I love learning new ways to be productive and perform at higher levels. For me, it’s how much ROI can I get out of the time I’ve been provided each day. A few productivity hacks that make a big difference in my day include:

1. Eliminate distractions - I recently removed all social media from my phone. Not saying it will stay like that forever, but I needed to take a break as it was too easy to waste a few minutes here and there looking at social media. Instead, I have dedicated devices for entertainment such as my iPad.
2. Schedule habits - I find time blocking super helpful and then I stay committed to the time I schedule. I also use a pomodoro counter to get ultra focused to take on tasks.
3. Leverage systems - For everything I want a meaningful outcome in life, I have systems. A system for my health and fitness, a system for my business, system for my faith, everything. Once you have a system that you know works, just follow it consistently.
4. Plan your day the night before - My nighttime routine involves planning the following day. I schedule the big rocks first and work all the smaller less important things around them. If I don’t have a plan my day and everyone else tends to run me. I always want to be in the driver seat when it comes to my time.
5. Morning routine - Having a morning routine gets my day going on the right path. My morning routine includes waking up the same time, doing some reading, reading my grateful list, morning cup of coffee, morning exercise and quiet time to get renewed and refocused on what’s most important.

We can be successful and win in life, but it requires being intentional with our time and making the most of it.

I’ve learned failure is the key to success. The more you fail and don’t quit, the closer you are to breakthrough and succeeding in your goal. Here are 5 ways I am committed to handling failure and bouncing back stronger:

1. Embrace failure for what it is - Failure is a learning experience. The more I fail, the more I learn assuming that it’s an evaluated experience.
2. Stay outcome -focused - If you focus on the outcome and trust the system, results are inevitable. However, if you focus on the setbacks along the way, you’ll likely slow your journey.
3. Failure leads to growth - Having a growth mindset is an encouraging mindset. You are always learning and growing no matter what happens.
4. Have a mentor or coach - A mentor or coach can help you stay committed to the process that will produce the results you desire and normalize failure as a learning opportunity.
5. Show up to win - Never speak failure but speak winning. No matter what happened the day before, show up to win today and speak that it will happen.

Overall, I’ve learned failure can be my friend. It’s the best teaching experience and the more I fail, the more I know I’m on track to success. Most people may want to give up when they fail, but I think the willingness to push through and do the work is the great separator.

Eating healthy is something that I’m paying more attention to these days. In fact, my number one priority used to be lifting weights and then cardio. Now, it’s my sleep, diet, cardio and then lifting weights. I’ve often heard eating and sleep are 90% of of the game. Many people prioritize the gym, but don’t eat healthy. I’m not a nutritionist, but here are 5 quick and health snacks I am loving right now:

1. Protein Bars - I’ve made protein bars a regular part of my diet. I usually look for the organic ones high in protein and lower in carbs. Here is a favorite.
2. Protein Shakes - Protein shakes are a daily necessity for me. I don’t use them as a meal replacement, but to fuel energy and as another source of protein. Here is my go - to organic protein powder.
3. Celery and Almond Butter - Can’t beat some healthy vegetables with almond butter or peanut butter spread. I avoid anything with high sugar though. It’s always nice to include some cheese too.
4. Apple and Nuts - While there is natural sugar in an Apple or fruit, I love having a fruit choice such as an apple which can be a quick grab along with a handful of nuts.
5. Sprouted bread with almond butter - I’ve taken most bread out of my diet, but I will have a slice of sprouted bread with almond butter spread if I need a little extra during the day. Most of the time, I’ll have this option with three fried eggs in the morning.

There you go, my quick and health snacks right now. They aren’t too creative, but much better than going for chips or unhealthy carbs. I’ve noticed as I’ve shifted my diet to wiser food choices, my energy levels have improved too.

John C. Maxwell says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” I believe that is true and is my favorite leadership quote. You can see this in politics, family, business, and all areas of life. Leadership has always been interesting to me and in today’s post I share some thoughts about underrated qualities that are important to develop as a leader.

1. Serving - I believe in servant leadership. The style of leadership that I’ve adopted is to serve others and help them grow and achieve more. In doing so, the team achieves more.
2. Exampleship - How we carry ourselves as leaders doesn’t go unnoticed. I think of this quality related to parenting. Kids will do what they see more so than what they hear. Lead by your example.
3. Listening - Most leaders would agree with the importance of listening skills. People need to have a voice, and their ideas, concerns and overall feedback need to be heard. The leader brings the team together (culture), establishes the vision or destination and supports the work efforts, but it’s all the individual contributors playing each role to the best of their ability that make the difference. The leader needs to listen and understand what’s going taking place on the field and in the trenches of the work.
4. Discipline to grow - How can you add value to people if you’re not growing in value yourself? Growth takes discipline because it often involves sacrificing what we want to do for work we need to do. Growth is a work habit.
5. Rest - This is probably the most underrated in my opinion is getting adequate rest. Without rest no one can perform to their highest ability. If leaders are to perform, they need sleep and time to restore themselves. My goal is to show up every day with optimal performance in my work and for the people I work with. As a side note, I’ve recently prioritized my sleep and rest more and it’s made a difference in my mood and energy throughout the day.

