#162 Put Aside Distractions

Most people don’t even realize how many distractions are present in their lives.  Are you distracted by social media, deadweight “friends”, or drinking?  What is taking you off the line?

 

What is it For You?

What takes your eyes off the ball?  What kills your focus?  Is it someone or something?  Is it the one buddy that wants to drink three days a week?  Is it the one girl that wants to take you to the strip joint?  What is it? 

It is imperative that you evaluate who or what is taking you off the path.  Once you gain this awareness, you’ll be able to eliminate.

 

Myself as an Example

I really shouldn't look at my phone before I come to the gym in the morning.  Sometimes I'll get caught up answering emails or looking at the previous day’s sales.  I shouldn't even do that because all I should be focused on is training.  There should be minimal screen time.

If my training’s not right, my mind’s not right.  If my training's not right, my body's not right.  If my training's not right, my performance is not right.  Everything is out of whack.

 

Eliminate the Distractions

Lifting weights is what happens first thing in the morning for me.  So, anything that takes me off that “Killers-only” mindset, I must get rid of.  When I zoom out, I realized that most of the days I'm distracted are when I’m on my phone too much in the morning.

The reality is that I have plenty of time to deal with all my other stuff.  The fucking sauce for me is in the training, because when my training is good, I'm lights out everywhere. 

It doesn't have to be PR level, it just has to be good.  It must be executed, I had to be here, I must be engaged.  I must be testing stuff; I have to have my brain.  That's where the sauce is for me.  This is what I do.  What’s the result?  Awesome content on a regular basis.

 

Super HQ

With Old School, Max Effort, and CoryG Fitness all being under the same roof now, new distractions have emerged.  For starters, we were way too close to the gym.  The music and people coming in and out on a regular basis were a huge distraction.  It’s just a fact.  We knew that coming in, so we built out another office area.  Now we're two spots away from the gym and it's lights out.  I saw Cole, Danny and Trae getting through it as they're trying to be creative while there's a lot going on.  It’s no longer an issue whatsoever.

 

How to Put Distractions Aside

Now, I’m not saying to get rid of your friends, but maybe it’s seeing them just on Fridays.  Don't go to happy hour on Tuesday because you know he's going to want to drink, and you don't have enough discipline to tell him you don't want to drink with him.  

I started my business over 20 years ago when I was living on Ohio State’s campus with my friends.  I didn't go to Ohio State, but I took part in the fun part going on around me, right? 

I had a strategy.  I knew that if I went out Thursday night, I wasn't making it for clients on Friday.  At 20 years old, not drinking Friday and Saturday was difficult to wrap my head around.  I had to set up parameters to clear out the distractions to stay on the path.

 

It's Not What I Wanted

You could say maybe that I'm a fucking loser because I don't want to go out on Wednesdays.  That's just not what I wanted for my life.  I’m not saying to never have any dysfunction or pleasure in your life.  Look, I love to drink beer.  I love to go to the games.  I like to zone out from time to time and not think about this or that.

What I’m saying is to have a strategy.  A strategy to where you won’t be constantly distracted. 

 

Guard Your Time

I would consider myself more on the extreme side now because I’ve been doing this for so many years.  I know exactly the time I need.  I know exactly the spots I'm going to be in.  I know exactly how I'm going to perform at a high level and what has to happen in my life.

I have certain non-negotiables in place to keep the distractions away.  

One thing I don't deal with in my life at all is family drama.  Zero tolerance.  So, if you bring drama to me on a regular basis and you're a distraction, I just don't fucking talk to you.  It's just the fucking truth.  That might sound heartless, but they'll get the point quick.  Then, they start either acting differently around me, or they stop coming around me at all. 

Distractions creep in uninvited and unexpectedly.  Many people don’t even realize that it’s happening to them.   If you allow it in your life, you deserve it.

 

Evaluate Your Own

Take stock of your day-to-day, week-to-week, and month-to-month schedules.  What can you change or eliminate?  Identify what’s slowing you down.  Sometimes it can even be your spouse being the distraction.  This may sound bad initially, but sometimes you must have the hard conversations.  

Maybe they'll say, "You know what?  Can you train at 6:00 rather than 5:00, so you can stay up an hour later?"  It’s all about making adjustments, modifications, and communication.

 

Growing Up

I understand this concept on a deeper level than most because I had a front row seat when I was growing up.  The lottery was a distraction because it was a money problem.  Fighting between my parents was a distraction.  The job security was a distraction.  The financial IQ was a distraction.  

There was no way to compound, create, and have quality momentum.  It was impossible because you’re in survival mode.  If you're in survival mode, it's hard to get on top of it because when you're surviving, you make choices that are just to get to the next day. 

Push the distractions aside.