The following post is a guest post by Colin Stuckert, co-owner of The Training Box and Wild Foods. He is a coach, author, food nut, fitness fiend, and pursuer of all things health, psychology and philosophy. Head on to Colin’s blog The Gym Life for plethora of news and articles that will inspire you to be the best version of yourself possible.
As soon as something stops being fun, I think it’s time to move on. Life is too short to be unhappy. Waking up stressed and miserable is not a good way to live.
Richard Branson, Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons In Life
Why don’t more people live this way?
I think it’s because they are scared, they are risk-averse. They don’t have enough faith in their ability to do the work and figure out what works.
People want “security” but they go about it the wrong way. The only security you have in life is the security of you health and the skills and knowledge you posses. That is security because no one can take those away and you can always use them to do what you need to do to get what you need to get. It’s as simple as that.
You want security in life? Well, it’s definitely not in that job. It’s in the value you provide for others. As Zig Ziglar said, “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
To have security, start focusing on other people. Be useful to them. Ask how you can help. Tell them you are here to serve because it makes you feel good. Don’t ask or expect anything in return. Just give and help. You can help with your time and skills, so don’t think it’s always about money.
Are you a marketing major? Help someone rebrand their website or social media profile. Are you a writer? Help someone rewrite the same things. Are you a fitness professional? Train someone for free (and write it off). And so on.
Second, focus on becoming the best you can be by working on your people skills, and any other skills or hobbies you have that could end up helping others some way or another. Study psychological and sociology. Understand how people tick. Read “How To Win Friends and Influence People” and “It’s Not About You.”
Third, read. Read a lot. Read books, articles, magazines, whatever. Learn knowledge that makes you interesting. I’ve an avid reader and it is the single skill that is responsible every ounce of success I’ve had in my entire life. Not only can you read to become more interesting, you can also read to learn how to run any business or learn about any subject. With the Internet, reading is the most valuable skill in the world. If you can read, you can literally do and know anything.
Lastly, make sure you are healthy. Sleep 8 hours a night. Exercise daily. Perform resistance training at least 3 times a week. Walk multiple times a day. Always take the stairs. Drink coffee and tea. Laugh as much as possible. Eat Real Food. Avoid sugar and refined grains. Don’t drink soda. Limit alcohol.
When you are healthy, you are a better person in every way. Let me say that one more time: When you are healthy, you are a better person in every single freaking way. Every one.
I just said that reading is the number one skill I’ve used to become successful, but health is the number one THING. If I don’t get my sleep, I’m useless. If I don’t eat well, I can’t focus and I feel like shit.
I’m going to toot my own horn real quick because I want it to be an inspiration to you by showing you what you can do when you are healthy and full of energy:
- I run 2 brick and mortar businesses
- I write 1-2 hours every day
- I have a popular blog
- I am starting a new company based out of Austin, Texas (Wild Foods)
- I train at CrossFit Central twice a week
- I lift weights 3-4 times a week
- I walk twice a day on the treadmill for 30 minutes to an hour while reading
- I make time for friends and family and regular
- I read a lot
- I cook most of my meals for myself from scratch with quality ingredients
The only reason I can do any of this is because I focus on my health. I eat clean, get plenty of sleep and exercise often. And I’ve made it so that I enjoy all of it.
Make your health a fun experience and you will have fun being healthy. Then make your work fun and you get to work while having fun. And so on.
Life really is too short. You will not get this breath back or the last. This day or the day before. This year or the many years before. And on and on. If you truly understood what this meant, would you still live the way you are now?
Yours in Fitness, Life and Health,
