What I learned from Dan John’s Movement Matrix

Categories: Blog Nov 12, 2017

Last weekend was an awesome weekend. I got to present along side of Dan John, the man, the myth and the legend. Dan has been extremely influential and helpful in my career. I’m kind of a fanboy. He is a master educator and communicator. As you might imagine, for me, it was a BIG deal to get to teach how to Press RESET alongside Dan teaching his Movement Matrix.

I can’t help but learn when I’m around him. He offers so much simple wisdom. So simple, you might miss it if you weren’t really paying attention. Fortunately, I was paying attention last weekend and I thought I’d share the biggest lessons I learned from Dan’s Movement Matrix. To be honest, Dan could tell this best, but I’m going to give it a shot. I’m sure he won’t mind....

1) Make eye contact with people.

Don’t just look in their direction. Don’t just look at them. Look them in the eyes and connect with them. This is the first step in understanding the person in front of you. Make the connection with eye contact.

2) Smile once you’ve made the connection.

After you lock eyes, initiate the conversation - even if no words are ever spoken - with a smile. When you smile at someone, you are communicating with them and it actually makes them want to smile back at you. It’s almost like a dance. Dan is great at this. He acknowledges the person and smiles. He makes them feel important.

3) Know their names.

Once you make eye contact and smile, learn the other person’s name. Watching Dan communicate with a group, with an individual, is like watching a dance. When he uses someone’s name with a smile - I’ve watched him do this time and time again - the other person lights up because they feel like they are valued. Because they are.... (Don’t miss that - it’s his greatest secret)

4) Don’t take yourself seriously.

Dan constantly laughs at himself. He shares his failures. He tells bad jokes. He is the superstar who is not. He doesn’t take himself seriously. He is just there to share his wealth of knowledge, knowledge he has accumulated through trials, errors, successes, and failures.

5) Care.

Dan’s biggest secret of success is that he cares about people. No joke. Dan started his presentation with a slide that had both his email address and his personal mobile phone number. “If you call me, I’ll answer.”

Who does that? Why would anyone do that?

The person who cares about other people and the person who wants to make a difference does that. A leader does that. Dan did that.

It’s weird. Dan was presenting on his Movement Matrix but he was demonstrating his Life Matrix. He did give invaluable information about training, moving, lifting and improving, but at the same time, he was communicating something much more powerful about living life. And here it is: Treat other people as if they matter because they do.

Maybe you’ve heard the lesson as, “Treat others as you would yourself,” or “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It’s the Golden Rule, right?

But what happens when it’s not a rule, but a way?

Well, if what I witnessed last weekend is any indication, I think maybe it leads to greatness; the kind of greatness that makes others want to be great. That’s powerful.

Dan John’s Life Matrix;

Treat others as if they were important. Love them. It lifts them. And, it just might catapult you.

 

 

---