Finding Inspiration: Motivational Speakers, esp. Tony Robbins

I've been listening to motivational speakers since high school.  Before Tony Robbins came on the scene, I think they were called self-help authors/speakers.

I had read books by others, such as Dennis Waitley, but the book that put everything together was Unlimited Power by Antrhony Robbins.  I had seen Robbins on tv, and liked what he was saying, but I couldn't afford to attend his seminars.  One day, I picked up this book, and all the stuff that I had been reading the last few years all came together.  I found out that one of the first authors re: self improvement was Jose Silva.  Silva's book, The Silva Mind Control Method, happened to be the book that got me interested in the art of visualization.

Anyway, it doesn't matter who you listen to, and there are many, but motivational speakers, do just that - they motivate you.

When I was recovering, I started listeing to some old Anthony Robbins CDs. Granted, I didn't do the exercises - although I had done them years ago, and it wouldn't have hurt to do them again - but listening to these motivational talks inspired me, and I believed they helped me get better, faster.

October Book Tour Schedule for Toe Up to 10K

Taking a break today from the Finding Inspiration set of blogposts.  I started a virtual book tour for Toe Up to 10K  last week, and will last until December 5, 2014. 

A big Shout Out to PumpUpYourBook.com for arranging this tour.

The tour is not exclusive, I will still be doing interviews and stuff on my own, but this will be a big help.   

So, I've got only a couple more topics on the Finding Inspiration set of blogposts,but today, I wanted to post my first stop.    

It'll be a mixture of interviews, me guest blogging and blog mentions.  The good thing about this is that it is virtual, and I get to do the work from home.   

Here is my first "stop."  

Review From Here Interview

Finding Inspiration: Humor

When I was released from the hospital, I spent four months rehabilitating at my parents' home.  During this time, whenever possible, I watched episode after episode of comedies, such as I Love Lucy, Mork and Mindy, the Andy Griffith Show, Get Smart, and several short film of the Three Stooges.

I believe laughter is a great benefit to recovery.  It improves your mood and attitude, both of which I believe are beneficial to health.

When I was in college, my roommate and I discussed who is funnier, The Three Stooges, or the Marx Brothers.  During this debate, he mentioned Norman Cousins, a university professor who maintained that humor was a vehicle to defeat illness.

It's not too hard.  After all, smiling takes up less effort than a frown.

41D Man of Valor - Book Review

Generally, I focus stories on individuals who overcame or are overcoming spinal cord injuries, but thought I'd share a book review I wrote about a LAPD SWAT officer who was killed in the line of duty in 2008.  His wife wrote a book after his death. My connection is that his wife's sister is a friend of mine from work.

Normally, I wouldn't have picked this book up, but for my connection with my friend.  And boy am I glad I did because it was a really good read.

If you want to check out the book, here is the link to the Amazon page:  41D Man of Valor

Here is my take on the book:

Disclosure: I know the author’s sister, but have never met the author, or had I ever met Randy Simmons. Disclosures are to inform the reader of the review of any chance of bias.  And it’s a good practice because it’s hard to be unbiased when you are only two degrees of separation from the author.

That said, it doesn’t matter how many degrees of separation are between me and the author, Lisa Simmons – whether zero or a hundred, the book is a WOW! It is categorized as a biography/autobiography/memoir.  It is mostly a biography of Randy Simmons and a memoir of Lisa’s life she had with Randy.  Lisa’s autobiographical narrative blends in with her memoirs. 

Randy Simmons was a SWAT officer in the Los Angeles Police Department.  On February 8, 2008, he became the first LAPD SWAT officer killed in the line of duty.  41D Man of Valor, is his story.

The book starts off as a biography of Randy Simmons, from his childhood in New York, high school in California, college in Washington, and back to California, from his interest in football to religion, and his parents’ influence.  Once he meets Lisa, the book shifts slightly to a memoir/biography, but the focus is clearly on Randy.  But now, instead of his parents’ influence on him, it is Randy’s influence with the community he served, both on and off duty, and the family he loved. Simmons ends the book with the aftermath of Randy’s death, and her quest to live a “new normal.”  Although Lisa and the children are the clear focus on this part of the book, Randy still has a big presence in their lives, and it is obvious, always will.

