If you have followed my work, I would hope that you might agree that I am not satisfied with an average article, book or performance.  I have realized that you do not have to be the smartest, but if you are prepared to out-work, out-study and out-perform your competition, anything is possible.  In essence, your success or lack thereof will be determined by which M.T.E. you are labeled as by others.  Not sure what M.T.E. stands for? Well read on and decide where you stand on this powerful acronym.

In life, I have found that there is a big difference between compliance and self accountability. Most people just comply with what they have to do and as a result, they accept mediocrity. Some people, however, take things upon themselves and do their best in all situations. These are the daring souls that eventually rise above the rest and enjoy high levels of success in their lives.

In both cases, they are just choosing one interpretation of the acronym M.T.E. over the other. In the first case of the mediocre people, M.T.E. stands for “Meet The Expectation.”  So whatever is expected, they just do the minimum and get out. This is the sure-fire ticket to an average life with few great experiences.  If you want to enjoy mediocrity, just do the minimum you can do to finish a task.  In the second case of the higher achiever, M.T.E. stands for “More Than Expected.”  These people over deliver in everything they do. Their trademark is solid work, done ahead of time every time.  I have often heard that “There is no traffic on the extra mile.”  In other words, that is why it is so easy for us to recognize when someone has done a great job because it is rare for most people to do it!  By delivering more than expected I promise that your life will be richer and more people, money and energy will be attracted to you.

Now, the question you must ask of yourself is what M.T.E. do you subscribe to everyday? If it is the first, then don’t get upset when the world is not giving you what you desire. If it is the second, keep doing what you are doing until it does!

Rooney’s Top 5 Ways To Start Doing More Than Expected

1.  Say “Thank You” as many times a day as possible…and mean it!

2.  Find people doing positive things and compliment them for it.

3.  Write a hand written letter to someone that has helped you with something.

4.  Don’t seek immediate credit or results for your efforts.  Instead do your best and rewards will come.

5.  Stay organized and take on projects that you are both interested in and can do well.

6.  Strive to become known as someone that “always does the little extra.”  (Giving 6 when you said 5 is a good start!)

Don’t compete against everyone else in mediocrity.  Separate yourself by simply over delivering on everything you do. If you are only meeting the expectation, then your expectation of yourself is too low.  Change your expectations and I promise you will change your life. Don’t just survive, it is your time to live!

For my latest attempt at delivering more than expected, please check out my latest book, Warrior Cardio.

The samurai used to warn people to beware of those that could take care of the “little” things in life.   We all recognize that to survive, food, exercise and recovery are important, but rarely we pay the proper attention to them.  Experience has taught me that the difference between an ordinary and extraordinary athlete is just the “extra” attention that has been paid to the little things.  Unfortunately, this concept of the “extra” is often confused with “expendable.”

In particular, I have noticed five areas of training which athletes view as expendable.  The following list is to make sure that you don’t make the same mistake:

1.    Warm Up.   If your warm up is simply a light first set of whatever exercise that began your workout, or a ten-minute walk on the treadmill, you are skipping a vital part of your training.   A proper warmup will increase blood flow, stimulate the nervous system, improve reaction, increase strength and most importantly prevent potential injury.  Action Step:  Add a 15 minute warmup routine before every workout that has your heart rate up and your first sweat cracked.

2.  Eat Post-Workout.  After a vigorous workout, your body is starving for the most important meal of the day: the post-workout meal.  If you are not taking in quality carbohydrates and protein immediately following your workout, you are increasing the chances of muscle damage and decreased gains.  A shake is a great form of post-workout meal because the liquid is quickly digested by the body to halt breakdown. Today there are many excellent products on the market.  Action Step:  Have a post-workout shake within 15 minutes following a workout.

3.   Stretch.  Stretching has gained a bad rap lately.  Maybe it is because people are too lazy or too pressed for time, but there are important areas of the body to keep flexible.  In addition to improving range of motion, stretching following a workout can also help to decrease heart rate and relax the nervous system.  If you don’t want to spend too long stretching, make sure to focus at least on the ankles, hamstrings, hip flexors and gluteal muscles.  Action step:  Perform 10 minutes of light stretching following each workout.

