Jacked or Shredded Ep 336

In a dynamic discussion, the host emphasizes the parallels between bodybuilding and business, highlighting the importance of consistency over intensity for long-term success. Drawing from a conversation with a friend who sold his business for $15 million, the host underlines the significance of persistence, balanced skill sets, and addressing weak links, whether it's in one's physique or business departments. He also explores the role of specific knowledge, acquired through mentorship and hands-on experience, as a key driver for progress. The host further delves into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, noting the necessity of passion for sustained effort and achievement in both fitness and business. He concludes by advising that success in both arenas requires a long-term perspective, with years of dedication rather than months, to see substantial results.

• Consistency is more effective than intensity over a short period.
• Long-term commitment leads to greater skill development and success.
• Persistency is a character trait that can be developed like a muscle.

"I would always rather have somebody work out with a 70% intensity for ten years, right. Than somebody work out with 120% intensity for one month." This quote emphasizes the speaker's preference for sustained, moderate effort over a long period rather than extreme effort over a short period, highlighting the importance of consistency.

"If you just consistently do something for a long period of time, you're going to be really good at it because the total volume of work performed will surpass the total effort from that guy who is being really intense for a short period of time." The speaker explains that consistent effort accumulates over time, surpassing the results of intense but short-lived efforts, reinforcing the value of long-term dedication.

"Persistency in and of itself is a character trait that you develop through doing it, right?" The speaker suggests that persistency is a trait that can be developed through practice, indicating that sticking with tasks can improve one's ability to be persistent.

• Both bodybuilding and business require a balanced approach to strengths and weaknesses.
• Focusing solely on strengths can lead to imbalances and limitations in growth.
• A business, like a physique, must be well-rounded to be successful.

"Your weakest link in your business will be the constraint of the business." The speaker points out that the weakest element in a business determines its limitations, much like how the weakest muscle group can limit overall physical development.

"You don't necessarily have to be the person who fulfills that weak link, but the business must be balanced." This quote suggests that while an individual doesn't need to personally address every weakness, it is crucial for the business as a whole to achieve balance.

"Just like you have body parts, you have departments within a business." The speaker draws a parallel between the different muscle groups in bodybuilding and the various departments in a business, highlighting the need for a holistic approach to both.

• Skill acquisition is a result of high-quality, voluminous practice.
• Attention to detail and technique is crucial for effective training.
• Learning from experienced individuals can drastically improve one's approach.

"Skill comes from volume, right? And it's high quality volume." The speaker notes that developing skill is a result of practicing a high volume of quality work, suggesting that both quantity and quality are important for improvement.

"I've worked out with friends of mine who are entrepreneurs, and I can't tell you how many times they've worked out with me. And I'm like, hey, man, change this. Do this. Move your elbows this way. Reposition your body." This quote illustrates the importance of precise technique and the benefits of receiving guidance from someone more experienced, which can lead to significant improvements in practice.

• The speaker discusses an experience with business people who realized they had not been effectively training their back muscles despite years of workouts.
• The concept of specific knowledge, as mentioned by Naval Ravikant, is introduced, which is knowledge that you can learn but cannot be taught.
• Specific knowledge is acquired through application, apprenticeship, and mentorship rather than traditional schooling.
• The speaker emphasizes the value of learning from those who have successfully done what you aim to do, due to the nuances and details in their execution.

"For ten years or five years, they've been training and thinking that they were training their back, but they weren't."

This quote illustrates the speaker's point about the lack of specific knowledge and its impact on the effectiveness of training.

"Specific knowledge is knowledge that can be learned but cannot be taught."

This quote defines specific knowledge and implies its unique value and the way it must be acquired.

"The way that it is learned is through apprenticeship and mentorship."

The speaker suggests that hands-on learning experiences are crucial for acquiring specific knowledge.

• Dr. Jeffrey Cashy's research is cited, showing that individuals with mentors in academia are four times more productive than their peers without mentors.
• The speaker connects the importance of mentorship to the transfer of specific knowledge.
• The significance of mentorship is highlighted as a key factor in achieving success and gaining expertise.

