In order to change the world, we must first change ourselves. Truer words have never been spoken.

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This is one of the only formulas I follow in life. If you are tired of getting the same results over and over again, think of changing your view of what you are doing or the world. I promise you that this will yield you a drastically different life. I will give you a personal example. For the longest time, I used to have a big issue with trusting my gut instinct. And because of that, I would talk myself out or into situations where the results were disastrous. I knew that I wanted to change my behavior, but knowing really doesn’t get you anywhere. You have to change. You have to change your view on your life to get different results. So what did I do? I started trusting myself. I started listening to the voice inside me called my gut. I still fall into the trap of talking myself out of my instinct sometimes, but I promise you it happens a lot less. On a quick side note…you will never fully transform yourself 100%. There will always be times when you fall back into something, but the important part is if you moral compass is pointing in the right direction. You will always perform your best when you accept that you will fail sometimes and you will make mistakes. Get back on the horse, restate your promises, and get back at it.

Opportunities will come your way when you are 100% authentic and real with people. I promise to you that if I have an absolutely awful day, I will write about it here. I know that it will come sometime, but recently things have been going great. If I don’t tell you about the bad days, how can you believe me when I write about the good days. Yesterday I almost threw up in the gym because I was working myself so hard. There is nothing wrong with that, it just means you are pushing yourself harder and harder and breaking your plateaus. I believe that finding the limits and crushing them is what makes you a champion. Not a champion over others, but a champion of your mind. I do not care if I lift more than other people in the gym. What I do care about is that I am lifting more than I was the week before. I do not believe in backtracking…and that is why I have a log book. I keep a log book always with me for my life too. When something comes up or if I have an idea…I write it down. You will be pleasantly surprised with how much creativity is running through your head when you have a method to record it.

I wanted to write shortly about something I saw the other day. I was doing a timed workout with a group of people, and this vivid image stuck with me. In the last 2 seconds of the workout, I looked over and saw a man struggling. He had his head on the floor and was sweating profusely. The trainer yelled out “3 more seconds!” And that man picked himself up, and did the last push up he could possibly do in those last two seconds. He then collapsed on the floor in exhaustion. This memory for me has nothing to do with the workout. I couldn’t tell you what we did that day. But what I can tell you is that I watched someone who refused to never give it anything short of his best. There are moments when I think I am going to collapse in the gym and somehow push out 5 more reps. Those reps have nothing to do with not being tired enough, it has everything to do with your heart. If your heart is not strong, you will stop short of your goals. But if you are strong and have a purpose and a number in your mind, your body will find a way to achieve great things. That man in the gym reminded me that success is determined by getting up one more time than you fall down. You should continue to push yourself past what you think is possible…and if you fail you fail…but if you succeed…you have just grown. One of my favorite quotes is this: “The only reps you don’t grow from are the ones you don’t do.” – Greg Plitt.

On a final note, I have a nugget of advice for you. Put everything you have into every single task you do today. You may be exhausted at the end of the day, but you will be tired because you let it all hang out on the line today. Be proud of who you are.

Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project