4.   Drink Water.  Come on, I know you have heard this one.  The question is, do you REALLY drink 6-8 glasses of water a day?  If not, you are leaving both your muscles and brain dehydrated and have again increased your chances for injury.  In addition to water being important for performance, I have noticed another important side-benefit of sticking with water.  Increased water intake also leaves my athletes leaner and gives them an easier time to make weight.  Action step:  Start with at least 6 glasses of water a day and cut the sugary or diet sport and or energy drinks.

5.  Sleep.  One third of your life is to be spent sleeping.  This may sound like wasted time, but sleep is one of the basic necessities of life.   An inadequate sleep environment and poor sleep habits will not just cause your fighting to suffer, but also your job, relationships and overall health as well.   Both the quantity and quality of sleep can be related to health problems like obesity, hypertension and cardiovascular problems.  In addition to these, poor sleep can also be related to decreased IQ, mood swings, and decreased production at work. To make these matters worse, if you aren’t getting enough restful sleep your body will have reduced ability for muscle repair, immune system response, memory consolidation, and the proper release of hormones like growth hormone and insulin.  Action step:  Turn off the phone, the computer, the T.V., the lights and get 8-9 hours of sleep a night.

The list above may seem like common sense.   In training, however, common sense is not always common.  My challenge to you is not to comprehend the list, but if you have the discipline to execute the action steps.  Champions, like the samurai, eventually come to realize that there are no little things.  Take these five tips to heart, and you will see that the big things in life will be easier to attain as a result.

One third of your life is to be spent sleeping. This may sound like a lot of wasted time, but I must remind you that sleep is one of the basic necessities of life. We all recognize that we need food, water, and exercise to survive, but in the case of getting to bed, sleep is often viewed as “expendable.”

Wake Up To The Significance of Sleep

Both the quantity and quality of sleep are related to health problems like obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular problems. Poor sleep can also be related to decreased IQ and irritability. If being less intelligent and having a bad ticker don’t bother you, here’s something that will: not getting enough restful sleep leaves the body with a reduced ability for muscle repair since sleep is a major time for protein synthesis to occur.

And if you don’t mind having less muscle while being overweight and less intelligent, don’t worry, because the decreased immune system responsiveness, memory and motor program consolidation, and release of hormones will also leave you sick and uncoordinated.  But at least with the bad memory, you might not remember why you’re so messed up in the first place. Perhaps this “sleep amnesia” is the reason behind so many problems the human race currently faces.

“Many things – such as loving and going to sleep – are done worst when we try the hardest to do them.” C.S. Lewis

If you’re like my athletes, you may not think you need to make adjustments to your sleep schedule. But, like my athletes, you’d be wrong. How do you know if you need more sleep? Go through this list quickly.

1. You wake stiff and sore in the morning and rarely feel refreshed.

2.  You feel sleepy at times throughout the day.

3.  You suffer from impaired memory, concentration or frequent colds.

4.  You toss and turn during the night.

5. You need to wake up to an alarm clock four or more days a week.

Got your attention? Good.  Now, if you’re willing to train and eat like a champion, you need to be prepared to sleep like a champion.

7 Tips For A World Class Sleep Environment

1. Keep your room cool. 65-69 degrees Fahrenheit is recommended. Since your body cools right before sleep, a warm or hot room can make it difficult for your body to shut down and get to sleep.

2.  Keep your room quiet. If you can’t control some sounds, white noise can help block out unwanted sounds. You can use a fan, sound machine, or even earplugs.

3.  Keep your room dark. This seems like a no-brainer but you’d be amazed how much light creeps in through windows. Blackout shades or an eye mask can make a big difference.

4. Keep your TV, phone, and computer out of your bedroom. These are distractions that can excite the body with both sounds and lights.  In addition to the mental and sensory distractions, the electrical currents from devices are also hypothesized to alter sleep patterns.

5.  Keep an appropriately sized and personally comfortable mattress. Take your time selecting a mattress just like you would a pair of training shoes or supplement. If your mattress is 5-10 years old (or sags in the middle) it’s time for a new one.  Have supportive pillows, cotton sheets, and blankets and change them all regularly.

6. Keep an alarm clock that doesn’t have a “snooze” button. When it’s time to get up, really get up! Open the shades, get some sun, and get active to set your biological clock.

