41) Pack a Lunch Mentality

My step-dad, Randy Thompson, was the one who instilled the value of hard work in me. He’s the guy who got me my job in the coal mine. He’s the reason I believed I could pool enough money together to get out of my situation and chase my dream of becoming a personal trainer and gym owner.

He used to talk about 80–90 hour work weeks — one time logging 93 hours. He took care of himself. Never smoked. Rarely drank. Ate well. To this day, he still takes great care of himself and benches over 300 pounds in his sixties.

He used to say, “People who want to work with me better pack a lunch. People who want to mess with me better pack a lunch. I’m not going to run out of gas.” That was his mentality. He wasn’t flashy. He didn’t have crazy swag. But he carried confidence that came from hours and hours of work. That’s when I realized I was willing to do things other people weren’t willing to do.

I started putting in 12-hour shifts. Then I was doing my 12-hour shift plus half of the next one. My mindset was simple: I’m here to work. I’m here to pack a fucking lunch. I’m not going home until I’ve got enough money to get the fuck out. Once that mentality locked in, I started applying it to everything in my life.

So let me ask you — are you packing the lunch?

Are you bringing that mentality into your situation? Are you willing to do what others aren’t? They’re not willing to come in early. They’re not willing to develop their craft. They’re not willing to bring the next-level effort it takes to get the nod.

I’m willing to put the work in, day after day. Sure, I’ve got peers and rivals who beat me from time to time. But the separator is this: I’m willing to do what others aren’t.

So ask yourself — are you just going through the motions, or are you packing a fucking lunch?