A Better You Than Yesterday..: Invictus. I am.

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Invictus. I am.: The beginning. Defining moments. The longing for a successful business career and the distant, windy road to get there.. the wrong turns, t...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: The Band Keeps Marching On..

A Better You Than Yesterday..: The Band Keeps Marching On..: This is the point most would stop and question.. what am I doing? Why do I need to be this person, why do I need to step out of normalcy and...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Live Life Unconquered.

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Live Life Unconquered.: Life Lessons. Live in the moment. Take one day at a time. The one who, openly and willingly, stands boldly next to me through this unknown j...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: 110 Floors

A Better You Than Yesterday..: 110 Floors: The view is so clear, yet so distant.  Everything below seems so minute, so insignificant.  The reality is the higher you are, t...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Perfectly Imperfect

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Perfectly Imperfect: More than an ascent to the top of a mountain. More than a 7900 foot elevation gain to reach the summit at 14110 feet. This was the Pikes Pea...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Organized Chaos

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Organized Chaos: Deflated. Giving 110% in each aspect of life only to realize that my best just isn't good enough. Not at that moment it wasn't. A ...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Daily Love, Deeper Thoughts

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Daily Love, Deeper Thoughts: You are confined only by the walls you build yourself. Control your mind and conquer your fear. Your summary of life should not contain any ...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear.

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear.: 'Happiness is inward, and not outward; and so, it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are.' ~ Henry Van Dyke Many spend ...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Carry On, Warrior.

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Carry On, Warrior.: Traveling on a road despite the uncertainty existing around me. In my journey over the last several months of trying to f...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Lost and Found

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Lost and Found: You are not meant to live anyone else’s life.  Why would you want to anyway when you can live your very own? This is wh...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Manifest Positivity

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Manifest Positivity: When something negative happens you have three choices. You can let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you....

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Impossible is an Opinion.

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Impossible is an Opinion.: Fear directly coincides with my decision to live a more purposeful and spiritually centered life. I embarked upon this journey...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Dare to Be.

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Dare to Be.: How can people walk through life, day to day, living at surface level. A state of ignorance, possibly denial, to reality and what truly surr...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: The Throne of Grace

A Better You Than Yesterday..: The Throne of Grace: 'True happiness means forging a strong spirit that is undefeated, no matter how trying our circumstances.' ~ Dais...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: The Throne of Grace

A Better You Than Yesterday..: The Throne of Grace: 'True happiness means forging a strong spirit that is undefeated, no matter how trying our circumstances.' ~ Dais...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: The Bigger Picture

A Better You Than Yesterday..: The Bigger Picture: You can't sculpt a pebble. Bodybuilding (previously bikini division, now on to my first figure competition) is your fight with yourself...

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Live Out Loud

A Better You Than Yesterday..: Live Out Loud: The biggest mistake we can make in life is being afraid of living. The worst thing we can do to ourselves is be afraid to accept a challenge...

Live Out Loud

The biggest mistake we can make in life is being afraid of living.

The worst thing we can do to ourselves is be afraid to accept a challenge, to push ourselves, to join the struggle to be a better person. The worst thing we can do is let our fear overcome our desire to live our life fully and completely.

Being afraid is common. Fighting against the things you want and the people who make you better is easy, because it's comfortable in the middle of perfection and failure. It is scary to fight your entire life for something, to spend every day struggling and striving for a goal, and then realize that you are going to accomplish it. It is scary to live, and to do, so deliberately and honestly and with an open mind and heart. But, not living that way is a waste of life.

I would rather live a life of purpose and strive for the unreasonable, with goals, challenges, and happiness, then spend my whole life sitting comfortably in a spot that gives me no joy.

The real joy in life is found in overcoming the challenges, when the impossible becomes possible. The real joy comes when you fight long enough for something that you get it. The real joy comes in being afraid and allowing that fear to provoke you into creating the best moments and experiences of your life.

But, what if you fight for something, strive for a goal, and lose.. or fail. Is that joy gone? Hell no. The only thing in life you have control over is your perspective. No matter what happens, YOU control what the meaning is, and what to do with the meaning you give to the circumstance. Be empowered by disappointment. Take responsibility for your joy.

Don't let today's disappointments cast a shadow on tomorrow's dreams.

I lost my first boxing match recently. I have always had a love for boxing as a sport. Getting in the ring was a personal goal, the level of conditioning required, the mastery of skill, the beautiful technique and most of all, the mental fortitude and emotional capacity necessary. I lost. But, I chose to get back up and fight again.

No one can instill the mental toughness and work ethic required to become a champion in any aspect of life. You have to dig deep within you and find the drive, find those qualities, on your own. Believe in yourself, even when it seems nobody else does. There is no luck involved, hard work spotlights character.

Although, the first question I received from most was, did you win? As though winning is a tell all, a defining moment of you as a person, your ability, your strength. Never mind the journey behind it. My response was simple, I lost. And it has been interesting as I watch the expressions and hear this perception of loss from others. I remained quiet and allowed them to soak in their idea of loss and absorb the emotions it provided them. And never once did any ask what I felt, or thought, about it. Through their filter, they thought they already knew.

I choose a lifestyle that supports my vision. I choose that I am a better person, with or without the label of a win or lose, in any physical goal or competition and in every area of my life. If you think you’ve failed at the things you’ve set out to accomplish, I challenge you to look at it from a different perspective. This is about who you want to be, and your purpose, it is about taking action in your life. My purpose? To inspire and enhance the life of others. To create something bigger than me. My failures only come, if I don't try. 

I don't whisper my dreams and goals. I march loudly to the beat of my own drum and shout them to the world. If others see me courageously pursuing my dreams, and being unreasonable in my goals, regardless of the outcome, maybe I will inspire others to pursue more of their own, too.