Dear Reader,

When I first started to do some of the exercises that I currently teach via the 0 Excuses Fitness System, some of them were somewhat easy for me.

I was hardly an exercise novice before that – – but regardless, SOME of the exercises were tough for me as well when I first started (WAY before I even came out with the System as it is now).

When I first came up with the goal of doing more than a 100 pull-ups per workout – there was NOT one single person I could think of that had accomplished this goal – or come even close. In fact, ALL the people I knew that did pull-ups didn’t use proper form – let alone do 100’s of them in proper form during a workout!

This, of course isn’t something that will astound you (that last bit) – – even my buddy Vincent, an ex-Marine (and you KNOW Marines pride themselves on their ability to do pull-ups) once remarked that a 100 pull-ups per workout was tough for ANYONE.

I mentioned that conversation before, of course, so won’t get into it again here, but the point of me saying this?

Well, I could have easily quit the Hindu pushups after a certain point. I could have easily said it was too hard on the chest and shoulders – – and similarly, I could have simply given up on the 100 pull-ups goal as well once I reached 40 or so per workout – – after which each additional rep became EXPONENTIALLY harder.

And don’t me wrong. I had my goals in mind, and was pursuing them with passion, but the point is this – there comes a time in every man’s life that if he’s pursuing a goal that REALLY means anything to him – he’ll meet with obstacles aplenty of every nature, albeit temporary ones.

As Napoleon Hill correctly notes in Think and Grow Rich, there is an “unseen guardian” that guards the door to success. This guardian seems to take great pleasure in hauling men with goals over the COALS – – BEFORE they achieve success.

As Hill so succinctly puts it, “There is a price to be paid, and those do not make the grade are turned away“.

Now in that book, there was a story about R.U. Darby, the famous insurance salesman who sold millions of dollars worth of insurance during his life time (part of a very select few, by the way, who managed this).

In the book Hill described how Darby’s Uncle were bitten by the “gold rush” back in the day, and how they rushed to search for gold – – along with plenty of other gold seekers (NOT to be confused with gold diggers, hehe – pardon the pun there – just had to say it!).

And dig they did – with pick, shovel and axe – until they found the ore they were looking for. Those weeks of labor had paid off!

Now, they needed machinery to extract the ore – and young Darby (still a young man then) procured this somehow via relatives and neighbors, banking upon their faith in him.

They started drilling – – mined a bit of ore, and were overjoyed. FINALLY, their persistence was about to pay off. . .

Or was it?

SUDDENLY, all of a sudden, they continued drilling – but the vein of gold ore was no longer there! It just disappeared – – and as they made this shocking discovery, they tried to pick it up again, but failed.

Finally, they GAVE UP, despite their initial success.

They sold the machinery off to someone – – a smart someone, who then hired an engineer to come and look at the mine with an “unbiased eye”.

This engineer looked at the map – -and told the “someone” that there WAS INDEED ore – and plenty of it left – – just THREE FEET from where Darby and his Uncle stopped mining!

The “someone” then did what was necessary, and took home a LOT of moolah – – millions of dollars – – in THOSE days, at that! – – from the mines – – and if this is a story that sounds familiar, and a story that “syncs” with what I said about it getting exponentially harder after a certain point before success appears – – all of a sudden – – well – – I don’t blame you – – and it’s TRUE!

Success permits no man to taste it before he has been put the WRINGER in every way imaginable, my friend!

‘Tis a truism, and one you’d do well to bear in mind as you progress through your fitness journey – – or set out to accomplish goals.

It’s those who not just persevere in the face of all odds – – but those that KEEP ON persevering in the face of all odds that finally make it – – in WHICHEVER endeavor they choose!

Read that above line carefully, as it’s very important!

If you’re currently stuck at a certain number of pull-ups, for instance, the last thing you want to do is give up.

What will happen is one fine day you’ll shoot past that number and higher numbers will suddenly start to appear – – and your body will start to change shape almost accordingly and about as dramatically.

And how do I know this?

Well, I’ve been there – – and it’s only after BEING there that I’ve got accolades such as the “X Taper I have”, or that I “look like a movie star“, or that “I’ve got that nice shape to my back that chicks dig”.

I say all of the above NOT to blow my own bugle, but rather to show YOU, my friend, what is possible – – but only IF YOU KEEP ON persevering – – or in other words, as Napoleon Hill put it – – “Keep on Keeping on” – – inspite of,  despite and in the face of ALL ODDS!

Ditto for pushups – – weight loss – – or building that gorilla grip – – or the barrel chest – – or shoulders like boulders.

