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Welcome to the exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It seems like forever ago that I joined this site and started my first challenge. Judging by my level, you might say I'm right! But level and experience mean nothing unless lessons learned are applied in your life. This website has given me practical knowledge in goal setting and planning. Throughout my life, I have been applying that knowledge. In my career, in my job, in my home life, in my Toastmasters training, in the gym, in my Jedi training, and even in my video games! Throughout the next few challenges, I plan to focus my Jedi lessons around this passage from Return of the Jedi where Obi-Wan says that quote: This challenge, I'll focus on the quote in bold by Obi-Wan Kenobi. In this part of the conversation, Obi-Wan plainly states that Luke cannot escape his "destiny". That word destiny implies a predetermined path laid out for Luke. That predetermined path is the ultimate struggle of good versus evil (light versus dark sides of the Force) in the Star Wars galaxy by being the son of Anakin Skywalker and being powerful in the Force. Being a Jedi and weilder of the light side of the Force, Luke cannot avoid his confrontation with the dark side, because it will hunt him down to either recruit him or destroy him. Since Luke cannot kill his own father, he decides there must be another way. He confronts Vader and the Emperor on his own terms by surrendering, then we all remember what happens. The lesson to take away from this quote is to confront your problems on your own terms. Do not let your problems chase you down or haunt your dreams. The dark side will find you. For Jedi, confronting the dark side is their destiny. It can be defeated with intitative, accountability, and honesty by taking ownership and being confident that a solution will be found. Doing so will give you an advantage over the obstacle and sometimes force the solution to appear one its own. That is what confronting something on your own terms means. Now, on to the CHALLENGE! My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow. I'm changing things up for this challenge by eliminating all the Side Quest Goals. I'll still use the Excel spreadsheet and Battle Log, but I will not set any specific weight or rep goals. I am adding a new training technique and incorporating what I learn from the MAX Workouts eBooks I bought recently. The new training technique is a Complex workout where you move through a series of excerises without putting the weight down. MAX Workouts stresses power and intensity while working the whole body in one workout to achieve maximum fat burn and build lean muscle. I'm taking both concepts and combining them to something I call Combo Complexes. An example is Deadlift into a Bent-Over Row then a Squat into a Overhead Press, 10 reps each with the same weight. My plan is to eliminate the time consuming and boring cardio from my workout routine. I loathe running more than a mile. I'll do it on occassion, but I don't want to rely on it to keep my weight in check. My main quest with attribute points is below: FITNESS: Build STA +2, STR +2 and DEX +1 by conducting powerful and intense Weight Training for 20 minutes or more, three times a week. Schedule is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday (optional). FITNESS: Build STA +1, STR +1 and DEX +2 by conducting muscle recovery Training for 20 minutes or more, two times a week. Schedule is Wednesday, Friday, Saturday (optional), Sunday (optional). DIET: Build CON +2 by eating healthy 35 times or more, eating unhealthy 16 times or less and count their calories, drinking 200 fl oz of Dr Pepper or less, taking care of my skin and lips by applying moisturizer 80 times or more (twice daily), brushing (twice daily) and flossing (once daily) 120 times or more. LIFE: Build WIS +2 and CHA +2 by completing two Toastmaster Speeches, completing Lesson 4 of my High Performance Leadership project, and completing 2 IJRS Personal 101 lessons.I'm three lessons in to my High Performance Leadership manual, but I'm in the bulk of the work now inlesson 4, which I won't complete until May. I finished my second Competent Leadership manual and have only one speech left in my third Competent Communicator manual. I have 1 speech left for my Advanced Communicator manuals. I plan to do a Speechcraft training session for the 1 hour training session I need to do for my Advanced Communicator Gold, so I can earn my DTM. My Club Coach and Area Governor roles are going very well. Jedi Training is progressing. I'm hoping to finish the course this spring.

