September Update

Ok, this is going to be a really hectic post, because I really didn’t planned it. It’s just the intention to bring in here some updates that I consider worth sharing.

30 Days Exercising Challenge

The challenge went incredibly well until the day 18, and that would be yesterday. I decided it’s time to stop, because the next day (as in today) I was supposed to run 5km for a charity event at my daughter’s school. I thought it would be a good idea to go there relaxed and until some point, it was. Unfortunately, after just 400 meters I suddenly twisted my right ankle in a hole. The circuit was at that point entering a forest, and I didn’t take into account the forest field. Put in the same plate the fact that there were a lot of kids and parents running together, in a pretty crowded way, and you’ll get a picture. To make a long story short, today I violently hurt my right ankle.

I thought about turning back, but I just refused. Even my ankle hurt like crap, the only way out of that run was ahead of me, not behind. So, I crawled through the forest, being passed by kids and older parents, while my ankle was sending fire arrows to my brains. I was so keen to finish that I even tried to do some sprints, heavily using my left foot and dragging the right behind. That made me win back the position I was when I twisted my ankle, but not much than that. I finished in the first platoon, but I was there with the intention to win the race. I still don’t know if that was a good idea, to continue the run after I twisted my right ankle, but it’s in the past now anyway. Finishing the run was a blast. I felt incredibly well, while the ankle got bigger and bigger.

When I got home I put an ice bag on it and waited to see what’s happening. Right now it looks just inflated and no sign of dark color whatsoever, but I’m expecting this to appear later on, in the evening. Strangely enough, I had this specific type of accident 3 times in the last 4 years, almost in the same day. Same leg, same ankle, same type of twisting. I’m sure there must be a sign for something, but right now, apart from taking it as a sign to slow down a little, I don’t see any other interpretation. Having a Capricorn ascendant makes for a higher sensitivity to the lower part of the body, especially ankles, that I know. But what triggers that, still a mystery.

For the record, here’s how the daily workout went since the last update:

• 1 rep 15 pushups
• 1 rep 30 abs
• 1 rep 15 pushups
• 1 rep 30 abs
• 1 rep 15 pushups
• 30 minutes on the stepper
• 1 rep 15 pushups
• 1 rep 30 abs
• 1 rep 15 pushups

The stepper time topped at 30 minutes after I gradually increased it with one minute per day, starting from 15 minutes. In the last few days, my pulse didn’t even cross 110 bpm, while in the beginning it wasn’t uncommon to see it up to 150 bpm. I feel so frustrated to stop this just after I reached a reasonable pace. But, as I said, there must be a reason for that.

Mentoring Program

At the end of the week I started a mentoring program. It wasn’t really planned, and as you can see, there is a lot that it isn’t planned on my agenda lately. I do feel the need to move outside the comfort zone, that’s for sure and these sudden rushes are a pretty good indicator of that. So, what’s this mentoring program about?

I picked 3 young entrepreneurs (who were in the same circle I was frequenting) and made another 3 spots available for a fee. In total, there will be 6 attendants. A part from this, each live session will have 4-6 guests /curious which will observe the session and interfere in a moderate way. The observer spots are for key persons in the industry as well for the people who want to try before they buy the program. Speaking about the price, this is 240 EUR / per person. This includes the weekly group session with all the mentees and observers (there will be 6-8 live sessions for the whole program), a 1 one-to-one by email each week, on a specific problem they had, and the final evaluation.

Again, if you ask me what was the reason for that, I’m not very clear, but it just felt ok to start it. Right now, there are only 2 paid spots left, so if you are a young entrepreneur in Bucharest, have an online business and a blog (those being the only necessary conditions to be eligible) you’d better run for it. Oh, the first session will start next Thursday, September 10th. If you’re wondering what’s going to happen there, here’s a quick list of what I am going to work on each session:

• personal productivity
• business strategy
• building relationships
• project management
• financial management
• partnerships

There will be an introductory course and a final evaluation course. If you’re curious about who are the participants, here they are. First, my 3 wild cards (I will just give you their Tiwtter nickname, so you can quickly follow them if you want):

@ViorelSpinu – he created and owns taskwriter.com.

@mihaim – he started twimarket.com.

@geea – she has several local projects, the most important being at this point arenabiz.ro, a young entrepreneur community portal.

The paid spot goes to @BobbyVoicu, one of the most visible online entrepreneurs in Romania, his last project, RevvNation just got a first funds injection a couple a days ago. As I said, there are 2 more spots open there, so if you want to grab a spot, better hurry.

Going to Las Vegas

At the end of the month, I’ll go the Las Vegas, attending StevePavlina’s first workshop ever. I already planned the trip a while back, but it’s only now that all the pieces came together. The workshop will be on October, between 2nd and 4th, but I will go 2 days early, to try coping with the jetlag. As far as I know, there are already a lot of people attending, and the audience will be quite interesting. I know Steve’s work from 2005, since his polyphasic sleep experiments, and I do think he’s one of the most interesting personal development bloggers in the world. I also read his book, and I intend to write a review about that pretty soon. Still ponder what would be the best time for that though, before, or after the workshop? Will see about that. 🙂

After Vegas, chances are pretty high that I will fly for New Zealand for a week, there are a few things that I need to solve out, now that there’s almost a year since I started my company there. As always, living in New Zealand, even for a limited period of time, will be just fantastic. Can’t wait for the experience.

Oh, and in the end, just a little teaser: before I will leave for Vegas I will launch on this very blog my first commercial product. It will come in the form of an ebook, if you’re curious.

Stay tuned. 😉