http://thegodson.com/blog.cfm Wed, 25 May 2011 10:38:08 GMT http://bandzoogle.com http://thegodson.com/blog.cfm?feature=2403007&postid=992354 Godson on Dragons' Den? Yeah I know, pretty weird scenario. But it happened. Before hearing about any auditions, I knew a little bit about the show, not like some of my buddies who knew the the show inside & out. I've seen episodes here and there and thought, man these guys can be pretty brutal. Fast forward to today and I went through that gauntlet of Dragons'. When auditions were held in Yellowknife, I didn't think for one second about auditioning. I mean, what was I gonna do? I didn't invent anything, I don't have a multiple million dollar empire that needs some partners. If it wasn't for the power of Twitter, I never would have went. Big shout out to Tanya Croft for convincing me to at least show up. So on the day of auditions, I finally decided at the very last minute, "yeah what the hell, let's do this. What do I possibly have to lose". So I went down to the Yellowknife Inn where the audition was held. Of course I was one of the last ones to go. Went in with zero game plan. Now the funny coincidence about this was just the day before, I was attending a "Business Of Music" workshop which was all about handling yourself (the artist) as a business. The audition was held in the exact same room where the workshop was held. That screams "meant to be" all over it. Ha ha. So there I met Molly who was the producer who came up. She was super cool, it made the audition much easier. So I just did what I thought was my business which was myself, Godson. Spit a few rhymes, told my back story. Then I had to fill out a form about how much I would ask the Dragons' for. Instinct told me this was just a blank check given to me, all I have to do is fill in the numbers I want. So of course like any noob to the whole Dragons' format, I put down $100,000. Yeah, that was pretty funny. I thought yeah, that's a good number. Then I read down the page and I had to explain what I would do with the money & I also had to back up why I would need this number. Good thing this was not set in stone because I definitely have to do more research. So it was a couple days later, I was sitting in my studio & got the phone call that I was picked to film in Toronto in front of the Dragons'. I was pretty excited, the wheels started turning & realized, I have to do some homework about this show. The thing is, when I was in school, I was one of those people who waited until the last minute to finish up homework. Lol. So from that point on, I had about a month and a half to prepare my pitch to them. I started to watch episodes online just to get a feel for what mistakes and what successes previous contestants had. After a couple of episodes I realized the success rate of "talent" as opposed to businesses weren't great. That didn't hinder me, I was gonna give it 100% anyway. Plus this would be great exposure too. 2.5 million viewers, not bad at all. So my focused then turned to how can I make an impact on this show. I have to be different, if I don't grab their attention in the 1st couple of seconds then I've lost them. I've performed for large crowds & small crowds, but a crowd of 5, that's pretty small. But then when you think of it, 5 in front of you, but also 2.5 million that I can't see, so I had to draw the energy from somewhere. I'll draw it from the music. There was a rapper on that show before, he chose to do it acapella, so I didn't want to go that route. I had to do it to music. It had to be funky, it had to be upbeat & it had to tell my story while addressing the Dragons'. So I wrote an original track which I thought would kinda be like a pitch & an introduction to myself. Fast forward to just a couple of days before I had to fly out. Jeromy of True North Rotary (which I'm a part of) had the idea of holding a mock Dragons' Den before I go. I thought this would give me great practice since I never really revealed how my pitch was gonna go. So we did the mock one. I was so glad I had that practice because it was apparent I had some flaws in my pitch, but they also helped me in what can strengthen my pitch. So off to Toronto I went, I have to say, in the days leading up to it, sleep was not in the cards for me. I was staying up till 4am watching more episodes, googling Dragon info, etc. It was getting pretty stressful. Not only was I to memorize my pitch, but I was still struggling to memorize my lyrics too! The 3 & a half hour flight from Edmonton to Toronto gave me enough time to stamp this lyrics into my head. Thank goodness, although I may have pissed off the passengers around me as I played the same instrumental about 150 times in my headphones and had it pretty loud. Ooops. Ha ha. So it was off to the Royal York Hotel which was where most of the "pitchers" for the Den stayed in. It was only a 5 minute walk to the CBC building so it only made sense that I stayed there. It was a pretty fancy hotel I must say. There was a lot of really cool places to eat but for some reason I stuck to what I knew (not to mention a budget) Timmies was just around the corner. Lol. You would think that I would have spent some time to do some sight seeing, check out a couple of hot spots, but I couldn't risk it. I was there for one thing and one thing only, business. So I basically stayed in the hotel for 3 straight days. Monday rolled around which was THE day! I had 3 alarms all ready to wake me up that morning, cause I was still on Yellowknife time. I walked down to the CBC with my iPhone as my compass just in case the Concierge was trying to give me wrong directions so I would be late. Lol. When you walk by the CBC building you see giant pictures of CBC icons like Mansbridge & Strombo. Pretty cool. So I walked to the Dragons' Den registration table & there were a ton of other "pitchers" there. Some in big groups, some on their own. I noticed I was the only one without some type of signage or prop. So we got a tour of the set and a run through of how everything was gonna go down. The set was unreal. I mean you see it on TV, then when you are actually in it seems crazy. My mood started with tons of energy that day. I arrived at noon. Then the waiting game came into play. That's when the mood turns to calm & collected. We were put up in a holding room which had some snacks, a nice view of the city & of course Dragons' Den reruns on the TV. At this point I was starting to get anxious. I've never paced around as much as I did before. I just wanted to do my thing while everything was fresh in my head. When you have time to kill, that's when your mind starts to second guess things. But I wasn't gonna let the waiting game get to me. I finally get the call that it's time for Godson! That's when the adrenaline starts to go up! What's happens next? Well we all have to wait & see when the episode airs! The new season starts in September so it could be anytime after that. But don't worry, I will let you all know when it will air. The only thing I can say is, I had a blast! Until next time :) Godson P.S. Don't forget to vote :) http://www.moartist.com/godson
When auditions were held in Yellowknife, I didn't think for one second about auditioning. I mean, what was I gonna do? I didn't invent anything, I don't have a multiple million dollar empire that needs some partners. If it wasn't for the power of Twitter, I never would have went. Big shout out to Tanya Croft for convincing me to at least show up. So on the day of auditions, I finally decided at the very last minute, "yeah what the hell, let's do this. What do I possibly have to lose".

