Below is a embedded Google Document of my results so far, up until yesterday, January 24, 2010.

*** You can open the Google Spreadsheet by right clicking and opening up a new tab to see on a full screen.  To navigate, you can click on the tabs “Chest & Back”, “Plyometrics” etc to see the results for each workout.

As promised, here is my progress so far. I will be posting my results
on a daily basis after each workout.

A more detailed post on my nutrition plan, mindset and strategies
taken will be up in about a week’s time. I’ve decided
to ease up on the noise I’m creating on the Twitter and Facebook
channels. However, I’ll continue posting videos after each workout on
YouTube. I’ll post a video for Phase 1 once I get my new MacBook Pro
so I can integrate cool shit into my videos like pictures and music
etc.

For brevity’s sake, I already wrote notes under each areas of focus.
Keep in mind that Phase 1 comprised of only: Chest & Back,
Plyometrics, Shoulders & Arms, Yoga, Legs & Back and Kenpo. The other
pages are for Phase 2 & 3. As of writing this post, I’m hovering
around 149 – 150 pounds – down from 158 pounds.

I’m enjoying the process so far, and I’m definitely glad that I’m
heading into my recovery week. I damn well earned it! Phase 2.. here
I come BRING IT!

You can check out my YouTube Channel for the videos I’ve posted to this very day.

Memo.m4a (4000 KB)

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Will Lam’s Posterous

Just some thoughts after taking a little over a month off of P90X. Besides screaming like a little girl, my thoughts on it is that getting back into the swing of things to match the fitness level you’re at before is tough.. but all it takes is focus, discipline and well.. you’ve done it before already so it ain’t all that bad!

If you’ve followed through on at least Phase 1, and fallen off of the program remember that you at least built up the habit to take on the workouts consistently, so getting back into it should be challenging – not impossible. Just focus on one workout at a time rather than beating yourself up over not being able to follow through on all 3 phases of the program. It’s a huge commitment, but it’s worth it to stick it through till the end.

Since this is my third stab at the program without being able to do the entire 90 days, my key areas of focus are to stick to a diet using ingredients that are closely aligned with “Michi’s Nutrition Ladder” Guide that comes with P90X. In addition to that, I’ll watch my portions and eat until I’m not hungry, and not full as well as not eating 3 hours before I head to bed.

I noticed that having a nice flavoured rooibos tea while reading before I go to bed helps distract me from my hunger.

I also picked up my own copy of The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook, where I’ve tried out some of the recipes found in the cookbook with some deliciously healthy results.

Besides that, I’ve been carefully scrutinizing everything I eat and I even cut back on my favourite food right now… tasty tasty burritos..

I’ll try and put some real work and mash together video of my progress so far (with effects and music) with Adobe Premiere Elements when I install it.

What are you doing to stay active nowadays?  Let me know!  Any recommendations on what I can take on after I finish P90X?

I recently did a bi-annual review of the “General State of Things” in my life and concluded (like the majority of people) that I wasn’t entirely happy with the way things are.

Perhaps it’s the high standards that I have set for myself and consciously decide to adhere to. In anything I’m highly interested where I choose to devote my time and energy, I dive into it and go as deep as possible. By my diving into a particular interest I may have (say public speaking), I aim for not only competency but mastery.

However, after doing my bi-annual review, I noticed a pattern that I caught on that went unnoticed for a while being my tendency to dabble to the point where I:

1) Completely burn out and never go back

2) Drop the interest for one reason (or excuse) or another

Some of the interests that I’ve picked up and amassed over over the years lay in the areas of: improvisational comedy, public speaking, salsa dancing, tea, running, P90X, blogging, philanthropy and meditation.

After picking up on this pattern, to say that I was extremely upset with myself would be an understatement. The reason for my being upset is that the standards were of my own choosing; where I consciously thought them through knowing that they’re challenging enough for me to grow and learn. I realized if I violate my own standards, it really is a blow to my own self-concept. Despite that I constantly stretch myself to reach that ideal equilibrium of practicing what I preach and following through with the promises I make to myself in taking on interests that I’m truly passionate.

After careful reflection, I’ve decided to pick up on the interests that I’ve left on the wayside over the last two years or so being: Public Speaking, Blogging, P90X (or any form of physical exercise) – these being more so lifelong interests that I want to continually hone and improve upon.

What I really aim for these while on the path of mastery are practicing the fundamentals consistently and aligning it with my purpose and long-term vision of who I want to become.

