Steroids

Changing your gym routine is very important else your muscles won't grow. I trained shoulders, obliques and legs this morning. Of course, doing legs right at the end. On another note, I found an article on the New York Times website relating to American Congress urging health authorities to clamp down on dietary supplements that might have illegal elements in them. Apparently certain companies enhance their supplements by adding steroids such as testosterone-boosting ingredients in order to create better results, and thus, better feedback from customers. When these customers see results, they evidently come back for more! I can't be too outspoken about steroids, only that I have heard from enough people that it's fairly common in this industry. Most guys (girls?) that gym professionally, "need" it. I'm not sure whether this need is warranted, but a fair amount of guys also prefer building muscle naturally. Bottom line is that most fitness fanatics, gym enthusiasts and bodybuilders use steroids since natural muscle growth is simply too slow or not good enough for competing in high profile competitions. Nutritionists and dieticians alike don't condone the use of steroids, for obvious reasons - abnormal intake of hormones that stimulate growth in the human body is not considered healthy. At least, not in the long run. I have grown (muscle) naturally and don't plan on taking any supplements soon. I am insistent on proving to myself that building muscle naturally is more sustainable and less damaging to organs/general health, however, it leaves me trailing slightly behind. I struggle to build as quickly as other (bigger) guys, and often lack energy or training power. Although I'm not anti-steroids, since I can understand their benefit(s), I just choose not to use it.

Peace!

Exciting Pictures!

I have to commend photographer Louis D Botha on the outcome of the shoot he did with me. He is not only able to capture raw emotion, but his after-effects and creative work seems to be very exciting (see pic). More samples from the shoot to follow soon!

Taking control

The story which caught my eye in the morning newspaper today referred to our national airline being jubilant about their profit-making success over the past year. Following news, I know that a year ago the management was fired after a R1 billion debt. They were in the red, and although government helped out, now, they're in the black. Amazing story. Not as amazing as realizing that bad management can really make the difference. And don't get me started on corruption! The point I want to make though is about pulling yourself together, and managing your life. It's a tough lesson and some of us only learn this later in life. "With a little help from my friends" might come in handy in this scenario, however, the decision still lies with you. And only you. It's fair to read, listen, take advice, learn from mistakes, but ultimately, take control, manage your life, because let's be honest, no one else cares as much about you, as yourself. People do care for you, and the closest friends and loved ones will always be a great supporting shoulder to lean on, which is important to appreciate and understand, but to find happiness inside yourself, you need to feel that you're managing your life. Hard work, dedication, planning, planning and more planning, educating yourself by reading/researching, and making hard-faced decisions about what you want out of life/not want - that will help you to actually manage your life. A good friend once told me, write down 5 things that you want to have in your life over next 2 years, then, write down 5 things you don't want in your life, over the next 2 years. Then, start getting rid of the things you DON'T want by managing the process of achieving what you DO want!

Now, get reading & writing, LOL.

XX

The curse of postponement...

There is evidently a curse that surrounds postponement. Let me explain. On a regular day, in the middle of the week, on my way to work (enjoying some random driving tunes in my car), slowly easing through traffic, my mind ponders off and for a few minutes I consider my life in different scenarios. (a) Being abroad (somewhere such as America); (b) Being filthy rich as a TV mogul, but alone; and (c) running my own business in the food industry living happily in Cape Town with my wife & kids. LOL. It's weird how we often wonder about how life in the future should be, but we never take any steps to get there...urgh!!! I call this the "curse" of postponement" - when, one day, you will sit on your stoep and regret not making decisions about taking your life in another direction, following your heart, and ensuring that you followed every possible step and turned every stone to look for ways of achieving your goals & dreams. Whether that be to work for a successful business, running your own company, traveling the world, or just being comfortable & living in a decent sized house (with a view) in a sought after neighborhood! Bottom line - putting off plans to do something with your life makes no sense in the long run. You'll only regret it later. Problem is, sometimes, along the way, we meet people, fall in love, and don't wanna move on. Which begs the question: In life, do we move towards people, or towards events? If you're happy being with someone, and settling in the daily run of the mill (in order to stay connected), then perhaps that could be satisfying enough to avoid running after other aspirations in life. I am twiddling my thumbs over decisions, decisions, and more decisions... grrr. Then emotions get in the way, doubt sets in, and I end up with a lack of perspective. *sigh* now it's Friday, and unfortunately, I'm not sure today whether I'm looking forward to the weekend. I'd rather get to a point where I can make clear-cut decisions, and move on. Not that easy. Perhaps over a tumbler of whiskey & ice, I will be able to!!

Have a blessed a weekend. XX.

Chin up...

