Monday, June 05, 2006

Tools of the Trade

In any profession, from building houses to designing computer programs, a worker uses tools of his or her trade to get a job done. While gaining fitness, in any sense of the word, may not seem like a "profession," it also requires tools. Following is a list of those that I'm currently using or will be using in the future on my journey. Some of them may already be familiar to you; those that are not, I'm happy to share with you for the first time.

Books

Body Sculpting Boydweight Exercises for Women by Eddie Baran
Combat Abs by Matt Furey
Combat Conditioning by Matt Furey
Flexibility by Alan Gordon ("Get Fit" Series)
Getting in the Gap: Making Conscious Contact with God Through Meditation by Wayne W. Dyer
Kick Ass - Take Names: Confessions of a Fitness & Fighting Guru by Matt Furey
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
The Magic of Believing by Claude M. Bristol
The Power of Intention by Wayne W. Dyer
Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles
Workouts for Dummies by Tamilee Webb
Zero-Resistance Living by Maxwell Maltz

Cassette Tapes

30 Days to Personal Power by Anthony Robbins

Compact Discs

Combat Cardio Teleseminar by Matt Furey (2-Disc)
Furey Fat Loss Teleseminar by Matt Furey (2-Disc)
Magnetic Mind Power by Matt Furey (2 CDs, 2 DVDs plus pamphlet)
Psycho-Cybernetics: Subliminal Programming for Health & Success by Maxwell Maltz
Secrets of the Power of Intention by Wayne W. Dyer

DVDs

China Underground Sports Rejuvenation Secrets by Matt Furey
The Chinese Long-Life System by Matt Furey (3-Disc)
Combat Stretching: How to Double Your Flexibility in One Evening by Matt Furey (3-Disc)
Dynamic Deep Breathing by Matt Furey

Miscellaneous

Combat Conditioning and Kick Ass - Take Names Memory Cards
Pedometer
70-ounce pink plastic water jug (color optional)
10-pound dumbbells
Walking shoes


Supplements

Carb-Right by Amerisciences
Slim by Amerisciences
Women's Master-Multi by Amerisciences
Organic Flax Seed by Arrowhead Mills

Whew! That's a lot of stuff, isn't it? As much as I would like to have unlimited time to explore all these resources, I don't, so I have to use them at intervals - which, I'm sure, is just as well.
In this and future entries I'll be focusing on one at a time, much as I do in real life.

Although it's now June, I'll start with my May focus - Matt Furey's "Magnetic Mind Power." After all, every great work, as well as every ordinary endeavor, begins in the mind, with a thought - and that includes a fitness tread.

"Magnetic Mind Power" is a course consisting of two DVDs that feature Matt talking to you from his home living room, two CDs, and a pamphlet. While its full title is actually "Magnetic Mind Power for Peak Athletic Performance," due to the fact that Matt is a former world champion wrestler as well as a current personal trainer, its principles can be used by anyone and applied to any endeavor. As he says in the introduction, "Success is truly up for grabs. Whoever thinks about it the most and wants it the most - gets it." The purpose of MMP is to give its users the "how to" information that goes hand in hand with thought and desire in the pursuit of success.

In easy to understand terms, Matt describes the goal setting and focusing techniques he's learned and used over the years that have led him to his own current level of success - visualization, speaking aloud, writing, and "picture books" or collages. None of these methods are new, and you may well have heard of them or used them already. Nevertheless, listening to Matt tell about how he incorporated them into his own life, and the results he experienced, is entertaining as well as informative, as he puts his own personal flavor on them, including what I call an "Asian spin" - his wife is Chinese and Matt has practiced various martial arts. Hearing of other high achievers' methods is also interesting - did you know, for example, that the creators of the wildly popular "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book series cut out bestseller lists from such publications as the New York Times, pasted them on their walls where they would see them daily, and inserted their own names and prospective book titles in the "#1" slot? Or that author, businesswoman and speaker Glenna Salsbury, following a divorce and job loss, bought a number of magazines, cut out pictures of everything she wanted manifested in her life - from the types of flowers she liked to receive to the vacation spots she wanted to vist, all the way to the type of man she wanted to attract - pasted them in a book, put the book away for a while as she went on about restructuring her life - and eventually acquired every one of those things? What was her secret? A simple formula: "I + V = R - Imagination plus Vividness Equals Reality."

Matt also describes a "mirror technique" featured in the Dale Carnegie course, in which one looks into their mirror every day, and says with as much force as they can possibly muster, "I'm going to win! You want to know why? I'll tell you why! Because I have faith, courage, and enthUsiASM!" Now it may feel a little strange at first, and it may take a while to work up a full head of steam, but try it for at least 30 days and see if you don't notice that it helps get your day - and your attitude - off to a better start.

With Magnetic Mind Power you'll learn not only these techniques but the importance of asking the right questions - how to ask them, and of whom to ask them - as well as "27 Universal Laws for Turning Goals Into Reality." There's even more, but I don't want to steal Matt's thunder - partly because he put a lot of work into this product, and partly because, if you've ever seen a picture of Matt, you will understand why I don't want him coming after me! So if I've piqued your interest sufficiently, mosey on over to www.mattfurey.com and check it out.

Finally, perhaps one of the most important tools you'll take away from MMP is simply the power of words. Like all tools, they can be misused and cause harm if not properly taken care of and applied. In fact, words can even cause constipation!

What's that, you say? Word constipation? Better believe it. Tune in next week to find out what I mean.

-Treader Lucie-













4 comments:

Joyce and Wiley said...

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