in the United States would be willing to do to improve their life?
2. Where do babies come from?
3. What’s more important cardio or weight training?
4. Why can’t we make hoverboards work?
5. What’s a yet-to-be-invented ice cream flavor that Ben & Jerry could sell loads of.
6. Is calorie counting a necessary evil at some point during weight loss?
7. Are paperweights useful in any case other than when your office is in a wind tunnel?

If I knew then what I know now…

I probably wouldn’t have spent over 10 bucks every time I hit up Taco Bell at 2am.

If I knew then what I know how,

I probably would have been more active growing up. At the very least I would have jumped into more pickup basketball games.

If I knew then what I know now,

I would have started a savings plan at age 5.

If I knew then what I know now,

I would have taken golf lessons.

If I knew then what I know now,

I think I would have made out with a lot more chicks in high school and college.

If I knew then what I know now,

I probably wouldn’t have ended up in Tijuana in a white minivan with 4 of my closest friends and a girl I’d never met.

If I knew then what I know now,

I never would have the seen the pizza so big my friend could fit inside the box.

If I knew then what I know now,

I might have agreed that 4 months of dating was too fast.

If I knew then what I know now,

I probably would have listened to the people who said to wait to have kids.

If I knew then what I know now,

I never would have weighed 400 pounds.

If I knew then what I know now,

I never would have had a chance to learn it.

I’m so grateful that I didn’t know then what I know now.

The experiences are memories that will last forever. The decisions I made, good or bad, are ones that I will never forget.

I will learn from the bad choices and rejoice in the good ones.

The key is to keep moving forward. Always learning and rejoicing.

P.S. Four months is the perfect amount of time when it’s the perfect girl.

If you could change past decisions would you? Considering the lessons you learned disappeared as well?

It’s funny because I seriously love the IdealShape program yet I don’t tout it here at NMB as much as I’d like to. I guess it’s a combination of wanting all of you to be reassured that I’m here for the right reasons and just plain old forgetfulness. I’m the guy that would forget his a$$ if it weren’t sewed on. Hopefully after a year of sharing my ups and downs with all of you, you know that I wouldn’t steer you wrong. I’m here to stay and that’s that. You’re stuck with me. [insert maniacal laughter]

I wanted to bring up IdealShape today because they’re doing a pretty cool promotion right now where all you have to pay is a handling charge ($1.99). They also ask that you share it on FB or follow them on Twitter. Easy enough right?

They’ll send you the following:

1. Samples of their Chocolate and Vanilla IdealShape Shakes – I’m not joking when I say they’re the most delicious I’ve ever had. And I’ve tried lots. Also, fat guys have the best taste buds. It’s science.
2. The Mastering the Mind CD Volume 1 - Listen to this every day and I promise you’ll have a more optimistic outlook on life. Sorry, no Bieber undertones on this CD. Did I mention it costs 30 bucks if you want to buy it?
3. A Blender Bottle - These are actually the blender bottle brand blender bottles. They’re normally like 9 bucks!

I thought some of you might be interested in getting 45 bucks worth of stuff for 2 dollars and a couple of clicks so I decided to share. If you’re looking for a little direction in your weight loss, this is definitely a good place to start.

“So what’s with the title of your post Ryan?”

Oh right, the 10 ways my life is better. I put together a short 1 minute video (pretty freaking cheesy I might add) that you’ll see when you go to get your free stuff.

Just click this link to watch the video and get your free offer. It really is that easy.

Also, as always, feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions about the program in general. It really is freaking awesome! You can leave questions in the comments too if that’s how you roll.

How has your life improved since you’ve shed the pounds?

It’s been a few days since I blogged.

There are a slew of different reasons, but in an attempt to be more transparent , I want to give you an update on some of the latest happenings in my life.

My Business Life

I started a business a few months ago and business is literally booming. I can’t keep up with orders. It’s a great problem to have, but it’s definitely overwhelming at the same time. I truly wonder how entrepreneurs do it. I know that I have the “I can conquer anything” mentality, but I sometimes wonder if the crazy hours and high amounts of stress are worth it.

I keep telling myself that this is to provide my children and family a more secure future, but right now it’s hard for me to see when that will be. I wonder how some of the big names do it. Is there a way to truly be a family man and an entrepreneur at the same time? If there is I’d love to know what it is.

I just don’t want to miss out on my boys growing up.

My Health

I know I mentioned a clean bill of health a couple of weeks ago, but apparently I spoke too soon. It’s nothing too serious, but I’m still anemic (low red blood cell count) and I have to get iron infusions every two weeks to help boost my levels.

