Brainstorms – Page 49 – Daily Brainstorms

Train With Push

Having a clear goal/vision is one of the most important things to me.

Data follows closely behind. @trainwithpush put together an article detailing how @coachmatthunter and I track progression at @athleticlab and how @jciake and I worked together to get me back riding within 4 months after ACL reconstructive surgery, along with a host of other issues with my knee from my stubborn ass pushing surgery off for 2 years.

I believe that you have to have a clear goal, know where you’re starting from, and know if you’re progressing forward or not. @trainwithpush makes that easy for us and other athletes from pro to the weekend warrior.

Tracking data helps anyone accomplish their goals that much easier and more effective. 💪🏽💚✌️

Read the feature PUSH interviewed Jackie, Matt, and I for.

https://www.trainwithpush.com/blog/josh-perry-bmx-qa

-Josh P.

Thanks To My Health

Gratitude is, in my opinion, the single most crucial aspect of life.

With the holidays coming, it seems to be the one time of the year everyone, for the most part, agrees on gratitude being so important.

I disagree, though.

Not with celebrating gratitude, or with my first statement, but the fact we dedicate one time a year to be grateful.

It’s great and all, but I believe it’s a facade concealing a business. But that’s a whole other topic.

Back to gratitude. Gratitude has been a game changer for who I am, how I live my life, the relationships I have built, the career I have developed, the health I maintain, how others perceive me, and how I move forward with my life and set goals. See, I used to be ungrateful. Very ungrateful.

Then one day my life was threatened. Then again and again. AND, still.

When you’re 21 and told “you are going to die” if you do not go into risky cranial surgery to remove a massive brain tumor taking up the lef portion of your brain and may die, even so, your perspective on life and what really matters shifts.

Then when it happens two more times, you get serious about this change of perspective. All the petty drama and negativity, we seem to let grab our attention and focus easily, goes right out the window. Why? Because it doesn’t matter at the end of the day and has no real affect on our lives when we stop and give it thought.

Once we shift our perspective in life and focus on the things that matter to us most, our health, family, friends, happiness, fulfillment, etc., gratitude starts to manifest itself every day in new ways. That is precisely what happened to me eight years ago and then again six years ago, and recently earlier this year.

No one thinks they are going to run into major health concerns or even having to face death at an early age. Or at least they don’t consciously think about the possibility. Why? Because we are all so focused on living but, not in this current moment. We are worried about the future and what we are going to do after school, what we are going to do for a career, how much money we “need” to make, what others will think of us, what happens if we take a risk on what we truly want rather than what we are told to want, etc. I was wrapped up in this.

When we are living in this state, it creates dis-ease, which creates “disease.”

Although I was pursuing my dream with massive success, I was still in a state of fear, worry, lack, and judgment. Once I began to shift my perspectives, I saw massive improvements in my life and those around me. This included taking my health into my own hands regarding nutrition, fitness, and mindset, and focusing on doing the things I loved, and what I think is the second most important thing in life, WHY we do anything.

Today I live, ride, train, and coach with 4 brain tumors in my skull and I wouldn’t have it any other way. No, honestly. People say “that’s gotta be the worst thing that ever happened to you.” No way! It changed my life around 180 and all for the best. It took that moment to show me what was important in life and teach me what gratitude truly is. Things could always be worse in our lives, and I don’t think people give that statement the credit it deserves. Don’t agree? Well, the fact that you have an opinion on this backs my statement. YOU ARE ALIVE!

Thanks, to my health, I can continue living my dream, develop new passions, and what I think is the greatest, I can share my experiences, beliefs, love, and support with others around the world in an effort for us all to live as healthy and happy as possible. It starts with gratitude, and it begins with us, then it spreads throughout the lives we lead.

-Josh P.

Uninspired “WORK”

We worry & focus on money too much!

Money is just a tool.

It’s important yet has no true value or meaning other than what we instill upon it.

If you had a million dollars, would you be happy? If it just sat in a room & you couldn’t take it out or “spend” it, would you sill love it so much? Of course not. It’s not the money, it’s what you’d do with it and the emotional response it’d bring with it.

