Just Do Something

I was going to use another companies tagline as the title for this blog, but I didn't want that large shoe company to sue me when my millions of readers ingest this information.

This one sort of comes out of nowhere. It isn't particularly relevant to me right now, but was very relevant within the last few years. Like any time I decide to write, it's just because I felt pulled to get it down on paper and out into the world, not because I'm trying to meet some deadline.

This advice or thoughts are for anyone feeling stuck, or like they don't know what to do. Which is often all of us at some point in our lives, either on a large scale of having no idea what to do with your life, or in smaller day by day chunks.

The advice is simple: Just Do Something.

I was never much of a science buff in school, often finding it as a subject I would struggle in. But one scientific law has really become relevant to me in both life and business as I've gotten older. It's Newton's First Law of Motion. You know, the one that says, "An object at rest will stay at rest and an object in motion will stay in motion."
I have personally found this to be wildly true in my life. Let me give you an example in a little story about me.

About 3.5 years ago I was just sort of hanging out a lot. I was done being a full time teacher, would sub a few days here and there, and had a ton of free time in my schedule. I was a few years into our LifeVantage business, and was trying to do that full time, but definitely wasn't putting in the full time work. Partly because we didn't have to, we made enough to cover our very small bills and live just fine so there wasn't any pain driving me to change, and partly because I just didn't enjoy picking up the phone all day trying to rock sales. I was just kind of stuck. Didn't really know what to do, knew I had a lot of talents, just didn't know how to use them.

And like Newtons law, when I sat, I really sat. And it was hard to get moving. I've always been the "procrastination" guy, and am really good at getting things done in chunks. This was just a particularly large "chunk" of nothingness for me (I mean, it wasn't really that bad, but it wasn't awesome).

Through a variety of different things I'd read and listen to, Andy Andrew's book The Final Summit being one of them, I decided I just had to do something. And so I started saying yes to things, even if they weren't my ideal passion projects. I knew I didn't have to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life (that's not something you ever have to "figure out" by the way), I just needed to figure out how to get moving and I knew more opportunities would come my way.

One of my awesome side jobs for a bit

So I did some random jobs; I delivered food for a food delivery service that one of my friends owns. I cut lawns for another friend's company for a few months over the summer, and I continued to find different schools to sub at. Did I want to do any of those forever? No. Did I think they were a great use of my talents? No. Was it glamorous delivering food to the houses of people I know? Knowing that when I left they were very likely judging me thinking "What in the world is he doing with his life?" I was being a badass and playing the long game, and not caring about your opinion, Mr. & Mrs. Jones, that's what I was doing. The F'ing Jones's, stop trying to keep up with them dammit, and just be you. That's for another conversation. Back to the "do something," talk.

As I continued to just get out there and do things, more opportunities did indeed come my way. I did a long term sub for someone who went on maternity leave, and while I was doing that short "full time" gig, our LifeVantage business was also rockin and growing, and is now somehow the largest it's ever been. And then all of a sudden I started a software company with a couple guys, and a couple years later we've now recently launched a real product that about 100 real customers use. There's a little more to that story, but you get the point. 

(**Edit. This was originally published in late 2019. Fast forward to late 2021 and now thousands from across the nation use the software. Wild things can happen when you just give it some time to play out.)

I truly know that it all came about because I got my ass moving. I had many of the same talents years ago, but just didn't know how to put them to use. The only way to figure that out is to move, to do something. And I'm still trying to figure out how to best use them, and probably always will be. If you don't know what to do right away, start with things that interest you, and talk about them on the internet. Make a blog, Facebook live them, create a podcast, do anyone of those things revolving around something you love. If you do, I can't say that specific venture will be successful, but I can guarantee you'll learn a lot and it will lead to something. If you don't know how to do that, just do something. Food Dudes is always looking for more drivers, you can be like me. Just move, go, do. Once you're in motion, you'll tend to stay there. It's a law.

Be Awesome.

-Tom Spaniol

"I don't know who the Jonses are, but the idea of spending your time worrying about them is ridiculous." Gary Vee

Three Life Lessons I Learned From Mountain Biking

Over Labor Day weekend we went camping in Cuyuna MN. It was our second straight year camping with a lunatic bunch of misfits (kidding, great group of real outdoorsy folks), and it was an all out rockin great time.

Turns out Cuyuna is Minnesota's best kept secret (unless you're a big time biker, then you know all about it). The Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trails boast 50+ miles of one way, beautiful, fun, and dangerous trails winding through the woods and around multiple mine pit lakes.  When we went for the first time last year over Labor Day, all I could say that weekend was, "Where the hell has this been all my life?" With my extreme love for skiing, mountain biking is practically it's summer cousin, and yet I'd never done it in my life. Pathetic. But not to dwell on the past, now I'm a big time biker. Actually I've only been there four times now, but in my mind I sure am a big time biker.

Alissa rockin a trail called "Bobsled"

While flying around the trails, hootin n hollerin and burning my legs, I realized there's a lot of life lessons that can be learned from mountain biking.

The 1st: Don't coast.
You encounter lots of ups and downs while biking the trails in Cuyuna, like literal inclines and declines. Bikes these days are made with about 100 gears, making it much easier to manage the hills once you know how to shift properly, but hills are still a challenging leg burner. Each time you finish a little, or big hill, and get to a flat or down, the first thing you want to do is give your legs a break and coast for a while. But what always comes after that nice flat or decline? You guessed it, another hill. And if you coast and give yourself a rest during those easier times, the next hill becomes so much more difficult.

The key is to shift to a lower gear and keep pedaling on the flats and declines to gain enough speed, enough momentum, to make that next incline a piece of cake, sometimes even launching up it as if it was hardly there.

Translation to life: when things are going well for you, when you're in the flow and kickin ass, double down. Push harder, sprint past your finish line. Another hill is coming somewhere, but if you've sped up and pushed while things were going well, that hill won't seem like much of a hill at all.
In Andy Andrew's book The Noticer Returns, he talks about a phenomenon called a "Jubilee." Where, at an unknown random time, all these fish and creatures - flounders, shrimp, crabs, whiting, etc - are all gathered in an area, literally making the water so thick with creatures you can't walk in it. The characters in the book are filling up their nets as fast as possible, as these fish are valuable to the local seafood markets. And they know, just as quickly as this jubilee began, it will end, so while it's going they're working as hard as possible to take advantage of it.

When your jubilee is here, and everything is flowing from all angles of your life - health, wealth, friendships, opportunities - take advantage. Grab as many as you can, and that next hill might just end up feeling like a bump instead of a mountain. 


The 2nd: Use your gears
Some people ride these trails on single speed bikes, which I think is insane. They're probably doing it to get an even better leg workout, but it's just too much for me to handle. Most people are going up and down their gears constantly, as the incline/decline is repeatedly changing. The goal is to always be pedaling at roughly the same cadence, and using your gears to help you do so. (That's what official biker people tell me, anyways.)

