In His Words: Taylor Mounts -- Chasing Your Passion

Taylor Mounts is the Men's Basketball Graduate Assistant Coach at Eastern Washington University. I have had the honor of helping him improve as a basketball player in the last few years. I previously wrote a piece on him after his performance on senior night. Thank you, Taylor, for sharing your thoughts with Dynamic! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’ve heard people question my goals and passion since I was an 8th grader. When I went from a small, private middle school to the best high school in state of Hawaii (Iolani School), teachers said, “Well I don’t know if you can do it.” Some coaches said, “I don’t know if you’ll be good enough to make the varsity your sophomore year.” I just kept working; on my game and my school work. I loved playing basketball - always have since I was about 9 or 10 years old. So after two state championships, three league titles, league player of the year and all state honors, people admitted they were wrong. I never said “I told you so.” I think it’s always been better when others say it for you. When it came time for me to go to college, I wanted to continue my career playing basketball at the Division III level. The thought of playing Division I or II didn’t appeal to me. I wanted to play and not sit on the bench. I thought DIII would be great because all the kids play there for the love of the game. No scholarships, no fanfare. Working out in the off-season was your choice because of NCAA rules limiting times coaches can work with the players. I decided on Willamette University in the spring of my senior year in high school.

My freshman year, I didn’t come into school in shape. I was 6’5”, 230 pounds, but it wasn’t good weight. I spent the previous summer after graduating from high school drinking beer and lifting a lot of weights, but no running involved. I didn’t have a good diet and thought that I could be successful based on my success in high school. I was wrong. I wasn’t in shape and got outplayed by guys in practice and open gym. I wanted to quit and move back to Hawaii and go to a Division II school. I ended up deciding against it when Kip Ioane became the head coach at Willamette. I still felt like if I got myself in shape, I could be a good player.

I didn’t realize what working extremely hard meant until I first worked out with Cameron Mitchell. We started to work out in the spring of 2009. We would shoot for about an hour and half. No breaks, just shot after shot after shot. Then we would lift weights. We would do this probably 5 or 6 days a week. Cameron now plays professionally in Australia and would be a mentor for me in the way I worked out and took care of my body.

That summer, after my freshman year, I went home to Hawaii for the summer wanting to be a starter my sophomore year. People again thought I was crazy. As a freshman, I played in a total of 8 games and scored 6 points (total, not average). I started to eat very healthy and did away with sodas, sweets, and snacks. I worked out everyday and ran 3 days a week. I was obsessed with coming back in shape and proving people that I belonged. I came back at 215 pounds. Everyone thought they saw a new person. But I was still second on the depth chart at the power forward position. Within the first month of practice, I earned the chance to be with the starting rotation. I ended up starting my whole sophomore season. A coach that would be very influential in helping me become better is Josh Erickson. He played the previous year and joined the coaching staff when I was a sophomore. He had always been like a big brother towards me and would take time to rebound for me, despite his busy schedule. Josh helped me become a better person and player. I averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds per game, yet people still wondered the next year if I would do better. They said, “Well, the only reason you did good this year is because no one knew who you were last year. People are gonna gameplan against you, and you probably won’t score that much.” Even a coach on our own coaching staff said, “You’re not gonna be Cam. (who led our league in points and rebounds). You’re not gonna score that much.” Those words only motivated me more.

I knew I need to work harder than the previous summer, so I started to work out with Matt Espinoza (Noza) of Dynamic Performance Development. He took my game to new heights and he taught me to be better every day I get in the gym. The next season at Willamette University, I averaged 20 points and 8 rebounds per game. Despite being second in the league in points and rebounds, I was selected as Second Team all-conference. The thought of become a First Team player made me work harder the offseason between my junior and senior year. I worked out with Noza about 3 times a week in the spring and had my usual workout in the summer (individual workouts at my high school in the morning, then lift, and sand workouts). I came back early in the summer to have a 3 week “grind session” with Noza and Jordan Carter, who will go on to score more than 2,000 points at Corban College. The schedule: 8 am, stairs at the stadium for about an hour then at 9 am was lifting for an hour and half. There was a break from 1030am-4pm then at 4pm we would do individual workouts for an hour. That was Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday, we did a leg circuit for 45 minutes. It was weights and plyometrics. We would also do hills, sprints, and play open gyms.