I encourage all of us to focus on the things we enjoy in life, the things we love doing most or would love to do most, and the emotional state it’d bring along with doing these things. Not the money.

When we focus on the things we love, actively pursue those things we love, and create that emotional response and space of the energy we live in, we can then attract the money. It may not show up in the form of a lump sum in your bank account. But, it’ll show up in the form of opportunity.

There is plenty of money out there for us all to live abundant lives. We just much choose to recognize it and believe we are all worthy of receiving it.

Uninspired work to make a dollar doesn’t lead to fulfillment and abundance. It may pay the bills but always have you working to make that money rather than enjoying what you’re doing and contributing to society as your best and happiest version that we all owe the universe and one another.

Wouldn’t you rather be inspired to contribute your talents, passions, skills, help, love, etc. to the world and show up happy and motivated every day? Or would you rather wake up dreading your daily tasks and way of providing for yourself, thus keeping you uninspired, unhappy, stressed, and feeling in lack?

I choose inspired work. I choose to work for a purpose I believe in. I choose the belief that I am worthy of abundance and that we all are, and that we all have something unique to contribute. I choose love!

It’s a belief. People are not just rich or poor because that is so. It’s a belief in which they make that a reality or sustain that reality.

We can choose to see the world as it is and be “right” in our claims about why it is so, or we can choose to make a difference in our lives and live an inspired and happy life. It’s a choice. Not a fact.

What do you choose? 💚✌️

-Josh P.

Trust The Process

“When we focus on results, we don’t get change.

When we focus on change, we get results”

I heard this quote in 2013 by a dietician while enrolled in the Institue for Integrative Nutrition, and it has stuck with me since. I believe in it so much that I have aligned my life, goals, and all my actions around this quote.

I must admit, I was skeptical of change providing me the results I desired for a while at first and didn’t want to make some necessary changes I knew I needed to make. My ego stepped in and told me that being settled into what I was familiar with, even though I was not happy, was better than the unknown.

I began to put my faith in this quote once I started to make some much needed and long overdue changes in my life. Whether they were difficult or easy, I started to see the small changes take place in my life and then the results followed. It was enough to make me a believer and since fully believing, I see so much progression in terms of results.

I noticed along the way that when I get cocky and comfortable with my ways, I begin to get anxious and stressed out. My mind and body don’t like to be stagnant, and goals don’t like this either. I am a big lover of discipline and my routines, but I know full heartedly now that change is inevitable and the more we fight change, the more tension and resistance we create along the path to achieving the results we want.

Once I get back to implementing change into my routine while still fostering discipline, the stress, fear, and anxieties disappear.

If we are only interested in results, we defeat the purpose. The process is the purpose. There is no destination. We are always evolving, internally and externally, and must embrace the journey because, at the end of the day, the journey is, in fact, the “destination”.

💚✌️

-Josh P.

Can’t Have Abundance Without Gratitude

There isn’t a single thing anyone wants.

Just the emotional response that “thing” triggers and the emotional state you’re living in once that “thing” is obtained. What would it take to live in that state of happiness, gratitude, ease, love, high energy, & optimism….now?

People and things don’t make you happy. YOU make you happy. It’s a choice. You either choose to be happy, or you choose to be happy because of this or that.

When you let go of the resistance to what you think will make you happy…”I’ll be happy when…fill in the blank…..” and choose to be happy because you’re grateful to be alive, then and only then will you find yourself feeling prospered in all the interests of your life. The universe provides you with your desires, “good” or “bad”. That’s only determined by your state of being and what you are focusing on.

Are you focusing on what you don’t have and living in lack? Hence, “I’ll be happy when I get that job, get that house, make that money, buy that car, find that significant other, etc, etc.”. Or are you living in gratitude for what you have, and because you know what you don’t enjoy/what, you do know what you enjoy and desire in life?

That’s the goal and that’s when the things we want and desire appear in our lives. When we let go of the lack, stress, worry, fear, judgment, anger, and suffering, and focus on what we do enjoy and are grateful for, the rest comes easy. It’s our choice.

Can’t have abundance without gratitude. 💚✌️

-Josh P.

