Why to Have Patience, but not be Lazy.

Over the last year and a half I have started many things in my life.  Most of them, the things I like to do, I do everyday.  There is one "drawback" of it, I'm not getting everything right away that I want. 
Most of us are used to the way of thinking that "every hour you put in you get back".  But this is not true for my journey so far.  So far it has been slow but fun at the same time, but it requires a lot of patience.  And that's what I would like to talk with you guys about today.

I haven't always been the most patient person, especially if I'm waiting for something I really want.  Lately that has kind of changed in some ways.  Since I have started drop shipping to earn extra money, the sales are very low, but I continue to do it.  You see not long ago I would've jumped ship to a new idea of making money or giving up in general.  It was a bad habit I had, and a habit I know many others make, so that's why I am making this post.  We must be patient with what we start and fully commit to it.  The key is to be patient without being lazy.  So this means, if you are trying to sell something to not just give up after one month if you haven't made any sales, or to sit back and not try to improve what you are selling.
I have found that not thinking of the outcome, but instead of the process helps me with this very much.  I also have the mind state of getting paid for the time and energy I put in, but that isn't the right way to think at all, at least for me.  To me it is based on the value I add, whether that's in this blog, on Youtube, in the gym ect.  I know myself I want the result right away, just like I would get paid at my job, why cant I get big muscles from one day in the gym?  This is a hard mindset to get out of, its not easy.  Once you do you can see your mindset and life change.
So just how does this work?  Well I am slowly learning this in some ways at the moment, and am seeing how it works right now daily, so I think now would be the perfect time to share it.  Ok so here it is,  I work on what I enjoy to in my life every chance I get, everyday, so each day I am making progress even if it doesn't show that day I know it will soon.  That right there is the best way I can describe it.  It is a mindset shift, you must literally tell yourself this everyday and every time you work towards your goals if you aren't seeing results right away ( what we are not used to, as we are used to putting in time and getting paid right away).  Now this doesn't mean to keep doing the same routine forever if that routine doesn't work and doesn't bring you to the person you want to be.  We must always be striving to work on ourselves no matter how long it may take.
Closing thoughts.
Today do one thing that will bring you to become your greatest version, even if its a pepple and you don't see a result right away, keep doing that thing each and every day and wait a month, three months, a year or however long it takes, and look back to day one and see the results!

Why You Should Start Going to the Gym.

If you have been reading this blog for a while you know I am into personal development in many areas of life, fitness being my main focus of personal development.  I haven't made a post yet for those of you that are new to the blog or haven't yet joined a gym.  Believe me I know it might seem intimidating or even too hard to join a gym.  You could be 25, 50, 100, or even 200 pounds overweight or super thin and think that people will judge you if you go into the gym.  That is the exact opposite, everyone is there for their own self and most likely too focused on how they look, not how you look. 

