Can You Start a Fire?

Can You Start a Fire?

We all have something inside of us that we never knew was there. It is a force…an inner strength that is sleeping, just waiting to be wakened. You may not know it’s there, but it is. All you have to do is find that “why” and it will wake up!  Can you start a fire?

The Biggest Loser allowed me to find out things I never knew about my resolve.
It all happened when I found my “why.”

You may ask, “What is a ‘why?’”
It is that reason…that event when you finally decide to go the distance no matter what. It is when your priorities change and that hurdle that was blocking your way seems a lot shorter and easier to get over! We’ve all found it at one time or another. I found one of my first “why’s” at 15 years old. I didn’t have a girlfriend my sophomore year, but all of my friends did. I went home in May of my sophomore year and returned a Junior 75 pounds lighter! Ask any one of my high school buddies! I remember hearing “Is that Danny Cahill? Oh my gosh! Wow!” It was like finale of season 8 when I came bursting through the paper! I didn’t even look like the same person! A girlfriend was my “why!”

When you find your why, you then apply that force that awakens the fire within you to change!
Imagine two sticks. They just lie there on the ground. There is nothing too powerful about two sticks. But when you rub them together with great speed and force, you create fire. We are all sticks lying there waiting for that “why.” When we find our “why,” we can then tolerate the “how” of doing anything whether it is quitting smoking, saving a marriage, starting a business, and yes…losing weight.

Find your “WHY” today and apply that force that makes two inanimate sticks burn with the intensity to change the world!

Danny Cahill of the Biggest Loser Season 8
The Biggest Loser…EVER with 55.58% body weight lost!

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Getting from Point A to Point B

Getting from Point A to Point B

Getting from one point to another usually isn’t that hard. We usually make it hard.  Most of the time it doesn’t look the same for everyone, with steps that can be very different. We are all at different places in our lives, and throwing a personal development training into our budget of finances and time can create a little chaos…if we allow it to.  How are you getting from Point A to Point B?

When we have something that isn’t planned suddenly appear, our first reaction can be, “I can’t do it.” Why do we think that? I say it is the easy way to think; it’s our comfort zone – all warm and fuzzy – and we like it there. After all, the easiest way to deal with a problem is to forget about the problem, right?

If we look at it from an abundance mindset, or one of growth, we can begin to see it differently.  If you went through Threshold, you can clearly see the impact the training has had on your life. And unlike other trainings, you’ll remember this one for years to come. You may ask, “How can we have our cake and eat it too?” Well, all of these are examples from true stories of people from The Journey Training and how they went from A to B. Use this as a guide – a template – to start the juices flowing for figuring out how to make this happen for you.
Have you ever had a situation where you were doing all the work while someone else was just sitting off to the side, not doing their fair share making you frustrated?  I have.  It is in our nature as humans to want to help others. At the same time, we don’t want to be taken advantage of.  I know for me, when someone is in need of finances, and they are willing to make an effort to do something, I will jump in and want to help them. On the flip side, if they are not willing to make an effort, I can lose the desire to help.  Here are some ideas that we’ve seen from people who got off their ask and made some efforts, and it served them well.

 

  • It snowed, and we walked the neighborhood asking if we could shovel their walk, for a donation so we could go to The Journey.
  • When it snowed, I used my suburban to pull people out of ditches, and they gave me money toward The Journey Training.
  • I posted on social media that I would be willing to babysit for anyone if they wanted to go on a date.
  • I offered to clean houses to make some money to go toward my next Journey class, and I achieved my goal! AND was able to do a little after that helped me supplement my income.
  • I sewed a quilt, and auctioned it off to TJT alumni.
  • I did a bike marathon, and set it up as a fundraiser, and I asked people to sponsor me per mile I rode the bike.
  • Went to Sam’s Club and bought some beef jerky and candy bars, then I sold it at work as a fundraiser to come back to The Journey.
  • We gave plasma. It gave us time together, and gave us some extra cash to make this happen. (I just got a message from someone that you can earn up to $400 your first month giving plasma by doing it 2x per week)
  • I Gave Blood.
  • I offered to mow anyone’s grass to make money to go to Crossroads, and I did it!
  • Once we had 2 girls in one class that were massage therapists. They had a dinner and everyone came over. They gave 30 min massages to everyone for donations.
  • I offered to do miscellaneous stuff, so I hung helped hang Christmas lights.
  • Sign up with Uber and become a Taxi in your spare time.
  • I had a fundraiser dinner, where I cooked all the food, and people from the alumni group paid to come have dinner.
  • People have sold Chick-fil-A calendars as a fundraiser.  (This is an option from Aug-Dec only)
  • Selling miscellaneous things on EBay, Craigslist, or even to a Pawn Shop – DISCLOSURE: we are not telling you to go sell all your stuff to go thru TJT! We are encouraging you to think differently, with an open mind, on ways to raise funds if you need them.
  • Trainees have organized Garage Sales to raise money to go, or to help those in their class go.

