No one ever got to the top without fighting MANY battles and long journeys down countless roads, ALL of which were likely the "road less traveled".
I used to think I would NEVER be happy unless I left NJ and planted myself in California.
I was WRONG. I was missing what was right in front of me and I'm glad I finally saw "it".
The grass is NOT always greener on the other side. Often times we've got greatness awaiting us and you just need to take the first step towards seeing it, right on front of your face.
Living life on your own terms and being a SOUL Lifter is very much like being an artist or a surfer. You craft life into your own book of success, realizing YOU hold the pen and YOU write your own book of life. It's pretty darn powerful once you get the hang of this 🙂
But, don't worry, you'll slip along the way, we all do and will. It's those who can hold on tightly, regain composure and jump back up on our feet who continue to win.
Here's just a few short tips on what I've learned through my journey of being a depressed kid, unsure if I would wanna move on from one day to the next, to a guy who crafted a great life for himself, doing everything I've always dreamed about and the dream still continues, only now, a reality 🙂
Now it's your turn:
1) Focus on where you want to LIVE. Is there a place you've dreamed about living? A place that would make you feel ALIVE? Get out there and visit. When I was in my early 20s I hopped on a plane & spent 2 weeks in So Cal alone. It was an awesome adventure and got the ball rolling with regards to heading where I wanna live.
I always wanted to be by the beach ad being in So Cal made me realize I enjoyed that type of lifestyle even more. I wanted to be able to play as often as I did as a kid, riding my bike, hitting the beach, skate boarding and learning to surf.
The people were more laid back and seemed to be enjoying life a whole lot more than the crazies of central NJ.
So, when my wife and I saw a house for sale a few short minutes from the beach & we loved it, we put our house up for sale in less than 48 hrs.
That brings me to Tip # 2....
2) Find what you want and go for it. If you wait, someone else will have the guts to go for it. I've seen this with houses being bought, businesses being built and guys approaching hot girls.
No guts, NO glory.
3) Friends and Family. This is # 1. I'm not always great or even good at this part, but the bottom line is that you gotta love your friends and family and remember they are first.
If you dig deep, you realize that your real friends are those who stick by your side even when you f**k up and make mistakes. Same with family. I know it ain't easy, but I'm sure I'm not easy 100% of the time and neither are you.
Spend time with them & represent for them. Make them proud and think about your actions and how they will be affected by what you do or don't do.
It's likely we can count our REAL friends on one hand.
4) Do ONE productive thing a day towards your BIG goal. Sounds easy, but for some strange reason, people are frozen in one spot, still doing the same ol', same ol' for 4 years and haven't moved a bit. That's close to being dead.
Every day you need to take one step closer to your goal in life and lifting. Excellence is a daily action, not something you do a few days out of the week.
5) Integrity. I speak of this often and I see many people forgetting about integrity in life and / or business. In essence, this means NOT being a dick or an a**hole, not selling out and simply doing the things that are true to your heart and gut instincts.
Whatever it is you do, do your best, period. Nothing less will suffice.
I am approached on a frequent basis by someone or a group of people with money who would like to invest in The Underground Strength Gym, help me expand my gym, franchise it and make it more mainstream.
Who knows, maybe they came across my you tube videos one night while throwing down specialty beers and thought it would be cool to throw money at a meathead like me and start a cool "Underground Franchise" since their friends started Retro Fitness.
They got the wrong guy.
Trust me, it sounds cool, but, it doesn't align with my values whatsoever. Allowing anyone and everyone to train at my gym, franchising people around the world I never met now running their very own Underground....Kinda sounds like a nightmare to me.
The money would be nice, but this is where the REAL test comes in, will you do what you believe in your heart or will you let it slide for some money or short lived fame?
Think about it. The coolest Gold's Gym was the original. There will only be ONE original. They shoulda kept it that way!
5) Honesty. Honesty is similar to integrity, but with a few tweaks. I find LOTS of Coaches copying my web sites word for word. I've found some BIG names that you probably follow, who have copied my web site and when approached about it never said sorry. How nice.
Honesty means doing the right thing, even when no one is looking. If you want something, earn it, don't steal it.
6) Train for Strength. Train to become stronger, trust me, the size WILL come.
Becoming stronger is also quite the mental battle. It can take months and even years to add 10 lbs to the bar when you reach a certain point.
Keep digging deep and tweaking your training and nutrition to make the gains come. If the gains ain't comin', then you need to change something.
Drop your ego and learn from someone else. I recently picked up a book from Dan John, after 20 + years of training, I still LOVE to learn from other great coaches.
I need to get out of my own head every now and again, you might need to do the same as well to help you learn more as well as speed up your progress..
7) Follow someone else's program / Learn from others
Dan John said this and it REALLY struck a chord with me. When you've been training for a long time, it's a GOOD thing to follow someone else's program for at least 4 - 6 weeks. Go ahead, give it a shot. It WORKS and takes the guess work out of all the nonsense floating around out there.
