More Wins, No Excuses! How To Make 2026 Truly Successful (w/ Chris Hart of Brave Coaching)

Chris Hart:
We've got. We actually have to have a target. It's kind of that idea, like if you don't actually have a target, you're kind of like throwing the ax at the wall and then like painting a target around it. It's like, I guess I hit it. You know what I'm saying? No, stop it. You hit the fridge. Like you didn't even hit the. You know I'm saying, like, that's.

Chris Hart:
You missed. So I want to get real clear. That's where I say you start with prayer.

Chris Alessi:
Well, hello and welcome to another episode of the Family Business with the Alessi's. And if you see any extra bit of joy on my face, it is because of who we have with us here today. Somebody I genuinely consider a brother in my life. And it's not because we share a name, but we're bringing onto the podcast my coach, my brother, my friend, Mr. Chris Hart. Mr. Hart, how are you?

Chris Hart:
Let's go, man. You know, I'm doing good, bud. You made me happy. That's strong intro, strong words, strong face, good hair. You're doing it, buddy. I am honored to be here. I love you very much. I love your family very much.

Chris Hart:
And it is a pleasure to be here. And I think we're gonna talk about some cool stuff today.

Chris Alessi:
I'm very excited about it. One thing you'd want to know is we did a podcast with your friend Joey Odom, who's now my friend friend of the show. Good to have him on. And I'm actually seeing some Instagram ads now for companies trying to rival his company. Now just shows you've got some, you've got some world changing friends. Mr. Hart.

Chris Hart:
That's my guy. And it, you know, from small beginnings, we were college friends, so we would do ridiculous college things together. And then you know how God does. God will take anything, anybody, if you let him and turn it into something great. And it's fun to see my guy do big things and change the world a little bit.

Chris Alessi:
I love it so much. Well, I even bring that up because the two things we're discussing here, both in that episode and this one, are things that are absolutely near and dear to my heart. Which is why my contribution to the family business this year is bringing these voices in to what we call our pawdience. We're actually growing as a show. We've got well over 200 episodes now, and we're getting real close to a million views here on YouTube. We're really excited about that. I think this episode could get Us over the million. Let's.

Chris Alessi:
Let's speak in faith.

Chris Hart:
Let's speak in faith.

Chris Alessi:
Well, if you're watching us, you need to know I've. I've made this statement throughout my life, and only recently have I had to adjust it. And that statement is, you know, when I get to the end of my life and I'm standing there on Judgment Day, I want to be able to tell God I did everything I did because I trusted certain men. And that list has always been my father, Pastor Armando, who is my youth pastor growing up. But lately I've had to make an addendum to that. I've had to say Pastor Steve, my dad, pastor Armando, and Mr. Hart, my coach.

Chris Hart:
Come on.

Chris Alessi:
I would want to go to Judgment Day. And if the Lord's like, man, you really missed it on that one. What happened? I want to say it's because I trusted one of those three men. And that's, that's the influence that you've had on me personally. Going back almost a decade now. We named our young adult ministry Wild and Untamed, mainly because of your influence. And when you came and preached once, you dropped a verse on us that just we couldn't get over and ended up just really shaping a lot of our message about just living big and not small lives. And as you're looking at people now, you're a full time coach in so many different ways.

Chris Alessi:
At some point, I'd love for people to know what you did with Hitman, but we don't have to go there just yet. But we really want to talk about setting themselves up well for 2026. So I just couldn't be more excited to be here with you. I'm, like, excited. I feel like I'm, I'm bringing a celebrity to the family party. Like, I'm just excited for my family to meet my favorite celebrity. And here we are. But to that end, you know, we were actually talking about it.

Chris Alessi:
You were on a lot of coaching calls, and a lot of people are asking the question, how do I set up myself? Well, for 2026? And how would you answer that, man?

Chris Hart:
Such a, such a great question. I think we have to ask it. And by the way, you said a lot of nice things there. Thank you very much. It's reciprocated, but I think the reality is we've got it. We've got. I think it kind of comes down to four things. Okay, let's break them all down.

Chris Hart:
Let's get after it. I want us to be a people that have Prayed about the New Year. I want us to be a people that have planned for the New Year, that have got the right people dialed in for the New Year, that. And are real clear on purpose so we can attack it with everything. Okay. So there's a lot of layers to that. But as Christian people, it's like, man, I'm going to get God in the middle of this at the beginning. And I think a lot of times what happens is we.

Chris Hart:
We make some New Year's resolutions because it's trendy. We were laughing about six packs earlier. It's like, well, yeah, this is the year. But you know as well as I do, the second Friday of every year is called Quitters Day. And it's when everybody stops with the resolution that they were so excited about in the beginning. And so I think the reality is that it proves that those four things were not in place going into the year. Right. And so when you're here, when you're hearing this, whenever you hear this podcast, that's what I'm going to encourage you to really, like, fundamentally process is this idea.

