Category: Recovery

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The Hierarchy of Health, part 2

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Last week I introduced my Hierarchy of Health. This lists, in order of importance, what I consider to be the four elements of good physical health. They are:1. Sleep2. Hydration3. Nutrition4. ExerciseAnd yes, I’m well aware that this order is the reverse of what most people consider.​ If you missed last week’s post you can read it HERE. I received a lot of good feedback on that post and some interesting questions, which brought to mind an essential caveat – Your personal mileage may vary. For you see, each one of us is a unique variation on a common theme.… Read More »

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The Hierarchy of Health, part 1

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So, you didn’t exactly ask, but that’s never stopped me from sharing my opinion before.Here is the hierarchy of good physical health. These four things, in order of importance, will keep you on the road to good living.1. Sleep2. Hydration3. Nutrition4. ExerciseWhat’s that? Not the order you expected? I’m not surprised. We live in a culture that’s all about the doing. Work harder? Work smarter? It doesn’t really matter as long as you’re working. So when we approach our health and fitness we approach it from the reverse order. Over the next few weeks I’ll take some time to address each level… Read More »

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Crisis and Opportunity

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Hey there, Within the personal development and self-help communities is the cliched concept that within every crisis lies an opportunity. This idea is oft supported by the Chinese chracter for crisis which, it is pointed out, contains the character for opportunity. Not exactly the most empirical of supporting data, but it’s a nice concept, and in the midst of a pretty shitty situation most of us will grasp at anything to make us feel just a little bit better. On the whole, however, I feel that as a guiding principle of life it bears out. Of course, my ability to discern… Read More »

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Josh Serrano

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  Meet Josh Serrano. Josh is one of those young guys I love to interview. At 21 he has a clear sense of purpose and direction. At 21, I could have barely told you what I wanted to do today let alone with my life. Part of Josh’s sense of direction comes from having nearly lost it all at a young age. At 10 Josh suffered a stroke. It left him paralyzed on one side of his body. At 12 he was gifted with a set of weights by his grandfather and he’s been training ever since. Listen in as… Read More »

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Man Seeks Advice for His Stoner Brother

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A few days ago, this was in my in-box. Yo! Dave, What’s up man..hope all is well. I have question I was hoping you could help me with. My little brother (18 yrs) is a freshmen in college. He is very talented baseball player, and used to work hard and wanted to be the best. He has been smoking pot almost everyday for almost a year and is now losing motivation to be his best. He has almost got busted a few times, but sees nothing wrong with w/smoking cuz it’s “natural.” What helped you? Any thoughts/advice would be greatly… Read More »

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The Pursuit of Happiness

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“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” – Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence This sentence holds a mythic quality in our society. We’ve heard, read it, said it countless times in our academic careers. It is a meme that has attained “Duh” status, it’s a foregone conclusion. So much so that we don’t give it a second thought. As far as history is concerned there were some radical components to this statement. The… Read More »

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Lies, Lies, Lies….

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“Repetition does not transform a lie into the truth.” — Franklin Roosevelt When I was five years old I knocked over a lamp and broke it. No was around to see it, but I knew, when I was found out, that I’d be punished. That I would lie was a foregone conclusion. No one could convince me that the punishment for telling the truth would be any lighter than one for lying and there was always the outside chance that I might just get away. I began repeating to myself, over and over, “I didn’t do it. I didn’t do… Read More »

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Sharpen Your Saw

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Here’s a fable for you: A old man went for a walk in the woods. After a mile or so he began to hear the sounds of another man working. As he approached he saw a younger man laboring furiously at sawing down a tree. “Whacha doin’ there, sonny?” the old man asked with a grin. “I’m trying to cut down this tree,” the younger man said with as much patience as he could muster. “Well, it looks like your trying very hard. How long have you been at it?” “Five hours, so far. I’m about half way through.” “Wow,… Read More »

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First, Seek to Understand…

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“First. seek to understand, then to be understood.” Oh, this is a good one. I spent Saturday and Sunday in Tennessee with family. My cousin-in-law, Gary, had suffered a brain hemorrhage from an aneurysm several weeks ago. On Saturday friends and family got together to host a spaghetti supper to raise money for my cousin and help mitigate some of the financial costs of this hardship. As you can imagine, I had my issues with the whole idea of a spaghetti supper. The concept of a carb laden sugar fest whose primary purpose was to alleviate health care costs struck… Read More »

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Of Camels, Devils, and Swagger

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I found this quote in my inbox this morning. It was from a “Quote of the Day” email I get from Philip Cardwell and it seemed very much in keeping with my message of your perfect imperfection. “Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel.” G. K. Chesterton It reminded me of one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite musicians, Tom Waits. “If I exorcise my devils Well my angels may leave too When they leave they’re so hard to find” Tom Waits, Please Call… Read More »

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War Stories: Tales from the front

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Today I am super excited. This is the day I announce the launch of a new program here at Agoge Fitness Systems. It’s a bit of a departure from what you might expect from a gym. However, if you’ve followed me for a while it’s really no surprise. Today I launch War Stories: Tales from the Front. This is a collection of interviews with people I admire and respect. I took the name Agoge for my business because of the history of the word. In ancient Greece, the agoge was the school all Spartan youth attended to learn their respective… Read More »

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Destiny’s Manifesto

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Over the past few days I’ve been writing the biographical part of what will become my manifesto. It’s a useful exercise in that it achieves two goals. It shows you where you’ve been and it shows you what matters most. What matters most defines your core values. Your core values are the compass by which you navigate life. Being clear about those values is helpful, especially when wading through the murky and unclear waters that often comprise our lives “right now.” Hindsight is good but only after the fact and in the midst of a struggle a sense of bearing… Read More »