To me, the gears on your bike are like the tools and people you surround yourself with. In different times of your life you're going to need different people, different groups, to help you through. When times of great difficulty come; use your gears. Lean into the people and strategies who help make that time easier for you. Whether it be support groups, great friends who listen, meditation, yoga, whatever it is that you need during those times, use it. Don't be afraid to shift into those higher gears to help make it easier, it's not cheating or wimping out, it's the best thing you can do to preserve your energy and keep yourself going.

Big time bikers

Same can be said in times when everything is going great; use your gears. Shift into your lower gears and speed up! Maybe that's getting a trainer/coach who pushes you to reach new heights, taking on more responsibilities at work, starting the business you've always wanted to. When it's time to fly and reach new speeds, use your gears, and get going!

The 3rd: Stop and enjoy every once in a while
As mentioned before, the trails at Cuyuna are beautiful. They wrap around a few different lakes, leading to lots of beautiful lookout spots. But the thing is, while you're flying through the trails trying not to hit a tree with your face, you don't really have time to soak in the view. This is why they do a great job of having different spots you can pull over and sit on a bench and take it all in. It's the perfect setup, while you're on the trails you keep pedaling and remain focused on what's in front of you, but when you get the opportunity, you take a little turn off, sit down, breathe, and soak in the scenery.

One of the beautiful overlooks

We often get so caught up in the hustle of life that we don't take time to look at the beauty around us. As Ferris Bueller said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it." I know this may seem contradictory to my first point of pushing while things are good, but happiness is the true destination here. If grinding and never stopping to look around is what truly makes you happy, then keep going. But for most, there needs to be a time to slow down, stop, and take it all in. Enjoy the fruits of your labor, or in this case the views from your climbs.

I really believe in stopping to look around each day. Take time, whether it be in the morning, over lunch, in the evening, to stop and take in the beauty of life. Get off the trail. Smile, look around, and be grateful. And then get back to your crushing it. I don't believe it's an either/or type deal. Who said you can either make money or enjoy sunsets? That's a bunch of crap. You can do it all, schedule your days with intention, building in time to look around and enjoy.


In the end, the number one lesson I learned from biking was this; just keep pedaling. No matter how steep the hill is, how far away from camp you are, or how shot your legs are, just keep pedaling. You'll get there.


Be Awesome.


-Tom Spaniol


"Keep Swinging." -Bob Karn

Love Yourself

What's up beautiful people of the internets! Oh man, it's been a while. I have no fancy excuses for you, I just haven't written anything. But, we're back together now, and that is fun. This here is what I like to call an important one, so strap in and read closely, you just might take something wonderful away while you're at it. 

Alissa and I were in Kansas City for a conference two weekends ago. And while we were certainly there to have fun, eat amazing food, ride scooters, wear tracksuits, get smoked by a teenager in a worm competition, see all our beautiful friends we haven't seen in a long time, and make new ones, we were also there to intake some information.

As you already know; Tracksuits change everything.

Whenever you attend a conference your goal is usually to go there and learn, to grow. To soak in as much information as possible to use in your daily life moving forward. To meet other people, learn from their story, and maybe "network" as the professional people call it.  I've attended many conferences/events over the past 5 years of my life, and what I've found is that I always learn a TON and take home loads of great information, but I also always seem to leave each event with ONE thing that stands out to me. One thing that rises above all the other great nuggets and is solidified in my brain.

What I took away from the weekend was a simple, yet powerful message:

Love Yourself.

I imagine this stood out to me because I had been reading a lot on the topic before going to the event, and I've even wrote a little bit about it on this Pulitzer Prize nominated blog. As you smart people of the internet know; you see what you're looking for, what you focus on expands. So it made sense that this kept standing out to me over the weekend, but also because it is so earth shatteringly important.

One of my favorite books, You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero, which I've referenced several times on this blog, magnifies the importance of loving yourself by ending each chapter with the advice, "Love Yourself." We were also fortunate to hear from world renowned speaker and author Brian Tracy over the weekend and his message was right in line with this theme as one of the key notes I took from him was, "The most powerful thing you can do is help people love themselves."

So this theme was all around, but it really began getting drilled into my mind a few weeks before going to the conference in Kansas City when I read a book by Kamal Ravikant called, Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends Upon It. It is a short book, only 56 pages. No fluff, just straight to the point, about how deciding to love himself brought him out of some really dark times. In it, along with explaining why loving yourself is so important, he gives two super simple, powerful, short meditations. I'm always a believer in simplicity, so I think that's why I loved this little book more than others. He also had a great little paragraph in the beginning of the book that had me hooked as soon as I read it:
"Here's the best part, one that makes me smile as I write this. As you love yourself, life loves you back. I don't think it has a choice either. I can't explain how it works, but I know it to be true. When you find yourself using the word 'magical' to describe your life, you'll know what I'm talking about."

I too smiled as I wrote this, as I know it to be true. I've felt it, seen it, experienced it, watched others live it; life just loving you back when you choose to love yourself. You just start getting random hugs from life, seemingly out of nowhere. But they aren't just random; they are effects, and the cause is you loving yourself.  Magical indeed. Don't get me wrong, you'll probably get a few punches in the face too throughout life. But lots more magical experiences come along when you choose to love yourself first.

But what if I don't? What if I do not love myself? That's really the basis of Kamal's book. So I'll give you a little book summary today because I simply think it is that important. You should also hop on Amazon and buy the book, it's $6.35. If you don't have Amazon, message me and I'll send you the book.

Amidst his dark times Kamal reached a breaking point, got out of bed and wrote, "This day, I vow to love myself..........I make the decision I LOVE MYSELF."

He says; how to love himself he did not know, but he'd made a vow. So he started with the simplest thing that he knew he was capable of. And he started telling himself, "I love myself, I love myself, I love myself." Repeating it for hours throughout each day. Thoughts would wander, as they do, and then he'd notice and return to repeating, "I love myself, I love myself, I love myself." In his head, out loud, whispering, in all ways. Things started to improve, and he kept saying, "I love myself, I love myself, I love myself."

One of Kamal's two simple meditations.

Here's the great thing too. In the beginning, he didn't believe it. Not even close. But he continued to say it. And eventually he would even catch himself loving himself, imagine that! You don't have to believe it to start, you just need to begin. Eventually you, too, will catch yourself loving yourself. Imagine being able to walk past a mirror, see your sexy face staring back at you, and say out loud, "I love you," and smile. It's a powerful thing, and you can get there, you just have to start.

A lot of people think that loving yourself, and stopping to be deeply grateful, can lead to contentment, as if that's a bad thing. They see it as a sort of, well if I just love myself and I'm just grateful all day then I won't go out and try to become more, or do more. They say it's giving yourself an out to be lazy.  Kamal addresses this in a little chapter titled, "Coasting." It's easy to coast when things are going well, which can lead to decline and not feeling fulfilled for some. When this happens, he asks himself a simple question; "If I loved myself, truly and deeply, what would I do?" As he says, the answer is simple, "I'd fly. Fly as high as I possibly can. Then, I'd fly higher."