Chris Hart:
It's like, man, have I. Have I sought God about this year? What am I supposed to be about? Like, what needs to be out front? And then did I actually start putting a plan in place for it? Which sounds obvious, but most people don't have a plan. They have an idea in their head that's not actually on paper and executable. And then they never got the right people involved. Like, to actually do what you want to do in 2026, there's going to be a level of accountability. There's going to be a level of other people that you get involved that creates synergy so that you can advance farther than you can go by yourself. And you've got to be so clear on your purpose that all the obstacles that will hit you, that's what's great about the Bible. It's not like it's not deceiving us.

Chris Hart:
In this world, you will face trials and tribulations, but be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. So we need to know that purpose so much that when that first wave of opposition hits, when we're absolutely ready for it, we've got the right people around us. We can trust our plan because we cover it in prayer at the beginning.

Chris Alessi:
Yeah, and I love that. And I wanted to hit that before we even do a more general introduction of just who you are. Because I'm a pretty terrible podcast listener. I almost skipped the first seven or eight minutes. Cause I'm like, they're gonna do the intro, they're gonna do all that, get to the gold, get to the meat. So I wanted to throw out some of the meat at first. But now that we've settled in and you've already answered just about everything, can you tell our listeners a little bit about who you are, how you side of your family and how we got to this place where you're on this podcast with us today, man.

Chris Hart:
Appreciate it, man. We have a company called the Brave Group. And the whole idea is, what's it really look like for men and women to be optimized? What's it look like for people to operate at their absolute best personally and professionally? And we do that through a few different things. This is through trial and fire of doing ministry full time at my church, that we're still very involved in traveling the world a little bit. Like, different things have kind of led to this. But the reality is what we all need is a lifted mindset. We have to have accountability and we have to know what we're doing on a weekly basis so we can actually go execute.

Chris Alessi:
Yeah.

Chris Hart:
So that's kind of the premise of our coaching. And we do that for people. And God's been unbelievable. We work with CEOs, we work with politicians, we work with professional athletes, and the spectrum's great. But all of those principles also work with our kids and they work in our marriage. Right. I need accountability in my marriage. I need the right mindset so I can do it right.

Chris Hart:
And then kind of to your point, my wife really kind of runs the whole back end of everything that is the Brave Group. And then also coaches on the front end. And that's amazing. She's way better at it than I am. I'll like walk by and hear her coaching a lady and I'm like, ah, I'm pretty sure I wrote that. I've never said it that good. You know, she is just fantastic at it. But yeah, it's.

Chris Hart:
It's a family affair. My daughter has all kinds of opinion on how we promote market and all the kinds of stuff. Our kids are kind of coaches on all of their little league teams. It just kind of flows because that's what we've made a premium is our family. Let's be our best individually, let's be our best collectively as a family. Because one, we owe it to God, and then we owe it to ourselves and our calling and to steward those opportunities.

Chris Alessi:
Well, yeah, well, one of the reasons why this is the best thing in the world and My mind's going so fast because we've had so many conversations and so many things that you've poured into me have really been so influential. You started coaching our own staff this year, pouring this all into our team. And one of the things I've always appreciated about you and your, your business is you really don't separate the professional and the personal. They might be two lanes, but they run side by side. And that just connects with us as a church that builds everything on relationship. It connects with us as ministers because there's no. I mean, Paul says the only way you can be an actual minister is if your family's taken care of and they're run well. So I've always loved that.

Chris Alessi:
Which is why here on the family business, you're just one of the perfect people to have on. And I also want to make sure Alan, you're here. I want to. Mark, we need to bring him back on maybe later on in the year to discuss your family values and that whole portion of our curriculum. We gotta, we gotta give that to some people at some point. But you, you made a statement and I, I really like this. You said two things and I'd like for you to just quickly give our listeners a glimpse into it. I mentioned Hitman and you mentioned travel the world a little bit.

Chris Alessi:
If you're listening, you need to know Chris Hart is going to undersell anything he's ever done and, and oversell anything you could possibly do. He is the most encouraging person you'll meet. And there's only one person I've ever heard and thought I would run through a wall right now because of this guy, and it's you. But give us a glimpse into what Hitman was. And then even when you say you travel the world a little bit because I think, I think they would like to know what you're talking about.

Chris Hart:
I was on our staff at Guts Church for 15 years and my pastor poured into a lot of us, gave us unbelievable opportunity. He actually said this, Chris, you've heard him say this, but I was trying to figure out if I was even going to do ministry at all. And he goes, one, there's a call of God in your life. So I said, well, thanks. Didn't really know what that meant at the time. And then he said, you can't make a mess that I can't clean up. And so as a dude, I guess I'm like, well, shoot, I'll give it a shot. You know what I mean? We could make a little mess.

Chris Hart:
So we did all Kinds of really cool stuff with our college ministry and then specifically working with high school students. We did a program called the Hitman Awards. And every week we would go to 25 high schools and pass out a shirt forever. Had the biggest hit in the football game that week. So we'd come in on Monday, the game would have been on Friday. And in Oklahoma, it's, you know, it's big time. Big in Florida, huge in Texas, the whole thing. But, I mean, it's.

