SamFrederick.Com

Every Wednesday I share a personal confession of my own and all I ask from you in return is that you leave a comment to share a confession of yours as well. So, here goes…

I am blown away by the power of Social Media and Social Networking.

Something that meant very little to me just a few years ago, now plays a huge role in how I connect with others.

Isn’t it crazy how quickly Myspace – Blogs – Facebook – Twitter  became natural parts of our lives?

I check my Facebook like it’s my e-mail and update my Twitter as if people care every single day.

If Facebook was a country it would be the 4th largest in the world.  Youtube would be the 3rd.

Through facebook I have reconnected with friends that I haven’t even spoke with in over 15 years.  I have also made new friends as well.

Here is a crazy one…I actually care if someone un-friends me on Facebook.  Really?

Last week, I created a YouTube account based off of a conversation I had with John Forbis.  Since Saturday the videos on my channel have been viewed nearly 600 times.  That’s since Saturday!  I am not saying that to brag AT ALL!  I haven’t really promoted the videos on there all that much.  Matter of fact, my most watched videos on there haven’t been promoted at all really.

Social media has become one of the best ways for businesses to market themselves and influencers to get their message into the hands of the right audience.

Last night I decided to begin a little social media experiment.

I asked my daughter, Sidney, what she wanted to do this summer.  She quickly responded that she wanted to be in the parade at Disneyland and she would like to meet Tinker Bell.  So, I decided to create  a Facebook page and see what happens.  Here’s what I am curious to see..

1. How many followers can this page have?

2. With enough fans, can I get out message into the hands of the right people and actually make this happen?

This experiment could totally bomb….but what if it doesn’t?  I thought it would be fun and worth the try.

Here is the link to the page. Let’s Help Sidney Get in the Parade at Disney. Please help me by spreading the word and joining my experiment.  It could be fun to watch it grow or to watch it go nowhere together!

I want to learn how to use social networking well.

Now it’s your turn…

Two questions this week.

How often do you check your Facebook in an average day?

Are you on Twitter? Why or why not?

Thanks for reading my blog.

Week Four of Operation Fat-B-Gone is over!

This was not my best week.

I was at a conference in California for over half of the week and struggled to make time to work out while  I was there.

I did eat pretty well while I was there…which surprised me.  I just didn’t exercise enough.

WEIGH-IN TIME!

I lost 3 more pounds this week. That puts my total weight loss at 13 pounds in 4 weeks.

Sweet!

That I didn’t put any weight on while in California is a miracle.

This week I am going to work harder and try to lose 4-5 pounds.

If I want to have the physique of David Hasselhof it’s going to take some more hard work!

Now let’s hear from you!

Comment below and tell me how you are doing on your weight loss/get in shape plan?

Good or bad.  You still need to share.

Let’s help each other work toward achieving our goal!

Had a great time at Catalyst West Coast over the last couple of days. If you are not familiar with Catalyst, it’s a conference for Next Generation Leaders.

Here are some videos from the last couple of days.

Chris Tomlin leading at the Evening Session

Mark Driscoll

The People of the Second Chance Car

John at Tommy’s Burgers

Mariah McManus

Erwin McManus

Slam Poetry Champ. Anis Mojgani

Donald Miller

John Throwing a Ball at Someone Random

Laguna Beach

This is a video of Jon Acuff giving out copies of his book, “Stuff Christians Like” at Catalyst West Coast.

If you haven’t been to his blog or read his book, this guy is hilarious.  Click this link to read more.

StuffChristiansLike.Net

More videos of our trip to come.

Every Wednesday I share a personal confession of my own and all I ask from you in return is that you leave a comment to share a confession of yours as well. So, here goes…

I love the Disney Channel.

I am not afraid to admit that.

It’s true.

Hannah Montana…I actually laugh at some of the jokes.

Wizards of Waverly Place…hilarious.

Phineas and Ferb…might be my favorite show.

It used to be hard for me to sit and watch a show with my oldest daughter, Abby.  Now I turn on Disney before she even asks!

To be really honest, I have probably turned off a sporting event or three to watch something on Disney.

Sad…I know.

To take it a step further, we listen to Disney Radio in our car as well.  Might not like the radio channel as much as tv channel, but I can sing most of the lyrics to Justin Bieber’s song, “Baby”, if that tells you anything.

Now it’s your turn.

Is there a show, band, channel you like that most people would be surprised about?

Don’t judge me until you share your confession!

I can’t believe I am already 3 weeks into Operation Fat-B-Gone!  Craziness!

This week wasn’t my best week, but I still did ok.

I had a chocolate dipped ice cream cone on Friday night and ate a little too much pizza at a party yesterday afternoon.  Both were bad choices.  Again though…they felt so right in the moment.

I also took 3 days off this week from exercising.  I got a little loss in my schedule and wasn’t disciplined enough to force myself to work out.