Go All In On Plan A

You can always get a “job” if things don’t work out. F a “plan b”. Go all in on plan A. You can never turn back time to a younger age and opportunity to go all in on a dream. I dropped out of high school, moved 14 hours away from my family, and pursued my dream of becoming a BMX athlete.

I suffered injuries, depression, anxiety, fear, brain tumors, concussions, being broke, living on a couch, living out of my car, and many other challenges to make my dream happen. I had those who supported me and those who doubted me. The most important things I did was believe in myself and take action while never giving up! If I can do it, a kid from Cape Cod with all the odds against him, so can you. Just believe in yourself and know fear is just a thought that can be changed. 💚✌️

Josh P.

You Make The Choice

If it were easy then everyone would do it. Do what others won’t today so you can do what others can’t tomorrow. It’s all a matter of perspective, belief, and choice.

You choose what to believe whether it’s the haters or the supporters. You choose your perceptive, glass half full or glass half empty. You choose to take action towards what you want in life.

Your reality is a reflection of your beliefs, perspectives, choices, actions and only yours. No one else’s. Take your reality into your own hands and hold yourself accountable.

Don’t complain about what you don’t have because we all have a choice to act in a manner that’s going to help us succeed in life or help us regress and stay where we’re unhappy. Rather than reacting to what you observe and “know to be true”, focus on the desired outcome and what that reality is like. Speak, think, feel, and act in that energy to help attract that into your life. 💚✌️

-Josh P.

Let Go Pt. 2

These are great lessons I’ve learned over the years and continue to bring amazing people, experiences, and opportunities into my life. 2 years ago I met Jackie for the first time and she worked her athletic-training magic on me. Little did I know that we would become best friends with so much more in common than I’ve ever experienced with someone from the opposite sex. From fitness and nutrition to sports, to universal energy and alien talks, she gets me and the way my brain works and vice versa.

Lesson 1: what’s done is done and the only thing you can do now is choose how you want to move forward. Don’t let your past define who you are or sway you from happiness.

Lesson 2: be grateful for what you have and to be alive. It’s easy to compare our lives to others without knowing the whole story and then feel discouraged or that we lack things. It’s ok to strive for more, but how can you expect to obtain more when you’re not coming from a place of gratitude?

Lesson 3: again, strive for more. That is not greedy or selfish. That’s progression. Life is full of that. Just look around and think about how life was even 5 years ago. Don’t worry about the past or the future, be present and set goals for the future. Don’t get married to an idea or a “plan”. Plan and set goals, of course, but don’t stress it when things don’t go to plan or they change. That’s the journey at its finest. Embrace it. Embrace the unknown, the fear, the uncomfortable, and the changes that will take place. It’s all about the journey, never the destination. 💚✌️

-Josh P.

What’s Luck?

People say I’m “lucky” but, am I? Or am I not afraid to go after what most won’t? Am I not afraid to NOT give up? It’s all perspective and mine is to take action for what I want and to live the life I want.

I’m not “lucky”. I work, HARD. I don’t believe in luck, I believe in taking action. I may not have a “9-5” but I work harder than if and when I did. I bust my ass on and off my bike to live the life I have. I wasn’t gifted with anything unless you look at both positive and negative experiences as gifts, which I do.

It’s the lessons and skills I’ve learned and acquired from all the experiences in my life that have allowed me to navigate through life how I want and only how I want. I have begun to trust the process, trust and enjoy the journey, and embrace every moment as an opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed.

I have also surrounded myself with people that are encouraging, positive, loving, in the same energy as I am, and motivated. I encourage you all to change your perspective on life and try to see the good and the opportunity in every situation you come across.

There is no “bad” unless you allow it to be true. Would you rather be right or would you rather succeed?

-Josh P.

📸 @jciake

Let Go

For me, I tend to hold onto the “how” and “when” in regards to my goals with business and personal life. I’ve been learning that the path of resistance, rather than inspiration and faith, makes the journey that much more challenging.

The resistance that I’m letting go of in my life consists of doubts, obstacles created from stress and fear, and the subconscious belief that the things we want in life need to come from hard work rather than inspiring work.

So, let go of the doubts, fears, anxiety, and stress and embrace the journey from a place of worth, love, peace, light, and confidence. 💚✌️

-Josh P.