So Good I Can’t Be Ignored
Dec
As you may or may not have noticed, my frequency of posting on EndingTheGrind has slowed quite a bit over the last few months and there are a few reasons for this:
- I have been dealing with some highly stressful personal issues and it has taken its toll on me.
- I have been focusing the bulk of my time on creating content for my new website.
Just So Damn Good
Ever since I read the book, So Good They Can’t Ignore You, I have been brainstorming on how to really use my strongest skills and experiences to create a business that will not only help the right people, but allow me to pursue my passions as well.
And although it was staring me in the face the whole time, I never really thought about using my 17 years as a fitness coach to launch a website geared towards helping guys like me.
As a 43 year old father of two, I know all too well the struggles with trying to raise small children, hold a (miserable) job, pay the bills, find a moment or two for yourself, and trying to get or stay in shape.
And I know there are countless dad’s out there who are desperately looking to find a way to get into the kind of shape they once were and have been thinking about getting into since their college days. And I know how daunting it can feel to be out of shape, listless, crunched for time, and stressed to the max and wanting to feel healthy, vibrant, and alive.
Finding the motivation to start an exercise routine and stay consistent is far more challenging that you might think and I’ve decided to use my nearly two decades of fitness experience to be the push you need to get you started on the right path.
I like to think I’m pretty damn good at what I do and it’s got nothing to do with my certifications or knowledge. I’m good at it because I care about people. I care about my clients. And I care about you.
What I don’t care about is you losing 10 pounds. What I do care about is you losing 10 pounds and now having the courage to walk on the beach with confidence because of it. I’m not motivated to push you to drop three pant sizes. I’m motivated to push you to drop three pant sizes so you can reach your personal goal of wearing the same pants you did 20 years ago and you having an incredible feeling because of it.
Fat Dad To Fit Dad
So I decided to start a website with these things in mind to try to help as many men, and more specifically dad’s, as possible get into the best shape of their lives. It’s based on my personal experiences as a busy father, single parent, certified trainer and fitness coach, and exercise enthusiast.
It’s called SingleDadFitDad.com and I’m really excited to share it with you all. My plan is to help those who need it most and struggle with the time, energy, focus, knowledge, and motivation to start and stick with consistent exercise and healthy eating habits.
I want to break through all the excuses as to why you can’t be in phenomenal shape and give you the wake up call you are so in need of.
And while my focus will be on reaching guys like me, there will also be plenty of useful information and ideas for anyone looking to get fit and stay fit.
The Future Of ETG
So where does that leave this site?
Back in early 2012, I shut down this blog to work on my marriage and when I returned to blogging earlier this year, I said that I wouldn’t leave it again. And I’m sticking to my word.
To be perfectly honest with you, I’m not entirely sure what the future of this blog will be but am strongly considering opening it up for a guest post or two per week. I still want this to be a great resource for people to find hope and inspiration and sharing personal accounts from those who have conquered their grinds will be a positive step towards doing that.
So if you would like to share your story of ending your grind or are working on breaking through your grind, please contact me and let me know a little bit about yourself. Please read the posting guidelines first to make sure it will be a good fit for the readers here.
And whether you’re a dad or not, I would love for you to stop by SingleDadFitDad and leave a comment or two. I honestly appreciate your feedback, good or bad, and welcome any suggestions on improving it in any way.
Looking forward to the future and sharing in many more conversations and experiences with you all…
Now let’s go get fit!
Davidd
I apologize, I’ve been meaning to check out SingleFitDad since you started working on it (see your previous post about Life dumping stuff in your Wheaties… yeah, that’s my excuse for not having visited the new site.) Even though I’m not single and not a dad, I’m a guy in the target age range who convinces himself he doesn’t have time to maintain a consistent fitness and health program. Okay, actually, I’m a guy who finds that a couple of slices of pizza and a beer or two will give me an immediate mood-boost, while struggling through ten situps and jogging around the block doesn’t have quite the same short-term effect. So I’ll definitely be checking out the new site… right after I get back from running. (Yes, really!)
As for the “guest post” idea… maybe I should email you about this instead, but… naaah! You can delete this if it’s inappropriate. I haven’t been following your blog for long, several months maybe, and I’ve read a fair amount of the archives. What I’ve noticed over the past half-year or so is that your own posts generate more comments than the guest posts. And several of the guest posts… annoyed me. I mean, one of your guest posters tells us how, after her unemployment insurance ran out, she took a trip to Europe. Okay, guess what? For those of us in the real world who are visiting your site because we want to “end the grind,” dashing off to Europe for six weeks AFTER our unemployment runs out isn’t really an option… because we’re broke! We don’t have a lucrative but boring cubicle job or a “six figure income” to quit. We have suck jobs that are GRINDING us down while barely, or not quite, paying the bills. Your site is called “Ending the Grind,” not “Turning my Back on the Big Bucks” or “The Money’s Good but I’m Bored.” A “grind,” by definition, is hard!
