Some 20 years ago, skiing was considered the elitist sport and mountain resorts did not welcome the “nuisance” crazy sport called snowboarding. But that has all changed when adventurous men and women of the 80’s craving for an exhilarating downhill ride wanted more. By 1998 and due to its global popularity, snowboarding was officially welcomed into the Winter Olympics.

Getting On Board

Last week, I, along with my husband, youngest daughter, and some relatives checked in to North America’s #1 mountain resort, Whistler BlackComb for a 10-day winter vacation. We are fortunate members of Club Intrawest, a premier resort club in Canada with network of resorts located in Whistler, Las Vegas, Honolulu, Florida and Mexico. (I suggest you sit for a briefing to know more about Club Intrawest‘ privileges which are great for you and your family. And oh, you may want to mention my name so we can share a glass of my favorite pina colada as a referral token.)

I know how to ski, but snowboarding is a complete stranger to me. What I do know however, is that it was often considered more dangerous than skiing. Nevertheless, I mustered up the strength to learn something new – after all, that is typically Jhet. In my mind, I listed the reasons why I should get my feet on the board:

1. My goal is to learn a new sport. Not just to try, but to learn.
2. I see a lot of snowboarders jumping off the mountain and that looks like fun.
3. My two daughters are into snowboarding, so why shouldn’t I?
4. My family is with me and we are cheerleading each other, nothing beats a greater environment than that.

First things first, the gears. Snowboarding outfit and equipment are quite costly. A complete set which include the board, gloves, wrist protector, and boots for starters would cost anywhere from $600-1000++. So better take this new sports to heart. Once I invested on these, I knew I have to be committed. There are variety of shops up the resort to buy your gears from, you also have the option to rent while you are in Whistler.

My lessons were set the second day. I am both excited and apprehensive, already convinced that with fun comes bruises, and body aches. A friend wrote “snowboarding is difficult to learn but once you get the hang of it, you’ll never go back skiing again.” Avid skiers, on the other hand, say, “Skiing is better than snowboarding. If you want to get hurt, go snowboarding. Snowboarders are a nuisance in the mountain, it’s for the crazy people.”

That sounds pretty controversial doesn’t it? But up there, everyone was friendly and was willing to share the slopes whether on snowboard or ski. For me, it’s all about preference and what gives me more fun. Stick to whichever sport suits you. But hey, there’s no harm in learning both.

My instructor, Leif, a young Australian snowboarder, taught me the basics: how to ride the board, balance my body, and observe safety precautions. For beginners, hiring an instructor is highly recommended because statistics show that four to six per thousand persons get seriously injured each day. Don’t be scared, just watch your speed. Whistler happens to have the best variety of instructors from the world over – Australian, Japanese, Koreans, Canadians, French, German – pick yours.

After my snowboarding lecture and actual lessons on the snow, my body was already aching. The negative 24 degrees made it worst, my first time in 23 years living in Canada! I thought, why am I switching from ski to the board when I was able to do the green, the blue runs, and even the black diamond? These are the easiest, intermediate, and advanced level of difficulty of skiing, respectively.

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I’m not sure if am alone but I must admit I never liked boxing myself and I seldom watch such fights. But that has all changed because of Manny “PacMan” Pacquaio who inspired me to look past the uncomfortable physical bruises and wounds and embrace the game as pure sports. Like me, this eight-division world champion is a Filipino – born out of poverty but because of dedication to the sports he love has rose to fame and success.

During my last visit in the Philippines, my daughter Mish and I was invited to dinner by a young gentleman from Ireland.  He read my book “The Tale of Juliet” and I was happy to be his guest to a fine dinner at Chef Jessie’s restaurant in Rockwell.

This European man loves the Philippines - its culture, people, sights and sounds over the many countries he visited which is why he decided to stay longer. Asked what’s keeping him busy in the Philippines aside from his corporate work he excitedly told me he is into boxing. In fact he is the number one of “PacMan”.  Yes he hired his own personal boxing trainer, he buys all the promotional items related to “PacMan”, and is always at the front row whenever “PacMan” defends or snatches a title.

Millions from all over the world tuned on their TV sets and computers to watch Manny Pacquaio’s fight last November. Here in Canada, excitement built up as the day ends. We received several invitations to watch and “potluck” party that evening. My two daughters, though born and raised in Canada shared their pride and support – wearing shirts and jacket imported from the Philippines. For extra loyalty, excitement and camaraderie they even watched the fight with their Filipino-Canadian friends.