Chris Hart:
It's kind of everything in this Tulsa community. And so we'd walk on that field with a T shirt, and the team would start clapping and get all fired up, and we'd say, bobby Jones ear hold. A kid twisted his helmet back around.

Chris Alessi:
Yeah.

Chris Hart:
And then we'd give them a good word and preach at him for about three minutes and invite them to church. And we do that at 25 high schools every week. And then at the end of the year, we'd bring them all together and have the Hitman Awards ceremony where we'd give out a big award for the best run, the best catch, best play by a fat boy, biggest hit. You know, all this stuff. And it's basically like high school, high school ESPYs, and we'd have, you know, 4,000 high school players, drum lines, cheerleaders, mamas, and just kind of take over the church and celebrate high school football.

Chris Alessi:
That was the coolest thing. And what I love about that is that's how I met you. Because I put the biggest hit on somebody. No, I'm kidding. Because I was over there.

Chris Hart:
The gym. Exactly.

Chris Alessi:
That was me. That's clear, though. We were visiting GUTS Church because Stephanie was looking at interning, and my dad was not going to send his daughter to anybody that didn't understand ministry and family the way we do, which is what made Guts such a. An obvious choice. She ended up not doing it because you all had a pretty intense internship, which I'm pretty sure you had a big hand in, the intensity of it. But you didn't even know me, man. You brought me along and. And I.

Chris Alessi:
I went to a couple schools with you. Those kids are probably in the. In the pros now, to a degree. But then you started just listing some of the players that you had handed Hitman shirts to. And I'm thinking, man, this guy is larger than life. And we've had a great relationship ever since. And when he even talks, traveling a little bit, you've been involved with a great missions company. We.

Chris Alessi:
We've worked alongside them, too, as a church and just helped and benefit their mission. But, I mean, you've taken some crazy trips getting the gospel to some crazy places.

Chris Hart:
Yeah. You know what's cool? Just like any. Let this speak to anybody that is potentially transitioning. I was on staff at the church for 15 years, and it was my whole. I was 20 years old till I was 35. So it really was my adult life. And loved it. I really did.

Chris Hart:
But then knew that there was a transition that was supposed to take place. So I went to pastor Bill and said, listen, I don't know what's next. I just feel this, like, stirring in me, which isn't maybe the smartest thing to tell your boss. And I didn't have a plan, but I just. I had seen people transition wrong. And so I kind of wanted to submit it to him. And it was amazing. There's this whole cool God story, but I'm on the board for world Compassion, and that's who I hooked up with for the next five years.

Chris Hart:
And it's amazing. They've been an organization for 53 years, and we work in hostile countries. And so anywhere that kind of there's hostility towards the gospel, that's kind of where we thrive. So Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, China, Myanmar, parts of Cuba. And we do. We work through the local church in each country. So, for example, like in Iran, we actually smuggle Bibles into Iran, and we use drug smugglers to get them in, because guess what? They're super good at not getting caught. Right.

Chris Hart:
So hundreds of thousands of Bibles have gone into the country of Iran, and then that makes a physical touch with somebody else. And that's actually how they spread the word. And then those get distributed into local underground house churches. We have Bible training in China. We work with refugees in Iraq and help them get back on their feet with different businesses that we set up, plant churches in Cuba, different stuff. So it's an honor. Love being on the board. And, man, check out WorldCompassion TV.

Chris Hart:
Really, really great organization doing stuff in some of the hardest parts of the world.

Chris Alessi:
And it's the coolest thing.

Chris Hart:
He's.

Chris Alessi:
Guys, he's told me stories before that I'm just like. I mean, the hair on my neck standing up just to get Bibles into hostile countries. But I bring all of that up because, man, some of those things that you've accomplished are so big. And the average person watching this is just thinking, you know, I just want to lose a little weight, or I just, you know, I just want to say, I just want to save some money. And yet for us, we know that that's all connected and we know that getting the person right is what will allow us to go and take on the profession of any size. And so that's why I wanted you to go there a little bit, because I really think in buckets. I want our audience to know when we say why resolutions don't work is because it's not just about losing a little weight and then falling off and putting it back on, you know, come the summer. This is about recognizing the big life we can live and using next year to help get us one inch closer to the big life that we can live.

Chris Alessi:
And so that's one of the things I've loved about your influence. I mean, one of the big things we tackle and we'll get to it. We'll get to it here. But is excuses, man. When people get around you, they just can't make excuses anymore. And I think there's a lot of people that would make a lot of excuses as to why you shouldn't get Bibles into hostile countries or why you shouldn't go and think, hey, we can bring the gospel to some of the best football teams in one of the best states for football. But you guys did it, and you've done it with your family right alongside of you. You've done it while honoring the local church, even while your day to day was moving in a different direction.

