If you are familiar with Chris Brogan, you are familiar with the concept of 3 Words for the Year. For those of you not familiar with the concept, instead of coming up with a new year’s resolution every year, Chris Brogan comes up with 3 words for the year. He comes up with those words based on what he wants the focus of the year to be, then bases his decisions throughout the year on those three words and how the decision will affect his focus on those 3 words. What’s interesting is that even though I haven’t blogged about my 3 words yet, I have already told you what they are with the recent redesign of this website. My three words for 2011 (in this order) are:
Author: Jeff Miles
Jeff is a husband, father and computer programmer who loves to read, work out, watch movies, and spend time with his family.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in this blog are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. For book reviews, in some cases I have received a free copy of the book so that I can read it and post a review on my website. The advertisements on this site are affiliate links which means if you click on the ad and purchase the item, I will receive a commission from that sale. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
David Ponder is at it again…actually, he gets dragged into it again. David Ponder is now 74 years old when Gabriel decides to visit him and pull him and all previous Travellers to save the world…literally…humanity is on a crash course with destruction and the Travellers must figure out how to save it…
We first met David Ponder in The Traveller’s Gift where he first learned the 7 decisions that determine personal success. I loved that book and with The Final Summit Andy Andrews has done it again. What I like the most about Andy’s books is that he teaches major life lessons using stories that intrigue you and pull you in. When you sit down to read an Andy Andrews book you don’t want to get up, you find yourself rifling through the pages as fast as you can.
The Final Summit does not disappoint in this regard. Writing a review for a book like this is hard because it is such a good book that you really just want your reader to go buy the book…and experience it for themselves without being tainted by your own opinion. So, I will say it again…go buy the book…
Other (highly recommended) Books I have read by Andy Andrews:
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Miles Family Easter 2011
Things have finally slowed down around the Miles household. A major project I was working on as part of my business Two Miles Solutions, LLC finished up this week and now we are able to scale back the amount of time that I work which means that I have more time to do things I like such as spending time with my family and blog.
For my first blog post, I want to post about my family since it has been so long since I have done so.
One thing I love about being a BookSneeze.com blogger for Thomas Nelson Publishers is that through this program, I am able to read books that I may or may not normally read.
That was how I came across this book. A theme I am noticing is that actions have consequences, in a previous review, I reviewed The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews. Where The Butterfly Effect takes a look at the positive consequences of a person’s actions, Seeds of Turmoil takes a look at the negative and far reaching consequences of one man’s (Abraham) actions. He goes in depth into how the turmoil that we currently see in the Middle East is the result of decisions made 4,000 years ago. He talks about how because of those decisions, turmoil in the Middle East is inevitable.
Overall, I liked this book and was very impressed by the depth by which Bryant Wright digs into the history of the region and the turmoil that is inevitable. However, it did seem like the book got a little repetitive and could have ended a little earlier than it did. With all this in mind, I would definitely recommend this book to any serious scholar of the Bible (this is the version I use for my study) who wants to understand a little bit more the implications of the Biblical HIstorical Narrative on today’s events.
If you know me, then you know that since I stopped playing college football at Drake University and entered the “real world” and started driving a desk, I have been waging the battle of the bulge. So when Let’s Do Lunch was available through Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze program, I decided to get the book to see what the author had to say.
I’ll first say that this is not your normal weight loss book, (I’ve read a few, listed at the end of this post). Roger Wilson never claims to be a health and/or fitness professional. What Roger does claim is that he lost 230 pounds using this plan and has kept it off for 15 years. Another anomaly is that throughout this plan you eat as much food as you want, what matters is the kind of food and when. The other non-health professional diet book that I have read is The Jerusalem Diet by Ted Haggard and they both share essentially the same approach in that the author is speaking from personal experience as to what has worked for them to lose the weight that they wanted. Where I feel this book falls short is the lack of medical evidence from a certified medical professional validating what the author is stating. The author does mention that his doctor’s weighed in and said that he was healthy, but I am a thinker, I want to know why the diet works, I didn’t feel like I got that with this book.
