BUCKETS.BLOG

Welcome to the Buckets Project! Today’s episode and conversation is with a long-time friend of mine, Pam.Pam is a lovely lady I’ve known for 10+ years since the days of college. She is someone who always has a wonderful smile and an infectious laugh. Her positive attitude is one of many things that has inspired me to take a lighter approach to life. That approach has also taken her across the country from Texas to Alaska, to Indiana, and now Ohio. Regardless of where she resides, she finds opportunities to explore and spread her joy. She runs, hunts, hikes, etc. - whatever keeps her outside of the house. For that reason alone, we get along greatly in this conversation about what the perfect day looks like for the both of us.I hope you enjoy the episode and take away key components of the true treasures in life. Have a great day!

Hey everyone! Welcome to the Buckets Project where I ask questions about the most important things in life to help me with my own. Today’s episode and conversation is with a close friend of mine, Zedrick. I've learned that in order to become the person you want to be you must surround yourself with the people that embody those same characteristics. In this case, Zedrick is a prime example. He is a man who humbles himself to ask for training, but driven enough to learn and become the coach. I’ve looked up to this guy from the day we got reunited 5+ years ago simply because I’ve seen him care for his wife, his brothers, and his friends like myself. I’ve seen him care for his parents, his wife’s parents, and his parents’ parents. I’ve then witnessed him become a parent. I’m curious to see the day where his kid will grow up and care for him, because he’ll finally experience the comfort of being taken care of by his family, his best friends, and mentors like he does all the time for everyone else. Hard work with him comes in the form of miles on the pavement, weeks stuck in his office, and years hand-in-hand with the people that love him most. I hope you enjoy this conversation and learn as much from him as I have day in and day out. Thanks for listening, and have a great day!

Hey everyone! Welcome to the Buckets Project where I ask people to describe their perfect day and categorize that day into their highest priorities - the Buckets. Today's episode and conversation is with an old-time friend of mine from high school, “Big Mike”. I have this image of “Big Mike” but not as the name portrays. Those in high school called him Big Mike because of his body size, but the more I think of him the more I realize I always associated the word “big” with his smile. You could never catch this man without a smile, and I’m sure the same is true today - 15 years later. In fact, I’m positive the same is true because of this conversation. I could picture him smiling as we went along, and I could picture him smiling when the conversation was over. That’s the only way I can picture him - ever. That says so much about a person when people identify them by their beaming positivity and happiness. All these years later and that same identification is consistent. I admire that trait, because I long for that trait. That whatever the circumstance - wherever in the world we may be - I want to smile regardless. I hope you enjoy this conversation and smile as much as we did. We connected on another level and there are so many lessons to be learned from two old (or at least getting there) men. Thanks for listening, and have a great day!

Hey everyone! Welcome to the Buckets Project!. I know it's been a few weeks since I've posted an episode, but I’m ready to do some catching up. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and this project, and I look forward to the great things to come. Today's episode and conversation is with a good friend of mine, Katherine. Have you ever met someone who unexpectedly didn't match the environment that you met them in? (I would assume that all of you have experienced this.) I would even say that I was the person you met that didn't match the environment we crossed paths in. Anyway, Katherine was one of those people for me. Her vibe was different from the majority of the people in the room. We met at my previous company, and we had something in common from the first day - the feeling of not matching that company. Nothing against the company, but we just had different ambitions that didn’t align with that corporation or that career path. We just followed the breadcrumbs in our individual lives and somehow ended up there - together. Our ambitions were more creative and more independent. Her ambitions were to become a successful actress in theatre. My ambitions were to become a successful writer and coach, yet there we stood in an engineering company. It’s funny where life takes you. That’s why we clicked so soon. We shared ideas and recommendations on how to better our journeys outside of work. Now, both of us have left that corporation to pursue those ambitions we once spoke of. I hope you all listen and learn from this conversation as much as I have. I hope it inspires you to follow your ambitions wherever they may take you. You’ll find that you’ll have a much higher chance of being happy, even if you have no idea where you’ll end up. Thanks again, and have a great day.

