Manifesto Of Strength: Part 1 free download

Now, You Have The Power To Become The Strongest Version Of YOU!

Download Part 1: The Manifesto Of Strength

BEFORE YOU READ THE MANIFESTO OF STRENGTH DOCUMENT:

**I Need Your Help! — This book is not about me, Elliott Hulse, it is about our REBELLION against mental enslavement and mediocrity. The Manifesto of Strength is an “Open Source” project.

WE NEED YOUR STORY TO INSPIRE OTHERS!

Basically, I have written the backbone of The Manifesto… but, I am extending an invitation to every man who has experienced great personal growth or a transformation story (no matter how ordinary),

basically how you have grown as a person and now live a much more resourceful life than before, to contribute an article, illustration, interview, video or story to this document…. I want YOU to make The Manifesto Of Strength, about YOU!

This project is going to be HUGE, The Manifesto Of Strength will become a living and growing document with contributions from hundreds, perhaps thousands of like minded-men, like you.

We are on a mission to transform the way personal development is done and restore REAL strength to REAL men. We have been lied to, feminized, pussified, and pushed aside for way too long… its time to bring back the old-school, strong, male values that our great-grandparents lived by… no more video games and bastard children.

Responsible, hard working, focused, PRINCIPLE centered living is the way we’ll escape the mental and emotional bondage that we’ve so willingly submitted to!

If this sounds like something that you’d be interested in contributing to… It would be a pleasure to have you on board.

Please e mail me your idea, article, story, illustration or request for an interview for inclusion in the 2nd edition of The Manifesto Of Strength.

You can reach me at my personal e mail at strengthcamp@gmail.com (this address is not for customer service or questions, please direct all of those inquires to support@hulsestrength.com Thank you.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PART 1

This document includes 55 of the 254 pages present in the complete edition, available August 2010!

NOTE – I’m going to be taking this page down in about 7 days so I can use this as the new “give away” to build our e mail list… so grab it here, now, even if you intend to wait for later to read it. THANKS!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PART 1

Please leave your questions or comments below, thanks!

Real Inspiration

There is no doubt that man is multidimensional.  We are made up of, and are in constant interaction with, many seen (skin, bone, hair, nails, flesh and teeth) and unseen parts (thoughts, spirit and breath).

I found this video online this morning and thought that you would really enjoy it.  The author of the video is a Christan pastor, so if you are offended by his language, references to the Bible or use of the word ‘God’… then I invite you to listen anyway, even if you have to ignore his spiritual references.

You need to see how he shows “the breath” or “inspiration” as more than a simple human function, but as a means for connecting with our inner essence, our creator and all that is calm and peaceful in nature. This places us in a very healthy and resourceful state of mind and physical health (remember what I taught you about Balancing The Autonomic Nervous System? — well, this is intrinsically linked to that ideal and conversations)

Watch and see how…

Does the perspective that author introduces provide you with a new idea about how vitally important our breath is to our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health?

How do you exercise and honor the “unseen” part of your reality?  or How do you honor “The Breath” via physical exercise, meditation, prayer, Yoga, Chi Gung, etc?

If this is a new concept to you… what are your thoughts?

**ALSO, I am thinking about sharing a method of Anabolic Energizing (breathing) exercises that I learned several years ago that I have begun to use again recently, with you.

It may be some videos or a live webinar… if this sounds like something that you may be interested in, please let me know in the comments section below (just say that it sounds like a cool idea… or not)

I’m very interested in your comments

How To Become The Strongest Version of YOU!

Elliott describes his evolving position on personal development, health and fitness. The 6 principles provide a holistic perspective for becoming “The Strongest Version of Yourself”.

Discover How To Build A STRONG SERVICE, Teaching People About The Things You Are Most Passionate About While Earning A Strong Living! — Click Here ==> http://www.PassionCashControl.com

24 hours with Elliott Hulse

From what I understand, reality shows are ultra popular.  It seems that people just like watching other people going about their lives while experiencing their challenges, successes, failures and faults.

So, today I’m going to give you a “fly on the wall” look at 24 hours spent with me living my weird, rebellious and awesome life

24 Hours With Elliott Hulse — June 2nd, 2010

5:00 am – The alarm on my Blackberry Storm proceeds with a gentle humming alert to let me know that it’s time to “GET MY ASS UP”.

For the past 3 years I have been training a focused, dedicated and hard working group of men that average the age of 50-ish at 6 am on Monday – Friday.  Although I get requests for admittance into this exclusive training group on a weekly basis, admission to this class has been closed for about 1 year.

These guys have been well trained to work their asses off with little or no instruction on my part, I simply design the daily workouts and make sure they don’t mess it up.

Since my injury in April I have had to discontinue training for strongman, so I have joined this rough and rugged gang of men in training at 6 am.  I am their coach and training partner now.

Today we did a high volume combination of Keg Carries, Sandbag Loading and Knees to Elbows on the chin up bars.

After about 45 mins we are all soaking wet with sweat.  We tell a few jokes, share a quick story or two, then shake hands and go about our days.

7:12 am  – After taking a 10 minute ride in my 1988 Ford Econoline Van I arrive at our new home in Old North East St. Petersburg to cook breakfast for the ladies.

It had been a dream of mine to live in this neighborhood 5 years ago when Colleen and I migrated to the south from Long Island, New York.  I remember driving around these red brick paved roads in Colleen’s raggedy, white Ford Escort studying the large, beautiful colonial style homes that sat like proud relics of the “good old days”.  After 2-3 hours of burning more gasoline than I could afford, we would putt-putt our way back across town to our little condo in the “bad” part of town.

After I get home and toss my sweaty clothes in the laundry room, I wash my hands and climb the staircase to the bedrooms upstairs.  Isabelle, my oldest daughter, meets me at the top of the stairs with a big front-toothless smile and says “good morning daddy”… it’s enough to make me melt!

Colleen is brushing the younger girl’s hair and getting them ready for their first day of summer camp, and her first day without children for longer than 3 hours.  We are blessed (or crazy and committed) enough that we can keep Colleen home to be with our children.  Even when we were living on credit cards and on the verge of living in my van, we “stuck to our guns” and never decided for her to work outside of the home… it was THAT important to us.  Honestly, what is it worth to have more money (even enough to meet bare necessities) if you have to send your children to be raised by strangers in a daycare somewhere.

“Mothering” is the most honorable job on the face of the earth and should be treated as such!

I am always shocked by people who go to fertility clinics in their desperation to conceive a child and then after the child is born, the mother goes back to work at some stuffy law firm and daddy is nowhere to be seen until after 9 PM when all the executive meetings have finally let him out, leaving their darling little devil to be raised by some overweight, malnourished, middle-aged woman on Prozac an Prilosec, running a daycare.

Excuse my French, but that’s just fucking weird!!

