Paul Clingan

I’ve helped 1000s of Star Wars nerds defeat the Dad Bod Empire. Start your 21-Day challenge👇

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

What if working out felt like a mission you were on with your favorite character?

What if in doing so, it gave you the powers of that character?

After reading the book "The Alter Ego Effect" by @todd_herman, I tested a theory.

What would happen if I made a workout series themed after the way a 501st trooper would train?

It was a fun spin on an alter ego. It gave a symbol for people to act like when they hit what he calls "moments of impact."

--> The alarm going off at 5am like the Imperial March
--> The pantry door creaking open at 10pm as if pushed by a magical force
--> The couch feeling warm and comfortable after a long day of work

Who shows up in those moments?

Do you cave into your old self and let the dark side win?

Or do you tap into your inner trooper?

So anyways... I started shooting (with my camera) and I think I've answered the question.

When you give someone clarity on their new identity, it's easier to take action steps towards that.

Everyone knows that you need to make fitness a lifestyle for it to stick, but there's not a mechanism for lifestyle.

You have to change your identity, beliefs, and values.

Part of that is done through the work.

The other part is done by giving your enemy (the Dad Bod Empire) and your hero self (CT-3939) a name so you can clearly define it.

I've made over 500 workouts in helmets of characters to help nerds tap into this version of themselves.

Every workout fit into a larger series—like missions in a video game.

In doing so I realized that I needed a tutorial. A jumping off point for new cadets wanting to train like a trooper with their alter ego.

So I created the 21-Day Cadet Fitness Challenge where you get:
--> A unique trooper number to build your alter ego
--> 3 weeks of workouts that scale in length (5 minutes, then 10, then 15) so each week an easy progression that doesn't leave you feeling destroyed
--> There's a cadet fitness test you do (similar to a military PFT) that grades out your physical and metabolic performance scores so you can see where you need work to rank up from cadet to trooper to commando. This gets done week 1 and at the end of challenge so you can see how much you've improved

The goal isn't to turn you into Chris Hemsworth or Henry Cavill.

It's the start of your hero's journey.

Only this time, it's a fitness journey designed to give you escape velocity to escape the planet you're currently on that is run by the Dad Bod Empire.

If you want to lose the gut, boost your energy, and level up your health... this is the ignition switch to your rocket ship 🚀

https://t.co/rQ6KwuQsVj

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

@joshdgavin So true. I'm in this now and bought products for my wife/newborn. I thought wedding prices were crazy... anything baby-related feeds the identity of "I need this to be a good parent."

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

@StefanGeorgi The translocate stuff is interesting. If I'm understanding what you're saying, you are doing algebra with the human experience. An example being that copywriting is like dating. Push too hard and they pull away. Create a hook and sell them on the next line in the date.

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

@Heart_Of_Kyber Well done, good and faithful trooper 🫡

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

@Heart_Of_Kyber Gains 💪🏻

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

This is why I am so big on alter egos.

Most men can’t picture their dream body which is why they say things like

“I just want to lose a few pounds.”

“I don’t want abs or anything.”

“If I could get under 200 that would be a dream (they could get to 175 easy).”

Their current identity doesn’t think it’s possible.

The alter ego doesn’t have such limitations.

Batman can do things Bruce Wayne can’t.

Use an alter ego long enough and your current identity will catch up with your alter ego.

[Goku @ProjectGokuu]

Emily McDonald says your brain will not let you imagine goals that don't match your current identity.

She references identity-based motivation theory, which shows your brain physically blocks you from dreaming up things that don't fit who you currently believe you are.

This is why advice like "dream bigger" rarely works.

The person hearing it doesn't have the identity yet, so their brain refuses to generate the bigger dream.

The ceiling on what you can imagine is the same as the ceiling on who you think you are.

McDonald says her own life only changed when she did the work on her self-concept first.

Once her identity expanded, her brain started generating big goals on its own.

She decided to get a PhD in neuroscience and went after a Nobel Prize.

Identity comes first. The dreams come second.

— Emily McDonald on the Codie Sanche's (@Codie_Sanchez) podcast

PS: B2C health apps, SaaS, brand or info founders:

We'll make 𝕏 your #1 organic acquisition channel in the next 90 days without you writing a single tweet.

In just 55 days, this account grew to 10.1K followers and 37.3M impressions.

