The Art of the Hustle 2 (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

It was the first time in weeks that Trevor hit the gym. Although his gym at home was far superior to the one at the Fairmont, it was still ten times better than the gym in Deon's building. For one, there were no blood stains on the cold cement floor.

The gym at the Fairmont Pacific Rim was mostly comprised of treadmills and cardio equipment, but there were also a full set of dumbbells, a few benches, and a Smith machine.

TVs mounted in the corner played some random cooking show, but Trevor and Deon paid them no mind. The TV volume was off and they had the Z95.3 radio station playing Top 40.

"What do you feel like doing today?" Trevor asked.

"Doesn't matter."

"How about we do a thirty minute warmup on the treadmill, then do chest and tris for an hour, then finish with an ab routine?"

"Sounds good."

One thing Trevor particularly liked about Deon was that he did not shy away from working hard. Trevor wanted to push Deon in the gym, but at that time, Deon may have been in better shape than Trevor.

Running on the treadmill, Trevor kept the conversation light.

"How often do you workout?"

"Usually about 3 – 4 times per week. It helps having a gym in my building."

"What's your diet like?"

"I eat out a lot. Mostly fast food. When I'm home, I make a lot of instant noodles, grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza..."

"Do you eat a lot of junk food?"

"Yeah, I guess. Chips, pop, candy."

"Are you tired throughout the day?"

"Yeah."

"You're young. You should have lots of energy. Energy is what drives you. How are you going to be successful when you eat like crap?"

"I don't know, I hadn't really thought about it. I wasn't aware the two were connected."

"Eating right, working out, and getting plenty of rest is everything. It's a huge component of my success, and most people don't even bother doing it. Also, drinking lots of water."

"Makes sense. I can't really cook though."

"What's stopping you from learning?" Trevor said. "Do you know how many recipes are online? You can watch YouTube. In fact, there's a cooking show on right now — you can learn how to make a chicken portabella in cream sauce."

"I guess so."

"If you're going to eat three times a day, you may as well get good at it. That's the thing about cooking. There is so much time to practice. Everyone should be good at it."

"I never know what to buy when I'm at the grocery store so I just pick whatever's easiest to make or on sale."

"Sounds like you have the wrong strategy then. Figure out what you want to make, make a list, and then go buy what you need. You can spend one day of the week cooking and preparing enough meals for the rest of the week."

"I never really thought about that before."

"After this we'll go to the grocery store. I'll show you what to buy."

"Okay."

The two continued to run and talk through panting breaths.

"I was invited to give a speech to the graduating class of Sauder," Trevor said.

"What's Sauder?"

"It's the business school at UBC."

"Is that where you went?"

"I went to UBC, but I have a degree in philosophy."

"Philosophy?" Deon repeated with a puzzled look on his face. "Why philosophy? I figured you would study business."

"I studied philosophy because at the time I wanted to be a lawyer. I wanted to major in something that I would enjoy and excel at so that my grades were good enough to get into law school."

"Were they?"

"Not for UBC, but I did get into law school in Ontario."

"So were you a lawyer?"

"No, I decided to pursue a different passion instead. I'm thankful to have both a philosophy and law school education though. They have helped me out tremendously in life."

"In what ways?"

"If everyone has the same education, there may be a tendency to think the same. In business, sometimes taking an unorthodox approach can separate yourself from the pack," Trevor said. "My education has helped me in other ways as well such as critical thinking, logic, analytical reasoning, ethics, reading comprehension, etc. And that's just philosophy. Obviously knowing the law has helped me out tremendously as well and has given me a lot of confidence."

"Is that a lesson? Should I write that down?"

Trevor chuckled. "Do whatever makes you happy."

"Oh, that's good. I'm definitely going to write that down."