Quotes of The Week

Growth

“As long as we are persistent in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow. We cannot choose the day or time when we will fully bloom. It happens in its own time.”
—Denis Waitley

“Let a person rejoice when he is confronted with obstacles, for it means that he has reached the end of some particular line of indifference or folly, and is now called upon to summon up all his energy and intelligence in order to extricate himself, and to find a better way; that the powers within him are crying out for greater freedom, for enlarged exercise and scope.” —James Allen

“It is the Law that any difficulties that can come to you at any time, no matter what they are, must be exactly what you need most at the moment, to enable you to take the next step forward by overcoming them. The only real misfortune, the only real tragedy, comes when we suffer without learning the lesson.” —Emmet Fox

“The real tragedy is the tragedy of the man who never in his life braces himself for his one supreme effort, who never stretches to his full capacity, never stands up to his full stature.” —Arnold Bennett

From Ron Whites  Newsletter what great stuff.

You Need More Weight by Ron White

How do you build muscle?

If you answered, “Exercise,” then you are partially right. For the most part exercise is not what builds muscle. Exercise maintains the muscle you have already built, yet it only actually builds muscle when that exercise goes into uncharted territory.

“You need more weight.”

That is one of my best friend’s favorite things to say when we work out. If I am throwing up 225 pounds on the bench press and there is no struggle, he is the first to either add more weight or demand reps. I used to say, “No man, I want to control this weight first. I want to do 8 solid reps of 225 before I move on to something else.” His reply would be, “Are you here to build muscle or maintain what you have?”

My particular goal at the time was to build muscle, so I would (knowing he was right) reluctantly say, “Build muscle.” His matter of fact retort was, “Okay, then you need more weight or more reps—maybe both.”

You see, when lifting weights your muscle is built when it goes beyond its comfort zone or literally stretches beyond what you have done before. If I had lifted six reps and I was spent, I also knew that there was no way my set was over. Just as I am about to give up, I hear the voice spotting me blurt out, “One more… come on… it is all you… one more… you got it… push it up.” My friend, Brian, will consistently push me to do one more than I would if he wasn’t there, and that is why when I work out with Brian my muscles are consistently in the growth zone.

If you are doing a set of 10 reps and are spent, you will get 90% of your growth if you do an 11th or 12th rep. The first 10 are maintaining what you have. The final two are the growth reps; these are the reps where you stretch yourself.

I have found that success in life is very similar to building muscle in the gym. If you are doing what you are comfortable with or can do easily you will never grow. You will never expand to reach your full potential. Growth occurs in life only when you push yourself to something new. This could mean learning a foreign language, learning to play an instrument, conquering your fears or pursuing your lifelong dream of building a business, writing a play, authoring a book or talking to people who you normally would shy away from.

Growth in life comes when you push yourself to lift the weights of life that you can only lift with a spotter. This means that you should not be afraid to team up with others and rely on them in your effort to grow. If you are going to build muscle in the gym you are going to need to do two things: No. 1, lift more weight; No. 2, have a spotter. The answers for success in life are very similar. Sometimes a spotter in life could be a personal life coach. There is absolutely no doubt that they will push you to lift more weight and be there to spot you when you feel that you can’t get the weight off your chest.

Go for more weight this week and get yourself a spotter!

Spend Less Time at Work and Get More Done by Chris Widener

Sounds too good to be true? It really isn’t! In fact, studies show that after a certain amount of hours at work each week, the average worker hits diminishing returns for their labor.

Here are a couple of reasons this is true:

Family drain. Does your spouse or family complain that you work too much? This puts strain on you when you’re at work and limits your effectiveness. Cutting out five or more hours a week and spending it with your family will make them happier and that will make you happier too, enabling you to enjoy your work more and get more done. A healthy home life helps ensure a happy work life.

Mental fatigue. Remember the old saying, “All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy”? After a certain amount of time at work, your brain goes on autopilot and begins to work ineffectively. Taking some more time to relax and recreate will put you at a higher level of performance when you do go to the office. Get some exercise, take up a hobby, but take some more time off. It will help your work become more effective!

Chris Widener’s Twelve Pillars audio success system—based on his top-selling book with Jim Rohn—can help you create wealth and achieve financial freedom, have more time to do the things you love, have more time to spend with the people who matter the most to you and much more! Click here for more info or to order.