General

Many people workout for the wrong reason without knowing it. Many people go to the gym to look hot for their husband, wife, boyfriend/girlfriend or to look hot in order to hook up with someone.
Or some people have fear deep inside them. What fear? Well if they do not look certain way, they fear that their partner will leave them for someone else.
Or some people think that if they do not look certain way, their surroundings will not accept them or appreciate them.
You have no clue how many people I know living in fear. They think if they do not look certain way that people will not love them or appreciate them.
But the fact is they are full of fear. Insecure. Depressed. They need help.

Every time you workout for the wrong reason you will fail in achieving your fitness goals. Why?
Because you are doing for someone else and not for yourself. Or you are doing it based on your inner fears.

Every time you do it for someone else you will lose motivation and you will not be able to finish your fitness program and achieve your fitness goal.

I became a swimming champion because I love swimming. I did not care about money or pride or glory that comes with that. I just loved swimming. And I still do.

Many top athletes do the same. They do not care about what comes with being a champion, only they care about having fun playing basketball, tennis, football, etc..
Money and celebrity status comes after that. But that is a secondary. That is not the motivation.

Many celebrities get in top shape and they get fat afterward. Why? Because they have to get hot looking for certain movie or certain event and than they lose motivation and start eating like crazy and stop exercising.
They did not do it for themselves. They did it to please someone else. We see it all the times. And we start judging them because they gain weight. But the fact is they have inner problems. They need help just like me and you.

What you need to do is to focus on yourself and workout for health reason. Enjoying it. Have a passion about being healthy.
When you workout to relieve stress, to stay healthy, to get strong, you are doing it because you love yourself and not because somebody ordered you to do so.

Once you focus on your health and well being without caring how you will end up looking, you will start looking hot and sexy in no time.

How comes that?
Beauty comes from inside. Either inside of you is love towards yourself or there is a fear inside of you.

Whatever it is, it will come out. Beauty comes from love and everything else from your inner fears and insecurities.

Lose your fears and start living. Be who you are. Be happy and do it for yourself and not to please someone else.
You are beautiful the way you are. You are made perfect. There is no need to please other people. Do it for yourself because you deserve it.

Love,
Joe

Life is the journey. We have good years, bad years, ok years. But we are moving forward. We are not the same. We are constantly changing.
That’s the life. It is almost like a stock market. It goes up and down. So do we.
As we can see many celebrities reach the peak, than they fall down. Some end up very bad. Some bounce back, some do not.
I worked with many top celebrities, actors and performers in my life. They are just normal people like me and you. We all have issues that we have to work on. Like my good friend said: “We are all broken people and God is trying to put us together.”
As you can see money comes and goes, but our health should be our top priority.
My friend said to me other day: “I allowed capitalist society to tear me, pitilessly, from the ties to my natural superiors and drown my most heavenly ecstasies and chivalrous enthusiasm.”

We need sometimes to step back three steps to go one step forward.

Realise that:

1. You are born to be a champion in your own world. Whatever that “champion” might be to you. Don’t settle for anything less.
2. Your health is your wealth. Money is not your wealth. It is just a thing. Just like a t-shirt or dumbbell, it is only a thing. It is not worth killing yourself for the money.
3. If you missed an opportunity, don’t close your eyes with tears; keep your vision clear so that you will not miss the next one.

Ok now that we understood that we are a born for a greater things in life, that money is not controlling us, and that we always have many choices and new opportunities in life, we can move forward to the next level. Better level. There is a hope.

Once we choose hope, anything’s possible.

The test of success is not what you do when you are on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.
Maybe you did hit the bottom now, but the good news is you can bounce back if you decide to do so.

To start a healthy lifestyle, I will give you 5 proven steps:

1. Decide that you want to transform yourself. You have to have a big desire to change your lifestyle, desire to be healthy and feel great.
2. Stop excuses. There is nothing more important than you. Yes you can find the time for yourself to exercise, yes you can eat healthy and yes you can change your life and your body.
3. Take an immediate action. If you can not go to the gym, take a long walk, ride a bike or play sports. Start moving.
4. You have to change how you see yourself. Do not see yourself as fat and ugly. That was an old YOU. New YOU is now just being created.
5. Never go back to your old habits.

People who do not want to change , have no greater goal for where they are right now.
Remember you have the power to change your life and your health. When you focus on your health, the body will come. Many people do not succeed in a weight loss because they focus on the body and not on their health. And they focus on the body for the wrong reason.

Do not let nobody steal your dream, steal your health and steal your life.
My friend do not be afraid of afflictions. When things in your life start to change, many things in your life will start to fall apart. But that is normal and sign that you are on the right way.

So the keys to your success and your health are in your hands.

Always accept the responsibility for your actions.
Always set a higher standard for yourself.

No one is going to do it for you.
Only you can make it happen.

Let’s make it happen!

I like to take the walk or jogg next to the Hudson river.
Here are few shots I took. Hope you enjoy it.

Bodybuilding champions and personal trainers Alejandro and Claudine in hotel room before the bodybuilding show. Couple of fitness magazines took few photos behind the scenes.

When you change your mind, your body will follow. I am giving you tips how to get in sync with your mind and body.

1. Be true to yourself. Just be you. You do not need to please other people or look good because other people want it from you. Only be you for few seconds and relax. For an example I like to be lean and swimmer built. Many people expect from me to be a bodybuilder or a huge muscle guy. I do not like that look. That is not me. Why do I need to be somebody that I am not? I am just me.
2. Do not worry. All is going to be good. Many things you can not control anyway. But you can control your mind. So stop worrying. Start living.
3. Eat healthy and think. Find time to enjoy your food and think three times about the food before you put it in your body. Ask yourself how this food that I eat will affect my health and my body.
4. Relax. Find time everyday to relax for at least 30 min. Do whatever it makes you happy. (read books, sports, cooking…)
Every time you do something that is not in alignment with your desire it will stress you out. For an example: If your desire is to go to the gym but you are skipping it, you will feel bad. It is just how your mind works. If you do not follow your desires, you will always feel miserable.

5. Follow your passion. Go ahead and follow your passion. Whatever that is. If you do not follow it, you will be feeling depressed. There is no depression. Just your passion is not expressed and you feel bad. There is no pill for that my friend. The therapist (“THE RAPIST) can not help with that either. But you can help yourself if you follow your passion in life.
6. Stop complaining. If you are complaining you are on the road to failure. Do not set yourself up for failure. You control your destiny. Nobody else.
7.Stop wasting energy on other people’s business. Every time you care about someone else, that means that you do not care about yourself. Start living your life and do not mind the life of other people.
It is a time to start spending your energy on yourself.
8.Forgive people. If somebody did hurt you in past, go over it. It did happen but it was in past. People make mistakes. If you can not accept that you can not take a hold of your future.
Inner peace can be reached only when we practice forgiveness.
9. Listen to your body. Ask your body if its thirty, hungry, needs an exercise or walk or maybe some sleep. Even machines break after awhile, so your body will do the same if you do not take care about yourself.
10. Lose your nasty attitude and ego. People always wanna lose weight but they do not want to lose their nasty attitude. Slow down and ask yourself daily if you got an attitude. Try to understand why do you act the way you act. Is that really you or you are acting it? Are you trying to be cool? Insecurity? Fears?
Do not try to be cool acting like a fool.
11. Slow yourself down.
You think I am crazy because I am telling you to slow down in New York City? Well New York City has been around and it will be around for many many years. But you wont. So slow down and learn how to enjoy the life.

I hope I made you think.
Love you,
Joe