Chris Alessi:
You figured out, hey, this is the alignment. We figured that all well. And because of that, there's just great fruit to your life. And I want to bring that to the listeners here. That, man, it's not just about, I want to lose 15 pounds next year. It's no, can I get myself into alignment so I can live the big life that God has really called us to live, so I can get my family together so we can have our own family business. We like to say family is everybody's business, which is why if you're listening to this and the family's not where you want it to be, make it your business this year to get your family together. And that's the things that we talk about, man, our coaching, it's going at the person so the person can run the profession.

Chris Alessi:
So before we dive into any more questions, what do you say on that front?

Chris Hart:
I think where you're going with that, Chris, is the reality of kind of the macro versus the micro, right? The macro is, oh, man, I want to be able to say, I did these amazing things and I want to travel the world and I love it. Do it if that's in your heart, like, for real. But I love the idea, really, of if this is going to be the best year of your life and you're going to do things you've never done before, then let's zoom back in to the micro and talk about what that will require today. And not just even today. Like, let's go even tighter on that. It's like, what's your morning going to look like, man? What am I going to do before lunch? That puts me on the trajectory to do things I've never done before, Man, I want to lose £20. I love it. What I eat at lunch will affect that goal, man.

Chris Hart:
I want to. I want to reach my neighborhood for Jesus. Love it. You should. Did you get in the word this morning? So you've got a ready word when your neighbor asks you for something, you know what I'm saying? Like, that's the big picture of it. And it's fascinating because then you start doing that and I start doing that, and the guy next to you now you've got a real powerful synergy that starts taking place. And I think that's why we can start looking around at different people and eliminating excuses. I don't want them in my life, so I need other people that don't allow them in their lives except.

Chris Hart:
And then that becomes our social culture. Right. Like, our kids know, like, if an excuse comes out of their mouth, they're going to say, like, that doesn't fit the culture of this house. Not because that's how they were born, but because that's what we've created, like, culture. Like, you want to create the family culture. It's what you create and more importantly, what you tolerate.

Chris Alessi:
Yep.

Chris Hart:
And here's the deal. If you're tolerating it, you're teaching it right, that we're saying this is okay. We're approving this. So I love where you're going with that, Chris, because, like, everybody has dreams in their heart. And this is an interesting thought. Like, maybe we'll run with this for a minute. I think people are either hungry or they used to be hungry. And there's a whole lot of people.

Chris Hart:
I'm hoping the good thing about the beginning of the year is it hopefully kind of entices you to be hungry again. Unless you failed at the beginning of so many years, you're not hungry anymore. You know what I'm saying? Like, you get hit, there's enough obstacles, there's enough resistance, and it's like, man, I don't Know, maybe I'm not supposed to make a lot of money. Maybe I'm not supposed to be fit. Maybe I'm not supposed to have a great marriage. And that's just the devil talking us out of what's already been promised to us. Again, there will be opposition, but because of who we are in Christ, we operate from victory, not hoping for victory. We've already won.

Chris Hart:
Act like it, walk like it. Quit making excuses.

Chris Alessi:
I love it so much. And what I love even more. And follow me on this, because there's going to be a clear line here. I love the poster behind you even more. That iconic moment in Tombstone and like, you were explaining it to your kids because you haven't let them watch it yet. It's these guys that have got themselves ready to walk into a gunfight. And the confidence and the bravado and to be able to do that right, that. That's a big deal.

Chris Alessi:
But that really takes on the recognition that that's the type of person I can be, that I walk into a gunfight. I'm praying never. Never. Literally. But I'm going to go take down that giant. I am going to go take down something that's been plaguing me for a long time. I am going to bring my family together. I can walk into that.

Chris Alessi:
That gunfight. And so right about now, everybody's starting to bring certain books together to read. They're. They're setting certain goals. They're probably reading Atomic Habits or listening to it again. They're doing all of these things because of the hunger that you brought up that starts to stir around this time of year. And I think all those things are great. There's some phenomenal books.

Chris Alessi:
I'm reading one right now called Greatness. It's this little white book. You can't even tell that the word greatness is written on it. It's really cool. But all of that goes to say, you know, sometimes that's what we know to do when that hunger starts to stir. Sign up for a gym membership, buy a bunch of new clothes, and then start reading stuff. But what would you tell somebody right now is they're gearing up. They're dealing with that hunger.

Chris Alessi:
They want to become somebody who will walk right into a gunfight one day. They want to be kind of that representation. What would you say they should start doing? And I think you've already laid it out with the four P's earlier. But what. What should they start doing to prepare themselves well, for this next year?

Chris Hart:
I would. It's such A good question. I'd create some space and I'd get with God and talk to God and I would leave that conversation with God with two, three, four things that you want to be able to say you accomplished at the end of 2026. What is it? Right? And so we've got. We actually have to have a target. It's kind of that idea like if you don't actually have a target, you're kind of like throwing the ax at the wall and then like painting a target around it. It's like, I guess I hit it. You know what I'm saying? No, stop it.

Chris Hart:
You hit the fridge. Like, you didn't even hit the. You know what I'm saying? Like, that's. You missed. So I want to get real clear. That's where I say you start with prayer. God, what are you calling me to? Like, Nehemiah is a cool example. He heard of what was going on and it was like, wait.

