Pursuing A Balanced Life » Areas of Balanced Living

My Decision Regarding Equipment Sales – Podcast Episode 457

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:45:45 +0000

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Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
My Decision Regarding Equipment Sales

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

It’s been several days since I shared David’s three words of advice. I’ve received a great deal of advice from close friends. In this episode, I share what I’ve decided as it relates to my future in equipment sales.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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Three Words That Will Change My Life? – Podcast Episode 456

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:54:43 +0000

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Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Three Words That Will Change My Life?

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

I started recording this episode a little after 2 o’clock in the morning. I had received some audio feedback from a client, and good friend, named David Doucette. His audio feedback was 16 minutes and 3 seconds in length. Near the beginning of his message, he mentioned that he had three words to share with me that had the potential to change my life in a positive way. Ever since I listened to that message with those three words, I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it what it would mean to me if I were to follow through with the advice provided in those three words.

This is one of those episodes that I will be pointing people to for quite some time! I hope that this will encourage and inspire you to evaluate what you are doing with your time and to make changes so that you are being efficient with the resources that God has given to you.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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More Self Discipline Needed – Podcast Episode 455

Cliff Ravenscraft — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:39:07 +0000

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Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
More Self Discipline Needed

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In this episode, I share some thoughts about how things have got so busy that I put off the important things. How I struggle with responding to items that come in now over top of items that have been waiting to be completed for a few days. I also talk about the pressures of how even when I’m putting new work flows in place, it seems that the amount of additional work that comes in continues to grow at an even faster pace.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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A Video That Makes You Think!

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:36:27 +0000

Please check out this amazing video:

Makes you think doesn’t it?

Is It All About The Money? – Podcast Episode 452

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:04:58 +0000

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Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Is It All About The Money?

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In this episode, I share where I’ve been recently, why there hasn’t been any consistent updates released for this podcast.

I also share a frustrating story of a person who accused me by saying that I’m only interested in helping people who are willing to pay me money for my time. This is SO NOT TRUE! Also, I share audio feedback from Maggie, Erik, Brent, Richi, Frank, Mary, and Fred.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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Dreams Can Come True – Podcast Episode 450

Cliff Ravenscraft — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:58:56 +0000

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Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Dreams Can Come True

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In this episode, I finally get around to recording the long awaited story explaining the details behind a status update that I had put up on Twitter and Facebook a few weeks back. In that update, I had explained that a major dream had just come true for me. I hope that this story inspires you to dream big dreams for yourself and to share those dreams with as many people as will listen!

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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My Mom And Dad When I Was Four!

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:35:04 +0000

A few months back, my mom entered the social networking world via Facebook.

This morning I took at look at my news feed to see a strangely familiar photo as my mom’s profile picture. This photo was taken 32 years ago, when I was four years old. The strange thing is…. I remember everything about this day! How crazy is that? Funny how a photo can just take you back to earlier times.

The craziest thing about this? MY MOM SCANNED THIS PHOTO AND UPLOADED IT TO FACEBOOK!

SERIOUSLY?

I Struggle Too – Podcast Episode 449

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 05:34:34 +0000

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Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
I Struggle Too

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In this episode, I share that I don’t always have it all together. Recently I’ve come across someone who has recently found who about who I am wand what I’ve done by following my passion. Several times this person indicated that I seemed to be someone who could do no wrong. I told him that that I have certainly learned a great deal along this journey that I’ve been on. However, as this episode clearly indicates, I struggle just like anyone else.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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My VA Journey Part 01 – Podcast Episode 446

Cliff Ravenscraft — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:03:05 +0000

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Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
My VA Journey Part 01

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In this episode, I share the first episode of a new series of episodes related hiring a Virtual Assistant. I’ll be documenting my progress as I learn to let go of control and allow others to help me do the things they can do for me while allowing me to focus my attention on what I do best.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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Most UnBalanced Week Ever – Or Was It? – Podcast Episode 445

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:12:06 +0000

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Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Most UnBalanced Week Ever – Or Was It?

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In this episode, I share some thoughts after experiencing my the busiest weeks I’ve had in 2009. It’s tempting to think that last week was the first

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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Why I Gained And What I Am Going To Do About It – Podcast Episode 442

Cliff Ravenscraft — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:48:59 +0000

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Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Why I Gained And What I Am Going To Do About It

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In this episode, I share why there was no episode of this podcast last week. I also share what the scale revealed this week and last week. I explain why I gained weight for the first time since May 1st of this year and what I am going to do about it. I also share a few other things, including information about a one day trip to Kansas City and back.

Even if you never watch the Biggest Loser TV Show, I would strongly encourage you to check out this podcast. I’m actually partnering with my great friend, Father Roderick Vonhogen, a Catholic priest from the Netherlands. We use the tv show as a platform for launching conversations related to how to live a more healthy lifestyle.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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Is That Really Me?

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:44:27 +0000

Every now and then, I get a notification that someone has tagged me in a photo on facebook. The image shown in in this post was taken by my friend, Ann Lightfoot, at a recent New Media Cincinnati Meetup.

When I got the email notice, I figured I’d check it out. When the picture pulled up in my browser, I noticed that Ann had written something in the description of the photo that said… “Cliff has been very inspiring this year!”

I took a look at the photo and could hardly recognize the man in the picture. But it is me! I mean it IS me!!! I’ve changed so much since May 1st of this year. Of course I’m posting this after one of the most horrible weeks since May 1st. In fact, this is the first week where I’ve actually gained weight. (I gained 1 pound this week).

But it’s photos like this that just speak volumes to me about who I am today and how far I’ve come in my pursuit of a more balanced life. It was just about a year or so ago that I was tagged in this photo from Podcamp NYC.

It was photos like this that communicated a lot about who I was then. I didn’t like what my physical appearance said about who I was. As a husband and father, those older photos communicated that I had not made my wife and children a priority in my life because I obviously wasn’t taking care of myself so that I could live a longer life so that I would be able to provide for their needs for a much longer period of time.

Back in those days, I literally looked like I could suffer from a heart attack at any given moment. And for the past ten to 15 years of my life, these are the only types of photos I’ve ever seen of myself.

However, things have changed. Today, I see someone take a photo of me and I’m somewhat eager to see how it turns out. I mean I still have quite a ways to go to get to a place where I’m physically fit. But I’m on that journey and I’m thankful for the photos that show my progress along the way.

Managing My Relationships With HighRise – Podcast Episode 441

Cliff Ravenscraft — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:17:27 +0000

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Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Managing My Relationships With HighRise – Podcast Episode 441

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In this episode, I simply share what I’m most passionate about this week. I’ve found a software solution that has radically changed my life. If you a small to medium sized business owner or if you are managing relationships with hundreds or thousands of people, you have to check out HighRise. If you do decide to check it out, please use the http://gspn.tv/highrise link. If you sign up using that link, I earn a commission. I’d never recommend a product or service based up on that alone. Trust me when I say that this software product is going to cause me to earn a GREAT DEAL more money. More important than that is that it is going to help me form stronger relationships with everyone I know.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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Living Simple – More Is Not Always Better

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:08:40 +0000

I found a YouTube embedded on another blog recently. I found the video to be quite inspirational. I’m not looking to move into a smaller home like this. However, it really does help to keep things in perspective when considering the space that we currently have available to our family.

It makes me think about how much do I really need? I think about how he said that people live in 4000 square foot debtors prisons. I love the part where he says that if I want to throw a party for forty people, I can just take the money that I save in mortgage payments and rent a hotel room to throw the party.

Again, for me, it’s not that I’m looking to go to any sort of extreme here, but I do value to thoughts of simple living that flow through my mind after viewing.

Have a look at the video and let me know what your thoughts are in the comment section:

PABL Challenge Started This Week – Podcast Episode 439

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:24:42 +0000

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Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
PABL Challenge Started This Week – Podcast Episode 439

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

The 16 week PABL Challenge on November 1st! For more information, visit the blog entry at http://gspn.tv/pablchallenge.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Subscribe To Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast – Free Feed:

gspn.tv Plus Members Get Every Episode Using The Plus Feed Generator.

The Importance of A Daily Health Journal

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:04:26 +0000

I am so thankful that I made the decision to keep a daily journal of my health journey. Each week, when I weigh in, I’m able to look back at all the data that I have tracked to see what I had done the previous seven days to get whatever results that have shown up on the scale for the current week.

Each day, I track the number of steps that I walk. I do this by wearing a pedometer at all times. I track the number of “Net Calories” consumed each day. Basically, I’ve calculated that to lose two pounds a week, I need to keep my net calorie intake down to 1,326. I can eat more calories than this as long as I burn off any calories over this amount. This is why I also calculate the number of calories burned with (IPA) which stands for Intentional Physical Activity.

Here’s what my journal looks like for this past week.

10/19 5,421 Steps Walked 1,251 Net Calories Consumed 400 IPA Calories Burned
10/20 10,006 Steps Walked 1,342 Net Calories Consumed 533 IPA Calories Burned
10/21 12,568 Steps Walked 1,370 Net Calories Consumed 549 IPA Calories Burned
10/22 12,679 Steps Walked 1,363 Net Calories Consumed 564 IPA Calories Burned
10/23 3,616 Steps Walked 1,406 Net Calories Consumed 000 IPA Calories Burned
10/24 4,325 Steps Walked 1,468 Net Calories Consumed 267 IPA Calories Burned
10/25 4.022 Steps Walked 2,826 Net Calories Consumed 084 IPA Calories Burned

Today is Monday! For those who have been following my progress, Mondays are my weigh in day. This morning, when I stepped on the scale, I was not shocked to learn that I had not lost any weight. In fact, while slightly disappointed, I was at least happy to not have gained any weight since last week.

This is why I find it so valuable to track this information every day. My goal is to have no less than 5 days of Intentional Physical Activity (Burning at least 400 calories) and this past week, I only accomplished that four out of the past seven days.

My calorie budget each day is 1,326 and, as you can see, I had gone over that budget six of those seven days. With that said, I was within 100 calories of that budget four days this week. However, if this were money in my checking account, I’d be bouncing checks all day long!

Then there was yesterday. I was doing AWESOME until we went to this Halloween Bash at church last night. I ended up losing all self control. I was already very hungry for dinner and I had several Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, A Kit Kat, and a few other things here and there. And did I track those calories? I hate to even admit it, but I did not! I simply had to guesstimate just how overboard I went. More than anything, this is what I regret most.

I felt so defeated. It reminded me of the days back when money was really tight, we already had significant debt but I had a strong desire for a new electronics gadget. It was not uncommon, back then, for me to go ahead and fulfill that urge by buying the gadget on credit, only to feel immediate buyer’s remorse for doing so.

You see, through this process, I have come to understand that the intake and spending of calories works just like my finances. And well, if you look at the way that I spent my allotted calories this past week, you’ll understand why Stephanie and I have made a vow to stay away from credit cards! It’s very tempting to spend more than the resources we currently have.

A few years back, Stephanie and I had paid off all our credit card debt, and vowed to never again own credit cards for our personal finances. Since then, we only spend money that we currently have. We DO NOT write checks with the expectation that money will be deposited before the person to whom the check is written to will cash it. We understand the danger that is involved there and have learned discipline in this area of our lives.

However, as you can see, there are days where I am eating more calories that have been allotted to me for my budget. In fact, last night, I still needed some real food for dinner so that I wouldn’t experience a major sugar crash.

The only shocking thing about today’s results on the scale was that I didn’t actually gain weight this week. Though, honestly, I think I did. Had I burned the 400 calories in IPA five days days this past week and didn’t have such a lack of self control yesterday, I feel that I would have seen a two pound drop this week.

Again, I am so thankful to keep a daily food journal to point out where I make these mistakes. I am going to take what I learned here and move forward.

Do you keep a food journal? Do you find this blog post helpful? It is my desire to share my journey with you in hopes that you can learn as I am learning.

Please tell me what you’re thinking in the comments section.

Longest Run Yet – Podcast Episode 438

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:31:04 +0000

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Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Longest Run Yet – Podcast Episode 438

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

In this episode, share a very exciting breakthrough in my health and fitness routine.

I also shared a great website that I found for calculating how many calories you should eat in order to loose weight. The calculator can be found at http://gspn.tv/howmanycalories. Reminder: Never eat less than 1200 calories per day!

Also, I announced that we will be launching the 16 week PABL Challenge on November 1st! For more information, visit the blog entry at http://gspn.tv/pablchallenge.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Subscribe To Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast – Free Feed:

gspn.tv Plus Members Get Every Episode Using The Plus Feed Generator.

gspn.tv PABL Challenge Starts November 1st

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:34:53 +0000

Are you looking for way to start getting healthy or a fun way to continue your journey? gpsn.tv’s PABL Challenge is just what you need during these winter months.

gspn.tv’s PABL Challenge is a 16 week heath/fitness challenge for gspn.tv community members. Any and all are welcome. Inspired by the physical activity and nutritional changes in Cliff’s life, this challenge focuses on health and fitness, not weight loss; Pursuing a Balanced Life. Each player sets their own goals, monitors their progress and shares the success (and struggles) with the community.

The “Challenge” format – Points are earned in three categories on a weekly basis. Each week participants will post their weekly results to the gspn.tv’s PABL Challenge section of the Community Forum, points will be tallied and shared on a weekly basis. Challenge Points Leaders will be awarded at the end of each month; awarded with bragging rights! At the end of the 16 weeks Challenge Points Leaders will win a prize (to be determined, something slightly better than bragging rights!).

Point Categories

1. Intentional Physical Activity - Receive 1 point for each day that you meet your physical activity goal; a possible 7 points each week. The amount and type of exercise can be unique to each individual. Intentional Physical Activity is over and beyond your normal daily activity; enough to be considered a workout for your current physical condition.

2. Nutrition - Receive 1 point for each day that you meet your nutritional goal; a possible 7 points each week. Each individuals nutritional program and goals will be different. Any system can be used (Weight Watchers, Calorie Counting or otherwise), as long as their is a mechanism to set goals and measure them.

3. Personal Improvement - 3 points each week available for improvement in another area of your life. Each individual chooses their area of improvement, sets their goal and evaluates their progress. The personal improvement goals you set at that start will remain through the end of the challenge. Some examples of personal improvement are:

* Day of Rest – One day a week will be no work and all play.
* Personal Development – I will spend a minimum of two hours a week reading personal development material
* Unplug – I will unplug from technology every day at 7pm
* Organize – I will spend one evening a week organizing something in my life (closet, finances, todo list…)

4. Weight Loss (optional – no points) - As keeping a healthy weight is key to a balanced life, there are some community members working hard to lose weight. This optional category, for no points, will be modeled after The Biggest Loser. Each week each participant will email (for privacy) their current weight, and their % of weight loss will be posted with the Challenge Points. (Participants weights will not be posted, only the % of weight change.)

How to Participate

Its easy to get started, click here to get registered for the community forum if you are not already registered. Next, simply post a message in the PABL Challenge section of the Community Forum with your Intentional Physical Activity Goal, Nutritional Goal and Self Improvement Goal. If you are participating in the Weight Loss, email your starting weight to pablchallenge@gspn.tv. On a weekly basis, you will post your weekly results and points to the forum. A sample post will be available in the forum. You will have until Wednesday to post your results for the previous week. After all the posts are in, a summary for the week will be posted back to the forum.

Getting Started

The challenge will start on November 1st and end on February 20, 2010. If someone joins late, they will be given the lowest number of points, minus 1, for each week missed. The Challenge is closed for new comers after 10 weeks, January 9th, 2010.

If you have any questions, post them to the PABL Challenge FAQ section of the Community Forum.

Join today!

Seeking Margin – Podcast Episode 437

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:45:55 +0000

Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Episode 437 – Seeking Margin

Last week, I talked about the fact that I have exceeded the capacity of what I felt that I could do in a given work week. This week, I share some thoughts about my search for margin in my life.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Note: This is a premium Plus Member Only episode of Pursuing A Balanced Life. If you would like learn how you can get every episode of this podcast as well as all the other podcasts that I produce, please visit http://gspn.tv/plus.

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Capacity Exceeded – Podcast Episode 436

Cliff Ravenscraft — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:47:13 +0000

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Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Capacity Exceeded – Podcast Episode 436

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

In this episode, I hit the record button with absolutely no idea what I would share in advance. However, as is the case most of the time, I had plenty to say. I didn’t make any notes as I went along. So if you want to know what I shared in this episode, I’m afraid you’re going to have to hit the play button!

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Subscribe To Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast – Free Feed:

gspn.tv Plus Members Get Every Episode Using The Plus Feed Generator.