Hey everyone! Welcome back to the Buckets Project! Today's episode and conversation is with an old friend of mine, Omar. Perspective is usually defined as the lens in which you see things. In Omar’s case, we will define perspective as the height in which you see things. (This dude is tall.) Omar is an individual who was given the gift of height to look down on the physical things of the world and the humility to look up to the intellectual things that life is always trying to teach us. He is a constant reminder that you cannot have one without the other. His ambitions match his height, and his growth matches his faith - limitless. At the time of this recording, he was blessed to become a father to teach his children that success in this world is not dependent on your physical advantages but rather the effort in how you use them. He uses his advantages (physically and mentally) to help and serve others on a daily basis. For that, I commend him. I hope you enjoy this conversation and learn from him as much as I have. Thanks again, and have a nice day.

Justin Timberlake wrote in his book that he visualizes sound. Every sound effect he hears and uses in his music has a particular shape to it. This is a great example of how powerful perspective is. What some people hear is what others see. Differing perspectives then lead to varying levels of talent and creativity. Grace is a woman I’ve learned is light years ahead of me in terms of perspective, talent, and creativity. She can see music more clearly than she can read it. Not only music but she can see the beauty in others more than what she can see. That’s also what we call faith. Faith is believing in something much greater than ourselves without seeing it. Her faith in God parallels her sight in music. Her love for community is evident in her network of friends, and I’m lucky to be a part of it. I hope you enjoy this conversation and learn from Grace as much as I have. Thanks again for listening and have a nice day.

Welcome to the Buckets Project. Today’s episode and conversation is with a great friend of mine Patricia or Party as we like to call her. The beauty behind revisiting these conversations from this project is that, after months have gone by, you can have a status check on whether what you said in the past is consistent with what you are saying now. I have known Patricia a very long time (10+years) and I am quickly reminded of how grounded she was in the past and still is today. Because she is so grounded, she and her husband have fostered such a strong foundation for a wonderful marriage and photography business together. They are each other’s landing pad. Her and her husband have also been one of the biggest, if not biggest, supporters of this project. When I say this project, I’m really referring to every idea, mistake, and adventure my crazy-ass can think of. Like her mother often tells her, she can’t give as much as she would like to just yet, but she can always give a great education. She (and her husband) have educated me on the value of love, friendship, and the resiliency of never quitting on your purpose. As you navigate through this conversation, I hope you pick up many of the valuable lessons that her and I share together. Thanks again for listening and have a great day.

Welcome to the buckets project. Today’s episode and conversation is with a good friend of mine, Anthony. It’s very interesting to see two lines cross. You don’t know how long each line is, whether each line is straight or entangled within itself, and where each line starts. All you know is the point of intersection. As you ask more questions and continue to follow your curiosities, only then can you learn more about the lines you crossed paths with. I met Anthony at a single point of intersection - a previous job. Although the duties within that job for us were very similar, it was clear that the lines we followed to get to that job were very different. I learned that his line was longer (he was a bit older than I), more curvy (years in the military will do that to you), and consists of many different threads consisting of his wife and children. What’s similar? Our lines became bolder through time with the families we have gained and the experiences we have failed and/or conquered. We strive to lead through it all and learn that in order to lead we must first learn. Much of this we discuss in our conversation. I hope you learn and listen. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day. - This concludes the episode and conversation that I had with Anthony. We talked about many of the things that are important to him such as his family where he would like to travel, what he would like to do, and what he would love to learn. He reminds me that, no matter what we’ve been through, there’s still so much to learn to help us get to where we want to go. I hope you enjoyed this conversation and come back for more. Thanks again and have a great day.

