Success advice that applies to your fitness quest as well as every other area of your life.
1. Do whatever works, whatever is useful. Formulas and systems are helpful to provide structure and action plans. But if they become sacred cows and are followed even after they stop working, the system inhibits creativity and guarantees mediocrity. Do what works for you. Getting results is more important than blind loyalty to a “system” or “guru.”
2. There’s no failure, only feedback (results). As long as we are taking action in pursuit of our goals, we cannot “fail” – we simply produce results. It is up to us how we interpret those results. “Failure” can be valuable if you reframe it as feedback and a great learning experience. The only way you can really “fail” is if you quit. Keep after it, and keep learning.
3. Keep your plan flexible. The person with the most flexibility is the person with the greatest power. The person who believes there is only one way is the person who is the most limited.
4. Find out what works, and then keep doing more of it. If what you’re doing is not working – do something else! If what you’re doing is working, don’t second guess yourself – stay your course and do more of whatever is working – regardless of what anyone else tells you.
5. “The opposite of courage is not cowardice, it is conformity.” If you follow the herd, you’re going to have to step through a lot of manure. Have the strength and courage to trust in yourself and follow your own path.
6. Consistency is king. Even a super strategy will be sabotaged by inconsistency. It’s not what you do once in a while that counts; it’s what you do repeatedly day after day that counts.
7. Choose your friends wisely. You will become just like the people you spend the most time with. Get out of negative and draining relationships like you’d get out of a burning house. Avoid the “energy vampires.”</’p>
8. Compete with yourself and be the best YOU that you can be. Don’t try to be better than others, be better than you used to be. Success isn’t beating someone else. Success it is the satisfaction that comes from knowing you did the best you could with what you have.
9. Focus on what you want, not what you want to avoid. What you think about, talk about and focus upon is attracted to you. If you focus on what you don’t want, more of what you don’t want will be attracted into your life. As Thomas Troward wrote, “The law of flotation was not discovered by the contemplation of the sinking of things.”
10. To grow, you must step out of your comfort zone. The easiest thing for a human being to do is to stay with the familiar and to pull back into the safety of their circle of comfort. Nothing great was ever achieved by staying inside the comfort zone. All great advancements occur by stepping outside of your comfort zone.
11. Work hard and earn your just rewards. There’s no such thing as something for nothing. There will never be any scientific breakthrough or magic bullet that can replace hard work. Continuously seek more knowledge, increased efficiency and better ways to do things, but avoid the quick fix. You can have anything you want in life… just pay the price and it’s yours.
12. Balance stress & work with recovery. Stress and intense work are not bad things. They are essential for growth and advancement. Non-stop stress however, will ultimately cause a breakdown. Don’t be afraid to push yourself very, very hard, but balance that stress with rest, renewal and recovery.
This was a great refresher for me on some points you make in the book. I not only love your healthy approach to nutrition but I also thoroughly appreciate your focus on the mind-body-spirit connection. Only when these three are in harmony can we truly tap our unlimited potential in life. Your posts and e-mails are a great reminder of this! Thanks!!
HelloI am so glad that this blog is finally up and running.I would like to thank you for writing your book, it truely becomes a bible for life.Like Lara said this blog is a great refresher.Thanks
Coach,Your book was the catalyst that helped me to get from 240lbs and over 23% body fat down to 202lbs at about 11% body fat (I did loose some muscle after an ACL reconstruction surgery –Arrgh!) I am really glad to hear about this blog and I am even more excited to hear that you are thinking about podcasting! That would be really fantastic. There is a very real need for the kind of quality health/fitness/bodybuilding podcast you are sure to produce. Please start podcasting! The world needs to hear your message.Thank you so much,Jon
I agree, one of the things that attracted me to your book was your emphasis upon the whole person – that my mind/attitude is as critically important as my 45 minutes on the treadmill, and as important as eating properly. (Even though I never used them, I am also sick of the stupid B.S. advertisements out there, hawking pills and miracle fat loss crap. I was genuinely thrilled to discover someone who isn’t afraid to tell me the truth.)I am new to the Venuto philosophy, but up until I read your book, I had been exercising (spinning and running) for two years with only minimal effect: 30 pounds lost very quickly at first, but then I seriously plateaued with a remaining 30 pounds still to go, with a corresponding big sense of discouragement because I didn’t understand why I had stopped losing fat.Now I know! 1. I was eating wrong foods and only twice a day, and 2. I was doing no strength training, and 3. I hadn’t committed to a goal. Four weeks ago I started following Tom’s approach, and I immediately felt different, immediately started losing fat again. I haven’t gotten it completely together yet (still need to purchase a set of calipers and getting used to preparing food all the time) but my clothes are fitting differently already, and I am starting to see muscle definition where I never saw it before, even compared to when I was very light-weight (years ago I was a “skinny fat person” as Tom says.) Now I know that my weight back then of 110 lbs (I am 5’6″) was only because I had NO muscle, and now later in life, I am fighting hard to build it back. You have given me a road map and the best ideas I have ever had for losing fat, and in the process you have renewed my sense that I can do it.Thank you Tom!
Tom, I just have to tell you thank you for creating yet another awesome website. This is helpful as well as useful. I agree so much with these twelve facts and know that they’re true facts. So, thanks for rounding up all the important facts dealing with success, improvement, and progress to read and come back to time and time again. It’s so important.
Tom,Good to hear the idea about podcasting. You want feedback? Do it!I built your Venutoisms into a Widget (the one called Inspiration) that appears in the corner of the screen all day, to keep me focussed and ready for the evening’s workout.I started on BFFM in January, and the only problem I’m having is believing the results. At 6’5″, I’ve gone from 254 lbs at 22% BF to 246 lbs at 11.5%, and I’m still going strong and enjoying it all. Quite a challenge, finding clothes to fit properly here in the UK…Thanks, Tom.
Thankyou for appearing in my inbox this morning! It reminds me that I am not alone on this quest, of achieving a higher standard of living for myself and my family. Having returned from my brisk walk early on a cold, drizzling morning in Kalamunda, Western Australia, feeling refreshed and energized, it was a true pleasure to view another success story posted, and to have your continual words of encouragement, with your get out there and DO IT no nonsence attitude. Thankyou for being there!Cheers Yvette
How To Own These RulesTom’s rules are so critical to self-improvenent that we should internalize them–OWN them.You can do this by listing the rules on a small card, one line per rule. Carry the card for a week or so and every time you are forced to wait around for something or somebody, pull out the card and read the list. Try to memorize one keyword for each rule until you have all 12 keywords off by heart.Use the psycho-cybernetics approach that I describe on my Web site. (URL provided with my name.)Recall the keywords as you drop off to sleep. Don’t worry if you can’t remember all of them at first. Two or three should be enough to start. Develop images of yourself acting out the rules, at home, at work, in the gym, out shopping.When you are relaxed and ready to drop off to sleep, recall these images of yourself acting in ways that will lead to improved fitness and health, both mental and physical. This is your ‘dress rehearsal’ of successful living, where you see yourself as if in a movie, acting as if you have already achieved what you desire.See yourself doing all the things you desire, and you will believe you will succeed. See yourself slimmer, fitter, more muscular. See yourself more confident, friendly, outgoing. See yourself happy and healthy. Believe you will succeed, and you will do all the things necessary to succeed.Dr. Maxwell Maltz, who developed this technique revealed the keys to psycho-cybernetics: Desire, Imagination, Belief and TIME.It’s never too late!