Video Blog 004 ~ Hunt the Good Stuff, Plus
I’ve talked about Hunt the Good Stuff before (#htgs) but for those who are not familiar with it, it’s something I picked up while attending the US Army’s Resiliency Training at University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center.
The concept is simple, start your day with three points of gratitude. I write these down in my journal, but have added a few more steps which is why this video is called “Hunt the Good Stuff, Plus”. The things I’ve added are something for someone else, and then something for yourself.
Something for someone else, could be anything, it could be helping something, thanking someone, paying it forward in some way, but plan to do it and make it part of your day.
Then I thank myself for something or give myself something. Writing these things down externalizes them, and making this a daily activity produces incredible results. After only a few days you’d be amazed at how this activity changes your outlook on everything.
What are my Hunt the Good Stuff, Plus points for today? Watch the video below to find out. What are yours? I’d love to hear them, feel free to write them in them comments section below.
Cheers,
~Greg
Video Blog 003 ~ Journaling and Success
Welcome back!
For episode 003 I go to the Stuttgart Haupt Bahnhof and to where it all started for my 25 year ago. Journaling is something I’ve done throughout my whole life, through the ups and the downs. It’s a great way of dealing with stress, it’s a means of meditation and a way to set goals for yourself. It is fundamental to the ACTION portion of my Three Points of Contact.
What do you use your journal for? Write in the comments, and you could win a journal that I’ll send to you from Germany. Stay tuned for episode 004 ~ Hunt the Good Stuff.
Cheers,
~Greg
Notes:
The Power of Journaling. Recorded at the Stuttgart Main Train Station (Haupt Bahnhof).
Book referred:
Three Points of Contact
WED, 27 JAN 2016: Greg Cheek Speaks 003, Journaling and Success, Three Points of Contact.
Upcoming:
Thursday, 28 JAN 2016: Hunt The Good Stuff #htgs Start each day on a positive note and ready to seize the day. Three Points of Contact.
Friday, 28 JAN 2016: The Resiliency Piggy Bank. This fun activity will help you build resilience. Located in the Action section, page 19, Three Points of Contact.
Video Blog 002 ~ Is the Best Defense a Good Offense?
Are you acting or being acted upon?
This a question and exercise is something that use in my book The Three Points of Contact, and the response has been amazing. As Stephen Covey says it isn’t about the actions that happen to us, it’s our response to those actions that matter. In this episode I’ll walk you through how to think about your day and decide if you’re acting or being acted upon.
Want get something cool from me in the mail? Just subscribe to my YouTube channel and leave a comment, this Friday 29 Jan 2016, I’ll pick a winner and send you a beautiful moleskin notebook so can take full advantage of of episode 003 ~ Journaling and Success.
Until next time,
Cheers,
~Greg
Notes:
Is the Best Defense a Good Offense? Refers to Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits and Act or Acted Upon. Recorded in Vaihingen, Germany. This video talks about an activity in the Action section on page 18, chapter 1, Three Points of Contact that allows you to keep score if the Best Defense (Act Upon) is a good offense (Act). Still one minute too long – I will work on that.
Books referred:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
WED, 27 JAN 2016: Greg Cheek Speaks 003, Journaling and Success, Three Points of Contact.
THURS, 28 JAN 2016: Hunt The Good Stuff #htgs Start each day on a positive note and ready to seize the day. Three Points of Contact.
Video Blog 001 ~ Parts 1 & 2: Make plans to Travel Today and Auf Ghets!
As many of you know, and as the name of my website should maybe tip you off, I’m a speaker. I’ve been teaching public speaking for years, I am an extemporaneous speaker and motivating audiences are is one of the things I do best. So this blog will be less about writing and more about speaking and what better way for me to speak with you all then with some short videos.
These video blogs will short and lo-tech. No fancy editing or effects, just me, my phone and a selfie-stick. I’ve got so many great things I want to talk with you about, so this first chapter is a bit long, sorry about that! As I get into my groove these will be a bit shorter.
So here they are, Video Blog 001 ~ Parts 1 & 2 on travel and auf ghets. What is auf ghets you ask? check out the video below to find out 😉
If you like what you see, please subscribe to my YouTube channel. Got something you want to hear? let me know!
Cheers!
