Keep your beliefs and your reality positive and realistic and don’t BS yourself when it comes to what does or doesn’t serve you well….and whatever you do, Don’t Be Delusional.
GYST #23: Don’t Be Delusional
Stay Zen #7 – 20 Ways to Be 20 Years Younger
Who says you can’t look and feel and have the spirit of someone 20 years younger. I do, and there’s not a week that goes by without someone guessing I’m 30.
You can too, with my 20 Ways to Be 20 Years Younger! Enjoy – R
Get Fit. Live Healthy. Lose Inches. Stay Zen.
RichTola.com. Follow on Instagram @BLVDZEN
Stay Zen #6 – Top 5 Super Set Exercises
Anyone can get a great full-body workout with my Top 5 Super Set Exercises. Super sets are quick and effective and give your muscles a “super” pump by combining two different exercises consecutively – without taking a break in between. Enjoy – R
Get Fit. Live Healthy. Lose Inches. Stay Zen.
RichTola.com. Follow on Instagram @BLVDZEN
Inner Beauty Rules
With all my rhetoric about exercising every day with a Daily Fitness Program that’s based on Yoga principles, and respecting yourself with a healthy lifestyle while thinking and feeling positive at all times, and even my most recent posts about looking 20 years younger and being named one of LA’s Sexiest, it’s easy to lose sight of the true meaning of my guileless discourse.
Which is simply this: INNER BEAUTY RULES
No matter how much you weigh, or how young you look, or how often you workout, what matters most is the inner beauty and positive energy that you radiate from the inside. Because in due time that outer beauty will fade and the body will deteriorate. There’s no stopping it. Yes, you can do your best to thwart Father Time by keeping your physical being in the best condition possible – which I believe is achieved by exercising every single day while adhering to a healthy and rather paltry diet – in the end we’re all ‘dust in the wind’.
So it’s not just the physical practice of Yoga – the asanas – that keep you young and help you shine your light out into the universe. It’s the constant flourishing of your inner beauty that rules. Above all else, remember what matters most.
Enjoy – R
What to Do When Life’s Got You Down
Did you ever feel like your dreams and aspirations are floating away while your life just speeds on by? Because life does go by quick, and realizing your dreams can take many many years.
Just ask Diana Nyad, the 64 year-old US endurance swimmer who just completed the 110 mile stretch from Cuba to Florida without the help of a shark cage. It was Diana’s 5th try – she tried three times in 2011 and 2012 while her first attempt was in 1978. She never gave up because that wasn’t an option. And she finally accomplished her goal…35 years later!
However challenging at times, keep believing in your dreams and keep striving toward them in a positive and happy-good feeling way. I say happy-good feeling because staying positive is not just about thinking positive.
More is needed.
That’s why it’s so important to feel good about yourself physically through proper diet and exercise, i.e., good nutrition complemented by a Daily Fitness Program, setting the foundation for positive thoughts and feelings to help you battle through those hopeless times. Because we all have moments when it seems like nothing is happening and you feel like giving up – because you’re just too tired or don’t know what happens next to get closer to your dreams.
So when life gets you down here’s what you do: Stand up as tall as possible with perfect posture, relax your shoulders and your body while reaching your crown to the sky, take slow deep breaths, then put on your biggest smile and think happy thoughts. You want to stretch out the body while clearing the mind of negative thoughts and disbeliefs. Now go for a walk, or do some Yoga, or combine of a few of my 5-Minute Fat Burning Workouts on the web (click HERE for some great AB workouts), or hit the gym…you get the picture. And drink some water. And for your next snack or meal eat an apple or a banana with some peanut butter. Forget the candy bar for that quick jolt of energy. Get it yourself from the inside-out. Because feeling good about yourself starts with some good ol’ fashion fitness and a positive mental attitude.
Strong Body – Clear Mind. That’s my motto, and I workout every single day. It also keeps you vibrant and looking young and feeling better about yourself, no matter comes your way.
And if that doesn’t work, get your inspiration from those less fortunate who keep smiling through it all – like the paraplegic gal I taught on my most memorable Mother’s Day. Here’s the sound-bite from my memoir, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood.
Enjoy – R
Forgettabout “I used to”
I can’t tell you how many times I hear this phrase every week about how this guy or that gal used to be in great shape, or used to walk 5 miles with their dogs every morning, or used to bike to work every day, or used to eat healthy with their fruits and vegetables, or blah-blah-blah.
Forgettabout it!
Like the forty-something year-old guy I met at the gym this morning who said, “I used to workout all the time and just last month I weighed 190, and now I weight 204.” That’s when I said, “The only thing that matters is your workout this morning and what you put in your mouth today – not what you used to do or even what you did yesterday. It just doesn’t matter.” Then I told him if he was really serious about taking care of himself, like he was – and did – in the past, he could easily get his weight below 200 pounds by Labor Day, and the rest by Halloween…or worst case Thanksgiving.
That’s right, because when it comes to health and fitness, whatever follows that infamous phrase, “I used to”, just doesn’t matter. You’ve got to be vigilant with yourself every day and not rest on your laurels of yester-year! Which is also par for the course when it comes to dating and even your net-worth (believe me, I know). What matters most is your positive attitude and self-respect and discipline today, i.e., live in the present and not the past.
