They’re not enumerated. I’ll let you pluck them out for yourself to see if they add up. If you like what you read here, check out Mike’s articles over at: http://mikemahler.com He’s also got some killer DVDs and info on hormone optimization for sale at: http://www.mikemahler.com/store.html
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YC: Mike, one of the themes I find in your work and your teachings is the recognition that nothing exists in isolation. You always address health matters systemically. We often look for single “cause and effect” solutions to our challenges but you remind us that it’s many pieces that fit together for optimal health, hormones, or strength.

That being said, maybe you have some starting points you recommend as initial causes to get some momentum on knocking over some of the key dominoes?

MM: For real strength and vitality a multi-faceted approach is crucial. Eating right and training properly are both of course very important but we need to go beyond that. If you do not have a career that gets you excited and friends that hold you accountable to be your best, then you are really missing out. When you take charge of your life on multiple fronts, you realize how exciting and fulfilling life can be. That does not mean it all needs to be done at the same time. Focus on one component at a time. Perhaps you are out of shape and starting a solid training program and nutrition plan is the best move to make. Once you start losing fat and feeling better you will automatically start thinking about other areas of your life to improve. Never get complacent and always work on taking it to the next level. Maintenance is an illusion as we are either getting better or worse.

YC: “Maintenance is an illusion.” I find that one realization motivating whenever I reflect on it. If you think you’re “maintaining” odds are you’re slipping.

Here in the Silicon Valley the pace of life is pretty frenetic. What would you advise a person who is totally consumed by their work, feels he is doing everything he can to stay afloat and provide for his family, yet he knows he needs to protect his health to avoid a breakdown in the long run, which could potentially cause harm to those who depend on him?

MM: All you can do is the best you can with whatever life throws your way. Get as much sleep as you can and eat the best food you can afford so you can give yourself the most amount of energy possible to take care of yourself and your family. Engage in exercise that energizes you and helps you stay on top of things rather than programs that just add to the stress you already have.

Start thinking about passive income sources as well and no I am not talking about MLM. Develop some products on your own or buy stuff you use at wholesale and sell at retail. Relying on any one income source is a mistake as that can be taken from you at any moment as far too many have learned the hard way. Take charge of your finances and develop several income streams.

YC: Indeed. “All you can do is the best you can…” So many of us are “overwhelmed” because we’re really asking of ourselves more than what’s possible in the short term. One quote I like related to what you point out is, “have unrealistic dreams with a realistic plan.”

You encourage people to live life aggressively. Why do see this as continuing to be important and relevant when some feel that those of us in the “civilized” world have evolved passed this need to be “aggressive?”

MM: Living life aggressively means taking charge of your life plain and simple. It means not being passive and docile and standing up for what you believe in and not giving up on meaningful goals. It has nothing to do with being violent or abusive to others. If being a pawn in the game of life is the civilized thing to do then I choose to be a barbarian. Many people are punching bags in the game of life and live re-actively. Why not be proactive instead and pursue the life you have always wanted? People need to have the courage to improve and evolve and that is what living life aggressively is all about.

YC: Great stuff. That’s what’s so powerful about your message Mike. More than anyone else I’ve seen in this field, you really articulate the role training should play in one’s life and put in a needed context.

Part of that “ideal life” for most of us is having a trim waistline. Many in the corporate world just want to maintain a slim waist and aren’t too concerned with “strength.” What do you feel are the some of the benefits of pursuing strength that might not be so obvious to the ambitious person, who wants a lot out of life but doesn’t see the pursuit of physical strength as part of that process?

MM: We all have an obligation to society to be strong members. We should be at our best at all times and having physical strength and vitality is an important component. When you develop physical strength you learn a lot about yourself. You see how well you push yourself and how well you handle pain. Do you give up when things get hard? Or do you suck it up push through? Do you give up when progress does not come easily? Or do you find a way to make it work. The more you know about yourself the more successful and fulfilled you will be and intense physical exercise teaches us a lot about ourselves.

YC: Awesome stuff. Maybe “self-awareness” is the most valuable and unintended byproduct of adopting an intense physical regimen.