After harvesting my kisses from all the ladies in my house, I head downstairs to cook breakfast.

Now, I have very little control over what my children eat when they are at school or at friends houses, so I make a concerted effort to feed them like prize winning racehorses when they are at home.

Everyday I scramble almost a dozen WHOLE (yolks and all) eggs for my growing tribe to chow on.  Many people are confused about the value of animal fats, egg yolks in particular, and make the mistake of eliminating them from their diets.  Well, the fact is that the fat and cholesterol found in egg yolks provide TREMENDOUS aid in physical and mental strength… and my girls are strong and smart!

I also give each of them some Fish Oil and a piece of gluten free toast smothered with grass fed butter, mmm!

8:12 am – After breakfast Isabelle and I pack our bags and hunt down the other women for good-bye kisses, then hop in The Van.

As she and I cruise south on I-275, sweating our butts of cuz’ The Van ain’t got no AC, we dance in our seats while singing our favorite song together in sync with Josh Turner.

After the song and dance Isabelle usually interjects with some very inquisitive, 1st grade philosophical question like, “Daddy, why does Ms. Alverez (her teacher) always smell like raisins?

Once I’ve concluded that she really did just ask what I thought she asked, I reply with something ingenious like, “Well baby, maybe Ms. Alverez eats raisins for breakfast!”

At school I always hold her hand as we walk to her class room.  She knows that holding her hand is one of my most favorite things to do in the world, so today instead of waiting for me to grab her hand she made it a point to purposefully place her hand in mine.  By the way, our other favorite song is “Hold My Hand” by The Beatles.

8:57 pm – My gym, Strength Camp, is about 5 minutes from Isabelle’s school.

I get over to the gym and get cracking on my “Passion Cash” business.

What I call a Passion Cash business is really termed “information marketing”, but that term sounds so cold and technical.  Really what it means is that I share my ideas and the things that I am passionate about with other people who also have the same interests, passions and values as I do.

Often times I’ll simply post an article or a video on my blog (which you are now reading) that I think would be interesting, entertaining and valuable to the people who like what I have to say (which, by the way, is NOT everyone!).

I use the internet to build this business, so all I need as far as equipment is my laptop computer, a camera and an internet connection.

Although misunderstood and believed to be a tool for spam, stealing, money schemes, pornography and E Bay by some (weirdos)… the internet is just a new and very powerful way to reach people.

If I were building my Passion Cash business 20 years ago I would have to write a published book that the publisher would pay me 30 cents for each one sold, do speaking engagements that would take me all over the country leaving my family for weeks at a time and hire a publicist to get me on television.

But we live in the most AMAZING time in human history!!  I and people who have Passion Cash business’s like mine (and I personally know dozens), make money by sharing their ideas and passions all while sitting at a computer for a few hours a day.  In fact, one very good friend of my text messaged me last night that he in projecting in the high $SIX FIGURES for income for this year… and I know for a fact that he sleeps until 10 am, goes on vacations all year round and spends about 5 hours a day working on his website all about a SINGLE EXERCISE! (not an exercise program, a single damned exercise!)

When I share information that I’ve learned through many years, many experiences, and tens of thousands of dollars, that people seem to really benefit from… I’ll often ask them if they would like me to spend time creating a product for them that may help them to better understand and implement the things I have been talking about on my websites.

To date I have created several “Passion Cash Machines” (or information products) that help people implement the things that I passionately speak about on my websites.

Examples are my Football Strength Program, How To Open A Warehouse Gym Course, Lean Hybrid Muscle and, my most recent service The Hulse Strength & Wisdom Tribe membership (which is currently closed to new enrollment)

If you think that this type of business is cool, you’re right!

It’s awesome! — It allows you to make very good money, work where ever you want, whenever you want, teaching people about the very things that you are most passionate about.

But, for all of you Lazy Larrys and skeptical nay-sayer’s out there, understand this…

YES, this requires work (not over working, but a solid commitment and effort) and the right knowledge to do it.

YES, this can be done legally.  If you think that I am a crook, then you’re probably not going to listen to what I have to say anyway.  But if you believe that I am honest; if you feel that you know, like and trust me… then I invite you to consider that this is EXACTLY what I do to earn a living and nothing I do compromises my integrity, NOTHING!

==> Click Here to learn more about my “PASSION CASH” business <==

10:04 am - I recorded and sent out a new video about How To Make Money By Helping People to my Hulse Strength & Wisdom Tribe Members, while snacking on almond butter and blueberries.

Then I called back several prospective athletes, who have applied through my website, that would like to train at my gym.

11:19 am – One of my best friends and business partners Mike Westerdal charges through my office door holding his laptop under one arm and a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee in the other hand.  He’s all excited about the new powerlifting program that he is making for his readers and asks me a ton of questions about the best way to help them.

Mike owns a bunch of strength training and fitness websites including CriticalBench.com and is partners with me on Lean Hybrid Muscle. He has been a great friend and tremendous resource to me about building my Passion Cash business.  He has been doing this type of work for over 10 years!

It’s funny, last night I was reading an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson on friendship.  In it he describes your real friends as spiritual extensions of yourself.  Basically, before you even physically meet, the friends you are meant to attract into your life already have a soul connection with you.  Your souls are conjoined, but your bodies have yet to meet!

This is exactly how I feel about Mike.  He and I both played high school and college football (in fact, we played against each other and didn’t even know it), we both compete in strength sports, we both started Passion Cash businesses and we both harbor many of the same life, religious and political values.  We’re really like soul-brothers!

Our meeting was pretty strange also.  One day I found his website and called him to order a DVD that I wanted to purchase.  After Googling my name he realized that I was a sports trainer that happened to also live in the same city as him!  He came down to my gym to train a few weeks later… and the rest is history.

Mike and Ryan Magin along with Chris Barnard, Byron Brazzle (2 college football players that I’ve trained for years) and a few of my long-time clients and training partners, make up the closest extension of my Walking Tribe.  I don’t have too many friends and usually keep people at arms distance, but I am grateful for each of these men.

1:22 pm – One of the coolest things about not working for “the man” is that you get to live on “off peak times”.  Basically you get to go for lunch when everyone else has already left the restaurants to hurry back to their cubicles before Mr. Ludsberg discovers they are missing.

About twice a week Mike and I take a beautiful scenic trip, over bridges and past million dollar yachts, about 15 minutes south of the gym to eat lunch at a resteraunt named Billy’s.  Usually we stuff ourselves with fish and iced tea while sitting where we can see the water, but on several occasions we’ve gassed up on Rum Runners and spent 2 hours there… just… bullshitting.

Today I had a grouper sandwich and Mike ate Mahi-Mahi.

3:00 pm - After our 90 minute lunch we headed back to the gym where I met my buddy Brandon who was lifting some stones and logs while I waited for Chris & Byron to show up and help me train the high school athletes at 3:30.

