Simple is King!
Last weekend I was in Rhode Island at Primal Athlete Training Center owned by Matt Ellis. First let me say that I was treated like a king. Matt picked me up from the airport, and he stuck by my side the entire weekend. He took me to the best Italian Restaurant of my life, and I have to say that it was so authentic that I was actually expecting to see Carlos Gambino at an adjacent table. No such luck especially since he has been dead for some time now! The food was amazing, and the company was even better.
While there, I was reminded by Matt how important it is to keep things simple, and to stick to the roots in which you built your business. Zach Even-Esh was one of the first people to tell me this, and to no surprise, Matt is one of Zach’s Underground Strength Coaches. Matt trains athletes and only athletes. He starts his day around 2 and is done by 7. He loves his life, business, and all of his athletes.
Last year I found myself starting my day around 5-6a, and I would finish around 8p. Then I would go home, and spend time with my online team. I was training adults in small groups, one on one, athletes, Weightlifters, Powerlifters, and my online team. I loved them all, but somehow I needed to simplify. My wife talked me into a small vacation at Myrtle Beach, SC to as Mike Bledsoe says, “To defrag!” I took the time to figure things out, write a little, and prepare for the next quarter of my life.
Now don’t take this as complaining. I am very blessed to have all of these opportunities, and I want to serve all the people who God has placed in my life. I just have to manage my time and resources, so that I can shepherd my wife and children. Rock Mash was born last year on October 1st. I want to spend as much time as possible with him, and thanks to my friends at Undisputed Strength and Conditioning in Eagan, MN, I get more time with my incredible daughter Bailey.
This year, I am still busy, but now I only coach my weightlifting and powerlifting team once per day. I stay at home with Rock every Tuesday and Thursday morning. I work from home mainly coaching my Online Teams. I spend a great deal of my time working on my business. I still get crazy busy at times, but I always come back to the following process.
The decision-making process is what I want to share with you because it is so important for athletes and business people alike. Focusing one’s energy is the number one way to success in anything that one does. The first thing that I think about are the very things that I absolutely love and felt called to do. No doubt I was called to coach both onsite and online. Connecting with my online team is a challenge that I have accepted and love. I set time aside every night to chat, answer questions, and check out their videos. Some of them post so much, I feel like I actually know them. I can feel their personalities ring out through the passion with which they train.
I also love writing and communicating with my readers online. I am very passionate about spreading my Barbell Life F-ilosophy, and I want as many people as possible to be affected positively by things that I put out there. I love the new podcast that I am apart of called, “Barbell Life” because people can hear me communicate verbally my thoughts on the barbell, life, spirituality, and family. You can listen to us every Tuesday and Thursday at 11a on http://www.spreaker.com/show/barbell-life_1. I simply want people to learn from my mistakes and victories, so that they might live a richer and fuller life.
The next step is to write a daily schedule. I don’t focus on tasks as much as areas of my life. I try to focus on the bigger picture, or as Stephen Covey might say the important but not urgent things like family, God, new ideas, writing, and podcasting. During this time management phase, I try to cut out things that aren’t necessary, and delegate as much as possible. I am chopping television, answering texts, and getting caught up with social media, and I am replacing it with educational reading, worship time, and writing more.
After you have figured out a schedule that you would like, try creating Systems for as much as possible. After listening to the Barbell Business Podcast, my wife Drew and I started reading the “Four Hour Work Week” book. Now of course, I have no dreams about a four hour work week, but I do want to simplify things to provide more time for the things that I love and want to do. For example, with my online team I am having certain things automatically sent instead of my sending them individually to each new athlete. Another one was completely automating payment collections at my onsite gym. These things add up guys! Those two things alone will save me hours each day.
If something or someone in your life isn’t productive, fun, or profitable, then cut it out immediately. Sometimes this is the hardest thing, but at the end of the day will always be the right thing to do. There are many of these in my life, but there are a few. It’s something that is very hard for me because I don’t want to give up on people or things. I will hold onto bad employees for years because I want so badly for them to change. At the end of the day, this isn’t good for them or me because they are obviously not called to the job. If we aren’t given it our all, then there is a passion missing that would be present if we were following God’s plan for us.
Apply these principles to your life, and you are assured more time for the things that you love:
1. Find time to Defrag
2. Find out the things in your life that you love and are passionate about.
3. Figure out a schedule that allows you to focus on the things in principle 1.
4. Create Systems for as many things as possible and delegate the rest.
5. If something or someone in your life isn’t productive, fun, or profitable, cut it loose.
I am sitting here staring out at the Atlantic Ocean is sheer awe of the creations of God. I am so blessed to work with the athletes that I do both online and at Mash Elite Performance. I have the best weightlifting team on the planet. I have the best wife, daughter, and Baby Mash that anyone could ever ask for. My prayer is that God will show me the clear pathway for the road that He would have me take. I have a feeling that either direction is most people’s dream, but I want God’s dream for me.
To join the Mash Mafia Online Team, go to www.MashElite.com/join-the-online-team/. For information about our Learn 2 Lift Seminars, go to www.MashElite.com/seminars/.