April 27, 2025 • 11 mins
If you're a busy man over 35 who’s been grinding harder but still feels stuck — this episode is for you.
In today’s show, JP Bolwahnn, a Navy SEAL veteran, athlete, firefighter, and high-performance coach, pulls back the curtain on why discipline alone won’t save you... and what you need to rebuild your strength, mindset, and leadership in your 30s, 40s, and beyond.
Inside this episode, you’ll discover:
- Why motivation and willpower eventually collapse without structure
- The 5 critical systems every man over 35 needs to stay dangerous and dominant
- The exact framework that’s helping men in JP’s Rebuild the Man program drop weight, lower stress, and regain control
- How to start leading yourself first — and build the life your family and future deserve
Stop relying on hope and hustle.
Build the systems. Build the man.
🎯 Ready to level up?
- Apply for the Inner Circle: https://www.skool.com/heman-inner-circle/about
Subscribe now and start rebuilding the Highly Effective Man you’re meant to be.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to the Highly Effective man podcast, hosted
by former Navy SEAL turned lifeand fitness coach.
I'm your host, jp Bolwan.
This podcast is your resourcefor unlocking the healthiest,
most productive and highlyeffective man within you.
Let's go.
What's up, guys?
(00:35):
Welcome back to the HighlyEffective man podcast, the show
for men who refuse to drift andare committed to leading their
lives with strength, purpose anddiscipline.
I'm JP Bolwan, navy SEAL,veteran college football player
in my 30s, firefighter, husband,father, and now I'm a coach to
busy, high-performing men over35.
(00:56):
So today I'm going to hit youwith something every man needs
to hear.
Okay, you don't have adiscipline problem, you have a
systems problem, and if you'veever grinded your face off only
to burn out and feel stuck again, well, today you're going to
understand why that keepshappening and, more importantly,
how you can fix it for good.
(01:19):
You'll know the exact systemsyou need to stay on point, stay
consistent and be effective, nomatter what life throws at you.
All right, so let's go aheadand get into it.
Now let's talk about why mostmen burn out, and here's what
happens for a lot of guys theyfind a new program or they set
(01:41):
up some new goal that they wantto get after and they start
strong, right.
They push hard for a couple ofweeks and they rely on
motivation and willpower to keepmoving Right.
But eventually life hits themright.
Business pressure stack up,family needs more of your energy
(02:01):
.
Your body starts to feel it andyour energy just starts running
low.
And when that happens you think, oh, I just need to push harder
, right.
But what happens is thatgrinding harder just burns you
out faster, and strength withoutstructure eventually just is
(02:23):
going to collapse.
Now discipline matters, but ifyou don't have systems in place,
even the most motivated man isgoing to crash.
And it's not about workingharder, it's about working
smarter, with precision and onthe right things every single
(02:47):
day.
Now I lost my edge at one pointright, and I learned this the
hard way when I left the SEALteams.
I lost my mission, I got out ofthe teams.
I decided to go to college, Ifinished college and then I
moved to Kauai.
Everything looked great, but Ilost my structure.
(03:09):
You know, I was working forCrossFit, traveling the world,
teaching Olympic lifting andteaching CrossFit.
I was selling some real estate,doing, you know, different
things here and there, butinside I was drifting.
I had no brotherhood, I had nosystem and I was losing my edge.
(03:31):
And it didn't matter how toughI was, because without structure
I was just wasting potential.
And that's when I realized thatno one's going to come build
this for me, right, so I had tocreate it or I was just going to
keep drifting.
And that's when I built theHighly Effective man system.
(03:53):
It's the same structure that Inow coach busy, high-performing
men through every day.
I read books, I hired coaches,I found mentors and with their
help, I created this system.
And there's five systems thatevery man that's over 35 needs.
(04:14):
Here's the framework.
There's a fitness system, amindset system, a time ownership
system, a purpose alignmentsystem and a brotherhood and
accountability system.
Now let's talk about thefitness system.
Construct the warrior body.
You don't train when it'sconvenient.
(04:38):
You train because that's yourstandard Three sessions a week
of lifting, two to three focusedconditioning days and you're
doing mobility so that you canbe ready for longevity or, you
know, built for longevity.
