The Absence Of Light, Isn't Always Just Darkness.

A little Light music for you while you read, if you want.

Recently I'd been through the long process of turning one of my projects into a reality, a lengthy project at that. I had spent the last few years on and off working on a card game, it has two versions, "SPIRIT® Origin" and "SPIRIT® Stealth"

KICKSTARTER IS HERE:

It was a huge process.
- Designing and refining the game mechanics (probably the hardest bit).
- Making all the Art.
- Designing the cards user interface so that they are intuitive and work.
- Making the cards in the right format for print, learning trim, bleed and cuts.
- Designing the Branding.
- Designing Rule book, learning about game wording and consistency.
- Designing the box, product design is it's own theory and learning what is required.
- Making rough box and card prototypes.
- Buying barcodes.
- Buying Web domain.
- Buying hosting.
- Web design (still not finished the website, it's a lot of work)
- Shooting promo videos.
- Learning Video Editing.
- Economics, you need to understand all the costs.
- Alpha testing, Beta testing.
- Registering  a Buisness
- Registering a TM and applying for (and achieved) a ® (Can be an expensive process)
- Social Media Marketing.
- Publishing promotional materials.
- Commission for custom stand for photos.
- Product shoots, and Editing said shoots.
- Custom goodies for testers.
- Thousands of hours work.
- Paying for Press Release (expensive minefield in itself)
- Sending hundreds of messages, Emails and calls to try and secure online exposure.
* I KNOW I missed a lot more out...*

Sometimes in life you can do everything that you think is right, and fail.

However, failure is determined by your own actions after, not during. If you do not understand why your attempt to succeed failed, and make no attempt to understand why then you have most certainly failed.

If you manage  take a step back, look at the rubble and piece together what happened, and learn from it, then it is no longer failure... just merely a lesson(albeit a painful one sometimes).

"Don't cry to quit! You already in pain, you already hurt! Get a reward from it! "

 - Eric Thomas

I learnt the reasons why my project fell just short of being backed, it was a few things but mostly, and importantly it falls to two things.

1. A poor video.
2. Poor Press-Release decisions.

I needed two videos, the title video which should have been a short, snappy video on WHAT the game is, and eject energy. The second video needed to be an extensive, organic play of the game where people are filmed playing and enjoying it so that the investor can understand what they are buying. I feel most of my non-friend investors took a punt on the idea that it might be good. I needed to show that it is good.

A blessing in disguise is that the product isn't bad. As a matter of fact I logically stand by it being a great game, not just because I made it, but looking ta it objectively (which you should always do, to avoid pride blindness) I feel it's strong.

So, you can have a great product, but still fail if your presentation isn't thought through enough.

I learnt a hell of a lot about the process and the struggles.

I wasn't always enjoying the ride, I spent a few days mostly in a bath in the dark feeling sorry for myself as the projections (which turned out to be very close to correct) suggested the project would fall short of the backing. I even had a few darker days, but if I didn't care so much about this project then I should have questioned why bother doing it at all.

We are all dealt different hands, some of us are born into a better life than others. 

What is important is to realise that while you might not be able to (right now) do your dream job, or live your dream life, that it is far better to make steps forward towards your goals than it is to avoid them or disregard them.

If you want to be a writer, then write. You won't become a writer by just thinking about being a writer.
If you want your ideal body (whatever that is) then strive to work on doing it, learn from others that have achieved what you want.
Surround yourself with information that is relevant, if you work in a factory and want to be an entrepreneur and find yourself at lunchtime participating in gossip or idle chit-chat then break from it.

Listen to podcasts in your headphones at lunch or during the commute, constantly immerse yourself in the type of content that is relevant to you.

Remember, just because you can't currently achieve a main goal, doesn't mean you shouldn't have another. I grew up wanting to be a video game designer... now I just want to travel the world and learn about cultures. Boardgames are a passion (not a dream) and if I can use a passion to make the money to live the life I want then I'm doing ok. It hasn't happened yet, and of course might never happen... but unless I try, unless I make the jumps, take the falls what is the point. 

Read articles, analyse them, learn what is useful information and what is garbage or just an advertisement.

You certainly have a much higher chance reaching your dreams if you actually try.

Of course, you have to be able to accept defeats, get up, dust off and keep climbing.