Benefit #1 of joining a gym: It improves confidence.
Over the last year and a half I have been working on confidence.  I have come a long way since then, but still have to improve.  But what I can say was a big influence was going into the gym.  As you do things to improve yourself and see yourself doing those things you will start to become more confident within yourself.  This is what is true for me, and when I do an amazing workout it proves to myself I am growing which boosts my confidence, not to mention you see yourself grow or see yourself lose fat.  This growing within is so powerful, because you see parts of you that you never thought were possible before!
Benefit #2 of joining a gym: You will love the process of improvement.
Improvement isn't always about what you see and what you get, its also about the process of improving.  If you were handed big muscles from birth would you cherish it?  Probably not, but if you take time every day to build yourself up how much more does that muscle mean to you?  And this doesn't just have to do with muscle, also with money or objects, but in this blog lets just talk about it dealing with your body.  At first it may sound cool, "I can have the body I want without trying, AWESOME!", but in reality we aren't given a body like that and that's a good thing!  There have been stories of people who got into fitness and their whole lives changed, and that's what I want for you as well.  I can tell you from my experience that the journey and process are what makes going to the gym fun, and sparks new things in my life.  For me I am able to see a new side of my body that I thought I would never see, which in turn helps me look inward to see parts of my mind I didn't see before either.  The process no matter where you start is amazing because in even as short as one month you can look back on yourself and see how far you have come, and how much you can achieve.  Bottom line, fall in love with the process!
Benefit #3 of joining a gym: You can start a journey further than just fitness.
As I briefly talked about in the last section you will see ways to improve in other areas of life as well.  From my experience alone I can tell you a couple ways it helped me in other areas of life.  Before I started going to the gym and eating better I didn't care much for my body, I didn't hate it but didn't like it.  But once I started getting into fitness I became more confident with who I was, working on what I can change and improve and accepting the things I cant change.  I used to deal with confidence problems all the time, always slouched over and looking down.  But since I started going to the gym I notice I find myself becoming more and more confident each day.  I feel this is because I am doing things I never thought possible which brings me to the next point, how it got me into yoga, meditation, and starting a Youtube channel.  These are all things I never thought I could do.  Overall I may not be the best at any of them, but what going to the gym and working out helped me to realize is to accept where I am and improve from there.
Closing thoughts.
If you are just starting your journey and are like I used to be I hope this motivated you to get into the gym and improve yourself.  I know how hard it can be feeling having little confidence and not feeling like you can achieve big, but this is all a step everyone must face, we are all beginners at something, but the way to becoming a master is to take that first step, no matter where you are.  The big takeaways if you need to start or have just started are you will have more confidence and love your body, enjoying and embracing the process make the journey fun and worth doing, and that it empowers you to start improving in other areas of life as well.

How I Started a Morning Ritual.

I have recently started a morning ritual, and thought I would share it.  The last few mornings I have been waking up taking a shower and going for a walk in the park and make a video then come home and do yoga.  I find going into nature first thing in the day calms me compared to when I don't, now I'm not saying it destroys all stress, but it really does set a path for the rest of the day and helps me think a lot more clearly.
I have been hearing for a long time about setting a morning ritual, but have been procrastinating about it.  Currently I am trying to experiment with what works for me and what doesn't, but the 2 biggest things I have been doing the last few days are yoga and taking a walk.  I have found that doing yoga first works better for me after doing a few days of walking first then yoga first for a few days.  Yoga seem to get my body awake and moving for the walk, compared to walking first.
What got me into starting a morning routine?
Over the last year or so I have been hearing people (mostly on YouTube) talk about how what you do first thing in the morning determines how you spend the rest of your day, but never thought to put it into practice.  Usually I would wake up and either get ready for work, or if I had time I would work on the blog or read before work, which is good starting the morning off that way, but not as good as getting the blood flowing through my body.  It is important to have energy in the morning and staying inside at least for me kind of gave me the feeling of being trapped.  What did that do to my mind?  You guessed it, my mind felt trapped as well, and not able to expand.
I often find it hard to make a video if I am inside all day or not very active.  I find I need to be active in the morning to get my mind into the present and to see how much life has to offer.  So for me doing yoga energizes me and helps me see what I am capable of, and walking afterword's helps me see how amazing the world is every morning, which in turn usually helps me find some idea for a video. 
If you are sitting in your house right now reading this, just get up for one minute, that's all it takes, and open a window and take a deep breathe and jump or bounce for 30 seconds to get blood flowing.  I do this most mornings and throughout the day to clear out the tension inside my body, and also to pump myself up.  Jumping alone for a few seconds each day also helps to improve mood for me.  So whether you want energy or are stressed it can help you.  I know that might sound stupid, but it really works!  In fact I just now did it as I was writing this just now.  I was having a sort of writers block, and tension in my chest, but now I am able to relax, smile, and write more clear.  Don't believe me, pause and do it right now!
Ok, how did that feel?  Now imagine doing that every morning and throughout your day, how much better would you feel?  Put that together with taking a walk of at least 5 minutes and enjoying the fresh air and nature around you, you are going to be unstoppable!
Closing thoughts
Over the last week I have been doing the morning ritual and finding it to benefit myself, so that's why I am sharing it with you today.  What is a morning ritual you can start for your own life, wherever you are to better each and everyday?

What is it Like to do Intermittent Fasting.

