I only wish I did this sooner

I'm 41, and this is the year I’m finally taking fitness seriously.

Which is kind of strange to say, because I’ve been a bit of a wellness nut for almost 13 years now.

Overcoming chronic health problems. Being active. Staying stronger than my job. And always trying to be as fit or fitter than the people around me.

But there’s always been one problem.

I have a hard time gaining weight.

So athleticism has never quite been where I want it to be. And I end up injured more often than I’d like.

Back in my early thirties, I managed to gain 10 pounds. But I was miserable the whole time. The amount of food I had to eat every day felt brutal. The weight actually stuck with me. But the eating habit didn’t.

Fast forward to now…

I've put on 7.6 pounds in the last 24 days.

It’s been easy, pleasant, and even… dare I say… enjoyable.

So what’s changed?

Metabolism might have something to do with it. I imagine it’s easier to gain weight as you get older. But I think the biggest difference for me is the last time I tried this I was working full-time as a carpenter for someone else.

40 hours a week busting ass on job sites.

Trying to get work outs in before or after.

Finding time to cook all the food, eat it, and make sure it’s healthy instead of relying on fast food or junk calories.

Bottom line: there just wasn’t enough time in the day to eat more calories than I burned at the time.

Now things are different.

I work from home as a writer. I have complete control over my day-to-day activity, or more importantly, inactivity levels (if you’re like me and have trouble gaining weight).

Now I can push my limits without chronically over doing it, grinding into repetitive straight injuries, or burning way more calories than I can realistically eat in a day because my body simply won’t let me consume sugar or junk food without immediate repercussion.

Maybe for some, a “desk job” sounds miserable.

I know it used to for me. I use to delight in working with my hands on a daily basis. But now my desk job is a “walking desk” job when I want it to be. It can happen in the sunshine if I like. It can start late in the day, or early. And I can clock out early to play pickleball just about whenever I want, as long I get things done.

Building an online writing business has given me a lot of the things I always felt were just outside my reach.

My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.

Because for a long time, I didn't really know what my purpose was. And I wasn't nearly as motivated as I am now. Now I wake up wanting to write and eager to do the work that I do.

And when that happens, you just operate at a different level.

Psychologist Gay Hendricks calls this your Zone of Genius.

Most people spend their days operating in their zone of competence. Maybe their zone of excellence, if they're really good at what they do. But the real goal is getting into your zone of genius. Eliminating more and more of the stuff that isn't your genius so you can focus on the stuff that is.

Because that's where you can contribute the most.

To your own life, and to others.

Which brings me to my Skool community.

(I renamed it recently, on a bit of a whim honestly) but I’m feeling like I’m at a bit of a crossroads with what to focus on inside. Part of me feels like it'd be smart to take a step back and focus on just email again. This keeps things simple and focused.

But part of me feels the urge to move forward.

Share the knowledge systems I'm building, the things I'm doing with AI, all that stuff. And then there’s always the inbetween of copywriting A to Z (which is expansive).

So I want to ask you…

What's most important to you right now?

a) Writing emails that turn readers into customers and clients.

b) Copywriting as a whole (content, emails, sales pages, and more).

c) Or the tech/AI stuff. Not getting AI to write for you, but getting it to help with your research and writing process, and mainly to do a lot of your busy work for you.

If you do client work, it can handle a lot of that client work for you.

If you're building your own brand, it can handle a lot of the stuff you'd normally hand off to a VA.

Which, for solo business owners who are feeling overwhelmed, means a lot more freedom and free time.

(More time for your zone of genius, or pickleball, or what have you…)

Anyway, I’ve posted a poll in the community on this exact topic, and I'd love to hear what you want to hear about most.

Here's the link:

https://www.skool.com/kevin/what-do-you-want-more-of-next

Talk soon,

Kevin Hood