Yep, it's the Monday morning blues, reality in the face, knuckles in the dust, throat dry and lips cracked-feeling again...haha, not to worry, got a lot to be grateful for! It's just when you feel so strong about something, or someone, emotions seem to spoil everything and creates a distorted imbalance. When in fact, things are perfectly fine, and actually great, we blur our judgement due to the struggles of dealing with our emotions. The mere fact that we have this emotional imbalance is evidence of how strong we feel about something/someone! And, making matters worse, it's often hard to convince people that your 'emotional issues' are actually there because you feel so strong. Bottom line however is that you gotta deal with your emotions first, before expecting the other party to vouch for the fact that you actually care, underneath all the drama. All relationships have arguments, and I honestly believe those that have the most, are just the ones that get blinded by emotional imbalance, when actually those 2 people will find an immense amount of love for each other. We learn, but don't always heed the signs - and there are basic relationship laws- the basics of true love

- accepting the other person for who they are; understanding that you can never change someone; that both should believe in trust & loyalty towards each other; not putting someone on a pedestal, or on the ground, but in the middle where they are human, and not below or above you, so as not to be obsessed or hate. That is where true love lies. It can be so strong that it beats all odds against any failure, that it lifts you up and make you believe in achieving everything you've ever dreamt of. We try too hard to change people - to make them do the things that WE prefer; instead of appreciating (and accepting!) each other's DIFFERENCES. Once you succeed in that, you'll find that the other party will actually accept you as well, AND you will experience honest, real love!

Have a blessed day!

XX

Time for a barbie....

Today wraps the Sanlam SA Fashion week in Johannesburg and the official "Barbie" afterparty is tonight at Melrose Arch. Looking forward to some hot ladies parading around looking every so attractive (and, hopefully, single..haha!). Hope your weekend is off to a bang but please be responsible. A cousin of mine was in a car accident last night (he is totally fine) but sadly it was yet another case of 'drinking-'n-driving' which is very uncool. Just don't drive when you gonna drink & vica versa... although some of us will constantly push the limit, not worry about the dangers of the situation, just do it one more time, until it's too late, and you will regret doing a stupid thing like that. However, just plan it properly, arrange a taxi, or ask a responsible friend to take you home, and damn man, then you can have fun till u drop... it ain't that hard to just think ahead for a change.. haha, Now, all seriousness aside, the weather here in JHB is wicked... blue skies, sunshine, no wind, just brilliant, now, where's my shades... gots to get some steaks out and have that barbecue with mates! Bring on the good times! :) Time for a barbie... and tonight party with the 'real' barbies... go figure!

Sanlam SA Fashion Week

Our company got burgled this morning - *sigh* the joys of living in JHB, South Africa! Insurance will pay out, but losing data and work that you've worked on for days, that is the real loss! So, if you're reading this and worry about losing something on your computers, do a back-up now! Otherwise, be vigilant, that's really all we can do.

Tonight is the opening of Sanlam SA Fashion week here in JHB, and a mate of mine's taking part while I'll be acting as director (with camera man) to shoot for our show V-Entertainment. Apparently the after party takes place this Saturday at Taboo in Sandton, so will try be there! However, in my opinion most models are pretentious (and then I'm not even talking about designers, and so-called 'fashion experts'). But let me not slate an industry that guides us to look decent and at least get a dress sense! So, respect to all designers & models that actually work harder than what most of us realize!

It's the mid-week party so raise your glass and say 'cheers' to the good things that you have, in your life!

Another week... Face your challenges!

Yo! It's that creepy Monday feeling again! Oh yeah, nothing beats the rush of a Monday morning, especially when your inbox squeezes at the seams from being overfilled! The only thing we gotta do is to look ahead, face our challenges, and move forward. In the daily grind things go wrong, and we argue with loved ones, feel unhappy, unsatisfied, unsure of our success or fate, yet when you look in the mirror you'll often find that you have plenty to be truly grateful for! As one dark cloud moves past, sunshine & blue skies will appear! Life however also shows us that the dark cloud will appear again, and we have to keep that in mind. You can't always just live for the moment, sorry mate, not realistic to be living like that! Planning and thinking ahead is what great leaders & successful business people will tell you over and over, helps to save the day. If you came second in the race, find out why, and don't remain the horse that didn't win in the race for victory! And yeah it's often easier to preach these principles than actually applying it. I force myself to save a percentage of my salary each month. Problem is that I'm spending more each month now, although I'm earning far more now than what I got when I started working 5 years ago! It kinda defeats the purpose! We see a nice car, and want it, trendy clothes, and feel like we need to wear that to fit in... the bad habit of falling for consumerism! By age 30 we wonder how it all went so quickly and we might not have all that much to show for our hard work. I am guilty as charged, and now I have to make it up before alarm bells start to ring (and regretting that you lived too fast!). Saving your money is one of the best barriers against feeling dependent. Imagine losing your job, but then having a large stash of cash saved up in the bank to cover you for at least a year? Now that's real good planning ahead! It's not necessary to be a grumpy young lad or lady, just be wiser, and trust me, most of the time you'll know exactly when you are doing a stupid thing. You just know!! That "knowing" is life telling you NOT TO!! Damn, bruva, listen to it for a change!

