If you’ve had the misfortune of seeing us you’ll know Jim and I couldn’t look much more different. And if you read the previous chapter you also know our backgrounds and personalities are even further apart. Truth be told, when we’re not laughing at each other we’re arguing. Extrovert and introvert, yin and yang, ebony and ivory, Bert and Ernie, Waldorf and Statler, call us what you want, but it’s our differences that enable us to tackle the mysteries of life from opposite ends of most spectrums. More importantly, our shared hatred of ceremony and lies has kept us honest while helping us strip away the fancy marketing, packaging, and additives to get to life’s raw ingredients.
Life isn’t rocket science. Neither is this book. Which is just as well considering Jim and I are definitely not geniuses. We’re also our harshest critics which has been both blessing and curse. Blessing because everything we think, say, and do is constantly being shoved through our industrial grade bullshit detectors. And curse because it’s taken us far too long to acknowledge that we’re not just a pair of bitter and twisted Muppets screaming into the void from the balcony of life. We actually have used our blood, sweat, and tears to sketch out a map that could help lead you to your success.
It’s often said that if you can’t explain something simply you don’t understand it. Which is a great way of figuring out whether the person, group, company, guru you’re dealing with has a clue. They may know everything there is to know about something. Many think they do, especially if they’re exceptionally good at whatever it is they do. But if all they have in their coaching arsenal is, “just copy me” or “we’ve always done it like this”, and they can’t—or won’t—help you understand, modify, or integrate their teachings into your own life, they may not be the best source of learning.
We’ve taken the K.I.S.S—Keep It Simple Stupid—principle to heart. For one it’s true. Secondly, as already stated, we hate bullshit. And thirdly, we’re lazy. We trim everything down to as fewer core concepts as possible—Raw concepts if you will (see what we did there 🙄). We want things to make sense, to be easy to learn, and most important of all—to work when everything turns to shit. Whether it be fitness, health, or kicking life’s ass, these core concepts can be applied to everything we think, feel, and do.
If you’re a glutton for punishment, however, there are a heap more concepts and strategies waiting for you at RAW Life Australia along with enough humble brilliance and mental, emotional, nutritional, physical, and financial wisdom to make Yoda even greener with envy 😉
Being the slightly more evolved (dumber and more gullible) partner in this comedic duo, I (Jezz) got stuck with the glamorous job of compiling and translating our gibberish into hopefully understandable words. And I’m apologizing up front for the corny jokes and old man references. The vast majority of the concepts covered are a combination of Jim’s and my shared experiences and points of views. To be honest, we’ve been doing this so long it’s difficult to remember who came up with what—despite Jim’s monotonous and deluded claims that all the good ideas are his. (Jim: “YES THEY FOOKIN ARE ALL MINE)
Thank you for making it this far. May the Schwartz be with you 👊
