Month: August 2021

One of the best lessons I’ve ever been taught.
I would run from the darkness
I would run from the pain.
I’d mask and sedate it with momentary satisfaction.
Then I was taught this lesson.
LEAN INTO IT.
Don’t run from the fear.
Don’t run from the pain.
Feel it.
Be with it.
Understand it.
LEAN INTO IT.
There is much to be learned in the darkness.
There is much to be learned in the pain.
There is much to be learned in the fear.
Don’t run from it.
Don’t mask it.
Don’t sedate it.
LEAN INTO IT.

NOW.
The moment NOW.
Like NOW.
Not tomorrow.
Not 5 minutes.
Not yesterday.
Not next week.
NOW.
Every fucking thing is happening NOW.
The child sitting next to you.
The date you are on.
The business meeting.
Reading this.
The conversation you are in.
That exact moment is all that matters.
Be there.
Yesterday is dead.
Tomorrow is not yet real.
Your mind is thinking about meetings later today.
Your mind is thinking about the drama from yesterday.
YOU ARE MISSING NOW.
RIGHT FUCKING NOW.
Go all in.
Absorb every single thing you can.
Give every single thing you can.
NOW.
It’s all that matters.

Every fall before school my parents would take me shoe shopping. I had a $30 budget. This was about the time that Jordans came out. They were the shit! They were also $100. Every year I wanted to get the Jordans so bad, but I never wanted to spend $70 of my own money on them. So I never did. Kswiss and British knights were what I got.
.
In 40 years I’d never Owned a pair of Jordans. I’ve told this story thousands of times and no matter what Jordans came out or how cool I thought they were I never bought a pair simply because of the story that I had told since I was a kid…that I had never owned a pair.
.
I wore this story almost as a badge of honor. I can afford 100 pairs of Jordan’s but I literally had told this story so many times that I became addicted to it.
.
One night a few weeks ago I was laying in bed and I saw an ad for some vintage Jordans. I instantly told the story but then I paused. I asked myself why it is that I had really never bought a pair in almost 40 years?
.
Then I did something that freaked me out. I clicked on the button, entered my credit card and purchased my first pair of Jordan’s. When they showed up I opened the box and got emotional.
.
Not because of the shoes, But because I realized that I had been telling the story for so long it became my reality. I had no reason to NOT buy the shoes I wanted other than I thought it would defeat this cool story I had been telling for 40 years.
.
Then it hit me. I was addicted to a STORY and it was keeping me from having what I wanted.
.
Now I had the shoes, AND I still had the story! It hit me like a ton of bricks. How many stories am I telling that I’m addicted to? How many stories or patterns in my life have a SOLD myself that all were real, but with a simple action I could literally RE-WRITE?
.
Business. Money. Love.
.
How many STORIES was I telling myself that simply needed me to take a new action to re-write?
.
Over the last few weeks not only have I become an amateur sneaker head(I own 11 pairs of Jordan’s) but I’ve been RE-writing so many stories. In business. In my love life.
.
The crazy thing is this. Simply purchasing a pair of shoes helped me re-write a story I had been telling for all my life. There is a real possibility that some is the stories you and I tell that have a major strong hold on our life could be RE-written with something as simple as a new action.
.
Truth is this is MY book! These are MY CHAPTERS! I am in charge of MY STORY! You and I can literally RE WRITE everything!

PURPOSE.
“What’s my purpose?”
“How do I find my purpose?”
Simple.
Stop looking for it.
It’s right in front of you.
It’s this exact moment.
It’s happening now.
So we can journey by looking, and looking, and looking and constantly be focused on the future for our purpose.
Or just live it right now.
Cause our PURPOSE is happening now.

Finished 75hard for the 2nd time yesterday.
This time around was SIGNIFICANTLY more challenging for me. About halfway through I herniated a disc in my neck. Saw specialists and all recommended surgery. The pain was excruciating and my strength in my right arm dropped by almost 50%.
I had every reason to quit. I almost did a few times, but I adjusted. I backed off the heavy weights, did as much as I could with PT’s, massage therapists, float tanks etc.
My neck is still fucked, but I completed the task.
Last year when I did it I had just had major spine surgery. Every day I wanted to quit. Every day the STORIES and EXCUSES screamed in my head. “You just had surgery, your spine is fucked, your arm is numb, you’re gonna have Permanent damage.”
Day after day the STORIES screamed at me. The pain was real. I literally put entire bags of epsom salt in a bath every night. But I learned something last time and when my disc herniated this time I knew the game. I knew how this fucking game is played.
Every time you want to level up hell opens its doors. Anything and everything to THROW YOU OFF will show up. Every ache, pain and injury will say STOP. Every STORY and EXCUSE will scream at you.
And that’s why #75hard is the most difficult MENTAL CHALLENGE I have ever encountered. I’ve completed 2 full Ironman races. I’ve had 5 MMA fights. I know pain. I know how to train hard, and I will tell you that #75hard is the single most MENTALLY intense thing I’ve ever done.
Why?
Because it’s me vs me. It’s the new me vs the old me. It’s the man who wants to grow vs the salty old bitch from yesterday. It’s the DESIRE vs the STORY.
I’m 41 years old and in the best shape of my life. My body is my weapon. It’s my only weapon and if I allow the blade to dull, I’m dead.
#75hard not only saved my life but it rewrote every story I had in my head about what’s possible for me and what my power truly is. Life was happening to me. Now I’m BUILDING MY LIFE.
My relationships are as connected as ever. My businesses are booming. My mind is clear and my heart is open.