#3 Confidence Runs Your World

Born with Confidence?

People think that I was born this way.  Let me paint a picture for you….  I was poor, weak, skinny, and a forgettable athlete.  I spent hours in the rain and snow shooting jumpers, but guess what?  My jumper was broke.

Resources were limited.  There wasn’t internet.  No one was a personal trainer, nor did it even seem like a concept of reality 20 years ago.  That I could do something fitness-related for my job. 

I’m out here in the country shooting jumpers, dribbling, and working on my basketball skills.  I thought that if I worked hard enough that I could get a scholarship, go to college, and get out of here.  But guess what?  I averaged like four points a game, no college was interested in me, and my jumper was broken.  I spent HOURS and HOURS working on my basketball skills.

 

What I Noticed

The lifting started to become more enjoyable than basketball.  I started lifting weights when I was in sixth grade, and by seventh grade I started to see one little shoulder muscle while doing upright rows with my granddad.  I saw that small shoulder cut in the front delt and thought “Ohhhhh, I’m feelin’ that.”

That tiny bit of physical confidence made me believe.

I had no idea what this could turn into.  My granddad came home every day after work and ask if I wanted to lift weights with him.  I thought to myself, “If I dedicate to this process, could I build myself into something that I could be proud of?”

 

Having a Process

You must have a process.  I began to read more and more about Arnold Schwarzenegger.  I began to realize and understand how he applied his experiences in lifting to other aspects of his life.  That’s when the concept of discipline started to make more sense.

Everybody goes through this.  You get up in the morning, you look in the mirror.  Well, the first thing that I tell myself is to not be a soft-ass little bitch and get out of bed.  After that, I flip on the light and look at myself in the mirror.  Everyone does this.

 

Are You Happy?

Is everyone 100% happy with themselves?  Of course not, but what if it’s always under construction?  Personally, I’m always striving to attain a higher level of overall fitness, but it’s always under construction because I’m always working on it.

Sometimes it’s going really good and sometimes it’s not.  There’s the time when I weighed 240 pounds and it wasn’t going too well, and then there’s the times when I was 180 and shredded.  At the end of the day, I’m fully dedicated to the process of building my self-confidence.

Pretty much all of us can identify with the physical part, right?  No one is 100% happy with how they look.  I don’t care who you are, it’s just the way it is.

 

Business Education

I never read any books in high school.  I was a terrible student with a 2.1 GPA.  Everyone thought I was a fucking loser because I didn’t go to college at first.  I did read one book called The Fab Five… shoutout to Jalen Rose.

Early in 1999, when I started my LLC, I realized that I wasn’t getting a traditional business degree.  I was forced to self-educate.  At this point, I had built up confidence in the physical realm, and now I wanted to see what happened when I applied the same dedication mentally.  Just a little each day.

I don’t know what my IQ is, but it’s not crazy high.  I did terrible on my SAT and in high school.  I’m not that special.   It’s the same way I studied Arnold’s workouts, diet plans from Dr. Mauro di Pasquale, and many others in the fitness & nutrition world.  What happens if I implement a heavy amount of discipline around getting a little bit smarter each day?

I needed to drill the things I needed to know on a regular basis.

 

20 Years

The version of me that you see today is a product of 20 years of dedicating to the process.  If you are truly serious about building self-confidence, you must allocate time each day to make yourself better.

It doesn’t have to be shit you don’t like to do.  People may not love to exercise, and I understand that, but you only have one body.  I used to tell my clients all the time that people will take better care of their car than their body.  Think about that.  You wouldn’t load up your new truck with a bunch of wood, never change the oil, and keep going for 100 miles, would you?  You wouldn’t never sweep it out, would you?  You wouldn’t slack on the maintenance, would you? 

 

It Runs the World

Confidence runs your world. 

Think about walking into a business meeting, dressed to the nine, chest out, and confident about the material you’re about to present.  Trial & error has already been done; you’ve learned the process.  You’re confident in what you’re saying.  When I’m speaking about something, it’s coming from a place that I’ve already been or studied.

I believe that many people are walking around with very low levels of self-confidence.  I’m not talking about the fake ass, arrogant bullshit.  The real motherfuckers can recognize the real.  It’s the same with confidence.

When you spend the time, it will never not pay off.  It could be you walking down your street for 20 minutes listening to an audio book.  Don’t look at it like “I’m just trying to get some abs.  I’m just trying to get better at my craft.”  Build Your Confidence.

 

Arnold

Confidence runs our world, and I’m living proof.  Here’s why.  When I was in California working out with Arnold, he introduced me to somebody, and this is what he said: “Cory is someone I trust, and I know he knows how to work hard.”  Man, what?  My idol said that straight to my face while introducing me to someone from Budapest.  

When I was reading about this man in magazines 20 years ago, do you think I thought I could get an endorsement like that?  That’s what I’m getting at. 

Build the self-confidence so that you can be respected, know your craft, and fucking win.

#MaxEffortMindset