Bamboozled

"One of the saddest lessons in history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle.  We're no longer interested in finding out the truth.  The bamboozle has captured us.  It is simply too painful to acknowledge -- even to ourselves -- that we've been so credulous.  So the old bamboozles tend to persist as the new bamboozles rise." - Carl Sagan

Outside of the pink leather binding of my iPad that holds my Bible App in any translation that I could ever want to imagine, God still comes up with unique ways of teaching me so many of life's most precious lessons.

Just after 8:00pm I walked through the open door from the parking lot up the narrow stairs into the place only a couple of months ago I have been so happy to see.  When you walk through the glass door, you see a great collection of Hammer Strength equipment, you can feel the energy of the inhabitants, and the feeling of familiarity.  There at the front desk when you round the corner is the man of the house - the one they all look up to, the one that they introduced me to who could help me on my journey to pursue a dream.  This is a place that I would love to call my gym -- "my home."

Just two months ago things were all good, and I was (and still am) making great progress, but something in me has been a little unsettled.  I train four hard days a week, and my body has been wearing down on me rapidly, but I keep pushing. This method of training is contrary to everything I have learned, but this guy: "He sends athletes all the time to competition.  Even his girlfriend has won awards, so he must know what he is talking about and how to get there."

That still small voice on the inside of me is steadily whispering something I just cannot hear.

Juxtaposed to this, I was fortunate to meet another man through a chance visit in Zurich, that led to an email to a friend, who emailed another friend to ask if he would be interested in training.  Less than 24 hours later I get an email from a man I have never met in my life (to date) offering me an opportunity to explore another avenue for my training.  To this offer I quietly said 'yes' and reached out to the man of a friend's friend's friend -- I call him Karsten.  One thing Karsten has done for me was help get me back to center.  The still small voice gets a little louder.  

With my training, I have always followed and trained a certain way, and I believe this way absolutely works.  Where I have gone wrong is trying to pursue a path how others do it because that is way things have always been done.  The bamboozle begins.

Social Media is filled with people training 6-7 days a week - "team no days off" they say.   To myself I think they can't be training that hard.  Because I am all for days off!  My body needs days off, or I cannot function as a normal human being.  

My body - my body is the most intelligent organism that I have encountered.  And if I listen to it, it tells me exactly what it needs, and if I give it what it needs, it give me what I need in return.  It is the best relationship I have been in!

So what if the time and energy spent beating your body in the ground and posting it all over social media was not necessary to reaching you goals?  Unfortunately, that will never be the case because too many people have trained this way for years, and other people who see them look up to them and automatically accept what they have to say.  Parallel to that, these people have built a following, a platform that draw hundreds of thousands of "Likes" a day.  And what would happen to those "Likes" if you started training "against the grain?" To think you would "fall from grace" is too much to swallow.  So we push off the search for new truths and keep getting up every morning and pushing it to the limit, because that is what you have built everything on.  The bamboozle continues.

The problem with the above is this: we look at people and assume that because they have reached a certain point in their journey, they have also taken the "BEST" path. We never question or research for ourselves that there could be an easier way.  Instead we give them platforms to show they "expertise" and jump on the bandwagon for every new craze of any kind that is marketed to us.  We want to believe in something so bad that we start to believe in everything. And when those things do not work out, we blame ourselves but we are unwilling to change to do things differently from what is the "norm" because these things challenge us to our core.

But being challenged to the core is what makes us great.  Being stripped down and exposed is what propels us to new levels of being.  But to be stripped down means to first be vulnerable, and to realize that a lot of what you have come to know and stand on may not be 100% true.  It means that your core beliefs are faulty, it could even mean that you have invested a lot of time and effort for nothing.  It means that you will have to change - all the way down to your beliefs.

Unfortunately, this is a challenge that is most commonly looked over because to crack a foundation is to crack a portion of your soul.  Even though I can tell you that there is something greater just on the other side of those flames, and those are only shadows that you are so intrigued with on the wall.  It is a place few people choose to go.  So instead we stick to the "bamboozles" -- the shackles -- that we have built our lives, our past times,  our goals, our joys on top of, in fear of the life - in the matrix :) - that actually frees us.