You’ve heard of doping in the Olympics and Tour De France right? It’s supposed to help athletes have better endurance because there is more oxygen in their bloodstream and their muscles.

My condition is basically the opposite of doping. That means that I get tired really easy and it’s entirely possible that I’ve fallen asleep at my desk at work a time or two. I’ve been blaming it on the long hours, but it turns out I actually have a bit of a condition. Luckily they’ve got some great treatments planned and I should be 100% within a month.

Unfortunately though the crappy health has led to some really crappy runs. The lack of oxygen in my blood stream means I have basically no endurance when it comes to exercise so my 13.1 training has not been going well at all. I’m still confident I can pull it off, I just need to get my health back quick!

My Weight Loss

Turns out that high amounts of stress and crappy health can bring back some bad habits in a hurry. While I haven’t gone completely off the deep end, I have found myself eating in my car a bit more because I’m “too busy” to make something (stupid excuses).

I still haven’t touched the hard stuff (soda) and I won’t. I know right where that leads for me.

The combination of sub par workouts and less than awesome eating habits have had the scales creeping in the other direction. It’s only a few pounds different, but I know how quickly 5 can turn into 80. I’ve seen it before!

Remedies

The best part about this little rough patch is that I know how to get out of it. I know what I’m going to do to break out of the funk.

• At least 30 minutes of exercise every day, no exceptions.
• GO TO BED ON TIME (This is me yelling at me, not me yelling at you).
• No more eating in my car. I’m going to start packing lunches and dinners for times I’m going to be away from home for a while.
• Follow the Doctor’s orders. I’m stubborn as a mule sometimes but I know when I need to listen to the professionals.
• Keep blogging. I have so many ideas bottled up inside this head of mine that are just dying to break out. It’s such a great stress release for me too, which is definitely something I could use about now.

I really hope this post wasn’t too much of a downer. Life really is good for the most part. This was just supposed to be me reporting in and staying accountable more than anything. Like I said, I’ve got the solution. Losing weight (or even maintaining it) is complicated to the nth degree when life comes at you like a freight train but that’s no excuse.

Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit.

-Bern Williams

How do you get going when the going gets tough?

It’s funny how a couple of misguided time traveling teenagers learned one of life’s most important lessons at a very young age.

Today’s post isn’t so much weight loss oriented as it is lets-try-to-be-good-people oriented.

As sappy as this post may come across, I’ve been reminded multiple times lately that treating each other with respect can’t be emphasized enough.

There’s a lot of hate in this world and while I am an idealist of sorts and believe it is possible for us to “just get along,” I’m not so naive that I don’t know we’re a long freaking way from getting there.

Every day online we see heated debate over which smart phone is the best in the world and which actress is the hottest (iPhone and Jessica Alba duh). People getting into heated arguments over seemingly trivial things in the big picture. Name calling ensues, and then Yo Momma jokes are tossed around with reckless abandon. It gets ugly.

We’re all a lot braver behind our keyboards.

Throw issues like religion and politics in the mix and you’re looking at a ticking time bomb.

I’ve been a victim of sending the reactionary email or leaving the nasty comment. I think we all have once or twice.

I’m not even asking that we censor ourselves. There are going to be issues and topics that we disagree on. Let your opinions and feeling be known. Unless you disagree with me of course; in that case, don’t let the door hit you in the—- OK OK… Come back baby. I didn’t mean it. Honest (see, I’m learning already).

In all seriousness we’re not going to see eye to eye on a myriad of topics. That’s totally cool too. The important part is that we keep our ears open and our mouths closed (at least for a moment). Process what’s being said. Listen to it in the context it’s being said. Attempt to put yourself in the shoes of the person that’s saying it. Then, after you’ve gone through those mini steps, make your voice be heard.

Protip: Ask yourself, “would I say this to the person’s face?”

Openly tell people you disagree with them in a respectful manner. Don’t be asses. It’s not necessary. Besides, when the tone of a voicemail, or email, or comment is angry or aggressive in nature, I guarantee your intended message isn’t getting through.

Life’s too short to sweat the small stuff. Let’s focus on what we have in common, not our differences. We can all bring the best parts of who we are and become something amazing. Something powerful. Something earth shattering.

Let’s be excellent to each other… starting… NOW!

Well, I still can’t believe I posted this.