So I went down to the Yellowknife Inn where the audition was held. Of course I was one of the last ones to go. Went in with zero game plan. Now the funny coincidence about this was just the day before, I was attending a "Business Of Music" workshop which was all about handling yourself (the artist) as a business. The audition was held in the exact same room where the workshop was held. That screams "meant to be" all over it. Ha ha. So there I met Molly who was the producer who came up. She was super cool, it made the audition much easier. So I just did what I thought was my business which was myself, Godson. Spit a few rhymes, told my back story. Then I had to fill out a form about how much I would ask the Dragons' for. Instinct told me this was just a blank check given to me, all I have to do is fill in the numbers I want. So of course like any noob to the whole Dragons' format, I put down $100,000. Yeah, that was pretty funny. I thought yeah, that's a good number. Then I read down the page and I had to explain what I would do with the money & I also had to back up why I would need this number. Good thing this was not set in stone because I definitely have to do more research.

So it was a couple days later, I was sitting in my studio & got the phone call that I was picked to film in Toronto in front of the Dragons'. I was pretty excited, the wheels started turning & realized, I have to do some homework about this show. The thing is, when I was in school, I was one of those people who waited until the last minute to finish up homework. Lol. So from that point on, I had about a month and a half to prepare my pitch to them. I started to watch episodes online just to get a feel for what mistakes and what successes previous contestants had. After a couple of episodes I realized the success rate of "talent" as opposed to businesses weren't great. That didn't hinder me, I was gonna give it 100% anyway. Plus this would be great exposure too. 2.5 million viewers, not bad at all.

