Image by: Nika Vee
By John Cace

The other day I had lunch with a friend who started going into training for American Ninja Warrior. No joke guys. The poor chap could barely lift the fork to his mouth without wincing slightly from something that hurt on or in his body.

You see, he’s not exactly an athletic person, unless you consider WOW to be a sport. So all the new exercise and general movement of things that usual never move had clearly started to take its toll.

Now you’re probably wondering, a lot like I was, why someone who spends nearly every free moment of their time glued to the computer would suddenly switch to such a drastically different pursuit. Well to be fair, he doesn’t mind if he never makes it on the show, even though he is going to try his hardest. For him it’s about so many other things than winning a competition he is (no offense man) probably not going to win.

“It’s about changing one thing about my life and learning new things about who I am along the way.”

He ACTUALLY said that exact thing to me, and I was really impressed I have to say. Then he went on to talk about how even though he was putting his body through hell, he’s never felt so good about it. His mood was better, he said he felt more focused and he started sleeping better too.

That’s about the time I asked him the address for where he was training at. Because the truth is, when you engage yourself in new physical activities it does amazing things for your brain.

Check out this piece Learning a New Sport May Be Good for the Brain by writer Gretchen Reynolds that shows just how amazing. When you hone new motor skills instead of just grinding away at tasks you can already perform easily, your brain has the ability to actually increase gray matter in parts associated with movement.

It means that an old dog CAN learn new tricks. And so can a young dog and any other dog in between.

Reynolds makes a great point in that most people prefer to watch athletes perform great feats than try to take part in the action themselves. That’s fine if you don’t want to be the next LeBron James, but maybe getting out on the court once or twice a week could help you in ways you never thought possible.

Or if you’re looking for a specific kind of motor skill that can also provide dividends in the way of shredding fat, boosting metabolism, and possibly get you closer to revealing those abs, then maybe buying a jump rope is all you need to do.

Writer and health expert Brandon Epstein explains in detail the serious health benefits from using Rocky’s favorite workout equipment, aside from giant wooden beams. Check out the videos in the link to see some techniques to get you started.

Now learning a new physical skill in the name of neurological health and body fitness won’t give you the power to see the future. But if you check out writer and entrepreneur Neil Patel’s article Do You Recognize the 8 Early Warning Signs of a Failed Startup?, you will be one step closer.

In the piece Patel explains that if you DON’T do things like get to know your customers, pay attention to and move with market forces, or pivot and execute fast enough then you will surely find yourself quickly out of money, or runway as he refers to it. Just like a plane trying to take off, you don’t want to be busy doing the wrong thing and suddenly run out of money to make anything happen.

Instead, physically go and meet with people, connect with them, and learn from them and their stories on how to make your business more valuable. When you focus on this and really understand who it is you are serving then the other steps will come into focus. Building solid relationships is key for a growing business.

And whether its business, friendly, family, personal, or your significant other, the level of intimacy is important to make the most of those relationships. Think of it like an equation whose quotient can show you where you stand when it comes to just how serious you are in creating and maintaining important connections.

To help find YOUR quotient check out the piece 6 Questions to Determine Your ‘Intimacy Quotient’ by Susan Krauss Whitbourne Ph.D. You see how the three key areas of closeness, communication, and commitment all play a role in helping you establish true intimacy in your life.

Answer the questions in the article honestly and then see what your score means. When you build deeper bonds with those in your life that truly matter then your future experiences with others will be enhanced and fortified from it.

Maybe having a look at philosopher Wayne Dower’s 10 Spiritual Principles that Can Change Your Life will give you a new perspective that can help you start implementing things like new activities, business dreams, and better relationships.

I think my favorite from the list has to be: Treat Yourself As If You Already Were What You’d Like To Become. In other words, start believing in yourself instead of comparing yourself to a vision and eventually you will BECOME that vision. And just like my friend, you too will find out amazing things you never knew you had the power to achieve.