 

Or perhaps you could make the difference by cutting back. (Oh my goodness, he said it.)  We want what we want when we want it, right?  Well sometimes hitting our goals makes things look a little different.  Saying NO to something, even just for a little while, can be a healthy practice and a way to raise needed funds to get back to Crossroads. No does not have to mean no forever. Ask yourself, “Could I be spending money foolishly?  Can I cut back on anything? Decrease my spending?” Here are some examples of cutting back:

 

  • “I would get Starbucks or a Chick-fil-A tea every day on my way to work. By cutting this out for a time, it saved me $60 per month that I could put towards my training.
  • “I called my cable provider. I asked them how I could lower my cost, and that if I didn’t, I’d have to stop using them altogether. Guess what? THEY CUT MY COST $19 A MONTH!”
  • “We cut back on our eating out, and with just 3 extra meals at home we saved $40 per month!”

 

Every one of us has Talents and Gifts that God intends us to use.  What are yours? Is there anything you can offer to people to raise funds.

 

  • People have made T-Shirts with Journey things on it for their class and other alumni to buy.
  • People have made wall hanging art – one said “Life is better on the Boat!” – and sold it to alumni
  • People have made stained glass items and sold them to people.
  • People have sold custom-made cookies for events.
  • People have prepared pans of Lasagna for alumni to buy so they’d have a pre-made dinner for their family.
  • Someone created Hair Bows and sold them to people.
  • Someone created custom coasters for people using pictures for fundraising.
  • Someone did a phot shoot for funds for their next training.

 

When we are making efforts to hit our goals, others can be encouraged by this. They may even want to jump in to help!  Unfortunately, there are those who don’t make the effort and end up not reaching their goals – which is going victim to their circumstances. Look at all these ideas. Maybe it’s time to set your pride aside, and think about what you can do to invest in yourself!

 

And if you’ve already finished your trainings, there is a Class 3 called LAUNCH that is about to begin, so maybe you need to save up for that! And maybe you’d save someone’s life by doing these things again and sponsoring someone you love to fill your seat in The Journey Training.

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Fixing flats – by Michele VanDusen

Fixing flats – by Michele VanDusen

At the beginning of the year, someone asked me a question – a question that seemed unnatural to me. “What do you want?”

“What do I want?”

I was thrown off guard because I naturally think in terms of how I can make someone else’s life better, easier, or less worrisome. When the question was aimed at me, I didn’t know what to say. After much consideration I finally declared what I wanted, “No pain!” That seemed like an easy answer because I was in my fifth month dealing with shoulder pain. Major pain! I was four weeks out from a surgery that was more involved than first thought and the surgery came after an intense four months of physical therapy.

My answer was meant to appease the person asking it because it was obvious that I was in a lot of physical pain. Yet my answer avoided the real source of my pain – emotional pain. A betrayal that had caused me so much pain that I chose to go numb rather than to feel it. If I felt it I’d have to deal with it, and I didn’t want to deal with it because it was going to take work – a lot of work.

Finding your way requires direction

Fixing FlatsLife is a journey, and the first step in a journey is to know your destination. My destination was “No Pain,” which may be unrealistic for many reasons I won’t go into here. So I changed it to a journey of healing, with the final destination of health.

Once you know your destination you can begin on the path to it. When there is pain blocking your path, you tend not to head that way. This was the difficulty in my case. Pain was blocking my path, preventing me from arriving at my destination. But in order for me to be free from the pain, I needed to face the pain and deal with it.