Do I recommend this book, yes, wholeheartedly because let’s face it, America is fat and will this book help people lose weight, yes. But this gets to my next point. In reading this book, and talking to people who work for another diet system (a potential customer of mine actually) I am noticing another alarming trend, less and less emphasis on working out or attaining a certain
level of physical fitness. The author mentions briefly that working out is good, but he doesn’t really recommend working out. The other diet system actually discourages you from working out…that scares me…because it takes the focus off the real issue. Are you overweight, yes, but just attacking your weight is not going to solve your problem because you are losing weight to get healthy. Our bodies are an amazing machine that if properly functioning will heal itself and regulate itself. So the correct approach should be to get healthy to lose weight which includes exercise for the sheer benefit of making you healthier, that is why while as my schedule starts to become “normal” again as I approach my health and fitness and fight the battle of the bulge while I may borrow some ideas from this book (frozen grapes are amazing) my main tool will be P90X.
Related Books/Materials:
- P90X
- The Jerusalem Diet by Ted Haggard
- The Biggest Loser Weight Loss Program by Rodale
- The Fat Flush Plan by Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D., C.N.S.
- Body for Life by Bill Phillips and Michael D’Orso
Let me know your thoughts/comments below…
The Butterfly Effect continues on a concept started in Andrew’s best selling book The Noticer. In this unassuming, beautifully illustrated short book Andrews talks about how the actions of one person can affect history for hundreds of years. To elaborate more than this would spoil the experience of the book. But I can say that everyone should read this book to get a little “perspective” as Jones would say.
Weighing in at only 107 pages, this book is an amazingly quick read. I read it in the span of about a half hour. I loved the illustrations and the format of this book. The beauty of the book helped the words have their intended impact as I considered how the inaction of one person could have irrevocably altered the history of our planet in a way that would have been catastrophic. Then, Andrews pointed his finger at me and asked me to realize how my actions could affect history as well.
Overall, I would tell you that you have to read every book Andy Andrews has ever written (I have read 3 so far and every one of them is amazing). The reason that I haven’t yet written reviews on the other two books of his that I have read is that I’m not sure I can do them justice in a review. Eventually I will muster up the courage to write the reviews, but for now, just take my word and click on the [affiliate] links below and buy every one of his books.
Books by Andy Andrews – [amazon.com affiliate links]
In A Guy’s Guide to Life, the author Jason Boyett claims he can explain “How to become a man in 224 pages or less”…according to the cover. Even though I fall outside the target demographic, as a male, naturally I was intrigued, plus I have a 3 year old son who has already asked me where babies come from. Upon further inspection, I don’t think reading this book will automatically make you a man, but it was a very engaging read.
The book is broken into 3 different parts (mind, body, and soul) with five chapters each including such favorites as Manly Myths, Dating, Grooming, Health and Exercise, The Sex Chapter, Family, Friends, and Faith. For any red-blooded American teenager, The Sex Chapter is sure to grab their attention. All sarcasm and joking aside, I really enjoyed this book and
its refreshing honesty. The author did a really good job addressing issues that are extremely relevant to an American teen in a way that keeps the conversation light, but still gets the point across. One section of the book that I really liked was his discussion on who our neighbor is. He is talking out of the context of loving people, especially loving our neighbor. Many pastors wishing to preach on the subject would do well to read this section of the book as a part of their sermon preparation.
Overall, I give it a 4 out of 5, especially for those who are parents of boys.
I received this book from a networking contact of mine who wanted to help me make the best run at my business possible. It sat on the shelf for quite a while until just recently when I was looking through my book collection looking for a book to read. I’m really glad that I picked it up. The Go-Giver is written in the style of such great books as Raving Fans and The Wealthy Barber. It starts of with the reader meeting the main character, in this case Joe, who is told that he needs to meet with a certain guru to get where he wants to go. The guru teaches him the 5 principles of stratospheric success and Joe’s life and business are transformed. While not a new method of teaching I loved this book and learned a lot from it. The 5 principles are easy to grasp and sink your teeth into, but you don’t feel like you are sitting in a lecture hall. Ever since reading HTML Goodies in college (the book that taught me how to write my first website…look at me now!) I have always loved books that sought to teach me something that did so through story or conversation. If I am learning something, I want it to be engaging, I already went to school, I am learning now because I want to, please make it an enjoyable experience. The Go-Giver delivers, and not only in the business realm, these principles can be applied to all areas of life. I loved this read and would recommend it to anyone who wants to take their business or their life to the next level.
Overall I give The Go-Giver 4.5 out of 5.0, you should definitely check it out.
