Recently, I have been thinking a lot about who I am.  It is something we all do.  In order to be the person we want to be we have to know who we are, and where we are at that moment.  We must analyze the situation.   

So, during this introspective period I have been thinking about some of the goals I have set for myself spiritually, personally, and professionally.  In looking at those goals I feel like there is one thing I can do that will help me to achieve those goals more than maybe anything else. 

That one thing is this: care.

I won't lie, I had some help coming up with this.  I finished Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuck, aka @garyvee, not long ago.  Chapter nine of his book is titled "the best marketing strategy ever."  The following page simply says one word.  Care.  

He doesn't elaborate on it.  He just leaves it at that.  I haven't been able to quit thinking about that since I finished the book.  What if I just cared more?  How would that change my life?  So, that's my new goal.  Whatever the circumstance, I just want to care.  I don't think it is going to be easy, but I think the benefit is great.  I want to challenge anyone reading this to do the same.  What if we all cared?  We won't just change our own lives, we will change the world for the better.  

I was messing around at the gym today, and I asked my trainer Paul if he had ever heard of anyone doing jump rope on a bosu ball.  He had never seen anyone try it.  I'm pretty decent with the jump rope, so I decided to give it a shot.  This is what happened.  Click blog title to see video.

This past summer, my brother Mitch  and I lived together.  It was great.  I'm out of college, and he is now a junior at Central College in Pella, Iowa.  It's something I didn't expect would ever happen again.  How often do you live with a sibling once you have left your parents house?  I suppose it happens, but I'm guessing most people don't plan on it.  Anyway, Mitch lives in the weight room.  I was 6-2 and scrawny thin.  Mitch put me on a diet of whole milk, peanuts, and protein shakes.  Basically, I ate anything that was edible.  My friend Matt McDanel told us about the gym where he worked out, Accel Fitness.  We checked it out, and decided it was a pretty good deal.  We did squats, overhead lifts, rows, and a little bench pressing.  Three months later I had gained thirty pounds!  I look and feel so much better.  I have more energy.  It was well worth the time I put in.  I am continuing to work out, but I have cut back on my diet.  I still try to keep my intake high, but with less fat.  I started working out with a trainer.  You can check out his website at PaulLatare.com.

<< I've done some blogging before.  I started dmfashion.wordpress.com while I was a student at Drake University.  I had a lot of fun giving my thoughts on style.   The problem was that the subject is such a small portion of who I am, and when I want to show my work to someone I don't want to be defined by a fashion blog.  The purpose of this site is multi faceted.  It is to express myself along with my interests, but it is also for me to learn about designing and maintaining a website.  It is my hope that this site will be useful for learning, entertaining, and as a medium for discussion of various topics.  Enjoy! >>