5 Months Later 44 Pounds Lighter – Podcast Episode 435

Cliff Ravenscraft — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:02:58 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Episode 435 – 5 Months Later 44 Pounds Lighter

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

This episode is pretty much full of all listener feedback. Special thanks to Maggie,
Mary, Andy, Jessica, Wayne, Pam, Frank, and Richi

There is plenty of encouragement and inspiration from others in the gspn.tv community who are also Pursuing A Balanced Life!

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Subscribe To Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast – Free Feed:

gspn.tv Plus Members Get Every Episode Using The Plus Feed Generator.

40 Pounds Lighter And Biggest Loser – Podcast Episode 434

Cliff Ravenscraft — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:49:50 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Episode 434 – 40 Pounds Lighter And Biggest Loser

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

In this episode, I share an audio recap of my previous week. It was another amazing week of enjoyable walks with my children. I also spend a great deal of time talking about the launch of our newest “Biggest Loser Fan Podcast.”

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Subscribe To Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast – Free Feed:

gspn.tv Plus Members Get Every Episode Using The Plus Feed Generator.

A Well Balanced Week – Podcast Episode 433

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:16:26 +0000

Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Episode 433 – A Well Balanced Week

In this episode, I share several mini recordings made throughout the week. It was fun for me to be able to go back and review the various elements of the week. It wasn’t until I listened to the various elements that I had recorded that I noticed that my life really is getting into a much greater balance.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Subscribe To Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast – Free Feed:

gspn.tv Plus Members Get Every Episode Using The Plus Feed Generator.

A Before & After 3 Months Photo!

Cliff Ravenscraft — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:04:46 +0000

I believe the photos above communicate a great deal. While the table may actually be hiding the physical results of my weight loss around my waist, I believe that this photo says more about how I felt about myself 3 months ago compared to how I feel today.

Just look at the expression on my face in each of these photos above.

You can do this! Seriously!

Click here to see a before and after photo that shows the physical changes!

Click here to find out how I lost my first 32 pounds in only twelve weeks.

Are you willing to make changes to your lifestyle? Tell me about in the comments section.

No More High Blood Pressure! – Podcast Episode 432

Cliff Ravenscraft — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 01:51:18 +0000

Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Episode 432 – No More High Blood Pressure!

In this episode, I talk about our family’s three day getaway. I also share about a recent trip I had to the doctor and what it felt like to have them tell me that my blood pressure was normal without the use of medication!

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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Thirty Eight Pounds Lost – Podcast Episode 430

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:09:21 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Episode 430 – Thirty Eight Pounds Lost

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

In this episode, I share this week’s results as I stepped back on the scale. I also share my goals for next week and how I plan to achieve those goals.

The two posts I mentioned in this episode:

The Shack Post
http://gspn.tv/theshack

PABL #425 Follow Your Passion And The Money Will Follow
http://gspn.tv/passion

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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What Defines Who I Am? Podcast Episode 429

Cliff Ravenscraft — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:29:57 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Episode 429 – What Defines Who I Am?

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

In this episode, We get some audio feedback from Mary. Also, we get a call from Frank regarding popcorn at movie theaters.

I also share a personal dream of mine to be featured on Net@Nite podcast on Twit and to meet Leo Leporte in person.

The main focus of this show is the topic of deciding what we allow to define who we are in our own minds.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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Momentum – Podcast Episode 428

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:49:50 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast
Episode 428 – Momentum

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

In this episode, I share some thoughts a week after setting myself a goal of completing my one hour of intentional physical activity by 7am each morning.

I share how how successful or unsuccessful I’ve been at achieving this goal. I also share why it is that I’ve set such a strict goal for myself.

Also, as it is Monday, I share my results from the scale for this week’s weigh in.

Finally, I shared a few #PABL posts found on Twitter and played some audio that was linked by JustJ3nn.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Subscribe To Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast – Free Feed:

gspn.tv Plus Members Get Every Episode Using The Plus Feed Generator.

Morning Workouts Are Much Better For Me – Podcast Episode 427

Cliff Ravenscraft — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:49:06 +0000

In this episode, I share how things have been going with my morning walks. I’ve finally got back to getting my intentional physical activity in during the morning hours. I still need to get out even earlier than what I did this past week, but it feels good to see some the consistency that goes with making the morning my workout time.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment here on the blog! Or you can call in your feedback on our Voice Mail Feedback Line at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. Also, don’t forget to add #PABL to all your tweets related to pursuing a more balanced life.

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Some Updated Photos To Demonstrate The Changes In My Body

Cliff Ravenscraft — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:24:53 +0000

I’ve been showing people my before and after photo from time to time only to realize that I have lost twenty more pounds since the June photo.

I find it almost impossible to believe that I’ve actually lost 34 pounds since May 1st, 2009. But the photos confirm this truth!

These photos serve to remind me that my three to five mile walks five days a week are really paying off in big ways. This is important to me because there are days when going out for a daily walk is not at the top of the list of things that I want to do for the day.

I’ve taken some time this evening to snap to new photos to go into the archives of my weight loss journey. This first photo is simply my updated before and after photo.

The following photo helps gives me an idea of just how big of a change has been made. When I first started out, I was on the very last notch on my belt. Not on the tight end, but on the other end of the belt. The end where I almost needed to get a “bigger” belt. The shorts that I’m wearing in these updated photos used to fit me without the need for the belt at all.

These days, I’ve gone to the opposite end of the belt. I’ve actually gone beyond the last notch in the belt in the other direction and just received a “smaller” belt as a gift from some very dear friends.

I’d just like to say that I have not been using any special “products” to lose weight. I’ve simply made a commitment to walk three to five miles a day, no less than five days week. In conjunction, I’ve also counted my calories every single day and I’ve really changed the types of foods that I eat to fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, fish, nuts, and beans.

I’m here to say that if I can do it, you can too! Why not subscribe to the Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast and join me in this journey?

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A New Goal Added – Podcast Episode 426

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:12:37 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

In this episode, I share an update of what’s been going on this past week and how that’s affected this week’s weigh-in day. I share that I need to quit assuming that I’ll have the extra calories to eat before I actually do the physical activity to earn those extra calories. I also set a new goal to be done with my intentional physical activity before 7am each morning.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

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Follow Your Passion And The Money Will Follow – Podcast Episode 425

Cliff Ravenscraft — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:45:39 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Pursuing A Balanced Life
Follow Your Passion And The Money Will Follow

Right-Click Here To Download

In this episode I share my thoughts on the phrase, “Follow your passion and the money will follow.” This is exactly what I did just almost two years ago and I’ve certainly found the statement to be true.

I share some of the amazing things that have happened as a result of focusing on my core talents and abilities.

I also share that I don’t think going off and starting your own business is for everyone. Though, I do believe it would be a great fit for more people than actually realize it. On my journey, I’ve learned some things that I think are critical to consider when thinking about leaping out there on your own.

* Surround Yourself With Positive People
* Must have the support of your spouse
* Passion is required
* Some natural talent must exist as a foundation
* Determination – No escape clause.
* Self Discipline – Can be learned through accountability
* Faith

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Following My Passion Has Changed My Life!

Cliff Ravenscraft — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:56:53 +0000

I have to admit to you that there were times when I worried if leaving my career in insurance was a responsible decision for me and my family. I mean I had absolutely no idea how I was going to earn a living at the time (Sept – Dec 2007).

I simply knew that podcasting came along, over the course of a few months, any passion I had for my career as an insurance agent had dissipated. Dreams of podcasting full-time as a career became seeds that eventually took root and refused to stop growing in my heart.

I remember reading books that said things like “Pursue your passion and the money will follow.” I heard other folks talk about things like “meaningful work.” I remember just how hard it was to get over the idea that you had to “hate what your doing” for it to be considered “work.”

The truth was that spending 40 to 60 hours of my life, each week, devoted to nothing more than bringing home a paycheck was making me miserable. Listeners from the gspn.tv community had been urging me with thoughts that I could find some way of doing podcasting as a career, but honestly I had a hard time wrapping my mind around that. However, one day, my wife actually came to me and said, “You need to quit your job and do podcasting full-time.” This was the day my life changed forever!

There was little doubt that podcasting as a career would allow me to focus on my core talents and abilities. Not to mention fulfilling what I had come to understand as my core purposes in life.

I’ve learned that if I passionately believe in something, I can probably sell it to just about anyone. There’s no doubt that I have the heart of a teacher. I love to find creative ways to teach things that most people believe they’ll never be able to learn. In fact, my original major in college was going to lead me down the path as a teacher. In June of 1996, I felt a serious call to Christian ministry. Never a full-time pastor type of position, but instead, a life long ministry of encouraging and inspiring others. And then there’s the technology thing. I’ve always had this weird ability to do just about anything I’ve wanted to do with technology without the need to read a book, a help file, etc.

I want to share a little something with you. Yesterday, I had a consulting call that has been like so many other consulting calls.

It typically goes like this.

The client has either found me through a Google Search or they were referred to me by someone they know.

Usually the client has been desperately attempting to start a podcast for anywhere from a few weeks to as much as a few years with no luck in actually getting it off the ground.

They’ve usually already purchased AT LEAST ONE BOOK about how to podcast and have read countless numbers of online articles trying to explain concepts like RSS feeds, media file enclosures, audio mixers, mix-minus setups, audio editing software, bit rates, etc, etc, etc.

The outcome is usually the same… “Paralysis By Analysis” or “Information Overload.”

More confused after their research than before they started, they desperate seek someone who can help them finally get things off the ground as a last ditch effort to make it happen.

When they find me, I spend some time talking with them, learning a little about them, what it is that they want to accomplish, and finding out where the journey has taken them so far.

I then talk to them about designing a strategy for getting their podcast from concept to reality. When I share with them that they could be releasing their first podcast episode(s) within the next four to five days (sometimes the same day) they are often shocked and need to overcome a bit of unbelief.

I, of course, encourage them, letting them know that I have confidence that I can train them how to podcast and do it in a reasonably short amount of time. At times, I’ve said, if I can’t do it in “X” Number of hours, I’ll not charge you at all for the time spent.

It’s so rewarding when I am able to help them make the impossible, possible. To actually see them grasp the concepts that they thought would be impossible to grasp. There’s a great deal of accomplishment that I feel when I work with each client I deal with.

I honestly feel that most of my consulting calls become little confirmations, from God, about making the right decision to pursue my passion. A passion I undoubtedly believe today that was put but in me by Him.

I don’t know if this post will come off as seeming self absorbed or not. But I just received this testimonial from a client that I worked with yesterday and it literally made my week!

Click the Play Button To Listen:
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Now, my work as a podcaster goes way beyond simply audio equipment sales and podcast consulting. The work that I do leading the gspn.tv community and providing the content that we produce is a whole story of it’s own with rewards that far exceed anything I’ve mentioned here. I’ve written a little about this in the past and I’m sure I’ll write a lot more in the future.

I sincerely pray that more people would be able to find such rewarding work that people appreciate. Life is too short to do otherwise.

Learning Along The Way – Podcast Epsiode 424

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:04:53 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

In this episode, share some thoughts after a few days of being out of my normal routine. I had enjoyed having our friends Anne and Valerie visit with us for a few days.

While they were here, we had an impromptu meet up to celebrate Anne and Valerie’s birthday. There was pizza, chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, and zucchini bread. So there was a LOT of empty calorie foods to be had by all. Unfortunately, I allowed myself to indulge a bit more than I would have like with these snacks. That being said, I did try to compensate by putting in a bit of extra effort into my daily physical activity.

When it was all said and done, I ended up on the scale yesterday with no pounds gained. I’ve definitely learned a few things from that experience and hope to even make better decisions the next time I’m in similar situations.

I also share some thoughts abut the recent additions to the gspn.tv Plus Membership Community. We actually added 8 new Plus Members in the past 7 days. This was a huge blessing and helped to confirm so many things about the direction that we are heading.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

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Think And Grow Rich Part 01 – Podcast Episode 423

Cliff Ravenscraft — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 21:46:08 +0000

In this episode, I my reactions to the first chapter of the book “Think And Grow Rich” by Napolian Hill.

* “Success comes to those who become success conscious”
* “…thoughts of poverty, just as quickly as it will influence us to act upon thoughts of riches.”
* Story of Steven Spielberg

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Live Show Thursday Reactions – Podcast Episode 422

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:36:59 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

In this episode, I share my Monday weigh-in results. I also share some my thoughts on how our first full day of recording content on Thursdays went. I also share some thoughts about the financial aspects of running the business and how these things are causing us to always evaluate what we do and how we do it.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

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What To Do In Uncertain Times – Podcast Episode 421

Cliff Ravenscraft — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:59:27 +0000

In this episode, I share an audio clip from Andy Stanley’s Leadership Podcast. The topic of his talk was “What To Do In Uncertain Times.” This has certainly been a topic that has been fresh on the minds of many people, including myself, as we have seen what has happened to our economy.

The question is how do we move forward? What can we do to keep from losing our hope? I believe that this episode helps to answer those questions.

Some points that I share in this episode are as follows:

In the beginning, all you had was an idea. From that idea, you created and moved forward. We, as leaders, need to go back to that original idea. We need to remember why we got into this in the first place. Looking back, we are able to see how much more we have now than what we had back then. Hopefully, we’ll recall that this wasn’t our idea in the first place, this was something that God called us to do.

What about the fact that we can’t predict tomorrow? We need to wise up to the fact that we’ve never been able to predict tomorrow. But when we look back, we can remember when we had nothing. We look in awe at God’s faithfulness to bring us this far.

Sometimes when things don’t seem to be going in the right direction, it’s easy question if this is a closed door or a sign that we are on the wrong path. Most of the time, this is not the case. The original vision is the right destination, but the current plans may be the wrong path. Occasionally, we need to abandon our current plans. However, we must remember that it is always possible to abandon our current plans without abandoning our original vision.

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How I lost 32 Pounds In 12 Weeks – Podcast Episode 420

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:09:59 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

In this I share some thoughts on how I’ve gone about loosing 32 pounds in only twelve weeks. In the episode, I mention the use of the Shape Up iPhone Application. There is a Health Fitness and Accountability section of the gspn.tv Community Forum that is only viewable to those who are registered users that are signed in. In it, I track my physical activity and the total net calorie intake each and every day. If you want to know more, listen to the episode.

I also shared some exciting news about the way that I’m re-structuring my work week and shifting the recording of most of our shows to Thursdays. I mention that there is more about that announcement if you CLICK THIS LINK.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

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In Pursuit of Margin – Podcast Episode 419

Cliff Ravenscraft — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:15:57 +0000

In this episode of Pursuing A Balanced Life, I share some wonderful feedback from Maggie who shared that, although she once said she “can’t” work out in the mornings, she’s actually done just that and “Loves It.” I also share some feedback from Wayne Henderson about the topic of burn out.

I also share just a little bit about what has been going through my mind as it relates to being more efficient with my time and making sure that I’m making financially responsible decisions with how I’m spending my time on different areas of my business.

I ended the show mentioned that you should CLICK HERE to check out this post to find out what I’ve been working on.

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What Am I Listening To?

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:00:14 +0000

Tonight, as I walked out the door to go for a walk, I sent out a status update saying… “Heading out the door for an evening walk. Loaded up with a few of my favorite podcasts to listen to. #PABL.”

Within minutes of my walk, I started to receive notices of facebook comments and twitter replies asking what podcasts are among my favorites. Since it would require more than 140 characters to answer this question, I figured, why not put together a short blog post to tell you the podcasts that I consume most often.

Oh, Where Shall I Begin?
The Daily Breakfast
Dan Miller’s 48 Days
This Week In Tech
Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast
GeekBrief.tv
Bagel Tech News
MacBreak Weekly
Healthy Catholic
Fitness Rocks
Jillian Michaels
The Nutrition Diva
Net@Night
North Point Ministries – Andy Stanley
The Catholics Next Door
Managing The Gray
Mosaic
Command N
Culinary Media Network
The Dave Ramsey Show
Family Life Today
Insight For Living – Chuck Swindoll
Watermark Community Church
Renewing Your Mind – R.C. Sproul
Father Bob McGuire
Praxis Podcast

And yes, I even listen to some of our own content.
Full Time Mom
Family From The Heart
Pursuing A Balanced Life
Social Media Serenity
Podcast Answer Man
And other gspn.tv shows

This is not an exhaustive list of the podcasts that I’m subscribed to. However, these are the shows that are released consistently and that I consume most often.