7.  Keep a routine.  Go to bed the same time every night.  Have a light snack before bed.  Whatever you like whether reading, soft music, mentally planning out your next day, or deep breathing just make sure to stick to it.

“There will be enough time for sleeping in the grave.”  Benjamin Franklin.

Most athletes look at training and nutrition with such detail, but merely gloss over sleep.  To reach your full potential, you must embrace the art of sleeping as much as you have the art of training.

Most of us recognize the things that lead to bad sleep habits, but are you really doing anything about it? Make no mistake: you are the result of the behaviors you maintain. So make some of the behavioral changes listed above and your life—not to mention your physique—will improve.

If, however, you subscribe to the Franklin quote above and miss too much sleep, that time in the grave might just be sooner than later.

Since I have entered my fourth decade of life, I continue to get more and more people asking me how I stay in shape.  I take this as a compliment, but am also shocked that it is accepted that fitness should become more difficult or that it is ok to fall out of shape as we age.  Yesterday, I did an interview and the question surfaced again: “How do you stay in shape with your busy schedule and travel?”  My answer revolved around what I call my 3 C’s of Success:  Courage, Commitment and Consistency.  With these characteristics there is nothing that you cannot attain. Without them you will never reach your goals.

Courage

Taking a stand takes courage.  I have found that since most people don’t stand for something, they often fall for anything.  Whether I am at home, on the road, at a party or sport event, I have the courage to eat well.  I also have the courage to make sure my kids eat well too.  I say it takes courage because like any warrior, you will meet opposition on your path to your goals. If I had a penny every time someone rolled their eyes at my food choices, told me to change my decision to skip dessert, or said it is fine for my kids to eat poorly, I would have a mountain of copper. Maybe it is true that misery loves company, but my crowd will never be this sad bunch. If you want something bad enough, you have to develop the courage to stand tall and get it.

Commitment

Most people are unfit because they have never committed themselves to exercise and good nutrition. To be successful in life, you must commit.  You must go and put everything behind it. There is no halfway in any thing you do. When there is commitment, there is no doubt. When was the last time that you were really committed to something?  How much commitment are you devoting to Your Training, Your Diet, Your Work, Your Family?
Most people never really commit to something even though they are doing it. They show up for class a time or two a week, but never go all out. They talk about getting lean, but continue to eat poorly. Those people will never be satisfied because deep down they know that they never gave their best. There is nothing more haunting than looking back on your life and knowing you could have done more.

Consistency

Perhaps the best kept secret that separates the achievers and the complainers is Consistency. I describe Consistency to my athletes as “Always or Never.” Always eat right and you will get leaner.  Never skip workouts and you will be stronger. Doing something Occasionally, although convenient, doesn’t produce results. I have found that the achievers do always what the mediocre do occasionally. Get consistent in your actions and I promise results. Need help to find the courage, commitment or consistency? I advise you to enlist the people closest to you for help. Here is an entertaining video that not only shows the 3 C’s are important, but that they can also be fun.

Throughout history, there have been tales of about a legendary Fountain of Youth that could restore the health and vitality to anyone that drank from its waters.  By the 1500’s the Fountain’s legend became so popular that famous Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce De Leon gave up on acquiring treasure and spent his energy searching for these waters of longevity.  Even though Ponce De Leon went on to discover Florida as a result of his quest, the Fountain of Youth still alluded him and every man that has sought it since. Today, the secrets of how such a Fountain can deliver youth would be considered priceless.  Those priceless secrets, however, are exactly what I offer in this blog today.  And surprisingly, they are absolutely free.

When Birds Go To Sleep With Bats, They Wake Up Upside Down

I have been told that if you want something that someone else has, just study the strategies they utilize, implement them and anything can be yours.  Since I wanted to investigate youth, I decided that I would study and spend time around the youngest person I knew, my three year old daughter.  I have often heard the challenge that you should try to spend a day doing everything that your child does.  I took this challenge thinking that it would be time well spent and she would get to learn a Rooney trick or two from her “old man.” Instead, I was reminded of a number of profound secrets to staying young.  After only a half day with her, I think she may have been the most valuable “consultant” I have worked with in some time.  Too bad Ponce De Leon wasted his time seeking what was probably in front of him all along.

