Tony Horton's Laws of Success

Law 1: VARIETY

Variety is the spice of life and fitness. A lifetime of health and fitness is achievable when you can think outside of the box. Mix it up, change it up, and turn it up all the time. Curiosity is a key reason why I’ve been able to sustain a high level of fitness for over 20 years. If I see something that looks fun and challenging, ill try it. Stay curious, be creative, and do the kids of workouts that you enjoy. A variety of exercises, workouts, and sports will allow you to avoid the evil fitness killers: plateaus and boredom.

Law 2: CONSISTENCY

Improvement and change occur when you do things often. Stopping and starting all the time will kill any momentum you need to succeed. You must find ways to stay in the game. Moderate forms of exercise, done consistently; provide far better results than the occasional full-body pummeling. A lifestyle that includes multiple forms of exercise 5 to 6 days a week guarantees results. There are key factors that are very important when it comes to staying consistent. One of them is staying motivated. “How,” you ask? Here are a couple of tricks that will help maintain your motivation:

1. Stop beating yourself up if you can’t maintain your “perfect” plan! It’s OK to miss a workout once in a while. It doesn’t mean that your process has gone to hell in a handcart.
2. On your most exhausted, overwhelmed, and lackluster days, PUSH PLAY ANYWAY! Except if you’re SORE. Movement is good-even when you feel that you’re not 100% up to it. Sometimes you have to “Forget Your Best and Do the Rest!”

Law 3: INTENSITY

You’re TOUGHER than you think! The avoidance of pain or focusing on the possibility of injury from working out is a mindset steeped in fear. You must learn to “Find the Line.” The “Line” is that special place you need to get to if you want any program to work. It’s the desire to do that extra push-up, to increase the depth and range of motion on your lunges and squats, and not being afraid to add more weight and resistance as you get stronger. It’s discovering your pain/discomfort threshold so you can get the job done-without jeopardizing good form and without injuring yourself. If you are under-train or just plain old “give up” because you “can’t” do something the first few times, then you’ll never know what it’s like to be fit and healthy. Find the “Line,” do the best you can, and maintain good form.

Law 4: PURPOSE

You are what you eat and what you do! If you choose to devote your time and energy to health and fitness with wisdom and courage, you become a beacon of energy so powerful it could change the lives of thousands of people. A healthy, fit body directly affects the mind and spirit. The brain and body are one. People reach for cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, and fast food because it makes them feel good…for now. These short-term pleasures deliver a long list of physiological and psychological disorders and diseases down the road. A steady dose of exercise, on the other hand, will guarantee the opposite result-a lifetime of good health, energy, self-reliance, and hope! Purpose is the driving force that moves you from here to there. Your purpose for taking care of yourself is based on intention and resolution. Let your purpose shine through what you do-every day. You’ll look better, feel better, act better. And let’s face it; you’ll become an all-around better person!

LAW 5: REALITY

If you want positive, long-term change in life, accept the truth of your situation. Let go of your ego and find ways to love who you are right now. Living in the past, the future, and for others destroys your ability to stay in the moment. Life has peaks and valleys, ups and downs, lessons and celebrations. This is how we grow and learn. The way to live in this world is to live in the real world. Lift the burden of having to “keep up with the Joneses” all the time. Stop lying to yourself and everyone else about what you’re doing, what you’ve done, and what you’re going to do. Stop telling others about your hard workouts and clean diet while pretending that what you’re saying it true. If it is true…guess what? We’ll know. Reality is about discovering the truth about the here and now. Reality is the ability to accept your present situation and love who you are through the process.