So my focused then turned to how can I make an impact on this show. I have to be different, if I don't grab their attention in the 1st couple of seconds then I've lost them. I've performed for large crowds & small crowds, but a crowd of 5, that's pretty small. But then when you think of it, 5 in front of you, but also 2.5 million that I can't see, so I had to draw the energy from somewhere. I'll draw it from the music. There was a rapper on that show before, he chose to do it acapella, so I didn't want to go that route. I had to do it to music. It had to be funky, it had to be upbeat & it had to tell my story while addressing the Dragons'. So I wrote an original track which I thought would kinda be like a pitch & an introduction to myself.

Fast forward to just a couple of days before I had to fly out. Jeromy of True North Rotary (which I'm a part of) had the idea of holding a mock Dragons' Den before I go. I thought this would give me great practice since I never really revealed how my pitch was gonna go. So we did the mock one. I was so glad I had that practice because it was apparent I had some flaws in my pitch, but they also helped me in what can strengthen my pitch.

So off to Toronto I went, I have to say, in the days leading up to it, sleep was not in the cards for me. I was staying up till 4am watching more episodes, googling Dragon info, etc. It was getting pretty stressful. Not only was I to memorize my pitch, but I was still struggling to memorize my lyrics too! The 3 & a half hour flight from Edmonton to Toronto gave me enough time to stamp this lyrics into my head. Thank goodness, although I may have pissed off the passengers around me as I played the same instrumental about 150 times in my headphones and had it pretty loud. Ooops. Ha ha.

So it was off to the Royal York Hotel which was where most of the "pitchers" for the Den stayed in. It was only a 5 minute walk to the CBC building so it only made sense that I stayed there. It was a pretty fancy hotel I must say. There was a lot of really cool places to eat but for some reason I stuck to what I knew (not to mention a budget) Timmies was just around the corner. Lol. You would think that I would have spent some time to do some sight seeing, check out a couple of hot spots, but I couldn't risk it. I was there for one thing and one thing only, business. So I basically stayed in the hotel for 3 straight days.

Monday rolled around which was THE day! I had 3 alarms all ready to wake me up that morning, cause I was still on Yellowknife time. I walked down to the CBC with my iPhone as my compass just in case the Concierge was trying to give me wrong directions so I would be late. Lol. When you walk by the CBC building you see giant pictures of CBC icons like Mansbridge & Strombo. Pretty cool. So I walked to the Dragons' Den registration table & there were a ton of other "pitchers" there. Some in big groups, some on their own. I noticed I was the only one without some type of signage or prop. So we got a tour of the set and a run through of how everything was gonna go down. The set was unreal. I mean you see it on TV, then when you are actually in it seems crazy.

My mood started with tons of energy that day. I arrived at noon. Then the waiting game came into play. That's when the mood turns to calm & collected. We were put up in a holding room which had some snacks, a nice view of the city & of course Dragons' Den reruns on the TV. At this point I was starting to get anxious. I've never paced around as much as I did before. I just wanted to do my thing while everything was fresh in my head. When you have time to kill, that's when your mind starts to second guess things. But I wasn't gonna let the waiting game get to me.

I finally get the call that it's time for Godson! That's when the adrenaline starts to go up! What's happens next? Well we all have to wait & see when the episode airs! The new season starts in September so it could be anytime after that. But don't worry, I will let you all know when it will air.

