49 Insights from 2009

Well, since Vince Del Monte pretty much copies everything I do, I figured it’s time I return the favor ;)

Just kidding.  Vince and I are pretty much business partners and we consult with each other pretty much daily, so it’s natural that we get a fair amount of ideas from one another.

The other week, Vince put together a “things I learned in 2009” post on his blog.  I loved it, and thought it’d be cool to do the same.  Thanks for the idea, Vinny.

Below you will find my list of “49 insights” from 2009.  Take a read through it and then respond in the comments section with your comments and/or 1 thing you learned this year!  Rock on!

1. Curb Your Enthusiasm never stops being (inappropriately) funny.  You gotta love the twisted mind of Larry David.

2. You can have whatever you want in life.  It’s not metaphysical bull shit, it’s simply about believing in yourself and going after what you want full force.

3. Self-imposed limitations will cripple your potential.  It doesn’t matter what other people think is possible for you-the ONLY thing that matters is what you believe you can achieve.

4. Excuses are nothing more than sugar coated self-imposed limitations.

5. Expect failure.  Failure is an inevitable stop on the road to success.  And even in the midst of success, you’ll still fail-get used to it.  Fact is, I still fail-all the time.  The difference is that winners simply keep trying until they succeed, while the majority just give up and fade away.

6. Expect success.  Contradictory to the above statement?  Nope.  I KNOW I will succeed in everything I do and I expect to do so.  I also know that I may have to fail several times first.

7. “Take action” is my new motto.  If you’re not actively “doing” something to change your circumstances, then I’m not interested in hearing your complaints about those circumstances.

8. Being a complainer is still perhaps the most annoying, unattractive character trait.

9. Email is the biggest time-drainer in the world.

10. Short duration, high-frequency training is the most effective way to build muscle.

11. The only thing that matters with regards to overtraining is avoiding central nervous system burn out.

12. Motivation is the best way to assess central nervous system burnout.  If you’re motivated to train, forget about soreness and get your butt back in the gym.

13. Turning something “negative” into something loved is a special skill (i.e. Cheat Your Way Thin ;)

14. Friday Night Lights is the most underrated show on television.  Period.  If you’re not watching it, do yourself a huge favor and go buy every season on DVD.  Today.

15. It’s very hard for me to have a bad day when the sun is out.  Thus, I moved to Florida.

16. Relationships are the only thing that matter in life.  I could have every material possession in the world, but would be completely miserable without the interaction I share with so many “real” people on an every day basis.

17. 48 oz steaks have nothing on me.

18. Eating a healthy, big breakfast may be the most fundamental rule of weight control.

19. 99% of supplements are still bogus.

20. Vince Del Monte has the crappiest laptop in the world for someone who travels non-stop and runs an internet based business.

21. Do not call Craig Ballantyne.  Text or email only.  And if you mistakenly do call, do NOT leave a message.

22. Identifying problems and providing enjoyable solutions is a winning concept to build any business around.

23. Nothing could be more influential in one’s life than having a phenomenal mother.

24. Stay true to who you are and don’t allow past experiences to “harden” or change you-even if it means allowing yourself to be vulnerable (again).  You are an amazing person and someone equally as amazing will love you and treasure you for every single one of those traits (thank you Lisa).

25. Taste buds change. I used to hate salad and seafood; now I can’t get enough of either.  Try revisiting foods you once wrote off-you may be surprised.

26. On a similar note, sushi is actually really good.  Never in a million years would I have thought I would have liked that.

27. Surrounding yourself with and building strong relationships with other passionate, driven people are perhaps the best things you can do for your life.

28. No matter how far you move away, home is still home.

Sometimes you just have to trust your gut and go with it.

29. Find a very small, core group of people to network with and get input from regularly, and keep it small.  Too many opinions = confusion.  Find the “core” people you trust most, and turn to them often (thanks Vinny and Craig).

30. There are much more important things in life than work.  If your job controls your life, change that however you can, or simply find another job.

31. If you have a desire to work for yourself, GO for it full throttle.

32. 10 minutes well invested each day will give you hours of your life back each week dur to increased productivity (and a host of other benefits).  Binaural brain-beat technology (www.UltimateMindEnhancement.com) works; I can’t say enough good things about it.  If you do not own these CDs, buy them.  Right now.  They will change your life and I’ve been saying it for the last 8 months.

33. The “little things” continue to be the most important things of a relationship.

34. Dogs, like children, can be terribly annoying, but quickly become an irreplaceable part of your heart and family.

35. It’s better to spend the money for quality than to try to save a few hundred bucks when buying a flat screen TV for your living room.

36. Mentorship is a must for success.

37. You must be willing to invest in yourself.  The more money I spend to better certain areas of my life, the better those areas become.  WARNING:  This is only true if you are someone who “takes action”.  Spending money doesn’t equal results – taking action on your investments does.

38.  Intensity trumps everything.  You MUST at some point in your workout feel as though you are struggling to continue.  Otherwise, your workout is worthless.  There, I said it.

39. If you don’t have goals, you’ll never achieve anything.  Success just doesn’t “happen”; you need to plan toward something specific.

40. The Philadelphia Eagles will never win a Superbowl with Andy Reid as their coach.  I actually learned this about 5 years ago.

41. If Denzel Washington is in a movie, the movie will be good.

42. Certain books have the power to change your life, even for people who hate to read (i.e. me).  Stop being lazy and start reading (more).

43. Art is pretty cool-even the abstract stuff.  Some of it just flat out sucks, though.

44. People who are not taking steps to better themselves often project negativity onto those who are.  The underlying cause of negativity is almost always jealousy.

45. The more you give, the more you get.  I have straight up GIVEN away more information than ever before this year, and my business has grown exponentially because of it.

46. The mental component of body transformation is more important than the diet and exercise aspects by about ten fold.

47. Going out to dinner 5+ times per week is not only absurdly expensive, but also a fat loss nightmare.

48. The easiest way to stick to your diet while traveling is to go low-carb.

49. YOU are an incredible source of motivation and inspiration for me.  The comments on this blog, the emails I receive, and the opportunities I’ve had to meet quite a few of you in person have been an incredible reminder of the value of what I do, and more importantly, an undying source of inspiration for me to continue to push to be my best.

So there it is, 49 insights from 2009!  What did you learn this year?  Respond w/ at least one “insight” in the comments section below!

Talk to you in the comments section!

Joel