I regularly threw up while working out with Noza because of the way I pushing my body to its peak. So by the time school started, I was already more in shape then everyone else. Noza and I continued working out throughout the year. Our team did not have that much success but I kept pushing and trying to be the best captain that I could be to be a good leader. It would be a season with no sleep and a lot of anxiety. I averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds per game yet was chosen as Honorable Mention. It was a big disappointment and from my eyes, I failed. I realized that this season was not for me to succeed personally in my senior year, but to bring along the younger guys to build the foundation of Willamette basketball. I made a positive out of a negative and I treated the freshman and sophomores on the team better than I was treated as a young player. I felt like I left the basketball team better than when I got there. My new focus was towards my next adventure: collegiate coaching.

I wanted to be a Division I graduate assistant and it would be a long spring to find out where I would actually go. People thought I was crazy because they mistook my wild intensity to the game with the thought of me being crazy and too volatile to coach. Again, had to prove people wrong. Various coaches and players said, “Division I Grad Assistant from a Division III school? I don’t think you can do it.” I laughed at the notion of someone saying that I couldn’t pursue my passion because they thought it was too hard or I wasn’t worthy enough to coach at the Division I level. In my mind, it was crazy to just “find a job so I can make money”, which was the plans for most of my friends that were graduating from college. I wanted to wake up everyday and love what I was doing. I didn’t want to have a back up plan. I wanted to take a risk and jump in with two feet into coaching with a slim to small chance that someone would hire me as a GA. I sent out about 200 emails with resumes to every Division I college on the west coast. I got 3 responses. One was a coach at UC-Davis who was trying to fill a spot quickly but couldn’t guarantee me that they could get me into their Master’s program. Another was from my home state at the University of Hawaii. And the third was from the Eastern Washington University (head coach Jim Hayford was previously a coach in my league at Whitworth University). It came down to Eastern Washington University because Coach Hayford responded to every one of my emails within the hour and I thought that if he took the time out of his day to email a DIII player back in the middle of his busy season, then he must be a man of character. Coach Hayford gave me a shot and I couldn’t be more thankful to the man.

I’m three weeks into the job. I don’t get a lot of sleep and work long hours, but I am enthralled to wake up everyday and go to the basketball office. Coaching basketball? I can’t believe people call this work. I am a Division I GA and my next goal after I get my Master’s is to be an assistant Division I coach by the time I’m 28. My ultimate dream is to be a Division I head coach. People say, “Well it’s a tough business to get into and stay in.” People think I’m crazy. That seems to be a theme of my journey.

My challenge to you is dream BIG and find a way to accomplish your dreams. You only have one life to live; why not live it with waking up everyday ecstatic about starting your day. Don’t settle for a life that is smaller than the one your are capable of living. Out work everyone and be good to people, in return they will be good to you. The rest will take care of itself. And remember: nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks.

Are You Afraid to Try Something New?

"Trying is the first step towards failure."-Homer Simpson

People try new things all the time. Even with obvious risk, people try new things. We are eager to try the latest craze no matter the risk. We want to show our courage and ability to face fear. Yet, when it comes to trying something new that will benefit us, a large majority of people expose their true fear: failure.

Think about it...how many people do you know that have tried smoking? (Risks include cancer, birth defects, etc...) Then, think about how many people would try eliminating grains from their diet? (Benefits include almost anything you could think of) Why would people be eager to try something with absolutely zero benefit to it and laugh at the thought of anybody in their right mind doing something that will get you results you want? Here are a few reasons...

