Practice Makes Perfect…Otherwise Hit the Gym

Another show under my belt and another reason to go back to the drawing board. Because practice makes perfect, or at the very least, gives you the opportunity to evolve whatever you’re doing. If that’s not working, then hit the gym and get your workout in…that always helps!

Rich Tola at Flappers Comedy Club
Rich Tola at Flappers Comedy Club – May ’15

This past weekend  I performed again at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank, CA and tried all new material that was funnier than my previous show – that’s a good thing! Because with stand-up comedy it’s all about delivering your jokes with as few words as possible and with as much attitude as possible, then refining them soon thereafter to get them to work. And for those jokes that are already working, i.e., everyone’s laughing hysterically, then don’t change a thing. So they say…whoever “they” is.

Either way the key is to keep improving your stand-up comedy act to one that flows seamlessly and effortlessly while you’re simply having a conversation with the audience. Something I’m progressing with, a task much easier said then done.

Hope to see you at my next Flappers show on Father’s Day, June 21st in the Main Room.  – R

Tola Talks Mickey Rourke & the Top 10 Searches on Google

Tola Talks about Mickey Rourke & Sylvester Stallone, the 17 year-old High School student making $72 million trading stocks at lunch, prison breaks in 1962 from San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island, and the Get Your S#!T Together Award is a tie between upscale mink coat thieves and the retailer who let it happen. On Top 10 Tuesday, Rich also give us the Top 10 Searches on Google for 2014.  Weekdays on youtube.com/tolatalks. All social: @richtola

Tola Talks with Voice Artist & Director Karen McCarthy

 

Tola Talks with “the woman of a thousand voices”, Hollywood Voice Artist & Director, Karen McCarthy. On Throwback Thursdays, Rich interviews Karen and her imaginary friends plus gives you the scoop on the baby boom in North Dakota, the roller-coaster ride on Wall Street & market corrections, wedding bells for Lady Gaga & Taylor Kinney, holiday jobs at Amazon & promising retail forecasts, the richest people in all 50 United States – Bill Gates at the top of course – plus the Get Your SH!T Award & highlights of 1990.

Weekdays on youtube.com/tolatalks

Tola Talks' Rich Tola with Voice Artist & Director, Karen McCarthy
Tola Talks’ Rich Tola with Voice Artist & Director, Karen McCarthy

Tola Talks w/ 99 Cent Store Brand Ambassador Papa Joe

 

Tola Talks weight loss, GYST Award for an Olympic Champion and the USA Today.  On Wellness Wednesdays, Rich interviews the Brand Ambassador for the 99 Cent Store – and 250 pound loser – Papa Joe Aviance. Weekdays on youtube.com/tolatalks.

Tola Talks' Rich Tola with the Brand Ambassador for the 99 Cent Store, Papa Joe Aviance
Tola Talks’ Rich Tola with the Brand Ambassador for the 99 Cent Store, Papa Joe Aviance

 

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.

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’.

Rich Tola - Author, Actor & Yoga Master
Rich Tola – Author, Actor & Yoga Master
Sad but true, I know. That’s why when I say Yoga changed my life, I’m referring to the evolution of my soul and illumination of my inner beauty…not the physical body. Everyone knows by now that I’m a fitness nut who’s been working out every single day for the past 35 years, so it’s not just Yoga classes that keep me slim and fit (I’ve only been a practicing for the past 8 years). It’s the overall approach to living and Union with the Divine (or Samadhi) including universal morality, open-heartedness, truthfulness, nonviolence to all things, non-greed, dedication and contentment, faith and focus, breathing and posture, control of the senses, and concentration on one’s purpose in life.

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!

dontworrybehappy 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!

Rich Tola
Rich Tola

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