Bryce Henson

Hey Leader! 🙌

Last week, I shared the first Phoenix Lever: Embrace the Adversity.

Today? We tackle the second. And let me warn you, it’s the hardest, grounded in self-mastery.

Phoenix Lever #2: Forge Through the Adversity 🔥

Because rock bottom isn’t the end.

It’s the beginning of the forge, the crucible where character gets built, and greatness gets born.

But here’s the rub:

Most people never make it out.

They get stuck in survival mode. Clinging to comfort. Avoiding feedback. Living the same year over and over, 10X in a row.

Leaders don’t have that luxury.

To forge through adversity, you must embrace what I call Proximity-Driven Optimization:

1. Cultivate Curiosity: Your ego won’t fix the problem. Questions will.
2. Seek Guidance Through Proximity: Get close to someone who’s already walked the path. Borrow their belief. Implement their systems.
3. Optimize Through Feedback: Let it sting. Then let it shape you.

That’s the self-mastery loop of Forge.

That’s how you grow.

You don’t need 100 steps. You need one conversation. One mentor. One piece of feedback was acted on with courage.

And when you do? You emerge stronger, wiser, and more dangerous.

This week, ask yourself:

Where am I stuck?

Who’s already solved this?

What data/feedback am I avoiding?

Then get in proximity. 

Ask. Apply. Optimize.

Because the forge never feels good, but it always produces gold.

Bryce Henson
CEO, Fit Body

The 5 Immutable Rules of Leadership

1. Take Extreme Ownership: Everything is your responsibility—even when it’s not your fault.
2. Put Your Oxygen Mask On First: Lead yourself before leading others.
3. Wield Influence Through Moral Authority: People follow who you are, not what you say.
4. It’s Not About You—Never Was, Never Will Be: Elevate others, build legacy.
5. Turn Adversity Into Advantage: Pain is your power—use it.

Hey Leader! 🙌

Adversity is life’s guarantee.

It doesn’t ask permission.

It shows up, unannounced, uninvited, and usually when you least expect it.

And when it does?

You have two options:

Get crushed by the weight,

Or use it to rise.

This is where the Phoenix Levers come in, a five-step framework I engineered to transform life’s toughest moments into the fuel for your next level. 

It’s the backbone of my upcoming book in Q1 2026, and today, I’m giving you the first lever.

Lever #1: Embrace the Flames

Before you can rise, you must stop resisting the fire. You have to face the truth that adversity isn’t the detour; it’s the path.

For me, that realization started in the backseat of a cold Michigan car, listening to my mom explain why we couldn’t ask for candy at the grocery store when I wasn’t even 10.

 I didn’t know the word for it back then, but that was my first Phoenix moment.

No one was coming to save us.

So I stepped up, became a 12-year-old soccer referee, started bringing home money, and took ownership.

That same instinct has guided me ever since. And it’s something I’ve seen in every elite leader I coach:

They don’t flinch when life gets hard.

They embrace the flames, they rise from them.

So here’s your leadership call to action:

Think about your current challenge. Then stop asking, “Why is this happening to me?”

Start asking, “How can I use this?”

Because the fire isn’t here to destroy you,

It’s here to forge you.

And if you let it, you’ll come out the other side stronger, wiser, and more equipped to lead.

Next week, I’ll reveal Phoenix Lever #2.

Until then, lead through the fire.

Bryce Henson
CEO, Fit Body

The 5 Immutable Rules of Leadership

1. Take Extreme Ownership: Everything is your responsibility—even when it’s not your fault.
2. Put Your Oxygen Mask On First: Lead yourself before leading others.
3. Wield Influence Through Moral Authority: People follow who you are, not what you say.
4. It’s Not About You—Never Was, Never Will Be: Elevate others, build legacy.
5. Turn Adversity Into Advantage: Pain is your power—use it.

Hey Leader! 🙌

Let’s talk about discomfort. 

Not the kind that sneaks up on you, but the kind you choose.

In August 2015, I landed in Brazil and met a woman who changed my life. Tatiana. She spoke perfect English. I didn’t speak a word of Brazilian Portuguese.

Then, with incredible teachers, her mom, Cristina, my tutor, Mara, and living in Brazil for 2 years, I slowly built conversational fluency.

But here’s the truth: for 15 years, Tatiana and I stuck to my language. 

Why? Because it was easier. More efficient. Comfortable. 

But leadership doesn’t live in comfort.

This past July, I met a new friend from Italy. He spoke five languages. 

His secret? He practiced with the people he loved. When he started dating a Mexican woman, he immediately switched their language to Spanish.

And that hit me like a bolt of lightning.

I realized: My ego had been holding me back. I didn’t want to feel dumb. I didn’t want to be corrected. I chose comfort over growth.