Nobody said breaking out of old habits is easy, but if it was, everybody would be where they want to be.

Remember...
Dreams are worth fighting for. Always.

  

Remember THIS post?
It's one where I set out goals attached to Pokemon Badges so that I could earn them.

Well, let's review them.

I managed 3 Badges from this rather depressing list.

CAREER BADGE, TRAVEL BADGE, CAREER BADGE 2All three of these were obtained in 2016, 2015 wasn't a great year it would appear... but I'll work on that later.

I'm going to re-make these, and assign them better, less vague requirements, here we go!!
(I'll assign them in the correct order this time)

NEW GOALS:
Boulder badge: 
TASK:
Exercise (In some form, no matter how much or little) either cardio, body weight, weights Every day. As of Today. Badge is achieved if this is unbroken by December 25th.
WHY:
Mostly to create and cement a exercise routine, consistency is the most important factor to exercise, this will build a strong routine.

Cascade Badge:
TASK:
Until December 25th, I may only drink the following: (excluding external situations)
Water
Tea / coffee of any sort.
WHY:
I've had a month of drinking poorly, lots of energy drinks and sugary drinks that are bad for the body, and it would help aid the exercise if I consumed more water.

Thunder Badge:
TASK:
Get SPIRIT® Backed /and or/ in stores.
WHY:
Thousands of hours work, I'm not letting one little defeat stop me.

Rainbow Badge:
TASK:
Help my Girlfriend achieve her goals, offer assistance as often as possible, guide her and generally do all I can to help ensure her life goals happen.
WHY:
She's done the same for me, and I want her to be happy.

Soul Badge:
TASK:
Learn to, and practice meditation and yoga.

WHY:
A strong mind is needed to accompany a strong body.
Marsh Badge:
TASK:Finish writing book 1 of my novel. (Pre Edit)
WHY:
Give a shot at being an author, no need to think small when it comes to careers.

Volcano Badge:
TASK:
Partake in a fitness event (tough mudder / spartan etc) 

WHY:
It will require motivation and training.

Earth Badge:
TASK:
Go Camping at the (Location midden)
OR
Take a Holiday (I know I've had 2 this year, but I think it's so good for me to get away).
WHY:

It's nice to get away.

These seem a lot more manageable and less specific, if I can stick to most of these my life will only be more enriched.

This will wrap up this blog post, it's 2:28am and I should really sleep, or at least attempt it!

Thanks for reading, you beautiful readers.

THAILAND ADVENTURE SPECIAL: PART 1 CHIANG MAI

This is going to be a big post, so I'll do my best to keep if from being boring, but this isn't so much a post of "I did this, and this and this" etc.
This post is designed to explain what I've learned and taken away from a spectacular adventure!

The Adventure spans from North to South, hitting 5 locations!

The mountainous Chiang Mai, the spanning metropolis and urban slums of Bangkok, the beaches of Phuket and Krabi finally ending the mammoth 3 week excursion on the island of Koi Samoi.

Beginning in London, England I board a flight on the colossal A380-800 double decker Airbus.

This was the first time I had ever been on a long haul flight (and this one is a 12 hour long flight) and also the first time I'd been a big plane, previously I'm used to the 3 seats, a walkway and 3 seats set-up.
This plan is insane! Fitted with the latest mod-cons and the size of a large ship getting aboard it I had to remind myself the laws of physics to understand how something so huge could ever take flight.

The view was spectacular and I'm that guy that loves to sit at the window browsing the heavens.

12 hours is a long time, and even with the ample leg-room, headpillows, supplied blanket and ear buds I struggled to sleep on route. I did however watch the latest starwars film and "the heart of the sea" which I thoroughly enjoyed... anyway I digress, the food was good! The sleep not so.

Eggs Benidict, fresh fruit, orange juice and yoghurt, this was what I awoke to on the plane as it neared the destination. 

As soon as we arrived in Bankok we got our transfer flight to Chiang Mai and since I had got off a plane straight into the airport and then onto another plane I had yet to experience any climate.

Upon arrival in Chiang Mai, I was greeted by my partners family whom were very welcoming, I had my first taste of heat, that day it was around 33 degrees C. We immediately went to a local food place and ate a huge amount of dimsum. All of which totalled to around £6 (in London this amount would have easily cost £50).

