PERSONAL NOTICE "THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION"

On Fri, Nov. 2nd, at the Sheraton Waikiki, beginning 7 pm, come see me contest the Paradise Cup. Im doing this show to win! I expect to win! NOT because i'm better then anyone else, but because i've worked harder, scraficed more, dedicated more and put my heart and sole into this contest!! you see, its not just a contest for me, but a celebration of my life! its about all the pain i suffered to get to where i am today, and the people who help me to find my way. The people who saw in me the potential i did not first see in myself. This is why my journey to the cup is called, "The Road to REDEMPTION".

i have all the right people behind me and i have a huge network of support! I conduct myself and have been training as if i were a pro! i have a team of people helping me, advising me! NOT because im special, but because i have great love and great respect for people! i never take anyone, not a single person for granted! im very humble and peaceful!

WHAT IM ON

people ask me, "what im ON?" as if i have a magic pill that i pop and look the way i do! this is what im, "ON"! im ON my stationary bike doing cardio 2-3 hours a day, im working out 2-3 times a day and im eating like a spartan 6-7 times a week! Can anyone look like this, yes! but will most people put in the effort, NO! So dont make excuses for looking like crap and dont try to take away from my hard work by hating on me!! in 2001 i used to be 300 lbs with high blood pressure, chronic lower back pain, sleep apnea, vison problems, diabetic and shortness of breath! yea, that's right, so dont tell me crap! i been there and i know how it feels to be in bad shape!!! there are no excuses, period!!! im nothing special, i just did something about it, plain and simple! anyone can do it, you just have to be driven and passionate and not give up!!


QUOTES I LIVE BY

"Suffer the pain of discipline or suffer the pain of regret, the choice is yours."

"We are told that talent creates its own opportunities, but it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents."

"If your not a champion before the medal, you wont be one after." -Kevin Asano

in other words, if your not already living your life as a person of honor, respect and integrity, winning a show of any type wont mean jack!!!

"There are those who are the truth and those who think their the truth. Which one are you? "

I got this one off my boy Brandons page!! This goes very deep and especially from a christian stand point! Most people will never realize how dead serious this quote is!!! Trust me, its hard to live by, but its the only way to truly live!!

WHY I WILL WIN

I earned it, i deserve it, ive waited patiently for the right time, i have the right attitude! im not doing this to glorify myself so i can act cocky and conceited, but to GLORIFY GOD!!! im doing this to inspire and motivate and be a testimoney to GOD and his amazing grace. I am just his humble servant! im by no means perfect, im the worst of sinners, but im forgiven because of my FAITH in GOD!


TO ALL THE HATERS, USERS AND FAKERS IN MY LIFE

I hear it all, dont think i won't! I have so many friends in so many places and from every walk of life, young and old, you can't even imagine how many people i am close too. They all watch my back because they know i'll be there for them when the crap hits the fan. they are there for me because im a man of my word! so watch out when you talk smack about me behind my back. You can hate and talk and run your mouth all you want, but it all comes back to you! trust me on that! every person who ever took advantage of me always pays for it dearly, you'll lose out bigtime!! Not by my hand, but by GODs hand!! i will never judge, but GOD will! I hope you all realize that the moment you say something negative about me or make up some gossip about me, you are instantly doomed!! You'll, "reap what you sew" think it's a joke, think GOD's not real, think again! You better humble yourself because it will happen! you think your some tuff guy, you're NOT!! theres always someone bigger, stronger, faster and smarter whos gonna put you in your place. your flesh is weak and we will all perish, but only those who believe in GOD will have eternal life and will be forgiven! And one more thing, everytime i hear something stupid, all your doing is fueling my fire to be better and adding fuel to my already huge burning inferno of passion and drive to be the BEST man i can for my LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!!!

MY PRAYER FOR THE SHOW, MY SOLE REASON FOR COMPETING

"LORD, I NEED TO BE A WINNER"

Lord, I need to be a winner
Not for me, but for You
People are watching, and I am
The example they will follow.

Lord, I need to be a winner
To show someone else the way;
I can touch more lives my being a success
So I need to succeed today.

Lord, I need to be a winner
And I'm willing to do my share
But knowing that all things good come from You
I need to know you're there.

