Inch By Inch

Al Pacino's Inch By Inch speech from Any Given Sunday...

I don't know what to say really.Three minutesto the biggest battle of our professional livesall comes down to today.Eitherwe healas a teamor we are going to crumble.Inch by inchplay by playtill we're finished.We are in hell right now, gentlemenbelieve meandwe can stay hereand get the shit kicked out of usorwe can fight our wayback into the light.We can climb out of hell.One inch, at a time.Now I can't do it for you.I'm too old.I look around and I see these young facesand I thinkI meanI made every wrong choice a middle age man could make.I uh....I pissed away all my moneybelieve it or not.I chased offanyone who has ever loved me.And lately,I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror.You know when you get old in lifethings get taken from you.That's, that's part of life.But,you only learn that when you start losing stuff.You find out that life is just a game of inches.So is football.Because in either gamelife or footballthe margin for error is so small.I meanone half step too late or to earlyyou don't quite make it.One half second too slow or too fastand you don't quite catch it.The inches we need are everywhere around us.They are in ever break of the gameevery minute, every second.On this team, we fight for that inchOn this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around usto pieces for that inch.We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch.Cause we knowwhen we add up all those inchesthat's going to make the fucking differencebetween WINNING and LOSINGbetween LIVING and DYING.I'll tell you thisin any fightit is the guy who is willing to diewho is going to win that inch.And I knowif I am going to have any life anymoreit is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inchbecause that is what LIVING is.The six inches in front of your face.Now I can't make you do it.You gotta look at the guy next to you.Look into his eyes.Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you.You are going to see a guywho will sacrifice himself for this teambecause he knows when it comes down to it,you are gonna do the same thing for him.That's a team, gentlemenand either we heal now, as a team,or we will die as individuals.That's football guys.That's all it is.Now, whattaya gonna do?

Feel The Burn.

I had a great night last night after work a few friends stopped by to just say hi. Then I went to a workshop that a group I work with held last night. The speaker was great. He talked about classroom management. It was amazing! It was the kind of speaker that makes you want to be a teacher. After the workshop I went to The Cat and Fiddle for live jazz, a tea and to meet some friends. It is a great way to unwind in the middle of the week.

This morning I am wicked sore from working out yesterday, but I love it. I need to get more on the ball with getting ready the night before. I am struggling a lot in the mornings. If it was not for the fact I have been calling a friend in the morning to wake them up, I would not get to work in the morning. I am really starting to see a little light at the end of the tunnel. It is exciting when you can see yourself coming close to achieving goals that you have been working on for so long.

"The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next. The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing." Michael E. GerberAuthor of The E-Myth Revisited

Next Step!!!

We I am coming to another new beginning today. I am going to restart my weight training program again. I am also still fighting off what ever illness I have had since I started Optifast. I need to make the most of the time I have and with every opportunity I get. I can see the body I want and I know I can achieve it. I also need to start to focus more on my career, my education and all the projects I have not been working on. I am starting to fall behind and I hate that feeling.

The weight training went ok. I am not really sore and I could not lift as mush as I use to be able to. In some exercises I hit total failure. Also in between every set of lifts I would do twenty steps. We will have to see how I feel tomorrow.

“You may make mistakes, but you are not a failure until you start blaming someone else”

My Life, My Choices, My Actions

I listen to a lot of self help and motivational speakers. The one I listen to the most is called “Winning is an inside job” by John Maxwell. The first thing he talks about is taking responsibility for one’s own life and actions. So that is what I need to do right now. On Saturday night I broke down. Not because of anything anyone else did or didn’t do. Up until this point I had not eaten any food. But on that night I did. I am very disappointed in myself more than I could really explain. I started with a cookie and then I had twenty medium chicken wings. I feel like I have let down everyone who has believed in me. Most of all I am sorry for letting down my Mom and Dad because they are playing for the treatment. I know it was wrong when I did it but, I felt like what I think a hard core drug addict would feel. I hide and ate in the dark and ate them like someone was going to steal them. I am back on track. I got right back on the next day. I just feel I need to be responsible for my action.

“I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.” Thomas Edison