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Fitness BLOG

What Famous Dave's Can Teach You About Weight-Loss

4/6/2015

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You may be thinking that there is absolutely no way that Famous Dave’s and weight-loss can even be in the same sentence!

On the surface it may seem so but keep reading and you will find out a powerful lesson we all can take away with from his story
. 
You see, Famous Dave didn’t start out as the success we know him today as.

In fact, he was just a typical guy from Chicago that wasn’t really a people person and didn’t have any plans for being a mega-success.

He was studying at Michigan Tech until a friend introduced him to a seminar that changed his life…

One of the speakers was Zig Ziglar (one of the greatest speakers of all time) and the message…

Gave Him Faith and Belief
That He Could Succeed One Day
.


Dave was so excited about the event that he decided to sell a product that the seminar was promoting.

He was to sell oil conditioners for car engines. He decided to drop out of school to embark in this journey full-force instead.

He put everything he could into that business but despite his effort he could not make it work and ended up shutting it down. He didn’t let that bring him down though. 

That Fire Stayed
Alive In Him!


And he would listen to leadership tapes each and every night.

Dave then picked up a part-time job and enrolled in school again at Roosevelt University. Poor grades and incompletes would stop him this time though.

This made him decided to go into business again but this time selling miniature dish gardens to florists. Even though the first business didn’t work…

He Had Learned A Ton Of
Lessons From It!

When he first started selling these, one florist shocked him with an order of a dozen. He didn’t even have the capital to buy that much in materials! Luckily it worked out though.

For the next seven years he built up this business and at he was finally finding success from it.

Then a friend gave him the idea to start selling plants to college students during welcome week. They flew with the idea and ended up…

Earning $20,000 in Two Days!

Not too bad!

They wanted to attempt this strategy again but this time with a Kmart that was opening. They sat outside with twice the inventory they had for the colleges and eagerly awaited for customers.

That day had different plans for them though…

It began to rain and the temperature started dropping. The rain soon turned into snow. The plants couldn’t handle the weather and died off…

They Ended Up Losing
Over $20,000 That Day!

On top of that, the winter that year caused florists to struggle which meant Dave’s customers weren’t buying. Those two events forced him into bankruptcy.

To make ends meet he pawned his wife’s jewelry and on a couple occasions stood in line for his unemployment check.

He couldn’t get himself to take it though and vowed he was going to make something work.

He started seeking an entrepreneurial job and one that would stretch himself to become better. This brought him to the realization that…

In Order to Be Successful He Had to
Develop His Skills to The Next Level.

This was beyond his comfort zone but he pursued a sales job with American Can Company selling Dixie cups, and other supplies to restaurants. He chose to take over the worst territory.

He would spend nights practicing speaking, smiling, and other interpersonal skills in front of the mirror. This was like an athlete training for the big game. 



This time though he was going into this job equipped with lessons from both businesses. 

During the next 6 months he experienced rejection after rejection, mistakes, and problem after problem but his territory eventually became the best in the company.

In 1982, he was asked to become CEO of Lac Courte Orielles Lake Superior Band of Ojibwa in Wisconsin. Instead of one business he was in charge of many.

This Company Went From $3.9 Million to
$8 Million Due To His Intervention
!


This sparked the interest of many companies who began enlisting his support for help in their businesses.

Due to this work he was honored with a Bush Leadership Fellowship award and even got into Harvard and finally getting his diploma!

Finally that led him to Co-founding Rainforest Café and finally Famous Dave’s.

Here’s What Dave
Can Teach Us.

We often think that success in weight-loss (or in life!) should be easy and frictionless.

And when it’s not we sometimes feel that like we failed.

You may have tried all sorts of diet programs or gimmicks and they may have hurt your faith in losing weight or getting the body you want.

We have to realize that it’s the price of success. You may have not thought about that until now but each time you fail from those attempts, you learn something new.

Take a moment to think of all those things you have tried in the past and what you learned from them?
  •  Did you learn that restrictive approaches don’t work well for you?
  • Did you learn that you have to ease yourself into a program instead of making too many changes at once?
  • Did you learn that you have to have some leeway in your nutrition?

The lessons are always there if we look for them. 

At Bare Minimum Sometimes
We Learn Simply What Doesn’t Work
!


You know what that does though? It allows you to approach your journey more intelligently.

It allows you to collect insight as to what went well with what you tried and what didn’t. And like an experimenter you can make the necessary tweaks to make the next attempt EVEN BETTER.

It takes the commitment to stay in the game though.

I challenge you though to keep moving, keep attacking, and keep charging on towards the fitness/ weight-loss goals.

I challenge you to become unstoppable towards them. Is this an easy thing?

No! But it will be worth it because …

SUCCESS Comes To
Those Who Persist.

Period.

You may have gotten beaten down in the past by previous challenges but it’s time to get up and get back moving again.

You may not have learned all of the distinctions you need to yet to succeed but keep moving because eventually you will master it.

But you have to keep moving.

Maybe we don’t go through the magnitude of problems that Dave did but he gives us a perfect example of the number, randomness, and frequency of obstacles that we sometimes have to go through in order to succeed.

Let’s realize they are part of the process and keep going! 

Do You Want to Discover Some Of
The Best Weight-Loss Strategies?

We have a unique road-map for you to help you get started on your journey, for no cost.

Request this free special book here.

In it you’ll learn the biggest myths and the best approaches exercise, nutrition, and lasting change.

Click Here to Download A FREE Product

 

References:

Maxwell, John C. Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping-stones for Success. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2000. Print.

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