Opportunities are everywhere if you spot it grab it or you'll never know

What does opportunity look like? Is it BIG, is it small, does it scream OPPORTUNITY? How do you know what it looks like if you never seen it before?

How can you be certain that you're not missing opportunity everyday?

Every time you walk on by thinking about the day ahead and all the tasks you will need to do you will be missing opportunities.

Every time you ride the train listening to your ipod gazing into space you will be missing opportunities.

Every time you think of yesterday and all the troubles that follow you today you will be missing opportunities.

Every time you see the future and everything you must do overwhelming yourself with nothing more but illusions you will be missing opportunities.

Opportunities are everywhere, but you, you will be missing out on them everyday of your life if you never are here but always seem to be up there with the bird

Opportunities are everywhere if you spot it grab it or you'll never know

The Dual Sting of Depression and Anxiety - Involuntary Defeat Strategy (IDS)

For anyone who has ever felt the dual sting of both depression and anxiety, you know that there is a link between the two in many instances. It makes sense that, if an individual has experienced the rejection and defeat that contributes to depression, they will ultimately experience anxiety in regards to confronting the sources of that depression. There are many ways to label this connection, but the basic premise is simple - the more severe the depression, the higher level the anxiety ultimately reaches.

There is a difference however in what kinds of depression can cause this sort of reaction. For some people, depression can be caused by their attachments. Having a fight with a loved one or breaking up with a long time partner can be a source of depression that is debilitating but not always in a manner that breeds higher levels of anxiety. However, depression directly attributed to one's perception of social ranking can often be directly tied to the development of anxiety.

What this means is that this high level depression is caused by a feeling of inadequacy and inferiority within a given social environment. The individual is made to feel submissive and defeated in a social competition - whether it is losing a spouse to another man or woman, losing a job to a coworker, or being upstaged by a persistently more successful sibling. This feeling of defeat compounds and, due to the inherent hierarchy that exists in any social interaction, people start to judge or rate each other. Worse yet, those that suffer from depression assume they are being judged and rated, even when they are not, and start to develop high levels of anxiety about what their friends and family think of them and how they will react to almost every decision made.

Recent studies have gone on to show that this form of anxiety is unique in that it is directly related to the way in which you interact with those around you. One in particular - that of David Zuroff from the University of Toronto - states that when people gather in a group of essentially any form an immediate hierarchy develops. This hierarchy and the ranking of each individual within that hierarchy can then be measured based on their level of low positive effect - a term referring to the depression they have experienced as a result of defeat, rejection, or losses in a social setting. The comparison was drawn between this low positive effect level and the ability of the individual to hold attention and attraction in their peers through respect, influence, likeability, and other social prominent factors.

The study went on to show that the lower a person is within the social hierarchy of a given group, the higher the level of depression they may suffer from, and the more anxiety they will develop as a result - feeling trapped within the social environment and overwhelmed by those they feel are better than them. Rather than confronting this perception, they retreat within themselves, hiding from outside sources due to a perceived or very real lack of support from their family, friends, and peers.

Zuroff's study is based upon a theory known as IDS or Involuntary Defeat Strategy (Gilbert, 2000; Sloman, 2000) which basically states that depression is directly caused by an activation of an instinct that keeps defeated individuals from attempting possibly dangerous contests with rivals that are superior. This social rank competition theory means that a great deal of depression is caused simply by individuals not being able to terminate this IDS reflex in their brains at the end of a social competition. They continue to allow the effects of losing a job or breaking up someone to affect how they perceive and interact with the world.

Millions of people attempt each day to overcome social pressures and be an important part of the social hierarchy. Those that can overcome their depression by working with those around them and terminating the self-defeating behavior our brains attempt to instill when we fail, will not only be able to operate free of much of the social anxiety they experience - they will quickly rise to the top of the social rankings.

Want to learn more about Involuntary Defeat Strategy?

Bruno LoGreco Master Life Coach, Toronto Canada.

The Dual Sting of Depression and Anxiety - Involuntary Defeat Strategy (IDS)

Finding Your Life Purpose - The answer is closer than you think

My journey as a life coach started in late 2006, after resigning from a Fortune 500 Pharmaceutical Company. The last two years of my career before getting in to life coaching I lived in a hotel in a small town in the state of New Jersey. I lived there alone away from friends and family. Being away from home alone in a different country with nothing to do left me with a lot of time to think about the meaning of life and the purpose of it.

I couldn’t imagine working for someone else for 40 years, only dreaming of a dream while the people I worked for got to live theirs. It just didn’t seem right. Something else that bothered me was the idea of working hard until age 65, and then retiring. “Really! That’s how long I need to work for before having time to enjoy life?” That definitely didn’t seem right to me, not at all, in fact it made me anxious thinking about it. So I spent countless nights after working reading countless books trying to find a different way of life.

