Welp, I’m officially 26. I’m like 45 in the baseball world, but so be it. Anyway, I’m going to share some of my vast wisdom on this day…26 little pearls for you. Enjoy or don’t.

1. You Never Feel Old

I still feel like I did in college – not old. Though I’m apparently “the oldest mid-twenties guy I’ve ever met” (Daryn), I still feel young and like I fit in BSing with all the younger kids I train. I’d put youngness factor at 19.

2. Bad Times Come and Go

I’m not going to knock on wood because I don’t believe in superstition. 2008-2009 was easily the worst year of my life, and 2010-2011 easily the best. Life goes up and down; get through it and keep marching.

3. People Are As Good To You As You Allow Them To Be

I have such good clients it blows my mind sometimes. No bad apples, just genuinely awesome people who work hard for me. I try to treat them like family and make sure they feel connected to me; maybe it’s why we get along so well.

4. The Opposite Sex Goes in Cycles

I get bored being single every once in a while and start to look around. Sometimes I find nothing and it frustrates me, sometimes I get bombarded; sometimes it’s dry but when it rains it pours. People feel hopeless about finding a good partner, but it’s not that big a deal – be open to others, let things come and they will.

5. Thermals Are Awesome

I’ve started wearing thermal shirts a lot. They are just right for my gym – it’s nippy in there all fall and winter. I can move in them, look like a respectable person and less of a gym rat, and they’re comfy.

6. Deadlifts Are Also Awesome…But They Don’t Work For Everyone

I tell people, if you had one exercise to do for the rest of your life, it should be the deadlift. But, for about 15% of people I’d say they really just don’t agree with their body. Backs hurt on deadlifts for some people, and rather than beat a square peg into a round hole, I take it off of their to-do list. Some people just aren’t built for certain lifts; its OK. There’s many more exercises out there that can get the job done.

7. Bodies Are Enigmas Sometimes

My arm has bothered me for the past two years in a mysterious, enigmatic way. I get really deep aches that make it difficult to bounce back between starts. This past season in August, it went away, for no reason at all save a tiny tweak in my mechanics. All that pain over a year and a half and it just packed up and went away. Weird.

8. Pursuing Some College Degrees Are A Terrible Financial Decision

Getting more degrees doesn’t necessarily make you more qualified. So, is the 60 grand you’re going to spend to get another really going to translate into more money? Today, maybe not. Law degrees and medical degrees in students who aren’t in the top 10% of their class are proving a terrible investment, landing people low-paying jobs that don’t justify the high loan costs. I’m not going back to school to get another degree in exercise, nutrition or any of it – I could continue learning in many other ways and extra letters next to my name won’t get me more clients. Not one person has ever asked for my credentials thus far; they just listen and judge for themselves if I know what I’m talking about. I do, so they listen and pay me, and I get results; that’s the biggest thing that matters.

9. Everything Is Arbitrary

That beautiful car? Some designer decided he liked the way it looked. Was there a reason he didn’t add one more curve or bend or line? If there was, it was simply because he didn’t want to. As much as things are based on research, they’re more often based on our judgment of “good enough.” Why did a painter decide his painting was complete instead of adding one more brush stroke? Because that’s what he felt was best. Much more in life falls under this category than you realize. Look around at all of your possessions, buildings, cars – they were all made by people who chose their shape, look and design.

10. If Everything Is Arbitrary, You Can Build Your Own Empire

If ultimately everything was built by someone who simply decided they would, and decided simply that they designed as best they saw fit..why don’t you? There’s no formula, just build it the way you think it should be built.

11. We Will All Die

…But who cares? While we are still here we should do something we’re passionate about, even it’s ultimately for nothing. I don’t believe in an afterlife, but I believe in doing something important my with life simply because it’s the only one I get.

12. Hungry People Don’t Stay Hungry For Long

They get what they want or they die trying.

13. You Probably Know What You Need To Be Doing

Go Do It. When you feel that tug of guilt, that you’re not living up to expectations or a promise to yourself, get up and go. It has to be today; tomorrow never comes.

14. You Can’t Blame People For Being Happy

Well, you can if being happy requires something sinister like smashing puppies with hammers. People are ultimately going to choose the path that they feel will lead them to happiness. Girlfriend broke up with you and was Facebook official with another dude 4 hours later? Well, she probably needs that. Don’t be bitter; let her go.