3:30 pm – Chris, Byron and myself trained a group of 6 baseball players for strength and speed.

When they first arrive they go through a series of warm up exercises and stretches.

Next, Chris takes them through about 10 minutes of agility and speed training.

Then they come “inside” and perform their weight training workouts.

Today it was heavy dead lifts and high rep inverted rows followed by a barbell complex that included keg carries for 3 rounds.

After about 60 minutes of kicking ass, they are done!  Soaking wet, tired and accomplished.  I love watching boys become men while training at my gym!

4:30 pm – The next group of athletes comes in to train but I sneak away to push The Prowler (a horrific training sled that is notorious for making people puke!) with my buddy Ryan while Chris and Byron train the next few groups.

Ryan and I have been pushing The Prowler 3 times a week for about the last 3 months.  Since my injury I have been focused on losing fat and increasing my conditioning.  The Prowler is like a fat burning / cardio massacring apparatus from hell… but it works!

We load it up with 2 45’s and 2 25’s and push it in turns for 40 yards.

After about 5 sets I was ready to pass out and puke in my sleep!

Once we killed our mini workout we went back in the gym where I could yell some encouraging rants at the athletes training, slap a few butts and exchange high-fives.

20 minutes later Colleen text messages me to get my ass home because she’s “going out with the ladies tonight, so I had better get home and wash these kids!”

5:35 pm - Driving home at 65 MPH which is fast enough to make The Van explode (and happens to be the speed limit in FL) to get home in time for Colleen to serve dinner and for me to get the girls ready for bed.

Colleen made chicken and coleslaw.

She is an AWESOME cook, mainly because my mom taught her how! (don’t tell her I said that)

Around the dinner table we deal with the same old shenanigans every night… Simone is screaming for bananas (she calls them “blah!”) and refuses to eat her chicken, Emerson insists that there is something “yacky” on her plate, and Isabelle jams as much food down her throat as fast as possible and proceeds to ask for desert before she has even swallowed.

At this point Colleen has already snatched up all her bags and stumbles out of the front door carrying her shoes in one hand and waving “hasta la vista baby!” with the other!

I’m stuck with the maniacs, but at least they’re clean.

Colleen bathed them before I got there… what a relief!

6:42 pm -Instead of letting them watch 1964 re-runs of Tom & Jerry I ask Isabelle to take Emerson to the one of our several “thinking walls” (white boards attached to the walls in our home where we draw mind-maps and share ideas) where the affirmations are written and teach her sister how to memorize an affirmation.

I taught Isabelle that in order to teach different people she must discover their preferred method for learning.  Unlike Isabelle who is a very auditory learner,  Emerson is visual.  So, I show Isabelle some physical gestures in order to act out the affirmation in pantomime for her sister.

7:30 ON THE DOT! – It’s bed time for all little ladies in my house

Emerson and Simone hop into their bunk beds and Emerson protests on her way up the latter to her bunk.  After hugs and kisses I stand next to the bed and stare at Emerson.  After about 40 seconds she become uncomfortable with me standing there and says, “Daddy, can you let me go to sleep — and you get out of here now? She is the exact opposite of her older sister Isabelle.

I go into Isabelle’s room to say prayers and kiss goodnight, afterward she asks me to stay a little longer so we can talk about our “favorite part of the day”.

Her’s was going bowling with her Girl Scouts and mine was sharing my ideas and helping people.

After a second attempt to leave her room she calls me back to check if there are any more termites in her bed (we had huge swarm this weekend).

By the third attempt she had to go pee-pee.

7:45 pm – I go downstairs, wash the dishes and then grab a new book that I am reading by Brain Tracy called No Excuses – The Power Of Self Discipline.

8:57 pm – Colleen gets home.

We talk about our days (women love to do this!).

We shower.

We go to bed.

And in 7 hours… it starts all over again!

Did You Find This Yet?

Every once in a while Colleen and I take our daughters to this “healthy” fast food restaurant in our city called Evos.  They claim that since they bake their food instead of frying and use organic free-range meat, that eating there is good for you… I’m still not too sure.  But we take the girls there once or twice a month to give Colleen a break from cooking.

The girls usually get the chicken strips and I get the Grass-Fed Steakburger.  Like little children often do… my middle daughter, Emerson, usually waits until everyone else is done eating to begin picking at her lunch.  At this point Colleen and I are pissed off and ready to leave, so we pack up her chicken strips and let her eat it in the car.  She really enjoys eating theses strips so it is not a problem getting her to eat once we’re in the minivan.

And we go about our day.

Two weeks later I’m packing the girls into the minivan to go to Grammy’s house, across town, and Emerson starts digging into the cushion of her car seat.  When I ask her “what the heck are you doing kid?”, she tells me that she is looking for her chicken strip!

I turn to Colleen for clarity, since I haven’t been in the minivan for almost 14 days, and she tells me that Emer has been looking for the chicken strip that she dropped two weeks ago when we left Evos!

At first I figure that my kids a maniac and I had better get her tested, but then I remember… well, shes only 3 years old; she really, really loves chicken strips from Evos; and it’s pretty normal to continue to search frantically, in some pretty weird places, when you have misplaced something that brings you joy.

In fact, I can totally relate to her since I had spent several YEARS looking in some really, really weird places for something that might bring me joy.

Let me know if any of the weird places that I looked for “the TRUE object of my affection” sounds familiar to you too…

- I first discovered masturbation around the age of 13 and thought that my life was SET… I would never have to look for joy again, since I had it right here in the palm of my hand!  But this became very monotonous after a few months.

- I discovered girls at around age 14, this really filled a gap in my life (or I filled it).  But being young and immature, we’d often argue about silly things and the relationships never lasted.

- I began drinking alcohol and stuff around the age of 17 (this is also the wonderful time that I began driving!).  Being drunk was fun, but I hated hangovers and it really stopped me from training hard and performing well at football practice.

- Oh, and how can I forget about strength training and football!  Although I still train with weights, I don’t even know who played in the Super Bowl last year.

- As an adult with children, I seek happiness in them… but this is pretty unstable since they whine and cry all the time.  They poop themselves and break stuff too.  Sure, they’re a pleasure to ‘have and hold’ but they really get under my skin at times.

As you’ve probably noticed… this list can go on forever.  I can tell you about all of my failed relationships, businesses and hobbies that showed a glimmer of hope upon first sight but ended up being less than “the TRUE object of my affection.”

I have and will always be a “seeker”, one who is in constant search for the essence of life and reality, who I am and what I should do.  I am never satisfied with the answers that one person, one book or one religion provides as ‘The Answer”.  I really don’t even believe that “The Answer” exists!