Because if I love myself truly and deeply, I always want what's best for myself. What's possible for my potential for me and those I love. Only you know what that is for you. Maybe your best is being where you are now. AWESOME. Maybe you have a long way to go. I have no idea, I'm not you. To that I refer back to what I said in a previous blog; there is no right, there is only right for you.  If you love yourself truly and deeply, you'll figure out what you want to take from this experience called life.  One of the things I often like to say or write at the end of when I'm reflecting on what I'm grateful for is, "I'm grateful for all that I have while I pursue all I desire." I don't know if that's right or wrong, but I like it. It's beautiful and important to be extremely grateful and love all that you have right now, and its beautiful and important to continue to strive for more while you love the heck out of your current life and your current self. The immense importance of gratitude is for another entry, we'd be here all day if I got started on that one. 

Life is crazy man, to say I understand it would be lying to you great people of the internets. But I do know that when I love myself, I walk around a bit happier every day, I feel better, cooler things happen, I smile more, I laugh more, and my experience of this life seems to just simply be more awesome.

Besides the simple exercise of repeating "I love myself," many times throughout the day, another way I feel very strongly about raising your self love is making it a priority to do what you love more. Play! Enjoy! Play gets lost when we become "adults" and focus on some thing we call a "career." Get back to finding time for fun, whether it be sports, video games, outdoor activities, crafts, singing, anything. It is so highly important to play and have fun. This week, go make it a priority to play and have fun and enjoy the hell out of it. I give you permission to take a little time away from your "super important" other stuff to go have some fun.

It's said a lot and many say it's cliche, but I think it's true. We need more love out there. And that starts with you, and loving yourself. So give it a shot. Put some concentrated time and effort into you, and love yourself like your life depends on it.

Be Awesome.

-Tom Spaniol


"Momentary enthusiasm is of no value; it is only with unbounded self-confidence that the goal is reached."  -Charles F. Haanel

Be You

I believe I've alluded to this before, but I like to read and listen to a lot of different stuff in the personal development arena, or as I like to call it "Become a badass" section. Along with the incredible knowledge and ideas you can find there, also comes a ton of opinions. At times it can be a lot when you're hearing different things from different people, and they each seem to be "successful" (more on that word later). Whose advice do you follow? Who do you believe?

The best advice I've ever heard is a line from Jim Rohn that he often used in his speeches, "Make sure what you do is the product of your own conclusion." 

But let me be very clear about what Jim would always talk about right after using that quote. He'd say, "You've got to read the books, you've got to go to the class, you've got to attend the seminar." Making sure that what you do is a product of your own conclusion doesn't mean you should never listen to others and just go off on your merry way. Quite the opposite. Talk to those who inspire you. Be a sponge, soak in as much good information as you can. Get out and see things, listen to people, learn as much as you can from as many as you can. Meditate, think. But what you do with all the information, what you do with the opinions and experiences of others, that is up to you. That is how you mold your own personal philosophy. Put it into the actions that are right for you. You know what gets you going by how you feel, and only you can feel your feelings. Trust your intuition on what's right for you.

Gary V talked about the same thing the other day in a different way saying, "There is no right. There is only right for you." I absolutely loved this. There is only right for you. There's so many heated opinions, all with their "data" to back it, on every subject. But what works for someone doesn't have to be right for someone else. Everyone has different desires, there's no one size fits all here. And that's okay. That's the beautiful thing about this place we live called earth. We all get to be ourselves and choose how we want to experience this life, not how someone else wants us to.

He also mentioned in one of his Instagram videos how he "Has no desire to go on a skiing vacation, or go to breweries." He thought those were stupid uses of his time. Which is quite hilarious, because I happen to love both of those things. I'm trying to set up my life so I can go skiing when and where I want, and hopefully even ski right into a brewery, with my skis on, the ultimate apres ski. And while that's my desire, Gary wants none of that. And that's okay. He made sure to point out that if that's someones desire, that is absolutely awesome, it's just not his. He is self aware of what he loves, and I'm aware of what I love. And that's all that matters.  I do a whole lot of things that wouldn't be right for other people, things many would totally hate and couldn't comprehend doing, but it's totally right for me right now. Here's a small list
-Don't have a house, live in an apartment
-Lease a car
-Don't have a real job (what the hell is a "real" job qualified as anyways?)
-Play racquetball with old people
-Don't understand the difference between retirement and what I'm doing now
-I'm not, quote, "Using my major," who gives a shit right? Apparently some people give large shits about this one (not in my specific case, but that's a big one for kids/their parents)
-Have a network marketing business
-Don't have an ACL in my knee (don't really need those, overrated ligament)
-Put my thoughts on the internet in the form of this blog

Some would look at all that and think to themselves, "He's not really successful eh, kid doesn't even own property." But what is the definition of success? It's really different for everyone. I've found two people's ideas that I've really loved. Old philosopher Earl Nightingale said the best definition for success he ever found was, "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal." In English = constantly pursuing something that you desire. Having something in mind, and going for it. If you're constantly improving in your craft on the way to being your best self, you are successful by his definition.

Derek Sivers had an interesting idea when he was on Tim Ferris's podcast and Tim asked him who's the first person you think of when you hear the word success. He initially said Richard Branson, but then said we can't really know if someone is successful without knowing their intent. If Branson's whole goal was to live a quiet peaceful life but got addicted to building companies and couldn't stop, is he a success? Interesting idea and perspective. What I took out of both his and Earl's definition is again, it's all about what you want. Success is not for someone else to define for you, it's up to you. If you are going after what makes you happy, what gets you energized, then that's all that matters.

Does this mean you never have to do things you don't want to do? No. That's part of life and having self discipline, aka the ability to do things you don't want to do, to get the results that you want. (Working out, eating healthy, making sales calls, cleaning the bathroom, etc) Sometimes you'll do some things you don't love. But become self aware of what you really like, what you're all about, and be and do those things more. For you. Not because someone else told you to.

Sometimes you just have to listen to the advice of Ace Ventura from the opening scene of When Nature Calls. He's climbing a mountain to save a racoon and a helicopter pilot tells him he'd turn back if he was Ace, and Ace says, "Yeah? Well if you were me then I'd be you, and I'd use your body to get to the top. You can't stop me no matter who you are!"  Just fantastic advice from my favorite movie character ever.  He's always going to be himself, even if he was in a different body. You can't take his mind, his desires, his passions away from him. And don't let anybody take yours. Be you. Do what you want for you. Pay attention to what fires you up, what makes you laugh, what sends energy throughout your body. And do more of it, no matter what anybody else says. I think I used this quote on another post but it's incredibly relevant here again, "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."  We don't need you to be a doctor, or accountant, or painter, or engineer, just because someone else thinks you should. We need you to be you, and make decisions based off your own fire inside. Because when you're truly being you and doing what you want to do, the whole world is benefiting from your energy. 

