Focus on possibilities

I just finished studying for my Marketing Planning exam. As I was going through the pages of the book I was thinking how much the lows in life apply in economics. You know how in every company when they are making their business plan they should make a SWOT analysis. For those of you that are not familiar with it-SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses,opportunities, and threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It is the same in everybody's life. We all should make our own SWOT analysis when we are about to make an important decision.

The strengths are our own capabilities-the advantage we have in the current situation. Thoese strengths might be our strong will, being hardworking, being talented at something, smart, capable of doing something better than others...

The weaknesses as you may guess are our weak spots. They are something that we are not capable of doing but that is needed in the current situation. This is your weak spot, where the situation might "hit" you and "knock" you down!

The opportunities are situations or conditions from the surrounding environment that are favorable for attainment of our goals.

The threats are an indication or warning from the surrounding environment of probable trouble.


So what you should do in life is to adjust your strengths towards the opportunities that you are given and make the most of it. After you identify your weak spots, you should work on them, and build on some more skills. Because you know how they say in team sports: Your team is as good as your weakest player! It is the same with you-you are as strong as your weakest spot! So make sure to work on it, and why not make it work in your favor instead of against you! ANd last but not least you should keep an eye on the threats from the surrounding environment and make sure you have a plan to react if the probabale truble becomes reality!

There is an advice that I'd like to give you. No matter what the threats and the problems are you should always focus on possibilities and strengths! Because if you pay more attention to problems, the most you can do is solve them...and finally you will end up where you were at the begining. So work on the possibilities and they will help you grow.

Whatever you do in life you should first "step" on a strength and then build on it, i.e. your goals should be based on your own capabilities! If you risk to base them on a weak spot, you might slip and fall...and getting back is much harder...

...success is achieved by developing our strengths...not eliminating our weaknesses!

Strong is the new skinny

As you may already know I am a sport and health freak! :) I spend endless hours reading about proper nutrition and working out. I've tried almost every nutrition plan there is out there( of course only those that actually involve, eating instead of relying on a sunny day and tons of water for a good photosynthesis;).

I've also tried a bunch of working out methods, I did a lot of sports-including team sports and individual once. So I have pretty good self experience with working out and nutrition, and I think I finally found the right and balanced way to eat, workout and live-and it is called Crossfit and Paleo diet!

When I tell somebody what Crossfit is all about, they seem pretty calm until the part involving weightlifting. When they hear about a women doing weightlifting they run away like the devil from the incense. I am tired of seeing women that starve themselves to death, waste endless hours on the treadmill, and actually even after the hard work and time they put in, they never reach to the point they are content with their health and appearance.

Most women chasing the celebrity body look, reach nowhere else but to the point where they are actually destroying their physics and their minds. I've seen a lot of girls close to me, suffering from body image issues that lead them to bulimia and anorexia, and I am not gonna lie it is heartbreaking to watch somebody waste their potential for the mere drive of perfection! Come on! We all know perfection is not attainable.

Beautiful women lifting heavy and eating healthy



Even though I am a woman, I am not gonna hide it...we are strange creatures! :) We are always looking to find the balance in life, and we actually always live an imbalanced life. I do not know what is the deal with this...is it that we tend to follow the tendencies and never get to adjust to the old one before a new one pops up. SO we spend our life swinging from one to the other, get confused and never stick to one long enough to actually succeed.

So let me get back on what I wanted to say... I encourage more women to stop being afraid of lifting weights! Don't worry! Getting bulky ain't that easy! Just the mere sight of weights won't make your biceps grow! Stop thinking about working out and dieting as a way to look hot and sexy but being sick on the inside. The first thing that nutrition aims at is to fuel your body, not torure it instead. And sport is the tool to make sure you will be active, healthy, toned, disciplined and motivated going through your life! And trust me the hot and sexy look will be a consecuence!

For those scared of weights I encourage you to get more educated on the theme and build your own opinion instead of repeating somebody's else. Just give a look at the blog Strong is the new skinny, and make sure you try out to fit in that "tendency" and stick for it for a lifetime!

Here are pics of my favorite crossfit athelete Lauren Plumey-and I think she looks awesome eventhough she lifts really heavy but still looks beautiful!

ANd one more....

And here is what the average girl looks like...in clothes she would look skinny and without them she will turns out to be skinny fat...

So I do not know if I was convincing enough but I think it is worth the try...and trust me you will love it! ;)

My daily dose of inspiration

"Without inspiration the best powers of our mind become dormant.There is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks."- Johann Herder

A couple years ago when I got injured and I stopped playing basketball, it felt like I lost my path! I was constantly struggling to find my way back! I felt like a drunk man trying to find his way home...always staggering from one side to the other, hopelessly trying to get there...and actually never succeeding unless somebody helps him...

Well, if we accept I was that drunk man, I found a helping hand in the face of inspiration. I started reading tons of stories and books about people that had a dream, a true vision of how they wanted their lives to be...the kind of dream that was unbreakable even in front of the great obstacles that were confronting them. I read about people that did not let current situations and misfortunes to rule their lives, but instead they ruled the situation! That is what got me going...and for sure it was not a one night change...the inspiration I got from these stories lighted the spark in my heart...then it was gone out, and I needed some more inspiration...until after continuous repetition of lightening the spark and extinguishing it...I reached the point where my heart was set on fire again...

