Success is Easy, but Hard
Nothing Fancy
I was watching and taking notes on a Mike Boyle presentation from 2011 this morning on success. While Mike is one of the greatest coaches on the planet, when he speaks about success, it is just as interesting as when he speaks about strength. I saw Mike give a similar speech in 2007. Mike said in the DVD, “Success is easy, but it’s hard.”
I figured it’d been a while since I talked about the 1%ers out there, so here is my take on it…
The above pic is a snapshot of my home office. Its not fancy, but it is my little cave where I make my own success happen. I find too often that people tell me they will open their own gym or they will become such and such a player, but instead of taking action, they talk, make excuses and delude themselves with self-delusion.
I was never the smartest kid in school, in fact, academically I can’t hold a candle to my 3 brothers. But I always had heart and a bull-dog mentality. For a while, in high school, I wanted to become such a good basketball player that I took 500 jump shots per day. I paid my younger neighbor 5 bucks per day, and I charted every single shot on a sheet. I still have them floating around somewhere at my parents house. Needless to say, I developed a jump shot at the time that damn near never missed. Easy but hard work.
I also find it amusing when people tell me they are going to open a gym like mine or better than mine. While I admire the aspirations, people like this don’t realize that I am nearing my 10,000 hours of mastery, coming up on a decade of obsession, blood, sweat and tears. If I had to break it down, I’d say its been 5,000 hours of actual coaching clients and 5,000 hours of reading, studying and attending seminars. Take on to that that I write about 5,000 words per week for my newsletter, articles, emails, blogs and so on. The gym is the easy part. When I go over there at 3:30 every afternoon it is fun time.
Do I possess any special talents? None but persistence and consistency. Most people want to start on 3rd base or worse yet, some people are born on 3rd base and think they hit a triple (Boyle’s line and I love it). I remember driving my little ass car to train clients in their freezing cold garages, listening to Tony Robbins audio tapes and that was when I thought I had ‘made it’. The times of getting up at 4 am to get my workouts in or study before going in to teach for the day. Going over to Rutgers before school to help with the strength training with the football team and to learn from those guys. I have no secrets and that is why I really have no fear of competition. If I had a secret, I would be finished if someone else found it out.
I just know, like you should, that 99% of the people don’t even have the persistence to stick with a nutrition plan for 2 days. Success is really there to be had by anybody, its one of the great fundamental truths to our country. If you are not happy with your life, do something about it, stop complaining. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be worth it, just like getting ripped up. If everyone could walk around shredded, it wouldn’t mean that much. I am going to be starting a 4 months course for strength coaches this fall based on succeeding in this field with never before seen information, but stuff that works….
Tomorrow, I will be touching on ‘goals’, its that time of year again. And don’t forget, if you liked this, pass it on for me so I can build the NS tribe to 10,000 peeps this year. Thanks!
Thinking it Makes it So
Its early in the week and that means you need a dose of ‘kick-ass’….
I find that too many people let life handle them, going with the flow and never fighting against the current or trying to swim. You only get out of life what you picture in your mind. Most people just have average thoughts and most people are therefore….you got it, just average.
I often picture myself sitting at a round table, talking with the idols of mine, picking their brains. Often at this table there is Arnold, Trump, Buddha, Jesus, 50 Cent, Martin Luther King, Lincoln and the characters often change. You might think this is crazy and you might stop reading right now, but can you imagine that I get to have these talks any time I want to?
This is one of the reasons that I am so big on reading about the greatest minds throughout history. It is like getting the chance to talk with them and as we know, physically this isn’t possible. But getting back to the talks I have in my mind…a researcher, Dr. Dennis Waitley showed way back that the nervous system can’t tell the difference between imagining something and actually doing it. This has been tested and proven in Olympic Athletes by the way. Read it again, I didn’t make it up.
So why the hell do most people never take advantage of this principle? If you want success, you must picture it in your mind over and over. When I was shooting 500 jump shots per day, I would picture many of the shots in my head before taking them and in bed at night, I would picture ‘nothing but net’. You know what happened? I could make jump shots without even being able to see the basket. Now, I can’t do that anymore because it simply is not a priority for me, but the principle remains. With bodybuilding, the same thing, pictured it in my mind day after day, all my actions went towards it and I won a championship. Same principle with my business, meeting Devon and marrying her.
I have used this principle every day of my life and it has served me well. Use it 10 minutes per day and get back to me in a month, a few months, a year and I bet you that you will be shocked about how much you accomplish…
Hard Work Requires No Talent!
I just finished up with a lot of the athletes that play spring sports. Always a bit of sadness mixed with happiness at this time as I usually form a pretty strong bond between myself and my clients. Happy because I know these athletes will be very pleased at their new found strength, size, etc.
