Alejandro Chabán is an author, motivational speaker, certified nutrition and wellness consultant, founder and CEO of Yes You Can!®, and is one of the most popular Hispanic celebrities in the entertainment business. He has dedicated his life to sharing his experiences of battling eating disorders and obesity as a teenager, his journey from a bullied kid in school to an admired TV personality and health and wellness expert, and to helping others to transform themselves the way he did.

Favorite Success Quote

“Feel the fear and do it anyway”

Key Points

1. Turn Your Mess into Your Message 

One of the biggest mistakes that most men make is trying to hide from their past.

Men who have suffered from addiction, obesity, depression, or are convicted criminals will try and brush their checkered history under the rug and forget about it.

But when they do this, they are doing a disservice to themselves and the world.

Because the truth of the matter is that your greatest failures are your greatest assets… Your mess is your message.

Don’t discount where you came from or the adversity that you have overcome.

It is the adversity, the struggles, and the failures that make you relatable… That gives you power.

Men are dying for help…

Whether they are trying to beat an addiction to cocaine, overcome their negative self-image, or surmount a deep depression, they need help.

And the only people who are truly qualified to help are those individuals who have been in their shoes, who know what they are going through and how to fix it.

Do not deprive the world of your most powerful message because you are scared of sharing your mess.

Instead, turn your mess into your message and give yourself permission to change the world.

2. You Need to Find Intrinsic Motivation 

Why do you want to succeed?

Is it because you want to piss off your parents? Prove something to your girlfriend? Make your distant relatives proud of you?

With all due respect… F*ck that.

Creating real success is hard.

Really hard.

And on your path, you will be presented with obstacles and adversity that seem unconquerable and you will ask yourself on a daily basis “Why am I doing this?”

If your only reason for pushing forward is to make someone else happy or to prove something to someone else…. You will fail every single time.

However, if you can connect your goals to a deep intrinsic motivation, a motivation that transcends the material goals of this world, a motivation that lights you on fire…

Then no obstacle will stand in your way, no adversity will be too challenging, and no setback will prove significant in the long run.

Because when you have a strong “Why”, a deep and visceral reason for achieving success that goes beyond your desire for acclaim and financial gain… Then you become unstoppable.

3. Feel the Fear and Do it Anyways

As simple as it sounds, the number one thing holding most men back today is fear.

They are afraid of losing their comfortable jobs, afraid of ruining their current relationship, afraid of achieving success and alienating the people that they love… They are afraid.

And that’s ok.

Whenever it comes time to take a big leap in your life, whether it’s quitting a job, proposing to your girlfriend, or dropping everything on a whim to go and work with a mentor… You should be afraid.

But the key is to feel the fear and do it anyway.

Get scared…

Get terrified…

Get paralyzed by fear….

And then feel that fear, and take action regardless of your emotional state.

When you become a master of fear, you become a master of life.

So feel the fear and do it anyway.

4. Be Quick to Act and Quick to Contemplate 

If you want to achieve real success in your life, then you must start by taking immediate action on your goals and dreams.

If you want to start a business, don’t wait until you have a plan and a perfect team. Go register your LLC, buy a new website domain and get started TODAY.

If there is a woman in your life whom you are crazy about but haven’t had the courage to ask out yet, grab yourself by the balls, man up, and go ask her out to dinner.

If you are overweight and unhealthy, don’t wait until you have all of the information you need to get healthy, just clean out your pantry, take a long walk each morning, and sign up with a personal trainer.

Success loves speed.

And if you aren’t willing to take decisive action and take it now then your hopes and dreams will be hijacked by the men who will.

5. Realizing that You are Lost is the First Step to Being Found 

The first step to achieving success is realizing and accepting your current reality.

In other words, you cannot be found until you accept that you are lost.

Don’t hide from your reality… Accept it.

If you are broke, overweight, socially awkward, or off purpose… That’s ok.

Accept that things are the way they are and that you and only you have the power to change it.

Don’t look at your life through rose colored glasses.

Instead, be objective and honest about who you are and how your life looks right now, and once you have a clear picture of your current reality, commit to making a change.