June 22, 2005

I have something to share that I think will benefit anyone who wants to ever achieve anything noteworthy in their life. Obviously, I am a goal-oriented person. I constantly ask myself whether something is either for or against my long term goals…I analyze this concept with the relationships I form, the books I read, the films I watch and the time I spend doing anything.

I firmly believe that who we are is an accumulation of what we continually do: which is why I expressed at the top of this journal page that ‘our habits define who we are.’ If you constantly overcome adversity you are a winner. If you constantly save people you are a hero. If you constantly educate people you are a teacher. And if you constantly train with intensity and eat chicken breasts for dinner, you are probably a fitness competitor.

There are things we want to achieve in this life: symbols we want to represent. But in order to truly own the ‘symbol’ you have to manifest the symbol you want to embody by creating consistent, physical actions that supports it.

When people ask me for advice about how to be in shape, be a competitor, be a beauty queen, be a successful fitness professional…I always tell them that they can be whatever they want to be: the question is rather: do you have what it takes to ‘become’ who you want to be? Do you have the discipline and the drive to truly develop into the ‘symbol’ you want to signify? Anyone has the power to achieve any endeavor if they have the commitment to define and refine the behavior of the ‘thing’ they want to become.

People who know me, know that I value my life: and I especially value what I put into my life. Because whatever is in my life, becomes a part of me. I think it’s funny when people try to separate their job and their life…or their family and their life…or their health and their life: because all those components define your life! My job for example, is 75% of my time in my life. If I don’t like my job: in essence, I don’t like my life. I think it’s so important to critically look at everything present in your life and ask yourself if it aligns with who you are…or even more importantly, does it align with who you think you are or can become?