What's Up With "The Secret?"

If you have, then you'll know that it practically became the goal-achievement 'bible' overnight due to it's very simple, yet very powerful message about how you can be, do and have practically anything in life that you want as long as you do one or two key things.

They are:

1. Think about what you want on a regular basis
2. Think about it positively

That was it really. That was the 'secret' of The Secret! In fact, that is the explicit message on almost any book related to "thinking your way to success."

Now, I'm not knocking this at all, far from it. First off, most people (myself included) can be really unfocused and unclear about what they want and spending some time focusing can be really beneficial.

And positive thinking is clearly something to strive for. After all, going through life with a dark cloud over your head is not really going to help you feel good about even STARTING your goals, let alone achieving them.

So I have no real problems with the advice that The Secret shares, it makes sense and, truth be told, thousands of people have already gone on to achieve great things as a result of following this simple advice, but again, there are a lot of people who couldn't seem to make it work for them and are now dismissive of the who goal achievement 'thing'.

I tried thinking positive and holding my goals in my thoughts but still, the bills piled up and the same old hassles that were always in my life before were still there so I did what most people would do. I gave up the whole goal-setting thing as a waste of time.

That is until I came across (yet another) goal achievement program that was saying some things that were very different to what I'd been hearing from the "thoughts become things" crowd.

In fact, this program said that thoughts DON'T become things, but rather, they could become things, but not necessarily.

It jokingly explained that if thoughts really did automatically become things
then most teenage boys would materialize pretty young girls into their bedrooms. After all, this is what's on their minds most of the time, right? : )

Sounds funny, I know, but it struck a chord. After all, if thinking clearly of something that's important to you, holding it in your mind and thinking about it a lot works to bring goals to life, then it should work, right?

And as to thinking positive...

I'd always been told that thinking positive was a critical step to making your goals come to life, but again in this program I was told that this simply wasn't true. After all, if being positive made your goals come to life you should be able to sit in the middle of a busy road, smile and say 'I won't get hit, I won't get hit, I won't get hit" and sure enough, all the trucks will completely miss you.

Not a strategy that I think I'd like to try : )

It all makes sense doesn't it?

The idea that you can't just put on a happy face, think about your goals and have them come to life?

I think so anyway : )

So what's the real 'secret' to goal achievement?

Well, I guess it's simply that there isn't one. Not as in one hidden thing that once exposed will bring your goals to life. It's more a case of having a strategy that is proven to work rather than relying on hope or wishful thinking.

What's the strategy?

It's coming... I promise!

In fact, I've persuaded Dax Moy, author of The MAGIC Hundred to spill the beans right here on my blog over the next week so DEFINITELY stay tuned.

Speak soon!

Sandy Sommer, RKC

P.S - Don't forget to leave your own comments about this post. What do YOU think are the not-so-secret secrets to achieving success?

What Were You Up to New Year's Day?

What were you doing On New Year's Day?


Here's the point of this query, you see, today is day 78 of 2009 which means that 79 days ago you were celebrating New Year’s Eve and, like most people, you were setting up your New Year’s Resolutions and goals.

And look, here we are at day 78 already.

Time really flies by with each year.


But I’m not just writing this to act as some kind of timekeeper or clockwatcher, rather I wanted to share with something that I’ve been thinking about a lot this week.

I've been thinking that we’re already approaching the end of the first quarter of 2009 and that many of the goals I’d set for myself this year haven’t even been started. In truth, many of them haven’t even been thought about.

It’s not like they’re not important to me. They are, many of them would REALLY change my life for the better if I could bring them to life but, well, I just haven’t seemed to get around to them.

I bet you’re the same right?

I bet you have a huge list of things that you KNOW would absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt change your life for the better, yet you haven’t taken a single, solitary action on them, right?

Weird isn’t it?

For instance in my own life I know that these goals are important to me:

1. Becoming Debt Free – I hate that I owe to another and it makes me feel badly.

2. Making Wednesday Night Family Night – Seeing each other with no distraction will bring us closer and make us a better family.