Lord, I need to be a winner
Everyday You give me life
And with Your leadership and Your strength
I know I can succeed, in my business
And in my personal life.

And Lord, when You help me win
And I stand to tell my story
I'll always remember to give unto You
The Praise, the Honor and the Glory!

Author Unknown

A Prayer i found in the book, "Million Dollar Attitude" by Joni B. Redick-Yundt with Dr. Richard Schuttler. I must read!

An apology isn't complete unless we take all of the following steps. 1) Apologize quickly because you do not know how soon it will be too late. 2) Admit what you did. 3) Express your sorrow. 4) Be sincere by speaking from the heart and feeling the victim's pain. 5) Give your victim the opportunity to vent their feelings. 6) Make up for the harm you've done by taking corrective action, offering compensation, or making restitution. 7) Learn from the experience. For as Robert South (1634 ~ 1716) has aptly written, "True repentance has a double aspect; it looks upon things past with a weeping eye, and upon the future with a watchful eye." 8) If your victim accepts your apology, accept their pardon with gratitude.

why we all lie!

We all lie, all the time. It causes problems, to say the least. So why do we do it?

It boils down to the shifting sands of the self and trying to look good both to ourselves and others, experts say.

"It's tied in with self-esteem," says University of Massachusetts psychologist Robert Feldman. "We find that as soon as people feel that their self-esteem is threatened, they immediately begin to lie at higher levels."

Not all lies are harmful. In fact, sometimes lying is the best approach for protecting privacy and ourselves and others from malice, some researchers say.  Some deception, such as boasting and lies in the name of tact and politeness, can be classified as less than serious. But bald-faced lies (whether they involve leaving out the truth or putting in something false), are harmful, as they corrode trust and intimacy—the glue of society.

Kidding yourself

Many animals engage in deception, or deliberately misleading another, but only humans are wired to deceive both themselves and others, researchers say.  People are so engaged in managing how others perceive them that they are often unable to separate truth from fiction in their own minds, Feldman's research shows.

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For instance, In one experiment, Feldman put two strangers in a room together. They were videotaped while they conversed. Later, independently, each was asked to view the tape and identify anything they had said that was not entirely accurate. 

Rather than defining what counts as a lie and to avoid the moral tone of the word "lie," Feldman's experimenters simply asked subjects after the fact to identify anything they had said in the video that was "not entirely accurate."

Initially, "Each subject said, 'Oh, I was entirely accurate,'" Feldman told LiveScience. Upon watching themselves on video, subjects were genuinely surprised to discover they had said something inaccurate. The lies ranged from pretending to like someone they actually disliked to falsely claiming to be the star of a rock band.

The study, published in the Journal of Basic and Applied Psychology, found that 60 percent of people had lied at least once during the 10-minute conversation, saying an average of 2.92 inaccurate things.

"People almost lie reflexively," Feldman says. "They don't think about it as part of their normal social discourse." But it is, the research showed.

"We're trying not so much to impress other people but to maintain a view of ourselves that is consistent with the way they would like us to be," Feldman said. We want to be agreeable, to make the social situation smoother or easier, and to avoid insulting others through disagreement or discord.

Men lie no more than women, but they tend to lie to make themselves look better, while women are more likely to lie to make the other person feel better.

Extroverts tend to lie more than introverts, Feldman found in similar research involving a job-interview situation.

Workplace lies

Other research has delved into prevarication in the workplace.

Self-esteem and threats to our sense of self are also drivers when it comes to lying to co-workers, rather than strangers, says Jennifer Argo of the University of Alberta.

A recent study she co-authored showed that people are even more willing to lie to coworkers than they are to strangers.

"We want to both look good when we are in the company of others (especially people we care about), and we want to protect our self-worth," Argo told LiveScience.

The experiment involved reading a scenario to a subject, telling them they had paid more than a coworker for the same new car. When the coworker, in the scenario, mentioned what they had paid, $200 or $2,000 more in different versions of the experiment, the subject was asked to report how they would respond.

Argo found that her subjects were more willing to lie when the price difference was small and when they were talking to a coworker rather than to a stranger.

Consumers lie to protect their public and private selves, she wrote in the Journal of Consumer Research with her colleagues from the University of Calgary and University of British Columbia.

