Hi everyone! My name is Richard Uzelac and I’m here to give you Richard Uzelac’s personal tips on eating healthy and maintaining a fit body and mind.
How is Richard Uzelac qualified to give advice? I guess they say you only grow after you hit bottom. About twenty years ago I hit bottom in my life.
Twenty years ago I was a senior Air Traffic Controller at Los Angeles radar. My ego (and deep seated insecurities forced me to take and qualify for one of the most stressful jobs in the world: Radar Air Traffic Controller at a top level facility. The training and screening process was hell, the hardest thing I ever did (one guy in my class hung himself in his apartment at the Federal Aviation Academy in Oklahoma City after only six weeks in the program.
What did I do to handle the stress? Binge on food and alcohol, become a jerk, and make some mistakes I will struggle with for the rest of my life. I even married an older woman with children who was an alcoholic to triple the stress in my life. I owned houses, businesses, a big house, lots of cars and I was a wreck. I was a stress and responsibility junkie that couldn’t be fulfilled.
Does this sound familiar to any of you? Guess what, if it can happen to Richard Uzelac, it can happen to you. Richard Uzelac found himself at age 35, jobless, bankrupt, divorced and totally without prospects and self esteem.
I could have given up. It was that bad. But an angel walked into my life. A little bald man with a cherubic and playful named Michael Locke, pastor at the Church of Christ in Lancaster California.
Michael saw more in me than I did in myself. He counseled me for months, held my hand through my darkest hours. He said, Richard Uzelac, you made some mistakes, but redemption is here, if you make the changes needed. He taught me that with the help of Jesus Christ, and common sense I could be the man I always wanted to be. He was right.
Ever since then I’ve decided to forgive myself for my mistakes and put less weight in what others think of me and more in what I think of myself and who I am. For those that worry too much about what others think, this can me the single most important change in behavior and self-concept adjustment that can be made. Believing in yourself and being true to yourself is the greatest gift you can give yourself.
Has it all been wine and roses for the past sixteen years? No, it’s been tough at times. I still make mistakes, but they are much smaller now. I still get upset about the past at times, but I know I am blessed and I have faith all will be OK.
So that’s a brief on Richard Uzelac, not perfect by a long shot, but redeemed by the Great Redeemer and also forgiven by himself.
In this blog I’d like to share what I’ve learned and practiced in the realm of health and fitness. These things have worked will for me and may help some of you, I hope it helps YOU!
Cheers,
Richard Uzelac