My hero in action

Just today one of my friends in a group message was telling all of us how her son, who's 14, took the opposing side of a controversial topic to debate for a class in school and he's been catching a lot of ridicule and being mocked by classmates and others. But he's continuing on, and standing by his view, because it is right for him. That takes a lot of guts as a 14 year old to be yourself, to even wear different shoes than everybody else, much less stick by your stance on a topic when everyone is ridiculing you for it. Isaak, when you read this, just know that YOU ARE A BADASS, and keep being you, always.

This was a longer post, but to sum it all up; take it all in, learn from others - especially those who you're energized by, read the books, listen to the speeches, attend the classes, and formulate your philosophy of this life, for you. 

So yeah, that means you don't have to follow this advice at all if you don't want to. It's all up to you.

Be awesome.


Tom Spaniol

"The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity."
 -Rollo May
 

You Are Not Your Test Score

For those that don't know I used to be a teacher. And despite the amount of time I spent in the gym chucking dodgeballs with my 5th and 6th grade classes, I was actually a normal classroom reading teacher, not a gym teacher.

Because of how the school system is setup, the only thing that seemed to matter was the all mighty standardized tests we took in the spring. And the one thing I didn't seem to prepare my kids all too well for was the all mighty standardized tests we took in the spring. As a teacher my heart simply wasn't behind it. And this post isn't meant to be a debate about standardize tests (they're dumb), but more of what I noticed happening with kids because of their test scores. What their faces would say when they saw their score, their body language. Many were defeated and would completely lose confidence. I'm not for participation trophies in sports, but judging all the kids in a grade on the same test and telling the ones who fall below some line that they don't meet the standards just kinda sucks. All of the kids were uniquely amazing, but some just weren't going to get a score "above the standard," it's not how their brains worked. And it sucks because that test has nothing to do with the type of person you are or who you'll become.

It was certainly true for me.

I got a 20 on my ACT in high school, and as much as I claimed I didn't care, obviously it made me feel stupid at the time. Because that's what I was conditioned to think. Through the college application process it was reinforced over and over, "Hmmmmmmm, if you could just get that ACT up you'll qualify for this scholarship."  Well admissions person, I can't, because that test is lame and my brain doesn't function that way. And obviously 0 people have ever asked for that score again and me and my 20 score immediately got a job after college just fine. 

While being good at memorizing science and nailing the math portion will indeed have a direct effect on money spent for college, it will never compare to the money that will pour back into your life when you continually improve at the things that matter most. Things like how to talk to people, how to make others smile, how to give, how to bring excitement and fun and passion. How to connect people and ideas together. How to manifest and create what you truly desire. How to grow daily, persist, and push through difficulties.

Here's the point I'm trying to make. Never attach your self worth to a test score, a rank in a company, or a job title.  I'm not saying don't strive for better scores, ranks, or titles. That's awesome and highly necessary. And if you don't hit it when you thought you would, or get a lower score, just please don't attach the love you have for yourself to that result. Love yourself for your effort in the process, learn from not achieving it yet, and get after it again. Too many people, past me being one of them, lose self confidence and shrink because of the title we do or don't have. It reminds me of the Les Brown quote, "Don't let someone else's opinion of you become your reality." Often times that someone else isn't even a person, it's a number or a title. And once you're given that, you believe that's who you are, and you go through life proving it to yourself. Your mind is always looking to prove yourself right, so whatever you believe about yourself and the world, you're going to see and manifest. Only you can choose your believes about you.


Here's the other side of that equation; the way to get that higher rank or title is to love yourself where you're at while you grow to be all you desire.  Love yourself first. Not, "I'll be happy when ___." But now. Love yourself now and everything will change. You are the only you we have on this planet, and we need you to love yourself so that you can step into your awesomeness. The human race is counting on it. So look yourself in the mirror and say "I love you," outloud (not easy right away, but just do it) and step into your awesomeness. Tell yourself that you're a badass, because you are a badass, and I know it. I don't care what your title or test score is.

Be Awesome.


-Tom Spaniol

"Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." -Albert Einstein

We All Get What We Tolerate

Some people hate quotes. They think they're cliche or weird or maybe they've just never come up with a good one so they hate them. I don't know, and it's fine, one doesn't have to love quotes, but I certainly do.  Alissa often calls me the quote master, I seem to have a quote from something I've read or listened to for every situation. ("What an unoriginal loser," is probably what "they" say, whoever the hell "they" are) So today while I was eating breakfast and fist pumping in the air because it tasted so good and my music was so loud and I was so damn jacked the frick up, I thought of a quote I particularly love from Tony Robbins:

 "We all get what we tolerate."  

He talks about this concept using a different phrase as well saying, "Raise your standards, change your life."  He also says, "Turn your shoulds into musts."  They are all great quotes, and to me they all are generally talking about the same concept. My simple Central Minnesotan mind seems to like "We all get what we tolerate," the best.  Like any great elementary teacher would do, let me explain this quote to you, the people of the internet, by using a real life example of this concept improving my life.

My whole life I've always been in pretty good shape, except a little period in college after I tore my ACL and I did a lot of sitting around, eating buffets, crushing keystone lights, and more sitting. But besides that I've always stayed in decent shape.  A few years ago, I was in that decent shape phase, didn't look too fat but certainly had some good blubber hangin around, couldn't jog a mile without being super tired, even running from first to third in a softball game had me winded, certainly a far cry from the super good shape I was in in high school when I could be on the field for every play of a football game and not get tired.  So finally I just decided, I need to get back in kick ass shape. I simply couldn't tolerate it anymore (see what I did there) and knew I could do better.

 So I dedicated myself to getting back in fantastic shape, used a bunch of other quotes to help me get there, such as asking myself each day when I didn't feel like working out "Can you do the thing you don't want to do in order to get the result you want?"  And eventually I was like, hot damn, I'm like in the same shape I was in when I was in high school.  But here's where the tolerate and standards quotes really come in; I've set a new standard for myself in terms of physical health.  Now whenever I have a week or two where I've really crushed a ton of food and maybe an extra hazy IPA or two and I'm grabbing my stomach (Alissa always asks me why I'm grabbing my stomach) to feel what kind of extra flab I have, if I don't like it at all I immediately snap back into crushing workouts the next week, eating healthier, and getting myself in the physical health that I desire.

Do you see what I'm talking about here? I simply can't tolerate getting out of shape anymore. And since we all get what we tolerate, as soon as I'm edging towards being out of shape I take action on it and get back to the results I want.

This goes for everything in our lives, and when I really examined that it wasn't always something I wanted to hear. We're living in our current residence, driving what we drive, looking like how we look, traveling as often as we travel, because we can tolerate it.  When you get to a point of no longer being able to tolerate something, you take action and change it. It's that simple.  Whether it's your physical conditioning or the money you're making.

Oh shit did he just say money!? The weirdly taboo subject of money that everyone is afraid to talk about yet controls our whole life. We all talk openly about our jobs, immediately ask people what they "do" for a living, but if someone ever actually says anything about a dollar amount being made, everyone freaks the hell out. We can talk about how much we spent on something, but for some reason if we mention how much we made on something it's like we just shouted in a library and everyone's looking at us like what the hell did he just say? Okay, side tangent on that is over, we'll have to cover that another time, back to the goods.

