mindset | The Caleb Barney Collection

Exercise as medicine

Exercise is a preventative medicine. As is food and sleep…how you treat your body has a wholistic effect on the other aspects of your life.

When you feel good, you perform well. When you feel bad, you perform poorly.

Regularly exercising, eating well, and getting enough sleep are keys to feeling better about yourself. They give you confidence in how you look, they make you feel stronger, you’re less likely to get injured, and you’ll have more energy throughout the day. If you see other people when working out, it fills a relational gap that many people experience as well.

Everybody thinks of the physical benefits to your body when you work out and eat well, such as reducing your risk for developing type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and slowing down the aging process. But equally as important is how exercising and eating well can affect your attitude and mindset.

When you move with purpose, it does a couple of things for you. It releases endorphins, which make you feel good, and it gives you a sense of accomplishment, which also makes you feel good. Throw in the fact that those who exercise regularly are more resilient when facing challenges (they are used to doing something hard every day) and developing discipline (going/getting things done even when you don’t want to), which transfer over into your work life and personal life.

Fueling your body with the right nutrition is another key element to feeling good. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, get ready for beach season, or just want more energy/to feel healthier, having a diet that supports your body and your goals is important. Why sabotage yourself by fueling your body with ineffective “foods?”

The third physical element to feeling better is sleep. Sleeping helps to stave off colds, to let your mind think clearly, and to help your body recover from the workouts we mentioned above. You need a certain amount of sleep (quantity), but I feel that how much you get is less important than the quality that you get. I’d rather sleep straight through the night for 6 hours than have 8 hours of interrupted sleep all night. Naps are great, but not feasible for most (and this goes back to the quantity issue – naps should supplement your high quality sleep). Always go for quality over quantity.

Lastly, you need to support all three of these physical ways of improving your health by approaching each with a positive mindset. Your mind is so powerful and your body will often feel what your mind is telling it. So if you wake up and you think that you’re tired or sore, that you “hate” working out or that eating healthy “sucks,” all of it is affecting how you feel. You will be far less likely to continue eating correctly or exercising regularly if you have a negative attitude. And if you really do think that way, tell yourself otherwise. Lie to yourself until you feel good. Keep telling yourself how much you love working out, or that you enjoy the healthy food that is fueling your body, that you’re not tired. Don’t use excuses to fall back on bad habits. Exercise is medicine. So is nutrition. Use these to look, act, feel, and perform better. You won’t regret it.

Lastly, I’d like to leave you with a quote from Plato. He said, “Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” So, today, tomorrow, and most days for the rest of your life, go out and exercise, eat well, and get some sleep. You will be all the better for it.

“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” – Plato

Courage

It can be very scary to ask that person out, to leave your job, to chase your dreams (or even to say them out loud). But without even attempting to do those things almost guarantees those things won’t happen. Sure, it might be more comfortable to do nothing. But without discomfort, you will never achieve your greatest goals.

My dad used to say that everyone experiences fear. They feel it too, whether they show it or not. You’re not alone. But it’s what you do with that fear that matters. Will you run from it? Or will you face it?

Don’t let fear stop you from living the life you’re meant to. Courage is the resistance to fear, not the absence of it. Be courageous. Stand up for what you believe in and take that next step towards living out your dreams.

“Get to” versus “have to”

You don’t “have to” do something. You “get to” do it. It is a privilege that you are able to take care of whatever task you are assigned with doing. There are many people out there less fortunate than you are. So your 3-month old is having trouble sleeping at night, crying, and keeping you awake? Well, you are blessed with the opportunity to console him/her. There are plenty of people in the world who desperately want children and, for whatever reason, are unable to have them. You had a fight with your parents? Some people have lost their parents prematurely.

Think about the big picture. Why stress over something so small like “having” to do something? Will this affect you next week? What about next year? Will you even remember this event in 10 years? Make the most of life. Enjoy it. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Doing is better than saying, but delegating is better than doing.

“Well done is better than well said.” – Benjamin Franklin

I think of Ben Franklin’s quote above in two ways. The first is how I believe he meant for it to come out, which is being a smooth talker and having a quick wit is great, but you need to be able to actually accomplish what you say for it to mean anything. (Talk is cheap.)

The second part related to this quote is that I don’t think it matters whether you are the one who is physically doing the work or if you delegate it (using your words to convey the purpose/inspiring others to take action to accomplish the goal). That doesn’t matter – it’s about the end result. In that case, saying it well can lead to doing it well (by others).

Do you think Elon Musk is working on a space shuttle, turning a wrench on a Tesla, or doing the bulk of the engineering work to bore a tunnel under Los Angeles? Is Jeff Bezos packaging and delivering each Amazon order? They’re working on their business and focusing on the big picture to move their companies forward. It is still very important to do the other things, or else the companies would go out of business, but without growth, stagnation creeps in and other companies will eventually catch/pass them.

When starting a business, you’ll probably have to do the majority of the work yourself or as part of a small team. That’s probably a good idea because it allows you to have a better understanding of best practices, what not to do, etc. But you will eventually reach capacity (there’s only one of you and so many hours in a day). At that point (or, hopefully, before you reach capacity) you need to think of hiring others to help you. You can then delegate the work that doesn’t need to be done by you anymore. The end result is the same (it gets done), but you get to focus more on the big picture/expanding your business. If you don’t do this, and you are always the one doing the work, the only difference between you and an employee is that you own your job. You’re not a business yet. Because if you get hurt, sick, or want to take a vacation, guess who’s not making money? You.

Have at least a basic understanding of how to do things well, but it is equally important to learn how to say things well, as that is what will eventually free you from the “rat race.”

A rough draft of my core values

Defining the core values for my life/business…

1. Always try your best, but have fun while doing it. Life is too short to not have fun. You should enjoy what you do, but that doesn’t mean you should just “coast.” Work hard, play hard. Try your best to become the best. How can you become an expert in whatever it is you do? You may not have the most natural talent, but that’s out of your control. You can always control your effort and your attitude.

2. Put people over profit. If you value making the right decision/doing what’s best for others, people will like and trust you, leading to repeat business or referrals. Treat people like people and the profits will come. You may take a hit in the short-term, but in the long run you will be better off for it.

3. Be humbly confident. You need to have confidence in yourself or else how can you expect others to have confidence in you? You need to believe that you can figure everything out – even if it means asking for help. But the key is to be confident without being arrogant. Be humble. You don’t need to brag to everyone about how great you are. Let your actions do the talking. Stand out straight, keep your head up, look people in the eyes, walk with purpose, and speak clearly, succinctly, and loudly.

4. Be a dreamer AND a doer. You should have big dreams/goals. People won’t understand it. They’ll say it’s not realistic. And they’re right, if you only dream, but don’t take action. Have big dreams, set a plan, then take action immediately. What are you doing today that is bringing you closer to your goals/dreams/ambitions?

5. Perseverance. If you’re setting worthy goals, you will often stumble on your way towards success. But you have to keep going. Don’t let little setbacks affect you. You’ll get through this hardship faster by continuing to move/take action.