It’s all very possible – – but GUMPTION — and “keeping on keeping on” in the face of all odds is what at the end of the day will make those odds disappear — almost miraculously.

So if you’re currently stuck on a certain fitness goal – – or a certain number of reps – – or something to that effect – – do NOT just give up!

There are ways around it – ways mentioned in the System, but the #1 way, and one far more important than anything else I can tell you is what I just told you above.

And you, my friend, would be well advised to read it once – twice – several times – or however many times it takes you to truly grasp the drift of what I said.

Once you do, implement said philosophy into YOUR life as well.

You’ll be nigh SHOCKED at how quickly the seas of your life part!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – Despite hectic schedules and other drawbacks when I worked full time, I ALWAYS found time to get a full workout in – – so much so that the fitness experts back in the day actually featured me in their daily write-ups and emails. And YES, ’tis true indeed – just like the other “tales” I tell you in the 0 Excuses Fitness System while going through the 10 Commandments of Physical Success. If you’re interested in success at all in any way, shape or form – – then this is something you’ll certainly want to INVEST in – – http://0excusesfitness.com/0excusesfitnessystem/

 

Dear Reader,

If there’s one line that I’ve heard repeated galore, ad infinitum, and until the cows come home to ROOST (not really, hehe) it is this – “It is what it is”.

If there was ever a phrase I’d like to remove from the English language (or lexicon) along with the phrases “I can’t” – or this “it’s not possible” – it is THIS ONE!

Along with that, the world “compromise” as well needs a serious, serious relook in my own opinion.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not against compromising if the situation demands it – or “understanding ground realities” – or anything of that nature. While I’m ruled by emotion first and logic second many a times, the bottom line for me is always what is practical to do at that point in time (although funnily enough if you’re truly in tune with your inner self – your gut will lead you to that point without you even trying consciously!).

What I AM against is the usage of said terms/words – without the added caveat “for now”.

What do I mean by this?

Well, just this. While compromises and “settling for something” are all fine and dandy if thats what you want – the FACT of the matter is this – nothing great was ever accomplished via these means!

Far, FAR too often folks use the “It is what it is” line as an excuse for “accepting” their current realities – and worse – NOT taking any form of initiative to CHANGE “what currently is”.

If you were to come up and tell me this “Rahul, I’ve got a goal, but it is what it is – for NOW”, I’d pat you on the shoulder and tell you you’ve got it right.

Other hand, if you were to come to me and tell me “Hey, Rahul, I’d love to do that – but it is what it is, and I can’t, and …. (insert excuse of choice”, I’d simply smile at you and say “you’re right. You might as well not waste your time anyway – because you’ve already condemned yourself to not START – and therefore fail – by uttering those very words the way you have!”

This might sound harsh, but it’s true.

Mike Mahler, noted kettlebell coach and author of “Live Life Aggressively” – and a man who I greatly admire – not only for what he’s accomplished – but also his bare bones, to the point style – and a man who I first communicated with back in 2004 (ah, them good ole days!) has an interesting take on this via memes on his Facebook page.

Do a google around for it, and you’ll find it – and I’ll bet it makes you laugh – but here’s the thing – it’s all so TRUE!

It’s never what it is – permanently- unless and until  you LET it be so!

Similarly, on the topic of compromises – when I have a goal that is important to me – I brook ZERO interference and ZERO compromises in terms of achieving that goal. 

And what has happened to me every time I’ve had a goal that is important to me – either fitness wise or LIFE wise, I’ve always been told to “take a step back and make a compromise” (this usually followed by the typical “Yes, so and so might have done it, but he’s special, you’re not!).

I never took this attitude to heart, but over time, I’ve begun to understand just how ridiculous and shallow said words are – – and the mentalities of the people projecting their own subconscious frustrations upon others that are actually looking to achieve something of note.

When I had fitness goals in the past, funnily enough these same people who asked me to compromise would then take turns to try and “pull me down” – – with negative comments about body weight and other rubbish which wasn’t really applicable anyway – – and even more funnily, THESE same people would ask me to compromise every time I outlined my goals to them.

And that’s the main reason I NEVER speak about my goals to ANYONE these days. When it’ll happen, you’ll know. Before that, mum’s the word.

Not that these subconscious vibrations would bother me at this point – – I’m a huge believer in Napoleon Hill’s dictum of a “mind tightly closed against ALL negative influences“, but hey, the less negative you’ve gotta deal with when setting a goal – the BETTER!

Along with this, the super computer in my brain automatically spits out the following when I hear the words “it is what it is” – – “FOR NOW!”.

