A few weeks ago, Eric Cressey was in town and our conversations were all over the board.  For two working class stiffs that spend more time in the gym than anyone should, we obviously spend a ton of our time talking shop – as we should.

However, we actually DO have interests outside of the gym.  Other key discussion points include:

–  Whose football team is better (The Colts, obviously)

–  How to plan a wedding without making your significant other want to kill you (The answer is almost always “yes”), and

–  The not-so-pleasant side effects of aging (aka development of the “power alley”).

After two weeks, though, I still have one term Eric used stuck in my mind: the starving artist.

You all know this guy – you probably met him in high school.  It’s the guy who is pissed because his favorite punk band just sold out.   Or later in life, the reason he’s not as successful as his peers is because he’s a slave to his work, and not to appeasing the masses.

There are still starving artists out there – even within our own industry.  These are the guys that think if you are successful, it can’t possibly be because you work harder or smarter than them.  You must’ve done something immoral or unethical to achieve any level of success.

The worst case scenario?  You are actually a decent human being AND you make a living doing what you love!  The horror!

What they fail to understand is that there are plenty of overweight people who want and need help getting into shape.

There are tons of young athletes just waiting to work with a coach who will help them become bigger, faster and stronger.

There are tons of older adults who simply want to enjoy life as long as possible.

Quite simply, there’s more than enough work to keep all of us busy for the rest of our lives.

But the starving artist doesn’t view life through this lens.  If you get someone new into your gym, you must’ve taken something from them to do this.  Alwyn Cosgrove refers to this as a “scarcity” versus an “abundance” mindset.

If you’re taking the time to read this very random post, I implore you adopt a mindest of abundance.  If you make it a life long goal to learn and apply as much quality information as possible, you’ll never have a shortage of clients or cash-flow in your business.

Because at the end of the day, the only person the starving artist has to look at in the mirror is themselves.  And let’s be honest, it’s a lot easier to blame their failures on someone else rather than admitting that their art sucks.

Stay strong
MR