Have you ever wondered what it takes to #MAXOUT your life? What are the steps to achieve everything you’ve always wanted and experience every ounce of awesomeness possible? How do you get to the top of your game, live the life you dream of, and rub shoulders with the people you look up to? If those are questions you’ve asked yourself, this episode will be one of your favorites. It’s a round-up of some of my best topics put in one place to give you the tools you need to #MAXOUT your life!  Everything you’re about to learn today is from a man who went from growing up in a middle-class family to building one of the most successful financial service businesses on the continent. I’m a best-selling author, host of a top-rated podcast, and one of the leading motivational speakers in the world. I don’t just talk the talk. I have the results to back up my advice, and I want to share all of this information with you so that YOU can #MAXOUT your life with me!  This post covers seven of my top ten rules for success, so if you want to know them all, check out the podcast episode. Let’s kick it off with rule number one!

#MAXOUT Your Life by Altering Your Beliefs

A good person will not take more from the table of life than they think they're worth or think they deserve. We all have this “identity governor” that acts as a thermostat. When our lives get going, and we start doing really well, we unconsciously dial things back so that we feel more comfortable. It’s like we started at 75 degrees. As we got traction, our life heated up to 85 or 90 degrees. Without thinking about it, our “identity governor” cools our life down to get us closer to our original state — the place where we’re comfortable because it’s familiar. The reverse of this is also true. When things start to go really bad, we’re broke, or we’re struggling, we find a way to heat our life back up to what we think we’re worth and deserve so that we can be comfortable. If you want more in your life and you feel like every time you get momentum, you somehow lose it, you need to alter your “identity governor,” AKA your thermostat so that you believe you’re worth an 85-degree, 95-degree, or 110-degree life.  Here are two ways to alter your beliefs: #1 Put yourself in circumstances that require more from you than you think you are capable of. As you succeed, you build a new waterline. You throw yourself out there, past where you're comfortable. You do an 85-degree task and knock it out of the park. Then your brain begins to believe that you are not only capable of an 85-degree life but that you also deserve an 85-degree life. #2 Intentionally associate with people who are living life at a higher level than you. If you begin associating with people who live life at a higher temperature than you, you get heated up through association. If you're a 70-degree athlete and start training with 85 and 90-degree athletes, your identity goes up through osmosis . If you're trying to improve your personal peace and you begin to hang around people who are more peaceful than you and meditate a little bit more, then over time, your thermostat changes in that area. By association, you become more peaceful. Whatever it is that you want in life is available to you and within your ability to acquire. But you have to BELIEVE it completely. Altering your belief requires both behaving in a certain way and your associations. 

#MAXOUT Your Life by Serving People

After my baseball career ended prematurely due to an injury, I spent a year sitting around my parent's house broke in every way — financially, spiritually, mentally, physically. One day just after my dad had gotten sober, he said, “Hey, I met this guy at a meeting. I got you a job. Get your ass down there tomorrow at 6 am. You’re getting out of this house and getting a job.” The next morning at 6:00 AM,I landed myself a job at a boys' home called McKinley. It was a campus of group homes. All my boys were wards of the court who had been removed from their family either because their parents were incarcerated, killed, or were molesting them. I ended up in Cottage Jade with 12 boys, 7 to 10 years old. When I saw the eyes of those little boys who just wanted someone to love them and believe in them, my life instantly transformed.  I believe that people who go through any dysfunction in their family or abuse as a kid have different eyes — eyes of unfathomable depth and understanding. So I could connect with these guys. My family’s dysfunction wasn't as severe as theirs, but I knew what it was like to have that kind of anxiety, stress, and pressure put on you as a little boy. I became like their father. On Christmas and Halloween and their birthdays, I was there with them.  As I lived with them, I went from being an athlete with an inflated ego focused on accumulating all the accolades to serving people day-in-and-day-out and making a difference. Working at the boy’s home, I realized that I was actually born to serve and help people. After working there for two years, the financial business that I'm in now came along. I started in it part-time and became the rare young businessman who approached the business world from a place of service and giving instead of making money. Ironically, the more I contributed and served people, the more I was rewarded financially. I didn't do it for that reason, but that's what happened.  If you’ve been spinning your wheels and trying everything possible to hit your next financial goal, get that next promotion, or launch that business, shift your focus from achieving something to serving people and making them feel seen.

#MAXOUT Your Life by Overcoming Struggles

The first 5 years of any entrepreneurial journey is FULL of false starts. You get going, and then everything stalls out. You get some traction, and then you lose it all. You take 1 step forward and 3 steps back. You’re wondering, “Is it worth it? Should I quit? Should I give in?” I know because I spent the first 5 years in my financial firm daily contemplating quitting. It wasn't fun. I was struggling.  I think when anyone is struggling, they’re continually asking themselves, “Is this really for me? Is this my destiny? Should I be doing this?” We end up misreading failure as some sign telling us that we shouldn't be doing this, instead of looking for signs telling us how we can win.  Struggling is part of the road to success. Stop seeing challenges and failure as reasons to give up, and start looking for all the reasons you should keep going.

