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Make 2046 Your Best Year Ever

In 1514, Nicolaus Copernicus shared a 40-page manuscript with a few friends. In it, he described his radical theory that the earth orbited the sun, rather than the other way around.

Copernicus knew that this hypothesis was dangerous, as it challenged the universal assumption that the earth was the center of the universe.

Still, he persisted in his research, and 18 years later, in 1532, his magnum opus, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (“On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres”), was complete.

But he didn’t publish for 10 more years. He was scared of the scorn that would be heaped upon him when people found out his radical and strange ideas.

It was persistent pressure from friends and colleagues that got Copernicus to finally allow the manuscript to find its way to a printer in Nuremberg, Germany in 1542.

By this time the 70-year-old Copernicus was paralyzed from a stroke and was fading fast. According to legend, the great scientist awoke from a coma to gaze upon his printed work for the first time, and then died.

That’s right – it took Copernicus 29 years to work up the guts to share his gifts with the world.

Aiming High is Scary

All of us have untapped potential. And all of us grapple with fear when it comes to taking the actions that will bring that potential into reality.

We wonder:

  • “What if I fail?”
  • “What if I’m not as good as I think I am?”
  • “What if other people reject me?”
  • “What if my friends and family get jealous?”

So we can stay where we are, safe and comfortable, and deeply unfulfilled.

And kinda miserable.

Because we know that on our deathbeds, we’ll regret not having tried much more than if we had given it our best shot, and fallen short.

Big Change is Scary

One area where so many of us struggle is our weight and health. After all, we live in a culture designed to get us to over-consume crappy food and replace our muscles with motors wherever possible.

And we’re taught faulty strategies for addressing the problem.

Strategies like “Eat less, exercise more” and other reductionist pabulums that just make us feel worse.

Strategies like like New Year’s Resolutions and other heroic sprints that deplete us within a couple of weeks.

Strategies like the Paleo diet that contradicts our basic biology.

So naturally most of us are afraid of putting ourselves out there and committing to change. We don’t see a trustworthy roadmap to follow. And we’re terrified of another letdown, another false promise, another flesh wound to our tender and most cherished hopes.

Wellness is Our Birthright

All this mental anguish tends to obscure a really freaking obvious point: most other animals on this planet are well. They are lean, strong, healthy, and functional.

That’s the default setting. Aside from rare genetic anomalies, animals who gather their natural diets through their preferred natural movements (fish swimming, birds flying, cheetahs running) do not suffer from chronic diseases.

They are not overweight, and they don’t have to go jogging or say no to that second helping to maintain their svelte physiques.

So the fact that the majority of Western humans are overweight and unwell is rooted not in biological inevitability, but rather in our lifestyles.

Change what you eat and how you move, and you rewrite your destiny – quickly.

Take Josh LaJaunie

My co-author and business partner Josh LaJaunie weighed 420 pounds in 2011, after decades of indulging in the richest cuisine in the world. Once he discovered running, he dropped 100 pounds with ease. When he added a plant-based diet to his protocol, the excess weight flew off.

This month Josh is featured on the cover of Runner’s World magazine, after coming in second in a 50k race in North Carolina and third in a 100-miler in Florida.

And Josh will be the first to tell you: he’s nothing special. He just DID, rather than wishing or dreaming for things to be better.

As another friend, Tim Kaufman, who went from disabled from a genetic disorder, addicted to painkillers, and weighing 400 pounds to completing his first marathon this year and hiking up Mount Washington, told me: “I’m just a fat guy who ate an apple.”

His breakthrough strategy: ““Eat plants, move your body, and do a little more today than you did yesterday.”

Not exactly rocket science.

And you know all this already.

You know how to eat. Maybe some of the nuances still need to be filled in, but you’ve got the basics for sure.

You know that exercise – natural human movement like walking, jogging, running, swimming, yoga, pilates, dance, gardening, whatever – is key to physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

And still, are you struggling to DO? To implement. To get it into your life in a sustainable and enjoyable and confidence-building way?

If so, you have three choices.

1. Let it go

Relax. Have a cheeseburger. Binge-watch season two of Red Oaks on Netflix. Pray that your co-pays for metformin, Prilosec, and Lipitor don’t rise too astronomically, and that the surgeon who does your stent and bypass hasn’t been awake for too many hours prior to your procedure.