Because what will my life be without the bamboozles?  New bamboozles arise.


With Love,

Jo Coop

The Winning Corner

As I record the event of the next few years, I want to make it more than the travel and experience, but also if the internal changes that come with this adventure that I am on.  So I am 4 months into my move to Germany and it has been met already with many priceless experiences (invigorating and draining).  There is absolutely nothing that can prepare you for packing up your life in one place and moving to another.  There would have been a bit of a struggle moving from the East coast to the West coast, or the rustle and bustle of the North to the calm and the patience of the South.  But in America, you have one thing that will always play in your favor -- Everyone speaks English!!!   And the culture is the same.  No matter where you go, it will be easy to make friends and meet new people.  But there is a common foundation that everyone has that helps facilitate the adaptation to the new surroundings.

For a young woman who has moved from Detroit, Michigan where she was born and raised to Stuttgart  (actually Esslingen) Germany more than 5,000 miles away from the place she calls home -- change is a formidable foe.  I have traveled to Germany more than 6 times in the last couple of years on business, but there is one thing to travel somewhere on business or just for travel, and another to move someplace for a long-term experience and have to call it home.  Things as simple as going to CVS to pick up a prescription changes, has a different process, and is done in a different language (not to mention has a different name).  From day 1, it's sensory overload - sight, hearing, taste, sound, touch, and I will add spirit.  Everything is new, the air, the germs, the feel of the air on a spring or summer day.

But at the same time, the change assists in the personal growth.  When you pick up and move across the globe away from your safety net, your support system and your comfort zone, some things are just not the same anymore.  The issues that you may have stressed or thought about in your previous world are minuscule compared to your present challenges, and the hopes and dreams that you have become bigger as your dreams are being realized in your everyday life.  At the same time, that safety net is pulled from under you and you realize that every 'T' un-crossed and every 'I' un-dotted means that you, and you alone are solely responsible for any repercussion that may come from the oversight.  But it also serves as a catalyst into actual self-growth and independence.

Although this experience is met with so many challenges, it also has so many benefits.  And the pros definitely outweigh the cons.  As a person, a daughter, an employee, a friend, I am already better.  I have already learned so much about myself and I know if I can do this, I can do even more - with God on my side.

Most of all, I know where my real support system lies.  And I have grown to appreciate it more and more as the days go by.  There is nothing like the love of a mother, who you could only hope to be like one of these days, or the days you can talk to a father who has been the true definition of what a real man should be.  The friendship of sisters, that through the good times or more frustrating, the unconditional love trumps everything else and they will always be there.  To an Aunt and Uncle who was willing to take in your dog as one of their family knowing one day he would move with you, but they loved him just the same.  To the friend even thousands of miles aways you can Skype with to help with a business meeting or call when one of 'us' is no longer with us.  To the friends and family, already, that I had the opportunity to share in the birth of their children.  To the payments I pay every month to be in the right place with the right people at those special times. To the pastor that has prayed for you in-spite of your faults, and the woman you have learned the meaning and benefits of serving.  From the laughs on Instagram from soon to be family in reality.  To the mentors is Southern California with a room always for me.  To the people who just stay in touch - without reason, without alternative motives - but with unconditional love: this blog posting is for you, the corner, MY WINNING CORNER!

If nothing else in this life: keep dreaming and pursue your dreams regardless of the outcome.  I promise you will never be disappointed and life will always give back to you what you go after.

Dream Big, Live Big,

I love you all!

10 Years Later.....A Long Way Away!

Just recently I passed the 10 year mark of the day I graduated from High School -- Renaissance H.S. class of 2002.  I never thought, in a million years that I would be standing living in another country and standing in front of the Eifel Tower.  It is one of those dreams that you dream, but don't know how it is going to come true --- but it did.