~Greg
Notes:
Auf Ghets, Three Points of Contact. Recorded at Köz Restaurant in Sindelfingen, Germany. This video talk about the Power of Auf Ghets and how it correlates to the push to success by Jack Ma, George Lucas, Stephen Spielberg, Jeff Bazos, Steve Jobs, Cam Newton, Julian Edelman, Dr Ben Carson, Dean Karnzaes, Stephen Covey, and Victor Frankl.
Part 2, Chapter 9, page 149.
Books referred:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Defiant by Alvin Towny
50/50 by Dean Karnazes/Matt Fitzgerald
Gifted Hands by Dr Ben Carson
Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
Filming location: Köz Türkisches Restaurant, Grabenstraße 2, 71063 Sindelfingen
Translation/Definition: Auf Ghets: Let’s GO!
Next Video, Tuesday, 26 JAN 2016: Greg Cheek Speaks 002, Act or Acted Upon, Page 14, Three Points of Contact. 26 JAN 2016
Notes:
Steve Jobs Famous Connect the Dots Speech at Stanford: https://youtu.be/yFltqHCTTVo
Cam Newton: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqKoZ…
Julian Edelman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAzvz…
A special thanks to the University of Kansas Hospital
At my last routine check up at the University of Kansas Hospital I took a few minutes to answer some questions about KU and some of the themes from my book.
I can’t say enough good things about the KU team, their work has been exceptional and they have truly become another family to me.
Special thanks to the KU Broadcast Studio for putting together such a great video!
Check out the video, and hope you enjoy!
~Greg
The Power of Silence & US Speaking Tour Wrap Up
Just got back from a number of speaking engagements across the US, which included the NYC Marathon Expo, the United States Military Academy at West Point, and the NCO Basic Leadership Course at Fort Carson, to name a few.
I was approached by an amazing lady after I spoke at the New York City Marathon and she told me my book, “Three Points of Contact has saved her life” she asked if I would tell some short stories on some background information I presented in my book. This is the first short video and I will try to keep these around two minutes. This first video is from the chapter on Visualization and the Power of Stillness and Silence. This can be found in my book on pages 70-77.
Enjoy!
~Greg
Master Resiliency Training and Armed Forces Network
A couple of weeks ago I had the honor of being interviewed on AFN (Armed Forces Network) here in Stuttgart, Germany. It was a great opportunity to talk about my experience with cancer and how Master Resiliency Training prepared me for the rough patches along the way.
Check out the video below, and let me know what you think!
A special thanks to SSG Jelle, SGT Calhoun, Douglas Smith, Stefanie Pidgeon and the rest of the AFN Stuttgart team for making this happen and for putting together such a great video.
Cheers,
~Greg
Change You Life with Silence NOW!
Just finished my two-week speaking tour across the US! I had the opportunity and privilege to meet so many people amazing people along the way. Check out the video below to hear more about it, (shot while on the Seattle Great Wheel).
Enjoy!
America’s Educational Gem
“Community colleges play an important role in helping people transition between careers by providing the retooling they need to take on a new career” – President Barack Obama
Community College is America – Opportunity!
Community college sets the United States apart from any other place in the world in offering open educational opportunities to anyone. The community college is a cornerstone of success and education in the United States, and a shining example of educational opportunity to everyone around the world. I’m an extremely proud graduate of Shasta College. Some of the key advantages of a community college education are listed below. .
- Allows everyone the opportunity to attend college
- Smaller student-to-faculty ratio.
- Many students are returning back to college after a break from the dream of pursuing their college degree or getting a second chance at a college education.
- Long list of amazing two-year degrees, vocational programs, technology programs, and four-year university transfer programs.
- Easy transfer to state colleges, private colleges to ivy league universities.
- Smooth transition between high school to a university.
- Momentum of an Associate of Arts degree (AA) before transferring to a university.
- Amazing faculty, extremely helpful staff, and the most optimistic students anywhere in the world! You can feel the educational enthusiasm!
Community College Remains an Amazing Value
The community college is a wonderful place to knock out the first two years of college at a much lower cost than the four year university.
- Online education through a community college is an inexpensive way to take college courses from anywhere in the world.
- My past students proudly have bachelor’s degrees, MBAs, PhDs, and are now successful entrepreneurs, pursuing hundreds of professions around the world.
- My students boast about the financial advantage of community college vs the four year college.
My current communication course is similar to any community college course I’ve attended as a student or taught as a faculty member.
- A large number of the faculty members have worked in other professions outside of academia.
