Bedros Keuilian, after mentoring diverse entrepreneurs, noticed a recurring pattern: many aspiring business owners, authors, and leaders endure a sluggish journey towards their goals, with over 80 percent falling short. In “Man Up: How to Cut the Bullshit and Kick Ass in Business (and in Life),” Keuilian calls for abandoning excuses, recognizing unique gifts, and pursuing one’s purpose.
As the CEO of Fit Body Boot Camp, acknowledged as the “hidden genius” behind successful brands, Keuilian shares a practical approach for breaking free from mediocrity, focusing on purpose, and dominating objectives. The book inspires leveraging passion, purpose, and determination to overcome obstacles, compelling individuals to “man up” in various life aspects.
Table of Contents
“Ineffective leaders lack personal structure, so they often chose the path of easy in their personal lives rather than choosing the hard work that produces results. They have chaotic schedules, are disorganized, and always seem to operate in a state of overwhelm and irritation. Weak leaders lack the discipline to structure their days, their thoughts, and their actions, and they constantly have their priorities out of order.”
What is “Man Up”?
“Man Up: How to Cut the Bullshit and Kick Ass in Business (and in Life)” is a book written by Bedros Keuilian. The book is a no-nonsense approach to succeeding in both business and personal life. Bedros Keuilian, a successful entrepreneur and fitness expert, shares his insights and strategies for achieving success without sugarcoating the challenges that come with it.
Adopt a mindset that embraces challenges rather than avoid them.
In “Man Up,” Keuilian emphasizes the importance of taking responsibility, making tough decisions, and adopting a mindset that embraces challenges rather than avoiding them. The book provides practical advice on goal-setting, time management, and cultivating a resilient attitude. It might also touch upon the significance of leadership, communication skills, and building meaningful relationships in the business world.
Keuilian’s writing style is direct, motivational, and geared towards inspiring readers to take decisive action in both their professional and personal lives. The book incorporate anecdotes from Keuilian’s own experiences, offering real-world examples to illustrate his principles.
The book is broken down into 3 parts:
SECTION ONE: LEADING YOURSELF
- Wisdom from an Unemployable Dropout
- Getting Your Shit Straight
- The Nonnegotiables: The Only Secret . . . Is That There’s No F-ing Secret
- Fix the Leaks
- The Beginning Is the End: Fix Your Mornings
- The 5 Percent Rule
- What Do You Think? I Don’t Know, What Do You Think?
- Why You Should Never Sleep with the TV On
SECTION TWO: YOUR VISION AND PATH
- Picking a “Just Right” Purpose
- Besides Your Own, Whose Life Are You Going to Change?
- Coming Out of a Crisis
- Vision Isn’t a Dish Served Family Style
- Getting to an E-Vision
- Clarity of Path
SECTION THREE: YOUR TEAM
- Psssst, You Might Have Crabs!
- Building an Outside Team
- Your Inside Team
PART 1: LEADING YOURSELF
1.1. Wisdom from an Unemployable Dropout
Main idea
Chapter 1 of “Man Up” sets the stage for the entire book by introducing readers to Bedros Keuilian’s unconventional journey and the wisdom gained from being an “unemployable dropout.” He shares personal anecdotes and life lessons that form the foundation of his approach to success in both business and life. Through personal stories and practical advice, he challenges readers to view failure not as an obstacle but as a stepping stone towards personal and professional growth.
Key Concepts
- Embracing Unconventionality: BedrosKeuilian challenges societal norms surrounding education and employment, urging readers to embrace their unique paths rather than conforming to traditional expectations.
- Learning from Failure: The chapter emphasizes the value of failure as a powerful teacher. BedrosKeuilian shares experiences of setbacks and how these moments became pivotal in shaping his perspective on success.
- Unconventional Wisdom: The author introduces unconventional wisdom that goes against conventional advice. Keuilian advocates for a mindset shift, encouraging readers to question established norms and think outside the box.
Practical Tips
- Self-Reflection: Bedros Keuilian suggests taking time for self-reflection to understand one’s strengths, passions, and goals. This introspection forms the basis for making informed decisions about one’s life and career.
- Embrace Failure: Rather than fearing failure, Keuilian advises readers to embrace it as an inevitable part of the journey. Extracting lessons from failures can lead to personal and professional growth.
- Question Assumptions: Practical advice includes questioning societal assumptions about success, education, and employment. Keuilian encourages readers to challenge conventional wisdom and consider alternative paths.
Examples
- Personal Journey: Keuilian shares stories from his own life, detailing moments of failure, rejection, and unconventional choices. For example, he discusses his decision to drop out of college and the valuable lessons learned from that experience.
- Business Ventures: Bedros Keuilian shares examples of his entrepreneurial endeavors, illustrating how thinking outside the norm and taking calculated risks contributed to his success. These examples serve as real-world applications of the concepts discussed.
- Role Models: Bedros Keuilian highlights examples of individuals who have also defied conventional paths and achieved success. These stories inspire readers to consider alternative approaches to their own journeys.