But it is not a dream that a dream that has come easily.  I cannot tell you how many times I have bumped my head before I actually got here.  I have tried many times to "make" this happen, to have the opportunity to tour the world, but none of them panned out.  But it is true when they say that God will give you the desires of  your heart, because for me that is exactly what happened.

It's hasn't been an easy transition and it is a sobering experience to actually see your network shrink before your eyes, but at the same time, those who are the most in my corner, and in full support have been there for and with me so far every step of the way.  And for them, I send pictures, and call and write this blog, so that no matter where I am in the world, they know that I carry them with me.

So, how did I make it to Paris?  Well my good friend Dorian has taken some time to travel this half of the world, and spontaneously we made a plan to meet up in Paris.  This came at just the right time, because I needed some 'American' in my life.  Someone who knew me, and I could relate to and who could relate to me.  When I tell you we had a good time - WE HAD A GREAT TIME!  I cannot tell you how much I laughed over that weekend.  And the sights -- BREATH TAKING!

We started at the Louvee Museum - the home of the Mona Lisa.  But this enormous facility houses more than the world renowned painting.  It is the home of many works of arts, of which many are older than the Unites States alone.  When you first walk through the threshold called the Louve Museum, there is a wide open space with a glass pyramid in the center.  On a nice sunny day, it looks amazing.  There are actually blocks a little distance away from the pyramid that are set up to take pictures.  If you stand on top of the block you can actually place your hand in a position where it looks like it is sitting right on top of the pyramid.  So cool!

The entrance into the museum is through the pyramid and down the stairs.  Looking up the stairs and out the top of the pyramid is a view to remember. We spent 4 hours in the museum and still didn't get to see everything but did get a taste of what this place had to offer.  There were many equally, and in my opinion, more exquisite than the Mona Lisa and the time spent was only enough time to scratch the surface and tease the imagination.  

We headed off next to the Eiffel Tower.  You CANNOT go to Paris and NOT see the Eiffel Tower.  All of the pictures in the books and magazines do not do it justice.  True, it is only a tower set in the middle of a city, but for me it is testament that what you truly desire -- God will give it to you.  It was a pretty nice day, a little cloudy, but no rain.  On the grass in front of the tower you had people picnicking, playing games, and celebrating milestones with friends and loved ones.  You saw runners, lovers, cats, dogs.  Even for people who live here everyday of their lives, it is a place to go to relax, and have a good time without all of the noise that life can have.  

After the time at the tower we headed off to dinner.  We talked about partying, but me, sometime just a nice quiet night at home is nice.  But Dorian played the "don't be a punk" card so we headed out to meet a friend - Sandrine - that he met during his travels.  We had a great time.  Because not only did we stay in the 'real' Paris, we partied in the 'real' Paris.  Sandrine was cool.  And she brought her friend along as well.  Sandrine could speak english, her friend, not at all.  But let me tell you - FUN is a universal language that everyone knows.  And fun is what we had.  We left the bar and turned in just before sunrise for a few hours of rest before we headed out again.

Sunday, we had another full day in Paris.  Sightseeing is nice, but it can be demanding, and when visiting anywhere it is important to take some time out and just let your surroundings sink in.  The first thing on the agenda - COFFEE!  We decided to head back to the Louvee area and grab some breakfast.  Some of the other sights on our agenda were in that vicinity and we knew a Starbucks was there too.  We hopped on the train and headed in that direction, made a quick Starbucks run, and found a nice place to have brunch.  It was nice, just sitting outside having brunch and great conversation with a great friend.  We got to watch the people - which is always a treat, and let it sink in even more what we are really doing at this time in our lives.  And having known each other for over a decade, remembering where we have come from.  

Brunch doesn't last forever.  We paid and headed for the next stop - Notre Dame.  Walking to Notre Dame had sights of its own to see.  So the walk was nice.  I am a lover of old building and architecture.  Unfortunately, in our you country we don't see some much of that.  The time, and effort put into the creation of these buildings is amazing.



 As we were walking back to the train station to head to the next site, we past the public viewing of the U.S. Open.  It was an amazing site to see all those people sitting outside watching the game.  I have never sat in a public viewing outside to see the Pistons play (even when they were winning).






