If I told you that I believe in the Loch Ness Monster what would you think of me? Would you think me simple? Perhaps deluded? Maybe a little crazy? After all there is categorical scientific evidence that concludes that the existence of such a creature is nigh on impossible. (It has been concluded that the loch is not large enough to contain the amount of food required by a being of such size.)

But what if in the face of such evidence I chose to believe anyway? Would you leave me to my beliefs or would you call me on them? Would you – maybe – make fun of me? I wonder.

There are some who – amazingly – believe that the inerrant word of God has been captured in The Holy Bible and that therefore it is an absolute truth that the world was created in six days around 4004BCE. (This is well after sheep were domesticated in Southwest Asia, agriculture was founded in New Guinea and Australian and Japanese potters began decorating pottery.)

In the face of unquestionable evidence that humans and dinosaurs did not co-habitate one creationist website writes: “The Bible teaches (in Genesis 1:29–30) that the original animals (and the first humans) were commanded to be vegetarian. There were no meat eaters in the original creation. Furthermore, there was no death. It was an unblemished world, with Adam and Eve and animals (including dinosaurs) living in perfect harmony, eating only plants.”

It is at this point that my head starts to ache. Try as I might I cannot find a reasonable explanation for belief in creationism. And, no, it is not reasonable to believe the collection of ramblings written by a bunch of uneducated men and bunched together into a book that came to be thought of as the unerring word of God.

Take a poll of the modern American and you will find that the majority believe in creationism. Egad! This is the most powerful nation on the planet and the voting populace might as well believe in the tooth fairy, gnomes, elves, Santa Claus and The Loch Ness Monster.

Any lucid, intelligent human being (who has not been brainwashed and is not ignorant to the facts) must conclude that the world was not in fact created by God in 4004BCE. Should anyone you come across continue to claim this ridiculous scenario I suggest that you do not trust them with anything of value.

Now, don’t get me started on those who believe in The Rapture!

Here’s a three step model I’ve been playing with:

1. Think
2. Do
3. Repeat

Honestly, could I make it simpler than that?

So, why are so many people missing out?

Well, the vast majority of the populace don’t think about anything more substantial that what to watch on TV when they get home. More often than not, those who do think simply have good ideas and don’t actually do anything with them. And those who have good ideas and then do something about them don’t bother to either repeat their successful episode or try again with some modifications.

So, now you know.

Now, go forth a build something!

Wow! It’s been more than a month since I’ve written anything. I mean, I haven’t written anything except a few paragraphs for the CrossFit Victoria Weekly Fitness Feed. And you know what, I haven’t stressed about it one bit. I love to write. However, recently I’ve come to a solid conclusion: I’m already doing too much. Further, I don’t think we humans are designed for multi-tasking. To put it bluntly: I think the whole concept of multi-tasking is bullshit. We’d all do a whole lot better if we focused on one thing at a time.

So, all I’ve been doing lately is working at the gym and spending time with my family (and reading fiction), one at a time. I’m a little more relaxed for it. To do this I had to sacrifice a few things. My two new websites have sat dormant for a while. But!…I’ve been doing work in the background (in my head that is). Due to the fact that I haven’t been running around like a chook with my head cut off I’ve had the time and headspace to do some thinking. This thinking has lead me to make some decisions and now I think I’ll be better placed to not waste time in the future.

My wife and I are expecting our second child in December (I can’t wait). So, things are going to get a little more crazy very soon. I’m going to have to get a whole lot better at getting things done and living in the moment. Our son has just turned two and is already pushing the boundaries…aah the joys of parenthood.

Everyone everywhere has a lot going on. Our goal is to not let it get us down. We need to sensibly allocate our time. We should enjoy ourselves as much as we can all the time.

Two thoughts that have kept me on track lately are:

1. This too shall pass
2. There is nothing more that this moment

If you’ve got some time to read or to listen, here’s what I’ve been filling my eyes and ears with lately:

• Them Crooked Vultures
• The Bricklayer by Noah Boyd
• 61 Hours by Lee Child
• Rework by Jason Fried & David Hansson
• The Philosopher & The Wolf by Mark Rowlands
• The Paleolithic Solution by Robb Wolf & Andy Deas
• Living Zen by Ven. Eshu

You may or may not know that up until November last year I spent about two years struggling with a shoulder injury. The injury reduced my capacity to workout at full tilt and so my condition dropped off markedly. That said, I’ve managed to maintain a decent level of fitness, it’s just not the level I’m used to. What changed? In November, I had surgery. The procedure was an AC joint resection. It fixed a condition called osteolysis of the distal clavicle (see the pic). It was all done via a scope. All that remains as proof are three tiny scars.

So, it’s now been a few months and after the okay from my surgeon I’ve been progressively dialing up the rehab work. The shoulder feels pretty good. There’s still some soreness but nothing like pre-op.