3. Begin a Systemic Approach to Sales For Charm City Kettlebells– I want to be able to duplicate my efforts and the only way to do that is to use a System. We started working on that today as we want to be able to share our strength training with as many as we can.

4. Migrate my blog into Wordpress– I want my whole web presence to be easy for you the user. Community, blog, member area, video all in one.

5. Become an RKC Level 2- I want to help as many achieve their fitness goals as possible. The more I know the better I am.

6. Water water raft in Costa Rica- I just want to be able to raft in the jungle and then swim in the ocean the same day.



You probably have a bunch like this too.

For example, what financial goals did you set for yourself on New Year’s Eve?

What about your health goals? I KNOW you had a bunch of those!

How about adventures? We all want to travel more and experience more and I bet you had set some goals in this department, right?

Not to mention relationships, education, family and career goals.

I bet you had a bunch, yet where are you with them?

That’s not a rhetorical question I mean it. Where are you with these goals?

Did you achieve them as you said you would?

More to the point, did you even START them?

I know that I didn’t even BEGIN many of the goals I set at the start of the year. I know they’re important to me, I know they’ll change my life in more positive ways than I can even begin to tell you but for some strange reason, I haven’t even begun to chase them yet.

Like I said, weird.

So look, I’ve got this mad, crazy idea.

I want to help you achieve YOUR goals over the course of this year and I want you to keep ME on track. Sound like a fair deal?

It starts today.

Tell me what your most important, most pressing goals are and I’ll tell you mine and (hopefully) together we can see 2009 through in great style.

Of course, you could simply ignore this and pass it off as silly but, well, that’ll just mean that the next 78 days are just like the first, and the ones after that, and the ones after that.

I need help to bring my goals to life.

So do you.

So let’s do this!

Sandy Sommer, RKC

P.S – I got my idea for this email from my friend Dax Moy, Author of The MAGIC Hundred. I’m glad he kicked me in the butt today : )

What Is Hardstyle Kettlebell Training? Part 1

What is Hard style Russian Kettlebell Training, Part 1


It may be the best strength and conditioning protocol for those who need to spend as much time as possible training specific to their chosen athletic endeavor and thus have to compress their fitness work into a comparatively short span of time. Additionally, those of us who are simply looking for the most bang for our fitness buck and time invested need look no further than this system of building strength, endurance, power, flexibility, total body awareness and full resilience.

When I started training in the RKC manner, I was 45 years old. In reasonably good shape, I found quickly found out my fitness was far more cosmetic than useful.. The Kettlebell doesn’t lie and I was pretty weak, completely bound up and inflexible, lacking in wind and in general a mess. But hey, I looked pretty good. In fact, my “before” pictures taken back in November 2005 look a lot like the pictures of today. The work I can do in a workout isn’t remotely the same.


I was embarrassed when I first put hand to kettlebell. Nevertheless I knew right away that I had found a tool that I would use for along time, if not forever. My goal soon was to become an RKC certified instructor but frankly the likelihood was remote in my mind’s eye. With that former attitude it’s a miracle I was able to accomplish the goal in hindsight and should give all hope!

I could barely press a 16 KG kettlebell and now can fairly easily grind a 36 KG kettlebell overhead. I have gained amazing strength, conditioning, mobility and flexibility. I assumed I would never get any of this back at one point and now this former collegiate football player may be stronger at 47 than I was at 21. Nice, huh?

So what exactly is “Hard style” Kettlebell training? The main principle is that our body is a machine and should be trained as a unit. The primary elements of the system are “grinds” and “ballistics.” Grinds are Press, Turkish Get Ups, and Squats. Ballistics would be Swings, Snatches and Cleans. Also, we do much joint mobility to blast away old scar tissue and increase our mobility and flexibility while building incredibly useful strength.

Sandy Sommer, RKC

Check Back for Part 2 soon!

Kettlebell Swings and Practice

Today was a simple day.

I practiced the 6 RKC Kettlebell movements and focused on metabolic training at the end of my session.

Did some easy Clean and Presses followed by a few rounds of Turkish Get Up.

Did easy snatches and after that did Front Squats.

Then the fun began.

20 sets 0f 25 Kettlebell Swings. 500 reps.