What are your thoughts on being an unconscious dabbler versus striving for mastery? Do you find yourself continually trying out new things and dropping them or do you align your interests with a long term vision for yourself?

If you’ve ever been stuck in a situation where you know that you’ve met the person across from you, exchanged names, but for the life of you can’t recall the person’s name? A likely outcome of this awkward re-encounter would be where you’re simply hoping and waiting for that person to say something, well, anything that will jog your memory. If you don’t mention the person’s name and they remember yours, you can come off as insincere, which probably isn’t a desirable outcome in becoming charismatic. How do you prevent this awkward situation occurring in the first place?

It’s innate in human nature to crave recognition, acknowledgement and acceptance in any social circle a person feels they belong to or want to become a part of. One of the most effective things you can do towards taking that step in becoming more charismatic and generally good in connecting with new people is making the habit of remembering names. Taking a page from Dale Carnegie’s classic on interpersonal skills, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, he says that “A person’s name is to him or her is the sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

I’ve had countless instances where people I’ve met over the years would remark on how impressed they are on my remembering the names months after our first encounter. It doesn’t take that much effort and sets the foundation for taking that first encounter to the next level, be it personal or professional.

It’s so simple yet so powerful. The act of taking the time to remember a person’s name may seem cumbersome at first but it will pay off in spades in the future when people know you’ve taken the time to remember their names and greet them with a warm smile from ear to ear. In return the person you’re interacting with will want to become more invested and get to know you on a more personal level. This simple distinction will set you apart from the mass of people who don’t employ this habit.

One little secret that I’ll reveal about how I remember names is that after meeting a new person, I’ll ask them how they spell their name try to commit it to my short term memory. After a natural lull in conversation, you can politely excuse yourself and go to the corner of the room to jot down the person’s name on a napkin or input it into your cell phone. Once you’ve exchanged contact info, I’d go so far as writing all the little details that I’ve learned about the person so that the next time you meet the person you can pick up where you’ve left off hit the ground running in re-connecting with that person. If you’ve got a knack for connecting with people you can go one even step further and enter a person’s personal details into a spreadsheet and commit it to memory. I actually review this spreadsheet once every few months to refresh my memory and it only takes a few minutes, but it makes it easier to pick up where you left off in case of a random encounter.

By making the effort to remember someone’s name and even going so far about learning more about a person that goes beyond scratching the surface (say their passions or their kids) the next time you follow up you’ll be glad to find out that they’ll be readily impressed by your social savvy and even warmly receptive if not enthusiastic to connect with you again.

Okay, so it’s been QUITE some time since I wrote my last Fitness Update, but it doesn’t mean that I haven’t been hitting the gym as often as I could.

I finished Phase 2 fresh off the heels of Phase 1, and to be honest, I didn’t really follow through with the “recovery” week. I did maybe Core Synergistics and Plyometrics just to stay consistent with the cardio portion of the program. I also indulged in an order of filthy/greasy wings and two pints of Keith’s to wash them down … I earned it!

Adding on to my previous Fitness Update, I bought some new equipment to increase the intensity and effectiveness of my workouts, tried a new cookbook and some supplements as well.

Equipment:

Nike Push up bars - I bought these at Sportchek in Eaton Centre for about $25 Canadian, which wasn’t too bad. They give you about 6 more inches of depth and can really add more definition to your arms, chest and back when you’re pumping out those military pushups

 
Nutrition:

One major addition to my diet was the “Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook” by Tosca Reno. This awesome cookbook is chalk full of healthy and guilty free recipes that break down the nutritional info for you, which might be helpful to some who are calorie-counters.

Nutrition Supplements:

MuscleTech NitroTech Hardcore - I was thinking of switching it up but decided to get the larger tub out of convenience. If any of you have recommendations that would be comparable to NitroTech, I’d appreciate it.

MuscleTech Cell-Tech Hardcore - Buying MuscleTech’s Cell-Tech was probably the worst of my decisions in terms of what supplements to experiment with.   The loading phase was the worst!  In fact, I couldn’t even get past it because of the chronic diarrhea and constant trips to the washroom.  Definitely not cool.

Vitamins – I picked these up to round out my diet and helping muscle recovery.

Apart from vitamins, I’m thinking about picking up some Glucosamine to help speed up muscle recovery, but I don’t know if it’s really that beneficial. (Anyone try or know??)

