The Courage Medal

I borrowed this from my mentor, Brian Herosian. He has a fantastic point here, and I absolutely had to share it. You can read more of him and his tips on Health and Wellness at his own Blog page here: http://profitnesstraining.blogspot.ca/

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As the Summer Olympics concluded in an amazing closing ceremony in London on Sunday evening, it was obvious that this was a very well-organized and a highly-successful Olympiad.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals were awarded to outstanding athletes from around the world. I think there should have been a fourth medal category - The Courage Medal.

If I were voting, here would be three athletes to whom I would have awarded The Courage Medal:

U.S. sprinter Manteo Mitchell was the leadoff man in the first round of the 4x400 relay. People wondered why he seemed to slow down. As he ran the first 200 meters, his left leg didn't feel quite right. Then he heard a snap and felt severe pain. He did not stop running. He was part of a team and he didn't want to let his teammates down. X-Rays later proved that he ran the second 200 meters on a broken fibula. A broken leg didn't keep him from running his portion of the relay.

I would also have given The Courage Medal to Oscar Pistorius of South Africa. When he was a child, both of his legs were amputated below his knees. That didn't stop him. Now he's known as the "Blade Runner" and "the fastest man on no legs". He runs with the aid of Cheetah Flex-Foot carbon fibre artificial limbs by a company called Ossur. He is the world record holder, racing other amputees, in the 100, 200 and 400 meter events. It was amazing to watch Pistorius run in the London Olympics.

If you watched the closing ceremonies of the Olympics on Sunday evening, you might have seen Bryshon Nellum carrying the American flag as the U.S. team came into the stadium. It was four years ago that this U.S. sprinter was shot three times in his leg. The 23-year-old was a sophomore at USC in 2008 when gang members pelted him with a shotgun. Through several surgeries, he was determined to run again. At times, during his recovery, it was so painful for him on the track that he would sometimes crumble in agony. His appearance at the London Olympics was an amazing testimony of Bryshon's courage.

So, there you have it. My nominations for The Courage Medal at the London Olympics.
Surely you and I could do something this week that would show a special measure of courage.

You are special. You are unique. You are destined for greatness! Have a powerful day!

A Courage Affirmation
I have the courage to do amazing things.

Deeper Thoughts

"A ship in the harbour is safe...but that is not what ships are built for."
- John A Shedd

"An eagle in the nest is safe...but that is not what eagles were born for."
- Andreas Zimmermann

"A human being home watching TV is safe...but that is not what Humans were meant for."
- Andreas Zimmermann

Thinking to keep you Healthy

Things that impact your body are:

1. The outside environment
2. What you take inside your body
3. Exercise (or lack thereof)
4. The thoughts you have

These all impact your body in a positive (healthy) way or negative (unhealthy) way, depending on what the stimulus is.

The first two are obvious: live in a toxic area, and eat garbage foods all the time, it effects your body in a negative way. We can eliminate these to some degree by keeping a clean place to live in, and taking good foods and supplements. Getting Water Filters and Air Filters for your home can help take care of #1, while #2 can be looked after by using great Multivitamin/Mulitmineral Supplements.

People may want to argue that eating well, with the right foods, right amounts each day, or even organic foods, is all you need to keep healthy. I am not going to debate that here, but I will say that if you believe 3 square meals a day of organic foods is enough for you, you have not done enough research into how the body works, and what the term "organic" really means to a supermarket.

Exercise should be obvious to everyone: workout a muscle, it gets stronger, ignore a muscle, it gets weaker. 'Nuff said.

Now, what about #4? How do thoughts keep you healthy?

There are so many books on this subject, I hardly know where to start. I'll try to sum it up this way: thoughts are things.

Yep, they are real, tangible things. Too many people (myself included for a number of years) don't care what their thoughts are, because they're just thoughts right? But believe me - think that you are an overweight, unhealthy person just waiting for disease to overtake you, worrying that your family history of some ailment or another is eventually going to get you, and amazingly - it will happen.

On the other hand, think that you are healthy, strong, capable and full of energy and life, and that will happen too.

There are an incredible number of examples of this in every day living, all around us. Do some research into what many call miracles, but to the successful person who is the centre of the story they simply call "thinking right".

Warning: Thinking the positive is harder, more challenging and a constantly difficult road, because the negative is easier to believe, and requires no effort at all. Your mind is like a garden - if you don't tend it, weeds grow automatically and choke the life out of your garden. It takes constant care, discipline and effort to keep that garden clear of weeds and pests, so that the good plants can grow fully, eventually becoming what they are meant to be.

I highly recommend everyone reads more about how your thoughts affect you and your life. I suggest these books to start with:

• Hung by the Tongue, by Francis P Martin
• The Magic of Thinking Big, by David J Schwartz
• Get Off Your Attitude, by Ryan C Lowe
• Book of James, chapter 3

11 Months Old

Consider this:

Scientists have discovered that the human body regenerates itself on a continual basis, so that after approximately 11 months, all the cells in the body have been replaced. Some cells are replaced more rapidly than others, but the point is this: at most your body is only 11 months old!

That's right! People may argue it, but the scientific fact is that your body is only 11 months old, at the oldest! The cells that are regenerating right now in your body are brand new, fresh cells. The old ones are discarded as waste, the new ones continually make up the new you!

I know this is a very high level approach to viewing the human body, but the science is sound.

So the next time someone asks how old you are, you can reply "At most, 11 months!"

Isn't eternal youth grand? =-)


For more on this topic, look here.