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4 Reasons Why Rest Days Are Just as Important as Workout Days
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:
- No one can go 100% all the time. A rest day is good for physical health, but also mental health.
- 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.
- I believe rest has a compounding effect just like exercise. Overtime, the results are exponential and can perform at higher levels.
- 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.
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3 Budgeting Tips That Actually Work for Me
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
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5 Pieces of Advice Every New Entrepreneur Should Hear
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.
- 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.
- Get a mentor - High level executives and most people who win have mentors. You need a mentor to provide perspective and help you navigate.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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3 Simple Strategies I Use to Cut Unnecessary Expenses
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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3 Ways My Faith Shapes My Daily Decisions
I’m a work in progress but here are a few ways my faith shapes my daily decisions.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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I think the key is to be willing to fail, fail fast and evaluate the experience.
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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!
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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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Great Mentors Focus on the Whole Person, Not Just Their Career
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.
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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.