But though out my searching I have come across some reoccurring themes, ideas, values and principles that point in the direction of “The TRUE object of my affection“

Growing up going to Catholic church I figured that God was some boring ritual that we had to perform every Sunday morning before we got to eat breakfast at IHOP.  Jesus was the statue at the front of the church, and it was his fault I had to be there.

In college there was a group of Christian players that would meet a pastor every Wednesday evening for Bible study.  I brought a Bible and followed them to class on more than a dozen occasions.  I loved what I was learning about Christ and God’s purpose for people but I couldn’t understand why the Churches we were attending we so segregated.  White churches, black churches, Puerto Rican churches, churches that were anti-this kind of person and anti-that kind of person, etc; never did I find a church which exemplified the unity that Christ demonstrated.  (Yes, there are many unified churches… I just couldn’t find one at the time)

When I was in college, my brothers and I used to sit at the computer in my bedroom and download audios from Napster and listened to music all day long.  One day we came across some audios by a guy named Allen Watts who was an English dude who studied and taught Eastern Philosophy and Religion.

He taught us that “Tao”, a Taoist term meaning “The Way”, was everywhere, at all times, can not be destroyed, is constantly in motion, is always creating, is working in us and through us, and really can not truly be understood.  This “Tao” was above human understanding, but we can learn how it works by observing ourselves and nature.  (An interesting point, early followers of Christ did not call themselves Christians but followers of “The Way”)

We had never heard of God described like this before but it really rang true for us.  This was a empowering depiction of who we were, who God is, and how He related to us.  I adopted this idea of God, as The Way, described by the Taoists in a book called the Tao Te Ching written by a man named Lao Tzu.

Although this new depiction of God revolutionized my entire paradigm and set a powerful course for my life, it was NOT all that I had been looking for (although it is probably the simplest means by which one could navigate his was towards mindfulness and peace).

Being born and raised is a Judeo-Christian society along with all of the mental programing associated with it I was not satisfied marrying my wife in a weird Taoist place somewhere.  Besides, who is really a Taoist? — I don’t know any.  In fact, I think Lao Tzu would laugh and just say something really ephemeral like, “everything is married to each other and we are all married in the Tao”… sorry, my thinking is just a little too concrete for language like that.

Before getting married Colleen and I became members of the Bahai Faith.  A religion founded by a man named Baha’ullah claiming to be a manifestation (or perfect reflection) of God on Earth, just like Jesus.  In fact, Bahais believe that Baha’ullah is actually the “return of Jesus” that many Christians are waiting for.

This faith was, and still is, a very attractive means for me in discovering God’s reality for our lives due to the main principles of the faith, which are: The oneness of humanity, independent investigation of the truth, religion as a source of unity, equality of men and women, removal of all prejudice, universal peace, God’s progressive revaluation and continuity of “the covenant” beginning on Mt. Sinai through Moses, Jesus and now Baha’ullah… as well as a few other principles.  — Finally, a faith that provided the conservative structure in practice that I so yearned for, and the pragmatic principles that was more unifying then the separatism I encountered in the Christian church.

Despite my love and admiration of the members of the Bahai Faith, Baha’ullah, and the Bahai principles… we have not been a part of the Bahai community for almost 6 years.

Today we attend a local church in St. Petersburg where I am learning more about living as God desires us to through the teachings of Christ.  Like the early followers, I do not call myself a Christian… I am merely a student or disciple of “The Way” of Christ.  I seek the mysteries revealed in his life and his teachings as an example for my choices and behavior.

My children are taught to love and trust God, and to appreciate his perfect manifestations, like Christ, by modeling their lives after their examples.

Currently, I am really enjoying the books and information on the practice of Historical Orthodox Christianity by Rob Bell and Ray Vander Laan.  Both of these authors take into account the historical perspective of the Jewish people, Old Testament and The Gospels in order to shed real light on the meaning of these books and how they may, perhaps, be related to our current day and age.

Again, despite my current fascination with Christ and his life I am not handcuffed to ANY idea or theology.  I am merely a passionate seeker, serious student and practitioner of what I know to be right and true.  I don’t study simply for information, I want to understand and tread confidently in the direction of “The Way”.

This sums up my experiences with passionately searching for God, the REAL object of my affection.

It is my understanding that today most men either a) resort to adopting the faith of their parents and grand parents without question or retort; or b) never ask any questions at all, they merely ignore, reject and even abhor the concept of a god who may fill the emptiness that we all experience as we travel through life believing that we are alone.

Whether we admit it or not, we are all frantically in search of real joy…  of a fulfilling existence marked by love, peace of mind, purpose and meaning.

In my experience this can only be obtained by a deep and evolving union with our creator.

I invite you to seek.

Look everywhere.

Find the path that most suits you as you look for clues and experience the joy of union while on your journey.

Whatever you choose to call it… God, Allah, The Universe, The Tao or “The Way” really doesn’t matter.

How you choose to search and practice your faith, really doesn’t matter.

The color of your skin, the type of head dress you wear, the language you speak, really doesn’t matter.

How you relate to God, your commitment to practice His way, the way you treat others and the way you see yourself though His eyes… this is what really matters.

Keep seeking.

STOP Wasting Our Time!

If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a series question…

How much of your time is spent doing things that you’d rather not do?

How much of your time is spent in a job that you hate?

Perhaps you don’t hate your job, but do you believe that you’d be better off doing something else?

Do you feel like you could be doing much, much more meaningful work?

Perhaps you could be doing work that not only are you passionate about but work that may change the lives of other people, for the better?

If you weren’t spending so much time on things that you’d rather not do, would you have more time for personal development?

Would you have more time to exercise to get stronger and leaner?  To Read?

Would you have more time to shop for and cook healthier foods that give you more energy and vitality?

Would you have more time to spend with your attention starved wife, or children who only see you for a few minuted per day?

If you have more time perhaps you could work on building up the value system and self-esteem of your Tribe (family / friends)?

If you had more time would you be able to finally start that business you’re always talking about?

If you finally started that business that you’ve been talking about perhaps you’d have more money which would mean spending less time at the job you hate?

If you had more money, that you earned doing something that you love and benefits others…. do you think you have more time to focus on building a Strong Legacy?

To fully maximize your potential, to become the best version of yourself, to be strong in each of the 6 Strength & Wisdom Principles (character, hands, heart, tribe, service and faith)… you need TIME!

Every day that you spend living as a slave,  to your boss, to the so-called necessities of life (car payments, cable TV, etc.), to your addictions, to a low self esteem, and the most insidious slave master in the modern world… Entertainment — Every day that you choose to be a slave to these things you are WASTING TIME!

Now, I am NOT the “wake up and smell the roses”, long-haired, doe-eyed type of guru that is going to remind you that life is short, so you had better start to enjoy yourself.

That is NOT the point!

If you live in a country like the United States, you are already enjoying yourself!

