My Morning Routine

It's Monday, December 27th and the high Christmas celebration is behind us. We celebrated in a grand style with food, family, laughter and fun! The question that I answered a few times recently is, "What's your routine that keeps you in good shape?" Here is the answer.

I either get up at 6am or 6:30am these days. I drink a glass of water, stretch, wake up and then hit the treadmill for 40 minutes. While tromping away, I listen to a number of different podcasts on my iPod. I love - pray-as-you-go, Harvard Business Review, Inspiring Words of Encouragement (Zig Ziglar), The Look and Sound of Leadership, The Daily Boost, Coach Radio, my own - Empowering Encouragement or Charlie's Creativity Podcast Series, Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders, Lean Six Sigma, A New Way to Handle Everything, and of course many from the iTunes University side of iTunes. (If you haven't tried this - you definitely want to prioritize this).

After 40 minutes on the treadmill, I lay down a rubber mat and do my 100 crunches (situps, but with raising your knees as well as your head), then 50 pushups and finally, some "super man" exercises for my lower back (taught by my son, Jeff - lay on stomach and raise right arm straight out and left leg straight out and then do the left arm and right leg - strengthens lower back).

I follow this with breakfast of cereal with cinnamon, blueberries, granola, flax seeds and yogurt. I have a double espresso and read a daily piece of the Bible, so that I complete the Bible in a year. Then, I write one page in my prayer journal - praying for wisdom, strength, insights, creativity, my family, my friends, and whatever else God gives me in that time.

There you have it! This routine works extremely well for me. It keeps the body toned up, the mind engaged in God's Word, and the prayer life active. I hope this helps you craft your own useful, healthful routine. Have an awesome 2011!

Resources out the wazoo

If you ever need a cheap dose of encouragement, check out the phenomenal library of free empowering podcasts on iTunes. Also, look at the iTunes U side of this engine for hundreds of universities that offer audio and video content from top notch speakers and motivators! Just yesterday, I did a search on iTunes for leadership, opened the iTunesU list and clicked on the popularity button. This then sorted the offerings according to their popularity. I pulled up the 4th one in the list and watched General Colin Powell deliver a short vignette on building economic capacity. Very powerful, uplifting and inspiring. This was just a 16 minute piece of the hours of free content offered.

You could build an entire course or workshop around some of this freely offered knowledge.

Today, the world of information is at your finger tips and key strokes. What are you waiting for? Engage it, synthesize it, connect with it in new ways and bless others through your insights.

An Awesome Day - Dec 9, 2010

WOW! What a great day! I had the honor to drive four members of a family of seven Nepalis to the Lancaster County Council of Churches clothing bank. This family had just arrived in the United States two days ago after spending 18 years in a refugee camp in Nepal. I can't even imagine!

Anyway, the 32 year old son, "Madonie" and his wife, mom and dad needed some warm clothes, so I picked them up at 8:45am and headed to North Marshall Street. We were met with a warm welcome and given a number to sequence us through the clothing bank. It was a smooth process. We left with about 5 or 6 bags of clothes and some blankets. (they could pick up clothes for the other 3 who couldn't fit in the car).

After my salad lunch, I went to work on installing a WordPress blog on my charliegross.com website. I use gate.com as my host for this one and the installation went very smoothly. I am still learning how to use the dashboard, but it is quite easy to install a fairly sophisticated site. Check it out when you get a chance - charliegross.com/postconf/ Well, I'm celebrating a great day! Extravagant Blessings!

Thinking Really Big and More

The other night as I laid my head on my pillow, it dawned on me that I was holding on to way too much and trying with all MY might to do what I wanted. It dawned on me that by yielding to the perfect will of Almighty God, I will rest better, perform better and be in "the zone." I prayed that briefly before going to sleep. I slept better than I have for a while and woke up so refreshed and energized, it had to be all GOD! So, we certainly need to use all of our gifts for the improvement of life and the glory of God, but we'll do much better when we give up doing it under our own strength and rely on the unlimited strength and power of God.

On November 18th, I spoke to the men's banquet at Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church. I spoke about my military career and how it started out as a Titan II Missile Combat Crew Commander. The responsibility as a Second Lieutenant was as a Deputy Missile Combat Crew Commander for a Titan II missile and attached warhead. The warhead (check it out on google) is a 9 megaton warhead. When detonated, this warhead is capable of completely wiping out a 990 square mile area (or the size of Lancaster County, PA). Well, in thinking about that tremendous destructive power, I wondered about how to unleash a "9 megaton blessing blast" to bless and heal a 990 square mile area. How do we think big enough to bring about harmony, peace, prosperity and goodness rather than total annihilation? I have been counseled plenty of times to begin with myself. Start small and do what I can. That's probably "ok" advice, but I also think that we typically don't "go for it." We don't name and claim lofty ideals.

Without aiming high, setting really grandiose goals, we fall short, achieve less than what is possible and muddle around in the mire of mediocrity. What do you think? Can you dream BIG? Let's go for it together! I believe in you and your unstoppable abilities to bless!

Another Gorgeous Day!

Today is Thursday, Dec 2, 2010 and it is sunny and cold with blue skies and puffy clouds. Today, I'm back into my full scale exercise routine - complete with a 40 minute treadmill workout, 100 crunches, 50 pushups and some superman (lower back) exercises. Feelin really good!

Here's the point: The last few days, I had a lower back pain and a kink in my neck that prevented some of this (not the treadmill, but the floor exercises). Through patience, persistence and just letting the ole body heal, I'm back on top of my game. It's easy to get "down," discouraged and frumpy with the aches and pains of life. It's faithful to look forward, stay positive and keep on moving! You and I have been mightily blessed with gifts, abilities, and skills to make others' lives better. Let us focus on dusting these off, polishing them up and letting them shine for the glory of God!

The future just keeps getting better and better. Thanks for stopping by and spending a few minutes with me!