Happy Friday Friends,

What a day to be alive!! Remind yourself of that if you haven’t already today.

I’m feeling fresh and in turn, hope this week’s Mailbag puts a little flash in your Friday step. As you may have read in my LinkedIn piece last week, No Bullshit November: Breaking Through The Self-Narrative, November is a maintenance month for me. A month full of change. Breaking bad habits. Tweaking perspectives and attitudes towards food, drinking, physical fitness, the importance of sleep, all kinds of fun stuff. I’ll give you my three biggest wins thus far (currently on day 14, still a ways to go though):

• Cold showers = DYNAMITE! Look, I like a warm shower when I wake up as much as anyone. But right before I get out, I crank the dial all the way right. At first, I could only tolerate about 8 – 10 seconds but I’ve worked my way up now to ~20 seconds under full tilt, glacier temp water! It’s not that the water starts to feel any warmer, it’s that when you change your perspective on the cold water rush that electrifies your body, it wakes you the hell up and gets you on your way to crushing the day. Not to mention, the physiological benefits of flushing your body, especially when fatigued from working out. Key takeaway: if you get the first uncomfortable act of your day out of the way by 7:00am, you are bound to have one helluva day!
• The importance of acquiring the proper gear and training apparel. I went to the Running Room and got a fresh new pair of running shoes last weekend, fit specifically for my feet and walking/running style. I can’t tell you how big of a difference this has made for my running, tennis, and just as a casual shoe to wear around. Not to mention, a fresh new pair of Nikes always puts a little hop in your step! Key Takeaway: Utilize the available resources and technology that will protect your body during sport and day-to-day life.
• Don’t take conventional thinking as scripture when reading about dieting, working out, and being healthy. Experiment for yourself and find out what works for your body. There are many independent thought leaders to be found out there on the Internet that each have pioneered their own innovative ways to take care of the human body. This takes some time, preparation, education and dedication, but it’s totally worth it when you find things that work and produce results. Key Takeaway: Conventional wisdom, in my opinion, is a dangerous road to go down in any aspect of life. Conventional wisdom = conventional results. Which in the case of physical fitness often means falling off the bandwagon 2 weeks into a health kick and subsequently, staying status quo.

Enough of my thoughts though, here are a couple of my favorite finds this week!

1. Peter Thiel and Tim Ferriss – two very intelligent men talking for 20 minutes  on Tim’s podcast, The Tim Ferriss Show, (rated #1 business podcast on iTunes) about the world. Peter has a truly amazing mind, not to mention, his Bitcoin/Paypal comparison is brilliant. Worth every minute of your time and more…
2. “The people in your life who truly matter will never admonish you for changing. Instead, they will build you up; they will inspire and motivate you. They will understand that you are striving to be more for yourself, and they will admire you for that; because at the end of the day, change is something you should never be ashamed of. You don’t owe anyone an apology for changing. You don’t owe anyone an apology for being different than you were a year ago, for wanting new things. Remember, growth is a direction, not a destination — so follow it ruthlessly; give yourself permission to be who you have always wanted to be.” –  http://selfactual.com/you-are-allowed-to-change/
   
3. La Niña is bringing boat loads of snow this year and Sunshine Mountain Village opened up its doors yesterday. With that in mind, this is one of gnarliest edits I’ve ever seen, featuring skier Eric Hjorleifsen, on Ruin and Rose. Btw, zero apologies for use of the word, gnarly 🙂
4. If anyone knows Tony Esteves in Calgary, I’d like to meet him and help him keep his streak alive for meeting one new person every day for over 210 days in a row. Kudos, Tony! This is an awesome initiative.

Song of the Week: We’re going with a triple threat of songs this week. This random trio has been circulating my Spotify playlists over the past couple weeks:

• “Shine” – Mondo Cozmo
• “No Limit” – 2 Unlimited
• “Love is a Burden” – Jamestown Revival
• “Hold On, We’re Going Home” – Crowder
• “Fade Into You” – Mazzy Star

Quote of the Week: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

Side note on this quote – we’ve all seen this quote a million times but I took a step back at the gym the other day (it was posted in large print on the wall) and started to think about it in depth. It is actually so damn true. Excellence really is about self-discipline and outlining “goal posts” to live your life within. I don’t mean in terms of setting limits on yourself or imposing something resembling a glass ceiling. I mean living by a set of values, committing to ethical practices personally and professionally, and implementing performance metrics to measure yourself by. If you live in this sort of manner, chances are you will inch your way closer to excellence, whatever that looks for you! I am by no means there but am on an enriching journey, inching my way closer towards what success looks like for me. I wish you nothing but the best in your endeavor towards what success looks like for you!

As Tony Robbins says, “make your lives a masterpiece, my dear friends!”

Amen to That,

Mike