1. Social perception

Too many of us are consumed with fitting in with those around us. Another term for fitting in is “being average.” If you want extraordinary results, you can not limit yourself to average things.

2. Comfortable with their situation

We each have our comfort zones, which are very hard to leave. Usually, the reason we can not reach our goals and that which we desire is because we are too busy staying comfortable. In order to grow in any area of your life, you have to push past your level of comfort, then recover.

3. No support

If the people you are spending your time with people who are encouraging you to stay comfortable, you will probably remain in your current situation. You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Surround yourself with people you admire.

Trying new things promotes failure, which is usually not fun. However, we can learn great things from failure. I tried out for many AAU teams when I was in middle school and high school, and year after year got cut. I was able to learn what my weaknesses were and what I needed to correct. The bad part is, it took me too long to face my fears and change my habits. But once I did, it was worth it. I finally made an AAU team the summer before my senior year in high school. Leaving my comfort zone was definitely worth the results.

One Thing Not to Eat...

“Whatever health problems concern you, whether for a loved one or yourself, the answer is often found in diet and how the body reacts to foods.”-James Braly, M.D.

Since January, I have been eating primal (more commonly known as paleo). The main staple of eating this way is the elimination of grains from your diet. Commonly, people believe this is because they have a high carbohydrate content which leads to an insulin rush then causing weight gain. While this does happen, it is not the main reason to avoid grains. Because popular belief and political motivations still influence dietary recommendations, most people still assume that a nutritious diet begins with 6-11 servings of wheat/bread/cereal products, a necessity for energy. This is far from the truth. Over-consumption of gluten grains is detrimental to our health, and eliminating them from our diet can give us more sustained energy. Here are some quick facts about grains.

-Grains contain morphine-like substances that affect behavior, cause learning difficulties, change emotions and moods, and cause or worsen neurological diseases -When gluten (found in grains) is constantly being replenished in our diet and allowed to remain in circulation, it will cause damage to a variety of tissues and body organs -Dairy and grain products are the 2 most common reported allergens in the world, yet the make up our top 6 food choices -With many diseases drug treatment may control symptoms. But a grain-filled diet will continue to damage tissues, organs, and body systems -If you feel addicted and have constant cravings for high-gluten foods (grains), testing for celiac disease is necessary -Strict avoidance of gluten quickly leads to healing of the intestinal wall and improved nutrient absorption -Iron deficiency can often be reversed by eliminating grains -Grain consumption creates a Vitamin A deficiency, which can stunt growth in children and negatively impact adult bones -The poor assumption that excluding grains from our diet is a way of depriving ourselves and causing suffering is foolish. it also reflects the addictive impact this food can have. -We are NOT genetically well-equipped to consume grains

I am not a doctor. I do not think I have the answers for saving the illnesses and diseases of the world. What I am is an gatherer of information which I want to share with as many people as I can. While I do not think that eliminating grains will make all humans disease-free, I do think that it strongly improves our quality of life and reduces the risk of life-threatening illnesses and chronic symptoms. Simply attacking symptoms with drugs and treatment is not the answer. We must also value our diet. What we are eating is strongly infulences our health.

2012 Book List (Part 1)

We have just finished June, which marks the halfway point of the year. I previously wrote a post about adding something new to your life each year. This year, I decided to add education to my life. Not traditional education, but applicable education found through reading books that have direct application to my life. Since I have not been much of an avid reader my whole life (0 books read voluntarily since graduating college in 2007), I decided to set a goal of 12 books in 2012. I figured one per month was reasonable. Turns out I had too low of expectations for myself. I just finished book number 13. I have since reevaluated my goal and am shooting to finish 30 books by the end of the year. Here is my 2012 book list (part 1). Click the title to order the book through Amazon. 1. The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy

A must read for anyone who is interested in tapping into their full potential. No matter your ambitions, this book will be influential to you. Practical applications to maximizing yourself.

2. How Successful People Think, John C. Maxwell

Insightful book with different strategies to guide your thought process.