A few months ago I heard about intermittent fasting and was curious about the whole thing.  If you don't know what intermittent fasting is here's my description of it for you.  You wake up but instead of eating right away you push your first meal into later in the day, hours later.  Now there isn't a set amount of hours to wait to eat but I would recommend 3-8 before your first meal.  Why such a broad range?  Well for me I have days where I need to eat earlier and days where I can handle not eating for 8 hours.
What I do within those 3-8 hours each day for food is just water, you can use coffee which helps keep you more full than water, at least for me, but I like just plain old water, maybe even lemon water because it gives me a boost of energy for my whole day that I have ahead of me. 

How to Start Intermittent Fasting.
If you have never done intermittent fasting before and are used to eating as soon as you wake up then for week one I recommend eating an hour after waking. If you can handle 2 hours more power to you!  I find it better to start small and work your way slowly to where you want to be so you aren't discouraged.  
I find it easiest to do IF for longer periods if I wake up earlier.  Usually if I wake up at 7 I wont eat until 12-3, but if I wake up later around 9 I find myself eating around that same period.  Now that is still a minimum of 3 hours but for the best results I see are from 5 hours plus of not eating after you wake.
What is it Like to IF?
I'm not going to lie and say everyday I'm not hungry or starving for that matter.  There are still days I am starving but I find ways to ignore it until my fast is up.  I have however become used to it so most days are pretty easy for at least 3-4 hours but then after still gets hard.  I like to listen to my body so if I am hungry that early I like to eat that early, if I'm not hungry that early then I push off my fast till I am hungry.
I don't quite remember when I started but I know it has been a few months and its not as hard as it sounds if you listen to your body.  It also allows you to eat like a king when you do eat throughout the day.  I usually enjoy 2-3 big meals and a good sized snack and don't even gain much fat if I do gain fat at all!  Now I'm not saying you can eat a ton of junk food and get thin using IF, but it is a lot easier to lose fat even if you are eating junk food right now, you just have to eat in a caloric deficit which is much easier even while eating foods you enjoy while IF.  I however don't count calories but what I do instead is mostly stay away from most refined and junk foods myself, this is because I am trying to gain muscle at the moment and not drop fat, but whatever you are trying to do IF can help with it!  If you feel you need to lose fat and watch calories then do that, if you are more laid back like I am then you don't have to count calories, it's whatever works for you is what you do, there is no right way to do it.
Bottom line, for me IF is what's working for me right now, and I highly encourage you give it a try for at least a month to see if it works for you as well!  If you want to eat like a gain and lose fat I do however encourage moving toward a healthier diet, that can be whatever it is for you.  If you even are just starting your journey or thinking about eating more healthy I recommend eating one healthy meal a day for a week or 2 before starting this so you build a habit to have that healthy meal for the first time you eat while IF.  Then for dinner while IF have a feast of whatever you want, just remember if you are trying to lose fat to be in a caloric deficit each day or 6 days a week and having one day to still eat what you want.  Remember what you eat 90% of the time determines who you are and what you will look like and become, because if you eat junk food 6 out of 7 days then what will you look like?  Now think if you eat health foods 6 out of 7 days a week, the answer is obvious.  
All of what I just said is to be taken into account whether or not you are going to start IF or even just start a diet of your own.
Closing thoughts.
If you are thinking of IF I highly recommend you try out IF.  It is what I currently do and it works for me and I really believe it can improve your life for the better to help you get the body you want.  If you love doing it or hate doing it please leave your feedback in the comments, or if you already do it please leave a comment for other readers to see it so we can hear your story!

I hope this blog post helped you.
See you guys on the next post.
-Brian   

3 Tricks to Have a Calmer Mind.

The other day I made a video and thought it would be useful and helpful to you to share it on here as well if you don't yet watch my Youtube channel.  I talk about the 3 things for a calmer mind and better life, and these are all things I use to better my day.  Whether you want to be present, calm down, more mindful, have a better more useful and healthy body, or even fight depression these things will all help!

Over the last couple years I have started a journey to improve myself and share whats helping me along the way, to give you guys motivation to start or just to help you guys with whats working for me and whats not so you can learn from me, whether I make mistakes or achieve something big you can learn.  Anyways throughout this journey I have come to love 3 things.  I can become anxious very easily and these all help me deal with becoming anxious and even more present.  I also am not the most flexible person and one of these things also helps with my flexibility as well to get better use of my body.