Have you ever had one of those moments where the events and circumstances in your life created a Perfect Storm? This book did that for me. In this book Lucado talks about finding your “sweet spot” in life, finding that thing you were meant to do. Lucado discusses this concept in his usual inspirational, story filled, and extremely practical manner which has endeared him to so many thousands of readers. I can’t say what decisions or ideas that came about because of reading this book, but due to me reading this book, a project that came about, and some internal heart stuff God was working with me on, I had a moment where I saw my sweet spot. There will be a lot of prep to get there and it is not something that will happen right now, it may actually be years away but in that moment of clarity, I saw what I was made to do (for that, I am extremely grateful to Max Lucado for writing this book). Thomas Nelson recommends this book for graduates, a sentiment I would definitely agree with, but I would not constrain its use to that group either. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who has ever asked the question, “What am I supposed to do with my life?” I can imagine that with the current economic situation there are a lot of people asking this question. Do them a favor and buy them this book [amazon.com affiliate link].
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P90X – Day 1 – 30
As many of you know, I purchased P90X and have been on the P90X journey since April 19th, 2010. Today marks Day 30 of my journey which in the P90X world means that you need to supply pictures. First, let me say that as you can see from the image on the right, I haven’t been able to be as consistent with the workout as I would have liked. Between 2 kids, owning my own business, being sick for a week, and traveling for a friend’s wedding I started off really well, but I haven’t been very consistent the last couple weeks. The sad part is that I really wanted to workout, I just couldn’t. I have never had a workout regimen that I looked forward to as much as I have looked forward to P90X. We are currently traveling for a friend’s wedding and on the days I have traveled I have felt not doing my workouts and couldn’t wait to press play. I worked out in my in-law’s basement today (sorry for the lighting in my 30 day pictures) and it felt great. So now on to the pictures.
Front:
Back:
Side:
The front and the back pictures don’t really do it justice, but the side shots are where it shows how much I have improved. I started my journey at 332 pounds and I have lost around 10 pounds total so far. I have lost 3 inches off my waist (even after 30 days my pants are fitting looser!!!).
Nutrition Plan:
I can’t talk about P90X without talking about the nutrition plan. I absolutely love it! I have never eaten this much, I
am on a 3,000 calorie diet. If I get hungry it is my own fault (or the fact that my metabolism is in high gear). I have tried to stay true to the nutrition plan even with everything going on that I have had going on but I will admit, I haven’t followed it completely. However, I have noticed a few things:
- I feel great! Like I said, I have never eaten this much, but I am eating really good, natural foods, and not a lot of carbs (on my current phase I am allowed 1 portion of carbs a day). I have a ton of energy and just feel better.
- I can feel it when I deviate from the nutrition plan. Mostly when I eat more carbs than I should, but if I deviate from the nutrition plan, I am sluggish and just feel altogether gross.
- I am craving junk food less and less. This was a major revelation for me. I haven’t given up soda (one of my biggest vices), but I am needing it less and less. This also applies to sweets. Mandy and Caleb will have ice cream every once in awhile and I have no desire to have any whatsoever because I know how it will make me feel if I eat it…and it is not worth it.
- Before P90X I was starving myself and that is why I was gaining weight. I am a part of the P90X Fan page on Facebook (an amazing forum for encouragement) and I regularly see people who can’t believe how much food they are supposed to be eating because like me they were used to starving themselves which pushed their bodies into starvation mode where your body stores everything as fat.
P90x Fan Page on Facebook:
I know they really aren’t called fan pages on Facebook anymore, but that’s what I am going to call it for right now. If you are doing P90X and are not a part of the P90X Fan page on Facebook you are missing out. The people on this page are amazing. They are constantly encouraging each other and pushing each other to do better.
Equipment:
One of the first questions people ask when they consider P90X is what equipment will they need…here is the equipment I use.
- Gold’s Gym 6-Piece Puzzle Mat – I really like these mats…I have duct taped them together by flipping them over and running duct tape down all the seams and absolutely working out on them.
- P90X Pullup Bar – This bar has been tested up to 500 pounds whereas the other ones wouldn’t work for someone my size.
- Gold’s Gym 40 lb Cement Weight Set – I actually have 2 of these sets so that I can switch between weights pretty easily. On this trip I have weight bands with me, but I haven’t had a workout yet that requires them so I can’t recommend them yet.
Resources:
Besides the official teambeachbody.com site and the P90X Fan page on Facebook, in order to help keep myself accountable, I created a tracking spreadsheet in Excel to help me track my progress. Check it out.
In my next P90X update (Day 60) I will post a picture of my workout area and why I really have no excuse not to do P90X which has helped me out a ton. Hopefully, you are encouraged by my progress to the point that you join me on the journey. BRING IT!!!