I had a kid in the last batch that wasn’t the most athletic kid, but he worked harder than just about all the other athletes, passed all his conditioning tests that the coach puts them through and he ranked at the 4th strongest player out of 75 at his high school. He stopped by to tell me this last Saturday while we were in the process of moving the gym to its new spot.
It got me thinking, this kid took something and made it his own. He controlled his circumstances and results by pure, hard work. Many people, athletes included, want to talk about this and that and how they are going to do this or if they just had better genetics and so on. The secret they don’t know (or do know but are unwilling to put in the work), is that you can get nearly anywhere in life with hard work. Who is going to be left standing at the finish line 4 years from now? The person with all the talent in the world that was a flash in the pan or the person that showed up every day and refused to quit? We can and should make our dreams turn into reality by simply being willing to work the hardest to reach them.
I was reading a Houdini book the other night to a group of children. I was amazed to read that Houdini would often practice up to 8 hours per day on his craft, he constructed the biggest library on magic in the world at his home office, he trained, swam, boxed, ran and so on. He had no formal education, he just knew where and what he wanted to do.
I was consulting with an online client the other day and I was recommending to add in some extra conditioning now that we have hit a stand still and his reply was, “The problem is, finding the time.” Correction, the problem is him not wanting it bad enough. I get up at 4:20 AM on the days when I have to train the morning crew so that I can get my cardio or conditioning in before they arrive. I have always been willing to outwork the person next to me. Never been blessed with superior genetics or a superior brain. In fact, I was significantly less smart than my three brothers growing up. However, I just keep reading, keep writing, interviewing anyone I can and I have slowly started to emerge where I one day hoped to be.
A great example that I have followed through the years is Branch Warren. I rememeber when he first became a pro bodybuilder and he worked his ass off, but his physique was no where near that of the more blessed competitors. He has now won multiple Arnold Classic titles and it is by nothing more than being the last man standing, living his dream day in and day out.
You willing to work this hard?
I know that I have ruffled some feathers in the fitness industry by people accusing me of being a copy cat or playing dirty. I just laugh for a few reasons: 1-dogs don’t bark at parked cars, 2-the real reason these people hate on me is because I am doing what I learned from them better than they are and I am outhustling them every single day.
The question you need to ask yourself is: What is it that you want most in life? How hard are you willing to work for it? Are you just kind of into it, like missing out on time with ‘it’ to watch tv? Or are you gonna go outside, brave the world and put in the work that no one else wants to put in? Its a really simple formula and success can be yours once you realize that most people will simply give up long before they reach their destination.
Sometimes you need to get out of shape to get in it….
The most horrible pic of them all....
Disgusting....
Pot belly pig...
In case you missed it, I posted these current pictures of myself on Facebook this past weekend. The comments flowed in and rightly so. This is by far the worst shape I have ever been in. Some people were texting me and calling and saying I know you did this on purpose, smart move and so on.
I wish I could say I did it on purpose because then it wouldn’t be so scary. This snuck up on me light a thief in the night. I have let the triangle of my life: mind, body and spirit become so unbalanced that it has manifested itself physically and spiritually in me. I now weight 238.6 pounds and have 22.8% body fat, embarrassing to say the least.
I am going to use this as a learning experience for myself and others and for the time being, this will be the topic of my blogs. So, here we go…
A person, whether it’s a weekend warrior or high school athlete looking to earn a scholarship, cannot be strong mentally and weak physically or weak mentally and strong physically. It is a common law of nature. Being unbalanced in these two areas just does not work. It has been a ‘secret’ of all great performers in life that they did their best work after being stimulated physically somehow.
I have not been taking the time to workout as I should, rather, fitting in 15-20 minute sessions between work and Newell Strength. That has to now change and I have already been making the necessary moves towards that. And because of the lack of workout time, I have not been minding what I have been eating as you can tell (how gross is the back picture?). Its all a part of the puzzle, you can’t do one optimally without the other….
Devon said she didn’t mean to be harsh in the past weeks or hurt my feelings when she would make comments and she didn’t at all. Its important to realize that just because you get out of shape, you are not a bad person and it is not an attack on your ‘being’.
Two years ago, I committed to ‘getting ripped’ and I did it, rather fast at that. The thing was, I was going after a ‘look’, trying to change from the outside in, which can never be a good thing. The change must start from the inside and manifest on the outside. People want to know if I am going to be competing this Spring and the honest answer is that I don’t know right now. Being around bodybuilding shows is depressing to me now and I think the reason is because you pick up on the energy of everyone there trying to change their external circumstances, not realizing that the day after the show, they will be worse off than when they started.
