It’s time to celebrate an anniversary. It’s 3 years ago since I released my first blog post so that calls for a party. Preferably one with cold brew coffee, a good Cuban cigar, a good company, and a nice beach. Some nice food wouldn’t be bad either. It’s the party of a simple man with a plan. It’s pretty crazy that I can celebrate this anniversary to be honest because I almost pulled the plug when it came to this blog. Even multiple times. You see it wasn’t always easy to combine training MMA and blogging while you have a normal job (quit 15/02/2019). It sucked from time to time and at one point I almost quit it all. It was in March 2018 that I almost quit everything but somehow I didn’t and here’s why.
A 3- year anniversary special: how I almost quit blogging and MMA.
I got very sick in January last year. I couldn’t do a lot and everything suffered because of it. My blog didn’t do well, I couldn’t train and I was too tired to get anything done in my personal life. I eventually got better but all the other aspects that I just mentioned didn’t show any progress. I started to hate going to the gym because I had a lack of good training partners plus my coach kept telling me that I would never fight because I didn’t have the stand-up skills. Aside from that, I hated my job because it was a very close-minded environment. The blogging wasn’t going as planned, it was going in the opposite direction that I wanted it to go. I was ready to quit everything because I just didn’t care anymore.
The walk that made this 3- year anniversary possible.
I skipped training, which is rare for me. And I realized just didn’t want to do it anymore. At that point, I was done with everything because I felt like I was running around in circles. I remember even telling myself “Well the people were right. I’m just another loser who dropped out of college and failed drastically at what he tried.” Later that night I went for a walk because I like the combination of nature, walking and reflecting. At one point I asked myself (I remember the place where I was standing): “Why did I even start this stuff in the first place?!”. It took me some time to figure out why I started to be honest but at one point I figured it out and decided to keep going.
I still wasn’t fully convinced on the MMA part though. A trip to Stockholm completely changed my mind. There I had a private with a trainer and he told me that I had unfulfilled potential when it came to the sport. We eventually discussed my situation and I changed camps about 4 months later. The best decision that I ever made because that got me back on track in no time. My progress also skyrocketed after I changed camps. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
Why did you decide to share this story?
I decided to share this story because this is the perfect story to show you that it wasn’t easy. There were ups and downs, smiles and frowns even to this day. People never see that stuff. They only see the highlights because those are the only things that they want to see. They neglect the failed attempts, adversity, tears, frustration, hate and so on.
But that’s also the reason why I chose this story. It’s because I did what I always did since I started this blog. That’s the thing that separates me from most other blogs in my opinion. I’m real. You won’t see blogs where I claim that my life is going perfect because that’s just straight-up stupid and delusional. I’m working towards a better life but I’ll never be perfect because that’s just impossible.
A 3-year anniversary special: I’m glad that I didn’t.
Let’s fast forward to October 2018. Up to that point, I had faced quite some setbacks and it wouldn’t stop until I would flip my life upside down. I decided to interview Sean Fagan aka The Muay Thai guy for my alpha male series. Little did I know what kind of effect that would have on my life. Sean became my mentor and at one point I told him that I wanted to quit my job and travel. He told me to wait and make some more money. 2 months later I had a break up (every good story starts with a break-up) and I was also pretty sick of my current life situation. So I messaged him and told him that I was going to quit my job and come to Thailand. His response was “ok!”
Stepping on that plane is the best thing that I ever did. I lived 3 months in Thailand, came home, lived in Germany for a week and after that, I joined Muay Thai vacations in Greece. I can devote 15 blogs on everything that happened in Thailand alone. You can check out my Instagram if you want to see highlights of the trip. And yes the stories are true, Saenchai gave me my fight shorts.
What if I had quit?
I can tell you right now what would have happened if I had quit. it’s pretty easy, I would have been a giant pile of misery. I would have never traveled to Thailand, never fought and never released my second book. It’s safe to say that I would have missed out on a lot. Plus I wouldn’t have met all these great people that I met right now. I would have just been sitting in my cubical, talking to the same people about the same dumb shit that doesn’t interest me while drinking the same crappy coffee over and over again. I would probably also envy other people’s lives on Instagram while I was at that job. You might claim that I make it sound extremely miserable but that’s just because I would have been that miserable.
That’s just a fact. I would probably also die with tons of regret and the ‘what if….’ question in the back of my mind.
So if you’re reading this and are tempted to quit, just don’t. It isn’t worth it, trust me on this one. Everybody has a phase like this, well multiple phases but this one was the worst. Just keep going and enjoy the journey. You’ll be surprised about how much you can achieve.
I mean, do you remember any single person that gave up? Neither do I so embrace the suck and keep going.
Happy anniversary to Zero To Alpha, the best is yet to come.
Don’t forget to subscribe to get your free Zero To Alpha Cheatsheet!
A 3-year anniversary special: Check Out My Latest Book!
I released a book on Amazon while I stayed here in Thailand. It’s called “The Year Of The Alpha: 366 Lessons On Adding Meaning To Your Life“.
The book contains 366 life lessons that I learned over 3 years and people who read it loved it. Just look at these reviews.
The Year of the Alpha is filled with vast and important lessons for life. They are key ideas that, once lived, will change your life forever.
Have met Alex in person and he is a free spirit with a hard work ethic! His life tips are no BS and hit straight to the core!
This is a book to call you out when you know you need improvement. It doesn’t bother with trivial things it gets right i the heart of the matter and if you want to change this book is the read for you.
A very clear, grounded, no-nonsense book on living a more healthy and conscious life. An easily digestible introduction for those starting out, and a helpful refresher for those already on the path. You’ll learn from this and you’ll use it.
You can buy the book here. It’s available on Kindle and paperback. Note that the paperback isn’t available in all regions.
My first book, discounts, social media and more.
Don’t forget to check out my first book. The ones who read it liked it.
Get a free audiobook and a 30-day trial
It’s now possible to follow me on Patreon as well. It’s a place where you can support me for all the free content that I share.
You can also follow me on Snapchat/Instagram for a look behind the scenes. My username is alexdw92
Till next time
Alex
