When it comes to being successful in anything, I feel there are some very common underlying things that everyone does to find success or failure.
Whether you are trying to lose weight, get super jacked for summer, or just trying to overcome a physical or mental struggle – your mind can be a very powerful tool, for better or worse.
The following “rules” are things that I have learned from my own experiences, my clients experiences, and sage advice from some of my mentors and good friends.
1) Embrace the Good Times, and Move on from the Bad Times
In life, business, or anything you will always have your ups and downs. It is how you react to both that can really make the biggest impact on your outcome. One of my close clients is a very successful business woman. Before I started my business, she gave me this nugget of advice and it has really stuck with me since. She told me something along the lines of;
“You will have days where everything goes right, and you need to embrace them, but don’t go crazy with celebrations, spending money on crazy things etc. because you will also have days where everything seems to go wrong – but take a breath and always remember tomorrow is a new day to make things better”
The key point here is to stay humble when things are going well, and get yourself out of a negative funk as quickly as possible. I like writing down every little “win” that I have, so on days where stuff hits the fan, I can look back on everything that myself and my clients have accomplished.
2. Be A Do-er
I love goal setting. Little goals, big goals, crazy big goals – are all great things to set. Some people don’t like setting huge goals because they are hard or unrealistic, but why not set them? Shoot for the stars, and you will at least land on the moon.
When you set a goal, you have to take steps towards it. The more times you set goals and don’t follow through, the more that becomes the norm. We all have that friend that flakes out on things all the time, and how to we respond? Usually we stop (or we should) going out of our way to hang out with them, or to please them, because this is just a negative drain on our lives. Don’t make promises you can’t keep to yourself, or this will become your normal.
If you set a goal of “I wanna get ripped for this summer” then SHOW ME that you want it, and show me that you are willing to put in the work to get there. We all have 24 hours, or 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds in a day. So how is it that some people seem to have all the time in the world to work out and eat right in order to accomplish their goals? It is because they prioritize these things! Even taking 10-15 minutes in a day to run some sprints, do some squats, pump out some strength training will get you one step closer to your goal.
Don’t tell me you want to do something and follow it up with no action – SHOW ME how you are going to do it. Good things don’t happen to those who wait, they happen to people who work their ass off and do the work.
3. Don’t Compare Yourself to Others
This one is huge. There will always be people who are bigger, stronger, leaner, have more hair on their heads than some of us. Get used to it. There will always be people who seem more successful, rich, whatever… (are they really though? That’s a different topic all together)
There are 18 year olds and 70 year olds who can out lift me everyday. Do I get jealous of their 400 pound bench presses, 500 pound deadlifts and 20 inch biceps? I used to. Where did that get me? No where.
I don’t compare myself to anyone else when it comes to success. I set goals for myself, my business, my physique, my life, and I work my ass off to hit those goals. Not for anyone else but myself. Call me selfish. Do I care that I don’t drive a Benz, or don’t live in a 20,000 sq. foot house? Nope, because these things don’t matter to me. If that is how you choose to measure success, then go for it.
Once you stop comparing yourself to others, and really focus on what you want, and where you want to be, you will start to make progress.
4. Surround Yourself With Like-Minded Positive People
We all know how it goes. One little thing happens at work, and everyone starts talking about it in the break room, and all of a sudden that one little thing seems like the worst thing that has ever happened. This type of negative group thinking is a poison to productivity, progress and success.
You need to surround yourself with people you support you, build you up, and have similar goals as you.
Have friends that just want to complain about everything, friends who want to party all the time, go out and eat crappy food and always get wasted? Maybe you need to rethink who you hang out with.
It is said that you become most like the 5 people you hang out with the most. Who do you surround yourself with? I spend my days with my wife, and my clients. My wife keeps me grounded, calm, and relaxed, and my clients keep me motivated, positive and inspired.
Hang out with people who want the same things as you, and are working as hard as you, and you will combine your drive and positive energy to make things happen.
5. Have Fun
We are way to serious.
I HATE making workouts that are chores, or even worse when trainers use exercise as punishment. Are you kidding me? That is not the way to get people to want to exercise more. I love when my clients break into spontaneous dances, singing, or little competitions during workouts. The last thing I would even do is think of telling them to stop screwing around, or get back to work.
Same goes for eating. Eating healthy does not have to be boring and bland. Try new spices, herbs, vegetables. Mix it up once in a while. I love buying new vegetables and trying them out for dinner. Look up different cuisines flavorings and spices and give them a try.
My wife might think that I’m a little weird at home when I break into song (my voice sucks) or some stupid white guy dance…but I like having fun and being a dork. I remember when we were getting ready for our wedding and we bought wrapping paper to wrap some gifts for our wedding party and we ended up having a sword fight in the kitchen with the wrapping paper rolls. It was spontaneous, childish fun.
Find something fun to do and do it. Who cares what others think, They probably are just jealous of you anyways.
To be successful it takes effort, determination, balance, and much more. These are all things that need to be embraced, mastered, and brought into your life on the norm.
Once you start practicing these things, you will find brighter days ahead, gloomy days behind you, and a much different outlook on your life. Cheers!
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Stay healthy my friends,