I read Tipping Point, Blink, Cracking The Millionaire Code, Chicken Soup For The Soul, One Minute Millionaire, Success Principles, Power v.s Force, Think and Grow Rich, the list goes on and on. I fell disappointed after reading each book. I was hoping to find the answer in one of them – my purpose – my next journey, the answer I was looking for. Instead what I found was another author writing about similar concepts that are common sense. “Everyone knows those concepts, tell me something I don’t know.” I’d say to myself, while losing hope of ever finding the answer.

Then one day in early 2006, a friend who lived back home decided she had enough of working for someone else and quit her job. “Heck, if she can do it so can I.” I said to myself. So I submitted my resignation. I gave them 8 weeks – 2 months notice that I would be leaving and returning for home. I gave-up my career and returned home to nothing. I literally jumped into a pool of nothing. Talk about being impulsive.

I did end up working for a national energy company when I first got home for a short period of time, but I just couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t work for someone else, so I quit after three months. With no income, no job and only with a promise of entrepreneurship - an idea to create a pet apparel company, I was desperate to survive. And so I created my own job for the first several months, consulting, providing my expertise in Strategic Sourcing & Vendor Management: negotiating and finalizing multi-million dollar agreements for companies without an in-house sourcing group. It was a gold mine because only big companies have sourcing professionals. Small to medium businesses don’t and are vulnerable to vendor strategies unless someone with experience, like me, could help them negotiate favorable agreements. So it wasn't difficult finding business. But it was more of the same –It was very unfulfilling.

Then one late night in October of 2006, a friend and I were having drinks chatting about life at my place. She was struggling with a situation and had asked me for advice. I instantly saw what she was doing that she couldn’t see and I knew that if I could show her she would figure it out on her own and develop skills that would benefit her later. So I asked her a series of probing questions. Each one probing more into how her beliefs but more importantly why she believed what she did getting to the root of her problem – not the surface level cause. And with each answer it revealed a clue unlocking the answer and the solution of her problem. And that’s when she looked at me and said, “You need to become a life coach. Your really good at it”, she said. Those words vibrated in my head like nothing else ever did. They sent me into my past recalling every single memory I had of me helping someone. I have memories of me asking question and leading people to their own conclusions from age 10. I have memories of being in my teens helping friend overcome personal issues. I even was a 360 Business Coach for the Pharmaceutical Company I worked for. OH MY GOD!!!!! I’ve been life coaching my whole life and I didn’t even know it. BINGO-BINGO-BINGO!!!!!

The next day I walked outside, on my way to get a hair cut and locked eyes with the first stranger I saw and said this to myself, "You don't know who I am today but you will tomorrow."

I spent the rest of 2006 putting it all together. I launched my www.brunologreco.com on January 1, 2007, the rest is history.

Happiness and fulfillment are in you to experience. Unleash the real you and experience the joy and bliss that comes with it. ~Bruno LoGreco

Finding Your Life Purpose - The answer is closer than you think

10 Things You Didn't Know About You

#7 Much of a Meal is Food For Thought

Though it makes up only 2 percent of our total body weight, the brain demands 20 percent of the body's oxygen and calories. To keep our noggin well-stocked with resources, three major cerebral arteries are constantly pumping in oxygen. A blockage or break in one of them starves brain cells of the energy they require to function, impairing the functions controlled by that region. This is a stroke.

10 Things You Didn't Know About You

Obsessing and Beating Up Yourself? Here's a Healthier Choice

I caught myself obsessing yesterday. I was planning this upcoming week scheduling appointments, physical training, studying and writing, and time for ‘me’ into the calendar. I always schedule ‘me’ time everyday. Me time usually consist of breaks for meals, meditating and some sort of creative expression. I’m not anal about it so if I skip a day it’s okay but if I skip too many days I fall out of whack and become useless to my clients. So it is important that I make time for what matters.

Essentially I make time for everything that contributes to my overall personal and professional growth and especially if it helps me maintain a healthy balance of mind-body-soul. And we all know achieving this balance is easier said than done… Right?
It was after twelve o’clock when I decided to go back to an old project to review it and learn from it. I am that guy that learns from mistakes. And as much as I am that guy sometimes I hate what I find. “What were you thinking?” is the question that almost always follows after reviewing something and right before I start beating up myself – just like you do. And that’s what I did yesterday when I started obsessing.

I don’t know about you but my logic goes to hell in a hand basket when I don’t eat. My blood sugar drops and things don’t make sense anymore and I lose patience. Not only that but I can’t think things through properly. Its pretty good indicator I need nutrients when I can’t connect the dots.

By one o’clock I was famished, running late and beating up myself. I opened the refrigerator door hoping for leftovers but I didn’t cook Saturday, so I knew nothing was there. I closed the refrigerator door and pulled on the freezer drawer and Voila! – A Healthy Choice Gourmet Steamer – Beef Merlot, my favorite of all the flavors. It took all of 5-minutes to get the nutrients I need.

