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Cookie Crisp is Vegan, Right?

Cookie Crisp is Vegan, Right?

I was doing pretty good with my diet, but I caved in today and am eating goldfish and bowls of Cookie Crisp. We all have to have a vice sometimes, right?

At least I’m eating Cookie Crisp with unsweetened coconut milk. And goldfish and Cookie Crisp are technically vegan, correct?

Ten Ideas For Today

Study Tae Kwon Do

Study Kung Fu

Join a boxing gym

Try stand-up comedy

Go on a ghost hunt

Grow a…

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The Different Types of Health

The Different Types of Health

I’ve been watching a documentary on Amazon Prime about James Altucher. In case you’re not familiar with Altucher, he is an American hedge-fund manager, author, chess master, podcaster, and entrepreneur.

His story is an interesting one. In the documentary, he comes across as a frantic mess. He’s started and sold several companies, and in some cases making millions only to lose it all —…

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The World Is Just A Little Town

The World Is Just A Little Town

Happy Birthday, John Lennon.

People say we got it made. Don’t they know we’re so afraid? Isolation. We’re afraid to be alone, everybody got to have a home. Isolation. Just a boy and a little girl, trying to change the whole wide world. Isolation. The world is just a little town, everybody trying to put us down. Isolation. I don’t expect you to understand, after you’ve caused so much pain. But…

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If 2020 Had A Theme Song

If 2020 Had A Theme Song

“She said, ‘There is no reason’ And the truth is plain to see But I wandered through my playing cards And would not let her be One of sixteen vestal virgins Who were leaving for the coast And although my eyes were open They might have just as well’ve been closed.”

~ Proco Harum, Whiter Shade of Pale

This time in history has been the one of the most surreal that I can remember.  There’s nothing…

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August 10 - 16, 2020

August 10 – 16, 2020

Here’s what I’m doing this week to better myself:

Weight: 203 lbs (=3 lbs from last week) Workout

Monday: Kickboxing (I like following workouts from a Rob Kaman DVD).

Tuesday: Grappling (I use a Solo BJJ and the Gracie Combatives series for workouts). Boot camp (I like Camp Gladiator, which offers live Zoom classes).

Wednesday: Same as Monday.

Thursday: Same as Tuesday (but no boot camp).

Friday:

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Superhero Training (Weeks 1 and 2)

Superhero Training (Weeks 1 and 2)

I first met “El Gigante” a couple years ago at Salsa’s — a local Tex Mex restaurant in our city. Mexico was playing against the Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup. I was routing for the Netherlands because my daughter’s name is Holland.

El Gigante was of dark complexion, maybe 15 or twenty years older than me. His hair was long and black, with strands of gray intertwined. He sat alone alone at the…

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Trimming Away Clutter

Trimming away clutter is not only a good rule for writing, but also all areas of our lives. Look at our speech. We say too much because we’re insecure about truth. Reporters speak of someone being “under duress” instead of its actual meaning: “being tortured.” They also talk of “collateral damage”. Doesn’t that sound nicer than it’s true meaning: “civilian deaths”?

Clutter also exists not only in…

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Is There A God?

Is There A God?

Here’s a question that’s fascinated everyday people and philosophers alike since probably beginning of time.

Is there a God?

Most of us struggle with whether that [fill in the name of the strange concept we can never know or fully understand] exists. This concept goes by a number of different flavors, depending on who you are and your belief system: God, deity, goddess, supreme being, divinity,…

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The Warrior, Mystic, Artist, and Scientist

The Warrior, Mystic, Artist, and Scientist

“But I’m a million different people from one day to the next.”

~ The Verve, Bittersweet Symphony

Human personality isn’t some static, stable character. Rather, you’re a flow. You’re many different spectrum’s of the rainbow, depending on the moment. We’re kaleidoscopes, with our spiritual nature shining through the gem of our bodies.

What all this means is that self-improvement means cultivating…

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How to Have a Happy Relationship

How to Have a Happy Relationship

You’ll find lots of articles about how to have happy relationships. Yet, they all seem to be written from a woman’s point of view. Seldom do we hear men (let alone married men) talk about how to have happy relationships.

I see old couples walking down the street, holding hands. “What’s the secret?” I often wonder. I want to be one of those couples, walking around with Ashley, hand-in-hand, when…

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The Basics of Living a Good Spiritual Life

The Basics of Living a Good Spiritual Life

Deep down, we all have a sense of what living a good spiritual life means. I borrow this list from the amazing spiritual writer, Sharon Janis:

Be a nice person

Help others

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

Respect yourself

Be loving

Be happy

Have fun

Let your kindness shine forth

Act with integrity

Be honest

Say what you think and mean what you say

Don’t be too serious

Appreciate…

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Life Is A Game of Inches

This weekend, I was watching a documentary on Amazon Prime called We Are Triathletes.

The documentary chronicles the journey of six triathletes from four counties (U.S., China, Germany, and Australia) as they train and prepare for the legendary Challenge Roth triathlon in Germany.

One triathlete inspired me greatly. His name is Rudy Garia-Tolson.

Born with several rare birth defects as the result…

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The Importance Of Being Lazy

I had an incredible Golden Retriever named Foxie. She lived for 12 years; just last month did we have to put her down. I miss her every day.

Foxie was there with me for during some of the worst storms of my life. Dogs have a fantastic ability to love unconditionally and sit in silence with you during times of great pain and struggle.

We can learn a lot from dogs. To comfort others, you don’t need…

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Listen To The Avatars

It’s when I take trips to the grocery store that I realize how much the world has changed in a month.

Everyone there wears masks and gloves, as if they’re preparing to do surgery. I probably need to get me hold of some. Many of the shelves are completely bare, especially paper products.

The hours are shorter. There’s cleaning folks constantly disinfecting shopping carts. There are plastic bags…

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It's Only A Dream Until You Write It Down

It’s Only A Dream Until You Write It Down

Although originally from Ohio, I’ve lived in the Dallas, Texas in the area for over 35 years. In that time here, a large part of my 20s were spent watching Emmitt Smith and the Dallas Cowboys during the 1990’s.

In case you’re not familiar with Smith, he’s a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Cowboys, as well as the league’s all-time leading rusher.

I won’t go on rambling about Emmitt Smith…

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Words Have Power

We all have a magic within us, that we don’t even realize.

This magic can literally make our wishes and dreams come true. However, be careful. Because this magic is so powerful, that if used the wrong way, can also take us to places we never thought we could go.

This magic is simply: words. I think Gandhi said it best.

“Your beliefs become your thoughts.  Your thoughts become your words.  Your…

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April 2, 2020

Who knew that a virus of all things would be the catalyst to change the world.

The world has changed drastically from 2019 to 2020. A global virus, originally stemming from the wet markets of China, has now made its way around the world.

This virus, known as the coronavirus, is holding the world hostage, keeping an entire’s planet’s population contained within our homes.

This sounds like the…