Makoto - Honesty and Sincerity - Lessons from the traditional samurai code of honor, discipline and morality known as bushido

"When warriors say that they will perform an action, it is as good as done. Nothing will stop them from completing what they say they will do. They do not have to 'give their word.' They do not have to 'promise.' "

This teaching has been taught by many cultures the world over and it is an important one to practice. In the book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, the first of four agreements is to be impeccable with your word, "Speaking with integrity. Say only what you mean..." In Christianity, Jesus says "All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." (NIV Matt 5:37) 

So why is this teaching so important? It keeps us from being someone who is all talk and no action. I would say now more than ever action is more respected than mere knowledge. In this current age of information, anything that can be learned is at our finger tips. So those who learn and do are those who stand out from the crowd.

When I first started my health and fitness journey, I would tell people what I was going to do for the next thirty to ninety days. This wasn't a boast as much as it held me accountable to do it. I didn't want to be someone who said he was going to do a 30-day challenge then fail to do it. I was practicing makoto, and it felt good to say then actually do what I said I was going to do.

Never make promises unless you know for sure that you will follow through. This is as important for the person you are making the promise to as it is for you. When you break a promise, you weaken your own willpower to follow through the next time. You begin to create a pattern of not keeping your word. This goes for the smallest of promises such as taking out the trash to big promises such upholding your wedding vows. This attribute will strengthen like a muscle, the more you uphold your word the stronger you will become in this area.

Do It Yourself (DIY) Vs Get A Mechanic

Here's an analogy, your car has been "running fine" yet there's been a strange noise coming from under the hood. It begins to concern you and you know you should take it in to get it looked at but your car is still getting you from point A to point B. At the same time, your windshield wipers need to be replaced. Every time it rains, it gets harder and harder to see anything. You eventually go to the local auto parts store and buy replacement wipers. Then a day later, the sound under the hood gets worse then stops completely. The sound stopped but so did your power steering and you notice your car begins to overheat. The should became a must. Not only that but now you have to get your car towed to a mechanic.

The same is true for our bodies. There are things that we know we should do but they haven't quite crossed over to a must do. Buying the windshield wipers is similar to making better food choices. The belt that eventually broke under your hood could possibly be something that you Googled or looked up on YouTube. It would take time to research, you would need to purchase specific tools and spend time on making the repairs. Most people opt to take it to a mechanic to get it done. The sooner the better, right? What if you made a mistake, false-diagnosed the problem, failed at being your own mechanic? More time wasted, more money wasted, and more frustration. Ultimately, we don't need a mechanic, we live in the age of information, we are capable of doing it ourselves whether we believe it or not. The truth is, we want a mechanic, we want it done right the first time, and as quick as possible so we can get back to going from point A to point B. The same is true for a fitness coach, we don't need a coach but we want a fitness coach. We realize that our health isn't just a should but a must, and we want someone to guide us on the journey as quickly and efficiently as possible. Helping us continue to lose weight when we hit a plateau. Helping us understand how much cardio is really needed and what exercises are best for the results that we want to achieve.

I've done both, I've handled my fitness journey on my own and I've been coached. I saw the greatest results when I was coached. The guidance and accountability changed everything. I dropped 30 pounds in 90 days while breaking personal records in many of my lifts. The difference was night and day.

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30-Day Motivation Challenge - Day 30 Become A Lion - Self-Actualization

Becoming a lion in your life is about self-actualization. It's about being bold and courageous. Committing to having no plan "B," no other options. Whether, you have support or resistance, you're committed to your goals and dreams. You're committed to you! Doing this will make you come alive like never before. It may seem counter-intuitive. It may seem selfish. However, taking care of your needs and desires is like putting the oxygen mask on yourself before assisting those next to you. You'll have more resources, more energy, and more positivity to truly help those who need it most. Don't be distracted by those you can't help either. There will be plenty of people that are set in their ways, those who are not your target market, and those who want to oppose what you're doing. Just keep doing what you do, honing your craft, and bringing more of your light into this world. Find others that are doing the same, I call these people "the red pill takers" (in reference to The Matrix.) They will recognize you for who you are and seek to help you. They will see you as a fellow giver - a fellow lion. Givers love to help one another, in fact there are active groups of them that work together helping one another progress - networking with each other. Become a lion and join the pride.

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30-Day Motivation Challenge - Day 29 The Formula For Success

Twenty-nine days of motivation and the 30-day challenge is almost realized. Let's get into this rapid-fire fast. I was reading an e-book by Radu Antoniu just last night and some of the best advice I've heard in a while was in the last two chapters.