Welcome to Filling Buckets Friday where every Friday I give you a little insight on how I try to fill my own buckets. Today’s bucket is the physical and mental improvement bucket. Seeing as though May is just around the corner, I thought I’d share this endeavor with you. When I was working, I used to concoct new challenges that I would rather be doing than sitting in that cubicle staring at a computer screen. (I’ve been dying for the opportunity to use that word - concoct.) I’d even close my eyes and type random stuff on the keyboard as I visualized that workout or that obstacle course. I could feel my heart rate rise and I’d even start sweating. I’m just kidding, or am I? For those of you who don't know, the Murph challenge is a pretty rough workout that takes place in the CrossFit world every May during Memorial Day weekend in honor of Lieutenant Michael Murphy, a Navy SEAL killed in the line of duty of 2015. This workout consists of: One-Mile Run 1. 100 Pull-Ups 2. 200 Push-Ups 3. 300 Air Squats 4. One-Mile Run All this happens with a 20-lb weight vest, although the vest is optional. Some might say that the Murph challenge is to CrossFit what the marathon distance is to running. Every year, I look forward to this workout because, to me, it’s harder than running a marathon. I always tell people, “If you can finish this challenge with or without the vest, then you can finish running a marathon - piece of cake.” To me, it's one of the hardest Crossfit workouts designed, because of the high volume of movement. The weight vest that sits on your chest and overheats you doesn’t help either. Then I came across a YouTube video where the host finished 30 days of Murph (one per day) without the vest. I did some additional research to see if other people did this challenge with the vest or not. Many people conquered the thirty days - none with the vest. Me being me I thought, “How many days could I do WITH the vest?” Again, this is the workout I explained that is hard to do once a year. Here I am wondering how many I could do back-to-back. Fortunately, or unfortunately, because I had other events coming up like a marathon and some Ironmans, I couldn’t dedicate 30 days solely for this challenge (if I could even get that far). Therefore, I set out for five days with the vest. Even if I didn't complete five days, anything more than one would be a mission accomplished. Five days was also significant for me because it represented the workweek I used to have in my previous jobs, and let me tell you I’d rather go to work on Murph than go back to those jobs. There are many ways to skin a cat, but I broke down the workout like this: 1. One-Mile Run 2. 20 sets of 5 Pull-Ups / 10 Push-Ups / 15 Squats 3. One-Mile Run The first few days were tough as expected. I should have prepared more, but I didn’t (like everything else I do). Like any marathon distance, it’s recommended to train at least six months in advance. Obviously, I don’t take recommendations too well. I knew I was going to be sore - more sore than usual - so I spent more free-time on mobility and recovery when I wasn't working out. I started carrying a massage ball with me everywhere I went. I grabbed our handy-dandy vibrating massager anytime we were in front of the TV. I made extra efforts to get enough sleep, so I would have enough cognitive energy to do Murph again the next day. Mentally, I had to convince myself not to quit even before starting next round. But, when I started the workout in the following days, I looked for opportunities to change my focus during the same movements. Stare at something else. Change the routine like reorder the pull-ups to be last instead of first. If I could change my routine just a tad bit, I could convince myself that I was doing a different workout. That concept worked. New workout gave me new energy. As far as time goes, you would think that my logged times would be getting slower due to fatigue. The opposite happened. All my times were consistent. In fact, from start to finish they were actually getting faster: 1. Monday - 1:10:00 2. Tuesday - 1:07:00 3. Wednesday - 1:08:00 4. Thursday - 1:05:00 5. Friday - 1:00:00 Not record-breaking by any means, but definitely counter-intuitive. I thought I’d be hitting two hours by the end of the fifth day. By the end of the fifth day, I actually contemplated if I wanted to do more. I was surprised to make it this far, so why not go further? Then I was reminded of my marathons and Ironmans coming up - back to reality. But, the weirdest thing happened in the last round of my fifth day. I actually got bored - not tired like I anticipated. Looking back, I should have gone faster even though my focus was just to go further. That’s the thing I reflected on the most. What used to be hard didn’t seem as grueling the more I did it. I didn’t die. Actually, I felt more alive. In fact, I kept going because my mind and body willed it to achieve just one more day. That one more day totaled out to be: 1. Ten miles of running 2. 500 pull-ups 3. 1,000 push-ups 4. 1,500 squats 5. All with a 20-lb vest (That’s almost 20% of my body weight) The beauty lies in knowing that there are many things you can’t control in life, but there are things you can do to move your own needle. We all need to do more of that. Jump into the unknown, despite the risk and fear, and keep moving. What we will find, like I did, is that things get easier. We’ll get faster and further than ever anticipated. We will even surprise ourselves by the end of it.

