You could finally start that blog, write that book, take that class, or do just about anything you have always wanted to do but simply didn’t have time for.

The good news is you can have all that extra time (and more) by mastering just one skill: Outsourcing!

In this post I am going to go through the basic ins and outs of outsourcing and how you too can get started in as little as 5 minutes.

Why Outsource?

A number of years ago I was sitting at a restaurant when I overheard two older gentlemen catching up. One of them says “I heard you retired a couple months ago. How is that going?”

The second gentleman responded “yeah I did, and I’ve been so busy… I don’t know how I ever got anything done when I was working full time!”

They both chuckled.

The number one reason for outsourcing is: time. Once you get addicted to outsourcing aspects of your life (especially your business life), you will be amazed at how much you can get done working a whole lot less than you ever have.

The best part about outsourcing though? Expert help doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. There are extremely talented people all around you and all around the world just waiting for someone like you to keep them busy.

So – by outsourcing – you are not just helping yourself. You are also helping other people put food on their table. It’s what I like to call a “win-win!” for everyone involved.

What to Outsource

Outsource the things you hate doing or are not very good at doing. Maybe start with a list of things that overwhelm you. These can be personal things as well as business things. I’ve even heard of people outsourcing aspects of their jobs. Crazy, right?

I say you’d be crazy not to!

Outsource Your Personal Life

I know of someone who absolutely hates doing laundry. She lives alone and her apartment does not have a washing machine, so every weekend she had to take a couple hours out of her schedule to sit at a laundromat and do her laundry.

One day she was so fed up, she outsourced her laundry to a retired granny who was looking for something on the side to keep her busy while also giving her a few extra dollars to spoil her grand kids with.

Now – once a week – she drops her laundry basket off early morning at this granny’s house on her way to work and stops by on her way home to pick it up. Lo and behold the dreadful laundry is freshly washed, dried, and folded inside the basket. No drama… and yet it costs her no more than $100 per month.

Another person I know got tired of cooking every day, so he has a chef come in once per week and precook various meals. This way him and his daughter eat healthy home-made meals every day of the week without the stress of having to cook. He insists it’s cheaper yet more delicious than eating out.

A more common task to outsource is cleaning. We have had a cleaning lady come in 2 to 3 times per week for an hour or two to clean the house, beds, laundry, etc. When you work from home and you have a large house to take care of, this is a HUGE help… and allows you to stay focused on your family (or business projects) without the stress of a messy home.

All of this (and so much more) in your day to day life can be outsourced IF you’d rather pay someone than do it yourself.

The same goes for writing that book you have always wanted to write. There are plenty of very experienced ghostwriters and editors just waiting for someone like you to kick-start their next writing gig. And depending on the scope of the book you’re writing, you would be surprised how affordable hiring experienced writers can be.

Outsource tasks in your personal life that drive you up the wall or that just seem to never make it off of your “One Day” to do list. You’ll be surprised by how much mental space frees up to focus on things that matter most or that you actually enjoy.

Outsource Business Tasks

If there is one thing we learned during the 2019 – 2020 pandemic, it’s that a great many of the jobs currently done from office cubicles, can be done virtually from home. This comes with huge benefits for business owners and employees alike.

1. The business owner saves on not having to pay rent or electricity for the office space. Not to mention save on all the coffees the employees consume at the owners expense, hah.
2. The employee gets the benefit of not having to commute to and from work every day and gets to work in his or her pajamas from home. Heck, they could potentially even relocate to a more favorable location (why not?) and work 100% remotely through the internet.

My point is, if your business work load can be outsourced through the internet, why would you not do it? Hire someone to do the work you hate doing, don’t have time to do, or lack the skill set to get done. Things like:

• video editing
• software development
• customer support
• PowerPoint creation
• blog content creation
• editing & proofreading
• research
• legal consulting
• software development
• project management
• etc, etc.

Just about any tasks under the sun that does not require an in person presence can be outsourced online. The secret is finding out which tasks you can let someone do for you and then find that someone who can do it as well if not better than you.

Where to Outsource?

It really depends what you’re looking to get help with. If it’s for something local, talking to your local friends is probably the best place to start. If that doesn’t yield any prospects, try asking in your local Facebook community or list your need/offer in the local online classifieds.

There are a great many people looking to have a side gig and if that is all you need, you should have no problem finding someone who can meet your need at a price you’re willing to pay.