You truly make what you tolerate, what your standard is. And it's different for everyone, and what you tolerate doesn't need to be what your neighbor or sibling tolerates, but whatever you tolerate you will get.  One person is just fine making $3,000/month, while another simply can't fathom tolerating that, so they take the proper action to get to$20,000/month because that's their must.  And this isn't just for health or finances, it's everything in life. If you can no longer tolerate another winter in the cold midwest, you do something about it and move. If you can no longer tolerate the people you're spending time with, you find a way to get around different people.  Because you're a human, and you can do something about things that no longer serve you. 

The key is figuring out what you tolerate. Where are you setting your standards? What shoulds are you turning into musts? Because when you figure that out and get clear on these things, you will take the necessary action to make them happen.  If you want more than you currently have, you simply need to raise your standards up to that level, make those desires your new musts, and do not tolerate another day living below the new standard you've set for yourself.  Only you can decide what that looks like for you.  So set that standard, and go get it.

Be Awesome.


-Tom Spaniol


"Progress equals happiness."
-Tony Robbins

Become an Exceptional Interior Designer

Let me start by saying I can't decorate my closet, much less a house, worth shit.  That is not one of my skills. I don't understand it. I certainly love being in a well thought out beautiful room or space with great feng shui, but I'm not the one matching those throw pillows with the comforter, or putting a huge weird rug in the center of the room, or whatever else it is cool people do to design cool rooms.

But, I can and will say, I'm on my way to becoming an exceptional interior designer.  Not in the sense of the profession, or the person who creates a space or designs a house. I'm talking about the interior of the person. The mind. 

We are all the designers of our own life. As Charles F Haanel says in The Master Key System, "Our world within creates our world without." Meaning our mind and our thoughts and what we focus on the most, create what happens in our "reality." James Allen says in As A Man Thinketh, "Mind is the master weaver, both of the interior garment of character and the outer garment of circumstances."  The coolest thing about this life is that you, only you, get to decide your thoughts, your perspective, your ideas. Your environment, the people you closely surround yourself with, what you listen to, what you read, will have massive effects on your thoughts. But still, it is you, only you, who gets to decide what you focus on and believe. You get to design.

Don't you like my artistry!?

This little two word circle pictured above has really become clear to me lately in all I've read/listened to/discovered. Thoughts <--------> Environment. Your thoughts create your environment and your environment in turn creates your thoughts. It's a wonderful circle.  The fantastic thing is, if you don't like either one of them at any time, you can drastically change them. By changing either one, you will begin to change the other. You don't have to move your physical address to change your environment either. A few years ago I started to drastically change what I was pouring into my mind. I started to read books like The Travelers Gift by Andy Andrews, The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, The Magic of Thinking Big by David J Schwartz, and hundreds of others like them. I started listening to Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, Earl Nightingale, Zig Ziglar, Mel Robbins, etc. And all on Youtube, for free! This was me changing my environment, without moving, all from Central Minnesota. With technology the way it is now you don't have to be with the people to be effected by them, you can listen to and read their ideas from anywhere in the world. Pouring all their thoughts and ideas into my mind drastically changed my thoughts, and soon my environment began to change. What an exciting and crazy circle! Better relationships began to form, awesomer adventures started to happen, I became a more valuable human, Alissa started cooking insane flavortown food, and I got healthier and in better shape. I came to the realization that I am in charge of my life. And with that, I simply became happier.

Coaches often ask their athletes, "What are you doing when no one is watching?" In this case, I think a good question is, "What are you saying to yourself when no one else is listening?" What image are you creating about yourself, to yourself? You get to choose who you believe you are. Remember what Jen Sincero said, "We're all living in our own self created illusion."  Who do you want to be in your illusion? Who are you designing yourself to be? Someone who lives with limits, or is limitless? Someone who lacks, or is abundant? What you consistently tell yourself and believe about yourself in your world within, will soon show up in your world without.

It is and will always continue to be an ongoing process of designing my life. I feel like I'm only fresh out of interior design school and in my first year out in the field. But the key is that I've consciously started.  We've all been thinking our whole lives, but there comes a point when you realize that you are a designer, the designer of your life. When you step into this belief that you are a powerful interior designer, that's when you start to do something about it. You design each day to align with your desires, and you create the life you're meant to live.

You have the skills, you are extremely talented, now go kick ass and design your life.


Be Awesome.


-Tom Spaniol

"It is our attitude of mind toward life which determines the experiences with which we are to meet; if we expect nothing, we shall have nothing; if we demand much, we shall receive the greater portion."
-Charles F. Haanel

Why Not?

We recently got back from a little 9 day jaunt down to the Dominican and Puerto Rico. It was an absolutely beautiful trip, as we laughed and cried with old friends, made new ones, danced on the beach, climbed rainforests, drove golf carts around islands, and saw some extraordinary beauty this world has to offer. But that's not really what this post is about. There will be more on that later. Actually with that trip, we may have just gone from blogging to vlogging, as we recorded pretty much the whole thing and will probably turn it into anywhere from 1 to 4 episodes. We'll see what happens, depends how good my sister really is at editing videos.

Found a waterfall and swimming hole in the El Yunque

But this short little post stems from something that I often heard while in the Dominican. We were only there for a weekend and stayed at a resort, but over and over again the servers and workers dropped the phrase, "Why not?" The first time I heard it was at the breakfast buffet. The server came around and asked if I wanted a mimosa, and after he watched me think about it for a second he said in an awesome Dominican accent, "Why not?" And I thought to myself; Well when you put it that way, I literally can't come up with a reasonable answer to that question. I've already done my morning yoga on the beach, I'm in the Dominican with some beautiful people, I'm about to eat about 4 plates of food, so I hit him back with, "Why not?" And the wonderful man poured me a mimosa.  (This example of having a mimosa at breakfast is sort of the opposite message than the rest of the post, but whatever, it happened and I'm using it.)

Hearing this phrase and repeating it back got me thinking about my Ole favorite, Mr Jim Rohn, and something he called "Four questions to ponder."  Below is me paraphrasing his four questions.

These are the wonderful questions to stop and ask yourself every once in a while.

First question:
Why?
Why work so hard? Why chase your dreams?  Why keep getting back up when life knocks you down? Why persist through the failures? Why read the books?  Why try to earn as much as you can earn? Why try to share as much as you can share? Why try to become all you can be? Why do that much? Why give that much away? Why try to get in the best shape of your life? Why step out of your comfort zone? Why do anything tough?

Here's the best answer to question one, and it happens to be the second question:
Why Not?
Why not see who you can become? Why not see how much you can earn? Why not see what you can learn? Why not visit all of the planet that you can visit? Why not love as much as you can? Why not connect with as many as you possibly can? Why not laugh as much as you can? Why not see what influence you can have?  Why not impact as many as you possibly can? Why not share your gifts as often as possible? Why not be totally awesome?
Jim adds in a great little line about life saying, "You've got to stay here until you go, I mean what else are you gonna do?" 
But seriously, you'll be here until you're not, so while you're here, why not?