If I can manage to train my mind and spirit to attain my best health ever, then we will see as the time approaches. It is impossible to stay ‘ripped’ all the time while it is tally possible to be your healthiest at all times, and this my friend, should always be the goal. If I didn’t get so out of shape, I wouldn’t have the urge to get into my best health now, so in that regard, this is a good thing. On a purely physical level, your nervous system can’ t handle being ripped and training hard for months on end, but can it on a spiritual level?….
I will be keeping you posted on my current progress and don’t be surprised if my productivity with Newell Strength skyrockets as well.
My current nutrition program has me eating 2300 calories per day, light on the carbs. Enjoy the ride!
Prism
Your focus must be sharp
I was making a video for the Newell Strength Success Principles today and one of the main topics that I kept thinking about all day was the principle of clarity and having fewer goals. I have always had the clarity thing down naturally, but the fewer goals idea is new for me.
I have always told people that when I competed, I would get a euphoric feeling. Many ‘experts’ told me that this wasn’t physically possible because I was literally starving my body. And maybe physically it isn’t possible, but I knew why I would get that feeling.
When your mind and spirit have clarity about what it is that you want and you go after it with everything you’ve got and you put every ounce of focus into it, there can be no stopping you. The thing is, this occurrence rarely happens in everyday life. With so many different responsibilities, we rarely get to focus on something so intently.
The reason I am calling this article Prism is for visual effect. If you think of your focus as a laser beam, the fewer items you focus on, the stronger the beam will be. The more you spread those goals and focuses out, the less powerfully you can focus on each goal.
When you set out to make your goals for the year of 2012, write fewer BIG goals down. Focus on those goals with all that you have for a year, making progress each day. Your success in this year will be greater than every previous year combined!
Training with a Legend
Tim Martin, IFFB pro
I remember back to 2007, I had just made my comeback to bodybuilding after suffering from a mysterious stomach illness that lasted for 2 years. I got my mind right and my body followed, achieving my best body that I had ever had. I was confident going into the 2007 shows that I would finally take first place, after taking 2nd at my previous 2 shows.
I won the South Jersey Championships, and I knew that going into the Mid-Atlantic show a week later, I could possibly take it all…
At the weigh-ins, I saw Tim Martin and I knew I had no shot. Tim would later go on to win the Team Universe contest in 2008, the number one natural bodybuilding show in the world to become an IFFB pro. Tim won the NJ open championships numerous times and was largely considered to be one of the top bodybuilders in the world.
Me on the left, Tim next to me
I felt that I was able to hold my own against Tim, but his experience and muscle maturity were too much to over come. Me being me, I reached out to him during the next week to chat some more and ask him if I could make the trip up to travel each week. We had some hard training sessions, I remember that I puked in our first leg session. We went hard, pushing each other beyond our physical limits. Tim helped me to become a better bodybuilder and I like to think I had a part in his winning the Team Universe.
Sometimes, when 2 people join together, you create a 3rd, higher power, achieving more than would be possible alone. I also learned many secrets from Tim and have a friend that I can turn to in the heat of battle, like this year’s bodybuilding shows.
Never be afraid to ask people for help or approach those that already have what you want. This is another great principle to success. Keep building up your corner of people to turn to and to inspire you.
Tim didn’t win the Team Universe until he was 41 years old, so anyone reading this that says that are too old or past their best years, think again. The mind is the limit and I got to witness this first hand while training next to the great Tim Martin. He will help me on the road to the championships this year. Stay tuned…
90% of Christmas Tree Farms….
7 years...
I was out to eat the other night with my in-laws and I love hanging out with Big Dave (my father in law) because he has a wealth of knowledge and he was a very successful business man. I have a few different ventures going on with Newell Strength right now and I was looking for some guidance in which direction to go right now. Keep in mind that I am currently still teaching and running a business full time. Now, running a business is 24/7. Throw a full time job on top of that and imagine the schedule you get. Most small businesses go out of business because they don’t think their business has to be 24/7.
Big Dave still has a Christmas tree farm on his property, something he did while owning another business for years. He told me the other night that 90% of Christmas tree farms go out of business without ever making a single dollar. The reason: people see a tree farm, think the trees plant themselves, don’t do the research and then start the farm up. Here’s the thing, the smallest of trees that you see on the farm take at least 7 years to grow. That means you aren’t going to be getting any income for at least 7 years, yet you will still have to work on the fruits of your labor the entire time. And, you need to maintain the farm year in and year out, which is a lot of work. It looks ‘easy’ on the surface for someone that goes to the farm.
This is a great analogy to success in any part of life. Too many people want a simple way to be successful. I have spoke of Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Outliers’ book before in which he studied thousands and thousands of cases and how it takes at least 10,000 hours to become great at anything.
