As I write this, I am 47 years old. I have wanted the coveted “Six-Pack” since I was a teenager. Over the last three decades, I’ve tried everything to achieve this goal.
– I’ve run two marathons
– I’ve run several adventure races
– I’ve done two 12-mile Tough Mudder races
– I’ve run a few sprint triathlons
– I’ve lifted weights consistently for 20 years
– I even started a gym and helped hundreds of clients lose a ton of body fat
– I’ve counted calories
– I’ve eaten low-carb
– I’ve tracked my macros
– I did the 16-8 fasting plan
– I did Tim Ferriss’s “slow carb” plan
You name it, I’ve experimented with it and I still haven’t achieved my goal.
After selling my gym a few years ago, I actually let go of this goal to have a six-pack. I started thinking,“I’m happily married. I exercise all the time. I’m healthy. Do I really need a six-pack? Will a six-pack really make me any happier?” In other words, I settled.
Allowing these weak thoughts to persist was a mistake.
Letting go of something I wanted to achieve was a mistake.
And what I’ve finally realized is… settling is always a mistake. Never fucking settle.
The reason why I’ve always wanted a six-pack is because it is something that cannot be purchased. It has to be earned through self-discipline.
The fat billionaire next door cannot buy a six-pack. He’s got to earn it just like you and I do.
The truth is I admire people with self-discipline. It’s the one quality that separates great people from average people. Average people live without discipline. Self-discipline really is the key that unlocks the door to whatever we want in life.
In fact….
SELF-DISCIPLINE IS THE ONE SINGLE COMMONALITY
YOU’LL FIND AMONG EVERY SINGLE SUCCESSFUL PERSON.
Anyone who has achieved any success in their lives, has lived with self-discipline. This discipline is obviously applied to different areas. Some apply it to investing. Some apply it to business. Some apply it to physical performance. Some apply to writing. Some apply it to marketing. Some apply it to music. Some apply it to art. Some apply it to acting. Some apply it to food.
Discipline is consistently forcing ourselves to do things we don’t want to do. It’s passing on the ice cream when we really want to eat it. It’s getting up every morning and writing, when want to sleep. It’s making decisions that provide long-term benefits without any concern for short-term gain.
The only way anyone can get a six-pack is by mastering their self-discipline when it comes to food.There is no other way. You cannot exercise your way to a six-pack. There are no magic supplements you can take to get a six-pack.
You have got to learn to control what you eat and when you eat. You have to apply this control over long periods of time. This requires hundreds, if not thousands, of difficult decisions about what we eat.
The real reason I’ve wanted six-pack is because of the person you have to become in order to achieve the goal. For me, it has always been about mastering discipline.
On some level, my thinking has always been…
If I can develop enough self-discipline to shed body fat and get ripped, I can achieve anything I want in life. I’ll have obtained the necessary discipline to do whatever it is I need to do.
Well, I finally stopped settling. I’ve re-activated my goal to have a six-pack, and I dig into what I’m actually doing in my March 2018 Cashflownaire newsletter. You can become a member and get every newsletter I’ve written here.
The point of this message is to NEVER settle.
Think about an important goal you’ve let go of in your life. Do feel any regret from letting go of it? I certainly did.
Life will give you anything you ask of it, IF you apply discipline to what you want and you never settle until you’ve achieved what you set out to achieve.