Just like you can't go to Paris and not see the Eiffel Tower, you also can't go without hitting the premier shopping strip.  There you have all kinds of stores, including the FIVE story Louis Vuitton store with the line wrapped around the corner.

We ended our time in Paris with one last dinner, at a Mexican restaurant recommended to us by one of the locals.  TIP for traveling:  When looking for good places to eat, shop or stay, ask the locals.  They never steer you the wrong way, and it's almost more cost effective on the budget.


It is still amazing to me that 10 years after my High School graduation I am living in Germany.  I am definitely looking forward to the adventures headed my way. Big Dreams....lead to a Big Life, and BIG POSSIBILITIES!!!!

Until next time!!!

P.S. - My favorite 2 pics from Paris: PhotoArt with Dorian, and Jumping in front of the Eiffel Tower (this one contains a story with a lot of laughs)

The Search for the Infamous Haartrockner

As most of you know, I cut my long flowing hair last year wanting to do something different.  And I absolutely love my hair.  However, I cut my hair before I knew that I was moving to Germany.  So the challenge this presents is 2 things: I have to move away from the stylist who has taken care of me for years [tear :( ] and I had to decide what to take and what to chance finding in Germany.  So before I left, I went to my local inner-city beauty supply where the city-wide famous self-dubbed Black Ninja works to procure all of the items that I thought I wouldn't be able to find in Germany.  This is mayonnaise (perm), mousse, gel, wrap strips, hot oil treatment, etc... Needless to say I spent over $75 in the beauty supply.  Once of the things I left for chance is being able to find a bonnet hair dryer.  I assumed that I would be no problem finding one of these because women from all shapes, sizes, colors and backgrounds have or currently sit under one of these at least once a month.  So I knew for sure I would have no problem finding one.

My thoughts were swiftly crushed with my first trip shopping.  Luckily I got my hair done right before I left, so I had about a week to find a solution, especially since I forgot my curly hair staple - glycerin - back at home.  Since I had a workshop for work Wednesday and Thursday of my first week, I was in a race against time to find a bonnet dryer.  I needed to to do something to my head! I sought out my friend Google and eBay to see what I could find.  But since my IP address is registered in Germany, Google and eBay was not fully registering what I wanted to find so I had to look up the word in German for a blow dryer "Haartrockner" and go from there.

Both my Google and eBay search picked up some momentum.  My search results went from almost non-existent to hundreds.  True enough, the Haartrockner can be both for the hand, and also the one sitting on my head, so to narrow it down a bit, I was able to find out that a bonnet hair dryer = haartrockner haube.  I was so excited to really be able to make a correlation, and in no time I should be able to find the elusive dryer.  What I didn't anticipate was finding dryers that I didn't recognize.

The Haartrockner Haube both online and in the stores were nothing like I had ever seen before.  It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.  I didn't know exactly what to do.  I needed to think.  It's amazing how used to certain things you get until you get somewhere and they are not there.  I definitely have taken for granted all the trips to the Black Ninja's beauty supply to just pick up a jar of gel, or flat irons, or even a blow dryer.

After some thought I just decided to go for it and I purchased the alien device.  I say to myself, "Self, with any luck this will work and I will have found something new."  And indeed, it did work!!!!!!  I was so excited.  Now I look funny wearing it, but the contraption is great.

My search for other hair care products have been a different adventure, but I'll leave that for another post.

For your viewing pleasure I have included a picture of me under my new Haartrockner Haube!!!!!

Don't laugh (wink!)


Hugs & Kisses
XOXOXOXOXOXO

A New Journey: JoCoop Takes on Deutschland!

March 25, 2012, I said "See you later" to my family and friends embarking on a new chapter in my life as I moved clear across the world to Stuttgart, Germany.  Ever since my first international experience, when I traveled to England touring with the Renaissance H.S. Symphony Orchestra, I knew that world travel was something that I wanted to do.  I didn't quite know how it was going to happen or through what vehicle and I've definitely bumped my head a number of times trying to make it happen.  But in the end, hard-work, discipline, obedience, and as my dear friend Ted says "hiding and honing" paid-off.  I'm here now, and life as I've known it will never be the same.