The first and most crucial to do the other 2 is breathing.  I used to never even think to do deep breathing.  We never learned this in school but it's so crucial to happiness in your life!  If I am shallow breathing I will usually find myself looking down or not holding myself high like I should.  There are many times I still catch myself not breathing deep throughout the day but as soon as I catch myself not breathing deep I immediately take a deep breathe and it sets a pattern.  Sometimes I will even close my eyes and take a deep breathe and smile, which brings positivity to not only me but those around me as well, because if I am present and happy those around me will feel my energy and will feel the same way.  This is the same way for if you are around lots of anxiety or depressed people you will feel anxiety and depression as well.  But with deep breathing it helps cut out all the bad, in fact its the first step to becoming present, happier, and healthier!

So whats the second trick?  This is probably my favorite but requires the most patience, and you hear me talk about this all the time but its because it really works for having an amazing life!  This is meditation, and I can't begin to stress how optimal this is for living the life you want.  We can become so stuck in doing everything we have to do day to day and never take a few minutes each day to pause and reflect on our own lives.  I currently do 10 minute meditations because I feel that's what works the best for me but if I ever feel I want to do more or need to then I do more because it helps me throughout my day so much.  Without meditation I would find myself with mental chatter that I don't need, sure I still have mental chatter but it's a lot less.  And the coolest part about meditation is sometimes I can become so present where I can feel the life in everything around me, but this is kind of rare for it to happen, but the experience is amazing.  It's what I would think being high would be like, and it doesn't involve drugs which is a big plus to me because I have never used them and know using drugs doesn't benefit my body at all so getting high just from meditation is astounding to me because I am benefiting my body instead of harming it and getting an effect that would probably come from drugs.  The best way to describe this feeling for you is that everything around me has life, feels alive, feels calm, and is there and present with me.

Lastly but definitely not least is yoga.  I have been talking about this a lot the last few weeks because I just started it and have been doing it almost every day.  Not only do I feel better about myself but I can do things I never thought I would be able to do!    I am not the most flexible person but I see small changes everyday in my abilities.  Now I'm not saying by any means yoga is easy, it's not.  It's probably one of the hardest things I've done but also one of the best.  If I haven't started now I would've probably never started or started later in life when my body is even more worked than it is now.  Yoga has some of the benefits of meditation but it is also a kind of workout.  It can also help decrease muscle tension.  I used to have extreme back pain all day until I started doing yoga.  I still do have some back pain throughout the day but not like before, and I know if it is bad anytime in the day I can just go  and do yoga to improve the tension.  I even talked about how yoga helped my pulled hamstring the other day on a video I made. Last week on leg day I did my leg workouts, and legs happen to be my weak point and that day I went harder than I should've probably, which resulted in a pulled hamstring a few days later.  I had trouble walking for about a day.  It started around noon and got a tiny bit better after I woke up the next morning but was still hard to walk.  So that morning I did my yoga like always lately and after most of my pain was gone, like literally GONE.  Just from 10 minutes of yoga I could walk normal with little pain, and within a couple hours after that the pain was completely gone.

All these work miracles for me on a daily basis.  I'm glad I am able to share these tricks with you.  Wherever you are you can always breathe to relieve any anxiety you may be having.  We all have things in life that we need to overcome, and with these 3 tricks I know they can help you overcome struggles or just help you grow in general, because they have not only helped me but many others as well.

I hope this blog was helpful and beneficial to you.  As always enjoy your day, afternoon, or night.

-Brian

3 Cheap and Healthy Workout Meals on a Budget.

Eating healthy on a budget can be hard, especially while working out.  I have searched "How to gain muscle with healthy foods on a budget" before and never found quite what I was looking for.  So this post is about just that for those of you trying to improve your body on a budget.  So lets jump right into meal number one!

Meal 1: Chicken, Broccoli or
Guac, and Brown Rice.