Gotta get back to the office work at hand, and work out new ways of 'planning' and earning success.... Grrrr, hard work, hard work, hard work!!!

It's Monday again, and in JHB spring has really sprung... I felt like jumping into an ice cold pool on Saturday, the weather was sweltering but I loved it! Winter is a season which most of us don't enjoy, but I actually like cuddling up, drinking hot chocolate, having soup & toast, and being warm. But when it's summer, yeah, then I'm really happy!! This past Saturday's photoshoot with Louis Botha went really well.

Above is a sample from the shoot, thanks to Louis for the pic, which I like. He has a different style & approach to the way he shoots. He focuses on raw emotion, uses natural light, as opposed to an overwhelming amount of lighting kits, and takes time to get the right shot!

If you'd like to see more of his work, log onto Facebook, and add him!

It's a busy day ahead with producing and all. We are always busy, especially in TV. Then I think of Lennon's quote, "Life happens while you're making other plans," and twiddle my thumbs about my options, and career direction. Hmmm.... let's not waste a day on hating, but rather, loving. Tough as relationships, work, daily stress might seem, if we don't keep pushing, looking forward, it will eat you up...

Talk soon!! :)

Photoshoot!! :)

Heya! Just a quick update to say 'happy friday' and also that I'm having a photoshoot tomorrow morning, first time in a while!! Can't wait! Will post sample shots as soon as they become available!!! Have an awesome weekend!!

Damn this... I won't give up!

I swear, it's not my year, even less so my week!! Urgghh... Staying positive ain't helping, I need to stay focused and realistic. I am pushing harder at gym, so that's a good thing, but career wise things build-up to a potentially good moment, then it just falls flat. Overnight success, as some people might strike it, certainly comes and goes. I want to believe that I have substance when I achieve the success that keeps avoiding me. I want to be confidant in what I can do, my skills, my real-world abilities, my character strengths... and perhaps, along the way, I will find out that certain things I hoped for, is actually not meant for me, and not really my strong point. I do believe in following your dreams, but alas (for example), if you can't sing, why bother following a dream of a superstar-singing sensation? The balance of knowing what you are capable of, and then pushing that to the ultimate limit, surely, will mean immense amounts of success!

Hope your second day of spring treated you well! I'm off to studio to prep our show for tonight (V-entertainment, 19h00 CAT on Vuzu, channel 123).

PS:My pic above is from gym today - working hard on arms (and shoulders)!!

XX

Patience!

My weakest characteristic is my impatience with life. I want things to happen right now... not a minute later! Lol! But, alas, there's no point in stressing a situation to achieve an outcome that is rushed. Although, I'm only just learning to accept this wisdom now... slowly, but surely!

It's a process of learning from mistakes & arguments. It's also about accepting that life really won't change if you try and push it. My fav quote is still the one from Yung, "what you resist, persists, what you accept, changes..." It's tough, but we have to apply it to things that go wrong as well, or negative aspects in our lives. Accepting that you can't change someone, for example, or, accepting that you didn't achieve a certain goal, or get that salary, or job, or girlfriend, or...etc, etc. Once you've accepted a situation, your stress levels will automatically subside. This is the only reason we stress, and become agitated, short-tempered, unfriendly and unpleasant people. That being said, the important lesson is to build on that. One of the best ways to increase your knowledge is to read. On any level, that is. Emotionally, financially, general knowledge, inspirationally, etc. And someone that I find great comfort in, at least on an intellectual level, is Dr John Demartini. I know that some people find motivational speakers to be bullshitting half the time, nevertheless, I think Demartini is on another level, and I enjoy his books. In any case, if something makes sense and helps, especially when he gives advice on financial matters, then, why not? One of the things that I've learnt from Demartini is to be patient - in relationships, in business, and in general, with building on your success. When the challenge is so much bigger and harder to cope with, you have to focus on your strengths and move forward, then the rewards will be great! And be patient. Know that inside your heart everything lies to only lift you up to success!

There is a new DVD out where Demartini talks about the Wisdom of the wealthiest people in the world (See pic below).

Oh! And HAPPY SPRING DAY!! It's my fav month of the year, since 10 Sep is my birthday!!

Woohooo!!! =)