If you have more than one pair of shoes, you are already enjoying yourself.

If you have spent most of you life never going a day without food, you are already enjoying yourself.

If you know how to read, you are already enjoying yourself.

If you have clean water, you are already enjoying yourself!!

Enjoyment, entertainment and a false sense of what is necessary… is NOT the point!

You are the wasting time that you could be using to serve others with your gifts, your talents, your faculties, your passions, your blessings, your treasure and quality TIME!

To waste time doing shit that you’d rather not do, to buy shit that you don’t really need, to impress people who really don’t give a shit about you anyway… is the most wide spread, and devastating lifestyle choice made by the majority of men.

Henry David Thoreau once said, “Most men live lives of quite desperation.”

Why quite desperation?

Because they live with the haunting feeling that there is much, much better things that they could be doing with their time.  They instinctively know that they are wasting time!

Also, they live with the haunting feeling that they DO NOT DESERVE the blessings and shit that they have.

If you live in the US, you partake of a freedom that was won over by thousands of men spilling their blood on the very land that you stand on while holding your Big Gulp beverage in one hand and your iPhone in the other as you curse God because the Yankees lost to the Rays!

And lets not forget that this land was also stripped from the swollen, bloody hands of Natives that once inhabited it.

Do YOU deserve this land, this freedom, that Big fucking Gulp in your hand simply because you “landed a new account today” or sold a piece of the very land I speak of through your Real Estate career?

Do you know the root of the term “to de-serve”? — To dē- de- + servīre to serve

To DESERVE means “To Serve”.

Who are you serving?

How are you serving them?

Are you serving out of love… or fear?

Each and every one of us has been created to perform some sort of VALUABLE service to mankind.

I often state… that for you to do what you have been created to do is not only your right, it is your responsibility!

If you are not sure what you are meant to do then I invite you to consider (deeply consider, contemplate, think!) what your Core Values are.  What do you value?  What do you believe in? What do you stand for? What don’t you stand for?

If you have no clue what your purpose is and have no sense of values, then you will leave NO legacy.

When you die, it will be…

just

like

you never

existed.

Stop wasting our time.

——

You have about 48 hours left to join our Strength & Wisdom Tribe.  It is a $1 trial.  This gives you 7 days to decide weather or not the mission that we are on is too big for you.  When you join us you are not going to be entertained, you are going to be stimulated and inspired to TAKE ACTION in your life and become a sacrifice for the life of others… to join a tribe means to serve the tribe.

I am not looking for followers.

We need leaders.

If what I am saying speaks to your heart, then join us => http://tinyurl.com/strong-tribe

Once you join keep an eye out for a Members Only invite for an internet hosted event we are holding tonight where I will begin to lay the foundation for our mission to “Make Men Stronger” by sharing the virtue of REAL STRENGTH will 1,000,000 men by 2020!

Strength & Wisdom Journal part 10

What’s The Worst That Could Happen?

Earlier this week I created a highly inspirational video titled “Doing Whatever It Takes” for all Strength & Wisdom Tribe members.  (by the way, I am considering opening Tribe enrollment for a day or two before I increase the membership cost by 50% in a few weeks.  If you are interested please let me know by posting a comment below or sending me an e mail at support[at]hulsestrength.com and I will take it into consideration… thanks!)

In the video I tell a very personal story about my challenges as a up-start business owner and how I came very close to living in my van in order to continue pursuing my passion and goals.  The reason why I revealed this personal and sensitive story is because I wanted to show you the POWER OF COMMITMENT in real life… and inspire you to take action towards your goals, especially when it is NOT “the right time”!!

I also wanted to teach you about a very powerful tool that I use in order to “assess the risks” inherent in any new venture that I begin.  If you are thinking about “taking a plunge”… either in your career, your business, your family, or any passion that you hold dear to your heart then this technique is really going to support you and your efforts.

What is the absolute WORST thing that can happen?  & Can you handle it?

5 years ago when I quit an oppressive job, that was stifling my passion and creativity, in order to venture out on my own as an entrepreneur I had ALL the chips stacked against me.

First of all, 3 months prior to my departure from slavery Colleen and I had purchased our very first home.  Our oldest child was only 10 months old, and Colleen and I agreed that we would never put our children in daycare… so, I would be the sole “bread winner” and she would stay at home to raise our children.

So here is a snapshot of the situation:

#1. I had a family including 1 young child and a second one that would make her way into the world a few months later.

#2. Colleen was supporting the family with the absolute BEST of her resources as a stay-at-home-mom and homemaker.  While I was to provide the income to support our COMMITMENT of raising our children ourselves (the way nature intended).

#3. I quit a job I hated.

#4. I started a business with ZERO capital, ZERO experience, ZERO assets, (except my willingness to sacrifice and work hard) and only one client (paying me about $700 per month for training).  I didn’t even have a location to train potential clients!

Now… here is where I discovered the powerful mental exercise that allowed me to pull myself and my family out of this seemingly impossible situation.

I sat alone in a park one evening where I was to meet a potential client (that never showed up), with my elbows resting on my thighs and my head hung down between my legs as I watched a tear-filled puddle form between my feet.

Then I asked myself out loud, “Elliott, what is the worst thing that could happen RIGHT now?”

When I came up with an answer for the absolute worst thing that could happen to me, I then asked myself “Can you handle that?”

I quickly knew the answer was ‘Yes‘!

At the time I devised a worst case scenario being that I would have to give our new home over to the banks; send my young family to go live with my parents, 40 minutes north of our new home; I would go and work as a day laborer seeking menial jobs on a daily basis, such as picking fruit or digging ditches in order to feed myself and fund my failing business venture, all the while living in my van.

As a means to avoid falling back on the trap of employment, I decided that I could handle living in my car and digging ditches as a day laborer while separated from my family for days at a time.

I became very comfortable with this idea.  So much so, that whenever things began looking grim I would simply remind myself that “the worst that could happen” was something that I already decided I could handle.

Doing Whatever It Takes!

The truth is that most of our fears are completely irrelevant… and from a recent study I read, only 1% of our fears ever come to fruition.  Basically, we are scared of NOTHING.

That is why this technique works so well.

I have used this time and again with even more devastating imaginings such as possibly losing a limb, becoming paralyzed, and in the worse case scenario ever devised in my mind… I lost everyone that I love.

And when I asked myself, “Elliott, can you handle this situation?  Are you strong enough?” The answer is always — Yes.

I have conditioned myself to become fearless and to take action… no matter what the pending doom.

Now if the risk that I am about to embark upon requires that I may lose all my money and be late with paying my bills and endure the scourge of “bad credit”, so what? — I’m still willing to “Do Whatever It Takes.”

Stop for a moment right now and think…. What type of life would I choose to live if I knew with 100% certainty that it WILL come true?

