Evan Sanders's Blog, page 104

 

It often occurs to me

Throughout the day

That no matter the failure

Loss or dismay

—

No doubt in my mind

That the sun will rise

Bringing new opportunity

To claim the prize

—

And what could that be?

That elusive goal

To turn a riddled heart

Into something whole

—

Each day you try

And give it your best

You can go to sleep

Cause you passed the test

—

It’s not about the things

We gain in this life

But rather a strengthening of the soul

Through victory and strife.

- Evan Sanders

Did you know that almost three-quarters (71 percent) of internet users are more likely to purchase from a brand that they are following on a social networking site such as Twitter or Facebook?

So you have some social media outlets to build? I am  your man. I will build you a community of “relevant” followers who are interested in your message and what your brand is about. Not only will they be relevant, but they will also be highly active on their media which gives your brands message a better chance of multiplying out into the socialsphere.  I am well versed in (Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, LinkedIn, Google+, Youtube, Pinterest, Instagram and many other networks) If you would like a platform built, maintained or expanded, please email me at [email protected]

Ghost Writing / Blogging / Magazines /  Guest Posts

Want me to write for your blog, company page, magazine, or website? I would love to! Name the topic, idea, or theme and lets work together.

Please contact me at [email protected] if you are interested in working with me.

- Evan Sanders

I always hear people say how easy it is to lose yourself. But what if you never really even knew yourself? What if, you felt like you were a body  that was simply reacting to everything going on around you instead of playing the lead role in your life? Makes you think doesn’t it? Made me think…

The grind. You know…the 9 – 5. The thing that people “have to do” in order to live. I understand it. I really do. But in my head somewhere I know that there is something much deeper and more fulfilling to life than grinding it out. I look at the people who have succeeded massively in this world and sense something a little bit different. I see passion. I see risk, decision, sweat, hustle, and patience.

But most importantly, I see a dream. That one thing they know they want and that they wont stop short for. So they do what they have to do to earn a living – and then here’s the difference – they pursue their dreams…also. There’s a never-ending belief that if they keep on plugging away, they will be able to ditch what they were doing and live in the world that they only dreamed of before.

I’ve heard the hardest part of skydiving is the jump out of the plane. I’ve also heard that true courage is taking a leap of faith and building your wings on the way down. I can attest to how easy it is to put your toe in the water and quickly pull it back out. But that doesn’t yield your dreams – that only creates an apprehensive attitude. Thank the heavens that I have a surplus of curiosity in me or else I would have given up a long time ago. And at its worst, life becomes a grind…instead of a thrilling roller coaster.

So make it official. Your decision to believe in yourself and to bet on yourself is one of the biggest days of your life. You can do it – but you have to really try. Give it all you’ve got. Nothing short of a champions effort.

- Evan Sanders

 

 

As Captain Jack Sparrow once said, “It is not the problem that’s the problem. It is your attitude about the problem.” Yes…I just quoted Pirates of the Caribbean.

The title is a formula that is undoubtedly true. When you become successful at something, your game elevates…but your problems do increase as well. The nature of the formula will always stay balanced. However, insert your character into the equation and you might be able to tip the scales in a positive way.

I have always believed that the mind can help me overcome and accomplish pretty much anything I wanted to do. But that “want” factor has to be there. You really have to want something or it just becomes a convenience idea in your head. You have to have it. Why? Because it will make all the difference in your life. I think it goes without saying that this can be used for destructive means as well, but you understand what I am getting at here.

You can effectively turn problems into situations with just how you think about them. Bring a positive mindset and a willingness to get something done and you can do incredible things. In the end, if you view them the right way anyways, they all become lessons that you can learn from. How do you think I can write almost every single day?

Whatever cards you have been dealt, just remember, you can flip them.

- Evan Sanders

“If you don’t ask yourself on occasion ‘What the hell am I actually doing?’ I’m not certain your actually living.” – Megan Dills

I found the quote above on Twitter tonight and it got me thinking. I was going to write an interesting post titled “When Your Life Hindenburg’s” this evening, but in light of what has gone in in the past few hours, I have changed my mind.

I watched the Heat win the NBA championship tonight. Im not a huge basketball fan but I do appreciate inspiring moments. And as always, my favorite part of the game is actually after it is over – listening to players talk. Who cares if many of them are not that eloquent. I feel like people use that as an excuse to put them down and almost dim the glow of their achievements. Anyways…I listened, and listened hard to what James said when the reporter asked him after the game -What do you have to say to all those people who talk about you or doubt you etc – and James responded perfectly, “I can’t worry about what everyone says about me.”