A strong body is anon-negotiable.
It's the foundation that youbuild everything else on.
(05:00):
Everybody knows, when you seesomebody that's fit, you look at
them.
You're like, okay, that personhas some type of discipline.
Because you can't get a fitbody without putting in the work
.
And number two you need amindset system.
Sharpen emotional resilience.
Life is going to punch you inthe mouth and the truth is that
(05:22):
most men they're not mentallyweak, they're just mentally
untrained.
You need tools that help youreframe adversity systems to
control your emotional responses.
Focus strategies that will helpyou lock you in under pressure.
The strongest body in the worlddoesn't mean a single thing if
(05:45):
you break mentally when thingsget hard.
Number three you need a timeownership system.
Operate with mental authority.
If you don't dominate yourschedule, your schedule is going
to dominate you.
That means having a morningroutine, daily execution windows
(06:06):
, evening shutdown to reset,from evening shutdown to reset.
And when I'm talking about themorning routine, I'm not saying
everybody needs to wake up at 5am or everybody needs to go for
a long run or anything like that.
You just need to have somethingthat sets you up for the day.
The daily execution windows arethe times that you set down to
focus on the things that youneed to do, like right now, I
(06:28):
have this time blocked out sothat I can record this podcast.
Then you have an eveningshutdown, reset.
I call it my power down ritual.
All three of these thingscreate a system that ensures
that I control my time, my focus, and it helps me build momentum
(06:48):
every single day.
Number four is a purposealignment system.
Identify the higher purpose,because discipline without a
mission, it burns out fast.
You need to be crystal clear onwhat you're building, who
(07:14):
you're building it for and whyit matters beyond you.
Why is this goal so special toyou?
What's it going to give to youthat you don't already have, and
how is that going to benefitthe people around you?
Without purpose, you're justgoing to be drifting.
With purpose, disciplinebecomes almost automatic.
(07:37):
And number five is a brotherhoodand accountability system.
You got to surround yourselfwith men who make you better.
I call this cultivating highimpact relationships.
You're only as strong as themen you surround yourself with.
And inside my highly effectiveman community, inside my He-Man
inner circle, we don't coddleeach other.
(07:59):
We sharpen each other withaccountability, with
encouragement, with truth,because going at it alone is not
going to last long.
But when you got a squad that'sbehind you or a tribe that's
willing to go to battle with you, there's no stopping you.
(08:24):
So here's a quick recap of thosefive systems.
You need a fitness system, amindset system, time ownership,
purpose alignment and abrotherhood and accountability
system.
If you miss any one of those,it's just a matter of time
before you stall or you burn out.
So lock them in and you'llbecome unstoppable.
(08:46):
And this isn't theory, right?
I have proof that it works.
The men inside the Rebuild theman program that I just started.
They already live in it.
Man program that I just started.
They're already living it.
After just one week.
They have less stress, morestructure, their weight is
dropping and their energy iscoming back.
And it's not because they'retrying harder and it's not
(09:10):
because they found more time.
They simply plugged into asystem and now they're winning
again.
So here's a final challenge toyou, and I'm going to leave you
with this If not now, when?
(09:31):
And if not you, who?
You have two choices.
You can keep doing it the hardway, grinding until you burn out
again, or you can build asystem and a structure that
makes winning a way of life.
You know, I want to encourageyou guys to join my 28-day
challenge.
(09:51):
It's where we start buildingyour systems from day one.
Or, if you're ready to go allin, apply for the inner circle
Okay, that's where we startbuilding your systems from day
one.
Or, if you're ready to go allin, apply for the inner circle.
Okay, that's where we buildevery piece of you body, mind,
leadership.
Either way, you got to decideKeep doing things the hard way
(10:14):
or, you know, reach out tosomebody that can help you,
because leadership starts withyou and the future that you want
it's waiting on the man thatyou're becoming, not the man
that you used to be.
So either join the challenge orapply for the inner circle, and
if you really want to succeedat this, you got to lead
(10:37):
yourself first.
Then you can lead others.
I'm JP Bolwan and this is theHighly Effective man Podcast.