Now ask yourself…. What is the very first step that I can take toady that will place me on the path of my vision?

It may mean ending a useless relationship; It may mean committing to a rigorous exercise program; It may mean going back to school; It may mean quitting a job that you hate; It may mean a 180 degree shift in your paradigm that literally changes WHO you are… and chances are that the thing  you would have to do in order to fulfill your passion, is going to be something SCARY!

Next, ask yourself what is the ABSOLUTE worst thing that can happen if you take that action?

You need to literally create, in your mind, the most atrocious and terrifying outcome of  taking action towards your dream… and when you have finally painted that picture, look at it and seriously and consider, “Am I tough enough to handle this?”

Here is one more, very resourceful, paradigm or mindset that will ease your fears and give you the confidence to live out the life of your dreams.

God created you to fulfill a unique role amongst mankind, for the short duration of your life.  He planted this seed in everyone.  We each have a unique calling.  Some callings are grand and some are mundane… but each is VERY, VERY IMPORTANT!

God NEEDS you to do your work.  He needs people who love music to play it.  He needs mothers who love their children to remain in the home where they can raise them.  He needs YOU to do what is in your heart… otherwise He would not have placed it there.

The passion screaming in your heart is your purpose, it’s God’s purpose for you.  As our Creator and Father… do you think He would plant a seed in your heart only to set you up for failure?

No!  But what He does expect is that you abide in His will.  When he asks you to create delicious meals for friends, family and clients… yet, you continue to deliver mail for a living.  You are living in disobedience.

Many times we whine and believe that it would be “nice” if we were to follow and fulfill our dreams.

But I say, that not only would it be nice… not only is it your RIGHT to pursue your passion, it is your RESPONSIBILITY.

Get over your fears, get over yourself, stop whining and do YOUR work!

What is the worst that could happen?

Strength & Wisdom Journal part 9

Wake up, we NEED you!

In my most recent Strength & Wisdom Tribe video lesson, titled Effortless Success, I gave you a few examples of how to effectively remove the self-imposed mental roadblocks that have been holding you back from tackling your dreams.  These roadblocks typically manifest themselves in the form of Fear, Doubt and Anxiety.

Let me tell you an honest story… Although I may present with a posture of solid self-confidence and purpose, I have battled with the sin of self doubt for my entire life.  Still today, as you actively observe me shift my main focus in teaching, from the building of mere physical strength towards FULL personal development and the building of character and life strength, I have tremendous self doubt. (but from all the recent registrations for our new Strength & Wisdom Tribe membership, I think I am finally on the right path)

Tell me if this sounds familiar. Have you ever thought of a great idea for a new business or project that involves the enrollment of other people, then you think about or physically map out the entire plan… only to sit on it and never bring it to fruition?

I have done this COUNTLESS times.  In fact, last weekend while packing up our belongings to move our growing tribe to a bigger “hut”, I found several old fitness and lifestyle manuals that I created over 4 years ago, that I never built up the balls to actually sell to people! — And here is the REALLY bad part… the information that was in these manuals are life changing!  There was really some great stuff in these books, that I created, that were just sitting on a shelf in my daughters closet.

Why would anyone do this?

Why would someone be gifted with a great idea, talent, faculty or passion and just SIT on it… letting it collect dust?

Why wouldn’t they just get off their butts and bring their POWER to the world? — Serving perhaps millions of people with their gift!?!?

I personally think it is because of 2 nasty, insidious, little *sins that tackle us while we’re on our path towards creative servitude and SUCCESS.

*NOTE: Unlike how Christian conditioning has totally destroyed the root meaning of the word “sin”, where it is professed that sin is some sort of possession by “the devil” that makes us bad or “sinful”,  I use it here in its original context derived from an Archery term meaning “to miss.”  When I say “sin”, I simply mean that we’ve “missed” the point.  We’re still good people, we just missed something and can always go back to correct it.

Like I mentioned in my last video, Fear and Doubt act as inhibitors that disallow God’s work to be completed through your hands. THIS is a very powerful paradigm to adopt!

God fulfills His work, His plans, His-tory through the hands of men!

When we begin to remove the focus from ourselves, when we stop asking “what will people think of me?”, or “what if I fail?”, and begin to consider that the seed that God has planted in you… whether it is to start your own coaching business, open a gym, begin writing novels, play the harp, become a stay-at-home mom (or dad) OR… begin a blog where you can share your stories, ideas and deepest convictions with your readers for the sole intention of seeing them take action and living up to their TRUE potential — it is Gods plan, not ours.

God loves beautiful, stronger bodies that are disease resistant. God loves football. God loves great stories and literature. God WANTS you to be home to care for your children, and God NEEDS you to share your wisdom and experiences with others in order to inspire them.

It is NOT about me.  It is NOT about you… and if you ask God, it really isn’t about Him either.

God want you to SERVE his children.  He wants all of the beautiful things described above, not for himself, but for us to share with one another.

When we let fear and doubt stop us from quitting a job that is unfulfilling in order to pursue our dream of opening a warehouse gym where we can train young athletes and build their character.  When we ignore the “Still, Small Voice” within, that is urging us to pick up the guitar we once loved to play so joyfully, but “life” got in the way of it’s practice, we are not only letting ourselves down… we are letting God down and even worse, we are letting each other down.

When this becomes our habit we are no better than the apple tree in the orchard that yields no fruit.  We are, for all intents and purposes, functionally useless.  Perhaps the apple tree still creates shade with its leaves, but it’s true function… is dead.  It is functionally useless.

What kind of legacy do you want to leave when you die?

How do you want to be remembered by others, especially your loved ones?

Will they say that you were “a giver”? — You freely gave of your BEST parts? — Or did you let your BEST parts die and wither away like the once fertile buds of a now useless apple tree.

If you are stirred by what I am saying… then continue to THINK about it.  Awareness effortlessly breeds change.

And when you Wake Up, we’ll still NEED you.

Strength & Wisdom Journal part 8

*** Before I begin this weeks journal… I’m sure you’ve noticed the change in my Journal title from “Strongman Training Journal” to “Strength & Wisdom Journal”.  The reason why I have changed the name of these posts, is because I feel that Strength & Wisdom better reflects the content that has been distributed through these musings.  ALSO, over the course of the next few weeks you will notice several awesome upgrades to this site as well as the quality and quantity of content.  My purposes for this shift will become more apparent to you as the evolution takes place and I show you how this new position will support you in not only maximizing your physical strength, but act as a catapult for success in your WHOLE personal development.  THIS is what really matters most!***

How To Succeed With “Quantum Leaps”

Emerson – Colleen and mine’s middle daughter has taken what seemed like an eternity to stop sh_tting herself.

Unlike her older sister who spoiled us by being potty trained at 13 months, Emerson had been “pooping her pampers” until shes almost 3 years old.  I’m sure many parents are saying that 3 years of changing “crappy pampies” is really not that bad, but we had enough!

