A World We Imagine - Part 3

Life is so short that you have to get every ounce of potential you need out of it. The organization that I am associated is the organization called "The Navilhon Foundation of Life's Potential." It is an organization that helps people try to reach their lives full potential. This organization's mission is driven by the fact that there is so much more potential in our world and in people in general that has yet to be tapped in to.

I am passionate about this organizations work because of the fact that there is so much untapped potential in the world. And because life is not all about materialistic things, that seems to consume our society today. I see everyday, people so consumed with what kind of material they have, they fail to realize all of the other beautiful things in life. This is a passion of mine because I never want to have any regret with my life. I don't want other people to live with regret either, so I want to help people reach their full potential.

Our organization - which is based in Los Angeles - is all about helping people reach their full potential. Since we are based in a community that is so based on self gratification and materialistic things, we try to show people things away from that. We try to take people into things in their life that they have never done before. When people initially want to work with our organization, we make them take a survey with various questions about thing that they might not have done in their life. Questions about camping trips, kayaking, sky diving, etc. Once we see the people that haven'f done these types of events we take them and do it. We let people see the other things outside of materialistic things. AMDP would love to work with our organization because the values at the core of your company align with the values that our organization holds in high standard.  

A WORLD WE DARE TO IMAGINE

There are so many beautiful aspects to life and the world we live in. So many great people out there and so many of those great people doing great things. One thing I would like to see in our world as we see it is those people being celebrated more than they do. Every time you turn on the news you are hearing about some tragedy here, one murder there, etc. I wish people would be celebrated for the good they do in this world more than all the negative things circulated. On the other side of it, there is an ugly part of our society that I see and that is selfishness. Especially living here in Southern California and Los Angeles specifically, self gratification and materialistic things are so celebrated in our culture. Now there is nothing wring with having some nice things but I just wish that people would think more about others than they thought about themselves. Life is so short and its not always about what kind of car you drive or how much money you made, but its about how much of a positive impact are you making on peoples lives? Our society has the potential to be great, we just have to be willing to tap in.

Blue Sweater 2

The second part of The Blue Sweater, Jacqueline continues to expand upon her experiences in Africa and trying to end the poverty crisis. Through Jacqueline experiences in doing this charity work in Africa she learned how to listen to people. She learned that actually listening to the people in need and listening to their desire was the key for success. She learned that solving poverty is solely about how much money she can give. But she came to the realization that every problem she encountered had its own distinct solution. Jacqueline does continue to go through some tough times in her life and things that she has to persevere through. Like finding out some of her friends have been killed, or when she was jumped and robbed of most of what she owned. Jacqueline goes on to set up the Acumen fund, which helps her give out grants and expand the reach of her charity efforts. This fund helped her affect people on a wide scale, not just case to case basis.

Jaqueline was very impressive to me through reading this book, not just because of all her social activism and charity work in Africa. But what impressed me the most was her ability not to give up. Things got really hard for her in Africa and there was not alway that "light at the end of the tunnel." But she kept putting one foot in front of the other and by doing that affected thousands of people's lives for the better.

The Blue Sweater (Part 1)

Jacqueline Novogratz really has an amazing story to tell in The Blue Sweater. This book is a first hand account of her journey from being a international banker to a social activist and entrepreneur. Specifically giving her account of tackling the world crisis of poverty. When Jacqueline was hired by Chase Bank, her job was to travel the world and review the loans that her bank had given out. Upon her travels learned more and more about the world's poverty and also learned how little of a roll banks had in helping poverty. The books title, all started in Jacqueline's childhood when she had a blue sweater that was a prized possession. When she outgrew the sweater her family gave the sweater to GoodWill. Twelve years later, she saw a young African child wearing a blue sweater just like the one she had when she was young. It was her very sweater she had when she was younger and it really made Jacqueline realize how connected we are all in the world.

Novogratz knew that trying to help global poverty was not going to be an easy fix, obviously. She knew that she couldn't just throw money around hoping that problem would just fix itself. She took a job at a non-profit bank to help create loans for low income women in Africa. Jacqueline wanted to help the women of Africa and help them run their businesses in proper fashion. When she was in Africa, she saw all the problems the African women faced and their inability to run their own business. The African women didn't respond well to Jacqueline's help, she had to come to realize that things were run very differently in Africa.

Jacqueline had to go through many obstacles as she transitioned from working at the well payed job at Chase, to helping fight poverty in Africa. Many unexpected things and times where she had to persevere and show some real mental toughness. It is going to be interesting to see how she continues to fight this uphill battle in the rest of the book.

Why Are The Things That Taste the Best, The Worst For Us?