In regards to online outsourcing (my specialty), I mainly use Upwork nowadays. It’s super easy to set up an account and within just a few minutes create a job listing describing what you’re looking for. It has a slight learning curve to it but when you’ve done it once, the second time is a breeze.

Remember that the listing does not have to be long. Short and sweet (to the point) is usually what I go for and I have a plethora of candidates to chose from within just 24 hours.

The best part? Upwork has a mobile app that allows you to manage all your outsourcing via your smartphone. Meaning you can be in communication with your workers while on the go. I love it!

If it’s something minor, I have used Fiverr as well in the past but it simply isn’t what it used to be. It’s a third rate outsourcing platform at best now. Upwork gives you a lot more and more targeted options.

What if You’re A Control Freak?

I get it. I am a control freak if there ever was one. Somehow the old saying “If you want something done right, you got to do it yourself” is something I can relate to all too well.

The truth however is, my list of 100 things that I dragged with me for years, would largely still be undone if it had all waited on my time and inspiration. So not only is my mind a lot clearer for not having those 100 things haunting me every day, my business has also exploded.

Was every hire a magic problem solver? Nope. I won’t even pretend it was. However, seeing where outsourcing got me versus where I would be if I hadn’t outsourced, I would pick outsourcing every day of the year.

Hire a Project Manager

One thing I’ve been attempting to do is train one of the people I outsource to to become my project manager. Especially for projects that will require work on an ongoing basis.

So basically, instead of me trying to explain what I am trying to accomplish to a dozen different freelancers, I explain it well to my project manager and he sees to it that everything falls into place. This kind of trust and relationship takes time to build but if you find someone who can march to your beat, this becomes a lot of fun.

Create Systems & Guides

Another thing I do, I make extensive guides listing what and how I am needing tasks done. This way I get very clear in my mind as to what I am needing the freelancers to do, it also let’s the freelancers know exactly what my expectations of them are, and most important of all: If I ever need to hire a new freelancers for that (or similar) role, I already have a thorough guide I can start them off with.

This has been a huge time saver for me!

So yeah… I am a control freak and my detailed guides show plenty of evidence supporting that.

In the end, instead of obsessing over the details that – in the grand scheme of things aren’t that important – I try to remind myself to focus on the end goal and assume the freelancers do their best to help me get to that goal. Unless they clearly weren’t following my detailed instructions, but I’ll get into that later.

Finding that Perfect Person

Most people research their workers more than they research the political candidates they vote into office. Change that. Have a quick look at the people who applied to your listing and quickly eliminate the ones that don’t match what you’re looking for.

Heck, I often times go as far as eliminating people just because the vibe I get from looking at their profile doesn’t feel right. No point in going into a working relationship with someone you can not see yourself working with.

Once you’ve done your first round of candidate elimination, you will likely be left with a handful of people you could see yourself working with. Now look at their work history (if they got one), their ratings and reviews, and get a better feel for each of the remaining candidates.

Send them a message. Don’t trust their claims and promises too early. Ask for samples of previous work (if relevant).

I’ve been looking at polished profiles a few times that make me go “this person seems to tick every box of my checklist” and yet when I start chatting with them or ask them for samples, it becomes quickly evident that their profile isn’t an accurate portrayal of their skills or abilities.

While I never discriminate against people from foreign countries (I believe everyone deserves a fair shot and some of the most talented people I’ve hired over the years have been from non-native English speaking countries), I simply can not have subpar work being done for me. I have no problem paying well if the value is there, but the value has to be there.

If it’s for an ongoing project, I often hire two people and give them both a small paid task to see how they work. I quickly eliminate the one less suited for the job or switch them to a project that is more suited for them.

Now… give it time. It takes time to get to know a worker just as it takes time for them to learn how you tick. The relationship gets built as you do more and more work together.

Once you have that gem of a person who over delivers time and time again and you would hate for them to leave you, increase how much you pay them. I often look at their other ongoing work (on their Upwork profile) and make sure I am the highest paid client they work for. So if they need to let go of a client, I am the last on that list.

And guess what: If you have the right person and you take good care of them, they will do the same for you!

Hire Fast, Fire Faster!

I want to lead this point with a caveat: In absolutely every hire, treat the person with the utmost respect as though you just hired your grandmother. No matter what happens. Zero exceptions.

Just because you pay someone does not give you a right to abuse them. So do unto them as you would have them do to you should the roles be reversed.

With that said, know when you are being abused or taken advantage of. This often happens while they smile at you or pretend to laugh at your jokes.

