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I once smuggled John Mayer, under the cover of darkness, off a cruise ship at 4AM.

Don’t worry, he was in on it.

We just needed to get him off the boat before the guests knew he was gone. Mayer was the headlining host of the Mayercraft Carrier, a music festival at sea in 2009 with 2,500 John Mayer fans.

Here’s how I got there:

Before I started Nerd Fitness, I worked for an amazing company called Sixthman that chartered floating music festivals. Which meant I spent 50+ days at sea with music fans from practically every genre. I got to interview Zac Brown Band and play blackjack with Brandi Carlile and host flip cup tournaments with Sister Hazel and Guster.

While spending time at sea, I also got a chance to observe humans being human in the most interesting place of all:

The cruise ship buffet.

Every day, thousands of people would visit the various restaurants on the boat, all of which were included in the cost of the vacation.

And everybody’s plate was completely different.

I’d see a filet mignon next to a bowl of Lucky Charms next to shrimp fried rice next to a Caesar salad. Some folks were vegetarian, some were going low-carb, while others were full YOLO.

Which brings me to today’s email:

Every day on Social Media, we’re inundated with videos, images, and advice from good looking influencers who tell us about their cruise ship buffet plate:

• “If you want to get fit like me, you HAVE to go Keto.”
• “Want to lose weight? You HAVE to cut out these 5 foods…”
• “Trying to be successful? I wake up at 4am and do a cold plunge…”

Here’s what’s going on: These people are telling you about their buffet plate, and placing it in front of you.

Many times they’re telling you to eat their plate of food. To follow the “one true way” of eating or the magic formula to be successful.

There’s obviously some big flaws with this:

• What if you’re a vegetarian who can’t afford to drink organic unicorn tears?
• What if you have celiacs disease?
• What if you’re a night nurse and can’t do 4AM cold plunges?

Their magical “buffet plate” they’ve placed in front of you falls apart pretty quickly.

Luckily, there’s a path forward. And it’s much more fulfilling anyway.

Build Your Own Plate

As I pointed out on Threads recently…there are millions of happy, successful people who don’t follow the tactics that all these productivity influencers follow:

No plate is necessarily better or worse than any other plate. Just because somebody else says they have the optimal plate doesn’t mean it’s the optimal plate for you.

You don’t have to feel bad that your plate looks differently than everybody else’s either! You get to eat the plate that you want to eat.

Your "plate" might be…

• Mostly vegetables and steak and soft-serve ice cream. Great!
• Going for a 5 minute mental health walk first thing in the morning. Great!
• Lifting heavy things a few times a week and researching therapists. Great!

Building your own plate extends beyond food and into your daily routine, your life path, and the voices you surround yourself with in your life (both on and offline).

Pick the things that belong on your plate. Ignore the people who claim they know the only way to eat or live.

Put the things on your plate that work the best for you, and let others do the same.

-Steve

PS: This is the exact strategy we use to help people with our coaching program - together we build a plate that fits your lifestyle, goals, and constraints. If that interests you, learn more here.

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