One thing that is obvious about you is self-respect. You command respect with the way you carry yourself and don’t allow anyone to belittle your value or dictate terms to you. Do you see that as a product of your strength or is your dedication to strength a product of your own self-respect?

MM: Thanks and I would say this it is a product of my strength and a component of that strength is brutal self-inventory. I do the hard work to determine why I do what I do and think the way I think. If something is not working for me for the better I relinquish it and push forward. It is very synergistic. Training makes me a stronger person and being a critical thinker with a moral code makes me better at training. It is not one or the other as both feed off of each other.

Getting stronger can instill confidence for sure but not always. Some people get stronger and bigger and become bullies and I have no respect for that. My greatest strength is compassion. Not just compassion for other people but for animals as well. Being strong and fit is not enough. Being strong and healthy should make you a better person.
The accomplishments I am most proud of are not things that I can do physically but times when I showed compassion for other beings in need instead of being disconnected and not getting involved when doing so makes a difference.

YC: A lot there to chew on, incredibly dense. One of the things that trips me out if I reflect on it is just how interconnected things are. You highlighted that feedback loop of support, how one strengthens the other. I’ve found that’s where a ton of motivational leverage can be had, when you sit back and see how an area of your life you want to improve is so intertwined with another area that is not so obvious at first. Mapping out that relationship visually is a cool exercise to try.

Winding down here, I want to get to your Dad, who you’ve referenced a number of times and cited the fact that he works for the United Nations. You’ve been overseas a lot as a child, more than most Americans, and have been able to see humanity in a number of different contexts.

Do you think that exposure has shaped your own pursuit of physical excellence in anyway? If so, how?

MM: Yes, I think so. Being exposed to extreme poverty and suffering at a very young age made me realize how lucky I am to have great parents that want the best for me. It also made me value my life and want to get the most of it. An essential part of getting the most out of life is being healthy and vital. If you do not have energy you will not have the fire to get things done and live life fully. The great coach Vince Gironda once said, “fatigue makes cowards of us all.” This is very true, when we have no energy we are not empowered and do not take charge of our lives. The more energy we have from healthy living the more energy we have to pursue the lives we want.

I also view compassion as a strength and seeing people that have nothing made me compassionate to the plight of others and also showed me what real problems are.

YC: Solid gold! Love that quote from Coach Gironda. I think we can all relate to that. It’s also, really nice to see you pay tribute to your parents. Many of my readers are parents so hopefully we can take the example of your parents to heart and seek to build ambition in our kids.

Thanks for doing this interview Mike, it’s been HUGE thrill for me and I think quite valuable. Wrapping up here, can you leave us with the ONE habit you’d advise every man to cultivate on the path to living an aggressive life?

MM: Be brutally honest with yourself. Evil exists and flourishes when people are delusional and fail to be well calibrated. Being well-calibrated means your perception of yourself is accurate. Just because you have always done something does not mean you need to keep doing it. You can evolve and be better. However, it all starts with being brutally honest. You have to accept the person you are now and then take the necessary steps to improve. Surround yourself with great people that tell you what you need to hear instead of what you want to hear. Be humble and avoid looking down on others. Focus on improving yourself and be an example to others.

Thanks a lot for the interview Yusuf.

YC: My pleasure. I really appreciate you taking time out to do this Mike. I know you’ll take good care as you always do .

This caused me to reflect why?

What was it about training in the elements that made it so fun and rewarding?

I’ve known that cold water dousing and exposure to freezing temperatures is a part of physical culture. Beyond the adrenaline rush which may be reason enough, practitioners claim many benefits: from it being therapeutic, to immune boosting, to helping reconnect with nature. The iconic figure who popularized this movement was Porfiry Ivanov. In our class, we weren’t quite dealing with freezing conditions, but I suspect many of the same factors were at play, both mentally and physically.