If you ever feel the person you’re trusting with your business isn’t giving you their best or isn’t taking your work as seriously as they should be (like taking shortcuts or dragging out 1 hour worth of work to last a week), I find it’s best to cut ties and move on to someone more aligned with your vision.

I have had it happen a few times where a person tried making a life’s career out of a days worth of work. It always stings when this happens. It’s not a fair exchange of value and it upsets the spirit of trust, and I refuse to do business with people I don’t trust!

Paying Per Milestone vs. Per Hour

I often try negotiating a “pay per task” or “pay per milestone” deal instead of an hourly deal just because I prefer paying for value instead of time. This way if they get the work done quicker, they benefit, and if they drag their feet, you’re not paying them to do so.

In both scenarios you want to make sure they are not taking shortcuts and that the work done really is up to your expectations. If they come short, point it out and ask them to fix it. Often times it was a lack of communication on my part that lead them to skip a beat, so your communication has got to be thorough.

If you have given them a second chance and they are still not delivering to your standards – despite you outlining your expectations in detail – pay what you owe them, close the contract, and then replace them. There are too many over qualified people out there looking for work to entertain someone who isn’t delivering.

The post Strategically Outsource to Optimize Personal & Business Life appeared first on Kobra Dynasty.

When I was 5, I couldn’t wait to read. I had a curious soul in me and wanted to learn as much as I could – as quickly as I could. By the time I was 12, I had read every single book in the house cover to cover at least once or twice.

Mind you we didn’t have a whole lot of books on the farm where I grew up, but my point is the same: I was hungry for knowledge and any opportunity to consume more of it – I would take it.

When I was 14, my family and I moved to Canada and I was forced to learn English. Needless to say, I did not read many books in my first few years of learning the language as I simply could not grasp yet a lot of the stuff I was reading.

One book I do remember reading though on my summer break before entering my last year of high school. It was the classic “How to Win Friends & Influence People” by Dale Carnegie.

What was interesting is that although I did not understand a lot of what I was reading at that time due to not being fluent in the English language yet, it had a MAJOR impact on my life.

How to Win Friends & Influence People

Some of the stuff in the book I had never heard of before. I all of a sudden realized just how much negativity I had in my life – most of it coming from my close circles of influence. I remember struggling for months to not have negative chit-chatter with my friends and instead have meaningful, positive and uplifting conversations. It was HARD!

I remember rereading parts of the book on my way home from school (on the bus) and some of my friends would laugh at me – basically mocking me for reading a self-help book. In my mind, reading a self-help book was no different to the mind than working out at the gym was to the body.

So I started countering the mockery by telling them just how much of an impact this book was having on my life – at which point they started to get interested themselves. I always ended up giving my book to them and they would promise to read it.

This happened so often that I started buying those books in bulk (a dozen at a time) and give them away to colleagues after convincing them it would change their life for the better.

Whether they read it or not, I don’t know. What I do know though, is this: It re-awoke a certain “hunger” for knowledge within me again. I didn’t really tend to this hunger though for at least another 10 years. I claimed I simply did not have time to read and also excused myself by saying “I read enough information online”.

Which was true, but both were lame excuses that held me back from growing as a person.

Getting back into reading again…

In 2011 I decided I needed to pick up reading again. In fact, there was another classic book I had been wanting to read for ages – Robinson Crusoe – but simply never took the time to start.

When I finally got it and started reading it, it took me a good 2 years to finish.

It wasn’t a self help book by any means, but what it did was: It gave me back a passion for reading. I didn’t care how long it took me, the sheer satisfaction of having read it from beginning to end made me want to do it over and over again. It was a terrific feeling!

I would equate the feeling to running a full marathon. It didn’t matter how long it took. What mattered was finishing. The pure satisfaction of having done it. Something to be proud of!

Since then I have stepped up my game and started reading books in areas of interest to me – mainly self-help and how-to type books (you’ll find some of my favorites listed here). I am still not going at the pace I want to but I finish – on average – one book every two months.

I am not saying this to brag. In fact, there is nothing to brag about – but what I will say is: The more I discover what AWESOME stuff I didn’t know already, the more I want to know. In other words, I will be a student for life. I have a lot to learn and discover still.

As the saying goes “Learning is the one thing I will never finish!”

Reading Changed My Life!

Over the last few months I’ve been thinking of just how much “active reading” has impacted my life, and I’ve started to ask people randomly if they read – and if so – what they read. The thing that blows me away is I can almost always predict who reads a lot and who doesn’t.