You will see this same Christmas tree farm mentality in all walks of life and in all corners. I have had many people approach me and ask me how to start and run their own renegade type gym and I am always glad to help them. But they won’t make it because they don’t see the work that goes on behind the scenese. Sacrificing time, sleep, friends and countless hours to get where I wanted to go. I put my health on the line to achieve what I have, maybe stupidly, but I made it through. How do I know they won’t make it? Because the 1% rule applies to everything. Only 1% will actually listen to what it takes to succeed and then apply it. There is a big difference between the two.
I also see this in the gym all the time. Guys join the gym and they want super fast results and they get it if they stick to what I coach them up on. But then you have the guys that won’t follow the diet and they want to know why their energy still sucks and they haven’t lost as much fat as they wanted to. Sorry, can’t help ya 99%ers. You need to have the fortitude to stick with their plan until the end in anything to get the results that you want. Don’t be in for the momentary glory or quick burst. Buckle down and plant those seeds and then nurture them year after year. You will be happy you did….
Threat of Death
I am going to touch on one more thing from the book, The Alchemist, and then move on.
There is one point in the book in which the Alchemist says to the boy, “Usually the threat of death makes people a lot more aware of their lives.” If I may connect the dots….
In 50′s book,
50 talks about how when he almost died after being shot 9 times, he had a new sense of urgency in life. He knew that at any moment, he could be killed or die and he said how too many people don’t want to acknowledge that our time here is limited. It could be tomorrow or 80 years from now, but our time is finite. This sense of urgency is crucial to anyone that wants to get the most juice out of life. When I was a child, I was petrified of dying. I used to cry to my mom every single night from the time I was 6 until I was 8. Maybe a bit weird, but I honestly believe it was that period in my life in which I realized life was precious and I would be damned if I were ever going to let it just slide by. Every time in my life before a significant change has happened, the thought of death and what it all means has preceded it. My wife, Devon will tell you I am very much philosopher on this topic and I don’t mean to be morbid. It is all very fascinating to me.
But the point is, maybe I act boldly and with a sense of urgency because I have acknowledged and accepted that my life is precious. I remember speaking to Matt Kroc a month ago and he said when he was in college, he would break into the weight room to lift heavy as hell by himself. He would bench press and squat insane weights with no spotter and he knew, it was succeed or die. Pretty intense but then again, do you think it is coincidence that he is one of the strongest men ever to walk the face of the earth? Do you think it coincidence that he will soon be an IFBB professional bodybuilder? I think not–>he trains with a sense of urgency and finiteness.
Every time I ask someone in the gym when they tell me they can’t do something if “they could do it if their life depended on it”, a new animal emerges from them. If you could take this same approach to every training session, every day, every goal, then you will no doubt have nothing left in the tank at the end of your road. -Kyle
What the hell am I reading????
Hey buddy! I want you to have success more than anything and a huge part of my journey to my own success has been education. I am a voracious reader and truth be told, much of what I read is mindset and business related. I make sure to read my exercise books too, but not nearly as much as I used to. With that said, I will start posting the books that I order weekly and if you’d like, check them out. These are books that have come highly recommended to me and if you want to know where or how I come up with a lot of my ideas, you really don’t need to look much further than the books I am reading. Educate yourself and create!
So, as you can see, this is an eclectic list and this is typical of one week for me. I literally order about a book per day. Follow my lead and I will show you ‘secrets’ you never thought you’d have access to. Peace-Kyle
OPINION FRIDAY
It’s Friday and I’m opinionated:
- The haves and have nots are not separated by genetics. They are separated by the thing between their ears called the mind. People can do literally anything if they choose to do so, the have nots would rather just complain.
- People will try to always bring you down to their level. There is only a little room at the top of a pyramid and others are going to want that spot, be ready to fight.
- The old Eminem is much better than the new Eminem. Mosh is my favorite Eminem song there is.
- Moneyball was a great movie, as a matter of fact, I was just sitting in the theater 5 hours ago. Last night was movie night for Newell Strength so a bunch of us went to see Moneyball and I will not be surprised when it starts racking up the awards.
- If you do not teach yourself to speed read, you are cheating yourself.
- In order to achieve something, you must focus on it with a laser-like mindset for an extended period of time. Contrary to what most people think, success doesn’t happen in a year.
- Take responsibility for everything in your life, you created it.
- I can get by with one night of regular sleep per week. I amazingly slept 11 hours yesterday (which never happens, but I needed it) and 4 hours last night. Thats 15 hours, 7.5 hours per night and I feel fresh as of writing this and its the end of the week.
- Being yourself is better than trying to be anyone else. The sooner you learn this, the better off you’ll be and the more fun you’ll have.
Enjoy the weekend, I know I will….2 days of working on ad copy with my mastermind group in Sea Girt, NJ. Can’t hold me back! -Kyle
