Andy Frisella Live Hard Program: Lessons Learned From Completing It
Live Hard is a mental toughness program created by Andy Frisella designed to turn you into the best version of yourself. It is comprised of four different phases: 75 Hard, Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, each done with zero compromise. In this fifth of a five part podcast series, Rob Cressy is joined by his friend and accountability partner Brendan Pettit as they share lessons learned from their year long journey completing the Live Hard program.
- What were the results they saw from completing the Live Hard program and how did it help build momentum in their business and life?
- What is the mindset that you learn and how does it prepare you for future success?
- Why did the Live Hard program become about lifestyle design?
- What did the evolution of their growth from 75 Hard to Phase 1 to Phase 2 to Phase 3 look like?
- Why was the community of people doing 75 Hard and Live Hard such a positive?
If you’d like tips, habits, routines, and lessons learned from each of the phases of the Live Hard program, you can check out the podcasts we recorded about it. They are episodes: 75 Hard (Ep 349), Phase 1 (Ep 357), Phase 2 (Ep 376), Phase 3 (Ep 387).
If you are considering doing 75 Hard then I highly recommend you listen to Andy Frisella MFCEO podcast where he talks about the origin of it. It’s straight fire.
Your feedback & thoughts are super important to us a we’d love to support you on your Live Hard and 75 Hard journey. You can connect with Rob & Brendan on social media and let us know what you think.
- Rob Cressy – Instagram: @rob_cressy – LinkedIn: /cressy/ – Join My Private Facebook Group
- Brendan Pettit – Instagram: @brendanpettit – Website: www.findyouphoria.com
UPDATE (5/18/21): I want to provide value to anyone who is considering doing the Live Hard program or 75 Hard so here are a few more nuggets of wisdom from my journey that I thought might resonate with you.
Going All-In On Becoming The Best Version Of Yourself
The beginning of my Live Hard journey started with a desire to become the best version of myself. I remember sitting on Siesta Key Beach listening to Andy Frisella’s 75 Hard podcast for a second time. There was something he said that I couldn’t get out of my head, “75 days is a small price to pay to become the best version of yourself.”
Then I started to do some self reflection. “As an entrepreneur who is all in on his dreams, how could I not do a program designed to help me get everything I want in life?” It is for the reason that I didn’t want to do 75 Hard that I was compelled to do it. I saw not doing it as a sign of weakness, that I wasn’t actually all-in on what I said I was going to accomplish. Instead I wanted to replace that weakness with becoming the best version of myself.
I can say that the Live Hard program delivered on every single thing it promised, and far exceeded expectations. Because if I look at my maturation from 75 Hard, to Phase 1, to Phase 2, to Phase 3 to where I am now, it’s mind blowing. I am undoubtedly the best version of myself that I have ever been in my life. It turned me into the best Terminator in the world.
Evolution of Growth Throughout Live Hard
Each Phase in the Live Hard program is designed to grow you and teach you something about yourself. For every person that is a unique journey, even though the lessons we learn are similar. Here is a breakdown of my growth journey and mindset throughout each Phase.
75 Hard
75 Hard was like slaying a giant monster. I had to prove to myself that I could finish it. Just starting out I can remember hitting the wall on Day 11. It was my hardest day up to that point. I thought to myself, “there are 64 days remaining, how in the world am I going to do this?” Despite this I found a way to keep living in action and moving forward. By focusing on the tasks in front of me, not how many days I have remaining, or the monsters that may or may not lie ahead, I was able to keep my focus and finish.
Phase 1
After completing 75 Hard I knew that I had to complete the entire Live Hard program. I already bought into becoming the best version of myself, so might as well do this like a champion. I came into Phase 1 with the mindset of Sharpening My Sword. I was on such a different level having completed 75 Hard that I saw the challenge in front of me in a whole new light. No longer was I concerned about how was I going to finish? Instead I was playing offense. I was sharpening the skills that I had learned. I was sharpening the skills that I had EARNED!