Example: I’ve been talking to a few dozen employees of various companies who work entry to middle management type jobs. The majority of them look at me funny when I ask them if they read “books”. It’s almost always a big no or they read a fictional novel every so often (if anything).

Then I make it a point to ask the same question to individuals who I know run multi-million dollar companies. Want to know what I find? The more personal development type books they read, the more millions their companies are generally worth. I always smile and say “isn’t thaaaat interesting”.

Want to know the real kicker though? The guys/girls running the big companies are generally less formally educated than the ones working entry level to middle management jobs.

Not saying this to mock formal education – it certainly has its place – but am simply noticing how ongoing self education very quickly outperforms traditional education by leaps and bounds.

It’s similar to simple-interest versus compound-interest. One may win in the short run, but the other almost always wins in the long run. You simply cannot compete with continues self education, be it in the form of listening to audio books, podcasts, watching documentaries that challenge your thinking/opinions, or reading and re-reading books!

My personal library – although small at this point – is always growing. If you are interested in seeing what I have read or am currently reading, be sure to check out the “Books I’ve Read” section of this blog.

Are you currently reading non-fiction type books? If so, what good books have you read so far that you’d recommend I check out?

The post How to Tap into the Fountain of Knowledge appeared first on Kobra Dynasty.

I read a quote today that said:

“If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space.” ~ Jayne Howard

Somehow that got me thinking: If we don’t actively push ourselves to new heights and get content just existing day-to-day, we really are – in a sense – taking up way too much space.

I am not an adrenaline junkie and I honestly do not think you will ever find me jumping out of a perfectly good (flying) airplane, but I do have certain dreams that – in order to achieve them – will require me to push myself way out of my comfort zone.

As the saying goes: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are probably not big enough.

The thing about big dreams is that – when actively pursuing them – we will get pushed out of our comfort zone. No one wants to leave their comfort zone because we tend to feel “discomfort” at the very thought of it. It is a destructive way of looking at situations and does not bring us any closer to achieving our goals and living out our dreams.

What’s the Worst that Can Possibly Happen?

We tend to ask questions like “What if …?” with a negative (generally the worst possible) outcome in mind. I too often catch myself thinking these negative thoughts.

“What if all affiliate partners back out in the last minute and leave me hanging with this launch? Yeah, that would really suck. So much for putting 4 weeks into the product. Oh man, I’d be losing all my time and hard work, not to mention the resources I invested into this!” etc etc.

Then – after feeling sorry for myself for a few minutes – I come to my senses and start directing my thoughts in the exact opposite direction: “What if all affiliates come on board and do even better then expected? What if they recommend my product to their affiliate partners (because it is so good ;)) and they promote for me too? Wow, this should be a good launch!”

Power of Positive Thinking

Zig Ziglar (may he rest in peace) always said:

“Positive thinking won’t let you do anything, but it will let you do everything better than negative thinking will!”

How right he was!

Being in control of our thoughts at all times is the trick. Catching our thoughts when going down a negativity spiral and putting them on an upward spiral is the magic.

Easier said than done – but it does make things a million times easier for sure. It not only eliminates stress (which I believe to be one of the silent killers in western society), but it also helps one to think clearer. Which is critical!

Captivity of Negativity

Remember that line in Prison Break where “T-Bag” delivers his breakthrough speech on the “captivity of negativity”? I just love it – puts a smile on my face every time I think of it. I believe there is a lot of truth to those words.

Not “negativity of captivity” but “captivity of negativity” – an important difference!

Negativity is a mindset that keeps us captive – and yet this captivity is our own doing. If we want to live a more “on the edge” kind of life, we have to first get our thoughts under control and start shifting our thinking towards that which is positively possible.

Kill the Devils First

Ever find yourself avoiding something because you fear a negative outcome? Next time you get that feeling, remember this: the sooner you get it out of the way, the sooner you can stop worrying about it.

Just get it off your chest and conquer that fear. 99% of the time – what we thought would have a negative outcome – turns out to be a positive one.

So, instead of asking what if they say no?, assume they will say “Yes!”

Will Smith once said something along the lines of: I fear fear itself.

In other words: His greatest fear is to be afraid of something. He will go out of his way to do things just so he does not have to be afraid of them anymore.

Wow, that is some hardcore mental programming I need more of. That is true “breaking out of captivity” and “life on the edge” kind of stuff!

