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Denzel Washington -Make a Difference

During commencement at Dillard University, Denzel delivers a powerful speech about the necessity of failing in order to achieve greatness.
Transcript:
I was flunking out of college. I had a 1.7 grade point average. I hope none of you can relate. I had a 1.7 grade point average. I was sitting in my mother's beauty shop. They still call it beauty shops now? What they call it now? Yeah, I was sitting in the beauty parlor. I was sitting in my mother's beauty parlor and I'm looking in the mirror and I see behind me this woman under the dryer and every time she looked up, every time I looked up, she was looking at me, just looking me in the eye. I didn't know who she was and I said ... She said "Somebody get me a pen, get me a pencil, I have a prophecy." March 27, 1975, she said "Boy, you are going to travel the world and speak to millions of people." Now mind you, I flunked out of college, I'm thinking about joining the army, I didn't know what I was going to do, and she's telling me I'm going to travel the world and speak to millions of people.

Well, I have traveled the world and I have spoke to millions of people. That's not the most important thing, the success that I had, the most important thing is that what she taught me and what she told me that day has stayed with me since. I've been protected, I've been directed, I've been corrected. Fail big. That's right. Fail big. You only live once, so do what you feel passionate about, take chances professionally, don't be afraid to fail. There's an old IQ test was nine dots and you had to draw five lines with a pencil within these nine dots without lifting the pencil. The only way to do it was to go outside the box, so don't be afraid to go outside the box. Don't be afraid to think outside the box. Don't be afraid to fail big, to dream big.

Remember, dreams without goals are just dreams and they ultimately fuel disappointment. Have dreams, but have goals, life goals, yearly goals, monthly goals, daily goals. I try to give myself a goal every day. Sometimes, it's just to not curse somebody out. Simple goals, but have goals and Understand to achieve these goals you must apply discipline and consistency. In order to achieve your goals, you must apply discipline, which you already done, and consistency every day, not just on Tuesday and miss a few days. You have to work at it every day. You have to plan every day. You've heard the saying "We don't plan to fail, we fail to plan." Hard work works. Working really hard is what successful people do. In this text, tweet, twerk world that you've grown up in, remember just because you're doing a lot more doesn't mean you're getting a lot more done.

Remember that just because you're doing a lot more doesn't mean you're getting a lot more done. Don't confuse movement with progress. My mother told me she said "Yeah because you can run in place all the time and never get anywhere." Continue to strive, continue to have goals, continue to progress and anything you want good, you can have. Claim it, work hard to get it, when you get it, reach back, pull someone else up. Each one teach one. Don't just aspire to make a living. Aspire to make a difference.

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Transformation doesn't just happen. It takes a plan and a support system. This how-to guide is full of the top wisdom, tips, exercises, and success stories to inspire an old dream or create a new one.

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During commencement at Dillard University, Denzel delivers a powerful speech about the necessity of failing in order to achieve greatness. Transcript: I was flunking out of college. I had a 1.7 grade point average. I hope none of you can relate. I had a 1.7 grade point average.

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IDO PORTAL - JUST MOVE | New Documentary Film - London Real

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Ido Portal - Just Move - Part 1 of 2 from the NEW documentary film. WATCH THE FULL MOVIE FOR FREE: https://londonreal.tv/ido SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE: http://bit.ly/SubscribeToLondonReal EXCLUSIVE Q&A with Ido: http://londonreal.link/ido-qa Life all comes down to a few moments. Thursday night was one of them.

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If you care about the finer points of human health, functional endocrinology, maximal performance, and sleep science then keep reading.

If not, you can bury your head in the sand and continue to pretend that IIFYM, 5x5, and Fitbits are the solution to all the world's health and fitness problems.

Your call.

Either way, I'm here to help you think critically. But, at the end of the day, it's up to you to take the road less traveled...

1. Altered Circadian Rhythms

When was the last time you went to bed before 10pm? High school?

Everyone wants to jump on the "I'm an adult, I can do what I want!" train but then they can't seem to figure out why their health suffers and they lack energy 24/7. Listen, I'm not here to play the role of an overzealous helicopter parent, you've got to live your life as you see fit.
Related: 4 Things I Wish I Would've Known When I Started Training
However, have you ever considered that perhaps there is much more to good sleep than simply going to bed and waking up after 8 hours?

Most notably, you have a wonderful biological clock which runs effortlessly in the background and provides your internal systems with structural integrity and rhythm. It is primarily driven by the influence of light and secretes two main hormones (melatonin and cortisol) depending upon the time of day coupled with the wavelength and intensity of light.

If you work under fluorescent lights during the day or blast yourself with blue light at night (e.g. any electronic screen), you can effortlessly jack up your circadian rhythms seemingly overnight. This can lead to autonomic dysregulation, altered immune system responses, impaired tissue turnover, and a whole host of other issues.

Don't lie, you're probably reading this article on your phone in bed before you go to sleep. Smash your retinas with crappy light long enough and you'll end up in an endless sympathetic cycle that's tough to break.

How do you mitigate the issue?

1. Get sunlight on your skin for at least 20-30 minutes daily.

The earlier, the better.

As your tolerance improves (aka you get tan), slowly increase duration.

2. Buy blue blockers.

Remember those "dumb" glasses I talked about in Sleep Science: Nature's Most Effective Performance Enhancer? You should get some.

These, these, or these are all excellent options.

Turns out they work really, really well. A recent study showed blue blockers can increase melatonin secretion by nearly SIXTY percent in only two weeks.¹
However, do note that subjects wore the glasses for 3-5 hours each night. So, don't try to convince yourself that you'll magically fix your diurnal hormonal secretions by popping these bad boys on for 10 minutes while scrolling through the 'gram on a Friday night.

