Learning To Fly!

One of the greatest gifts we possess is the ability to push ourselves into being something bigger and better than we ever imagined! There are many people in this world who have realized they have this gift and have used this gift to transform their lives into something extraordinary Some people don't even realize that they have this gift and so they wander through life wishing they could do something to change their life. They spend their days looking at others who have used this gift and and sometimes they become jealous or sometimes envious or angry that they can't be like those people.Well guess what??? You are one of those people who posses that very same gift!!! The only problem is that you don't realize it yet! Contrary to popular belief...you posses this gift too!! Sometimes you don't realize that it is there because of those little voices inside your head that tell you that you will never amount to anything. Sometimes it's those fears that are deep within you and you feed  those fears by thinking that there is no way you can live a life full of positivity and substance! Well I'm here to tell you that you have greatness inside of you. You have an inner strength that you need to tap into because once you do, you can transform your life into something beautiful and spectacular! All it takes is a willingness to change. Once this willingness is in place, then take that first step (even if it is an itty bitty step) and start your transformation to greatness! To quote a motivational poster that used to hang in some of my high school classes, "YOU ARE A WORTHWHILE PERSON!" Once you start believing in yourself, you will see you own worth and you will want to nurture that worth and take care of that worth! Once that happens, you will have found your wings and you will be ready to fly!!!

A Change of Direction...it can lead to BIG things!!

We, as human beings, are a strange lot sometimes. Somewhere in the depths of our brains we sometimes get stuck in the daily routines of our lives.

Tell me if this sounds somewhat familiar to you...

Get up in the morning....get ready for work...get in the car...go to work....take off for a lunch break...go back to work...work a few more hours...go home...have some dinner...watch some TV...go to bed and do it all over again in the morning...

Other than the occasional change in those plans, this routine probably holds true for most people and there are variations in those plans, like kid's sports practices, other obligations, etc. For many, this seems like bring stuck in a rut. Like being in a hole that they can't get out of. Well..I have news for you...things don't have to stay that way for you!

The fact of the matter is that at any time you can make a decision to make changes in your life! At any time you can make even the smallest decision that could have a positive impact on the rest of your life. If you want better health...make that change to do something about it. It could be as simple as taking a walk around the block. Maybe start with once around the block, then maybe two times the next day, and then slowly building up how many times you walk around the block. That is just one example of how you can make a positive change to your life that can change how you feel about yourself and your life.

That old saying that it's never to late to make changes in your life is true. Life is full of all kinds of twists and turns, BUT...you are the navigator of your journey. If you don't like the road you're on now...you CAN change your course of direction. FORGE AHEAD!!!!

A Different Kind of Birthday...

 (When I first got out of the hospital in Albuquerque, this song came on the radio and I honestly felt that this was God's way of telling me that everything was going to be ok. We had some pretty big giants to face, but His voice of truth was right...we would be ok!)

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."- Jeremiah 29:11

(This particular scripture also helped us get through our journey. I offer it as a prayer for anyone who is currently struggling with their own adversities...may you be encouraged and lifted up like we were by this verse!)

I remember it like it was yesterday (even though it's already been a year ago).

 The conversation went a little like this:
  
DOCTOR: "Mr. Mecale...we got the results back from pathology and the biopsy shows that you have esophageal cancer." 

ME: "But what about the other biopsy that was done at the hospital in Gallup?"

DOCTOR: "We haven't got the results from that test, but chances are it's going to show the same thing...I'm sorry"

From that point on, the whole conversation was kind of a blur. I remember the doctor saying something about the various doctors that would come to talk to me about what would happen next as far as my treatment for the cancer.

After he left, while sitting with my wife, we both were reeling from the news that we just received. It was shocking, scary, but most of mind numbing. I mean honestly, who expects to go into the hospital one day to learn that they have a sickness that could potentially kill them? It was quite a shock. As a matter of fact, it was so shocking to both of us that I remember that we didn't even cry when we first found out. (Although the tears would come later.)

