achievement | The Caleb Barney Collection

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.

Finding your purpose to live a long, meaningful life.

It’s not that life is short; it isn’t. It’s that we waste so much time doing things that we don’t want to be doing.

How can you maximize your enjoyment (play) while also meeting your need to achieve personal goals, contributing to the well-being of others, and not feeling the stresses of modern life?

Take the time to fill out this diagram. As you can see, not everything will overlap. It may be very difficult to find your purpose, but if you do, your life will be like a dream come true.

I don’t have time…

Saying “I don’t have time” is just another way of saying “it’s not a priority.”

Whatever you’re talking about that you “don’t have enough time for” is not important enough yet, otherwise you would make time for it. A lot of people say that they “want” something (a better body, a healthier mindset, to start a business, write a book, etc.), but they don’t invest the time and effort to do what is necessary to achieve what they want. You may wish that you have those things/you’ve done those things, but you don’t want it badly enough to actually go do it.

“If you really want to do something, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse.” — “If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” – Jim Rohn

Sport-specific training

Working on your genera fitness is great for most people. This would include your average working out like running, lifting weights, or doing yoga. But general physical preparedness (GPP, as we call it in the biz) should only be the baseline for those who are training for a specific sport or event. GPP focuses on health, but not on performance. And while you typically need to be healthy to perform at the highest level, being healthy does not necessarily translate to athletic achievement.

For example, in most sports, it helps to have one or more of the following attributes: strength, explosiveness/power, flexibility, agility, aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, etc. You can easily work on all of those at the gym by yourself. But no matter your strength or conditioning level, you still need sport-specific training to work on your skills if you want to excel at your sport. It doesn’t matter how many times you hit the weights or run, those are not going to make you run a better route, use better technique, or improve your hand-eye coordination. Being more agile will not make you a better shooter, swimmer, golfer, etc.

Always work to have GPP. But if you are competing in a sport, make sure you take the time to focus on your sport-specific skills. Most of the time, if someone is highly skilled and in decent shape, they will outperform someone with low-to-moderate skill but is in great shape.

Teamwork vs the lone wolf

“You can go fast by yourself, but you can go far with a team.”

You can make decisions very quickly if you’re not relying on anyone else to engage in dialogue with/have healthy debate. BUT, having a team, even though it may temporarily slow you down, will allow you to go farther (as a company) and achieve bigger goals. Having a team allows you to see your blind spots, to think of new ways to approaching problems, to delegate, to systemize, and to work ON your business instead of IN your business. Plus, who wants to be the lone wolf? I’m introverted, but even I enjoy collaborating with others (sometimes).