Chris Hart:
He realized there was a burden that he was supposed to go and do. So he would have put rebuild the Wall on his 2026 plan. And then what he did, he prayed about it. Then he put a plan together. You know the story, but it's like, man, the king comes to him or he goes to the king and he's like, okay, what do you need? He had a plan. Here's exactly what I need. I need your permission. I need this lumber.

Chris Hart:
I need safe passage. He came in ready. So I think that's my challenge is like, man, this, this, this very first part of January, we're ready. We're not just kind of hoping it comes together and, you know, by March I'll have a plan. It's like, this is what I'm going to do this year. This is what I'm going to be about. This is what's going to define pieces of my life. And then that third part really is getting the people ready, man.

Chris Hart:
You're recognizing what it is. What's the burden? Start putting a plan together and the plan, listen, the plan doesn't have to be perfect yet. I think a lot of people don't start moving, they don't start advancing because something's not perfect, man. Let's get at least the first couple steps. Let's get the right people around us and now we can actually start kind of pursuing it a little bit and taking some ground. I love the idea of saying, this is what I'll do for that this week. Seven day increments are powerful. This is what I'm going to do for the whole year.

Chris Hart:
And then this is what it looks like in a seven day increment to take steps and that direction.

Chris Alessi:
And now to take that all the way down to the, the one day. One of the things that we, we all know here that you like to say, and I, I, I'll just kind of softball it, you can finish it. But as long as I do these two things, I can take on whatever comes my way every day. What's your big phrase, man?

Chris Hart:
I think if you're, if you're fit and you're in the word, you can take on anything that comes at you. So, so what are you doing, man? It's like, get that. And so I just, there's so many things that could be non negotiables and I think those are those for me, those are the two. If my body's right and my spirit's right, man, I'm just telling you, everything follows suit. So every morning we go play frisbee or we play basketball, or we lift weights, I get my body right, let's be physically correct because that's going to get your mind where it needs to be. And then you gotta be in the word, man. You know the word. You're speaking the word.

Chris Hart:
So then any opportunity that presents itself, you get the call you were hoping you would get, you're gonna come in ready, you stay ready so you don't have to get ready.

Chris Alessi:
And that's one of my favorite things. I honestly think about it a lot when I'm coming on something and it's starting to stress me out, I'm thinking, you know, when that thought starts to think, I really don't want to have to handle this today. I think, all right, did I work out this morning? Did I get my word? Shoot. If I didn't, that means I did not prepare myself well to take this thing off. So I've got to do it anyways and then wake up in the morning and take care of it. And one of the things that I love about this is it really is so much simpler. One of the examples I think I left out of all the things people are doing is they're probably rushing to chatgpt. How do I start the year strong.

Chris Alessi:
And one of the things I love about, about Chad is that it does delegate certain decision making, certain planning. It lays it all out. But if I'm honest, I don't think creating the plans, the hard part, I think the hard part is sticking with it. I think the hard part is getting over those excuses. When you Start waking up, and now you're thinking, I would get up and work out this morning, but I didn't sleep that good last night. My kid didn't let me sleep that good. You know, one. One of our big understandings of excuses is very simply, when you look at it, they're lies.

Chris Hart:
Excuses are a lie. Yes, sir.

Chris Alessi:
And I remember being so moved when I first heard you say, excuses are a lie, and I'm not a liar. And one of the cool things about all of this is that when you're talking about that hunger that stirs for the beginning of the year, the truth is that a lot of these things are an issue of identity. Who are you? Who. Who do you want to be? Do you want to be the type of person that can throw on a sick cowboy hat and walk into a gunfight? Or do you want to be the type of person that used to be hungry? Because if you want to, the excuses are going to show up. But the truth is, I've already made a decision that I'm not a liar.

Chris Hart:
Yep.

Chris Alessi:
And you say this a lot, but you want to go now you go that I want to keep the promises I make to myself.

Chris Hart:
That's it. That's where I was gonna go. Chris, you're with it, because here's the deal. Like, there's a lot of things you want to be known as, but I'm not a liar. You know what I mean? I will speak the truth, and we owe that to ourselves to do that. And it starts with, you nailed it. Keeping the promises we make to ourselves. So if I'll do that, then I have the ability and the competency to keep the promises I make to other people.

Chris Hart:
Because if I'm making excuses, I'm either lying to myself or lying to them. Right. So let's eliminate both. And let's say here's the plan that I have in place. Here's what I will stick to. And again, that's why I really think it's important who you're with. And I know, like, every parent has told their kid that. But, like, for real, if you're with the right people in the right place, good things are going to happen.

Chris Hart:
And if not. I was talking to a guy yesterday that our governor had to pardon him, and it was really funny. The governor was a church. He was at church. They reconnected. It was an awesome moment for church. They're both sitting on the front row, and I get to work with both of them. Right.

Chris Hart:
So it's hilarious. And he goes, I pardoned that guy and I'm like really cool. We're at church together, right. But his point was I was typically with the wrong people in the wrong places, which is what got me in the position to do bad things. Right. So that's the reality. It's like what do you actually want to accomplish? Who's doing it? Who supports you? Like we get on this kind of interaction. All I want to do is encourage you.