I can honestly say that you are never prepared for such move, no matter how much research you do, people you talk to, or things you try to put in place in advance.  I am completing my second week in my new home, but it doesn't feel like home yet.  First, I'm living in a hotel until I can move into my apartment mid-May.  Yes, hotel life is nice, you don't have to clean after yourself, cook, vacuum (which is my all-time most hated chore), etc... but after about a week you long for the time when you can just do those things yourself.  But, it's only temporary, and there is an end, so in the meantime I have been taking the time to shop for all the things I need for my new place.  To put it plainly, I need everything from the bed to the dust pan -- that alone keeps me pretty busy.

I was fortunate to move over here, by pure chance and a favor, with my good friend Rabea.  Rabea and I started working a Detroit Diesel around the same time 4 years ago in 2008.  She's originally from Germany, and has returned.  It has been a great relief with her being here, as we are definitely able to lean on each other during this time of transition.

Last weekend she (Rabea) and I ventured to Hoffmeister and IKEA trying to do some furniture shopping.  Let me tell you, I definitely give it up to all those people who build and remodel a house.  Let's just say after the first floor my head was ready to explode, and we had FOUR more to tackle in Hoffmeister alone.  We hadn't even made it to IKEA yet.

Now IKEA: I may be the last person on earth who had never stepped foot into an IKEA.  Let's just say, I don't plan on spending much time in there.  That store is HUGE.  And even more, it is chaotic, ALL OF THE TIME!  But it was good to go, because I got to actually see some of the items I was interested in online.  Some panned out, others didn't.  But I went to my temporary home, open my laptop, and proceeded to add to my shopping cart the things I will be purchasing and having delivered (I have no plans on stepping foot into that store many more times...LOL!)

Monday, was my first "official" day on my new job.  The work part, I've never been concerned about.  I work with some great people, who I have had the chance to meet and get to know prior to this whole transition.  They make things easier and have been very helpful.  Through them I have found living room furniture, a washing machine, great places to eat and go, tips on places to find different things.  But first, things first, I had to do 2 things: (1) complete my VISA application, (2) get a new ID badge.  Both required photographs.  I will digress for a moment, when I got my passport renewed I had to take a new picture, so I took the least expensive route and went to CVS and had my photo taken.  Needless to say, I am not the least bit happy with my passport photo.  I had to take photos here for my work VISA and my work ID badge.  I made sure, that I did not disappoint myself this time.

Needless to say, I was happy with both outcomes.

There is probably much more I can talk about, but I will do those under separate postings.  This is simply an introduction into me, getting settled into my new life and to stay close to all those who have and continue to support me back home.

Until next time,

Keep Living

XOXOXOXOX

The Bookstore

At one point in time I was a frequent guest of the self-help section of the book store - emphasis on the words SELF-HELP.  I was looking for something - a thought, a word, a sentence, a quote, something - that would help to flame the fire that had already been lit in my heart.  But I was often disappointed; because the journey I read about in those books and the stories of success at the end did not leave me feeling inspired - it left me wanting to shoot myself (not literally).  I could not help but to think that these people were doing a disservice to the millions of readers out there searching for the same things, and more importantly they were wasting my money.  Although the endings of these stories were real and apparent in the news, and Forbes, and the tight circles they frequented, they weren't realistic.  Like many times in my life, they were a synopsis leaving out all of the negative aspects - maybe to protect the self or the ego - but romanticizing the success by portraying that with these few simple steps all my problems would go away.  Even more so, it led me to deduce that if I still felt the same guilt, shame, fear, or pierces to my self worth or self-esteem it was because I was not doing something right in my life, or I was not accurately following these steps.

