School Of Awesome Sauce With Greg Denning

The best cure when you feel like throwing a pity party is serving others.  Love others, read good books that you can learn from and realize that you aren't alone. Failure isn't final.  We strive to be green and growing. Sometimes we feel like a seed in the ground fighting in the darkness to break to the surface. Keep growing, you will make it.  It's in the darkness that you see things.  When you are in the lights its easy to know what  you want, but some things only illuminate when its pitch black.  The stars are a beautiful sight, but cannot be seen during the day.  Do you know anyone who walks through the 'darkness' well?  When they are in the midst of adversity they have trained themselves to think differently, change and overcome the trials humbly and without complaint.  That is how we want to be.  We roll with the punches and grow from them.  Feel the pain love the pain.  Feeling pain is a sign that you are getting stronger, take it and grow

This episode is just taking the three C's of individual development more in depth: Coaches: If you want a good coach, make sure they practice what they preach.  Don't get a health coach that is out of shape, or a marriage counselor that has been divorced twice.   Remember, you don't need a coach just because something in your life is broken.  If you and your spouse want to improve on your marriage, there is nothing wrong with getting a counselor to try and see what you can do to make it even better.  Even the best Olympic athletes have coaches, and that's not because they are bad, its because they are trying to be the best. You just need to get a coach, it doesn't have to be Greg, but go help yourself improve your life!       2. Community: You become like the five people you spend the most time with.  They effect your world view, and how you act and think.  Surround yourself with people that lift you up, not the friends you can go out and do

You can tell a lot about a person by how they treat and take care of themselves.  We all have an obligation to work on ourselves more than anything else.  Good Input = Good Output, (and vice versa) are you building yourself up or tearing yourself down? Time is precious.  Don't waste it! Henry David Thoreau says "As if you could kill time without injuring the eternities."  Time is what life is made up of, if you waste time, then you don't know the true meaning of your life!  There are so many things to learn and do, more amazing books that you could read in a life time. There are so many people out there who do the "have to's" like going to their job all day so that when they get home, they don't have to do productive work anymore.  Many people think of retirement simply as a time in their life where they don't 'have' to do anything! Your time is so much more valuable than that!  Don't slip into "this is just the way I am" when you are wasting your potential to be so much mor

We are all aware of our weaknesses.  Becoming a better person is a simple mindset shift to say "Ok, I'm going to work on those."  Make a plan, get it done! Never settle when you are working on yourself.  In fact everything good in your life will come from personal development! You will have a better marriage, family, job and relationships!  Everyday you have to fuel that motivation and energy to work on yourself and meet your goals.  Don't go to bed unless you have learned something new!  Keep yourself healthy, track what goes into your mind and your body.  We all have this little voice in our head, though it tends to be negative a lot of the time.  Train the voice in your head to say positive things.  Have a life philosophy.  How do you see the world, what do you want to learn more about it? How will that help you get a growth mindset? Challenge: Come on the quest for personal development, never stop becoming a better person.  Other resources: Check out

Life is not one grand event, it's a journey.  In the book The Alchemist, it talks a lot about finding your dream, more specifically, pursuing your legend.  All of our stories are different but we all have common denominators, the best one the triumph of achieving what we set out to do.   Day in and day out, what are we doing to make our legend happen?  Every single say we should be taking a step forward. Big step or baby steps, keep moving upwards.  Do you even know what your legend is? If not, thats ok!  Your job is to figure it out, there is still no reason for you not to move forward. Getting the little things done are a must do, sometimes little things just have to get done.  However, if those little things get in the way of you getting to the big things, prioritization is needed! Challenge: Take a step every single day in the direction of your legend, achieving your life's purpose.  (Join Greg on one of his adventures!  Let the world change you!) Other re

Seems to be that going through security into any country can be a nightmare the U.S., the UK, Hungry you name it.   Something that seems to be a common thread between all these stories is that once someone has a little bit of power or authority, they tend to abuse it.  The people that are going through security are completely at the mercy of the person with the badge.  How come sometimes people use that to their advantage unnecessarily? In some way, we all have power and authority.  Do we abuse that power? Like in positions at work, remember that you manage 'things' and lead people.  Never think of people as 'under you.'  Be grateful for the position and the opportunity you are seen to be a leader.  In that position, we have the chance to spread good, so be extra kind.  You have a group who you have the responsibility to serve and lead.  It's easy to say "I am kind to people but I work with such knuckle heads!" It's not uncommon for someone to think they are the on

Enmity:  The state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.  We should not feel enmity towards other people,  in fact we should judge ourselves by how we treat people who are unkind to us.  Turn the other cheek.  Something that the Nazi's focused on was to outcast 'types' of people.  Hitler mainly hated the Jews and incorporated that hate into society.   Slowly he got the majority of the population to hate the Jews, amongst many others.  He had no tolerance for people who weren't like him.  When you listen to someones personal story, only then can you understand why that individual does, acts or speaks the way they do.  We can't judge them for what we have heard about them through the grape vine.  Do your own research, in fact to really get to know a person or a people, you have to live among them.  See how many misconceptions there really are about them. Understand people how they are, not how you are. Challenge:

Encourage your dreams. If you can't change the world yet, what can you do to change your world? Courage is the only thing you need to reach your dream, to change your world. Is money stopping you? Then make a good business/money/savings goal! Is it your fear of travel? Try a small road trip or get on a plane the next time you have to go anymore.  When you reach for your dreams, there are those who will automatically want to bring you down. A lot of the time, its those who are closest to you. Sometimes you have to let it roll off your back, make your goals and get after them! With great reward, there is great risk. So how do we get the skill set to accomplish our goals?  Here is the Challenge: Do what scares you! When you do things that scare you, you become more courageous. You grow, you become powerful. You can become fearless. Sometimes its your lack of understanding that makes you scared, when looking into a fear makes it less scary. Either way, it needs to be conquered!  Final Challenge: Ma

 You never graduate from learning. Though, sometimes we feel childish when we get to start something new.  Very few adults learn new talents.   Why is it that when we get older we think that because we never had the chance when we are young, that we missed it?  We didn't miss it, we are afraid of the discomfort that will come from starting something new.  You are never to old to be a rookie!   We all need to develop the habit of becoming a voracious learner.  Even if we are in a comfortable spot, there seems to be something that keeps pushing us forward.  That something that says we should keep going to keep getting better.  When we settle into reality and give up on our dreams, when really we are just reaching the end of our skill set and our knowledge base.  Most people accept that as the end of learning for them, that there is no way to get past the fact that all throughout life you can be doing things that are new!  You have limited skills, but u

Drove from Dallas, TX all the way to New York City.  When he found he couldn't get a job or even get into school, he called a buddy and that friend drove all the way up to get him!  They almost crashed on the way home, but neither were injured.  With another buddy, they were on a road trip out west and crossed the Colorado River.  They decided they were going to jump.  They were 100-150 feet in the air. Both Greg and his friend landed on a slant and ended up bruising all up and down their legs and arms.  While staying with a coach, Greg was home alone and had an allergic reaction.  His eyes swelled up and his throat started to close.  He was gasping for breath and called his sister for help.  They both rushed to the ER and she dragged him in.  To keep Greg alive they had to give hi multiple adrenaline shots and of course a ton of benadryl. Kept him alive! Life Lessons:  You cant control everything, you do your best and push through to get to your goals.

What group or people do we de-humanize?  Democrats? Republicans? Muslims? Black people? White people? The list goes on, why do we objectify people?  During WW2 the Germans strategically under social strategy got the general population to dehumanize many groups of people. People with brown hair, the elderly, the handicapped and mainly the Jews.  That society thought they were better and the slide started slowly.  First it was shunning them, then it was abusing them, then it was plundering and finally it was all out violence and genocide.  What are parallels in our society today? What prejudices do we hold against groups of people? It's not necessarily about loving a certain group of people to death, but respecting all persons.  No matter where they are from, what color their skin is or what religion they practice.  If they are a human being then you will find similarities! Don't pass judgement when you see people.  Realize that from your misunderstandings, you judge. &nb

Greg and Rachel met in college, you could say Greg was struck at first sight.   Growing up Greg didn't have a lot examples of what a good marriage should look like, or if it was even possible.  In his late teens he was terrified of talking to girls, so in his early twenties he pushed himself to date a lot and meet a lot of people.  He had a list of qualities he wanted his spouse to have, he was dating deliberately.  Later to find they were both dating deliberately.  On their first date, Rachel didn't talk a lot.  Greg tried to keep the conversation going but she was so quiet! Later to find that she wanted him to do the talking so she could find out what type of guy he really was.  She wanted to know what was important to him and see what kind of things he wanted to know about her.   Each of them had their way of seeing what the other valued.  Choose your love, then love your choice. Love isn't something you just 'fall into' then 'fall out of.'  Love

Emotion is the driving force in our lives. So it's helpful to ask, "What emotion do you feel most of the time? Is that how you WANT to feel?"  The first thing to do that clears a lot of emotional space is to forgive! Let small things roll off your back. Work on letting the big things go, it will take time but having that freedom will all be worth it. Forgiveness is for you, no for the other person.  If emotion is a choice, choose the better option! Henry David Thoreau said, "Most men live in quiet desperation and go to graves with their song still in them." Having anger inside keeps much more than just that.  Forgiveness and peace is something we all want, sometimes we have to start with the hard things to get over. Challenge: Choose your emotions and let go of the negative ones! Clear space for you to get those positive emotions back into your life. Remember "Little things bother little people." Emotion is so important and having it be a positive driving force in our lives is key. Here are add