Chris Hart:
All you want to do is encourage me. We're going to win today. I was in the truck this morning. We play ultimate frisbee at 5am so it's dark outside. We have glow in the dark bracelets. So you know what team you're on the disclose. It's great. There's 20 guys out there collisions.

Chris Hart:
It's great. We're driving home and I've picked up my neighbor for the last five years and we play on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He told me this morning, the first four years he only did it because I kept calling him and I would come pick him up. He goes, it's only been the last year. I actually enjoy what we're doing. I thought that was great. But he goes, it's the best thing for me because I crave the interaction with the fellas. I crave the exercise.

Chris Hart:
I, I craved the discipline to get up early and it took four years for him to get there. But it was because the right people were going to the right place. So he kind of got caught in the drift of that, which is great. And now it's who he is and he does that for other people.

Chris Alessi:
I love that, I love that four years of pain.

Chris Hart:
But it's like hopefully it doesn't take everybody that long. I still don't love waking up early. I'd rather get up at 6 than 4:30, you know what I mean? But like I know the fruit of it. I've benefit. My life is different because we've done that for five years and we're still eating the fruit of that seed planted.

Chris Alessi:
So tell me, your youngest child, how old are they?

Chris Hart:
My youngest is seven. That's our son Brave and then my oldest. We have three daughters after that, 15, 11 and 9.

Chris Alessi:
So that means you had a two year old and you started waking up at 4:30 with a two year old in the house.

Chris Hart:
Oh yeah.

Chris Alessi:
So that I, I bring that up too because you know, a lot of people when they first hear excuses are a lie, they might not really agree. And one of the things that I loved about that teaching when you were walking Us through it that day was. Well, it's because when you say, I can't run that fast, the actual truer statement is, I could if I trained for it, so that you're unable, bro.

Chris Hart:
But I. So, so, yeah. So it's not a capacity issue, it's a conditioning issue.

Chris Alessi:
It's one of my favorite things, man.

Chris Hart:
You could do it. You could have a great marriage. There's going to be some conditioning required. You could be a great mama. Let's condition for that. So it's not like, yeah, I couldn't. No, if you train for it, you could. And here's a great one.

Chris Hart:
I'm not a morning person. There's some weird people that automatically are. But most of the world would say, I'm not naturally a morning person or I'm not naturally a really early morning person unless you condition for it. And some guys, it takes four years.

Chris Alessi:
You.

Chris Hart:
It might take three weeks, but all of a sudden now you're in that flow and in that rhythm, and that's what you've become because you trained for it, you increased your capacity, and now you can actually function from there. You put yourself at a new platform.

Chris Alessi:
Yeah. And so this goes back to why resolutions don't work. And I want to even add to that why simply reading atomic habits isn't going to give you the fruit that you want. It's great start, but why simply getting into some of these things aren't going to be enough. Because those excuses are going to show up. Life interruptions are going to show up. But I can remember, you know, when Rochelle first got pregnant, things got. Got dicey.

Chris Alessi:
She gets real sick, and I'm sitting there thinking, am I going to keep winning my morning? Am I going to keep going? But the truth is, the only way we were able to get through all of that was because we kept those things going. It's because we stayed hungry. And so to the listener, you know, this is a whole mindset shift. It's a lot more than just, you know, the psychology of if you write a plan down, there's a better chance of doing it. That's all great. And you can get all of that in other podcasts, you can get all of that in some books. But the excuses being a lie and recognizing that it's not a capacity issue, it's a conditioning issue. That is something, as someone who does like to read a lot, I do feel is pretty unique to you.

Chris Alessi:
And I'm sure there's books out there that. That address it in so many different words. But one of the things that I feel like that really helped me realize came when we were sleep training. Marino finally on his own. We needed him to be in his own room because now his brother's on the way, and, like, we just can't keep doing what we're doing. He's got to go. It's got to happen. He is a feeler.

Chris Alessi:
He's an emotional kid. He likes being with us, but we had to figure this out. And so I remember the first two or three nights where I'm sitting there and, you know, so she. She's pregnant, so she can't do it. I got to do it. So I'm in there, and he's not going to sleep. I'm in there 90 minutes, trying to put him to sleep, keep my attitude right. I'm trying to do all of this.

Chris Alessi:
It's like the fourth straight night of this. And I knew. I think it was a Thursday night. I knew not the coming Sunday, but the Sunday after that, that I was going to be preaching in church on Sunday. And I remember telling myself that night, this is not a capacity issue. My. In. What I'm dealing with right now does not.

Chris Alessi:
Is not about a person's natural limitations. It's not about how tired I am. This is a conditioning issue. And I told myself, and I remember saying it out loud because it was almost like I didn't really believe it in my head.

Chris Hart:
So I had to say it.

Chris Alessi:
I said, if I keep this up, when I take that pulpit to preach, I'll be living in a different world.

Chris Hart:
Come on.

