Be Something

A year ago at this time I was spending all of my free time playing a little drawing game, many of you might remember it.  It was fun - for awhile - but mostly it was just to pass the time.  Which is all I was really doing.  Just passing the time until something would happen.

But nothing ever did.

So I am taking control of my life and I've never felt better.  My free time is now spent improving myself and my lot in life.  I turned 36 years old yesterday, and I can honestly say that I am in better shape at 36 than I was at any point in my 20s.  I am happier than I have ever been and closer to a large portion of my family than I have been in years.  And I'm working on a business that will - with just a little bit of work - help me to be debt free in 2 years.  I'm not sitting back and waiting for something to just fall into my lap.

Whatever it is that you have in your life, I hope that it drives you as much as this drives me.  And if you don't have something that pushes you to be a better person, I truly hope that you find it.

Thank you all again for the birthday wishes and here's to 36 being the best year I ever have.

Happy Accident

Some of the greatest discoveries in the modern age were merely happy accidents. Whether they be something that benefits science, such as Sir Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillan or the advent of Viagra, or (arguably more important) the inventing of potato chips, chocolate chip cookies or the 11 year old San Francisco boy who left soda water with a stick on the front porch overnight and discovered a popsicle the next day, accidents have changed the world.

While mine isn't nearly as "world-changing," I discovered something tonight that might make a huge difference in my world. And it is all thanks to my little lab partner, Rooney.

Several weeks ago I pulled up some really old tile in my house, only to discover that it was glued to the floor with a hard, black tar-like substance. Focused on getting to the hardwood underneath, I tried every idea I could muster up: unfortunately the belts on my belt sander shredded far too quickly and stirred up too much dust to be worthwhile. Scrapping by hand only managed to remove layers of skin from my palm, rather than layers of this surprisingly durable substance. Soapy water only seemed to harden it further. My last ditch effort was an "industrial strength" stripping solvent. After following the directions to the letter I discovered that all it seemed to put a hole in was my bank account.

I was ready to throw in the towel and consider tearing it all down to the subfloor. A matter that would dig me even deeper in debt.

Then my luck changed. My brother, looking for a place to dump his ice water from a cooler chose to put some of it in Rooney's water dish, knowing that he goes crazy for ice. Rooney naturally spent the next 30 minutes doing what he does: drinking, licking and chewing ice to his content. Of course having an entire bowl of ice and the attention span of a gnat led to little pieces of ice strewn about throughout the house.

Now, when I walked through the floor, I saw little puddles all throughout. At first I wanted to curse at his mess, but upon closer inspection I discovered something amazing: the cold, melting ice turned the hard, black substance into I credibly pliable, mud like consistent "soup" (for lack of a better word).

I couldn't believe how easily it scraped up with a putty knife! My eureka-meter sprang into action and I was overjoyed at my (dog's) discovery.

It really is amazing how - just when you're ready to give up on something - a path can suddenly and unexpectedly appear from out of nowhere.

And now if you'll excuse me, I've got several bags of ice to buy.

Reset Switch

A few days ago I ran into an old friend that I hadn’t seen in awhile and had a chance to catch up with him.  And much like a lot of my conversations lately this one turned to AdvoCare.  He said to me that he has been following me on Facebook and seeing me in person he can see these changes in person; he could see the lost weight and the energy that I had lost for so many years.  Then he asked me point blank - out of all the benefits I have seen - what was the most important to me?  What kept me on the products and for the first time I was completely transparent and told him.

And the truth of it was so shocking that it even took me by surprise a little bit.

If you’ve been paying even a little bit of attention you know my story.  With the help of AdvoCare I’ve lost 23 lbs and right now I’m about 3 inches down on my stomach.  My energy level is higher than ever and I smile all the time now.  I’m even embracing the business benefits and working at making the same drastic changes on my debts so one day I can actually be happy with where I am financially.  And I’m finding a lot of joy and fun in helping the people that I care about reach their goals.  I absolutely love seeing people post on Facebook or text me their results; it keeps me beaming for hours.

But the biggest benefit that I have seen I have kept to myself.

You see, for the longest time I’ve been absolutely miserable and depressed.  Over the past year I have avoided and ignored my family and friends; often going so far as to not respond to text messages, stay lying on my couch with my television and refusing to go places where the people I cared about were for fear that they would see in me what I perceived to be a weakness.  I often thought that all I needed was to find someone to love and it would change my outlook, not realizing that I would more than likely bring that person down with me.  I even started secretly researching anti-depressants.  I resented how happy everyone else appeared to be.  I cursed my friend's happiness and I hid away like some sort of hermit.  Whenever I had to be around people I sulked and tried to hide in the corner or feigned interested in what they were talking about.  I was pushing away everyone that I cared about, which made me even more miserable.

In short, I believed that I was broken.  Unworthy of love and friendships; unwanted and alone.  And if I kept it up, that is exactly what I would be.

When I finally came to AdvoCare I was completely desperate.  I knew that I couldn’t stay the way I was.  I was determined to make a change, and I thought that if I could get back into shape I might cheer up a little and be able to fake it a little more; a little better.  But what happened for me was even better than what I hoped for.  It was like a reset switch; taking me back to my original settings.

The brain is an amazing organ.  When fed properly - much like the rest of our bodies - it can transform even quicker than any muscle in our body.  I was energized all of the time, always ready to work on some little project that I had kept setting aside because I was too tired.  My smile came back, even when I wasn’t thinking about it.  I actually sought out friends, not in order to sell them anything, but because I genuinely liked being around them.  That’s the whole reason that we were friends in the first place.  And in the quiet, all alone, I was no longer stressed or worried or fearful, but rather I was content.  I was happy just being me.

I’m not making any claim that AdvoCare or any other healthy lifestyle is a cure for depression.  Obviously, I’m not a doctor and I don’t know enough about the human body to say these things.  But for me, all I needed was something to set a spark in my heart and my brain.  To change my outlook and push away the clouds that were shielding the sunlight from my eyes.  The products helped me bridge the gap while I improved my health and gave me extra energy so I could make it through the day.  But more importantly, the relationships that I have made and the support network that I have developed with other people in AdvoCare has been the difference.  People who have been in the same place that I have been in.  I've met so many outstanding people in my two short months and rebuilt several of my relationships with friends and family, and I owe it all to one simple company who believes in putting people first.

I needed AdvoCare to reset my switch so I could start fresh and find the things that make me happy again.

And now that I’ve done that, my next step is to work on my soul.  Lord knows that I need something there too.

God Bless and thank you for following on my journey.

What's Your Response?

They Can't Be Trusted

Best. Gift. Ever.

Thank you to my friend Jen for making this happen.  Thank you to my friend* Jenny Lawson, who cleverly disguised herself as The Bloggess (www.thebloggess.com) and acts as if we've never met in real life.  This is what keeps "them" from discovering our awesomeness.

AMOB

* She once retweeted me and I got like 50 followers in an hour.  I have no doubt they quickly learned from their mistake and unfollowed just as quickly.