I don’t visit zoo’s. Ever. Not because I don’t like animals, on the contrary I like animals very much. I don’t visit zoo’s because I don’t like seeing animals living in animal prison. The animals in zoo’s always have broken spirits readily apparent in their vacant gaze. It’s no fun seeing animals like, it’s just sad.
The same reason I don’t visit zoo’s is the same reason I don’t have a normal, 9-5 office job - it kills the human spirit. Next time you go to work I want you to look in the eyes of all you see - from the other motorists stuck in traffic to all your cubicle drone co-workers. You will see one thing in all of them - broken spirits. Walk into the bathroom and take a look in the mirror. Do you have that same look in your eyes? Probably. Just like animals were not meant to live in zoo’s pretending it’s natural, humans were not meant to live in human zoo’s pretending to live life.
Animals living in zoo’s are fed everyday, they don’t have to do anything for their food, some of them get lazy and fat. If they were released back into the wild they would have to work harder to eat everyday. There would be no security. They would give up security for a life of freedom. Do you think, given the chance, that animals would stay in a zoo for the rest of their life if the cage doors were left open?
The difference between animals in a zoo and humans in an office is this: Animals are locked in their cage. Humans willingly stay in their cage. Your door is open. It has always been open. It’s only in your mind that the cage door is locked.
Become a better man in 30 days.
30 Days of Discipline.
Even the smallest habits make the biggest difference.
I believe that the definition of definition is reinvention. To not be like your parents. To not be like your friends. To be yourself.
Completely.
When I was young I had no sense of myself. All I was, was a product of all the fear and humiliation I suffered. Fear of my parents. The humiliation of teachers calling me “garbage can” and telling me I’d be mowing lawns for a living. And the very real terror of my fellow students. I was threatened and beaten up for the color of my skin and my size. I was skinny and clumsy, and when others would tease me I didn’t run home crying, wondering why.
I knew all too well. I was there to be antagonized. In sports I was laughed at. A spaz. I was pretty good at boxing but only because the rage that filled my every waking moment made me wild and unpredictable. I fought with some strange fury. The other boys thought I was crazy.
I hated myself all the time.
As stupid at it seems now, I wanted to talk like them, dress like them, carry myself with the ease of knowing that I wasn’t going to get pounded in the hallway between classes. Years passed and I learned to keep it all inside. I only talked to a few boys in my grade. Other losers. Some of them are to this day the greatest people I have ever known. Hang out with a guy who has had his head flushed down a toilet a few times, treat him with respect, and you’ll find a faithful friend forever. But even with friends, school sucked. Teachers gave me hard time. I didn’t think much of them either.
Then came Mr. Pepperman, my advisor. He was a powerfully built Vietnam veteran, and he was scary. No one ever talked out of turn in his class. Once one kid did and Mr. P. lifted him off the ground and pinned him to the blackboard. Mr. P. could see that I was in bad shape, and one Friday in October he asked me if I had ever worked out with weights. I told him no. He told me that I was going to take some of the money that I had saved and buy a hundred-pound set of weights at Sears. As I left his office, I started to think of things I would say to him on Monday when he asked about the weights that I was not going to buy. Still, it made me feel special. My father never really got that close to caring. On Saturday I bought the weights, but I couldn’t even drag them to my mom’s car. An attendant laughed at me as he put them on a dolly.
Monday came and I was called into Mr. P.’s office after school. He said that he was going to show me how to work out. He was going to put me on a program and start hitting me in the solar plexus in the hallway when I wasn’t looking. When I could take the punch we would know that we were getting somewhere. At no time was I to look at myself in the mirror or tell anyone at school what I was doing. In the gym he showed me ten basic exercises. I paid more attention than I ever did in any of my classes. I didn’t want to blow it. I went home that night and started right in.
Weeks passed, and every once in a while Mr. P. would give me a shot and drop me in the hallway, sending my books flying. The other students didn’t know what to think. More weeks passed, and I was steadily adding new weights to the bar. I could sense the power inside my body growing. I could feel it.
Right before Christmas break I was walking to class, and from out of nowhere Mr. Pepperman appeared and gave me a shot in the chest. I laughed and kept going. He said I could look at myself now. I got home and ran to the bathroom and pulled off my shirt. I saw a body, not just the shell that housed my stomach and my heart. My biceps bulged. My chest had definition. I felt strong. It was the first time I can remember having a sense of myself. I had done something and no one could ever take it away. You couldn’t say s-t to me.
It took me years to fully appreciate the value of the lessons I have learned from the Iron. I used to think that it was my adversary, that I was trying to lift that which does not want to be lifted. I was wrong. When the Iron doesn’t want to come off the mat, it’s the kindest thing it can do for you. If it flew up and went through the ceiling, it wouldn’t teach you anything. That’s the way the Iron talks to you. It tells you that the material you work with is that which you will come to resemble. That which you work against will always work against you.
