Inspirational Center

Most people who workout, run, swim, bike, play basketball or doing anything that takes serious effort always runs into a wall.  A state of mind or place everyone knows and hates.  The moment where walking up stairs or making dinner becomes an arduous chore and feels like your running a marathon when you finally muster the energy.  At these times, we seek inspiration and motivation to do anything.  Most people listen to music, primarily when one goes to the gym, to jump start their adrenaline.  Others read books or watch movies. 

Me, I love watching commercials or promos. I know it sounds silly but they are quick, to the point, and impactful.  Some have even brought a tear or two to my eye.

Ironically, corporations like Nike, Red Bull, and Saucony produce advertisements to sell me their  products yet I am buying their inspiring messages. 

Here are a few of my favorites and there may be a Lance Armstrong commercial in here:

It's hard not to be motivated by this video.  Oscar Pistorius has been told he can't do certain things his entire life.  Thank Goodness he is a bad listener and gives us no excuses.

Speaking of no excuses...

I am suppose to run today but I think I have a case of the Wednesdays.  Sorry Matt.

I usually watch this video right before a race to gear me up against my future competition.  Has worked out thus far.  Hopefully, it can help you.

And in approximately 4 minutes, you are pumped and motivated to go do something.  It doesn't take much to get us going and once that occurs, anyone can become a juggernaut.  We all go through highs and lows, it's in our nature.  However, there are things out there to help us.  Use them to your advantage.  I skip on workouts, professionals skip out, everyone skips out on workouts, but it's the little things that push us to the next level. 

These are just a few things that motivate me.  Hopefully, this helps you

Check out the site www.triforlifefoundation.com

Manticat Te'ofish

After today's discovery that Manti Te'o's fake girlfriend was a dude played by Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, can we admit that we have severe societal problems in today's world?

From text messages, emails, facebook, myspace, tumbler, instagram, and many more technological social mediums, we are losing ourselves or failing to make true connections with others.  A friend once told me that the phone call is this generation's hand written letter.  That statement couldn't be more true.  We have all found ourselves in a box consumed in self promotion, popularity contests, and desperate attempts for attention.  You see it everyday.  At the doctor's office, everyone isn't talking to each other, they're just on their phones biding time and waiting for something to gather their interest.

Or a better example, when a large group of friends go out, they're always a few who aren't as outgoing as others and within 30  minutes of the nights festivities, they are on their phones chatting on facebook, twitter, checking emails, and checking out of the action that is occurring right in front of them.  People lose touch when they are hypnotize by their cell phones.  We lose reality of what's going on around us.  Our instincts become irrelevant or better stated, non-existent. 

When you are watching TV or on the Internet, you don't realize someone is calling you even if they are right next to you until they have to yell or say your name 15 times.  We disconnect from the real world.  Lost in the screen right in front of us while losing sight of events happening all around us.  Then, we complain about not living, having no real relationships, losing connections with close loved ones, and having the audacity to point out there isn't enough time in the day.

This brings me to the Manti Te'o Catfish story finally coming to fruition.  Now this has come full circle, don't we all realize there is a significant problem with how we communicate with each other and spend our time(1).

(1) As you are reading this on your phone, tablet, or laptop.

Te'o became a victim in a terrible hoax by a person who is so desperate for connection, they will lie, scheme, use their respective voice coached lessons to deceive someone and coerce affection from another.  And in the process compromise an individuals heart and soul.  Once that soul discovered the fallacy of the relationship, they were to ashamed to admit it.  They tried to cover it up which turned out to be the worse thing to do (2).

(2) I do not want to delve into the ridiculousness of this story one bit due to the criticism Te'o has wrongly received.  Not to mention how pathetic it is that this is a 8 day front page story in this country.  This is exactly why I am being vague.

The crazy thing about this whole story that this isn't the first time Ronaiah Tuiasosopo has done this, and now he gets a lawyer and seeing mental specialist. 

What the hell is a mental specialist anyway?

Isn't that what a psychiatrist does? 

My point---Don't trust lawyers!

This guy does not have mental problems.  He is suffering from the same problem most Americans have.  Trying to feel deep and strong connections with people but do not have the capacity to do so.  

Wait, slash that. 

All of us have the capacity to change, its just no one can do it for us.  We have to take that jump with two feet and never look back.  Everyone gets so complacent and it's so natural since it's apart of society that no one complains about it.  Well, until they hit middle-age and decide to purchase and do something stupid trying to recover what they lost years ago.  And only each individual knows what they lost until it's to late.  We fight to try and get our youth back.  Maybe that's what Tuiasosopo was doing.  He is young and in his mind, this was the last resort. 

