3 LESSONS

That have improved my life, my client’s lives, & might just improve yours too.

3 LESSONS

That have improved my life, my client’s lives, & might just improve yours too.

#1

Consistency (not perfection)
changes every phase of your life.

People often think that I’ve been “fit” my whole life.
That’s not the case.
Starting in 5th grade, and extending until I was 20 years old, I was always (and I mean always) 20-25 pounds overweight. To say I was just “self-conscious” would be an understatement. In fact, I remember skipping my 8th grade graduation party simply because there was a pool and I was horrified by the possibility of having to take my shirt off.
Then during my first two years of college, I stopped playing sports every day and ate whatever I wanted. I had donuts for breakfast, fast food for lunch, and whatever I could afford for dinner (lots of ramen noodles). During this time, I put on another 15 pounds and honestly, although I didn’t realize it until later, I felt like crap. I went from feeling bad to feeling worse.

This is when I got into fitness.

I started reading forums, books, and lifting weights
4-5x per week.

Then I dabbled with tracking macros. Then I tried the keto diet. Then I ate 6-7x per day to “stoke my metabolism”. At one point, I even started playing basketball with a wrap around my waist to help me burn belly fat (spoiler: it didn’t work, but my friends had a laugh at it).
To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing at the time. I made a lot of mistakes. There were times when I’d get really frustrated and want to quit. Life would happen. Motivation would wane. But I tried my hardest to keep showing up. And I did.

As of today, after 12 years of consistent mistakes...

LEFT: 2008 | 20 years old | Between 200-205 pounds

RIGHT: 2020 | 31 years old | 165 pounds

This consistency has (obviously) helped me transform my body physically, but it’s also given me a ton of self confidence and discipline that has carried over into every other aspect of my life.
Now I wake up every morning before dawn to study for an hour. I’ve built a successful personal training business. I have great relationships with my family and friends. And most importantly, it’s helped me help thousands of others transform their life as well (more on this in a second).
I don’t think any of these things would have been possible if I hadn’t proven to myself that I was a disciplined person by continually showing up to the gym when I didn’t want to.

#2

Sometimes self-love is best achieved by investing in yourself.

To explain this one, I wanted to introduce you to my client Maria.

When Maria and I first met, she was looking for help getting in shape. So, she hired me. And guess what? We (really she) did just that! Pretty crazy, right?

There have also been times in my life where I’ve wanted to learn a new skill, improve personally or physically, and often, it has required needing to hire a coach, going to a conference, or paying for a course. On more than one occasion, I didn’t think I could afford it at the time. But I did it anyway. And each time, the return on investment has been ten-fold.

Luckily, my client Maria is a firm believer in self-investment as well.

Here’s the thing though: Don’t mistake this lesson as a sales pitch of sorts. It’s not. Investment doesn’t always have to be financial. It can be time spent with a loved one. It can be attention given to the development of a new skill (like reading). It can be a lot of things.

So, whether it’s hiring me as a coach, or reading an educational book, or spending time learning how to dance (I’m no help there), do know this one truth — consistently investing in yourself determines the quality of your life right now, and in the future.

But don’t take my word for it. Just ask Maria.

But the physical changes, while great (since it was her goal after-all), are just a fraction of the changes she saw.

Here are some other benefits that she hadn’t anticipated:

And most importantly, she’s developed habits that’ll last her a lifetime.

There have also been times in my life where I’ve wanted to learn a new skill, improve personally or physically, and often, it has required needing to hire a coach, going to a conference, or paying for a course. On more than one occasion, I didn’t think I could afford it at the time. But I did it anyway. And each time, the return on investment has been ten-fold.

Luckily, my client Maria is a firm believer in self-investment as well.

Here’s the thing though: Don’t mistake this lesson as a sales pitch of sorts. It’s not. Investment doesn’t always have to be financial. It can be time spent with a loved one. It can be attention given to the development of a new skill (like reading). It can be a lot of things.

So, whether it’s hiring me as a coach, or reading an educational book, or spending time learning how to dance (I’m no help there), do know this one truth — consistently investing in yourself determines the quality of your life right now, and in the future.

But don’t take my word for it. Just ask Maria.

#3

Creating better habits is more important than short-term weight loss

We’ve all spent periods of time trying to lose weight. In fact, I’d wager to say most of us have spent multiple periods of time trying to lose weight. But, how many of us can say we’ve spent any amount of time developing the habits to keep that weight off?

Have you? I know I didn’t for most of my life. And most of the people I’ve worked with hadn’t either.

Here’s the thing: losing weight is actually pretty simple — cut carbs, cut calories, and you’ll more than likely cut some weight too (because you’re eating less). The problem is, 95% of people gain the weight back.

WHY?

Once that’s achieved (if it’s achieved)? It’s right back to the same old things.

The things that left them feeling the need to lose weight in the first place.

If you were to imagine the person you wish you were tomorrow, you cannot continue acting like the person you were yesterday. And that’s the key to long-term results. We have to become the person who eats vegetables (at least a little). We have to become the person who exercises regularly (not all the time, but regularly).

And we have to do those things, not because we want to lose weight, but because they’re the habits of the person who we’d like to become.

Do the things you’d be proud to say you do and one day you’ll be able to.