The Desire To Get Organized – Podcast Episode 418

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:39:00 +0000

In this episode of Pursuing A Balanced Life, I share my most recent weigh-in update. I also share the unique events that occurred this week as I had an overwhelming desire to complete an organization project that literally took hours and hours.

There is a hint of the principle of working on your business and not just in the stories that I share. There are actually several other insights that came to me as I was recording that will make this episode a worthwhile listen.

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No Change On The Scale – Podcast Episode 417

Cliff Ravenscraft — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:45:00 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

For the first time since May 1st, I stepped on to the scale for my weekly weigh in and I was faced with the fact that there was no change on the scale. In this podcast episode, I share why this is and how I feel about it.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

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gspn.tv Plus Members Get Every Episode Using The Plus Feed Generator.

All About Burnout – Podcast Episode 416

Cliff Ravenscraft — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:10:24 +0000

In this episode of Pursuing A Balanced Life, I share from an article titled Burnout that you can find here. In the article, the author, Scott Boms, does an excellent job of describing what burnout is, signs that you may be flirting with it, and he even touches on some thoughts to bring more balance back to your life.

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Staying On Course – Podcast Episode 415

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:56:24 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Happy Monday to you all. As most of you know, Monday is my weigh-in day. I’m very excited to announce that I have lost an additional 2 pounds this past week.

That means that I’ve lost a total of 26 pounds and my waist size as gone from 46 inches down to 41 inches since May 1st, 2009.

In this podcast episode, I share that this past week has been challenging in that I had a few days where I simply lacked motivation and drive. In spite of the way I felt, I was still able to maintain a healthy outlook and attitude toward calorie counting and staying within my minimum goal of working out an hour per day, five days per week.

It’s a shorter episode than usual. Even though the sun was shining and I was feeling better, I’ve still had quite a bit of stuff on my mind as of late. I’m trying to stay productive and moving forward with worthwhile projects and staying free from distractions at all costs. Not only that, I’m desperately trying to maintain my ability to go to bed early so that I can get that much needed early start to the day.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

Subscribe To Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast – Free Feed:

gspn.tv Plus Members Get Every Episode Using The Plus Feed Generator.

Riding The Wave of Creativity – Podcast Episode 414

Cliff Ravenscraft — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:50:53 +0000

In this episode of Pursuing A Balanced Life, I share some insight and inspiration that I received simply by reading a tweet from my friend Jason Van Orden.

I share a call from Steve Bostedor. Also, I share a conversation I recently had with David Jacobs. Of course there are quite a few other items tossed in this episode as well.

Recent #PABL Tweets

tonialiani #pabl don’t try this @ home…ate like €r@p today but swam .75 miles and still came in 350 calories under.

stephencross Inbox Zero – first time in two weeks (ouch) #PABL

Taquoriaan has walked 12,000+ steps today #pabl

tiwwh @davidjacobs David, how are you doing with the goals your doctor set for you? I’m just checking in. #pabl

queenamy83 I have had too much diet soda in the past few days…colitis is not happy! backing off for a few days!! #PABL

danieljohnsonjr back from another great walk. More than 4 miles today! Since I couldn’t climb up a tree, I opted to climb up a backstop fence instead. #PABL

tiwwh Had a few mis-steps in my #pabl , over the past few days. Decided to stop feeling guilty, & instead re-focus on moving more, eating less.

EvePhoenix Took a great walk tonight & listened to some podcasts. Came back in & drank some water instead of eating a snack. #pabl

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Some Thoughts On Setting Goals – Podcast Episode 413

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:30:20 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Happy Monday to you all. As most of you know by now, Monday is my weigh-in day. I’m very excited to announce that I have lost an additional 3 pounds this past week.

That means that I’ve lost a total of 24 pounds in the past two months! Not only that, but my waist size as gone from 46 inches down to 41.25 inches since May 1st, 2009. I can’t begin to tell you how great I feel compared to how I felt daily before.

In this podcast episode, I share some feedback that I had received in the gspn.tv community forum regarding podcast episode 412. In it, Mary M. wrote…

Hey yall! I don’t want to be rude but please hear me out and realize that I have good intentions.

Ok, so I am listening to PABL episode #412. Throughout the episode Cliff is talking about his “official” goal is to do physical activity 5 days per week.

Really Cliff??

I think you have set your “official” goal low on purpose. You have stated many times that when you don’t get your physical activity all 7 days it is a “failure” of a day, but then justify it because your “official” goal is only 5 days per week.

I believe that your “actual” goal, the one you really want, is to do physical activity all 7 days per week. I think that in the beginning you set your goal to 5 days per week for the “just in case” moments but that as time has gone by, you have proven to yourself that you can do physical activity everyday and still be productive.

I believe that your goal of physical activity 5 days per week isn’t your “GOAL”, but your “MINIMUM” that you would be comfortable with if necessary. And if you were really honest with yourself, I bet you would be very “unsatisfied” if you only did physical activity 5 days.

I believe that if you were to really search your heart, you are trying to put in physical activity every day.

Maybe it is time to set a new goal. Not meeting it all the time is fine for special occasions (like a family reunion or meeting with a friend for a movie screening).

If you are going to bed every night with the intentions of getting up the next morning and doing physical activity then THAT IS TRULY YOUR GOAL!!!!!

Please don’t take this the wrong way, cause I love ya!!

She also followed that up with this…

Ok, so I finished the episode and had some more thoughts. According to dictionary.com the definition for GOAL is:

1. the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.

I guess that my problem with the episode is your use of the word. A goal should be something that you strive to achieve, not just the minimum you would be happy with. You are already past the physical activity of 5 days a week, so anyway…sorry for the rant.

A majority of this episode is my response to this this feedback. I want to post some highlights from what I shared here for the blog.

First of all, here is what I think about when I talk about setting goals:

Goal setting is the process of deciding what you want to accomplish and devising a plan to achieve the result you desire.

Goal setting is a two part process. Step one is deciding What You Want To Do. Step two is working toward the accomplishment of that Goal. Many people know what they want to do but have trouble creating a plan to get there. Goals without action plans are just words. Another way of saying that is that a goal without action plans are nothing more than desires.

When creating a plan to achieve your goals, I think it is important to evaluate your goal to make sure that it has all of the following characteristics. Your goals should be Realistic / Attainable. Your goals should be specific and detailed. You goals should be measurable. And finally, I think it is important to evaluate your goal in light of whether or not it adds to or or distracts you from your pursuit of a balanced life.

Regarding the thought of me setting my “official” goal low on purpose, I’d have to disagree. When I first set this goal, back in May, it actually seemed to be an very lofty at the time. Time came to reveal that I actually had it within me to achieve this goal on a very consistent basis which came as a great shock to me and inspired many others to set similar types of goals for themselves.

While I’ve been averaging between 6 to 7 days a week on a regular basis. The question then becomes… Should I “adjust my goal?” I’ve given this a lot of thought and the answer is no.

I feel that it would be more closely aligned with the Pursuit of a “Balanced Life” to achieve a healthier outlook on the concept of giving my body rest two days a week and not”not overdoing it.” I especially want to avoid “burn-out” which I will blog about in the future.

The truth is that there are still other areas of a Balanced Life that I’m not giving enough attention right now. I believe that as I get closer to the desired balance in each area, there will be more and more occasions where the 5 days per week goal will seem more aligned with where I should be.

I’ve been consuming a large amount of Health and Wellness content lately. Everything that I read suggests intentional physical activity at a minimum of thiry minutes per day, three to five days per week. My “official” physical activity goal is already double the amount of time and on the upper head of what is suggested for a healthy lifestyle.

I have noticed that I seem to try to justify the days that I don’t work out. However, I believe that this is more about my attempt to convince myself that this is not a failure, but it is all a part of adjusting to a more balanced approach and mindset to physical activity.

With that said, I really appreciate the feedback that has been provided on this topic. I’m even more thankful that it came in the context of a genuine relationship with someone I would call friend.

I hope that you might find this topic helpful when you are setting your own goals.

Special thanks to Maggie who called in some audio feedback for this episode. Also, here is the list of #PABL updates that I shared in this episode.

Seaturtle89 Goal: wake at 4:45 a.m. Gym 5:00 a.m. Night all must get some sleep so I can acomplish this Goal #PABL

MrsLTJ Having a good day! Didnt realize starting it off with a ride would make me feel this good! #pabl

aaronmb Rivky has learned how to ride her two wheeler! Film at 11. #pabl

panache113 (aka Jessie) Starting to day #PABL.

melindayork slept in this morning then did 10 Minute Trainer x 3. Now cooling down with a walk on the treadmill. #PABL

EvePhoenix Took a walk yesterday at the mall – and didn’t buy anything! Just took the Nano, and went for the exercise. #pabl

Lindaharderwijk (Linda From The Netherlands) And I finally got my new cross bike today yeah it’s so great used 999 kcal #pabl yeah!!! Feeling good

CaptainsCast Week4/Day3 Couch to 5K run completed. 2.29 miles, 31:01, 13:32/mile, 441 calories. I’ve now completed 12 workouts totaling 23.84 miles #pabl

GalenaG The maid of honor said it was difficult to lace the dress due to weight loss. Size 20 to 14 in a year. #pabl

ffluvssg1 Today’s healthy activities: Walking on the treadmill, health/fitness podcasts, and brought a salad for lunch. Working on time mgmt. #pabl

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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Healthy Cooking Oils And More – Podcast Episode 412

Cliff Ravenscraft — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:00:12 +0000

In this episode of Pursuing A Balanced Life, I share how I applied the principles and values of pursuing a balanced life to what would have normally been a very highly stressful situation. Several folks had called in some great tips, suggestions, and feedback.

Also, I shared an audio clip from a podcast that I’m listening to of Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser TV Show. She does a radio talk shoe on a station in California. The podcast feed includes all the shows that they air on Sunday. So what I did was subscribe to this feed and simply deleted each episode that was not hers. If you have itunes, you can just click here.

Finally, I shared that that my shoes are showing visible signs of wear and tear from all this walking. I mentioned that I would use an image of them as the album artwork for the podcast. for those of you who don’t have a player that displays the album artwork, this image is posted her for you and it speaks volumes.

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More Than Just Health And Fitness – Podcast Episode 411

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:38:34 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Oddly enough, too much focus and attention on the Health and Fitness aspect of our lives can cause our lives to be thrown off balance. Since May 1st, I’ve been pursuing a healthier lifestyle that incorporates a generous amount of daily physical activity. I have also had a major paradigm shift in the way that I look at food and its nutritional value.

While I’ve been devoting a large portion of this blog and podcast to the topic of Health and Fitness, I’ve been just as focused on focusing more attention to the other areas of a balanced life such as Community, Work/Career, Family, Faith, Personal Development, and Recreation. It’s a balance between Health/Fitness and all of these areas of our lives that truly cause us to enjoy the abundant life that God has provided us.

In this podcast episode, I share several things that took place over this past weekend. Prior to my focused pursuit of a Balanced Life, I would not have been able to enjoy all the events things that took place. However, because of the values and principles that I’ve been learning and applying to my life, I found myself living in the moment on a more consistent basis.

By the way, I mentioned that when I posted this episode, I’d put my weigh-in day results in the show notes. I’m excited to tell you that I’ve lost another 2 pounds in the last seven days for a total of TWENTY ONE POUNDS LOST SINCE May 1st!

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

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My Attempt At Running – Podcast Episode 410

Cliff Ravenscraft — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:23:56 +0000

In podcast episode 408 I compared walking on the treadmill to walking outside and explained that I’d rather walk outside any day of the week. In this episode, I share that I have found another way to look at working out on the treadmill.

I also share about come conversations that I’ve been having with Father Roderick along with the following statement he recently sent me in an email:

Thanks Cliff, I really appreciate it! I love keeping up to date with
your amazing progress in PABL. Very inspiring! Care to run a marathon
together one of these years?

I thought he was kidding at first. However, in ongoing conversations, I’ve found that he’s actually quite serious about the two of us running a marathon together. It’s really opened my eyes to the possibility of actually running. So much so that I actually have been running this week.

I am not quite at the point where I can effectively run and podcast at the same time, as demonstrated in this episode, but I’m one step closer! Actually enjoying the though of running a marathon now!

Also in this episode, I share some of my favorite quotes from this article article that Maggie Mack posted in the gspn.tv community forum. Here are my favorites:

Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being,
while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it. – Plato

Stupid is forever, ignorance can be fixed. – Don Wood

If you greatly desire something, have the guts to stake everything on obtaining it. – Brendan Francis

Change your thoughts and you change your world. – Norman Vincent

There is small danger of being starved in our land of plenty; but the danger of being stuffed is imminent. – Sarah Josepha Hale

Character – the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life – is the source from which self respect springs. – Joan Didion

The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. – Confucius

It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t. It’s that some people are ready to change and others are not. – James Gordon

Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me. – Carol Burnett

Food is an important part of a balanced diet. – Fran Lebowitz

Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. – Winston Churchill

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Also mentions go out to Mary S, and Patti B. We had audio feedback from Frank C. and Wayne Henderson.

To wrap things up I shared some recent #PABL statements from Twitter:

danieljohnsonjr 4-miles walked today. Good thing, too, given what I ate today. #PABL

EvePhoenix Inboxes at zero already. Sipping my Diet Coke and not really hungry right now, when I’m usualy starving. Had a pretty healthy lunch. #pabl

Argon52 Walked 2.5 miles this morning & got freaking blisters on my foot again even with 2 socks & powder! Oh well, the walk was nice. #pabl

LeeAndrew Having done a daily walk for 1 to 2 hours the last month has made me feel very good of myself and also given me a lot of extra energy! #PABL

spicedogs OK. Made up my mind, I am going to cardiac therapy. Must follow @GSPN’s #PABL.

spicedogs Cardiac Therapy was awesome today. I just graduated to higher and more difficult levels. Fell like I am playing a video game. LOL #PABL

MrsLTJ really need to get a good pedometer to count my steps thats not too expensive. any suggesstions on brand and store to buy from? #pabl

jshaffer Just achieved inbox 0 for today. Now to take an idea from @gspn and not look at it again until I get off of work. #PABL

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Amanda From Michigan Is Pursuing A Balanced Life

Cliff Ravenscraft — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:06:00 +0000

Today, our good friend Amanda From Michigan posted a blog entry about Balance. You can read her post by clicking here.

Amanda shared that she has paid off 80 percent of the balance of her credit cards. She also mentioned that she is now working out regularly and that she plans to get serious about cooking healthy foods.

In her post she wrote the following: “Anyway… balance is the key word. My wonderful friends that are part of the gspn.tv community are working on living a more balanced life. You can visit PursuingABalancedLife.com to find out who’s involved and read more about it. Thanks to Cliff’s leadership, we’ve started talking about our goals and making real changes in our lives.”

Amanda, thanks for sharing your pursuit with us!

Cliff

PABL Round Table Discussion – Podcast Episode 409

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:52:45 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

I am very excited to release this episode of the Pursuing A Balanced Life podcast. This is the audio recording from last night’s PABL Round Table Discussion.

Those you will hear in this call are Edith Baker, Patti Bagadion, Amanda Black, Erik Fisher, Patrick Greer, Sharon M., Maggie Mack, Richard Marcotte, Cliff Ravenscraft, Stephanie Ravenscraft, Mark Tafoya, and Stephanie Weak.

The conversation was a great way to demonstrate that Pursuing A Balanced Life is a goal of people from many different walks of life. I think my favorite thing about last night’s conversation was that even though our community is made up of people who are all at different places in their life as it relates to the current balance of their lives, we are all on the same journey together. No matter where each of us are at, we can all encourage and inspire each other equally. We all add value to the conversation!

We will be doing another PABL Round Table Discussion Very Soon!

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

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Holistic Approach To Community Encouragement – Podcast Episode 408

Cliff Ravenscraft — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:00:28 +0000

Yet the end of another very busy week. Looking back, it’s hard to imagine that I’ve accomplished as much as I did.

I’m extremely thankful for the three major consulting jobs that I had this week. Two of my appointments ran three hours each and the third appointment ran four hours.

In this podcast episode I share that I’m back to walking in the morning. I share why I was beginning to get concerned about how my walks seemed to be getting later and later into the day.

I also share my thoughts regarding walking on the treadmill the other day.

I also discuss the upcoming PABL Round Table Discussion. One thing that I learned only after recording this episode is that Stephanie is actually going to be joining the discussion. I’m so excited.

