I'm a 41 year-old police detective.

Over the past 10 years, I've let myself get overweight. Tired. Lazy. Unattractive. Boring.

It was easy--I had an excuse. I went back to school in 2002 and worked my way through a Master's degree from the University of Florida, Summa Cum Laude. Mostly, I carried a full-time course load in addition to my full-time job. And homicide callouts. And court overtime. And instructing at the police academy. You get it. I'm a Type A personality.

While I was busy perusing book after book and researching paper after paper, my ass got bigger and bigger. My pants size grew larger and larger. Meh...I'll fix that later. Well, guess what?

Later.....is NOW.

And, it's a hell of a lot easier putting the weight on than taking it off. Anyone who had gained and lost more than 20 pounds will tell you the same.

This is my journey to lose 35 pounds and compete in the closest thing to the Olympic Games offered in amateur sports. The 2011 World Police and Fire Games in New York City.

I have 5 months to lose the weight and train my body to compete against elite athletes from around the globe. I've seen the records and they're no joke. I'll have to swim faster than I did when I was 14 or 15 and broke county records in Maryland back in the 80's.

No luck necessary. I'm getting my fat ass into the pool.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

The Challenge


Wow.

Sometimes things just fall into place, don't they? I've read two books this week (Unlimited by Jillian Michaels and Unlimited Power by Tony Robbins), written 15 years apart and they essentially say the exact same thing: YOUR LIFE IS YOUR CHOICES. You choose to become a part of something spectacular or choose to sit on the sidelines. That's it. End game.

Both Michaels and Robbins practice what they preach, as does Dara Torres, my other model and pseudo-mentor. The message is simple: find out what people you admire do to acquire success and model yourself after them. Find out what you can about their habits, lifestyle, hard work and dedication and then just freaking do it.

This journey has been about so much more than taking first place in a swim meet. It has changed my life. I have learned so much about myself--and how truly unlimited we all are and how we place SO MANY limitations on ourselves every minute of every day. We must break free of those chains and learn, one step at a time, how to maximize our individual potential. Not everyone can be a nuclear physicist or discover the cure for cancer, but the potential for greatness resides inside every one of us.

Tap into it and find out how amazing you really are.
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