You Don't Rise to Your Potential: Why Systems Beat Dreams Every Time bust of Archilochus There's an ancient Greek poet named Archilochus who understood something about human performance that most people still haven't figured out 2,700 years later: "You don't rise to the level of your expectations, you fall to the level of your training." Fast forward to modern times, and James Clear echoed this wisdom in Atomic Habits with his own version: "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall...
1 day ago • 8 min read
Why Your Comfort Zone is a Prison and Your Ego is the Warden There's a quote that shaped my entire approach to life during my younger, hungrier years: "Walk like a god but work like a dog." Nine simple words that perfectly captured what it meant to be a warrior in a world that was constantly trying to knock you down. Stand tall in your complete humanity—not above anyone, but certainly not below them either. At the same time, understand that nothing worth having comes without a price, and that...
2 days ago • 8 min read
The Pink Slip That Changed Everything September 11th, 2001 changed a lot of things. For most people, it was a day of tragedy and uncertainty. For me, (besides being my first birthday I "celebrated" with Amy) it was the beginning of a series of events that would lead to the most important lesson of my career—delivered by way of a pink slip and a George Clooney interview. Here's how a construction foreman named "Rackstraw" accidentally gave me the key to becoming bulletproof at work, and why...
3 days ago • 8 min read
How WIIFM Transformed My Marriage, Career, and Bank Account Picture this: You're running multi-million dollar construction projects, managing crews of 20+ workers, and pulling 60-hour weeks just to keep everything afloat. Meanwhile, your spouse is struggling to build their dream business, despite being incredibly talented at their craft. The investments you made together—the ones that were supposed to be supported by their growing practice—are draining your bank account faster than you can...
4 days ago • 9 min read
The Warrior's Trap: Why Fighting Every Fire Will Keep You Fighting Fires Forever Picture this: a man condemned by the gods to push a massive boulder up a steep mountain for all eternity. Every time he nears the summit, the rock rolls back down, and he must begin again. No progress. No end. No hope of escape. Sisyphus pushing his rock The Greeks called him Sisyphus, and they designed this punishment specifically to break the human spirit. Because if there's one thing that destroys us more than...
5 days ago • 8 min read
A Belt is Just the Cloth to Keep Your Uniform in Place The octagon was silent except for the controlled breathing of two elite fighters. For 21 minutes of a 25-minute bout, Khamzat Chimaev dominated Dricus Du Plessis with textbook wrestling control. Yet when the final bell rang, something felt incomplete. Despite the overwhelming positional dominance, there was no finish. No submission. No knockout. Just three judges' scorecards confirming what everyone already knew. Khamzat Chimaev controls...
6 days ago • 6 min read
How Judo's Founder and Gaming Psychology Can Transform Your Success The difference between those who thrive and those who merely survive isn't talent, luck, or even effort—it's understanding how to make progress addictive instead of agonizing. Picture this: A scrawny (5'2" 90-pound) teenager in 1870s Japan, constantly terrorized by local bullies who saw his small frame as an easy target. Kanō Jigorō wasn't learning martial arts for personal enrichment or philosophical enlightenment—he was...
7 days ago • 7 min read
The Wine, the Lobster, and the Lesson: Why Life Isn’t a Race to the Finish Line There are dinners you remember for the food. There are dinners you remember for the company. And then, on rare occasions, there are dinners that change how you look at life itself. Murano was one of those nights. It was partway through my recent back-to-back 23-day cruise of the British Isles and the Baltic Sea when I decided to invite my friend Mike from Sydney — not my business mentor Mike, another Mike — to...
8 days ago • 5 min read
Why Hard Workers Fail: The Fake Guru Epidemic That's Stealing Your Success Most people waste their time following people who "look good" instead of people who "are good." Whether you're on the mat or a construction site, that'll leave you vulnerable — in life, it simply leaves you spinning your wheels. Imagine this scene: Standing at the rear of a martial arts dojang in Santa Monica, observing what was the most remarkable black belt exams I'd ever witnessed. The candidate, Marcus Sakamoto,...
9 days ago • 8 min read