Hey!
I hope you are having an awesome day! As I’m writing this the weather is in the 60′s, the sun is out and the birds are chirping outside. It is so nice to know that winter might actually be behind us for good! So last post I told you a little bit more about myself and maybe told you some things that you might not have known about me. Well today I’m going to answer a question that I get ALL the time. And that question is….
Robby, why are you always SO happy?
This is actually a tough and easy question to answer at the same time. It’s tough because to be honest, I’ve almost always been
this way except for a few periods in my life. And because of this I usually think to myself “why wouldn’t someone be happy all the time?” I mean how cool is life? I mean sure there are ups and downs but overall life is such an awesome thing!
This question is also easy for me to answer because at this point in my life I’m doing what I love…I have an awesome career where I am able to make a difference in A LOT of people’s lives. I have been so blessed with some of the coolest clients anyone could ever ask for and there isn’t a day when I don’t look forward to seeing them and working out with them. I get to work for myself and make my own decisions in life and have lots of freedom and time to do what I want. While most of my friends are sitting behind a desk during the day, you can find me either at the gym working out or when the weathers nice, I’m out on the golf course. How could I not be happy?
I don’t mean to write this to try to impress you or to sound conceited…that is certainly not my goal with this post. My point is to show you what I’ve done to be happy and successful so that you can maybe use some of these tips to make YOUR life happier and more successful! Sure maybe you don’t want to own your own business or makes lots of money or whatever….but you can still make little changes that will go a long way towards making you a happier more successful person, in everything you do. So be sure to read this post and take ACTION in your life!
1. Exercise: Big surprise that this would be first on my list right? Well I didn’t put it first on my list because I’m a personal
trainer….but because it is SO important. If there is one thing that should be a top priority in your life, it should be your health. Working out and exercising is so beneficial in so many ways and not matter what your situation is, exercise WILL improve it. I know that by exercising, I literally changed the path of my life and transformed the person that I was into the confident person that I am today. If your one of my awesome bootcamp members, then you know how great it feels to exercise and the huge difference it makes. It’s a MUST to be happy.
2. Resistance is GOOD: One thing that I learned in life is that anytime I come up against some sort of resistance, I have two choices. I can give up and let the situation or circumstance get the best of me, or I can push through the resistance and come out stronger on the other side. When your working out, how to you get stronger and more fit? You increase the resistance! The more the resistance (say I made you do 25 burpees) the greater your fitness level becomes! Then when you look back a few months from now, those 25 burpees that may at one time seemed impossible to get past…are nothing! The same holds true in life…if something is coming up against you, push through it! When you come out on the other side, your going to be stronger and more successful and your going to laugh at yourself for thinking you couldn’t get through it.
3. Do something that scares you: Ok this may sound a little crazy…but it’s a great way to grow as a person and become happy! Is there something that scares you or your fearful of? For me there were a few things…the first thing being talking in front of a large group of people. I HATED it, could not, would not do it. I would shy away from talking to groups of people.
Finally, I knew if I wanted to Improve and be successful, I HAD to do it. So guess what? I did! Sure it was awful at first and I thought I might possible die or faint, but I pushed through it and made myself do it. Now I can honestly say that talking in front of people is nothing anymore, in fact…I enjoy it! If you let fear get in your way, you will never reach your full potential.
Remember….fear is False Evidence Appearing Real.
4. Get out of your comfort zone: This one goes along the same lines as doing something that scares you. I remember a few
years back I planned a trip to Argentina. It may seem like a normal thing at first to plan a trip. But I was going on this trip alone by myself. Oh and did I mention that this was the first time I had ever flown? Certainly out of my comfort zone but I can tell you that I am glad I did it. It’s human nature to resist change. We tend to get in a habit of doing something and it takes time and effort in order to break that habit. Why do you think I constantly change up workouts on my clients…because change is good! Instead of letting yourself get used to something, do something else! If you’ve thought about sky diving…do it! Or if you’ve thought about wanting to pick up a new habit, do it! Just get out of the norm!
5. Invest in Yourself: This is a BIG key to my success and happiness. All too often we spend money on things that are pointless and don’t have a good ROI (return on investment). For example our cable bill. Sure we get hundreds of awesome channels in High Definition, (I mean watching a cooking show in high definition is obviously a top priority) but how is that improving ourselves?
If I have a certain goal in mind, say I want to make more money or I want to learn how to improve my golf game…I invest in products that show me how to do it. If you want to have a better marriage, invest in books and things that show you how to have a better marriage. This applies with everything. Recently I wanted to get ready for my trip to Brazil this summer, so I figured that if I’m going to have a more enjoyable time, I should probably know Portuguese. So what did I do? I invested in a Rosetta Stone course and now I’m learning Brazilian Portuguese. Sure things like this cost money, but by investing in yourself, your going to be a happier person and become successful because your always learning and always improving.
6. Stay In Motion: I think it was Sir Issac Newton that once said “an object in motion tends to stay in motion.” This is such a true statement. If you have a goal in mind and want to get to it, do something! Sure it may just be a little step at a time, but eventually your going to reach your goal. What’s the best way to lose 50lbs? Well start at losing 1 lb first because you can’t lose 50 until you lose 1lb, then 2lb and so on and so on. If you have a goal and aren’t sure exactly how to get there…just do something and you’ll be building momentum and things will start to fall in place. When I started my bootcamp business….I didn’t know the first thing about running a bootcamp, but I knew I wanted to do it. So what did I do? I went to several facilities asking to start a bootcamp. When they asked if I knew how to run one..I said “yes.” Once I found a location, I started to advertise. Did I know how to advertise? No. But I did what I knew and kept the momentum. Now I run one of the largest most successful bootcamps in the area and why? Because I stayed in motion.