Secret #1  Get A Full Night Of Sleep

My daughter woke up on her own that morning and got me up.  Amazingly, she did that without an alarm clock and woke on her own terms.  The fact that she properly managed her time by going to bed early gave her a full night’s rest and had her happy, cheerful and wide awake.  I was not so lucky.  As a result of having been “too busy” the night before, I was up working on a manual much later than I should have been.  I was left tired and not as refreshed as I would like to be upon waking.

Secret #2  Eat A Healthy Breakfast

Immediately she marched me downstairs to get her something to eat.  I know my daughter is no nutritionist, but she instinctively knew to fill her body with nutrients following the night of fasting and her choice was her usual: some eggs, fresh fruit and juice.   Instead of having my usual rushed protein shake, I sat and had the same breakfast as her.  It was nice to have a few minutes to eat instead of being “too busy” and hammering down something that probably isn’t really as nutritious as it says it is just to get out the door.

Secret #3 Stay “On Purpose” and Have Fun

After breakfast and dressing, I noticed an interesting trend: the purpose of her day revolved entirely around having fun.  If it was fun, she was doing it.  If it was not, she did everything in her power to return to being “on purpose” and having fun.  She clearly knew her purpose and was lost in activities that fulfilled this mission.  Throughout the morning I noticed another trend: she did a lot of laughing.  I have read that a 3-4 year old laughs up to 300 times a day.  Comparing that to the “too busy” adult that laughs 15, I can see that our purpose is less about having fun than it is to deny fun in order to get the stuff done that is keeping us “too busy.”

Secret #4 Get Daily Exercise

In order to stay on purpose, my daughter demanded a trip to the park.  We walked down  to the schoolyard and she proceeded to climb, slide, swing, jump and run around the park for over an hour.  Instead of acting “too busy” by standing and checking my cell phone while she exercised, I chased her around and got a taste of a three year old workout.  After the hour of constant movement, I could see her leading “Park Boot Camp” quite successfully in the near future.

Secret #5 Make Sure To Take Rests

After we returned home, it was another snack of fruit, a yogurt and then she took a nap.  I can’t remember the last time I got a solid nap in, but she reminded me that rest is the critical time to recover get stronger from the activities you have performed.  I had gotten “too busy” to remember that periodic rest is as important as playing hard.  For those that think taking some recovery is not important because you believe “you are doing nothing,” imagine instead that you are doing the most important thing. You are coming back stronger to do more.

Don’t Make Sleep, Exercise, Diet or Humor “Expendable”

As my daughter drifted off for that hour, I realized that many of us have conditioned ourselves that it is acceptable to eat poorly, skip exercise, miss sleep and be too serious to laugh.  When I ask most people why they think this has happened, the classic answer is that they just got “too busy.”  It is not acceptable to live an expendable life.

Although it is hard to precisely define what “too busy” means, it is easy to conclude that it is unhealthy.  I have been told that the excuse of having no time for the important aspects of life is like saying you have no time to pull over for gas because you are too busy driving.  In both cases, if you keep them up too long, you will be stopped dead in your tracks.

Perhaps the greatest reminder I can give you is that sleep, exercise, food and laughter are all medicinal.  In the right doses these critical elixirs can keep you young, but as soon you begin to develop a deficiency, you will start to get old.  The question for each one of us that may be “too busy” is this:  Are you making sure you are meeting your daily requirement?

Stay young.

With my latest book about to be released worldwide, I have noticed lately that I am receiving more and more emails from people asking me how I have been able to do the things that I have done during my lifetime.  Although I do not consider myself any smarter or any more gifted than anyone else out there, I respond to people that I have used great discipline while following a number of simple formulas that have served me well in order to get what I wanted.  This blog is going to feature one of these formulas, as well as how I was able to use it to become more successful.  To illustrate this success formula, I am going to start with a riddle that I end up using on all of my athletes at one time or another:

There are three warriors standing at the edge of a river.  Two of the warriors decide to jump into the water.  The question is, “How many warriors are now standing at the edge of the river?”

Many people immediately answer that there is only one warrior left on the riverbank.  This, however, is not only the wrong answer, but it gives me a window into the minds of the people with which I work.