Leadership isn’t easy, but it’s worth it because of the responsibility and impact we have on helping people succeed.

There is a saying that your net worth is equal to your network. There is also a saying that it’s not what you know but who that makes the difference. Here are 3 reasons networking is important to me:

1. It opens doors to opportunities - Networking opens opportunities to connect with like - minded people and people someone knows you perhaps you should also know. Most jobs and business opportunities are found through networking versus submitting a resume. With that, it’s always important to say hi to people and keep your options open. You never know where a conversation might lead.
2. It opens doors to opportunities to help others - Sometimes a conversation will lead to an opportunity to help someone else solve a problem based on who you know, or your skillset. Networking goes both ways in that you can help others move further along their journey. I think networking is circular in that way and can be seen as a giving and receiving experience.
3. It’s fun - Building networks is fun. You meet new people, and we are all relational. It’s an attribute humans are born with and we all have a need to connect and find our tribe. With networking, we’re fulfilling a deeper emotional need and in some ways, I think it can lead to improved health.

Overall, networking doesn’t have to be about business, although, that’s how it’s often thought about. Networking could be starting a conversation with someone at a local coffee shop, grocery store, and just living your life. In its simplest form, networking is about connecting with others.

Staying consistent with exercise or anything in life is a decision. You won’t always feel like going to the gym, but you go to the gym no matter what. Feelings are a terrible master because I often don’t feel like going to the gym, but I go to the gym because I’ve made the commitment to myself, and I have a bigger WHY in that I want to live a health life for myself and my family. Here are some simple tips I use to stay on track with the discipline of getting to the gym:

1. Make it convenient - I found a gym close to my house that takes me between 5 - 10 minutes by car. I can get to the gym quickly which minimizes my time to talk myself out of going.
2. I track my fitness - I track all my exercise, weight, etc. Doing so helps me on my grow plan. It also promotes ‘consistent’ behavior.
3. I have a daily 1-0 - At a minimum, I know what I’m going to do every day to achieve that 1-0 goal. Could be lifting weights, cardio, or both. My 1-0 enables me to measure my consistency overall. Did I hit it or not? How many days in a row have I hit my 1-0, etc.?
4. Create simple habits - I want to make sure it’s easy for me to follow through. As an example, I might set a time limit for lifting weights and know that I’m not extending past that time. Maybe I need to do two sets instead of three. The key is to make sure my commitment is simple enough to where I know I will follow through. Once I’m consistent, I can make it more challenging.
5. Adjust routines - Sometimes I need to adjust when I hit a plateau. This could mean I group certain exercises together, or change up days, or my routine entirely. It keeps it interesting, and I find that every few months, I need to make slight adjustments in my routine to keep it going.

My mindset is consistency is the victory, whether in the gym, business, family, or any area of life!

I love rest days and usually take one on Sundays if I had to pick a certain day. I’m also paying more attention to the importance of sleep to increase my performance in all areas of life, including the gym. Here are 4 reasons rest days are important to me:

1. No one can go 100% all the time. A rest day is good for physical health, but also mental health.
2. I believe in a biblical sabbath and taking a day of rest to recenter and refocus on God. It’s only because of Him I have the health to perform.
3. I believe rest has a compounding effect just like exercise. Overtime, the results are exponential and can perform at higher levels.
4. Rest days and periods provide time for muscle recovery and growth. I know that muscles need time to repair in order to hit new levels of growth. This is especially important if you hit weightlifting hard at the gym.

Two products I’m using related to recovery and rest are CBD cream and my Whoop. Whoop calculates measurements such as my sleep, recovery and overall strain. It helps me know when my body is ready to go or when I need to rest and recover. I also use a high-quality CBD cream to reduce muscle soreness from the gym and aid my recovery. Check out the links to both products to learn more.

