How would you like to *guarantee* your upcoming success in every area of your life?

What I’m talking about isn’t some ancient practice of manifestation from the past. What I’m talking about here is how your mind – and your body – both adapt to new challenges through a natural growth response. A perfect example of this is found in weight training. If you go into the gym and lift 40 lbs x 6 reps during your workout for the first time, your body is going to respond to that challenge by building more muscle – and more strength – to accomplish the same task easier next time.

Where it gets tricky is here: most people haphazardly lift the same weights workout-after-workout, week-after-week…sometimes even month-after-month. While this is great for being active and getting a sweat to clear out toxins and get the lymph system moving, it’s not providing a stimulus for growth (keep reading). Anyone who gets consistent results with weight training will tell you that you need to either add more weight to your lifts, or increase the number of reps per set. Small, consistent increases over time continually provide that stimulus for growth…and the results that go with it.

While this is all well and good, what’s the real importance in YOUR life? You may or may not be inspired by the idea of weight training and consciously sculpting your body, so here’s some of the good stuff: applications to YOUR life.

Examples-In-Action: “The Growth Response”

* Career/Vocation: If you continue doing the exact same job at work, day-after-day, you’ll continue to stay right where you’re at. If you love what you do and are happy with your financial condition, you can choose to focus on other areas of your life that may be drawing your attention! If not, however, realize this: you need to challenge yourself and GIVE MORE VALUE to provide that growth response. If you consistently give more value over time, your income will rise – one way or the other. If you’re in a career you love, your satisfaction will also grow through providing more value to others and yourself.

* Learning/Education: If you’ve found yourself in a pattern where you’re just working, eating, watching TV and going to sleep at night, you’re also “stuck”. There’s nothing wrong with any of these lifestyle choices, but I’m here to give you the awareness that you can make more powerful decisions – and they’re not hard. The idea is this: once again, you need to provide a stimulus for growth. To increase your intelligence, you need to be taking in new information every day – preferably through reading NEW books, watching NEW inspiring movies or educational DVDs, going to NEW seminars or live events; in short, anything that challenges your mind and gives you new information and experiences to grow through.

* Health/Fitness: Continuing with the same dietary path will keep you at the same level of health for the most part (besides other factors such as working out, being active and keeping stress levels normalized). If you eat the same few meals, day-after-day, you’ll continue to get those results via cause and effect! It’s so simple from a birds-eye-view. If you want to increase your health (”grow” your health and energy levels) you need to provide that stimulus – that challenge that forces the body to adapt and build itself back at a higher, more intelligent level. Give your body better and better foods, day-after-day and week-after-week, with small, consistent progress and you’ll find that your health will follow in tune over time.

Increase the amount of nutrition in your foods, moving at least to mostly organic and then slowly to 100% organic to completely eliminate the intake of toxic chemicals/pesticides in your body. Increase the amount of green, leafy vegetables and your dietary balance between protein, carbs and fats. See what works for your own physiology, as well as your own choice of lifestyle. This isn’t an exact science, but rather an exploration with incredible benefits around every corner. Create a playful attitude and take yourself to the highest possible state of health and enjoyment of life that you can.

* Love/Friendship: What I consider to be one of the greatest tragedies is the loss of passion in relationships. Routines take form, habits happen and many people become jaded over time, losing that sense of wonder and excitement in their lives. They then find themselves in stale relationships, whether with their partner or their friends – or worse, both. This can ALWAYS be turned around. The way to break that “stuck” state, as you’ve seen by now, is to provide that stimulus for growth! I’ve personally found the most inspiring attitude in relationships to be one of playfulness. When you’re playful, you’re enjoying life; you’ve tapped into an a feeling state that allows you to really have the best time ever with others. You feel connected, tuned into the present moment. You’re not thinking about what’s happened in the past, or what you expect to happen in the future. Rather, when you’re playful you’re truly playing the game of life!

This can be hard to swallow if you’ve been out of that feeling state for so long that it’s hard to imagine. Just think about the best memories you have of your relationships from the past: roadtrips, adventures, marriage, spontaneous dates, concerts…the list goes on and on. I’m willing to bet that MOST of your fondest memories of times past have been centered on a feeling of being playful – being “in the zone”. The lesson here? To enhance your personal relationships, GIVE more love and playfulness to others to receive more of the same! The magic of love and friendship can only happen when you’re in a state that’s receptive to receiving that energy. Being playful is that state.

We ONLY experience satisfying growth through challenging ourselves at new levels. When we build our physical strength, we enjoy more capable and self-sufficient bodies. When we build our mental development, we enhance our ability to think clearly, solve problems and come up with solutions, and so much more. We enjoy satisfaction at that precise moment that we’ve become aware of this growth in any or all areas of our lives. When you make the extra income, take a look at your before-and-after pictures, find playfulness and happiness in your personal relationships. All of this is possible, and all of it happens through one basic cycle: challenge and adaptation…“the growth response”.

Unleash Your Vitality,

– John Brackett

=> Your opinion matters. Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

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Picture yourself sitting over your desk with a neat stack of papers in your hands. It’s evening time, you’ve just winded down, and now you’re taking some time to review your progress over the last week and month.

Your progress?

Incredible.

Something happens when we take the time to write down our progress and track our results. There’s an instantaneous psychological shift that drives us to make more powerful decisions. It’s almost like as soon as you commit it to paper, you’re keenly aware of the chance that someone else may see it at some point down the road – whether on purpose or by accident. So, naturally, you’d like it look good :)

When we track our progress in any area of life, our awareness of what it is that we’re doing changes – and, following that, our results. Just ask anyone who has studied in the area of Time Management. As soon as you track every activity of your day, you become aware of exactly what it is that you do everyday…as well as how much time you dwindled away on things that didn’t really matter to you.

It’s the same with our personal finances. People with spending problems get on track and start using a monthly budget and are SHOCKED to see what they’re actually spending money on each month. The same exact principle applies to your health. I’d like to focus on the two key areas that matter the most: nutrition and personal fitness.

The habit of breaking complex subjects down into simple, manageable ideas (or action steps) is what separates people who are stressed out about any area of their life from those who are controlling it through effective management. If you can just focus your energy and concentration on your nutrition (diet) and personal fitness, you’ll be getting incredible results in no time.