The correct answer to my riddle is “three”.  Just because you have made a decision does not mean that you have taken any action to do anything about it!  All too often men and women “decide” to go on a diet or lose some body fat yet don’t get any thinner.  At one time or another in most people’s lives, people also commonly “decide” that it is time to get back into the gym or onto the court or mats, but strangely (and unfortunately) these same people never end up getting there.  Did you ever “decide” on your New Year’s resolutions only to break them days later?  Have you ever decided this was the year you were going to make more money, or quit a bad habit only to experience little change?  What was the missing ingredient to getting what you want?  I have discovered that it is simply the “action” that goes along with the decision!  Is it really that simple?  Yes, it really is.

If you want to get what you want, here is a great formula to remember:  D-A=0  (Decision minus Action equals Zero)

So, whether you want to write the next best-seller, make more money, or have better relationships in your life, this formula can show you the way to get there.  When you examine this simple formula, although the concept of taking action may seem more critical, I have often found that people never reach their goals because they lack the ability to make a decision about what it is they really want in the first place!  I am here to remind all my readers that you can’t get what you want if you have never decided what you want!   Ask yourself if you have figured out your life’s purpose and spent quality time figuring what it really is that you want from life.  If you haven’t ever sat down and come up with your definitive list of wants from life, you can be sure you will never achieve them.  You may think that 5-7 hours focused on your wants is crazy, but I believe it is much crazier to go through life never making an investment in yourself.

Decision plus Action is a simple formula.  I decided I wanted to create a fitness book that would be regarded as one of the best in the genre.  I decided I would do whatever it took and speak to whoever I had to in order to land the book deal.  I decided I would stay up late writing and researching for years and sacrifice what I wanted now for what I wanted most.  The difference between me and most people is that after all of that deciding, I did something about it.  If you know what you want, all you have to add is daily, continuous action into the equation. My latest book is a reminder that the formula works only as long as you work the formula!

There was once a king who was put in a terrible situation.  All of the citizens in his kingdom got their water from a different well than the one from which he drank.  The well of his subjects became tainted and as a result of them drinking from that well, all of his once-loyal followers went mad. Because everyone in the kingdom had gone crazy, they all looked at each other as if they were still normal and that the King was actually the one that had gone crazy.

Even though he tried everything in his power to help his people, his subjects would spend every day attempting to convince the King he was crazy and try different “remedies” to cure his madness.  When the King could not longer face the treatments and couldn’t bear to be so different from everyone else, he decided to give in and drink from their tainted well.  When he did, he became just like them and the country, although all crazy, was happy again.

This story resonates with me because I see this story play out almost daily in my life.  During many interactions I have throughout the week, I often feel like the King from the story.  I am always challenged to ask myself who really is the “madman” especially when it concerns the topics of health and nutrition.  Pressure is constantly there to conform to the ideas of the masses that don’t match my beliefs since I have yet to drink from their tainted well.

A Tale Of Two Kingdoms

One kingdom of the world has grown overweight, overmedicated and undertrained from the tainted well from which they drink.  They drink not tainted water, but tainted information from slick marketers, spokespeople and governments usually bent on making money or protecting market position.  In just two generations of drinking from this well, once important essential human needs such as regular exercise, healthy diet and adequate sleep have become expendable in relation to busy schedules, a pocket full of excuses and easy-to-make chicken nuggets. In this Kingdom anything is acceptable to eat as long as that something is packaged in 100 calorie sizes, screams the words Light, Diet or Fat-Free from its packaging or is deemed of great value since it has been Super-Sized.   Health care is to take medicines freely and daily even when its advertisement proudly lists known side affects as chronic diarrhea, headaches, dizziness, stroke, loss of hearing, partial blindness, and DEATH.  The pharmacy is the local donut shop or coffee house to buy synthetic energy to get through another day.  Child abuse is not buying the 100 dollar pair of shoes that won’t be used due to hours spent playing video games.

In the other kingdom, 5 hours of hard exercise a week, a diet full of fruits and vegetables and 8 hours of sleep are taken daily as medicines to inoculate against disease.  Delayed gratification and patience are the energy on which the subjects run and Self discipline is the strength used to make difficult decisions.  As a result of drinking from this well, a subject from this kingdom may look like the crazy king to the subjects of the first kingdom if he or she chooses to pass on the community “chocolate volcano” dessert or use the word “organic” when referring to food preference.  A subject might be viewed by the other kingdom as obsessed if he or she made sure his or her children’s food is gluten-free, dye free and grass-fed.  They would probably look insane to skip a barbeque buffet for some almonds, celery sticks and a solid workout.  As a result of these actions, they would become known or spoken of in the opposite kingdom with a roll of the eyes as “one of those” people.

