Brit and I have three boys. They’re 6, 4.5, and 22 months. And they are an absolute joy to raise. They are full of energy, to say the least.
Back in late 2018, we signed on the dotted line for a $1.5 million loan to do an addition/remodel of the gym. Up until this point, we hadn’t really had to ‘risk it for the biscuit,’ so to speak. However, this made things very, very real and caused me to do some deep reflection as our boys (2.5 and 6 months at the time) were going to get to see this thing come to life or blow up in our faces.
I thought about what we’d want them to learn from this. What we want them to exemplify when they grow up. And how we could help positively shape their little minds for the future.
And I firmly believed (and still do), that our best shot was setting a good example by our actions.
We were up in Wisconsin in 2019 in a shop in a small town store, and I saw a sign that said - Work Hard. Be Nice. And I thought to myself, that sums up everything I could ever ask of my kids. And what I need to be expecting from myself.
Fortunately, by this point, we were already doing this in our little fitness community; we just needed to put it on the wall to call it out as our Core Values which we put up on the temporary entrance door during construction.
As much as WHBK was originally for my kids, so is literally everything we do at the gym. All of you are providing such a great example not only to the kids out there but anyone out there watching.
You’re putting the work in to take care of yourself. Being the best version of yourself.
So that you have the capacity to care for others, and maybe by the end of this whole thing, we can make the world a better place by the simple act of doing some hard things and being nice to people.
In fact, I know we’ve already made the world a better place. I see it every time I walk in the gym doors, and anytime I bump into any one of you out in the community. You’re walking the walk.
Thank you for Working Hard and Being Kind.
Have a great August!
Jon
We have an epic day planned yet again for Fitoberfest which is our annual one day competition. We're looking for volunteers/fitness enthusiasts who want to help out behind the scenes to make the day a success. Click the link above to sign up to compete or volunteer!
Once upon a time I put on what I called a monthly "Shred". The focus was to dial in eating, maybe add in some workouts, fasting, improve recovery or honestly whatever rabbit hole I wanted to go down at the time.
After a 6 month hiatus, I'm spinning another one up in September, not with what I'm looking to experiment with but what I've actually been doing the last 6 months to help get me leaner than I've ever been.
It's $40 which translates to $4 per day and I'll be giving you a daily dose of what to do and the accountability to help you make it happen.
Caveat - All your dreams will not come true after 10 days BUT you will have the tools you need to keep dialing it in for the weeks and months to come.
Lastly - I got a chance to catch up on my reading this summer and have been getting through some content. Very random recent collection but I wanted to highlight some impactful books you may enjoy.
- For business, "The Road Less Stupid" and "Unreasonable Hospitality"
- Living longer and better "Why we Sleep" and "Outlive"
- Life in general "The Compound Effect"