Other than the heat my first culture shock was the conditions in which food places existed, they looked unclean (in comparison to the UK of course) and even if the nurse back in the UK who gave me my inoculations would have protested heavily in eating in such places, I came here for an adventure and if I got sick, then so be it.

The food was incredible, I was not sick. Flies were always buzzing around and while I was mildly uncomfortable I knew that I would accept any opportunity that came my way (unless immediately life threatening) and fully experience the trip.
After all, what's a life if you cannot live it.

Next we was whisked up into the beautiful mountains (while fully jet-lagged and non rested) to a Elephant sanctuary (The word in Thai for Elephant is "Chang" as in the exported beer which you might have heard off) all through Thai history and mythology the elephant has played a huge role in the social development. Elephants, to most are viewed as scared and wise. 

Personally I try to avoid places that make money from enslaved animals, it's not something I fully condone but as previously said, this trip is to challenge my beliefs and try new things.

I have no footage of me riding the elephant but rest assured I did, i got my partner (who can speak fluent Thai) to converse with the elephant driver / trainer. They have a deep connection with the animals and these parks are the only way to ensure their safety from poachers. It's all a bit sad really but the ride was interesting, the elephant easily carried us around and enjoyed the snacks we bought it from a stall. The money the park makes from rides and gap year courses (looking after elephants) helps maintain the park and care for the animals. 

There was a moment were the elephant got spooked by a moped driving recklessly fast and close and the driver had to hit the elephant (with a stick) across the head.

Now while this didn't wash well with me, after conversing with him I do realise that while the hit did next to no damage to the elephant (they are VERY durable) it did break it out of a potential stampede and ensure our safety. 

A petrol station in the rural mountains, they sell petrol in glass bottles and in barrels like this, it's all very... safe...

This was at another location were we ate (seems that it's not uncommon for Thai people to eat every few hours, I've no idea how they do it).
In almost all restaurants / eating houses etc you'll have bottles of water on the table, if you take one and drink it it's added to your bill, but since it's such a hot country water is always available.

Worth noting that drinking water isn't something you'll really ever find from taps, drinking water is a huge commodity, and this year I happen to arrive in the midst of the country's hottest year in 60 years. 

I drank a VERY expensive coffee made from poo (can't remember the animal). Why? Because I had the opportunity... it wasn't that great (mostly because I like my coffee ruined with milk and a dash of sugar). It had a bitter deep taste of dark berries and earthy after tones.

The mountains of the North of Thailand brought cool winds that kept the humidity low.

What did I take from Chiang Mai:
The prices of eating are cheap, every 20 second walk provided you with multiple options for food, and all of which are amazing!

The climate is very tolerable.

The people are all very friendly and accommodating, from the Monks I met in the sky temple (I got a Buddha necklace and even got it blessed, I'm not a Buddhist, I am however accepting of others right to believe even if I am myself an atheist) to the shop keepers of the 7/11 stores. Everyone is incredibly hospitable.

The way of life is relaxed, slow and rural but there is a good amount of shops and malls to keep shopping needs in check. The night markets are bustling and stocked full of cheap goods that you can almost always haggle down even cheaper.

Days passed and after a lot of activities (this post isn't so much about those activities) we borded the night train to Bankok for 12 hours of travel.

The night train has bunk beds, air-conditioning (if you pay a tiny bit more) and food, you sleep as you travel hundreds of miles and save a lot of money on internal flights.

This night train came complete with cockroaches who scampered across the floor, they are harmless and since the beds are off the floor it's really not an issue.

I've got a headache so I'll wrap this up, basically, Chiang Mai should be visited by anyone, it has a relaxed vibe mixed with traditional life that's not been completely erased by technology.

"Asphalt Wave Saga" CHAPTER 1: The longest jump, the furthest fall.

Good evening / afternoon / morning depending on when you're reading this.

As you will know, I've a few projects going on in the background, including a novel that I'm twenty two chapters deep.
One of these projects is a product and while I still plan to be vauge about it on this blog, close friends are aware and have been aware of it's conception for over two years.  

I guess where I'm going with this post is simple.






I am going to release this project.

And it will be a success.






However...

My other half, who works in large corporations managing even larger projects was drafted in for her expertise, something I'm normally adverse towards (mixing business with relationships).
She spent a hour pawing at a keyboard before giving me an Excel file and explaining how it worked.

