I found some great examples of success through sidchas you’ll enjoy seeing. Through Seth Godin, who posts to his blog daily, I learned of Abbey Ryan, who paints a painting a day. I hope she doesn’t mind my showing her ten most recent paintings, to show their beauty and so people don’t confuse a painting a day with skimping. According to Wikipedia, A recognized leader in the “Painting-A-Day” movement, Ryan’s[…] Keep reading →

My publisher recommended an exercise to help write concisely, which she found at a page called Very Good Copy in an article called This exercise will train you to write more concisely. It says, “If your goal is to write tighter copy—copy that says more in fewer words—try this 15-minute exercise. . . rewrite a Wikipedia paragraph to a third of its original length (e.g., edit ~150 words down to[…] Keep reading →

It turns out some people or advertisers decided to make October 12 World Burpee Day. Given my thing with burpees, I decided to play the game and post about it to see if my more than 110,000 burpees over 2,487 consecutive day wins me something. I found a few articles with headlines suggesting people barely getting started: I Did 30 Burpees For 15 Days and Here’s What Happened This Is[…] Keep reading →

I’ve kept my twice-daily calisthenics routines nearly the same for a few years. Now you can see them. I settled onto through trial and error and some research, not through a trainer, so I welcome comments and suggestions. My morning routine 27 burpees (last 3 with with diamond push-ups) Hamstring stretch for 60 breaths Pike for 10 breaths 10 lying hip raises 10 45-pound weighted crunches with legs up 10[…] Keep reading →

When I talk about my daily habits, people call me disciplined and act as if I have ability they don’t. Nobody looks at a bodybuilder and believes he or she was born that way. Nobody hears a musician playing and thinks he or she was born playing. They developed their skills by practicing. I practice too. Sometimes the practice involves hard things and things you don’t feel like doing but[…] Keep reading →

On Saturday, August 9, 2008, I left my apartment first thing in the morning after watching the Olympics opening ceremony at a bar with friends the night before, walked to my friend Dave’s apartment, caught a ferry to New Jersey, and swam across the Hudson River back to Manhattan. Then we walked back shirtless and shoeless from 45th Street to Greenwich Village. You’ve seen the picture at the top of[…] Keep reading →

My post yesterday about my heart rate of 49 beats per minute and how people choose to spend their leisure time got me thinking about living by your values–what leaders do. When they hear I exercise daily, people suggest I have some special discipline, dedication, or other skill. I wish! On the contrary, the average American’s dedication and discipline for their values dwarf mine. I have to craft my life to make exercising[…] Keep reading →

For those who don’t know, I do my kettle bell workout every fourth day, starting with the 2nd of the month, then the 6th, 10th, and so on of each month. Today is the 17th, so tomorrow I do it. (Incidentally, on alternate even-numbered days—the 4th, 8th, 12th, etc—I row indoors or run, depending on the weather). What does lifting have to do with getting on my knees? I don’t[…] Keep reading →

Cold Showers Aren’t Hard Showers. They’re Easy Workouts. Confusion about their purpose scare people from realizing their value as one of the easiest, cheapest, and effective improvement practices. I’ve written here many times on the benefits of cold showers. I’ve blogged more about them. You wouldn’t have clicked on the headline if you weren’t curious about them or already doing them. Inc. is a community of achievers and has covered[…] Keep reading →