My mindset in having a family budget is that it’s a tool for my wife and I to stay on the same page with our spending, our goals and for us to manage our money versus our money managing us. Here are 3 tips that work for me:

1. Have a budget - ‘You Need a Budget’ is a popular budgeting software program. As you know, I agree with the ‘need’ part no matter your financial situation. What company doesn’t have a budget? YNAB provides an automated way to track spending and maintain account balances. You can easily assign spending transactions to budget categories as well.
2. Flow with your budget - Plans can change and I believe you have to flow with them each month by moving money from category to category. There are always unexpected expenses as well, so you have to be willing to problem solve with the money you have versus mindless spending with a credit card. Overall, I just know our budget isn’t going to be perfect, so we adjust as we go.
3. Have a weekly meeting - This works well for my wife and me. We meet weekly for a few minutes to see how we’re doing. We make decisions together. We work on our financial goals together. We plan spending on fun things together. We have our own spending categories, but we manage all of our resources together. Together, we can accomplish more.

What works for you? Comment below and let me know!

If you’re interested in budget software, use this link to try YNAB free for a month and take control of your finances—gain clarity on your spending and focus on what truly matters!

I have been fortunate to get around a lot of high level and experienced entrepreneurs. To a certain extent, we’re all entrepreneurs in our respective fields or careers. As an example, we have to carve out our own personal brands, how we stand out, and the services we provide.

Here are a few things I’ve learned from being around qualified entrepreneurs based on their results as well as reading and listening to podcasts.

1. Have an outcome - I think you need to know where you’re going and stay outcome-focused. Choose the path, no matter the type of business, that will create the outcome you love and time, and then go do what you love.
2. Get a mentor - High level executives and most people who win have mentors. You need a mentor to provide perspective and help you navigate.
3. Develop a system - I learned a lot reading Atomic Habits by James Clear. Success is won or lost based on our daily habits and those habits make up a system that creates your outcome. Follow the system that produces the outcome you want.
4. Pay attention to your association - It’s been said you become an average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Choose your association wisely. Get around people who live the way you want to live and who build you up.
5. Be gritty - Failure is good. Fail until successful. Grittiness pushes past failure and keeps going until you achieve the outcome you desire.

I know there are many more keys to entrepreneurial success, but these are the first 5 that came to mind for me. I think they are success principles that are simple in concept (not always in application) that can be applied to all areas of life.

I think it’s a good idea to clean house and get rid of junk occasionally. It’s amazing how we accumulate over time. I think the same can be done with our finances. Here are some ways I clean out the junk, or cut unnecessary expenses:

1. Review subscriptions - It’s super easy to subscribe to memberships and subscriptions. I just ask if it’s something that is adding value to my life. Is there an ROI? If not, it’s gone.
2. Remove habits - One habit for me can be buying coffee. I often buy a coffee when meeting someone at Starbucks or when I’m out and about. This adds up depending on how many coffees I buy per week. So it’s a matter of evaluating where I have created these habits and changing them when they seem to be getting out of control.
3. Budgeting - The last way I cut unnecessary expenses is by updating our budget every month. My wife and I give every dollar a job so that eliminates most random purchases. There is an amount set aside for eating out, coffee, etc. and when it’s gone, we have to make a conscious decision to move money from another category (give something up) or stop spending. Our budget helps us stay on track towards our financial goals.

I’m a work in progress but here are a few ways my faith shapes my daily decisions.

1. I prioritize my time - God-first…daily devotion, prayer, reading my Bible, and time connecting with my family. This isn’t always easy as work competes for my time but my goal everyday is to be intentional with my time and prioritize what is most important.
2. My finances - I want to be the best stewards of my finances I can because I have an eternal perspective vs spending on short-term gratification. Ramsey Solutions, Crown Financial and Compass Financial are all organizations that have taught me a lot in this area.
3. Serving - I orient my life towards serving and servant leadership because that’s what Jesus did. My goal is to do this through my work, family and community.

I think the key is to be willing to fail, fail fast and evaluate the experience.

Fascinating and motivating insights!

Cristiano Ronaldo: ‘The World’s Best Footballer Like You’ve Never Seen Him Before’ (Whoop Podcast)

Also, get a free WHOOP 4.0 and one month of personalized fitness insights with my link—track your sleep, recovery, and performance like I do!

My favorite way to reduce stress is to get to the gym or go for a walk. Nothing beats exercise which helps me clear my thinking.

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most of the people currently acting as mentors aren’t having as dramatic an impact as they could because they’re too narrowly focused on career advancement instead of mentoring the whole person.

Propel Yourself to the Top 1%: 20 Rules for Uncommon Success in 2024 | Entrepreneur

What’s the enemy of growth? It’s comfort. This is why the 1% actively look for challenges that challenge them and push them beyond their comfort zones.