This is a meal I just started making this week and I love it!  You take 1-2 chicken breasts, slice them diagonally into thin slices and throw them in the pan on each side till the side turns a yellowish dark brown.  Then put a tiny bit of brown rice about half a cup into a pan with 1 cup of water and let cook on stove until the water is all gone or until rice is soft.  I say a little bit of rice for one reason, the first time I filled my sauce pan up halfway and Brittany and I both could barely finish it, so if you cook the rice with it use half a cup or whatever you think is enough for you.  If you make too much you can alway put it in a container for the next day to!  Last, the broccoli, this is by far the easiest to make unless you are using guac instead, but we'll get to that in a second.  Simply put half a bag or frozen broccoli into a sauce pan and add enough water to cover the broccoli, then heat until broccoli is soft.  If you have a microwave the process for broccoli is much easier, just place the broccoli in the microwave for however long the bag says to.  If instead you are using guac, then simply slice the avocado mash it, add garlic, onion, and if you would like then add lemon and lime for a tasty, healthy, and cheap meal!
Meal 2: Salmon, Brown Rice, and Green Beans.
This recipe calls for 2 people so we are going to be cooking for 2 people.  The meal costs about $4 and is a great meal for you and your partner!  We bought frozen salmon to save money, you can buy fresh if you want to get better salmon and spend a little more.  Before cooking preheat oven to 350 add coconut oil to the bottom of the pan you are using, and add salt pepper and parsley to the salmon.  When you put the salmon in the oven start the rice and green beans,  (use the same amount of rice as the chicken recipe).  Everything should be ready about the same time, maybe a couple extra minutes for the rice depending if you use more rice than stated above.
Overall this is good for omega-3 fatty acids and protein from the salmon, healthy carbs from the brown rice, and a good source of greens with the meal.
Meal #3: Chicken Breast Avocado Salad.
This is probably the hardest meal to make but is well worth it.  Everything depends on how much you will be eating, so you have to cut up all the veggies you want in whatever amount you will eat. We used lettuce, cucumber, carrots, and avocado for the veggies and chicken breast for the meat.  As for the meat Brittany and I split one chicken breast, but if you can eat more or just prefer more chicken then make 2 chicken breasts.  As for chicken you can cook it the same way as the chicken in day one.  To prepare the perfect salad, first put the chicken in a pan with olive oil and put the chopped lettuce in the bowl then cucumbers and carrots and avocados, then when the chicken is done put it on top add olive oil or dressing of your choice and salt and pepper to salad and enjoy the meal!
The total cost for this meal is around $4.00-4.50.  We used about half a head of lettuce which costs about 75 cents, 4 baby carrots (a few cents) avocado $1.29 half a cucumber about 12 cents as the full cucumber was 25 cents and chicken breast about $1.50-2.00 depending on size.

1 Week Yoga Challenge. (My Results)

I wanted to start this blog by saying that yoga is not my strong point.  I have tried it a few times in the last year and every time I try to do yoga I either get bored or discouraged because I have trouble doing whatever the person is doing that I'm watching.  This even happens if I search for "yoga for beginners".  The point of this post is going to be for me to do it for the next 7 days and report each day how it went.  The first day (today) I am going to start small, with a 5 minute yoga session,  I have tried 20 minute sessions before but thats usually when I give up, because I will go straight to 20 minutes and feel discouraged if I can't do it.  So the point of this is to start small with something I feel will help improve my life, and build up my yoga practice, and then tell you guys if I recommend it or not.

At the end of each day I will have a question or challenge to help you take steps to improve as well, so be sure to follow them, and only do one a day so you aren't overworking yourself.

OK so here are the results!