After our conversation it became apparent that my self-doubt and fears of failure stemmed from a large mass of data that's sat inside my skull, this data that flew about causing chaos desperately needed to be tamed.

This Excel spreadsheet worked out the steps needed to get the product ready to launch set into daily tasks with plenty of fat (fat means excess time to complete a goal to compensate for unseen complications).
Once I saw the timeline stretch out (until nearly may) it did dawn on me that this was a tremendous amount of work but after a moment of that, I felt calm, focused and precise.

I now KNOW what to do each day and this was the key aspect holding me back. Previously I had all these other stresses and thoughts racing around my head as I bumbled through the work but now i had clarity.

Lot's of clarity.

I've decided (since my job is fairly quiet until february) that I'd make the right decision. To be focused, tuned in and precise I needed to remove negative influences from my life, make time and knuckle down for one hell of a ride.
After a long discussion with my other half, who is very logical based, we came to the conclusion that the only real way I could give this a shot at 100% of my ability is to give 100% of my time.

And that means leaving my job.

"you gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette"

Now before people think this is a good path, I'd like to stress I have saved up a good buffer of money to last me through and I'd never suggest anyone just leave their work and follow their dreams if they couldn't commit 100% to it.

This is the longest jump.
 Leaving the safety of work and grinding each day in my bedroom / office / design studio isn't going to be easy, but it is however necessary if I want to make this product a reality and begin the birth of my own business.

The longest fall is if I don't give this my all or the project is a flop, on the one hand my position in life will be worsened but I will be able to say I gave it my best shot before looking at other ventures.

It's only failure if you take nothing from it.

.

Recently I've been reading this, it's a GREAT book on understanding the psychology of habits and how we both form and CAN change them, I will be utilizing some of the techniques in my marketing campaign as well as my health and fitness.

I've never had a problem exercising, I have the right cues, habits and rewards systems in place that keep me encouraged and active.
When it comes to eating however, more so this time of the year, I let myself go a bit. I did this originally to give me a break from strict food and exercise routines but now it's become a habit, and one I plan to end. As of today I'm going to slowly try and reprogram my brain into better food habits, avoiding boredom eating etc.

I can highly recommend the book, it's a decent read and not too big.

Now to end this post, I WILL BE (to the best of my ability) blogging each day starting Sunday, throughout the experience. These will not be long posts, but just summaries of the experience so that it's fairly well documented.


Thanks for Reading viewers, I love you all.

Past, Present and Future #1

It's been a while readers, a good while all the same!
I've been working on a few fairly large scale projects and as exciting / terrifying as some of them appear to be this blog has fallen to the sidelines.

Between, fitness, work, projects, nutrition and planning I've simply not had the time to properly engage in this, which I'm not really sorry for. I mean after all being busy has been very beneficial to me and it's not as if I've had a great deal of engaging topics to discuss.

I've decided to start a little series of posts, I'm not sure for how long they will be but as the title suggests these will be about the past, present and future. Without further adieu, let us begin!


THE PAST:

This Photo was taken around 2009, so a good 6 years ago, I've changed so much physically speaking since this was taken and I suppose I've changed mentally even more so.

The story behind this photo is one that lends a hand to my heart; adventure.

My father called me that day to talk about something that I no longer remember and before he ended it he mentioned toward the conversations end that he had spotted a dead whale on the beach (miles and miles away from the road, across a channel of water, miles of marshland and nearly half a mile of sand in the distance).

Now dead whales on our beaches are not that uncommon, maybe one every 2-3 years. I've always wanted to be one of the people to take a few of the deceased animal's teeth to aid my habit of owning strange things but every time one washes up, you arrive to find that the tooth fairy had visited long before you.
I couldn't waste time, who knows how long it had been there today!
I rushed off, grabbed my flatmate who was off work and together me and her started the long adventure to find the fallen giant. Halfway across the murky and somewhat dangerous marsh we say a giant laying on the beach, too far away to tell a shape but definitely viewable, and definitely giant.

Now to cut a long adventure short, distance can alter perspective, what appears giant, small, what is small, giant.

And this photo is me, standing on the whale.

You might think this seemed like a fools errand, hours of walking through difficult terrain seeking a treasure that never existed, but for me this is a clear and distinct metaphor for life.

