Tell Me About Yourself

I feel like I’ve spent all this time writing for you and I honestly can say that I don’t know you.

I want to remedy that.

I put together a little 10 question survey to get to know you better.

It would mean the world to me if you’d take a moment to fill this out.

I appreciate all of your support!

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1 Quote

2 Lessons

• It was May 7 1989…

and I was sitting on my living room floor inches away from my family’s old tube television.  I was locked in on the game that was unfolding on the screen before me.  It had been a back and forth game and I could feel the tension rising inside of me.  With three seconds left in the game Craig Ehlo scored to put the Cavs up by one over the Bulls and looking like they'd be moving onto the next round.  Unfortunately for the Cavs the Bulls had Michael Jordan.

After the time out the Bulls were set to inbound the ball from just beyond half court.  Jordan was double teamed, but worked to get himself in a position to receive the inbound pass.  Upon catching the ball, Jordan took two hard dribbles to his left put his foot in the ground and elevated for a jump shot from just behind the free throw line.  He floated in the air for what felt like five seconds as Craig Ehlo floated past him.  After a double pump, Jordan released a shot that rattled home as time expired.  Jordan ran to the sideline jumping in the air pumping his fist over and over.  The shot gave the Bulls a 101-100 victory over the Cavs, and sent the Bulls into the next round of the playoffs.

Two things happened that day.  One, an almost six year old boy’s dreams were crushed as his favorite team lost in heart breaking fashion.  So many emotions surged through me as I watched through tear filled eyes, my beloved Cavs walk off the court.  Two, I found myself completely intrigued with greatness and what it took to become great.  Jordan in that single moment sparked an interest in me that I still have today.  What makes the greats great?  Why do some people achieve success where others fail?  What sets the successful apart from the average?

As an athlete and sports fan, I leaned heavily on studying what great athletes did different than everyone else.  Athletes like Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Tyson, Wayne Gretzkey, Michael Johnson, and Jerry Rice became my idols of what is possible if you work hard enough.  I was motivated to become the best possible athlete I could and to one day achieve the greatness that these iconic athletes did.  Over thirty years later I am still searching for a deeper and better understanding of what makes the greats great.  It's a passion and a search that I don't think will ever end.

I have discovered similarities between all the greats I listed above, but I have also found similarities between the athletes I loved and coaches, leaders, musicians, inventors, and entrepreneurs.  Greatness in sport isn’t any different than greatness in anything we pursue.  The level of commitment to your craft, attention to detail, ability to ignore the critics, and an uncommon level of grit typically shows up in all of these people.  It’s not that they were born different, they just worked different, and given the tools all these men utilized everyone can become great.

I wake up every morning chasing greatness, and I believe I’m on the right path.  I've found a calling I’m passionate about.  I have committed myself to learning and bettering myself regularly and know that if I continue to do what I'm doing I will one day achieve success.  A really cool thing about my path to greatness is it’s tied to other people's greatness and success.  My passion to coach and lead others means that when I finally do reach my greatness, I will have assisted others in achieving their own personal greatness along the way.  Knowing this gives me tons of energy and strength.

My hope is that through my podcast, writings, or conversations with me seen that the journey to excellence isn’t smooth or easy.  The true testament to the excellence of the people referenced in this story is the work they put in.  The daily work over years of their life that eventually allowed them to achieve success.  The other thing to remember as you chase your dreams and goals is that there are a lot of things that go into your future success.  Don’t expect to achieve all your goals tomorrow.  Greatness is a war of attrition and you must stay true to your process through all of the adversity that shows up along the way.  Never give up!

• This is a Sales Post

But so is everything else you’ll read today.

So is everything you say.

So is everything that every single person produces.

It’s taken me a while to realize that everything we produce or consume is someone selling something.

The paragraph above was me trying to sell you on why my pursuit of greatness is worth following.

I’m trying to connect my story to something you can relate to.

But in the end of that I hope you choose to follow or connect to some part of it.

Whether you want to believe it or not everything you do is a sales pitch.

You’re selling a thing, a belief, a lifestyle, a habit, a service, product, yourself.

In every setting you’re selling one of these things.

This is why I believe sales is the most important language you can learn.

Whether your selling to the girl of your dreams why they should marry you, or a board room full of investors why they should believe in you, or a customer in your store, or your kid or team;

We are always selling

In fact I’m selling you right now that sales is everywhere.

I’m also selling you that I’m worth following.

I’m selling you on the language of sales.

The hard part about sales is that just like other languages you must learn the customers and dialects of each sales situation.

We can’t just sell ourself or our product the same in every setting.

For example, I speak idea sales, follow me sales, coaching sales fairly well, but I don’t speak product sales or service sales nearly as fluently.

We can speak one dialect but struggle in another.

This is often the case, but what I’ve found is it usually comes down to how we view a particular type of sales.

It's because I see selling those as a service to improving the lives of others.

If I sell you on the idea of working out. I know that will have a positive impact on your life.

I didn't view the things I was selling for money the same way.

Not because they wouldn't improve your life, but because asking for money is hard.

Then I started thinking about all the things I tell people they should invest in when I talk about health:

1. home gym/gym membership

2. high quality nutrition

3. tracking devices

4. supplements

5. coaching

By the end that adds up.

What I needed to do was to start to look at what I'm selling as a benefit much like the health habits I sell.

And if I can't see them as things that will improve your life, I need to adjust my offering so that it becomes that.

The world is full of sales people.

Everyone, everywhere is trying to sell you.

It only makes sense that you learn the language too.

3 Good Things

Good Watch:

I’ve been enjoying some Dr. Andrew Huberman content lately and came across this interesting conversation between him and Dr. Andy Galpin. This conversation is all about exercise and how to get the most out of your training. There is a lot of information out there and this covers a lot of the common questions you might have. Check it out here.

Good Read:

I started reading a new book this week call Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz. It’s an interesting look into the world of self-image, positive past, setting goals, developing compassion, self-respect, and forgiveness, and more. I’ve found the start of this book to be interesting and worth checking out.

Good Motivation:

The end of the year can be hard. There are days when you just don’t want to do what you know you have to. Here’s a little something from Jocko Willink to fire you up to carry you home this year. Finish this year strong. Watch this video.

Need a Coach?

If you’ve made it this far, I must have done something right.

If you’ve been finding value in the lessons and teachings above, and feel like you might need more, I’d love to hear more about your story.

Are you pursuing great things?

Are you in need of some guidance?

Are you feeling a little stuck?

Perhaps I can help.

I've spent the last 15 years working with clients as a personal trainer and coach helping them build healthy sustainable habits.

During this time I've learned the psychology of habit creation, the power of systems, and why simple works better.

I'd love to help you reach your goals.

I'm currently looking to add 2 new coaching clients to my roster.

If this sounds interesting to you, connect with me today and let's schedule a call to see if we're a good fit for each other.

Email me at [email protected]

Did you know?

I often forget to share all the ways you can connect and get involved with the Edge of Greatness project.

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1. Books: Be Great or Master of the Sea

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Thanks for Stopping By

Thanks for coming by. I hope you enjoyed this week's issue. If you'd like more content before next Tuesday visit The Edge of Greatness Project.

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Happy Thanksgiving!