Third question:
Why not you?
You've got a heart beat. You've got the brains. You're not a tree, you can move. You can grow radically in the next few years. You can build a fortune. You can impact others. You can spread happiness. You can love. You can live your legacy. Someone out there is going to, why not you?

Fourth question:
Why not now?
As Jim says, "There never was a better time."


There they are peoples of the internet, four questions to ponder. So tonight, today, this morning, whatever time it is that you feast your eyes upon this post, ponder those four questions well. I mean come on, why not?


Be Awesome.


-Tom Spaniol

"If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration."
-Nikola Tesla

Tracksuits Change Everything- A collaborative reflection of 24 hours in Duluth

The words contained below will be a bit different this time. I've brought on my younger brother Wil to help with this collaborative reflection. This post will let you see a day from each of our perspectives. But not just any day. This day was special. This was the stag party for Sean Giambruno.  

The bachelor and his soon to be wife.

My co-author. Wil Spaniol.

Outlined below are the thoughts of one day, from two people.
 

Enter Wil
“Tuesday has no feel. Monday has a feel, Friday has a feel, Sunday has a feel...” Duluth has a feel. I don’t know what words to use to describe that feel, but its there. Maybe some day I’ll write a book or thesaurus on that feel. Whatever that feel may be, the group is feeling something much different this Saturday morning. The flame of a headache, or a stomach as uneasy as the Edmund Fitzgerald on the big lake they call Gitchi Gummi. Friday night of this stag party was supposed to be the low-key, slow pace night. But this group of comrades knows one pace – chaotic. 

That same pace is brought to Spirit Mountain, the largest mountain range in the Midwest. Eyes clear, hearts full, goggles gaped, the gang flies down the snowy knoll as fast as the beers will fly down our gullets in a few short hours. You can ask the innocent ski rack that was mowed down by Sir Ryan Lauer in his blaze orange hunting jacket.

After skiing has revitalized us to our core, the calm before the storm sets in. Myself and Marcus P Boylè pay a visit to our old school, UMD, where we both undoubtedly would have been Valedictorians had our professors not hated us (that’s just politics baby). $7 Oat Milk Lattes in hand, our minds are racing through memories faster than we flipped through the books we were supposed to be reading here. We talk about nostalgia, and with each hallway we walk down a wave of it hits us. Nostalgia is another thing that has a certain feel, but I can’t quite put it in to words. I don’t usually think much one way or the other of Duluth, but after the trip down memory boulevard and knowing what’s to come, it feels like home.

Its 4pm CST on Saturday, a confusing time of the week for me. I’m a little (very) tired. Do I take a nap? Drink another coffee and risk PAC (Panic Attack City)? Drink a beer? Ponder the meaning of life on earth? I opt for options 1 and 4. Much of the group is still Tokyo Drifitng down the slopes, so I find an empty bed to sprawl in for a few minutes. But I quickly realize there will be no sleeping, just anticipation of what’s to come. 

The rest of the group barges in, and the silence is over. The night has begun.

The group shows a sliver of fatigue from the weekends events so far. There are blank stares and a few eyes slowly closing shut. But this bunch won’t give up that easy. A dance floor awaits in a few hours, and it’s in for a carnival of pain. The first round of beers don’t go down easy, but the twinkles in the eyes are slowly returning. The energy elevates. We circle together to play Thunderstruck, a song this group has been punishing 12oz beers to for years. I see the bachelor, the man also known as Sean, and am thankful he has brought this group together. Most guys in this group have known Shung for at least a decade, some double that. I’m sitting on year 26 of being his cousin and compadre. Once you’re friends with Shung, you’re in it for life. This weekend, like so many others with this group of friends, will be thought about for years to come with the nostalgia mentioned earlier. 

Adidas™️ tracksuits are put on, No Reptiles by Everything Everything is blaring.  The boys, are back, in town. There is a quick pit stop at Adventure Zone for a round of laser tag. We all realize that maybe the real adventure zone isn’t a place on earth, but a place in our hearts. Everyone realized that individually. They all told me separately without talking to each other, word for word.

Finally, we have made it to our destination. The place we knew was coming all weekend: Grandmothers Sports Garden. The beer flows at break neck speed, but the only thing we are getting drunk off tonight is friendship and camaraderie. And 4.2% Michelob Golden Light. As I shred the dancing floor surrounded by this group of lads, I am thankful. Thankful for this journey, thankful for these friends. And thankful for Shung, who gave us this one night to feel like we might be on the right path, the path that takes us home. I’ll sign off with a quote from the great Anthony Bourdain, “We did well tonight. We will go home proud.There are nods and half-smiles. A sigh. Maybe even a groan of relief. Once again. We survived. We did well. We’re still here.”

-Bil

Enter Tom
With my traveling compadres Mark and Minks piled in the car, we hit the road for what we knew would be an eventful 24 hour Duluth sprint. Just dudes being lads. The spirit shred, smoked salmon sandwiches, and The Notebook playing on our TV in the hotel room had our Saturday off to a hot start.
When we arrived at the Airbnb to rub shoulders with the bachelor it was already a beautiful day, but all of a sudden everything heightened. The moment I put it on I knew; Tracksuits change everything.
 

Me putting on the tracksuit

I couldn't just feel the universe's vibrations, I could see them. I gained the knowledge that we can change the vibration, and thus produce any condition which we desire to manifest in our bodies.  As I walked downstairs to be with the gang and Deadmau5's Monophobia was blaring over the speakers, with my hands to the heavens I came into the realization that I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious, and happy.  With these majestic tracksuits we can do anything. Of course we can.  



As we made our way to Canal Park there was one common goal in mind. To shred the Grandma's dance floor like the block of cheese Adam consumed the night before. The kids circled up, and the boys went to work. 

Grizzly Jer Fro rocked the dancing gogs all night.

There isn't much else to say. We danced, laughed, high five'd, chugged, and cried the only way we knew how. Tonight our Adidas tracksuits manifested a new acronym: All Day I Dance Along Sean. The bachelor. The stag. The July 3rd MVP. Our hero for creating the night we won't forget, and our savior for bringing us all together.


R. Buckminster Fuller said, "Since the initial publication of the chart of the electromagnetic spectrum, humans have learned that they can touch, smell, see, and hear less than one millionth of reality." Not when you put on a tracksuit. No sir. Tracksuits change everything.




Be Awesome



-Tom Spaniol


"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."
-John Wooden

Until.

I don't have kids so I don't really know the answer to this, but I think its a fair question. How long should a baby try to learn to walk? I mean how long do you give your average baby before you say, "Hey bud, nice effort, but you're just not a walker. I think you should stick to crawling."