3. The Primal Blueprint 21 Day Body Transformation, Mark Sisson

Great info on the primal diet and lifestyle. For anyone looking to make a change in their health and fitness level, it is a great day-by-day guide to jumpstart your progress. I did not participate in the challenge myself, but I know someone who did. Check out his results!

4. Letters to a Young Brother, Hill Harper

Harper’s e-mail exchanges with a young man in which he describes how a boy can develop into a man.

5. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven R. Covey

Seven habits you can develop to increase your effectiveness in whatever you are doing. Key takeaway: be driven by your principles.

6. The Four-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss

Shortening your workday in order to do more things you enjoy. Read Tim’s blog, The Four Hour Blog. He is a great source for lifestyle design ideas.

7. The Education of Millionaires, Michael Ellsberg

Ellsberg’s take on building career success through experiences and networks as opposed to traditional education. Anybody in high school or college who has ideas for their future should definitely read this book. Why spend tuition money if you can start your career instead?

8. Dangerous Grains, James Braley and Ron Hoggins

Two doctors who have spent time researching the effect of gluten grains on our bodies. The amount of diseases and illness that have been eliminated by simply removing grains from the diets of those used as case studies is astounding. Definitely worth a read if you are suffering from chronic pain or illness. It might give you a new outlook on how your diet influences your health. Food shouldn’t be attributed to only weight gain, but also illness and disease.

9. The 80/20 Principle, Richard Koch

Built around Pareto’s Principle that 80% of our productivity comes from only 20% of our work. If you are someone who feels like you are overworked, this is a great book to look at tips on limiting your workload while keeping (if not improving) your efficiency.

10. SPIN Selling, Neil Rackham

One of the most highly recommended books on sales strategies.

11. The Fire Starter Sessions, Danielle LaPorte

This book contains worksheets and practical ways to identify what your passion is and how you can turn that into a career (or at least a bigger part of your life). I recommend this book if you feel like you are bored in your job and want to find something else more fulfilling and aligned with what you are passionate about.

12. The $100 Startup, Chris Guillebeau

Contains stories and accounts of people who have started high-profiting businesses with startup funds of $100 or less. There are very helpful tips on what you can do to get started in your business if you have limited startup funds.

13. Crush It!, Gary Vaynerchuk

Offers tips on what you can do to turn your passions into a highly successful business. Anybody can do it, as long as you are willing to put in the work!

Exercising for Fat-Loss (Guest Post on Fit 2 Teach)

I was recently featured on Fit 2 Teach, a website featuring tools for educators to up their fitness and health. I know that not everybody works in a school, but the guest post I contributed relates to anyone to wants to lose fat. Click here to check it out!

Thanks to Kevin Turner and Fit 2 Teach! Check out the rest of his blog while you're there.

You Can Compete at a High Level Even if Your Are Not an Olympian

Watching the Olympic games ignites a competitive fire in me. No matter the sport, I can’t help but imagine myself competing in the red white and blue. I start to think about the preparation those athletes go through and I get real excited. Then I realize how lucky we all are. We don’t need to be at the highest level of performance to train and compete. We can compete with ourselves; with our individual goals. What are you competing for this summer? What have you always wanted to accomplish but never followed through on doing the work for? There is no minimum or maximum level when it comes to a personal goal. Some people might decide they want to be able to run a marathon, others might desire to finally be able to do one complete pull up. The beauty of achievement is that it is unique to each individual.

Competing at a high level is specific to you. Pushing yourself beyond your limits to achieve something you have always wanted to achieve is competing at a high level. If you are doing something you enjoy, don’t consume yourself with being THE best. Instead, focus on being YOUR best.

The Olympics are only 5 weeks away. What do you want to accomplish in 5 weeks of training? And, most importantly, how will you prepare for success?

In His Words: The Transformation of Kevin Turner

The following is a guest post from Kevin Turner. Keven has battled issues with his health and fitness for much of his adult life. He recently committed to a healthy lifestyle and has not looked back. What he has accomplished is the product of developing habits that fit his lifestyle. If you are inspired by what he has done, then click here to develop YOUR path to a transformation. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

“In a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.”