I share how I had completed forgotten about a previous recommendation of Jeff Roney to do a lot of what I’m doing today. Also, Toni called to update us on her status! Congratulations Toni!

Finally, I also talked about my interview on the Doctor Anonymous show. If you would like to listen to the interview that I mentioned in this show, CLICK HERE!

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Family Focused Weekend – Podcast Episode 407

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:04:53 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

I never dreamed that Monday mornings could ever become a highlight of my week. However, as many of you know now, Monday is the day of the week that I’ve set aside as my “Weigh In Day.” Yet another week has gone by where I lost exactly the amount of weight that I had set out to lose. I lost two additional pounds last week for a total of 16 pounds lost since May 1st, 2009.

In this episode of the podcast, I share some other exciting items related to balanced living. I had an amazing weekend focused on spending time with my family.

It started off by fulfilling my goal of obtaining childcare Friday night so that I could take Stephanie out for a date night.

On Saturday, I was given the opportunity to work all day and skip out on a family reunion picnic for Stephanie’s mom’s side of the family. Instead of taking her up on her offer to work through the day, I made a conscious decision to spend time with my family. I’m glad I did.

I not only had a great time with family, I also had the opportunity to go for a five mile walk. Check out some of these photos that I took while on my walk. You can click on the thumbnails below to see the larger image.

Sunday evening, we actually went to a Drive-In movie double feature. There is a great database of drive-ins if you click here. In the podcast, I shared how much we enjoyed this experience and what we saw while we were there.

Maurey sent in an excellent review of the Wii’s Active Personal Trainer Program.

My friend Frank called in to let us know how he’s been encouraged recently and his new found passion for waking up early in the morning.

I share a brief audio clip from the Fitness Rocks Podcast that supports my idea of putting your goals out there so that others know what you want to achieve with your lifestyle changes. It makes more sense when you listen to it in the episode.

Erik Fisher called in with a great suggestion! He suggested that we have a call in show for those of us who are Purusing A Balanced Life from time to time. I thought it was such a great idea that I’ve gone ahead and set up the first call for next Monday at 8:15pm Eastern Time. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO REGISTER! (It’s Free!)

Finally, I share some highlights from those who are using the #PABL in their tweets

jportier 1163 steps so far today and I haven’t made it too the gym #pabl

CMSawyer No candy bars or snack cakes on breaks at work for over 3 weeks now!! #PABL

Bear1 Walked 3.37 miles and felt great. I did not stay at home at all today I got 7120 steps #pabl

erikjfisher Back from 3607 step walk. Recovering from yesterdays activity (17225 steps = 8.5 something miles!). Gonna eat light and relax today. #PABL

tonialiani #pabl 8440 step (goal 7000). Lots of firing at the university but I thankfully still have mine. Spent day w/fam & friends.

danieljohnsonjr I need to create another notch on my belt. Apparently I’ve lost another inch. #PABL

DadGetsFit Finding balance by taking my kids out individually on Saturdays. This morning is a daddy-daughter date. She likes yard sales & donuts #pabl

QueenAmy83 I just ordered mine, have you?! Are you Pursuing A Balanced Life? Why not tell the world with a PABL Sticker! http://gspn.tv/stickers #PABL

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

Right-Click Here To Download MP3 Version of this Free Episode

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Paradigm Shift – Podcast Episode 406

Cliff Ravenscraft — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:43:42 +0000

In this podcast episode, I mentioned that I’ve added a category called Future Book Content as a means of accessing entries that I believe that I may use in the future as the basis for chapters for the book(s) that I hope to write.

I gave a brief introduction as to what the post “To Cheat or Not To Cheat – That Is The Question!” is about. If you have not yet read it, I give my reasoning behind why I’m opposed to the concept of “Cheat Days” for those of us who are trying to incorporate more healthy eating habits into our pursuit of a balanced life.

I also talked briefly about the PABL STICKERS that are now available by Clicking Here!

The title of this episode comes from the fact that I give an explanation as to what the term paradigm shift actually means. I had always had a good idea of what the term meant from the context that I’ve heard it used before. However, when I read the explanation of this in “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” I came to understand fully just how precisely this term describes what has taken place in my mind and how it relates to my pursuit of a balanced life. Wikipedia describes paradigm shift as “representing the notion of a major change in a certain thought-pattern — a radical change in personal beliefs, complex systems or organizations, replacing the former way of thinking or organizing with a radically different way of thinking or organizing.”

I briefly mention that The Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast had made it as far as 29th place in the “Self-Help” category of iTunes. This is due to the fact that about 23 people have left a 5 star review of this show. Imagine what would happen if everyone were to CLICK HERE TO LEAVE A 5 START REVIEW.

I share some feedback that demonstrates how some people view those of us who have struggled and are struggling to change out lifestyle. I won’t go into details here in the show notes except to say that if anyone doubts your commitment to the pursuit of a balanced life, don’t allow them to cause you to doubt yourself. Keep at it! This is a journey and some roads have yet to be paved.

I also mention the Theory of Reciprocity which has a lot to do with responding to a positive action with another positive action. Of course the opposite of this is true. People will often respond to a negative action with another negative action. However, keeping this in mind, I’m always looking for ways that I can give something of value to all those I am called to serve. I in turn have been blessed as those people have naturally desired to give something of value to me in return.

I also share some audio feed back from Mary and Wayne.

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A Small Gift Spurs Big Ideas of The Future

Cliff Ravenscraft — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:49:06 +0000

A few weeks back, one of my great friends, Stephen Cross, had offered to send me a gift.

Stephen had seen the momentum building with the Pursuing A Balanced Life brand and how so many people were getting excited and inspired to jump on board with pursuing more balance in their own lives. His desire, with the gift, was to broaden my horizon to see the bigger picture of what this brand could become.

I’m very thankful to the people that God has placed in my life and in my community. The Bible says that “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers, they succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22 NIV) It’s been people, like Stephen, that have continued to help me see things that I might have overlooked with too much focus on managing the day to day tasks associated with the administration of gspn.tv content and the gspn.tv community.

Something as simple as the gift of “stickers” communicated to me the possibilities that exist for me in fulfilling my calling in life in the area of Pursuing A Balanced Life. In fact, while I’m already starting to have big ideas about the future of where this might lead, I have a sneaking suspicion that, in five years from now, I’ll be in a place that I never would have dreamed possible.

In the mean time, these stickers are a perfect means of taking the Pursuing A Balance Life brand, that has already taken hold in the virtual world, and bringing it to the real world in a very tangible way.

If you would like your own PABL Sticker(s), I’m willing to send them to anyone with a donation of any amount to help offset the cost of shipping. A special cardboard envelope is required to keep it from bending. The total cost with postage within the United States is $3.25. I will also ship outside outside the US, so order yours today! Click Here To Order Yours!

To Cheat or Not To Cheat – That Is The Question!

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:10:30 +0000

Those who have been following along the past few weeks know that I’ve been making some significant lifestyle changes.

Sure there were some who were not convinced at first, including myself. However, as time went on, it has become evident, to most people, that these changes that I have made are not just a fad.

The changes I speak of are not only related to health and fitness, though this has certainly been a primary focus as of late. I look forward to blogging and podcasting about many of the other areas of pursuing a balanced life. However, there are just so many new things that I’m learning about healthy eating habits and physical fitness that I want to share at this point in the journey.

With that said, the concept of “Cheat Days” has come up in a few conversations, both in previous “attempts to lose weight” and most recently with the “lifestyle changes” that I’ve been making. I’m going to simply throw out my opinion on this concept and ask you to understand that it is only “my opinion.”

Please note that, as I write this post, this is the time that I’ve considered formulating my thoughts into words on the concept of “Cheat Days.” This post will resemble my initial thoughts as far an official opinion on the subject.

In the past, I’ve attempted to lose weight through “dieting.” In my mind, I define diet as a temporary change in eating patterns for the purpose of losing weight. I’m not alone in this sort of definition as the Random House Dictionary defines dieting as… “to select or limit the food one eats to improve one’s physical condition or to lose weight.”

It’s a bit confusing to some when I declare that I AM NOT DIETING but I am trying to incorporate a Mediterranean diet into my lifestyle. Of course I’m using the word “diet” here as defined by “the foods eaten by a particular person or group.”

To get right to the point, what I am doing is not temporary. I am, in fact, changing my lifestyle. I have made “permanent” changes to what I eat. However, to go a step further, there has been a major paradigm shift in how I view food and nutrition altogether.

For me, the concept “Cheat Days” does not coincide with the concept of lifestyle change. To demonstrate my point, I did a quick Google search and found the following in an article titled “Cheat Days.”

Quoted from http://www.chetday.com/cheatdays.htm

Some people call it a “Free Day,” others call it a “Cheat Day.” Whatever you call it, it’s definitely a good idea to “relax” your diet once a week and eat something you really enjoy, provided that you do it in moderation.

If you try to be too strict all the time, then you are only setting yourself up for cravings and binging (not to mention it’s no fun). Food is one of life’s great pleasures so it’s not productive to completely deny yourself of anything that you really want.

Pick a “cheat day,” perhaps on the weekend, and give yourself permission to have one “cheat meal” of whatever food you want. Consider it your reward after a week of perfect eating and perfect training. If you eat five or six times per day (like you should be), that’s at least 35 meals per week. If 33 or 34 of them are perfect, then one (or even two) “cheat” meals aren’t going to hurt.

I could not disagree more with this guy!

The word “cheat” can be defined as “to violate rules or regulations.” I’m going to go for a bit of a stretch here and say that I define cheating, in the context of Cheat Days, as “to violate your principles and values” as they relate living a more healthy lifestyle.

It’s no wonder that some people choose to call them “free days” as opposed to “cheat days” as if you look up the word cheat, you’ll see that the word is so tightly associated to the words, “defraud,” “deceive,” “dishonest,” “unfaithful,” “swindle,” and “impostor.”

The term “Free Day” is no better. Free as opposed to what? The fact that we would consider ourselves slaves to our decision to healthier eating habits just doesn’t seem to be a healthy thought at all. I fear this concept perpetuates the notion that making a lifestyle change in the area of our eating habits is a means of “depriving” oneself.

In fact, in the quoted text above, the author even says, “it’s not productive to completely deny yourself of anything that you really want.” He then goes on to suggest that you should “give yourself permission to have one “cheat meal” of whatever food you want.” In fact, by the end of that statement, he says that even two such meals throughout the week would be a suitable “reward” for such hard work on staying on track and these would not likely hurt you.

A great friend of mine, Fred From Long Island, recently shared the following statement in the Health Fitness And Accountability section of the gspn.tv Community Forum. (Note: Quote Used By Permission. Also Note: This section is only viewable to registered forum members who are logged in.)

Recently I listened to an episode of Fitness Rocks in which Dr. Monte mentioned that overindulging on “special days” (as I call them) is a BAD idea, but I am guilty as charged.

For example, I used to eat maybe three slices of pizza and two garlic knots. Yesterday I ate two slices of pizza and one garlic knot, but I should have eaten maybe half a slice and half a knot. I kept up with my treadmill walking, so the net effect was zero.

I might not be so lucky next time.

I have to agree with Dr. Monte on his stance the overindulging on “special days.” He states that everything that we do with our body “TODAY” will have lasting effects in our overall health moving forward.

If we have deemed that “overindulging” is not a healthy activity to participate in, wouldn’t we want to avoid such activities altogether in pursuit of a healthier lifestyle?

I’ve never heard the concept of a “Cheat Day” or “Free Day” to someone who has made the decision to quit smoking. Could you imagine someone telling you, I only smoke during special occasions such as birthday parties and weddings. What if they said that they do this as a means of rewarding myself for not smoking the rest of the time? Or heck, what if they said that they once read that “it’s not productive to completely deny yourself of anything that you really want.” Sounds silly doesn’t it? Or is it just me?

A paradigm shift in the way that we view food is essential in understanding that our decisions for healthier eating habits are not a means of depriving ourselves, but a means of treating our bodies with the full pleasures of the nutrients that it desires and needs to provide us with optimal health and wellness.

In all fairness to the author of the article I quote above, if you read the entire article, you’ll see that the he actually makes some pretty good points to follow up what I quoted above. Some of the important statements include the following:

There’s never any excuse for “pigging out” and blowing your diet completely.

I also don’t recommend taking an entire day off your diet.

With that said, I still disagree with the author overall.

In fact, later in the article he writes, “Because the months of severe dieting may have put their bodies into “starvation mode.”

I guess that this is where the fundamental disagreement stems from. If you are dieting, as defined by temporary changes to your eating habits in an effort to lose weight, then I suppose that what this author states can seem to make a bit of sense.

Severe dieting may certainly help you to achieve a goal of massive weight loss. However, from everything I’m reading, “severe dieting” is far from the healthiest choice one can make in the pursuit of actual physical health.

Just the other day, I posted another entry titled “Eating Healthy Foods Has Made All The Difference!” In it, I share that I’ve not deprived myself of food. In fact, I’m eating more often than I have have in my past. What I choose to eat and how much I eat at each has drastically changed.

Last night, after having eaten very nutritious, low calorie foods all day long, I was still 863 calories under my allotted daily calories calculated for me to loose a healthy 2 to 3 pounds per week. Stephanie was kind enough to make a trip down to McDonalds and buy me a Hot Fudge Sundae. That snack was 330 calories.

When it was all said and done, I still went to bed well under my daily allotted calories for the day. I didn’t go to bed feeling that I was deprived of anything. I did not “cheat” or “break free” from my decision to live a more healthy lifestyle.

Snacks such as ice cream and chips may have little to no nutritional value at all. However, that doesn’t mean that these items are “unhealthy.” What is is “unhealthy” is eating foods that contain little to no nutritional value in large quantities on a habitual basis.

I never exceeded a daily net calorie intake of 1,901 calories during the Month of May 2009. Most days, my net calorie intake was around 1,500 calories or less!

During that month, there we three days when I enjoyed a serving or two of Peppercorn Ranch Sun Chips. However, those servings were carefully weighed out in in either a one ounce or two ounce serving and I stopped when that amount had been consumed.

These were not cheat days. These were just days where I allowed myself to eat a food item that provided less nutrition to my body than other choices I could have made. I made these choices in moderation and what fit in with what I had determined to be healthy eating patterns for my new healthier lifestyle. A determination that I have made based upon my educating myself about health and fitness through a number of available educational resources.

I don’t feel the need to “cheat.” In fact, on an almost daily basis, I am learning something new about how my body works with and reacts to the various types of foods that I eat. Therefore, for me, every day is a “Free Day!” Free in that I am breaking free from the “slavery of ignorance” as it relates to heath and nutrition and my old eating habits that were slowly killing me.

One Month Later Fourteen Pounds Lighter – Podcast Episode 405

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:19:15 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

In this episode, I look back at the month of May to see the achievements that I’ve made. During the month of May, I lost 14 pounds and I lost 3.5 inches around my waistline!

Not only that, but since I kept a great log of my step counts, I thought it was impressive that I walked 289,800 steps which turns out to be approximately 145 miles.

I shared some thoughts from an article that my good friend, Richard Emblem, sent over to me. The article is titled How soup can help you lose weight.

Richard tells me that medical journalist Michael Mosley investigated the latest scientific breakthroughs in slimming and that he uncovered ten of the simplest ways you can shed those pounds.

1 Don’t skip meals
2 Use smaller plates
3 Count calories
4 Don’t blame your “metabolism”
5 Protein staves off hunger pangs
6 Soup keeps you feeling fuller for longer than solid food
7 The wider the choice the more you eat
8 Low-fat dairy products help excrete more fat from all your food
9 Exercise goes on burning calories when you’ve stopped – even while you sleep
10 Keep moving even in the home or at work to lose weight

I also mention the blog post titled “Eating Healthy Has A Made All The Difference” that I posted this weekend. In that post, I share the types of foods that I’ve been eating lately that have allowed me to lose so much weight and not feel like I was depriving myself.

Erik Fisher had asked if were a non iPhone calorie counting app for the non iPhone user. I did find a program called Diet Controller for Mac, Windows, or Linux users as well as a program from Calorie King for Windows users. They are expensive in comparison to the iPhone apps though.

However, a quick Google Search for “online calorie journal” turned up a few online solutions. Some are free, some have membership fees. Here are three you might want to review.
http://www.my-calorie-counter.com
http://www.myfitnesspal.com
http://www.myfooddiary.com

Jenny H. sent in an email telling me about an audio lecture titled “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers.” It’s a part of the Stanford University’s Healthy Living series on iTunes University.