Yes, I know, “hard” or a “grind” can be defined differently by different people. Believe me, though, if I were pulling in a “six figure income,” I would readily suck it up and live frugally for another year or two and put all that six figure cash into paying off my house or cashing out a cozy little bungalow somewhere with a low cost of living. No mortgage or no monthly rent would go a long way toward de-grinding the grind. Then I could think about doing what I want instead of what I “need” to do.
But we’re GRINDING away out here, man! We, or at least I, don’t want to read about some twenty-something with Ivy League credentials abandoning a “six figure” salary to start a shoestring lifestyle/health coaching business, or somebody magically returning from a six week European holiday to “brand new clients I love working with.”
Unless, that is, they’re gonna tell me, specifically, how they went from “no business” to “brand new clients I love working with” during that six week holiday, or how they landed that six-figure ad agency job that, apparently, didn’t really require them to do anything productive. Hey, man, I’ll sit in a cubicle all day long twiddling my thumbs and doing busy work for a hundred grand or quarter-mil a year, no problem! I’ll save my money and after three years I’ll quit and go live in a little house in Nebraska or somewhere, and spend my time traveling, paid for with the interest earned on the half-mil I saved up that’s now sitting in my investment portfolio.
Perhaps, however, I am not your target demographic. If your target demographic is Ivy Leaguers making “six figure incomes” (that phrase has become a total turn-off to me when I see it in blog posts; I usually abandon blogs that start using it – if for no other reason, I’m in a low five-figure income bracket, so obviously I’m not the intended audience). Recent statistics indicate that only about twenty percent of US households — households, not individuals — bring in over $100,000 per year. If you’re targeting the “six figure” people, that’s kind of a niche market, and I doubt those are the people poking around online looking for success strategies. Eighty percent or more of Americans earn nowhere near “six figures,” and if they’re like me (maybe they’re not, I dunno), reading about recent college grads walking away from good jobs to follow their passions probably just pisses them off. I know it pisses me off. I don’t want to hear about your six figure incomes. I want to read something that might help the person working two crappy part-time jobs to get by and breathing despair with every breath. I want to read something that will help the guy or the couple or the family stuck in a mid-$50k salary and running up credit card debt to get through the block and create a life worth living.
Your articles, the ones you write, tend to address these issues more directly. The guest posts… tend to be the same old “six figure” twenty-somethings quitting their “boring cubicle jobs.” I’m not going to hire somebody who’s not even old enough to remember “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” on TV to be my “life coach.” How the hell can you be a life coach when you walked away from a “six figure income,” while most of the country earns less than half of that?
I’ve read enough “internet marketing” stuff now to realize that many of these guest posts are probably people networking with other blogs, trying to build better stats and improve their credentials and their online credibility and boost their search rankings. In fact, sometimes I wonder if the only people reading blogs, particularly “personal development” blogs, are other bloggers.
As you refine Ending the Grind, perhaps you might look at your target audience: are you blogging for the “six figure” people? Are you writing for other bloggers? Are you looking for the site to become a showcase or a launching pad for other personal development bloggers writing guest posts (a legitimate approach)? Or are you targeting people who want to “end the grind?”
(Sadly, a problem with people looking to end the grind: they don’t have any money! It might not be such a strong demographic on which to base a lucrative online business model!)
Good luck with both sites! Okay, seriously, my shoes are laced up, I’m heading out the door for that run… now!
JONtotheworld
I am extremely unhappy with my job but I need to stay for a while because I need to pay the bills.
I dreamed of one day to quit and just do what I love which is writing.
Yout blog helped me a lot in so many ways. Please continue writing and dont shut this down.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Steve
Hey Jon,
At least you recognize that you need out. That’s step #1. Keep positive and remember that you CAN get out and pursue something you love. There are a few good sites that cater to budding writers and you might find then useful. They are LeavingWorkBehind.com and GoinsWriter.com.
Naveen | planetnaveen
Hi Steve,
Thanks for this post, I am pretty sure that you will resolve your personal issues soon and all would be well.
ETG, has some really solid content mate. Even though you should venture into other website projects, you should continue writing on this site once in a while.
By the way, I am planning to send a guest post to your site, hope you won’t reject it 🙂
Steve
Hey Naveen,
Thanks for the support. Yea, I have been meaning to write something here but keep putting it off. Thanks for the reminder! And yes, please send something over and I’ll have a look.
ocean
I love your idea. I think that losing weight and staying in shape is a great thing, and I bet having lost everything one wants to lose is great, but hey, the journey getting there is half the fun. Keeping in touch is the best way to ‘keep your eyes open’ around the latest breakthroughs, but also, you don’t have to personally try everything, you can hear what works and what doesn’t, and if you still want to try it, go for it.I am up for it. It’s going to be like my eyes and ears.