For a huge chunk of my life, I was a complete control freak. Looking back, I was convinced that I could “handle” everything that came my way – both in terms of expertise and actual time commitment. It was always easier to do it myself than it was to find someone else to do it, as I knew I’d have to be looking over their shoulder and second-guessing their work, anyway.

Then I hit a critical threshold.

Around 2006, my clientele grew exponentially right after I moved to Boston. All of a sudden, I was training clients seven days per week and – in many cases – over 13 hours per day. On top of that, my online presence was growing, product sales were rolling, and I had more writing and speaking opportunities than ever before. I was still powerlifting competitively, so training had to be a priority. With multiple revenue streams, my financials were getting more and more complex. And, last (but certainly not least), I’d just started dating Anna (who is now my wife), so that relationship was a big priority as well. I wanted to do it all.

Unfortunately, there are only so many hours in the day, and I was using almost all of them – which meant sleep was getting pushed out. The success that I’d dreamed of for years was actually kicking my butt. For the first time in my life, I recognized that I needed help.

As it turns out, “help” was a bit complex. It entailed opening Cressey Sports Performance and bringing on my business partner, Pete Dupuis, to handle the managerial side of things. Tony Gentilcore also joined in to help out with managing a rapidly-growing clientele.

This help was game-changing for me. In spite of the exhaustion that went with starting a new business, I felt invigorated and the long hours didn’t phase me. Having others’ expertise and efforts working alongside my own afforded me more time and opportunities to focus on what I did really well: evaluating, programming, and coaching.

Months later, we brought on Brian St. Pierre as our first employee. We asked him to “help” step up our nutritional offerings for our clients, and he crushed it. It’s been an important part of our business ever since. Chris Howard later “helped” to bring in massage therapy. Greg Robins and George Kalantzis “helped” build up our strength camps. We hired a fantastic accountant who has “helped” simply our finances and save us a lot of money. Later, it was a payroll company to “help” with that side of things, and an office manager to “help” manage the daily chaos at our facility so that Pete can focus on business development. I’ve got a lawyer, financial adviser, landscaper, cleaning lady, part-time nanny, and host of other people who “help” me on a regular basis. I refer clients out to physical therapists, physicians, chiropractors, pitching coaches, hitting coaches, and many other ancillary professionals who can “help” our clients. Now, I have the “help” of two new business partners – Brian Kaplan and Shane Rye – with the opening of our Jupiter, FL facility this past fall.

I say this not to brag, but to show you how asking for help and being willing to outsource tasks that don’t best leverage my skillset has completely changed my life for the better time and time again. It’s freed up time to focus on things I do REALLY well. This has allowed me to grow my businesses, be a better husband and father, and have great satisfaction with my job (if I can even really call it a “job”). Time and time again, asking for help and outsourcing has proven to be a good decision – and I started out as the biggest micromanaging skeptic you could possibly imagine.

What does this have to do with YOU, though?

If you want a contract drafted up, you go to a lawyer.

If you want your taxes done, you go to an accountant.

For some reason, though, most folks try to take on their most precious commodity – the body – by themselves. And, this is probably why we see so many crazy fad diets, and so many brutal displays of “what in the world is that exercise, and is he really going to hurt himself?” on display at most commercial gyms. And, it’s one reason why many people really aren’t happy with their physiques, functional capacity, or physical quality of life.

The truth is that many of these people are just a few months away from looking, feeling, and moving dramatically better. They just need to seek out help – just like I have (albeit in different contexts).

This blog is obviously about fitness, and if you’re reading it, I’m guessing that means that you’ve looked to me for help. Thank you for your vote of confidence.

To that end, I’m confident that one outstanding way in which I can help you is by directing you to The High Performance Handbook. I’m confident that it’s a versatile program that can really help the overwhelming majority of my readers to get closer to their goals and educate them in the process.

But even beyond The High Performance Handbook program, I hope this blog has made you think a bit about how you can find help to simplify your life and create opportunities to focus on what you do REALLY well. It’s made a world of difference for me.