He’s known for squatting over 1,000 pounds, but the strongest thing about my friend Mark Bell might be his mindset. I’ve known Mark for a decade, and in that time I’ve watched him evolve from a world-record-setting powerlifter into a multifaceted entrepreneur, inventor, and endurance athlete. His journey is a powerful testament to the idea that true strength is about much more than muscle. It’s about reinvention, resilience, and the willingness to apply the lessons from one craft to every aspect of your life.
At his peak, Mark was a 330-pound titan of the powerlifting world. He benched 854 pounds and was featured in the now-classic documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster. But that was just one chapter. He has since undergone a radical personal transformation, leaning down and even running the Boston Marathon, proving that the principles of discipline and consistency can be pointed in entirely new directions. Through it all, he has built successful businesses like Mark Bell Sling Shot, an equipment company born from his own inventions, and Within You, a brand creating high-quality supplements.
My connection with Mark goes back to the early days of CreativeLive. He and our mutual friend Tim Ferriss joined us for a powerful class on building strength, not just in the gym but as a foundation for a better life. Mark’s message resonated so deeply because he lives it. He showed our community that the focus required to lift a heavy barbell is the same focus you need to launch a business or master a creative skill. It was incredible to see him connect the dots between physical and entrepreneurial strength.
Mark’s journey is packed with powerful lessons that we, as creators and entrepreneurs, can apply to our own work. I’ve distilled a few of my favorites from our conversations.
Become a Material Expert at Something
Mark believes that one of the most powerful things you can do is go deep and become a true expert in one area. For him, it was lifting. That singular focus didn’t just build physical strength; it built the confidence and mental frameworks he later applied to business, health, and every other challenge. Mastery in one domain teaches you how to be a master, a lesson you can carry anywhere.
- Pick Your Arena: Choose one area, skill, or craft that genuinely fascinates you. Don’t worry about its commercial viability at first. The goal is the process of mastery itself.
- Embrace the Deep Dive: Go all in. Read everything, practice relentlessly, and connect with other experts. Your goal is to understand the craft from a 360-degree perspective.
- Leverage Your Expertise: Once you’ve built that foundation of mastery, look for ways to apply those principles elsewhere. The discipline you learn from mastering the guitar, for example, is the same discipline needed to write a book or build an app.
Start with the Worst Idea
As creatives, we often get paralyzed by the pressure to be brilliant from the start. Mark has a simple and powerful antidote: begin by generating the worst possible ideas. This playful approach removes the fear of failure and opens up new creative pathways. It’s about breaking the mental logjam by giving yourself permission to be imperfect.
- Schedule a “Bad Idea” Brainstorm: Set a timer for 10 minutes and challenge yourself or your team to come up with the most terrible, ridiculous, and unworkable ideas you can imagine.
- Look for the Kernel of Good: Often, a bad idea has a seed of something interesting within it. After your brainstorm, review the list. Is there an opposite idea that’s compelling? Can you reverse-engineer a bad idea into a good one?
- Make it a Habit: The more you practice this, the less you’ll fear the blank page. It teaches your brain that starting is more important than starting perfectly.
Play the Long Game
Mark is a huge believer in the power of consistency over time. Whether it was adding a few pounds to his squat or slowly building his running endurance, he understands that transformative results come from an accumulation of small, repeated efforts. He calls it “running the same play over and over again.” It’s not always glamorous, but it’s what separates the best from the rest.
- Focus on the Process, Not the Payoff: Fall in love with the daily practice. The reward isn’t just the final achievement but the person you become by showing up every day.
- Embrace “Boring” Work: Many of the most effective actions are monotonous. Dragging a sled, as Mark did, isn’t exciting, but it builds foundational strength. Identify the simple, repetitive tasks in your field that lead to the biggest gains and commit to them.
- Measure Your Inputs: You can’t always control the results, but you can control your effort. Instead of obsessing over outcomes, track your consistency. Did you put in the hour of practice? Did you write the 500 words? That’s where the real victory lies.
PS – If you’re looking for a guide to help you build the life and career you’ve always wanted, the Seven Levers for Life is a free 7-day email course on just that.