Moral of the story?

Well, it’s this. When you set a goal – be absolutely clear about what you WILL – and WILL NOT accept, period!

You may compromise on certain things, but WAY TOO OFTEN, what ends up happening is people compromise on the very goal they’ve set for themselves – usually due to outside influences, which is a mistake of the most colossal and grandest order!

These outside influences may be asking you to compromise, which may “make you feel better in the heat of the moment” as it were, but bottom line – it’ll be these people that drag you down the next minute as well.

And these will be the SAME people who will look at you with envy when you ACHIEVE a certain goal and say “Oh, yeah. I know he/she could do it!”

Yeah. Right. I could, but did you know?

And at that  point, you can have the last laugh – but not before, my friend. NOT before!

So that’s today’s tip. Fitness wise, remember that nothing is permanent.

You may not be able to do a single pull-up as of yet – or a single squat – but if you work at it the RIGHT way, and follow the right instructions – then you’ll get there.

Hell, you’ll get there even quicker if you forget the “It is what it is” line (or alternatively, replace it with “It is what it is – FOR NOW!” – – and use this new line as more passion to work towards your ultimate goal.

If you’re currently at beached whale status and haven’t done a pushup for years – or hit a heavy bag for years – well – you have to FOCUS and start someplace!

If you’ve got a limp fish handshake and aspire towards bonafide GORILLA GRIP status – great goal – and perfectly achievable too – provided you BROOK NO COMPROMISES in that regard!

It all boils down to what is important for you, my friend – – and fitness should be one of the very first things on that list of “whats important for me”.

So that’s that for now. I’ll be back again later. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to bang out some pushups and squats a.l.a 0 Excuses Fitness – – and if you DO work out today – – make it a great, great one!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

P.S. – If I were to say “It is what it is” and “I’ll never get to a 100 plus pull-ups per workout” then guess WHAT – I never WOULD have! It’s all in the mind, my friend. As Napoleon Hill famously said, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve!”. ‘Tis so true, my brother. ‘Tis so true – – and the first step on that long road to achievement (pull-up mastery) is to grab a copy of the very course that’ll GET you there – right here – – http://0excusesfitness.com/pull-ups-from-dud-to-stud-within-a-matter-of-weeks/

Dear Reader,

I’ve received a lot of feedback over the past few weeks about a lot of the messages I send out in my daily blog posts and newsletters.

Lots of folks enjoy this stuff – and one post I got a LOT of good feedback on was the post about “doing things a certain way“.

Being a lot of my messages are esoteric in nature (although paradoxically enough though what I write about may SOUND esoteric – it’s really not – I’m simply repeating Nature’s laws verbatim – much as folks over the years have done before me!).

None of what I write about with regard to belief, faith, the Infinite etc is “manufactured”. It’s all true – it’s all stuff that successful people over the years have read up on – and UNDERSTOOD – in order to be successful and enjoy CONTINUED success – – and these are all things that will help YOU too!

Now, one long time reader of this newsletter Charles recently asked me (in a response to a post about me being a “modern day Gandhi” I believe it was) if I believe in God or not.

My response was as always – NO. I’ve never been a believer in God (I first realized I was an atheist for life at the age of 4, I believe – about the same age my daughter is right now) – – but on the flip side, I DO believe, as y’all know, in a “higher power”.

I believe in UNIVERSAL ENERGY. I believe in the Universe itself – and I believe that absolute faith combined with BELIEF, PASSION and PERSEVERANCE can indeed move mountains and cause “miracles” to happen – but those “miracles” are aided by none other than the “higher power” I’m referring to!

So that’s my take on it – and while no, I don’t believe in God – the reason I don’t do so is because of what modern religion has turned into.

Religion seems to have turned into a tool to incite the masses (just look at what is happening all over the world today) and while I’m not a “Marxist” by any stretch – Karl Marx did have it right when he spoke those famous words “Religion is the opium of the masses”.

My other issue with religion as it is today are the associated “beliefs” and practices one MUST follow “in order to be considered religious” or even “to be religious”.

Now, why should that be, I ask?

If I sit at my desk and communicate with the Infinite – does that make me any less (or more, for that matter) “worthy” or spiritual than someone who wears saffron robes and long necklaces, and goes from door to door asking for “alms on Saturday” (don’t ask me – thats apparently one of the things in India – there’s apparently a “Saturday God” in addition to the plethora of Gods and Goddesses they have here!).

If I quietly meditate in my room – does that make me any less spiritual than someone who goes to church every Sunday morning?