Of course every parent in the world is going to say, "You're crazy, my baby is going to keep trying __________ he/she walks." 
The word that your brain just filled in the blank is, of course, UNTIL.

The great Jim Rohn is where I first heard the magic of UNTIL.

What a magical word; UNTIL.  Somewhere when we grow up (whatever that means) we forget about this magical word.  We stop using it and become something the people call "realistic."  We try things for short periods of time and if they don't work out right away we revert back to something easier, something more comfortable.  We forget about pursuing our desires UNTIL we achieve them.

In his book The Travelers Gift (one of my most recommended books of all time), Andy Andrews talks about this subject using a different phrase. Without going total spoiler alert, one of the decisions his main character receives is, "I will persist without exception."

Both of these magical words and phrases hold the same meaning. Many people talk about persistence, but I love how Andy takes it slightly further by adding "without exception." As he says, you can persist for years, and then quit if you're tired. If you don't have his two powerful words on the end of the phrase you can get away with, "Hey I went after my goals and dreams for 5 whole years, I persisted plenty through tough times, and I found out it just doesn't work for me." But with the added without exception, you never let yourself off the hook. You simply cannot quit. You have decided to drive forward UNTIL. When you make the decision to persist without exception, to visualize, think, and work UNTIL, you have guaranteed your success. You have no choice but to keep going UNTIL. Which I suppose means either achievement or death. As 50 cent says, "Get Rich or Die Tryin."

I don't know if you people of the internet are all jacked up about this, but I am now. And I could probably write about 50 pages on this but I know how long your attention span is so I'll try to keep it short. Re-reading this chapter from The Travelers Gift has got me all ready to run through a wall. Look at some of these other golden nuggets from this book on the subject. 

"I acknowledge that most people quit when exhaustion sets in. I am not "most people." I am stronger than most people. Average people accept exhaustion as a matter of course. I do not. Average people compare themselves with other people. That is why they are average. I see exhaustion as a precursor to victory."

 The Travelers Gift on Faith:
"Too much of my life has been spent doubting my beliefs and believing my doubts. No more! I have faith in my future. I do not look left or right. I look forward. I can only persist."

Holy frick that's some good stuff right there, and every line of the book is like that!  I first read this book when I was 25 and have since continued to read from it more than any other book. When I started writing this post I had no intention of even talking about The Travelers Gift, and then this just happened. That must mean something.  So just go read the damn book before I quote the entire thing!
And then figure out what truly makes you happy, what you desire from this life, and decide that you are going to pursue it UNTIL.  

Be awesome.

-Tom Spaniol

"Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity."
-Will Smith

What gets loud when you get quiet?

The number one question I get from raving fans while I'm trying to keep to myself at the grocery store is, "How do you come up with the stuff you write about?" This happens all the time since I've already written 6 whole posts.  I usually say that it just pops into my mind. And while that's true, it's not the whole truth.  These are all things that have come up in my mind many times before. When ideas came to me in my daydreams the vision came as me either writing them or sharing them in front of people, on stage or in front of a room of some sort. And I'd always give a killer speech, people would laugh and smile and feel all jazzed up, throw cabbage at my feet, and when my daydream was over I'd do nothing about it. These ideas would pop up and I'd beat their ass back down like a good game of Whac-A-Mole. 

While I was doing yoga from this video (great freaking yoga session right there) the instructor dropped a quick little line that I found to be profound and worth examining. Amidst doing something quite difficult she said, "What gets loud when you get quiet?" When I got done with my initial thoughts of, "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh that's a good one," I started to think about it more.  When I get quiet, whether it's through meditation, driving somewhere, staring off into the abyss, or sitting in an unengaging class, where do my thoughts go to? What takes over?

"The power of thought, if understood and correctly used, is the greatest labor-saving device ever dreamed of." -Charles F. Haanel

Often times it was these sorts of ideas. But not so much just the idea, it was sharing the idea. I always pictured me providing value to others in the form of sharing my insight/knowledge/thoughts/ideas. As Will Smith says, "If you are not making someone else's life better, you are wasting your time." If even just one thing from my brain, that I decided to put onto the internets, helps one person, it's all worth it for me. If you know me you know I like to share the fun with others. That's also probably because I'm a human being. We all love to share the stuff we love and are interested in with others. 
July 3rd would be no fun by myself, duh. #becauseitsthethird

This is why I was pleased with myself when I finally started doing something about the loud thoughts when I got quiet, and took action on them and created this blog. Doing something about your thoughts feels nice.

So the big question for all of you internet people is, "What gets loud when you get quiet?"  What ideas are you giving the Whac-A-Mole treatment to as it constantly pops up in your mind? What is it that you know you're supposed to start doing but you keep putting off? What are the thoughts that move your feelings? Feel them. Notice them. Take some action on them. You'll enjoy it. 

Be awesome.

-Tom Spaniol

"Thoughts are the rocket ship, feelings are the fuel."
-Rhonda Byrne

Change your morning, change your life.

If you sat here and watched my morning routine, you'd probably think I was a psycho.  So I'm going to tell you about it, and you can then think I'm a psycho. A freaking awesome psycho.  Because remember, "Everyone is living in their own self created illusion."

I'm not one of those guys who's all like "You must get up at 5am if you want to be successful." I know the title is telling you to change your morning, but don't change anything if you don't want to. You really just gotta figure out what works best for you, and importantly what feels best. I simply feel better all day when I get out of bed around 6:30am and go through this routine.  I'll explain that in a second.

If you told me 10 years ago when I was a dumpy 19 year old college student that I'd be getting out of bed everyday at 6:30am and doing the things I do, I would have thrown a Keystone Light at your face. I used to be the king of sleeping in, as most high school/college kids are. I was the classic wake up at 11am if I didn't have class before that type fella. I thought I needed that much sleep, but I really always felt groggy waking up that late. Yet I continued to do it.

Fast forward to now, like most people my age, I can't sleep in anymore. And more interestingly, I've noticed if I even sleep until around 8-9am my head simply does not feel good. Not clear, no good, takes me a while to get clear that day if ever. I'll admit though, I still happen to sleep in some weekends, I'm no get out of bed hero, but I don't really know why I do it because I just feel worse. If you feel great after sleeping in, more power to you, do that more.

What I now do, and will probably continue to tweak over time, I created from a combination of different people I've read or listened to- Tim Ferris, Tony Robbins, Rhonda Byrne, etc. So what the hell do I do every morning? Right, that's what we're talking about.

I wake up at 6:30am with my alarm. I'm usually very tired, and would not be able to get up without the alarm. I'm also usually so tired I used to always hit the snooze if I knew my schedule would allow it, so now I put my phone far out of reach which causes me to actually get up out of bed to turn my alarm off. By that point of getting up to shut off my alarm, I'm not going back to bed anymore. That was a great trick Mel Robbins suggested and really helped a big time sleeper like myself.