The Buckets Project: I asked everyone the same question and recorded the conversation: Let’s talk about your perfect day - however you interpret the word perfect. Write down everything you want to do, then take a step back and split your perfect 24 hours into four buckets or priorities. Don’t think about money, reality or logic. Make it as perfect as you want. Don’t think of it as your last 24 hours either. Think of it as the same 24 hours you’d live again and again to experience a full life of happiness and fulfillment. - Hey everyone! Welcome to The Buckets Project. Today’s episode and conversation is with a lovely woman I met at my previous job (and I’ve had many previous jobs), Melinda. Through my many jobs, I’ve crossed paths with many people. Some of them were the naïve idealists who believed that life is only black and white (me being one of them). Then there are the others who are mature enough to understand that one must live through the black, pray to see the white, and somehow deal with the gray – the realist. I’ve crossed paths with many people who seem to bleed sunshine. Positive vibes appear to run through their veins, and you can’t quite understand how. All you know is that you need more of it … without being creepy. The best part of it is that those vibes are authentic because they come from the depths of their inner-being – those veins I mentioned before. Being positive is just who they are, and there can be nothing fake about it – the realist. Melinda is the illest. I mean the realist. From the first day we spoke, I felt the need to open up to her about my life. There was so much gray in my mind when I needed more white within the walls of my career and my life (figuratively, not literally). Like many of the people in my life, she enlightened me with the black, the white, and everything in between. We connected. I hope you enjoy this connection and learn from it as much as I have. Conversations that go deep enough can uplift the roofs and walls of your intellect to let more sunshine in. Have a great day. - This concludes the episode and conversation I had with Melinda. We talked a lot about her husband, her kids, and her parents. She expanded on the depth of her parents’ relationship and how love can bring two people together regardless of time. We talked about how healthy nutrition and daily activities can dictate how you spend your future, or rather how the lack of those things dictate how you spend money for medicine in the future. We dove a little deeper into the “what-ifs” of our careers and where life could lead us in the years to come. Thank you for listening to this episode and I hope you enjoyed this woman’s sunshine as much as I did. Have a great day.

Welcome to Filling Buckets Friday where every Friday I give you a testimony explaining my own efforts to filling my highest priorities - what I like to call “buckets”. One of my highest priorities is improving my mental capacity and perspective by reading. My goal this year is to read a book per week. Actually my goal every year is to read a book per week. The first year I started this goal I only finished 33 books. The second year I continued this goal I maxed out at 45 books. I hope you see the progression towards the magic number of 52, but I haven't reached it yet. We will definitely see if 2020 is THE year. On that note, I am currently reading a book written by Michael Caine. The book is called “Blowing the Bloody Doors Off”. The premise of the title was from a lesson he learned while acting. A great actor does not perform to blow the entire car up (figuratively). Instead, the goal is to blow the doors off. What that means is a great performance shouldn’t be too grandiose but just enough. I haven't finished the book yet, but so far it has been pretty interesting. A big part of that is because I can hear his voice narrating the words. He has that thick British accent I remember from his role in the Batman series as Alfred. He was also in Inception, the Kingsman series, and the list goes on. In this particular part of the book, he explains a bit of advice from the only director who has ever fired him. This director fired Michael very early in his career because of a movie scene where he was to portray a drunk character. The director thought that Michael was too much of a sober person trying to be more drunk. What he wanted was a drunk trying to be more normal. This advice has stuck with me ever since I first put eyes on it, and I’m sharing it with you because it’s applicable in all areas of life. Imagine that you are the actor whose responsibility is to convince the audience that you are drunk. Your strategy might be to walk around in zig-zags and talk with slurred speech so that no one can make out what you’re saying. Maybe you'll play a rude belligerent alcoholic that drinks more vodka than water. Rather than go that route, the advice is to be uncontrollably drunk attempting to walk a straight line, mustering up a complete sentence, or searching desperately for something to drink (the thirst gets real when you’re drunk). Think of a guilty drunk driver trying to pass a sobriety test with Mr. Police Officer when pulled over. I’m sure most of us have been drunk before (hopefully not dealing with the sobriety test). When the right amount of shots hit you (for me, it’s just one), the rest of the night is dedicated to convincing everyone at the bar or party that you’re “good”. Then you lose your shit in the bushes or right before you hit the toilet, if you even get that far. Here’s why this advice hit me so hard. Instead of acting like a drunk alcoholic, let’s play the role of someone happy. So the question becomes, do we act as ourselves trying to be happy, or should we be happy acting more of ourselves? The answer should be obvious, but in reality most of us have it wrong. We think that in order to be happy we should follow in the footsteps of other people who are and how they came to be. By doing that, we develop habits that are not effective for us, misplace our attention, and adopt other people's vision of happiness. No wonder why it’s so much easier to experience disappointment with all of these bad habits we can’t kick. We should live our days as more of ourselves learning how to speak more clearly and openly, shaking off the bad habits, pushing away the negative influences, and correcting the vision that isn’t ours. The director’s advice was just to act more like yourself and you’ll be better off. Have a great day.

