The School of Thought. The Power of the Mind!


Morning Folks!!



I hate to exercise. I don't believe in it. I think it does more harm than good. I think the fitness industry is basically bogus. All my friends get injured in the gym. Some pretty bad. Yes, I know you don't agree. But I don't care. I still won't exercise.



Do you remember Jack LaLanne? He was called the "Godfather of Fitness". That was before there was a "Fitness Industry". He talked about nutrition when most folks did not know what a calorie was. 



There were 3 national channels back in the 1950's and if you were in New York area there were 2 or 3 more local channels. There was no TV at night! It was BLACK SCREEN! Then around 5AM the "Test Pattern" came on to test the signal and tone. That would stay on until 5:30 and then Jack LaLanne would start the TV day on one of the local New York channels. I remember having to adjust the "Rabbit ears" so the picture would not be "Snowy". 



Jack was a weightlifter but had only one prop on TV, one machine, just one all in one. Remember what it was? It was a kitchen chair! Why? Because everyone had one! It was a pure show and he wanted eyeballs to sell ads to his sponsors but had not tapped into the direct fitness market because there was none at that time. He learned later on tho. From fitness guru to fitness selling whore. (with all respect and love!)



Walking, swimming and sex are arguably the best exercises. But not many people make money if you walk or get it on. They make more money if you believe this $12,000 all in one is better! lol



But that has nothing to do with this blog post. Let's talk about exercising the brain. the mind. The thought process. The decision making ability. Those are the 6 pack abs I like to focus on. 



For me it started back in my early 20's. In those days I drove an average of 300-400 miles per day for YEARS. I had a lot of time to think. There was no cell phone. No Fedex. No laptop. Oh yeah, our computers were 3x5 index cards. I was too lazy to fill them out or keep track. I was always in a hurry! I was unprepared and unprofessional. 



I would drive from Dallas to El Paso. There was not much in between. 635 miles of nothing! The exits in west Texas could easily be 50 miles apart or more. I would spend 1 day in El Paso and then start the 797 mile trek to Los Angeles. I would drive over 1400 miles in just a couple to 3 days with an 8 track! Listen to Crosby, Stills Nash and Young, America, Seals and Croft, John Denver. Gives a young man a lot of time to think. Think DEEP!! NO DISTRACTIONS! Something I didn't do much of in High School and even less in college. But now I was in life itself and I had to figure things out to survive and thrive.  All I knew is If I did not make $100/day, I would be sleeping in my car.



That is when and where I became a thinker. I had the time to drill down deep to find answers. I used to simply scratch the surface and look for the answer I wanted. But as I would drill down I would find evidence that the answer I wanted was not reality.  As a 23 year old, reality is never that easy to swallow. It's like reading the fine print of life! 



Ever see a car ad and you can get a brand new Mercedes for $149/month. It sounds great if you are naive. Then you read the fine print. $5000 down and trade in worth at least $5000 and, and, and. And it's only good on the ugly green one with the blue stripe!



Everyone I know is always in a hurry. But when you are in a rush, that is in direct conflict to good decision making and thinking. That thought process takes time and focus.



Some people think small decisions are insignificant. WRONG!! WRONG!! WRONG!! The smallest decision can also be the biggest and I can prove it!. 



The smallest grain of sand can bring the biggest engine to a screetching halt!



That's a fact! So when you apply that to decision making and YOUR own personal destiny, it may be life changing! So NEVER EVER dismiss a small decision especially if it has the ability to impact something else. 



Getting to the airport at a certain time may be a small decision. But if you did not leave enough time for something unexpected and you are late and the plane takes off and the next flight is in 2 days and then you miss your 21 day African Safari that you already paid for and your vacation is all messed up and you don't get another one for a year and you would have met the girl of your dreams.......



The "Great Gratz" once told me a great way to approach something. He said, "When you are in a hurry, NEVER RUSH!" in other words. Take a deep breath and be deliberate even if you are late.



But then I added a few things to the Great Gratz! I saw his shortfalls and why he needed to learn that.  My additions include Postponing s decision if you are being pressured. Sleep on it when you are not sure. But then also know the difference calamity can make and prevent being in a hurry to begin with!! That's why I am always early. I would arrive sometimes a day early as an insurance policy against "CALAMITY"!



I am not a fast runner. But my mind will outpace the fastest.



I don't have the strength to lift even 100lbs. But my thought process can move mountains.



The obstacle course runner uses his or her great overall strength and physical ability to overcome the challenges that lay ahead in a measured course. My mind uses that strength and ability to overcome the obstacles and challenges of life and the course never ends. 



The true champions we worship and know do both. That means I am only working at 50%. So I better think harder, faster and smarter to even have a chance to compete. That was the day in life that I realized what made great athletes great. What made Olympians a cut above. It was their minds. Their minds control their bodies.  Their minds directed their bodies. 



Now it's true that some just had raw physical ability and their minds shall we say were less developed. But even many of those wired that way eventually were able to harness that strength and re-direct some of it to the mind. 



