Two more weeks until we wrap up this rate-hike laden, crypto market crashing, war torn Year of the Tiger, so it’s time we buckle in and finish strong everyone. That is to say, stay healthy and positive and focused in the final inning of 2022, and most importantly, stay committed to your fitness.
Another day, another workout is my motto. Because keeping your Temple, i.e., your physical body that’s harmonious with your mind and spirit, is paramount to keeping you primed to finish strong in everything you do.
And not to be forgotten are all those small victories you’ve achieved throughout the year, whatever the successes or positive outcomes earned – or perceived negative outcomes that will prove to be rewarding nonetheless. Be sure to acknowledge them and savor them and celebrate them for what they are: small victories in the war of life.
Happy Holidays everyone, may peace be with you.
PS – Click HERE to buy the best motivational stocking stuffer on the Planet – at least I think so – and get your workout in! Peace – R
Who says you can’t go home after pursuing your dreams for more than 15 years in America’s most storied town, aka, Tinseltown. And why not add a little bit of new beginnings to the mix and make it an amazing homecoming for “a hometown boy born a rolling stone”, just like Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles sing in their 2005 rendition of “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.”
The good news is I’m super excited to begin again in New York City with my new talent agent, Katherine and the Made Worldwide Agency (click HERE to visit my profile). No doubt the future is looking brighter than ever as my years of production experience and insights will serve me well. Just like my years of teaching Tola Yogato thousands of students throughout the United States.
On a more personal note, today also marks the 15 year anniversary of my sobriety. For those of you who’ve read my memoir, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood, you may recall this excerpt from Chapter 56 – No Mas, when I got drunk for the very last time:
“I woke up a few hours later and felt like I just got run over by a Mack truck. No worries, because I no longer drank and I was free from that liquid noose around my neck I wore for the past 20 years. Although it would take another month before I was completely free from beer and alcohol cravings of any sort, I would never drink again. And I haven’t.”
The same holds true for today – I haven’t, and I’d like to give a special shout-out to my hypnotherapist, Laura, who made it all possible. Simply the best and simplest treatment for me, with no program to follow other than Laura’s weekly dose of hypnotherapy combined with my strong desire to succeed in Hollywood.
Like I’ve been saying since I began this journey from the lovely confines of my Upper East Side apartment, anything is possible ifyouset your sights and try. So keep rockin’ your goals and dreams and perhaps your desire to quit drinking alcohol altogether. And never say “I can’t”, because you can if you really want to.
Have an awesome December everyone…and get your workout in! Peace – R
Today we’re talking about the Top 7 Gym Equipment Exercises that anyone can do – and should be doing at their local gym or health club. Because when it comes to drinking from the Fountain of Youth, the best advice I always give is to consume a daily diet of iron. Gym equipment iron that is. Like I’ve been doing for the past 40 years. And like you can…either man or woman or adolescents over the age of 16, when I started training at Man’s World Gym in Trenton, NJ. Plus some more talk and confusion about the bipolar Texas weather as well as whether the best tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, will get to compete in Australia. And speaking of confusion, there’s more talk about investing in trillion dollar companies like Tesla (bought some today) and risky assets like cryptocurrencies, and how it’s best to limit your exposure to this so-called gambling while enjoying the topsy turvy ride.
Today we’re talking about the military, political and social institutions of the Ancient Romans as well as the masterful proliferation of their beautiful culture and language and amazing architecture (especially the Coliseum). Are there lessons to be learned that can help us with this so-called “difficult situation” facing our society today? With overlapping mandates from the Federal government (military), individual states (health care workers) and the private sector (wth 100+ employees), is America and the 10,000 active duty Marines refusing the vaccine facing a “political purge” that can crush them like ants? Sad but true, but perception does become reality, just like I learned back in my Junk Bond selling days of the 1980s. Plus, some motivational talk about my 420 workout today – no, not pot – in addition to some more positive talk about the stock market and cryptocurrency returns over the past 12 months.
When I told my buddy I wasn’t vaccinated and was never getting the jab, he said, “Then it’s either Texas or Florida if you want to lead a normal life.”