Anywhoo…

My weight loss for this week is 2 pounds.

That means I have lost a total of 10 pounds in 3 weeks!

I am on my way to having the body of David Hasselhoff!

On Wednesday I will be leaving for a conference in California for 4 days.  I know the hotel that we will be staying at has an exercise room and I plan on taking advantage of that.

I also plan on eating at Pink’s Hot Dogs while I am there.  Amazing and VERY fattening hot dogs!

Hopefully all of the exercise I do throughout the week will pay off and I will come back down some more weight.

I at the very least don’t want to gain any back!

Now it’s your turn!

Some of you are hiding out and afraid to be honest about how you are doing.  Step it up!

Be honest about it and start making improvements today.

Again, I appreciate the accountability!  You have all been a HUGE help!

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This week I asked one of my closest friends, Jesse Watson, to be a “guest star” on my blog.  If you are interested in ministry or becoming a better leader, make sure to check out his blog at www.jessewatsonblog.com . One more thing, do me a favor and please leave a comment below telling Jesse he is a FANTASTIC story teller and needs to write a book!

My head was hanging over the white porcelain toilet bowl and all I could think was, ‘I wonder if I am going to die.’ My dad was pacing.  He was on the phone and his pacing annoyed me.  He was talking to the doctor, who was giving my dad instructions on how to ‘pump my stomach’ from home.  I remember being really scared.

You see, I had just overdosed.

I always wanted to be the guy who took big risks. Unfortunately, the gap between wanting to and actually taking risks was huge. Fear kept me from stepping out into the unknown.  I was never the one who would take the first step.  I was always afraid of standing out, afraid of bringing attention to myself. I couldn’t stand the thought at being laughed at or pointed out. So, I never did anything risky.  I just stood in line with everyone else.

Leaders seem to be few and far between don’t they?  Actually, that is only partially true.  Natural born leaders are few and far between.  Self-made leaders are everywhere. Even more so, if you are a Christian, you are called to lead.  It is a mandate!  Following Christ requires standing out!  Taking initiative is what God has called us to do.  Remember, He said, “Go into the nations making disciples of men..” Jesus didn’t say “Wait right where you are and I will bring you men to make into disciples.”  I love that about Jesus.  He challenges us to take risks!

My confession is this: Somewhere along the way, I decided to be the ‘dancing shirtless guy.’ The video below should explain just what I mean.  It doesn’t mean I’m always the first to jump or the first to ‘red rover, red rover’ myself right over.  But, it does mean my perspective about risks as a leader has changed.  Leaders take initiative. They make the first call. They set up the meeting first. They make tough decisions.

Take a moment to watch video.  It is 2 minutes and 57 seconds that will challenge your leadership.

Oh and the overdose? It was my first attempt at taking a risk. Albeit a dumb risk, but when your 8 years old, Flintstone’s vitamins look like candy! And plus my neighbor challenged me in a ‘who can eat the most’ contest. Confession: I won.

Take a risk this week.

Three weeks ago, I made the CONFESSION that is was time for me to lose some weight! I was surprised that quite a few of my friends decided that to not only support me, but join with me in losing weight also! Monday will be the day we share our progress.

Week two of fighting the fat is officially behind me/us!

I have to admit, this week was a little tougher than last week.  I worked out harder, ate better and lost less weight.  It was frustrating for me because I continued to check the scale to see how I was doing and was never happy with what I saw.  Lame!

I know that it takes a while to lose weight in a healthy way, but I like immediate results!

Oh…I also munched on some popcorn when we went to the movies yesterday afternoon.  That probably wasn’t the best choice…but it tasted so right!

Time for the good stuff.

My current weight is 220.

I lost 3 pounds this week.  That makes my total weight loss 8 pounds in two weeks.

That is definitely better than gaining weight and losing 3 pounds in 1 week is still really good.

I will take it.

Now it’s your turn.

How did you do this week in your challenge of getting into better shape?

Good or bad..we want to know.

Comment on this blog and check in.

It’s actually fun trying to all do this together.  Thanks for being a part of this with me.  Don’t stop!

GROUP ACTIVITY
Oh..if you live in Arizona we will be meeting for our first group activity this Saturday, April 17 at Gilbert Reparian Preserve, which is right by the Library at Gilbert and Greenfield. We will meet a 9 and start our walk about 9:15 please let me know if you are coming so we know who we should wait for!  Ruth Cover is heading this up and it should be a lot fun.  You can bring your kiddos along for this one.

If you are reading this for the first time today and would like to join, just share your current weight or how much weight you would like to lose and make this your first week.

Just saw this commercial Nike put it of the voice of Tiger Woods Father, who passed away a few years ago, talking to him about what seems to be the recent mess he has found himself in. I love everything about this. Publicity stunt or not. Interesting to think about the conversation his father would have had with him.

Shouldn’t we all be about second chances?