This past week I re-visited the gym and got my groove back. Some people like to listen to music while they exercise. I like to watch television. Well after an hour’s working out and seeing food commercials after food commercials, my stomach started growling and I was ready to eat! I had to think fast on what’s healthy to eat for lunch. Ever tried grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup?

This week I’m going to mix Tae-Bo at home and heading out to the gym. It’s good to spice things up just so you don’t get bored with the same routine. I get bored easily so here’s to getting back on track. You can also go with an exercise buddy. Having a good support system helps and I suggest you have one.

Well I’d better get going and get ready to head out to the gym. I’m taking my baby with me (it always helps when there’s a childcare center at the gym if you don’t have a sitter at home) and we’ll be back home in an hour! Don’t forget to drink lots of water and stay hydrated!

– Mom on a Mission

Physical exercise is just not the only way to lose weight, so don’t feel too bad if you’ve skipped a day or two out of your routine. Don’t forget running after your kids and cleaning house is another way to lose weight, if and only if you end up sweating in the process .

Alright so let’s keep on grinding and see if we could at least lose 1/2 lb per week to start off with. And soon after we’ll focus on loosing 1 lb/wk. And don’t forget to guzzle up to H2O! Stay hydrated, stay healthy and have fun at it!

- Mom on a Mission

Yesterday I weighed myself 144 lbs. This morning when I hopped back on the scale it said 145 lbs! Hmmm… Had to be the pork chili and Pepsi. I rewarded myself too fast too soon. Let’s see what next week brings.

Good luck on your journey to shed excess pounds and don’t forget to guzzle up to lots of H2O. Here’s to staying true to our new year’s resolutions!

- Mom on a mission

Alright here goes:

Starting weight: 145.6 lbs (can’t believe I just said that)

Goal: 125-130 lbs (Let’s face it and I’m just keeping it real. We’re never going to weigh 115lbs like we did in our high school days. But if you’re able to get back to that shape and form more power to you.)

I’ll wish you luck and let me know how you’re progressing. Here’s to losing that excess fat and staying healthy! CHEERS!!!!

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.

-Steve Jobs

On behalf of us here at zenthat, we want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season and hope that the 2011 to 2012 transition was a safe and enjoyable one.

We here at zenthat have been working on a number of things not related to zenthat (because life calls and beckons us too) and have been a little preoccupied and quiet. But not to worry, we will be increasing our postings here on zenthat as we get back into the swing of things and life lets us alone a little!

So a happy holidays and prosperous 2012 to you and yours. Be blessed and god bless and remember to zen that!

The best way to get the point across is to talk from personal experience. So here it goes…

Since I was little kid living in the South Bronx, New York, I have loved and played basketball. It has been a part of my life that helped shape many of the values that I believe and follow off the court. Studying film, plays, working on the fundamentals, you name it, it was a good way to make friends, stay in shape, but most of all do something that I loved to do.

So let’s fast-forward 20 some odd years into the present, 2011. I’ve played basketball on almost every coast but the north coast of the USA I played semi-pro, had a chance to play in the pros, I have been blessed to have had basketball in my life! But my love for the game of basketball just is not there anymore.

Why you say? I don’t know, maybe the birth of my second child, my oldest daughter’s introduction into the wide world of sports, physically starting to feel the wear and tear of 2 decades of basketball, being more involved with the community, church, school, additional work duties and responsibilities and just plain old maturation have set in. I knew that a decision had to be made and had to be made soon, but I continued to procrastinate and convince myself to keep going.

Then it dawned on me friends, it was just plain time to call it quits. I came to the realization when our priest spoke the following one day at church and I came across this quote from the great Alexander Graham Bell:

“When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell

My time was up. It was time to move on. My body had been telling me for a couple of years already, but I continued to convince myself otherwise. Plus when playing basketball as of late, it just was not fun because I knew that I could be somewhere else much more important. I had to quit what I was doing period! It did not mean that that would be the end of the road, but the beginning of a new one – if I was looking for it!

My true personal story is just an analogy, but if there is something in your life that has grown stale, is no/not good for you, then take the message that I am relaying to heart today:

…quitting something you do or love in live can be hard, but sometimes it is worth it so you can move on to the next thing that is in store for you which you will most likely love even more.

You can go on forever pushing yourself to continue on how you have, but just remember that you ARE NOT being true to yourself. Life evolves, you must evolve!

Know your limits in life, but don’t be afraid to explore others. You are not a failure for not doing something in life unless you say you are. If anyone else says otherwise, oh well; they probably couldn’t fill your shoes if they tried and they and you know it!

So how have I ended up? Actually pretty well. I am in the best shape of my life at this point. I run long distance, weight train, bicycle, walk, you name it. The biggest gain has been that instead of me hanging with the fellas shooting hoops, I exercise out with my family which, sorry fellas, is much much more important to me at this phase of my life.

Remember friends, you only get one life. So love and live it like you can no other. And always understand, which is what I have learned from everything thus far, is that the present will be the past in no time, so keep fluid and look ahead for the greatness that lies ahead for you.
So until next time friends, I will leave you with this:

You must become the master of yourself. What I mean by that is that you must be able to make decisions that will dictate the path that you want to take in life; want meaning that you know your current path is not working and that you must change. You should never let others dictate your path because we all have journeys that are planned for us or that we need to experience first hand.