Let's go.
Thank you for listening to theHighly Effective man Podcast.
If you enjoyed or learnedsomething on this episode, do me
a favor and share this withsomebody who you think needs to
hear it.
And one last thing if you wantto work with me as your coach to
(11:00):
help you get fit, be moreproductive and, in general, just
be the most effective versionof yourself, head over to my
site, higherlevelcoachingco Onceagain, that's
higherlevelcoachingco andschedule a call with me there.
Thank you again.
Let's go.
Welcome to the Highly Effective man podcast, hosted
by former Navy SEAL turned lifeand fitness coach.
I'm your host, jp Bolwan.
This podcast is your resourcefor unlocking the healthiest,
most productive and highlyeffective man within you.
Let's go.
What's up, guys?
(00:35):
Welcome back to the HighlyEffective man podcast, the show
for men who refuse to drift andare committed to leading their
lives with strength, purpose anddiscipline.
I'm JP Bolwan, navy SEAL,veteran college football player
in my 30s, firefighter, husband,father, and now I'm a coach to
busy, high-performing men over35.
(00:56):
So today I'm going to hit youwith something every man needs
to hear.
Okay, you don't have adiscipline problem, you have a
systems problem, and if you'veever grinded your face off only
to burn out and feel stuck again, well, today you're going to
understand why that keepshappening and, more importantly,
how you can fix it for good.
(01:19):
You'll know the exact systemsyou need to stay on point, stay
consistent and be effective, nomatter what life throws at you.
All right, so let's go aheadand get into it.
Now let's talk about why mostmen burn out, and here's what
happens for a lot of guys theyfind a new program or they set
(01:41):
up some new goal that they wantto get after and they start
strong, right.
They push hard for a couple ofweeks and they rely on
motivation and willpower to keepmoving Right.
But eventually life hits themright.
Business pressure stack up,family needs more of your energy
(02:01):
.
Your body starts to feel it andyour energy just starts running
low.
And when that happens you think, oh, I just need to push harder
, right.
But what happens is thatgrinding harder just burns you
out faster, and strength withoutstructure eventually just is
(02:23):
going to collapse.
Now discipline matters, but ifyou don't have systems in place,
even the most motivated man isgoing to crash.
And it's not about workingharder, it's about working
smarter, with precision and onthe right things every single
(02:47):
day.
Now I lost my edge at one pointright, and I learned this the
hard way when I left the SEALteams.
I lost my mission, I got out ofthe teams.
I decided to go to college, Ifinished college and then I
moved to Kauai.
Everything looked great, but Ilost my structure.
(03:09):
You know, I was working forCrossFit, traveling the world,
teaching Olympic lifting andteaching CrossFit.
I was selling some real estate,doing, you know, different
things here and there, butinside I was drifting.
I had no brotherhood, I had nosystem and I was losing my edge.
(03:31):
And it didn't matter how toughI was, because without structure
I was just wasting potential.
And that's when I realized thatno one's going to come build
this for me, right, so I had tocreate it or I was just going to
keep drifting.
And that's when I built theHighly Effective man system.
(03:53):
It's the same structure that Inow coach busy, high-performing
men through every day.
I read books, I hired coaches,I found mentors and with their
help, I created this system.
And there's five systems thatevery man that's over 35 needs.
(04:14):
Here's the framework.
There's a fitness system, amindset system, a time ownership
system, a purpose alignmentsystem and a brotherhood and
accountability system.
Now let's talk about thefitness system.
Construct the warrior body.
You don't train when it'sconvenient.
(04:38):
You train because that's yourstandard Three sessions a week
of lifting, two to three focusedconditioning days and you're
doing mobility so that you canbe ready for longevity or, you
know, built for longevity.
A strong body is anon-negotiable.
It's the foundation that youbuild everything else on.
(05:00):
Everybody knows, when you seesomebody that's fit, you look at
them.
You're like, okay, that personhas some type of discipline.
Because you can't get a fitbody without putting in the work
.
And number two you need amindset system.
Sharpen emotional resilience.
Life is going to punch you inthe mouth and the truth is that
(05:22):
most men they're not mentallyweak, they're just mentally
untrained.
