No Surrender, No Retreat, No Regrets

Teammates, it is an honor to introduce you to Larry Broughton - he's a former Green Beret, a remarkable entrepreneur, and a man on a mission to help others defy the odds. I hope you find him as inspiring as I do, and I believe you'll find his message is more than fitting for CHARLIE MIKE - NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS! Thanks LB for being a guest blogger on CHARLIE MIKE. AMM

Among the most powerful lessons I took from serving on Special Forces A-Teams (the Green Berets) in the U.S. Army were the importance of possessing a tenacious spirit, and maintaining a positive attitude in the face of difficult and challenging circumstances. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that those who have experienced extraordinary and enduring success in business, the arts, athletics, and virtually every other field have embraced these two powerful “disciplines.”

I was blessed last week by meeting Jack Canfield (Co-Author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and author of The Success Principles). Among other pearls of wisdom that seemed to flow from him, was this: “Everything we want is outside our comfort zone.” Wow! The clarity of this idea was like a brick to the head for me. Whether we’re pursuing personal, spiritual, financial, or physical goals, if it weren’t uncomfortable (and even a little painful, at times) we’d very likely already possess it or have achieved it.

Every successful person has faced challenges, and experienced setbacks and failures on their journey towards success. It’s a natural part of growing. For those who learn to anticipate it, embrace it and take corrective action towards improvement, find extraordinary success as their sweet reward. Winston Churchill has some of the most poignant quotes on this topic, and described the process this way, “Success is the ability to move from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.”

An important key to success is how we respond to the challenges and setbacks we face, and the attitude we choose to adopt when we’re knocked down. Too often, after a setback, we find ourselves curled in the fetal position, licking our wounds, embracing a victim’s mentality. Has that approach ever launched anyone towards his or her goal? A good attitude won’t guarantee victory, but a bad one will guarantee defeat.

If you’ve neglected your workout routine, missed a deadline, or fallen short of your goals, beating yourself up or wallowing in pity is a waste of time and energy, and will serve no good purpose. Instead, consider executing an After Action Report (we conducted these after every mission in Special Forces) to (a) identify problem areas that need improvement; (b) develop measures to counteract these problem areas; and (c) pinpoint “lessons learned.” Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” So, I encourage you to avoid the negative chatter in your mind, assess the situation, take corrective action, learn your lesson and drive on.

Here’s to your success!

Larry Broughton

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Larry Broughton is Founder & CEO of Broughton Hospitality, and served 8 years on Special Forces A-Teams in the US Army. He is also an author, speaker, and executive coach, parlaying leadership lessons from the Green Berets to the business arena.

What's your Perfect Pullup Record?

Teammates, head to our Perfect Fitness Facebook Fan page and check out the competition. A new one starts every Monday -- it Fires me UP to see the points accumulate. Here's AKO's explanation:

This week's contest will test, and compare, the accumulation of pullups over five days. If you don't have ready access to a pullup bar, however, don't fret; there is still ways for you to earn points this week. Here's the point breakdown:

Perfect Pullups......3 points each
Bar Pullups...........2 points each
Australian Pullups...2 points each
Standing Rows......1 point each

As you can see, one could theoretically do Australian Pullups and Standing Rows, albeit many of them, and still have a run for the trophy. All variations using the Perfect Pullup Handles are worth 3, and all variations utilizing the bar are, concordant worth 2. The contest ends at 10:00pm Eastern Standard time. Good luck to all contestants.

Pull 'em up!!!

Teammates, what are you waiting for?

CHARLIE MIKE -- ALDEN

Perfect Pullup & Olympic Barbell

Teammates -- Here's a question perfect for Marcus Colburn (and Thank You for keeping us on our toes with these challenging questions! AMM). Common sense warning: Marcus Colburn aka Mojo Frog is a former Navy SEAL and an extreme athlete and professional trainer. Make sure you adapt his ideas to your fitness level and have a Swim Buddy (aka spotter!) to work with.

Would the pullup handles fit around an Olympic barbell? I have an Olympic barbell set, and squat rack, and would want to use the Perfect Pullup through there, and I want to know if it would fit, before I decide to order. Thank you for your time. Here's Mojo Frog!

As far as the perfect handles working on a barbell...

It does & will work on a barbell set as well as a squat rack as long as you do the exercises that they can be used safely for like...BACK WORK, as well as TRAPWORK. Doing shrugs, bent over rows & anything like that ... don't get the hooks in a position so they come loose by raising it the wrong way or too high. One just has to make it so the extension from the hook to the handle doesn't get in your way. And there is an open end to the hook themselves that you have to be wary of! Just takes common sense. Just be safe because once you raise the bar over your head the handles don't make sense.

TRAIN HARD WITH PASSION, GET RIPPED & STAY READY....

HOOYAH...

"NUFF SAID"

Cheers!

Mojo Frog

P.S. Teammates, here's a quick health bulletin. It turns out that I need to have my cast on for 8 more weeks.. but that's not going to stop me. I just work on my stretching, ab work & lots of legs.. hams, quads, calves. I still practice tai chi chuan. This activity & diet is sure to help me watch my (girl-ish figure) since no one else does...grins!