Let’s start with diet. The best POSSIBLE thing you could do for your health right now is to start a Daily Nutrition Log. This could be a one-sheet that you create in Microsoft Word to fill in the blanks every day, a notebook/journal to record all meals and snacks, or an automated, fill-in-the-blank nutrition tracker online (My personal favorite is DailyBurn so far, another option being FitDay).

Start TODAY by creating that one-sheet, an unused notebook/journal lying around the house, signing up online or just grabbing a blank piece of paper and going at it! What’s important is that you just start now. It doesn’t matter if you just had an awful meal and don’t want to write it down – in fact, that disappointment is what will drive you forward toward better and better choices as you make progress. The idea is to just ask yourself how you can be healthier than you were yesterday. One of the biggest mistakes people make is thinking that they have to adopt a totally new diet and be perfect right off the bat to really change. The truth? Aim to move yourself forward by 1% daily, and you’ll make so much progress in a month that you’ll leave anyone shooting for the “big change” in the dust. We’re creatures of habit. By slowing changing our daily habits, we change our results in a sustainable – and enjoyable – way.

I also want you to make some kind of workout tracking system. This could just mean bringing a blank sheet of paper to the gym (or your home) to log your workout and track your results. Get down what exercises you’re doing, the time, the sets, the reps, the rest periods…everything. It gives you a sense of achievement in writing down your results, and also gives you a benchmark to hit and rise above with your next workout. It’s the all-too-common mistake of working out with no clear plan or direction that leads to no clear results or progress. Put in the extra few minutes everyday (literally – all you have to do is jot down what you eat and how you workout) and your results will start to speak for themselves.

A final aspect that shouldn’t be overlooked is that of review. A weekly review is a terrific idea, followed by a birds-eye-view monthly review. This gives you a sense of progress and direction, as well as re-direction if you’re not getting the results you want. For example, you’re reviewing your Daily Nutrition Log and all of a sudden realize that you’re having cereal every night at 9:30 pm! A seemingly innocent habit, but when you realize that your insulin sensitivity anytime after dinner and into the night will turn new carbs into bodyfat, you suddenly see why you’re not getting the personal fitness results you want. Then you simply course-correct.

I hope you see the value of this clearly. Can you remember a time when you used to track something in a certain area of your life? Was it workouts or nutrition? Or something unrelated, like finances or time management? If you have, try to get in touch with that sense of satisfaction you got from following a plan…a system. This is the habit that keeps giving, and continually moves you upward in a spiral toward radiant health and happiness in your own life. In simple terms: it’s worth it.

Unleash Your Vitality,

– John Brackett

=> Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

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You know that feeling you get after a huge meal (think big dinner or Thanksgiving-style meal)?

That feeling is making you tired and irritable, heavy and bloated, missing out on everything that life has to offer. What kind of life is that? The only thing on your mind right now should be HOW to turn it around and start experiencing radical amounts of energy everyday.

Energy to start your day. Inspiration at work. Feeling turned on and activated when you get home to do all the things you really wanted to do – but often couldn’t find the energy to get done. It’s all an energy game- to do the things we want to do, we need the drive to do them. That drive is born of the mental AND physical energy we have at any given point in time. A key tip? Increasing your physical energy through the meals you choose to fuel yourself with simultaneously increases your mental energy and ability to get things done in your life.

Back to that heavy, tired feeling…

That feeling comes from a number of different factors. The primary one is overeating, taking in too much food at once and having your body essentially “shut down” in order to digest it. All of your physical energy goes to the digestion of your food, and you’re left with zero for working out, playing with the kids (or friends), working on projects, etc. Zero!

I could just tell you to eat lightly, or smaller portions – but that’s not nearly the whole story. While that will certainly improve your energy levels, the primary consideration is the TYPES of foods that you’re eating. We know that refined carbohydrates (think grains like breads, cereals, pastries, biscuits, pancakes, etc) can spike the blood sugar and leave you with uneven moods and energy levels throughout the day, and especially following your meals. Of course, anything with added refined sugar in it will do the same – and even more drastically – but I’d like to hope that you’re beyond choosing those types of choices if you’ve been following me for any length of time.

You’re capable of choosing the meals that deliver solid, even and abundant energy to your mind and body all the time…it’s just a matter of finding the meals that work for you. Simply through trial-and-error, you can discover incredible combinations that really work for you. But here’s a quicker way to do it in the meantime: add in more raw foods.

We just saw that heavy, cooked meals can take away nearly 100% of your available personal energy and redirect it toward the digestion of those meals. A better way is to add in an all-raw or mostly raw meal at least every now and then. Personally, my two favorites are superfood smoothies and large salads. My own superfood smoothie is a blend of water, fresh greens, berries and a wide variety of superfoods – some of the most mineral-rich, nutrient-packed foods available to us on this planet :)

Something absolutely EVERYONE can do is throw together a healthy salad. Just toss some fresh greens (romaine, collard greens, swiss chard, spinach, others) into a large bowl or dish and get some raw nuts or seeds to round it out (hemp seeds, almonds, walnuts and so many others all work great). Even better, add in some fresh fruit! Dice up some apples or throw in a few handfuls of fresh berries.

Listen, it’s not about being “healthy” (a word that’s taken a lot of abuse in its image for some reason over the years). It’s about how you feel after every meal, which determines how you feel every day. How you feel every day determines how you feel over the course of your lifetime. Your experience of life – and the energy you have available to you – is directly related to how you feel after each and every meal you choose to fuel yourself with. Eating a large salad with fresh fruit and/or raw nuts and seeds will give you the clear-minded abundance of energy you need to stay aligned with what’s really important to you. It will let you maintain and develop those key relationships with others, give you the extra energy you need to move your career forward, and eventually net you an increase in income if you’re looking for it. It’s all an energy game in the end.

Too heavy? I hope not. Really start becoming aware of how each meal is making you feel when you’re eating it, directly after, and within the next 2-3 hours of your life. With momentum, you can start choosing only the meals that leave you inspired and full of personal energy, ready to take action and live life to the fullest.