It wasn’t until my late twenties that I learned that by working out I had given myself a great gift. I learned that nothing good comes without work and a certain amount of pain. When I finish a set that leaves me shaking, I know more about myself. When something gets bad, I know it can’t be as bad as that workout.
I used to fight the pain, but recently this became clear to me: pain is not my enemy; it is my call to greatness. But when dealing with the Iron, one must be careful to interpret the pain correctly. Most injuries involving the Iron come from ego. I once spent a few weeks lifting weight that my body wasn’t ready for and spent a few months not picking up anything heavier than a fork. Try to lift what you’re not prepared to and the Iron will teach you a little lesson in restraint and self-control.
I have never met a truly strong person who didn’t have self-respect. I think a lot of inwardly and outwardly directed contempt passes itself off as self-respect: the idea of raising yourself by stepping on someone’s shoulders instead of doing it yourself. When I see guys working out for cosmetic reasons, I see vanity exposing them in the worst way, as cartoon characters, billboards for imbalance and insecurity. Strength reveals itself through character. It is the difference between bouncers who get off strong-arming people and Mr.Pepperman.
Muscle mass does not always equal strength. Strength is kindness and sensitivity. Strength is understanding that your power is both physical and emotional. That it comes from the body and the mind. And the heart.
Yukio Mishima said that he could not entertain the idea of romance if he was not strong. Romance is such a strong and overwhelming passion, a weakened body cannot sustain it for long. I have some of my most romantic thoughts when I am with the Iron. Once I was in love with a woman. I thought about her the most when the pain from a workout was racing through my body.
Everything in me wanted her. So much so that sex was only a fraction of my total desire. It was the single most intense love I have ever felt, but she lived far away and I didn’t see her very often. Working out was a healthy way of dealing with the loneliness. To this day, when I work out I usually listen to ballads.
I prefer to work out alone.
It enables me to concentrate on the lessons that the Iron has for me. Learning about what you’re made of is always time well spent, and I have found no better teacher. The Iron had taught me how to live. Life is capable of driving you out of your mind. The way it all comes down these days, it’s some kind of miracle if you’re not insane. People have become separated from their bodies. They are no longer whole.
I see them move from their offices to their cars and on to their suburban homes. They stress out constantly, they lose sleep, they eat badly. And they behave badly. Their egos run wild; they become motivated by that which will eventually give them a massive stroke. They need the Iron Mind.
Through the years, I have combined meditation, action, and the Iron into a single strength. I believe that when the body is strong, the mind thinks strong thoughts. Time spent away from the Iron makes my mind degenerate. I wallow in a thick depression. My body shuts down my mind.
The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it’s impossible to turn back.
The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.
Become a better man in 30 days.
30 Days of Discipline.
Even the smallest habits make the biggest difference.
Everybody in your life might believe your bullshit, but deep down you don’t.
Talking is a waste of time.
Walk. The. Walk.
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Become a better man in 30 days.
30 Days of Discipline.
Even the smallest habits make the biggest difference.
My first night in China I arrived after 30 hours travel to a mattress as hard as a rock and the worlds worst pillow. Well, I bought a new pillow first thing but I still sleep on my concrete mattress. I gotta say, I will never go back to a soft mattress. Back in the States my mattress was as soft as a feather and I woke up every morning with lower back pain. It was just a nightmare getting out of bed in the morning. It wasn’t until almost right before I left that I figured out my mattress was probably the culprit - and I was about to start sleeping on the floor. My first week in China I noticed a huge decrease in lower back pain every morning.
Now when I wake up I usually do have some back pain (soreness would be a much, much better word) but that is because I lift like an Animal and do a ton of heavy back work at the gym. To be sure, the bed is uncomfortable as can be but the absence of back pain makes it more than worth it.
Most of the Chinese sleep on a hard mattress and I rarely see a Chinese person with bad posture. I was at the shop with a friend and she asked the shopkeeper where she could find a soft mattress and the shopkeeper laughed at her and said a soft mattress is bad for your back. Clearly they know something about sleeping on a firm surface that we have forgotten.
If you have lower back pain you should get off of your weak mattress and sleep on a firm surface. The human body was most definitely not designed to sleep on a bed of feathers. Try sleeping on the floor for a few days and see if you notice a difference. You probably will. Then you can trade in your fancy pants mattress for a firm one. Sleep on the ground like a man and look like one. Sleep on feathers like a princess and look like one.
Which one is you?
Sleeping on a soft mattress makes you soft. Sleeping on a hard mattress makes you hard. Give it a try and see if you notice a difference.
Become a better man in 30 days.
30 Days of Discipline.
Even the smallest habits make the biggest difference.