Chris Alessi:
I'll be living in a completely different world. And that's what ended up happening. And so to our listeners, that's. That's the reality. If I. If I can get through those four years, I'll live. I'll be a different person. Come that fifth year, I.

Chris Alessi:
I remember an episode of Seinfeld is like, hey, I'm gonna go change. I think Costanza goes, I'm gonna go change. And Jerry goes, that'd be great. Like, yeah, it'd be great if you change. That would be awesome.

Chris Hart:
And, well, think about Jesus, man. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross. So there's a little bit, especially as you're coming into this new year, you're going to stare at it a little bit. It's like, I don't know. And I think maybe if I could throw a challenge out there, it would just be. If you have. If you have one of two choices, choose hard.

Chris Alessi:
Yep.

Chris Hart:
And it's really And I'll give you an example. I. And it's not like we're. It's going to war or not. Right. It's not that serious. It's usually, will you get up 15 minutes earlier or not? Will you go to the gym or not? I had one of those kind of mornings. I have a guy that usually picks me up for the gym and I walked outside.

Chris Hart:
He wasn't there. I waited around. I realized it was like his. We give each other like a one sleep in a year and that's it, right. I thought, this is his. Right. He slept in. And I honestly thought this would be easy.

Chris Hart:
I could just slide back into bed. This would be great. And I stood in my driveway kind of thinking like you were. And I'm like, it'd be better. The harder choice would be to get in my truck and go to the gym by myself. I did it. Which is why I'm telling you the story. Right.

Chris Hart:
Sometimes you don't always do that, but in this case, I did. And it was crazy. I had two conversations at the gym that were just game changers. One was a guy that I hadn't seen in probably three years and I invited him back to church, who came to church the next Sunday. Right. That was worth it. And the other one was a guy that's running for our Oklahoma Senate that I hadn't seen in a long time. We got reconnected right before he ran.

Chris Hart:
We've stayed great friends. So it was just an interesting. I was like. And I was driving back. I'm like, I'm glad. It was a small decision. No one in the world would have ever known except those two people that had ongoing kind of ripple effect from making that one small, harder decision. And that's what I.

Chris Hart:
What if we just came into 2026 and said, I'm just going to do that every time. I think we'd be shocked like three months into the year if we're, if we're living from that place of choosing hard, the fruit that we're enjoying because of it.

Chris Alessi:
Yeah. So what I'm hearing you say is sometimes when you sleep in, you do your friend a solid.

Chris Hart:
Just kidding. But you know, he's not on a podcast right now. You know what I'm saying? He's probably asleep somewhere. Just, just, just being a low life. No, no, Jim, come on. But it worked out well.

Chris Alessi:
You know, it's funny because here, here's. This is going to take us back to that, that verse that really was that. I'm just going to say, is at the center of, like, your influence in my life. That. That second Corinthians 6:11, verse where Paul is having to address them. And he says, the smallness you feel is not coming from us, you know, it's coming from within you. But he says something crazy. He's like, hey, your lives aren't small.

Chris Alessi:
You're just. You're just living in a small way. And I love that, because when we. When we look at conditioning, sometimes you got to start conditioning yourself without really knowing why. And then once you get more conditioned, you step into the why of God. It's like, why. Why should I condition my family to. To be closer, to work things out as a.

Chris Alessi:
As a family, to. To really take up the mantle of this family. Why should I do that? Because you don't know what God is going to put on your family that you're now conditioned for. I mean, truth is, you can get drafted number one overall. They're still not going to put you in week one unless you're conditioned for it, right? So you still won't step into the purpose you were called for unless you're conditioned for it. And there's only a few moments where they did. And those moments are all over documentaries talking about biggest busts of all time. God doesn't do that.

Chris Alessi:
So I keep thinking, man, when we first started our coaching, if I wouldn't have allowed that conditioning to take place, would I be stepping into some of the things that are my normal today? And that's good. That's why resolutions don't work. Because God's Plan for your 2026 is not as small as just getting a little bit better as a person. There's something that when you get a little bit better as a person, you step into, and it's like, heaven goes, all right, they're ready for it. And I wonder if you just didn't apply that to yourself, but you applied it to your marriage, you applied it to your family. One of the things that I love about what you guys, what you do is. And we do our best, we do it is the family meeting on Sunday. Hey, everyone, come together.

Chris Alessi:
Let's plan what this week looks like. If you can condition your family to operate that way, what opportunities would suddenly open and be revealed to you because you're conditioned for it. And I just. I love thinking that way.

Chris Hart:
Well, and there's. There's kind of. It's interesting because the three things that happen on a coaching call are what happened in that family meeting? Okay, so we're. We're looking at it. It's like, okay, I want my kids thinking. Right? So they're going to hear our voice. As far as direction, here's the authority we walk in. So their mindset's right.

Chris Hart:
Then there's accountability. Every. Every time we have a meeting, it's like, man, what was great this last week? What could have been better? Right? There's a. There's an accountability moment. And then collectively, we're coming together and just saying, hey, where are we going this week, man? I've got a test. I've got a tryout. Great. You're not doing it alone.