Day 1
Today I tried a yoga session for 5 minutes.  Overall it helped relax my back, but gave me a headache.  I could barely do any of the stretches or anything right but I did the best I could.  Although it was a pain in the ass and got me kind of aggravated, I started this journey today and it can only get better from here!  I do feel good about myself that I started even though doing it was nearly impossible for me, I know for me to become the best I can I need to go through stages of starting something new that may be hard right now to achieve greatness, and in a year from now thank myself for starting.  
How can you start a challenge for a week on something you want to do and stay committed?
Remember to commit to at least a week of something and start the journey you want for life today before reading my Day 2 so you can follow along each day!
Day 2
After the first day yoga is a little easier for me, even though I found a different video, so that could be why.  I had trouble with a couple of the stretches but wasn't as aggravating as yesterday.  I am learning my body isn't as flexible as it should be, and that is something I need to work on to become my greatest version.  I have never been super flexible or done stretches really that much.  This whole yoga thing is making me see how much I need to improve my body.  I have spent 19 years of my life never stretching that much and its catching up with me, I see the guy in the video able to plant his feet straight while in downward dog (thats what she said) and he makes it look easy, but when I do it I have trouble placing my feet the same way, so I do the best I can today and know with commitment soon I will be able to stretch easily and have less tension in my muscles while doing so.
When was the last time you did stretching of anywhere in your body?  After the 5 minutes of yoga today I did 3 minutes of stretching.  If you aren't up for trying yoga for 5 minutes a day for at least 7 days then take the challenge for today and do 3 minutes of stretching, you body will thank you!
Day 3
Today I tried a new video that I really loved!  Yes I loved it and I usually hate yoga and get aggravated but this one was useful for me.  It is called "Men's 30 Day Yoga Challenge - Day 1" by DOYOUYOGA.com on Youtube.  The instructor Raghunath was very helpful and gave alternatives for each movement if you couldn't do them quite yet instead of only showing one way to do them then me having trouble doing something beyond my ability.  Luckily most of the stretches I could do easier than I expected, and I am going to watch his day 2 video tomorrow because I found his day one very helpful and calming compared to others!
How has your experience with yoga been so far?  Good or bad?
Day 4
Whoa I can't believe its already day 4!  Today during my yoga session I had something very weird happen, I wanted to do another session.  I know this is very weird, from where I was 3 days ago I wouldn't have every wanted to do more than 10 minutes of yoga but now I'm stopping myself from doing 10 more minutes, and starting the next days video lesson.  It's amazing how much my muscles hurt and are tense from work and how much yoga is helping relax the muscles.  My back is probably the most tense and always is, especially my upper and middle back, but doing yoga is such a benefit not only to my back but also the rest of my body.  As I do yoga I feel a lot of tension in my legs but also saw a slight improvement in my flexibility yesterday, although I'm nowhere near flexible right now, I feel that if I keep this up I will be more flexible and have less tension on my muscles!  Oh, also at work today I noticed something else, my knees are usually always bothering me if I stand for long periods like I do at work.  But today they weren't bothering me as bad and I had an extremely easy time cracking them, when before I would struggle at time to crack my knees.
If you are noticing a change in your body by now I would love to hear what it is in the comment section!
Anyways guys, see you tomorrow!
Day 5
This morning I started my day with a shower then moved right into yoga.  Usually I would wait till after work to do it but I decided to start this morning with yoga instead of meditation.  My upper back was in pain when I woke up and decided I need to do yoga before work to get rid of the pain.  And I'm happy to say it actually worked.  Although there is one thing, over the last 3 days this was probably the hardest session for me.  I don't know if its just harder for me to do in the morning or if the stretches today we actually harder, but I didn't give up even though my arm started to shake from holding myself up on some of the positions.  I am glad I pushed through it because it really did help my back pain go down this morning.
Do you have pain somewhere in your body?  Find a yoga video on easing pain in that place and do it!
See you guys tomorrow!
Day 6
Today I did the hardest yoga since I started the challenge.  I had to do legs which is the weakest part of my body.  I had to do mostly easy versions of every yoga position, but thats ok because I'm growing and developing strength and flexibility and thats what this week long challenge is about for all of us because we all have things we need to grow and improve on!
What has been the hardest part of your 7 Day Challenge so far?
See you guys on the final day tomorrow!
Day 7
It's day 7 and I'm happy to announce I completed the my week long Yoga Challenge!  Believe it or not it wasn't as hard as I thought.  Throughout this blog post I hope you have done a challenge for yourself and loved it as much as I came to love yoga this week.  I will definitely be continuing to do yoga to improve myself and to hopefully some day be making videos of my own to share with you guys when I become better at it, but I know it will take me months or years to become as good as I want to be at it and to help you guys with the videos I want to be able to make.
Anyways guys, I hope you enjoyed this week of your challenge you committed to, it's the start of a journey for you and your life and I would love to hear what you accomplished throughout the week in the comment section!