Unleash Your Vitality,

– John Brackett

=> Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

P.S. Check out the banner for these guys below – I use about 5-1 0 different products from them at any given time, and these are the ones that consistently give me the “edge” and mental clarity I’m looking for in my daily superfood smoothie. Click the banner and check out their online store for some cool ideas on what might be fun to throw into the mix for you personally:

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I’d like to focus exclusively on your health here for a minute.

What kind of results are you experiencing today? Are you feeling inspired and full of energy all the time? Are you satisfied with your body and level of personal fitness – or at least working hard towards that end? Or do you feel lethargic and beat down, worn out? Out of shape and not feeling like you’re at the top of your game?

The single most important thing for you to realize is that right now there are countless people experiencing exactly what you’re experiencing; but even more important, there are countless people experiencing the exact OPPOSITE of how you’re currently feeling. Grasp the real importance of this: if you’re feeling tired and “out of it” all the time, stressed out and falling out of shape, there are countless others who have turned that around in their lives and found themselves with boundless energy and inspiration, the body of their dreams and an incredible state of health and overall vitality. You can do this, and it’s entirely possible for you.

On the other hand, if you’re experiencing incredible health right now…just realize that your daily habits have taken you there. Never take your daily habits for granted, but rather maintain and continually build upon them in new, exciting ways. You know where you stand on this scale. With 1 being a state of chronic disease and 10 being a state of incredible, luminous health and vitality, where would you place yourself on a scale of 1-10? Ground yourself and realize that this is just your starting point on a path that will lead you beyond what you ever thought possible.

This becomes possible for you through your DAILY HABITS. Your daily habits are the actions you take consistently every day that either move you progressively forward or progressively backward. Your current daily habits are the cause and effect that determine your health, fitness and energy levels. All of the results you’re experiencing today, and will experience in the near future, stem from your current daily habits.

Let’s pull out the magnifying glass. Zooming in on fitness, if you never worked out and just sat at a computer all day, you’d likely have less-than-optimal personal fitness levels. On the other hand, if you live an active lifestyle and commit to a few powerful workouts every week, you’re on course to enjoying an incredible body and experience of life. It’s not your genetics. It’s not your lack of time. It’s not because of work. It all comes down to the effectiveness of your daily habits.

In changing your results, you need to take a glance at cause and effect. The causes are your daily habits – the actions you take consistently every day. The effects are the results you’re seeing – your state of health, personal fitness, energy levels, mood, enthusiasm in life, mental performance, etc. To change the effects (your results), all you have to do is change the causes…your daily habits.

The only way to really see your causes – and the effects they bring you – is to become aware of them. The best way to do this is through a daily checklist of some kind. It could be on a small notecard you carry around in your pocket, a folded 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper, a task list on your cellphone, or any other way you can think of. The true value of this practice is first and foremost building an awareness of your current habits. By taking the same actions consistently every day (or every week), you can track your results and see which actions are really panning out for you and delivering value to  your life.

It’s almost like running a business: you wouldn’t just hire someone to do a few random actions for your business each day. You’d have a step-by-step plan for them to get the most out of their time. Manage your life in the same way. Track your daily habits and notice how they make you feel. If certain ones instantly improve your mood and energy, keep them and even see if they could be improved upon! The ones that take away your energy, ditch em and  replace them with new, empowering daily habits.

Here’s your 60-second action step of the day:

Grab a notecard or quickly fold up an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper in half. Whatever you chose to go with, hold it so it appears tall from top to bottom (not short and side-to-side). Title your card or paper, “Current Daily Habits” and brainstorm some ideas. Include your morning routine as it is today, and then think of some ways you could improve it. This could means batching tasks together, such as bathroom tasks, to save time and energy, or adding new habits that give you energy in the morning. Include your work schedule as a single habit, and if you have a lunch break in-between schedule that in as well.

=> Here’s how mine starts out as a real-life example:

Current Daily Habits:

* Watch MindMovie and Review Goals/Objectives

* Morning Water w/ Celtic Sea Salt

* Shower Up

* Superfood Smoothie w/ Fresh Greens from Garden

…………………………………………………

I start my day by watching an inspiring “MindMovie” – a blend of pictures, affirmations and music to get and keep you focused on what you want in life. I then head downstairs and grab my morning glass of water with a pinch of celtic sea salt (for electrolyte content). After that splash of hydration, I then shower up to start my day and make a tall superfood smoothie for breakfast (heading outside to the garden to grab some fresh greens to blend in). This gives me the mental clarity, focus and concentration I need to tackle the day head-on.

I include this just to give you an idea about how you can innovate and improve existing systems. Notice how I have that glass of water before my shower, which allows me to hydrate myself in the morning before eating breakfast. It’s always about the little things we do each day – our daily habits. Start your list now and leave me a comment below  — if you’re up for it, even post a few of your own daily  habits! Looking forward to hearing from you.

Unleash Your Vitality,

– John Brackett

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

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Welcome back :)

Before you begin, you may want to review last week’s post with a quick scan of the eyes (or read it if you haven’t had a chance yet!).

We left off talking about how your beliefs determine the results in every area of your life; your beliefs set up your expectations, which then determine your behaviors (the actions you take)…what’s left is the RESULTS you see in each area of your life.

So did you get a chance to really think about what kind of results you’re seeing in each area of your life? What kind of expectations do you have for various areas of your life? Did you even pick up on a few beliefs you feel like you might have?

Because you read on and proved to me that you’re here to learn, I’m going to give you a valuable secret I learned early in life:

“Typically when you reevaluate something, your belief about it changes”

While seemingly simple, this one little phrase holds the key to change in every single area of your life (believe it or not). Stop. I want you to really think about this one. Can you picture a time in your life when you reevaluated a thought or belief you had, and your belief about it changed? Here’s a quick example: you walk into a music venue and a band is playing. Everything sounds awful – the sound is all over the place, people are playing random parts and it’s just generally a mess. You quickly form a belief that this band is TERRIBLE! But what happens next?

Then, you hear the sound guy yell “thanks for the sound check, guys” and head out of the room. The band comes on and plays a jaw-dropping set later on that evening. After hearing the band, you hold the belief that “this band is AWESOME!”. What changed in between? How did this belief suddenly do a 180-degree turn? It’s because you reevaluated the band and how good they were. No belief is set in stone; it simply carries on with consistency until it’s challenged by reevaluation.