LAW 6: PLAY

Take your mind off of weight, inches, and body fat percentages, and put the focus on MOVING-dancing, rock climbing, in-line skating, running, team sports, mountain biking, etc. I personally happen to enjoy the graceful sport of table tennis. I don’t care what you say, it’s a sport! Think more in terms of “can do” and less in terms of “look like.” You’ll develop balance, coordination, and stamina-which helps accelerate and maintain your fitness. Go outside (or inside) and PLAY!
Every Sunday I head down to the original Muscle Beach in Santa Monica and meet a group of friends for a two-and-a-half hour fitness extravaganza. We do a crazy combination of pull-ups, handstands, swinging Plyometrics dips, 15-and 25-foot rope climbing (hands only and sometimes upside down), tons of wacky push-ups – we even throw in a back flip or two. I show up every Sunday morning to hang with the crew. As hard as the workout is, we’re there for the camaraderie, laughter, and encouragement.
I encourage you to get involved in SOMETHING athletic – anything what would be fun and enjoyable for you. Try to focus less on weight loss and more on accomplishment. Set a goal, take a class, sign up for a race, anything that gives you a reason to focus on what you “can do” and not so much on what you “look like.” If you shift to a mindset playing and having fun, you won’t obsess as much on calories, inches, and your weight.

LAW 7: PLAN

We’re pretty good at scheduling when to go to bed, when to eat, and when to watch our favorite show on the tube. We find ourselves trying to squeeze workouts in. The “fit in whenever” approach might work for a little while, but it never survives in the long run. You can’t have a fitness lifestyle if you don’t have a long-term plan. Stop winging it and schedule in advance when to Push Play. Move your workouts to the top of your priority list. Don’t think about doing them whenever. Schedule them as if they were very important meetings or appointments. BECAUSE THEY ARE! You can love what you’re doing and eat like a star, but if you don’t plan those workouts you won’t go far.

LAW 8: STRESS AND SLEEP

Stressed-out, sleep-deprived people don’t eat right and exercise regularly. Stress depletes energy, strength, and desire; while poor sleep habits affect your moods and immune function along with cognitive and motor performance. Burning the candle at both ends makes it impossible to be fit and healthy. Don’t waste your time on gossip, ridicule, envy, self-pity, anger, guilt, arrogance, impatience, regret, manipulation, jealousy, fear, worry, and anxiety. It’s too stressful, and it destroys the energy you need to stay healthy and fit. If you choose understanding, truth, clarity, patience, devotion, gratitude, acceptance, wisdom, and forgiveness, you will have peace of mind and all the energy in the world to do whatever you want.

LAW 9: LOVING IT

Your workouts involve commitment, determination, planning, consistency, and intensity. If you don’t like what you’re doing, then there’s no way on earth you’ll succeed. Enthusiasm is a huge piece of the puzzle. Get creative and stay curious. I don’t know about you, but if I don’t love something, then I don’t do it. Period. It boggles my mind why anyone would continue to do anything they don’t enjoy. If you’re anything like me, you’ll discover that the same thing over and over doesn’t work over time. FIND OUT WHAT YOU LOVE and do THAT. If you stay curious, try new things, abandon the exercises you dislike, and stick with the ones you love, then you’ll discover a fitness philosophy that you’ll stick with for a lifetime.

LAW 10: FLEXIBILITY

Flexibility is the fountain of youth! Flexible people are much less prone to injury. Flexibility is the key component that allows you to bring more intensity to your workouts. Aging has a funny way of making everything we do harder. Staying limber and flexible is the way to prevent that from happening. People hate to stretch because they say it’s too boring. They don’t like it because it cuts into their workout time. I’m here to tell you that it’s time to rethink the importance of flexibility. Flexibility increases mental relaxation, greatly reduces the risk of various injuries, and slows the aging process in muscles and joints. Who wouldn’t want all that? Flexibility is the fountain of youth. Give yourself that amazing gift.

LAW 11: FOOD AND SUPPLEMENTATION

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT! Food and supplements are your fuel. The right fuel supplies proper energy and recovery through balances brain chemistry. Healthy, nutritious food provides the energy you need to get through a hectic day. High-quality foods and supplements assist in lowing fat stores, weight loss, increasing energy, recovery from workouts, and maintaining healthy bones, muscles, and joints. Supplementation and eating well also reduce bouts of depression, sadness, and anxiety while promoting psychological well-being. Our bodies do not run on exercises; they run on the fuel we put in our mouths. You cannot substitute good exercise for a bad diet. A good diet and exercise have to happen at the same time. If you bring the same level of consistency and discipline to your daily fuel intake as you do the workouts, you’ll greatly reduce a lifetime of health risks, improve your overall quality of life, and see greater physical change in a shorter period of time.