Just recently I was asked what made me so successful? After pondering on the question, I realized that focusing day and night on the most important priorities was one of the KEY success factors in effectively managing my life. 

I am NOT going to sugar-coat the importance of prioritizing your life. Do it or you WILL fail miserably trying to accomplish your goals. I believe that this is a foregone conclusion, but how can the priorities of Money, Gym and Sex that I pontificate be the winning ticket and equate to success? It sounds absurd.

I bet you thought I was going to say the top priorities are God, Family and Health.  For most people, God and family are the top priorities…And I agree, actually God and family should always get top billing and in most households that is the case, including mine. Therefore, I urge you to not only fulfill your spiritual and family obligations, but to focus on the KEY #1 priority: Money and Gym. Yes Money & Gym (health). They go hand-in-hand. They are both #1 priority. Without sufficient wealth or good health, you can NOT take care of your family in the appropriate manner. Also, Money and Gym are adjoined at the hip and feed one another: 

• Exercise in the morning to facilitate a path towards clear thinking

Think about how good you feel after you exercise, especially in the AM prior to work. Whatever negativity you may have had will be pushed aside with positive thoughts, which will enable you to be more creative and think outside of the box. When your mind isn’t cluttered you can invest your resources on how to make more money. 

• It costs more to eat well

When you have the funds to eat well you tend to stay away from junk food. Without a doubt your overall health will improve, which means you will focus on you can expend more resources on your financial priority. 

• To acquire financial security will take many years of effort, much sacrifice and good health

It’s important to eat well and exercise consistently to maintain good health. When you exercise consistently you will lower your blood pressure, sleep better at night, burn more fat, you will consume fewer unnecessary calories, stay away from diabetes and build more muscle.

• You’ll be more energetic

And when it comes to making more money faster, you will need to invest longer hours into achieving your dream of financial security. Exercising and eating right is the catalyst to having more stamina and energy.

Without a doubt Money and Gym go hand-in-hand. 

I get asked this frequently: Why not refer to it as Health vs. Gym? Only one reason: It just rolled off of my tongue easier. MGS was easier for me to remember than MHS. To elaborate on the 3 different areas:

• Money: Growing your savings, managing your expenses, investing for retirement, having multiple sources of income, etc. 
• Gym: Living a healthy lifestyle, managing your eating habits and weight, and exercising consistently at home, at the beach or at the gym. Exercise can be cleaning our house briskly or washing your car, etc.
• Sex: The obvious, your bonus, your day off, your play day, YOUR REWARD, etc.

I also get asked this question frequently: Why is sex last → REALLY? Who doesn’t love sex and why isn’t it getting top billing? Unfortunately, Money makes the world revolve and without it you will not endure, and if you do, you won’t for long. And without good health you have nothing. Let Sex be your reward for the effort you put into Money and Gym.

I questioned my neighbor and mentor Jim about placing sex at the bottom of the priority list. I remember telling him: “but, I’m a normal teen with raging hormones → sex last → REALLY?” He said: workout early in the morning and focus on money throughout the day, then you can have your fun…as much as you want😊.

He made sense and boy was he right. The key was to exercise prior to work, while at work you’re already doing your job and you should also be focused on growing your career → the higher you climb that corporate ladder, the greater the rewards.

Let me be VERY blunt here → the HK way…

When I was in my teens, Jim taught me to keep things simple → VERY simple. He said: train your mind to automatically focus on your priorities by repeating and believing in those 3 words dozens of times each day until you are eating, breathing and pooing those priorities. Especially Money and Gym. Sex is the easy part. It’s actually your bonus → your reward for acing Money and Gym. It could be: watching a movie, going fishing, time with your significant other, etc.

Training your mind is similar to training your body for a grueling event. People forget that the mind is a muscle and needs to be trained, but it’s not only repeating MGS dozens of times each day, it’s also strategizing on how to conquer those priorities faster and better.

