My guest today, Michael Tarro Jr., is a good friend of mine from the bodybuilding industry who I was finally able to sit down with for an interview. We've conversed for quite some time through social media, but this was one of the first times we ever actually sat down for a long discussion. It was well worth the wait.

Mike is a Business and Contracts Attorney who resides in Tampa, FL. He is an aspiring bodybuilder with hopes of competing in his first show later this year. He is also the co-host of a massively successful dating podcast called When Sex Happens.

We had a great conversation and I'm glad we were finally able to make it happen. Can't wait for you all to hear it.

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Although rejection is something that we will eventually all experience during our lives, it doesn't make it any easier to deal with. Rejection can be difficult, and is usually never fun. Knowing how to appropriately cope with being rejected and move forward in a positive way are important skills to develop.

Rejection is usually characterized as more of a negative experience. We have a natural human need to want to feel accepted by a person or a group, so when that doesn't work out, we feel hurt. Despite this being a negative experience, we can elect to find the positives in it, which we can then use as action items to move forward.

In today's episode, I share some strategies for how to handle rejection when it inevitably happens, and how to best position yourself to move forward in a positive way.

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Today's show was inspired by a conversation I had with my mom a few days ago regarding a series of decisions that I made when I was younger that were infuriating to her at the time. In taking a deeper look at this, my decision-making process earlier on in life was admittedly rather poor. Since then, I have developed a strategy that I implement each time I am required to make an important decision, which I will share with you all.

Additionally, there will always be circumstances in life that we unfortunately will have no control over. However, to prevent your life from descending into complete chaos and disarray, I describe several decisions that you can make on a daily basis that will help give you some feeling of control, even if the world is crashing around you.

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My guest today, Ricky Mupier, has a pretty incredible story to share, most of which I didn't even know until we sat down and began talking.

Ricky is a former Division 1 Men's Soccer Player at Houston Baptist University, despite having a near career-ending leg injury while in high school. Following his collegiate career, he was signed to a semi-pro roster in Denmark, where he traveled Europe playing the game that he loved. He ultimately decided to hang up the cleats and return to America, where he eventually met his wife, Chelsea, and his business partner, Sean.

Ricky's story is one of continuous mental fortitude and never giving up. The cards were stacked against him several times throughout the course of his life, but his faith in God and the support system that he kept allowed him to always stay positive and continue to fight. He now is the Operations Manager and partner at Rise Gym.

We all struggle at times in life. Life can be hard. Life can kick us in the teeth. We may feel sad, we may feel self-pity, we may wonder why bad things are happening to us. But by surrounding yourself with people who care about you, continuing to fight, and always maintaining a positive outlook, you will make it through those dark days.

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Today's episode begins with providing an update as to what I've been up to over the last month that I've been away from the show. I've been focusing on elevating my life, and have some exciting news to share with you all.

The topic for today is the concept of "working hard" - what it means to work hard, why you should want to work hard, and the possible opportunities that may come your way as a result of working hard. I firmly believe that these last five years that I've really made a conscious effort to work as hard as I can have positioned me to have success as my life progresses forward. A strong work ethic isn't something that can be taught through a manual, but something that needs to come intrinsically. There are so many benefits to creating a strong work ethic, it's just up to you to implement it.

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My guest today, Matt Curry, is one of my best friends and one of the biggest fitness influences in my life so far. Matt is a former NPC Nationally Qualified Men's Physique Competitor, so our conversation begins by discussing bodybuilding and what his experience with competing was like.

In addition to bodybuilding, we discuss his career as a personal trainer and co-owner of a gym, as well as what it's like to be a husband and brand new father.

There is some gold within this episode. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

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In order to be successful in life, grit and mental toughness will be absolutely essential skills that you will need to cultivate and develop. Life can be very difficult at times. It will be imperative during these times to have grit, fortitude, and resilience in order to get through them and move on with life.

One way that you can begin to cultivate these skills is through fitness. Working out requires you to get "comfortable with being uncomfortable", which will allow you to make progress and become better at whatever physical venture you choose. The skills that you develop in the gym to push yourself and improve your own physical fitness directly correlate to the same skills required to make it through the inevitably difficult times in life.

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Sometimes life is going to hit you in the teeth. Unpredictable events and situations are bound to occur. While we may not be able to control what actually happens, we can most certainly control our response to it. We always have a choice on how we handle and address these different situations that will inevitably occur. The natural tendency is to respond emotionally, when responding rationally is actually a significantly better approach.

When you really break it down and analyze it, life is pretty short. We tend to lose sight of the fact that we are only here for a limited time. It is easy to get caught in the daily "hustle and bustle" of life, but taking time for introspection and reflection is also important.

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Mental limitations are something that we will all struggle with at one point in time or another. These limitations will prevent us from truly accomplishing anything great because they will convince us to quit before we even begin.

I conducted an experiment last week to test my own self-discipline and challenge my own mental limitations that I will share with you guys, as well as discuss some tips to keep in mind to prevent yourself from allowing these self-limiting beliefs to take hold in your mind.

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Today's episode features the first 1-on-1 interview that I've conducted so far on Set the Bar. My guest today is Dr. Sean Harris, a physical therapist, PhD, and entrepreneur. Sean has been a personal friend of mine for the past several years, and has been as much of a mentor to me as he has been a friend.

We sit down to discuss all things health and fitness; his career as a clinician working for Memorial Hermann Health System, his new ventures of entrepreneurship with owning Rise Gym/Rise Barbell, and his role as a leader and mentor to those around him.

Sean is a wealth of knowledge and has significant expertise and insight into how physical fitness impacts every area of life. I learned quite a bit from our conversation and I hope that you all find as much value in this as I did.

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