15. They Can’t Take Away Your Experiences

Some crazy things happened last year, things that I’ll always remember. I won’t be sharing all of them on this forum, but I smile when I recall them every now and again. I’ll have them, rich, poor, or sick.

16. Good Friends Don’t Fade (As Fast)

It sucks being away from my friends back home, and unfortunately I have to choose who I make time for on my brief visits home. Good friends have longer staying power in a long-distance relationship, but ultimately they’ll all go away if you don’t tend to them.

17. Sometimes Your Body Is Stupid

I hurt my neck yesterday doing chin ups…with nothing around my neck. I have that nerve pain that makes it hard to move my head side to side. Nothing touched my head or neck when it happened – I was pulling up on a bar with a belt and a kettlebell attached to my waist. Inexplicable. It’ll go away, but it’s annoying. Sometimes your body hurts for no reason at all.

18. Being Cold Sucks

I asked for slippers for Christmas…another sign that I’m becoming old, frail and boring. But, my apartment is cold all the time (by choice) and I find myself seeking warmth like a cold-blooded creature. The winter sucks. Hard.

19. Trivial Interactions Don’t Add Much

Good friends last; trivial interactions don’t. Once I got rid of facebook and all that nonsense, I didn’t miss it at all. I didn’t wake up wondering what that guy from my college psych class was eating for breakfast. My life really hasn’t changed at all. If all the social networking is the way of the future, then why is it so easy to live without now that the habit is broken?

20. Guys Need To Shave

I don’t razor shave, but I keep my facial hair down to a shadow at most times. I go through phases where I want to grow a beard, but usually after 2 weeks I have to meet with a new client, parent, coach or whoever, and I’m very aware of how a scraggly beard looks to people – sloppy. People make snap judgments on appearance; having dirty-looking facial hair is going to detract from your image and credibility. Most chicks don’t really dig it, either.

21. Italian Beef is My Lord and Savior

Easily the best thing about the midwest. The only food I will buy for lunch is Italian Beef or McAllister’s Deli.

22. Don’t Dress Like A Slob (I’m Talking to YOU, College Kids)

I’m old enough to look down upon college students now, and boy do I ever – I hate the guys and girls walking around town in sweatshirts and pajama pants en route to class. News flash – you look like crap. What if you’re a single person and your ideal man or woman walks by you on the street? You’re screwed, that’s what. Dress like you want to make a positive impression on whoever you might meet. And, being a former college student, I remember being impressed with the occasional girl who would come to class every single day looking cute. I wear workout clothes to work, but when I go grocery shopping or errand running, I put on jeans and try to look like a respectable man. If I run across a Victoria’s Secret model at the Post Office, I’ll be ready.

23. Don’t Give Self Esteem Out For Free

My youngest guys have increased their swagger tenfold. I refer to them regularly as badasses, but only because they’ve earned that distinction. When they are late to training, aren’t focused, or just aren’t giving me the effort I expect, I let them know; I use the phrase “that was terrible” as much as any other in my gym. I’m not going to sugarcoat anything, no matter what age, but they get equal doses of positive reinforcement when they do get things right and go the extra mile.

If people get praise both good and bad outcomes, they don’t earn the right to feel like they have conquered their inadequecies. My guys and girls know that when I praise their work, they really deserved it and because of that they feel accomplished. When I chew them out or get in their ass about a poor job, they don’t turn down their lips and cry – they correct it because they know they aren’t meeting the high standard I hold for them. When people operate on that system of checks and balances, they learn that negative feedback and failure doesn’t have to affect their ability to succeed in the future and continue to feel positive about their work.

24. 9-5 Jobs Suck (So I hear)

My sister has one. She doesn’t love it. I have never had one, and I consider myself lucky, based on what I’ve heard. Avoid at all costs so say all.

25. Amalgamation Is A Cool Word

I need to use this word in a sentence before the year ends – it’s been on my desktop sticky note for 3 months now. My unique training style is an amalgamation of the methods of great strength coaches from whom I have learned – Fred Cantor, Nick Tumminello, Jeff Friday. I’ll cross that off my list.

26. I’ve Got A Pretty Good Life Through 26.

I consider myself lucky. Though I’ve worked for what I have, none of what I do would be possible without the invariable serendipity, luck, and support from friends, family and colleagues. I’ve had some big obstacles that would have ruined me if not for the right person at the right time giving me an extra little boost. We can’t control everything in life; hard, though, we may try.

That’s all, folks. Til next year…