What if...............???

I just watched the movie "Marley and Me" and it made me really think about....What if we treated the ones we love like dogs do? Haha....seriously. If you don't have a dog, then you might not know what I'm talking about, but they will give you their whole heart if you give them yours. Everyday you come home they are excited and happy to see you! Everyday you leave them, they will miss you. They don't judge you at all, they don't care if you have a nice car, nice clothes, what you look like, etc. They give you all of their love w/o expecting anything in return...well maybe a treat or two. :) But they know when you're sad and they know when you're mad, they can read your emotions even though you don't say anything. They will try to comfort you and be there with you through it all. They will irritate you and do things that'll make you furious...and you'll yell and scream at them, but they will forgive you no matter what. What if we treated our loved ones this way all the time? Sometimes we get complacent and take them for granted. I will be the first to admit that I do take people for granted sometimes, but we all do. Think about it.

WATCH THIS VIDEO. Enjoy.

Family and Friends.

I think this is the most important thing in your life hands down. This should be common sense, but people tend to forget their roots, where they started, and who they started with. We are all human, we all make mistakes, and we all tend to forget,  but realize that your family will always be there for you through thick and thin. You should always make it a point to spend time with them, I'm not talking about taking them out to dinner every night...just going over to their house and talking story is enough or just calling them here and there. I remember asking my Grandma...."Hey, I'm going to the market tomorrow...would you like me to pick something up for you? Do you need anything?" and she replied. "No, I don't need anything, all we need is your company." Who says that? Seriously. In our world today...everyone wants something from you, but all she wanted was my company. I love my family to death, I would do anything for them and they would do anything for me. Always do things for people without expecting anything in return, do things straight from your heart and I promise you the rewards will be greater and it will make you a better person. People are going to notice and then in return, will do the same for you...it's an awesome chain reaction. Try it.....BUT family doesn't always have to be blood. Sometimes your friends actually become your family. They're going to be those handful of people who will stick with you no matter what, they will always be there for you to talk, listen, and they'll always be there for you to lean on. The hard part is weeding out the fake from the real, but that is just the risk you're going to have to take with people to find your true friends. Just because they've been your friend since you were in elementary school doesn't mean anything. Sometimes they'll even make mistakes, but as long as they apologize sincerely, you have to forgive and give people a second chance to learn from they're mistakes. Like I said earlier...we are only human. Hey, one day you'll meet someone special and they will change your whole life and make you a better person w/o you even knowing it. I always thought things in your life happened because you wanted it to, what I mean is....I didn't believe in "Fate" I thought everyone was in control of their own life, but as I go through life...I'm becoming a strong believer in the saying "everything happens for a reason"....Good and Bad. You do or you don't do things, you make good decisions or make some bad ones, you meet people or you drift away from people, and in the end everything falls into place. Maybe not today, not tomorrow, or not even in the next 5-10 years....but it will. That's all for now. I'll add to this later. Enjoy. PLEASE comment if you have anything to add.

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family”- Anthony Brandt

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” -Dr. Seuss

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” - Maria Robinson

Love of the Sport.

Herro everyone....so this has been on my mind for awhile now, do people play or do sports because they're expected to? because of recognition? or just because it's what everyone else is doing. I don't know, but what I do know is not everyone does it because they LOVE the sport. Some people even do it, just for a paycheck, not even caring if they win or lose. They have no personal pride within themselves and some times it just irritates me. I know I'm not the best, I don't have a flawless record, etc. But I love what I do...It's a passion. I didn't realize it until I was deployed in 2008-2009...I wouldn't be able to sleep some nights, because I would stay up and think about everyone back home training, seeing all these pictures on facebook, and realizing I would have to play catch up with my skills when I got back. Also I just missed my HMC family....but I always go into the gym looking forward to training everyday and night. Sometimes I can't sleep on Wednesday nights because I'm so excited and want to try what I learned during the week on Thursday sparring nights. I always want to continue learning and evolving. I also like to pass on my knowledge as much as I can. It took me awhile to understand the concept of yourself getting better when you teach other people, you get to break down everything and get a better understanding of certain move, combos, etc. A lot of people don't see me out on the weekends and so on. It's because I'm either at the gym, home resting for the next day, or at home watching YouTube of technique all night. Don't get me wrong....I do go out occasionally, but rarely. No one sees you wake up at 6:00 am to drink your protein shake, get ready, and go work out (Tactical Strength & Conditioning)...then go to work...then go workout again (HMC). Doing laundry 3-5 times a week so your house doesn't stink! That's just a tiny bit of it. This would be just too long if I continued. So my main point is just to be true to yourself and do things because you LOVE to do them. Nothing else.

“Character is like the foundation of a house - it is below the surface.”

“The first thing is to love your sport. Never do it to please someone else. It has to be yours.” - Peggy Fleming

NEVER give up. What will you do if you fail?

Hello everyone!  I know i haven't been keeping up with my blog, don't know if you guys really care. I just wanted to share my thoughts on success, failures, and overcoming them...as you all know or don't know, I lost my last fight back in Sept. 2010. At the time and moment it was probably the worst feeling I've ever felt emotionally. After the fight I didn't want to talk or see anyone and when I did come out, I couldn't even look my family or friends in the eye without shedding a tear. I can say that I felt like a failure and I let everyone down. But you learn a lot about yourself, your friends, your family, and your personal courage, strength, and  determination. I look at this picture everyday to remind me how it felt, to use this as motivation to wake up and make everyday, hour, minute, and second count. Some people in the gym might think I'm crazy...when workouts get tough, I close my eyes and visualize this picture...then BOOM I get this burst of energy! I could easily make up excuses why I did this and why I didn't do that, but that's just not me. Look at many great fighters or people in general....early in their career they have losses and failures, but it was what they took from it to become better that made them champions and successful. You need to love what you do or you won't have that "fire" and you won't be able to push yourself. I say...once you stop having fun and stop learning you should quit or retire, because you will never get better. This is all from my heart. I want you guys/girls not be scared to fail, as long as you try, take that chance no one can tell you anything. I don't know who is going to read this, but if you do...please pass it on.  I leave you with three quotes that sum up this paragraph. Happy Father's Day.

“Try and fail, but don't fail to try.”-Stephen Kaggwa

"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength."

“I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.” - General George S. Patton

*MY QUOTE of 2011...."Opportunity"

"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations."

-Charlies R. Swindoll

This is actually one of my favorite quotes...my life has always been through great opportunities. A lot of my great opportunities wouldn't be possible without my friends and family. Right now I'm facing some adversity...but I'll just take it day by day and try to find that next opportunity disguised in what some people would think is an impossible situation. Enjoy. :)