Yesterday was Mardi Gras! Just in case you missed it here is some interesting information so next year you can be more informed.

Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday. It's also called Shrove Tuesday, Carnival Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday in other parts of the world. It is a celebration prior to Lent that focuses on opulent indulgences. What began as a holiday rooted in religious tradition has become a cultural phenomenon. While the first Mardi Gras in America was celebrated in Alabama, most of what we associate with Mardi Gras now all started in New Orleans in the 1830s.

The Spanish had outlawed the celebration in New Orleans from 1762 - 1800 and this ban was continued when the American government took over. Then in 1837 a secret society called Mistick Krewe of Comus held a parade with the theme of “The Demon Actors in Milton’s Paradise Lost.” The colors of this society were green, purple and gold. Other societies started taking part in the parade and it grew into what it is today.

Have you ever heard of the Navy Seal 40% rule? It goes like this: when your mind is ready to give up, when you feel like you have nothing else to give, it's at that point that your body is really only at 40% of its total capacity. (Yes, this has actually been proven - it's not just a theory.)

So the next time that you're ready to give up at the gym or on a long run, remember that your body is capable of SO much more. When your mind is telling you no, your body has another 60% or so to give. Use this knowledge to push yourself further, harder, and longer than you ever have before and see what your breakthrough looks like on the other side of that 40%.

 This past Sunday I re-watch the movie World War Z. Not really a zombie movie type of guy, but this one and Zombieland are the exceptions for me. Anyways, there is one quote that I find very intriguing and always catches my attention every time I watch it. In this scene, a biologist is explaining how viruses and mother nature works to the main character and it goes something like this:

“Sometimes the thing you thought was the most brutal aspect of the virus, turns out to be the chink in its armor. And she (mother nature) loves disguising her weaknesses as strengths. She is a witch” (He actually uses another term to describe mother nature, but I’m trying to keep it PG over here).    

There is a lot of truth in that quote, and it always leaves me thinking every time I hear it. Yes, that is how viruses often work, but I feel that quote can also be applied into our lives in general. Often the solution to our situation is right there in front of us, we just don’t see it because it is disguised as our core problem or it looks like it’s the problem’s strength. At the same time, it can also be flipped around when it comes towards us. What we thought was our weakness in the beginning, may happen to be our strength or competitive advantage over others. The difficult part is not only figuring that out, but also facing it which is where a lot of people get stuck. Those that do end up figuring it out and face it, are the ones that are more likely  to succeed at overcoming their obstacles. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper for not being creative enough. Michael Jordan didn’t see a lot of playtime during his high school years because he was considered short. Albert Einstein didn’t learn to speak until around the age of four. Many of his Elementary School teachers considered him lazy and not very smart because he would ask abstract questions that made no sense to others. And last but not least Kriss Carr, who was diagnosed with a rare and incurable cancer. She embraced her situation and attacked her cancer head on with a new nutritional lifestyle, and turned her experience into a series of successful books and documentaries. Carr became a cancer survivor and is now revered as one of the most prominent experts on healthy living. 

I learned a big lesson the first time I heard that quote from World War Z. If you are stuck in a situation, take a close look at the core problem and its “strength”, because it may turned out to be its weakness and the solution to many of our problems. Even if your intuition tells you otherwise, don’t try to find a way around it and face it head on, and you might be surprised at what you end up discovering about yourself.