April 1st will mark the third birthday of Endurance Corner LLC. This week I’m going to outline the decisions that cost us the most money in our start up phase. These themes pop up in many areas of my life so, I hope, you can learn from our experience.

The original concept for starting EC was to help people. I'm not sure if I've ever told you but a personal goal is, over my lifetime, to reach one million people with a message about using personal athletics to change the direction of their life (one article at a time).

In wanting to help people, I need constant reminders that making things "easy" isn't a help! Most of the money that I have wasted so far (I'm sure that more mistakes are to come) is due to a misunderstanding of human nature.

I'm leaving Australia today and the way my schedule worked out, I'm probably going to take a "zero" in the training log. Not a big fan of zeros as I do best with a dose of exercise every 12 hours, or so.

Earlier this month, my buddy, Tony D, flew half way around the world to train with me and see what he could pick up in terms of training secrets. I did what I could for the guy and I think he learned quite a bit from the experience. Tony doesn't have a blog so this article is a summary of what I hope he picked up!

It's fashionable to say "there are no secrets" and "there is no easy". We should all HTFU and JFT...

That's true but it is also an over-simplification. There is a tremendous amount of experience, and knowledge, that goes into what's required to perform at a high level. This week, I'll highlight four key concepts that have helped me in academics, finance and athletics.

It's been a while since I wrote about personal finances. We completed our quarterly financial review this week so a number of topics are fresh in my mind.

A few weeks back I wrote about a split society. So far, the Great Unwinding has crushed a few over-leveraged companies, banks and persons but it has not fundamentally altered the behavior of my peers. Our balance sheets, took a hit, we trimmed wasteful habits, we all had a collective freak-out... ...then... nothing, really.

It takes about three years for our collective memory about the "past" to shift. Do you remember the date of the sub-prime "shock"? August 2008 -- we are 18 months along our path with the New Normal.

Ask yourself:

• How have your attitudes to investment return, risk, spending and leverage changed in the last 18 months?
• If your attitudes continue their current trend then where will you be by August 2011?
• Are the fundamentals of our economy supporting where your financial life is likely to be in August 2011?

I had a wake-up call last week while engaging in self-congratulatory backslapping!

I was talking to Monica and observing how well I handled a recent (but pre-inbox-zero) day of work, email and errands.

G - You know, I really handled that day of work well.
M - You sure, you seemed pretty miserable and stressed.

G - Hmmmm.

G - Maybe I should have said that looking back it wasn't as bad as it seemed at the time...

If I am internally calm but projecting outward stress then am I calm, or stressed?

I'm not sure of the answer but I know which person I would prefer to hang out with.

This week, I write about three steps I am taking to improve my life "right now".

1. Declutter
2. No to non-core
3. Love something

In my clearer moments, I see the hazards of having a job that is focused on providing answers.

Every answer I give can reinforce my thought patterns and biases. In one sense, having a wide range of clients provides me with an opportunity to work through a coherent picture. However, without caution and effort, I can dig deeper and deeper into creating my personal athletic dogma.

I have a few tactics that I use to balance consistency bias. This week I'll share them - you can apply them to sport, specifically, or life, generally.

My personal outlook is influenced by two lessons that I have learned.

#1 - I'm responsible for my life, and my feelings, right now.

#2 - If something bothers me then consider if I am willing to change. If I am not willing to change then get over it.

I'm still working through my endurance "hangover" from the 100-odd hours of training I did over in New Zealand. One of the effects of endorphin withdrawal is that I can feel dissatisfied with things. It is a common post-camp, or post-race, experience to feel dissatisfaction with some aspect of our lives.

I didn't do myself any favors as I picked of a few bad habits both at the camp, and after. It all stems from getting "too tired" and "too stressed". I can fall into the trap of tell myself "it's OK" and giving myself "treats" that are the EXACT recipe for screwing myself up further.

The first part of this letter will share some ideas on setting up a high performance mind-set. The techniques can also be used as a coping strategy when dealing with challenging people/situations.

The second part will be an update on how I'm settling back into the real world following my big trip across New Zealand. With a little over a week to regroup, I've had some insights that should be interesting for you.

We're going to start taking deposits for our Moab Camp shortly - (May 3rd to 9th) - if you are interested in signing up then drop me a line.