Are You a Hero?

We’re veering off the beaten path a bit today, but I think you’ll enjoy the ride!

I still remember meeting Nate Green back in 2006. The guy had taken out a loan of some sort to fly across the country and hang out at the T-Nation DC Test Fest.

I remember thinking at the time, “Either this kid really has it figured out, or he’s a total idiot.”

Since that time he’s gotten a book published, traveled around the world, and held down some pretty kick-ass jobs.

I guess he showed me, huh? 🙂

Rather than give it all away here, take a few minutes to read my interview with Nate. Especially if you’re under the age of 30, a lot of this stuff should hit close to home.

Before we get into the meat and potatoes of the interview, I’m jealous – a month in Europe?  What prompted you to do that? And how was it?

It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while. Since high school, really. But I know I didn’t want to do it pure “backpacking” style where I just slept in hostels and ate crappy food. So I waited until I had enough money – and freedom – to just go.

I went with a good friend who’s a web-designer. So one cool aspect of the  trip was that we could still make a living while working from our laptops in cafes. It was kind of surreal, actually.

We went to Amsterdam, Brussels, and Brugge then flew to Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London in the UK.

But the best part of Europe was the Belgium beer and the awesome people we met. I’d put out a post on Facebook or on my blog and we’d have 4 or 5 people show up in every city to hang out.

It was awesome.  And I’m already planning a few more trips to different areas of the world for this year.

That’s awesome Nate; it’s definitely high on my own bucket list!

As well, I’m not sure how many people know this, but you’ve actually moved on from T-Nation and you’re now working with John Berardi over at Precision Nutrition.  What are your day-to-day duties like over there?

Man, I can’t say enough good things about JB and Precision Nutrition. It’s been one of the best experiences of my life.

JB calls me the “master storyteller”, so I’m not really sure what my job title is.

I write profile pieces on people who’ve had amazing transformations, individual lessons for our Lean Eating and Scrawny to Brawny coaching programs, and help with a lot of the marketing messages that go out.

I love it, and I still have time and energy to work on my blog and other projects. It’s definitely less of a “job” and more of passion. We’re doing great things there.

Okay, let’s get into the gist of this interview, because I want to talk about the Hero Handbook.  First off, what the hell is this?

The Hero Handbook is a book I wish someone would have given me five years ago when I was just starting to live this kind of life.

Imagine hanging out with a good friend in a bar and talking about how to build an awesome body, live the good life, and become better people.

That’s pretty much what it is.

I agree – there’s some fantastic info in there!

But here’s the problem: Everyone who runs an online business (myself included) knows there are basically two rules of thumb that you NEVER break:

1 – Create awesome content (I’m still amazed at how many people don’t do this!), and

2 – Build your list, because your list IS your business.

Yet you’re offering this up with no strings attached. Whats’ up with that?

I was originally going to sell the book, but after talking with JB, I realized that making money wasn’t really the goal. What I really wanted to do with the Hero Handbook was help positively affect as many lives as possible.

So I decided to give it away for free and hope that if people enjoy it, they spread it around to all their friends, review it on their blog, or post it on their Facebook wall.

Anything to get it in more hands.

That’s very cool man – that’s actually what I did with my SMR manual for quite some time as well. I love the idea of something like this going viral and helping people everywhere!

After reading through the handbook, there’s a very broad scope of topics that you’ve covered. Was this how you originally intended it to be?

Yeah, it is. Think of it this way: this is all stuff I wish someone would have taught me in high school

How to set goals and actually achieve them. How to make money and save it for things that are really valuable to you like world travel, organic food, etc. How to build a great body without spending a lot of time.

If you’ve read the book Rework, you’ll see it follows that same formula. There’s definitely an over-arching theme of becoming your own hero. But it’s broken into sections with actionable steps.

I don’t just want people to read it. I want them to do something with it.

Yeah – with the internet these days, I think more and more people know what to do.

They just don’t do it!

Along those same lines, I feel as though I saw a lot of different people’s influences within this handbook. Who has influenced you in life, and how did that show up in your book?

I have so many friends and mentors that have helped shaped who I am it’s crazy.

From guys in the strength and nutrition industry like you, John Berardi, Eric Cressey, Dave Tate, Alwyn Cosgrove, to writers like Tim Ferriss and Lou Schuler, to my family, girlfriend, and close buddies, I just feel incredibly lucky.

I’m sure you’ll see bits and pieces from everyone in the Hero Handbook.

With the birth of my little girl, I’ve been thinking even more about the future.  Right now, I’m working on what I call “The 5-Year Plan.”

Tell me about Nate in the future – where are you going to be next year, or even 5 years down the line?

I have no idea, and I’m okay with that. I have certain “rules” I live by, and as long as I keep doing them, I know I’ll be happy.

Nate’s Rules:

1.     Take care of myself with good food, sleep, exercise.

2.     Be honest with everyone (including myself) and don’t bullshit.

3.     Treat my family and friends with respect, and constantly connect with them.

4.     If it’s not fun, don’t do it.

5.     If it’s not fun but doing it will help you grow, then do it.

6.     Help people become their own hero through my blog, articles, and daily actions.

But if you had to nail it down to “business”,  I guess you could say I’m going to keep connecting with people on my blog and through my articles, and helping Precision Nutrition grow to reach millions of people one day.

Awesome Nate. Thanks again for doing this, if someone wants to pick up a copy of the Hero’s Handbook, all they have to do is follow the link below.

Remember, this is FREE – no fees, no e-mail addresses, nada.

Download your 100% FREE Copy of the Hero Handbook

If you’re hard and heavy into personal development stuff like I am, you may or may not pick up some anything new.

But far too often, it’s not learning “new” stuff – it’s remembering old stuff, and getting back in the habit of executing it on a daily basis.

What do you guys think about the Hero Handbook? Any questions, comments or concerns that I can help with?

If so, please post them in the “Comments” section below.  Thanks!

All the best

MR


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