What's your Purpose?

One thing is for sure with no purpose you have no drive.  At this point in my life I have a few purposes of setting forth to accomplish what most dream about.  I am getting healthy, fit, trekking up to the Wheeler Peak Summit, and helping others to achieve their health and financial goals.

My family is the biggest purpose for the driving force behind me.  I want my kids to know that they can over come obstacles life throws at us.  Now, one may take a look at my beautiful angel, our oldest and question my thinking.  She may not be able to over come her obstacles as easy as others my but I will teach her that as long as you give it your very best that is what matters.

Giovanni II (4), Mary Grace (6 mo), and Elizabeth (6)

I myself have over come statistical odds.  I was a high school dropout.  Something I am not proud of but it is part of my journey of who I am today.  At 30 years of age I decided I didn't want my mistakes to be the guiding example for my kids.  I will never lie to them about my short falls but I can say I am proud to be an example of fighting out of a hole.  

These three blessings are the sole reason we are building a powerful and meaningful Advocre business.  Ashley and I decided we wanted to leave a legacy for our kids and at the same time we are ensuring that Elizabeth will not be a financial burden on the other two.  I thank GOD every day that Advocare found us and we accepted the blessing.

Anything Worth Doing, is Worth Doing Right

Today I started to narrow down the huge list of gear I have been researching.  It is unreal the many different items you need to have for a hike and at the same time trying to minimize the load weight.  I have discovered a new way of looking at packing.  Grams equals ounces, ounces equal pounds, and pounds equals space.  Until I really got into the nuts and bolts I didn't quite understand when people were telling me that everything comes down to ounces.  Simply enough when you think about it, it makes all the sense in the world.

Shedding pounds from a backpack seems hard enough.  Getting those pounds off of the body is a whole another battle.  To say it takes work is an under statement.  I firmly believe there are three core pillars needed to accomplish this.  If you neglect one of the them it becomes a balancing act, like a tripod with just two legs.  These three things are exercise, diet, and supplementation.

Lets break these three subjects down individually.

Exercise: IF YOUR WORKOUT ISN'T CHALLENGING YOU, IT'S NOT CHANGING YOU!!!
          Do a workout that you think is a step above your level.  Don't take this to the extreme.
          If you can bench press 150#, don't jump to 300#.

Diet: This word is very misunderstood.  Diet it what you consume, not some fad idea you see on TV.  
         I have discovered that when you eat the right things regularly, your body begins to crave those
         good foods.  But when you eat those delicious bad foods your body rejects it.  
         A good diet must be sustainable.  If you "crash diet" to lose weight, when you go back to normal 
         those pounds you lost come back, plus some.

Supplementation:  This is not reserved just for the meat heads that pump iron.  Supplements are just     
         that,  they are excellent companions to a healthy diet.  In reality, we can not eat enough good 
         foods to  get what the body needs.  I have learned a lot about taking supplements through 
         Advocare.  Their Scientific and Medical Board have conducted breakout sessions at Success 
         School where they explain and bring a lot of this information into prospective.  The best a doctor 
         can in layman's terms.  
         
If you have questions about supplementation, Advocare and the opportunity it offers to get healthy, gain energy, and provide a financial supplementation to the ole wallet, or if you would like to get a FREE sample of our mental focus / energy drink e-mail me at sparkandgold@gmail.com or click on the link and visit us at sparkandgold.com .

Objects in picture are as they appear!

6/11/13

Warm Up
25 Run Lunges
10 Push Ups
10 Sit Ups
250 m Run



WOD
Hanging Grace
for time    My Time- 13:02
30 Hang Clean and Jerk  95#

Extra
3-3-3-3-1
Back Squats
135-205-225-245-255

Core 
30 Russian Twist w/10# med ball

Lesson Two "The Park Service is Smarter Than Me."

After a good nights rest we load up.  We arrive at the Trail Head and read the Park Service signage at the start.  A quick review of the posted trail map. CHECK.  Geared up truck locked. CHECK.  Read over warning label signage posted by the Park Service. Check.  Heeded warnings.  OOPS!  Sign said "DO NOT START HIKE AFTER 12 NOON."  I check my watch,  "Lets Roll, its 11:45 a.m."

The Journey begins!

10 minutes in

Not much later, But I found a walking stick.



