Tag Archives: New Year

Happy New Year

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I know you must think I am crazy if I think it is the New Year but hear me out before you pass judgement! Since I can remember Labor Day always seemed to spark a new sense of commitment and energy with me and around me. Maybe I have felt this way for a long time because of my love for football. Or maybe it is because my wedding anniversary is usually on Labor Day Na, it has to be more than that and I believe that it is, but first let me just take a few moments and share with you what I experienced this past Labor Day!

Over the weekend I had the privilege of going back stage to meet the College Game Day. They were in town at Cowboys Stadium for the LSU vs. Oregon game. Oh, and I have to mention guys, I got to hang out with Erin Andrews!

Let me tell you it was an experience I will always remember! Everyone was so cool and friendly to us, and believe it or not, not a single LSU fan said anything to me about being decked out in my Gator gear!

So, how does this have anything to do with a new sense of energy and commitment. Well, if we look at the calendar we have roughly 16 weeks till the end of the year. For many of us  summer is all about sitting around, swimming in the pool, and pretty much being lazy all day!

Then, Labor Day comes around and school is back in session and people start to realize that they have either done nothing to reach their goals for the past 9 months or the summer wiped out all the hard work.

Suddenly, there is a new sense of urgency to do something. Plus, how can you not get excited and pumped up about the fall season. Even if your not a football fan, Fall brings about change and makes people feel good.

With that being said what should you do about this new sense of energy and commitment? If you haven’t figured it out yet I want you to take action. The first thing  you need to do is implement a 90 day plan. Go here to read how you can set up a plan of attack to reach your goals in 90 days!

In health,

Coach Dave

Are you one of the 47 percent?

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We are a couple of weeks into the New Year and I know some of you are still getting around to setting those resolutions. As I said in an earlier post, ” New Year’s Resolutions are a Wast of Time” I do not set resolutions I set up a plan for the year that has my top goals. Well, I guess I am not the only one that doesn’t set goals resolutions anymore. According to a recent survey by the Opinion Research Corp. only 45 percent of Americans now say they make New Year’s resolutions, which is down from 88 percent from the past. At first thought I was thinking maybe they read my post and have decided to turn over a new leaf and start setting up goals and a plan for the new year. Nope, the study goes on to say that people just don’t set them anymore because they are tired of hurting themselves and call the whole thing off. Pretty sad if you ask me but I am not really all that shocked about the finding. The survey had some other interesting findings but one in particular stood out to me. The one that stuck out in my mind was that 47 percent of those responded to the survey said, ” they will set a resolution related to their head” (i.e, a self improvement goal). Now maybe because I love self improvement but this was encouraging to me. So, today I want to ask you, do you fall into the 47 percent category?

I hope you answered yes to the question above, because if you want more out of life or career you have to become more. I learned that from the great Jim Rohn. What happens to most of us is, we get so caught up with all the daily nuances we neglect working on becoming a better person. I know for me I need to work on time management and finishing projects I start. I get so caught up with new ideas that I let projects go unfinished. I have made that a goal of mine this year and I hope by the end of the year I can look back and say I became better.

What is it that you need to get better at? Maybe it is time management or maybe organization skills. Whatever it is, make it one of your goals this year to get better at, because I can promise you this, if you work harder on yourself you can become more and be more!

Well, I am off to D.C. for the weekend to attend a good friend’s wedding. I just love going to our Nation’s Capitol, because it always reminds of how great it is to live in the best country in the world.I will be back next week with some more inspiring stuff, so until then, make it a great weekend!

Coach Dave

New Year’s Resolutions is a waste of time

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It is the 3rd of January and most of you may have already broke your New Year’s Resolutions. I am not trying to be negative or a Debbie Downer but the reality is, most people who set New Year’s Resolutions never see them through more than a few weeks. The reason I believe is simple. You see, when you set a resolution you only have one part of the equation and are missing the second and most powerful part to making the resolution stick. Today, I will give you the second part of the equation and this time around setting a New Year’s resolution will not be a waste of time.

Several years ago I decided that I was done setting New Year’s resolutions. I came to the realization that I, like everyone else, fall into the same trap and dismal disappointment of falling back into my bad habits. This got me thinking to myself, why is it that some people seem to have more success than others when it comes to achieving something that they set out to do. Well, being that I love to study successful people I came to the conclusion that, successful people do not set resolutions but set high goals for themselves. Now, you may be saying to yourself, “what is the difference between a New Year’s resolution and a goal?” Well, this is where the second part of the equation comes in. Goals typically have a “why” behind it, as where resolutions, in my opinion only have a “need to stop doing something” in it. Sure, you want to quit eating out to lose weight, but why do you want to lose weight? By defining “why”, you give yourself a strong reason for changing a behavior. I know you still are saying, “well I had that in my head as the reason for my resolution.” Good, but goals need to be written down and need to be set up in such a way that you have it specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (S.M.A.R.T Goals).

Now if you have bought into my theory of setting goals,instead of resolutions, here is what I want you to do next.

First, I want you to write down ten things you want to accomplish this year.
Second, I want you to write down below it why you want to accomplish it.
Finally, set a time table as to when to accomplish it.

I will be sharing with you some of my 2011 goals this week. Until then, get rid of the theory of setting New Year’s resolutions and start setting up S.M.A.R.T goals for this upcoming year!

