This site is the website of motivational speaker Craig Harper. A constantly updated, one-stop information, inspiration, education and motivation station. Unlike many similar sites, it is a totally free resource for anyone who is serious about moving from mediocre to amazing in any area of their personal or professional life. With hundreds of articles covering a wide range of subject matter, great interviews with cool people and inspirational video posts, there's more than enough brain-food to keep you busy for hours. Okay, days!! Enjoy.
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Hi Boys and Girls. Today's post is kinda long so you may wanna get a hot drink. Greetings from the sleepy bayside suburbs of Melbourne on your Monday morning. Hope your week is shaping up to be a ripper. Don't know what's going on with me but I woke up this morning (it's Sunday night as I write this) with a cracker of a headache, a throat which felt like it had been attacked by a cheese grater as I slept and an energy level of minus seven. For the bloke who doesn't get ill often, getting sick twice in a fortnight is kind of annoying (especially being the alpha-male warrior). I've spoken to my body about it but apparently, it's not listening. In fact, it has been doing the talking and setting the agenda today. And the agenda for most of today has been... the couch. With the occasional trip to the fridge. And a smattering of slumber.
I may have to re-listen to a few of my Deepak Chopra CD's... the ones where he teaches me to control my physical health and healing via my mind. I haven't quite nailed that yet. I'm trying. The human mind is an incredible thing. If only I knew how to use it properly. Sometimes my experience of the human mind (okay, my mind) has been like owning a Ferrari which will do 300kph (180mph) but constantly driving it around in first gear and never getting it above 60kph (35mph). So much un-used potential. So much un-used power. Such a waste. If only I could drive exotic cars!
To the people who came along to our informal mentoring session at the gym on Saturday morning (the ones who missed out on the competition), I apologise for giving you a seven out of ten. It was the first time I've actually run a session with a massive headache while feeling physically ill. It was hard to hear your questions over the banging pulse in my head! Literally. Anyway, it was nice to meet you all and to put faces to the names I see on my site. Make sure you take action on those things we spoke about, don't over-think, don't over-analyse, don't procrastinate (any more) and stop seeking approval. The only person you need permission from (to create your best life) is YOU. So get busy.
On with today's post...
The Girl from Victor Harbour
As you regular readers would know, last week I entertained (often literally) a guest; Jo Thomas from South Australia. Jo won our competition to spend a week being mentored and trained by me. Overall it was a great experience; lots of fun, lots of sweat, lots of conversation and we both learned plenty. What started out as being one hour per day with me, quickly turned into Jo spending up to four hours a day at my centre training, talking, observing and just hanging out with my pretty cool team of fitness professionals. She also dropped 3 kilo (6.6lb) along the way so that was pretty cool. Just being around inspired, passionate people puts us in a better place (mentally and emotionally). Just as hanging out with negative people can drag us down.
A Star is Born (with a small push)
It's amazing what spending time with motivated, supportive people who work in a positive culture and environment can do for a person. It's fair to say that Jo was in no hurry to leave Harper's after she finished her sessions. She met some great people, did some gut-busting workouts, improved her knowledge and understanding, and learned a whole bunch about herself. On Saturday she came to one of my radio shows and I interviewed her on-air about her experience over the week and her incredible weight loss so far this year (45kgs/99lbs). She wasn't too excited about making her radio debut but with a little coaching from me, she pulled it off beautifully. The conversation went something like this:
(At this stage Jo thought she was sitting in the studio to observe for two hours. She was wearing headphones - to hear the show - and was sitting in front of a microphone that wasn't turned on. Until this chat during a song.)
CH: "How would you like me interview about your weight-loss journey?" JT: "No thanks" CH: "Okay (ignoring her), we're back on air in sixty seconds... keep your mouth about an inch from the microphone, speak clearly and just pretend it's just you and I chatting" JT: (terror and disbelief on face) "er... but" CH: "Thirty seconds... fifteen seconds... five seconds..."