Pearl Harbor Attack, Dec 7, 1941

Teammates – Sixty-eight years ago today was the attack on Pearl Harbor. Nine ships of the U.S. fleet were sunk and the overall death toll reached 2,350. The battleship Arizona alone lost 1,117 military personnel. As I have said before, probably one of the more over-used terms today is “on a mission” but what does it really mean? I want to define the true term, because once you appreciate it, you’ll think about it in a whole new light.

In the military, On a Mission literally means in harm’s way, and in SEAL Team on a mission meant doing whatever it takes to get it done – including if absolutely unavoidable, the ultimate sacrifice. Sixty-eight years ago, there were men and women out there willing to die for a good greater than themselves.

Today let us honor the memory of the brave men and women of Pearl Harbor. They were willing to die to complete a mission and their sacrifice will never be forgotten.

CHARLIE MIKE -- ALDEN

Perfect Christmas Trees

Tomorrow, Friday, December 4th, Team Perfect is volunteering at the San Francisco 2009 Guardsmen Christmas Tree Lot at the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion in San Francisco: I'm the Day Czar and I'll be there all day! Come by -- meet Team Perfect and find yourself a Perfect Tree. Since 1947 The Guardsmen has been helping at-risk youth with the resources they need to thrive. Each year The Guardsmen sends 2,500 youth to outdoor education programs and provides scholarship support more than 250 students at Bay Area private schools. HOOYAH!

What are you doing this holiday season to give back to your communities? Post a comment and let us all shout you out!

CHARLIE MIKE -- ALDEN

Navy Flyboy Nate & the PP Mobile

Teammates, a Perfect Team member gave a Perfect Pushup Mobile to Nate, a friend who is a Naval aviator: his letter is below. Since we can't share his last name, picture or location, we're borrowing Hollywood's most famous Navy flyer! Perfect Fitness has donated Perfect products to every ship in the fleet and it fires us all up to hear from our sailors -- so please fire off a message to
CHARLIE MIKE. AMM

"Thank you sincerely for the Perfect Pushup travel set that you gave to me - I use it every day and love it! Like everyone else, finding time to work-out seems impossible sometimes, and the convenience of the PP set solves that issue to a great extent. I've had multiple friends who have seen it at my house and subsequently gone and purchased their own. Also, the travel set has been great for working out on the aircraft carrier (I'm in the Navy) because of it being so light and compact.

Additionally, as a pilot, I try to focus on core muscle groups to help with G-tolerance, and the PP has helped a lot. Again, I really appreciate your generosity and will encourage others to use your product any opportunity I get."

Thanks Nate! Teammates, I'm re-running my thirty day/lose 10 pound plan on Twitter @aldenmills -- why wait for 2010 to get in shape?

CHARLIE MIKE -- ALDEN

Giving Thanks: My Favorite Holiday

Teammates – I’m not one for re-running posts but sometimes I find repeating a post instead of rewriting one to say the same thing can be more beneficial. Below is last year’s post – my attitude about it and about Attitude in general hasn’t changed one bit, in fact, during this challenging year, I think it’s more important than ever to understand the importance of Attitude and how it can change your outlook, your direction….your life. The number one thing to remember is that your life is your responsibility – what you accomplish is totally and completely up to you.

While you’re thinking about this on what is my favorite holiday of the year, remember to give thanks to the people in your life that you care about – by giving thanks you’ll be gaining perspective, and by doing this you’ll be setting the cornerstone for one Fired UP Attitude to live the life YOU WANT!

Happy Thanksgiving Teammates!

CHARLIE MIKE – ALDEN

Here’s last year’s post: Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Giving Thanks -- My Favorite Holiday

My favorite holiday of the year - Thanksgiving, it just edges out Fourth of July in my book because of what it stands for – Giving Thanks. Teammates ask me all time – what gives with the constant Fired Up Attitude Alden??? Some who don’t know me throw the bullshit flag at me and call it false motivation until we spend about 2 minutes together – which should be about how long it takes you to read what I’m about to write…in my book Attitude is the number one thing you need to control before you tackle any goal you have in mind – especially if you’re looking to work on your body – Attitude is 100% up to you – no matter how powerfully positive or miserably negative you are – you’ve made that decision and you’ve made it based on a perspective that you’ve allowed your brain to accept. Your perspective in life fuels your Attitude – think you’re gonna fail, then you will; think you’re fat, then no matter what anyone tells you – you’ll remained focused on being fat; conversely, think about winning, then you’ll be thinking about how to win, and you’ll be on your way to victory; want to lose 10lbs, then you’ll determine how to lose it, and make it happen…no matter what it is, how you view your challenge is directly dependent on what perspective you adopt, and that perspective is your Attitude’s foundation.

So what’s this got to do with Thanksgiving? Everything! It’s about everything that’s TRULY important about your perspective in life – I give thanks for being able to move, to see, to feel, and especially to love my family and friends. We ALL get caught up in the rat race of life and when we do, we usually lose our perspective on the things that REALLY matter versus the things that seem to matter at the moment.

This Thanksgiving – take a moment to give thanks to the things that matter most in your life, and once you do, you’ll realize that you’ve discovered the power source to your own Fired UP Attitude…and if you’re struggling to figure out what thanks you should give – drop down and push’em out – then give thanks to the fact you can do a push-up – I know a whole bunch of veterans that wish they could do what you CAN do.

Happy ThanksGiving – CHARLIE MIKE - ALDEN