Negotiating With Friction

Why most people confuse showing up as income

I went to the gym this weekend.

Not metaphorically. Literally.

I upgraded to a Life Time membership (not lifetime get it?)

Not because I suddenly became a different person. I didn’t. I’m still busy, still behind, still negotiating with time like it’s a hostile counterparty.

I did it because I’m done negotiating with friction.

Here’s the thing about gyms — and I didn’t invent this, but I’ve lived it.

Everyone signs up motivated.
Most people disappear.
A small group lingers forever, emotionally attached to equipment they don’t really use.

(Plus buddy, spouse, girlfriend, or invisible friend)

And every once in a while, someone who hasn’t done a real workout in years feels entitled to comment on how long you’ve been on the machine.

Which, if you’ve ever worked with affiliates or “partners,” should sound very familiar.

I’ve spent years building relationships where commissions were earned, relationships were built, and momentum was real — at first.

Then the effort faded.
Then the initiative slowed.
Then the commissions kept coming anyway.

And eventually — always eventually — free time appears.

That’s when the shake-down energy shows up from affiliates.
Questions that aren’t really questions.
Pressure disguised as confusion.
Urgency coming from the one side that hasn’t been urgent in years.

I don’t take it personally anymore.
I recognize the pattern.

Back to the gym.

I brought my kid with me. Common area. Allowed. Normal.
A young woman looked at me like I had brought in a virus to the gym. I get it, kids in gyms can throw off a serious routine, but the shift from discomfort to judgment was instant.”

Then I used a piece of equipment for maybe a minute.
And the vibe was basically: I’m not your babysitter.

No conversation.
No humor.
Just entitlement to space.

And that’s when it clicked.

This isn’t about gyms.
And it isn’t even about affiliates.

It’s about who thinks participation is ownership.

Some people believe that being around something entitles them to its upside.
They don’t want responsibility.
They want continuity.
They want comfort.

In a world that doesn’t give much power or authority to people (even in their personal life) having some kind ofinfluence is meaningful.

So here’s where I am as the year starts.

I’m keeping costs low.
I’m removing unnecessary dependencies.
I’m focusing on end users who actually say, “I like working with you,” and then mean it.

If partners want to talk — great.
If they want to show up — even better.
If they want to coast and renegotiate reality — that conversation gets very short.

Not angry.
Not dramatic.
Just clear.

There is no stability.
There never was.

There is only opportunity and opportunity belongs to the people who keep showing up while others are busy guarding equipment they didn’t take a loan for to grow the franchise.

I didn’t buy a Life Time gym membership because I expect all-out luxury.
I bought it because I expect consistency.

Same rule now applies everywhere else for me.

And as the days lead to weeks to months that is my intent sharing with you ideas you can chew.

Have a wonderful Saturday,

Eric