My takeaways from reading the book Chop Wood Carry Water by Joshua Medcalf

Disclaimer: These are my notes exactly as I wrote them in my notepad while reading Chop Wood Carry Water. Anything that is NOT by Joshua Medcalf is denoted by this "Me:" followed by my own comment.

When you see this "(Me)" after a note, it's because I need to take that advice.

CHOP WOOD CARRY WATER

Takeaways

Me: I have no clue why my notes start with #2 LOL

#2 Agree with your heart, not just your head. 

Consider the opportunity in your obligations.

Stay present! Do not get hung up on the “next phase” or the “next thing.”

“The only significant thing about today is who you become in the process.”

Each of us is building our own house, build wisely! Me: I take this to mean, each of us is building our own life and we are the ones living in it. What we build is up to us.

#3 Little bits add up and accumulate over time. This goes for anything - diet, exercise habits, good or bad.

#4 Having knowledge of something vs. having gained knowledge of something through lived experience.

“Who would you want to go into battle with? …someone who has studied war for 25 yrs or someone who has trained and experienced the front lines of battle?”

#5 “Everyone wants to be great until it’s time to do what greatness requires.” 

Faithfully keep your focus on the process while surrendering the outcome

Dream BIG

Start small

Be rIdIcUlOuSlY faithful

Focus on what you can control

#6 Focus on a “one step at a time” process. Make sure to keep both  eyes on the journey. 

• If you have one eye on the goal, then you only have one eye for the journey!

#7 NOTHING IS A TEST. Everything is an opportunity to learn and grow. You will go much farther in life if you stop believing you have to prove yourself. Instead, learn as much as you can and you will grow and flourish.

#8 Every human’s value is constant. It never goes up or down. Your value comes from WHO YOU ARE not what you do. Every human is infinitely priceless. 

#9 Life will always be difficult somewhere but we can choose to experience that difficulty now or push it off until later.

“Under pressure, we don’t rise to the occasion. We sink to the level of our training.”

People who get average results persist until things get uncomfortable, then they quit.

People who get good results, persist until things get painful and then they quit.

People who get world class results have trained themselves to become comfortable when it’s painful and uncomfortable.

#10 People you admire exercise:

Write down a few people you admire.

Then write down the characteristics they embody that you’d like to be known for.

THEN narrow down the top 4 characteristics most important to you.

Then ask yourself what you think about that.

Make a scorecard for life.

#11 Fueling your heart

You fuel your heart with 6 things:

1. What you watch

2. What you read

3. What you listen to

4. Who you surround yourself with

5. How you talk to yourself

6. What you visualize

Make sure you are mindful of putting the right fuel in your gas tank (heart)

#12 It’s much easier for our brains to focus on the negatives than the positives

Our memories are not created through experience, rather from the stories we tell ourselves about those experiences. >THIS<

Reflection exercise:

1. Value statement - My value comes from who I am not what I do.

2. Growth mindset statement - Anything that happens to me today is in my best interest and is an opportunity to learn and grow.

3. Write at least 15 specific things you did well (and more if you’d like)

4. Only when you have at least 15, write out only 2 areas for growth

5. Write 2 things you learned

   1. This can be something you “relearned,” or already knew but learned the important of again, or were reminded of the importance again.

#13 Talent is nothing without character

Referring to professional athletes: You do not shine under the bright lights…bright lights reveal your work in the dark. 

“We get so used to seeing superstars on game day, we don’t see all the hours they spend beating on their craft…”

#14 Comparison is the thief of all joy.

The grass isn’t greener on the other side, it’s greener where you water it. Or as Pauly B would say, “The grass may be greener on the other side but you still have to cut it.”

Me: Focus on your PR (personal record) 

If it rains - bottle the water and sell it.

If crap falls from the sky, package it up and sell it as fertilizer.

USE WHAT YOU AND YOU ALONE HAVE BEEN GIVEN

#15 Don’t skip the process of going up the “rough side of the mountain". This is where you are forced to learn and develop skills necessary for creating or sustaining success. 

You will arrive at the top knowing exactly what it takes to stay there

!!!!!!

#16 Control the way you talk to yourself!

Words put pictures in our mind,

Pictures in our mind, impact how we feel

How we feel impacts what you do

What you habitually do impacts your destiny WHAT?!

Is worrying a form of negative visualization?

#17 There is no “get fit quick” route

#18 Me: You (who is reading this right now)  will have to get the book and see the diagram of the path to mastery because I drew it in my notes and I don’t know how to transfer that via keyboard 😐

#19 Everything impacts everything

#20 It is a long and arduous process of invisible growth

Continue to build your foundation

#21 Path to mastery instructions:

Talk to yourself, instead of listen to yourself

Ask yourself, “what is one thing I can do to make this situation better?”

#22 People play in the past or in the future and don’t spend enough time playing in the present.

There is no pressure in the present moment.

Play = live

Don’t live in the past or future. Live in the present. 

“You are always doing what you want to do because there is always choice” Me: I realize this one may ruffle some feathers 🐦

#23 Goals are a way to shirk responsibility - lots of people try to get in the way. A mission however, only the person in the mirror can stop you from living that out.

#24 When you surrender the outcome, you are freed up to be at your best, be in the moment and trust your training.

To reach your greatest potential: operate w/ a heart posture of gratitude, commit to the controllables, surrender the outcome and trust the process

Me: I wrote this on a post it and placed it on the home gym mirror where I see it daily. I am still personally struggling to decipher between what is a “controllable” and what isn’t in order to commit to them. 🤷

#25 Your failures, shortcomings and challenges can either end up as your excuses or part of your story. Me: MIC. DROP 🎤

#26 Don’t get so focused on the goal that you miss the person you are becoming in the process. Me: Ok tear…. 🥹

#27 Learn to live by principles instead of feelings.

At every crossroads there are at least 2 choices: to view your circumstances as a calamity or to view it as an incredible opportunity.

“When most people come face to face w/ their opportunities (lions) they run as fast as they can in the opposite direction. But when you decide to embrace the lion and chase it, you have the opportunity to build your resume, your character and your skills.

Me: Tip: Write “can-do lists for goals and day to day instead of “to-do” list

#28 Happiness is a temporary feeling. If we focus on the pursuit of happiness, we miss out on fulfillment. 

Happiness comes from a life lived in pursuing feelings. 

Fulfillment comes from a life lived in faithful commitment to principles. 

#29 How you label your internal feelings makes a massive difference in how you filter their meaning

“Warrior Dial” 1 is stealth mode, 10 is kamikaze. Where on the dial do you need to train to be at your best?

#30 Don’t succumb to societal norms - remain authentic.

Never cross boundaries without an invitation! (Me)

With friends and family, ask “Would you like my opinion or do you just need to be heard and want me to listen?” (also me!)

#31 “If you want to become great, you must consistently be willing to do what others are not.” 

Doing everything w/ passion and soul.

Climb the mountains and chase the lions in life.

#32 Most people would rather trust an “outdated map” than do the hard work of exploring the new territory on their own - find out what’s actually possible

#33 Think of all the names you have ever gone by in your life and think about which of the names represents the strongest, kindest and most authentic version of yourself and start going by that.

Me: A big thanks to Joshua Medcalf for a great read. This is an easy, quick read with short chapters that you could read quickly or slowly and still learn so much! Highly recommend for anyone interested in personal development in ANY capacity or anyone that just likes a good fable.

ABL - Always be learnin'