Most people probably haven’t noticed, but the World Masters Games are on in Sydney Australia at the moment. This is living proof that you are never too old for sports.

Categories do not restrict age, not upwards at least, and competitors can be as young as 30 to compete in some sports.

Why am I talking about this? Well, you know all those excuses about not getting off your ass, because it has been too long, or you don’t have enough time etc etc… throw them out the window. There just excuses!

Put it this way. If I told you I’d give you a million dollars if you played sport three times a week for 45 mins over a period of a month, you’d FIND the time. Face it. Your just a lazy so and so with a poor excuse. Now let’s be honest, I’m not saying this because I’m having a go at you, I’m saying it because it is having a shot at myself and my excuses. It just reminds me how lazy I can be and how disgraceful some of my excuses are.

So why not get out there and do something YOU ENJOY! Don’t say, “right, I’m going to go jogging”, if you have never jogged and hate the idea of it! If you have kids, why not play an organised sport with them that you both enjoy? If you have a group of mates, form a team and play something… anything.

Hope I’ve inspired you to make a positive change with the VIP Success Club Blog.

I’ve had a few great discussions with Liz over the last few days about this topic, because it seems, no matter where I look, there are “experts” with completely opposite opinions.

Has anyone else noticed this?

So I got thinking. No matter what I want to believe is true, there’s some crackpot and scientific study to back up any outrageous ideas that I have.

Examples: If you are getting into the gym to build muscle, you want every advantage you can get along the way, right? Right advice is essential. Most people start with a personal trainer. Good place to start. They can help you with weights and programs to get you into shape. So then people walk into a health food store and look at protein powder because they’ve heard it is good. They find hundreds of products, get confused and don’t know where to start. Then a fully trained staff member who’s an expert in the area comes over and offers assistance to which the person responds, “no thanks, I’ll just talk to my personal trainer”. After all, the personal trainer knows everything about getting you into shape, right?

Now, let me get one thing clear, this is not going to be an attack on personal trainers, I have the utmost respect for them. This example could be used in ANY field.

So back to our example… why is it a dumb decision to go back to the personal trainer (in most cases)? Because they are not trained at all in regards to nutrition. And no offence, but a weekend course in nutrition does not give you expert status. People study for years on these things.

But yet guess what? The personal trainer has an opinion and for our example, who are they going to listen to? The person they trust of course.

Like I said though, this example could apply to anything.

But that’s not where the story ends. What about, using the same example, the personal trainer HAS spent a decade studying this subject and so has the store staff and yet they STILL have different opinions! That happens. So, like the subject says, “who is telling the truth”?

Again… and geez, this happens alot, but I have no answer. Just a warning.

Do your due diligence first before making a decision that affects your health, wealth or family. Have an open mind. Don’t just believe what you want to and deliberately find evidence to back it up. The internet can convince you of anything these days!

I hope this helps!

I remember growing up that we had at one stage four cats.

Before I was born, the family also had a dog.

So what? Well, I remember reading something many years ago that stated that children growing up with pets become more balanced later in life.

Hard to believe, huh?

It wasn’t until this last weekend that I was in Brisbane visiting my niece and nephew that I really got to see how the interaction works. They have a dog and a cat.

To watch the children play with the animals, though also have to take an element of responsibility was something that lacked in other areas of their lives. Sure they have their toys, but the responsibility and care just isn’t there at the end of the day because there are no consequences.

Every day, the non verbal communication between the young ones and the animals teach both how to interact in harmony and although sometimes they need reminding how frail a kitten can be, most of the learning is done themselves.

Is this applicable to every family? Once again, I have no idea. I will tell you one thing though, when I have children, they will certainly have pets too!

Now that the Tour de France is over, how are the sleeping patterns?

Mine are starting to resemble something normal.

I must admit though, I am already missing the soap opera and sporting prowess that is the greatest annual sporting event in the world.

But now, to the cricket and the third ashes test. The first two may have played second fiddle to the cycling, but now, we can afford to give it our full attention.

So what makes a good night sleep? It really does seem that no one can agree. Is it the amount of sleep or the type of sleep? Does it have more to do with what you eat and when before you go to bed?

It seems all the “experts” have differing opinions. One thing I do know for sure is I always tend to sleep better when I clear my mind before I fall to sleep.

Try and clear your mind before you doze. Try and think about some of your goals or the end result of what you are aiming for at the moment.

I tell you one thing, it sure does beat the hell out of worrying about anything or trying to think of the solution to a problem!

For now though, it’s off to the cricket!

Here’s a beauty.

But before I give it to you, I have a point first. By just changing one thing when it comes to what you eat and drink, you can make a massive difference in your life. First, you have to want it though! So many people talk about what they should do and even more KNOW what they should do, but that doesn’t mean they actually do it.

For me, there are many things that I know are not good for me, but I eat or drink them anyway. So when it came time to make a small change that would make a massive difference, this is what I came up with.