The only thing I can say is, I had a blast! Until next time :)

Godson

P.S. Don't forget to vote :) http://www.moartist.com/godson]]> Wed, 25 May 2011 10:38:08 GMT F0D0384C0F2AB07E568545606309FF40 http://thegodson.com/blog.cfm?feature=2403007&postid=967769 Winning Yellowknife's Biggest Loser Challenge 54 lbs, in 6 weeks? Seems crazy right? Well 6 weeks ago when I entered this competition I wasn't even thinking of losing that much. 25-30 lbs seemed more realistic. I’ve watched the actual show & I know it’s possible. When I 1st saw the poster advertising this competition, the only thing that stood out to me was the $5000 grand prize. It couldn't have come at a better time. By then, I already knew my CD Plus store was closing in 30 days (I've been the manager of this store for over 10 years) so unemployment was looming, well sort of. My health was spiraling out of control but what motivated me the most was doing this for my family. I was falling into almost a depressive state of mind, I could have easily went the other way & stuff my face with more food, gain more pounds simply out of losing my guaranteed income, 9 to 5 job. But I wasn't going out like that, no way. I was set on turning things around & I'm gonna win this for my family's sake! My plan was always to be a full time artist & provide for my family with what I had worked so hard for the past 16 years. When people ask what I plan to do after my store closes, my reply is always the same "I'm going to do music full time". Most reactions are of encouragement, but I can feel the doubts in their minds. Let's face it, a full time artist is the biggest risk. Especially a rapper like myself living in the north. I know I can do it, I've spent my whole life proving doubters wrong. So this Biggest Loser Challenge was my 1st step to breaking the odds, become healthier & excel as an artist with more energy & drive. I've been overweight for far too long. After all, there are those who look at me as a role model, so what better way to set an example by doing my best at this challenge. Okay enough of the intro, let's get right into my 6 week journey. Please remember, I have no medical background, some of my methods may be obscure, but it worked for me & I feel great. I urge you not to go to the extreme like I did, but in moderation. After all, I can't guarantee this will work for everybody, but if it does, I am glad to help. I made this plan up myself simply by reading tips, word of mouth & compiling all the info I gathered into something that I can do. These are the rules I made myself; Rule 1, So let's start with the essentials that helped me everyday. The most important rule I had was to drink 3 litres of water everyday. A good way to keep track of this was to have two 1.5 litre plastic bottles of Dasani or Aquafini (it doesn’t really matter). I've tried the aluminum bottles before but they tend to taste metallic after awhile, just my opinion. Now I wouldn't buy a new bottle everyday, I would refill them with tap water, use it for the week & recycle it. Buy new bottles for the new week. Now what I did was drink all 3 litres before 7pm. I didn't drink any after that for some reason. I just wanted to keep it consistent. I'd usually finish the 1st bottle by 2pm & the 2nd by 7pm. Warning, you will be making numerous trips to the bathroom so be prepared for that. During this plan do not drink pop, juice, coffee or anything flavoured really. Just make water your main choice of fluid. Rule 2, Pure Green Tea by Tetley (just my choice of brand). I drank about 4-6 cups a day, one after every meal, & yes I ate 6 times a day (I'll explain later). I would let the tea sit till it was warm & drink it all at once. I drank this pure, didn’t add sugar or milk. The taste took some time to get used to but now I drink it all the time. That's why I chug it all back in one shot. Rule 3, eat 6 times a day. Sounds crazy but it's not. These portions are very small, almost like snacking all day. Now these aren't by any means "meals". None of which include starches like bread, rice or potatoes. Just a selection of food products I chose to go with. I only picked 6 of the following foods for the day. Planning ahead of time really helped. My choices were; - 5 sticks of steamed asparagus - small handful of steamed broccoli - half a handful of almonds or peanuts (unsalted) - one boiled egg (do not add salt) - half a cup of 1% cottage cheese - a V8 low sodium 156 ml can (these come in 6 packs) - a handful of baby carrots - half a cup of blueberries - a banana - an orange - an apple - half a chicken