Do you expect those weights to lift themselves?

I got that subject line from Jocko Willink, U.S. Navy Seal, retired. I’d like to share a book, What Color Is Your Parachute?, by Richard N. Bolles.

As my girlfriend just said to me, even if they could lift themselves, that wouldn’t do much for your physical fitness. Although I admit, that’d be cool to watch.

Richard Branson, Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey – they have only 24 hours in a day, just like you. Maybe you’re not a fan of these people. No worries. You still have only 24 hours in a day. How do you spend it? Let’s say…

  • 8 hrs · sleep

  • 9 hrs · work

  • 6 hrs · family

  • 1 hrs · personal – here’s your opportunity for growth

You’re tired? Well then don’t do it for yourself, but for those who depend on you. The real training begins when you’re tired. You can have excuses or results, but not both. As Jock Willink said, “Those weights ain’t gonna lift themselves.”

The book I want to share is by Richard N. Bolles. He has been revising his book every year for decades. I first read it five years ago. Despite its subtitle, it holds incredible utility for entrepreneurs, too.

There’s an exercise in the book on self-discovery, on writing out the answers to those big questions, like, “Who am I really?” I recommend writing that out, putting it on the wall, and revising it, which I do twice a year (January and July).

Be the author of your life. Don’t let anyone else hold the pen that writes your story.

As you begin to write, as you deliberately begin to give a more deliberate, physical form to your story, you become someone new in the process. And, as you publish it somewhere you see it, where it invites you to add more to it, you empower yourself to deliberately grow in the direction you want.

It’s worth it.

Semper,

Brian M. Delrosario