So forgettabout the I used to’s and keep rockin’ it every day!
Enjoy – R
PS – hear all about all what “I used to” do in my heartfelt memoir, Simply Between Millions
Beach Yoga & Book Talk with Rich Tola (and Leah Murray)
Energize – Burn Fat – Learn Yoga on the Beach!
Watch me and Leah teach a 10-part Yoga sequence Anyone can do Anytime – Anywhere
And come join us August 1st from 7-8:30p for some energizing Book Talk & Yoga at the enchanted Mystic Journey Bookstore in Venice, CA, located at 1624 Abbot Kinney Blvd. I’ll be signing copies of my memoir, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood, followed by a short Yoga class – no mats or Yoga clothes required – just bring your friends!
Hope to see you there – R
Do it Your Way
As part of my book event on August 1st, Mystic Journey Bookstore invited me to contribute to their blog and specifically called it “a personal message from you to our readers”.
Simply put, my message is this: Do it Your Way.
No matter what conventional wisdom holds, and no matter what others believe you can and can not do. It doesn’t matter – you’re the only one that matters when it comes to what you believe is possible. Not to mention what you put in your mouth and what you do to preserve your body every day, i.e., diet and exercise. Which happens to be the exact same message you’ll get from my memoir, Simply Between Millions: From Wall Street to Hollywood.
It’s 69 short and witty chapters about following the herd and living a wild and colorful life – with Wall Street excesses, exotic locales and scores of bad-boy romances with NYC strippers and wealthy married women. Then finding the peace and courage through Yoga to finally change my evil ways, evolve my soul, and follow my dreams to Hollywood.
Because anyone can change…if you believe you can and want it bad enough to confidently set your sights and try. Just like the women and children living in domestic violence shelters where we teach the benefits of Yoga. Upon completion of my film, Boulevard Zen, I founded The Boulevard Zen Foundation to bring the powers of Yoga to families overcoming adversity, specifically survivors of DV. So in 2005, after 20 years of wanting to change my lifestyle and really go for it on that daunting ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’, I became enamored with this 6,000 year-old mind-body-spirit practice that truly changed my life. Two years later I bought a one-way ticket to LA and never looked back.
I also went bust along the way. But did I fail? On the contrary, I succeeded in following my dreams and I’m still standing. Happily I might add, with a film, a self-published book in paperback, digital and audio (narrated by me), and more than 15 hours of instructional Yoga videos on the market. Not too bad for a poor Sicilian kid from Trenton, NJ who overcame the odds and went on to graduate from the Wharton and Kellogg business schools with no particular background in the Arts.
So anything is possible, wouldn’t you say? Just Do it Your Way.
Hope to see you there! – R
Raise the Minimum Wage to $12
As President of the United States, that’s what I would do. That’s right, and I’d slash corporate taxes to offset the increased labor costs, thereby creating a zero-sum game of sorts – so the government gets their fair share of taxes and companies can still make profits and thrive.
Let me explain.
For the past 6 years I’ve lived a creative life that wasn’t about the white-collar world and its 9-to-5 days filled with coffee breaks and softball games (or maybe now it’s soccer). In the creative world, getting a job to support your passion is all about blue-collar and minimum wage, not to mention how difficult it is to even get a job. And who can live off $8 an hour? Do the math: $8 x 7 hours (with your mandatory breaks) equals $56. After the government takes their share, let’s be generous and call it $50. Times 5 days a week equals $250 – a measly $1000 a month.
Now who can claim their Independence – let alone afford health insurance – on $1000 a month?
Nobody can, unless you share a studio apartment with 3 other people and eat peanut butter and bananas every day. Sure, you can get lucky and land a server or bartender job where you’ll earn tips on top of that, but it’s not that much more. Trust me, I know. And the work is stressful and grueling, so always remember to tip your wait staff. And go for the 20%…it makes a difference.
Today the news said that 20% of Americans are struggling to meet their financial needs on a day-to-day basis. That’s 1 out of every 5 Americans who can’t make ends meet. Way too many.
So what should we do? Raise the Minimum Wage to $12
Happy Independence Day everyone…and don’t forget to get your workout in!
Enjoy – R
‘Man of Steel’ Delivers
So you’d like to take your family to see a really good movie with a bunch of really good actors about saving Mankind that’s New Age cataclysmic yet also heartfelt and Zen.
That’s easy.
MAN OF STEEL…it’s all that and more!
Not only does director Zach Snyder (300 and Sucker Punch) capture you visually and vividly like he always does, the amazing cast keeps you riveted and wanting more. Starting with the chiseled and Zen-ful Henry Cavill complemented by the beauty and charm of Amy Adams, the talent just keeps coming. There’s Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Michael Shannon (loved him in The Iceman), Laurence Fishburne, Ayelet Zurer and Christopher Meloni.
So give credit where credit is due, and go see Man of Steel. Because it Delivers – just like my Emmy award-winning sound engineer, Alex Wilkinson, did on my Audiobook. Kudos to Alex!
Here’s a clip that shines some light on my childhood and bartering ways in “The Barbershop”.
Enjoy – R