Another practical example (the good stuff’s on the way!) could be about how a “green smoothie” would taste. Because it’s green, many have a psychological aversion that screams “bland vegetables!” and denies the possibility of anything satisfying. That belief is instantly changed by reevaluation when you actually taste one for yourself and realize that it’s a fruit smoothie, just PACKED with nutrition :)

So here you are with a newfound understanding of beliefs and how they create the world around you. And you even know that you can CHANGE those beliefs by reevaluating them. But there’s still one more question in the barrel: how can I effectively reevaluate my current beliefs?

Deliberately crafting your own beliefs – and not leaving them up to chance – is one of the most powerful and effective choices you can make in your life. You don’t have to wait around for the perfect experiences to fall into place to craft your beliefs into something supportive. YOU can reevaluate – and hand-pick – your own beliefs, the ones that empower you in living your own, unique lifestyle.

Speeding up the process of reevaluating your beliefs can happen in a number of ways, but perhaps the most effective is by taking advantage of the alpha and theta brain wave patterns you can access upon waking in the morning and before going to sleep at night. At these critical mental states, you’re more open to SUGGESTION – and when you consciously choose what to suggest to your mind, day-after-day, you start seeing changes take place at a foundational level.

This is where you get to decide the rules of the game. You can think to yourself “it’s not enough” over and over, saying “it’s not enough money”, etc. OR you can suggest your own hand-crafted belief statements. If you immerse yourself in the phrase “I always have more than enough” every morning and night, you’ll begin to radiate out the feeling and experience of having more than enough. I’m not one of those people who thinks that thousands of dollars will fall into your lap overnight. What really happens is that you become familiar with the feeling and experience of “I always have more than enough” – even if you’re just playing around with it in the privacy of your bedroom :) With repetition – which causes continual reevaluation – your belief of not having enough begins to lose its foundation and shift over to your new belief that “I always have more than enough”.

Your mind will start to feel the cognitive dissonance between the two beliefs and constantly reevaluate to see which one is true. When you continually focus and concentrate on that new belief, you give it the edge it needs to win the battle of reevaluation – essentially, it passes the test. This belief, when it firmly takes hold, then begins to change your expectations and your behaviors. Suddenly? You find yourself taking new actions that are bringing in better results. It’s the stuff you always knew you could do, but always put off or never took seriously – not because you weren’t capable, but because it was out of alignment with your past beliefs.

Two incredibly effective tools are:

1) Belief Statements:

Belief statements are written statements that spell out the exact belief you’d like to develop, or the precise feeling and experience you’d like to have. One of the most powerful statements out there is the one mentioned earlier: “I always have more than enough”. The feeling of not having enough is what drives people to race their hearts out and stress, tear-down and abuse their minds and bodies to the farthest possible degree. Whether it’s feeling like you don’t have enough time to get things done or enough money to live comfortably, the feeling of not having enough is a challenging place to be in. This simple belief statement, given emotional repetition, can change that experience from one of scarcity to one of abundance – “having more than enough”.

You’ll want to read these belief statements out loud (if possible) every morning and night for the biggest bang for your buck. This gets your whole body and mind involved, and increases the impact of the words; it allows you to feel that experience more fully and anchor it in your mind. If you can’t read aloud, try quietly reading them over to yourself at a comfortable pace, perhaps “hearing them” aloud for more impact. Do whatever gets you to really feel those beliefs to be true for you in that moment. Over time, these written statements become more than just beliefs on paper – they become your expectations…your new beliefs.

2) Visualization:

I’m sure you’re well aware of the power of visualization in sports and peak performance work. It’s been proven to enhance performance in athletes who first emotionally visualize themselves competing and/or winning and then actually going out there and performing…time and time again. This is your chance to use this incredibly powerful tool to enhance every area of your life.

You can spend just 1-5 minutes visualizing your new beliefs or powerful scenes in your mind as you wake up in the morning and before you fall asleep at night. A well-balanced routine is to go through visualizing yourself radiantly alive and healthy, then moving on progressively to money, career, relationships and mental performance. Although it takes only minutes a day, this creates new, vivid imagery in your mind – and new neural pathways and connections. The more you visualize these things, the more they take root and the more you allow yourself to experience the wonders your mind can actually bring to you!

Action Steps:

__ Create a list of 10 (or more) new belief statements that you’d like to develop (health, money, career, relationships, general beliefs, etc)

__ Place this list (written out or typed) by your bed; it could be on a table or nightstand, tucked away in a book, hidden in a drawer or just out in the open!)

__ Read over these new belief statements every morning upon waking and every night before falling asleep (as close as you can reasonably get)

__ Create daily habits and take actions that reenforce these new beliefs (by taking action from these beliefs, you build a stronger foundation more quickly)

__ Notice the incredible change in results that takes place as your beliefs change over time

* Make that list now! There’s no reason to put this off when the chance you take is leaving your beliefs to chance itself. Take me up on it and let me know what kind of results you start seeing in your own life by leaving a comment here on this post or by sending over an email through the contact links on the upper right-hand panel. Don’t leave this to chance…you deserve to have more than enough :)

Unleash Your Vitality,

– John Brackett

=> Leave a comment below and let me know what’s on your mind!

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]]> http://www.unleashyourvitality.com/2010/07/24/how-to-literally-hand-pick-your-own-beliefs-and-start-seeing-the-results-you-really-want/feed/ 0 http://www.unleashyourvitality.com/2010/07/16/how-your-beliefs-determine-all-of-the-results-youre-seeing-in-your-life-and-the-2-clever-strategies-you-need-to-change-them/ http://www.unleashyourvitality.com/2010/07/16/how-your-beliefs-determine-all-of-the-results-youre-seeing-in-your-life-and-the-2-clever-strategies-you-need-to-change-them/#comments Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:08:44 +0000 John Brackett http://www.unleashyourvitality.com/?p=805

I’m not sure.

You may be the type who just read the title above and started nodding your head in agreement. You know, on a core level, that this is something true and important, and you’d like to go deeper to get some results from it. Or you may be the type of person who just rolled your eyes but decided to read on anyway- because there was one spark, one glimpse that there may be something important for you personally on this page.

This post is for both of you.