In my interview with Dr. Fitness and The Fat Guy I may have made a premature judgment about Mr. Justin Bieber. You see I’m really not a fan of his music. At least I didn’t think I was. It turns out however, that if you slow down Bieber’s music by 800 percent, it quickly becomes very zen-like and less i-wanna-poke-holes-in-my-ear-drums-like.

If you’d like to download the s u p e r s l o w version of Bieber, you can find it here to use for your own Yoga.

For now however, please join me in volume one of Beginning Yoga With Bieber.

(please try to ignore the too loud Bieber and the fact that my face is cut in half for part of the video).

Transparency is a funny thing.

When it comes to brands or bloggers or even friends and family, don’t we tend to gravitate towards the ones that give us a back stage pass into their lives or inner workings? There’s a reason that a “tell-all” book will fly off the shelves while a normal autobiography collects dust. We’re intrigued by the whole story. We want to know that we’re not being misled or duped. We strive for trust.

I know some people who have made literally millions of dollars on the internet (I’m not name dropping, keep reading). They’ve done it by selling products and services that they won’t put their face on. They create brands that appear one day and are gone the next. Are they successful? I guess that depends on your definition. They’re filthy rich that’s for sure. At the end of the day however, I can’t imagine there’s a lot of satisfaction from that type of entrepreneurship. Other than sleeping on stacks of money of course

The problem is that there’s no trust. There’s no reputation. There’s no face.

The same thing happens in the healthy living blog arena all the time. Bloggers come and bloggers go. They hear problogger talk about his 7 figure income and think blogging is like one of those awesome work from home programs (cue the spam).

I believe bloggers should make money.

It’s hard work.

It takes time.

It takes guts.

If you’re paying for a webhost and a blog design it actually costs money. Nothing like going into the hole in an attempt to share your insights and help people out right?

All that being said, I believe the transparent bloggers are the ones who should be rewarded. Not the bloggers who hide behind a product or an affiliate program creating mediocre content. Copyblogger is famous for saying that “content is king.” While I agree to an extent, my true feeling is that content is king when it’s coming from a source we trust. A source that makes us view things in a different light. A source who has worked their way up the blogging ladder. A source with exceptional talent. A truly transparent source that says “this is who I am, this is what I bring to the table, love me or leave me.”

Creating keyword rich SEO friendly content is easy. I could publish it every day. What would that mean to you as readers?

Not a damn thing.

You’d probably call me a fake or a fraud or think “he’s just in it for the money,” and it would all be justified.

When you visit blogs you love, turn off your ad blockers, click the links in their sidebar, buy some gear from their shop, support what they believe in, and support their causes. Especially if it’s something you’re going to buy anyway, why not share the wealth? Pay back the backstage pass with a “we’re not worthy” link click. You’ll be happy you did! They’ll be happy you did. Everybody’s happy!

So next time someone tells you they can see right through you; tell them thank you.

A lot can be learned from that little engine that could…

At first I wanted to interview this guy but he actually got pretty upset that I called him a little person. Go figure.

My 3 year old doesn’t talk (yet, it’s only a matter of time), but the 1 year old won’t shut up loves to jibber jabber.

It was kind of spur of the moment and my less than quick brain couldn’t recall the words off the top of my head but Brady and I did have a short chat about the word exercise (take note that he’s sitting on an exercise ball. This too,was completely unplanned). His answer when I asked him what it meant nearly killed me. Take a look for yourself…

I can’t help but believe that his answer was spurred by his clumsy father doing something like this…

What do you think of Brady’s answer? What definition do you have? In my opinion, at the age of 1, he was spot on!

I’ve yet to meet a soul who didn’t love Chunk. How about a few quotes from “Lawrence” for nostalgia sake.

Listen, okay? You guys’ll never believe me. There was two cop cars, okay? And they were chasing this four-wheel deal, this real neat ORV, and there were bullets flying all over the place. It was the most amazing thing I ever saw!

Okay, Brand. Michael Jackson didn’t come over to my house to use the bathroom. He was about to. But his sister did.

and my personal favorite….

Ah, Sh*t!

I must say that Chunk is my favorite fat guy of all time. There is a guy however that comes in a close second.

This guy:

This guy along with Dr. Fitness gave me the opportunity to go on their show last week. It was tons of fun and we talked everything from Bieber to Brainwashing. It’s definitely not something you want to miss out on. You can hear the interview here.

If you didn’t pick up on it earlier, the links on their names are for their Twitter accounts. Go Follow Them! Check them out on their FB page too because these guys are bringing the heat all the time!

Oh, and I have to give a huge shout out to Miz for making it all happen! Thank you!