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Thursday, February 27, 2014
Messed up last week.


I messed up last week. I thought I could finally hit my daily goal which is 4000 Nike Fuel points. I was not able to do that because I did not put an effort to complete the goal.
 This is my result on the week of February 10:

This is my result last week (Feb 17):


The difference is almost 2000 points.

This week I am looking at probably the same output. I actually skipped two days of exercise (Monday and Tuesday).

Here's a snapshot of my progress so far. This is not looking good but I will work on this one.

Consistency is when you try again when you lose your rhythm. 
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Monday, February 17, 2014
Fitness Update


Since late last year, my focus has been improving my fitness life. I've been on a sedentary lifestyle (title of my blog) for a long time.  Last week was my second week of my T25 Challenge it was really an active week.

I set a goal of 4000 points (Nike Fuel)  per week and was able to hit 3 of the 7 days of the week. This week I am aiming for 7 out 7 points. :) Is that cool?


This is me vs Nike Fuel community:

I think I am on the right track.:)

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Wednesday, February 12, 2014
What's the RIGHT Question?

  • 11:18 AM
  • 1


People are looking for answers to get through life. But do you know that sometimes it is not just about getting answers but also framing the right questions? In fact, our answers are framed by the questions we ask to ourselves. Some people ask themselves, "Why am I unattractive?" And guess what they come up with 5 to 10 reasons why the are unattractive. Our brain can come up with answers to any question. It will spill out anything we ask of it. Here's another question, "Why do I ALWAYS fail?" Now, as strange as it may sound if you ask it to yourself you will come up with answers to that question. Here's a different question, "Why did I fail JUST NOW?" Now both questions talks about failure but one has ALWAYS on it while the other has JUST NOW on it. The answer that will come up are different. One question is judging the character of the person while the other is judging the event.

Successful people ask the the RIGHT questions. The right questions are framed not to judge a person but focus on making a change. Here one powerful question that a highly successful individual asks:

What can I do? 
This question is powerful because it focuses on the Circle of Influence (things that we can control) rather than the things we cannot control.  When people are in a tight and tough situation, they usually ask, "Why did this happen to me?" And they come up with different answers. And whatever answer they come up with, it will less likely to move them forward from that situation. The tendency is to blame others for your situation. When you ask, "What can I do?" You are taking the responsibility so you can move forward.

One of my favorite example is this guy, Nick Vujicic. If you've been living under a rock for the past decade, Nick was born without arms and legs. If you ask me, he is in a very hard situation. He has all the excuses int he world to quit. In fact, if he quits this life, we will probably understand him. But he asked the right question: What can I do?

We do not know his answer to that question but he went on to inspire thousands (probably millions) of people around the world. He wrote books about his journey and even got married. Last year, he had a child. Isn't that crazy? I believe he moved forward because he asked the right question. He started looking for the things he can change and the difference he can make.

The other example I would like to share is what happened in the Philippines last year during the super typhoon Haiyan. After the typhoon, the central part of the Philippines was devastated. People lost their homes and some lost lives. Some people asked, "What is the government doing?" While some asked, "What can I do?" And these are the people who went out to the devastated place and made a difference. Not only that they inspired others to helped out as well.

We are capable of doing greater things. We just need to ask, "What difference can we do?" You might be facing a hard situation now. Ask, "What can I do?" Refrain from putting the responsibility and blame on other people. Ask the right question and discover a part of yourself that can make a difference.



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Monday, February 10, 2014
How to ZERO your Inbox?

  • 12:15 PM
  • 1

For years now I've been working on how to manage my inbox. I was introduced to this concept after reading and listening to David Allen. The guy is a productivity genius. I started listening to his talk and buying his book titled Getting Things Done and Ready for Anything. I have not finished Ready for Anything but I did read and reviewed Getting Things Done (GTD). I think I wrote one or two articles about it but during that time, I have not fully implemented GTD to my own Inbox. The system works but it does not always work with my personality. I also struggled with consistency in the past but now I think I was able to handle it.

If you are a beginner in GTD, I encourage you to read the book but you may proceed with this article without reading it. Let me give you the GTD workflow from David Allen Co:


Trace it and it is very simple. You can actually follow this workflow and not read the book. But if you want to know the WHYs of doing it then read the book.

I did a modified version of this and If you are curious how I applied this in my Inbox please read on. Here's my implementation of GTD.

Tools: Gmail, notebook, and pen.
Focus on: What does DONE look like and What's Next action.
Friends: Delete and Archive buttons 

Step #1. Archive your old emails. If you have thousands of email, I encourage you to check all emails excluding the email you have for the day and move them to Archive. Now, you might be asking, "Why would I do that?" and "What happens if I missed something?" Let's deal with this valid questions right here:

1. Why would I do that? - You need to manage your inbox and you do that by reading all emails in your inbox. I am guessing you do not have the time to read them all. Archiving it is the best way to manage it. You can also delete all emails. I did this once and it did not got me into trouble.

2.What happens if I missed something? - You are already missing a lot of emails because you do not have a system to manage them. Yes there is a risk but you will soon find out that it's not a huge risk to take. You are also just sending them to archive so you did not really lose them. Moving them there means they are out of sight and therefore out of mind. 

