It's all about the work

Update from surgery: I have hit a stride in my recovery from reconstructive ACL surgery. I am now at 180 lbs which means I have gained 16 of the 24 pounds back. I now have my eyes firmly set on 200 lbs by the End of July. My goal for the month of May, however, is to knock out 20 hill sprints in 30 minutes.

About a month ago I got a job as a cook at a pretty amazing restaurant. A restaurant that has been awarded 5 stars by the News and Observer, and is run by the most talented chef in North Carolina, Steven Greene. Being a 17 year-old working with professionals, who are the best at what they do, has been an eye opening experience--one that has transformed and impacted me, and one that I'm glad is taking place. What I'm learning each and every day is that it's all about the work. Talking is nice and everything, but, frankly, it's not going to get you where you want to be. The work, however, will. It's not easy sticking to a plan and attacking it with a relentless, indomitable will each and every day, it's not easy leaving behind all the negativity and negative people in your life, it's not easy hammering away endlessly at the minutia, but it's worth it. And it's all a necessary part of living a purposeful and successful life.

I look at it like this: You can sacrifice and attack your dreams with everything you have now, or, say in twenty years, you can look back and wonder why you didn't. For me the choice is easy. You can choose to become successful, choose to leave a mark that will endure by just doing you--by pursuing your interests rather than listening to someone else's.

Forget about the past and focus on the present, forget about every little thing you would've done differently and get to work now. Right now. Not tomorrow, not the day after that. Today. Because the time is now for us to get to work and to get to the place that we have envisioned. There are no excuses in our journey, no excuses that can serve as reason for failure. It's time to live up to our potential; It's time to get to work. It's not too late. The race ain't over.

Thanks for reading. JG

How to Cook an Egg

               "If you can cook an omelet, you can cook anything. "

Recently I have started to learn more and more about cooking. If you have not checked out Tim Ferris's book The 4 hour Chef then you should do so immediately. Tim has some great points on cooking and learning, or as he describes it, Meta-Learning. Anyways, if cooking is your interest, then I suggest you start with properly cooking an egg. I firmly believe that if you can properly cook an egg, you can cook or create anything in the kitchen. Let's get to it. Here's what you will need:

• 3 EGGS (Your choice although farm-raised are probably ideal)
• 2 Forks (1 for mixing the eggs, 1 for eating the eggs)
• 1 regular sized bowl
• 1 Non-stick Pan
• Olive Oil 
• A Stove-top
• A Rubber Spatula

And Now for the Process :

1. Take Your 3 eggs and Crack them on a Hard Surface(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfHqdc4pbbs
2. Put The Eggs into the bowl
3. Mix the egg mixture with a fork, stirring forcefully for about a minute (You want a good consistency)
4. Leave that bowl to the side for now
5. Turn your stove-top on to medium 
6. Put a quarter sized drop of olive-oil onto your Non-Stick Pan
7. Put your Pan onto the stove-top for 10 seconds
8. Lift the handle of your Pan and maneuver it so that Olive Oil is spread evenly throughout the pan
9. Pour the Eggs onto the Pan
10. Let the Eggs sit on the Pan for about a minute
11. Once you can see the Eggs set(aka the edges are not liquidy) then you get your Spatula
12. With Your Spatula push the solid edges of the Egg in and let the remaining liquid take the Empty Space
13. Wait about 5 seconds for Egg to firm a little
14. Flip The Egg Over By picking up the pan and Using a QUICK forward and back motion
15. Serve.

Conclusion: Your Egg should be perfectly yellow all around. There should be NO BROWN spots on the egg--if there are then you will have to be a little quicker next time. Happy Egg-Making!

How To Fold a T-Shirt In Two Seconds

      "You gotta know when to hold-em, know when to fold-em." - Some country singer

Wow!!! Who would have thought it was possible that everything you have been taught about folding shirts is a lie! Yes, thats right, a lie. That is assuming you have not seen this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An0mFZ3enhM . Now I know most of you could care less about efficiency in folding shirts, but it's a very interesting topic to me for the following 3 reasons:

• Doing anything better than 99% of the population is awesome(especially something that seems simple)
• I am a manager for a sports team and this will help me improve my effectiveness
• I can now impress my mom by keeping all of my shirts folded (and do it in half the time)

As you can see the benefits are numerous, and best of all it only took about 15 minutes to learn and 20 minutes to master. Learn how to fold a shirt in two seconds by following the these steps:

1. Watch the video I have linked at least two times prior to touching a shirt.
2. Take a shirt and go through the steps slowly. Repeat.
3. Go get a stopwatch and set the timer for 5 minutes. During this time practice correct form and don't worry about speed, however, the end fold should be neat.
4. Now you're ready for the big-time! Practice folding as quickly as you can for the next 5 minutes(use the stopwatch you lazy sonofab!!!!!) You should be averaging about 2.5 to 3 seconds per shirt by now.
5. You now have to work on top-end speed. Go as fast as you can for the next 5 minutes (repetitions should be less than 2.2 seconds each time) and don't worry too much about how neat the fold is-- it's purely about speed. I was able to get a shirt done in 1.87 seconds during this phase.
6. Now go back to making the fold a bit neater and keep the speed up--I hit a 1.89 perfect folded t-shirt about 1 minute into this phase of my folding education. 

Finally, don't brag too much to your friends and family about how cool you are with your now superhuman folding skills. Believe it or not, they may not care about this as much as you or me, but don't fret--the benefits of acquiring this skill transcend praise from your peers. Get a shirt and get to work. Happy Folding!

Thanks for reading. JG

What Really Matters

Too often in life it is easy for us to become self-absorbed individuals. You know what I'm talking about--you get to the point where you forget to show the people you love just how much you love them. And while it's a common fault it's still not something to be okay with, because there may come a time when you won't be able to let someone else know how you truly feel about them. And being there for others and making an impact in their lives, in my opinion, is what really matters.

                        "A friend who dies, it's something of you that dies."

There's nothing in this world that puts things in perspective quite like death. The death of a loved one illustrates just how important being there for others and showing them how much you love them is. It's easy to take for granted the relationships you have with the people around you: you may think, for example, that your boyfriend/girlfriend understands that you love them; you may think that your family understands how much you love them; you may be absolutely certain that your friends know how much you love them--but my question to you is do they? Do they really understand how much they mean to you? When was the last time you told them that just how much they mean to you? Was it last week, last year, or worse--have you never told them how you would do anything in the world to help them and be there for them? Better yet, when was the last time you showed them how much they mean to you? Sure telling them is nice, but it's the showing part that really demonstrates the type of love you have for someone--remember that it's your actions, not your words, that defines your character. The point is that your love for the people around you that you truly care for should not be something you keep bottled up inside; rather, it should be something you're proud of, something that you consciously flaunt, something that is evident in both your presence and essence.

I was at my first funeral, a funeral for my 19-year old cousin Katie, and I had to learn these simple lessons the hard way. It took a tragedy to truly understand how important the little things are. And now, more than ever, I know what greatness truly is: greatness is the little things done right day-after-day, week-after-week, year-after-year, until eventually doing the right things the right way every time and every day becomes second nature. Rest in peace Katie, I will miss you and I promise to not forget the wonderful life that you led. And to the reader:  Do not be ignorant to the fact that one letter, one phone-call, or conversation could change someone's life. It's never wrong to do the right thing.

Thanks for reading. JG