3. Avoid social media in the evenings.
In case you missed it, this study just recently dropped, "Social Media Use before Bed and Sleep Disturbance among Young Adults in the United States: A Nationally-Representative Study"
"SM use in the 30 minutes before bed is independently associated with disturbed sleep among young adults."²

​Surprising? Not even slightly. Social media is the new late night television. Trust me bro, your ex still doesn't care and sliding into her DMs won't help anything. Just relax and go to bed.
"If you wouldn't get up early to do it, you shouldn't stay up late to do it. If it's important enough, you'd do either, so get after it. But how many people would wake up an hour early to watch a TV show before they start their day?" - Kirk Parsley
2. Stress

Americans love data and metrics.

How many steps did I take today?
How many minutes did I sleep last night?
How many Game of Thrones episodes are left?
How many calories are in this Triple, Venti, Half Sweet, Non-Fat, Caramel Macchiato?

Honestly, I have no idea what that is but it sounds like a highly-caffeinated blood sugar bomb sooo...a lot?

Needless to say, numbers can create a minefield of analytical paralysis. We want progress. We must get better. We need to feel important.

However, have you ever stopped to consider what this incessant insufficiency fuels? Perhaps one could argue an increased desire for improvement. But, more often than not, I'd say it breeds inadequacy. This in and of itself drives a sympathetic, emotional rollercoaster fueled by data, graphs, and endless excel sheets.

Most would agree, stress is deleterious in a chronic sense and should be mitigated whenever possible. But, what happens in a world without stress?

Adaptation requires stress. Stress serves a purpose. Allostatic load shifts homeostasis and as a result, your body changes its chemical and cellular makeup in order to survive. A world without stress breeds fragility and weakness.

So perhaps the question is not, how can we completely eliminate stress? The real question is, how can we deal with it?

1. Become mindful.

Start with Headspace or Calm.

Crush 10 minutes every day.
As soon as you wake up OR right before you go to sleep. If you don't, odds are, it won't get done.

Don't like either of those? Cool, that's fine.

Set a timer for 10 minutes.

Lay down, close your eyes, and count your breaths.

When you get to 10, repeat.

Simply relax for 10 minutes and pay attention to your body without any distractions.

2. Get off your phone.
I challenge you to go for a 30-45 minute walk daily without your phone.

Turn off iOS completely and pay attention to your surroundings: sights, sounds, smells, terrain, textures, colors, etc.

No Spotify.

No Instagram.

No Bumble.

No iMessage.

Get comfortable with yourself and the environment around you.

3. Train
Choose your training stimulus carefully.
"Training load is the difference between a blister and a callous. Too much too soon and you get pain and injury, but little and often and you get resilient tissue." - Kris Borthwick

"To better manage stress, we must train. Training is a progressive desensitization of threatening input to allow an athlete to perform at adaptive potential with optimal variability and without fatigue. The higher the performance level required, the more difficult it becomes to get neutral.
This is what happens during functional overreaching. You gain higher performance output during this timeframe because the sympathetic nervous system and HPA axis are on overdrive." - Zac Cupples

3. Ignoring Intuitive Signals

In 2016, the wearable technology company Jawbone compiled more than 1.4 million data points on sleep from tens of thousands of college students.

Interestingly enough (though not surprising), most college males weren't getting to bed until 1am on weeknights. Females weren't much better as they clocked out around 12:30pm. Weekends were even worse as both parties shifted their normal bed times almost an hour later. ³

It seems that despite the large amount of technology and data afforded to the user, there is still a very clear disconnect. I can lecture on the influence of circadian rhythms on diurnal hormone variations, glycemic control, and immune system function all day. But, it's quite clear that the message isn't getting through.
Related: 4 Fitness Tests You Should Be Able to Pass
Is this sheer ignorance or are we merely distracted by such a wide variety of time consuming, visual stimuli that we lose touch with our personal intuition? Has social media become such a large construct in our lives that we can't pull away long enough to realize that we're actually tired and we should go to bed?

Intuition begins with awareness. But awareness must grow through a conscious decision to reflect and interact with our environment. Here's a few simple ways to start:

1. Don't eat your meals in front of a screen.

Get outside, enjoy the weather and get some sunshine.

Eat with others whenever possible, find your tribe.

Focus on your food. Learn to truly savor and appreciate the flavors, textures, and colors that are presented to your palate.

2. Don't disassociate your environment from physiological symptoms.

Constantly struggling with heartburn or indigestion? Maybe it's time to take a look at when, where, and how you're eating your meals. Breath slowly, chew thoroughly, and take some time for yourself.

Environment includes both physical and psychological components. Stress can be actual or perceived. Interpret wisely.

3. Take note of your digestion both during and after meals.
GI symptoms don't just randomly pop up. Bloating, flatulence, stool irregularity, etc. are normally part of a much larger puzzle. Dig deep.

Old Habits Die Hard

Have you noticed the trend yet? Each habit builds upon the next, they are simplistically synergistic by nature. However, they are only as effective as you allow them to be.

Remember, priorities take precedence and action reveals intention.

Think critically, challenge everything.

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3 Unhealthy Habits Preventing You from Losing Fat

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If you care about the finer points of human health, functional endocrinology, maximal performance, and sleep science then keep reading. If not, you can bury your head in the sand and continue to pretend that IIFYM, 5x5, and Fitbits are the solution to all the world's health and fitness problems. Your call.