I used to drink cordial and juice only. Water to me was always boring. Then I heard a doctor saying how much sugar was in those drinks and how much of a health benefit it would be just to change them for water.

More to the point, I should be drinking about 2 litres of water a day.

So I quit the sugary drinks. No more juice that was full of sugar, no more cordial, no more soft drinks. Cold turkey. This was actually harder for me than I would have thought and my body actually went through sugar withdrawals!

The health benefits have been superb though. No doubt I feel much better than I used to and I’m sure my body is thanking me for it.

By the way, it’s not that I NEVER drink these drinks now, I only have them occasionally. And by occasionally, I don’t mean three times a day, I mean maybe once a week tops.

To be honest, I now have no idea why I drank cordial at all. Try drinking just water for a few weeks then go back to a processed drink. It’s really bad!

Are you willing to change this one simple thing?

Stay tuned for more health tips regularly here at the VIP Success Club blog.

Am I a mind reader? Did you eat way too much over easter? Did you eat way too much chocolate? It really is the only day of the year where you can have chocolate for breakfast and it is completely normal! Then wash it down with a handful of hot cross buns, yum yum!

Ok, well easter is over. Now is the time to stop and remember that Easter eating is also only once a year and now is the time to take stock of your diet. What exactly are you eating. If you want to be accountable, just write down EVERYTHING you eat for an entire week and take the list to a health professional. In fact, most of you probably wouldn’t get to a health professional, you’d be too embarrased. The rest of you probably won’t put on the list the chocolate cookies you sneak in or the extra cup of coffee you had.

At least take the time to notice what you are putting into your body. If you put crap petrol into a car, it goes crap. If you put crap input into a computer, you get crap output. The body is no different and yet it is our most powerful and important tool. So why not put some good petrol into it and see how it runs?

Eat better, feel better, be better!

For us, it all started with a few of my friends getting together and deciding we needed a reason for the boys to get away together. From there the concept of a “multi sports challenge” was born.

This was not a contest for the most elite athlete, more a multi event contest that all the boys could compete in and have a legitimate chance of winning.

It really spun out of control fairly quickly to be a tremendous event indeed. We all ended up with uniforms, ribbons were given out in each event and some tremendous trophy’s were purchased and all at the bargain basement price of $20 a head.

Who would have thought we could throw something like this on.

So we turned up to the event and fortunately I was able to capture alot of the events either on camera or video camera. Then, I found the time to edit some of the events together and form these updates. The talking still hasn’t stopped. Now I’d like to share the series with you and see if it motivats you to organise something with your family or friends.

If the video does not play, click here.

Did you know that putting on your favourite tune, closing your eyes and switching off the world puts your brain in a higher state? Did you know that this higher state is more productive? Did you know that this higher state is more resourceful?

The brain works on different levels. As an adult, our day to day life is carried out in a “beta” pattern, which if we were to look at a graph, shows our brain pattern violent and all over the place. By slowing down the brain, there are several more levels. The next is alpha, which is also the level that children under about 11 years old work at. This is the slowest possible brain rythmn without losing consciousness or indeed falling into a coma.

Alpha not only is a slower brain rythmn and looks calmer on a graph, it has been scientifically proven to be more resourceful. Did you ever notice that when you wanted to really focus on something you take a deep breath? That deep breath allows the brain rythmns to slow down momentarilly and put us in an alpha brain rythmn.

Listening to your favourite music with your eyes closed allows the brain to easilly slip into alpha. Even heavy metal music can allow you to slow the brain down, however the slower the music, the more effective it usually is.

So next time you need to be in a state of excellence, like before a meeting or an exam, take time out to lose yourself in your favourite music and become a more powerful person!

Today was a great example for me to listen to my body.

Yesterday, I felt those first symptoms of a flu. You know the ones. They are just a little annoying at first, though you know exactly what is going on. I loaded my body up on vitamins and thought as per usual I had a great chance of fighting it off before it took hold as I usually do. You see, I don’t get sick very often at all!

This morning, wow! I was hit hard. The full effects of the flu had taken hold like I haven’t felt in a long time. I still got out of bed and as per usual, headed to the computer. I sat down and started to work. It was at this point I had a decision. My body was screaming at me to give it up and get rest.

In the past, I have just worked through this type of body message and ended up spending litterally weeks feeling just ok as my body wasn’t given the resources to fight off anything! This time, I made a different decision. I gave up on work for the day and litterally slept for most of it. Now, as I sit here typing this, I still certainly feel the effects, though am definitely 1000% better than I would have been had I have worked through it.

More and more, I hear other people saying the same thing. Give your body its most powerful resources to fight any type of disease and you will be amazed at how it works. So what is the most powerful resource? Rest. You see, when you are at rest, your body is using all its resources to fight. If you are doing 1000 things, your body can not focus its attention on what is most important.

I know what you are saying. “I don’t have time to rest”. That’s fine. Enjoy feeling 50% for several days or even weeks rather than feeling better within 24 hours. It’s your choice.