2. Pull a Copernicus

You can delay for the next 29 years while you build up the courage to make the Big Changes that will get you the body you want. You can make 2046 your best year ever.

3. Commit right now

You can say yes to your longings at the same time as you acknowledge your fears.

Yes, it feels scary to commit to self-betterment.

Yes, it feels weird to go from self-affirmations like “I love myself exactly as I am” to operationalizing that love and treating your body like it deserves to be treated, with clean food and natural human movement.

Yes, it feels vulnerable to admit to yourself how much you want this new reality, because you fear that it’s just not for you.

The great movers and shakers of history weren’t any different than you. Today’s celebrated entrepreneurs and activists aren’t any more confident. Josh and Tim had no advantages that you lack.

They all struggle with the same fears, self-doubts, and issues of worthiness that you may be experiencing.

What separates them from the mass of humanity that stays stuck in their comfort zone is their willingness to DO in spite of all those negative voices in their heads.

2017 is Coming

Unlike winter in Game of Thrones, we know exactly when 2017 will be upon us. And 2018, 2019, and 2046.

There’s a powerful behavioral psychology principle known as the “clean slate.” It says that when we hit a milestone, or change our environment, we have space to make internal shifts as well.

That’s why I could practice being outgoing and confident when I traveled abroad in my 20s, even though I was shy and retiring at home.

A new calendar year is a perfect clean slate opportunity.

Most of us waste it on New Year’s Resolutions, which are fatally flawed in a number of respects. But we instinctively understand the power of January 1 as an opportunity, as a window, and as a time when the fabric separating WHAT IS from WHAT CAN BE is particularly sheer and gossamer.

The Big Change Program

If you’re unwilling to settle for the status quo, and you’re not satisfied to wait another year or 29 to take action to bring about Big Change, then I invite you to commit to the Big Change Program.

Josh LaJaunie and I have teamed up to create a one-year experience that will transform how you eat, move, and think. Josh is the epitome of experience and possibility. When you hear from him how he did it, and continues to do it, you’ll be inspired and guided on the path.

I’m the Habits nerd and the Teacher. I’ve formulated a year-long curriculum that approaches these habits of deed and thought as skills that must be learned, practiced, and mastered.

Instead of just saying, “Stop bingeing,” we’ll teach you the specific skills needed to say no to temptation in any situation, and guide you to practice those skills until you’ve achieved mastery.

In other words, living healthy in this culture is more like playing guitar or speaking Italian than deciding one day to “Just Say No.”

You can read all about the Big Change Program, take a free test drive, and sign up here:

http://BigChangeProgram.com

We start in January 2017, and I don’t know when the next run will be after that. If you’re ready to commit to yourself, please take 10 minutes to visit BigChangeProgram.com and see if it’s a good fit for you.

Josh and I would be honored to work with you, and help you make 2017 your best year ever.

While the legend of Copernicus dying peacefully after seeing his work in print is heartwarming, wouldn’t you rather have decades to enjoy the fruits of your positive health habits?

Warmly
Howard

PS Don’t be scared by my use of the word “commit.” I’m asking you to commit to yourself, not us. If you take part in the Big Change Program and find it isn’t right for you, just ask and you’ll receive a full refund (see http://BigChangeProgram.com for details).

PPS We’ve gotten rave reviews on the free test drive of the Big Change Program (a series of multimedia lessons delivered to your inbox), so if you know of anyone who could benefit from a common-sense, evidence-based, empowering introduction to positive lifestyle change, please forward this email or send them to http://BigChangeProgram.com.

Dr Howie Jacobson

This podcast is a labor of love and a way to give back to the world that has given me so much. That's why there aren't any sponsors (except me :).

My day job is helping leaders and their teams master their mindsets to remove all obstacles to heart-centered high performance.

Here are three gigs that I do:

1. Executive and Senior Leadership Mentoring and Facilitation

I work with high performing executive teams in organizations — and executive teams that need to become high  performing. My focus is mindset mastery, because it’s our mindsets that either support high performance or get in the way.

At this level, everyone’s got the skills and experience to excel and contribute at the highest level. What holds people back is mindset stuff: specifically the triggers that get them out of creative engagement and into fight-or-flight defensiveness.

My practice is all about teaching people to respond differently to those triggers by updating old maps — essentially removing the glitches that the triggers grab onto.

