Category: Personal Growth

Today I want to reflect on how fitness and physical development tie directly to personal growth, and even more so, professional development.

For a long time, I brushed it off.

“Exercise is important,” they said. It sounded like another obligatory checklist item—like when Christians say, “You need to read your Bible.” It felt like pressure or judgment, not something meaningful.

But that mindset? That was ignorance. Straight up.

The Shift

There is a direct line between fitness and professional growth. Not just success (because success is a messy mix of grit, timing, and luck), but real, tangible growth.

I love the quote: “Business problems are just personal problems in disguise.”

Let me show you how true that’s been for me.

May 2022 vs. May 2025

Three years ago, I was 190lbs, constantly sick, and battling chronic sinus infections (caused by drinking too much).

• Hungover and anxious almost daily.
• My business was stuck at $250K/year, with no clear direction.
• I looked to my dad for vision and didn’t get it. I was angry, bitter, and frustrated.
• I felt stuck and reactive—to clients, to family, to friends.
• My parenting was filled with unspoken expectations and pressure.
• We were driving a 2003 Mazda MPV I maintained myself (I’m no mechanic).
• Our family had just spent a month in Tucson trying to escape our rut.

Now?

In May 2025:

• I’m 160lbs, healthy, and rarely get sick.
• I sleep 7.5–8 hours a night, wake at 5:30am, and rarely drink.
• I run a $1M/year business with a clear path to $10M.
• I have three coaches and a team of five.
• My 20-year vision is clear, and I have the strategy to back it.
• I lead my family with curiosity and coaching, not judgment.
• We drive a 2017 Suburban, not fancy but someone else maintains for me.
• We live in Scottsdale, AZ, and my life—inside and out—is entirely different.

What Changed?

A year ago, on a hike with my client Max, I said something that became a turning point:

“Running changed my life.”

But it wasn’t just running. It was fitness as a whole.

Running forced me to stop drinking. To eat better. To sleep more. To lift weights and avoid injury. To set goals and track them.

Fitness transformed me physically and mentally.

And that transformation? It bled into every other area of my life.

Fitness = Business

Building a healthy body and building a healthy business follow the same rules:

• Consistent inputs
• Measurable outputs
• Time

The process is the same.

But here’s the kicker: if I had only improved my business systems without improving myself, I would’ve kept sabotaging my own progress.

By working on me first, I became the kind of person who could build something great.

That’s why I say:

“Your business will never outgrow you.”

I’d take it further:

“Your family will never outgrow your failure.”
“Your future will never outgrow your fear.”

These may sound intense, but they’re what I’m living into right now.

From Complaining to Mastery

A mentor once told me:

“Complaining is fighting harder for your limitations than your possibilities.”

I used to complain. A lot.

But what changed my trajectory was deciding to:

• Ask for help (instead of complain)
• Own my sh*t (instead of blame)
• Face my fear (instead of run)
• Invest in myself (instead of objects)

Why Some People Seem Untouchable

People often look at elite performers and say:

“It must be luck. Or maybe they had it handed to them.”

No.

The real elite have mastered themselves. They’re obsessed with being the best version of themselves. They run on internal standards, not external validation.

They live what Yvon Chouinard described:

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between work and play… he simply pursues his vision of excellence… and leaves others to determine if he is working or playing.”

Dan Martell echoed this with:

“Looks like work. Feels like play.”

That’s the goal.

The System: Project Visible Mastery

I’m running on a system right now. Not motivation. Not hype.

Because let’s be real:

• At 5:00am, I’m more enthusiastic about staying in bed than going to the gym.
• After dinner, I’m more excited about dessert than a protein shake.

But I have a framework:

• Inputs: Daily Non-Negotiables (fitness, food, sleep, reflection)
• Outputs: Measurable goals (visible abs, bicep vein, weight, lifts, energy)
• Feedback Loop: Weekly reflection, journaling, and adjustments

Sound robotic? Maybe.

But for me, it’s freedom. It’s discipline. It’s growth.

“How you do anything is how you do everything.”

If I’m playing big in my health, I’m playing big in my business. If I’m growing in my personal life, I’m growing in my leadership.

The Deeper Truth

You don’t just improve the systems you own in isolation.

You grow them by growing you.

And yeah, you can build a business that runs without you. But if you implode, disappear, or lose your identity… what then?

Your business is personal.

You sleep in the bed you made. If it sucks, you suck. If it’s baller, you’re baller.

That’s ownership.

Final Reflection

I’m calling this journey Project Visible Mastery. A mission where my external fitness is a symbol of internal alignment.

Visible abs. Bicep vein. $10M business. Thriving marriage. Powerful parenting. True peace.

Not either/or. Both.

Because when your health improves your business, and your business improves your health—that’s the loop that compounds.

And everything transformational? It usually starts by going backwards.

Let’s build from there.