#MAXOUT Your Life by Finding a Mentor

Growing up, I knew I wanted to be somebody. Specifically, I wanted to be a baseball player. I was lucky to get a mentor when I was really young, who happened to be a Hall of Fame baseball player — Rod Carew. He started pouring into me when I was about 9 years old. He didn't just pour baseball knowledge and technique into me. He believed in me. From a young age, I had someone I respected in my ear, believing in me and saying, “ You're going to be somebody someday. You're going to do something great.”  That helped me because I was able to borrow his belief. When times got hard or when I was in the middle of a game, I would remember what he said to me. If I was discouraged, I would be able to believe in myself because he believed in me. Sometimes, I didn’t even come through for myself. I came through for him. I couldn’t let him down. We need this same support and extra oomph to our belief as adults. Find yourself a mentor, someone who is ahead of you and living the life you want to live. Receive from them. Learn from them. Let them believe in you.

#MAXOUT Your Life by Getting Up Fast

Every successful person that we know gets hammered at some point. And it’s not just the successful people — everyone we know gets knocked down. You miss a close. Someone changes their mind. You get rejected. It's not whether you are going to get knocked down. It's not even whether you'll get back up. Everybody gets up eventually. So, it's actually about how long you’re going to stay down. You separate yourself from everyone else by how long you stay down on the mat.  As long as you’re on the mat, you’re defeated. You’re blind, and it prevents you from getting any other opportunities and blessings in your life. So the key to success is getting up, opening your eyes, and chasing your dream again. After all, you’re going to get back up eventually, so you might as well get back up now.  If you’ve been knocked down recently, take this as your wake up call to get up and get back in the game. Staying down isn’t serving you. Waiting until you’re ready is just running down the clock. Leverage every second of the clock of life by getting up as fast as possible and fighting for SUCCESS.

#MAXOUT Your Life by Relying on Your Habits

People ask me all the time, “How do you stay motivated?”. And the answer is, “I don’t.” Winners aren’t the most inspired and motivated people. They’re the people who can work on the days when they’re not inspired or motivated. If you want to #MAXOUT your life, you need to pay attention to what you do on the days you don’t feel great. When you're fatigued, anxious, or under pressure, most people react reflexively. On the other hand, successful people rely on their habits and rituals, not just their level of inspiration and motivation. Personally, I go out of my way to control the first 45 minutes of my day and the last 45 minutes of my day. This gives me an illusion in my mind of control. It also provides time for me to go through the habits and rituals that serve me. When life is stormy, I can find comfort in my healthy habits and routine.  As humans, we all have emotions. Often these feelings are a response to circumstances. We can’t always control our circumstances, but we can control how we respond to them. Having habits and routines in place gives us a structure and method to respond in a healthy way. Instead of reacting based on our emotions or physical fatigue, we’re able to stay consistent, be intentional, and continue to #MAXOUTour life.

#MAXOUT Your Life by Being a Champion

Have you ever been about to jump into cold water and dipped your toe in first? Instead of plunging in and getting it over with, you decided to take it slow. That seems like a logical decision, right? “Don't get in until you're ready. Take your time.” But all that does is extend the pain. If you just jump in headlong — sure there’s a shock — but your whole body can acclimate to the cold water, and before you know it, you’re off riding the waves.  The same is true for every area of life — fitness, family, faith, or business. Champions get great at something because they dive into it and get adapted quickly. Average people are the people who constantly take their time. They're too logical. They think, “ I can't do this until I'm ready. If I'm not ready, I'll mess it up.” The truth is, that's not how life works. If you go slow, you're extending the time you're in pain, and worse yet, while the champions have already acclimated and started riding the waves, you're still on the shore deciding whether you're going to get ready to go all in.  If you're an entrepreneur, business owner, or considering getting associated with my firm (which is a wonderful decision by the way), just dive in. You’ll be surprised at your ability to adapt and navigate your way through the challenges!

Why You Should Listen to Full Episode Right Now...

Life is ticking away minute by minute, whether or not you decide to max it out and get everything you’ve ever wanted out of your 75-96 years on this planet. But right now, at this very moment, you have everything you need to live the life of your dreams. You just need to take action — the right action. These 7 keys (and the other 3on the episode) will propel you to your #MAXOUT your life if you start applying them. Thanks so much for reading, and if you enjoy today’s episode, post a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #MAXOUT or share this with a friend. How amazing would it be if your friends were making moves to #MAXOUT their life, too? Let’s have fun living to our fullest potential and make a positive impact on the way! You with me? Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram if you haven’t already because I host the “two-minute drill every day.” The “two-minute drill” is your opportunity to win some really COOL stuff like a ride in my private jet, coaching sessions with me or a podcast guest, a copy of my book, and #MAXOUT gear. If you want a chance to win that stuff, follow me, turn on your notifications, and whenever I post, comment on it. Every week we choose a winner!