The truth is, your beliefs – whether you chose them consciously, picked them up from your parents and relatives, or even from friends and teachers in school – determine the results you’re seeing RIGHT NOW in every area of your life. There’s a large lie out there that whatever you’re experiencing right now is just temporary, and you’re “just on the tip” of breaking through in all of the areas you’d like to see more progress in. That feeling of being “just on the tip” of breaking through is a result of the beliefs you’ve held in the past and continue to hold now- and it’s responsible for the actual lack of results you’ve been noticing lately.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Whatever you’re currently experiencing right now IS temporary…but only if you choose to take up the initiative to change it. What happens is that most of us get caught in never-ending, vicious cycles that we always think are just about to end (day-to-day, week-to-week, year-to-year). It’s like your neighbor’s dog chasing after a car that you know it’ll never quite catch. Everyone on the outside can see it- just not the one “in the game” themselves.

Let’s take a look at this on a deeper level. Have you ever had a friend or relative who always talked about this being “the year” for getting healthy, fit and in control of their bodies? How many years did it take for this one to be “the year”? Did it happen at all? What usually happens is that while they’ll admirably set incredible goals for themselves and talk about it with friends and family, their behaviors never really change. As soon as they start getting more workouts in, the desire for sweets and “rewards” goes up. It’s like there’s an internal thermostat that won’t allow them to break free of their current body and habits. When they eat better, they suddenly can’t find the time to work out. So they either continue on the rollercoaster or call it quits and head back to their old comfort zone. Why does this happen?

Your actual behaviors – the actions you take, which give you the results you want – are driven by your beliefs about yourself and the world around you. If someone has a goal to become healthy and fit, but believes on a core level that “being healthy is hard” and “it’s hard to eat right”, or even “healthy people are strange”, how likely are they to achieve that goal? The beliefs that “being healthy is hard” and “it’s hard to eat right” will play out in their lives over and over again, making it incredibly challenging to be healthy. On top of that, if they knew an odd-ball health guru growing up and decided that “healthy people are strange”, they’ll never really allow themselves to become a “healthy person”. It’s a classic counter-intention that destroys their odds of success in achieving any of their health goals.

Keep in mind that all of this is concerning the problems we face in achieving our goals. The solutions come up next…

Here’s another example: have you ever had a friend who just seemed to “attract” drama and controversy? Who always talked about just wanting to be in a great relationship, but ended up creating arguments with all their friends and partners on a regular basis? What is it that actually drives this behavior and attracts so much drama, when all they really want on a conscious level is great friendships? Again, it’s their beliefs about themselves and the world around them.

They may believe that they don’t deserve the perfect guy or gal. They may hold the general belief (a fairly common one) that “people can’t be trusted”, passed down from family and friends. Or maybe they just grew up watching TV shows that faciliated them having unrealistic expectations about social situations and the amount of drama that’s “normal” in everyday life. It’s all a belief game- and it’s 100% our own responsibility to change it.

I’m sure it’s becoming clear that the beliefs you hold about yourself and others determine the actions you take (your behaviors), and following that, the results you see. This applies to your health, fitness and energy levels. It applies to all of your relationships. It applies to your financial beliefs, your intelligence, and your ability to learn new things and move forward progressively in your life. But with so many variables, how can we find out what beliefs we actually hold about ourselves and others? How can we “see” our current beliefs that are sculpting our daily lives?

I’ve discovered two powerful ways to become aware of your current beliefs:

1) What Are Your Expectations?

What you EXPECT to see in any area of your life lines up exactly with what your beliefs are in that area. Think about this for a moment. Some people expect more bills to show up, credit card debt, being tired and stressed out at work, coming home and passing out, etc. They fully expect this lifestyle because of the beliefs they’re holding about how life is supposed to be (usually passed down from parents, but also from any number of other sources and conclusions drawn elsewhere).

This isn’t a one-way street. Some people consistently EXPECT to see growing paychecks, surprise gifts, joy and satisfaction at work, and a lively, rich, dynamic atmosphere at home with the family. Funny enough, they consistently take the actions that bring them that kind of lifestyle in how they work, how they treat others, and how they treat themselves. Your beliefs in any area of your life (career, financial, health, relationships, mental performance, etc) determine the expectations YOU project outward in those categories; then, you take the actions that lead to the results you expected to begin with. This presents us with a unique challenge, but an even more incredible opportunity.

Many people go through life hardly challenging their current belief structures. They hold onto what their parents, grandparents, and their parents used to think- even if it serves no purpose in helping them to live the kind of life they really want NOW. The challenge? Becoming aware of your current beliefs so you can clearly see where you stand. The incredible opportunity? The chance to CHOOSE which new beliefs you’d like to entertain, and to watch them sculpt your life in new and exciting ways.

2) What Kind Of Actions Do You Automatically Take In Each Area Of Your Life?

This one is essential because we already know that our current beliefs are driving our behaviors…automatically. Some people are “tuned” to prosperity and can make incredible amounts of money appear on the spot, while they may be dumbfounded in the kitchen and at creating a state of health in their own bodies. Others are “set” to have passionate relationships that others would die for, but may find trouble choosing a career and bringing in money at the end of the day. What’s important to know is that you’re in control of the beliefs you have.

Take a quick assessment of your own life right now. What kind of results are you seeing in your career and financial life? Are you satisfied? How about your health? Your level of personal fitness and energy everyday? Now your relationships- both with any partner you may or may not have, and with friends and family. How about your mental performance? Are you an avid learner, always challenging yourself? Or did you develop the belief that “smart people aren’t cool” or something simliar in school (that you’re still living out today)?

We come away with all sorts of hurdles to be overcome by the time we’re out of school. All sorts of beliefs have been formed (whether useful or damaging), and we live out those beliefs on a day-to-day basis. It’s up to you to take 100% responsibility for the beliefs you’ve developed, the actions you’ve taken, and the results you’ve seen in your life.

…Next week, we’ll talk about how to literally hand-pick your beliefs, so you can start seeing the results you really want.