And she did it. Very well. And was glad she did. It's amazing what we can do when we don't over-think things isn't it? And what we can do when we stop our mind from getting in the way of our possibilities and our potential. And when we don't have to time to find an excuse or conceive an escape plan. Or talk ourselves into failure. Again. When we have to... we just find a way. Jo will be talking about when she was interviewed on radio for the next twenty years. And just think how close she was to letting fear rob her of that very cool experience.
Jo's Report
During the week I asked Jo to write a few words about her time here in Melbourne. A lot of you seemed to be interested in the process from Jo's side. Having just read her report for the first time (five minutes ago), I will say that I am slightly embarrassed (but flattered) by what Jo had to say. In asking her to write an account of her week, I had no expectations and my only instruction was that she would be honest about her experience. I gave absolutely no directives about what to write and it hasn't been edited at all (so don't blame me if it sounds like a PR exercise for me or my business!). Anyway, here it is; Jo's report...
Good Grief, a week with Craig Harper - By Jo Thomas
A lot of people have asked me what the highlight of my trip to Melbourne has been and the answer is easy - Craig Harper! But before I rave on about that let me rave on about my week here at the Harperdome. I accept full responsibility for making (possibly) the worst first impression ever on Monday morning (walking in with a caffeine drink and smelling like cigarettes) but I guess it's a great indication of where I was at in my life. When I entered the competition I only had one goal in mind when I begged to be given this phenomenal prize and for whatever weird reason I had convinced myself that only Mr. Harper could help me.
I have smoked for 25+ years (yes, minus 3 pregnancies) and I had some very strong self-limiting beliefs about my ability to give it up. Not totally baseless beliefs, because I had failed about a million times. As you know, that got sorted quick smart but that only left room in my head for me to recognise that I had some other "issues" needing attention.
Figuring that my diet and exercise were pretty excellent because I had managed to consistently lose weight for seven(ish) months, I arrived thinking I wouldn't need much help in that department. However I did mention to Craig at my initial assessment that my shrinking measurements had slowed right down and that was a making me a bit unhappy. I have learnt so much about exercise and diet this week, especially exercise.
Although I had already made exercise a habit at home, I basically did what I was comfortable with and didn't push myself very hard. Craig and the fabulous team at Harper's have shown me new exercises and shared new information that will allow me to reach my goals quicker and more efficiently. Craig has shown me the immense benefits of getting a little uncomfortable with my cardio, and they are immense. After slowing down to losing about 7 cms off my entire body last month, I reckon I've lost at least that this week. I haven't measured but I did nearly lose my tight jeans when I reached up high for something yesterday.
This week has included a couple of hours of cardio a day and weights on alternate days. The workouts have been fantastic and varied, including my favourite, the lovely Craig dumping me on the side of the road 5kms away from my car. Before you think Craig is mean, he did give me $10 and his mobile number in case I got in trouble, very thoughtful, and it was a beautiful day and a gorgeous walk.
Yesterday I tried boxing, which is so cool and so fun on so many levels that when I finished my session I immediately SMS'd hubby back home to hang up the punching bag we have collecting dust in the garage. The boxing session nearly killed me but I would have died happy if it had (thanks Fiona). Thanks to Cherie who taught me how to switch off from life and get some perspective and thanks to Mick for introducing me to the StairMaster.
The workouts have been challenging at times but that's exactly what I signed up for and the results far, far, far outweigh the challenges. Example? Stairmaster - is it fun? No it is NOT. Does it work? Bloody oath and I'd rather be slightly bored and slightly uncomfortable for 15 minutes on the rotten thing than have a flabby backside forever.
I also had a great week of mentoring and advice from an absolutely amazing human being, more on that in a moment, but first let me tell you about his home away from home.