You need tools that help youreframe adversity systems to
control your emotional responses.
Focus strategies that will helpyou lock you in under pressure.
The strongest body in the worlddoesn't mean a single thing if
(05:45):
you break mentally when thingsget hard.
Number three you need a timeownership system.
Operate with mental authority.
If you don't dominate yourschedule, your schedule is going
to dominate you.
That means having a morningroutine, daily execution windows
(06:06):
, evening shutdown to reset,from evening shutdown to reset.
And when I'm talking about themorning routine, I'm not saying
everybody needs to wake up at 5am or everybody needs to go for
a long run or anything like that.
You just need to have somethingthat sets you up for the day.
The daily execution windows arethe times that you set down to
focus on the things that youneed to do, like right now, I
(06:28):
have this time blocked out sothat I can record this podcast.
Then you have an eveningshutdown, reset.
I call it my power down ritual.
All three of these thingscreate a system that ensures
that I control my time, my focus, and it helps me build momentum
(06:48):
every single day.
Number four is a purposealignment system.
Identify the higher purpose,because discipline without a
mission, it burns out fast.
You need to be crystal clear onwhat you're building, who
(07:14):
you're building it for and whyit matters beyond you.
Why is this goal so special toyou?
What's it going to give to youthat you don't already have, and
how is that going to benefitthe people around you?
Without purpose, you're justgoing to be drifting.
With purpose, disciplinebecomes almost automatic.
(07:37):
And number five is a brotherhoodand accountability system.
You got to surround yourselfwith men who make you better.
I call this cultivating highimpact relationships.
You're only as strong as themen you surround yourself with.
And inside my highly effectiveman community, inside my He-Man
inner circle, we don't coddleeach other.
(07:59):
We sharpen each other withaccountability, with
encouragement, with truth,because going at it alone is not
going to last long.
But when you got a squad that'sbehind you or a tribe that's
willing to go to battle with you, there's no stopping you.
(08:24):
So here's a quick recap of thosefive systems.
You need a fitness system, amindset system, time ownership,
purpose alignment and abrotherhood and accountability
system.
If you miss any one of those,it's just a matter of time
before you stall or you burn out.
So lock them in and you'llbecome unstoppable.
(08:46):
And this isn't theory, right?
I have proof that it works.
The men inside the Rebuild theman program that I just started.
They already live in it.
Man program that I just started.
They're already living it.
After just one week.
They have less stress, morestructure, their weight is
dropping and their energy iscoming back.
And it's not because they'retrying harder and it's not
(09:10):
because they found more time.
They simply plugged into asystem and now they're winning
again.
So here's a final challenge toyou, and I'm going to leave you
with this If not now, when?
(09:31):
And if not you, who?
You have two choices.
You can keep doing it the hardway, grinding until you burn out
again, or you can build asystem and a structure that
makes winning a way of life.
You know, I want to encourageyou guys to join my 28-day
challenge.
(09:51):
It's where we start buildingyour systems from day one.
Or, if you're ready to go allin, apply for the inner circle
Okay, that's where we startbuilding your systems from day
one.
Or, if you're ready to go allin, apply for the inner circle.
Okay, that's where we buildevery piece of you body, mind,
leadership.
Either way, you got to decideKeep doing things the hard way
(10:14):
or, you know, reach out tosomebody that can help you,
because leadership starts withyou and the future that you want
it's waiting on the man thatyou're becoming, not the man
that you used to be.
So either join the challenge orapply for the inner circle, and
if you really want to succeedat this, you got to lead
(10:37):
yourself first.
Then you can lead others.
I'm JP Bolwan and this is theHighly Effective man Podcast.
Let's go.
Thank you for listening to theHighly Effective man Podcast.
If you enjoyed or learnedsomething on this episode, do me
a favor and share this withsomebody who you think needs to
hear it.
And one last thing if you wantto work with me as your coach to
(11:00):
help you get fit, be moreproductive and, in general, just
be the most effective versionof yourself, head over to my
site, higherlevelcoachingco Onceagain, that's
higherlevelcoachingco andschedule a call with me there.
Thank you again.
Let's go.
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