No doubt, Randy Simmons was an inspirational man.  That in itself would make this book worth reading.  What makes this book special is the love that permeates from the pages of the book to your fingers to your heart. Lisa Simmons does a great job in conveying this - not in any specific sentence, or paragraph, or any one incident – but in the totality of the writing.

So, even though a biography an autobiography/memoir are mutually exclusive terms, in this case, it is an accurate categorization.  However, there is one more word that adds to the description:  Tribute.  It’s a tribute to a man dedicated to his profession; it is a tribute to a man who gave his life to the community he served; it is a tribute to a man who inspired others. Most of all, it is a tribute to a loving husband, father, son and brother. Let’s make that a heart-warming tribute.

Finding Inspiration: Gratitude and Attitude

In 2013, once I had moved back into my own home, and was somewhat mobile, I was having lunch with a friend of mine, and he said, "If you didn't keep your frustrations in check, you would have found that no one would have been visiting you by the time you left the hospital,...or even asking about you after you left."

I would be lying if I said I never experience bitterness over this ordeal I went through, but for the most part, I feel gratitude.  I am grateful that I recovered as well as I did, for the support I received, and for the opportunity to write about it.  Perhaps my experiences will help someone else who find him/herself in a similar situation.

There is a tweeter I follow on Twitter. His name is Steven Webb, and he maintains blog, and is writing a book about his experiences living with spinal cord injury, called Lots of Downs, But No Outs.  

He talks about attitude a lot. And the way I interpret many of his posts and tweets is that life hands you a certain hand, but what you do with that hand is up to you.  He has a really good saying about attitude, and now, as I write this post, I cannot find it, but I would like to share a blogpost he did about gratitude.  It is titled, Practising Gratitude, and I love this post.    

Finding Inspiration: Affirmations

I love affirmations.  Problem is, I don't do a good job of sticking to them anymore.

When I was a teen-ager and young adult, I used to recite affirmations a lot.  Not that they'd always get me what I wanted, but they were usually useful when  me achieving a certain test score.  I think that is because I worked to complement the affirmation.

One affirmation I came across, recently, was a familiar one that I used to recite a lot.  It seems to be a standard one among self help advocates: It goes like this:  "Everyday, in every way, I am better and better."  You just keep repeating it over and over, so it settles into your sub-conscious.

I think reciting affirmations is a very good way to inspire yourself.

Finding Inspiration through kaizen

This is probably my last post for the next seven days.  The topic for the day is Kaizen, and I embrace it more as each day passes.

Kaizen is a Japanese term which has no exact English translation, but loosely translated, it means continuous improvement over time.  In practical terms, small steps forward lead to noticeable improvements.

It was  the concept Toyota used to rise from being a non-threat to the U.S. auto companies to becoming the number 1 selling car company.

It is also the name of my friend's karate dojo.

So, I had been familiar with the term, but never really gave it a serious thought as to how it applied to my life.

But around a year ago, September 2013, I decided to try walking without a cane, for the most part, and to walk a long distance of around four or five miles.  I succeeded.  But from that point on, for several months, I didn't notice any improvements, until around springtime of 2014, when I seemed to have made sudden significant improvement in my abilities.  What happened was that I decided to time myself on certain tasks, such as going to the supermarket. Although I didn't feel like I was walking faster since the last time i had timed myself, I was walking considerably faster.

This did not happen by itself.  It was the result of small unnoticeable improvements I had been making the previous six months.

I tried a way to think of about this improvement, and realized is the term, "Kaizen."  To know that every little improvement does its part to manifest into a big noticeable change did a lot to motivate and inspire me to work harder at my recovery.

I thought this term was so significant, that I named a chapter in my book, "Kaizen," to describe this period of my recovery.