40/30/30

If you're like me you probably yearn for the good things in life. I'm 

not talking about thing things. A nice car, clothes and more money are 

nice, but they don't contribute to the good life as much as say 

altruism, confidence, a good night's sleep, purpose, health, laughter, 

adventure, challenges, community, good friends and feeling good. In 

chat the other night I asked everyone to lay out (in percentages) how 

they feel about their life on a given day, week, month and/or year. I 

broke it down into three categories. The first was the Top Of The 

World category. When you feel happy, excited, enthusiastic, 

productive, confident, strong, joyful, filled with love and elated 

about life. The second choice was the Middle Of The Road category. The 

ho-hum place we find ourselves in. Stuck in traffic, dealing with the 

day to day bologna, autopilot, neither here nor there, zoned out, 

dealing with the not-so-fun parts of life. The third state would be 

the Down In The Dumps category. Frustration, sadness, fatigue, feeling 

overwhelmed, depression, anxiety, lack of confidence and glumness rule 

the day. It was very interesting to see everyone's answers. It was 

pretty clear that most everyone was very honest about their numbers. 

Some people were obviously struggling much more than they'd like to 

be, while others were living large in the Top Of The World Zone. I 

think many people in chat that night were surprised that my 

percentages were 40/30/30. Sounds more like a diet plan than a 

description of how I feel about my life.

I added two more questions to this life evaluation. The first was 

asking if everyone was happy with the numbers. My recollection was 

that more than half were not. Lastly I asked everyone what they were 

going change to improve the numbers. The incredible thing was that 

almost everybody knew what it took to live at the Top Of The World. Of 

course exercise and eating healthy foods were at the top of the list. 

Everyone in this community has learned that physical movement and 

nutritious food are the foundation to a happy, productive, energized 

life. We also discussed some of the other important, less talked about 

keys to a better life. I was explaining that if I want to turn 

40/30/30 into 80/15/5 I need more than fitness and food. I'm an 

unhappy camper when I try to get by on less than 7 hours of sleep. I 

still make this mistake all the time. Whether It's working late or 

watching a movie till 1:00 AM, I too often try to cheat my REM time. 

The result is hazy, ornery guy. I swear to you that lack of sleep 

causes most of my angst. Sleep time is also healing time, so get your 

7 1/2 to 8 hours every night. Stress is my other boogeyman. We Hortons 

all come from a long line of worriers. Maybe it's a New England east 

coast thing, but I spend far too much time freaking out that the other 

shoe is going to drop. "What if I get hurt skiing?" "What if no-one 

likes or buys Ten Minute Trainer?" "Are those love handles!" As I type 

this it looks silly, but it's true. When I let go and let life flow, 

everything is but a dream.

We also talked about the importance of cleaning house and getting 

organized as a critical piece of the happy category. The little I know 

about the Chinese art of feng shui, tells us that the practice of 

placing objects (like furniture) in certain places of your home 

creates a positive or negative flow of chi energy, and equal or 

unbalanced degrees of yin and yang. If that sounds screwy to you, 

another way of putting it would be called "getting your ducks in a 

row." Cluttered, scrambled, unorganized surroundings and lifestyle to 

match is rarely indicative of a joyful existence. Go through drawers 

and cabinets and throw away, sell or give away the junk you're not 

using. If it's broken, fix it or toss it. If you've still got Yakapu 

shirts and high waisted pleated pants in your closet make a trip to 

the Salvation Army. If I drive by one more garage where I see broken 

down old boxes piled to the rafters I'll scream! If you clean it up, 

throw it away, put it away, fix it and organize it and your chi will 

be one with the world. Planning ahead is the other way to get your 

happy act together. If I have a question or a task I write it down. 

After I've written it down, I figure out who to ask, then take the 

first step to completing my task. About 4 years ago I was re-reminded 

in a local gym how much I hated most push-up stands. I almost fell on 

my face doing push-ups on some rickety aluminum piece of junk. I had a 

thought about something better. I made a lousy first drawing of the 

PowerStands. I asked some people to recommend someone who could draw a 

better one. I called the guy and he drew the sketch. I called my buddy 

Chris and asked him if he knew anyone who could build a prototype. He 

recommended a gentleman who did just that. I brought the prototype to 

Carl and the rest is history. I Trademarked the name and patented the 

product, and it all started from a lousy drawing and asking questions.

Everyone of us gets to have an incredible life. The process is not 

complicated or difficult. We just need to get out of our own way. My 

New Years Intension in 2008 is to be a kinder, gentler, more 

understanding and patient Tony Horton. My lesson in life is not about 

being organized, making a plan, writing it down, following through, 

exercising or eating better. My lesson is to relax and enjoy the 

moment. I need to stop beating myself up when everything doesn't go 

according to plan. I have to live and let live and only help the 

people who are asking for my help. More yoga, sleep and laughter will 

turn my 40/30/30 into 80/15/5. Those are numbers I can live with. What 

do you need to do to achieve numbers worth living for?