"People who have mentors in academia accomplish four times more than people with identical character traits, identical degrees and pedigrees and all that stuff who did not have a mentor."

This quote emphasizes the substantial impact that mentorship can have on an individual's productivity and success.

• The speaker discusses a conversation with Brooke Castillo about the authenticity of content and teaching.
• The concept of first principles thinking is introduced as understanding the fundamental reasons why something is the way it is.
• The speaker criticizes those who teach without having done the work themselves, lacking the necessary details and nuances.
• The importance of having actual experience in what one is teaching is stressed for credibility and depth of knowledge.

"Most people that you see have not done the thing that they are teaching, what they do is they are spouting things that they have heard and just regurgitating them."

This quote criticizes the lack of authenticity in teaching when the instructor has not personally done what they are teaching.

• The speaker argues that the best way to improve a skill, like selling, is by doing it and learning from someone more skilled.
• The limitations of the academic system are acknowledged, and alternative learning methods are recommended.
• The speaker shares a personal example of their neighbor who learned to sell effectively through working on a sales team and progressing through the ranks.

"And now he can teach the skill because he's done it right."

This quote illustrates the idea that true understanding and the ability to teach come from hands-on experience.

• The speaker draws parallels between bodybuilding and business, emphasizing the need for specific intention behind actions.
• The concept of going through the motions without true execution is criticized.
• The speaker points out that many people believe they are effectively marketing or executing business strategies when in reality, they are not.

"Just like in bodybuilding, you have to do it with the specific intention behind it."

This quote highlights the importance of intentionality in practice to ensure effective execution.

"So many people go through the motions and they think they're marketing. They think they're marketing, but really what they're doing is they're like, no, we do the marketing. We do that stuff."

The speaker suggests that many people misunderstand their own effectiveness in business practices, mistaking motion for action.

• Hunger and fanaticism are irreplaceable for success in both bodybuilding and business.
• Fitness professionals often mistake their enjoyment for discipline.
• True discipline involves doing tasks even when they are not enjoyable.
• Long-term success in fitness and business comes from a genuine obsession and enjoyment.
• Fitness enthusiasts spend their free time engaging with their passion, which contributes to their success.
• Self-awareness is key to setting realistic expectations for success in areas where there is a lack of enjoyment.

"And so let me transition to one of the most important points that we hit on, which is that for bodybuilding in business, nothing replaces hunger, nothing replaces fanaticism." Speaker A emphasizes the importance of having a strong desire and passion, which he refers to as hunger and fanaticism, as essential for achieving success in both bodybuilding and business.

"But when it comes to business, they don't enjoy doing it. And so they are not disciplined because if you were disciplined, you would do it even though you do not enjoy doing it." Speaker A points out that discipline is about doing what is necessary for success, even when it is not enjoyable, which is a challenge for some fitness professionals when they transition to business.

"The only people who win in the long term, the only people that, in my observation, who have become super fit or super successful in bodybuilding or business are people who can do it for a long time." Speaker A suggests that sustained effort over time, driven by genuine interest and passion, is a common trait among those who achieve long-term success in both fitness and business.

• Success in business, like in fitness, requires spending significant time learning and thinking about the industry.
• Those who are not naturally drawn to business may need to adjust their expectations for success.
• Being a skilled technician does not necessarily equate to being successful in business.
• Spending time thinking about and practicing a skill leads to improvement and the ability to seek out necessary resources and mentors.

"And so, to the same degree in business, if you're like, let's say, in fitness and you wanted to get in business, and mind you, this is not a channel for fitness business stuff. But if you were in that shoe and you wanted to be good at business, but you just don't spend your time reading about it and you don't spend your waking time thinking about it, you're not always reinvesting because all you want to do is just consume more information on business, then you're not going to beat someone who does." Speaker A argues that to excel in business, one must be as dedicated to learning and thinking about business as they are about their fitness pursuits, otherwise they will be outperformed by those who are more dedicated.