As you saw from the story, it is not easy to be the King.  When you are outnumbered and long for affiliation, it is not easy to meet with such resistance.  Perhaps it would be easier just to drink from their well.  I write this blog to remind you that life is not supposed to be easy.  You will not be measured by the easy decisions you make, but instead by the most challenging ones.  Attached is a video which should tell you what well is used in my castle.  I know that this video will produce laughter, but after you stop laughing, think more deeply about the message.

If you are reading this blog, I have a good idea to which Kingdom you belong. We may look and act different, but regardless of the pressure, I implore you to never back down.   Do not forget you are the stronger one.  Fight the good fight.  Next time you hear, “oh just have a piece of cake, it won’t kill you,” remember your job is not to give in, but to give back in order to convert people to your kingdom.

Do not drink from the tainted well.

I am a competitor.  Over the last 30 years, I have routinely competed in physical events that have served as tests of both my body and mind.  I have raced on steel blades (and occasionally my back) over 90 miles per hour in a bobsled, had forearms pressed against my throat with lethal intentions during combat matches, and have run, jumped, thrown, checked and tackled my way to exhiliration on the road, track, field, mat and ice.  You could label me a “competition junkie,” but I believe I compete because competition pays valuable dividends.  Competing teaches you about yourself and about life.  You are forced to learn that you do not always get the results you want and must accept life’s lesson that it will not always be your day.  But by having the occasional tough day and the even harder practice sessions these days produce, however, you learn to appreciate your big successes even more.

Last week I competed in the 2012 WNPF Raw World Powerlifting Championships.  Although this competition challenged both my knowledge and ability in the classic lifts of the squat, bench press and deadlift, perhaps the greatest challenge of this competition was on my ability to manage my time.  This event forced me to spend the last month and a half creatively fitting in training and dieting around my busy schedule of work, family and travel.  As I buried my body under bars filled with ever-increasing weight and carved calories from my under-filled plate, the people around me all started to ask me a question:

“What are you doing this to yourself for?”

As the weeks of heavy training wore on, I received this “What” question enough times that I spent some time reflecting on the idea and developed an answer that is rooted in  four “What” questions of my own.

1.  What Is Your Title?

First and foremost, I consider myself a Fitness Professional.  Those two words singularly may not seem to warrant much respect, but I take those words very seriously in combination.  In this day and age, unfortunately, titles are more easily selected or purchased than they are earned.  To me, if you are going to use words to describe yourself, you should have both an understanding of their definitions and a pride in their significance.  And then you should strive with all your power to constantly live up to them.

fit·ness

n.

1. The state or condition of being physically sound and healthy, especially as the result of exercise and proper nutrition.

2. A state of general mental and physical well-being.

pro·fes·sion·al

n.

1.  An expert of specialized knowledge in the field in which one is practicing.

2.  A master who is capable of high quality work and skill in a specific field.

According to the definitions above, if I dare call myself a fitness professional, then I believe I should be both an expert in both the theory and practice of fitness.  I will not preach unless I practice. This competition gave me the opportunity to at least assess my current level speed, strength, flexibility, power, diet and mental toughness and rank myself against the rest of the competition.  If people are going to ask (and pay) me for advice, I believe it is my responsibility to have “been there.”  To train and compete gives me a better ability to help someone else do the same.  My career has been measured in hundredths of a second, a handful of ounces and fractions of an inch.  When such small increments can be the difference between victory and defeat, I must go beyond books and websites to find these measures in hopes I will then be better able to help someone else do the same.  I didn’t compete solely to test myself, I entered the meet to gain answers that will help me solve other people’s problems as well.

2.  What Is Your Gift?

Second, I believe if you have gifts, it is your responsibility to use them.  And whether you think it or not, you have gifts.  You have a body and a brain that no company or amount of money can reproduce and a limitless ability to learn, adapt and achieve when combined with the appropriate application of desire, focus and time.   At the meet, when I weighed in at 197 pounds, it dawned on me that this has been my steady weight for the last 20 years.  You see, this competition helped me to discover that my gift was not being strong.  I was strong because my gift is consistent discipline.  My athletic performances, books, articles, videos and training results have all been a result of this use of this gift.  Whatever your special gift is, it is time to unwrap that bad boy and put it to use.