Normal life, as in freely or being allowed by law, including going to the gym, nail salon, movie theatre, shopping mall or any bar or restaurant in the city. Talk about a quintessential What-The-Fcuk. I mean, one of our nation’s greatest Presidents and spokesperson for democracy, Thomas Jefferson, would roll over in his grave with such “tyranny over the mind of man” exhibited by today’s government officials.
Because in my book the COVID mandates of Los Angeles are not only ridiculous and unjust, they’re also a form of tyranny or “arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power”, as defined by the dictionary. Most importantly, these mandates prevent me from living a so-called normal life, which includes working out every single day plus walking 10+ miles a day since COVID began. Not to mention I’m at my ideal weight with less than 10% body fat, a blood pressure of 110 over 60, plus a great bill of health from my doctor. Oh yeah, I’ll be 59 in March and I’ve never taken a daily pill in my entire life – medicine or supplement. And don’t forget I wrote the book on How to Drink from the Fountain of Youth: 30 Steps to Everlasting Youth. So why do I need to inject myself with something that isn’t necessary? Forgettaboutit.
So there you have it California, you leave me no choice but to leave you after 15 glorious years. Albeit, it’s more like you kicked me out after 15 hard-working and dream chasing years.
Here I come Texas, with my new horsepower and anything is possible attitude. And no worries to anyone who thinks like I do and remains committed to living a fearless and vaccine-free life, all the while treating your most valuable asset, aka your Temple, with the utmost respect.
Happy Veterans Day everyone…and get your workout in! Peace – R
I remember it well, from the balcony on the 39th floor of my Midtown Manhattan office building located just 3 miles north of The World Trade Towers. Chapter 43 of my memoir, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood, recants that fateful day 20 years ago today:
CHAPTER 43 – 9/11
“As I write these words, it is exactly one week prior to the 10th Anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks. This is how I remember it:
It was the most beautiful of NYC days. Crystal clear blue skies and a coolness that made everything in the city feel alive. I was excited to go to work that day because I was giving my printer the thumbs up for my first mailing, The Tola Report. It was this fancy, four-page color flyer that was going out to more than 1,000 owners. I had spent the past six weeks getting it ready. Now it would be finalized and sent out directly from the printer. I also purchased two new suits and was excited to get them to my tailor on John Street. My tailor was less than 500 yards from the World Trade Center. I had planned to go there before I went to the office – he opened at 8 AM. But I was running late and the subways were crowded, so I decided to go straight to work and then go see him during lunch. I arrived at my Midtown office just before 8 AM.
If I had stayed on the Lexington Avenue subway line, I can only guess that I would have been at my tailor’s at exactly the time the first plane hit.
View from Midtown Manhattan on 9/11 – RIP
Our office had a balcony with an unobstructed view of Tower I and a partial view of Tower II (about half). As I was proof-reading my report for the last time, a senior broker, Zev, came running past me with a huge pair of binoculars. I would soon learn that he was a paratrooper in the Israeli Army and loved his military binoculars. He screamed, “Smoke’s coming out of the Tower”, as he ran by. I turned to look out my window and then at my clock radio that was playing the news. It was 8:44 AM, and there was still no mention of it. About three minutes later the reporter sounded confused when he said something about a small plane had hit the World Trade Center. I went to the balcony to check it out. A few other brokers and assistants had joined me, and others were in my office listening to the radio. We passed the binoculars back and forth, each taking a few minutes to look. Soon we were all staring at each other because we knew it wasn’t a small plane. There was way too much smoke pouring out of a huge swath of floors high up on Tower I. As real estate people, we strangely knew it would fall. Then a plane hit Tower II and it was chaos. Everyone in the office seemed to be running all over the place, onto the balcony, into my office, over to each other’s desks, until I found myself alone on the balcony.
Time stood still for the next two minutes as I secured myself so the binoculars wouldn’t move a millimeter. Then I focused my sights on Tower I. The stainless steel skin of the building, right below where the smoke was pouring out, was peeled away like a banana skin, arching away from the building, frozen in the air.