-Warren Buffett

A year ago I felt trapped. I couldn’t exactly tell you how or why I was trapped, but I knew for certain I was trapped. Whenever these thoughts would creep into my mind, I did my best to ignore them and focus on something else. But, these feelings were a legitimate warning sign. Much like the “check engine” light on your car, my feelings of being trapped were telling me that there was a problem. As I look at it now, I can see clearly what the problem was, but at the time, inside the situation, everything seemed so overwhelming. Now, I understand that most of what I’m going to be saying in this post, people will believe is just positive thinking nonsense, but my hope is that a few won’t. A few will see there is value to a shifting mindset and will work to begin improving their lives as I have. But first, a little backstory.

For much of my adult life, I have known about nutrition, but done nothing about it. I lived like there were no consequences for my eating choices and lack of exercise. When I was a kid, that was how I acted. All of my summer meals were either usually, macaroni and cheese with hot dogs, hot pockets, or top ramen. I would wash down these tasty treats with 4-6 sodas/day. But, I was young and active so I didn’t reap too much of the consequences. The problem was, I never established healthy eating habits, so when I got older I still ate like a kid, with massive health consequences. I was never in great shape, but no one would say I was fat in high school. But, once I got into college, yikes!

The term “freshman fifteen” is thrown around in a joking way, to explain the weight gain almost all college freshmen have in that first year. This term makes it easier for people to rationalize putting on weight in college because “everyone is doing it, it’s the freshman fifteen”. And, the dorm food you get is no help. Sure there is a salad bar and most of the time they offer a veggie (and this includes corn and beans, both not veggies). But, who wants a salad, when you can have pasta, pizza, and burgers? Also, many college students drink excessive amounts of alcohol, get too little sleep, have too much stress, and generally don’t care for themselves like they should. My main vice was food. I loved late night pizza runs. I was a big fan of seconds at the dining hall (no seconds on salad, or firsts for that matter). And during finals week, I was a huge fan of the late night dining hall hours that would allow me to get donuts, burgers, and soda after midnight. The weight I gained in this year 1997, is still causing me problems in 2012. And, each year it got worse.

I could see there was a problem, so I would get inspired and decide I was going to make a change. I would read a book, or see a speaker, or listen to a friend and I was gung-ho to get in shape. The only problem was, I wasn’t committed to a lifestyle change. The key to changing my fitness level was changing my diet, I was just never willing to do that. So, I would workout hard for between a week and a few months, and then give up because I wasn’t seeing the results I had hoped for. Each successive failure reinforced that I had no willpower and was too weak to change. I felt defeated and embarrassed, and continued in my unhealthy ways. And, as I started coaching basketball, and my life got busier, I had plenty of excuses for my poor food choices and lack of exercise. Each year for the last 4 years, I have put on an average of about 13 pounds a year. That’s 54 pounds! It’s crazy for me to think now, and people’s jaws usually hit the floor when I tell them at my heaviest I weighed myself I was 317 pounds. I was heavier than that, but at that point, I was too afraid to see what the scale said. If I was 6’10”, this wouldn’t be such a huge deal, but I’m 5’9” on a good day in shoes, so 317 means I resembled the mayor of munchkinland (I was basically a bowling ball). Even though I knew I was unhealthy, I was afraid to go to the doctor, and I made no attempt to change my habit because, remember, I had tried that already and failed. As I talk to people, I see that this is a common theme for many people trying to lose weight, but yet very few people talk about it.