“What you truly believe is mirrored by the actions you take, not by what you say to others or what you’d like to think you believe”

Unleash Your Vitality,

– John Brackett

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

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]]> http://www.unleashyourvitality.com/2010/07/16/how-your-beliefs-determine-all-of-the-results-youre-seeing-in-your-life-and-the-2-clever-strategies-you-need-to-change-them/feed/ 3 http://www.unleashyourvitality.com/2010/07/01/lessons-from-alaska-tapping-into-clear-decision-making/ http://www.unleashyourvitality.com/2010/07/01/lessons-from-alaska-tapping-into-clear-decision-making/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:43:13 +0000 John Brackett http://www.unleashyourvitality.com/?p=778

I was recently fortunate enough to travel to Alaska for about 11 days of majestic mountain views, hiking, nature walks, local foods, history and relaxation. Literally everywhere you turned there was an ice-capped mountain range for your eyes to marvel at, with scenery to match. It was an incredible time, but that’s not what I’m here to talk to you about.

What I want to talk to you about today is something that became clearly highlighted for me as I walked the streets of Alaska: you can only feel as good as your decision making process. What do I mean?

While in Alaska, I found an interesting divide between the restaurants featuring locally-grown, organic foods and the restaurants offering diner-style meals and traditional comfort foods. “The Great Choice” between eating for comfort and convenience vs. eating for personal energy and vibrant health often seems like it comes down to external factors – aka what restaurants are around in the area, how hungry you currently are, how much money you have in your wallet, etc. As much as this can appear to be the case time and time again, I’m here to tell you that “The Great Choice” doesn’t come down to external factors…rather, it’s your decision making process.

Let’s take a look at a few examples together.

Running through the airport? Waiting for a plane ride? The layover? The flight? It all adds up, and it’s one of the most common places for bad decisions to take place. You’re tired, dehydrated and slightly more irritable and frustrated with the downfalls of traveling. If you see this coming in advance, you can make the ultimate healthy decision: pack your own meals and snacks ahead of time. You’re not limited to the food available at the food court (even though many options are becoming increasingly healthy and delicious). I may grab a smoothie at the airport, but it all depends on the ingredients. If it’s a sugar-powder-filled-packet mixed with water, I’m out. If it’s fresh fruit and other real foods, I may be in. But I don’t rely on that perfect meal to be there for me. Simple solutions come into play here – and not just for the airport, but all the times you’re on the run  (traveling, at work, just “on the go”, etc).

One of the simplest solutions available is in fact a smoothie. This can be with any high-quality protein powder (an example would be SunWarrior Protein), fresh fruit (especially berries), vegetables (particularly green, leafy vegetables) and anything else you’d like to add in. Many people add in things like peanut butter, coconut water and/or flesh, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts and seeds, etc. You can literally get in an entire healthy meal and blend it up into something that tastes like a dessert. That becomes your “on-the-go” meal – instead of an excuse. The power of this one simple habit can revolutionize your mood and health while at work and traveling.

Another example would be straight from my trip to Alaska. Instead of going for an easy-to-grab, heavily-processed bag of trail mix, our entire family made our own for hikes and traveling. It was made up of just 3 things: goji berries, cashews and chocolate chips (natural, gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate chips :) Compare that to a traditional trail mix with food dyes, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives and everything else under the sun! The idea of a trail mix is perfect – just step up your game and don’t settle for the fake stuff. The difference is night and day.

To be clear, I’m not saying you always have to have 3 days of meals packed in the back of your car at all times. I’m saying that you’re the one in control here, and it’s your responsibility to tap into clear decision making to get the kind of results you’re looking for. If you know you’re going out and might have to purchase and/or find a meal, you can prepare in advance by making a meal or by getting creative if you’re just not finding what you want. Go to the grocery store! You can get a bag of groceries that’ll last for days for the cost of a night out at a mediocre restaurant, and head out on a picnic or nature hike for free to top it off. You’re only limited by your own ability to think creatively.

I’m sure you get it by now – you’re the one in control, and you can and should take 100% responsibility for the actions you take, as well as the results those actions bring you. But how can you consistently tap into that source of inspiration and motivation in your daily life? How can you always make the “right” decision? The key is to be aware of your decision making process in the first place, and to use it strategically to get what you want. When we develop clarity on exactly what it is we want (be it gaining weight, losing weight, building muscle, increasing endurance, or anything else) then we develop a “feel” for what the right decision is. When it comes down to choosing one meal over the other, to get in a workout or not, to help a friend in need or sleep in – all it takes is an awareness of that decision being made. In that state where you’re completely conscious of which decisions are on the table, you’re able to see all of your options clearly and make a decision based on reason – as well as take into account the signals your body is sending you.

Muscle testing has been a phenomenal success in proving that we (our bodies) often know the right answer or decision nearly instantaneously and respond much more strongly to that over the weaker decision (although we may consciously choose the wrong one with our minds). On some level, we all know this to be true already. Sure, it often feels easier to stay in bed in the morning. The decision making process here is whether to spring out of bed in the morning or take it easy for 10-15 more minutes. The decision that usually makes more logical sense is to get up and get the most out of your day! The emotional decision that feels easier is to stay in bed and sleep in. Here’s where it gets interesting…

I was once told that the exact moment where making the right decision is the hardest is when your personal power grows the most. I’ve found this to be true in my own experience. When you feel the most tired and REALLY just don’t want to hit the gym, do it anyway. Not only will you feel great physically, you always feel great mentally when you know that you’ve just made the more powerful decision, or the “right” call. This certainly applies to your health, but it also applies to every other area of your life. That moment when you really want to buy something expensive that you don’t exactly need but would really like to grab? If you’ve got other higher goals financially, like paying off a mortgage or saving up for a new car, stay disciplined. Even though you don’t come away with a new purchase, you come away with an immense respect for yourself and your decision making process.

The best part? It grows in power each time you stay on course and keep up the momentum. How many times have you seen someone hit the ground running with a new diet or fitness routine for a few weeks and then take “just one” day off and spiral completely back to their old lifestyle? I’m willing to bet that you’re intimately familiar with it. Yet, on the other hand, we all know those solid individuals with an invincible mindset that’s set to always make the right decision – whether it’s easy or hard, simple or complex. These are the ones who commit to a 12-week program and follow it to the letter…and enjoy the incredible results as a reward. They hit the ground running, but with an even mind and a clear view of the decisions being made along the way. Use this momentum to hit it big and never look back.