I then saw two men climb onto the steel skin, one behind the other, clinging for dear life, crawling away from the inferno. When the first man couldn’t go any further, he let go. As he plunged to his death, he did what appeared to be a backward swan dive. The other man soon followed, and when he let go, he grabbed his knees and slowly tumbled forward. I put down the binoculars and went inside. I’m not sure what happened next, other than I was on the balcony with a few others when Tower I fell. I didn’t have the binoculars, but I watched in shock as Tower I slowly crumbled to the ground. The same for Tower II – I was on the balcony and stayed until I could no longer see the horizon.
The next thing I remember, I was standing in the middle of Madison Avenue looking downtown at the smoke-filled sky. Cars were stopped dead in their tracks, doors open, people just standing there, screaming and pointing to downtown. If felt like a scene from a movie, as New Yorkers fled the streets not sure what to do. It soon felt like everyone was moving north. Me and two other brokers who lived in New Jersey walked north to my place. The entire time I looked back over my shoulder, trying to figure out what happened. All cell phones were dead, so it was word of mouth from the people in the streets. Once we got to my place, we put the TV on and set up camp. My apartment was busy with friends coming and going. By 6 PM, my broker friends had left, and fortunately, they both got off the island and made it home safely.
The next day, Jimmy V and I took the subway south to Canal Street. For some reason, we both needed to go there. The subways weren’t running past Canal, so we got out and walked east toward the Manhattan Bridge. Every street running south to downtown was barricaded with NYC policemen. We finally found a side street in Chinatown where we snuck by and made our way toward the rubble. It was at least a mile away. By the time we got to Foley Square, Jimmy V had an asthma attack. The air quality was bad, and of course, we shouldn’t have been there. Since he could barely breathe, we went down into the subway, just to get away from the polluted air. Twenty minutes later, we headed back.
What I remember most about our trip wasn’t the sounds and smells of the city that day. It was the two-inch layer of soot and ash delicately resting on the wrought iron fence surrounding Foley Square. It looked like really dirty, dry snow had fallen – it was eerie and yet strangely peaceful at the same time. I truly did feel my skin crawl that day. Something I won’t forget for the rest of my life.”
RIP to those who perished, and continued strength, happiness and unity for the rest of us.
Have an awesome weekend everyone…and get your workout in!
Excited to announce the Chinese edition of my new motivational book, How to Drink from the Fountain of Youth: 30 Steps to Everlasting Youth, is now available in eBook format in modern-day Mandarin. Email us for more information: [email protected]
Have an awesome day everyone…and get your workout in! Peace – R
How to Drink from the Fountain of Youth: 30 Steps to Everlasting Youth
It’s exactly one year since the Coronavirus shut us down and we’re slowly getting back to normal, so it’s time to de-COVID-tize your Habits. That is to say, keep the good ones and delete the bad. It’s also been a while since my last Tola Talks 2.0, so it’s good to be back! Today is all about getting you back on track with those pre-COVID routines that include your old – and good – habits. So let’s re-tool, re-focus and stick to the winners that served your well.
All the while staying safe and strong and thinking positive along the way…also know as “Step 11 – Think Positive” in my new book, How to Drink from the Fountain of Youth. Because who doesn’t want to live their best possible life. Now available in audiobook.
Have an awesome day everyone, and get your workout in. Peace – R
Just like it’s always best to finish the year strong, the same goes for starting strong, also know as ‘like a bat outta hell’, as the rock legend Meatloaf once sang. At the very least be sure to set your sights, aka your specific goals for 2021 – or the first six months like I do – and make sure to respect your temple along the way. Every single day that is, because who doesn’t want to stay healthy, vibrant and young while drinking from the Fountain of Youth?
In the New Year we also lowered our prices to make it easier for anyone to get motivated by my old-school “everlasting youth” advice that’s very practical and doable and most importantly, effective. Because the proof is in the pudding. Always. Not to mention a little fun and fast-paced inspiration from the plethora of wild and witty stories recounted throughout my life’s colorful journey.
Rich Tola’s books on Amazon, Kindle and Audible (Fountain of Youth coming soon!)
Had a great time on LATalkRadio’s “Sam in the Morning” show this past Wednesday with Sam & Wren. You can isten to the show below by clicking the play button…I’m introduced at 11:07mins.
Thanks again Sam & Wren…it was fun talking Hollywood, pumpkin patches, Wall Street and the Oct 2nd re-launch of Tola Talks. Peace – R