Exercise
1. Review Your Recent Interactions: Examine your calendar entries from the past two weeks and create a list of individuals you spent time with during that period. If the interactions were not scheduled, jot down their names. Stop once you reach ten people. (For business owners, extend this exercise to include employees and partners.) Now, carefully assess each person on your list by asking two crucial questions: Are these individuals contributing value to my life or business? Are they consuming value, potentially taking away time that could be more beneficially invested in others?
2. Flow: When do you feel completely absorbed in what you’re doing (ie. in a state of Flow)? When does time pass by quickly for you?
3. Pivot / Redirection Points in your life: Bedros Keuilian struggled at school. But this turned out to be important for him. If he had done well in school, he may not have become an entrepreneur. We all have something like this: an experience that seems difficult at the time but leads to significant success. Can you think of something in your life like that? Something that has been a turning point for you?
1.2. Getting Your Shit Straight
Main Idea:
Chapter 2 of “Man Up” delves into the critical concept of getting one’s priorities and life in order. Bedros Keuilian emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility, self-discipline, and establishing a strong foundation for success by “getting your shit straight.”
This is a call to action for readers to take control of their lives by embracing personal responsibility, establishing clear priorities, and cultivating self-discipline. Through practical tips and illustrative examples, Bedros Keuilian provides a roadmap for individuals seeking to “get their shit straight” on the journey to success.
Key Concepts
- Personal Responsibility: Bedros Keuilian underscores the significance of taking full responsibility for one’s life. The chapter explores how personal accountability forms the bedrock of success, urging readers to stop blaming external factors and start taking control.
- Establishing Priorities: Bedros Keuilian discusses the need to identify and prioritize essential aspects of life. This includes personal and professional goals, relationships, and health. He advocates for a clear understanding of what truly matters to you.
- The Power of Discipline: The concept of self-discipline as a driving force behind success is introduced. He explores how cultivating discipline in daily habits and routines leads to long-term achievements.
Practical Tips:
- Create a Priority List: Bedros Keuilian recommends creating a list of priorities in both personal and professional life. This list serves as a guide for decision-making, ensuring that time and energy are allocated to what truly matters.
- Practice Accountability: Practical advice includes developing a mindset of accountability. Keuilian suggests acknowledging mistakes, learning from them, and using setbacks as opportunities for growth.
- Establish Daily Routines: The chapter offers practical tips on creating daily routines that promote discipline. Keuilian provides insights into how consistent habits contribute to overall success.
Overcoming Limiting Beliefs
The concept of the “emergency brake” refers to self-limiting beliefs and obstacles that hinder spersonal and professional growth. Often we view the world through filters shaped by our life experiences, particularly those from childhood onward.
The overall concept emphasizes the need for introspection and intentional effort to identify and overcome these internal and external barriers. By doing the necessary “deep work” and addressing these emergency brakes, individuals we unlock our true potential and achieve greater success in both our personal and professional lives.
The process of “releasing the emergency brake” involves overcoming these self-limiting beliefs to unlock one’s full potential. There are 3 specific “emergency brakes” that individuals need to address in order to propel themselves forward:
- Emergency Brake #1: Fear
Fear can act as a significant barrier, holding individuals back from taking risks and pursuing their goals. By addressing and overcoming fear, one can release this emergency brake and move forward with confidence. - Emergency Brake #2: Poor Management of Time and Energy
Ineffective time and energy management can impede progress. Releasing this emergency brake involves developing better habits and strategies for managing one’s time and energy efficiently, ensuring optimal productivity. - Emergency Brake #3: Assessing Your Team
Bedros Keuilian highlights the importance of evaluating the people around you. If your team is not aligned with your goals or if there are inefficiencies in your working relationships, it can act as an emergency brake. Releasing this brake involves assessing and, if necessary, restructuring your team to better support your objectives.
Exercise
1. Take a blank piece of paper and draw the following table:
| The Fear | The Outcome | The Liklihood | Mitigation |
| Identify the current fear that is acting as a barrier to your goals. What specific fear is causing that uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach? | Envision the worst-case scenario if your fear were to come true. Be explicit and detailed. Allow yourself to describe the situation in all its negative aspects. | Assess the probability of your fear becoming a reality. You can quantify this likelihood using probabilities or express it in a statement, such as “It might occur sometime before December.” | What can Ido to prevent this from happening? |
2. Review Your Recent Interactions: Examine your calendar entries from the past two weeks and create a list of individuals you spent time with during that period. If the interactions were not scheduled, jot down their names. Stop once you reach ten people. (For business owners, extend this exercise to include employees and partners.) Now, carefully assess each person on your list by asking two crucial questions: Are these individuals contributing value to my life or business? Are they consuming value, potentially taking away time that could be more beneficially invested in others?
3. Creating Energy: Take a moment to identify activities that are crucial for maintaining your daily energy. Commit to avoiding any non-essential activities until these three tasks are accomplished. Begin your day by prioritizing these three items. For example:
- Engage in meditation
- Complete a morning workout
- Allocate twenty minutes to reading
- Journal ideas to enhance your business or life significantly
- Send a gratitude email or text message to three valued individuals
- Enhance a business system to boost profits, service, or reach
- Execute a task each morning that contributes to financial progress.
You can discover what sustains your energy. This involves jotting down those things and making a commitment to them.
1.3. The Nonnegotiables: The Only Secret . . . Is That There’s No F-ing Secret
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