There are people who’ve lived for decades and have barely, if ever, traveled beyond the borders of their state or province. They have no need, real or perceived, to venture farther. We’ve all seen the forty-year-old man who dresses every day the same as when he was sixteen. That’s who he believes he’s meant to be. Millions of literate people go years without reading a single book. And none of that is a problem if those people like what they’re getting out of life. Not everyone aspires to grow and excel, and that’s okay.

When it comes to beliefs about personal growth, we can divide mankind into two groups. The first group believes they’re more or less good enough as they are. They’re content with or resigned to being—well, average. The second group believes they’re supposed to be continually growing. They obsessively seek higher levels of awareness, understanding, and achievement. If you guessed that the first group is vastly larger than the second, you’re right. The question for you is: which group do you really belong to? 

“Really” is the operative word. It doesn’t matter what people are apt to say when asked which group they belong to, because many who would claim they believe in continual growth do little to demonstrate it. Saying and doing are not the same thing, and ultimately, what someone really believes about their hunger and capacity to grow is evident from how they spend their time. It’s what I call a person’s growth paradigm. Earl Nightingale was telling it like it is when he proclaimed that 95 percent of people are stuck leading mediocre lives. It seems to be an unchanging truth.

Overcoming stagnation can be one of the biggest challenges of your life, especially once your youth is behind you. The more time passes, the more it seems as though life is what it is. And if you don’t believe you deserve more out of life, you won’t get it because your heart won’t be deeply invested in trying. But if you’re not okay with being average, I want you to know that you can pursue a new level and become a better version of yourself. You just need to think about things you can do now and then start doing them.

I spend a lot of time every day thinking about how I can grow because I know that I’m still not the best I can be. In fact, it’s one of my favorite things to think about. I believe I can broaden my knowledge, improve my body and emotional control, increase my wealth, and deepen my sense of purpose. That’s what being the total package is about. But more importantly, my belief compels me to continually follow through with my actions.

I’m not there yet, but I’m always working at it. Some things go well, and some things fall flat. What I can promise you is that nothing works better than action. In fact, you cannot upgrade your life without it. No effort is wasted as long as you’re learning something that helps you grow into the person you know you can be.

You want to look and feel better? Then get yourself in shape. Be mindful of what and how much you eat and drink.

You want to get better at conversation? Then spend some money on books and read—audiobooks count too. Put yourself in the company of smart people and be a good listener.

You want to be more disciplined? Then put down the TV remote. Rethink the ways you spend your time and set more purposeful priorities.

If you feel the gravity of mediocrity pulling you down, don’t just let the feeling fester. Identify some habits and aspects of your character you can upgrade. Be hungry to become more. Then start working at it.

Sayonara until next time.

Be The Total Package eBook – Bounce Pep

*Pep Talk has not been authored in whole or in part by any artificial intelligence tools.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: to be the total package, you must do what other people don’t and won’t do. Doing what the crowd does won’t make you an impressive person. If you don’t care about being impressive, then you can stop reading now. Otherwise, this week’s Pep Talk is intended to reinvigorate your commitment to leveling yourself up.

No one can force you to exercise regularly and vigorously. You may have someone who pushes you in some way, but the decision to follow through is your own. So, how are you able to pull yourself up off the couch and move when so many others find themselves stuck there? It’s because you know in your soul that you deserve more out of life, even if you’re too humble to verbalize the thought. You’re supposed to be your most energetic, healthy, attractive, and mentally sharp self, and you can’t accept being otherwise.

Those expectations put you in the minority. They generate impulses to be the kind of person who gets it done. Lifting those heavy weights, biking all those miles, and eating more nutritiously don’t just happen. You decide to accept the challenge and manifest better outcomes. Most people want no part of it, and it’s no wonder that so many of them are in poor shape, sickly, or both.

Broadly speaking, most will passively accept what life gives them due to their expectations. This is an observation, not a criticism. They don’t believe achieving substantially more is in the cards for them, and the exceptional outcomes of a high achiever seem like an impossible dream. Even if they’re dissatisfied with where they are, the courage and ambition to reimagine and reinvent themselves just aren’t there. It requires shifts in mindset and behavior, for which they’re not willing to face the discomfort.

If you’re keeping yourself in great shape, whatever your reasons are, keep doing so. But don’t limit your aspirations to your health and fitness. Apply this winning formula elsewhere in your life. If there’s some higher or deeper level you want to reach, do the things most people don’t and won’t do.

Sayonara until next time.

Download your copy of the Be The Total Package:

Be The Total Package eBook – Bounce Pep

The eighth and final maxim in Be The Total Package is a wake-up call. Too many people have no idea why they can’t commit to getting in shape despite having the desire to do so.

It’s easy to wish and set grand goals for your fitness. In the beginning, when you’re full of enthusiasm, it may even be easy to start. It’s what happens after you start that reveals the truth about who you are.

Are you intentional about your health and fitness or haphazard? What’s for sure is that who you are makes all the difference. Only after you identify can you build and sustain constructive habits.

Of all the maxims, this is the most important. It’s the one that will guarantee the outcomes you desire if you follow through on it.

Don’t wait any longer. Download your copy of the ebook and discover everything.

Be The Total Package eBook – Bounce Pep

Sayonara until next time.

You may not be confident enough to get in the gym and work out in front of other people. You might feel unattractive or out of place. While I empathize, those aren’t good enough reasons to neglect your fitness, and the seventh maxim in Be The Total Package is going to help you overcome them.

You’ve got to move, if nothing else. It’s time to find reasons you will rather than reasons you won’t. That’s why I share an anecdote in the seventh maxim about a Chinese couple at a party many years ago who taught me an unforgettable lesson.