Everyone around me is talking about how great the game was and I was just sitting there thinking about those words. And the moment came – “It’s true” I said to myself…and went on into the other room to shower. As I stood there in the shower I thought more and more about what he had said and concepts along the lines of the quote above from Dills. “What the hell am I actually doing?” It dawned on me that there have been many times in my life that I have done, or not done, something because of what other people thought or would think. I don’t really think this is a way that I can run my life anymore. And that is when I came across the Schwarzenegger quote.

I truly believe that you have to make a plan and stick to (with positive modifications along the way) at all costs. Because if you never follow through all the way then you will never know what you could have actually been. Of course there will be criticism along the way but in the end you really do have to listen to yourself and the voice inside you. No one else is going to live your life. They may try…but at the end of the day you are the only one that peaces out when it’s your time to go. So make something memorable.

Tap into that voice inside and understand what it is trying to tell you. Often times you have to quiet down everything around you to hear it, but eventually it will become loud and clear. “I need to do this” becomes something that you can’t avoid or even sabotage anymore because your body is getting pulled, like a strong rip-tide, in the direction of where you want to go. So just release all the doubts and insecurities and go with it. It will be the ride of your life.

- Evan Sanders

Why even do it in the first place? You know there will be ups, but why put yourself through the downs? What is the purpose of all of it?

I just found this photo the other day and I have to say it is pretty inspiring and is also a brand new concept to me. I never really thought of it that way. I was always taught to visualize the end result, but the respecting the goal itself never came across my mind. But now it has. In fact, it has given me some new life. So what is my why? But first, what are the goals?

To become an elite fitness competitor
To eat clean for a full year (No salt, sugar, juice, candy, fast food, processed foods, chips, soda, dessert, chocolate)
To have over 100,000 followers on Twitter
To put out high quality inspirational videos (original content) and be a top name in that area
To run social media accounts for large clients

And the list goes on and on, but those are some of the top ones. But the why I have figured out is just as important. Why is it important to become an elite fitness competitor? Why is it important to eat clean for a full year when many gasp and say “moderation is key.” Of course I agree with everything they say – but at the end of the day it’s my plan right? In order to truly grow you have to take the advice of others, learn what you can from it, and then go out and experience life. So why are these goals important?

I am going to achieve this goal because…
The connection between the mind, the body, and the soul is crucial to being able to take things into 4th gear. Without three strong pillars, the 4th can never be achieved. Also, it means a lot to me to be able to inspire people to not only work on themselves mentally, but to create a dream body and be able to achieve it.
I have had my struggles with junk-esque type food and want to put some demons away once and for all. It will mean a lot to me because I will have great control over what I put into my system. If you want to have your car drive like a Porsche should – stop putting crappy gas into the engine.
I have a message that I want to spread to thousands and even millions of people around the world. 100,000 followers is an achievable goal using modern networking tools and it will also help my amplify my brand and the message that with lots of love, tons of passion, and a never quitting attitude you can achieve anything you want.
I love inspirational videos – and there is a great space for them on the web right now. I want to be able to inspire people visually and give them reasons to get up in the morning and go out and kill it! This also fills my bucket and helps me feel fulfilled.
I want to run social media accounts for large clients because I love connecting people with great products and I am truly passionate about the online space. I can earn a great living doing this as well and it is important to be to have a steady income so I can further The Better Man Project and take it to levels it has never seen before.

So there it is. The Rock today taught me how to respect my goals and dreams and give myself the why factor. Now, it is time to go out and achieve them.

- Evan Sanders

If you haven’t had the chance, read my book! http://amzn.to/18lRIci
Join me on Twitter http://bit.ly/Z0zCq9 and FB http://on.fb.me/RC57QW

First of all, right off the bat, I just wanted to say that there is nothing wrong with the saying “They were right, college was the 4 best years of my life” or any other saying related to that idea. Yesterday was exactly one year since I graduated from university and seeing all of the pictures of everyone’s caps and gowns really brought me back. But those short sayings about college being the best 4 years (or 5 for those super seniors) really struck me and I got to thinking.

I was taught a while ago that in this moment there is nothing, no past, no future, it is perfect…nothing to fix or change. From nothing, I can create – anything. And then I thought back to my experiences at school. Many were up, many were down. But then I thought about the whole entire idea and started to ask some serious questions.

Were those really the best years of my life? Am I totally screwed if they were?

