“Bring it in!” - coach yells across the empty arena “good practice, take 5 mins to get water, then change your shoes… we’re heading out to the track to do the mile test!”

We’re exhausted. A grueling 3 hour pre-season practice that would challenge the conditioning of any athlete.

And now we have to do the mile test?

This is crazy.

It’s my Junior season of NCAA Division 1 basketball.

We’re the underdogs this year in the conference, so we’ve got a bit of a chip on our shoulder to prove ourselves.

Walking out to the track, no one says a word… it’s dead silent.

We all know what we’re in for, and we’re dreading it.

The mile test is 4 laps around the track. You have to make it within a certain specified time (depending upon your position) or else you have to show up every morning for more running.

It’s about as enjoyable as a punch in the face.

“3… 2… 1… GO!”

We’re off… and it’s a slow start. The time between the end of practice and the start of the mile test cooled us off.

“That’s 1 minute and 22 seconds… you’re going to need to speed it up!” - our head trainer yells from the starting line as we complete the first lap.

I’m dying.

My legs feel like jello.

And my lungs are burning.

“3RD LAP - KEEP IT MOVING!!!” - the coaches yell from the sidelines.

I start to question everything… my sanity, the world, the higher powers that created this mile test…

“This is where most people quit,” I remind myself “you got this, you got this, you got this…”

“LAST LAP - PUSH IT!”

This is where things get interesting… where your body begins to quite literally shut down…

Your legs turn into rocks. And your body begins to cease up.

If you want to make it to the finish line - you need to find a reason to convince your body to continue.

“5 minutes 6 seconds… good job fellas. Cool down, stretch, and hit the showers.”

The track looks like a scene out of a war movie… players are scattered everywhere, lifeless bodies just trying to catch their breath.

I don’t know how - but we made it.

“Why do they make us do this?” - a freshman asks on the walk back to the locker room.

And he’s got a good point.

The mile test is not a great indicator of physical fitness when it comes to basketball… short sprints with short recovery periods is what happens in games… not 5-6 minute runs like this.

“It’s a test… they want to see who is mentally strong enough to push through the physical pain,” I feel compelled as a team captain to answer him “they want to know who they can count on when the game is on the line.”

And it’s the truth. It really has almost nothing to do with testing our physical fitness.

It’s about testing our psychology and mental toughness.

It’s the same reason why I write so much about mindset… and the inner development that is required to make it as an entrepreneur.

Business X’s and O’x are cool, and I love to talk about those too… but honestly, that’s kind of the easy part.

I mean, you can probably go on youtube right now and find the answer to just about any business or marketing question you have…

Hormozi has been making some great videos on business metrics. His books are a nice summary of the old school direct response marketing guys that I learned from - like Dan Kennedy and David Ogilvy.

But when it comes to overcoming imposter syndrome?

Or feeling like you’re not good enough?

Or wrangling in the attentional system of the body to be able to focus for more than 5 mins?

Or designing a business and systems that reflect your innate skills and desires and energy levels?

Or managing the stresses that come with scaling a 6, 7, or 8 figure company?

Or finding and living inside of your purpose?

Or untangling yourself from the mess of conflicting advice that’s been highjacking your clarity and keeping you stuck in life?

…Probably not so much out there, right? (unless you’re into pop psychology and bubblegum wrapper advice like “Just follow your purpose…” *yawn*)

My point is - learning which button to click and which email to send is a small fraction of what it takes to make it.

“Success is 80% psychology and 20% mechanics.” - Tony Robbins

I’m not a big Tony guy anymore, but I love this quote (and would argue that it’s more like 95% psychology and 5% mechanics.)

One of the fastest ways to unlock yourself and flow freely towards your dreams in life is to understand this:

You don't have business problems.

You have personal problems expressing themself through your business.

Your personal problems are an untapped goldmine… a huge area of opportunity that when integrated - produce massive shifts in all areas of your life.

As entrepreneurs - we are the bottleneck.

And if you scale your business without addressing your problems, you scale your problems instead.

Inner development + Outer development = Freedom and Fulfillment

That’s what we’re after, isn’t it?

Have a good day.

- Adam

CASE STUDY

This 146 page Case Study shares my personal experience as an Online Basketball Trainer who found a way to help more athletes while creating more freedom, alignment and simplicity in my life.