I was happy, not because I got to see and steal some whale teeth, but because I got to share an adventure with my flatmate / best friend. We got to find our treasure, it wasn't the whale or the log... it was the journey.

For me this instilled my love for travel and adventure, for me, journeys are the meaning of life and their outcomes almost abstract to the point of irrelevance.

THE PRESENT:

This Photo is only a handful of days old, I took it while sitting on an embankment overlooking the same marshland I trudged across in search of the fallen whale.

I decided that a lot of my own personal issues stemmed from a natural intolerance for thoughts when I'm alone. Honestly I'm thinking non-stop about many subjects and a lot like when you're at a party or sitting next to people constantly talking on the train, sometimes I want to climb into my skull, slap my consciousness and yell "SHUT THE FUCK UP!!". So I tend to spend a lot of time not alone.

Even when I am "alone" at home, working on the PC you'll find 90% of the time I'm talking to someone on Skype / Facebook / Social Networks. I'm naturally very social, I know that, but I also think I use people to quieten down the rabble echoing around my skull.

So recently I've decided to deal with myself, I now spend periods of the day alone, outside looking at the sky and nature, it calms the noise and lets me take real time to think. Not about anything in particular but I allow myself to breath, and instead of suppressing the noise, I now listen to it. And you know what? I'm learning more about myself, my shortcomings and my strengths daily. I've had ideas and concepts for projects flooding in, years of suppressed mental activity let out into the playground, and I regret nothing more than not doing this sooner.

Give yourself some time to be yourself.

THE FUTURE:

The future is something I'd often look toward, plan now so that things may fall into place later, but I suppose the future is a lot like looking for a dead whale washed up on a beach. While you're walking forwards heading in the direction of that solum silhouette take a moment. Take a moment for yourself to look around at the things you've passed, be careful on what you have to tread on to reach your goals and don't be too surprised if that whale you've spent so long looking for turns out to be a tree.

Just because you're not sure if that big thing in the distance is the whale you've been searching for, doesn't mean you shouldn't have a go looking for it, who knows, you might take away more than you bargained for.

Your future is countless threads branching off, which one you take is mostly up to you.

As for me, I'll strive to work hard everyday to find my whale (I'm starting to understand what it is now) and if you want anything worth having in life don't expect it to come easy. Work hard, grit your teeth with a smile of satisfaction and enjoy the ride.

No matter what, no marathon was run standing still, make sure that regardless of size, a step forward is a step closer.

Thanks for reading, fellow whale hunters.

Real Changes and how to make them last.

Welcome back, I've missed you. I know it's been quite around here and that is because for the most part I had run out of things to say.

Originally I used to post to this blog almost daily, and while that was an amazing time I realise eventually I was struggling to have anything of value to say. Well now I have things to say, so as a result...

I'M BACK BABY! 

Too much? Naa never too much. 

So what have I been up to?

Well I set myself a goal last year:

"I refuse to spend another new years celebration in the UK"

And this year I spent it in Paris! It was the first time I'd ever been to France and I'd recommend it to anyone. Friendly people, tolerant (to my poor french) shop owners and a very simple to use metro system made for a pleasant stay indeed.

I'm not one for resolutions, I've always been a firm believer that the best approach is to make life changes, you know, permanent changes to the ways in which we live and learn and this year is no different.

I do however, believe in goal setting, and this year I've got a lot going on!

This Christmas was one of the worst I've had. period. But instead of letting that get me down I've decided to use that as fuel for my fire to get me through the early parts of this year. In martial arts like Judo and Wing Chun you use the overwhelming force and weight of an opponent as a weapon against them. I'm basically doing that with life, if I go through a bad spell I don't let those knocks take me down, instead I use them to temper my blade... ok too many metaphors but the jist of it is simple:

> Have a bad Christmas.

> Use that pain to work hard to make the next better.

This was predominantly a fitness and health blog, well now it will become a LIFE blog. One good thing to come from Christmas was a small but cherished gift from a close friend. I was lucky to receive a set of metal Kanto badges (these are the badges you get awarded in the video game Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue for essentially beating bosses).

Now my problem was, where to put these badges? While very awesome I do not have many places for them. I sat and had a long think, and even wore one (the boulder badge, my favorite) on my suit I wore to the London Boat Show, it looked good.