I’ll let you listen for full details on all of the above and and the few other things that I’ve covered in this episode.

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Eating Healthy Foods Has Made All The Difference!

Cliff Ravenscraft — Sat, 30 May 2009 19:35:16 +0000

So I lost twelve pounds in the first three weeks of my changed lifestyle. I’m actually quite eager to weigh in for week for Monday morning.

Some might think that I’m starving myself or that I’m on some sort of “fad diet.” This could not be further from the truth. In fact, I’m eating several times during the day. I’ll often wake at 5am and have a healthy breakfast. Something like two eggs and a slice of 100% whole wheat toast. I’ll then go for a walk in the morning, usually 3.5 miles or more.

During my morning walk, I burn around 400 calories, which is more than what I had to eat before the walk. After the walk, I’ll typically have a healthy snack. Either a fresh fruit, an ounce of nuts, or a yogurt. Because I have plenty of protein in the morning, this keeps me feeling full and satisfied till around 11am. That’s when I’ll have myself a very filling lunch.

For lunch, I’ll typically either have two servings of soup (only 140 calories) or maybe a deli sandwich. A deli sandwich for me would include two slices of 100% whole wheat toast, 2 ounces of deli fresh lean turkey meat, once slice of white American cheese, and a few slivers of red onion. Such a sandwich contains LESS THAN 300 calories total! With either my sandwich or soap, I’ll have a fresh piece of fruit, an ounce of nuts, or a yogurt.

A lunch like that listed above will get me through until around 3pm which is when I’ll allow myself about 200 calories for a snack. You guessed it, it will consist of either yogurt, nuts, or fresh fruit.

For dinner, my wife has been doing a terrific job of creating very low calorie dinner items which include fresh vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats like fish and chick.

When I follow this eating pattern, I’m usually WELL UNDER my allotted calorie allowance for the day.

So how am I losing so much weight? Sure I’m walking a lot.. But that’s not it. And yes, I’m counting my calories! That’s important also! However, the key is that I’m doing both of them. Perhaps even more important is the types of foods I’m eating when I take in those calories!

Want to follow me in my pursuit of a more healthy lifestyle and balanced life all together? Why not subscribe to the Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast?

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Managing The Mornings – Podcast Episode 404

Cliff Ravenscraft — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:03:38 +0000

In this podcast episode, I play some voice mail feedback from John Portier, one of our gspn.tv Plus Members. He called to ask… “During the morning, when you get up at 5am, do you set yourself a to do list? What kind of methods do you use to get through your day?” In response, I shared what my my perfect morning routine would look like in my mind and I share my struggle to find balance with this awesome gift of extra hours in my day.

I also share some thoughts on some feelings that I’ve been having as they relate to me working for myself and the ability to choose my own schedule. In essence, I share that I’ve experienced a bit of self-inflicted guilt whenever I consider indulging in some of the freedoms that are afforded to me with the ability to set my own pace in how and when I work. I share where these feelings of guilt come from and what how I’m thinking through these feelings.

I briefly talked about my most recent blog entry titled “Why Am I Here? A Question That Leads To Success.” I mention that this is the first of what I hope will be many entries that will eventually make up the rough draft material in a book that I look forward to writing down the road. Of course I also include the comments from that post in the podcast as well.

I mention that Father Roderick, a great podcasting friend of mine, actually talked quite a bit about my pursuit of a balance life in the most recent episode of his Daily Breakfast Podcast. He even titled that episode Life In Balance.

I also mention that if you enjoy the Pursuing A Balanced Life podcast, you would definitely enjoy Episode 059 of the Family From The Heart podcast which was titled Eating Together As A Family.

I share some highlights from those who are using the #PABL in their tweets.

stephencross How many times have you said “Not right now” lately? #pabl

magestyayla Bought a pedometer…522 steps so far #PABL

danieljohnsonjr Doctor told me 3 yrs ago that walking 2 mi, 3x/wk was one of best things I could do for my back. Heading out for one of those walks. #PABL

jportier Thinking I’m going to go the Counting steps route first before I go down the Calorie counting road. I figure I already walk the steps. #pabl

theRamenNoodle Mission: Wake Up On Time: Accomplished. I feel great! #PABL

tiwwh See these? http://yfrog.com/0z5ppvj I’m not touchin’ them! #PABL No sodas for 11 days so far!

tonialiani #pabl Got 8266 steps in goal was 5000. Was 800 calories below goal. Went park with daughters. Ani got in 20231 steps. I’m jealous!

DadGetsFit 648 calories under daily goal. Tomorrow is weigh-in Wednesday. Learning visual portioning today by cup measurements. #pabl

danieljohnsonjr Thinking of spending the evening offline so I can spend time with my daughter, the youngest Dreamgirl. #PABL

jportier Woke up pretty fast this morning, already had breakfast, got dressed, checking email and listening to Piper. Love getting up early! #pabl

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Why Am I Here? A Question That Leads To Success!

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 26 May 2009 11:40:15 +0000

This morning, my body woke itself up at 4:43am and I hopped right out of bed. This is a huge deal for me.

I had attempted to change my daily routine, many times in the past, to going to bed at an early hour so that I could get a very early start each morning. However, with each previous attempt, I was disappointed by my seeming lack of self-discipline.

Of course the same can be said of my previously failed attempts at living a more healthy lifestyle as it relates to physical activity and my eating habits.

If you’ve been following this blog and podcast the past few weeks, you’ll know that I’ve been experiencing a great deal of success in my pursuit of a balanced life. Oh, I’m no expert in the field and I certainly have a while to go before some will be convinced that this is indeed a lifestyle change and not yet another fad. However, I’m completely convinced that I’m on the path that leads to success.

As I look at the transformation of what has taken place in my life, I’ve been asking myself… What is different? What has changed? Why am I experiencing success in so many areas of my life now where I simply didn’t have the drive and commitment to pull this sort of stuff off before.

I think I may have found a key ingredient that may help to answer these questions!

When comparing this attempt to waking up at 5am to my previous attempts, one thing has become abundantly clear to me. When I attempted the “early morning routine” previously, I was still working as an insurance agent. A job that I “fell into” as a result of taking the path of least resistance. While my career as an insurance agent drew upon some of my skills and talents, looking back, it was overall boring and never quite challenged me.

Of course I quickly took on any “challenge” that came my way when competing in sales contests against other agents from around the United States. However, I often found that there seemed to be a bit of inner turmoil with the temptation to sell a product to a client based upon my desire to win a contest in contrast to selling that product to my client based upon their desires or needs for insurance protection.

Looking back, I enjoyed a few aspects of my career in insurance such as “building relationships with my clients”, “the thrill of a sale” and “the paycheck.” However, while these things gave me something to accomplish day by day, I simply never felt as though I was living my life with a purpose.

In my previous career, I lacked the passion needed to motivate me to greatness and true success. For me, success is not defined by income. If it were, I was within arms reach of that type of success. I’m thankful that temptation seems so far removed from me today. Okay, not completely thankful, but still, I think you get the point.

When I began podcasting, I became very excited. Those who knew me before noticed something change inside of me during that time in my life.

I’ll never forget having a conversation with an underwriter from one of the insurance companies I represented. During our conversation, the topic of the television show “LOST” came up. I had mentioned that Stephanie and I produced a podcast about that show and proceeded to tell her about it with more enthusiasm that I’d had in years.

The next day, I was on another call with that same underwriter. This time, she brought up the topic of podcasting. She had told me that she had listened to the podcast the day before, after we got off the phone. She then told me that she had debated on whether or not she should mention the thought that had come to mind while listening.

Of course, there’s no way I was going to let her get out of telling me what she thought of while listening to our podcast. She then told me that, in her opinion, “Cliff, you have found your true calling in life. I can see you podcasting as a full-time career.”

I didn’t know what to say. You might suspect that my head swelled to the size of a large watermelon. However, that could not be further from the truth. In fact, the first thought that came to my mind after we got off the phone was more along the lines of “I wonder if she just thinks I’m a terrible insurance agent.”

A quick glance across my office to the bookshelf full of trophies and awards for being the top agent for multiple companies reassured me that I was, indeed, great at what I did. However, I must admit, that was the first time I actually realized that, since I had started podcasting, insurance had simply become a “J O B” and that my true passion in life was in doing something else.

As I spent more time in the field of podcasting, I became more and more disinterested in anything related to insurance whatsoever. Getting up at at 8am to be to work by 8:30am seemed nearly impossible to me as I eventually got to the point where I dreaded going to work every day. I kept convincing myself, that this is what “had to be done” because I have committed to provide for my family.

As I found myself getting more and more depressed about my lack of any enthusiasm and my over all disgust of what had seemed to become my participation in the “Rat Race,” I started to ask myself a very important question.

Why Am I Here?

It was at this time that I remembered a calling that I had to ministry. A ministry that would be devoted to Encourage Others Through Christ. Some of you may be aware of a few online identities that I have where my user name is “CliffEOTC.” That stands for “Cliff, Encouraging Others Through Christ.”

The question then turned into… “How can I most fulfill this purpose in my life?” This led me to ask even more questions like “What do I really, really want in life?” “Where am I going?” “If I achieve all my goals, what would it look like?”

The more I evaluated the answers to these questions, the more it became abundantly clear that the life of an insurance agent was not the life for me.

I needed to find a career that allowed me to build relationships with people. I need to find a career that allowed me to pursue my desire to entertain, teach, encourage, and inspire others!

In January, 2008, I left my career as an insurance agent. When I left, I was making more than $85,000 per year. I walked away from that to pursue a dream! A Calling! What I felt was my purpose in life!

Many of you, reading this, have been with me every step of the way through this journey. As I look back over the past year and a half, I’ve never made so little money! However, my life has never been so full! As each month goes by and the bills, once again, get paid, my faith in God’s provision soars.

As I said before, my definition of success does not revolve around finances (That’s a blog entry for another day). With that said, today, I truly find myself to be be a successful individual. Oh, I’m not all the way there yet! I still have so much to learn and to achieve! That why this is called “Pursuing” A Balanced Life.

Why is it that I’m able to, now, make the changes necessary to my lifestyle, when I had failed so miserably in the past? I really do believe it’s has a lot to do with the fact that I’m living a life fueled by Passion and Purpose! Before, when I tried to wake at 5am, I dreaded the day that was ahead of me.

Today, when my body woke me up at 4:43am, I didn’t say to myself, “I can sleep another 17 minutes before I have to get up.” No, instead, I hopped right out of bed, got dressed, brushed my teeth, had a healthy breakfast, and literally couldn’t wait to come down to my office and write a blog post that might either entertain, educate, encourage, or inspire others!

I’ve figured out “Why I’m Here!” Have You?

—
If you have taken the time to read this entire post, I’d be honored if you would let me know in the comments section.

Twelve Pounds Lighter! – Podcast Episode 403

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:47:14 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Monday mornings have taken on a whole new meaning for me these days. Monday is the day of the week that I’ve set aside as my “Weigh In Day.” One again, I’m excited to announce that I have continued to drop a few pounds.

In fact, in the past seven days, I’ve lost another 3 pounds. This brings my total weight loss to 12 pounds in only three weeks. I also lost an additional 1.5 inches from around my waistline. Quite literally, there is less and less of me as the weeks go by.

In this podcast episode, I share my excitement not only about my weight loss, but I also share an exciting story from this weekend. I’ll first share the story with you…

This past Tuesday evening, I took the family to the “Dollar Saver Cinema” to see the movie, “Race To Witch Mountain.” It was an enjoyable family movie that our family enjoyed very much.

I had some major client projects to complete and a podcasting webinar to prepare for this weekend that caused me to have to work late into the evening Friday and all day long on Saturday.

Since I didn’t have much time with the family on Friday and Saturday, I decided to surprise the family by treating them to lunch at Chipotle (our family’s favorite place to eat) and to a movie at the Deluxe Cinema. We saw “Night At The Museum 2.” It also was an enjoyable family movie.

The story, however, happened as a conversation that occurred during our lunch at Chipotle.

Meagan, my 11 year old daughter, asked me… “Dad, where did you get all the money to take out out to eat and to the movies twice this week?

I responded by telling her that it was the result of me focusing a lot on my work and due the blessings of picking up a few new clients recently.

Then Meagan says… “But Dad, you haven’t been working as much lately, you’ve been spending a lot more time with the family lately!”

That my friends is what this whole “Pursuing A Balanced Life” thing is all about!

Also In This Episode:

I share some highlights from those who are using the #PABL in their tweets.

stephencross: Are you making smoothies? NYT article to get you started. http://tinyurl.com/oyupkk #PABL

TIWWH: Still working on my “baby steps” of the Dave Ramsey financial plan. The going is slow, but sure. #iWant to be debt free! #PABL

stephencross: Its nice do my exercise in the AM not PM. Love the weekends #PABL

ffluvssg1: Getting on the treadmill for an hour #PABL

tonialiani: #PABL under calorie goal today by 334, steps 5021 (21 over goal) drinking water. Tomorrow’s step goal is 5500.

marcuscarey: Before it gets too hot I’m going to plant my garden.

TIWWH: Got new pedometer today. Figuring out my LiveStrong iPhone App. Armed w/ these tools, I am #PABL. Also need to balance rest, recreation, etc

jportier: Total Miles Walked Yesterday: 8.74 Miles / Total Geocaches Found: 45 Caches #PABL

I share the significance of this tweet:

nkvanhoosier: @erikjfisher what’s #pabl?

I share some thoughts on this conversation:

johnbuehler: Falling of the #pabl wagon for a day or two. Giant chipotle burrito for lunch…yummm!

GSPN: @johnbuehler Chipotle tortilla is 290 Calories. If you get a Bowl w/rice, black beans, chicken, salsa, & cheese is only 640 calories. #PABL

GSPN: @johnbuehler Walking “fast” for 60 minutes would burn off 400 of those calories. #PABL

I also read a bit from a blog that was found in this tweet:

DadGetsFit: I’m just a bloke who eats less, moves more and lives to blog about it. #pabl – Link: http://dadgetsfit.wordpress.com

I finish off the podcast by sharing and responding to two awesome bits of audio feedback from Erik & Toni!

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment on the blog! You can help motivate me and inspire others by providing your audio feedback for the podcast. Call the voice mail feedback line directly at 859-795-4067 or toll-free at 800-757-1158. You can also email an audio file to feedback@gspn.tv.

Don’t forget to tweet about your pursuit of a balanced life, joining us in the #PABL campaign.

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Striking The Balance Part 2 – Podcast Episode 402

Cliff Ravenscraft — Fri, 22 May 2009 11:19:35 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

This is part 2 of 2 of the podcast where I ask the question… Is there enough time in the day to really live a balanced life?

In this episode, I pick up where I left off in podcast episode 401. I review the areas of my life that I desire to achieve balance in. These ares are Faith, Family, Work/Career, Health/Fitness, Community, Personal Development, and Recreation. You may notice that I accidentally left out community when I was recording.

I also share my reaction to Family From The Heart podcast episode 058 where, after three weeks of daily consistency, Stephanie says that she is not yet convinced that I can sustain this lifestyle for the long haul.

Also included in this episode are your stories! That’s right, I’ve included many of the things that you have posted on twitter using the “#PABL” hashtag. It’s been remarkable to see how many people are being inspired and encouraged through our joined effort in Pursuing A Balanced Life.

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Striking The Balance Part 1 – Podcast Episode 401

Cliff Ravenscraft — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:10:44 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

In this episode of the podcast, I ask the question… Is there enough time in the day to really live a balanced life?

I also share the areas of my life that I desire to achieve balance in. These ares are Faith, Family, Work/Career, Health/Fitness, Community, Personal Development, and Recreation. You may notice that I accidentally left out community when I was recording.

This is part one of the discussion of Striking The Balance as I had noticed that the show was running long and I needed to make a phone call to one of my consulting clients. At the end of the episode, I asked if you would please take a moment and leave a Five-Start review of the podcast in iTunes. For ease of use, you can go directly to the appropriate page simply by going to http://gspn.tv/itunespabl. Thank you in advance!

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Making It A Top Priority – Podcast Episode 400

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:12:49 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

This morning I achieved a new goal. I woke up at 5am. I didn’t even hit the snooze button once! This is something I’ve been trying to work toward as walking every day has become a Top Priority for me.It’s been 19 days now and I’ve walked a minimum of 3.5 miles every day, with most days reaching between 5-8 miles walked.

Recently, I’ve been very blessed (Thank You Lord!) with my consulting business growing, audio equipment sales increasing, and remaining consistent with the production of all our podcasts.

