BE THE ULTIMATE SOLDIER
When your mind and body are in harmony you can push yourself to your limits … and beyond. Work hard to make them operate in unison, and you’ll soon see the benefits.
Your mind and body are not separate, they’re all part of the same system. When you’re struggling physically, it will affect you mentally. If your mind isn’t strong, your body will suffer.
We are all a work in progress. None of us is perfect, none of us is the finished article. We all have so much space to grow and change. Embrace your potential, shrug off your fears and take another step towards becoming the best version of you.
BUILD A SOLID FOUNDATION OF INNER CONFIDENCE
Your confidence should be based on what you know you’re capable of, not the opinions of others. When you have internal confidence you’ll be more resilient, more willing to try new things, and you’ll be able to take whatever life throws at you in your stride.
Confidence is not a natural trait. Confidence isn’t a quality that some people are born with and others aren’t. Everyone who is willing to put the right work in can become confident. Don’t wait for somebody else to tell you what you’re capable of; go out there straight away and prove it to yourself.
You won’t become confident overnight. Nothing worth anything comes together instantly. You build your confidence step by step.
BE AUTHENTIC
Don’t be a square peg in a round hole. When you suppress your instincts and personality to fit somebody else’s agenda, you’ll end up living a crushed, unsatisfying life.
Your authentic self is precious. Guard it fiercely. Resist any attempts to make you go down paths you know aren’t right for you. There’s only one person whose opinion should matter: you.
‘Normal’ is a concept designed to make us conform. You should never forget that everybody’s ‘normal’ is different. So don’t let anybody persuade you otherwise.
LIVE YOUR LIFE RIGHT
Faddy diets and get-fit-quick schemes are only ever going to be short-term fixes. But a healthy, balanced lifestyle can become the bedrock of your success.
Don’t live your life on default. Make the most of every day by following a sensible routine.
Set up good habits when you’re young. The older you get, the harder it becomes to change the way you eat, sleep and – most importantly – exercise.
CENTRE YOUR LIFE AROUND YOUR FAMILY
Being a parent isn’t a part-time job. It’s the most important role you’ll ever play – more than your job, more than anything. You have to give your children the best of you.
Your children didn’t ask to be born. You have a responsibility to them and their welfare that will not end until the day you take your last breath.
Putting food on the table is just a start. A parent is more than a provider.
EMBRACE FAILURE
Failure is the best teacher there is. When you open yourself up to failure, you’ll super-charge your ability to learn and grow.
Never pass the buck, never point the finger. If you’ve crashed and burned, you’ve got to front up and take responsibility. Blaming others might make you feel better in the short term, but it also means you’re never going to discover the amazing lessons that failure teaches us.
One step back, two steps forward. You might think failures are the end of something. But it’s much better to think of them as steps on the way to success. Each failure brings your ultimate triumph a bit closer.
DON’T TELL LIES
Lies don’t work. You might be able to stay out of trouble for a little while by telling a lie, but your dishonesty will always catch up with you.
Lie beget lies. One lie leads to another. Then another. Then another. Before long, your whole existence will be a fabrication. Is that what you really want?
Lies erode trust. People don’t trust liars. They don’t confide in them, they don’t like them and they don’t want to be around them.
STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE FUTURE
Don’t get trapped in the world of ‘what if?’ We can’t predict the future. We can’t change the past. So work hard to live in the moment.
Work out what is and isn’t in your hands. Use your time and energy to focus on what you can control. Don’t dwell on what you can’t control.
Remember that nothing endures. Try to take the long view. Whatever you’re going through now won’t last forever. It will soon be little more than a memory.
LEARN TO LOVE YOUR BODY
Your body is amazing and unique. Cherish it. Celebrate the things that make your body different from anybody else’s.
No body is ever perfect. Everyone has parts of their physique that they dislike. Work out what you can change, make peace with the things you can’t change.
You fit 100 per cent into your own skin. Learn as much as you can from other people, but never try to imitate them.
MAKE STRONG CONNECTIONS
Good relationships are built on strong connections. Don’t be swayed by superficial qualities. Make sure that you share similar values and priorities. Lust is not enough!
Every relationship is a shared project. The true value of that bond isn’t in how good it is in the first month, it’s how it looks after five, then ten years.
Energy never lies. We’re all constantly giving off energy that tells other people who we really are. No matter what we say about ourselves, the energy we throw out will always tell the truth.
CONTROL YOUR EMOTIONS, DON’T LET THEM CONTROL YOU
You can learn to control your emotions. If you don’t make that effort, they will end up controlling you.
Your emotional make-up is unique to you. Only you can do the work of becoming intimately familiar with your emotions. Break what you’re feeling down. What is it? Why is it happening now? Keep asking questions until you know those feelings inside out.
Expose your emotions before they expose you. You have to go out and expose your emotions to the world. Make sure you know what anger or fear feels like.
HARD TIMES DON’T LAST, HARD MEN DO
Bad things will happen. There is pain and misery in the world. Sometimes life gets hard. Anybody who pretends different is setting themselves up for an almighty fucking fall.
Don’t get caught in the kindness trap. The sooner your kids get exposed to the world’s rough edges, the better they’ll be able to deal with them.
Nobody ever got resilient by staying in their bedroom. Put yourself in tricky situations, make yourself uncomfortable, give yourself experience of being under pressure. Every small challenge you survive is the most amazing practice for that moment when a really big challenge descends upon you.
YOU CAN BREAK THROUGH THE PAIN BARRIER
Everyone has a pain threshold. It’s up to you to find yours.
Discover as much as you can about the way pain affects you. The more you know about how your body responds to extreme discomfort, the more control you’ll be able to exert.
The war against pain is as much mental as it is physical. If you’re ever contemplating taking on an awesome physical challenge, don’t neglect your mental preparations.
LEARN TO SAY NO
If you never stand up for yourself, nobody will respect you. Is that how you want to live?
Confrontation doesn’t need to be aggressive. Take the emotion out of the situation. You don’t need to attack the other person; just let them know that you have a problem and you want them to help you solve it.
You’re responsible for what you say and how you say it. You’re not responsible for how the other person reacts. Be as kind and considerate as possible, but don’t let the fear of hurting their feelings stop you from telling them what they need to hear. If they get upset, that’s up to them.
LOOK AFTER YOUR BEARD
We’re all unique in our own beautiful, messy, imperfect, amazing ways. That’s something we should celebrate. Your individuality is something to be cherished and fought for. Don’t be afraid to be different. Don’t apologise for who you are, or the clothes you wear, the food you eat, the books you read, the body you have or the values you hold. Grow a beard, wear a dress, join the circus, form a band. Do whatever the fuck you want. If those things are authentic to you, if they’re a true reflection of how you think and feel, then you should never, ever be ashamed of them. Be proud. Be you.