Writer’s block. Mental blocks. Road blocks. The Block.

Too many blocks. Head hurts. One at a time.

Mental Blocks

I regularly ask myself, “What are you doing with your life? Should you be married by now? Do you want kids? What are you even really here for? Do you have a plan?” 

Oooooof. Deep. Right off the bat, too. It’s like I can hear grandma’s voice through the phone uttering those questions and it’s cringe. 

Love you grandma.

They pop up all the time though, and I think they’re somewhere in the minds of most of us out there trying to do something “cool” in life. There is an idea of what we’ve grown accustomed to calling “normal” and one day I stopped giving a shit and just said “I’ma just do me, yolo”…

…and I’m so happy I did.

I’m wayyyyyyy too hard on myself and think I’m not doing “enough”, whatever arbitrary figure “enough” might be. It’s in those times that I force myself to take out a journal and write down what I’ve accomplished in the last two years.

-Did that cross-country road-trip where you lived on the road for four months.
-Took a risk, sold your car, and booked a one-way flight to Hawaii to “see what happens”.
–Started a blog about it for whoever was like “wtf is this guy doing”.
-Lived in 3 different continents, and left each place better than you found it
–Started a business, trained clients around the world, and quit your job so you could do it more
-Had no idea what the hell was going to happen along the way. Seriously.
-Most importantly, you put yourself out there and did your best to make a difference.

Fuck. Yes. 

You do you boo boo.

Whatever it is you want to do, you’ll be able to look at the past year or two and see how much progress you’ve really made…and know that it’s enough as long as you put in your best effort into whatever fills your cup. Have faith that something bigger than you can make magic happen in ways you’d never imagine. I say this because the man above has been pretty dope with me.

To all of those beautiful people skimming through this short article right now (including my ex’s), I’m here to let you know that you are enough, and you better believe that you were put here to do some really cool shit. It’s your job to figure out what that is and do it relentlessly because you only get one shot at this. Just one opportunity. To seize everything you’ve ever wanted. One moment. 

Capture it, don’t let it slip. You’ll piss off Slim Shady.

Travel Blocks

After seeing Greenlights in Vietnam, I’ve been catching hella flights, not feelings. Okay, some feelings too. Ew, gross.

In just four months, I scaled Dubai from the Burj, cruised a ship docked in Qatar for the World Cup where I made the local news looking like Andrew Tate, cracked open a few cold ones in Ohio with the fam to cool off from the desert, brushed up on my Spanish in Colombia, and I even made a pit stop in Honduras for a family vacation. Not too bad for a homeless guy, right? 

Still, something in my gut was telling me that it was time to go back to Hawaii where it all started, and make it home for at least a little while. So I went. 

With a home base established on Maui, I feel like I’m in my element, doing what I love, and it’s allowing me to develop into the person I need to be. Most importantly, I’m finally back in the gym as a lead hype man coaching people up to be champions, and it feels so damn good I cannot begin to explain. 

This stuff gets me juiced. 

The Block

I coach at The Block, the absolute best gym (in my completely unbiased opinion) in Lahaina on the west side of the island. Let me just say that we’re so much more than just a breeding ground for extremely sexy people with dope instagrams who can probably bench press one another, perform handstands and grunt loudly. 

That goes without saying. 

It’s so much more. This is THE SPOT to be. 

It starts with an owner who has a brilliant, innovative mind. As an owner, you want to bring only the BEST talent in the building because the coaches that run with us are all superstars in their own craft. He nailed it on the head.

You can give me that raise anytime now, boss. 

There’s beach workouts. “Alright guys, you’re going to sprint to the water, touch the Pacific Ocean, and squat walk back to those big mountains making sure to keep your core tight, chin up and eyes on the peaks.” 

I watch this going on around me and think, is this real life? Am I hallucinating? Are we in a simulation? Whatever “this” is, if you’re on this island, it’s happening in your backyard. So get your ass out there with the rest of us and show me some sand on those butt cheeks because we’re so damn fortunate to be living this life.

Building Blocks

When hiring any coach, you really want someone who is high energy to get a fire lit under peoples’ asses. Positive energy is contagious. We can get each other hyped for a killer workout, but even more importantly, hyped to crush it when we leave the building in our everyday life.

You do that by finding leaders who are genuine. This is what makes them relatable. People can connect with them because they’re professional, hard-working and fun. Most importantly, leaders who embrace their imperfections instead of pretending they have their own shit 100% together. Nobody does. Put in your best effort in everything you do, treat other people well, and don’t be afraid to throw on your birthday suit every now and then. 

That’s called balance, baby.

Just the other day I sat down with the owner, Tyler. This guy has 10 plates spinning at all times and it’s a precious commodity to have his uninterrupted attention. Tyler asks me, “so what do you want to talk about?” I couldn’t wait for this. A couple of guys sitting down to see how we could make this place even better. The ideas were flowing organically because you have two hard-working, hungry studs who operate with fire and bring some high frequencies to the table.

That’s when the universe responds best.

We both believe in the gym, this is our passion, our purpose, and we are the individuals who will put pen to paper and actually do the shit we dreamed up that we can do. 

We don’t mess around and commit to doing the work. That’s the mark of a champion.

That day I said to Tyler, “Hey man, I’m writing a blog post. Maybe I can mention your gym and it’ll be a good thing, yeah?” 

I need everyone to recognize one very important concept here. By helping the people around you, you’re helping yourself. This might be hard to believe, but we can all win. It’s a universal principle. I get to hype up my favorite spot on the island, praise our coaches and our awesome members, and have fun practicing writing whatever the hell I want about it. It’s a win-win.

Building Castles

Don’t we all just want to be big rockstars, live in fifteen houses driving fifteen cars? Had to sneak in a Nickelback reference because they’re awesome. Don’t be racist dude, Canadian music rules.

I can say that because I have Canadian friends.

Seriously though, similarly to building those cute little block forts as kids, we grow up wanting to build a real empire of our own. Whatever that’s defined to be in your mind.

I always tell my friends that I want each one of them sitting at the round table with me. That way, we all made it to the big feast together. The best way to build up your castle is to help others build theirs, and guess what? I’ll be here with a truck-load of 2×4’s, screws, drill and a pretty little smile glued smack dab in the middle of this beautiful beard, because helping you lights up my fucking world. 

These are the building blocks to lay as the foundation of a successful and purposeful life. Lifting others up is essential to finding meaning in our own lives, and success becomes a by-product of it. This is what we’re here to do as coaches and as human beings, in general. 

To help each other glow the fuck up into the superstars we’re all meant to become…

…and Oprah gives everyone a castle in the end.