I am not condoning his actions but I understand and have seen similar behavior multiple times before.  Hell, there is documentary and  a show off that documentary of people tricking others into deep relationships through social networking.  Pathetic is the only world I can use to describe this behavior but this is where we are heading (or arrived at) and we have to find a way to detach ourselves on a daily basis so we do not trap ourselves in a box.  There are millions of ways to free yourself....from yourself....sorry that was lame but I digress. 

So find something out there that makes you happy and do it.  Don't look back.  Well look back if it involves drugs, violence, sex for money, gambling (this one is not directed at me...not at all), and eating terribly.  Don't even bother looking back, just don't do it.  Trust me, I am an adult.

I am glad I am ending this post on such an intelligent note. 

Lance Armstrong Legacy's (Part 2)

This is the second installment of this post.  To read the first part click here

Lance Armstrong's biggest mistake and enemy is... Lance Armstrong.  He is arrogant, smug, a bully, manipulative, and a sociopath. He has always mistreated the media, doubters, and most of all, naysayers.  By now, most of you heard and/or read about several ex-girlfriends, (Sheryl Crow in particular) state Lance has admitted to taking steroids.  Crow stated "Lance is a bad person" after they broke up.  Armstrong responded by claiming his ex's are bitter, jealous, and wrathful.  He even left a voicemail stating he hopes one of them get beaten with a bat.  He has constantly gotten in his own way but has maintained his secret for over 15 years with power, intelligence and "mob-like" behavior. 

However, we have heard for years from Lance that he is innocent and why would he do this do his body after going through cancer, even though, it is recently discovered he was using before he was diagnosed?  Isn't that just the problem with compulsive liars?  Once one gets started, they can't stop compounding lie after lie and after awhile, they start believing in them.  The lies become such a prime part of one's being, it becomes the truth.  They don't know what to believe anymore leading to more lying.  One becomes engulfed.  It's all they know and they will fight for it.

Look, I am not excusing Armstrong's behavior, just stating an observation of patterns. For example, a serial killer murders innocent people because they were beaten and mistreated as a child.  We are not excusing the murders but we understand how one got to this point.

Lance worked so hard to get back from cancer and knew the only way to win was to cheat and be the best at it.  It was the only way to win.  In a sport were everyone cheats, no one does.  That's why the Union Cyclist Internationale can't give the seven Tour de France titles to anyone.  Everyone was compromised.

In 2005, they would have to go the 23rd finisher to give the title to.  23rd! 

Lance got tired of getting his ass-kicked and decided to join the ranks.  He just found a way to get away with it.  He never got caught.  Past every test and was supported by the UCI (the same institution that stripped him of the 7 Tour de France titles) due to all of the press he was receiving. 

That's the funny thing in all this.  The UCI was fine with him cheating (and they knew) when he was bringing in sponsors, popularity, interest, and money to the sport but once he left, it didn't take long til they were at his throat. 

Armstrong then used his popularity, money, and awareness to start Livestrong in 2003 and raised 470 million dollars.  It made 48 million dollars in 2012 alone... in a recession and after USADA started their investigation in July.

When Livestrong started, it became a movement.  In high school, it was a fashion crime if you didn't wear the Livestrong bracelets.  Now, every cancer has it's own bracelet, ribbon, and color.  It's all because of Lance Armstrong.

The cancer survivor visited thousands of hospitals to spend time with patients and creating very close relationships with some of the them. 

Now, we find out, he destroyed people's lives by trampling all over them with lies, false accusations, manipulation, and power.

And here lies the dilemma as a Lance Armstrong supporter. 

What is greater?... The sum or the difference? 

I am trying to find balance on an uneven scale.

Lance Armstrong found a way to beat his opponents the same way they were beating him (that's why you don't hear anything from his competitors), propel himself to worldwide fame, use the fame to create the most lucrative cancer charity on the planet, build a brand, and became a hero.  However, he did it by cheating, lying, eradicated anyone who got in his way, and fraud ed an entire nation who endured him.

I am going to still support him.  Lance Armstrong has done so much more good than bad, the result justifed the means.

Graphic novels V for Vendetta and Watchmen can support my point.  In both stories, the protagonist(s) uses evil means to get something good for the public.  Both use power, manipulation, lies, and deceit to get what they want.  Both are celebrated as heroes.

And I understand this is fiction, but we all use excuses and false truths to convince ourselves something is good.  What is so different from these stories to what Lance did?  He has literally changed thousands, maybe even millions of lives from his actions.  Can we really bury one of the most influential people in the past 20 years? 

The man separated himself from the foundation so it wouldn't lose anymore creditability and still made almost 50 million dollars in 2012.  The day USADA stripped him of his titles (which was illegal by the way), Livestrong received the most money in it's history over a 72 hour period.  His impact is that massive. 

I am just as eager to watch the Oprah Winfrey interviews, which is becoming this generations' Frost/Nixon and I can't wait.

Until then, keep training hard.

To be continued...