Amazing how this small man from a remote place in the Philippines, who worked at the age of 14 and lived on streets when he runs out of money, became the only fighter to win ten world titles in eight different weight divisions and was named “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000’s by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).

Rough is Only Mental

“Rough is only mental” is one of the promotional messages on his recent match with Mexican fighter Antonio Margarito. Yes it’s  mental on any game that we play in life. It’s only rough because we think it’s rough. For Manny, the fight can be an exciting, nerve wracking 12 rounds especially when you are up against a bigger guy. I wonder what’s going inside his head during the fight but I believe that one thing is true – it’s all about mind set. Change our thoughts and change our results.

His blows are powerful, his fists strong. And I believe that beyond his physical strength lies a greater power with Pacquiao:

1. Power of Intention – PacMan is focused on one goal – to do an excellent job . “Great things are done by people who think great thoughts and then go out into the world to make their dreams come true” – Plato

2. Power of Focus – Like a laser beam, PacMan only has his eye on the fight and channels all his energy to deliver one great fight. “Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon will inevitably come to pass.” - Paul J. Meyer

3. Power of Determination – Even as a young boy, PacMan is keen on winning despite poverty. He sets his eyes on his goals, and surrounds himself with the best team who can help him succeed. “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life whih he has imagined, he will met with a success unexpected in common hours.” Henry David Thoreau

4. Power of Believing – PacMan always believed in himself, in his coach Freddie Roach,  and always sees himself as one who has already won the game. “What is genuinely lacking in people is that they do not believe. You are able to obtain in life what you belief will enable you to obtain.” – Mohammed Ali

5. Power of Action – Though he encountered distractions along the way, Pacquiao poured in his time on months and weeks of training. He took action to be physically and mentally prepared – and you saw how many punches he made!

6. Power of Gratefulness – Always kneeling and praying before and after a fight, Pacquaio dedicates his game to God, shows that he is grateful for his family, his friends, supporters and his country. This expression of gratitude is a very powerful force and when we apply this into our lives we get more of what we already received. “When you feel grateful, you become great and eventually attract great things.” Plato

7. Power of Sharing – Even before taking his oath as a congressman and amassing wealth which can outlast his lifetime, Pacquiao has always shared his winnings to the poor – donating goods and food to his native town.  “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” - Winston Churchhill

Inspired by  my country’s hero, I have included in my “bucket list” to meet Pacquaio personally and interview him as an inspirational athlete, a great ambassador and as a public servant. We have few things in common – and one of them is our height. We petite people have no fear of the giants. Hail to the world’s greatest boxer!

With confidence, I introduced myself and asked If I can interview him to share his wisdom. He instantly agreed and we did an impromptu interview during one of the breaks. He talked about creating our environment by design instead of by default. Here’s what he had to say:

According to him there are 9 different environments that we shoud understand and be consciously aware of 24/7. These are:

Apart from being aware, Jim shared that it is important for us to assess and craft these environments to our advantage. To do this:

1. Listen and be aware to each of the nine environments. Do they inspire or expire you?
2. Assess your current ratings in each – is it good or can it still be improved?
3. Establish or write down your “desired” action or changes you want to make.
4. Identify the negative aspects of the environments that you want to delete.
5. Identify what positive things or changes you want to add and act on them.

If we become more conscious of our environments, do the prescribed strategies above, and stick to our action plan, we can live an extraordinary and ultimate life.

Jim and I agreed on the fact that a lot of people go to seminars, get pumped up to transform, but go back to their same old life. In order to avoid self-help learnings from becoming shelf-help, Jim said that we need to consistently focus and act on three things, everyday:

• Towards happiness
• Towards health
• Towards wealth

Is it really possible for someone to be happy, healthy, wise? The big answer is  YES! If you put happiness first, your health, and wealth will follow. They key is the awareness and recognition of what makes you happy, what makes you healthy, and wealth creation will follow as a result.

“Live life by design and not by default. Craft your environment because the right environments pull you into a bigger game or a bigger you,” Jim said.

For more information please check Jim’s site http://www.ultimategameoflife.com Whew! I am glad I trusted my intuition. He is a man with a big heart, and I love his life philosophy!