A lot times people will ask me:

“What is the single biggest thing that has made a difference in your success?”

Most of the time I will prod them with a couple questions, see if I can spot their hang-up, and then give them something that they can take away that will help. I am actually modifying my answers based on what I think will help them the most. I mean, let’s be honest, people don’t usually want to hear what did it for me, they want to hear what will do it for them. The fact is, I totally get it. I have been in the spot and I know how hard it can be to get over the first hurdles. That’s why I take a little time to see where they are stuck.

But not today.

I guess, from now on, I will have to answer a question with a question. I will have to ask: “Have you read my blog?” because I am going to tell you my honest feeling about what sets me apart.

To put it plainly: I am a fighter.

And not just any kind of fighter. I am an all out, beat you down, fighting to feed my family, no rules, cheat if I have to, never give up, nasty kind of fighter. I am the kind of person you never want to pick a fight with because, win or lose, it will be the most miserable experience of your life. I am the kind of person who never forgets, so even if you think you got away with something, I will get you later when you least expect it. I never pick fights, but I finish them every time.

So the answer to the question “What sets me apart?” is simple:

I hit harder. If don’t hit harder, my skills are better. If those don’t work, I can take a punch better. If you are better at all of those things, I will fight longer until you quit. Training every day to get better is a given for me.

You see, being a fighter is a state of mind. It is a confidence in yourself that you can beat any foe, obstacle, or encounter. It is a set of beliefs that have been instilled in every great leader,  military, or athlete.

Fear does not reside here. Whining is not tolerated. Weakness is an illusion.

My good friend Jay Kubassek describes it as doing more than 99% of other people would do.

I have encouraged people to strip back all the creature comforts in their lives. You know what I am talking about: the Starbucks latte, the feather duvet, the Big Star jeans, and even, yes godforbid, the Whole Foods. I love them all too, but I know their place.  Once you have done that, ask yourself:

What’s left?

What’s left is you and another 5.5 billion hungry, loin cloth wearing, club swinging cavemen and cavewomen all trying to kill an elephant and feed their family.

This is your family history. Based on the philosophy of “survival of the fittest” you come from a line of great warriors.Whether you believe it or not, your are ALREADY a fighter. Your family survived diseases, wars, natural disasters hunger, droughts, and everything else you can imagine. They came out on top which gave them the right to procreate.

You have this warrior spirit GENETICALLY built in to you! You are smart, creative, and powerful.

You can use it for good, for, evil, or not at all. That’s the beauty of choice. I choose to embrace it. I choose to fight.

What will you do?

To your success,

Aaron Parkinson

About a week ago I was in San Diego to check out one of Frank Kern’s events. I won’t go into the details of that event, other than to say I had fun. What I will tell you about is an experience that I think was vitally more important.

I had a near death experience.

Ok, maybe I am being a little dramatic but it sure felt like I was going to die. What seemed to be a fairly harmless eggs benedict on the airplane turned out to contain something vile and toxic. I never felt right after eating it. Even as I was getting a massage at the Hard Rock hotel I could see my stomach getting more and more swollen. The therapist even commented on my bulbous belly. About two hours later I was in complete bodily shutdown. I literally didn’t know which way was up and things were coming out of me that I didn’t know were part of this universe. The attack on my insides continued for twelve hours straight. I started to hallucinate.

I promised god that if he let me live I would never eat meat again.

I didn’t eat meat for three days.

By day seven not only was I eating meat but I even had an egg sandwich. The exact thing that nearly took me out. You have to ask yourself:

“How do we forget such painful experiences so quickly?”

The answer came to me and it is actually quite simple. Our brains were created with the ability to forget pain. More important is “why”? This amazing ability allows us to push the envelope of evolution. Think about it. Would the Wright Brothers really been able to keep crashing their test planes if the pain was in the forefront of their mind? Would NFL athletes be able to perform if all they could think about was that ligament tear? Then there is the big one: Would women really have another baby if the brain wasn’t downplaying the pain of the first birth? The answer to all three questions is a resounding NO!

So…we are programmed to forget pain quickly. This serves humanity by allowing us to procreate, evolve, invent, and push our limits.

The more important question may be: How can you harness this and how can it help you?

The fact is that most people are afraid of failure. They worry about what their friends will say. They worry about the financial strain it may cause. They worry about how it may effect their marriage. All of these worries are about “future pain”. The truth is that 95% of the time your fears won’t come true. The other 5% that do come true, as heinous as they might be, you will forget in as little as seven days. (At least that was my case with the eggs)

My point here is simple. Don’t be afraid of the pain. It is the fear that keeps you from trying something new and maximizing your potential. The pain is always less than you make it out to be and before you know it, you’ll forget what it even felt like.

To your success,

Aaron Parkinson