The Power of Meditation

Hey Everyone,

So today I am going to talk about the power of meditation, and how implementing meditation into my life has impacted my life.  This is not going to be one of those science blogs where an expert is spewing facts that tells you to meditate or else, but instead I am just going to share with you my personal first experience with meditation.  

I started mediating for only 10 minutes a day a little over a week ago, and I have personally witnessed a difference not only in my stress levels, but also experienced a much clearer mind, and greater sense of focus. Throughout my life I always heard about the benefits of meditating whether it was in a class at school, from my personal mentors, or in a article I found while browsing the internet.  Even though I knew the positives of mediating I had never truly acted.  One day last week I just said heck it and downloaded the app called "Headspace".  I then went to my desk in my room and shut the door. (I was scared that one of my roommates would come home and give me crap about meditating).   Once I was in my secure place I proceeded by starting the recorded audio sessions, and the rest was history! 

After a measly 10 minutes of; sitting in my red spinning chair, eyes closes, hands resting in my lap, feet firm on the ground, and the audio playing.  I felt this extreme feeling of relief that I have never experiences in my 4+ years of college.  For the first time in a long time my mind was at ease, my body felt rested, and I could truly think clearly about what I needed to accomplish.  (I wish I did this years ago) After ignoring the books, mentors, and experts for so long I had finally experienced the power of meditation for myself, and let me tell you it was AMAZING!

My final thought for you is to say "Heck It" to something that you have been putting off in your life, and try something new.  It does not have to be meditating!  Maybe you will say heck it and finally ask out that girl you've had a crush on,  or maybe it is starting woodworking as hobby.  You never know what is going to happen until you take that risk.  Who knows maybe you will find your future wife, or the career pathway that is absolutely meant for you! 

Crazy Morning Routines from Young professionals!

Hello Everyone,

Earlier in my blogs I talked about the morning routine of CEO Strauss Zelnick.  Zelnick is only one of many people who treat their morning routine as an essential part of life.
Here is a list of "(slightly insane) morning routines of these top professionals 35 and under."

Full list of  morning routines

If you do not want to read the full list I found a couple morning routines trends;

• Work out 
• Meditate 
• Eat avocado and toast 
• Read/listen/write positive things

Below is two morning routines that I feel like I could adopt in my future.

Kevin Lavelle runs the men's fashion company Mizzen + Main with his wife (and dogs). So, yes, they also all start the day together.

Lavelle eats the same thing for breakfast every day — scrambled eggs with veggies, bacon, fruit, orange juice and coffee — to simplify the start of his day with one less decision.

Since he and wife, Jen, run the company together, they usually cook breakfast together and watch MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Kevin, 30, typically gets up at 5:30 a.m. in order to make it to his CrossFit gym by 6 a.m. Jen typically joins him, but is taking a hiatus from morning workouts for the duration of her pregnancy.

Not only do the Lavelles get to work together, they also load up their dogs and bring them to work.

The dogs often join us for a morning meeting.

Mark Luckie, the head of media and journalism at Reddit, spends up to 30 minutes deciding what to wear. It's worth it, he says.

Luckie, 33, makes sure to leave time for two priorities in his morning routine: a 32-minute meditation session and time to pick out the outfit of the day.

“I take what I wear very seriously, so sometimes it takes up to an additional 20 to 30 minutes to put together an outfit,” Luckie said. “How I dress dictates my mood and vice versa so the time is totally worth it.”

Luckie said his meditation practice helps him plan for the day and solve problems he may be facing. It also provides great ideas, so he keeps a notebook by his bed to jot them down.

While drinking a glass of juice — he rarely eats breakfast — Luckie catches up on the morning news by scanning Twitter, Reddit and trending bot sites like Latest.isand Nieman Lab Fuego.

Scenes from his morning:

Meditating for 32 minutes. ("Because of scheduling, I tend to live my life in 30 minute increments; 32 minutes reminds me to shake things up a little and squeeze in an extra idea or two.")

Be a Buffalo not a Cow

Hey everyone,

Early in my college career I did a summer Internship for a company called Southwestern Advantage. Basically I sold educational material door-to-door in southern Louisiana.  Sounds fun right? Even though this was a really tough internship, I would not change it for the world because it gave me a mentality that not a lot of my peers have.  I learned the power of positive self talk, how to put in a full week of work (80 hours), but most importantly I have gained mentorships from some of the most self-motivated individuals in the world.  One of those mentors introduced me to a book written by Rory Vaden, another Southwestern Advantage books slinger.  The message Rory shares about having a buffalo mentality has had a positive impacted on me, so I wanted to share it with all of you!

Below is the insert from "Take the Stairs" by Rory Vaden that I personally enjoyed!

In our quest for self-discipline, we would all be wise to adopt a buffalo mentality. Yes, buffalo.  Let me explain. 

