Compete With Jake

Where It All Started

The “so how did you get started with Compete Every Day” question is one I’m asked quite often. I wish I could share a life-changing story where I was in the darkest of holes and climbed out with this new-found mindset.

Unfortunately, this isn’t that kind of story.

I never in a million years thought I’d get into apparel, but it’s funny how life is always throwing you curve balls.

I’ve always been ultra-competitive. I blame it on my limited physical skills in sports, which forced me to find new ways to win – through being mentally prepared, out working my opponents, and being resolute to not lose.

This mindset carried over into other areas of my life. I had large aspirations for my career and while initially focused on just sports, carried the same competitive mindset into it. My dad was an entrepreneur (as was his father), so deep down, the desire to create and build something has been in my blood from day one.

My outlook on life started changing over the course of 2010 after I was challenged by the writings of Donald Miller in A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. At its core, the book centers around what Miller learned about himself and life while editing his memoir into a movie script. The theme of living a better story with your life – and in order to live a better story you must deliberately act in ways that will make a better story.

Miller’s book forced me to evaluate what kind of story I was writing.

Page after page of my story was about me. And just me.

I was lacking crucial elements needed for a great story. I wasn’t pulling others into my story or finding ways to add value to theirs.

And I knew deep down my story needed to change.

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Community Fuels the Brand

The latest blog post by Web Smith got me thinking about branding, community, and business.

The strength of a brand is directly proportional to the level of unsolicited enthusiasm from those that a) have supported your business b) are actively supporting your business c) anticipate supporting your business. So many get it wrong.

There is so much truth in this statement.

As one who is growing a business from the ground-up on a bootstrap budget, I’ve learned that the brand is nothing without its passionate community. And I couldn’t be more thankful for the community Compete Every Day is blessed to share.

Every entrepreneur can attest to the fact that there’s no such thing as an “overnight success.” Growing a business is a grind. A long hard battle with many exit signs along the road that tempt you to pull over.

You’ve got to resist the urge, and instead push the gas pedal to the floor down the road you’re traveling.

The grind becomes tiresome. It can take its toll mentally and physically on anyone just trying to get their business rolling.

Many times we question “Should we stop now?” “Will this ever work?” and “Can I make this work?”

But if you’re doing something right, the community comes to your rescue.

Your brand’s very own Justice League to save the day.

They remind you that they fully believe in your brand, your message, your movement.

It’s as if an eighteen-wheeler full of gasoline was just poured onto your soul’s fire.

The flames erupt.

And nothing can stop you.

The brands that have “made it” understand that they’ve made it because of their community.

When tough times come, and doubts creep in, the community is the life-source giving the brand and its team fuel to keep competing.

For that, I thank each and every one of you.

For the rough times behind and the tough times that will lie ahead, I am confident that if Compete Every Day stays true to its mission - inspiring & encouraging, not selling shirts - that we can make it through anything with the help of our community.

It’s a powerful feeling when you can look into the future at your set goals & know with unshakeable confidence that it’ll be only a matter of time until tomorrow istoday.

Keep competing friends.

Identity Crisis

This past weekend was a big one for all of my readers who CrossFit. The 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games entered its second week of The Open workouts.

For those unfamiliar with The Open, it’s a five-week competition that trims the field of 68,000+ competitors down to the top 60 men/women from each region (and top 30 teams) for its regionals competitions - the stepping stone on the way to the 2012 CrossFit Games in Los Angeles in July.

This week’s workout, 12.2 as its known, was a 10-minute workout of max snatches. A snatch is an olympic lift that consists of moving a barbell from the ground to overhead in one swift movement. The snatch is a very technical lift. You can be a beast of a man, but if your technique sucks, you will not be able to snatch much weight.

The snatch is a powerfully explosive movement.

And it’s a movement I severely struggle with.

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