The 3 Big Insights from the Training for Warriors Summit

Third week of October I flew to Charlotte, North Carolina to attend the first Training for Warriors Summit and be part of something very special alongside 60 other TFW affiliates from 7 countries, who came to learn, connect and grow “The Movement” together.

It was extra special for me as Martin asked me to speak at the event, specifically on how to run charity hurricanes to make a change in the community – help the less fortunate, while exposing the business and show how we change lives through fitness.

It was an honor and I’m grateful to be able to share my purpose and knowledge.

A big thank you to my friend Martin Rooney for that and everything else that I have learned, and continue to learn, from him (the above picture also shows how we solve any disagreements, real Tekken style).

I love speaking on this topic and I love acting on it even more (which worked out well because we are doing something BIG as the TFW Familia in 2014).

Being around Martin always gets me fired up and inspired to do more as it is. To be around another 60 motivated warriors that are on a mission to help this country change took it to a whole other level.

The experience was great on many levels, especially meeting great people and doing team building activities and delicious dinners with them.

World takeover talk and delicious food

Climbing ropes 25-30 feet above ground

Regardless of whether I’m speaking or not, I’m always a student when I go to any event. Sometimes the lessons come from reminders of things we already know but don’t do, sometimes its reminders of things we forgot, and sometimes its new insights and “A-HA” moments where you really get something that new that needs to be implemented.

Either way I’ve got my notepad out and writing lots, as you never know how an insight that you take action on can change your business, or even better – your life.

Plus, I always bring the knowledge back to my team and share as much of it as I can, as a big part of the reason I can travel, learn, speak and get better, is because I have an awesome team at Vigor Ground that takes care of business.

Two of the 12 pages of notes I had from the TFW Summit

#1. The Most Important Job; Being A COACH

This is easy to forget at times when we get busy but it’s something I get reminded constantly and take more seriously than ever.

When people ask me what I do, my answer is: “I change people’s self-esteem, I inspire and coach them to be a better person.”

Training is part of it. But there is more.

I’m a coach and coaches help people WIN.

I coach people to win in life and one of the factors is feeling, looking and performing great in their own bodies (this is a huge part of self-esteem).

We provide help, advice, support, guidance, assistance, and more.

Where is the lesson in this for you?

Everyone needs a coach and everyone should be a coach!

I have coaches in multiple areas of my life and it is truly the best thing I could have asked for. I sought out people that I look up to in a certain area and did whatever I needed to have them guide me.

To be a great coach you have to be coachable. You have to understand what your client is going through to better understand. The truth is that we ALL need them and no one has reached the limit of their success in any area of life (sometimes if you love where you are, it takes a coach to keep you grounded and staying successful).

Who can you be a coach to? What area of life?

If you have kids you are already a coach. Maybe it’s at work, taking someone under your wing and showing them the ropes and not making the same mistakes you did. Maybe it’s a training partner you have more knowledge than, and guide them because you had good results following a plan and become successful with it. Maybe it’s someone that has had a tough relationship and you are helping her or him get through a tough time.

There are so many different ways we can be a coach and positive influence in someone’s life.

If that is what you are consciously taking on then I recommend you also dig into becoming a better coach yourself, whether from a communication standpoint, leading from the front, becoming fitter and healthier, etc.

Coach and be coached. You will become better as a person and do more for yourself and the world. Period.

Coaching is a critical skill and we have to remember that even with advancing technology, fitness, sports performance, and anything else will require skin-to-skin contact. Information is not enough (there’s plenty of it yet we’re not necessarily in a better place just because of information).

#2. Your Life Will Not Be Measured By What You Got From The World, But What You Gave Back To It (Rooney Rule)

I wake up with this on my mind daily but I don’t think you can be reminded of it too much.

While I was at the Summit I realized that no matter how much I was giving, I was putting a limit on it. So my “A-HA” moment was to let the emergency brakes off when it comes to what I’m giving back to the world.

Whether it’s articles, videos, seminars and events, workshops, webinars, talking to someone and giving them a quick tip, taking the time to help someone out with a problem/frustration, charity events (doing more and doing it more often), and many-many more ways to give back to the world.