Since I’ve made these daily walks a top priority and I want my life to be “BALANCED,” I knew that I was going to have to be more self-disciplined in designing my working hours.

In this episode of the podcast, I share how that’s been going and how it’s making me feel. As I type the show notes for this episode, it is only 8am and I’ve already walked 4.5 miles (over 9,000 stesps) today. I’m at “Inbox Zero” and I’m ready to get started on a project for one of my client’s before I do the live “About The Church” podcast today with my friend DG at 10am.

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Nine Pounds Lighter! – Podcast Episode 399

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:40:35 +0000

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

I’m so excited to announce that I am now nine pounds lighter than I was two weeks ago! In this podcast episode, I share how I did it!

Also in this episode… I talk share my thoughts on whether or not I can consistently achieve weight loss week after week until I meet my goal to be at my goal of 185 pounds. I share more about the #PABL campaign.

After you get a chance to listen, feel free to leave a comment here on the blog! Or you can call in your feedback on our toll-free listener line at 800-757-1158.

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What is #PABL?

Cliff Ravenscraft — Sun, 17 May 2009 00:31:29 +0000

I recently blogged about My Journey of Physical Fitness To Date. In that post, I mentioned that I had turned to the gspn.tv community for encouragement and accountability as it relates to the goals that I had shared with them.

Today, I would like to share a glimpse of the type of encouragement that I have been receiving from the community. In this post, I’m also going to propose a way that we can all inspire each other.

One thing that I’ve been doing through this journal has been to post regular updates regarding the number of steps/miles I’m walking and the amount of calories consumed during meals or a total at the end of the day. I’ve been posting these both my Facebook and Twitter profiles.

Here are just a few examples of the things I’ve shared online and the type of interaction that I have had with the community related to these updates.

Of course, I’m not only sharing my triumphs. I have also shared when things were not going so well. To show you just how valuable this sort of encouragement and accountability is, just take a look at this exchange…

What you don’t see in the exchange above is a Twitter Direct Message that I had received from my friend, Stephen Cross. I usually delete direct messages after I’ve responded to them. However, he said something about how he was wavering in his decision to walk on the treadmill that evening. He suggested that if I would resolve to not cheat and drink a bottled water instead, he’d resolve to get on the treadmill. Keep that in mind and look at the last post on the image above.

All the updates that I’ve been posting the Facebook have also been posted to Twitter. Something happened yesterday that I certainly didn’t expect at all! Have a look at this:

Now, as many of your know, I’m a total geek! However, I realize that not everyone in the gspn.tv Community is a geek like myself. That doesn’t keep me from sharing my love for all things geeky! And that is why I want to explain the significance of the Twitter post from my friend John Buehler. Where you see pound sign “#” in front of a phrase such as “#keepupwithcliff” that is called “creating a hashtag.”

Hashtags are a community-driven convention for adding additional context and metadata to your tweets. They’re like tags to you photos on Flickr, only added inline to your post. You create a hashtag simply by prefixing a word with a hash symbol: #hashtag

The best part about hashtags is that it is a very easy way to create a “group” of sorts on Twitter. For example, I had got a huge chuckle out of John’s “#keepupwithcliff” hash tag, so I tweeted about it. Then, immediately, a few others in the community jumped on board by using it, simply to carry on the humor just a little bit further.

However, the nice thing about #hashtags is that you can search for them on your Twitter Home Page and on Twitter Search. Do me a favor, CLICK HERE and read the pop-up image from the bottom-up, in reverse chronological order.

The image you just clicked showed the exchange with the #keepupwithcliff hash tag that John had created. Now I know that John had meant this as a joke, or maybe not. My friend, Daniel, posted that the #keepupwithcliff hashtag “…could be for any Cliff-inspired aspirations! Like leaving our full-time jobs in insurance?” That exchange gave me a great idea that I believe could be a great, additional, way for the gspn.tv community to encourage each other to live more balanced lives.

I would like to propose the use of a new #PABL hash tag. That #PABL would stand for “Pursuing A Balance Life.” Basically, the concept is that whenever you post a status update that is related to your pursuit of a more balanced life, simply add #PABL to the end of the update. These posts don’t have to be limited to heath/fitness. Here’s another example of a #PABL post….

What will happen if you do this? First off, you can search for #PABL on twitter at any time to see what others are doing in their pursuit of a more balanced life! This could encourage you and is an easy way to find posts from other community members where you can encourage them!

If you wanted to, you could add this search to your home page on Twitter. To do so, simply follow these steps.

1. Log into Twitter & go to your Home Screen.
2. Type in “#PABL” into the search box on the right & click the search button.

3. Click the “Save This Search” link at the top of the results:

4. Now you will see #PABL as a saved search on your home screen.

I don’t think I need to go into great detail on how I think this could be beneficial. I think what I will do is simply publish this blog entry and make an announcement about it and see how it goes!

If anyone ever asks you what the #PABL stands for, you can simply sent them to http://gspn.tv/pabl and it will forward them to this post.

So that’s it. Why not leave a comment below and let me know what you think about this idea?

Eat Less And Move More – My Journey of Physical Fitness To Date!

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:56:08 +0000

If there has been one area of pursuing a balanced life that I’ve struggled with most, it would have to be the Health and Fitness category.

In January of 2008, I started working from home, pursuing podcasting and new media work as my full-time career. I was anything but the picture of physical health at the time. However, I never dreamed I could actually do worse than I had already done up to that point.

Working from home certainly had its advantages at a time where gasoline prices had risen to an all-time high. However, having my office in the lower level of our home had some major disadvantages to pursuing a balanced life. Some I’ll touch on here and others I’m sure I’ll touch on in future posts.

As I was building my business from the ground up, I felt a lot of pressure to work on my business a great deal. Don’t get me wrong, I loved what I was doing! However, during the first two months, I was literally working around the clock, seven days a week, twelve to fourteen hours a day. (No, I’m not exaggerating. I wish I were!)

There were other things going on at this time which I’m certain I’ll be writing about in upcoming posts. Working around the clock, for me, meant sitting in front of a computer all day long. There were some weeks where I’d venture to say that I hardly even walked out the front door of our home. What was already a weight problem before was becoming a weight crisis. It was not healthy and I could tell that something had to change.

I had many failed attempts at doing something about my physical fitness routine. However, in May of 2008, I decided to go public with my desire to get my physical health under control. I turned to the gspn.tv community and asked them for their encouragement and for them to hold me accountable to the goals that I had shared with them as it related to physical activity at first.

At the time, I started working out for twenty minutes a day, three days a week. I had not yet changed what, or how much, I was eating. I was just trying to take it one step at a time.

In June of 2008, I had a major breakthrough in my physical fitness routine. My wife had received a pedometer as one of many gifts in a gift back from our friend Alison L . Stephanie let me borrow her pedometer as I went out and did my physical activity. I was reminded about the many stories I had read about the 10,000 steps a day program . After just two days, I knew I had to have my own and I went to Dick’s Sporting Goods to get my own.

I made it my goal to get to where I would be walking 10,000 steps a day, at least three to five days a week. The first few weeks I had made it to 3,000 steps per day. A few weeks later, I was up to 5,000 steps per day. It was not until two months later, the end of July 2008, that I had the ability to walk a full 10,000 steps on a consistent basis. It was at that point I began to track the amount of calories I was taking in, using an iPhone application . I was loosing pounds week after week.

With all that being said. I still had my ups and downs. I had days where I was too lazy to get out the door, allowing myself to get tied to the computer screen and where I just didn’t make walking a priority. There were days that I simply didn’t track my calorie intake because I wanted to eat some comfort food to help medicate some of the stress of figuring out what to do next in my business to get us to the next level, moving closer to where we could pay the bills on the income generated from the business. Somewhere along the way, I completely fell off track! I’m sure I had a lot of great excuses at the time.

This is why the name of my blog and podcast is "Pursuing A Balanced Life" and not "Living A Balanced Life." Okay, well that, and the fact that the other domain was taken.

Things were not helped much by the fact that in January of this year (2009), I had a gall bladder attack. I spent some time in the hospital where they removed both my gall bladder and my appendix. Then there were a few weeks of recovery.

As you might imagine, after having several weeks of being off work, the pressure was on to get things rolling again, and the long hours began again, with me only occasionally going out for a walk.

About two weeks ago, I had noticed some tingling and numbness feeling in my left pinky finger and half of my ring finger. I thought maybe it was carpel tunnel except I understand that would be localized to my thumb, index, middle, and the other half of my ring finger. I decided to try to rest my left arm as much as possible, but the fact that I was dealing with something that could be associated with diabetes really woke me up to the fact that this area of my life was once again, way out of balance.

On Friday, May 1st, 2009, I had read a post in the Health, Fitness, and Accountability section (Only viewable to registered members) of the gspn.tv Community Forum that my friend, Richard, from the UK , sent me. He wrote… "May Day today – time for a new walking resolution Cliff."

It was all the encourage that I needed. Since then, I’ve been out walking again, averaging about 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day. In fact, last Monday, I started tracking my weight and calories again.

I’m very happy to announce that in the past seven days, I’ve lost SIX POUNDS and one and a half inches around my waist. Not only that, but I’m eating a great deal healthier as well. I’m not only counting the calories I’m taking in, I’m also carefully watching what kind of foods that are providing those calories.

Of course I’ll be sharing a great deal more about the details of exactly what changes I’ve made in the types of food that I’m eating and how I’ve stayed motivated these past 11 days in the next podcast episode of "Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast."

The numbness in my fingers is still there and has been the past two weeks. I’m going to call and make a doctor appointment today to get complete physical checkup. Please pray for me. To be checked for sugar diabetes means "needles" and I hate those things!

If you’re stuck behind a desk all day and you’ve felt bad about how little you’ve taken care of your health and physical fitness, why not join me in Pursuing A Balanced Life with an increase focus on this area of our lives.

Of course you can follow some of my progress in this, and other areas of my life here in the blog. However, I’d ask you to consider thinking about becoming a gspn.tv Plus Member and subscribing to the "Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast." If nothing else, why not click on over to http://gspn.tv/plus and just listen to the testimonials there.

In summary…. I’m very excited about my success this past week! The secret to my success can be boiled down to what my friend, Frank (another podcast listener) told me all the time. Eat Less! Move More!

If anyone is wondering, I use the Sportline Walking Advantage 340 Step & Distance pedometer . You can get them at Dick’s Sporting Goods and various places online. There are a lot of pedometers out there and most of them DO NOT do a great job of counting steps. I’ve found this one to be extremely reliable.

The only drawback is that I’ve lost one off my belt clip once or twice in the past. I believe in the motivation that a pedometer provides so much that had purchased several of these as backups.

48 Days To The Work You Love Series

Cliff Ravenscraft — Sun, 10 May 2009 23:51:12 +0000

As I mentioned in my last post, the My Crazy Life podcast had already been very much focused on the content related to “Pursuing A Balanced Life.” To kick things off, I figured I’d go ahead and post some content that I had previously produced.

The following audio files are episodes that I had produced in an effort to share the insights that I had pulled from reading Dan Miller’s 48 Days To The Work You Love. If you should choose to do so, you can get this book from the sponsor of one of my podcasts, Mardel.com and use promo code “gspn” in the shopping cart to get 10% off your order.

If you find this series helpful. I encourage you to subscribe to the Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast (Formerly the My Crazy Life Podcast) by becoming a gspn.tv Plus Member.

48 Days To The Work You Love – Chapter 1 Review
My Crazy Life Episode 193
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Click Play Button Above or Right-Click Here To Download

48 Days To The Work You Love – Chapter 2 Review
My Crazy Life Episode 197
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Click Play Button Above or Right-Click Here To Download

48 Days To The Work You Love – Chapter 3 Review
My Crazy Life Episode 202
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Click Play Button Above or Right-Click Here To Download

48 Days To The Work You Love – Chapter 4 Review
My Crazy Life Episode 232
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Click Play Button Above or Right-Click Here To Download

48 Days To The Work You Love – Chapters 5-8
My Crazy Life Episode 302
Note: Several other items before I get to the point where I cover chapter’s 5-8
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Click Play Button Above or Right-Click Here To Download

48 Days To The Work You Love – Chapter 9
My Crazy Life Episode 303
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Click Play Button Above or Right-Click Here To Download

48 Days To The Work You Love – Wrap Up And More
My Crazy Life Episode 308
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Click Play Button Above or Right-Click Here To Download

Pursuing A Balanced Life – The Lauch of A New Brand!

Cliff Ravenscraft — Sun, 10 May 2009 03:15:58 +0000

Just this past week, I released episode number 396 of the My Crazy Life Podcast. In it, I made the announcement that after 400 episodes of “My Crazy Life,” I’ve made a decision to re-brand this podcast. Renaming a show that you have been producing for more than three years is not a decision you make over night. Those who have been subscribed from the very beginning know that I’ve been struggling with the desire to re-brand this podcast for a very long time. Now, more than ever, I’m certain that this is the right decision.

I started the My Crazy Life podcast, on March 16th, 2006, with the intent on it being a very general podcast. As time went on, several shows had been launched as the result of topics and/or formats originally introduced in the My Crazy Life Podcast. Examples of this would be the Podcast Answer Man Podcast, the Help I Got A Mac Podcast, the Almost Daily Devotional Podcast, the Stephanie Unplugged Podcast, the Family From The Heart Podcast, the Community Voice Podcast, as well as many others.

I have found, through experience, that podcasts seem to gain more traction when they are focused at a niche topic and/or a target audience. In fact, in every case where I dedicated a podcast focused solely to a niche topic that I had been covering for a while within the My Crazy Life Podcast, the number of subscribers for that newly launched podcast would double or triple the number of subscribers to the My Crazy Life Podcast within just a few months.

A while back, it became clear to me that the main emphasis of the My Crazy Life Podcast was to share my journey in the pursuit of a more balanced life. Over the past two years, I’ve been using My Crazy Life to chronicle all the things that I’m thinking through as it relates to trying to be the best husband and father I can be, while at the same time, focusing the right amount of time and energy on what it takes to provide for my family through my work/career. In the show, I would share my struggle with focusing on one area of my life only to throw off the delicate balance of all the other areas of life.

Those who have been listening to the My Crazy Life Podcast have shared with me that they have found a great deal of educational value, encouragement, and even inspiration from the My Crazy Life Podcast and the podcasts that had been launched from it. I never imagined that, what I had considered to my little daily journal podcast, would have such a profound impact on the lives of so many of it’s listeners. To give you an idea of the type of feedback I’ve received, have a listen to these audio clips from a few of those who have benefited so much that they have become premium subscribers to our content.

Jenny from Rochester New York:
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Christine from New York, NY
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Richi from Germany
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Anne from Germany
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

The My Crazy Life podcast is no longer a “general” podcast with me discussing random interests. Instead it has become a podcast that is focused on my journey in the pursuit of a balanced life. It is time to give the show a name that is more descriptive of the content. That new name is “Pursuing A Balanced Life.” As a part of the re-branding, I’ve decided to combine this show with my personal blog (formerly Ravenscraft.org). It it just make sense that my personal blog would reflect one of my greater purposes in life, to share my life online as I pursue a balanced life.

As most of you know, creating podcast content is my full-time career. The Pursuing A Balanced Life Podcast will continue to be a premium content show offered to gspn.tv Plus Members. I plan to keep the blog open and accessible to everyone, with an occasional episode of the audio podcast playable from the website, whereas Plus Members will be able to subscribe to every episode using iTunes or the podcatching software of their choice.

The new name clearly identifies the content that has has become the focus of this podcast. More importantly, I believe more people will consider a show titled “Pursuing A Balanced Life” more applicable to them than a show called “My Crazy Life.”

With that, I want to thank each of you who have encourage me and inspired me over the past few years. I’m looking forward to the continuation of my sharing what I’m learning in the pursuit of a more balanced life.

Life In Perspective – Nick Vujicic

Cliff Ravenscraft — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:34:42 +0000

It was many years ago that I caught the end of tv show that featured the life of Nick Vujicic. I recall wanting to go and find more information about him. However, I had only seen the end of the program and didn’t catch his name and back then, the internet was not then what it is today.

Fast forward to today. i got a noticed that someone had commented on my last blog post about me being on the road to recovery. I clicked to check out the commenter’s blog and saw a YouTube video featuring Nick.