- Many of the faculty members are extremely talented and pursuing collegiate teaching as a second or third career.
- The class has students ranging in age from 17 to 64 years old. All amazing students perusing their educational dreams.
- The demography of the class is made up of the first-time college student, returning college student, single parent working multiple jobs, service member deployed around the world, or someone who can only attend a college class virtually.
- Passion and energy! Amazing to watch as they seize this educational opportunity.
Notable Community College Alumni
“Community College made me what I am I am today” –Tom Hanks
Community college mentorship and support is forever, and the lineage is long and caring! This is a strong fraternity of sharing knowledge and assisting the next generation of community college graduates.
Notable community college graduates include George Lucas, Tom Hanks, Walt Disney, Bonnie Blair, Halle Barry, Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Clint Eastwood, James Dean, Sam Sheppard, Eileen Collins, Nolan Ryan, Ross Perot, Sarah Palin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Queen Laifah, James Belushi, Aaron Rodgers, Kweisi Mfume, George Brett and the list goes on.
I distinctly remember each and every one of my instructors while I attended Shasta College. My Associates of Arts degree (AA) is my most memorable achievement after failing to graduate from high school. I’m forever grateful that this “American Gem” gave me a second chance at educational success.
The clip below documents the travels NFL Superstar Cam Newton and how Blinn College in Brenham, Texas changed his life and developed the amazing superstar we see today.
“In the coming years, jobs requiring at least an associate degree are projected to grow twice as fast as jobs requiring no college experience. We will not fill those jobs – or keep those jobs on our shores – without the training offered by community colleges.” – President Barack Obama
A great resource for community college students is the book by Isa Adney, Community College Success
Cheers,
Greg
Live Longer with One Easy Step
“My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She’s ninety-seven now, and we don’t know where the hell she is”
Ellen DeGeneres
Walk Your Way to Amazing Health
The New England Journal of Medicine recently reported on the twelve-year Honolulu Heart Study of 8,000 men. The study was conducted by the Kuakini Honolulu Heart Program (HHP) on the island of Oahu.
The study reports that walking just two miles a day cuts the risk of death almost in half. The walkers’ risk of death was especially lower for cancer.
Walking is a great activity and is one of the easiest ways to increase your physical activity and improve your health. Regular walking has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, stroke, and many cancers.
- Longer, moderately-paced daily walks are best for losing weight.
- Shorter, faster walks are best for conditioning your heart and lungs.
Research has shown that people who walk approximately twenty to twenty-five miles per week outlive those who don’t walk by several years. You improve your chances of protecting the heart and circulatory system by raising HDL, the good cholesterol, and keeping weight down.
Make Walking a Habit—Just Like in Europe
“A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world”
Paul Dudley White
I started walking with a pedometer to monitor my goals during my cancer treatment, and I’ve walked ever since. Europe’s walking culture is a main reason why I accepted a position in Germany as soon as possible. The healthy outdoor lifestyle of Europe is what I wanted—that was my “walking happy place.” I’ve walked off 40 pounds since I’ve been in Germany.
I’m alive today and stage III cancer free because I walk from the time I get up in the morning until I go to sleep at night. I walk amidst eleventh-century buildings, amazing culture, and the healthy and lively people everywhere. Walking is fitness, meditation, circulatory, and it cleanses my mind.
Amazing Daily Preventative Medicine
Research reveals that walking just an extra twenty minutes each day will burn off seven pounds of body fat per year
I’ve lived in Stuttgart, Germany for almost four years—everybody walks everywhere. This is the home of Mercedes, Porsche, and BMW, but the fitness of the citizens comes from walking. If you include walking in your daily activities, you will make this daily routine a preventive medicine jewell.
Europeans take public transportation everywhere—not a lot of sitting in front of the television and driving cars to work over here! Research shows that for every hour of brisk walking, life expectancy for some people may increase by up to two hours or more. Henry David Thoreau stated:
“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day”
The easiest way to walk more is to take action and make walking a habit. Think of ways to include walking into your daily routine.
- Walk part of your journey to work.
- Take breaks at work and go for a short walk.
- Park farther away in the parking lot.
- Use the stairs instead of the elevator.
- Use public transportation as often as you can.
- Go for a walk after every meal.
- A pedometer will keep you accountable to your daily walking goal.
- Just make it a habit!
Cheers,
~Greg
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