Harper's might be hard to find when you are from out of town and the GPS function on your GPS unit is switched off, but if you get there, it is so worth it. Personally, I have never been in a building that contains so many wonderful, friendly, caring, positive people before. It's not just Craig, all the wonderful employees there exude a positive vibe that is totally genuine and really uplifting. I trained with a few different trainers and met quite a few others and everyone was encouraging and friendly and made me feel that my success was their goal as much as it was mine.
If you live in Melbourne and you are not being trained at Harper's then stop reading this for a minute and go make a phone call. Honestly, I just can't stress enough how amazing this place is. Just the ambiance alone is enough to motivate you beyond your wildest dreams. Every day they transform people into fitter and happier versions of themselves and the trainers think they are the ones getting the good deal. I am only sorry that I can't articulate this as well as some could but just trust me here and get your butt down there - you'll see what I'm rambling about as soon as you walk through the door.
The best bit of this week for me has been the mentoring by Craig. Not trying to take anything away from the fabulous training I have received, but the "pep-talks" have been my personal highlight. I guess the thing with Craig is that what he has said to me this week has sometimes been a little hard for me to hear and always makes me feel a bit stupid for not "getting it" straight away, but they work (to the extreme) and I will miss them more than oxygen when I head back home this weekend.
Don't misunderstand - I know I have to do the work and I have to make the changes to my life, Craig can't do that for me, only I can do that, but I arrived Monday very confused and tired and leave tomorrow totally inspired with a road map to help take my life to where I want it to be next month, next year, next decade - who could ask for more? If I had won lotto instead of this competition, it would have way less positive effect on my life, my family and my future.
Craig is an absolute inspiration. He is generous, kind, compassionate, articulate, charming, gorgeous both inside and out. I am a person who has some serious trust issues, Craig has such genuine integrity that after knowing him for only a week I would trust him with my life without hesitation (a big thing for me). I reckon Craig thinks I've been a bit cagey with information this week, which is true, I'm a talker but not a sharer, but what he doesn't know is I have revealed things to him I've never told a soul.
What have I learned from my week here in a nutshell?
I only have limited energy resources so it benefits everybody (including me) to spend my energy wisely and not waste emotional energy on petty, pointless stuff or stuff that I can't change. I need to look forward at the person I am creating and not backwards at the person I was. Self limiting beliefs are totally crippling. My past is not necessarily an indication of my potential or what's possible for me. My history doesn't have to equal my future.
Although I need to spend some time planning my life to make it the way I want, I need to also DO stuff not just think about it and create the self discipline to do it consistently. I am the problem and I am the solution. It is worth getting a little uncomfortable to create the body and life I want.
Where to from here for me?
I guess without filling 3 more pages, what I need to do is start making my new behaviours into habits and creating the consistency that will get me through the times where motivation isn't freely available to me. It is easy to be motivated here at Harper's because it's a motivational place, but since I can't access that I need to put into place some non-negotiable behaviours that will keep me on track on the "not so great" days. I need to stop labelling myself with limiting titles. I can be an awesome mum without it defining me totally and that won't make me selfish, just complete, which is good for everyone, including the kids. Practically, I need to eat right, exercise more and look after myself better (eg. sleep habits) and I need to do these things with or without the approval of my family, friends and peers. I need to stay accountable to myself and drop another 20kgs by Christmas this year. I need to find people to support my journey through life in a positive and encouraging way and most importantly, like the ad says, I need to JUST DO IT!
Thank you Craig and all the fantastic staff at Harper's for an unforgettable week. Thanks Craig for your patience with all my questions and blonde moments.
You're very welcome Jo, I look forward to being part of your cheer squad for the next few decades and I'm excited about watching your story unfold. And to Tim (the uber-husband), thanks for taking a week off work, for being Mr. Mum for six days and for being selfless, supportive and generous. I know plenty of blokes who wouldn't do what you did. Well done.
Have a great day everyone and I'll see you tomorrow. So to speak.
Feel free to share a thought or comment by clicking on the comment thingy.
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