Welcome to Buckets.blog. Today’s episode and conversation is with a longtime friend of mine, Greg. Greg and I have shared many experiences since the early days of college. Actually, now that I think about it, Greg and I were never in college at the same time. Greg was the cool and wise alumni, and I was the naïve undergrad. He’d come back for random visits to out-think me and out-drink me. Greg, among many individuals, guided me through the many challenges of college (and life), prioritizing things that actually matter, and maintaining great relationships old and new. I remember Greg as the go-to quarterback for intramural sports. He was the leader of the bunch, always held his composure even when scrambling from the enemy, and knew when and where to put the ball so the right person could get to the in-zone. This memory of Greg, it turns out, is not related to football at all. This is who he is and what he does for the people around him - a true leader, level-headed, guiding those in-need to their successful futures, on and off the field. Life can easily get in the way especially out of college when you get a career. We are in two different cities living two different lives, but our friendship always remains the same. We always pick up wherever we left off from any conversation no matter how long ago we last connected. Hopefully, you’ll see that when you listen to the episode. I hope you learn something from Greg as I have through this episode, and come back for more. - This concludes the episode and conversation that I had with Greg. I learned a lot about his buckets from where religion falls into our lives to how we fall in love with our friends and families. We’ll go across the world with them, or just over to the next town, as long as we can spend happy times with them. I found out about his secret interest in musicals which coincidentally I’ve been in a few during high school. I guess that makes me his idol? Yep, sounds right.He taught me that gratitude must be practiced every day to be happy. It’s not something you can keep searching for until you’re thankful for what you’ve already found. Cheers to him, and thanks for listening. Have a great day.

This speech was given by President Theodore Roosevelt on April 23, 1910. It goes like this: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” The man in the arena.

Welcome to the show. Today’s episode and conversation is with a longtime friend of mine, Jonas. Jonas was a big man turned strong. He used his previous moments of depression to empower his mind and change his body. He has been addicted to improvement ever since. I can definitely see why. His heart is still big because his intentions have grown much stronger to help influence the lives of others. He is a man of many trades from EMT to visual artist to podcaster to manager and weight lifter. The list goes on. I’ve known him for 13 years not because of those trades but rather his ability to be himself at all times. Authenticity is a real superpower believe it or not - one he uses with full force. In this conversation, he reminds me that this superpower should be practiced and tested every day. Whether it be in the gym, at work, or when your work is the gym, he uses the superpower to move others (and weights). Like any superhero, regardless of the mask and cape they need to wear for work, he is still just an ordinary man with a superhuman will to save people. He and I both agree that saving others helps save ourselves. Whether it be in Houston or New York, I always find joy in talking to him on such a deeper level, although it doesn’t happen quite enough. We know many of the same people, or should I say many of our same people know him? He’s a popular man. I can honestly say I learned more about Jonas in this one-hour conversation than I have ever known in the past. That speaks volumes in the value of these conversations, or it speaks volumes of what a terrible friend I am for not knowing much at all. Either way, I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did and learn from it as much as I have. Have a great day.

“Father, Fraud, Failure” by Roger D. -The father who can’t provide, the fraud convincing others I’m not a failure / All these labels seem fitting, though I can’t afford a tailor / Do as I do, believe what I say, maybe I’m the enabler / Stuck on my own path, stuck to my guns, unable to waver / Never was the big spender but with all these bills … I’m definitely not a saver / Three months before my wife hits labor / And It’s been three months, since I set out to be the trailblazer / I’m no mentor, no coach, can barely control my own behavior / No hero, no leader, sitting in the dark waiting for my own Savior / What do I have to show for it? Really? / Podcast no one listens to, blogs no one reads / No likes? No follows? Subscribe, no one’s willing? / Maybe all those people were right to think that I was silly / Who am I to believe that I'll succeed - even if it kills me / Only myself to blame, no wonder why I feel so guilty / What do I have to show for it? Nothing at all / No profit? No fame? Just 50 calls? / Well .. that’s 50 more conversations to play, repeat, and pause / Those were my words I put on timelines and Facebook walls / Those were my steps I put in for marathons while nipples go rawThat was me pushing pedals sucking fumes from your car exhaustStrapped on the 50-lb vest and went for a dozen-mile walk / 1500 squats, 1000 push-ups, 500 pulls-ups, all with no chalk / Those were my choices I made without the approval from y’all / So what do I have to show for it? Did I succeed? / I learned valuable lessons that re-evaluate what we all need / I became a better father, more calm without the extra puff of weed / I’m not a fraud because I never claimed to have success … or the key / Just wanted you to live freely, learn more about you by peeling / Back the layers of your intellectual so I could help you raise the ceiling / Of your limitations, re-think your paper chasin’, and give you a little bit of healing / Like Marvin Gaye without the sexual / Remind you that you have more control / of your cards than what life is revealing.