On Thursday of last week, I took the plunge. I decided to start a linear strength progression. I decided to follow Jim Wendler’s 531 Program. I’m three days in. So far, I’ve deadlifted, pressed (overhead, baby!) and squatted. Things are a little different to the Max Effort Black Box (MEBB) programming we utilise at CrossFit Victoria. But only a little. I’m purposely avoiding CrossFit-style met-con workouts for the moment. Why? I’m focusing solely on re-building my strength-base.

As a coach and as an athlete I’ve noticed that the most deficient factor in athletic development is – without doubt – strength. I’m as yet unsure exactly why this is, but expect it is due to two main factors:

1. strength training isn’t terribly exciting for most people
2. strength training is bloody hard work

Yes, yes, CrossFit, P90X, Caveman training and so on are all tough training protocols too. I know. I get it. I’m not bagging out any programs. I’m just saying that out and out strength training is hard work. It’s specific. It doesn’t vary greatly. And you can plateau quickly if you do it wrong.

I advise you to listen to and read some ideas from Dave Tate, Mark Rippetoe and Robb Wolf regarding linear strength training. It’s interesting stuff.

In future, I’ll be recording my efforts, successes and failures herein. It’s sure to be an interesting ride. I’m starting off at loads that are a whack lighter than I’ve previously lifted so I can progress slowly but smartly, see decent progress and hence boost my confidence and not injure (or re-injure) myself.

Success is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot. It seems that everyone is interested in achieving success (to some degree at least). It also seems that there are hundreds of speakers, seminars, workshops, books, recordings and websites that those wanting success can utilise. The problem – as I see it – is that very few people actually use any of these resources. The question therefore arises: how can you expect to be successful if you don’t study success?

Success is not something that just happens. Anyone that you can think of that is a success didn’t just wake up one day that way. There’s a lot of work involved in becoming successful in any endeavour. An overnight success is often 10 years (or more) in the making.

If you’re sitting there reading this wondering what it takes to be a success, here are two answers:

1. Study success and successful people
2. Never stop learning

The common complaint these days is “I don’t have enough time.” What a load of bollocks. You have the same amount of time as everyone else. Think of it this way, you have two ways you can use your time, you can:

1. Waste it, or
2. Invest it

What are you doing with your time? Either way you’re spending it and you can’t get it back. Are you wasting it watching the TV, or investing it in yourself (and your family)? Want to be a success? Spend your time wisely.

Not enough time to read? Can you find 15 minutes? Just 15 minutes every day? Sure you can. In one year that would mean you’ve read for over 90 hours! That’s more than 10 whole work days of learning. How many books could you read in that time?

Not enough time to do more than that? C’mon, yes you have. Do you drive or catch a train? Do you have an iPod (or similar)? I bet you do and you already use it on the train (or listen to the radio or CDs in the car). Here’s a thought: how about listening to business, motivation and self-help recordings when you’re on the go? Most people will travel an hour or more each day. Think about it! How much could you learn in an hour a day?

So, no more excuses! You’ve got the time. You just have to choose to allocate it smartly. This reminds me of something I once heard from Brad Sugars: “Rich people spend money to save time, poor people spend time to save money. What has that got to do with this topic? It’s another way to find more time. Do you mow your lawn, clean your house, wash your car, do you own bookkeeping? If so, you’re choosing to spend your time doing something that you could spend money on to regain some time. Imagine how much time you could re-allocate if you didn’t have to do these things. Once you choose to spend some money to gain some time you’ll have more time to use to learn or spend with your family or to relax (yes, you have to relax too).

I’ve spent the last 4-5 years living like a sponge. Every day, I read, listen and absorb more information about success. I know without any doubt that this will be the root of my long-term success. Another thing I heard from Brad Sugars: “The more you learn, the more you earn. When you learn more than me, you’ll earn more than me.” (FYI – Brad is a multi-millionaire from Brisbane now living in Las Vegas. He owns his own jet, Rolls Royce, Lamborghini and the world’s most successful business coaching business. Earning more the Brad wouldn’t be too bad, would it?)

Anyway, here are a few great titles that I’ve learned from:

• Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends & Influence People
• Dale Carnegie, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
• James Dale, The Obvious: All you need to know in business, Period.
• Timothy Ferriss, The 4-Hour work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
• Mark Victor Hansen, The One Minute Millionaire: The Enlightened Way to Wealth
• Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich
• Brian Sher, What Rich People Know & Desperately Want to Keep Secret
• Bradley J. Sugars, Billionaire In Training
• Brain Tracy, Eat That Frog

Please add any titles that you recommend as a comment. And tell me what you’re doing to succeed.

And remember: Success is a journey, not a destination!