Many think that changing the way they have live their lives is something that is hard to do and to be honest it is not as long as you know what you want and are willing to give up the old things and ways in the process. The first and foremost thing that you MUST do is to have confidence. This is the key to setting everything else in motion. You are about to embark of something that is going to change your life, you must have confidence to know that theire will be bumps and bruises, which are normal. If you are in a relationship with someone who does not provide that, then honestly you should look inward for your inspiration. If you are around a group that is not conducive to your ways and thoughts, you must get within a group that is conducive to your ways and thoughts. The goal is to put YOU first; not second, last, but FIRST.

One of the hardest things in life is to take the emotions out of a situation and focus on the facts so that you can understand where you are at now and where you need to go in life. Continuing on the same path you are on, if you are struggling with something, will halt you the same result plain and simple. If you are truly sick and tired of the way things are in your life, YOU must be the first to take action and promote change from within. God and prayer is your primary support system, followed by your family. Friends, I would not let them influence you even if they have your best interest in mind because it is about you and nothing else. No agendas, no drama, no nothing else but you, getting you on a new path to happiness and success in your life.

Normally I provide steps on how to achieve and accomplish things to life simplified and focused and I feel that the following steps will definitely get you on the right path to choosing your fresh and new path in life, minus the fluff, drama and noise that surrounds and influences you on a daily basis. Do the following to begin to change you life path today friends:

1. Separate yourself from any and all negativity in your life: The hardest but most important thing to do in this process. You need separation from those things that have emotional and physical holds on you so that you can begin thought building on a clean slate on how to change your life path.
2. Design and Implement your plan: Think, map and write out on paper, where you want to go in life. Push yourself to go place you have never been before and to be different and change. Not trying to change will get you no where and this will all be in vain. Plus remember that in today modern age of PDA’s, tablets and computers, it is easy to type up your goals but never look at them. Writing is a good way to record your plan because you put in the work to design it out on paper. You spent the necessary time developing your plan and writing it out and with writing it out, you are more likely to treasure that than a word or pdf document. Trust me on this!
3. Build a “small” support system: Build your support system of trusted individuals, who you will share your life plan with, to help you meet the objectives in your plan. Like we suggested, religious or family members are best as they have more of a personal bond with you and can give you the “tough love” that you will need from time to time.
4. Implement your plan: The hardest part yes, but the most important and necessary part. You have to be willing to tell yourself that you will not continue with the way things have been and stick to the plan you formulated to change. Many people fall back into their traps in life because they don’t have the confidence necessary to hurdle over the big objectives, which are always emotional. You have to be willing to trust your support system and listen to their un-biased opinions about you and your situation and how to change according to your plan. You must not let emotions drive you when implementing your plan because they will always influence you. You must remember that if you are changing something that influences your emotions, then that thing must not have been good for you in the first place (think about this sentence). Many overlook this little fact and wind up back in the same situation they were in before reading this blog post. Why do all of the work to not take it anywhere? Why take this advice? STICK TO THE SCRIPT. POINT BLANK PERIOD!

You CAN and WILL change your life path if you take the time and make a dedicated decision to changing it no matter what. No one on this earth can control you or your thoughts ever – remember this. Only you can do that. So take full advantage of the ability to live your life the way that you want to today. You cannot change others, but you can change yourself. So what are you waiting for,

GET GOING!!!

LinkedIn is a social networking site to get connected with your business associates / acquaintances, friends, ex-classmates and the like. LinkedIn is also for those who like to get the scoop on the latest trends out there business related, technology related, you name it related. LinkedIn, unlike Facebook, is more of a business-minded social networking site which caters to self and professional development.

Like all networks, you must be smart and wise when using LinkedIn. The goal I believe towards using LinkedIn is for you to give just enough of yourself, but not enough to expose too much of yourself. LinkedIn is good for making your mark, showing folks what you are doing and have done, but is also a great socializing and communication tool to keep in the know of today’s ever changing “social” world.

LinkedIn comes in many different flavors for use by the general population. There is the free version, which limits your search capabilities and some other features, but works pretty well to get you established on LinkedIn. The Premium level profile accounts provide you with additional searching capabilities, along with the ability to see who has been checking you out, along with providing the ability to connect with folks via InMail and their OpenLink Network to begin networking out to the masses. So between the free, premium and higher plans offered on LinkedIn, you should be able to find a plan that works best for you and/or your organization at a reasonable monthly or annual cost. Think of it this way, invest in your future to find that new gig, big project or make that all important connection to take you or your business to the next level.

Now LinkedIn has great qualities, but you must also be mindful about the other side of LinkedIn. Like all the others, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn is a social network. Because of this, your privacy is at the mercy of LinkedIn. LinkedIn, I feel, offers you a little more in terms of privacy settings than some of the other social networks out there, but at the end of the day it is still a social network and you should be mindful about what and how you post. Be mindful of whatever activities you perform on LinkedIn, because not knowing how the social network works 100%, will air your dirty laundry which would and could not be good for you and those connected to you.

Also be sure to protect and guard your connections with care. Many will just connect to get their count high, which is fine, but you should connect with a reason and purpose in mind. Just connecting is fine, but defeats the purpose of the network you are building. Connections should be your priority on LinkedIn as these are your commodities. Whether they are recent networking or life-long relationships and connections that you have grown over time, protect them!

All in all, LinkedIn is one of my most favorite social networks I have been a part of. I like the others, but LinkedIn is a network with a purpose. My motive is to link up with professionals like me and network and grow my business contacts for work and my side business for the present and the future. Your motive may be different and that is fine. Enjoy LinkedIn and establish your profile how you want to and to fit your needs. Just be mindful that your actions definitely will speak louder than words on a site like LinkedIn.

If you are ever interested in linking up with me (Ward), check out my Linked profile anytime! And as always, Happy Linking!