Anyway, I had a thought about those badges. Half the pride in the games was that you earn them, and they feel important because of the hardships you had to go through to obtain them.

What a lovely concept, earning them.
So I decided to earn mine too, give them an important merit for each one.

My MAIN 2015 goals, all set out. Once I achieve one I get to wear the badge, otherwise they stay in my safe. This will give each badge weight and actively represent goals and hardships I've undertaken.

As you can see in the goals, Tough Mudder (or similar events) have been on my to-do list for too long, the main issue I have with this is as a weight lifter I do lack in long range cardio endurance. I run more than average lifters but not enough. Now luckily tough mudder is only 12km, and also luckily my father used to run marathons yearly, he's old school but I have a pool of knowledge to pull from, now 60 years old he still runs now and then and is built muscular much like myself so if anyone is good to seek advice from it is him. I will book the tough mudder soon, forcing myself to train for it, if I can get to 10km comfortably then thanks to my other training I should be ok with the obstacles the events throw at you, and of course I'll document it all on here.

I've cut down on my meat consumption, not because I've become vegaterian or even want to, but more because I believe that here in the west that we just eat too much and that it does have some negative impact on the body.

Nutrition: 

- More water

- No carbonated drinks except sparkling water

- 50% veg plates for main

- Full fat milk (arguably the best for you when coupled with a healthy lifestyle) and proper unsalted butter, margarine is poison there is a reason even insects won't eat it.

- No fast food until my birthday (April)

- Wholegrain wheat flour, brown bread (as good as it gets)

- Avoid sugary substances except fruit

- No late night snacking. (caught myself doing it the other night)

- On non-training days, must not eat as if I was (been making that mistake)

Last thoughts, if you want to make changes do not feel you need to wait for new years to make them. You're capable of setting any date as a date to turn your life around.

The time I quit smoking, I had just bought a pack of 20, I opened it took one out, and then just thought. No. I'm not a slave to you. And crunched up the pack and threw it away.

It was hard, yes, but I did it. I do not smoke and it's been 4 years, I don't even like the smell anymore.

Only 2 things need to be done if you want to make lasting life changes:

1) Do it now, right now, no "I just need to X" or "Let me have one last Y" Just. Do. It.

2) Be consistent. If you falter, and we all do, just get up, start from then and carry on. The longer you're not doing that thing that makes you sad / unhappy / unhealthy the longer you're not sad / unhappy / unhealthy, get it?

Anyway, thanks for reading and PEACE!

Stage 5.0

Welcome to stage 5.0!!

As you can see, in-keeping with the motto of the blog, as the person progresses so will the visual aspects of the blog and we have progressed.
This blog started as a Lifestyle blog, showing people how to get the most out of their lives, be productive and achieve goals. As my own goals progressed so did the blogs topics and we ended up on health and fitness, which dominated a good few stages. 

I've gone over all I learned about fitness and nutrition I'm going to have to surpass the heavens and shed the shackles of the physical for a bit and talk and discuss things like philosophy and my take of it, this is of course subjective unlike the fitness aspect which is mostly science.

This section will still be about my personal training, be it the body-building or my new return to something else...

Dance games.

I've been playing dance arcade machines since 2000, and had slowly stopped playing by 2010. The last time I in fact had what I'd call a session was summer last year. During my birthday, which was a few days back. I started playing ITG (In The Groove) again and thoroughly enjoyed it!
Since it had been a long time, I was nowhere near as good as I used to be but thanks to the extensive training in the gym everyday I was decent for a comeback!

All I need now is to find someone willing to train me, teach me and help me take myself further than I was, ideally I'd like to comfortably pass 14's (it's a difficulty number).

I'll keep the blog up to date with any training and progress as it's all part of who I am trying to become, a better version of the person yesterday.


A short one for today, I'll post soon you beautiful, beautiful readers! 

SPRING IN MY STEP

Spring is here, the sun in out and the very gloomy and record breaking cold winter the UK has just had is but a mere frosty fog on the lens of our memories. I'm sure, like myself you've noticed a drop in posts and to make this up to you and myself I'm currently taking a train back from London to my home-town  It only just occurred to me that I could write my posts in advance to save me work in the evenings which is my normal posting time. The main issue is simple; I've gone from a slow pace of life to what is now a constant stream of things creating disturbance and distraction in my normal posts. I’ll talk about a few of the things I've been up to anyway.

