8 Years, 8 Lessons
I’m going to depart from our normal health and fitness related info to talk a little about life and business. Today is somewhere close to our anniversary (we’ve got about three different anniversary dates for when CFA “Started”) and I wanted to share with everyone some lessons I’ve learned along the way.
- Change is constant, change is inevitable. People change, people’s priorities change, markets change, new knowledge and experiences are gained, and the landscape will never remain static. People generally do not like change and clients and coaches have come and gone over the years due to change. But I’ve learned to embrace change and some of the most successful people I’ve met have seen the need for change far before the masses recognize it.
- Humor is the great equalizer. If you can make someone laugh and / or smile many of your other flaws will be overlooked. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing but it seems to be a thing.
- Priorities are shown through actions, recognize if your words and thoughts match your actions. My priorities are in order my family, my employees, and our clients. My decision are always processed in that order, and I believe that ultimately business owners have to think in this matter for long term success.
- Most people are under competitive or over competitive. Most under competitive people don’t push hard enough to find their true limits. Most over competitive folks bite off more than they can chew and eventually stall out or burn out. Its rare to find the sweet spot between the two. My theory is that once you realize that immersing yourself in the process and journey is more powerful than being motivated by competition you start to make lasting meaningful progress.
- A Toyota Prius is an incredibly valuable asset to own. Mine has a 150,000 miles on it and never once had to be worked on. You only have to change the oil every 10,000 miles and can drive 450 mile on about $15 – $30 depending on gas prices. I can confidently say CFA would not exist in its present state if I did not own a Prius.
- Being the smartest person in the room is far less valuable than being the most effective person in the room. Nobody gets paid for their ideas or their IQ. People get paid for results.
- To this day the greatest piece of advice I’ve ever received is this: “Expect the expected”.
- Lastly Success seems to mainly be a product of motivation, consistency, and hard work. It’s a simple concept that applies to business, training, nutrition, work, parenting, the list goes on and on. Gadgets, hacks, “going down the rabbit hole”, “deep diving”, etc only seem to be aids that can speed the process along. These things (and myriad of other concepts designed to help one succeed) are 100% contingent on a person’s ability to stay motivated, to work hard, consistently, forever.