We sat in that hospital room and pondered what would happen next. We knew that we would have to discuss treatments and all that other medical stuff that comes from a diagnosis of having cancer. We also had to discuss what we would have to do as far as personal matters. How would we handle the doctor's visits? How about the time away from work that would be missed because of this? How are we going to provide for Kateri during this time? How do we explain to Kateri that daddy is very sick and that he is going to be going through treatments that are going to make daddy feel even more sick? How am I going to provide for my wife while I am sick? So while all these thoughts raced through my frenzied mind, there was also a moment of calmness and peacefulness that I felt within me. On one hand I was scared out of my mind, but on the other, I was ok with what I had been told. (Even though my wife was terrified beyond belief!) With all the questions that we were facing, my answer for all those questions were answered with, "We'll cross that bridge when we get there," or "We'll worry about that when we have to...there is no sense in getting worried about things before they occur."

So here we are, it is August 1, 2012, exactly one year from the day we received the news that I had cancer. It's hard to believe that it's already been a year. In retrospect, there were things that I learned while going through cancer. The kind of things that are life changing! I learned that the things that I used to think were important, no longer were that important. And the things that I took for granted, I no longer wanted to take for granted. It's like I had been given a new outlook on life. People say that going through something like cancer makes one a different person. Well that definitely holds true for me, It forced me to slow down and really take a look at my life. It forced me to take a look at the life I was leading and it made me realize that I had to make some changes. In order for me to live life to the fullest, I had to realize that I needed to be fit and healthy. No. I HAD to be fit and healthy! I faced something that could have taken my life. Only by the grace of God am I able to still be here! No more taking life for granted! I want to live each day to the fullest! I am grateful and thankful for my "new life" that I have been given. I have a loving wife and daughter who need me now more than ever. I have my health back (thanks be to God) and I have been blessed with my family and my friends who supported me (and still support me) to this day...and also by the kindness of many people who we didn't even know. I thank everyone who has been there for us!!

Now that I have looked back on this past year and I've had time to reflect on the things that happened in the past year, I am grateful that I am alive! I have my wife and daughter by my side. I have my health. I have faced the beast that is cancer and I came out clean on the other side. So in some ways, it's like I got a new life because of what we have gone through. Some might ask, "If you had to it to do all over again...would you go through it again?"  If this was a part of my journey, and it took this battle with cancer to get me to the point that I'm at now in my life, then of course I would go through it again, I wouldn't have traded this experience for anything!

     

Tackle Your Fear

We all have fear in our life! That's just the way it goes. Some people are afraid of heights and some people are afraid of insects. Some are afraid of dying, while others are afraid of the dark. Most of us (myself included) have fears in us.

It seems that since we were children we were taught to live in fear. We were afraid to mess up or do something wrong because we might into trouble with our parents or other authority figures. This fear continues all the way through adolescence and on through adulthood. However in adulthood, we sometimes learn that the things that used to frighten us as children are no longer valid reasons to be afraid. As adults, at some point, we should lose certain fears. But usually what happens is that we replace those old fears with new fears. These adult fears often can cripple us as these fears deal with more realistic things, like the fear of dying of the fear of not being able to provide for a family. In as much as these fears can hold us down, should they?

We often feed into the thought that our fears dictate how our lives are lived. When we give our fears that kind of power, we are not living our life to the fullest!! But imagine, if you will, that we took that power away from our fears. What if chose to think of those fears as opportunities? What if we conditioned ourselves to take that negative force in our life and turn it around into something that could be used as positive motivation? When we choose to really live instead of living in fear some amazing things can happen. So I challenge you to take a look at what you think is a negative situation and try to see the positive side of it. I challenge you to take that fear you hold inside and turn it into a tool that you can use to better yourself!!!!!

Do You Have A Minute? How About 30 Minutes?

If you're like most people, you're pressed for time. We all have jobs, families, and other commitments that take up our time. Between work and family and other things in life, how can one even 30 minutes out of their day to even think about exercise. Well according to the video below, 30 minutes a day of exercise could probably be the best spent 30 minutes of your day that can be so beneficial to you (and to those you love too!)

Check out the video...


