from the archives of johnny renaissance...

It's Sunday again and kids and I are enjoying more cartoons. I relish this time with them, in front of the fire, a nice cup of tea, and full of ideas to write about. Fortunately, work is busy and I seem to land here with them week after week in the blink of an eye.

I'm actually quite sore and tired today. Physically, I am feeling the affects of taking my entire workout regimen to an entirely new level. For the past four months, teaching the boot camp has increased my fitness level significantly, as it has done for the participants. And yesterday morning, even though I felt I was still recovering from the boot camp the evening before, the kids and I headed over to the gym and I got another workout in. I'm sure you already know that I love the gym, and here's why...

I get inspired there. Yesterday morning was a perfect example. I was tired, sore, and not planning on doing much. But once I got going, there was no stopping me, literally. For those of you I'm training with this week at the studio, you will get to experience the workout I created Saturday morning first hand. The rest of you can consider whether or not you are up to the challenge.

For now I can tell you that as I approach my 40th birthday next month on the 12th, I'm more fit now than I've been in 10 years. I can feel a spirit inside me that has not been there for quite some time. A spirit that comes with the feeling that I can now climb up the side of a building like Spider Man.

There is a reason this feeling is so powerful for me right now. Most of you probably don't even know, but for the last 8 years or so, I've had tension headaches every day. Often, this pain lived above a 5 on the pain scale and the worst part about it was that physical activity and exercise made it worse. I continually had to be very careful (and still do) about how much exercise to perform on any given day and in any given week. I don't like sharing this part about myself, because as I've always said, the pain is mine, not yours. So, I live with it, grow with it, and ultimately it has made me stronger. The best part, though, is that it is going away, and the level of intensity and the volume of training I performed this week, would have laid me up for days in the past.

What does this mean? It means that though I'm turning 40 in a couple of short weeks, I'm stronger than I was when I was 30, and soon I'll be performing back handsprings down the block again. Stay tuned for that video 🙂

When I sat down to write this piece this morning I had intentions of writing more about the stack of books I can see to my left. They are many and all of them are a part of this transformation. In fact, the list of books that I have read over the last few years is good and long. I plan on sharing them with you. But for now, I'll just leave you with a list of the books that are beckoning at me right now in no particular order...

-Spiritual Marketing by Joe Vitale
-National Geographic Photography Field Guide
-The Aladdin Factor by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hanson
-The Land Remembers
-The Portable Coach by Thomas Leonard (Top 5 best for me of all time)
-Goals! by Brian Tracy
-How to Get Rich by Donald Trump (Trump is the master of simple solid life advice)
-The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
-The Attractor Factor by Joe Vitale

Remember, this is by no means the complete list. But it would be a great start for anyone...

-John