Golden Takeaways:

* Alaska is an incredible place to visit :)

* “The Great Choice” is the decision making process between eating for comfort and eating for health and personal energy

* The key to always making the “right” decision is to be aware of the decision making process taking place

* It’s your decision making process – and not external factors – that consistently give you the results you’re seeing in your life

* Tap into your success motivation (a great one is choosing to focus on how you’ll feel after you make the right decision, instead of focusing on the process)

* The exact moment when choosing the right decision is the greatest challenge is precisely when your personal power grows exponentially

=> Note: Notice how I didn’t say when making a decision is hardest, but rather “when making the right decision is hardest”. The important idea here is that the right decision isn’t always the hardest one. In fact, sometimes the right decision for you may be the simplest and easiest to implement of a whole number of options. So don’t go out there and look for the hardest decisions to make – rather, consistently make the right call. When it just happens to bring about a challenging circumstance, stay the game and commit to making the right decision. That’s when your personal power grows – as well as when you feel the best about yourself.

Unleash Your Vitality,

- John Brackett

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

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Here’s one that hits close to home: chocolate. It’s a worldwide phenomenon and a snacking bliss that’s been enjoyed since before you can remember. Actually, when you think about, how long has chocolate really been around? Chocolate bars with sugar, dairy and other additives certainly haven’t been around for centuries! Let’s take a look at a quick overview of how cacao came to be known in today’s world, and how much things have changed. I give you: “The Secret History Of Chocolate”.

Theobroma cacao was first native to South America (regions of the Amazon and Venezuela) as well as Central America and even key areas of Mexico. Cacao trees grow well in tropical climates and other areas with temperatures consistently in the 70s and 80s (degrees Fahrenheit). Because of this, as well as trading incentives, cacao from Venezuela was planted off the coast of Africa for the first time in the late 1500s. Thus began the incredible growth of cacao as an export for various nations in Africa over the next few hundred years!

What’s really exciting to me is what chocolate REALLY is…the cacao bean, sometimes called a nut, of the fruit of the cacao tree. Although more and more adults are starting to catch on to the true nature of the chocolate, the kids that are devouring sugar candy being sold as “milk chocolate” have no idea what true chocolate really is. What’s happened is that we’ve fallen completely out of touch with real, genuine food. The solution? Learning and education – exactly what you’re up to right now :)

If you’re not familiar with how cacao is grown, the trees produce bright, vibrant fruits year-round that often resemble American footballs in shape. These range from deep shades of a red-orange-yellow color all the way to a dark bluish-purplish color. They’re incredible to view – you just can’t help but wonder at them. They’re often harvested 2-3 times a year.

Breaking open these fruit pods, you’re likely to find a few dozen cacao beans in each (surrounded by the white, pulp-like fruit inside). It’s these cacao beans that are real chocolate – raw chocolate at it’s best. Raw cacao beans are loaded with nutrition, especially coming from the alkaline minerals that are becoming harder and harder to get in today’s food supply! Things like magnesium, iron, chromium and a number of other factors can all be found abundantly present in the raw cacao bean. So what are today’s chocolate bars?

It’s almost as if the history of chocolate has been hidden from us all this time. We’ve grown up on cacao beans that have had the oil pressed out of them, turning into cakes, and then been powdered into cacao powder or cocoa powder. This in itself is fine, but it’s what happens next that really makes the difference (although a lot of the nutritional value can be lost here, depending on the pressing process). What happens next?

Besides the myriad of other processing stations for mass-produced chocolate, poor-quality additives are blended into the mix. Dried milk powder, refined sugar and all sorts of artificial flavor chemicals are mixed together into a liquid that becomes a “milk chocolate” bar. My personal stance? No thanks!

Now, this is clearly not how every company operates. Mass production? Absolutely. Some of the new, up-and-coming organic chocolate brands? No way. The industry has come a long way quickly as people have demanded higher quality ingredients and products from manufacturers. We now recognize that it’s the not the synergy of dairy, sugar and chocolate that makes us feel good – it’s just the cacao, real chocolate.

The Mayans and Aztecs recognized the inherent value of the cacao bean centuries before the milk chocolate bar was first produced in 1879. When Cortez came to Tenochtitlan in the 1500s, he was surprised to find a currency not of gold, but of cacao beans. Did you read that? The ancient currency of choice was raw chocolate! Cacao drinks were prepared and enjoyed in their civilization, and it seems that chocolate played an even bigger role back then than it does today!

The secret history of chocolate may never be fully understood by our civilization. We’ll continue to uncover new history and information on chocolate as we move forward, as well as new nutritional discoveries as we advance in our understanding. For now? Think over and wonder about the history of chocolate during the day today. And more importantly, don’t settle for the cheap stuff :)

Sources: Wolfe, David. Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of the Future. Berkeley: North Atlantic, 2009. Print.

Unleash Your Vitality,

– John Brackett

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

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I  understand your healthy skepticism. You hear a word like “superfoods” and while a part of you lights up with anticipation, you know full-well that it sounds like another scam or new product on the market. I’m here to talk to that small part of you that just lit up with the light of possibility, and reveal how superfoods are actually a food group…and one that you’d best start paying attention to – today.

Superfoods are a class of foods that have risen above and beyond the traditional “food” label. Conventional foods give us the essential nutrients we need to survive, but superfoods deliver the things our bodies and minds need to THRIVE – in a multitude of ways. Nearly all classified “superfoods” (such as goji berries, spirulina, bee pollen, maca, aloe vera, hempseeds, etc) work to enhance the immune system in dramatic ways. They deliver the exact key players for incredible immunity, but do it in the context of an extraordinary whole food – not a refined, chemical supplement that our bodies can’t assimilate.

Superfoods go far beyond immunity, however. They deliver practical, tangible results in your health, fitness and energy levels on the spot. We can all laughingly understand that no person can feel good or perform even remotely well living off just donuts and junk food. But then we stop mid-way. If that’s the bottom end of energy and personal performance, what’s the top? It’s certainly not the traditional American or European dietary lifestyle! If we consider that (which is causing incredible amounts of disease, obesity, and unnecessary pain and suffering) as the “middle point” on the scale of energy levels and personal performance, what IS the top?

