Arnold and The Chicken Switch
Arnold Schwarzenegger plays big, always on the court, never sitting in the stands. He is a bodybuilder, actor, businessman, politician and for me, an inspiration.
Let’s talk specifically about Arnold’s muscles for a second. Back in the day, Arnold was big and massive and toned and worked like a dog for the muscles he created.
The medical term for the process of muscle building is hypertrophy. /hīˈpərtrəfē/. Hypertrophy is the enlargement of an organ or tissue. Muscles can be encouraged to grow larger by a number of factors. These include strength training, hormone signaling, developmental factors, certain kinds of trauma and even disease.
Muscles get larger through muscle cell growth as protein filaments are generated.
Figuratively, we grow our “Don’t Pull the Chicken Switch” muscles by working them like a dog.
The Chicken Switch on an F16 jet is the apparatus used when the decision is made to eject from the plane. Not Pulling the Chicken Switch is fighting the urge we get at times to bail out on goals and desired outcomes we say we want.
Just like Arnold did thousands of sets of bicep curls to get those huge biceps, we must actively work at professional and personal development. When we take on things like training programs, challenging ourselves with wildly important goals, trying new paradigms, failing, and working with others, to name a few, our “Don’t Pull the Chicken Switch” muscles grow and bulge, and we are better able to avoid the temptation to bail out when things get difficult.
Like Arnold, who is the poster child for commitment and follow through, the process of building resolve takes relentless effort. Are you committed? Do you really want what you say you want?
When you work out, you put your body under siege. It doesn’t matter if you are lifting weights, doing yoga or running, it taxes your body. The body, however, is built to take on these experiences; it grows and becomes stronger.
Similarly, at a professional level, when put under siege, if we choose to push ourselves hard with relentless conviction, we become more efficient and effective, our skill set grows, our stick-to-it muscles get pumped up.
The muscle tissue used to lift weights or perform other physical activity uses an energy source called adenosine triphosphate, ATP for short. ATP is an energy carrying molecule that is found in cells. It captures chemical energy from the breakdown of food molecules and releases it as fuel for cellular processes in things like weight lifting.
For you and I professionally, our ATP (Call it Attitude, Training and Perspective) is an energy source that allows us to drive big, massive, toned outcomes without giving up.
The formula for creating the most powerful professional ATP includes getting consistent doses of lucidity regarding our desires, staying professionally hungry and remaining an active learner. In addition, ensuring we have clarity on our mission, vision, values and strategy, while maintaining a strong sense of ownership is paramount.
The final component of the formula is a commitment to play big even if it means we fail, and being vulnerable while requesting that we are held accountable for results.
If we are not actively creating our APT energy sources, it’s going to be hard to stick with the plan when challenges, setbacks and temptations appear, and they will appear!
When personal and professional muscle fatigue occurs, what often goes first?
In our personal lives, it’s health, exercise, eating right and relationships. In our professional lives, it’s learning, planning, prevention, balance and intrinsic commitment. For sales people, it’s prospecting. For sales managers, it’s coaching. For leaders, it’s re-inventing, strategy, coaching, execution and vision. For organizations, it’s living the mission, vision, values and execution of the plan.
The ability to grow “Don’t Pull the Chicken Switch” muscles in your life takes knowledge, commitment, time, patience, practice and a relentless conviction to sticking with it.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was sensational at growing his physiological as well as his psychological muscles. He captured Mr. Olympia an unprecedented 7 times, was Hollywood’s highest paid actor per movie, and runs multiple lucrative businesses.
Arnold had a plan, and when faced with temptations to abandon the mission and Pull the Chicken Switch, he stuck to his guns and told temptation, “Hasta La Vista, Baby!”
For more information about Kit Allowitz, Don’t Pull the Chicken Switch, and access to a free 7 day course that will help you identify what it is you desire and give you access to having everything you want out of work and life visit https://www.chickenswitching.com/