3.  What Is Your “Why?”

Third, I did the meet because I needed a challenge.  I think we are all designed for effort toward a goal and we all hunger for achievement.  There is nothing more invigorating than having something in the future for which we need to prepare.  People are most powerful when they clearly know their “why.”  There is magic and boundless energy available to the person that has a big “why” for which they strive. When you have a big enough “why,” you will figure out “how.”  The how to do something becomes apparent to the person that has the biggest reason “why” they must do it.  Do you have a clearly defined “why” that you could quickly summarize?  If there is something for which you will gladly get up early, stay up late or sacrifice whatever it takes or costs to make it happen, the chances are that you do.  If you don’t think you have a strong “why” in your life right now, I suggest that you ask yourself what you really want from life and find one.  To live without some big “why’s” sounds more like getting through life than getting from it.

4.  What Are You Waiting For?

To have a gift and not use it is to waste it.  If you know there is a “why” that you constantly think of and is worth going after, you must pursue it.  No matter the hard work or the risk, it is your responsibility to yourself and your ancestors to take your swing at the plate with your best effort.  Life is too short for you to waste years with your greatness kept inside of you.  So many times in life we give ourselves the “no” that stops us from chasing our goals and dreams.  If someone is going to give you a “no” let it be someone else.

And when you do receive the occasional “no” from someone trying to say your “why” isn’t worth chasing, I say don’t listen anyway.

“Learn to listen to the voice within yourself.  Your body and mind will become clear and you will realize the unity of all things.”  Dogen

One of the Principles of TFW is that your body is an incredible informant that is always trying to tell you something.  Most of us, unfortunately, have either forgotten how or choose not to listen to what our body is saying to us.  If you don’t agree or completely  understand, here are a few common examples of how people regularly ignore what our amazing body is attempting to tell us:

1.  Many people eat food that makes them feel sluggish or tired, yet they continue to make the same food choices.

2.  Many people’s bodies pack on fat, develop high blood pressure, diabetes, and a whole host of other diet related disorders, yet they continue to eat incorrectly.

3.  People develop overuse injuries and continue to batter the same areas instead of giving that area the rest for which the body is screaming.

4.  People awaken tired from too little sleep, but continue to deprive the body of that all important recovery mechanism on following nights.

5.  People’s bodies “know” that daily exercise is healthy, but they continue to lead sedentary lifestyles.

6.  People make themselves sick from toxic behaviors like drinking and smoking, yet continue to indulge in these damaging acts.

“I like to listen.  I have learned a great deal from listening carefully.  Most people never listen.” Ernest Hemingway

We all take on physical challenges every day.  Whether it is beginning a sport, landscaping the yard, moving some furniture or chasing the kids, we often experience soreness or fatigue in certain areas as a result.  I have concluded that there are a few possibilities causing the issue:

1. These are areas that you may not have used in some time.

2. These are areas that you have not used in that particular way before.

3. These are areas that are require the development more strength, flexibility and endurance.

I believe you might think the list above is “common sense.” The problem, however, is that it is not common for people to take action on what number three is trying to tell them. This leads me to another Principle of TFW: knowledge is rarely important without action.  Once you recognize what your body is telling you (whether it is to eat right, lose weight, train smarter or recover more), you need to actually carry out that request!  As I have learned, our society’s greatest mistake is to make the same mistake. Not listening to your body long enough is exactly where most of the world’s health problems come from in the first place.

This blog should be a harsh reminder that we were given two ears and one mouth because we should listen twice as much as we talk (and, for many of us, eat!). Although the media would love to attempt to paralyze you with the belief that concepts like training and nutrition are very complex, if you pay close attention, they are actually quite simple:

You know what to eat because your body tells you what you need and when it is hungry.  Eat It.

You know when you need rest because your body tells you when it is tired or sore.  Take It.

You know the area to train because your body tells you when and where it is weak or improperly prepared. Train It.