breast (no salt) - 6 rice crackers - half a plate of tossed greens (a little bit of olive oil & vinegar for dressing) - half a can of tuna - handful of grapes - half a small plate of baked salmon - half plate of spinach salad - half plate of caesar salad, light dressing, no croutons I chose to eat my meals everyday at 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm & 7pm. These portions were very small, but because of the amounts of water and tea I had been drinking, I felt full all day. I tend to eat the fruit for the 1st 2 meals, veggies for the next 2 & the proteins for the last 2. The key foods that I included everyday were asparagus, cottage cheese & broccoli. Oranges too when I had them. I tried not to eat after 7pm. Keep in mind that the 1st week or two are going to be hard. Your body kinda goes into shock with your change of eating habits, but eventually it becomes the norm. I just kept strong these 1st couple of weeks because that's when I noticed a higher weight loss. I also cut the salt. If I felt the need for salt, especially with the steamed asparagus, then I sprinkled Montreal steak spice & mix it with a tiny bit of olive oil (I'm not gonna lie, steamed asparagus by itself isn't the tastiest of my choices) I stayed away from restaurants as much as possible during this plan, I mean, when will I ever order 5 sticks of steamed asparagus. Haha. Rule 4, I weighed myself every morning & kept a record of it. I kept track of it on my iPhone with an app called iFitness which has a weight monitor option. This gives you a great look on your progress or lack of progress. But I was patient, there were days when there were no losses. I used that as motivation to work harder the next day or switch up the meals. Rule 5, workouts! Now during these 6 weeks I did all my workouts at home. It consisted of 400 crunches a day (200 in the morning & 200 before bed) I did this everyday for 6 weeks. Now it wasn’t as difficult as it sounds. I would do this while watching Sportcentre and 200 crunches only takes like 5 minutes, or 10 for my off days. Twice a week I did some light lifting for 15 minutes, I chose to only use 15 pound weights. I didn’t do any heavier lifting because I don't think my meal plan would thank me for it. So kept it light just enough to feel the burn. 3 times a week I did some cardio. Ran on the treadmill for 10-15 mins, or walk outside for half an hour. For the days I didn't have a chance to do any cardio, I walked around the house with ankle weights just for resistance. I wish I did more cardio. Rule 6, I added a multi-vitamin. I wanted to lose all this weight without taking any supplements or pills. A vitamin is different. I thought it was a good idea to take a multi-vitamin to fill the void that I wasn't getting from the foods I was eating. I chose to go with One A Day Weight Smart vitamin that you can buy almost anywhere. Rule 7, I had some lapses. It's true, I had about 3 during the 6 weeks. Had some beer, ate some pizza, somehow had the great idea of a Sunday brunch buffet at a restaurant. Lol. It happened, but I actually was happy I had these lapses. It only made me work that much harder the next day and all through the week. Rule 8, I surrounded myself with family or friends that supported me. It's plain & simple, I needed the support to get me through my bland plan, lol. I told them I was making the choice to lose this weight. Let's face it, your family is going to be the 1st to tell you if you aren't doing what you set out to do. There were some who don't think I could do it. I called that EXTRA motivation to prove them wrong! Another difficult situation I found was during family or friend gatherings. It's always a guaranteed feast of foods during this time. But this is when my will power had to kick in. I couldn’t hibernate and shut out the rest of the world, so I enjoyed the company. It took my mind away from food and enjoyed the moments. It kept my mind healthy! I hope my story inspires anyone who reads this who are feeling stuck in a rut. I was the same way, but losing the weight kept me busy & boy do I feel a lot better. The cash prize was great & much needed, but the best reward is having my health back & more energy to play with my kids. I have entered a NEW contest to be the next undiscovered artist with record label EMI. If you can please vote once everyday, you will help me get one step closer to the dream of signing with a major label! Anything’s possible :) Just click on this link & VOTE GODSON http://www.moartist.com/godson Winning Yellowknife's Biggest Loser Challenge