Thoughts on Phase 2:

If Phase 1 was for trimming the fat and becoming leaner, Phase 2 is where I noticed more definition and bulk. The workout components of Phase 2 were:

• Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
• Ab Ripper X
• Plyometrics
• Back & Biceps
• Yoga X
• Legs & Back
• Kenpo X

Each of these workouts weren’t entirely different from that of Phase 1, but different enough in order to take advantage of “Muscle Confusion” in order to keep you from reaching a plateau and staying there in order to spur muscle growth.

To be honest, I went a bit easy on myself here as I was starting up school so I needed to find a balance between the crazy 6 day workout schedule, working and studying, so I decided to cut out Yoga X and Kenpo X. If I was really pressed for time, I’d cut out Legs & Back as well, which could be an explanation why my legs and back weren’t a defined and my growth wasn’t as drastic compared to completing Phase 1.

I did the same for Phase 3 pretty much, but had to stop half way through this Phase to buckle down for exams.

After reflecting on my experiences with on my modified “P90X Lite” program, simply put, if you cut out some workouts if you’re pressed for time, you’ll STILL get results, but they won’t be as dramatic as you might have originally hoped.  Apart from leading a healthy lifestyle, I would have to say my confidence has definitely increased and my posture has definitely improved.  Also, I’ve noticed that my body language reflects these changes as well, whether conscious or unconscious. 

Now that I have the time, I’ve decided to give the entire P90X program another spin and start from the beginning, this time without skipping out on any workouts like Yoga X, Legs & Back and Kenpo X.  I”m excited to see what results I can yield and will take a pic after each of my workouts to keep track of my progress.  My progress pics are up to date as of this blog post.

I want to oppose the idea that school has to teach directly that special knowledge and those accomplishments that one has to use directly later in life.  The development of general ability or independent thinking and judgment should always be placed foremost… If a person masters the fundamentals of his subject and has leraned to think and work independently, he will surely find his way and will better adapt himself to progress and changes than the person who training consists principally in the acquiring of detailed knowledge – Albert Einstein

A while back my friend Malcolm had wrote a post about “Taking Your Learning to the Comments” when it came to blogging. It had really resonated because at the time I was reading and now finished the book “What Smart Students Know” by Adam Robinson.

I think that it’s difficult to get into high level (“intelligent”) conversations in class at the undergrad business student level being as undergrad business students lack real world experience to contribute their personal opinions and tie it to the theory that is being taught in class. This is especially true for cut and dry fields like Information Technology, Engineering, Accounting, Finance and the like. For liberal arts courses, it’s an entirely different story where you can reflect on personal experiences, thoughts of the world, philosophies, etc.

Everything is mapped out for us and any sort of “creative expression” for your given course is really difficult because of our lack of exposure to real world application of what we learn in business school. Exceptions to this are if you’re studying entrepreneurship or involved in that field in some form or fashion where being creative and innovative in solving a real world need is a must.

The crux of the problem is that most business is the lack of the lessons being taught in class being anchored to real world application and “seeing it in action” to make what was abstract and intangible to concrete and tangible and then further reinforcing the theory that was taught in class.

The key, however, is engagement and full immersion of what’s being taught. By full immersion I mean that you’re engaging all of your senses and breathing life into what was theory and “seeing the gears turn” in real life. Any intelligent or insightful dialogue between both teacher and students or even between students is sorely lacking.

I’d say take a multi-pronged approach to learning would be more holistic. Instead of confining your learning to in class, textbook and conversations with classmates, this could be extended to online, in person, through books and conversations with your prof / classmates – ANYTHING that engages the student to think more critically about the material in making connections to the “big picture” (of the business world, life, etc…)

In terms of my own learning, most of my growth stems in the personal development field. I’d relentlessly devour anything and everything with respect to how to tackle whatever issues I may be experiencing and taking on a ‘360-degree’ perspective. This entailed going through volumes on books on spirituality to books on ‘learning how to learn’ (see “What Smart Students Know” above).

How I learn is whether the topic I’m learning about applicable in my own life, so I feel that taking a sense of responsibility and ownership over what you’re learning. Being personally invested and immersing yourself are critical success factors in “true” learning versus superficial learning for the sake of just passing the course or your undergrad degree.

I wouldn’t go so far as taking participation to online only. Rather, I’d encourage to EXTEND it to online conversations if you’re savvy enough.