Alex: "Look at the snow."
Mark: "That's just white rocks"
Giovanni: "Lets bet. I'm with Alex"



We were RIGHT!!!

He was WRONG!!

THIS IS GREAT

This is what packing wrong looks like.

NO! We are not there yet!

Alex just broke the news to me 3 hours after we started.
Alex: "I got good news and bad news"
Giovanni: "Good news first"
Alex: "We are heading back down, bad news this isn't Wheeler Peak its Frasier"
Right after this picture was taken two older gentlemen came around that corner and had to step around me because I wasn't moving.

Mark: "Guys, I got bad news too. I ate All the M&Ms. 

Giovanni: "Yep, clean out of gummie bears.  We're screwed"

On the way down
Alex: "We need to do this again some other time"
Giovanni: " ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
We are now in the planning phase our comeback hike for JUNE 2014

Giovanni: "I'm coming,  Who's DUMB IDEA was this anyway!

I hope you have enjoyed the PREQUEL to the upcoming preparatory events and "THE REMATCH"

Lesson One "Too Much of a Good Thing is BAD!!"

Ok, where were we.  Oh the stroll up a "HILL".

After dinner we drove around to figure out where we needed to start in the morning.

Scouting out the evening before.
Yes, the one in the far background 

 After roaming allover the Taos area asking the locals for directions we located the Taos Ski Village.

Taos Ski Village at the Trail Head.

Like any great adventurers we made a trip to the local Wal-Mart to get supplies.  This was a very interesting trip to Wal-Mart.  I have lived in South Louisiana my whole life.  July is one of the hottest months of the year.  It took Mark and Alex the better half of our trip to convince me I need to buy a jacket because it would be chilly up there.

Now we need rations.  Alex logically grabs beef jerky, nuts and water.  Mark stocked up on trail-mix, M&Ms, and water.  I grabbed the essentials,  loaf of bread, sandwich meat, two bags of chips (to share of course), water, and the all important nutritious gummie bears x3 (not to share of course).  Another 20 minutes of "INTENSE FELLOWSHIPING" and we walked out of Wal-mart with beef jerky, nuts, M&Ms, three cases of water, chips, and the all important nutritious gummie bears x4 (one extra to share).

We get back to the hotel and start packing.  Of course I pack the biggest bag I had with me and successfully filled it up.  I smartly packed two flashlights, night vision goggles, camera, compass, water, chips, gummie bears, handgun, batteries for flash light x10, batteries for night vision x6, extra ammo x3 boxes (50 rounds each), a change of clothes, hotel toilet paper x2, hotel towel, and Wal-Mart bags to carryout trash.  In all about 60-70 lbs of stuff for a ONE DAY hike.  Keep in mind this was just my bag.

With all this gear packed I left no room for common logic. This comment will make more sense when you read tomorrow's post.

The Best Memories come from Bad Ideas!

"Today I want you to ask yourself a question.  WHY NOT YOU?  Why not you to do something for work that you love?  Why not you to have a healthy body?  Why not you to have healthy love? Why not you to be, have, or do anything you ever dreamed?!  We are so Quick to think others are deserving over ourselves.  The truth is that we are all deserving SO WHY NOT YOU?!"

                                                                                                                      -Jillian Michaels

The day I read this quote it was as Jillian was talking directly to me.  Now I hope to pass it to YOU.

Though I was unaware of it, this journey which I am inviting you on, started back in July 2010 in Taos, New Mexico at the trail head in the Carson National Forest, Trail 90.  At the same moment I was boldly and over confidently, which is a huge understatement, setting forth to conquer the highest peak in New Mexico (13,161 ft) an opportunity had found me.  I was not looking to change my lifestyle or my inner self; but change it was a coming.

       This is a photo of the WOLFPACK taken on the way down of the epic fail to get to Wheeler Peak.
                                                         (Mark, Giovanni, and Alex)

The above photo is the definition of the title of this post.  The Best Memories come from Bad Ideas!

It was 4th of July weekend and we were having a great 3 day weekend, which we went whitewater rafting on the upper Rio Grande River and did some site seeing in the Taos area.  One of the rafting tour guides told us about the scenic and awesome views on the trails to Wheeler Peak.  Well, as the great adventurers we thought we were decided over dinner that night we would tackle this "HILL" they call Wheeler Peak.  Boy were we wrong!
Stay Tuned, it gets worse!