And since then I try to keep it burning and not let it go out again... So today I was searching for my daily dose of inspiration and that is what I found:

In order to receive

"The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.”

There are two kinds of people-those that are pleased with what they have and those that always want more. The first can have two other types-they can be pleased with what they have because they are too lazy or too afraid to achieve more, and just get content with what it is now; and those that can be called wise people-they still try achieving more, but meanwhile they are happy with the palce they are now and the life they have!

And on the third side there are those that are never happy with their life and always want something more, the more they get the less they feel they've got! Well, I myself feel sorry for those people. What a poor way to live your life! Being blind about the present...and blinded by the future!

The thought for tomorrow usually robs the reality of today. Imagine how happy people could be, if they stopped for a while and enjoyed the present moment! If they gave themselves a moment to feel the peace and the love surrounding them! The joy of the simple things in life...because believe it or not simple things bring the greatest joy!

How much better life could be if instead of always striving to receive more, people tryed to give more! There is one thing about life-the more you give, the more you will receive. In life everybody gets what they deserve. If you want to harvest happiness, you should first plant it somewhere else!

Giving and receiving go hand for hand. You can't have one without the other. If you doubt my words make a simple experiment. For a week greet the people you meet everyday. Be nice with them, make them feel good, help them in some way. Then you will see that those little things that didn't cost you anything warmed somebody's heart and he is willing to do the same in return!

In order to receive you should open your hands and give, so you can make some space for the gifts that are prepared for you!

The best advice I ever received...

A couple months ago I bought a book by Donald Trump:The way to the top . I am not a huge fan of him, and I am not gonna lie, but I did not like the book. The book second title is "The best business advice I ever received". So even though I did not like the way the book was written, it got me thinking about the best advice I have received in my life so far...

And there it pops up in my mind! An advice my dad gave me a couple years ago. I am a pretty naive person, and probably as you may guess I get disappointed by people more often than not. So it was that period of my life that I lost something I loved, and something I thought was my life. The thing was that I not only lost it but people I considered friends, people I admired left me...you know how it is-when you are at the top everybody loves you and wants to be part of your life, but when you are on the bottom it is most likely that all these people will throw some more dirt on you and dig you deeper. So that is pretty much what happened to me.

I remember that night I was crying and my dad came to me and asked me why it was so hard for me to get over it. I explained him and told him I was disappointed with people and that I am never gonna trust anybody again. I told him that I will become a cold hearted person and I will be just like the people that hurt me!...I remember his smile and the words that followed..."You should be more careful with who you'll trust, but you should keep the faith in people because if you don't you risk to miss some really worthy people in your life!"

So I think that so far that is the best thing I have learned. I really found out that people will disappoint you. They will hurt you and push you down. But it is only gonna make you stronger. It is just gonna help you find out when you meet those that are worth your attention! The once that leave will make it easier for you to distinguish those that should be part of your life...the once that will help you go through the journey-the journey of life!

It's YOUR dream...it's YOUR life!

“The people that have success have wrapped themselves around the how and why of success.” — Greg Glassman

Everybody has a dream! But few of us atcually strive to follow that dream! Most fear trying to achieve it...too scared they will fail, or maybe afraid they might actually succeed!

I have a dream too! ACtually I have more than one but there is that dream that I am really focused on! I dream of becoming a really good personal trainer, being able to help people achieve their goals, helping people change their lives. Encouraging them when they feel down, giving them motivation when they feel the lack of it. Giving them a support when everybody else in their life seems to neglect them. To me personal training is not just the exercise part! It gives you a chance to help people reach not only their athletic goals but you actually get the opportunity to help them change their life! I've said a hundred times how workouts resemble life. How the determination,motivation and desire you need to finish a workout, are qualities you need to succeed in life!

Most people in my life are totally against my dream! They find it stupid and not a way to earn a living. They think it is a waste of time and constantly tell me that I should change my priorities and get busy with something more important! Well I study Marketing...I kind of see both sides of the coin. But I am so convinced about what I want to do. I've always wanted to work something that will let me receive not only the material but also the spiritual...and to me personal training is THE THING!

Sometimes the rude words some of my family members and some of my friends say about my workouts and my goals put me down. it hurts when the closest people to you do not support you and constantly try to discourage you! But deep inside I am so sure in the rightness of what I do that nothing is gonna change the way I see my life! The way I dream my life to be!

The thing is that you should have a dream and actually chase it no matter what others say! No matter if it looks good to them or not! If it feels right in your heart, if it is something that gives you happiness and fullfilment, then go for it! Don't let others opinion direct your life!

It all sounds stupid and sappy but it’s the flippin truth. Some people will call it cheesy. Good. Let them do the talking. They’ll be the ones watching from the shore as you sail off. Wave good-bye to those not willing to share your dreams. Wrap yourself around the how and why of success. Set your course. Don’t worry about the destination, just keep your eye on the sea and a steady hand on the helm. And pick up every swimmer who’s willing to work with you . . .