Of all the maxims in Be The Total Package, the seventh is the most straightforward, and there’s no way to get around it. Whether you accept it or not, it's universally true, and nothing will happen to improve your fitness if you don’t apply it.

Download your copy of the ebook today and discover everything.

Be The Total Package eBook – Bounce Pep

Sayonara until next time.

Yes, optional. Wild animals already know this, but I made it the sixth maxim in Be The Total Package because there are so many people who need to hear it. At any given time, one’s motivation could be high, low, or somewhere in between. We all struggle with motivation at some point.

This is why I introduce a first principle of fitness in the sixth maxim. It is foundational and more fundamental than motivation. No habits of fitness can be established unless one has at least an intuitive understanding of this first principle. And once you know this, you know exactly how to overcome bouts of low motivation.

Sometimes it’s not easy, and that’s the point. Nothing is proved by doing only what’s easy.

Download your copy of the ebook today and discover the secrets.

Be The Total Package eBook – Bounce Pep

Sayonara until next time.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look more attractive. If that’s what gets you into the gym, then so be it. But the fifth maxim in Be The Total Package is about appreciating the things you can’t necessarily see with the naked eye.

If you want to get fit and stay fit, you need to build momentum. All you need to do is know what the elements of momentum are and apply the formula. The application of the formula is, of course, where most people fall short. Why? Because they live according to mental paradigms that conflict with their goal of getting in shape.

I’ve seen people quit in the middle of building momentum because they didn’t know what momentum felt like and didn’t even realize they were building any. So for you or anyone you know who needs reasons to stick with it when progress seems too slow, the fifth maxim will be a shot in the arm.

Download your copy of the ebook today and change your life!

Be The Total Package eBook – Bounce Pep

Sayonara until next time.

Time—your time—is what the fourth maxim in Be The Total Package covers. Whether you’re wasting it or maximizing it, time keeps moving in one direction.

So, what are you really doing with yours? More to the point, are you habitually distracted? Distractions are ubiquitous and seductive, but once you recognize when you’re in a distracted state, you can take steps to resist.

Be intentional. That’s the key, and it requires that you take some of your time back. Your priorities need to include you, so no matter how much time you’re giving to other things and other people, remember that a part of each day is rightfully yours to work on yourself.

Discover everything about the fourth maxim by downloading your copy of the ebook.

Be The Total Package eBook – Bounce Pep 

Sayonara until next time.

The third maxim in Be The Total Package is all about energy. Too many people are lacking in it, while some people have an abundance of it.

Whatever type of energy you have, it creates momentum, either positive or negative. In other words, it feeds on itself and produces more of the same. The big question is: in which direction?

Perpetual weariness can’t be hidden because it pretty much goes hand in hand with looking terrible. It makes it hard to smile and even harder to live. I have concluded that people who accept it believe, somewhere deep down, that it’s what they deserve. With no one nearby telling them otherwise, they may even think it’s normal.

The good news is that feeling tired all the time is a choice, which means another, better option is always available. So what are you willing to accept?

Learn all about the third maxim by downloading your copy of the ebook.

Be The Total Package eBook – Bounce Pep 

Sayonara until next time.

This is week 2 of my Be The Total Package teaser series of posts. The question you need to ask yourself is: Am I not worth it?

Cost is not value. Understanding the difference between the two allows you to make wise decisions about allocating your personal resources. No matter what you decide to do each day, you’re going to spend your time or your money on those things, or both.

Remember to value the value. What I mean is that any investment in your fitness must first be judged by its value. What are the quantifiable benefits, and what are the unquantifiable benefits? Is there some benefit that is invaluable? And, most importantly, are you worth it?

To gain more insight into the second maxim, download your copy of the ebook.

Be The Total Package eBook – Bounce Pep

Sayonara until next time.

I wrote Be The Total Package for you—yes, you. I want you to be excited about everything the book will reveal to you. So, for the next eight weeks, I’m going to provide brief glimpses of what each of the eight maxims in Be The Total Package is about. 

Being the total package is a choice. You don’t have to be. After all, most people are not, and neither are they trying to be or even aware of what it takes. This is most obvious simply by looking around when you’re out in public. Vastly more people are in terrible shape than are in excellent shape. Excuses abound, but the truth is that most people are comfortable being average. Sure, it would be nice to be better than middling, but the truth is that they don’t want it badly enough.

I believe you’re someone who chooses to be more and accomplish more in your life so you can know for yourself what your real capabilities are. To gain more insight into the first maxim, download your copy of the ebook.

Be The Total Package eBook – Bounce Pep

Sayonara until next time.

Be The Total Package is my new book, and it’s now available for download at the homepage of bouncepep.com. To be blunt, if you’re happy being average, it’s not the book for you. It speaks directly to high achievers who know they must get in better shape but have trouble committing to it and building the necessary habits.

If you know your life is missing something despite your success, that’s your intuition whispering to you. Having an impressive title, wealth, or an advanced education doesn’t mean you’ve fulfilled your promise. Those accomplishments are not enough for you to be the total package. In the book, I reveal the elements that comprise being the total package and explain the role your fitness plays. While a strong desire is required for you to get in shape, your mindset and reasons will make or break your efforts.

Be The Total Package provides 8 maxims to fortify your mindset while identifying several self-sabotaging ideas and behaviors that can keep you from getting fit. Your desire to be healthy, strong, and bursting with energy is all well and good. But desire has to align with identity first. I break that principle down for you and reveal many other insights to help you overcome misconceptions and mental roadblocks to getting yourself in better shape.

Knowledge is power, so download your own copy of Be The Total Package to get the full picture. I want to share these maxims with as many other high achievers as I can. As a bonus, you’ll be awarded an honorary membership in the Bounce Pep Society. Go and get it!

Be The Total Package eBook – Bounce Pep

Sayonara until next time.