Leadership and Business Growth

As the headline states, the more perspective you gain, the better leader you can become.

There are many ways to gain perspective.

Today’s lesson is about travel.

I learned this lesson in May 2004 when I enrolled myself through a study abroad program entering my senior year of college.

I put myself on a plane to Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and never have been the same.

This week I am at it again in the United Kingdom.

Tatiana and I ventured out to London, England to attend my good friend Matt’s wedding on Saturday.

Matt’s an English bloke I met in 2007 in Orange County through a mutual friend on his world travels. 

We hit it off and have traveled the world together over the last 15+ years. 

We have journeyed from LA to New York, Brazil, Portugal, Croatia, Greece, and the list goes on.

It was extra special seeing him and his new bride Charlotte get married in England on his home turf.

It was a fantastic event although uncomfortable.

Travel always is.

The 11-hour flight, the 8-hour time difference, the hard jetlag, the small hotel living quarters, the confusion at the train station, the tough eating options, and the list goes on.

The truth is travel is hard, it’s uncomfortable and not easy.

In the moment, many times it’s not enjoyable.

But that’s where the value lies.

It pushes you, it stretches you.

It gives you new looks at people, human nature, and life.

The experience enriches your life with time.

It provides you with perspective.

And remember:

Perspective is leadership.

Leadership is perspective.

I just did a podcast swap with a new friend Ben Newman.

Ben and I were introduced through our mutual friend Amberly Lago.

We both come from the Midwest, from homes with abandoned fathers who were addicts, went to the same university, and have a passion for coaching, winning, and leading.

Kindred spirits.

Ben was just rated top 5 mindset coaches of the year by USA Today along with Tim Grover, Ed Mylett, Mel Robins, and Brendan Berchard.

He worked for the GOAT, Nick Saban for 5 years as a Peak Mindset Coach and won the 2020 National Championship with the University of Alabama. 

He also won 3 national championships at North Dakota State and a Big 12 Conference championship with Kansas State.

He’s a winner, a world-class leader, and his mantra is “Standard Over Feelings”.

On our podcast swap, which his episode drops on July 24, he shared the below leadership lesson. 

“Bryce, your ability to lead someone else is directly tied to the discipline in which you lead yourself.”

Mic Drop.

Breaking it down, discipline is a key ingredient in self-leadership and that of others.

Want to be a better leader?

Start with developing your discipline muscle.

I wear a necklace with the saying “Momento Mori”. 

It’s Latin and translates to “Remember your death”.

Sounds cold, but it’s true.

The truth is as a leader, the message gives perspective. 

The truth about life is this:

Everything is temporary.

To put a bow on the lesson today, I received the message below from my friend Joey from Few Will Hunt.

It provides the perspective you need to lead.

If you’re in the storm, you’ll be out of it soon. Think calm. Poise. 

If you’re in the sun, you’ll be out of it soon. Think chaos. Prepare.

There are many dichotomies in leadership.

I want to share 1 with you today.

As a leader.

In times of calm, you must create chaos.

In this sense I mean you need to create initiatives that are uncomfortable to push the mission & revenue forward.

However..

In times of chaos, you must create calmness.

Calmness will settle your team and provide them with reassurance on the path ahead.

Interesting huh?

Leadership is not for the faint of heart.

There are many more dichotomous and goodness ahead.

Stay along for the journey!

Yesterday here in the States, we observed Memorial Day.

It’s a day that we observe in honor of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

After all, freedom isn’t free.

Since the dawn of time, humans have tried to oppress others in the name of survival and power.

This is the nature of the world.

And to be a strong leader of humans. 

You need to be a student of human nature.

As humans, we default to the path of least resistance when given the opportunity.

We procrastinate which is a recipe for oppression.

This is part of our nature.

Instead, realize that discipline creates freedom.

Innately I knew this to be true at a young age.

But a mentor from afar by the name of Jocko Willink reinforced this in teaching.

This teaching is what I want to pass on to you today.

