Be Your Own Authority

Stop paying so much attention to authority.

Be your own authority.

Really.

If authority is the "power to control or exert influence" shouldn't you be the main authority in your life?

Shouldn't you exert the most influence on your own life?

Listen to what people have to say and then decide.

Don't let them decide for you. That would be taking the easy way out. And if you're one of us, you probably realized long ago that the easy way usually leads to the Land of Few Accomplishments.

Don't be scared to walk in the other direction. Lots of good things lay beyond the well-traveled path.

This is one of the main things that I love about CrossFit: we say again and again "Don't believe us. Go check it out for yourself."

How many other "experts" do you have in your world who say that? When's the last time you met the CEO of a booming company who said: "If you can do it better, show us. And we'll all do what you're doing."

Greg Glassman says it all the time, along with "F*** around. Play with it. See what happens."

Listen. Learn.

But don't blindly follow anyone – not me, not CrossFit, not your friends, not your family, and certainly not some strangers or internet jockeys. Evaluate. F*** around. Decide for yourself.

Be your own authority.