Weight is a sensitive issue. It is not something people feel comfortable talking about, so it is almost a taboo topic. However, this is detrimental. When I was 317 pounds, I wish someone had of confronted me on my unhealthy ways, but everyone around me was being “polite”. However, it actually seems pretty impolite to watch as people you care about slowly kill themselves. So, I’m trying to talk about it honestly and put it all out there. Hopefully, that doesn’t offend anyone, I just want people to know that change is possible, and that anyone can do it. I was the king of the self-defeaters. I was like a horse with my self-defeating blinders on. Any message of hope was forced to pass through my skeptical lens and often rejected because, “I had heard it before, and I just can’t change.” So, I lived at over 300 pounds for probably two years. I had to suck in my gut to fasten the seatbelt on the airplane to avoid “the fat guy” extension. I shopped for my pants in the “portly” section (true story). And, I always tried to pick the bigger side of restaurant booths to avoid the embarrassment of not being able to fit in the booth (which happened on more than one occasion). You would think with all of this, I would have been inspired to change, but I wasn’t. I instead focused on avoiding the problem and not thinking about it, because thinking about it caused that “check engine” light to go off again. Because of my size, I rarely went out, never dated, and spent nearly all of my free time in front of the TV. I’m not exaggerating when I say most weekends I would spend 10-12 hours a day in front of the TV. That is really embarrassing, but I know I’m not the only one that is like this. When you don’t want to go out, your options are limited. I remember how lonely and depressing this was, so I want to get it out there that people can change from that situation. I don’t want people to get the wrong impression, I didn’t feel like a depressed troll locked up in a basement feeling bad for myself, and eating Doritos. I was still functioning at a fairly high level at my job, and most people would probably say I was funny and nice, but I knew that in reality I was stuck in a rut. And yet, I did nothing about it.

That all changed in December of 2011. I’m not even exactly sure why. I decided things were going to be different, but it wasn’t a New Year’s Resolution, I didn’t think of that until I had already started. It just sort of happened. I know that there are specific things that helped that I will mention in a second, but the actual cause for me to decide to take action is still unknown to me. The three most important steps I took in my lifestyle transformation are listed below. I hope they will help other weary travelers on their weight loss journey to find their way.

1. Surround Yourself with Positive People. Once I started losing weight, I knew I was going to need help. I wanted other people who were working on achieving goals to start meeting once a week so we could encourage each other to stay on track. So, I talked to a few friends and within a week I was meeting with a friend who had started his own business supporting thirst relief in Africa and South America, Matt who was running his successful personal training business, and others pushing themselves. This was huge. Hearing their successes and sharing my own created a really positive dynamic that pushed me more than I could have without them. Create this “inner circle” immediately.

2. Make It Public. The beginning of any habit change is the most difficult part and requires the most energy. Once your new behavior becomes a habit, it is much easier to sustain. So, in the first few weeks, making a contract on stickk.com really helped keep me accountable. The short version is, if I didn’t meet my weekly weight loss goal I was going to donate $15 dollars to charity. So, it was easy to think when I was tempted to spend 10 dollars on fast food that that meal could actually cost me $25. This really helped me, the king of no willpower, to resist temptation early on. Find a system that works and use it. There must be real consequences attached to it. There is no other way.

3. Focus on the Journey, Not the Destination. When I first started, I weighed 289.5.lbs. I wanted to get to 185lbs. I remember when I told people that was my goal, they looked at me like I was crazy. That’s okay, I knew I had to focus on the process and the results would take care of themselves. Now this is not to say that I didn’t get overwhelmed from time to time, because I did. I would take my eyes off of the little changes I was making daily and think about how much more I still had to go. The best thing I have found is to celebrate the weekly victories. If I lost 2 or more pounds for the week, I would focus on the fact that I was headed in the right direction. Sometimes I would find myself saying, “Three pounds?! That’s it! I’m trying to lose over 100, this is just too slow.” That kind of negative thinking is what helped to sabotage me in the past. When this came up, I would talk to one of my “inner circle” and they would help me get refocused on what matters. I am not all the way there yet. I am about 65 pounds into my journey, with about another 40 to go. Again, I try not to focus on the destination, I just worry about making daily choices that support my goals. I still screw up a lot, but that’s all part of the process. I have learned not to beat myself up as much, and focus on the great things that are happening in my life.