7. The 90/10 Rule: Bedros Keuilian, one of my business mentors, has always talked about the 90/10 rule and I even think it may have changed to the 95/5 rule. Essentially when it comes to running a business…spend 90% of your time ON your business and 10% In your business. What this means is that 90% of your time should be focused on things that will grow your business and 10% of your time doing things that maintain your business because most often than not, tasks that maintain your business can be outsourced. Why is it that I don’t do my own accounting and hire an accountant? The reason is that if I spend time doing my own books, then that is taking time away from doing things that make money and grow my business. Why stress about doing things I hate such as accounting or building websites or sending out letters when I could be doing things I love like networking or writing articles or coming up with new marketing ideas.
You might say “cool Robby, but I don’t own a business.” Well you can apply the same rule to your own life with whatever you want. For example use the 90/10 rule with your kids. If you want to spend more time with your kids spend 90% of your time on things that will get you closer to your kids and 10% on things that won’t. If cleaning your house is taking up too much time and that’s taking you away from spending more time with your children then outsource and hire a cleaner. Sure it costs a little bit of money…but remember Time IS Money! And I’m sure you’ll probably find that when you apply this rule to your life, your going to find that you actually have more money and more time and your more happy. Outsource what you don’t like to do and invest in what you do like to do. Pretty Simple.
8. Say no to time vampires: This is another tip that is going to save you so much time and effort in your life. What are you doing in life that just simple wastes time and gets nothing done? In other words, what is literally sucking time away from your
day? For me it was emailing and making phone calls. I run a pretty successful business (at least I think so) and I am constantly getting emails from clients and phone calls from potential clients, etc. When I first started my business, the moment a email came in, I’d answer it. If my phone rang, I’d drop everything I was doing and answer it.
Do you know how much time this wastes?!?!?
Let me tell you, tons! So I decided to make a change and try something. Now I only check my email once a day, usually at night or first thing in the morning. The rest of the day unless it is an emergency or I’m literally doing nothing else, I don’t answer until my designated time. The same goes with phone calls. I’ve found that if someone has something important to ask or talk about, they will leave a message. If they don’t leave a message, it probably wasn’t important enough for me to drop what I was doing and answer. At first when I tried this I thought that I was going to cripple my business, but guess what? My business hasn’t gone down, in fact it’s picked up. People know that I will answer them eventually, just on my time. I now have more time than ever and I’m less stressed because I don’t feel I have to be consistently “plugged in.” Try this with your life and see how big of a difference it will make for you.
9. Think Positive: Have you ever been around someone who is constantly negative? I know I have and it sucks! I always feel when I’m around a negative person that after talking to them, I feel depressed and down in the dumps! Or how about the person who constantly says “I feel like I’m getting sick, I feel like I’m getting sick?” And of course what happens? They get sick! If you want to be a happy person and be successful in whatever it is you want to do in life, you need to be positive! Remember if you don’t think you can do something, you won’t be able to! If you think you can do something or accomplish a goal, chances are if you actually believe in yourself, you’ll accomplish it. It seems that most people need a “check up from the neck up.” Essentially change your thought process and make a conscious decision to only associate in conversations and habits that will help to keep you positive and moving forward. More often than not, negative thinking and gossip will either keep you idle or send you a few steps back, for no reason!
10. Listen to Bob Marley: I mean c’mon, after listening to songs by Bob Marley how could you not feel relaxed and happier! If I’m stressed about something or I’m having a rare bad day, I just put on some Bob Marley and I feel much better.
11. Take a Risk: I remember when I first told my dad that I wanted to start my own business…he thought I was a little crazy. See, I already had a good landscaping job while I was in college. But I knew that I wanted to make more of myself. I didn’t know much about business but I knew that it’s what I wanted to do. So I put my neck out on the line and accomplished my goal. I have always took risks on a consistent basis because that is one of the best ways to grow. When I opened my studio back in November it was a risk. I had to find a location fast and had only two weeks to get it up and running because if I didn’t then I wouldn’t be able to pay my bills and maintain the way I was living. Sure I could have just packed it up and given up, but I decided to take a risk because I believed in myself and what I wanted to get done. And now look at where I am in just 6 months, with my bootcamp more than twice the size it was when I first started.
The same holds true with you. Maybe you have a goal in mind or what to get something done and it seems risky. Just remember that the most successful people in life took a chance on themselves at one point because they knew that they wanted to do it and needed to do it. The key to remember is to be 110% in and don’t look back. Chances are when you take a calculated risk and just jump in you’ll come out on the other side happier and more successful than ever.
12. Do something that makes you happy: One thing that has always been important to me is a nice car. I have always been a big car guy and to me having a nice car makes me happy and brings joy to me. I am always driving for me having something that I enjoy driving is important and keeps me happy! Maybe it’s not a car for you, maybe it’s a new dress. If that new dress makes you feel awesome and happy, then get it! Or maybe it is getting a haircut or buying a new pair of socks…the point is to spoil yourself once in a while and get something you like not because it’s something you need, it’s something you want. If getting that one things makes your day better and more enjoyable, than I’m all for it.
I have been so blessed to be in such a great position in life at such a young age. Sure I have had some great breaks in life but overall, I have a great life because I took action and made the life I want. Nothing was handed to me and I didn’t wait around for it to happen, I am constantly making it happen. No matter what it is that you want in life, whether it is success or happiness or both, you gotta take action and get after what it is you want. When you work hard at something, you’ll get it…and then you’ll be happy, I promise!