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I love power trios.

Star Wars. Bands like Rush and The Police. Moe, Larry and Curly. The hosts of Top Gear (UK).

But this may be the most powerful power trio yet — and it’ll help if you can’t seem to gain momentum when you’re in the fog.

It’s based on Michael Gerber’s legendary business book The E-Myth. And it applies to your personal life as well.

In order to have a kickass life…

You’ve got to have the three following “mindsets”:

• The Visionary
• The Manager, and
• The Technician

Lemme explain.

The Visionary wakes up everyday and asks the big questions, “Where is my life headed? What do I truly care about? With the limited time I have on this planet, what do I want to experience?”

As his name suggests, The Visionary provides the vision and values that give your life direction. He’s not concerned with limitations or details. He’s not concerned with “how” it’ll happen. He’s all about the big picture.

The good news?

You don’t have to wait for a near death experience to hear this voice.

If you’re struggling to find a sense of purpose…

Or establish what you want, then it’s time to upgrade your Visionary.

Next is the Manager.

His job is to listen to the Visionary and make a plan. He says, “Ok, Visionary. I get the big picture, now let’s make it a reality. What resources will be needed? Let’s lay out the dots to be connected.”

The Manager serves the Visionary. He’s the man with the plan. He manages resources and prioritizes effort. He focuses on the “how”.

If you chronically struggle to find time, energy or money…

to make things happen then you’ll want to upgrade your Manager.

Which brings us to the Technician. Sometimes I call this guy the Soldier. He’s there to simply take orders. He connects the dots. He’s in the trenches getting stuff done.

Now hear this — The Technician only responds to clear direction. Orders for this guy must be measurable and have a deadline. If you give this guy anything ambiguous then it doesn’t get done.

Remember, he’s not a Manager or a Visionary. So don’t give him those responsibilities.

When I meet guys who are struggling…

Most of the time it’s because their Technician is the one running their life. This is bad news.

Exhausted and confused, this guy doesn’t have a clear direction. His life isn’t based on anything meaningful. And when he looks at this steaming pile of “ugh”, he throws his hands up and waits for someone to tell him what to do.

Usually in front of the TV.

So we can’t expect to have any direction without a Visionary.

We can’t expect to get anywhere without clear orders from the Manager.

And we can’t expect to get anything done without the Technician in the trenches.

So what will you do today…

to empower your Visionary, Manager and Technician?

How will you employ these mindsets to take the lead in your life?

Let’s put this into action.

I’ll be talking more about this on The New Man Life course presented by Brian Johnson’s Academy for Optimal Living. CLICK HERE to learn more about the course that is starting soon.

I look forward to speaking with you.

Tripp

PS Again CLICK HERE to check out The New Man Life course presented by the Academy for Optimal Living.

Sounds strange, but sometimes it’s hard to tell when something is good or bad for us.

Consider this — there are two types of burns in your life.

The Good Burn — You’re at the gym. You’re working out. You’re pushing your edge. It’s uncomfortable. It’s difficult. It’s challenging. You’re huffing and puffing. You’re convinced that your lung is going to fall out of your mouth. It doesn’t.

AND in some ways it feels good. Afterwards there’s a smile. A sense of satisfaction. “I did it!” Even if you’re tired there’s greater energy. The tired is a “good” tired. You sleep better after The Good Burn.

The Good Burn is about growth.

It’s burning through the stuff that’s holding you back and making way for a greater possibility. The Good Burn brings confidence. The Good Burn expands your capacity to deal with intensity.

The Bad Burn — You’re working the grill. You space out. There’s a sizzling sound — your flesh is being torched. You lose skin and perhaps worse, dinner is delayed.

You are weakened. You lose money treating the burn. You are in pain long after the initial event. You continue to drain energy tending to this burn, working to help it heal. You stress. You beat yourself up. You lose sleep from The Bad Burn.

The Bad Burn takes away from who you are. The Good Burn contributes.

So what are The Good Burns in your life? What activities, what relationships challenge you to be a happier, more fulfilled version of you?

What are The Bad Burns in your life? What activities or relationships drain you and take away from who you really are?

Get to know what qualifies as The Good Burn for you. Be willing to take the heat from time to time.

Identify The Bad Burns and swiftly eliminate whomever or whatever they are from your life.

Tripp

PS If you’re not sure *how* to eliminate The Bad Burns in your life and want to orient your life around The Good Stuff then CLICK HERE to fill out a coaching questionnaire.

Podcast: Download

Do you feel you need to make a major life change but you don’t know what to do?

Are you scared to commit because you may fail or waste a lot of time and energy?

And what would it be like to ditch work to become a professional athlete?

This time we’re talking with Dan McLaughlin of The Dan Plan. He’s committed to practicing golf 10,000 hours over the next six years to become a PGA pro.

That’s six hours a day, six days a week for the next six years!

Listen as he discusses some ways that you can navigate the bumpy road of committing to a change.

In this interview:

• What is The Dan Plan?
• Does talent matter?
• What to do when there are no safe bets
• Wanting to make a change but not knowing what to do
• Does passion make a difference?
• One thing you can do everyday to change your life
• What separates the amateurs from the pros
• What’s driving you?

About Dan McLaughlin and The Dan Plan

WHAT IS THE DAN PLAN?

It’s a project in transformation. An experiment in potential and possibilities. Through 10,000 hours of “deliberate practice,” Dan, who currently has minimal golf experience, plans on becoming a professional golfer. But the plan isn’t really about golf: through this process, Dan hopes to prove to himself and others that it’s never too late to start a new pursuit in life.

WHO IS DAN?

Dan is an average man by most standards. He’s a 30-year-old commercial photographer with no previous experience as a competitive athlete, nor is he in particularly good physical condition. Dan is slightly under average height and weight, has never played a full 18 holes of golf, and has only been to a driving range a handful of times. He’s not even sure if he’s a left-or right-handed golfer. Dan currently resides in Portland, Oregon.

WHY?

Through his journey Dan hopes to inspire others to start exploring the possibilities life affords them. Though his isn’t an easy endeavor and is quite possibly impossible, if it inspires even one person to quit their day job and find happiness in their own plan, then the Dan Plan is a success.

THE DETAILS

On April 5th, 2010, Dan quit his day job as a commercial photographer and began The Dan Plan. Logging in 30-plus hours a week he will hit the 10,000 hour milestone by November of 2015. During this time, Dan plans to develop his skills through deliberate practice, eventually winning amateur events and obtaining his PGA Tour card through a successful appearance in the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School, or “Q-School”.

THE THEORY

Talent has little to do with success. According to research conducted by Dr. K. Anders Ericsson, Professor of Psychology at Florida State University, “Elite performers engage in ‘deliberate practice’–an effortful activity designed to improve target performance.” Dr. Ericsson’s studies, made popular through Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers and Geoff Colvin’s Talent is Overrated, have found that in order to excel in a field, roughly 10,000 hours of “stretching yourself beyond what you can currently do” is required. “I think you’re the right astronaut for this mission,” Dr. Ericsson said about The Dan Plan.

Click here to visit Dan’s site.