Chris Hart:
We got your back for that tennis challenge. We got your back for that soccer tryout. You're going to do great in math. You know what I mean? And so there's a unity that takes place, and there's a confidence that comes with knowing, man, my whole family's behind me.

Chris Alessi:
And I want.

Chris Hart:
I want everybody listening to have that with their friendships. I want you to have that at work. Right. But there's. There's those components that go into it that actually produce what we're looking for.

Chris Alessi:
Yeah. Which takes us back to the poster hanging behind you. How many of those guys would have walked into that gunfight alone?

Chris Hart:
Yeah, no, this. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. I mean, it's like, man, you're alone. The devil's ploy is to isolate you.

Chris Alessi:
Yeah.

Chris Hart:
Because you can get picked off if you're isolated. We see it in the animal kingdom, and, man, we see it every day in life. People are getting picked off because they don't have somebody else walking with them to go to that fight.

Chris Alessi:
Yep. And if you can get and condition your family to handle the family like a business, we're going to get on the same page. We're going to. And we're all going to do our part. You know, it's just a whole reshaping of the mindset and the mentality that you could have in 2026. And so you know, it. Unfortunately, they. They did play this bit twice, but it is funny.

Chris Alessi:
But then there was a moment where Kramer looks at Jerry and goes, I'm gonna come back a whole new person. And Jerry again says, that'd be great. And I just. I just. They did the bit twice, But I just wonder, you know, are there aspects of our future that are begging for us to come back a new person to step into 2026, a more conditioned person? And, Chris, I just gotta thank you because, you know, I'm not overplaying. The role that your influence being next to me as I walk into some of my gunfights has played, I can't oversell it. It's real. I feel the influence of it.

Chris Alessi:
And I'm hoping that the people here are even feeling what I'm feeling. The people listening are even feeling what I'm feeling, like a real stirring for a deeper hunger for 2026. It's not just for you and the things you can write on paper, but it's the things you're not even letting yourself dream about having a good relationship with that kid again or getting your marriage back on track. You know, those are the things that when. If I can. If I can condition myself for it, I can see those things become a reality. And so as we're getting ready to bring this plane in for a landing, take us through those four Ps one more time. How do we really prepare for 2026?

Chris Hart:
Yeah, well, I'll take you through the Ps, and then I'm going to add to second Corinthians, okay? A different translation says that you're limited by your own affections, okay? And I think there's. There's such a power in that. So as we're talking 2026, I'm going to take you through this, but don't let anything that's like an affection of yours. That affection could be sleep. That affection could be. Could be what you eat. That affection could be somebody that's not your wife. I mean, it just.

Chris Hart:
What is that? That's not God honoring. That's between you and God.

Chris Alessi:
That.

Chris Hart:
That would be limiting. That makes it feel like you're living small. So to not live small. Here's the four P's, and they're so simple, but we can execute simple. Number one, I need you to pray over and about 2026. Give it to God and tap into the supernatural for this year. Number two, once you've prayed, now we can put together a God kind of plan. Strategic, sharp, and executable.

Chris Hart:
Number three is people who. Not how. We don't always have to figure out exactly how we're going to do it, but we do have to figure out who is going to take us someplace we couldn't go by ourselves. And then number four is purpose. All of this leads to purpose. We find the purpose on the front end with the prayer, and then we come back around and we're tough enough, gritty enough, and confident enough to actually relentlessly execute the purpose. Man, if we'll do that, we're going to win. It will be the best year and you're not going to get to the middle of January thinking, oh man, another year where I didn't finish.

Chris Hart:
No, no, I got God in the middle of it at the front of it. I'm following his lead with the right people.

Chris Alessi:
Can't lose, can't lose. I love it. Thank you for being on and thank you for watching another episode of the Family Business with the Alessi's where family is everybody's business. You're going to probably do this with some podcasts anyway, so you might as well do it with this one. Send it to that friend. Show somebody that needs to stir up this hunger for 2026. I think it'll really bless them. So again, Mr.

Chris Alessi:
Hart, thank you for having us. Thank you for being on here with us. And if you're watching, thank you for enjoying another episode of the Family Business with the Alessis. You've just enjoyed another episode of the Family Business podcast with the Alessi's and we can't thank you enough for being a part of our pawdience today. Now that you've learned more about us, here's how you can join in in the Family Business. First, make sure you're following our podcast right now and download this episode so you can hear it at any time. Second, think of someone you know that might need or enjoy this episode and share it with them. You'll be helping them and helping us to spread the word about the family business.

Chris Alessi:
Third, go to alessifamilybusiness.com and tap the Ask the Alessis button. This is really cool. You could use it to record a voicemail comment or question and we can add your voice to our conversations. Finally, while you're on our page, tap the Reviews tab and you'll see a link to leave a review on Apple Podcasts. We love reading your reviews and we might even share them on the show. Thanks again for joining us and we'll see you next time at the Family Business with the Alessi's because family is everybody's business.