Think of moving your old mails to archive as starting over.

Step #2. Read all email that you received within the day. Then decide what action needs to be done on each one.
Example: Announcement emails. Is there an action that needs to be done here? If not, delete the email (do not archive).
If there is an action, ask yourself, What is does DONE look like on this action? If you can do it in 2-minutes then do it (2-Minute Rule) otherwise, write the action on your notebook then archive the email.

Step #3. End with an empty Inbox. If you do Step #2, you should have an empty inbox and a notebook containing all the needed action that needs to happen. If your Inbox is not empty, go back to Step #2.

Step #4. Work on your notebook. Start from the top to the bottom. If you cannot do an item as of the moment because it needs to you be in another location or in need of a tool that is not available for you, you need to skip it (for now) and them move to the next. 

Question: Don't I need to prioritize this list? If you want to, DO IT. If not, you should be able to cover everything within the day. If another action needs to happen after you act on an item in your list, simply add them on your notebook.

Step #5. Check you email at most two times everyday. You just need to update your list. But you don't have to keep checking your list. It's counter-productive to check you email every time.

This should keep your inbox clean and keep you focus on what needs to be done.

Other things you should do is to unsubscribe to emails that you don't really read. This lowers your email intake and saves you time.

I hope this helps you become productive in your career and personal life. What you will notice is that your mind is free from work and worries because you know that all the things you need to do is now in your notebook. :) This is my GTD implementation and it works for me.

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Week 2. T25 Challenge. Off to an active week.



This is week 2 of the T25 Challenge. I am happy to say that I was able to feel the improvement for Cardio. Last week, I did Cardio twice and in both cases I could not finish it. But today, I was able to complete the exercise. I did shifted to modifier a couple of times but overall I am so satisfied with my performance.

What I did was to wake up 6-6:15am and then change to a some workout clothes and start the workout video. So far, I was able to follow through. I did miss getting my stats but I can do that today without messing up the data. I will share the data soon. I also would like to take a picture of myself shirtless. hahahaha.. I've been dreaming about posting a before and after shot on this blog. But more importantly, document the physical improvement that I will be getting on this program.

Let me end this article with my workout calendar and progress report: (don't mind the colors, I started  using RED but I am thinking it means stop or AT RISK (in project planning lingo) so I shifted to GREEN which means go or on-track.)

This is the Alpha calendar so that means there's Beta and Gamma calendar that will help me build my dream body. :)

I am excited and I can't wait to just see a better version of me. :)
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Friday, February 07, 2014
Day 4 & 5: T25 back to Cardio



Today is Day 5 of the T25 Challenge. I was not able to post an update yesterday because I was busy with work all day. But I did run the Ab Interval. Until know I am a bit sore in the abdominal area. I can feel my ab muscles adjusting to the pressure that it underwent. My leg and chest muscles also are still sore. So I am loving the work that the exercise is doing in my body.

Today, I am supposed to run 2 exercises but I have to use one since I do not have an extra 25 minutes in the morning. I am planning to do the second exercise on Saturday. In the T25 calendar, I am supposed to take a rest on Saturday but it also suggested to take the second exercise on the next day.

Today I have to get my weight checked also so I can record it on my calendar. If you look at the Saturday slot you will see the different metrics that needs to be recorded at the end of the week.

I have to measure my weight and the chest, waist, arms, and thigh. I see this as  baseline because I did not do any measurement before I started. This is fine in my opinion because I am on it for a long haul (3 months). And I think I will see some progress on the next 30 days.

This is a good start of the week. 


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Wednesday, February 05, 2014
Sharing Session on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People



I decided late last year that I will start a sharing session with my team at work on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. At first, I thought that I will start with John Maxwell's 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership but I realized that I need to start with some good foundation. Leadership is a 'Public' victory but I know that real change comes from the inside-out.

So I took some slides in SlideShare and modified it a bit. Read the book again to refresh me of the learning that I received to training and reading. Then I shared some of the principles that I learned to my team yesterday. We started with Habit #1 which is Be Proactive.

Key Points:
1. You are responsible (for your response). Response-ability. You have the ability to choose your own response.
2. Proactive people focus on their Circle of Influence - the things they can control.
3. Your Circle of Influence grows when you focus on it.
4. Proactive people are effective because they ask the right question, "What can I do?"
5. Reactive people are ineffective because they are stuck in focusing on the things that they cannot control.
6. Be Proactive.

There were good reactions during our discussions but there are still a lot more to talk about for Habit #1 because we only set 45-minutes to share about it.

Overall, I hope my team will find themselves more Proactive.
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Day 3: Total Body Circuit



T25's Total Body Circuit was just too much. Man it was a miracle I lasted for over 15 minutes.:) For this exercise, I will give myself a barely Made It.

If you are trying this program or any program for exercise and you have this kind of result, do not be discourage. Just continue doing the routine. In no time, you should be able to finish the rest of 25 minutes. It's just that you are not used to this amount of workout yet. You need to continue showing up for your workout. I learned that 50% of success is showing up. So tomorrow I will still show up and do the Ab Intervals.


