6 Lessons from Steve Maxwell

I am proud and very fortunate to call Steve Maxwell my friend.  He has been a leader in the fitness industry for many decades and has lead a pretty amazing life.  In this article, I wanted to share a few life lessons I have learned from Steve over the past few years.  Some are about being a good coach and some are about being a good man.

Variety is the Key

When training athletes, don’t anchor yourself to any one tool or piece of equipment.  Steve uses a variety of equipment to train himself and his athletes.  Or, he uses no equipment at all.  Steve is a master of bodyweight movements including animal-like movements, mobility, flow, breathing drills, recovery and restoration drills, tons of push-up and pull-up variations – just to name a few.  Steve does not get caught up with gimmicks and isn’t fooled when someone says this is the ‘next best thing’ and the ‘only equipment you’ll ever need.’  Your body is always adapting and you need to continue to challenge it with variety in your training.

 Always a Student

Just because Steve has been in the game a long time doesn’t mean he is closed his mind to new ideas.  Steve has the “always a student” mentally and is always seeking knowledge.  Once you think you know it all, you will lose your edge.  I am inspired by Steve’s pursuit of self-mastery.  I want to be thought of in the same way.  That I’m always open-minded and eager to learn.  That is what the best coaches do and that is why Steve is one of the best.  Another red flag is when a coach thinks of himself as a guru.  A real coach knows that the pursuit of knowledge is a life long journey.  The ‘guru’ mentality is that you’re superior and you can’t learn from others.

Be Humble

It seems the new generation of coaches don’t want to do the hard work.  They want to jump ahead and skip the years of mastering their craft.  But, with anything that is meaningful and sustainable, you have to build a strong foundation.  And that is only gained through years and years of hard work.  Steve is humble and he does the work.  Bottom line.  And, he has done so for his entire career.  That is why he is respected world-wide and that is why he is a good coach.  Stop trying to take the easy way out and put your head down and start grinding.  When things get tough, get tougher.  Remember, you’re in this for the long haul.

Walks the Walk

Steve has tried and tested every diet and training program you can think of.  He is super mobile, strong, conditioned and ripped.  He is a testament for living a healthy lifestyle.  I aspire to move like him now and I’m 20 years his junior.  I know many teenage athletes who don’t move as well as him and could never keep up with him in a workout.  If you want to be a good coach, you have to lead by example.

Quality

Everything Steve does and puts out is quality.  I’ve seen his latest projects and they are some of the best fitness products on the market today.  You can judge a product’s success by its content and how many people it helps.  If you want to gain respect, you have to spend time on any project or product you bring to the market.  If you constantly deliver quality and your products provide superior value to your customers, you will set yourself apart from others in your industry.  Steve, without fail, always over-delivers and that is why he is successful.

Driven

Steve isn’t just sitting around reflecting on his past accomplishments.  He is out and dominating life.  Traveling from seminar to seminar, learning, sharing, coaching and putting out more products to help more people.  He is constantly driven.  If you want to succeed, you have to do the hard work.  There is no other substitute.  Stop waiting for an opportunity and go out there and make one.  Be driven in your life and you will achieve great things.

Thank you Steve for being a great mentor and good friend.