For the past year or so Colleen and I had been “training” Emerson to tell us when she had to poop.  We’d say things like, “Emme, be sure to tell mommy or daddy when you need to poop… okay?”

Emerson would shake her head, say “Yes, daddy”… and the proceed to explain why her favorite color is yellow and since the bird outside has yellow feet, she would need to wear yellow shoes (or some random musing of the sort).

Then, no longer than an hour later she would come and climb on my lap smelling no better than the nasty-ass “reclaimed” water that nourishes the public lawns here in Florida (If you’ve never smelled reclaimed water, just imagine sticking your face in a Port-A-Potty toilet bowl.)

Shenanigans of this sort, including the removal of poop from her pamper with her hands, pooping in her Dora The Explorer panties, and pooping in the bathtub with both of her others sisters present went on… FOREVER!

And with each and every “Fecal Failure” Colleen and I would reiterate… “EMERSON! Where does poop belong?” — her reply, “in the potty.”

In one of my least proud Daddy Moments I then proceeded with, “Then WHY do you keep sh_tting yourself!”

Well, I am proud to announce that this weekend… about 5 days ago, Emerson is 100% potty trained.  She even wipes her butt and washes her hands like a big girl.

After more than a year of “training”, something clicked.  It was like a switch was flicked last Saturday morning.

Friday night, she craps herself…. Saturday morning, potty trained.  This was CRAZY!  I still can’t believe how this seemingly instant transition took place.

Even crazier… was what I noticed next!

Tuesday morning at breakfast Emerson joined me, Colleen and older sister in saying grace.  Prior to this day Emerson would either be babbling obnoxiously with her little sister or kicking her older sister under the table while we attempted to thank The Creator for our food!

After grace I leaned over to Colleen and asked her, “Is it just a shift in my personal perception of Emerson since she’s now potty trained or is there something all together different about her?” Colleen affirmed the latter.  “Yea, she is definitely NOT the same child!”

New Personal Advances In Emerson Since Being Potty Trained:

* Talks more and is expressing herself verbosely
* Is more affectionate with her little sister
* Eats (most) of her dinner without being harassed
* More awareness of other people and her environment.

Here is a VERY IMPORTANT principle that I noted that morning and began to explain to Colleen at the table…. “This type of rapid personal transformation NEVER STOPS! Whether you are 4 or 40, your brain, body and spirit is predestined to Continuous Evolution. ”

We NEVER stop growing, unless we decide to.

Personal Growth Happens In Quantum Leaps!

It seems that when Emerson become potty trained, she had also accessed an entire new level of consciousness that not only fulfilled her desire to “poop on a potty”, but was accompanied by a basket full of other, new virtues!

I’ve seen it happen before….

A skinny, young , weak baseball player at the age of 13 joins my Strength Camp.  He can barely do 10 push ups and crumbles to the floor when I ask him to perform a body weight squat… he is structurally and functionally – a mess.

12 weeks later he can squat with a barbell weighing 135 pounds; he can do 50 push ups and has gained 23 pounds of lean muscle.

Besides the obvious physical changes, he is also looking me straight in the eyes instead of at his shoes when talking with me; he is text messaging girls when he walks into the gym; he is wearing cut-off sleeve t shirts and his parents tell me his grades are the best they’ve ever been.

He is NOT the same kid.  He has evolved… with a Quantum Leap.  He has accessed a new, more powerful level of consciousness by simply affecting one area in his life… in this case, his physical strength.

How Do You FORCE Quantum Leaps To Occur?

Like I said, we always have the capacity to evolve… until the day we die.

But, what it takes in order to grow rapidly is something that most people avoid.  They avoid it in one area of their lives which is reflected by the dysfunction in that area or they avoid it all together.

The formula for Quantum Leaping is (Challenge + Consistency)

In order to grow you have to be under pressure.  Most people wait until pressure is placed on them (losing a job, divorce, etc.) before making a shift.

But people who are AWARE of this formula create pressure for themselves to grow.  Theses people love challenges, not for challenge-sake, but because the know that these challenges if approached with CONSISTENCY and constancy of purpose will reap an enormous reward!

What’s better… is that they understand that when they evolve in one area of their life, they can also expect to reap the rewards of growth in other areas as well (like Emerson and the young baseball player). — If they make more money, sex might be better! hmm?

Here are just a few ideas for ways to challenge yourself in order to stimulate a Quantum Leap in Personal Growth.

1. Get Stronger… strong enough to lift a weight that has always intimated you.

2. Apologize… to someone that you have a strained relationship with.

3. Start… a new business on the side if you have a job. (stop wasting weekends)

4. Learn… a new language, instrument or to change your oil.

5. Quit… harmful behaviors (smoking, drinking, drugs, porn)

6. Be nice… to people, even when you don’t want to be. (smile)

7. Take up… a new hobby, sport or art project you’ve wanted to.

8. Ask… for a raise, the sale or a date with that hottie in your office.

Basically, do something that you thought you could NEVER do.

Challenge yourself to talk to people, quit something you hate, start something you love or just to sit…. quietly, by yourself, doing nothing, just sitting, alone for 30 minutes per day.

And in time you will LEAP your way to being a newer, better version of yourself… all around.

Strongman Training Journal part 7

Ask. Listen. Act.

“For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8 NAB)

Last Saturday morning I woke up at 5:12am.

Not because I am a maniac who loves to beat the sun up, but because I HAD to.  Normally I’m drooling on my pillow and face until about 7:15am on Saturdays… then my second oldest daughter usually walks into the room and says “Daddy, I have poop.  Change me!”

But this morning was different.

I lay wide awake in my bed with the overwhelming feeling that God had been asking me to consult with him (ie. Pray)  Really, I never have these types of intuitive moments where I am prompted to act based on a divine summons… but, that morning I knew I had to ACT.

Lately my life has been evolving in Quantum Leaps, basically things are moving VERY fast.

A new baby on the way (#4 and the only boy!) and our need for a bigger home has led Colleen and I to make some very difficult decisions.

When prompted to consult with The Creator early that morning, my assumption was that He wanted me to speak with him about moving my family and our new home options.

So, my prayer went something like this…

“Dear God, you are the All Knowing, All Wise, Omnipotent Creator of all that is good.  You have entrusted in me the care of Colleen and our 4 children… you have bestowed this responsibility on me because you trust that I am a good servant and steward.  My desire is YOUR desire.  I move and serve based on your will and know that you will provide me with all of the tools necessary to fulfill my services to my family, my clients and all those who you have placed in my path. (HERE IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD…)

My Father, I beg that you show me today, with COMPLETE CLARITY the path by which you have set before me in order to fulfill your desires through me. Lord, make my path VERY CLEAR and remove any ambiguity that would allow me to mistake another path for the one that you hold for me.