1) Keep a goal card in your pocket. Read your goal card as much as you can especially in the mornings when you wake up and in the evening before you go to sleep. Write it in the present tense as a statement made upon achieving this goal. Be specific about the date, how you feel, what exactly you've accomplished, and what you had to sacrifice to get it. There is no glory without sacrifice.

2) The sublime moment by Andrei Antoniu. This is the moment of awareness, that moment you realize that you should read your goal card. So before you forget and the moment passes, immediately go read it.

Writing your goals down on a daily basis is one of the topics of the video below. This may seem like a waste of time. On the contrary, it will help you rewire your brain for action, and will grant you the ability to see opportunities that are right in front of you. There's a story that I love about the first Native Americans to witness ships for the first time. It is said that they couldn't even see them on the horizon yet they saw disturbances in the water. It was the shaman of the tribe that observed the ripples and who eventually saw the ships and pointed them out to the rest of the tribe. Our brains have a funny way of filtering out the unusual. Thinking positively and seeing possibilities and opportunities are like those ships on the horizon. They are there, we just have to have eyes to see them and sometimes we need someone to point them out.

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30-Day Motivation Challenge - Day 28 Never Pity Yourself

Never pity yourself. Events have played out in your past and they cannot be changed. What can change is how we look at those events - our response to those events. Event + Response = Outcome or E + R = O. One of my favorite examples of this was a story of two merchants going into a foreign land to find trade deals. One merchant returns saying, "The people there are poor there is no opportunity for trade, they don't even have shoes." The second merchant returns saying, "There is an abundant opportunity, these people all need shoes." The event was the same but the responses were very different. The same is true for us. We can choose to look at the pains of the past as a reason why our lives are the way they are or we can choose to grow from those experiences. The only reason we can fully appreciate the good in life is because we have experienced the bad.

I used to be so obsessed with wanting to know the future. I realize now it was because I fixed mindset, a mindset of fate. I was afraid my future would look like more of my past. Now, I don't care to know the future because I create my future inside the realms of everything that I can control. Outside of what I can't control, well, that would affect me regardless - it's not worth the time worrying about. I know this, focusing on self-pity only creates more of the same while focusing on what you want out of life creates more of that. You'll create what you focus on - what you believe in and if you believe it then you will surely act on it. True belief - true faith produces action.

Life has so much to offer. Heaven and Hell do exist and they exist right here and now. Whether you believe they exist elsewhere, I'll leave that to you. As long as you understand that this life can be as amazing as you want or as terrible as you want. The decision is yours.

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30-Day Motivation Challenge - Day 27 Take Action

Take Action. Two words that either inspire us or overwhelm us. In my life, I sometimes didn't know what actions to take. At other times, I knew what actions to take but I was overwhelmed by all that I needed to do.

Taking action doesn't mean knowing every step of your journey and doesn't mean doing everything all at once. It's like driving a car at night, you can only see what is directly in front of you. However, you can travel great distances without ever seeing the entire road. Staying with the driving analogy, it's also important that we don't spend time gazing into the rearview mirror. How are we supposed to move forward in life if we keep thinking about the past? You can't.

Practicals For Taking Action
Do what you can do today. If the amount is so much that you won't do it on a consistent basis, then it's too much for you at this time. Similar to someone that goes from no activity to going into a gym expecting to lift massive weight. That's not going to work, he or she needs to build muscle. In the same way, the amount of action you take daily builds like a muscle. Do what you can, then challenge yourself to do a little more, then a little more until you gain the moment to start taking massive action. Turn it into a game of beating personal records. Taking action can also get tiring, so it is important to remember why you're doing it. That "why" is going to drive you when your motivation is waning. Check out the video below, one of the speakers talks about the tides of motivation that we experience in life.

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30-Day Motivation Challenge - Day 26 Trying is Succeeding

Watch the video first then check out the commentary below.

Throughout the 30-Day Motivational Challenge, there have been various fitness and success challenges along the way. Some of you might have enjoyed the message but were hesitant because you have an injury, disease, or disability of some kind. I thought the same things about myself. I had wrecked one of my knees and one of my shoulders during a brief stint playing high school football. It was my belief that I was now damaged goods, beyond repair. It wasn't the case, I rehabilitated those old injuries in my 30's and now I'm the strongest version of myself. Aimee Espinoza, in the story above, has rheumatoid arthritis and found a way to become an athlete. Such an amazing story! It furthers my faith in that "if there is a Will there is a Way." Don't give up! Trying is succeeding!

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