Success doesn't care how you feel about the work—it simply takes what it takes. In this episode of The AM Lift, host Travis Hovel breaks down Trevor Moawad’s hard-hitting playbook, It Takes What It Takes (along with key insights from Getting to Neutral), to help you stop negotiating with your daily discipline.

When you strip away emotional hype and excuses, achieving real results in your training, career, and life comes down to meeting an objective standard. Travis dives into how elite performers operate without relying on motivation, giving you the practical tools to hold your line under pressure.

What you’ll get from this episode:

• End the Emotional Bargaining: How to stop deciding whether you "feel like" putting in the work and simply execute the required standard.
• The Math of Excellence: Understanding that big goals have fixed, non-negotiable prices—and how to pay them consistently without burning out.
• Fact-Based Execution: How to use basic neutral thinking to evaluate setbacks objectively instead of spiraling into frustration.
• A Daily Standard Checklist: Practical steps to cut down time-wasting habits, audit your environment, and lock in the behaviors that move the needle.

If you’re tired of relying on fleeting motivation and want a clear, no-nonsense system for executing every single day, this episode will show you how.

Hit subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so you never miss an episode of The AM Lift.

Transformation isn't just about what you lose—it's about the grit you build along the way. In this episode of The AM Lift, we sit down with competitive powerlifter Craig Smith to unpack his journey from shedding over 100 pounds to claiming the top spot across seven different powerlifting competitions.

Craig opens up about the mindset shift required to turn his health completely around, the grueling transition from fat loss to elite barbell strength, and what standing on the platform taught him about discipline outside the gym.

In this episode, we cover:

• The turning point that sparked a 100+ lb weight loss journey
• How Craig transitioned from general fitness to competitive powerlifting
• The training and nutrition strategies behind winning 7 meets
• Overcoming self-doubt, plateaus, and lifestyle hurdles
• Practical advice for anyone looking to reclaim their health and build real strength

Whether you're looking to lose your first 10 pounds or add 50 pounds to your squat, Craig’s story proves that consistent work always pays off.

Subscribe & Listen: Hit subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite platform so you never miss an episode of The AM Lift. If Craig's story inspired you, leave a quick review and share this episode with a training partner.

I think most of us treat vision like a simple dictionary term—something you see with your eyes. But in this episode, I want to redefine it: true vision is a vivid mental blueprint of a future that doesn't exist yet, paired with the conviction that you are the one to build it.

In this premiere of AM Lift, I explore why "vision" is the landscape you live in, not just a temporary checkpoint you hit. I break down the difference between fleeting goals and lasting vision, and why the latter keeps you moving when the finish line gets foggy.

In this episode, we cover:

• Vision vs. Goals: Why a goal is a one-time coordinate on a map, but a vision is the terrain you grow into for the rest of your life.
• The Mechanism of Sight: How your brain’s Reticular Activating System acts as a filter, turning your mental blueprints into a rehearsal your nervous system takes seriously.
• The Killers of Vision: How I identify when comparison, "realistic" fear, and borrowed opinions are dulling my focus, and maybe yours as well.
• Lessons from the Pros: Looking at the Nick Saban "Process" from 1995—why the best leaders focus on owning the "next six seconds" rather than just the final scoreboard.
• Personal Stories: I share a candid look at my own journey to becoming Colorado’s Strongest Man and the reality of writing my book—discussing the stops, the starts, and the discipline required to keep going.
• Strategies you can implement immediately to help push you along, whatever you are chasing. 

It takes what it takes. Let’s get to work.