54 lbs, in 6 weeks? Seems crazy right? Well 6 weeks ago when I entered this competition I wasn't even thinking of losing that much. 25-30 lbs seemed more realistic. I’ve watched the actual show & I know it’s possible. When I 1st saw the poster advertising this competition, the only thing that stood out to me was the $5000 grand prize. It couldn't have come at a better time. By then, I already knew my CD Plus store was closing in 30 days (I've been the manager of this store for over 10 years) so unemployment was looming, well sort of.

My health was spiraling out of control but what motivated me the most was doing this for my family. I was falling into almost a depressive state of mind, I could have easily went the other way & stuff my face with more food, gain more pounds simply out of losing my guaranteed income, 9 to 5 job. But I wasn't going out like that, no way. I was set on turning things around & I'm gonna win this for my family's sake! My plan was always to be a full time artist & provide for my family with what I had worked so hard for the past 16 years. When people ask what I plan to do after my store closes, my reply is always the same "I'm going to do music full time". Most reactions are of encouragement, but I can feel the doubts in their minds. Let's face it, a full time artist is the biggest risk. Especially a rapper like myself living in the north. I know I can do it, I've spent my whole life proving doubters wrong. So this Biggest Loser Challenge was my 1st step to breaking the odds, become healthier & excel as an artist with more energy & drive. I've been overweight for far too long. After all, there are those who look at me as a role model, so what better way to set an example by doing my best at this challenge.

Okay enough of the intro, let's get right into my 6 week journey. Please remember, I have no medical background, some of my methods may be obscure, but it worked for me & I feel great. I urge you not to go to the extreme like I did, but in moderation. After all, I can't guarantee this will work for everybody, but if it does, I am glad to help. I made this plan up myself simply by reading tips, word of mouth & compiling all the info I gathered into something that I can do. These are the rules I made myself;

Rule 1, So let's start with the essentials that helped me everyday. The most important rule I had was to drink 3 litres of water everyday. A good way to keep track of this was to have two 1.5 litre plastic bottles of Dasani or Aquafini (it doesn’t really matter). I've tried the aluminum bottles before but they tend to taste metallic after awhile, just my opinion. Now I wouldn't buy a new bottle everyday, I would refill them with tap water, use it for the week & recycle it. Buy new bottles for the new week. Now what I did was drink all 3 litres before 7pm. I didn't drink any after that for some reason. I just wanted to keep it consistent. I'd usually finish the 1st bottle by 2pm & the 2nd by 7pm. Warning, you will be making numerous trips to the bathroom so be prepared for that. During this plan do not drink pop, juice, coffee or anything flavoured really. Just make water your main choice of fluid.

Rule 2, Pure Green Tea by Tetley (just my choice of brand). I drank about 4-6 cups a day, one after every meal, & yes I ate 6 times a day (I'll explain later). I would let the tea sit till it was warm & drink it all at once. I drank this pure, didn’t add sugar or milk. The taste took some time to get used to but now I drink it all the time. That's why I chug it all back in one shot.

Rule 3, eat 6 times a day. Sounds crazy but it's not. These portions are very small, almost like snacking all day. Now these aren't by any means "meals". None of which include starches like bread, rice or potatoes. Just a selection of food products I chose to go with. I only picked 6 of the following foods for the day. Planning ahead of time really helped. My choices were;
- 5 sticks of steamed asparagus
- small handful of steamed broccoli
- half a handful of almonds or peanuts (unsalted)
- one boiled egg (do not add salt)
- half a cup of 1% cottage cheese
- a V8 low sodium 156 ml can (these come in 6 packs)
- a handful of baby carrots
- half a cup of blueberries
- a banana
- an orange
- an apple
- half a chicken breast (no salt)
- 6 rice crackers
- half a plate of tossed greens (a little bit of olive oil & vinegar for dressing)
- half a can of tuna
- handful of grapes
- half a small plate of baked salmon
- half plate of spinach salad
- half plate of caesar salad, light dressing, no croutons