While training on Dagobah, Yoda takes Luke to a cave... Luke: There's something not right here... I feel cold. Death. Yoda: [points to a cave opening beneath a large tree] That place... is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go. Luke: What's in there? Yoda: Only what you take with you. Luke enters the cave with his lightsaber as he is afraid that he may need to defend himself. He encounters Darth Vader. Igniting their lightsabers they duel. Luke ends the confrontation quickly by beheading Darth Vader. The mask on the head explodes revealing Luke's face under the helmet. There are several lessons inside the cave for Luke to learn. The most obvious is that his fear and anger will lead him directly to the same fate as his father, Anakin Skywalker, who fell to the dark side and became Darth Vader. Of course, Luke can only figure out the "fear and anger can lead to the dark side" part at the time. He'd later learn the other parts from Vader himself. Another lesson within the cave is that Luke showed courage to enter the cave, but hide behind a crutch (the lightsaber). Would Vader have appeared with lightsaber drawn if Luke entered without his lightsaber? We'll never know, but Luke was certainly fearful of the dark side when he entered with his lightsaber. He learned this lesson well following the concluding events of Empire Strike Back. In Return of the Jedi, Luke is clearly embracing his fears of losing the Rebellion and his life by confronting Darth Vader and the Emperor as their prisoner. There is a line in the novelization, "Fear is a great cloud. It makes the cold colder and the dark darker, but let it rise and it will dissolve." A third lesson is in what Yoda says, "Only what you take with you." We carry fear, anger, and hate around just as we would a lightsaber, but it is a lot more difficult to leave them behind. Courage, forgiveness, and knowledge are the ways to leave fear, anger, and hate in the past where they cannot effect the future. Identify fears and find the courage to conquer them. Quell anger with forgiveness. Elleviate hate by acquiring knowledge of the situation and circumstances. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow. For this challenge, I plan to focus on stamina and cardio for my Fitness goals instead of aiming necessarily at lifting more weight and running faster. This is the beginning steps on my 5k training for the Run for Your Lives 5k I am doing in October. Also, it would be nice to lose 10 pounds, but that is a bonus. Level 10 Main Challenge Goals are below: FITNESS: Strength! +2 STR | +1 STA 300 Lunges200 Burpees300 Mountain Climbers100 Hand Stand Push Ups150 Pull Ups150 Chin Ups150 Hammer Pull Ups250 Dips100 Dive Bomber Push Ups1000 Push Ups1200 Crunches800 Bicycle Crunches500 Dual Leg Lifts500 Side Leg Lifts1200 Oblique Twists1200 Side Bends1200 Side Raises200 Rollout Wheels300 Reverse SitupsCardio! +2 DEX | +2 STASprinting Distance = 1000 m50m Dash = 5 reps200m Dash = 5 reps58.8m Medicine Ball Shuttle Run = 5 reps37.8m Shuttle Run = 5 repsJogging Distance = 25 miles3 mile Run = 3 reps2 mile Run = 5 reps1 mile Run = 3 repsRun Hills = 20 repsSports Training = 300 minutesDIETARY: Food! +2 CONTake a Multi-Vitamin daily (minimum 38 of 43 days for an A)Eat junk food 15 times or less. Chocolate and ice cream do NOT count. Cake, fries, chips, pancakes, syrup, candy, etc all DO count.Eat only meat, veggies, and fruit as a meal 15 times. Dips/dressing allowed but must be minimal.Cut down on sodium. Add salt from a shaker no more than 15 times. LIFE: Mind! +3 WIS | +3 CHAFamily and HomeHang out with my wife = 90 hoursHang out with my kids = 90 hoursHousehold Chores (dishes, laundry, etc) = 70 hoursWrite about it in my Challenge Thread or Epic QuestToastmastersComplete two Toastmasters Speeches (1 Advanced Communication Manual Lesson, 1 Successful Club Series)Officer Duty Hours = 750 minVolunteer for at least 3 different rolesVolunteer as Table Topics participant twiceBlog about meetings in my Epic Quest threadJedi TrainingComplete two IJRS Communication 101 Lessons with ExercisesComplete one IJRS Creed 101 Lesson with ExercisesRead Jedi-related Material = 500 minutes Side Challenge Goals are below: FITNESS: Strength!Barbell Deadlift = 100 repsBarbell Squat = 100 repsBarbell Incline Bench Press = 50 repsDecline Bench Press = 50 repsBarbell Bench Press = 100 repsBarbell Overhead Press = 100 repsBarbell Standing Curl = 100 repsDumbell Bench Press = 50 repsDumbell Fly = 50 repsDumbell Overhead Press = 50 repsDumbell Bicep Curl = 50 repsDumbell Inverted Row = 50 repsDumbell Side Raise = 50 repsKettlebell Forearm Curl = 50 repsKettlebell Reverse Forearm Curl = 50 repsDumbell Hammer Curl = 50 repsDumbell Hammer Extension = 50 repsDumbell Goblet Squat = 100 repsDumbell Lateral Squat = 50 repsDumbell Two-hand Tricep Extension = 50 repsLeg Press Sled = 1000 lbs 5 reps (970 lbs 5 reps)Leg Extension = 50 repsCardio!Hiking = 6 milesBiking = 8 milesRowing = 3 kmDIETARY: Food!Cut down on sugar. Record high sugar counts.Cut down on sodium. Record high sodium counts.LIFE: Mind!Continue Private Work Goal to improve productivityNerd Fitness CommunityUpdate my Challenge Thread = 12 timesUpdate my Battle Log = 43 timesWrite in my Epic Quest = 6 timesComment on a New Friend's Thread = 6 different threadsFollow and Comment on New Friend's Threads = 12 comments totalComment on my Accountabilibuddies Group Thread, Group Challenge Threads, and Old Friend's Threads = 12 timesGeoCachingFind 6 cachesHide 2 caches