I look at every thing I do as giving back to the world.

Giving without the expectation of getting something in return.

Just creating massive goodwill!

While at the Summit when the “A-HA” hit me I thought why don’t we join forces and do an insanely huge charity project as the TFW Familia. At the end of my presentation I challenged everyone to come together and do a huge drive for 30 days next year. This is in the making and WILL happen in 2014. You’ll have to wait and see what it is...

I talk with my hands quite a bit...and passionate about being a Go-Giver

All you have to do is decide and go for it. It’s incredible how much people can do when they have a dream, put it on paper and make it a goal, then relentlessly chip away at it a day at a time until it’s a reality.

With that said, my challenge to you is to give back more.

It could be putting in more work or helping someone out at your workplace.

It could be helping with a charity.

Mentoring someone.

Putting out more content consistently, with a goal of solving their frustration.

Stick the phrase on your fridge and in front of your computer and let it be something that guides you and I promise you it won’t only improve the lives of others but YOUR life!

When you give people what they want you end up getting what you want.

#3. Don’t Get Bitter, Get Better.

Life is amazing.

Life is also tough at times.

There are so many things in a day that can get you down, from work, other people around you that are negative, things you have no influence over.

It keeps going.

I had a conversation with my good friend Rob King who was also speaking at the Summit and runs an incredible gym and program in Newfoundland, Canada called Heavyweights Training Center (he spoke on transformation contests as he does an incredible job...some tips to follow), and we were talking about how the higher you work to reach the more resistance and distractions there are, along with people trying to pull you down.

There was Sensai who challenged his students with a "task.”

He drew a line in the sand with a stick and asked his students to make the line smaller. They couldn’t modify the current line.

One student covered up some of the line with sand and made it smaller. This wasn't allowed as it modified the current line.

The students started getting frustrated and quitting as they kept trying to figure out how to shorten the line and make it smaller.

The Sensai finally gave in and took his stick and drew a longer line above the line that was already drawn....thus making the initial line smaller.

The moral of this story is don’t focus on the small things but rather focus on how you can improve. Don’t get bitter, get better.

Whatever it is that you have going on, don't waste too much energy on being bitter, rather put that energy into getting better!

I remind myself of this whenever I get upset and frustrated at people trying to pull me down, be negative or any obstacles and resistance that come my way.

Anytime “resistance” comes your way, remember it can go two ways:

1. You can get frustrated and focus on it, bringing you more and more down and getting you discouraged.
2. You can take that frustration and put that energy into getting better and moving ahead. This brings me back to one of my favorite quotes: “Action alleviates anxiety...but only 100% of the time.”

Be aware of it and then choose #2. This is always the right choice.

A couple more lessons...

Like I mentioned before, there was a lot of knowledge and wisdom dropped at the Summit and even though I wanted to keep it to three main things I took away, I can’t go without mentioning some great quotes and lessons that will help out.

-->Rob King mentioned something that resonated with me. It was to not have people say they “lost” xyz weight. When you lose something you want to get it back! How you phrase a word may mean unimportant but it’s powerful in your subconscious.

Rather than saying you lose weight, say you’re xyz pounds “lighter.” When you’re lighter it means you let go of something and you’re better off, you have let go of the weight on your shoulders. Change the words and see the difference it makes...

-->During Rob’s presentation he was talking about how strength empowers women, which is why lifting heavy is important. This is something I wholeheartedly believe in and why our ladies constantly set PR’s in lifts (also behind my belief of “get strong to get lean”, a Dan John quote). Rob then followed this up by a great statement:

“No one remembers your best set of battling ropes...but everyone remembers your best deadlift!”

-->The last thing is a Rooney Rule that really stood out as I go through some challenging times in my life (taking on a lot).

“If I’m going to ever be known for something great, then I have to take on the greatest challenge.”

Hopefully my insights gave you some “A-HA” moments of your own. Just make sure that you change something today and make it a habit, otherwise no knowledge or insight matters.

Just one thing, start with one thing.

To find out more about Training for Warriors go to www.TrainingForWarriors.com.