Bottom line is, try anything that works for you that would further engage you and think about your subject matter more critically through taking different perspectives from other peoples’ comments. Be wary of environments that stifle critical thinking and seek other outlets to further your understanding in whatever field you may be in.

Before I continue, I will selfishly say that I’m writing this for me and only me to keep me accountable for what I’m mapping out for myself over the next year.   This will be for me to reflect upon for years to come, so this is warning in advance that this will be a LONG post, but if you want to check out what’s happened in my life over the last year you’re more than welcome to take a peek. Oh yeah, read on for a major announcement as well

Now that I got that disclaimer out of the way,  I can boldly say that I’ve made leaps and bounds in my personal growth and understanding what I am truly capable of.    At the beginning of 2008, I was fresh off of Tony Robbin’s Personal Power II program and I wrote a post on New Year’s Resolutions versus Dedications, which entailed being conscious of the language that we use as an indication of our internal dialogue and what we say to ourselves, how we rationalize and justify our choices and opinions in whatever it is we’re facing in our life situations.

For the purposes of skimming, I’ve provided links to my year end reflections of my failures and successes this year.

YEAR END REFLECTIONS

FAILURES

Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit.’  - Napoleon Hill

There is a lot to be learned from failures no matter how painful, traumatizing or heart-breaking they may be.  To me, failure is to be unconscious of the invisible forces that lead us to failing in the first place. As long as you go about living your life with courage and consciously dissect your failures and break them down to find out what the major contributing factors were, there are major breakthroughs to be had when you make it a habit and perservere every single day in your life.

School

Second City Conservatory Program

Completing Toastmasters Competent Communicator Track

Reading 30 books on self-actualization

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.  – Thomas A. Edison

• Belief and respect in myself and others
• Being grateful for everything I have
• Implementing and refining better solutions to problems that arise in my life – constantly
• Nurturing my ‘inner world’  
• Celebrating all of my victories and the micro-distinctions I’ve made – no matter how small or seemingly insignificant

Running a Marathon

Journaling

Affirmations

Transforming for SickKids Initiative 2008

Blogging

Credit Card Debt

Sculpt My Body Like Bruce Lee’s & P90X

Moving In With My Girlfriend

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

Back on December 19, 2008, I wrote down all the things I wanted to turn into reality without judgment by December 31, 2009. I whittled all the “goals” I have for the year into seven different categories being:  

Health, Wealth, Relationships, Creativity, Career, Contribution and Exploring the World.

These are my New Year’s Goals for 2009:

Health:

• Run a Marathon in under 3 hrs 45 mins by Oct 31, 2009
• Complete P90X and P90X+ programs
• Allow only ONE day per month to consume alcohol (not including the preparation of meals like risotto)

Wealth:

• Plow through the remainder of my credit card debt and burn half way through my OSAP loan
• Make $200 per week in passive income

Creativity:

• Finish my Competent Communicator and Competent Leader tracks for Toastmasters
• Write on a consistent basis (4 times weekly) to become a better writer
• Read at least 26 books on anything (one book every two weeks)
• Finish improv classes at The Impatient Theatre Company

Relationships:

• Be an even BETTER boyfriend in 2009
• Devote more quality time to family
• Be the central hub to a fantastic group of friends (current and new)
• Appreciate as well as give and add value to all of my relationships in any form possible

Career:

• Finish up Accounting degree
• Get into CMA Accelerated Program for Sept 2009
• Get a new job

Contribution:

• Take my Transforming for SickKids Initiative to the next level

Exploring the World:

• Travel to at least 2 countries outside of North America

It’s a lengthy list and definitely challenging – but if I turn any of these Resolutions into reality, I’ve already won. That’s all! FINALLY eh??

I can’t wait to see how 2009 will stack up against an amazing 2008!

My parting words to those who have skimmed or read this entire post is to have a fantastic 2009 and may it eclipse 2008!

What are your resolutions?  In a year’s time, what kind of person do you envision yourself becoming?  Let me know in the comments

I find mini-clips like these to be invaluable in pulling me out and snapping myself out of a negative spiral and put me into a state that’s grateful, focused, resourceful and action-oriented.

So I figure it’s time to share my favourite motivational clips on Youtube!

Michael Jordan

This is the clip that I watch the most often. There’s a reason why Michael Jordan was the greatest basketball player to have ever graced with his killer instinct, prowess and finesse – on and off the court.

Lance Armstrong & Vince Vaughan in Dodgeball

A bit more tongue-in-cheek, this clip gave me a good chuckle and teaches a good lesson.