I chose to eat my meals everyday at 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm & 7pm.
These portions were very small, but because of the amounts of water and tea I had been drinking, I felt full all day. I tend to eat the fruit for the 1st 2 meals, veggies for the next 2 & the proteins for the last 2. The key foods that I included everyday were asparagus, cottage cheese & broccoli. Oranges too when I had them. I tried not to eat after 7pm. Keep in mind that the 1st week or two are going to be hard. Your body kinda goes into shock with your change of eating habits, but eventually it becomes the norm. I just kept strong these 1st couple of weeks because that's when I noticed a higher weight loss. I also cut the salt. If I felt the need for salt, especially with the steamed asparagus, then I sprinkled Montreal steak spice & mix it with a tiny bit of olive oil (I'm not gonna lie, steamed asparagus by itself isn't the tastiest of my choices) I stayed away from restaurants as much as possible during this plan, I mean, when will I ever order 5 sticks of steamed asparagus. Haha.

Rule 4, I weighed myself every morning & kept a record of it. I kept track of it on my iPhone with an app called iFitness which has a weight monitor option. This gives you a great look on your progress or lack of progress. But I was patient, there were days when there were no losses. I used that as motivation to work harder the next day or switch up the meals.

Rule 5, workouts! Now during these 6 weeks I did all my workouts at home. It consisted of 400 crunches a day (200 in the morning & 200 before bed) I did this everyday for 6 weeks. Now it wasn’t as difficult as it sounds. I would do this while watching Sportcentre and 200 crunches only takes like 5 minutes, or 10 for my off days. Twice a week I did some light lifting for 15 minutes, I chose to only use 15 pound weights. I didn’t do any heavier lifting because I don't think my meal plan would thank me for it. So kept it light just enough to feel the burn. 3 times a week I did some cardio. Ran on the treadmill for 10-15 mins, or walk outside for half an hour. For the days I didn't have a chance to do any cardio, I walked around the house with ankle weights just for resistance. I wish I did more cardio.

Rule 6, I added a multi-vitamin. I wanted to lose all this weight without taking any supplements or pills. A vitamin is different. I thought it was a good idea to take a multi-vitamin to fill the void that I wasn't getting from the foods I was eating. I chose to go with One A Day Weight Smart vitamin that you can buy almost anywhere.

Rule 7, I had some lapses. It's true, I had about 3 during the 6 weeks. Had some beer, ate some pizza, somehow had the great idea of a Sunday brunch buffet at a restaurant. Lol. It happened, but I actually was happy I had these lapses. It only made me work that much harder the next day and all through the week.

Rule 8, I surrounded myself with family or friends that supported me. It's plain & simple, I needed the support to get me through my bland plan, lol. I told them I was making the choice to lose this weight. Let's face it, your family is going to be the 1st to tell you if you aren't doing what you set out to do. There were some who don't think I could do it. I called that EXTRA motivation to prove them wrong! Another difficult situation I found was during family or friend gatherings. It's always a guaranteed feast of foods during this time. But this is when my will power had to kick in. I couldn’t hibernate and shut out the rest of the world, so I enjoyed the company. It took my mind away from food and enjoyed the moments. It kept my mind healthy!

I hope my story inspires anyone who reads this who are feeling stuck in a rut. I was the same way, but losing the weight kept me busy & boy do I feel a lot better. The cash prize was great & much needed, but the best reward is having my health back & more energy to play with my kids.

I have entered a NEW contest to be the next undiscovered artist with record label EMI. If you can please vote once everyday, you will help me get one step closer to the dream of signing with a major label! Anything’s possible :) Just click on this link & VOTE GODSON http://www.moartist.com/godson]]> Fri, 13 May 2011 09:35:23 GMT E283252F42A72B0FB835CE609FB48531 http://thegodson.com/blog.cfm?feature=2403007&postid=967768 text VOTE GODSON to 79999 also vote online at http://www.moartist.com/godson thats a 2 votes a day you can place. Vote everyday until June 12, 2011. Godson has been in the Top 25 for this entire competition so every vote counts. Sat, 16 Apr 2011 09:14:53 GMT 3D9CE4F11B940B7AE41787013D204072