Proper recovery, training and nutrition.  With the correct mixture of these three variables, you and your body can do anything. The body knows it can be done. Now it is just your mind’s turn to listen…and then take action.

After I graduated college with an exercise science degree, I was interested in developing a career in fitness. Instead, I went to the Medical University of South Carolina to physical therapy school. Now looking back on my life, I realize that I became a therapist because people told me that was what I should do. Although I did enjoy the education, once I graduated and started logging hours and seeing over 100 patients a week, my body started telling me something different. For the first year or so, however, I just chose not to listen.

The Knot

On Sunday evenings, I would get a “knot” in my gut and begin to count the minutes left of my weekend. There became no greater dread than my alarm clock on Monday morning which always seemed to buzz too soon. I also began to live for Friday nights and Saturdays throughout the week. Instead of getting from my job, I slowly began to focus more on getting through it. Saturday’s became the day I could be myself. I would train with my friends, compete in sports and share ideas about fitness and performance. My library expanded more about sport performance and biomechanics than rehabilitation. I was living on a weekly 1 to 6 ratio in terms of time spent on passion and work. That knot on Sunday evenings was my body begging me to reverse the equation.

Before I go further, I don’t want to give you the wrong impression of physical therapy. I enjoyed helping people and watching my patients improve, but that knot was telling me I was meant for something slightly different. I wanted to use the knowledge I had gained from therapy, but on a slightly different population. I valued the relationships I had built with my therapist coworkers and I grew immensely from the experience and pressure of managing people’s health.

The Goal

It didn’t take sitting in an hour each commute of traffic to realize I missed sport, but the time sitting in my car hammered home my need for a new direction. I missed the rush of fitness and sport, but most of all, I missed achievement. My body was telling me I was built for action. That knot was my sign that I was designed for more than one happy day per week. I believe that everyone has this internal desire to reach a high level in some vocation. We all respect and adore people that have achieved mastery in some area. Unfortunately, most people attempt to reach high levels in something other than their job. When your job is where you aspire to be your best and that job is also your passion and purpose, however, you will find endless energy and true happiness. The alignment of your passion, purpose and vocation is magical. Things will come naturally and your body works at full energy and impact. The challenge is that sometimes our biggest obstacles to achieve this alignment are the people closest to us.

The Obstacles

I can remember the day I told my parents I was going to leave my budding physical therapy career and live in a guy’s basement to help drive a start-up company that was focused on the new concept of speed and strength improvement for young athletes. I also remember the opposition that I met from them and my closest friends. “What? Leave therapy to run kids around? Therapy is a good career and you are born either fast or slow. Strength training for girls? You are out of your mind and will go broke,” was the common response.

Most people never reached for their dreams, so most may try to stop you from getting to yours. Being “safe” in life can sometimes lead to being “sorry” later regardless of what the old anecdote says. The lesson I learned is that people don’t always know what is best for you. Your knot may be there to help you decide that for yourself.

The Leap

To me, leaving my first career was like jumping out of a plane. The first step involved anxiety and fear, but once I was out, the real exhilaration began. I realize now you may have to go through some pain to get to the pleasure, but you have to trust in your “gut” and go for your passion. My advice would be to take that leap and go for it. Unlike the plane, if things don’t go your way, have confidence that you can always go back to where you started.

The List

Use the checklist below to examine your current situation. If you experience any of these, this could confirm your need for a change:

You count the minutes until you finish work on Friday.
Saturday is your day to do what you love.
You wish Sunday had 30 hours instead of 24.
Monday morning is the most difficult time to hear the alarm clock.
Your real passion doesn’t have much to do with your work.

The Questions

Do you have a knot in your stomach? Take a moment to truthfully answer these four questions and your answers may just give you the directions on how to untie it:

Do you ever notice your body trying to tell you something about your career path?

Do you have people around you that may be keeping you from your passion?

What is your passion/work ratio?

If you had all the money in the world, what would you do for a living?

The Answer

Rooney Rule: Successful people love mondays.

Being successful isn’t about being rich, it is first about untying your “knot” and being happy. Most people measure success in wealth. I believe that you cannot put a price on doing what you love. I also believe that if you do what you love and you aspire to become great at that thing, the money will also come. When you reach this greatness, and you are aligned with your passion, you don’t hate mondays.

You live for them.