Once awake I put on headphones and turn on some meditation music where I have a little session of gratitude, then visualization seeing all the things I desire as being done (In my closet. Sure it's weird, but it's cool), then I journal. Tim Ferris really inspired me to start journaling in the morning, I was never a fan of it, but he has a way of making things sound awesome so I gave it a try and love what it does for my day. I just write about a page worth of a little pocket notebook most days. He says just write about anything, get it down on the page. So that's what I do.  I then follow that with either yoga or racquetball. Usually 4-5 days of yoga and 2 racquetball each week.  If I have an early morning meeting or somewhere to be, I simply move up the wake up time. Doing those things are non negotiable for me when I'm at home. When I'm traveling I'm definitely not as good, I'd say not good at all, maybe I'll attempt to get better there.  So that all still sounds pretty normal eh?

The weird (to some, not to me) really begins at breakfast. Or whenever the first time I eat that day is. Sometimes breakfast is around noon if I did some fasting. I never have breakfast without music. Spotify has possibly been the greatest investment in my life.  Crushing music while making my breakfast has been the absolute game changer for me. It's an all out dance party, usually by myself.  If Alissa is home it's both of us.  The music is pretty strictly either The Greatest Showman soundtrack, Deadmau5, Macklemore, Lady Gaga, or T-Swift.  Just all time good vibes music.

While we're rockin out and singing along to those awesome jams, I make the same thing nearly every day. Some fantastic coffee with coconut milk, garlic sausage from Costco, rice, avocado toast, and sometimes fried kale.  That or this awesome sandwhich pictured below.

Garlic sausage, fried egg, avocado, chipotle Tabasco, homemade sauerkraut = bullet train to Flavortown.

Besides the party in the kitchen, I think what people would find the weirdest is how much I enjoy my breakfast every morning. I literally freaking love it every time.  Like every time. Fist pumps are thrown in the air, and I'm sitting there making those "mmmmm" sounds like Bob in this scene from What About Bob. Alissa can confirm this. This also happens at most dinners, desserts, and any time I drink her Kombucha.

But I'm not doing it as a joke, or to try to convince myself I'm enjoying my food. I actually just love the heck out of the food I make, certainly all the food Alissa creates.  And I just enjoy enjoying things. What I've really realized by starting my day like this, with my routine, and then just enjoying the heck out of my food and dancing around my kitchen, is that when I have a great morning I have a great day. And when I have a couple great days in a row I have a great week. A few great weeks make a great month. And pretty soon I've had a great freaking life. It's simple math.

It's also taught me how fun life becomes when you enjoy the little things. When you're enjoying all the things that seem small, celebrating them and being grateful for them, it puts you on a different frequency, and more things that you'll want to celebrate and be grateful for will come to you. Or at least that's how I see it in my self created illusion of life.

Like I said before, you don't have to start popping out of bed just because I said so. This is what has worked for me, and hopefully it helps a few folks. I'm only writing this because I used to just wake up, shower, and rush off to work, and I was definitely less happy throughout the day. Experiment and figure out what feels best for your body and your life.  Be you. Even if it's short, try to do something new in the morning and see how it works. Write 10 things you're grateful for, play and rock out to your favorite song, journal, tell yourself how awesome you are. Whatever gets you GOING. It's always worth it to start your day jacked up. 

Be Awesome.

-Tom Spaniol

"If you don't have 10 minutes, you don't have a life."
-Tony Robbins

What did you decide about life?

At the end the Netflix documentary, Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru, Tony takes the group attending his seminar through a reflective/meditative exercise (starts around the 1:43:15 mark if you'd care to watch). The exercise is meant to be very healing, to let go of something that you're holding on to and that's holding you back in life. The beauty of reading/watching different things is you can take what you'd like from it. I took something very different than I imagine most people in the audience did as this quote jumped out at me and took me down an interesting path into the lens I view this life through. 

"I'm wondering what your earliest memory is. Where were you? What were you experiencing? What did it mean? What did you decide back then? It's a decision that effected the way you think about life."

When I heard this, with the awesome meditation music playing in the background, my earliest memory became clear to me. I don't really have any idea how old I was, but this moment stood out in my mind. I was in the front yard of our house in St. Cloud and I was climbing a tree. I remember climbing it, and hanging upside down just laughing and having a blast.

So what did it mean? What did I decide back then? I decided that life is about having fun. Exploring. Being adventurous.  Being a little crazy and taking risks. I was probably 4 years old after all, and climbing a tree and hanging upside down, I assume I could've gotten hurt by falling on my neck but I obviously didn't care about that.

What's most intriguing to me about this exercise and Tony's words are his last statement saying, "It's a decision that effected the way you think about life." This was huge to me. I realized that back then as a little kid I decided life was all about fun. And it's a decision that truly guided my life. Now of course not every decision in my life has been based off "How much fun can I have," but it definitely has been a decision that has steered the course of my life.

I'm sure this isn't unique to me and most people think about fun all the time, so I better define my version of fun a bit more.  From that first memory I think I decided that life was a big playground. I was here to run around, laugh with friends, play sports, ski, launch off jumps, climb stuff, then jump off the stuff, and flip off walls. This is no joke, in high school I would literally flip off walls during passing time, or go do backflips off the stairs when we were bored in study hall (Maaaark).  I wasn't there to learn that boring stuff the teachers were talking at me, I was there to play. I laughed my butt off with my friends every single day of high school. It's simply how I saw life, and still see it today.  I don't think I've ever been to someones house who has a trampoline and not jumped on it, even though none of the "grown ups" joined me.

I don't think Ben will ever grow out of this. He's in Utah right now huckin his meat off cliffs and jumps.

When I look outside while in a car I'm always noticing the parts of the ditch that look like a ramp I can launch off on skis, or the bridge I could huck myself off into water.  Jen Scincero writes in her book You Are A Badass, "It's important to remember that everyone is living in their own self-created illusion." This is my self created illusion. This is what the world looks like through my lens. It's one big playground, and I just want to have as much fun as I can with all the fun people that I love.

What happens if you don't like what you decided about life back then, if it no longer serves you? Change your decision.
Change your thoughts, change your life. Adjust your lens and change the way you see this world. Can you can go from being a pessimist to being an outrageous optimist? Of course! You just have to decide to change your perspective.  I'm no self help guru but I'm pretty sure it is that simple. We just like to complicate things and think, "It can't be that simple." It is. Not always easy, but simple. If you don't believe me get your own blog and write about how wrong I am, this is my self created illusion over here. AND YOU'RE FREAKIN LIVIN IN IT BABY!

There are certainly other things that guide my life and get me excited about each day. I love to give, I love to teach, I love to eat the insane stuff Alissa makes every day (seriously it's insane, consider this your invite if you want to come experience iron chef America over here).  But seeing life as a big playground with my friends is really what stood out to me while going through this exercise. My self-created illusion about life on this spinning orb is all about the funs. Watch the documentary, or just give that quote above some thought, maybe you'll learn a thing or two about yourself and why you live the way you do.

"If it's crazy live a little crazy." -Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman

Be awesome.

-Tom Spaniol

"Love Yourself"
Jen Sincero, about 100 times in her book You Are A Badass