The weight loss has helped to spark changes for the better in other areas of my life as well. If you can relate to how I felt, leave a comment on this blog or head to my blog at http://fit2teach.wordpress.com/ and get in contact with me. I’d love to exchange emails and see if I could be a source of encouragement. I adopted a motto once I started my lifestyle transformation as a reminder of what I’m hoping to achieve, every day getting better. Every day, I just want to improve, even if it’s just a little bit. EVERY DAY GETTING BETTER

Learning From the Journey to Stay at the Destination

“…the gradual changes that are happening seem like the more permanent kind rather than a quick fix that's not going to last.” It’s statements like this that keep me encouraged as a person. Too often, we only go after things which we can achieve right away. Most things which we can gain in the little amount of time we desire are not gained in the right way, and usually are only temporary results. We have become people expecting great things without earning them.

The opening is from an email I received last week from a client who is turning her life around by changing her daily habits. She began her journey with hopes of improving her fitness. On her way towards her goals, she is discovering many other psychological, emotional, and personal gifts that come directly from benefitting from a healthy lifestyle.

Working with her has been very exciting for me because she came with the expectation that her goals would not be achieved without commitment on her part. Everything I have asked for, she has done. Everything I have asked her not to do, she has tried not to do. (Most of the time).

What I have learned from her is we have to appreciate progress. One step does not get us to reach our final goal. We have to see and appreciate each step we take, smile about it, then work on taking the next one. If we want to make permanent changes, we constantly need to understand each little change we are making and how it positively or negatively affects us.

Quick-fixes are attractive: little or no effort, awesome results. However, when we don’t go through the process to get those results, we don’t understand what it takes to get there. And if we don’t know how to get there, we won’t know how to stay there.

An Impactful Day With Dewey Nielson

I am currently reading The Education of Millionaires by Michael Ellsberg. One of the concepts has been finding mentors to learn from. Ellsberg discusses the importance of learning, applying, and learning again. Seeking out guidance from others who are successful in your field can be one of the most valuable resources for improvement. In a reference from a friend of mine, I reached out to Dewey Nielson, who runs Impact Performance Training in Newberg, Ore. Without a doubt, I gained some great knowledge from Dewey through conversation and observation. Also, he gave me a list of names, books, organizations, conferences, and resources that will help me continue to grow. Some key concepts that I took away from my visit at Impact not only apply to being a good trainer, but also apply towards anyone looking to achieve their goals.

5 concepts from Dewey Nielson that will Impact your life…

Logistics

A program is only good if it fits the situation and environment. “You can develop a great workout involving front squats. But if you got 12 athletes and one squat rack, the workout is going to be terrible.” Great ideas can become worthless if they are not within the parameters of what you are working with.

Adapt

Circumstances can change at any moment. You must be able to adapt and adjust with the resources you have to make the situation just as good as it would have been.

Recognize mistakes

“I love when clients say, ‘I could’ve done better.’ That means they learned a better way of doing something.” If you can recognize when you mess up or could have done something better, you can learn to correct it. Apply what you learned the next time around to attack the situation better.

Build your skill

“Whatever you do, find a way to do it better.” Read, attend seminars, listen. The bottom line; never stop learning. You will never know everything. There is always more to learn. You are not the best at what you do, but you can strive to become the best.

It’s all about them

Don’t get cocky. If you’re good at something, it’s because other people allow you to succeed. Put others first, because the people you serve are the ones who make you good at your job.

Check out Impact PT on Facebook!

The 100/0 principle: Creating great relationships

I have always tried to live a generous and thoughtful life, aiming to be selfless and not selfish. But I recently came across an idea that inspired me to change the way I build relationships. I first read about the 100/0 principle in Darren Hardy’s book The Compound Effect. It’s about taking control over the creation of successful relationships. “You have to be willing to give 100 percent with zero expectation of receiving anything in return. Only when you are willing to take 100 percent responsibility for making the relationship work, will it work. Otherwise, the relationship left to chance will always be vulnerable to disaster.”