Rocky Balboa

Who doesn’t love an underdog? Rocky teaches his son a lesson in life.

Dr. Randy Pausch

The late Dr. Randy Pausch before he passed away, decided to give his “Last Lecture” to his three children when they’re old enough to comprehend what the lessons and knowledge he wanted to impart to them to lead a fulfilling and meaningful life.

Steve Jobs

Finally, Steve Jobs and his commencement speech to Stanford University undergrads tells three stories about ‘Connecting the Dots’, ‘Love and Loss’, and ‘Death’.

If you have any short yet profound motivational clips, share them in the comments!

• Making strong offers
• Giving focus and getting commitment
• Listening

For Part 2 I’ll be covering

• Authenticity
• Making the other person look good
• Outcome Independence

Authenticity

According to dictionary.com, their definition of authenticity is:

• The quality of being authentic or of established authority for truth and correctness
• Genuineness; the quality of being genuine or not corrupted from the original.

This is what I was referring to earlier in simply being “real” with people you come across in your social interactions. In improv, by being authentic and improvising with a brutal honesty can really help you connect with your audience because there is nothing being held back. You are expressing yourself from your core and things flow naturally in how you express yourself, your body language, the tonality of your voice, and steady eye contact. Everything is aligned and you’re totally congruent in how you’re expressing yourself.

This can easily be applied to your everyday social interactions as well. I’m not saying that you should be brutally honest in every situation. Use your own judgment. You wouldn’t want to do that in a professional environment

Making the other person look good

How exactly do you go about making the other person ‘look’ good? In improv, making your fellow improviser look good is doing everything you can in a support position with their offers and yes-anding them to drive the scene forward.

When you have a group of improvisers looking to make each other look good, what you get is a cohesive group that is making the scene flow naturally, and appreciating each others presence, improvisation skill-set as well as to generally have fun with whatever suggestion you’re given to work with.

Similarly, when you’re in an interaction with someone, genuinely appreciating (and meaning it) what the other person brings to the conversation be it their beliefs, thoughts, opinions, knowledge, their presence or how they present themselves to you is how you make them look good and feel good about sharing a part of themselves. You’re essentially giving the other person your approval without judgment.

In turn, when your appreciation or interest in the other person is genuine and you’re actively contributing and adding value to the interaction by sharing and relating it to your own insights and experiences – a connection is formed. This is where you want to be, and when you get here, you’ll find how amazing and fun it is to connect with people from all walks of life – and the label of being “charismatic” is attached to you

The second installment of How to be Charismatic Using Improv

Being outcome independent

Let go of any preconceived notions of how things will work out when you’re among new people, friends or acquaintances. Here, you are indifferent to the outcome because you’re merely enjoying the other person’s presence. When a conversation is fun and enjoyable, people will naturally like you and want to connect with you.

Give up any ‘plan’ that you’re going to network like crazy and make ‘solid contacts’ for the purposes of whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish. When you’re trying, people will sense it, but when you’re just letting things flow, giving value, yes-anding, showing genuine appreciation, listening and not getting at any particular outcome, things will come to you when you’ve incorporated all the previous concepts to make you personality magnetic.

While this is a counter-intuitive and abstract concept, letting go of any outcome you want to arrive to will ultimately trip you up in being liked by other people because they feel that you want to “get something” from them. Trying to be charming as opposed to just ‘being’ and letting others decide you’re charming is the key. You’re not there to get anything, you just “are” and that’s what will make you magnetic.

Putting it all together

How do you become charismatic or good with people? You certainly don’t need to take a slew of improv classes or take courses on how to become more social (although they can help and put you on the right track).

My simple and basic answer is that it all comes down to the fundamentals, in excelling in the social arts and becoming charismatic. To excel in any sort of art, it takes theory, practice and skill. For the theory portion, it can be learned in the timeless classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, which is recommended by business executives, world leaders and self-help authors as influences for the success in their own lives. It was hugely influential in how I interact with people and how I connect with them.

But having the theory in your head after finishing a book isn’t the goal. The goal is to immediately apply what you’ve learned to the real world. This is where the practice comes in and it can be applied to anyone – family, friends, work colleagues and the new and interesting people who you will meet and naturally gravitate towards you.

As you get better and practice the fundamentals of being better more people, you’ll notice that your conversation skills become better and the social aspect of your life will be more rich and rewarding – and you’ll be blown away by the way people react to you with your confidence and charm