Forged from Iron

I like hitting the gym, actually I love it. I find that not only is it a great stress reliever, but also a great place to do some thinking on your own. Now I'll admit that coming up with the next great idea while at the bottom of a 300lbs squat is quite possibly a dangerous scenario, but it gets the blood and creative juices flowing. When I was lifting the other day, I challenged myself to come up with 3 "lessons" that make a person successful in the gym and apply them to becoming a Maverick.

1. Build your own path
I have previously expressed how a Maverick must take his or her own unique route to reach a point of astonishing results, but I could never really get a picture in my head of how these paths could differ; Then I thought of the gym. Think about it, there are literally hundreds of exercises that can train the same muscles, but each individual will experience a different degree of success on each exercie. I find squats are the best exercise for builidng the legs, but my brother is all about lunges (and he is twice my size now). The point is, you have to try different things out and figure out what your optimal "routine" is on the path to success. Need another example? Go compare the stories of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.

2. Don't get comfortable
Once you have pounded away at the same old workout routine long enough, your body stops producing the same results; you plateau and lose enthusiasm. The key to avoiding this scenario is to "mix it up," essentially keep the body guessing and never knowing what it will do next. Not only does this keep you moving forward, it keeps you focused on a goal while generating many paths to get there and the ability to see them. Think about it in your job, if you did the same sales routine day after day you would become so comfortable with it that you would begin to miss the little things that once put you at the top. Switching it up, whether it be adpoting a different sales technique or just revamping your 30-second "elevator speech" keeps you aware of the little things that can end up making a big difference.

3. Interval style
Picture two people in a race, the first goes into a full-out sprint while the pace of the second runner would hardly make my Grandma sweat. What are the results? The sprinter may look like he is really getting ahead but soon runs out of gas and slows to a crawl. The slow jogger is able to keep going for a significantly longer period of time, but it takes so long to get to where he's going, everyone has given up on him. I guarentee you all know 2 people like those in my example, whether it be at the gym or in the office, and these people are never Mavericks. So how do you keep from being pulled to one of these polar opposites? The answer is intervals. Think about it, there is nothing wrong with pushing as hard as you can to get a new idea through, but it is equally essential to take some time to slow things down and reflect on what you did and how it worked. If you're running at 110% all the time, it is easy to miss the lessons that can be used for improvement and we burn out or lose our passion a hell of a lot quicker. A true Maverick can find the best combination of pushing hard and "regrouping" to achieve both idea communication and personal growth.

I'm sure there are many more lessons that can be transferred from the barbells to the boardroom and if you have a good one, share it with us in a comment!

Until next time... [Mavericks]