Now what do you think? If someone told you that you could increase your quality of life by doing a physical activity for 30 minutes...would you take their recommendation? If you really think about it, what is 30 minutes out of your day to do some sort of physical activity to make you feel better? Instead of sitting on the couch and watching re-runs, go outside and take a 30 minute walk. Take the family with you and spend that walk as family time. It doesn't have to be strenuous or grueling...just enough to get the heart rate up a little bit. Those 30 minutes a day could add years to your life! So what are you doing still sitting there reading this?? Get up...get moving...and take that 30 minutes to do something that will have a positive impact on your life!!!!

Do you have a "why"??

First...WATCH THIS !!

No matter what it is we do in life, we aspire to be successful. People in all walks of life work towards success. The thing about success is that it is usually defined by the individual. For one person, success can mean having lots of money. For another person it can mean being the best parent that they can be. Still for others, there are numerous other definitions of success. But the constant in all these scenarios is that there was a desire to want to succeed. There is that something extra that pushes us to give our all in order to succeed. Being a Beachbody coach, we call that desire to want to succeed our "why".

The "why" I'm talking about is that bit of inspiration that drives me to want to succeed at the goals I have set for myself. We all have a "why"...even those people who don't realize it yet! The "why" basically is the reason why we do the things we do to reach our goals. For instance, my "why" is my family. My wife and my daughter mean the world to me and I would do anything to make sure they are taken care of. The thought of my family is what drives me to keep working on getting fit and healthy and it also drives me to build my Beachbody business. When I get discouraged, all I have to do is think of my "why" and that motivates me to keep moving forward!

In closing...I challenge you to find your "why" and use that as motivation to drive you to your kind of success!!

PS...please leave a comment...I would love to know your "why" and what drives you to be a success!!!

I've Come So Far...and Still Have A Ways To Go....

I still remember that time right before I was diagnosed with cancer. For two nights I really struggled with my workout. That second night I had Plyometrics! For those of you who have never done P90X, let me tell ya...PLYO X is a mutha!!! Most exercises are only 30 seconds each, BUT... jumping around like a mad person for about an hour would put anybody in their place! At the end of my first 90 days of P90X, even though the workouts were still challenging, I was able to get through them without feeling like I was going to die. But on that night, it was so hard and I felt so bad that I only made it through the first ten minutes of the workout.I had to quit! Even though I felt bad that I had to quit the workout, I was worried because I couldn't finish a workout that I was able to finish just a week before. My thoughts were that I should be kicking this workout in the butt, but physically I just wasn't able to do it. Because I wasn't able to do it physically, it forced me to look at myself mentally and say, 'WHY CAN'T I FINISH IT?" It was discouraging to say the least, but I knew that I had to figure out why I felt so bad. It was about a week later when I found out I was bleeding internally from a tumor that turned out to be cancer....

So fast forward to a few days ago. I was doing Plyo X again and it felt great. As a matter of fact, for some of the moves, I moved from the modified versions to doing the actual moves. I was able to keep up "with the kids" and it felt good. I kinda mentioned this to my wife and told her, "Hon...do you remember when  I barely could do this workout right before I got sick?" She shook her head and said "Yea!"

It made really think about how far I have come since I made the decision to get fit. I did one round of P90X and was in the best shape I have ever been in. My diabetes was under control and other health factors such as high blood pressure was also in check. But as I got those things under control, the cancer diagnosis turned my world around. After going through chemo and radiation and going through surgery I knew that it would probably be a while before I could get back to P90X. I was told that I would have a 6-8 week recovery period after the surgery. I waited eight weeks and than it was on!!! I started my second round of P90X and it was R-O-U-G-H! After not doing any kind of physical activity for about 6 months, P90X was even more of a challenge than it was the first time I did it. BUT...I kept going...I kept pressing play!!! At the end of the day I know that I have come along way...but I also know that as far as I've come, I also know that I still have a ways to go. Now that I have come out clean on the other side of cancer, my priorities have changed when it come to fitness and health. At first I was happy just to lose some weight and get my diabetes under control. But now, there is always a chance that the cancer can come back. So now my focus is still to get healthy and STAY healthy, but I also know that everyday that goes by is a blessing and I owe it to myself and to my family to keep on pressing forward. I have come a long way...but I still have a ways to go....