Dream Big Unrealistic-For-You Dreams

Do you actively pursue your dreams because they scare you? If not, just maybe they are not big enough. I talked a bit about it in my last post but I wanted to expand on that a bit more in this one.

A lot of people – especially those starting an online business – just want to make their first $100 a month online and it seems like an impossible stretch for them. Ever felt that way? You know something is doable and you see others do it every day, and yet – looking at it – you can’t help but think just how far away you are from achieving it yourself.

Allow me to pass on an effective exercise routine I was given once…

It doesn’t seem that far away all of a sudden, does it?

Truth is, the amount doesn’t matter. Drastically exceed your current expectations (in anything really) and visualize it. Once you got that picture in your mind, work your way down to what it is you really want to achieve and guess what: It does not seem that far out (or impossible) anymore.

The objective with this exercise is to expand one’s existing “thinking” horizons enough to make the (what appeared to be) impossible – possible.

The post Life On The Edge & The Captivity Of Negativity appeared first on Kobra Dynasty.

An early mentor of mine once asked me to close my eyes and daydream with her. I was maybe 19 years of age at the time and thought this was the silliest thing I was ever asked to do. She asked me to visualize what I wanted out of life, the places I wanted to go to, the things I wanted to do, the houses I wanted to own, etc.

Thinking she had me daydreaming, she asked me to describe various aspect of this “ideal” life of mine, and truth is, I don’t remember much of it, except one detail, and that was: I would own a bright red Miata, Mazda.

I had taken a ride in one once and – in my limited imagination at that time – thought owning one would be the coolest thing ever.

After relaying this dream of mine to her, I remember her asking:  “Just a Miata? Not a BMW or Ferrari…?”

My response was “nope, just a Miata!”

2013 Miata (aka MX-5)

I think she found me hard to work with. Or maybe she felt I was wasting her time – I don’t know. Either way, that was the last daydreaming session I had with her. It almost sounds perverse, but I learned a lot from that experience.

Dreaming Too Small

Another mentor fired me a few months later because my income goals at that time were $2000 – $3000 USD per month. He says “You are a waste of my time, I only work with go-getters… people who dream of 5 figure monthly incomes!”

Wow!

I thought my dreams were reasonable – especially for a 19 year old kid.

Truth is: There would have been nothing wrong with that kind of an income or with owning a little red Miata, but that wasn’t the issue. The real problem was MUCH bigger. It was – that all these goals were set within my comfort zones.

In other words, realistically looking at it now, achieving any of those dreams would have been nothing special. I could have continued on the path I was on and achieved those goals without really trying. There was absolutely nothing earth shattering about it.

Nurturing Bigger Dreams

After years of personal development – I finally started dreaming bigger. Not just in “accumulating” things (or earning certain figures every month). No – much more than that.

I started dreaming of all the places I wanted to visit in the world, all the people I wanted to meet, the good I wanted to do by contributing to charity (or starting charities of my own), etc, etc.

Here is the thing: the world needs dreamers. It needs people who see the bigger picture before it exists and pursue it until it does exist. Look at industry leading businesses, charities, or any other successful movement for that matter, and you will find that it all started with a dream.

Maybe those were small dreams to begin with – but they did not stay small. Those dreams grew and expanded exponentially over days, years, and decades.

Food for thought: It is my honest belief that if just an extra 1% of this world’s population were to dream bigger (and put legs to these dreams) – there would be plenty of jobs to go around for everybody.

The World Needs Dreamers

The world needs more dreamers who are not afraid to think outside of the box – visionaries who get others on board – and massive action takers who power through the dream-killing obstacles that present themselves.

One can not live life on the edge unless one actively pursues big dreams first.

Which poses two questions:

1. What am I doing to continually expand the horizons of my dreams?
2. What am I doing continually to bring my dreams into reality?

Going back to my Miata story: After doing extensive research and visiting various sports-car dealerships, my taste in cars changed quite a bit. In fact, I went to a Mazda dealership a few years ago just to sit in a Miata (again) to figure out why I used to loved it so much, and found that it was nearly impossible for me to get in and out of that car.

I found that my long knees and elbows constantly rubbed against each other while steering and sitting just wasn’t as comfortable as I remembered it being. It definitely was no dream car for a tall guy like myself – but it took continuous exposure to greater and better cars before I was able to dream bigger.

In fact, as a direct result of my dreams getting bigger, I ended up buying a late model Porsche 928 (V8) in 2010. After having owned that one, I think my ideal sport-cars will forever be biased in favor of Porsche but that goes for another post :).