To your Success,
Coach Dave

Dave’s Top Ten Learned Lessons for 2010

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Hey everyone! It has been almost two weeks since I have actually posted something on the site and it was done intentionally. I wanted to take the remainder of the year to reflect and plan for the exciting year ahead. 2010 has been a year of growth for me, I have learned many new life lessons this past year and today I want to share them with you. So, without further ado, “Dave’s Top Ten Learned Lessons for 2010!”

In no particular order:

1.) Change will occur – Whether you want to change or not, it is inevitable that change will happen. It might be a slow gradual change or it might be fast and sudden. Embrace it and realize that nothing lasts forever. Sometimes change can be for the best. For me, being thrown into starting my own business was the best thing that ever happened to me.

2.) Save for a rainy day – My wife’s parents and my parents always told us both to make sure you save for a rainy day. They preached how you never know when some unforeseen circumstance might occur that you may need to tap into some savings to keep things running smooth. Well, thank you so much much mom and dad for instilling that trait into me. Having that safety blanket has given us the ability to not worry about finances if something unforeseen happens.

3.) Have your fiscal house in order – This is different than saving for a rainy day in the sense that if you are leveraged to the hill with expensive cars, houses, fun toys, etc… the saving that you put away will be blown through in no time at all. If you have debt know the difference between good and bad debt. Having a credit card with 29% interest is not good. Having depreciating assets that do not generate you cash flow are not good. Increase your financial IQ and learn how to make your money work for you.

4.) Have a back up plan – As I mentioned earlier change will occur and one day you might wake up and find yourself asking “What next?” Make sure you have a back up plan in place. Always, keep networking and making sure that you are building your “well” before you need it!

5.) Faith – This past year I have grown tremendously in my spirituality and faith in God. Having that belief allowed me to get through some of the tough times I encountered this past year. All I can say is “Believe!”

6.) Family and Friends are everything – I have some of the greatest family and friends in the world. When times were tough for me my friends were there to give me support and reassurance. My wife, whom is my best friend, has been such a huge supporter and as I say, “A Rock” for me as I venture into my own business. I am very thankful also for my mother who has always instilled in me that “I am a winner and winners never quit!” I want to thank all my friends and family for your support! Also, one more thing and that is something I learned a few years back from listening to Jim Rohn speak and that is do not be lazy when it comes to managing your relationships with friends and family because they are your life support when times get tough!

7.) Cherish the moments – I was listening to the radio and a new George Strait song came on the radio that talked about life is not the breathe you take but the moments that take away your breathe. Wow, that hit home with me and made me realize all the amazing moments in my life I have experienced and the future moments that I know are ahead of me!

8.) Life is a journey – I read somewhere when you are in a rut you need to start a gratitude journal. The goal is to write down all the great things you have accomplished in your life and then everyday start writing down all the things you are grateful for that day. Doing this exercise made me realize that there will be times when things seem tough and not going your way but when you look at the big picture you experience and do some amazing things! As the great Jim Rohn says, ” You are either in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or in a period of great things happening!” Life is a cycle and enjoy the journey!

9.) Money isn’t everything – I know this is a shocking statement coming from me but the biggest lesson I have learned this past year is that the focus of life should not solely be on making money. Don’t get me wrong money can create many opportunities and make life easy, however, it should not be how you judge success. If you hate what you are doing then all the money in the world isn’t going to change that. Focus in on doing what you love and judge your success on the contribution you make to society.

10.) Never quit – It is so easy to quit when things get tough. Far too often we give in too soon. We are an instant gratification society and when we don’t things quickly we give in. If you ask any successful person who created something big they will tell you that they had to overcome leaps and bounds to succeed and as I venture into my new business venture I have made it my modus operandi to “Never Quit!”

I hope that you are able to relate to some of my lessons and maybe even take one thing away from them to implement into your life and career this upcoming year! I truly believe that this is going to be a great year! I look forward to sharing with you more of the exciting things I have in store for 2011.

Top Ten Fitness Trends for 2011

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There might be more than 45 days left till the New Year but the American College of Sports Medicine has released its yearly “Top Ten Fitness Trends for 2011”. I found the article to be quite interesting and you can read about the top ten trends here.

Although I find this interesting it is not shocking. The number one trend for next year is the demand for experienced and educated trainers. Even though we might be in a recession and people are tightening their spending, people realize the value of an experienced and educated personal trainer. Also, a fundamental shift in thinking has occurred as more and more people are realizing that healthcare costs are going to continue to rise, and one way for them to help reduce their costs, is to get healthy. To do this, they need an experienced expert, like you, to help them. So, this is great news for personal trainers and fitness professionals. I believe you are going to see this trend to continue and only grow.

The other area that I find interesting is, the number of physician referrals continues to grow. Doctors are prescribing exercise to their clients as means to getting them well. This is another huge shift for our industry and if you do not have a percentage of your business coming from doctor referrals then you are missing out. Find several doctors in your area and start building a relationship with them. Get them to have trust in your abilities and they will start sending business to you.

Well, that is it for now but I want to leave you with this. The health and wellness industry is only going to keep expanding. Find your niche within the industry and become the expert. If you are unsure of what areas are growing go read the list of the top ten trends and find one that interests you. Make 2011 your best year ever!

Coach Dave