As some of you know, I am an athlete. And in being an athlete, I try to do everything I can to put me in the best possible situation for success. I try to train my body in the off season as hard as I can to prepare myself for the long season ahead. In doing that I also try to eat as healthy as possible to fuel my body for the work I put in, in the weight room. I love food and I love food that is not good for you. If it is sweet, and has a good amount of sugar in it, chances are I’m going to enjoy it. I love ice cream, donuts, candy, pizza, etc – you name it, I like it. I break the week down into the 7 days there is in a week. Monday through Saturday I try to eat as healthy as possible. I don’t eat any processed food, I try to eat as many fruit and vegetables as possible for good carbohydrates and nutrients. I eat of lot of bananas, apples, pineapple, broccoli, spinach, asparagus and many other fruits and veggies. I eat other carbs like sweet potatoes and brown rice that help fuel my body properly. I eat lean meats like chicken breast and lean turkey burger for my sources of protein. And I try and get my healthy fat from stuff like avocado or certain forms of nuts. Like I said before, I eat this way to help fuel my body to train and get myself in the best possible shape for the season. It does get boring, but I know it is the most nutritious and healthy lifestyle I can live.

Now for the awesome part – Sunday. On Sunday I take the entire day and dedicate it as my, “Cheat Day.” Eating throughout the week really clean and healthy is a little easier because I know it will all be worth when Sunday rolls around. On Sunday, I don’t train or workout, I take the day to rest and recharge my batteries a little. On Sundays, I do not restrict myself at all as far as eating goes. I eat donuts for breakfast or have a nice big stack of pancakes with a bunch of syrup and some nice strips of bacon. I’ll get Mexican food for lunch or a pizza for dinner. Obviously, I don’t go insane and eat myself into a coma, I have normal portioned meals but I let myself enjoy the the kinds of food I don’t eat during the week. I usually always end the night on Sunday by taking down a pint of Ben and Jerrys ice cream, because that is my absolute favorite. Now, in saying all this, life is too short to be so crazy you can’t enjoy yourself. So if I’m out at dinner and the restaurant isn’t exactly in my meal plan, I’m not going to starve myself just because they don’t have “healthy” options. I’m going to order whatever is the healthiest thing I can find and enjoy myself. Life is all about making yourself happy, and I am just trying to live the healthiest and happiest I can.

Expert Analysis

Baseball’s Second Chance

Tommy John – The Surgery That Has Given Baseball Players a Second Chance

Imagine hearing the news that you might not be able to ever play the game that you love again. That is the feeling that goes through every baseball player’s head that has been told they are going to need Tommy John Surgery. Every player that is told they need that surgery has to come to the realization that they might never be able to play the game of baseball like they did before.

Life as an athlete can be very fragile – one minute you’re flying high, feeling great – and then one ache or pain that doesn’t go away can turn your whole career around. Baseball players know this feeling all too well. Part of the job description as a baseball player is to throw a baseball. And when your elbow hurts, that can get a little hard to do. So when your elbow is sending shooting pains up your arm every time you let go of a ball, you know something is not right.

The Injury

Tommy John surgery is the most common surgery in the game of baseball. A player needs this surgery when they tear a very small ligament in their elbow called an, “Ulnar Collateral Ligament” – or their “UCL.” Very similar to similar to a football player or basketball player tearing the ACL in their knee, a UCL is the most important thing to a baseball player because it affects the throwing motion if it is hurt. If you try to throw a baseball with even a slight tear in your UCL, you will feel a great deal of pain in your elbow. See, throwing a baseball is not a natural motion, our arms are not meant to travel over our heads at such a high rate of speed. So when the arm travels at that high rate of speed when throwing, it puts a lot of pressure on the elbow. When that pressure is too much, the UCL can be compromised and begin to tear.   

The Surgery Itself

It is fascinating to see what the human body and technology is capable of. The actual surgery of Tommy John is quiet complex, but it is the most common injury in baseball so the surgery is very regular. In this procedure, the hurt UCL needs to be replaced by another tendon inside the body. So the injured player either gets a tendon taken from their wrist, or a tendon from their hamstring to replace to torn ligament in the elbow. “Also known as ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction, this procedure involves replacing the ligament that joins the humerus (the long bone in the upper arm) to the ulna (the heavier of the two long bones in the forearm) with a ligament or tendon taken from another location in the patient's body.” (The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine)

Post Surgery

Now this is the hardest part about the whole process of Tommy John – after the surgery. The rehab process for this surgery will take anywhere from twelve to eighteen months to fully comeback from the surgery. In saying that, a player that gets this surgery has to understand that it will be a year – at the minimum – for them to play again. After the surgery is performed, its all about getting to work with your rehab. The road back from this surgery is broken down in these ways:

• ·      Rehabilitation Process
• ·      Throwing Program
• ·      Lifestyle Changes and Training

 Rehab Process

The rehab process following the surgery is really the most important part of the whole journey. There is a saying that goes, “You get in what you put out” and nothing rings more true then the rehab of Tommy John Surgery. For the first 10 days after surgery, you are in a hard cast that stabilizes your arm. After those 10 days, the hard cast is removed and physical therapy begins. For the fist 6 weeks of rehab, all you are doing is is range of motion exercises with an elbow brace on for support.  

