Adulthood inherently brings about hectic schedules filled with commitments and responsibilities that need to be adhered to. When you add education into the mix, it can feel overwhelming. These days, it is common to see working professionals going back to school to pursue advanced degrees, to change careers, or just to further their knowledge in a specific area.

Today's show is going to discuss some strategies that I have found work for me when it comes to pursuing education, while maintaining all of the other responsibilities of being an adult. I am currently in the process of completing my bachelors degree through Arizona State University Online in their Computer Information Systems program.

There are three strategies that I utilize to help keep me focused and on the right track: establishing a study routine, defining the reason for why you're pursuing education, and sharing your journey and intentions with the people closest to you.

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Ben: @bentoddfit

Lucian: @lucianrawlings

With it being the start of a new year, a lot of people have goals of becoming healthier. As the old saying goes, "nutrition is 80% of all results". Without sound nutrition, your hard work in the gym will not be fully maximized.

On today's show, we're going to be breaking down a couple of basic nutrition concepts: protein intake and total daily calorie intake. With a fundamental understanding of what function protein plays in your body, you will be be able to pay closer attention to just how much protein you are consuming.

In terms of total calorie intake, we all require different total calorie amounts per day. There is no "one size fits all" answer to this question. We will dive into Basal Metabolic Rate, Total Daily Energy Expenditure, and how these concepts each play a vital role in determining total daily calorie intake.

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Show: @setthebarpod

Ben: @bentoddfit

Lucian: @lucianrawlings

It's January 1st, 2023. New Years Day. The end of something, or the beginning of something. New Years' always brings thoughts of new goals, habits, and ways of living. However, there is one factor that is key to accomplishing anything in life: you have to put in the work. Things aren't just going to happen to you/for you. You need to go out and make them happen through taking the necessary action in order to achieve whatever it is that you want to do.

Today's episode is going to recap what I devoted my focus to in 2022: enhancing my career and my physique. I'll talk about the work that I did in each of those areas to improve both of them. I will also discuss some of the personal weaknesses that I have, and two areas of my life that I will be working on in 2023.

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Ben: @bentoddfit

Lucian: @lucianrawlings

Jim Rohn was once quoted with this very well-known statement, "Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." Whether you realize it or not, your habits are a direct reflection of your life. It should be our goal to implement as many positive daily habits as we can in order to maximize our potential for lifelong success.

On today's episode, we will briefly recap what we've been up to over the last month and a half, and then get into a discussion about building and creating daily habits. This will be a continuation of our last episode dealing with motivation, but will instead focus on how forming habits will ultimately outlast motivation.

We will get into what a habit is, discuss some of the habits we maintain in our own lives, talk about why "the process" of habit building is so important, and pass along some advice on how we have formed the habits that we each have in our lives.

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Show: @setthebarpod

Ben: @bentoddfit

Lucian: @lucianrawlings

The motivation to execute a specific task will come and go. You will not always be motivated to do something. Motivation might help get you started, but eventually, that motivation will begin to fade. What will you do when that occurs?

Today's episode will start off by discussing the reason for our recent hiatus, which will lead nicely into our discussion about motivation. We will highlight why motivation alone is not sustainable, and how to begin transitioning into developing a process for a specific task, which will hopefully result in forming a habit for that specific task.

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Show: @setthebarpod

Ben: @bentoddfit

Lucian: @lucianrawlings

In any client or customer relationship, communication is crucial in order to sustain customer satisfaction and retention. This type of communication applies to any industry, both in the professional and non-professional setting.

Most people tend to be emotional in nature, and are conditioned to respond emotionally to a given situation, whether that emotion is positive or negative.

In today's episode, we dive into how to navigate communication barriers with a client who has experienced some inconvenience or setback that needs to be resolved. We also reveal a simple process that you can implement right now to concisely explain a problem to a client, and the steps that will be taken to correct it.

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Podcast: @setthebarpod

Ben: @bentoddfit

Lucian: @lucianrawlings

If you had to take an inventory of your friends, how many "close friends" would you say that you have? What characteristics even define a "close friend"?

On today's episode, we are introducing the new co-host for the Set the Bar Podcast, and we discuss how to actively maintain close friendships throughout your life.

We will be defining the differences between a close friend and a convenient friend, as well as diving deeply into strategies that you can employ to ensure your close friendships are maintained as you get older and go through different seasons of life.

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Podcast: @setthebarpod

Ben: @bentoddfit

Lucian: @lucianrawlings

Going to the gym and staying physically fit is a huge component to being a well-rounded individual. We want to maximize the effectiveness of our training to get the most out of our time spent in the gym.

Until recently, I didn't fully understand what training with intent meant, or how to implement it. It wasn't until my recent trip to Austin earlier this summer that it finally clicked for me.

In today's episode, I'll share with you my experience on being focused and intentional with each movement and rep, and how that has taken my training to a complete new level. My goal is that you will analyze your own training to determine what areas you can improve in to get the most that you can out of each training session.

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@bentoddfit

The great Jim Rohn once said, "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with."

Today's conversation is going to be about evaluating the people that you surround yourself with, why you surround yourself with them, and determining if they are helping you or hurting you.

Positive and negative energy both have direct effects on you and your livelihood. We want to maximize the positive energy while limiting the negative.

This energy shift can become huge once you begin to align yourself with positive, like-minded people who hold themselves, and the people around them, to high standards.

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On this week's show, we discuss some strategies on how to add value in the workplace.

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to get promotions or raises fairly easily, while other people struggle and spin their wheels for years in the same place? It all comes down to how much value you are adding to your company.

Today, I outline three simple ways you can immediately begin to add more value to your company, skyrocketing your name to the forefront of your manager's mind when promotions and raises come around.

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@bentoddfit