Welcome to episode 136 of the Nerd Journey Podcast [@NerdJourney]! We’re John White (@vJourneyman) and Nick Korte (@NetworkNerd_), two Pre-Sales Technical Engineers who are hoping to bring you the IT career advice that we wish we’d been given earlier in our careers. In today’s episode we share part 2 of our interview with Blake Johnson. We discuss ways to get started with fitness and stay the course, dealing with accountability and shame, what we can learn from the life of a car salesman, and thoughts on finding your why.
Original Recording Date: 07-08-2021
Blake Johnson (find him on LinkedIn or Twitter) is a simple salesman who is passionate about people. He is also the owner of Manifest Fit.
Topics – Getting Started with Fitness and Staying the Course, Accountability and Shame, Human Improvement, Life of a Car Salesman, Finding Your Why and Closing Thoughts
3:18 – Getting Started with Fitness and Staying the Course

* Blake has a client with bad knees who reached out to him asking to feel better.

* This person noticed they had to tighten their watch band and was able to play with his kids all day without getting tired.
* The way this person quantifies success is playing with his kids all day.

* Blake has a client who used to be diabetic because of soda consumption.

* They dialed back the consumption, and this person drank more water and was able to push harder at the gym.

* Some people don’t want to go to the gym because "that’s where fit people are."

* We self-sabotage quite a bit with preconceived assumptions about the places we go (like gyms).
* Step back. Are all gyms bad? If you feel they are, what can be done within those limits (playground, park, at home, etc.)?
* "The only reason I am not where I want to be in my life is because I stopped myself before I even started." – Blake Johnson
* Can you watch a video and follow it, take a walk in the neighborhood, or go somewhere you enjoy? Maybe that helps you build up to getting a coach or going to a gym (even if you just step in and watch). You have to start somewhere.

* Nick likes the idea of measuring what matters (feeling better) instead of focusing on the numbers of waistline and pounds.
* How about "I don’t have time to exercise?"

* We all have the same amount of time in a day.
* You will not have time for things that are not important to you. We make time for what matters.
* Blake hates waking up at 5 AM, but working out for him is more important than not working out. And he knows once he gets home from work he is not going to work out.

* If you only have 30 minutes, that is a ton of time. It doesn’t have to be 2 hours.
* There are many ways to get to where we want to be within time limits. Even if it’s 20 minutes, we can change our activities to allow ourselves to make progress even in short time periods.

* If you don’t have time, you may one day be sitting next to a doctor hearing "you should have found time."
* There’s always a reason to not do something. Figuring out that something is important to your success, understanding objections, figuring out ways around them is essential.

* What about staying the course?

* It isn’t easy.