When I write, my job is to provoke! Provoke thought! Provoke your mind into action. Provoke enough thought that it would force you to read and comment. If I fail to do that, I have failed you, the reader. 



If I come over and just kick you in the balls I am going to provoke a reaction 100% of the time. But MY JOB is to kick us all in the mind! It's much harder to provoke a reaction. 



And that is what selling is. To provoke a reaction. The fitness industry are experts at provoking a reaction and marrying it with an emotional reaction as well. The gym equipment, that's just their vehicle. Their MINDS are making money! Salute! 



The human mind is perhaps the most powerful force ever known. It is capable of achieving great and unbelievable things and the power to destroy everything in its path! Controlling that engine is a full time exercise. The mind is everything.  



Rick Schwartz



PS: I met the "Great Gratz" when I was 29 and he was about 60. He died about 10 years ago. He taught me how to do things in a big and meaningful way. But by observing him in action I also learned his weaknesses and how not to do things. I am grateful for both! RIP Bill.




17 thoughts on “The School of Thought. The Power of the Mind!

  1. Shane Cultra

    I’ve found that everyone has a different approach to success but in my opinion there a few ideas on health and success

    1. Good genes will trump all the exercise in the world. Those that don’t have good genes have no choice but to keep the weight off and work hard to stay alive.

    2. You have to be alive to truly enjoy your success so do what it takes to stay alive.

    3. If you stay healthy, the journey is long and that’s a good thing. Take your time and be patient except when it comes to being grateful. Jump on grateful when you feel it.

    4 There are dozens of ways to stay healthy and people confuse what is a good way with the exercise they enjoy. Pick one you enjoy and yes, the brain is a part of the body that needs exercise.

    5. Hard work and tenacity was in the description of almost every successful person I’ve met

    6. Outsmart the dumb and outwork the smart

    Reply
    1. John

      You are the person who only jogged for three hours a while ago? I’m still shocked, shocked to hear that it was only three hours of running.

      Reply
      1. John

        Well, to clarify, I meant that genes have everything to do with whether you even can exercise much and how well it works out for you. People think it’s just a matter of will and effort, but that is a total myth. People who think that often don’t realize how much their good genes factor in as a free gift on a gold and silver platter. As far as keeping weight off and staying alive goes I won’t even address that part.

        Reply
  2. Jay

    Meyer Lansky didn’t lift weights yet he was the strongest mofo out there and outlasted everyone.
    he was a thinker from the smallest detail to the final decision.

    Reply
  3. Tom

    Often times it is the mind that goes (or deteriorates) first and then the body follows. It is more important to train, exercise and keep challenging the mind than the physical body. Very valid points. Even though the scale is heavily in favor of the mind, I am glad you included walking and swimming as beneficial to health (2 of my favorite exercises). Humans are not made for sitting all the time. Thanks for your insightful article.

    Reply
  4. John

    I am younger than Rick, but as a lad in the 70’s I certainly remember rabbit ears and Jack La Lanne. There was a route from 59th and Columbus Circle in NYC toward the area of The Plaza Hotel that took you right past a Jack La Lanne center which I remember well.

    Reply
  5. Robin

    I do observe, the level of education need not be proportionate to the thought process of an individual. Until the person is committed to deep thinking, nothing much happen despite the degrees and Phd.

    Reply
    1. John

      Robin I don’t know you from Adam, but I want to commend you for a five word domain that’s actually quite good, and a good example of how long ones often are quite good. Yours and the “*money” version would be the two best for that. You’ll find a lot Kool-Aid and mistaken thinking about that if you haven’t already, however, but yours works well for an end user. I haven’t looked at your site, however.

      Reply
      1. Robin

        Thanks John. Really appreciate your fine encouragement. Could not get the “money” but got hold of the “cash”. I nearly went for easywaystomake.money…then better not. Gonna build this blog long so better stick with dot com. Haha

        Reply
  6. Sigma

    Balance is key. One should aim to improve their mind, physical health, and overall condition in life. However, as far as people hurting themselves in from exercising; most of the time the people are using horrible form, lifting too heavy, or lifting too fast.

    Walking is a great form of exercise, and many would be better served to make it a daily habit.

    But Rick is right about the time investment in the mind. But that doesnt negate the need to do SOME sort of exercise and maintain a balanced diet.

    Reply
  7. Jose

    When you write, it will always provoke its content and its readers, this is what you will always like about yourself.

    Thinking is a way for oneself to provoke some inaccurate reactions that are specific to each one of us.

    When I go down the street in the city of Barcelona (Spain), I only think about being able to tell hundreds of people who are thinking and walking by typing their smartphone there can always be someone who stumbles and is helped, not thinking about what they do not is doing since who thinks faster is the smartphone than its own user.

    The current technology let people think so that they consider themselves better because they believe that they govern it in their management,
    but in the long run, the technology is who does what it pleases with those its own creators who have thought less than the same when they are assembled it thinks that it will be the rules of their new life.

    In the future, the street of any city in the world will be the technology itself that we will have to dib to avoid stumbling on itself since it will not think like its creators at the time.

    Happy Day. Jose.

    Reply

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