So I walk out of the self-help isle and past the periodical stands and read the titles on the magazines that promise the same thing - your best body in 10 days, overcoming depression in 3 steps, finding a mate in 5 minutes - and the list goes on.  Now I feel worse, because not only is it my fault that emotionally and mentally I'm struggling on this battlefield of life; physically and socially, I am a failure because I can't seem to lose the extra pounds I picked up after college ball, or no one bought be a drink at the bar that night, or I've failed once again in this unfulfilling relationship and I'm going to end up alone.

Books are fundamental, and by this time I'm fundamentally through with myself and my life, and don't now where else to turn.  So I decide to check out the religion section.  Me, I grew up baptist - or as my pastor would say baptist with a lowercase 'b' and Christian with a capital 'C'.  Anyways, I sift through the different translations of the Bible and move over to the spiritual books.  At this point I'm trying to win the "Battlefield of the Mind"and "Live [My] Best Life Now"in a "Purpose Driven Life" so that I won't get "Left Behind".  I'm not perfect, I know this.  I drink, I'm compassionate, I've smoked, I'm loving, laid and played, sacrificed, lied, been raped, cheated, been devalued, hurt others, been hurt, caused pain, cried, judged and been misunderstood.  I've played on both sides of the fence trying to figure out this thing called life, and trying to explore this thing inside of me that just won't let me go.  But now in the religious section I learn that number one I have to believe, and I have to ask God for what I want.  And if I don't get what I asked, then it must be because I really didn't believe and I delayed or lost it because of doubt.   Concurrently, if I don't sense God, it's because I sin.   When I try my hardest not to sin and "beat myself into submission" but I'm not happy it's because I don't really believe.   So now I feel like it's my fault that my life is the way it is because I'm not accurately following the steps, I don't believe, and God is disappointed in me because I'm not doing what I'm "supposed" to be doing.

I don't know how many people get caught up in this constant battle to overcome disappointment and punishing the self for where or why things - internally or externally - aren't better.  Quite frankly, this angers me, because I know from deep within this is not how life is supposed to be.  Regardless of when I'm a saint or a sinner, I feel the presence of God in my life.  More than that, whether my prayers are structured or I'm just riding in my car having a frank conversation, I know God is there and He hears me.  And I know in my heart that if I continue to follow this unexplainable feeling from deep within, it will take me further than any of the steps of any book can guide.  And today that gives me comfort, and helps me to appreciate more where I am in this moment.  I don't have to be more right now, more today, more tomorrow.  None of that is promised.  Today all I have to do is listen to the voice deeps in the crevices of my being, further than the depths of my heart laying in the lull between each breath that I take, and resting it's head of each pause between my heart beats.  It is in that  place that I find all the help in the world, if I just set aside the time to listen.

As I exit the bookstore I leave thousands of authors behind, as go back to the One that has been sitting on the shelf all along.

-IAmJoCoop

Human Performance

I often times get frustrated with the uncertainties of life.  More importantly, I get frustrated when thinking about my life's purpose.  I try to discern where my life is supposed to lead based off of my passions---health, fitness, self-improvement, and helping others.  The lines between these passions are often blurred because they all are important.  They all are only pieces of a complete life.  They are only roles. 

We all play various roles in our lives. Often times we find ourselves out of balance because we exacerbate ourselves in only particular areas while others suffer.  We work long hours; therefore, we don't make time to go to the gym.  We throw ourselves into achieving a goal and we let personal relastionships suffer as a result.  We are always going-and-going like the Energizer bunny, and we don't make time for solidarity and serenity--time to for reflections and spiritual growth.  These are but a few examples. 

It is my belief that each area of your life is just as important as the next.  To be balanced is a concept that is discussed infrequently, but we set goals and resolutions for the areas of our lives we feel are lacking on an annual or some more frequent basis in search of something that we feel is out of our grasp. 

I too struggle with finding balance, but it is in my pursuit of balance that I hope to discover the ability---the blueprint---to help others do the same.  The ability to live this life completely, and fully without regret.  The confidence to know that when I reach the end of this journey, I would be content knowing that I became the person I was meant to be---that I lived out my purpose.