I proudly grew up in central Colorado. When I was young, my mom, my brother, and I lived in trailer parks and apartments all around Boulder, Lafayette, and Louisville. When people think about Colorado, they often think about the world-famous Rocky Mountains all over the western part of the state.  What the often forget is that we also have the great Kansas plains that roll from the foothills out towards the east.  Because of that unique topographical landscape, we are one of the only places in the world that has both buffalo and cows 

One of my favorite places that I look to for principles of success and the way the world works is in nature. The way these two creatures, buffalo and cows, respond in nature has some really powerful lessons for us. 

When a storm approaches from the west, as storms almost always do out there, cows respond in a very predictable way.  They know the storm is coming from the west, so they head east to try to outrun the storm. 

The only problem is that, as you may know, cows are not real fast.  Before long, the storm catches up to them -- and the cows, not knowing any better, keep on running.  Instead of outrunning the storm, they actually run with the storm, maximizing their exposure to it. Isn't that stupid?

Many of us humans do the dame thing every day.

We Try to avoid conflict that is inevitable.  So often, whether it's in our relationship disputes, financial troubles, or even our physical health, we try to "ignore" problems, pretending that they aren't that big of a deal, and then we try to run away at the last minute as they're fast approaching. Unfortunately, as most of us have learned the hard way, problems tend to compound when we ignore them, and we end up being exposed to something worse than what it might have been.

What buffalo do, on the other hand, is truly unique.  They wait for the storm to cross right over the crest of the peak of the mountaintop, and as it arrives, they turn and charge directly into the storm.  By running at the storm, they run straight through it as the storm passes overhead, which minimizes the amount of pain they experience. 

If only more of us would tackle life's inevitable, unavoidable problems the way the buffalo do -- head-on.  Problems that are procrastinated on are only amplified, and we're the ones who pay the price.  There's a great deal of strength -- and strategic payoff -- in charging at our most challenging circumstance head-on.  But for us, unlike for the buffalo, it's a skill we have to learn, practice, and maintain.

You can buy the book Here! 

Procrastination is something that I am still pretty bad at in my life, but it is something I am aware of which is the first step in fixing it.  Like a lot of people I always say ' I can do that later' or 'it's not due till next week.' In reality a lot of stress that we put on our body can be avoided if we adopt the buffalo mentality of hitting our problems head on instead of trying to run away.  Just like the rain in the story, our problems have a way of catching up to us.  Usually they end up being worse too.  Next time you come across a problem in your life be a buffalo, and do it right away! 

CEO Spotlight - Strauss Zelnick

Hey Everyone,

To start off my first official blog, I wanted to give you an example of someone who has truly mastered Molding His Mind and Body! Today I am going to share with you Strauss Zelnick's unique mindset that he has created for working out.   He has conquered the I will do it later tendency that a lot of people, including myself have.

Just incase you do not know who Strauss Zelnick is, or what he has accomplished so far in his life, I snagged an insert from an article Business Insider did over him.

Zelnick founded the private equity firm Zelnick Media Capital and also serves as CEO of ZMC's largest asset: video game developer Take-Two Interactive, which is responsible for such blockbuster hits as the "Grand Theft Auto" series, "Max Payne," and "WWE 2K." -Business Insider

At 59 years of age Zelnick has built quite an impressive resume, but there are a lot of people in the world who have created a successful business.  What really makes Zelnick special is his incredible mindset about working out.

"I made the decision that I was gonna treat fitness as an important part of my schedule. I was going to give it the same priority I would give a meeting, or time with a friend, or time at home"

-Strauss Zelnick 

Starting Tomorrow October 18th, 2016.  I, Trenton Allen Schulte, am going to adopt this mindset that Strauss Zelnick has shared. I am going to stop treating my workout as the lowest thing on my list. I have created a schedule (just like what Zelnick does) where at that point in time, no matter what I have to do for the day, I will be at my meeting with the gym!  I encourage all of you to do the same with your life.  

If you have any thoughts or questions for me please comment below, and stay tuned for a blog in the upcoming weeks about how I am doing with this mindset that I am adopting!

About the Author

Hey everyone,

My name is Trenton Schulte and I am a senior at the University of Northern Iowa studying Management Information System.  Like most seniors you are at the point where college is creeping up in your rearview mirror, and you now have the whole world of opportunities ahead of you.  This is the scary part.  For the last 17+ years of your life(some more) you knew exactly what you had to do everyday...

You woke up, got ready and went to class(sometimes), did your after school activities whether that was video games, sports, or getting involved with other clubs or organizations, than went to bed so you can do the whole thing all over again the next day.

You can choose to keep living a life like this which is perfectly fine, or you can choose to do something different by challenging yourself both mentally and physically everyday!! Throughout these blogs I will be posting about; people who challenge the norm, different activities/things to do that will help mold your body for success, and my personal accomplishments for breaking out of the routine that I have personally fallen into.

http://quotesgram.com/mountain-climbing-quotes-and-sayings