Alright, here’s a reality that I am hyper aware of. Genetics. Do I have great or elite genetics? I most definitely do not. However, I think most people that aren’t well versed in diet, nutrition and proper exercise routines would guess that I do or did.
In fact, with most things in life including fitness I was a late bloomer. I started from the opposite end of being severely obese and out of shape. But in a year, I transformed my body, my mind, and my life. Not because of luck, and certainly not because of genetics, but because I simply knew what I wanted and I always work relentlessly in life to get what I want. I wanted more than anything else to lose that weight and be in shape. And my sanity and independence back.
Usually guys who work out will either develop severe vanity, or severe body dysmorphia. Usually the most narcissistic are the most insecure amongst them. However, this isn’t always the case as there is always someone who is at an elite level and well aware of it, but has the maturity of a six year old. Usually though the more elite level someone is then the more you can expect them to be humble and hypercritical — never on others but on themselves. Sometimes comments come from someone’s place of insecurity. You look better than them how is it possible? Therefore, they have to accuse you of taking steroids or other drugs. Either that or insult some perceived lagging muscle group. Or call you fatter than you are. Or smaller.
I gotta say I’m not a saint and I’ve battled my own doubts and demons too, but I never got into fitness to impress anyone else. I did it for the man in the mirror. It was all for me. No one else. And now I use that energy simply as a means to inspire others.
I have my own fitness goals beyond where I’m at now still despite losing 70 lbs (approx 31.8kg) and likewise strength goals. But I don’t workout for women or to impress other men. I hope it just shows that even if you’re starting from a rock bottom position (obesity) you can do a lot for your body and life in a year if you hyperfocus on it and keep at it consistently and with a lot of discipline. And take accountability and responsibility for your own life and progress. A typical fat person’s excuse is always oh it’s my genetics.
Look at my pictures and tell me I got great genetics especially from my starting point. Nah. It’s an excuse. Anybody can be lean and muscular. I prove that. That’s the point I try to make. Could care less about looking like some underwear model.
My transformation seems easy. Yet it required hyperfocus, brutal discipline, and consistent hard work. No shortcuts. No magic. Just showing up every day at the gym (usually at night) and pushing harder than the day (or night ;)) before. It wasn’t very glamorous — yet effective, and that’s exactly the point I want to make.
Anyone can be lean and muscular. Anyone can transform. But you have to want it badly enough to work for it every single day.
In the popular style of many 30 day or 60 day challenges. I am creating one here for my valued readers. These are all simple habits anyone can start doing at any time and anywhere. No matter who they are or what they know.
For the next 30 days, you will live by and seek to internalize these habits for increased discipline, health, fitness and financial success. As well as getting enough rest and sleeping properly.
Habit #1 – Wake up 4 hours earlier than usual
While these babies are sleeping…we are either getting fitter or smarter or richer.
Most people start their mornings before work, college, or whatever else is on the agenda by waking up an hour or two before their day starts. Someone who wakes up 4 hours earlier than usual (for a 9-to-5 lifestyle, that means 5 AM, and for an 8-to-4, that means 4 AM) gains an extra two hours of time.
The key here is that you gain time to actually wake up, plan your day, and get a workout in during the quietest part of your day. Of course, all while everyone else is still asleep and probably making excuses to skip it later. The day hasn’t even started, and they’ve already called it quits
Research shows that the brain is most alert during the first few hours of waking up. Early risers tend to be more focused and productive because they aren’t distracted by the events of the day. This is due to the circadian rhythm, which affects cognitive performance.
Early mornings allow for a calm period to reflect, meditate, workout, or plan your day, reducing stress before it builds up. Or before you run out of time to do them. Instead they’ve already been done because you got out of bed and got to work.
Achieving something early in the day, such as completing a workout, builds confidence and momentum.
By taking advantage of the quiet early morning hours, you can build discipline, improve your mood, and enhance productivity, all while achieving better results in the gym and in life.
Finding it hard to achieve: gradually wake up 15 minutes earlier each day until you’re at your target time. Use those early hours to focus on your biggest tasks, whether it’s self-development, working on your goals, or simply getting ahead in your work. Ensure you get at least 6.5 to 8 hours of sleep.
Habit #2 – Get 8 hours of sleep every night
No sleep, no gains.
While a lot of people may tell you that you don’t need sleep any bodybuilder or professional worth their weight in salt knows the value of a good night’s sleep. Ideally you want to hit 8 hours a night. If you are going to be waking up at 5am, then you are going to be in bed at 9pm and certainly no later than 11pm.
Establish a consistent bedtime and stick to it. Avoid screens and big meals before bed. Make sure your sleeping environment is dark, cool, and quiet. Prioritize sleep over late-night distractions.
In other words, your phone, laptop and other gadget’s don’t go to bed with you.
Quality sleep benefits your cognition, improves your memory, and improves decision making abilities. Sleep is especially important for those working out or recovering from physical strain, or illness. Sufficient sleep helps regulate mood and emotions, therefore, decreasing anxiety and irritability.
Sleep regulates important hormones, including cortisol (stress hormone) and ghrelin (hunger hormone) all of which will affect your health and body composition.