Phase 2
Now that 75 Hard and Phase 1 are complete, my confidence is at an all time high. “The first two are done, now it’s time to BUILD MOMENTUM!” Completion of Phase 2 is a certainty from a confidence standpoint. I know I can and will do it. I just need to stay focused, intentional, and live in action. I continued to notice how everything around me was getting better. I saw the world from a humble yet powerful perspective. I was willing to pay my dues every single day and earn every step of my journey.
Phase 3
The Live Hard program is a no compromise mental toughness program. You mess up and you go back to the beginning of the Phase. However, with Phase 3 if you mess up you go back to the very beginning and start over at 75 Hard. Because of this my mindset for Phase 3 was to Finish Strong. That’s what champions do. I wanted to be able to look back on my journey for the rest of my life and know that I gave the Live Hard program every ounce that I had.
Building Momentum
How do you build momentum? You do so with accountability, focus, discipline, prioritization, and owning your time better.
I prioritized the Live Hard program as my number one thing every day. I knew the second that I got up in the morning that it was on. Right out of the gate I was reading, drinking water, then going to the gym, then I was planning my day. That gave me such a level of focus because I didn’t have time to waste on things that weren’t gonna serve me. It starved my distractions in the name of accomplishment.
Rinse and repeat this 75 days in a row, and then 30 more days, and then 30 more days, and then 30 more days. When you do that’s how you build momentum and see growth in all areas of your life.
Live Hard is a Mindset
Live Hard is a mental toughness program. Ya there is a physical component to it, but it’s the mental side of things that are the hardest. There are three main mindsets that I learned through the program
Conditions are never perfect
I completed the Live Hard program while living in Chicago. Guess what Chicago has? Freezing cold winters. I can vividly remember numerous time in which I was doing a 45 minute outdoor walk at 5 am in sub-zero temperatures wearing a ski jacket, gloves, a hat, and ski googles. I’d be carrying my Nalgene water bottle with me and the water would freeze. Ya, that freaking cold. But guess what. My dues had to be paid that day so that’s what I did.
On the flip side, it wasn’t just the cold that made the conditions less than perfect. I can remember being in Orlando, Florida for Memorial Day weekend at a friends place where everyone was getting together to celebrate. There was an amazing food spread, drinks were flowing, and we were going to spend the day on a boat. Guess what I had to do? Wake up early to get both of my workouts in before we left. Why this was of note is because people started coming over to the house to start having fun while I am on their porch doing a 45 minute workout. It was literally the last thing I wanted to be doing at that time. Once again, conditions are never perfect but the dues still have to be paid.
The Live Hard program is inconvenient by design because that’s where the growth comes from. And guess what, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Life is never perfect so being someone who specializes in living in action when things are inconvenient is one of the greatest skills you could ever cultivate.
You have so much potential inside you
The Live Hard program teaches you that you have so much more potential inside of you. It shatters your potential and what you think is possible. This was most evident for me during 75 Hard. I remember on Day 11 when I hit the wall for the first time. It was by far my most difficult day. I remember thinking to myself, “How am I going to do this for 64 more days?” My body was physically beat up from the twice a day workouts. I was hungry, craving sugar, and getting up early to complete my tasks was a challenge every day.
What changed my mindset and outlook on the entire program was to focus on the task in front of me, not how many days I had remaining. When I adopted this way of seeing the world I was able to turn weakness into strength. As the days went on I began to crave the challenges in front of me. Since I had completed all of the days before I knew that I could complete the day in front of me. Once you start stacking those days and wins up, you realize how much more potential is actually inside of you.
Like chopping down a tree, I completed 75 Hard, then Phase 1, then Phase 2, then Phase 3. With each subsequent phase my confidence and potential grew. I realized that the only thing holding me back was me. When you take the governor off and commit yourself to becoming the best version of yourself then anything is possible.
Controlling your self talk
The biggest challenge I had to overcome every day was my Bitch Voice. That voice inside my head that told me to “stay comfortable”, “take it easy”, or “how about you sleep in today”. It was something that never went away. It would show up every single day, especially in the morning when I was starting my day. My way of overcoming this was by having positive inputs and creating mantras.
