I have a very close friend who is also a GFP regular. We met about 5 years ago after Vanessa and I had just moved back to NJ. While I was starting GFP, I trained at a small local gym, and I always happened to run into this really strong guy named John.
John and I quickly became good friends through our love for lifting weights. I was always amazed at this small man lifting such enormous amounts of weight. It was very impressive.
John is much stronger now then he was 5 years ago – it seems that every year he just keeps getting stronger.
To be clear, John competes in the sport of Powerlifting. This sport requires you to lift as much weight as possible for one repetition in the Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift. You are broken up into weight classes and John is in the 165 pound division.
John is ranked 13 overall in the country (USA Powerlifting) in his weight class and holds several nation wide records.
I have learned many lessons from John over the last 5 years, and I wanted to share a few with you.
Patience
I have never seen John lose his cool, ever! I am sure there have been times where he has, but I have spent many hours with this guy in some very stressful situations and his patience never fails to amaze me.
One of the reasons why people fail to be strong is that they do not have patience to wait until the next week to add a little more weight to the bar. John very patiently lifts a specific weight each week and then simply adds a little more the next. Patience helps him to keep getting stronger.
He does not use any tricks like complicated rep schemes or bands and chains, he just adds a little more weight the next week. This patience to not rush the process of getting strong simply works.
My takeaway: In life we want things now. We are living in a world where you can have almost anything you want at the touch of a button. Good health, strength, fat loss, and success in business does not work this way.
Patience is a quality we need to have to get things accomplished the right way. How many diets do you see that promise 6 pounds in 2 weeks? What about after?
Adopt patience and success may come more slowly, but you are building a foundation to be successful for the long term – not the short term.
Mindset
I have never met a person that is able to channel energy to one task as well as John. When he squats, there is nothing else in the world that matters. It is John, the bar, a whole bunch of wheels and nothing else.
John is a carpenter and works all day lifting, painting, hammering and building – he has a very physical work day. I am sure there are days where he is exhausted and does not want to pile 500 pounds on his back and squat. That never happens. John has never said “I am a little tired today, I think I will just wait until tomorrow.” If it’s Monday night at 7 PM, he is squatting.
He defines the rule “If you want something done tomorrow, start today.”
There is never anything that gets in his way. Instead he is able to use stressful things in his life and channel them positively into what he is doing.
My takeaway: Too many times in our lives we let our minds affect our performance. This one is close to me as I can remember in my college football days having some very tough times and instead of using them as fuel I would let them hinder my performance.
I have learned from John to have militant focus on what I am doing and to use anything in my life that would affect it negatively as a positive. This is a very difficult task and one that I have still not mastered, but it is through his examples I push forward.
Attention to Perfect Detail
With John, everything must be perfect down to the last pound. When John lifts, the bar is always set up perfectly, his form never breaks even when he is pulling a max lift, and his work as a carpenter is just as good.
The indestructible step-up box
John built us a box that many of you use for step-ups and squats. The wooden box is about 4 years old and is the strongest piece of equipment we use at the gym. This includes everything we have ever bought from a professional equipment manufacturer. It is just an example that whatever he does is done with the utmost attention to detail and perfection. The only thing that will break this box is a sledgehammer or a bonfire.
My takeaway: Strive for perfection in what you do. There is too much sloppy work out there and the world needs more attention to perfect detail. If you are going to eat well, do it perfectly (90% of course). If you sign up to train 2x per week, make it your mission to never miss a session. If you are going to coach a youth sport take it seriously and provide the best experience possible for the kids.
His accomplishments are extraordinary, and I have learned many lessons from his patience, mindset and attention to perfect detail.
I have hired John for many jobs in the facility and his work always exceeds my expectations, every time.
If you would like to see some of Johns work on bathrooms and kitchens visit his Facebook page or call him at 908-229-5345.
I can promise you if you hire John once, you will never look for another carpenter again. Tell him that Vince sent you, and he will make sure you get priority as his schedule is packed.