This was my baby… Porsche 928 S4

Dream. Action. Result!

It was a dream at first – and then I brought that dream into reality (I still sometimes wonder how that all happened). My current dream car is of course the Porsche 911 Turbo S and I plan on picking one up before I hit 30. A big dream, I know, but massive action will see to it that I get it sooner or later.

That is just an example though. Life is not all about the material things and to think so is shallow. The principal is the same in everything though: plant the seed – water it faithfully, and in due time you will see the harvest. First the dream, then the action, and then the result!

It could also be said: Massive dreams lead to massive action, and massive action leads to massive results. It ALL starts with a big dream though.

The fact of the matter is: We get out of life what we ask of it. If we are not happy with the results we are currently getting, the best place to change that, is by asking bigger questions, developing bigger dreams, and continually expanding our (limiting) mental horizons.

The post Nothing Great Happens Without Dreams appeared first on Kobra Dynasty.

Do you have a bucket list? I know we all have things we are hoping to do in our lifetime, but do you actually have a written down list of all the things you are personally wanting to do?

I am what they call a dreamer. I have huge aspirations to do all kinds of crazy things in my life – but I confess: it wasn’t until late 2012 that I actively made a list of all the things I wanted to do.

Yes, I had written down goals for my business, but I did not have a list of specific personal goals I could refer back to – to inspire me and move me forward.

Writing My Life Goals

Late 2012 I sat down and started writing down all the places I wanted to see in my lifetime. All the things I wanted to do. All the skills I wanted to learn. All the people I wanted to meet… etc.

It might sound silly, but doing that – all of a sudden – gave me a sense of purpose. More importantly though, it gave me a sense of control as to the direction my life was going in. I felt a sense of urgency/drive to get certain projects done so I could move forward and kick things off of my bucket list.

You want to know the amazing thing? I was able to kick off the first thing on that list within a week or two. I had always dreamed of taking a train across a country – and shortly after making that list, the opportunity came up to take a train from Singapore, through Malaysia, into Thailand. It was quite an experience. My wife and I absolutely LOVED it.

It was a 4 day train ride, and once done, I felt invincible.  All of a sudden the other things on my bucket list too became possible. Wow!

Keeping the Momentum Going

THEN I got comfortable. Instead of pushing on and crossing off other things also (like flying a hot air balloon – which really is not that expensive and I could probably do it by the end of this week), I resorted back to just existing.

Meaning: I have not touched my personal bucket list in 3 months. How pathetic is that?

It’s things like this where mentors and accountability partners come in handy.

Shortly before Christmas I was watching a short video by my friend Jason Cardamone that inspired me like crazy to kick off another thing on my bucket list: training with a personal Muay Thai kickboxing trainer in Thailand.

I have been in Thailand on and off for over a year now and yet I never mustered up the courage to get in touch with a trainer and start training. I have done a little Muay Thai in my younger years, so I am certain a lot of it will come back to me again, but like I said: I just never followed through with the dream.

If you don’t make your dreams happen, who will? No one!

The biggest mistake you can make is: tell your mentor to hold you accountable to something if you are not serious about doing it. That is what I did with Jason. Well, to clarify: I was all serious when I said it, but just never followed through with it.

I told him of this kickboxing dream of mine and told him I’d get it all moving after Christmas. Today he asked me for the name of my sensei (trainer) and I said “I don’t have one, and I don’t have an excuse!”

He says “you have 24 hours to tell me the date and time you will be training or I am sorry Konrad, I will have to terminate our 5 year relationship/friendship for good!”

He said it would be hard to do, but he will do it if I don’t get my behind moving… and I know he will unless I come up with the results.

Long story short, I kicked myself in gear and have contacted a trainer close to where I am at right now. If he fails to respond by tomorrow (it is 2 AM here), I am going in for group training.

Update: I did end up doing that one on one training session and had blisters for months to prove it. And yes, Jason Cardamone and I are still friends

If Not Now, When?

A good mentor is hard to come by, and solid friendships are way too precious to lose, but it is my honest belief that nothing is more devastating than to live all your life – looking forward to things but never actively pursuing them – and then look back (when you’re all spent), and wishing you would have just gone ahead and done them.

What is holding you back? Who is your accountability partner? Who is your mentor? We only get one lifetime to make the most of, and the earlier we get things checked off, the longer we can cherish the memory of said things.

Or as Mark Twain would put it:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

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