This exercise will need me to get a miniMAT. I think I have one at home. So this should not be a problem for tomorrow.

One of my problem in the past was inconsistency. I think I don't have that problem. I am actually not struggling doing this exercise routine. I am not sure why. One thing I know when I decided to start for T25, I decided in my head that I will be on it a long haul. 

Now back to T25. I think this is a good exercise and I am optimistic that this can work in my body. You can do it too.

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Tuesday, February 04, 2014
Day 2 of Focus T25



Nailed it today for T25 Challenge Day 2. Today, I the exercise is Speed 1.0 I can think of it as a mix of many exercises targeting different muscle groups. I also saw some Yoga and balance exercises. I was able to finish the whole 25 minutes though I stumbled along the way. I think Speed 1.0 is a little bit more forgiving than Cardio which I did yesterday.

Tomorrow, I will be doing Total Body Circuit. I am glad I don't need an equipment to perform this exercise.

I'm excited to go to the end and do a measure.

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Monday, February 03, 2014
Day 1: Started with T25 today!



Last night, I decided to take the T25 Beachbody Challenge. I told my wife, "I titled my blog, 'My Sedentary Lifestyle' and this season of my life is my time to get out of it." :) So today, I woke up at 6:15am and dragged myself up to our living room. Turned on the TV and then started my first T25 exercise as specified by the workout calendar. If you don't know if you know about T25 but it's a 25-minute workout that I saw on TV while I was in the US last year. I have the videos for about 4 months and did nothing on it. I thought, "The timing is just not right." Last night, I had some moments of clarity and made up my mind to do it.:)

So there I was starting my 25-minute workout and when we hit 10 minutes I was just totally exhausted. I was totally spent.:) I have to fight my thoughts telling me, "this is not gonna work". I have to say, "slow and steady wins the game". I will try again tomorrow and just push myself some more. So here's what I placed in my workout calendar:


I placed an X mark on the 'barely made it' for cardio because I have to sit down the remaining 15-minutes of the workout. :( My foot just hurts and I decided not to push myself too much. 

This goes well with my Nike band which registered 700+ points on just 10 minutes. I think I will get 2000 points in 25-minutes later when I get more comfortable with the program.

Let's see how far this goes. I will get ripped. :D



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Saturday, February 01, 2014
Game 3. Cahsflow 101



This is the largest group I facilitated with for a Cashflow 101 game so far. My friend invited me to their game night to introduce Cashflow 101 to them. There were six of them who played the game. Six is the largest number of players that a game can accommodate. I was happy to walk the game with them. 

We played from 2pm-5pm and really enjoyed the company. I learned some new rules that I can incorporate to the game like having a minimum loanable amount to simulate loans.


I also thought about a rule and decided not to go through with it. Like when I first played this game, there was a rule that anyone can by a stock that someone has picked provided he/she can profit from I think it's a good idea if you want others to get out of the Rat Race immediately but I think it's not a good simulation to the real stock market investment. There is no way you can do that in real life. I cannot buy a stock market for you unless I am a broker.


When I left, there are already 3 people who got out of the Rat Race. I hope they enjoyed it but I was not able to process their learning which is very important part of the game. Anyway, I hope they had a blast like I did.


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Why do you want to get out of the Rat Race?



Some people ask 'How to get out of the Rat Race?' I think a deeper question is, 'Why do you want to get out of the Rat Race?' A stronger why can get you to any how. Though I am thinking of writing another article about the 'HOW' I decided to start with a WHY.

So WHY do you want to get out of the Rat Race? 
I believe the #1 reason why is because you are NOT a RAT. You are a human being endowed with will, courage, abilities, creativity, energy, and power to make a difference. The Rat Race is NOT for you. Lily Tomlin said it this way, "The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat." You are no rat so you deserve to be in a better position.

The #2 reason is FREEDOM. Financial Freedom to be exact. Being out the Rat Race does not mean quitting your day job. Some people think that as long as you have a day job you are not financially free. I don't believe that. Not having a job does not mean financial freedom. I've met people who love their job and even if they get richer and richer they still keep reporting to their job. The goal is not to stop working but to stop the lifestyle of living from paycheck to paycheck. This is the Rat Race: the lifestyle of working to get a paycheck and then spending it all and then wait for another paycheck. This type of lifestyle is so risky that I believe no one should live this way. On the other hand, Financial Freedom means you are no longer living out of your ACTIVE income but from your PASSIVE income.

This is what financial freedom can afford you:  you no longer go to work to pay your bills. You report to be challenged and to impact the world and make it a better place. No longer will you strive for promotion but for personal excellence and satisfaction of a job well done.

This is why I think one of your goals is to get out of the Rat Race. So that you can free your consciousness from thinking about getting more money. This leaves your mind more room for creativity. This frees your thoughts and enables you to imagine a better version of you and the world.

You might think, will I ever get there? Will I be financially free? Whether your conscience is agreeing with you or not, it doesn't matter just keep a strong why. It will get you to the how part of it.

When you answer the deeper question in your heart it will open you to the answers of the other questions like the HOW and the WHAT.
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