Nick Vujicic is a 25 year old man who was born without arms or legs and given no medical reason for this condition. Faced with countless challenges and obstacles, God has given Nick the strength to surmount what others might call impossible. Along with that, the Lord has placed within him an unquenchable passion to share this same hope and genuine love with more than two million people all over the globe.

Traveling extensively to over 19 nations, Nick has had continuous opportunities to share his testimony along with the hope that we have in Jesus with people in so many nations and situations.

I recall sitting in the hospital, knowing that I was going to miss my trip to Las Vegas to cover CES. Praying through my disappointment, God began to speak to me about having a proper perspective on life. God’s had these talks with me in the past. They seemed to make a difference for a while, but over time, I’ve always seemed to slip into the mindset that the world revolves around me.

It’s easy to get caught up in fear and anxiety when something happens in our life that we didn’t expect or plan for. If there is anything that God has been showing me over the past year or so, it is that God is control, He loves me, and that everything is going to be okay. That’s going to be true whether I worry about things or not. And well, God would simply rather I would focus on taking the next step on my journey than to throw myself pitty parties when things don’t go my way.

I thought I’d share these two short videos from Nick to help bring some perspective. I’m so thankful to have come across the story of Nick’s life again. He’s inspired me and I pray that his story will inspire you!

This is a four and a half minute video of the type of talks Nick gives around the world.

This is a nine minute testimonial of Nick’s faith. Very Inspiring!

On The Road To Recovery

Cliff Ravenscraft — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:17:26 +0000

Original image found here. I modified image based upon Creative Commons License.

It’s been a few days since my last few posts. In reality, this post is a conclusion to the previous posts titled, “In The Hospital,” “Scheduled For Surgery – But Frustrated!,” and “Now I’m just P—ed Off!” If you’ve not read these previous posts, I’d really encourage you to read them to get a full understanding of what this post really means to me.

So here I am, a few days and I’m still alive!

In the last update to my last post, I mentioned that I really felt that I could trust the GI Doctor that had come to visit and talk with me in the hospital. You will recall that based upon what he was seeing in my test images, he didn’t feel that I really needed the ERCP. However, at the same time, he said that he could tell something was in my cystic duct and that the surgeon really felt as though the procedure was absolutely necessary. After talking with me, my GI doctor spoke to the surgeon one final time and they both came back and said that the ERCP before having my gallbladder removed would be the best thing for me.

Wednesday morning, they took me back for my ERCP. My GI doctor said “It’s a good thing too.” He told me that my common bile duct was absolutely clear. However, there was a gallstone that was blocking my cystic bile duct. He went in and made a small incision and squirted some sort of solution into the duct twice. The second time, the stone dislodged and flowed out of the cystic duct. He was able to capture the stone and remove it using the scope.

Had this procedure not have been done, I would have had my gallbladder removed and I could have had this stone come out and drop into my pancreas which could have caused hepatitis, pancreatitis, or even death!

In essence, I hope that all these blog posts serve as a wake up call to anyone that ever goes into the hospital that you understand exactly what it is that the doctors are communicating to you. If you don’t understand, make them re-explain everything to you. If something doesn’t sound right, don’t sign any consent forms for procedures until your doctor convinces you that it’s the right thing to do in light of the risks.

When it was all said and done, I finally had to put some faith in a doctor’s opinion. I’m very thankful that that doctor accepted the opinion of the surgeon in this case whose opinion on whether or not I needed this procedure was different. My intervening in the matter did two things. First, opened up the realization that the second doctor I had seen had completely overlooked the the scheduling of the ERCP procedure. Second, I was able to get two doctors with different opinions to have direct communication with one another rather than indirect conversations with a nurse assistant as the middle man.

After my successful ERCP and short recovery period, I was wheeled back to my room. However, I was not there for long as we were made aware of an opening in the surgery schedule. Just before they put me under, I was able to talk to the surgeon. Stephanie was with me. I asked him if they would be willing to remove my appendix as well while they were in there. I was informed that they used to do this all the time but they don’t do it without a request any longer. So I requested!!!

The doctor informed me that the removal of the appendix would require at least one additional incision. Now I was still quite a bit loopy from the anesthesia from the first procedure and Stephanie said that I had them all cracking up laughing when I asked if there was anything else that they could do while they were in there. I’m told that I even asked if they do liposuction.

Of course, after the endoscopic procedure, I still had my socks and my boxer shorts on. When they noticed this before wheeling me back for surgery, they told me that I’d have to remove my underpants and socks before doing the surgery. Stephanie says they were planning to give me some privacy to do this but before they were even done speaking, she said I hopped off the bed, pulled off my boxers first and then took off my socks and hopped right back up on the waiting room bed as if it were no big deal.

Stephanie said she’d never seen me so relaxed before but that it was funny to see just how casual I was about everything. And when I came back from my surgery and was in the recovery room, she was told that I simply had the entire staff in that area of the hospital cracking up with all my jokes.

Of course, I have NO IDEA what jokes I would have possibly told them at this point. But I’m sure I was having fun telling them.

After an eventful Wednesday, I was given Percocet for pain management. By Wednesday evening, I was up and walking around. Even under the use of the pain meds, I felt a bit of the tightness in my belly and in my throat.

By Thursday morning, I was ready to get out of the hospital. I don’t know if I could take any more of those needles that they kept coming at me with. I saw both the surgeon and the GI doctors who cleared me to go hope. I called Stephanie and a few hours later, I was laying back in a chair in my own living room, sleeping with the help of the pain meds.

Amazingly, I have this extremely large bottle of Percocet tablets. However, I noticed that on Thursday evening, I was already feeling much better than I had felt on Wednesday. I had taken some meds Thursday overnight to help me sleep, but Friday evening was the last time I felt the need to take them. I think I had only taken the percocets a total of four or five times at most over the course of time since being home from the hospital.

On Saturday, I actually ventured out of the house to go to a social media meetup to meet with other folks who are interested in podcasting, blogging, twitter, facebook, etc. I probably stayed about an hour longer that I should have, but overall, I did extremely well. Not to mention I made some decent possible business connections there.

Today, Sunday, I made it out of the house to go to our weekend worship service at Watermark Community Church. We had a great sermon this morning and a great song to give a perfect ending to the message. I’ll be looking forward to putting that podcast out later in the week and listening to it again.

People asked me several times today.. “How do you feel?” I feel I’m running at about 85%. I’m not completely back to feeling like myself. I’m hoping that my motivation to get the ball rolling again comes back and comes back strong. Of course this “time off” has really give me a lot of time to evaluate many things about myself. There are many things that I hope to change when I do get back into a new routine.

I hope to spend more time with family. I hope to release more Almost Daily Devotionals. I hope to get back to my walking/workout routine, I hope to get back to producing consistent, quality podcast content. I hope to see the number of those who become Plus Members increase on a consistent basis and so much more.

I am thinking about going back into the studio to start back to work tomorrow. I think, however, I’m going to limit myself to like two hours straight and then maybe take a break and then work for another two hours, another break, and then a final two hours. I may try that this week so that I can ease myself back into this. One thing is for sure, I’m going to have to take it easy so that I can continue to heal and recover from all that my body has gone through.

I’m on the road to recovery. It’s not the way I had planned to start the new year, but I’m glad to have this behind me and I think that this extra time to evaluate my priorities will prove to be quite beneficial to setting the direction of what I am going to be doing in 2009.

Thanks everyone all your comments here in the blog over the past few days. I’ve read every single one of them and they were very encouraging to me as I was in the hospital.

Thank You!

Now I’m just P—ed Off!

Cliff Ravenscraft — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:00:22 +0000

Note: Two updates have been made to this post since it was first published!

For any of this to make sense to you, you need to read my prior two posts titled “In The Hospital” and “Scheduled For Surgery – But Frustrated.”

So yesterday, I explain that I was slightly annoyed and a bit frustrated. And anyone who knows me, knows that I’m not one to openly come out in public with a swear word. But this morning I am PISSED!

So I finally got to talk to a doctor this morning who had seen some results of my tests. He understood my concern as to why I didn’t want to sign off on the surgery. This doctor was very nice, as nice as the first two doctors that I’ve seen. What did this doctor say different than the other two doctors? NOTHING!!! I found it interesting that this third doctor drew me some diagrams to help explain what he was talking about with bile duct blockage.

Of course I’d already researched all of these things on a half a dozen medical sites on the net. What else am I supposed to do with days in bed with a computer hooked up to the internet?

So when this doctor explained that what they would like to do, would be to have an ERCP to clear any debris from the the bile duct prior to surgery so that they could simply go in and remove the gallbladder, I asked him why I was never scheduled for an ERCP when both prior doctors had told me that was their plan all along.

He told me…. “I guess with so many doctors involved things must have got confused.” THIS PISSES ME OFF! I’ve been in this hospital since Saturday! I’ve not eaten anything since Friday at 7pm. Unless you include the four Italian ices that I’ve had the past two days.

Yesterday, my doctor told me that I was supposed to be scheduled for an ERCP TODAY and I WAS TOLD that they would try to schedule my surgery to remove my gallbladder in the afternoon. If not, my surgery for the gallbladder would be tomorrow (Wednesday).

So the doctor today confirmed my suspicion that today’s scheduled surgery without having an ERCP was an oversight! A PRETTY DARN BIG ONE IF YOU ASK ME! Seeing as how an obstruction in the bile duct left untreated could cause pancreatitis and could even be fatal.

So guess who IS NOT scheduled for surgery today? That’s right! Me! NO SURGERY TODAY!

The doctor then told me that it is likely that the GI doctors would simply come in and “talk to me” today. He further told me that they would likely schedule the ERCP tomorrow (Wednesday) and then the surgery to remove my gallbladder either THURSDAY OR FRIDAY!

Sure, I understand my health is more important than anything. Sure I understand I’m just supposed to hang in here. Sure I know that it’s just a good thing that I’m here and that this didn’t happen when I’m in Vegas. Sure I understand how blessed that this happened at the first of the year and not at the end of December or my deductible of $3,000 would be due twice! Sure I know all these things.

BUT I’m STILL PISSED!

I recognize this post is COMPLETELY OUT OF CHARACTER for me! Many of your are likely shocked to read that I’ve even written a post such as this. No I’m not on any medications for pain while writing. I’m just really upset that I’m adding a minimum of an additional two days into this month before I can get back to doing something to earn money for my family and to pay the bills for the business and the family that I was going to do this past Saturday.

Just very upset at the incompetent care that I’ve been given to this point. I could sugar coat it and put a positive spin on it and I could try to be more encouraging and inspiring. However, like everyone else, there are times that I simply get angry and this is one of those times.

1st Update 1/6/09 11:00am

Melinda Wrote: I can’t imagine that in your frustration and anger you treated your doctor in a disrespectful manner. i.e. calling him names, cursing at him, punching him in the face, etc. You are simply voicing your understandable frustration with this situation.

Melinda,

You are correct. In the midst of how I feel about the situation (I’m still angry), I’ve been nothing but respectful to my doctors and to my nurse staff.

The head of the nurse department nurse came in about 30 minutes ago and asked how things were going. Talk about Bad timing on her part. Again, I was extremely respectful to her and even said that the nurse staff had treated me rather well since I’ve been here.

I explained to her what had happened. She read all the doctor’s reports and it appears that it was my doctor from yesterday that made this oversight. You may recall that I told you that even she told me that she’d get the results of the MRCP and would likely schedule me for an ERCP in the morning and if possible, a laproscopic surgery to remove the gallbladder right after if possible. If not, the surgery would likely be Wednesday.

Seeing as how my laproscopic procedure was scheduled as late as 2:30pm, it seems to me that she simply “FORGOT” to do the write up for the ERCP.

I asked this head of the nurse department if there was anyone in this hospital who could hear about what had happened to me to see if we can get them to expedite my consult and possibly get me into the schedule this afternoon for the ERCP seeing how this was an oversight.

She’s doing what she can to see if this is possible. Until I hear back on whether my ERCP is definitely happening or not happening today, I can’t even have the clear liquids that I had the past two days. I’ll keep you posted!

Someone send me a direct message on Twitter saying:
I am praying for you and your family. I am glad you knew to NOT sign the surgery release, I would have no idea to do that! God IS in control.

Indeed, God is in control. I’m very thankful that He gave me the wisdom to ask these questions, to take control of the situation, and to not trust people who consider me to be a complete stranger with my overall well being.

If anything, I hope this serves as a reminder to folks that if you have medical issues, you should take special care to be as involved as possible with what is being done with your care. Nobody out there is going to care more about you than you do for yourself.

One side note that I didn’t mention earlier.. Last night, I told my 2nd shift nurse I was not going to sign the form for the surgery. You could tell that she’d never been refused before. She said, “are you sure you don’t want to just sign the form, we can still call for the doctor to come see you in the morning.” I said “No” very respectfully. I explained that my surgery was late enough in the day that they would have time to see me in the morning, have me sign the form and then do the paperwork.

2nd Update 1/6/09 12:10pm

Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, they got worse, then better, then worse again. Let me explain.

So the nurse from my GI doctor’s office (I’ve seen him for GERD in the past) came in and saw me. She explained that my GI doctor does not do ERCP’s but that they had contacted a doctor that does do them. She explained that she left a message for this doctor and that he should call back immediately.

She went on to tell me about the fact that my MRCP results showed no blockage in the common bile duct, however they did see some debris in the cystic duct that could be cause for concern. She explained that out of the endoscopy procedures they do, this is the only one where they warn of possible death. She continued to say a lot of scary things about the fact that the scope used has a camera on the side instead of at the tip which means that the doctor is going down sort of blind until he gets where he needs to go. Said that it is possible that there could be tearing of tissue, bleeding, infection, pancreatitis, hepatitis, etc, etc, etc…

Lovely right? Yeah, she said possible death! (This is where it got even worse!)

So after the fun pep talk. She checked her voice mail. She actually let me listen to the whole thing after she listened to it. Turns out that this doctor, who’s supposedly the best at this surgery, says that from the two imaging tests, there did not seem to be anything in the common bile duct. He said that the report shows some “stuff” (Can’t remember the medical names) in the cystic duct but the results are underwhelming at best for a stone. His feeling was that I probably passed the stone. He said they should go ahead and do the gallbladder surgery and that they could do (something medical with a baloon) to test for blockage in the cystic duct while in there and if there was an issue, he could do an MRCP on the cystic duct after the fact, but he didn’t feel that there was any reason to put me through the RISK OF THIS SURGERY with what he has seen.

(That is when it got even better) This was the FIRST TIME I’d had a DOCTOR talk to me about the actual MRCP test results. And well, heck, it wasn’t even TO ME. It was on a voice mail to a nurse. But I understood what the guy was saying. He was saying that he felt that I was pretty much okay in that area based on the test results and that laproscopic gallbladder surgery is the best option in his opinion.

So this nurse from my GI Doctor’s office went to go and see if they could get me back in for my scheduled surgery at 2:30pm today. She came in about twenty minutes later and told me that she spoke to this Male surgeon that came in and saw me today. She told me that he told her to tell the GI Doctor that he is certain that there is an issue with my common bile duct and to schedule the MRCP.

Now, up to this point EVERYONE who had seen my test results told me there was nothing wrong with my COMMON bile duct. So did the nurse misspeak? Doesn’t matter, I’m told this doctor that left that voice mail will be the one doing the MRCP and that he will be in to see me. From what I understand, his visit will be today and that they are currently trying to get me in for an MRCP today.

So now I’m going in for what is a super risky procedure that they tell you has all these possible issues, including death. Of course I shared this with Stephanie and I don’t think she wanted to hear that. Things are pretty rough at home with the kids worried about dad. Stephanie is worried about me. And I’m sitting here all alone dealing with this crap on an empty stomach.

I’m going to stop for now and go spend some time in prayer.

—- I take that back. As soon as I hit save, a lady came in to draw blood. Because of how uptight I am, not veins were to be found. She poked me twice with a needle and then resorted to a finger stick. Man what a lousy day. My spirit is crashing.

3rd Update 1/6/09 1:26pm

Linda G. posted a comment on Facebook:
“I dont understand why they cannot do a Cholangiogram (sp) while they are removing your gall bladder? Thats where they look into & flush out all the bile ducts while they are in there. That’s what they should do, then there will be no need for an ERCP before or after the surgery.”

This is exactly what the doctor on the voice mail said that he suggested. When comes in, you can bet that I’ll be asking about that and whether or not his advice had been voiced to the doctor. Is it too much to ask these two doctors to speak to each other?

Anyway… I reached out to my wife and explained that I was feeling alone here. She’s getting some help from those in our church so that she can come and be with me. I hate to make her go through these extra steps, but I really feel like having her here will help me calm down just a little.