The Rehab process of Tommy John surgery is extremely mundane and boring. As an athlete, you are used to training at high pace and high volume, but initially coming back from surgery you are doing exercises that are extremely easy but necessary for the health of your arm. After the first 2 months of rehab, you are slowly able to do more things with your arm. You are able to start working out at a higher pace but you still have to be cautious. When you are about five months into the rehab process, you should have full range of motion back in your elbow. At that point in the rehab process you are almost working out regularly, but you are doing everything in light weights not to put any extra stress on the elbow.

Throwing Program

Once a person recovering from Tommy John is six months post surgery, and they have fully regained the range of motion in their elbow, it is time to start throwing baseballs again. Beginning to throw again is extremely critical time in the rehab process. The athlete is extremely hesitant when throwing because it will be the first time throwing a ball since the injury. It is important to take things slow, not to rush anything, but also to keep a good pace with the throwing program.

In the very early stages of the throwing program it has to be extremely light. The very first day of throwing, all you do is throw the baseball twenty times from fifty feet and then stop. From six months post surgery till a year post surgery the throwing program consistently progresses. As the program progresses, the farther you start to throw. Eventually near the eleven month range you start to throw off the pitchers mound again and get ready to start pitching in games.

Lifestyle Changes and Training

If a person is willing to go through and get this surgery, they must be willing to everything it takes to come back healthy and it great shape ready to perform. Through the entire rehab process, you must consume foods that are going to you recover. It also important to sleep as much as possible at night, because when you sleep you recover. Everything you do when you are rehabbing from Tommy John has to be, “How is this going to help me get my body better?” To truly reach the best results from getting this surgery you have to be willing to sacrifice, in these ways:

• ·      Eating Healthy
• ·      Sleeping extremely well
• ·      Training your body physically and mentally
• ·      Follow your physical therapy precisely

Misconceptions

With this surgery, there are many misconceptions out there about it. Some people think that if you get this surgery, you’re automatically going to come back from the surgery better than before. And that conversation is so wrong, because you are only going to be as good as the work you are willing to put in. “Questionnaires were completed by 189 players, 15 coaches, and 31 parents. Data were calculated and statistical analysis was performed. Thirty percent of coaches, 37% of parents, 51% of high school athletes, and 26% of collegiate athletes believed that Tommy John surgery should be performed on players without elbow injury to enhance performance.” (The Physician and sportsmedicine)

Work Cited

Ahmad, Christopher S., W. Grantham Jeffrey, and R. Greiwe Michael. "Public Perceptions of Tommy John Surgery." The Physician and Sportsmedicine 40.2 (2012): 64-72. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.

Frey, Rebecca J. "Tommy John Surgery." The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Ed. Jacqueline L. Longe. 5th ed. Vol. 8. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2015. 5037-040. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Sept. 2016

"Pitch Smart." Major League Baseball. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.

Stein, Jeannine. "Players, Coaches and Parents May Be in the Dark about Tommy John Surgery." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2011. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.

Growing A Farmer - Part 2

Growing a Farmer – Part 2

If you have no interest in knowing how your meat you eat gets on to your plate, don’t read the second half of Growing a Farmer. The second half of the book is all bout the process that Kurt went through raising and slaughtering animals on the farm. The book details how the animals are slaughtered and how Kurt felt about doing it. He felt for the animals that he had to kill but he knew the importance of getting the product from the animals he needed. The book also goes on to discusses the animals Kurt brought into the farm. Kurt talks about how he raised chickens to use for eggs to bake and meat to cook with. Kurt, in the end of the book talks about the current state of the farm and discussed how cheese has been a key product for his far to sell. He talks about the weekly Sunday dinners he prepares and all the products that he uses are from Kurtwood Farms. Kurt is extremely proud of the farm he has built and the food he produces.

The second half of the book was a little hard to read compared to the first half because of the gruesome details of slaughtering the animals. Even though it was hard to read, I knew the importance of Kurt having slaughter the animals. The whole point of Kurt starting this farm was to know and be able to control the processing of the product. SO even though it was hard, properly slaughtering the animals was an important step. The thing that was cool about reading this book was seeing how willing Kurt was to try new things and even in failure to keep trying. He persevered through some struggle to eventually find a groove and find the things that worked on his farm.