Even though I am a personal fitness instructor to elite athletes like NASCAR's Kasey Kahne, I am actually a student first.  It might be surprising to hear me tell people that a majority of my learning takes place in studying success and personal development.

One of my favorite guys in the personal development arena is Brian Tracy. Brian has a teaching style that I prefer. He focuses on universal laws of achievement and self improvement that are easy to understand and implement. His tape series "Psychology of Achievement" stands in my opinion as the starting point for any person looking to turn their mind to a calm, alert, clutter-free state.  He starts with the idea that self actualization, or a feeling of becoming the best person you can be, is a need as important as food, water and shelter.

Brian authored 7 rules for living in the 21st century that I thought perfectly captured the basics of grounded mental reality and foundation for anyone who prefers simplicity over complexity.  Rule 1 is that for anyone, things will only get better, when a person gets better.  My racers and other elite clients must always do two things in their minds to see any meaningful difference in their results. First, they must be honest about where they are vs. where they want to be and second, they must accept that they are wholly responsible for the results.

In short, by changing their behaviors (changing yourself because you are your behavior), they change their results. Better behaviors through habitual consistent action, means better results.  If they start there, the workout from a physical standpoint is secondary.

 Russ Bohaty, The Racers Trainer, is the Personal Fitness Trainer for NASCAR's Kasey Kahne and The Kasey Kahne Racing Team. His Free 6-Week Mental Fitness program geared toward peak performance is available at www.racerstrainer.com.


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