Stay on Offense Climb Mountains

Attacking Adversity

Bookish Weapon Number Twenty-One

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Is everything in life “Figureoutable?” Is that even a word? Well, Marie Forleo in her bilk by that name says so. The exact title is “Everything is Figureoutable.” One of the clubs that Brendon Burchard clubs you with time after time is the importance of believing that you can “figure it out,” whatever it is. If you believe that then there isn’t much that will stop you.

Everything is Figureoutable

Yes, I know I just said that, but Marie tells us that we need to repeat it over and over again until it becomes a part of who we are as people.

What it really comes down to says Marie, is that our beliefs tend to stick so make “everything is figureoutble” a belief! As Marie says, “The most powerful words in the universe are the words lousy to yourself.” Tony Robbins would add that if these words are said with emotion they are even more powerful.

Excuses

I like her take on excuses. “If it’s important enough, I’ll make the time. If not, I’ll make an excuse.”

One excuse that Marie discusses is “I don’t have the money.” Well, I don’t! She is having none of it. First, she says you might not need the money, because there are lots of free resources out there. For instance, you can get a world-class education online and she gives you that information as well as a much longer list of resources for raising money. Then she points out that if you really do need more money and can’t get it elsewhere, get another job. I liked the one.

Fear, Dreams, Goals

This book discusses all of these topics in detail. She discusses fear as any self-respecting “self-help” author does, and how we shouldn’t let it stop us. Use it as fuel!

Goals – choose one and write it down. There is much more to this, but that is the basic idea.

Dreams are those things that you desire and desire is, after all etymologically “of God.” You are special. The world needs what you bring to the table. Consider what Fred Rogers says, “If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never dream of.” Marie says, “uncovering, developing, and sharing your gifts—-that’s the whole reason you’re here on earth. I believe that is the whole reason any of us are here. To create and contribute to one another.” Hey, that is why I write about these ideas from books.

Go Hiking And Feel Powerful

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Hiking does make you feel powerful. Just the physical movement gets your blood flowing and then as you climb higher and higher you feel stronger.

Sure it is hard, but deep inside you feel power. It grows as you climb. Wait! Stop! How can the be? Ok, here are some ideas.

Mantras

Mantras keep you focused on the task at hand and not how difficult it might be. Here are my favorite, all of which I stole from somebody else. You can steal them from me if they fit.

Life is good. I am strong. I can do this all day long.
I’m strong and powerful. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
My body is my home. My home is my temple.
I’m strong, I thrive, at 165.
Measure your day by what you sow and not by what you reap
Find happiness in the short term misery of discipline so you don’t suffer the long term pain of regret.

When I am hiking I am saying these six mantras over and over again. They help me focus and I believe they get drilled into my subconscious.

Micro Goals

I may have talked about micro goals before. In the Unbeatable Mind community which Mark Divine began they are a staple. When it comes to hiking they are perfect. You feel a little tired or maybe a lot tired. So you pick a rock or a tree up ahead and just tell yourself you are going to go as far as that tree. Of course you keep going after you get to it. Then set another micro goal.

Eventually after you have set enough micro goals you will reach the top. Then it is time to back down and that is not as easy as it seems at first. So set some micro goals then as well. Now go hiking!

Go Hiking And Get Interested In Exercise And Health

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When a person puts as much effort into a pastime as I do with hiking or someone else might do with Spartan Racing, for example, they become very interested in how they can keep the body going, avoid injury, recover from injury, etc.

In the corresponding Bookinsh Weapon post number nineteen, I dive into some of the things I have learned from listening to the Ben Greenfield podcast. However, there is so much information that I thought I would continue up this trail. Joe Rogan’s interview recently with David Sinclair covered anti-aging. So a lot to discuss. Let’s get going.

Hardware

I thought it would be fun to discuss some of the hardware that is available to improve everything from sleep to performance, to eliminating pain.

The new NuCalm device that sells for a little less than $5,000 does a lot. The company spent twenty years researching to develop this product. It can give you two hours of deep sleep in twenty minutes or improve you regular night time deep sleep and much more. Greenfield has tested it and it does work

The Circadia device sells for less than $1000 and helps you fall asleep. This is Greenfield’s suggestion for folks on a “budget.”

The Grounding Mat (you sleep on it) brought to you by Ben’s guest Clint Ober, is supposed to eliminate pain. Twin size is only $129.

The Chilly Pad gets high praise from a wide range of sleep experts. It allows you to keep your mattress cool while you sleep which helps you sleep better. It sells for about $600.

So I guess you would put the grounding mat on top of the Chili Pad or…

The Halo Sport helps you learn any motor skill quicker. It could be guitar playing or lifting weights.

The Joove Light – Red light that is good for you. Benefits: muscle recovery, joint pain, sleep optimization, testosterone, inflammation, bone health and skin health. I want one! Maybe more than one since they have a portable device as well.

More About Supplements

In the Bookish Weapon post I listed some anti-aging supplements, but here are a few that didn’t necessarily fall into that category, but as you will see, I think they are great!

Atantril – If you have gas, this one is great.
Restore – Protects against Glycosides. I’s great!
Lean – Helps you avoid glucose spikes (from Ben Greenfield’s company Kion). It is great!

Fixing What’s Broken

In Joe Rogan’s podcast with David Sinclair they discuss the progress being made in the field of genetics when it comes to fixing the body. For example, they shot a virus carrying a reprogramming genetic code into the eyes of old mice who had eye problems. All the mouse eyes were reprogramed to have brand new eyes. So within the next year they will begin human trials on people that have Macular Degeneration and Glaucoma.

It will get even better. Later they are planning to use the same technology to heal spine injuries and other serious problems. This is so exciting! In the next ten years health care as we know it will be changing dramatically.

