Time’s Up! Are You a Professional or an Amateur?

“This isn’t the stage we want to set going into our 40’s…”

Robb Wolf said this to me in early 2010 during a phone consult. These words stuck with me. At the time, I was 38 and Robb was 39 (I think). Back then, I was still living in my too big house with the two mortgages, stressed out of my mind and sick with adrenal fatigue and digestive issues galore. (You can read more about my personal journey to Paleo here…)

In a few weeks, I’ll be 40. I don’t get too hung up on age. Particularly because I plan to live to 120 (Seriously, I do.). But the 40s thing and Robb’s ominous words do have me thinking. I think this is the point where you either go in one direction or the other. As in, you either become that seemingly “ageless” person who doesn’t look, act, think or perform with any regard or respect for their age or society’s ideas of what people that age can do, or you go along with the mainstream media and the medical establishment and everyone else and start down a road of diminished function, misery, prescriptions, falls and broken hips and senility.

Do I feel 40? No… And, yes…

Actually, I feel young and vital and nowhere near 40.

Usually…

Other times, I feel old and exhausted and like I can’t take another second of any of this digital age and all the distraction and stimulation (There’s more on digital distraction and how to deal with it here…).

But, I’m not going to get hung up on my age or anything else. Randy Coture turned 49 this past month and he seems to be in OK shape 🙂 My Jiu Jitsu teacher’s teacher, Roy Harris, is 50 this year. He moves OK for an old guy 🙂

What’s cool about Roy Harris is that he’s evolved his whole game so that it works for someone who isn’t 22 and a gifted athlete. His strategy and technique is so refined that he can move slow and he doesn’t need a lot of speed or explosive strength. Not that he doesn’t have either, he just doesn’t rely on either because there’s always someone stronger and faster. But smarter and more aware of the infinite, subtle details is a game you can continue to improve with age – that game has no limitations.

Roy has told us that he loves rolling with the young explosive “studs.” Roy’s Jiu Jitsu is so good and so refined that he can just let them explode and push and power and work for as long as they want – which isn’t very long no matter what kind of shape they’re in. While they work, Roy doesn’t do much. Once he feels them get tired and start to breathe heavy, he goes to work nice and calmly at his own pace and does what he wants with them. That’s experience and mastery… Every one of us who’s rolled with Roy at Modern Self-Defense says the same thing – it’s like wrestling with a giant python with mind reading capabilities…

But, You Still Have to Work…

When you’re in your 20’s and early 30’s, you feel like you still have time. With the arrival of 40, I don’t feel like I have time to fuck around anymore. I have plenty of time to do everything I want to do – the writing I want to do, the books I want to create, the ideas I want to put out into the world, the training I want to do… But I DON’T have time to WASTE. I know what I want and I know where I want to go and I don’t have another year or 3 or 5 or 10 for excuses and halfhearted attempts and schedules so full of “everything” that nothing ever gets done.

Time’s up! It’s either time to put up or shut up and get some Depends and call Wilfred Brimley to set up automatic delivery of your diabetes supplies. And, don’t forget your oatmeal…

What’s Not Working…

So, this is all great. I know what I want and I know how to get it and I’m still young enough to actually do it.

So, what’s the problem? What’s not working?

What’s not working is me. I mean, I’m working my ass off, but I’m not getting where I want to go necessarily. I’m doing too many “urgent” things and not enough of the important things that are all too easy to let slide.

In fact, if you read “The War of Art” and “Turning Pro” by Steven Pressfield, you’ll learn that we are naturally prone to let the really important non-urgent things slide. It’s a lot easier to put off writing a blog post or a book or an article and check your email or your Facebook status again for the hundredth time that hour. It’s easier to deal with all the emergencies that blow up in the moment than it is to get to a Jiu Jitsu class or get your next workout in or to write another section in your next book.

Pressfield will tell you that this is where the amateurs are separated from the professionals. Amateurs follow – and embrace – the distractions. Professionals “Do The Work” and “Turn Pro.”

Turning Pro…

Right now, I’m reading “Turning Pro” by Steven Pressfield. It’s a great book that’s brought a ton of value to me already – and I’m not even halfway through it! Steven’s main point is that we need to “turn pro” if we’re going to stop messing around and actually create the things we want to create in our lives and in the world.

