5 Things I learned from Todd Durkin

I had a chance to learn from some of the best strength coaches in the world this weekend and thought I would share some of the wealth.

1. Live Inspired.

In order to inspire others we need to commit ourselves to living inspired.

What is your "BIG 5"? What are the top five things that you want to achieve in life? What are five things you want to accomplish this year? Write them down, and read them everyday. It is easy to lose focus with all of the distractions that are available to us on a daily basis, remind yourself constantly of where you are, and where you are going to stay motivated. Give yourself some quiet time everyday for the purpose of inspiration; read, think, breathe without distraction.

2. Master your Craft.

What do you need to do to become the best at what you do? You need that clarity before you can achieve mastery. Invest in yourself! Read (leadership, personal growth, autobiographies, etc.), watch educational DVD's, attend conferences and mentorships, become part of a mastermind group. The money you spend will be earned back in abundance when you put this knowledge into practice. Be focused and always continue to hone your craft.

3. Be Tenacious!

What excites you? What scares you? Do those things!

This is taken directly from Todd: 100 senior citizens in nursing homes were polled about what they would do differently if they could do it all over again. These were the top three results: Laugh more, spend more time with loved ones, and take more risk.

Don't live with those regrets!

4. Conditioning

The two most important resources that we have are our physical energy and mental focus. Take the time to keep yourself fit and focused. Sleep, eat right, and exercise! It doesn't sound that hard, but most of us are not doing a good job of at least one or two of those things.

Sleep is undervalued, but of utmost importance. Deprivation has a negative effect on memory, learning, metabolism, weight, focus, mood, cardiovascular health, and immune function.

It is no harder to eat right than eat wrong. We all need to make better choices. To paraphrase Martin Rooney, "The most important meal that you eat is the next one". Sure it matters that you had a good breakfast but if you skip the next meal or make poor dietary choices you are canceling out good you would have otherwise done. Get some good meal momentum going!

5. Take Action!

"Action is like gas in the car; Without it, the care will not go." Here's Todd's $25,000 piece of advice:

Step 1. Every morning write a list of what needs to be done and prioritize them.
Step 2. DO THEM! (starting with the things that you don't like to do early in the day.


Create momentum in your life. As Todd says, "MOmentum is MO Happiness".

Steve.