1st of the month Workout

Happy 1st. Did you know:

"You could just as easily change your life today or on New Year's Day. Change is a matter of choice, not calendar." – Dan Kennedy

"You are responsible for exactly who, what, and where you are in life. That will be just as true this time next year." - Kekich Credo #58

With that in mind, we must march towards our big goals every day, taking action on the steps to success.

I was in the garage gym and, thanks to my rehab efforts over the past few days, was able to have a pain-free back and biceps workout.

Meathead City!

1A) DB Row
1B) Mobility

2A) DB Curl
2B) Ab Wheel

I'll do a second mobility session this afternoon.

Today's Kickbutt Mindset Tip:
It's not about the hour you get up, it's about what you do with the hours that you are up. #productivity

"It's time to stop being vague. If you wish to be an extraordinary person, if you wish to be wise, then you should explicitly identify the kind of person you aspire to become. Precisely describe the demeanor you want to adopt so that you may preserve it when you are by yourself or with other people." – Epictetus

Rock on all month long,

Craig Ballantyne

PS - I also wrote this crazy article...

Today's lesson comes from JayZ...

The man turned himself from drug dealer to $500 million man (he's probably worth even more).

Now listen, I don't condone what he did... or does.

But we can learn from him.

One of his secrets to success is "Controlling the Narrative".

Jay-Z was the one who controlled the narrative about the past by being open about it... rather than letting others discover his dirty laundry.

By controlling the narrative, he controlled the world's perspective about his past.

Jay-Z set the EXPECTATIONS for how the world would deal with him.

That's the lesson for you today...

CONTROL THE NARRATIVE and set the expectations for the world to deal with you.

For example, you must control the narrative about how people can expect to communicate with you.

Here's how...

.................... Use The 3-B System .......................

Many people let their clients, co-workers, and friends ping them, buzz them and contact them through multiple methods of communication...

...and you feel obligated to get back to them ASAP.

This causes stress because you do not have Control of the Communication Narrative.

Listen,
FB, IG, and even email should NOT be the mode of communication if someone needs you to see something before the end of the day.

If it's on FB, it's not urgent.
If it's on any social media, it's not urgent for YOU to deal with.
Even email is not an emergency.

Here's the 3-B system...

If it's not broken, bleeding, or burning, it can wait till tomorrow. Or at least several hours.

If it is bleeding, broken, or burning, then it gets communicated to me by PHONE.

And I make sure this is known to everyone that communicates with me.

Communication expectations are about "controlling the narrative".

You can dictate "Office Hours" ...

Remember those from college?

Your professor said, "You can visit me between 2-4pm every Thursday. Otherwise, I'm busy."

The professor controlled the narrative and set the expectations, and we were thrilled to even get a breadcrumb of their time.

That's what you need to do in your business. That's what we ALL need to do.

And you know who's great at that?

True Empire Builders... Like Warren Buffett, Oprah, and even Zuckerberg (who stays off technology for hours everyday... even while he schemes to get you more addicted!)

So how do you retake control of the narrative around communication?

The answer...

Flip the script so that people aren't disappointed that you are not checking FB every moment of the day...

...and get them excited to know that you'll be available for 30 minutes every day at __ o'clock.

Clearly communicate the narrative.

Be in control of when people can contact you.

This will allow you to make time for what matters.

Remember...

There are two types of people in the world:

1) Proactive people MAKE time for what matters and they are successful.

2) Reactive people who try to FIND time (and fail to do so) and end up struggling in life.

Jay-Z was PRO-active in controlling his narrative, in being the one in charge of his story, and thus, in charge of his future fate.

And you must be PRO-active in controlling your communication narrative, and if you do, you will also control your future fate, and have more success and less stress.

Now get after it and take CONTROL!