Here are some of the reasons I came up with. I’d be riveted to hear yours as well in the comments:

1. Not to get all “Woo woo” on you but I think part of this is beyond what we can know through empirical means of detection. The rain especially has long been observed by many traditions as a direct experience of God’s Mercy. And maybe that is what is at the root of the empowering sensation that comes with training in the rain. In the strength culture, training in the elements is mystically referred to as helping one “become more connected with nature.” From my perspective nature is not an end by itself but a means to directly witnessing God’s Glory and Majesty. However you view it, there is a feeling of purpose, of connectedness that comes with training outside. This is magnified when the weather assumes a conspicuous presence on a given day.

2. Inspires Humility – The first part of learning is humility. Much of building true, holistic strength is being open to discovering our imbalances and frailties. “Discover the cause of your own ignorance,” as our teacher often says, quoting Bruce Lee. Submitting yourself to the cold and rain helps cure any self delusion you may suffer about the extent of your power. Being slowed by the winds and pelted by the rain was a stark reminder of my place in the universe. I felt Connected yet hungrier to never stop fighting to achieve a status of hardened conditioning.

3. Liberating - Remember as a kid when you walked home from school after a rainy day and instead of avoiding the puddles you were pulled toward them? When you approached the puddle you didn’t just pause to marvel, you cocked your leg and violently stomped in it. You knew your mom would be furious but there was something too primal to resist. It had to be done.

Deep down our nature laughs at how sterile and mundane we’ve made things. We’re dying for spontaneity, some wackiness, an ability to express ourselves. Training in the mud, getting wet, getting dirty, on a work day felt dangerous, especially in the context of the Silicon Valley. While everyone else was crawling along the highways, tuning into traffic news, sipping on their commuter mug, careful to avoid coffee from dripping on their starched clothing, we were doing Kettlebell relay races on the soggy turf, soiled, drenched, and ALIVE.

4. Reference for Self Worth – Many of us know intellectually that our thoughts are the major determinant in our results in the external world. Yet we’re haunted by certain short comings we’ve had in the past: perceived failures and times when we just didn’t “measure up.” Those references hold us back because our “intellectual” brain cites those times as valid excuses why we can’t achieve what we want to. However, when you get some momentum, start achieving some great things, you get on a roll. Success starts to begets success. We need success references to submit as evidence to our neural judge in order to convince him that indeed WE CAN do what we’re aiming to do.

This is one of the reasons I am so passionate about intense physical training. It offers you an instant, tangible, measurable opportunity for a killer success reference that your “neural judge” can’t mess with. So few people choose to push themselves intensely that by you choosing to do it, you give yourself an instant edge of confidence. Everywhere you go, you’ve got something on that other guy. If he feels entitled to pursue greatness, you have all the more right to it as someone who submits himself to such physical demands. Training in “nasty” weather takes this feeling up a notch. You walk around the rest of the day feeling bullet proof.

What’s been your experience?

We’ll do anything to make ourselves feel consistent, to reconcile between our outward reality and inward reality. Most people dabble with an exciting new thought of who they think they can be or should be, try a few scattered actions, don’t achieve enough positive results, and sink back down to low expectations because it is less painful than having a mismatch between their expectations and outward reality.

This is a great tragedy and squandering of emotional resources. It is that pain where your power lies. Pain, frustration, and even a little confusion are precursors to breaking through, shifting your paradigm, raising your game to a whole new echelon. Don’t waste those powerful emotions by sinking back into mediocrity. Those are calls to action.  Most people experience that pain and go, “oh crap, get me out of here,” and hurry back down to where it is comfortable.

You do want to move out of pain; it is an acute state that is not meant to last. Move out of pain in the other direction though. Don’t let yourself sink your expectations to match your crappy results. That is a cheap trick to play on yourself and you deserve better than that. Onward and upward. Keep your standards high and manage your pain to drive you toward new actions, new solutions, and new results. This what you have done for every accomplishment you’ve achieved in your life that you are most proud of.

Why doesn’t everyone do this or why don’t we do this in every area of our lives? Certainty. When you’ve been outstanding in the past you believed whole-heatedly you would get there. You were deeply connected to that end result and never wavered about it. Were you given a crystal ball look into the future? No. But something made you feel your goal was absolutely in your reach and that you would achieve it and you did. To others it was something daunting, something huge. To you, it was something big but not out of reach.