2. Executive Coaching: Quick Wins for High Performance

I work with individual executives and leaders, one on one. The program is called Quick Wins for High Performance, and what we do is, we work strategically on one or two areas that are holding you back and keeping you from performing at your best.

We reverse engineer the presenting problems — too much work and not enough time, underperforming employees and teams, maddening organizational inefficiencies, etc — and identify and rewire the suboptimal mindsets that are behind those problems.

The work is all about updating your mental maps so your actions and responses are always appropriate, proportionate, and strategic.

3. High Stakes Conversations for Fast Growing Small Business Teams

I help small business teams have high stakes conversations with skill, humor, and grace. When people feel safe, they can do their best, most creative, most collaborative work.

So that's what I do. If you'd like any of those results, drop me a line and tell me about yourself.

You CAN Change Other People!

Well, that's what Peter Bregman and I claim in our provocative book of that title.

What we really mean is, you can bring out the best in the people around you. If you think you're powerless to help people change, it's because you've been going about it the wrong way.

Discover our straightforward, replicable process here: You Can Change Other People.

 

Music

The Plant Yourself Podcast theme music, “Dance of Peace (Sabali Don),” is generously provided by Will Ridenour, a kora player from North Carolina who has trained with top Senegalese musicians.

It can be found on his first CD, titled Will Ridenour.

You can learn about Will, listen to more tracks, and buy music on his website, WillRidenour.com.

Gratitudes

Thanks to Plant Yourself podcast patrons – Kim Harrison – Lynn McLellan – Brittany Porter – Dominic Marro – Barbara Whitney – Tammy Black – Amy Good – Amanda Hatherly – Mary Jane Wheeler – Ellen Kennelly – Melissa Cobb – Rachel Behrens – Tina Scharf – Tina Ahern – Jen Vilkinofsky – David Byczek – Michele X – Elspeth Feldman – Leah Stolar – Allan Kristensen – Colleen Peck – Michele Landry – Jozina – Sara Durkacs – Kelly Cameron – Janet Selby – Claire Adams – Tom Fronczak – Jeannette Benham – Gila Lacerte – David Donohue – Blair Seibert – Doron Avizov – Gio and Carolyn Argentati – Jodi Friesner – Mischa Rosen – Michael Worobiec – AvIvA Lael – Alicia Lemus – Val Linnemann – Nick Harper – Bandana Chawla – Molly Levine – The Inscrutable Harry R – Susan Laverty the Panda Vegan – Craig Covic – Adam Scharf – Karen Bury – Heather Morgan – Nigel Davies – Marian Blum – Teresa Kopel – Julian Watkins – Brid O'Connell – Shannon Herschman – Linda Ayotte – Holm Hedegaard – Isa Tousignant – Connie Haneline – Erin Greer – Alicia Davis – Heather O'Connor – Carollynne Jensen – Sheri Orlekoski of Plant Powered for Health – Karen Smith – Scott Mirani – Karen and Joe Crabtree – Kirby Burton – Theresa Carrell – Kevin Macaulay – Elizabeth Rothschild – Ann Jesse – Sheryl Dwyer – Jenny Hazelton – Peter W Evans – Dennis Bird – Darby Kelly – Lori Fanney – Linnea Lundquist – Emily Iaconelli – Levi Wallach – Rosamonde McAtee – Dan Pokorney – Stephen Leinin – Patty DeMartino – Mike and Donna Kartz – Deanne Bishop – Bilberry Elf – Marjorie Lewis – Tricia Adams – Nancy Sheldon – Lindsey Bashore – Gunn Marit Hagen – Tracey Gulledge – Lara Hedin – Meg from Mamasezz – Stacey Stokes – Ben Savage – Michael K – David Hughes -Coni Rodgers – Claire England – Sally Robertson – Parham Ganchi – Amy Dailey – Brian Tourville – Mark Jeffrey Johnson – Josie Dempsey – Caryn Schmitt – Pamela Hayden – Emily Perryman – Allison Corbett – Richard Stone – Lauren Vaught of Edible Musings – Erin Hastey – Sean Owens – Sagar Naik – Erika Piedra – Danielle Roberts – Michael Leuchten – Sarah Johnson – Katharine Floyd – Meryl Fury – for your generous support of the podcast.

Disclosure

This post may contain amazon affiliate links. I may receive compensation from your actions on such links. It don't cost you a dime, tho.

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