The only reason to eat at a restaurant is to enjoy time with friends and family. The poor nutrition offered at most American restaurants is dismal. Next time you are at TGI Fridays take a look at all the fat people and ask yourself if you want to look like them. The solution is cooking for yourself. But not just any cooking, Spartan Cooking. Spartan Cooking means making easy (but still delicious meals) that take no more than 5 or 10 minutes of your time to prepare. Because we have better things to do than cook a fancy meal that is going to look exactly like shit in 24 hours. The good news is that all healthy meals on the face of the earth are easy and quick to cook. It takes me about 30 seconds to cook a steak. It takes about one minute to cook eggs. It doesn’t require any time to throw a potato in the microwave. It doesn’t require any of your time to throw some chicken wings in the oven. It doesn’t require any time to throw some food in a crockpot, go about your day, and then come home and eat your dinner.
The other benefits to Spartan Cooking are:
1) It is cheaper than restaurant food. You will be saving money.
2) It is healthier than restaurant food. Who even knows what kind of shit ingredients are used in restaurants. When you put in all the ingredients you know exactly what you are eating. It is near impossible to be unhealthy when you eat a steady diet of real, whole, fresh, nutritious food.
3) Cooking for yourself saves time. No more waiting to take your drink order, then waiting to take your meal order, then waiting for your drink, then waiting for your appetizer, then waiting for your meal, then waiting for a refill, then waiting for your check, then tipping the waiter for making you wait so long. Cook it, eat it, clean the dishes, be done with it.
4) Cooking is easy. Forget about all the detailed, extensive recipes you read online. All any man ever needs to cook is salt, pepper, and butter. If it isn’t delicious in salt, pepper, and butter it doesn’t deserve to be eaten.
Recipes and How to’s:
How to cook Steak: Steak is the easiest thing in the world to cook. Heat up a pan or skillet very hot. Melt some butter on the pan. Put the steak on the pan. Add a dash of salt and some pepper. Flip the steak over and add some pepper. Remove from heat. Eat and enjoy. Note: I enjoy steak almost completely rare, I only cook the outside to kill any germs that may be on it. If you enjoy well done meat simply leave it on the pan longer.
How to Cook Scrambled Eggs: Heat up a pan on high heat. Melt some butter in the pan. Crack your Eggs into the pan. Add some salt and pepper. Scramble the eggs with a spatula. Keep scrambling until the eggs are done. Note: I enjoy my scrambled eggs a little runny, they taste better than completely cooked. Cook to whichever done-ness your prefer. Remember that undercooked eggs will not harm you - I routinely drink raw, warm eggs after a workout.
How to Cook Eggs Sunny Side Up: Heat up a pan on high heat. Melt some butter in the pan. Crack a few eggs over the pan. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Let cook for roughly 30 seconds. Flip eggs over (like pancakes) with a spatula. Let cook for roughly 30 seconds. Remove and eat. The yolks should be runny and the whites completely cooked.
How to Cook Baked Sweet Potato’s: Wrap a sweet potato in plastic cling wrap. Put it in the microwave for 7-8 minutes. Go do something else and come back to the microwave in about 12 minutes (you will want to let the sweet potato keep cooking inside of the plastic wrap for about 5 minutes), remove from plastic, slice the potato down the center with a knife, add some butter and cinnamon. Eat and enjoy. Cook a regular baked potato the same way but don’t add cinnamon. Add butter, salt, and pepper. If you have sour cream you can add it, if you have some cheddar cheese you can add it too.
How to Cook Rice: Get a microwave safe bowl. Add rice and water. Always add twice as much water as you add rice. For example one cup rice equals two cups water. Cover bowl and microwave for 20 minutes. Go do something else and come back in about 25-30 minutes (letting the rice cool), eat and enjoy.
How to Cook Chicken Wings: Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Place Chicken Wings on a cooking sheet. Season with salt and pepper (they’re good with cayenne pepper). Place in heated oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and flip each wing over. Place back in oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Eat and enjoy.
How to Cook any Other Meat: Fry in butter, salt, and pepper.
How to Cook Vegetables: Slice them any way you want. Fry them in butter, salt, and pepper. Throw some onions, green peppers, or mushrooms in with your eggs. Throw some green peppers on the pan to eat with your steak.
If you have a Steamer or Rice-Cooker: Throw some Salmon fillets (seasoned with salt and pepper) in with some asparagus or green beans. Let steam for about 10 minutes. Eat and enjoy.
How to Cook Roast in a Crockpot: Add a packet of dry onion soup mix to the bottom of the crock pot. Add about a cup of water. Toss in a Roast. Add some salt, pepper and butter. Toss is some small potato’s (or regular sized, doesn’t matter). The water should cover about 2/3 of the Roast, add some if you need to. Cook on higt for 2 hours. Switch to low and cook on low for 4 hours. Turn off heat and let it sit for 10-30 minutes. Eat and enjoy. Add some Cottage Cheese for an extra delicious punch.
No needlessly complex recipes or fruity ingredients and arrangements. Just some badass food for a badass lifestyle.
Simplify your life. It makes things so much easier.
Become a better man in 30 days.
30 Days of Discipline.
Even the smallest habits make the biggest difference.
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