Things I have to fit into a day on average:

• Eating well (breakfast, lunch, dinner).
• 1.5 Hours in the Gym.
• Work on my Business (Which includes):

- Finances

- Product Design

- Marketing

- Business Model and strategy

- Streamlining workflow

- Social media presence

- Designing new products

- Maintaining strong supplier relations

- Email Sifting

- Arrange photo shoots

- Work on Shoots

- Arrange, and edit images after finding right shots

- Branding and Company Identity

- Promotion

- Setting and meeting milestones

- Organising all documentation and filing

- Conceptualising new directions

• Work on various Freelance design work.
• Work a job (at the moment I've got some intern work).
• Host game nights (most nights).
• Attend a hobby club on Wednesdays.
• Work on miscellaneous personal projects.
• Visit parents once a week
• Skype my girlfriend in the night when not in London
• Skype friends and family when in London
• Update Blog
• Update Various Facebook pages and groups

Things I have coming up that I need to find space for:

• Birthday of a good friend
• My own birthday
• 2 weeks intern work
• 2 weeks in a clinical trail testing Flu vaccines (It’s really helpful for other people and I also get paid to do it)
• Dental Surgery
• A event at London I may be attending to set up a stall
• Freelance work creating designs, manufacturing and printing T-Shirts for another event
• Creating a cheap range designs and prints to sell off old out-dated stock

So as you can see, I'm pretty busy and updating the Blog isn't a speedy system, I normally write it up, and upload the various images you see on here like the headers etc, this all takes time! My average Blog post takes just under 2 hours, which in the grand scheme of things is a huge amount of time!

However, I do not view it as work or even a service. I view this blog as a way of relaxing and noting down things that (most of the time) will help other people save money and time or just provide what I consider invaluable information I've discovered or learnt the hard way.

Anyway as you can see I've got a pretty tight schedule, so from now on I'm going to have to put to good use any waste time(like the long train journey to London) to get things lower on my list completed.

I hope everyone is well, oh and on the fitness and health front, I'm doing ok!

Skip to the end for useful bits...

Today has been uneventful, I need to get my sleep pattern on track and sort through work that needs finishing and more importantly, prioritise what needs doing.

I awoke very late today, couldn't sleep and finally got to sleep at around 5am, too many things rattling around my head.
There has been very little in the terms of life development today, spent most of the day thinking about what my available actions are, what I can and cannot do, and in hindsight been stressing on how one decision has caused me to waste so much time, but ultimately, regardless of decisions past made, I have to look forward.

It's easy to get bogged down in what you could or should have done in the past, but the only way to achieve any results is to look forwards, I guess in some ways I'm lucky, because no matter what happens with the buisness here, it is transferable to where ever I move to which is looking to be London.
And while I might not have the buisness up and running just yet, I can do so in London as well as have a pool of work for some side cash to help propel the business where it needs to be as well as work on the new projects.

Lucky I still have these to keep bolstering my happiness, I think today only seems so extreme as a result of forgetting to take some in the morning after food.

I don't have much time for games any more, not digital ones anyway, but I promised myself that today I would focus on cheering myself up, because no matter what I do, if I'm not in the right mental state, then I'll make mistakes and not be as effective as I know I can be, So tonight I will play a few games.

• Titan Quest
• BattleField 2
• Monster hunter Tri
• Stepmania
• Minecraft

This will be my list I'll play from, as well as maybe watching a film also.

So until I stop feeling like this:

 I'll try my hardest to get back on track for tomorrows update, my apologies, anyway... I need to have some reason for you to read this so here it is:

A 9 week plan to get ANYONE up to speed with running!

Running provides an amazing cardiovascular workout and will shed weight at pronominal speeds, but for some the idea of running might seem daunting so here is a foolproof plan to getting you up to speed gradually over 9 weeks, after 9 weeks you will be able to run for 30 minutes solid!

This is a 9 week program to helping ANYONE with cardiovascular exercises, in this case running.

If you follow this plan you will be up and running solid at a strong level in 9 weeks no matter what your fitness level.

Ok, that is all I can provide for today, I need to go shift this mood, thanks for reading!! peace!

Day 103: Great days = Great adventures.

First adventure post, I went on a 16 mile ride, through an Estate that is situated 5 minutes ride from my house.