Book a call to learn more: https://t.co/G1l6VBPFwB

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

@Heart_Of_Kyber Thanks for sharing, trooper! Cant change someone’s like unless you sell them on the idea of making a change 🙏

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

@joshdgavin That’s some Vader like pull strength there 🫡

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

I hope that’s the case. My thesis is that nothing will change. Technology amplifies the human condition and because ego is the enemy, most people don’t have the self awareness to change.

I find this quote applies across anything that requires personal development.

“Out of every one-hundred men, ten shouldn’t even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior and he will bring the others back.”

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

If you want to fight the Dad Bod Empire, you better come prepared 💪🏻

Every helmet I send clients is more than memorabilia.

It’s a totem.

A symbol for the character traits exhibited on their fitness journey.

If you want to transform your body, you need to first transform your mind.

Troopers embody discipline, tenacity, courage, hope, bias for action, leadership, and teamwork.

They pick each other up when they fall down.

And they never quit.

When you adopt that identity, you begin to think and act like someone with those characteristics.

Those same characteristics are required to overcome self doubt, fear of failure, fear of judgement, procrastination, and apathy.

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

@Heart_Of_Kyber Good work bro!

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

Spot on. I’ve seen these work twice for the positive and also explain why other goals weren’t hit.

2018 I was on a retreat in El Salvador and they had us journal our perfect day.

Mine was waking in San Diego, looking out the window and seeing the ocean. Working, getting coffee, lifting, yoga, etc

Only thing was.. I lived in Seattle with my gf (now wife).

Covid hit and we decided to relocate for 3 months.

We found a furnished apartment that did 3 months leases in Little Italy. Our window looked at the water.

What’s probably even crazier is we needed someone to sublease our Seattle apartment.

A couple months before leaving, I got a DM from a girl connected to the retreat looking to do a few months in Seattle (she was from Chicago).

She leased our apartment and the perfect day I wrote in that journal came true to the hour.

[Alen Sultanic @IAmAlenSultanic]

Manifestation is 100% real, but most people don’t know how it works…

…Because they never realize that in order for something to manifest—to come to you—it has to have a clear path to do so…

…And if your mind is full of obstacles, rocks, branches, dirt, debris, mud, and everything else on that road that prevents it from reaching you, then it never will. It’ll get stuck.

…So the key isn’t to do “more” externally. The key is to do “more” internally and remove those doubts, that fear, that uncertainty, and most important of all, the questioning…

…Because when you question something, you’re implying that you don’t have the answer and that something is incomplete, which means the path for it to come to you is not complete.

Complete the path, and you’ll have all sorts of incredible things coming your way.

– Alen

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

If you want to create a healthy lifestyle, you must change your identity.

But how does one change their identity?

It’s an abstract concept like “eating healthy,” but there isn’t a step by step process to doing so.

Unless you intentionally create an alter ego.

John struggled with his weight into his 50s.

As an Physican, he knew what to do, but his identity was set after a failed attempt in his 20s.

That’s the piece most people miss.

You can’t take actions out of alignment with your beliefs and values.

So whenever John tried, he gave up because of deeper beliefs that sabotaged him.

These “moments of impact” as Todd Herman calls them are mini forks in the road where your old identity takes over.

- in the pantry at 10am
- when the alarm goes off at 5am
- when Netflix asks if you want to watch another episode

An alter ego gives you a binary way to say, “what would my alter ego do?”

If you remember the 90s, the bracelet “What would Jesus do” is a great example of this.

But your alter ego should arena specific.

You have work mode but then switch to dad mode when you open the front door for example.

There’s 5 things you need to do to bring the alter ego to life.

1. Give it a name

John’s because “Inferno” when he earned the fire emoji in my skool community.

He’s CT-2909 of Delta Squad.

2. Give the enemy a name.

Troopers of the Republic fight to resist the growing influence of the Dad Bod Empire.

3. A community who reaffirms that alter ego

Most self limiting beliefs are imprinted on our minds by previous communities.

Having one that reinforces empowering beliefs is a must anytime you embark on a hero’s journey (which is what a fitness journey is)

4. You need a totem.

The helmets I get made for clients are more than just memorabilia.

The sides have their trooper number and callsigns on the side.

It’s a mechanized way to switch your mentality and while he doesn’t wear it for workouts.. it sits on his desk to remind himself of the character traits his inner trooper has.

Losing 75lbs requires courage, discipline, tenacity, consistency, and bias for action.