So, thanks to Steven’s work I’m “Turning Pro.” I’m going to treat my writing and my training as a professional would…

 

I Was a Pro Once Before…

Way back in my bodybuilding days I was a “pro.” Not really, but I had the mindset of a pro. The best training of my life and the best shape of my life came after about 6 months of focused training for the very first EAS Transformation Challenge back in 1996. What’s funny is that I didn’t even give a shit about the car! I wanted the exposure and the sponsorship and the privilege to be able to train full time as my job. I actually said if I won I wouldn’t go back to school the next year and would start competing.

Of course, I didn’t win the contest and Muscle Media 2000 and Ol’ Bill Phillips turned out to be a little different than we all had thought and hoped, but that time really taught me some things – and it is STILL teaching me things. Back then, I was treating every workout, every run, every meal and every supplement purchase as a career building event. Every night I was focused on getting a perfect night sleep. My workouts started the night before as I reviewed my training journal and read up on a few things that I thought would be useful for the next day’s workout.

My whole “deal” was training back then. I lived it. I truly believed with everything I had that I could win that contest and get the endorsement contract. I didn’t know it at the time, but THIS is what Steven Pressfield means by “Turning Pro.”

Building a Boring, Uneventful Life…

The past few years I’ve been working really hard to have a boring and uneventful life. I’m most happy and productive when I have long stretches of uninterrupted time with nothing to do but work out and write and rest and read a good book about writing or training. I’m most miserable and unproductive when I’m running around putting out fires and “managing” my time and my commitments and trying to do “everything.” You can define “everything” in this context as pretty much anything that doesn’t matter in the long run and has nothing to do with any of the important goals in your life.

If A Blogger Never Blogs, Do You Hear Him?

That’s a play on that Zen riddle about if a tree falls on a bear shitting in the woods and no one is around… Or something like that… But, what do you call a writer who never writes? Or a Paleo blogger who’s so stressed by social media, email and digital stimulation he’s on a 24/7 cortisol ride? What about a supposed athlete who isn’t anywhere near his potential – regardless of age.

It’s time to do the f’ing work!

From Here on Out, I’m Doing The Work…

Enough is enough. I’m going to get to work.

Here are my goals:

Write

I’m a writer. Writers write. I’ll write every day from here on out. Early in the morning. I can currently knock out 1000 words or so before 10am. Blogger Chris Brogan says he does about 4000 words a day. He jokingly states his occupation as “Typist” when he fills in the “Hello My Name Is” card at conferences. I want to be a typist like Chris…

And I’ll write offline. Yeah, offline. I’ll copy and past my finished work to the text editor on my blog. No more writing with an open browser and internet connection.

And, I’ll write more Paleo health books this coming year. I have 5 outlined right now. FIVE. Those outlines need to become finished books. And they will.

Train

My good friend Merle just opened CrossFit Ironworks in Higganum, CT and I’ve committed to training there and joining that community. That begins in earnest tomorrow. I’m also hitting BJJ twice a week and getting a run as weather permits. Yoga and/or meditation will happen daily. I’ll get my next belt in BJJ next summer (2013) when Roy Harris is here for his yearly visit.

And, Not Much Else…

The two major goals above are going to take precedence over EVERYTHING else… That’s it. No more messing around. It happens now.

The Futility of Goals and Timelines…

In the above goals you might notice something that contradicts what virtually everyone tells you about how to do goals. My goals above aren’t highly specific and they don’t have definite timelines or other metrics behind them for the most part.

Here’s Why:

The epiphany I got from Steven Pressfield’s work is that showing up and doing the work is most important. And, that’s also what I’m the worst at. So, rather than making huge goals with aggressive timelines and all this other hoopla, I’m setting goals that are little more than just showing up and doing the work. If I get the days and the hours right, I’ll get the months and years right…

So, this time I’m setting the tiny, daily goals and letting them take me where they will. We can all set every hyper-ambitious long-term goal in the world, but without daily action it won’t mean shit – no matter how many times you positively affirm it to yourself…

How About You?

What goals are you procrastinating on? Where can you be “showing up” and getting the work done where you’re not right now? Leave a comment and let me know where you’re going to start focusing and doing your own work on the stuff that’s important to you…

What do you need to “Turn Pro” at to get what you want and achieve your full potential?

ttys

Adam

Here’s a Bonus…

This is a great video my friend Bob shared with me. The guy’s name is Owen Cook and he’s a “dating coach” from the genre of “Pickup Artists” in the book “The Game” by Neil Strauss. Owen is one of the top coaches in the world and he’s also an extremely intelligent and successful guy. In this video, he digs deep into the topics of success and consistency as it relates to him losing over 70 pounds, running his company, perfecting his craft and, well, getting laid… It’s mostly about the former three though 🙂 Thanks, Bob…

 

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