If you're program isn't workin' then you're doin' something wrong and you need to LEARN.
Here are a few of my favorite programs for you to test drive:
8. Have FUN. Man, have we forgotten to do something SO simple as we "grow up". This goes for life AND training. I spoke about the importance of training the Gun Show. All these "functional training" articles cry about people doing curls, heck, I've been rockin' the gun show lately and my pull ups, push ups and dips are feelin' stronger than ever!
Today I went sleigh riding with my wife and kids. We got a lil' crazy and I was "ghetto snow boarding" while standing on a sleigh. Me and my buddies have whats called "Bros Day" where we meet up and do whatever we feel, usually some form of adventure or just plain ol' chillin.
If you're not having FUN then something is wrong.
If you're confused as to how to have fun or how to live your life with passion and integrity, ask yourself why you feel you were put on this earth? Be brutally honest and write the answer down.
When I was a teacher, the last few years seemed to be quite depressing. The teachers in my school never smiled anymore. If I walked into the faculty room during their lunch it was often they weren't even talking to each other.
The fun was lost and the seriousness was so high that it could slice through concrete. In turn, the teaching was serious and stale and less effective than when they were happy. I noticed how no one fought back, they just remained unhappy 5 days a week. I'm sure Sunday night was horrible as they knew they were going to a depressing place.
I refused to live that way because no good person deserves such a life. I didn't want to grow up and try to tell my kids to go for greatness unless I did so myself!
9) F**K the Haters 🙂 Not everyone is gonna love you, let alone like you. Many will be jealous and have 
hatred towards you. This comes with the territory when you go against the grain and stand for something.
The other option is for you to live a sheltered life and never speak your mind.
Who cares about the haters.
They sit home and WISH they could be great but because they have NO balls to do it themselves, so, in turn, they hate on others. They talk the talk because they are unable and unwilling to lead by example.
Remember, we need chicken shits like them because there is a food chain in this world, not just for animals, but humans as well.
When people hate on me, I smile and keep on keepin' on. In fact, I charge even harder. Because I KNOW that haters, dickheads and assholes can't slow me down. It reminds me they are on the bottom of the food chain, I am The Hunter, they, are the hunted.
It's a choice you need to make. Draw the line in the sand and never look back 🙂
Now it's your turn to kick ass.
Feel free to drop comments or questions below.
Peace!
--Z--
Recommended Resources:
35 Responses
Damn, Zach!!
I love you, Mister!! LOL.
Seriously. Keep telling it the way it is. I never get sick of hearing it.
xo
Jackie
Hi Zach,
Thanks for your writing, I’ve been following this blog for a while just not leaving any comments. Recently though I came across this article and thought you might like it:
http://www.mensjournal.com/everything-you-know-about-fitness-is-a-lie
Zach… bro,
I am speechless. You are the *^%&^$&^%$^&%$R&^$&^$&%$&% SHIT!
This part is gonna stay with me FOREVER:
“Whatever it is you do, do your best, period. Nothing less will suffice.
I am approached on a frequent basis by someone or a group of people with money who would like to invest in The Underground Strength Gym, help me expand my gym, franchise it and make it more mainstream.
Who knows, maybe they came across my you tube videos one night while throwing down specialty beers and thought it would be cool to throw money at a meathead like me and start a cool “Underground Franchise” since their friends started Retro Fitness.
They got the wrong guy.
Trust me, it sounds cool, but, it doesn’t align with my values whatsoever. Allowing anyone and everyone to train at my gym, franchising people around the world I never met now running their very own Underground….Kinda sounds like a nightmare to me.
The money would be nice, but this is where the REAL test comes in, will you do what you believe in your heart or will you let it slide for some money or short lived fame?
Think about it. The coolest Gold’s Gym was the original. There will only be ONE original. They shoulda kept it that way!”
I am coming to the States and I am going to live outside your gym till I learn and absorb everything you have to say like a &^%&&%^&! sponge.
From India,
Deep
HEAVY – Z
Serious shizzah!
Love this post!!
Hi Z
Love the post, have loved evey one since back in the old days when u had short hair and were ranting about sandbag training.
Massive respect Z
Awesome post Zach!
Good word! You speak my language!
Always a welcome reminder on the basics of this type of life. This was well put together. Something that could be read every morning. Thank you! Z
Killer post, Z! Integrity and honesty are two values often overlooked and unseen in today’s society. It is time we all ‘lead from the front’ and set the example for our clients, friends, co-workers, etc. So true about following someone else’s program! I started the Beast a few weeks ago and I’m getting ready to do month one workout two. Good stuff! Thanks for the Monday motivation!
Nice! Very inspirational, and a good reminder to go out and conquer! As they say “Carpe Diem”!
I hear you brother! I used to think I would love to live somewhere else until I found out the state park in my backyard was an old rock quarry. Nothing like miles of trails littered with stones to lift and carry!