After lunch I realized there was no way I could have done any better on that project because I did not have experience. It was my first time doing something like that. I had to go through that process to learn the skills I need to do it better the next time. And I’m sure after each experience I will get better and better at it just like any other skill.


Would you believe it took just a little bit of clarity to come to that realization? What changed in such a short period of time you might ask? Nutrients! I Replaced the fiber, iron, and carbohydrates my brain craves. I replenished the energy it needs for me to be able to see things clearly and to find an honest solution.

It really can be this easy if you made time for what matters.

Visit Breakfast Television for a chance to win $3,000 towards a healthy new lifestyle!

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach, Author & Motivational Speaker

Obsessing and Beating Up Yourself? Here's a Healthier Choice

Women's Pet Peeve

Women's Pet Peeve

What are they? I would like to hear from you. If you have a pet peeve about men and want to let them know about it this is your chance. Take a moment and share your pet peeve with me and the readers of this blog. Click on the comment field at the end of this post and leave your pet peeve for others to read. If you feel uncomfortable sharing it with the world you can email me directly at bruno@brunologreco.com

What does the man in your life do that drives you crazy?

Women's Pet Peeve

Goals worthwhile achieving take time patience and commitment

So its 7 days into the New Year and I am well on way to achieving my goals. How about you, did you start working towards yours?

In my last post It’s a Brand New Year I listed 4 goals I will be working towards this year. Actually, one of them – Finish Book, has been an ongoing goal for the past 5 years. I tried to write it a number of times but failed every time. Okay, maybe I didn’t fail. Let me rephrase that. I did not have all the components to finish writing it - not until this past summer. So every time I tried to put it together in the past it never made sense. After reading each version I’d ask myself if I would buy the book and my answer was “No.”

This past summer while working with a colleague on a docu-series I was asked to describe the system I use to help clients to overcome self-defeating and negative behavior. I began explaining the process to him assuming he already had an understanding of awareness. He’s a filmmaker whose attention to detail is incredible and reminded me that people don’t know what I know about awareness and I shouldn’t assume they do, and asked me to explain the process in detail. I proceeded to illustrate the process, how I take clients through the journey of self-discovery. The tools I use to uncover root causes to negative behavior. How I unlock their true identity and natural strengths and use those to plan for the future. Being able to spit out those words and illustrating the process for somebody else to visualize in detail was the inspiration I needed for the book and for the birth of Tri-Commitment to Success, my workshop. This was the meeting that needed to happen for me to finish putting the book together.

Sometimes ideas take a long time to come to fruition. Some people have a dream and get all the inspiration they need to produce something amazing the morning after, while other people get inspired by experiences but need several of them over a period of time to produce something amazing. Everyone is different. Personally, it takes me a long time to produce something. It has taken 5 years and counting to write the book and 1 year to produce the workshop

A tip I often leave clients is that nothing worthwhile is easy to achieve nor does it happen overnight. Just think back to when you got your driver’s license. You had to go through a process to get it – drivers permit and then take drivers ed perhaps a had to go through a graduated licensing program. But when you finally did get your full license you were free and independent and unless you break the law or have health issues, it’s yours for life.

Now I am months away from the final manuscript. And less than 2 months to the launch of Tri-Commitment to Success. Both were goals worthwhile pursuing and well worth the journey.

Did you carry over a goal from last year?

Bruno LoGreco Life Coach Toronto

Goals worthwhile achieving take time patience and commitment

It's a Brand New Year

Are you excited about it? What are you working towards? What goal did you set for yourself?

At the end of every year I review my accomplishments. I look over the list of goals I set for myself from the year past before setting new ones. I also check a few times throughout the year to see how I am tracking. I accomplished most of what I set off to do last year and gained a lot of experience from it. But I am also taking some of the goals with me into this upcoming year because some need more time. I didn’t anticipate some of the challenges. Plus I need to really refine what I have.

Last year I made a mistake. I was very ambitious with goals. I wanted to bite more than I could chew. Set 1 goal only and accomplish it first before moving onto another one. Or you run the risk of feeling overwhelmed and not accomplishing anything. Keep it simple. Stick to 1 maybe 2 goals. Be specific and create a measurement to track your progress. And make sure you are passionate about it. This year I'm keeping it simple and only adding 1 goal to the list. The rest are goals I need to improve and master first before setting new ones.

1. Finish book (March 2011)
2. Launch workshop (February 27th)
3. Docu-Series - television show (Sept. 2011)
4. Charity (Feb 2011)

And don’t forget to celebrate your successes.


Bruno LoGreco life coach toronto, motivational speaker & spokesperson

It's a Brand New Year