Life Is a Participation Sport

Life is a participation sport, not a spectator sport. We have become a society of overfed, undernourished couch potatoes. Maybe it’s because I’m reaching the autumn of my life that I’m much more conscious of being active and healthy instead of sedentary and overweight. Do you think the next generation will be called “baby blubbers” instead of baby boomers?

A cartoon I saw recently showed a pudgy neighbor kid knocking on his friend’s front door, asking his friend’s mom: “Can Johnnie come out and eat?” And not so many years ago it was can he come out and play.
This week, pass up the fast food and junk food, and put some high-octane, nutritious food in your tank.

—Denis Waitley

2. The Champion Within Article
Start Living in Prime Time by Denis Waitley

Prime time is that period between 6 and 10 p.m. during which most of the general public watches television. Commercials in prime time are the most expensive, approaching a million dollars per minute. Your real success in life will take a quantum leap when you stop watching other people making money in their professions performing in prime time, and start living your own dreams and goals in prime time. Time is the ultimate equal opportunity employer. Time never stops to rest, never hesitates, never looks forward or backward. Life’s raw material spends itself in the now, this moment, which is why how you spend your time is far more important than all the material possessions you may own or positions you may obtain. Positions change; possessions come and go; you can earn more money. You can renew your supply of many things, but like good health, that other most precious resource, time spent is gone forever.

Each yesterday, and all of them together, are beyond your control. Literally all the money in the world can’t undo or redo a single act you performed. You cannot erase a single word you said. You can’t add an “I love you,” “I’m sorry,” or “I forgive you,” not even a “thank you” you forgot to say. Each human being in every hemisphere and time zone has precisely 168 hours a week to spend. And some of the most precious hours occur in prime time.

Consider this: Most of your daytime hours are spent helping other people solve their problems. The little time you have in the evenings and on weekends is all you have to spend on yourself, on your own dreams and goals, and personal development. Some thoughts to ponder:

• Have supper with your loved ones at least two to three times per week. It’s the best time for casual conversation to listen to what those close to you feel is important in their lives. Mealtime is a time to dialogue.

• A television set is an appliance. It should be used, at most, for two hours at a time. It should be off, unless specific programs of interest are selected. It should not be used as a one-eyed babysitter. For the most part, TV exposes us to negative role models.

• Instead of watching television, why not read a good fiction or nonfiction book, write a letter, engage in a hobby or craft, call a friend or someone in need of encouragement on the phone, network on your computer, go out to an ethnic restaurant, a home show, an entrepreneurial show, a musical recital, a play, a fitness class, or cultural event. Take an art or photography class. Use prime time to live the kind of life others put on layaway.

Action Idea: If you and your family/friends watch TV, try not turning it on for one week. When you do watch TV, reduce by 50% the amount of time you spend watching it. Concentrate your evenings and free time engaged in hands on, real-life experiences you can touch, feel, smell and engage all your senses in. Instead of virtual reality, insist on the real thing.

When it comes to peak performance, Denis Waitley has for many years trained high performers, teaching them the secrets to optimal health, greater self-esteem and stronger self-discipline. And here’s the great news for YOU. With The Platinum Collection—his 18-CD “portable coaching system”—the secrets of these elite performers are now within your grasp! Click here for more details or to order.
3. Seeds of Greatness
Look Inside by Denis Waitley

When the prize seems high above you
And your mirror doesn’t love you
Look inside

When the road to gold gets steeper
And your diamond’s buried deeper
Look inside

Light a candle in your mind
Untold riches you will find
When you look for treasures
Look inside

When you’re running low on laughter
And can’t reach the goals you’re after
Look inside

When your body starts complaining
And the clouds of doubt keep raining
Look inside

Close your eyes and then believe it
Trust yourself and you’ll achieve it
When you’re seeking answers
Look inside

The “Seeds” above have been transplanted directly from The Seeds of Greatness Treasury by Denis Waitley. The beautiful hardbound book is a collection of some of his best-loved “words to remember.” It truly is a priceless gift of poetry, proverbs, and prose from one of America’s most respected sages. Click here to order The Seeds of Greatness Treasury.
4. The Winner's Edge Coaching Tips
Spend Less Time at Work and Get More Done by Chris Widener

Sounds too good to be true? It really isn’t! In fact, studies show that after a certain amount of hours at work each week, the average worker hits diminishing returns for their labor.

Here are a couple of reasons this is true:

Family drain. Does your spouse or family complain that you work too much? This puts strain on you when you’re at work and limits your effectiveness. Cutting out five or more hours a week and spending it with your family will make them happier and that will make you happier too, enabling you to enjoy your work more and get more done. A healthy home life helps ensure a happy work life.

Mental fatigue. Remember the old saying, “All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy”? After a certain amount of time at work, your brain goes on autopilot and begins to work ineffectively. Taking some more time to relax and recreate will put you at a higher level of performance when you do go to the office. Get some exercise, take up a hobby, but take some more time off. It will help your work become more effective!

You are so right. I have thought and spoken such things in the past. People are too content to be spectators and not take responsibility for their own lives.

Watching TV and vegetating may be easy but it is a waste of life and intelligence. The corporations that rely on consumerism are partly to blame. as are governments and society in general.

Fortunately with people like your good self and thousands more, the tide is beginning to change and the real new age of reason is about to dawn. They do say it gets darkest before the dawn and pretty dark it is. Children fear the dark but society has taught us to fear the light, who are more foolish? Light fires of imagination in children and within ourselves.

I started reading for pleasure only when struck by illness but it has been the most positive change ever. I still may not have my full health but I am much conscious of the blessing of life and I intend on maximizing it. Thank you for your wise words.