Well, in reality, you already know this to be true.

What I’ve learned about human nature, is most times we need to be reminded more than we need to be taught.

So in honor of Memorial Day and those fallen to protect our freedom.

I wanted to provide you with this leadership reminder.

Discipline = Freedom.

Leadership is about owning it.

Yes, the good, bad, and ugly.

Case in point, Tatiana and I received an apology letter from a former coach of ours this week.

He coached for us a few years ago as our Head Coach.

Good-hearted dude but made some poor choices, became negative, dropped some balls, and then had an adverse reaction to accountability.

It wasn’t a fun situation or ending to his employment. It created friction for the team and clients.

Sadly, sometimes it’s how these things go in working with young teammates.

To clear the air though.

Heaven knows I pulled a couple of not-so-smart moves in my mid-20s working on teams. So not here to cast stones.

In fact, here to do the opposite. 

It was refreshing for Tatiana to review the apology email.

It was simple but effective.

He owned his actions and apologized for them with sincerity.

While it was nice to receive for us, the big value was for him so hats off.

He just gained perspective, growth and credibility with himself which will serve him well in the future.

This is my leadership message today.

As a leader, you will make mistakes.

This is part of the journey.

But when you do and come to that realization, promptly admit, own it, and apologize.

When you do, you free yourself and others.

This is leadership.

Onward.

Well, my friend, this is where things get interesting.

Leading an empire takes a lot more skill set than the first 2.

However, without the foundation of self and family leadership, there’s not a possibility for the third.

Now before you can lead an empire.

You must always ask yourself this.

How far down the rabbit hole of leadership do you want to go?

Building a house vs. a skyscraper are 2 different things.

Leading an empire (skyscraper) is not for the faint of heart.

It takes thick skin, a burning passion, and a relentless pursuit of greatness. 

It takes an understanding that if you do it right.

You won’t be liked.

However..

You will be respected.

But this choice is only for you to make.

As for me, I have the will. 

For some of you.

You do too!

But even if you don’t. 

There’s gold on this path.

My goal is to take you down a continued journey.

In the last 4 decades, I’ve been able to acquire the skillset to lead a $65M/year empire known as Fit Body Boot Camp.

For some people, that’s large.

For other people, it’s tiny.

Regardless of where you stand.

Over the coming weeks and months ahead, I will teach you everything I know about how to lead this.

My recommendation?

Observe.

Learn.

Implement. 

And In the words of a leadership mentor from a far..

“A leader knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”

Let’s go!

In the last 2 weeks, we uncovered a simple way to lead yourself. 

Through your fitness.

Taking care of your health and fitness is your ultimate form of self-leadership.

Now it’s time to expand on the leadership framework.

When you can lead yourself, you are capable of leading your family.

The best way to do this?

Take a step back and think to yourself who is someone you admire.

What qualities does this person possess?

Make a list.

Write them down.

Now here’s where it gets good.

Begin to model these qualities in your own life.

Quality by quality.

Through this, you will build a person others admire.

No, this is not easy.

It’s hard, real hard.

So is leadership.

Why?

You have flaws, lots of them.

I do too.

Last week we covered this: 

Leading yourself is the first principle to become a better leader.

By dialing in your fitness and maintaining a healthy weight, you now are qualified to lead 80% of people in our country.

Ok, great.

But let’s take it to another level, shall we?

What if you wanted a tool to help you lead more than 99% of people.

Here is the secret:

Take your fitness to a higher level more than just maintaining a healthy weight.

The target is: you should look like your workout.

In other words.

No one should need to ask if you lift weights.

They should know by your appearance alone.

This means a consistent focus on lifting weights and clean nutrition.

This will separate your leadership.

Full stop.

Now does this mean, that just because you are noticeably in shape, you are an amazing leader?

No.

But it does send a message to yourself and others that can lead you.

When you can lead you, others will follow.

So please take action as this discipline is a tool to better your life and separate you and your leadership.