Tag: Craig Harper

SUCCESS: You don’t deserve success, you create it.

Craig Harper shares this from the intro to his new book:

Success is not about what the world – God, karma, the universe, society, the government or your parents – owe you; it’s about what YOU do with what you’ve been given. In this moment. And every moment. Success is not about how many motivational books you read, workshops you attend, conversations you have, goals you set, promises you make or how much self-help crap you manage to memorise; it’s about your thinking, choices, behaviours, resilience and results over time. It’s about what you do with what you know. It’s about the application of the information. It’s about knowing what success is for you – not your parents, partner, friends or peers. It’s about how uncomfortable you’re prepared to get and for how long. It’s about stepping out of your ego and into your potential. Out of fear and into consciousness. It’s about your ability to do what the majority won’t. To be the solution person not the problem person. To get up when most would give up. To ask better questions. To create opportunities not wait for them. To find your own truth and purpose no matter how popular or unpopular that might make you. To be courageous in the face of adversity and to live a life in total alignment with your core values.” via

SUCCESS.

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Today: A Unique Day

I love Australian Craig Harper’s perspective:

Today is Unique

You’ve never had this day before and you’ll never have it again. Sure, you’ve had days like it but you’ve never had this day; the one you’re in right now.

Naturally, you might think I’m being deep and philosophical when I say this but I’m not, I’m being literal. Practical. Of course, there’s a sense of familiarity and predictability about today but that feeling says nothing about the possibilities and potential of this day and everything about you because like every day, this one is not predetermined.

It’s you determined.

It might feel the same but it isn’t. It’s totally new. Original. Unique.

Of course you can choose, act, react, think and communicate just like you did yesterday (and most people will) – and therefore, you’ll probably create very similar outcomes – but again, that’s about you; not the day. Despite what you may have been taught, there are no (universal) good and bad days.

There are just days.

Now, before you try to prove me wrong (“but Craig, what about the woman who gets diagnosed with cancer?”), hit the pause button on your non-negotiable thinking for a moment and allow yourself to look through a different window. Is it possible that, as things happen (to you, around you), you label them based on your world view, beliefs, fears, standards, etc., you then react to those things, give those things meaning and finally, after all your labeling, assessing and processing, you somehow determine whether today is a good day or bad one?

That is, you create your own experience? Your own reality?

A Hypothetical

Your phone and wallet have been stolen while taking your early morning swim and, as a result, you’re having “the worst day ever”. You drive to work in a bad mood and you’re about to throw yourself a pity party when a colleague informs you that your boss has just been rushed to hospital after suffering a massive heart attack. In a matter of seconds you experience a major internal shift. Your enormous problem is now tiny. Insignificant. Your outlook changes completely and all of a sudden, your terrible day is now relatively fantastic (when compared with the day your boss is having). Well technically, the day is the same (of course) but in the middle of it, you are different. Well, to be more precise, your thinking is different which means your experience has changed.

Which means your day has changed.

The Manager vs The Managee

Is it possible that you’re living a reactive (wait and see what happens) type of existence rather than a proactive (I’ll determine the quality of my own day thanks) type of existence? Could today simultaneously be my ‘best day ever’ and your ‘total nightmare’? And finally, could it be that a good or bad day on Planet You is more about your personal interpretation of, and response to, certain (otherwise meaningless) happenings, events and outcomes, than the actual happenings, events and outcomes themselves?

Like yesterday, today is a blank canvas and like it or not, you’re going to paint something.

The question is, what will be hanging in your gallery tonight?

You can follow his blog here: Today: A Unique Day

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Your Body: One Year From Today

One of my favorite quotes in working with clients is “A year from now you’ll wish you started today”. Along those lines, Craig Harper writes:

If you’re serious about changing your body, and more importantly, keeping it that way, below you’ll find some relevant, valuable and potentially-transformational questions. They are the type of questions that I ask anyone who comes to me for coaching in this area. Keep in mind that transformation lives in the doing, not just the knowing, so if you’re in need of a physical overhaul, or maybe just a few minor modifications, take some time to answer the following thoughtfully and courageously.

What do you want your body to look, feel and function like one year from today (be specific)?

What do you need to do practically, to make your goal a reality?

What happens once your motivation subsides (it will)?

What happened last time you tried to change your body?

Why and how will it be different this time (if nothing changes, nothing changes)?

What’s your optimal exercise strategy (based on your genetics, age, goals, fitness, injuries, etc.)?

What’s one simple thing (that will make a difference) that you can change today?

What happened over the last 365 days (with your body)? Why?

Are you genuinely prepared to do the work (and to keep doing it), or do you just like ‘the idea’ of a different body?

Do you need to change your relationship with food? If so, how?

Do you have an accountability system? If so, what is it?

When it comes to the practical change-your-body variables (food, lifestyle, exercise, time management), what are your ‘non-negotiables’?

As I’ve said many times before on this site, when we ask better questions and we’re genuinely committed to change, we make better decisions, do better things, produce better results and our reality shifts.

Statistically, we know that, despite their conversations, declarations and intentions, most people won’t improve their health or fitness over the next year. Some will, most won’t. Of course, they can change and they want to change, but sadly, they won’t. Like the majority of our ever-expanding population, some will continue to get on and off the weight-loss merry-go-round, all the while complaining about their genetics, the weather, their sore ankle, their limited time and their exhausting schedule.

And then they’ll wake up and it will be July 2013.

Today, I challenge you to be in the minority.” via Your Body: One Year From Today.

When I read things like this I used to feel guilty — now I’m happy I’m on the right path! I started power walking in March and now walk, run and bike ride; thanks to Endomondo, I know I’ve put in over 500 miles in all three since I started…

I’ve lost over 100 pounds with Atkins in the past 10 years but gained 75 of it back because I don’t believe that Atkins is sustainable or healthy based on my experience. I’m sorry to tell you there is no substitute for eating better and exercising more…

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Nutrition for Dummies

Craig Harper offers this practical list:

1. Don’t eat anything bigger than your head. Unless it’s a watermelon. Or you have a tiny head.

2. If your meal arrives through a car window via a teenager wearing a headset, don’t eat it.

3. If it comes in an exciting range of fluorescent colours, don’t eat it.

4. Don’t confuse the marketing on the front (of the pack) with the nutritional information in the teeny-tiny box on the back.

5. Nobody accidentally eats cake. Own your choices and your behaviours.

6. Calories consumed in secret count. Your friends might not know but your arse will.

7. If dieting was an effective way to lose weight permanently, nobody would ever diet twice.

8. Don’t confuse ‘what your head wants’ with what your body needs. Your mind is a lying bitch.

9. If the ingredient list is full of weird-sounding numbers and words ending in ‘ose’, throw it away.

10. If you haven’t had a poo since June, maybe cut back on the processed food. And try a little fibre. Just saying.

11. If it comes with orange-coloured cheese, throw it away.

12. Most cereals are shit. Avoid them. Unless you want diabetes by Friday.

13. Amazingly, following a generic eating plan from a magazine is not your best bet.

14. If food is your lover, you need to get out more.

15. If you’re considering taking your kids to McDonalds for a treat, punch yourself in the face.” via Nutrition for Dummies (Craig’s version).

Thanks to David Kanigan for introducing me to Craig’s blog…

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