When someones poor choice effects you, it's hard not to react in an outburst, or hold it against them.  People carry hate for people their entire lives. Maybe you are in the right, but how does keeping that chip on your shoulder help you?   A time comes where you have to move on, not to take that anger with you anymore.  It's not good to bottle emotions, its healthy to release them.  Sometimes You get so boiled up that you forget that you must forgive to move forward.  Carrying that emotional burden on your shoulders is heavy, takes up space and can even manifest itself physically. Forgive and set all your baggage down.  "Bitterness is a poison you swallow, hoping your enemy will die."  Let it out, then let it go.  What is your healthy outlet? Exercise? Music? There are many outlets that help you get rid of the negative emotions that are hurting you.  You cant change the past but you can change the way you see the past.  Where there is pain there is power. &nb

Caution! Awesome stories and reality checks lay ahead!  While playing football, Greg's hand got smashed between two helmets and broke four metacarpals.  When he saw that his back up wasn't doing too well, he headed back into the game. broke his leg.  What do we take for granted every day?! Movement of our fingers and legs? Mobility to do what we want? Reality checks are important to see how much we really have. At fourteen years old, he was with some friends and a fight broke out about racism.  A full blown brawl happened in the parking lot. Worst came to worst, someone pulled out a gun and started shooting.  Lots of people ended up in the hospital that night.  Do you de-humanize any group of people?  Every person has a story.  Who do we hate in our ignorance? Black people? White people? Muslims? Christians?  We are all people and should treat each other as such! Left with his older brother from his home as a mid teen.  They road the Greyhound bus from D

Everyday you have the choice to between mediocrity and excellence.  When Greg was just twelve years old, he was out late in a bad part of town with some friends.   He ended up getting beat up pretty bad by some older teenagers.  In that moment, as a kid, he was the victim.  Then from the moment after that, he chose not to be the victim again.  He chose to learn some martial arts and workout.   He still travels world to all sorts of places! "We are cautious but I refuse to live in fear." We have opportunities to choose every single day.  Every moment we choose what we feel and how we react.  Now we don't play the victim, we have the blessed gift to choose and by playing the victim you are giving up your power to do that, to your life! To live the life we want to live we have to choose deliberately.  Don't let life lead you, you lead it.  The quality of your life comes down to the little choices you make every single day.  So make those choices count!

The common thread of how people end up at rock bottom.  How do people's lives crumble and ultimately lead to the giant train wreck at the end of the tunnel?  The cause has been around since humans first began. Juvenal, a Roman poet, was alive for the downfall of Rome and wrote about the pitfalls in that society.  Translated from Latin his phrase is "bread and cheap circuses."    Roman leadership wanted the public to follow them blindly and began their quest to dull the public.  How was it done? Cheap bread and circuses.  They gave the population the basic needs of life and slowly led them to ignorance. Cheap bread and circuses can be explained as: "To generate public approval, not by excellence, public service or policy, but by diversion, distraction or satisfying the most immediate and base requirements of the populace."  See an similarities between then and now? Many. The media is huge, panic news is on 24/7 in stores and households, celebrities and their movies

At the end of our life, most hope to say it was meaningful, filled with love and accomplished. Whatever your goal is, your passion to complete, you need more than ambition to get there! You need a game plan. You have to know where you are. You have to know where you are going. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  Goals and plans in your life will lead you to places you never thought you would go, success you never knew you could have. If you have a well-structured plan, some grit and self-discipline, you are well on your way.  How to start a successful plan:  1. Ask yourself the right questions. Where do you stand on your goal? Is it a S.M.A.R.T goal? When do you plan on completing it and how does it help you grow? What will this goal bring you closer to? What area of your life will be positively affected by it? How will this help others around you?  2. Have the right answers. The right answers always align with your values and desired outcomes. Study the lives of great men and women. W

There are times in our life where we get so busy with one goal, that every other area in life gets thrown off balance.  Some people work so hard at their job that they neglect their health - on the other hand, others spend so much time on their health and working out that maybe they neglect their marriage or family time.  It's all about balance.   Once in a while,  to keep us balanced is reality checks.  They don't come often, but when they do, we gain a whole different perspective on life.  Maybe one day you have to rush to the ER because your child broke a bone or  you get to know someone who lives with a disability - the list goes on.  What do these experiences teach us?  The biggest thing is what we take for granted, and maybe our lives aren't all that hard after all.  Reality checks help us keep things in perspective.  So how do we become the master of perspective?  Have you ever had an experience that changed the way you saw things forever

 What are your dreams if you had no limits? What are those limits and how can you get them out of the way?  Then there is the hard question, how many of our obstacles are there because we put them there?  When we do stupid things we get the consequences.  We can choose our choices but not our consequences. The chief case of unhappiness in life is giving up what we really desire for what we want in the moment.  Keep your goals close always so you never lose sight of what you really desire.  Look at yourself in the mirror and say: "Self - you are better than that!! Don't eat junk food you want to be healthy.  Don't surround yourself with those kind of people who make you act like that.  Keep your thoughts positive your are capable of great things!" Don't let the stupid mistakes define you, let them refine you.  Need more help moving those obstacles?  How to Create the Life you WANT to Start Living How to Break Free from a Negative Cycle Challenges of Changing an