Argo said she was surprised that people are so willing to lie to someone they know even over a small price discrepancy.

"I guess closely tied to this is that people appear to be short-term focused when they decide to deceive someone—save my self-image and self-worth now, but later on if the deceived individual finds out it can have long-term consequences," she said.

Feldman says people should become more aware of the extent to which we tend to lie and that honesty yields more genuine relationships and trust. "The default ought to be to be honest and accurate ... We're better off if honesty is the norm. It's like the old saying: honesty is the best policy."

With the divorce rate over at over 50 percent and climbing in most western countries
throughout the world, too many people are apparently making a serious mistake in
deciding whom to spend the rest of their life with.
Perhaps the westerners would be wise to look at the everlasting relationships
of the Asian counterpart.

To avoid becoming a "statistic," try to internalise these 10 insights. That I have
acknowledged are common factors in successful relationships in most Asian
countries and cultures.


#1. You pick the wrong person because you expect him/her to change after you're
married.

The classic mistake. Never marry potential. The golden rule is, if you can't be happy
with the person the way he or she is now, don't get married. As a colleague of mine so
wisely put it, "You actually can expect people to change after their married...for the
worst! "So when it comes to the other person's spirituality, character, personal
hygiene, communication skills, and personal habits, make sure you can live with these
as they are now!


#2. You pick the wrong person because you focus more on chemistry than on
character.

Chemistry ignites the fire. We would all agree that this is true, however; good
character keeps it burning. Beware of the "I'm in love" syndrome. "I'm in love" often
means, "I'm in lust" Attraction is there, but have you carefully checked out this
person's character? Here are four character traits to definitely check for:

1. Humility: Does this person believe that "doing the right thing" is more
important than personal comfort?
2. Kindness: Does this person enjoy giving pleasure to other people? How does
He / She treat people that they don't have to be nice to? Does He / She do
volunteer work? Give to charity?
3. Responsibility: Can I depend on this person to do what He / She says their
going to do?
4. Happiness: Does this person like them self? Does He / She enjoy life? Is He/
She emotionally stable?

Ask yourself: Do I want to be more like this person? Do I want to have a child with
this person? Would I like my child to turn out like him or her?



#3. You pick the wrong person because the man doesn't understand what a woman
needs most.

Men and women have unique emotional needs, and more often than not, it is the man
who just doesn't "get it". Although some western beliefs or myths to use a better word
assume that Asian women are sexual objects, "slaves and maids" and far from the truth
Asian Culture and Tradition places the onus on the man to understand the emotional needs
of a woman and to satisfy them. The unique need of a woman is to be loved- to feel that
she is the most important person in her husband's life. The husband needs to give her consistent,
quality attention.

In western cultures the closest or most apparent similarity would be that of Judaism's approach
to sexual intimacy. The Torah obligates the husband to meet the sexual needs of his wife.
Sexual intimacy is always on the woman's terms. Men are goal-oriented, especially when
it comes to this area. As many not so old or wise women for that matter have pointed out not
to me alone I can assure you but to many through the years "Men have two speeds: ON and OFF."
Women are experience-oriented. When a man is able to switch gears and become more
experience-oriented, he will discover what makes his wife very happy. When the man forgets
about his own needs and focuses on giving his wife pleasure, amazing things happen.
Thus if a woman is to feel needed, loved and satisfied then she to shall reciprocate unto her
mate and not feel that it is her duty.


#4. You choose the wrong person because you do not share common life goals
and priorities.

There are three basic ways we connect with another person:
1. Chemistry and compatibility
2. Share common interests
3. Share common life goal

Make sure you share the deeper level of connection that sharing life goals provide.
After marriage, the two of you will either grow together or grow apart. To avoid
growing apart, you must figure out what you're "living for", while you're single-and
then find someone who has come to the same conclusion as you.

This is the true definition of a "soul mate." A soul mate is a goal mate – two
people who ultimately share the same understanding of life's purpose and
therefore share the same priorities, values and goals.


#5. You choose the wrong person because you get involved sexually too quickly.