But first I needed fuel, and that came in the form of a cup of tea and a plain scone.

After that I had a score to settle with the arcades claw machine, I'd been winning these Angry bird plushy's and needed one last one to complete the collection, the fat yellow one! It's tricky to grab and I've had a few failed attempts to successfully capture him. I have a luck app on FB where it randomly seems to tell you how lucky you are, I was 100%, so I knew if a random percent generator believed in me, that I could not fail!

So I went, and won it, made me feel happy it was over, no more levelling up on claw machines for me!

After that, I began the bike ride to the woods outside the estate, and from there onwards I think I'll let the photo's do the talking, enjoy!

Nice and fun, stunning day temperatures of 28, got to give my new bike a through test, verdict, it's amazing, smooth joints, no lost energy and lightweight, I think all my long trips on my last tank made me realise I have phenomenal leg strength.

After the ride I sat at home, in a little pain, I had pushed myself a bit too hard, and I have a bad habit of doing that, I just feel I let myself down if I don't give everything in life 100%, stupid really.

Business wise? Well I've started drumming up interest online, using forums and chat IRC to mention products etc, but this won't go into large scale until the website is done.

Tomorrow I'm going to make sure the website's text is finished, as it NEEDS to be done.

Other than that, not a lot of news on that front.

Isklar Water.

Now I know what some of you are thinking "Water is water, there is no difference" I did feel the same way, but after drinking so much recently I do actually see a difference!

I was initially attracted to Isklar water about a week before I started this journey and was totally sold on the bottle design (I'm a bit of a sucker for good design being a designer) and the drink is just so light, no residue or that feeling of thick water, like volvic. I used to drink volvic, but in comparison I prefer Isklar for the reason that it tastes crisp, light and feels refreshing as well as being better designed and cheaper, no brain'r, I don't get paid to promote products so you know this is not some pointless plug, I tell you readers what I think is good and bad.

Another thing I'd like to point out.

Honey!

This picture is from a while back, when I made some weird health drink using fruit, trying to get the good alkaline substances out to balance the blood, anyway, honey is liquid gold.

For hundreds of tears, across the world honey has been used as a medicine in all kinds of tribes, why?

I dragged this up.

"Honey has been used in many medical applications over the years, but recent studies are now able to prove its benefits as a topical antibacterial treatment for burns and ulcers.

Known antioxidant compounds in honey are chrysin, pinobanksin, vitamin C, catalase, and pinocembrin. Unlike most other sweeteners, honey contains small amounts of a wide array of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants, which include a wide array of vitamins, such as vitamin B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, and pantothenic acid.

In addition, honey contains essential minerals including calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and zinc as well as several different amino acids have been identified in honey. Dark honey has more nutrients than lighter varieties. Vitamin and mineral content depend on the floral source of the honey. Honey has less than 2% sodium.

Because of its antibacterial properties, pure honey can be preserved indefinitely."

So there you go, honey not only tastes great but has a ton of awesome stuff in it, it can apparently heal wounds and I have seen footage of tribes using honey as a "organic plaster" if you will.

Also dragged this up, because blue berries are delicious!!

Blueberries:
"Blueberries are an excellent source of vitamin C.

In fact, a serving contains about 14 mg or almost 25% of daily requirement for Vitamin C. Vitamin C is needed for the formation of collagen and to maintain healthy gums and capillaries. It also aids in the absorption of iron and promotes a healthy immune system.^{1, 2}

Blueberries are a good source of dietary fiber.
Government surveys tell us that there is not enough fiber in our diet. A diet high in fiber contributes to heart health, helping to keep cholesterol in check. Fiber also aids in digestions and helps maintain regularity.^{1, 2}

Blueberries are an excellent source of manganese.
Manganese plays an important role in the development of bones and in the metabolism of protein, carbohydrate and fat.^3"

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Food

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DAY 103:

(Morning)

Rice crispies with honey :3

Cup of tea

Plain Scone

(Lunch)

Isklar Water

missed it as was biking and forgot about the time.

(Dinner)

Vegetation

burgers (I'm not a vegetarian, but they are quite tasty)

Beer batter oven chips

Pint of water

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Fitness

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Day 102-103:

15 mile ride (Yesterday)

17 mile ride cross country (Today)

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Last message

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“If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.” Antony Robbins.