D.B.A.P.

I dare say this past weekend was the greatest weekend of my life. I was fortunate enough to spend the weekend at a seminar in New Jersey with some of the strength industry’s top names, along with some of the top businessmen of the last 18 months. I have emerged a new man, as did many others. This life-changing event included tears, laughter, standing ovations, man-crushes, bromances, bro-hugs, and so much testosterone and manliness that it spilled over into Hulk-A-Mania impersonation contest!

Due the highly sensitive nature of this event, no cameras, videos, cell phones or computers were allowed. I won’t be able to share everything with you, but there were some highlights that I can share to help you progress toward your best you. Here a few of those nuggets…

• Progress Not Perfection: I am as guilty as the next when it comes to this. I used to end ALL my emails with Pursue Perfection, knowing we would never get there. But that was part of the message – always be working to improve. But in focusing on perfection, we often lead ourselves to depression and disappointment when we see how far we have to travel forward. In some cases, it is actually beneficial to look back and realize just how much progress we have made. Where we you 1 year ago today? What were you doing? What have you done since then to get closer to your ultimate success? Hopefully you can look at your situation and realize just how much progress you’ve made in the last 6-12 months! If you can’t…it’s time to take action!

• I’m An Anteater: If you’re offended by the language, see the lesson below. You heard and seen the word before. Sometimes it just needs to be said. I must admit, that before this weekend, I’ve seen this picture numerous times and thought it was stupid. But when Paul Reddick provided the right context, this quickly became the most powerful picture I’ve ever seen. Stop worrying about what other people think. Be true to yourself. Embrace who you are and run with it. Fuck You. I’m An Anteater.
• Chandler Marchman: This guy is the ultimate “man’s man”. As you would expect, a man with those qualities doesn’t want anyone to suck at life. Nor does he want anyone to be a pussy. Hence, the birth of another gem from this weekend…”Don’t Be A Pussy.” (D.B.A.P.)
• Zach Even-Esh: You’re going to start to notice a theme here. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Be different. Be yourself.
• James “Smitty” Smith: Realize who is truly important to you and live your life for them. True fulfillment comes to those who honor the ones closest to them. This guy may be the most caring, genuine and compassionate man in the strength industry. Rock on Smitty!
• Don’t Park Illegally: A simple trip out for dinner turned into our very own Superbad experience where we got to chill with some local Law Enforcement! We “parallel” parked on the wrong side of the road, only to leave the restaurant and find a cop car sitting next to ours. Cop honks at us and waves us over, informing our driver that his Virginia vehicle has an expired registration. Apparently in NJ, unregistered cars are immediately towed, which left us stuck in the street with no ride back to the hotel. Did I mention this was late Friday night. As in the DMV is closed and we’ll only have a small window (8-12) to register a vehicle in Virginia while stranded temporarily in New Jersey? After spending some time with Officer X., we struck up a freindship and he offered to give escort us back to our hotel. During the whole event Officer X. encouraged us to document the proceedings with our cell phones. After we had video of the car being hoisted onto the tow truck, he proposed the idea to upload the video to YouTube or Facebook. At this point, we told him he was riding a YouTube legend and 1/2 of the Swole Patrol. Intrigued he instantly pulled up YouTube on his dashboard laptop and proceeded to watch the following video, while driving. I intentionally omitted the Officer’s name in case his supervisor sees that he was dismissing seatbelts (yes, he told us not to wear ours!) watching youtube videos while running red lights, and simply providing us with our own McLovin story. BTW, we got the car taken care Saturday and were able to return home without being trapped in New Jersey until Monday!