2011 Thinking Big

After winning the middleweight class at the 2010 Team Universe and qualifying for the World's Championships, I realized that the next step for me was to make the improvements to my physique that would enable me to improve on my 2010 Team Universe middleweight win with an Overall win and obtain my pro card while earning another opportunity to compete at the World's Championships. I knew this would take time and hard work not to mention determination, dedication, and motivation to succeed like never before. I felt I needed to regroup, take the time I needed to make these improvements before stepping on stage again. With that in mind, I decided to take 2011 off from competition and I feel it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Why? Because this is when I began to really Think Big!

I worked for a year on my own and felt I was making good progress, but missed the motivation, inspiration, accountability, and support that a trainer provides. I recalled meeting IFBB pro Lisa Aukland at the 2010 Philadelphia Championships and how enthusiastic she was about me and the positive energy and feedback she provided. I contacted her through her website to inquire about personal training and thanked her for her feedback at the Philadelphia Championships while telling her of my success at the 2010 Team Universe. Her response was very positive and I keep it as reminder to me, "Yes, of course I remember you, you have a beautiful physique with loads of potential and I would love to help you win the 2012 Team Universe!"
So off our journey together began, and we have been working together ever since on our quest for this year's Team Universe win!

As my bodybuilding training experience evolves I have begun to realize the power of my mind. The mind controls the body and I knew that if I could strengthen my mind I could strengthen my body and reach my goals.  That is when I began to search on-line for books on this topic and came across Skip La Cour's book Thinking Big. When I read just the first paragraph with this statement, I knew this book was exactly what I needed, "I know from personal experience, as well as from experiences of other top bodybuilders, what human beings are capable of when we have the right mental attitude." - Skip La Cour, Thinking Big.  


The more I read in Thinking Big the more I wanted to read. It was truly outstanding and helped me work through the bodybuilding process by first helping me realize that all the hard work & effort I had been putting in over the past 10 years of bodybuilding where NOT obsessive, anal, or a waste of time or any of those other things a few select individuals had said to me in the past, instead, they were the sign of a champion! As Skip Lacour says in Thinking Big, I was taking on the challenge of being natural AND outstanding!

Thinking Big is set up as a workbook and helps you work through your bodybuilding process including determining your goals in bodybuilding and much more .... in life! Thinking Big helped me identify what I truly wanted to accomplish with my bodybuilding and my life and realize everything I was doing was done for a reason, for a purpose, to reach my goals. Thinking Big walked me through the goal setting process and how to formulate ways to turn my dreams to real life goals with steps to accomplish them. Having these goals reinforces all the hard work and effort I have been putting into my bodybuilding. I realize there is a reason for everything I do. It is paying and will continue pay off. It is worth while, and helping me accomplish my goals, not just short term, but long term. Thinking Big is a real tool to help you determine exactly where you are going in life and where you want to go, not just now, but in two-years, five-years, ten-years, and years to come. Knowing the purpose to your life and the steps to take to get there is extremely enlightening, motivating, and powerful, and there is so much more in Thinking Big that just this including techniques to take your workouts to a higher level and get the most out of them. Of course, I couldn't stop there, I had to order Thinking Big II as well and can't say enough about the value of these books. The workbook style really helps you get the most of it, and I see why Skip La Cour refers to his program as "Results University". If you want to make the most of yourself, your life, and your workouts, eliminate confusion about where you are going and how to get there and get there quicker,  I can't encourage you enough to invest in Thinking Big and Thinking Big II. Thanks so much Skip La Cour for your powerful tools and the difference they have made and are making in my life! We are going to see some major results in 2012 at the Team Universe!