Money

To master your Money priority and achieve financial security (and who doesn’t want that…) it’s an all or nothing proposition. In other words, every facet of your finances must be addressed: 

• How do I grow in my career faster to make the big bucks? For me it was:
  • Learn and learn more about my department → Information Technology. I wanted to grow my knowledge-base, quickly. The most effective method was hands-on training. I volunteered to help out in other departments too. I invested my off-time into learning how other departments operated.
  • I Schmoozed with key management in order to climb the corporate ladder quicker. They witnessed that I spewed initiative through my veins. I had a HUGE desire to excel. 
  • I was consistently performing at a superior level and out-performing the competition. I also worked on holidays and weekends and management knew it.

• How do you create multiple sources of income? For me it was:
  • Working multiple jobs. It didn’t matter what I did as long as I got paid and I could save more. 
  • Creating a WOW portfolio by writing and publishing books.
    • Although I was a horrible writer and the odds were against me, but because I was in the Information Technology Industry so I had plenty of content. I practiced my skills by writing and re-writing content. I wrote my first IT related book in 1997 and got it published. I marketed it diligently and it did well. Simultaneously wrote a second book and repeat the same pattern to create a series of books. My goal was to gain industry-wide credibility to sell my consulting services there was also a side benefit: to collect royalties from books → I refer to royalties as the Christmas gift that keeps on giving twice a year.

• How do I save more to buy that first home and then eventually purchase additional property? 
  • I continued to work multiple jobs.
  • When I purchased that first home, I skimped on everything…I used older furniture – I had 2 of the original bean bag chairs and even slept on 3 sleeping bags (staked on top of each other) that I borrowed from my parents. I would also eat dinner at my parents’ house frequently, I saved on entertainment, eating out and utilities. I saved on everything and then some just to make my mortgage payment and be able to keep saving…as a side note it was a BLAST to watch my balance grow-weekly. Yes, I went to the bank every week (that was before the Internet).
  • I invested in the company’s stocks and retirement program too.

Gym

• How do I exercise consistently? How do I stay motivated every day? For me it was:
  • Training my mind by repeating negative phrases on my disgusting body and how badly I wanted it changed. 
  • Getting to the gym at 5AM (opening) so I would be one of the first patrons – I didn’t want anyone getting in my way and slowing me down. 
  • Changing my routine frequently so I wouldn’t get bored.
  • Making sure I got my workout done in 1 hour. 

Although thinking about only 2 priorities everyday sounds simple, as you can see (from above) it is not, however abiding by those priorities’ day and night will definitely keep you focused on your major goals and you WILL succeed. NOTHING but NOTHING can slow you down if you train your mind to live the MGS way.

MGS really does work! Afterall exercising every day is HARD and growing your net worth is challenging so why wouldn’t you focus on these first…if you do – you will ace these priorities for the rest of your life → YOU’VE MADE IT BIGTIME.

Now I can hear the naysayers loud and clear…what if you want to enjoy your significant other in the morning prior to work? I wouldn’t say no…why would you…Do it → have fun → but make up your workout at lunch time, after work or double up the next day. Money and Gym must be addressed 365 days a year. There are no exceptions.

Too Extreme?

Was I over the top? Was it too extreme? Perhaps…but NOTHING worthwhile comes easy, that’s why being successful and leaving behind a legacy is a rare achievement, but if you focus on your priorities, your odds of you mastering your life are greatly improved! 

Balance

People will argue that you can’t focus on your priority’s day and night/every day…everyone needs a break. I say you have too and believe it or not I live a more balanced lifestyle because of MGS. By focusing on these critical priorities first every day it gives me more time to play with my kids in the evening or spend quality time with my wife.

Even while on vacation?

Yes, even on vacation! Let me elaborate…

We have a beach home in Florida and I take several vacations a year with my wife and kids. They would sleep 8-9 hours a night and I sleep approximately 6. I would get up early handle my business obligations and do my workout and I would be back before they woke up to cook breakfast and then I spent the rest of the day with them having fun at the beach or at the pool, etc. 

I had a ton of fun adhering to these priorities and on a grander scale than most. Being financially secure at an early age has MAJOR rewards😊 and I give thanks to MGS for it…

Keep things simple: Train your mind to manage your life the MGS way, the rewards will be second-to-none.

Harris Kern