Personal Development Blog by Sam Lloyd

Know where you’re going in life…you may already be there

I ran into this parable recently and found it powerful. It helped me re-evaluate what I'm after in life. Check it out. A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. "Not very long," answered the Mexican. "But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American. The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family. The American asked, "But what do you do with the … [Read More...]

Third World Success vs. First World Problems

The contrast principle affects the way we judge or evaluate things when they are compared with another. If we compare a beach ball and a tennis ball, we will perceive the beach ball to be big and the tennis ball small. But when we compare the beach ball with Saturn, we think of the beach ball as small. In other words, our judgement and perception is relative. Nothing displays this principle better than the memes "third world success" and "first world problems." Check them out below. Click to enlarge. Third World Success … [Read More...]

Interviews with masters: HighExistence.com Founder Jordan Lejuwaan Shares Insights on Creativity, Building a Successful Website, and Living Happily

Intro (from Sam)I stumbled, literally, into highexistence.com a few months ago and have been hooked ever since. I quickly got sucked in by the interesting and enlightening articles that are mostly authored by yours truly, Jordan. I was so impressed with the site, both the design and the content, I had to reach out to the brains behind the masterpiece. Since then the founder of the site Jordan Lejuwaan has kindly shared ideas and suggestions with me over email. "I'd much rather help other people succeed than hoard secrets. I'm an open book so never hesitate to ask!" … [Read More...]

Best Workout Songs for Going to War…Warrior Mode Engage (updated 1/17/2012)

Intro What is the difference between people who get results in the gym and those that don't? Obviously, lots of factors can come into play, however, the number 1 factor I believe is people who get results go into the gym with a mindset that they are going to war. They are going to war with themselves and they are able to push themselves to the limit day in and day out because of this mentality. “The only way to be a champion is by going through these forced reps and the torture and pain. That’s why I call it the torture routine. Because its like forced torture. … [Read More...]

Interviews with Masters: Jason Mertlich (Jiu Jitsu Black Belt and UFC Fighter Coach) Discusses Coaching, Leadership, and Life in General

IntroJason Mertlich is a Jiu Jitsu black belt and coach to UFC fighters like Court McGee, Ramsey Nijem, and Steven Siler (not to mention many up-and-coming fighters). I've had the privilege of training, learning, and being inspired by Jason Mertlich over the past 3 years as I've developed my own grappling and fighting skills. Jason is one of the most unique people I've ever met. He truly is a master that is living life creatively. His inspiration and leadership stretches far. I've never met a single person to have a negative thing to say about Jason as his genuine … [Read More...]

My 2012 Goals

**Click play and listen while reading In this post I list out my 2012 goals. Hopefully you have already read my post on my 2011 goals in review along with my goal setting 101 post. They will give you context for this post. In addition, I hope you gain value from this post by seeing an example of another person's goals, along with the format I'm going to be using. Ps. While writing this post, I listened to the song above on repeat (it's powerful if you allow it to be). Goal Setting time "Begin with the end in mind." -Stephen Covey Goals should be … [Read More...]

Goal Setting 101: Outcome Goals vs. Process Goals

"In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it." -Robert Heinlein Now that the dust has cleared, it's time to get real with some serious goal setting for 2012. But first, it's important to lay a foundation for goal setting. That's the purpose of this post. We don't want to be just another bunch of idiots who set a bunch of weak goals where nothing comes of it do we? Of course not, that's why breaking things down is so important. 2011 was extremely good to me and quite … [Read More...]

Another Trip Around the Sun: 2011 In Review

**Click play and listen while reading This post is meant to be a reflective experience, not just a bunch of words. Hopefully it will inspire you to reflect on your own life. "A life not examined is a life not worth living." In my opinion, and Plato's, there is literally nothing more important than introspection and reflection. I encourage you to click play, and enjoy this amazing song while reading and reflecting on your own year. Engage. 2011 in Review 2011 was a great year for me to say the least. I feel blessed, lucky, and also proud. I was able to make … [Read More...]

Expand Your Reality: Contemplate Outer Space

People who are depressed, people who self-pity and have a victim mentality, people who are selfish, all have one thing in common; they have small realities. The blinders are on big time. All they can see is themselves and their problems. Their ability to see outside anything else is extremely limited. They look at the sky but don't see it. I've been there, and you probably have been to. Well are you ready for a mind=blown moment? It's impossible to keep a small reality, when you really contemplate that video. Now that you've watched that youtube video, check out … [Read More...]

Awesome Quotes From Awesome Folks

Here's the issue, it's hard to stay inspired. It's tough to get yourself to overcome lazy and idle habits. It's tough to evaluate things from new perspectives. Your body is programmed to maintain homeostasis from top to bottom, and this permeates our behaviors, thought patterns, and habit structures. However, creating a life to be proud of requires going beyond this. It is what's required to increase the quality of your life where you're living creatively and not settling for being someone who you know is below your potential. Quotes from inspired people are an … [Read More...]

Supplement Review: Jack3d by USPlabs

What to look for in a pre-workoutGetting great workouts where you push yourself to near failure on every set is tough. Yet this is what it takes to get your body to really transform. It takes putting in massive amounts of effort day-in day-out. Let's be real for a second though, no one is 100% motivated to kick their own ass day-in day-out 100% of the time. We all have off days, we all have off weeks even. To me, that's what pre-workout formulas are for: to give you a boost where you get intense workouts when you are lacking the mental focus and motivation naturally. … [Read More...]