Day 78 and 79 Recap

Today was the kind of day I always look forward to. I had the opportunity to speak to 60 high school students about personal development, goal setting, positivity and life direction. It was my 4th time going to this particular school and it was a really great experience. I had the students working in pairs to discuss some of their passions, wants as well as short and long term goals. As usual, I heard some very interesting ideas that I have not heard before. It seems that every time I conduct a workshop like this, I get some new ideas...it was awesome.

During my presentation, I was talking about the power of habits and I actually ended up sharing this 90 Day challenge with the students. It was an interesting personal experience because it was the first time I talked about this challenge in a public presentation. It is something I would like to share with audiences but it just hadn't come up until now in my talks. It is always easier to earn your credibility when you not only say the message but also "do" the message. Just the fact that I had personal stories like that back up every point in my presentation helped the students relate to the ideas.

The other thing I really enjoyed about today was the fact that many of these students have big dreams for their life. One student wanted to try out for Canadian Idol and he is very serious about it. Another student wants to be a professional guitar player. There were others who want to make a profession as someone who travels the globe. Very refreshing to see people dreaming big and following their passions.

After today, I realized that I would like to add a high school program to my regular speaking schedule. Ideally once every couple of weeks. It helps me stay in touch with the youth and the issues they face today, and it is a whole lot of fun. I also feel that I am able to help them think about their life differently and I think more adults need to do this to inspire the youth.

The days seem to be flying by now. I am moving into the final 11 days of the challenge and it is amazing to me how fast the time has gone by.

For fitness, Day 78 and 79 were both weight lifting workouts. Monday, day 78 was a full chest/back weight workout followed by cardio on the stationary bike and about 20 minutes of pickup basketball with another guy from my gym. Then today, day 79, I actually had very little time in my calendar so I ended up doing a workout from home. I did a full arm workout (biceps and triceps) along with 5 sets of 50 for abs. It was a short workout but high intensity. I had a really good sweat going...so overall it felt great.

Tomorrow it will be back to my regular basketball routine assuming my legs are not too sore. They have been feeling pretty rough since my men's league game on Sunday night.

My workload is also increasing the next 2 days as I have a conference on the weekend and need to squeeze 3 days of work into 2 days. But, I am ready to go and stay focused to get the job done.