Still no word from the doctor.

4th Update 1/6/09

I’m feeling a lot more at ease that I was during my last update. I’ve now seen the GI doctor I spoke of above. He and I had a good long talk about the procedure and his feelings about whether or not it was needed. His feelings are that on his scale, he doesn’t think the results of the tests warrant the ERCP procedure. However, at the same time, he said, while there are some serious risks involved, he doesn’t feel as though he’d be doing the procedure for nothing. There is stuff he could do to clear out anything in the duct once in there that would help protect from things happening in the future.

When it was all said and done. I’m on this doctor’s side saying that it is likely that I don’t need this procedure and he was going to try to talk the other doctor out of it. However, at the same time, he said that if the other surgeon insists on the ERCP, he’ll do it as long as I don’t object. He said that either way, he’s scheduling the ERCP procedure tomorrow morning as it is easier to cancel a procedure than to make an appointment for one.

He said he should hear from the surgeon tonight and he’d let me know whether or not I’m going to be doing the ERCP. Out of any of the doctors I’ve seen so far, I trust this doctor. He made me feel calm and he spoke to me as though I was a human and not a number. That felt good. I told him that I would go through with the ERCP procedure “if HE felt I needed it” after talking with the surgeon.

So that’s where I am. Now that I look back. I’m wondering if the doctor that I saw yesterday actually overlooked anything at all. I’m wondering if she saw the results of the two tests and decided the ERCP simply wasn’t needed and that’s why she only scheduled the gallbladder removal. And well, I would have been cool with that, I just wanted them to tell me that’s what happened today.

But when they through this third surgeon from that same office, I think he may have been busy today, called to come talk to me, and simply told me what I wanted to hear. In a way, I’m wondering if anything I shared about how the prior two doctors didn’t mention this “3rd option” of not worrying about blockage caused him to simply have a strong stance on making sure that I got the ERCP that he then “maybe PERCEIVED that I definitely wanted to happen.”

This has all been so much to take in really.

I hated to bother Stephanie as I know all this has been hard on her. I sent her a message after my last update and told her that I was really upset. This was before the “good doctor” came to visit me. I was in tears when I sent it. Since then, Stephanie came to visit with me, my real dad came to visit with me, and Jeremy L came to visit with me. Overall, I’m feeling a whole lot better about the ERCP “IF I HAVE TO HAVE IT.” I’m sure that I have enough people praying that the possible side effect of “death” won’t occur! Okay, so even if you don’t believe in God, please just do me a favor this one time… Please just pray… “Hey Guy, Girl, or Whatever up there that I don’t believe in… in the slight off chance that I’m wrong and you do exist, please help Cliff through this risky procedure if he has to have it.” -LOL

That’s all for now. I’m exhausted!

Oh, and hungry!

And hey… If you are having a surgery that “may cause death,” should you get to choose your last meal?

So obviously, you can tell people have been praying for me and my spirit’s are back up!

Final Update 1/6/09

The GI doctor called me back as promised. He said that we are definitely a go for the ERCP tomorrow morning at 7:30am. I really trust this doctor and I told him that if he felt that it was the right thing to do, then I would do it. I told him if he didn’t think it was the right thing to do, to tell me and I would not do it.

Obviously I don’t know the conversation between the GI Doctor and the Surgeon. I just know the result is that I understand what the procedure is and that after the conversation, the GI doctor feels that doing to the procedure is in my best interest in his opinion.

If you’re up that early, please say some prayers for a very successful procedure. Please also pray that while they have me under, that they change my IV at that time. It should be easier for them to stick me when I’m not awake. At least I would hope. After the ERCP, then I hope they will be able to get me right in to get my galbladder out. If not, I may have to wait another day to get that scheduled.

Folks, I must admit that I have a bit of anxiety about the procedure in the morning. However, I have a faith in a God who knows the plans He has for me.

I love my wife and my children!

Scheduled For Surgery – But Frustrated!

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:08:03 +0000

Scheduled For Surgery: But Frustrated.
This is an update to my last post regarding my visit here to the hospital. I should be excited to tell you that I’ve been notified that I’m scheduled for surgery tomorrow afternoon and that it is scheduled to be a laproscopic surgery to remove my gallbladder.

However, I find myself a littel more than annoyed and frustrated as to how I came to find out about the scheduling of my surgery. I’m veen in the hospital since all weekend long. I’m not sure who, but someone ordered for me to have a HIDA SCAN test on Sunday morning. When I finally saw a doctor for the first time, Sunday afternoon, I was bummed to find that not only had she not received the results of the of the HIDA SCAN to discuss with me, she wasn’t particularly interested in seeing them. She said she’d prefer to see the result of an MRCP SCAN.

I was told that she needed this test to be run to see if I had a bile duct obstruction. If that were the case, she was going to order and endoscopy and see if they could clear the blockage through with the scope. This would allow them to perform laproscopic surgery rather than an open surgery.

Fast Forward to today. I woke up this morning. They took my blood. I praised God once again for the nurse getting the vein on the first stick. THANK YOU FOR ALL THOSE PRAYING FOR MY NEEDLE ISSUES! A little later, they came and wheeled me off for my MRCP test.

WOW! All I can say is that I’m glad that I’m not claustrophobic. That was really weird! Anyone who’s had an MRI done, it’s basically the same machine. I was told that the results should be ready around noon today (Monday).

Around 1:30pm, a different doctor from the same practice came in to see me. Did she have my test results from the MRCP to discuss with me? NOPE!!!! In fact, she didn’t tell me ANYTHING different than what the doctor told me the day before. If I’m not mistaken, I think she told me that she’d check the the results later and let me know what she found out. Did she? NOPE AGAIN!

Instead, around 4:00pm, an anesthesiologist came in to discuss what I should expect during my procedure that had been scheduled for tomorrow. I asked him, “What procedure?” He said that that I was schedule to have a laproscopic surgery to remove my gallbladder tomorrow (Tuesday) at 2:30pm.

Here’s the thing… I was told that I had because of my blood work and infection that I had when I came in on Saturday, that I likely had a bile duct obstruction. I was informed that both the HIDA SCAN and the MRCP tests were to discover where the blockage was. When discussion with me what my options were, both surgeons that I had seen had said the same thing.

Option A was going to see if the blockage was in a place where it could be reached with a procedure called Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatogram (ERCP). If they were able to successfully remove the blockage by this means, they would then be able to remove the gallbladder as a laproscopic procedure.

Option B was what would happen if they did not feel the ERCP would work to remove the blockage. In this option, they would simply go in and do a full open surgery to remove both the blockage and the gallbladder.

Since no doctor had come in to discuss the results of either the HIDA SCAN or the MRCP, I was SHOCKED to have the anesthesiologist come in and tell me that I was simply scheduled for a gallbladder removal via laprocopic surgery. This is an OPTION C that had not been previously mentioned by either of the two surgeons that I spoke with.

Did they not find a blockage? Did the stone pass and found to be no longer an issue? DId they simply schedule my surgery and forget about the blockage? I have no idea!!!!

So when the nurse came in and asked me to sign my permission form for the surgery, I chose not to sign it. My procedure is scheduled for later in the afternoon, which would allow for plenty of time for one of these surgeons to come and speak to me about what they found from the results of the two tests that they ran and why were are no longer concerned about a bile duct obstruction.

So that is where I am as of right now. I’m “scheduled” for surgery but not going to sign the form until I understand why were are going a different route than had been previously discussed with either of the doctors I’ve seen.

Outside of that. It broke my hear to contact the folks about the Panasonic/Vegas/CES trip to let them know that it is certain that I would not be able to make it to be a part of this awesome opportunity. I’m very sad about it indeed. I’m trusting God to open other doors for amazing opportunities that be yet to discover in 2009 and beyond.

I appreciate the outpouring of encouragement and prayers that you guys are all sending my way.

On a side note… Don’t forget Stephanie in your prayers. She’s a little overwhelmed by her responsibilities with the children and her desire to be here for me. We’ve been blessed by those from our church who have been offering to help by bringing dinners by the house this week and offers to help with the children so that Stephanie can be with me when needed.

We are surrounded by such an awesome community, but locally and globally!

YOU ALL ROCK!

In The Hospital

Cliff Ravenscraft — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:08:32 +0000

For those who follow me either on Twitter or Facebook, you know that I’m currently stuck sitting in a hospital bed at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Crestview Hills, Ky. Why? while the reason why may go back farther, let’s start with Tuesday night.

It was Tuesday, January 30th. That evening, one minute after midnight, I was schedule to do a 24 podcast marathon where I would record a total of 34 podcasts back to back to celebrate our three years in podcasting as well as to celebrate the end of a successful first year in doing podcasting as a career.

To prepare for this 24 hour marathon, I had decided that I was going to sleep from 4pm to 11pm that day. Well, those plans changed around 9pm. Out of nowhere, I woke with very sharp abdominal pain. The pain was so severe that it not only made me nauseous, it literally brought me to tears. I had feared that the podcast marathon may have to be canceled.

After about thirty minutes of moaning and groaning, I finally found that if I laid on the couch a certain way, the pain was somewhat bearable and I fell back to sleep. After about an hour on the couch, I found that the pain and nausea had subsided. I continued to lay on the couch for just a bit longer until it was officially time to launch the 24 hour marathon.

During the initial launch of the marathon, I had explained how the even almost got canceled at the last moment but all was well at the time. I recall agreeing with someone in the chat room that it was likely brought on by stress. The podcast marathon was a HUGE success. Thousands of people joined us live over the course of the twenty four hour period and like I mentioned earlier, we recorded a total of 34 individual podcast episodes. As a result of the buzz going on twitter about the event, we even brought in a few hundred potential new listeners to our shows.

One minute after the ball dropped in Time Square, the podcast marathon was complete! I recall being in bed and sound to sleep by 12:30am. I slept in very late on Thursday morning and just took it kind of easy that day. On Friday, January 2nd, I woke up around my normal time, headed down to the studio get get some work done. I found it very had to concentrate on anything. Of course I thought I might still be recovering from my lack of sleep.

I tried to stay focused as possible. However, around 2pm, it was obvious that I needed to lay down for a quick nap. That nap turned into a three hour nap, which felt really great by the way. After waking up, I hung out with the family for a few minute before going back down to return to work on my projects. I was able to get the majority of the work that I needed to do for my consulting clients done before I simply felt like I could do no more.

Around 8 or 10pm, still on Friday, I went upstairs and asked if Stephanie would take my temperature. By this time, I just simply feeling “ill.” At that time I had a temp of 101 F. I decided that I would just lay on the couch next to Stephanie for a little bit. Before long, I started to experience the chills. When Stephanie went to bed, I really didn’t have the energy to walk to be, so Stephanie brought me my pillow as I had figured I’d just sleep on the couch.

Falling back to sleep was not an issue and I was out like a light in no time. That is until 2am! At 2am, I was woken up with that same type of pain that had hit me on Tuesday evening. Only this time, when I tried to toss and turn my body into a position where the pain would subside, I simply was not able to gain any relief.

The best way for me to describe the pain is to tell you that is felt as though someone had stabbed me with a jagged shard of glass in the center of my abdomen and was twisting it around inside my chest. This was pain so severe, that I had not remembered having pain like this since nine years earlier when I had passed two kidney stones. That pain was so severe that I’d simply rather not even think about it long enough to even consider writing a blog entry about it.

I stood up, walked around the house, freezing of course due to my fever, hoping to walk off the pain. I tried to use the restroom, thinking maybe I had severe gas pains. Before long, the pain rose to such an intensity that it made me extremely nauseous. From 2am till daylight, I simply sat up straight in a chair in our living room, covered with a blanket, freezing with chills from a fever and experiencing excruciating pain.

When daylight came, my children started to wake up. I believe my son, Matthew, was the first to come out. I tried to hold a conversation with him, but just talking made me feel even more nauseous. When Stephanie woke up, I think I headed back to our bed and laid in there in pain with a fever for a few hours.

Around 10am, I had gone to the restroom and noticed that the color of my urine was extremely dark with a red tint to it. Although the pain was in a different place, this sure did remind me a lot of when I had passed my kidney stones nine years ago.

While laying there in bed, all I could think about was my trip to Vegas to cover CES for Panasonic. I figured I needed to get immediate confirmation of what was going on with my body with all hopes that I’d still be able to make my flight on Wednesday morning.

I had first thought we would save some money by going to Urgent Care. We sat in the waiting room for a while before I went up to ask them if it was okay if I were to eat a “protein bar.” I had not eaten since Thursday at 8pm. In fact, as I type this, it’s now 6:22am on Monday morning and the only think I’ve had to eat was three small cups of Italian ice on Sunday.

The front desk staff at Urgent Care asked if were were the ones there for possible kidney stones. After confirming that was us, she notified us that the doctor would probably just refer us right up to the ER as they didn’t have the diagnostic equipment to check for kidney stones. We went ahead and removed our name off the waiting list there and Stephanie drove us to the Emergency Room of St. Elizabeth Hospital.

By this time, my pain was finally starting to subside. Of course, without having the pain, my symptoms that I gave to the ER nurses sounded a lot like a simple hangover. I assured them that I had not been drinking and that the pain that I had experience up till that afternoon was as though something was really wrong inside by body and that it would take a lot for me to come to the ER knowing that I would be stuck with needles upon arrival.

By this point, I had already been posting regular updates to Twitter and Facebook. Hundreds of people were praying for me and I can tell you right now, the power of prayer is amazing!

Let me explain… I have a terrible fear of needles. It goes back to when I was a teen who was always being sent for tests for diabetes. It’s those eight hour glucose tests where you drink a sugary syrup and they draw your blood every hour, on the hour, for eight hours. It never failed. Every time they went to draw blood, it took about three or four pokes of the needle with a ton of digging around inside my arm looking for vains. I became traumatized by this event. Of course I’d had about three of these tests at age 17, 18, and 19 and the same thing happened each and every time. Since then, the sight of a needle, even on television makes me sick to my stomach.

So what does this do with the fact that I know prayer works? As I mentioned, I’d been posting regular updates about my status and literally hundreds of people responded, saying that I was in their prayers. Since then, the person who drew blood in the ER got me on the first stick of the needle, the nurse who put my IV in got it in on the first stick of the needle and even this morning (Monday) at 5:45am, another tech came in and drew my blood and got me on the first stick of the needle. To me, this is a MAJOR answer to prayer! Not only that, but I was the most relaxed while being sticked than I had ever been before. THANK YOU FOR THOSE WHO HAVE PRAYING FOR ME IN THIS AREA!

So back to the ER on Saturday afternoon. After having my blood drawn and giving a urine sample, I was sent to have an ultrasound so they could look at my liver and gallbladder. The doctor in the ER said that what I was dealing with sounded more like gallbladder symptoms than kidney stones.

The ultrasound confirmed that I indeed had some stuff going on inside my gallbladder. I was relieved to learn that I may be able to have a simple gallbladder surgery and that I would not be passing kidney stones any time soon. The only thing that the blood work came back and showed that I had bilirubin in my blood. Upon further examination, the doctor in the ER checked and saw that my eyes were quite yellow. I was told this is a symptom of a possible bile duct obstruction and was clearly the cause for an infection and the fever that I had experienced.

At this point, I was admitted to the hospital and the nurse from the ER came to put my IV in. Again, I thank God for the fact that IV went in on the first try. I was wheeled to a private room where I’ve been ever since. Sunday morning I had a HIDA Scan performed. However, when I later met with the surgeon, she had not yet seen those results and already told me that she wanted me to have an MRCP test done to see if we can find a blockage. Seeing as how this test could not be performed on a Sunday, I’m now here on Monday waiting for this test to be completed.

As to what will heppen next, I can only guess based upon what limited amount of information I’ve been given so far. My guess is that if they are able to find a blockage with this test today, depending on where it is, they would like to see if I can have an endoscopy to see if they can clear the blockage that way. If so, they would be able to remove my gallbladder with a laparoscopy surgery which has a much faster recovery time than having to do an open chest operation to find the blockage and remove the gall bladder.

Anyhow. That’s about where I am up to this point. I had been without pain meds since yesterday at this time, but am just now starting to experience some bad stomach pain. This means that I’m going to be given another dose of pain meds, so I will end this post now.

If anyone is interested. I just released episdoe 353 of My Crazy Life in the Plus Member Feed which is an audio journal recording that I recorded throughout this whole time. Note: I was on morphine througout some of that recording!

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Cliff