Sexual involvement before the commitment of marriage can be a big problem because
it often precludes a fully honest exploration of important issues. Sexual involvement
tends to cloud one's mind. And a clouded mind is not inclined to make good
decisions. Of all the studies done on divorce, sexual incompatibility is never cited as a
main factor.


It is not necessary to take a "test drive" in order to find out if a couple is sexually
compatible. If you do your homework and make sure you are intellectually and
emotionally compatible, you don't have to worry about sexual compatibility.



#6. You pick the wrong person because you do not have a deeper emotional
connection with this person.

To evaluate whether you have a deeper emotional connection or not, ask:
"Do I respect and admire this person?" This does not mean, "Am I impressed by this
person?" A Mercedes Benz and other material things impress us. We do not respect
someone because they own a Mercedes. You should be impressed by qualities of
creativity, loyalty, determination, etc. Also ask: "Do I trust this person?" This also
means, "Is He / She emotionally stable? Do I feel I can rely on Him / Her?



#7. You pick the wrong person because you choose someone with whom you don't
feel emotionally safe.

Ask yourself the following questions:
Do I feel calm, peaceful and relaxed with this person? Can I fully be myself and
express myself with this person? Does this person make me feel good about myself?
Do you have a really close friend who does make you feel this way? Make sure the
person you marry makes you feel the same way! Are you afraid of this person in any way?
You should not feel you need to monitor what you say because you are afraid of
how the other person will view it. If you're afraid to express your feelings and
opinions openly, there's a problem with the relationship. Be on the look out for
someone who is always trying to change you. Another aspect of feeling safe is that
you don't feel the other person is trying to control you. Controlling behaviours are
a sign of an abusive person. Be on the look out for someone who is always trying
to change you. There's a big difference between "controlling" and "making suggestions."

REMEMBER: A suggestion is made for your benefit; a control statement is
made for their benefit.


#8. You pick the wrong person because you don't put everything on the table.

Anything that bothers you about the relationship must be brought up for discussion.
Bringing up the uncomfortable stuff is the only way to valuate how well the two of
you communicate, negotiate, and work together. Over the course of a lifetime,
difficulties will inevitably arise. You need to know now, before making a
commitment: Can you resolve your differences and find compromises that work for
both of you? Never be afraid to let the person know what bothers you. This is also
a way for you to test how vulnerable you can be with this person. If you can't be
vulnerable, then you can't be intimate. The two go hand in hand.


#9. You pick the wrong person because you use the relationship to escape
from personal problems and unhappiness.

If you are unhappy and single, you'll probably be unhappy and married,
too. Marriage does not fix personal, psychological and emotional problems!
If anything, marriage will exacerbate them. If you are not happy with yourself
and your life, take responsibility to fix it now while you are single. You'll feel
better, and your future spouse will thank you.


#10. You pick the wrong person because he/she is involved in a triangle.

To be "triangulated" means a person is emotionally dependent on someone or
something else while trying to develop another relationship. A person who hasn't
separated from his or her parents is the classic example of triangulation. People
can also be triangulated with things as well, such as work, drugs, Internet, hobbies,
sports or money. Be careful that you and your partner are free of triangles. The
person caught in the triangle cannot be fully emotionally available to you. You will
not be their number one priority. And that's no basis for a marriage.


"Life isn't about the breaths we take,
it's about the moments that take our breath away!"

God said No"...a great perspective

And God said, "NO!"

I asked God to take away my pride, and God said, "NO!"
He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole, and God said, "NO!"
He said, "Her spirit is whole, and her body is only temporary!"

I asked God to grant me patience, and God said, "NO!"
He said, that patience is a by-product of tribulation; it isn't granted, it's earned!

I asked God to give me happiness, and God said, "NO!"
He said, He gives blessings; happiness is up to me!

I asked God to spare me pain, and God said, NO!
He said, "Suffering draws you apart from wordly cares, and brings you closer to Me!"

I asked God to make my spirit grow, and God said, "NO!"
He said, I must grow on my own, but He will prune me to make me more fruitful!

I asked God if He loved me, and God said, "YES!!!"
He gave His only Son who died for me, and I will be in Heaven someday because I believe!

I asked God to help me love others as much as He love me,
And God said, "Ahhhh, finally ~ you have the idea!"

~ Claudia Weizs ~