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Doing a list of five simple things is easy for one or two days. Doing it 75 days in a row is how you get things done… but it’s hard.
75 Hard is a life program developed by Andy Frisella. I learned about it on his podcast now called The Real AF.
I’ve now done a bunch of them and keep going because they made me better.
I originally started this blog and podcast to chronicle my journey. But I noticed that as a grew as a person through this program it made my kid and wife want to be better. And they worked to get better. Since I was already a podcaster at Modern Self Protection I kept going because I think we can change the world with this program.
I get better and share my journey and how I did it with you. You go on your own journey, improve, and the people around you will improve. If everyone in the world became a better person, we could make the world a better place.
The program as written: Do these 5 things for 75 days in a row, no break, no missing, and no cheats.
- Read 10 pages a day out of a self-help or business book
- Work out twice a day: At least one outside and both 45 minutes each
- Stay on a perfect diet that includes no alcohol
- Drink 1 gallon of water a day
- Take a progress picture everyday.
I did the program in 2018 when it first came out. It was excruciatingly hard. In fact, it was as hard for me as Marine Corps boot camp was. In some ways harder. And it shaped me almost as much as boot camp. It changed me.
Now three years later, I haven’t achieved everything I want, but I’m getting there and enjoying life. My relationships with my friends and family are better than ever, I’m working on getting back in shape, I’m starting to look at things on my bucket list and plan them with my family, my career is on a way better track with an opportunity for exponential growth.
This program is teaching me the resilience and self-discipline that I want but cannot muster by myself.
Resilence and self-discipline are things you have to practice to be good at. This is how you do it. The 75 Hard Program.
This round, today is day 14 and I continue. It started painfully and by sheer force of will (I white-knuckled it). Now I’m cruising. That will change as soon as something hard happens in my life. And that is the secret of this program. In 75 days, life will happen to you. You’ll have something at work happen, there will be a vacation, you will have an emergency, something will happen. Do you stop or keep going?
Keep going is how you learn the discipline and grit that will help you in life.
This round I’m doing five things but cut the list by half a thing. I’m only working out once a day.
I might have been able to do the entire program as written (with 2 workouts), I was just scared I couldn’t do it with the new job that I’m trying to get spun up. So I’m doing a modified version and only working out once a day, but still drinking a gallon of water, reading, taking progress pics, and staying on a diet.
This program is hard but gives you lots of latitudes. You git to pick your diet, what workouts you do when, and what books you read. All of this is designed to make you better. And that’s what I want. I just want to be better. Better at everything: my relationships, my business and job, my fitness, and just life.
Check out the beginner’s guide I put together here if you need a hand getting started. But like Nike says, just do it.
Ben Branam