Flats require attention

Facing and dealing with the pain in my journey was going to be like driving a hundred miles, getting a flat tire along the way, and continuing to drive on the flat trying to get there. It only causes more damage and could make the car inoperable.

If I pull over but don’t change the flat, I’ll remain stuck and never reach my destination. If I pull out all of the tools needed to change the flat, but if I don’t use the tools, I sit still on the side of the road, watching everyone else getting closer to their destinations.

Fix-a-flat and get moving!

Sometimes fixing a situation in your life requires an extra hand – someone to come alongside you who has the tools and ability to help you. That is what The Journey Training did for me. It connected me with people who have the tools I need, so as I am on my way, I can fix the “flats” along the way. It is an empowering, freeing and self-strengthening opportunity that I recommend for anyone to attend. If you’re too afraid to begin, or you’ve begun and have a flat, reach out the The Journey Training and get the tools you need to help you along your way today! Your destination awaits!

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Set the Standard

Set the Standard

I’ve always wondered why rules are so hard to follow. Have you ever felt that way? It seems that when there is a rule, I gravitate to it. The rule is like the front porch light, and I’m the bug – frantically trying to break free but trapped by its gravity!

I was driving my daughter’s friend home when we came to a stop light. I glanced over and saw a really BIG sign. It said “NO TRESPASSING! VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED.” I said to her, “Look at that sign! That is the biggest no trespassing sign I have ever seen!” It was painted on two 4’x8’ plywood boards! She looked at me with her eyes wide open and said, “That makes me want to go in there!”

Why is this? Why are rules so hard to follow?

You become what you focus on

I once heard a story. There were two young boys who loved to visit their grandpa. He had a great big backyard with toy tractors and tools, and they were always excited to go to his house. When they arrived this day, they quickly asked, “Grandpa! Can we go play in your backyard?”

“Sure you can boys! But just don’t spit on my bushes!”

The two boys looked at each other in confusion, then shrugged and sped out the door. The grandpa walked over to the window and peeked through the blinds. The two boys walked down the steps and looked over at the bushes. They looked at each other, grinned, and before they ran to the tractors they spit on the bushes, which they would have never noticed had Grandpa not mentioned them.

You see, when we set rules to follow, we bring to the forefront of our thoughts and mind those things we shouldn’t do. In my own life, and in the lives of those whom I coach, I’ve found that the best way to break a rule is to make one. We all gravitate to what is forbidden. Adam and Eve did it in the Garden. God told them they could eat of any tree except the one. And we know the outcome of that story!

I had lunch with Jillian Michaels in Los Angeles and said to her, “Jillian, I can’t shake it! The more I think to stay away from certain foods, the more I seem to want them!” She said to me, “Danny, I have one all-natural, Newman’s Own dark chocolate peanut butter cup every single day of my life. Why? Because if I deprive myself of it I will only want it more – then I eat 2 or 3 or even 4! Don’t deprive yourself of the things you love – just work them into your plan and stick to the plan!” I’ll tell you, I’m not the thinnest guy on the block right now, but I’m not 300, 400, or even 500 pounds anymore either. And it has to do with that plan Jillian was talking about.

Set standards, and make them a part of your plan

If we tend to become what we focus on, why would we want to focus on what not to do? Let’s focus on the plan – let’s focus on what we need to do! Let’s set some standards.

Let’s look at the definitions of standard: “A level of quality or attainment. An idea used to measure the norm (normal) in comparative evaluations. Accepted as normal or average.”

When we set standards, we raise the bar, creating a target to shoot for. When we set rules, we create governing boundaries for ourselves, or curbs, to stay within. Rules limit our performance instead of creating a higher standard to attain. And in my experiences, when I’m shooting for something, I am much more motivated to achieve it.

Know the standards, find the target

When I was at The Biggest Loser ranch, we learned which foods to eat. We learned to add water to our diet and to increase our steps every day. We also created a standard of workout that expanded our lives. One of the running jokes about being a Biggest Loser Alumni is that once you’ve been a contestant, walking distance means a completely different thing. I used to think walking distance was 600 feet, but now it means 5 miles!