Most people think of relationships as 50/50. I do this for you, you do that for me. I will sacrifice something, but only if you sacrifice something as well. These ideas give people the sense of “fair”, but will usually also bring a sense of resentment. Most importantly, it requires someone other than you to create a successful relationship. The principle of 100/0 goes against everything we are taught about fairness growing up. If one of our friends gave us a Squeeze-It, our parents made us give them something back in exchange, because it’s only fair, right? Thus, an expectation was created that if we do something for someone, they will do something for us in return. If they don’t, then why bother giving them our time, effort, or attention.

Implementing 100/0 in you lifestyle will boost your relationships, because what we do depends on OUR effort. WE are accountable for developing a positive relationship. Instead of complaining about someone not doing something, take the initiative to do it because you want your relationship with them to be strong. Before I give you some ideas of how you can start living 100/0, let’s clarify what this principle is NOT…

A non-stop charity – Living 100/0 does not mean giving all (if any) of your money, time, possessions away to people. In fact, much of the principle does not even imply spending money or buying gifts.

Letting people dominate you – You will not be considered soft for living this way. In order to successfully live 100/0, you must be principle driven. Your beliefs and values will not be compromised by giving without the expectation of return.

Making everything you do "volunteer"– If you work in the service business, living 100/0 does not mean that you work for free. This is your job, your trade. It is natural that you charge money for what you do.

Doing everything on your own – 100/0 is about doing things and acts to benefit relationships, not taking on twice your workload because someone is lazy. Know the difference between helping someone, and taking over their life. Also, make sure you know specifically which relationships are most important to you. Those are the ones which require the most attention.

Here are a few things you can do to implement the 100/0 principle into your life:

Do the little things that are not expected, but everyone desires Take the time to open the door for people who are walking through doorways at the same time. Help a person pick up something that they dropped. Go out of your way to do easy, unexpected acts that help people have better days.

Listen… Give people your attention if they are talking to you. Put your phone down! Make the person you are interacting with the most important person to you at that time. On a deeper level, listen to what people appreciate. Find out what their complaints are and what stresses them.

…understand… There are some things that other people value which may seem quite unimportant to us. We have the tendency to brush those things aside. Why bother if we don’t understand the significance, right? Truly understand why things are important to those close to you.

…Apply What is important to the people that are in your life? What signs have they given of what they value and appreciate? A long tradition in my family is leaving empty egg shells in the carton when we cook eggs. There is no purpose to this, but it’s what I have done my whole life. While I was cooking eggs at my girlfriend’s house one day, she expressed her displeasure of my habit. At first, I thought, “What’s the difference? Why would it matter that empty egg shells in the carton?” Then I realized, I was only asking myself what’s in it for me. I was being stubborn because it did not affect me. However, in the long run, my stubbornness would lead to her displeasure, which would cause friction in the relationship. Because it is important for her and I care about our relationship growing, I am now removing the empty egg shells.

Support other people’s goals We know how important our goals are. In trying to achieve our goals, we put everything we have into reaching the level we want to reach. If we give that same effort to supporting others’ goals, that value would mean more than any monetary value or gift. Go out of your way to do something that shows someone close to you how much you want to see them succeed. I have a friend who recently began eating primal. One of the easiest ways to fall of track is by not having enough food to eat. Knowing the difficulties of changing to a healthy lifestyle, I gave him the chicken and spinach lunch I had packed. This way he could suppress his hunger with something primal, but also know that I was really supporting him and pushing him to succeed.

Most importantly - - be genuine You can’t live 100/0 if you are bitter or feel cheated that you just did something good for somebody and they are not doing anything to pay you back. That’s the whole point! You have to be happy knowing that you are making someone's life better. Intentionally do those things for others, and soon you will be creating the best relationships of your life.

"The more you give, the more you get. The more you get, the more you get to give." -Michael Ellsberg