Why could you get yourself to know you would succeed while others doubted?

And that is the crux of what I want to get across here in terms of the other major success factor in my body transformation. If certainty is the difference in how committed we’ll be in our pursuits, how do we get certainty? References.

I grew certain I would be an athlete and be a respectable fighter when I gained those references. The gym where my son trains, had men in their fifties who would run circles around me, were fit, tough, and good fighters. These weren’t full time fighters. They were family men, corporate guys with day jobs. Suddenly I had living and breathing references right in front of me, facing the same life circumstances in terms of family and stress from work, yet they were making it happen and I wasn’t. This pissed me off because I now knew it was absolutely doable and my reasons for not succeeding were false.

We need references that could claim our same excuses or have even more reasons not to succeed but triumph nevertheless.

A few weeks ago I met a gentleman who has achieved tremendous financial success, bought his dream car in his early 30’s, a Ferrari, built a huge house on a hill with tons of acreage, owns a boat, and everything his family ever wanted. Not long after his financial success, his uncle then proceeded to grow his business from an average operation that just pays the bills into a multi-million dollar corporation.

The unlce thanked the nephew for inspiring him. The nephew was puzzled and couldn’t think of any inspiring conversation they had ever had and wondered what his uncle meant. His uncle replied, “When you bought your Ferrari, I knew that I could acheive much more than what I had been. I watched you grow up and if a little snot nose punk like you can do it. I can do it.”

This happens all of the time in every area of life. It is most obvious in sports. An athlete comes along and breaks barriers no one thought was possible, does things no one had ever done. Soon thereafter, a new athlete comes along who plays at the same level. This shocks people. A freak of nature, “the best ever” retires and all of the sudden within a few years we’re talking about another potential “best-ever?” How can this be? How could it take the entire documented history to see someone achieve such dominance and all of the sudden a near equal pops up almost immediately?

I remember thinking that Michael Jordan would always be in a class of his own. But immediately players cropped up that approach that level and may end up with Jordan-like careers like Kobe Bryant for example. Kobe was on track to be a pro athlete so using Jordan as a reference wasn’t a stretch for him. Kobe respected what Michael had done but did not deify him as someone whose talent was unapproachable or super-human. You and I need references that empower us.

Have you ever had a very close friend achieve success in a new area of life and then you followed suit shortly after? Why wait for your very close friend to get fit — how about building new friendships with people who are already fit?

That is a major reason I am passionate about what I do. I know you need references of guys “like you.”

I AM YOU. Read my about story.

I want you to take this into action now and make your reference base so freaking rock solid, that the thought of you not being able to grow vital and fit will seem ridiculous.

Exercise:

1. Recall all of the strong success stories in your life and solidify that part of your memory bank. Take any and all major accomplishments in any area of life you have ever had and get associated with those memories. Turn up full color, touch ‘em, feel ‘em, hear them. Know that is the real you. That is who you are and if you figured those things out, solved them, your going to solve this too. Write down a key word or phrase that will remind you of these memories in your journal.

2. Seek out fit Dads in your area that used to share your excuses, or “challenges” as you like to affectionately refer to them, who share your same life circumstances but have gotten fit nonetheless. These should be men that you respect. Become affiliated with them. Maybe it is a tennis club. Maybe it is a hiking group. Maybe it is a martial arts gym. Sign up for an athletic event that links your successful completion to charity. Or my favorite, a Kettlebell class.

The point is that if you want to be successful long term in your quest, you need absolute certainty this will happen. And you do that with references. References can be from your memory bank, they can come from stories, social media connections (me), but the best are the ones in the flesh. You need those to counteract the other living negative references that you can’t escape: relatives or Co-workers that you’re going to have be around who have more excuses than you do. Be with them as needed but don’t let their reality penetrate yours.

It is your new affiliation that will automatically raise your standards and open up new possibilities. When you get out of your shell, embrace a little discomfort for a greater more enduring benefit, magic happens. This quest really isn’t about weight-loss my friend. It is a metaphor for achieving everything you want in life. So make sure you enjoy the journey.