Blah, blah, blah, AMEN!”

And then I went about my day.

At 8:45 that morning Roger, one of my best friends, clients and Realtor had some great news for me… the house that Colleen and I really wanted had become available and at the exact price that we wanted!!!

Yea!!  God really DOES answer prayers!

So, I went about the rest of my day telling everyone the great news AND my nifty little “divine intervention” story along with it.

Strongman training was at 1pm that afternoon.

As I am preparing for my first Professional Show, I went SUPER heavy and had one of my best workouts all year…. I KILLED the Conan’s Wheel at 635lbs.  I SMASHED the Farmers Walk at 320 per hand and even did some extra grip work… later I finished up with a few stone loads.

And it was good.

After Saturday morning training I always take the girls to my parents house for dinner and fun with Grammy and Papa.  This day was no different.

After a wonderful dinner of Lamb Chops and Yams I started giving the girls baths in the kitchen sink (they are still small enough to do embarrassing stuff like that), while bathing Emerson my dad popped his head in the door and asked me to help him pull up some old tree roots in his garden.

“Sure dad! Give me 2 minutes and I’ll be there to give you a hand.” (what a good son!)

The old palm tree that my dad planted the summer before had withered away during this, the coldest winter EVER in Tampa Bay.  I took one look at the shabby little twig that lay half in the ground and half out, I grabbed it with both of my fiercly strong hands… the same hands that held 320 lb farmers bars only 3 hours earlier, and I PULLED.

As my dad stand by my side watching the old, nasty tree loosing root… he and I heard 2 loud cracks. *POP-POP!*

Dad thought it was the tree… I knew it wasn’t!

My arms are pretty strong, and they LOOK strong.  But when I glanced down at my left bicep after hearing the loud pops, it looked NOTHING like a “strong arm”.

The bicep muscle had slingshot all the way up my arm into my shoulder where it stayed balled up and looking… weird.

The rest of the evening was even weirder.

While sitting on my parents couch with the ice wrapped around my elbow (which was a BAD idea, never I ice a torn bicep as it causes it to contract and retract up into your shoulder!) I rapidly traveled through several emotional stages.

But beyond the emotional responses that caused me to first laugh and shrug it off, then to shake my head in disbelief, then to cry for the first time ever in front of my children…  Yes I cried, but not because of the pain my arm but because of the pain of DEATH… I knew that I had ASKED for this tear to occur and I knew exactly what it meant for me and the identity that I’ve created around strongman completions over the past 3 years.

I was going to have to KILL this identity, right then and there.  Like the old cowboy who had to shoot his trusty horse after it broke it’s leg.

The prayer that I extended to God earlier that day had been answered, again.  Only this time the answer was much clearer and would create an even BIGGER change in the direction of my family, social and business life.

For about 4 months I have been wrestling with the idea that Strongman Competitions (not training, but competing at the high level that I do) had been draining my vital resources that could be allocated toward serving as a better father, husband, friend, mentor, business owner and role model.

I was spending well over 65% of my energy on preserving and serving a version of “Elliott” that was only fulfilling about 10% of my greatest life capacity.  I was serving a “lesser version” of myself and had created an entire “kingdom” around this identity in order to build and protect him.

This “Elliott” was physically strong, no doubt.  But this “Elliott” was a weak communicator, a weak lover, a weak friend, a weak servant… and a tired, distracted, self-centered steward of a miraculous kingdom that God had entrusted him with.

He was winning competitions but losing at life.

Now, you may think that I am being silly.  You may think that I can do BOTH and that perhaps I am not really doing so bad as a father, coach, etc… but I beg you to consider that we each intuitively know our own TRUE potential and limitations.  And regardless of what it may look like to you, I know that I am not operating at 100%… in fact, I’ve been giving less than 35% to all that truly matters.

Love me or hate me… it doesn’t matter.  The “Elliott” that you have grown to know – is dead!

I killed him, right then and there, on the couch with a bag of ice on my left arm and my children staring at “the strongest daddy in the world’s” tear-filled eyes.

Ask. Listen. Act.

There is a version of each one of us that is, to quote Mathew Kelly, the “Best Version Of  Ourselves”.

We are all born with the capacity to fulfill this station and it is the purpose of life to maximize all of the capacity that God had endowed us with.

Since becoming a father myself and growing closer to my earthly father, Edmund Hulse, I have also come to see why God is called “The Father” in many religious traditions.

As a father, I am a co-creator of my children, I’ve watched them grow, I study them, I know their minds and hearts, I know their capacities and faults.  And I love them.

Often times my children will ask me for something that I know is not best for them, they may ask me for cookies or candy, to wear a particular thing, to play with a dangerous object or to put some “choking hazard” in their mouths.  They may REALLY want the thing that the are asking for and they usually become very upset when I tell them “no” or take the object way from them.

As their father, I know that their desire is NOT best for them and may detract from what is best.  It may damage their capacity to fulfill their their potential and become the “Best Version Of Themselves.”  I also know what will benefit them and do all in my power to direct their steps towards it.

You and I are no longer 4 years old. We don’t ask our earthly parents for permission to do or have a thing.

But in the eyes of God (our Primal Father), we are still children.  He created us, he watches us grow, studies us, knows our minds and hearts, capacities and faults.  And He loves us.

When we (especially our “lesser version” or ego) desires a thing, whether or not we blatantly ask Him for it, He knows if it is something that is good for us or something that will detract from us.

The problem that most of us run into is that we are usually too distracted, attached, or plain old dense to LISTEN when our Father directs our steps… especially when we ask him to through prayer.  (You’d be amazed at how many people pray and never listen for the answer or just don’t like the answer, so they simply continue to live in dysfunction)

We may not like what He has to say about our choices, but neither does my daughter when I remove the steak knife from her tiny little hands at the dinner table, but we should at least acknowledge it.

ACT. I once told you that I believe most depression is caused by either doing a thing you feel you shouldn’t be doing or not doing a thing you feel you ought to be doing.

This is why the third part of my message here is to ACT.  It is not enough to ask and listen to God or our intuition without acting on it’s promptings.  God can not “take the steak knife out of your hands” but he can cause you to hurt yourself with it.  God doesn’t want you to hurt yourself with it, but if you don’t listen to your “daddy” you might hurt yourself…. and that’s usually what happens.

It’s been 4 months that I have been feeling like I should discontinue my Strongman competitions.  For 4 months God has been telling me to put down the steak knife!

On Saturday morning, with the steak knife in hand, I asked my Father for some advice… and VERY CLEAR instructions about what to do.

I had one of my best training days ever that Saturday.  I played with the knife with such joy and enthusiasm.

Then I cut myself.

I put the knife down.

Now, I can choose something better.

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