"But if you spend your time thinking about all day long, you will eventually correct your form, you will eventually do it right. You will seek out the mentors and people that you need who can actually get you unstuck." Speaker A suggests that continuous focus and thought on a skill or industry will naturally lead to improvement and the ability to overcome obstacles through seeking help from mentors.

• Different activities may require different motivational strategies.
• Speaker A enjoys the communal environment of a gym for fitness but prefers isolation for business tasks.
• Understanding whether one is intrinsically or extrinsically motivated can help tailor one's approach to success.
• Speaker A discovered personal insights into his own motivational needs after years of experience.

"So in fitness, and this has taken me now 17 years to figure out is that I actually like working out with people, not necessarily with them, but in an environment where their other people are." Speaker A shares a personal realization that the presence of others in a gym environment enhances his motivation to work out.

"And I think that it's important to figure out what your motivator is. Like, I love business, and I'm intrinsically motivated to do it because I love it." Speaker A highlights the importance of understanding one's internal motivators, which for him is a love for business that drives him to work on it constantly.

• The speaker opened their first gym in 2013 and has always had a gym to work out in alone.
• Their motivation for fitness has decreased since 2013, but they maintain discipline.
• Recently, working out in other gyms while traveling has reignited their enjoyment.

"e pretty much I opened my first gym in 2013, it's 2021 now, right? Since then, I've always had a gym that I owned that I would work out at, and it was always alone. And my motivation for fitness pretty much dropped in 2013 till now."

This quote explains the speaker's history with fitness and gym ownership, highlighting a decrease in motivation over time.

• Success in the long term is more likely for those who enjoy what they are doing.
• Without enjoyment, it's challenging to compete with those who are passionate about the same thing.

"The first thing is the people who like the thing are the ones who are going to succeed in the long term."

The speaker emphasizes that genuine interest and enjoyment are critical for sustained success in any endeavor.

• To make progress, it's crucial to learn from someone with specific knowledge in the field of interest.
• Whether in business or bodybuilding, proper technique and knowledge are necessary for advancement.

"Two, if you want to advance faster, then find somebody who has specific knowledge in the thing, whether it's business or bodybuilding, you have to do it right in order to make progress."

This quote stresses the importance of seeking expertise to improve efficiently and correctly in any field.

• Consistency is more effective than short bursts of intense effort.
• Long-term commitment and daily practice are essential for improvement.

"Number three, consistency will always beat intensity."

The speaker explains that consistent effort trumps short-term intensity for achieving long-term goals.

• Intrinsically motivated individuals may perform better when working alone.
• Extrinsically motivated individuals thrive in environments where they can showcase their achievements.
• Harnessing personal insecurities can be beneficial if done constructively.

"Number four, the people who are intrinsically motivated, I think will work better on their own. People who are extrinsically motivated work better in areas where they can show off."

This quote differentiates between two types of motivation and suggests optimal environments for each.

• In business and bodybuilding, it's necessary to identify and improve weak areas.
• This may involve learning new skills or collaborating with others who have the required expertise.

"Weak links in your physique. You can be really good at sales, you can be really good at benching, right? You can be really good at one thing, but in order for the business overall to succeed, you have to fix the weak link."

The speaker highlights the analogy between improving a business and bodybuilding, focusing on the need to address weaknesses for overall success.

• Success in both fitness and business requires liking what you do.
• Fitness professionals need to enjoy business to succeed financially.
• Thinking long-term is essential; success takes years, not months.

"And last one is that if you're a fitness professional and you're not making money, it's not because you are so disciplined in fitness. You're really good at fitness because you like fitness."

The speaker draws a parallel between fitness and business success, attributing success to passion for the field.

• Winners think in years, not months.
• Progress often follows a 'hockey stick' pattern, with a long period of groundwork followed by rapid success.
• Each step in the business pipeline must be managed effectively for growth.

"Most people think in months when the people who win think in years, if you want to have a champion physique, you want to look like you're absolutely ridiculously in shape. It doesn't take months, it takes years."

This quote conveys the importance of a long-term perspective for achieving significant success in any field.