Bookish Weapon Number Eighteen

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We are all going to die or as John Ortberg puts it, “Old Man Wrinkle is coming for everybody.” Ortberg has a unique way of reminding us of that fact and adding a twist or two in his book, “When The Game Is Over It All Goes Back In The Box.” That is one of the best titles for a book I have seen and contains a bookish weapon we can all use daily.

The title is a reminder that while we play this game, winning and losing at times, when it is all over all the pieces and the board go back in the box. It could be that the “box” is a coffin.”

Reality

“The reality of this world is that I was born into Someone Else’s kingdom. My life came to me as a gift I did not choose; it is suspended from a slender thread that I did not weave and cannot on my own sustain.”

Here is a meditation Ortberg quotes:

I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.
I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape ill health.
I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.
My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

Then he says Jesus added one more to this: “I am a ceaseless being with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe.”

He also adds this much needed quote from Bernie Siegle:

“I’ve done the research and I hate to tell you, but everybody dies – lovers, joggers, vegetarians and non-smokers. I’m telling you this so that some of you who jog at 5:00 AM and eat vegetables will occasionally sleep late and have an ice cream cone.”

Meaning

A vacuum cleaner is built to clean. A knife to cut. Ortberg says, “We are built for meaning the way Porsches are built for speed.” He goes on to discuss how all of us have what Martin Seligman calls “signature strengths.” And of course goes on to encourage us to use our signature strengths in the service of something larger than ourselves.

You are most likely familiar with the book “Mans Search for Meaning” where Victor Frankl points out that we can put up with anything if we have a big enough why. We can find meaning in even the worst circumstances.

Go Hiking and Lose Weight

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Now why hadn’t I thought of that before this? Sure, if you climb up a mountain and maybe run down the same mountain, you might burn a few calories. Quit a few. So it can’t hurt with the weight battle. But wait! There is much more to this story.

The subject of weight loss is like water or air these days. It is everywhere. So I thought I would weigh-in on the subject. After all everybody has an opinion.

Mountain or Kitchen?

On the mountain I might be climbing and running for five, six or seven hours. That melts the blubber, right? Climbing, sweating, jogging, running. It burns those calories so I can eat anything I want. That is why I climb mountains.

I have a question for you. If you climb a mountain every single day, not just once a week, but every, single day, day after day after day, can you still get fat? Yes!! You can always out eat your exercise. Exercise certainly helps you maintain your weight, but only if you have a tight control of everything in your kitchen. So the kitchen wins, not the mountain.

Weight or Fat?

As long as we are on the subject of weight loss, let’s discuss fat loss for a moment. It is not the weight you should be concerned about, it is the fat. Don’t watch your weight. Watch your fat! If you lose 5 pounds of muscle it does you no good at all, but if it is fat, that’s good.

I recommend hydrostatic weighing. First they weigh you on a scale. Then they put you under water and weigh you there. It gives a very accurate body fat percentage. If you have a scale that measures body fat that’s good. They are not that accurate, but if you know the percentage difference between what the scale says and what the hydrostatic test says, you can determine the correct number every time you use your scale.

Diets

No comment! Well, maybe a very short comment. If there is one subject area that contains more confusion than any other it is diet. The trend is towards more personalized diets based on your genetics and where your ancestors lived. Once the “experts” get that dialed in we will all be better off.

Bookish Weapon Number Seventeen

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Gary Keller’s book, “The One Thing,” reminds me a lot of Stephen Covey’s book, “First Things First,” but it has its own twist and adds a lot. The idea is keeping your focus on one thing. That gets extraordinary results.

I liked the domino analogy. If you have a line of dominos, then keep hitting the first domino until it falls. The rest is easy.

What Holds Us Back

There are too many distractions and things other than the “me thing” that keep us from focusing. Also there are “untruths” that we base our decisions on. As you have heard, if you hear a lie long enough and frequently enough you believe it.

Keller says there are six lies between you and success. 1) Everything matters equally, 2) Multitasking, 3) A disciplined life, 4) Willpower Is Always on Will-Call, 5) A balanced life, and 6) Big is bad. Then he takes each one apart.

Discipline

This one reached out and slapped me in the face. I pride myself the I am disciplined in some areas of my life, but Keller says, “Success is actually a short race – a sprint fueled by discipline just long enough for habit to kick in and tale over.” Yes, habit! The gym is a habit. Hiking is a habit.

He goes on to say, “In fact, you can become successful with less discipline than you think, for one simple reason: success is about doing the right thing, not about doing everything right.” He says that “When you do the right thing, it can liberate you from having to monitor everything.”

So strong, powerful habits are more important than discipline, but you still need the discipline to get the ball rolling.

A Balanced Life

Let’s take one more of these six lies. Isn’t it good to stay balanced? Don’t be a workaholic! Don’t be an “exercise nut.” Don’t just “go hiking” ALL THE TIME. Keller says the balanced life is a lie.

He says instead of seeking balance, we should be seeking, “purpose, meaning, significance – these are what make a successful life. Seek them and you will most certainly live your life out of balance, crisscrossing an invisible middle line as you purpose your priorities.” Yes!

Consider this. If you are messing around with everything it all gets less attention or as he says, “shortchanged,” and “magic happens at the extremes.” It is the extra long climb that makes a difference.

I like what he says about time in this regard. “When you gamble with time, you may be placing a bet you can’t cover….toying with time will lead you down a rabbit hole with no way out. Believing this lie does its harm by convincing you to do things you shouldn’t and stop doing things you should.” Then, “To achieve an extraordinary result you must choose what matters most and give it all the time it demands. This requires getting extremely out of balance in relation to all other work issues, with only infrequent counterbalancing to address them.” Good advice!