Sure, we knew to stay away from certain foods, but more than that we knew the foods to gravitate to; and when we eat the right food and drink plenty of water, the wrong foods don’t even come into the picture. You see what I mean? Sure, we avoided having certain foods within our grasp; we just left them off the grocery list.

Standards work in all areas of life

Standards work in your office or family, with your team, or in any area of life! I once heard Mike Krzyzewski, the Duke University head coach and coach of several U.S. Olympic basketball teams explain something. How can you coach The Dream Team  and have several huge egos such as Michael Jordon, Scotty Pippen, Karl Malone, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, and Charles Barkley, and have them work together as a team? How do you tell them to be on time or adhere to a curfew? These are the greatest names in basketball! Well, Coach Mike explained that at the first meeting, instead of laying out rules to the team, HE asked them what standards should be created for the team. They went around one by one and shouted them out: “Be on time!” “Get your sleep!” and on and on…until they set the standards for their team themselves. Because they had ownership in the standards, they adhered to them. Coach Krzyzewski said that if he’d set rules for them, they would have gone out of their way to break them and prove who was in charge.

This can work in your own life, too. In your family, let your kids take part in setting the family standards. In your office or business, let your employees or team take part. Their ownership of the standards will give them a voice, and in turn motivation to adhere to them without so many rules. And in your own life, don’t deprive yourself of all enjoyable things, but set standards that include some of those things, and more importantly the things that will get you where you want to go. You might just find that the rules will fade into the background and not become the focus when you are busy shooting for your standards, and in turn shooting for the stars!

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A Matter of Perspective

A Matter of Perspective

Often in life we are too busy to take a moment and look at things from a different perspective, whether that perspective is ours, or perhaps someone else’s point of view. Harvey Mackay said “When you wake up every day, you have two choices. You can either be positive or negative; an optimist or a pessimist. I choose to be an optimist. It’s all a matter of perspective.”  The perspective you select is a choice.  Yet far too often we allow ourselves to be the victim of our unwillingness to step back, move, and look at things from a different point of view.

Pictures of Perspective

That’s one of the things I love about photography… looking at something differently.  You see, photography allows me to get a new perspective on something I may have seen so many times one way that I’ve become blind to it. In the movie “Dead Poets Society”, English teacher John Keating (played by Robin Williams) inspires his students to stand on a desk in order to see the world from a new perspective.  “I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way.”

Close to my home is a water detention pond. It was built to hold water in the event of a flooding rain.  On nice days, I take walks in the field to clear my head – and I never forget my camera!  Most who pass by only see a field of emptiness.  However, because I am willing to slow down and change my perspective – even lie down on the ground – I am able to see new things that many will never get to see. There are times when my neighbors or passersby must think I’m crazy – crazy because I am out lying on the ground, squatting at a funny angle, or zooming in close on something they can’t see.  I’m doing all of this not because I am seeing something they can’t see, but rather I am taking the time to see what they are missing, or perhaps what they won’t see. I am being intentional about viewing something from a different perspective, and in effect I am seeing things those who don’t choose to see will miss.

Perspectives-Mike Tedford

Practice your perspectives 

Practice seeing new perspectives.  Make a choice within the next 24 hours to look at something in a new or different way. It may be a place or thing, or it may even be a situation. Let me suggest a few ways you can change your perspective:

  1. Stand on a desk or ladder…
  2. Slow down…
  3. Change your position… Sit in a different place, or in someone else’s chair or position…
  4. Walk on the opposite side of the street…
  5. Take a different route home…
  6. Ask yourself how someone else might see or feel in a given situation…
  7. If you have a persistent problem that you have been stuck in, ask yourself how you might be able to look at it from a new point of view…and then choose do it.

Changing perspectives changes things

Perspective is a way you can change anything! After all, if you want to see something change, maybe you simply need to change how you see something.

In The Journey Training , many people come in blind to so many things in their lives – because what you do every day becomes your normal, right? Month after month we see eyes opened to a new way of seeing thing, and in effect lives are changed. We’ve seen businesses revived, marriages healed, weight-loss, increased income, and so many other results of those who have chosen to take a weekend and change their perspective. Think about it, you don’t know what you don’t know until you see it. Why not take a weekend and see those things that may be holding you back from getting all you want in life! Why not begin your Journey Training in the very next Threshold class?

 

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