Good morning everyone! Welcome to the Buckets Project. Today's conversation and episode is with my brother Robert. There's a lesson that I learned that says everybody should have three  types of people in their lives. Because I am an ex-engineer, it's only appropriate that I put some math in here. Plus. Equal. Minus. What that translates to is that everyone should have in their lives a person they seek guidance from, a person they can compete with and share experiences with, and the person they can provide guidance to. Robert is definitely the “plus” in my life. He has achieved at 35-years old what many of us hope to achieve at 65-years old.  Normally I would say what we hope to achieve is retirement and financial freedom, but after this conversation I changed my mind. What we hope to achieve and what he has achieved is the ability to successfully set a goal and maintain the focus to achieve that goal regardless of circumstance. As I navigate through these Buckets conversations, I start to see more of how rare this skill is especially when it comes to very very large goals like retiring early. The majority of the population knows what it takes to achieve such a large goal, but very few of them have the discipline and focus to achieve that goal. Life finds a way to get in the way. Therefore, it is inspiring to know someone to that capacity that doesn’t allow life to get in the way. It is also a blessing to have that person as my own brother. Because he achieved that goal at such an early age, he has been able to explore and experience everything he can think of and not require a walker or Medicare card to do so (referring to old age). What I also learned from this conversation though is that once the peak of the mountain has been reached the journey of life is far from being complete. I hope you enjoy this conversation and learn as much from it as I did in one hour what took me 32 years to learn from my own brother.

Hey everyone! Welcome to Filling Buckets Friday where every Friday I give you perspective on how I'm filling my own Buckets - Buckets being my highest priorities. Today's Bucket is that physical and mental awareness one, which then leads to efforts towards improvements. The idea is figuring out who I am, where I am, and what I can do right now, then who I want to be, where I want to go, and what I want to accomplish. Somehow, I try to connect the dots between those two phases in my well-being. To figure out what I'm capable of doing, I think of new and exciting challenges that would give me that sort of test. What can my mind and body sustain before tapping out? And if I don’t tap out, well then I need to find another challenge. One of the challenges that has been sitting on my brain over the past few years is a marathon distance row. To some people, this might not be much of an endeavor and to others they might not understand the capacity of effort that this includes. I’m not too worried about what other people think. All I know is that I hate rowing which justifies why this challenge was one I had to accept. So in this episode, I break down what I did, how I did it, what I gained, and I point out the take-aways you can benefit from in my suffering. Hope you enjoy the episode and thanks again for listening.

Every Friday, I am going to share some perspective on how I’m filling my personal buckets (priorities). I hope that it will inspire you more to identify what’s most important to you (buckets) and GO FILL YOUR BUCKETS.

Every Friday, I am going to share some perspective on how I’m filling my personal buckets (priorities). I hope that it will inspire you more to identify what’s most important to you (buckets) and GO FILL YOUR BUCKETS.

Grant is half my weight but has twice my strength. That’s probably an exaggeration because we are essentially the same size, but thinking that I'm bigger than him makes me feel better. All jokes aside, Grant is one of the very few individuals whom I use as a baseline for where I want to be in terms of physical condition. Truth be told, yes, he can actually lift twice as much as me and run twice as fast. The best part is you would never assume he has the physical capacity to do all of that just by looking at him. My guess is that he is the underdog, the unexpected, and the unassuming guy in the gym. In reality, he’s capable of doing so much when others don't expect much at all. That's what inspires me the most. That’s where we have the most in common. He is a CrossFit coach on top of his regular job, but more importantly he is a man who strives to help other people become better versions of themselves. He is a longtime friend of ours with a humongous heart and a humongous dog. He's got one of those laughs that pokes holes in any of your bad days. His smile is contagious and encourages you to be more free with yours. That’s probably why his wife Thea married him. In this episode and conversation, we talk about working out, eating right, helping others, and loving our wives. What more can you ask for?