If I fail to take my shoes off while entering the Taj Mahal – does that mean I’m disrespecting the monument – – or disrespecting those that believe in what it “stands for”?

Not in my book – but perhaps in other folks books – yes – but that is the entire point!

FAITH – which is the state of mind that comes about through a relentless “tap tap” repetition (Claude Briston spoke about this in his bestselling “The Magic of Believing“) does NOT require you to “take your shoes off” or “prostrate yourself before a temple high up in the Himalayas” or “stare at a wall for 8 years as Bodhidharma is reputed to have done” – – or anything of that nature!

Faith simply requires you to get in touch with the Infinite via the methods I talk about – and STAY in touch that way – and NOTHING else!!

I suppose THAT, along with the question I’ve often asked when I was young “If there’s a God, where is he/she?” is what crystallized my beliefs into what they are – and curiously enough the answer I’ve received MOST often vindicates what I’ve said all along about religion.

And what might be the answer I receive often?

Well – it’s this – that “God resides in your heart!”

True indeed – and I’d wager several bets that the person(s) saying this really mean “mind” when they say heart … and that to me is the entire crux of my belief.

Now, on that note, I sent out an email yesterday about “an absolute state of faith“, and received an interesting response from Charles (who I mentioned above –  a customer – and someone I’ve been communicating with back and forth over email for a while now).

Let’s take a look, both at his email – and my response …

Great message!  Once again, thanks.  For someone who does not believe in God, many of your messages carry a strong spiritual content.  Personally I do believe in God, but I do respect who you are and what you are doing and pray for your continued success.   – Charles Mitchell

My response beneath –

Hey Charles –

Thanks for the nice message! I don’t personally believe in God yes, but I have absolutely nothing against folks that do. Personally I believe one could interchange the terms “God” and “Universe” as well.  .  .

My wife believes in a barrage of Indian Gods/Goddesses, and there’s a lot of (what seems like to me) strange “customs” and “rituals” she follows before her prayers (it’s not like what you and me are likely used to, haha). Ditto for China – – they have their own customs and Gods as well (although yes, Buddhism as well as Bodhidharama did originally come from India, but despite the “Communist” image that China has, Buddhism and even Christainity etc are alive and “thriving” there).

I guess the point I’m trying to make is that we all have our own beliefs – – and those beliefs (God included) combined with a relentless “tap tap repetition” are really what enable that (subconscious) state of mind called ABSOULTE FAITH. So I may “talk to the Universe”, while another person might “pray” – – but at the end of the day we’re getting in touch with our inner selves, and an Infinite Power (God, Universe, insert term of choice) – – and we’re imbibing that inner self with a sheer sense of FAITH – and passion via said beliefs. At least, that’s my take on it.

The only issue I have on occasion is that folks occasionally “pray” only when “all seems lost”. This then puts the mind into a state of fear, and fear and faith cannot co-exist. So, the results in most cases end up being what the person is NOT looking for. Now only if the vast majority of folks would “pray” (i.e. get in touch with their inner selves) on a regular basis including when life is GOOD – – then their lives would be even better!!

Thanks again for the message – – yes, I do indeed hope these messages cause people to think and become more attuned to their inner selves – – as that is what is ultimately drives success in any field, fitness included.

Best of luck to YOU as well!!

Rahul

The only thing I’d like to add to all that I’ve said above is this – is that faith – or prayer – works BEST if you do it on a daily basis, much like eating, sleeping, breathing etc.

You do NOT just “pray” when all hope is lost – as that prayer comes from a mind filled with “despair” as opposed to FAITH – – and THAT is ultimately what you’re communicating to the Infinite – or God – or what have you.

You want to be communicating good things – good vibes – and good, positive emotions when you pray. Remember that prayer is but a medium – it doesn’t “force” you to communicate positivity – it’ll carry and DELIVER whatever you send out – right back at you if you’re not careful!

Ok, that was a long enough message on God, haha. I’ll write more on this later – but for now – don’t forget that there is a time and place for the spiritual – and then there is a time and place for the PHYSICAL.

The more physical activity (and the right forms of it) you get in during the day – the more attuned you’ll be to your spiritual self – and that, my dear reader is a fact that no-one can dispute.

So without further ado, crack open the 0 Excuses Fitness System, and get a brief little mini-workout in after you read all this.

You’ll be all the better off for it – that I DO guarantee!

Best,

Rahul

P.S. – Our new course “Corrugated Core” seems to be disappearing out the door like HOTCAKES. Pick up your copy right here – http://0excusesfitness.com/corrugated-core/