The truth is, we’re just discovering what that top is now. And a few years down the road, we’ll know even more about that peak state. As we continue evolving in our understanding of nutrition, lifestyle and the human body, we’ll continue to redefine what we think is possible. The problem right now? What we know is possible is far beyond where most people have settled. Enter: superfoods. Superfoods are the missing piece of the puzzle, the “long-lost ingredient” that we’ve been searching for. We already know that they can dramatically enhance our immunity and keep us happy and healthy all year long, but the story goes so much deeper than that.

Do you realize that you can get all the protein you need (complete proteins with all of the essential amino acids), all the vitamins and minerals you need, all of the incredible enzymes and co-enzymes missing from the conventional modern diet and so much more…all from these so-called “superfoods”? What you’ve been told you’d have to take daily supplements to get is now available in the form of raw, organic superfoods grown in pristine, fertile soils in South America and beyond – score! Who in their right mind would rather take a handful of pills than enjoy a colorful, vibrant meal of foods that could revolutionize your health and energy levels daily?

A fascinating thing that starts to happen as you get into this is the falling away of old habits and food choices. You start to realize that if you take 5-10 minutes to blend up a quick “superfood smoothie”, you’ll feel incredible for hours – and, in fact, likely the whole day! Suddenly, when you’re faced with the option to grab a quick lunch of some fast-food meal with 70+ ingredients you can’t read or understand, you’re aware of the difference in how you might feel. You start to make the choices that lead to this enhanced state of wellbeing – where you have the energy to do what needs to get done, you’re more fun to be around because you’re in a better mood, and everyday just seems to be “one of those great days” :)

This new sense of energy comes from so many individual but connected factors, ranging from eating less of the things that drain your energy in the first place to gentle detoxification of old, stored toxins currently hampering your health, all the way to weight loss and the palpable energy actually in these superfoods. Many, if not all, classified superfoods are alkaline in nature – meaning they help to balance your body’s pH level back into a more neutral state. This is becoming more and more vital as people increasingly become dramatically more acidic (a breeding ground for disease). The other part of the equation that I’ve touched on before is the importance of alkalinity in energy levels. Alkaline blood is healthy, and is better able to carry the red blood cells that deliver the oxygen we need; this, in turn, determines our energy levels throughout the day (or is at least responsible for somewhere around 90% of it).

As your energy skyrockets and disease starts getting stopped in its tracks, you’re also getting re-mineralized. With mineral-deficient soils and foods as the norm, you’ll find that this aspect makes all the difference in the world. And when I say re-mineralization, I don’t just mean your bones and teeth. I’m talking your whole body, which includes your hair, skin and nails, muscle tissue quality, your organs, etc. Just one word of warning: as your body becomes increasingly nourished and revitalized, your mind follows in turn. With an incredible diet comes incredible mental performance, and it has been noted that superfoods in particular can lead to a re-evaluation of values in your life. What’s important to you at any given moment is determined by the state that you’re in…change the state, and you change the game at a fundamental level. The catch? The first move is up to you.

Unleash Your Vitality,

– John Brackett

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

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Here’s the problem: millions of people are suffering from depression, anxiety, “feeling down” and irregular moods. They just don’t feel like themselves, and as much as they want to be that bright, smiling person for everyone around them, they just don’t feel up to it. Hear me loud and clear: this is a problem that shouldn’t be taken lightly – and that I’d personally like to see solved.

How you feel day-in and day-out, or your “state”, is the single most important factor in terms of the results you’re able to produce in your life. If you feel exhausted and irritable all day, even with great intentions you’ll end up avoiding anything that might “set you off” – in other words, important phone calls you could’ve made, meetings you may have set up with friends or clients, or just being productive at all! Your neurochemistry determines how you feel right now, and this state determines how you interact with both others and yourself. In short? Your state is directly responsible for your decision-making processes.

Enter pharmaceutical drugs. Millions of Americans are turning to heavy anti-depressants and mood-altering drugs to find relief. Do I blame them? Absolutely not. Acknowledging that you’re not acting like yourself and that you’d like to move forward toward change is the exact step that’s needed here. This life is too good to miss, and everyone should be playing all-out with everything they’ve got! With that being said, many people are unaware of healthier and dramatically less expensive alternatives (we’ll explore what’s being called the top alternative in just a moment).

First, let’s get the straight facts on anti-depressants and mood-regulating drugs. The reason many people stop taking anti-depressants is because of the heavy side effects. The most common are sexual side effects (not fun), consistent nausea and fatigue/drowsiness, trouble falling asleep, dizziness or blurred vision, and dry mouth. Some may seem to be worth the advantages in mood enhancement, but are you aware that you can likely bypass all of these side effects entirely? My focus is on the end result or solution – and getting there in the healthiest possible way (it may just happen to be incredibly more cost effective :)

What I’m talking about here is supplementing with 5-HTP. 5-HTP is manufactured in the body from the amino acid tryptophan (usually found in poultry, red meats, nuts, seeds and several other foods), and is the intermediary between tryptophan and the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin is largely responsible for your mood, but also determines the amount of melatonin you have available when the sun goes down (your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep). Because a restless night’s sleep can make your mood and mental performance even worse, regulating serotonin and melatonin levels is essential to breaking the vicious cycle and getting on track (both physically and mentally).

Most popular anti-depressants treat the uptake and regulation of serotonin directly, while some newer and less popular drugs pinpoint other essential neurotransmitters, like norepinephrine and dopamine, to produce different results. What’s important is this: your serotonin levels determine your mood, or “state”, which in turn determines how you interact with others and make decisions throughout the day. The end result you’re looking for is healthy serotonin levels and a healthy mood. Double-blind, placebo-controlled studies verify that supplementing with 5-HTP acts as an anti-depressant and helps regulate serotonin levels far more naturally – likely without the side effects, or with far fewer.

5-HTP is an option you may not have been familiar with, yet the largely untapped potential in mood regulation, treating depression, allowing people to feel good and find relief from anxiety, and fall and stay asleep is refreshing to say the least. It’s my hope that you’ll be better off for being familiar with this information – whether it helps you directly, or indirectly through helping friends and family. Realize we have incredible options at our fingertips…it’s just a matter of looking for them.

[Source] http://www.naturalnews.com/028533_depression_amino_acids.html

Unleash Your Vitality,

– John Brackett

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

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