Inferno wouldn’t skip a workout. That’s not in alignment with his identity.

5. Action reaffirms identity.

Now when he’s on vacation and he works out, he’s casting a vote for who he wants to be because he’s clearly defined how Inferno shows up.

Inferno values fitness and believes his best days are ahead of him, not behind him.

3 years later, he’s integrated the two identities having won the internal battle…

“the pull of the darkside” over and over until now it’s just who he is.

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

@LawrenceLepard For the Republic 🫡

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

Always thought I’d be a city guy, but last night confirmed the move we made to the mountains. Picked up soft serve ice cream and a little burger joint and then I parked by a field near our house with my wife and son. We just watched a herd of 200+ elk graze for an hour as the sun went down 👌🏻

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

@gregogallagher I call this the Governor Tarkin. Bro had the most chad jawline of all time

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

A totem is a physical object used to trigger a persona of your heroic self.

Donning armor has been symbolic for the cultures in medieval Europe, feudal Japan, and Ancient Greece.

The armor symbolizes a commitment to values.

For the clients I work with, the helmet is more than memorabilia. It’s a reminder of what they’re capable of.

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

@MrBinspire @todd_herman Thanks trooper! 🫡

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

What if working out felt like a mission you were on with your favorite character?

What if in doing so, it gave you the powers of that character?

After reading the book "The Alter Ego Effect" by @todd_herman, I tested a theory.

What would happen if I made a workout series themed after the way a 501st trooper would train?

It was a fun spin on an alter ego. It gave a symbol for people to act like when they hit what he calls "moments of impact."

--> The alarm going off at 5am like the Imperial March
--> The pantry door creaking open at 10pm as if pushed by a magical force
--> The couch feeling warm and comfortable after a long day of work

Who shows up in those moments?

Do you cave into your old self and let the dark side win?

Or do you tap into your inner trooper?

So anyways... I started shooting (with my camera) and I think I've answered the question.

When you give someone clarity on their new identity, it's easier to take action steps towards that.

Everyone knows that you need to make fitness a lifestyle for it to stick, but there's not a mechanism for lifestyle.

You have to change your identity, beliefs, and values.

Part of that is done through the work.

The other part is done by giving your enemy (the Dad Bod Empire) and your hero self (CT-3939) a name so you can clearly define it.

I've made over 500 workouts in helmets of characters to help nerds tap into this version of themselves.

Every workout fit into a larger series—like missions in a video game.

In doing so I realized that I needed a tutorial. A jumping off point for new cadets wanting to train like a trooper with their alter ego.

So I created the 21-Day Cadet Fitness Challenge where you get:
--> A unique trooper number to build your alter ego
--> 3 weeks of workouts that scale in length (5 minutes, then 10, then 15) so each week an easy progression that doesn't leave you feeling destroyed
--> There's a cadet fitness test you do (similar to a military PFT) that grades out your physical and metabolic performance scores so you can see where you need work to rank up from cadet to trooper to commando. This gets done week 1 and at the end of challenge so you can see how much you've improved

The goal isn't to turn you into Chris Hemsworth or Henry Cavill.

It's the start of your hero's journey.

Only this time, it's a fitness journey designed to give you escape velocity to escape the planet you're currently on that is run by the Dad Bod Empire.

If you want to lose the gut, boost your energy, and level up your health... this is the ignition switch to your rocket ship 🚀

https://t.co/rQ6KwuQsVj

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

There’s 5 ways I’ve seen work well to gamify fitness for men

1. Prize unlock - 100 workouts unlocks access to order a personalized helmet
2. Icons - 100 workouts lets Josh put a Wolfpack icon in his bio (104th battalion for all the clown wars nerds out there
3. Data - bloodwork, scale, gym PRs, biofeedback, measurements are all ways to see progress at shorter, more frequent intervals (this is what Call of Duty does so well)
4. Competition - give someone a rival and they’ll push themselves harder than a coach can
5. Alter ego - Joshua’s callsign is “crimson” which is a nod to his fascination of Spartan warriors and stoicism. That gives him a clear symbol of how to shift his behavior to change his identity

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

10 minutes
40 on 20 off
Dumbbells

This is the way

https://t.co/nTqUlHOSTE

[Paul Clingan @CT3939]

10 minutes
40 on 20 off
Bodyweight

Earn your bucket, trooper!

https://t.co/n0rpWMPcxh