Habit #3 – Complete a to-do list with at least 5 tasks daily
Every night, 15 to 20 minutes before bed you are going to take out a notepad and a pen. And you are going to write down 5 to 10 tasks that you can realistically accomplish and that need to be done or are even overdo already. No more procrastinating and no more bullshitting yourself. This is a solid but simple system for staying accountable and making real progress. If you commit to this every night, you’ll be miles ahead in no time.
This nightly habit is a powerful accountability tool that helps you stay focused, productive, and disciplined. By writing down tasks each night, you create clarity, direction, and momentum for the next day.
Waking up with a plan prevents wasted time and energy on deciding what to do. While it’s important to be flexible sometimes being utterly fucking clueless about what you need to get done in a run of a day will compound into weeks, months and then years of wasted time. You can’t sulk about what time you already burned away but you can recapture the time you have left. And most importantly no one is guaranteed any amount of time. Every second, every minute and every hour counts.
Priotizing what matters in life and needs to be done and then spending the day ahead doing them is powerful. No other word suffices. Only a powerful man or woman does that. They decide on what needs to be done no matter how big or small, write it down and they go about it task by task.
Do the most important tasks first and that means especially the ones you dread, the ones you hate and the ones you have been putting off for days, weeks or even years.
Knowing what you need to do fuels motivation, builds discipline and gives you purpose. Achieving them gives you confidence and life experience. And small positive habits compound over time.
30 minutes a day for a year is:
1 year = 182.5 hours (7.6 full days)
5 years = 912.5 hours (38 full days)
That’s over a month of nonstop work in five years.
If applied to skill-building, fitness, or personal growth, this compounds into mastery and transformation over time. Small, consistent efforts lead to massive long-term results.
Writing things down will give you more mental clarity and structure. Doing them will build confidence and long term results with even consistent small efforts.
Habit #4 – Answer yes or no without hesitation
A man of inaction is universally resented by most types of people. He can’t decide what he wants in life and doesn’t have the backbone to say no to the things he doesn’t want too. Instead, there has to be some sort of excuse given or reason given if he doesn’t want too. Or failing that he just says “yes”, does it, and isn’t satisfied.
Next time someone asks you a “yes”, or “no” question the answer from now on is a “yes”, or “no”. Without giving an explanation unless absolutely necessary. And when one is given it is a simple direct sentence.
Boundaries and limits are important to set. While compromise can be a part of life, it doesn’t mean being a doormat or a passive non agent in life. When someone asks you to do something you do not want to do then you are going to tell them: “no”. On the other end, you say “yes” if it is something you actually want to do. There is no more maybes. No more excuses. No more white lies.
“No I don’t want to do that.”
Or
“Yes, I can do that for you.”
Your time is money. Don’t waste it letting others make your decisions for you and how to spend your time. Live with no excuses and no hesitation. You want it, it’s a yes and if you don’t then it’s a no. Simple.
Habit #5 – Always carry a notebook and pen
Genius can strike at any opportunity. So can ideas, thoughts, feelings, and anything else that pops into mind. If you don’t want to lose track of that momentum or line of thought then it’s best to write it down as soon as it comes to you. Even if in a short hand, messy, and jotted down format.
Get in the habit of writing things down as soon as they come to mind. Whether it’s a new idea, a task to remember, or something you want to explore later.
Ideas come when you least expect them. If you’re not ready to capture them, you’ll lose them. Your notebook is your tool for staying on top of your thoughts.
In today’s world everybody has a smart phone and usually that has some sort of notepad app or way to text or message yourself even. Use that time wasting doom scrolling gadget that keeps you up all night on pornhub for some good for once. Even that is a start.
In the military we were taught to always have a pen and paper to write things down. A notebook we could carry in our breast pocket and something to write in it.
From now on you are going to copy this lesson from the military school of life and write down any ideas that randomly pop into your mind. In addition to that you have a handy way to easily take down anyone’s contact information and other information. That doesn’t need a battery or plug in. And isn’t on cloud storage.
Habit #6 – Eat no more than 3 meals a day, no snacking
Assuming you don’t have any issues with your blood sugar and you aren’t burning over 2500-3000 calories a day doing cardio, then snacking is something that can add in excess calories and lead to excess unfavorable weight gain.
Calorie wise and macro wise it does not matter how you get your calories in or meet your macros as long as you reach your set goals. However, restricting or moderating snacking will help you further reach those goals.
Too many meals and snacks throw your energy off. Stick to eating 2 or 3 meals a day, and avoid snacking in between. Give your body time to digest and reset. Try intermittent fasting by eating lunch and dinner, but skipping breakfast.
Habit #7 – Do something every day that moves you closer to your goal
Every single day you should be working towards your main goal or goals in life. Towards your dream. Achieving the goal physique, goal career or business you want, the relationships you want to have with people socially and romantically, and whatever else you have set your mind too.
Too many people see only results and not the work that went in. They say it’s all gotta be luck, circumstances, genetics, and so forth. They are only spinning their weeks by going to the gym to look the same as they did last week, last month and last year. Likewise working the same dead end jobs with no room for promotion or growth.
If you don’t like the life you have then it’s time to stop being a crybaby, or lazy and time to get to work.
Final Words
These seven habits separate the disciplined from the average. Waking up early, prioritizing rest, staying organized, making decisive choices, capturing ideas, eating with intention, and taking daily action all lead to a stronger, more successful life. Master these habits, and you’ll gain an edge most people will never have.