It shone a light on my own insecurity and frustrated me.

So I asked Tatiana, “Can we make Portuguese our new home language?”

Without hesitation, she said yes.

And after 5 months of deliberate discomfort at home, my fluency has skyrocketed faster than the previous five years combined.

Here’s the leadership lesson:

If you want to grow, get uncomfortable on purpose.

You don’t level up by staying efficient. You grow when you risk looking silly, when you admit you’re not the best, and when you let discomfort sharpen your edge.

Deliberate discomfort is the price of real growth.

My friend, make the investment.

Bryce Henson
CEO, Fit Body

The 5 Immutable Rules of Leadership

1. Take Extreme Ownership: Everything is your responsibility—even when it’s not your fault.
2. Put Your Oxygen Mask On First: Lead yourself before leading others.
3. Wield Influence Through Moral Authority: People follow who you are, not what you say.
4. It’s Not About You—Never Was, Never Will Be: Elevate others, build legacy.
5. Turn Adversity Into Advantage: Pain is your power—use it.

Hey Leader! 🙌

At the end of last year, I was in pain.

Literally.

I run daily, I lift hard, but my body was so tight it started breaking down. I was hitting a wall, not from lack of effort but from lack of flexibility.

So I made a decision. 

I declared 2025 the Year of Flexibility as my personal theme. 

But not because I wanted to touch my toes or nail a handstand. 

This wasn’t vanity, it was necessity.

So I made a promise to myself: become more flexible so I could stay in the game.

After all, Longevity is the play here. 

The good news?  I kept it.

I hired a stretch coach. I showed up weekly. 

I added Sunday yoga. 

As of today, I have stacked over 130 guided sessions. 

No, I’m not the rubber band man yet, but I’m proof that consistency beats intensity.

That’s the first lesson and here is the 2nd:

Leadership is making a promise and keeping it.

To your clients. 

To your team. 

And most importantly, to yourself.

Because if you can’t keep a promise to yourself, why should anyone trust you to lead them?

So, as we wrap the year, I want you to zoom out and reflect:

What pain are you tolerating?

Where have you gone tight, physically, mentally, emotionally?

What promise do you need to make and keep in 2026?

My challenge to you this week: Set your personal leadership theme for the year ahead. Make the promise now, then design your life to keep it.

Because the world doesn’t need more wishful thinkers.

It needs leaders who follow through.

Make it a FLEXIBLE week,

Bryce Henson
CEO, Fit Body

The 5 Immutable Rules of Leadership

1. Take Extreme Ownership: Everything is your responsibility—even when it’s not your fault.
2. Put Your Oxygen Mask On First: Lead yourself before leading others.
3. Wield Influence Through Moral Authority: People follow who you are, not what you say.
4. It’s Not About You—Never Was, Never Will Be: Elevate others, build legacy.
5. Turn Adversity Into Advantage: Pain is your power—use it.

Hey Leader! 🙌

This week, I was introduced to a bright young woman graduating from college, sharp, driven, and curious about building a fitness career.

 After we covered business and training tactics, she asked a question that stopped me cold:

“Bryce, how can I become a better leader?”

Smart ask. Most skip it. But her curiosity opened the door for real coaching, and today, I’m passing that to you. 

Here was my response:

Lesson #1: Leadership Starts With Care

Before you earn authority or drive results, you must care deeply. About your clients. Your team. The mission. Leadership begins with loving people enough to hold a standard for them and yourself. People can sense whether or not you care, which is the foundation for leadership. 

Lesson #2: Lead with Moral Authority

I asked her to list the person she admired most. She chose her dad and rattled off ten character traits that made him exceptional. I told her: build those in you. Live them out loud. 

The highest form of leadership is moral authority, doing what you say, walking your talk, and becoming someone worth following. Like in my 12-step program, Leadership is a program of attraction, not promotion. 

Lesson #3: Master Communication

Written. Verbal. Video. All of it. Because leadership isn’t telepathy, your team can’t read your mind. They need clarity, not charisma. Consistency, not confusion.

Then I finished with this:

Leadership is not a title; it’s a skillset.

And like any skillset, you get better when you implement.

That’s your call to action this week:

Practice care. Build character. Sharpen your communication.

Because when you do?

You don’t just grow your business.

You multiply your impact.

Let’s lead.

Bryce Henson
CEO, Fit Body

The 5 Immutable Rules of Leadership

1. Take Extreme Ownership: Everything is your responsibility—even when it’s not your fault.
2. Put Your Oxygen Mask On First: Lead yourself before leading others.
3. Wield Influence Through Moral Authority: People follow who you are, not what you say.
4. It’s Not About You—Never Was, Never Will Be: Elevate others, build legacy.
5. Turn Adversity Into Advantage: Pain is your power—use it.