And I know what people are thinking when they say, “Soak it in now, these years will fly by fast and the college ones are the best of them.” But really? Seriously? Don’t get me wrong, college was fun – but out of everything it was a learning experience. It was a gigantic game of paddle ball. Try something, almost get an automatic result, and since I hadn’t tried it before…often of times the consequences were…dicey. Drinking, partying, college classes, group projects, friends, friends getting into trouble, yourself getting into trouble, the opposite sex, major life events…the list goes on and on.

What makes people think back and say that those were the best?

College is a time of finding out what you love and what you are passionate about. You get chances to take classes and meet people who are new and interesting. You get opportunities to mingle with alumni and teachers and really gain some wisdom, if your ears are open at least. You can pretty much make decisions for yourself and lead the life that you want to. But college was no joke. Major emotional turmoil, carrying friends home who were blacked out or strung out, horrible gossip, sorority and fraternity cliques and eruptions after a sister or brother crossed the line with another’s crush or love interest. Drugs. Alcohol. Reckless sex. General cluelessness. Overeating. Eating disorders. Back stabbing. Pain. Anguish. The best years? Are these the best? How do you even define the best?

They were fun years. But now speaking for myself, I never thought that they were going to be the best years out of my entire life. I knew that I had to go through those years to truly understand the importance of what my vision was – without knowing the darkness you can never appreciate the light. I knew that with empathy and compassion for other people, I could help them through whatever bad things happened during those years. But college for me was a period of time where I shut my mouth and listened to what was going on around me. So I did…and I learned some pretty interesting things.

But here’s really what I wanted to talk about today. Aristotle once said that “we are what we repeatedly do.” I believe this is true and I also believe that we become what we think about. I understand why people think that the college years were the best ones…you don’t have to go to a 9 – 5 job, pay the bills, have major responsibilities etc…but why can’t the rest of your life be the best of your life? Why can’t you take what you learned from that time and build upon it as a foundation rather than seeing the rest of your life as a denouement  to your story. I know I’m not. I want to make every year better than the last. In fact, I want every day to be better than the last. Sure there will be some terrible things that happen and it might knock you down, but each and every day you have an opportunity to really turn it around and change your world. I know this to be the truth.

So to all those college graduates out there: don’t settle. They were great years of your life, but they weren’t the best. The best ones  come in the 60+ years ahead of you. They will be the best years of  your life if you live them. Yeah, you might have to grind it out for a while doing a job you don’t really like, but if you find what you are passionate about in this world, and work on that when you get home from your other job, soon enough you will be able to create things you never imagined you could. Passion ignites your soul.

- Evan Sanders

What’s my passion?

What excites me?

What drives me?

What makes me push down the pedal?

What inspires me?

What motivates me?

What lights that fire?

What are the possibilities?

What could be the future?

What could I create?

What can I do?

What limits could I break?

Who could I inspire?

Whose hearts could I touch?

—

Can I do it?

—

You’re damn right I can.

- Evan Sanders

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

It’s you vs. you.

Don’t be mistaken.

It’s not you vs. anyone else.

Anything else.

Something else.

It may appear to be that way.

But it really isn’t.

It’s you vs. you.

The fight is within.

The exterior is just the playing field.

You make yourself the best you can.

Take it to the limits.

Break barriers.

Jump over obstacles.

Defy your previous handicaps.

It’s you vs. you.

It’s all in your head.

Now go win.

- E.

Mowing the lawn is not really an epic feat. Let’s be honest…it’s more of a chore than anything else. But halfway through the uneventful task of trimming the grass, I was taught something pretty significant. The device that runs the back wheels which pushes the lawnmower along gave out, and I was left with a half cut lawn and a heavy piece of machinery.

What do I do?

Well, in my mind there were a couple of options. Leave the grass half cut and blame it on the lawnmower, bother my dad about it who was already dealing with a major debacle with the sprinkler system, or just try to push the damn thing. Needless to say, that lawn looks great. But it took a whole lot of effort in the hot sun to get that grass cut.

But what could I possibly learn from this?

When life gets tough and you run out of natural talent – and the testing times come rolling your way – what are you going to do when life gets tough? Are you going to leave your dreams and goals half realized? Or are you going to keep pushing no matter how significant the fears, doubts, and insecurities are? To me this correlates perfectly to what happened with the lawn today. Realize your final vision or always be left with an unkept piece of your life. The choice is simple.

So keep mowing.

- Evan Sanders

If you haven’t had the chance, read my book! http://amzn.to/18lRIci
Join me on Twitter http://bit.ly/Z0zCq9 and FB http://on.fb.me/RC57QW