One thing that I created for myself was the term “Start Hard”. To me it represented a mindset of getting the hardest part of my day done first. Because once that is done then everything else is gravy. I’d wake up at 4:58 am and immediately start working on my tasks. I’d read, get a workout in, drink half a gallon of water, and by the time 9 am came around I felt like I had already won the day. It was easier for me to do the hardest parts first than it was to constantly have the thoughts in my head of “when are you going to get your workout in” or trying to catch up on drinking my water.
During my morning routine I’d feed myself with inspiring books, I’d meditate, do some journaling, and read my gratitude and declarations of who I am. By being in control of the way I started my day, it allowed me to take control of my self talk. This doesn’t mean that it was easy, but it made living in action when my Bitch Voice was making noise something I was accustomed to doing.
When you can control your self talk and turn it into a force for good for you then you take things to new levels.
Expectations On Your Days
Because the Live Hard program was part of my being from the second I woke up until the second I went to bed there was a different pulse and energy and expectation on my days. I owned my time better because I was in control, not the world. I knew what I was going to accomplish every single day without waiver. This had me laser focused with the discipline to back it up.
This was most evident on the weekends when I’d go out to dinner with my friends. Everyone would be staying out late to go to the bar and throw a few back and I’d head home early so I could get a good night sleep and kick ass tomorrow. Naturally I’d get shit from my friends in the beginning as they wanted me to stay out, but it had zero effect on me. I knew the larger goal that I was after. This helped strengthen my decision making and prioritization skills.
There’s an energy to that mindset and way of being. You operate on a different level. Every minute matters today, and I certainly wasn’t going to do something that was going to negatively effect me tomorrow. Rinse and repeat for greatness.
Raise Your Standard
The Live Hard program helps you build a framework for how you operate on a daily basis. The structure is there to keep you focused on what matters the most, and that actually allows you to accomplish more. Wasting time is no longer part of your DNA. Getting things accomplished and moving forward on your goals is.
In the process of paying your dues day after day, you begin to notice your standard raising. You walk around with an air of confidence because you know that you’ve earned it. By no means does this come across as arrogance or resting on your laurels, it’s actually the opposite. You know there are temptations and distractions constantly around you. If you slip up and lose your focus then all the effort you put into the program can be lost. Because of this the sharpness that you walk around with is unlike anything I’ve experience in my life. I would describe it like walking around with samurai sword focus. You are exact and targeted. And an amazing thing happened when I showed up in the world this way, all areas of my life & business started to grow.
The Power Of Consistency
The Live Hard program is the greatest consistency challenge known to man. Why? Because you have to show up every single day and pay your dues. If you slip up even once you go back to zero. This reality is something that never left me through the entire program. Every single day I knew I had to show up and be the best version of myself without fail. If I lose focus then I might lose everything I’ve worked for in this program, and that was something I was not willing to accept.
One thing I learned about consistency throughout the Live Hard program is that it doesn’t mean you have to max out everything. Think of it like running a marathon. You can’t expect to sprint the entire time, that’s not sustainable. Instead it was about giving all that I could in that moment.
Where this was most applicable was on my “bad days” (aka the days in which I didn’t feel like going to the gym again, or eating clean, or getting my power list tasks done). On these days, my strength of consistency in showing up with intention when I needed it most is what shined. I found a way to plow forward. I found a way to get the tasks accomplished. I found a way period. And guess what, those days that were the hardest ended up becoming the most valuable. You prove to yourself that you can overcome anything. That’s the power of consistency.
Live Hard Mental Toughness Program Results
Completing the Live Hard program is one of the greatest accomplishments of my life. It helped raise my potential of what I believe is possible, earn my confidence, and turned me into the best version of myself. It taught me grit, fortitude, consistency, kindness, focus, intention, discipline, prioritization, and leading by example.
I am so thankful to Andy Frisella for being the leader of this movement. This program changed my life and it can yours too.
If you are thinking about doing 75 Hard or the Live Hard program then I highly recommend you commit to doing it. As Andy said in his podcast “75 days is a small price to pay to become the best version of yourself.”
If you are a high performer looking to take your personal growth and mindset to the next level and you are looking for a coach to support you in that process then I’d love to chat with you. You can sign up for a free 30 minute poweful coaching session with me HERE.