HATERS! I had a pack of ‘friends’ in high school that I later caught up with after a stint in the Navy. While in the Nav I lifted a lot because I was not a drinker. Most of my time spent climbing the trails at Torre Pines, running beach sprints and lifting steel packed on some major size. After hooking up I came to realize that my ‘friends’ were telling people that I was saucing. Friends don’t do/say that s!?T!
I dropped them even though they continued their hating.
It’s bad when your mother asks you if you’re using because she heard it at work from a girlfriend of one of my ‘friends’.
I laughed and said they were jealous.
All my life I was told I couldn’t do things. Must be a target on my back! I was told I would stop training and wouldn’t do it forever. Well that was 15 years ago, and I am not stop anytime soon.
Damn the HATERS!
Well Z u did it again. I gotta say, and I’ve said this before, u always find some way to pick my head up outta the dirt when I feel like shit just isn’t going my way. Ur words are truly inspiring and I only hope that enough people can read these posts and learn something from them. U ever think about putting out a motivational product? Might b an avenue to check out. I know I’m not the only one who feels like ur a role model.
In strength
“it sounds cool, but, it doesn’t align with my values whatsoever.” very very good statement… thanks for this awesome post big Z, “the powerful sneezer” 😉
Great stuff Z!
I always love reading your thoughts!
Keep rolling!
Hey Zach;You have spoken a true INSPIRATION.I’ve had my share of ups and downs,like everyone else I suspect.The temperature was 17 below 0 here this am.Thanx for lighting the fire;TODAY IS THE DAY. WHO DARES WINS
Man Bruddah! This about sums up what I want to tell my boys for their life. Great article. Thanks.
Awesome article Zach, keep it up dude. These blog’s are very motivational and I have helped motivate some of true firebreather’s in my community to get their grind on, all through you! I drop your name and tell them to check out your blog, ALWAYS. Thanks!
I totally appreciate your honesty, integrity and passion! They are some of the biggest things that have kept me watching you for years…plus the entertainment factor! I love that you show that you don’t need some new gadget to shake to build up your arms, or whatever else they come up with to sell…pull a tractor tire! or bricks! or whatever you have around the garage or in the yard! You cut through the BS, and expect results! It makes me smile all the time! That is just what is needed…but not what everyone wants to hear! So many people stay where they are due to the excuses they amply provide. LOL! (Me included!) I’m not ready to come to your gym yet….but in a year, I will contact you!
In the meantime, thank you for the inspiration, and keep those videos coming!
Great post Zach
Zach, You are, with out a doubt, the ballsiest, take no prisoners, live and let die, walk the walk, eat my dust BAMF on the web! Really, dude, sound advice. You have inspired me with the truth, your discipline and fervor, and piss and vinegar attitude. The best thing about you, though is your INTEGRITY. Leaders lead, pussies get eaten!
Zach, bro, good stuff. As usual, your thoughts are inspiring and you’ve been the impetus to me turning my life around, man. This shit rings true as always.
You hit on the head with taking control of your life, going after what you want, and fuck the haters, liars, and cheats. I’m starting to collect my hater posse, so I must be doing something right! Thanks, and I’ll send’em your way!
Isaac
Great article Zach. You are always an inspiration my friend.
BIG Thanks for all the comments guys 🙂
Mr. Firebreather even commented, ha ha, awesome!
@Paul – damn dude, thanks, my head just inflated 10 X!!! ha ha
@Dodie, I am honored you would even read my blog and find it your cup of tea!
@Elliott, thnx brutha, will see you soooooon! BOSTON!
You said all that could be said.
Wow as always good source of inspiration!Following you from Barcelona!
Cheers from the Old Country, keep them coming
Hasta luego
Great writing Zach. First time at your site – I think I will be back!
Fuck the haters – do yo thang!
Love from Portland, OR!
Mr. A
Love your work Zach, was feeling pretty dodgy today, now i just wanna tear it up.
Thanx for the continued inspiration.
Nice Z !
Hey Zach,
This article is amazing, you are a constant inspiration for me. I’m 17 years old, had a pretty bad day, and generally get a lot of shit because I’m the only one who doesn’t drink in my grade… Pretty sad. Reading this just further encourages me to train even harder and stand up strong to the haters.
Thanks again for guiding me when everything else seems to be falling apart…
Michael
Absolutely awesome. Keep up the good work bro.
Zach, loved the words. If you don’t mind I would like to copy and paste this article to our forum? I think everyone needs to read this.
Dan
Man you’re a fricken champ. Technically you may not be a ‘teacher’ any more but there sure is a helluva lot of us, and should be a helluva lot more guys wanting to learn from you.
You sum up in a blog post what people strive for years to lean. Im learning loads from yourself and Brian Grasso right now man. Thank you, always.
Keep on keeping on is damn right.
Wow! All I can say is look at all the comments this post generated. You are a true inspiration to a lot of people. Keep on keep in’ on Zach!
Truth! haha, thanks Coach!