The 1 Change I Made That Transformed My Life
“There was once before. And now there is after.”
– Unknown
When I was in my twenties, I lived a different life. My values were different. My relationships were different. My hobbies were different.
A lot of people look back on previous decisions with regret; they wish they had done things differently. I don’t regret the choices I made, all of these “bad” choices led me to experience the world and learn.
This “before” was a critical chapter in my life that ultimately led to the “after,” and me becoming who I am today.
Let me share with you how I was able to transform my health and life:
Part 1:
When I was 27 years old, a friend gave me a book called “Never Eat Alone”.
Full disclose, up until 27-years-old, I thought the Subway footlong I ate every day for lunch was healthy and business was merely about transactions. I was stumbling through life, not happy with my appearance or career, and then this colleague insisted that if I implemented the principles in this book and started sharing my meals with people whom I looked up to, my life would begin to change with regard to my confidence, my values, my actions, and my goals.
Over the next 5 years, I started every day with a coffee meeting at 7:00 a.m., which got me out of the house. Then, I trained for 60 minutes, either running or biking to get ready for Ironman competition. No excuses, no matter the day. Over lunch, I scheduled a business meeting. It didn’t matter who it was, or what business they were in, we met anyway and I learned. At 6:00 p.m. I trained again, whatever I didn’t do in the morning or swimming, and then followed that with another dinner meeting. Pretty much everyone I met, I have done business with at some point over the past 15 years—and we have been able to provide value to each other in ways we couldn’t see that day.
Part 2:
This was my life for 5 years.
Not a couple days.
Not a month.
Five full years. The person looking back in the mirror began to change. The person looking back began to develop confidence that only comes from keeping your word to yourself. The person looking back began to recognize which relationships were no longer serving him and started to develop new friendships with people who were on a similar path.
I continued with my health journey, continued to meet people for every single meal, and continued to learn about habits, business, and life.
Part 3:
Eventually, my self-awareness grew, and I was able to articulate my weakness’s.
In the beginning, I hated meeting new people. My hands would get clammy, and my head would start beading with sweat the moment I walked into a restaurant. Still, I forced myself to meet with one person at every meal. Sometimes, I would spark a relationship instantly with my new friend. Other times I wouldn’t, and I had to fight my way through more than a few awkward, one-sided conversations. Overtime, however, my self-confidence developed and the anxiety I had before meeting new people began to subside. Eventually, it went away altogether
To this day, I share many of my meals.
With friends. With business partners. With loved ones.
Meals have become where I do a considerable amount of business and are an activity that I now look forward to. It helps to surround yourself with people on a similar path with shared values, and I’ve learned that people bring incredible amounts energy, ingenuity, and excitement into life.
This was my path to transforming my life, and yours probably won’t look the same. Figure out what areas you need to grow, what changes you need to make, and what habits you need to develop to make this happen.
I wish I had someone to tell me two things:
1. A transformation like this is possible.
2. And that it starts with small, incremental changes.
The path to changing your life is not direct and often things don’t make sense when they are happening in real time. Know the journey will not be easy. But nothing worth having in life is free. No matter where you are today, every transformation begins the same way. With a single decision. So, if you’re ready to start living the life you know you are capable of, start today. Commit right now. And keep your word to yourself.
It will not be easy, there will be difficult days, and progress will not be linear.
Accept that.
And that the hardest part is fully committing to creating the change you want to see in your life.
Hold yourself accountable, not once or twice, but consistently, and your life will change.
Today's Optimization
The SISU sauna has become the place where I take many of my business meetings today. I look forward to being able to share my passion for sauna therapy with others and expose them to the healing power of heat. Typically, I perform 3 rounds of 20 minutes in the SISU sauna at 200’F directly into 3 minutes in the Ice Barrel at 37’F.
The SISU sauna features HUUM Hive Heaters, the best heaters on the market, and is Bluetooth compatible. This makes it so that I can turn on my SISU Sauna from anywhere with my phone, and I use this most afternoons from my mountain bike ride on Green Mountain! Today SISU Sauna is offering Movement Memo subscribers a deal: 4% off your SISU using code EHINMAN at checkout!