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Showing posts tagged passion
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Love, Passion, and Fitness
Ever since I can remember I have always loved to be active and workout.I loved how it made me feel. I loved how it gave me confidence in other aspects in my life. I loved how it changed my life forever. When things were not going well in my life, fitness was always there for me. I can never tell fitness thank you enough. It has allowed me to change hundreds of people’s lives.
I want to encourage you to open your heart to the opportunity of what fitness can do for you. You may start off thinking how could someone fall in love with fitness?
The way it happens is very similar to how love for another person happens. You go into the relationship with an open mind and allow yourself to get to know them. You allow yourself to give them a chance and let them make a positive impact in your life. But most importantly, you give them permission to be a part of your life.
Fitness and taking care of yourself can be the difference between having a fulfilling life or a mediocre one. The reason why I say this is I firmly believe that fitness can cure almost everything.
I may be delusional but in my mind fitness cures depression, low self esteem, fatigue, anxiety, worthlessness, sadness, diseases, physical injuries, and most importantly you.
Fitness can be the one thing that helps you feel less self conscious about yourself so that you can put more energy and focus on being the best husband, wife, friend, brother, sister, boyfriend, girlfriend, boss, and employee.
You can love fitness and let it become a passion of yours. I am going to give you permission to do so. Not because I control you but because I want to influence you on a higher level. I want to challenge you to do it but also share it with you because it is a gift. Having passion in your life is a choice that you can make and I promise you that if you just let it touch you, your life will never be the same.
I can’t imagine my life without fitness. I am committed to fitness and all of the gifts that it has given me. I owe fitness my very best effort day in and day out.
So now that you can see what fitness means to me. What are you most passionate about?
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The World of Personal Training and How it works. Personal Training is so misunderstood and my goal is to help give people a better understanding of what we do and how we do it.
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Health & Fitness: Health Benefits of Yoga
- Immunity: Yoga has frequently been connected to having a stronger immune system.
- Pain Tolerance: Yoga has been shown to increase pain tolerance. Some chronic pain is even lessened.
- Energy: People who do yoga regularly have notices that it provides consistent energy rather than being tired,…
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What the Fitness Industry and the World Needs (by gregmarshall17)
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Fitness Questions
To my blog followers what fitness questions do you have that I can help answer? Ask away.
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Opportunities are Everywhere
Opportunity is everywhere and it is up to us to figure out what we are going to do with that opportunity. I had a talk with a close friend and we had a long discussion about how this works. We all have the same 24 hours in a day and the same opportunities to seize if we look hard enough. Now I am not ignorant to think that some people don’t have a head start because of living conditions, income, parenting, and education but if we train our minds to see the positive at what we are looking at then we will see the opportunity. The issue on why most things appear like they are not an opportunity because one it looks like work and two we are thinking way to short term. Sometimes we have the tendency to look at something and think because it will not give us a return on our energy or money or emotions right away then it is not worth doing. FALSE!
Sometimes we have to think how do we want to set up our futures and what kind of legacy are we trying to leave? How do we want to be remembered? Think of some of the things you have done in your past where you were not exactly excited to do but in the long term it ended up being the best thing for you. Sacrifice is something we all have to do to get what we want. What are you willing to sacrifice to live YOUR dream?
I specifically remember when I was growing up and I was a very weak and small kid and my parents put me into a football league. I was scared to death to play because everyone was so much bigger than I was (not much has changed now lol) but I remember trying to make excuses on why I couldn’t go to football. The truth was I was just scared of getting hurt and didn’t believe in myself. I tried quitting after a game that I got absolutely crushed. My mother told me you will not quit and you will finish playing and that right there taught me to value persistence.
Now that was an opportunity for me to learn from because what that taught me was to think long term with things that I want. And although I never became a professional football player or athlete it did teach me that persistence is needed and if you want anything in life it will get hard and you have to push through it and not quit.
Challenge yourself and think on every choice and decision you are faced with if you are thinking long term success or are you thinking just short term gain? What current situations are you in that you think are a drag that can really be a opportunity in disguise?
If there are certain goals and dreams that you want to achieve do not think for a second that they are going to just fall on your lap. It will not be easy and you have to work and fight through the self doubt, the doubt of others, and all the negativity that you will hear in the world. This shouldn’t stop you from moving forward and doing it anyways because in the long term you will respect yourself more for doing it. Go get it!
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Thinking Outside the Mental Box
When you are ambitious and you have goals that you want to reach you have to train yourself to not box yourself in. I had a mentor years ago that told me that whenever I get in a rut I start to box myself in and create “imaginary walls”. At first I did not understand what he meant when he told me that. But after looking deeper into what he was saying what he meant was that whenever a problem posed for me I would think very limited thoughts and box myself in. This phrase meant that there are so many more solutions to problems and ways of doing things that I shouldn’t limit myself with ways to solve the problems. I then realized that I needed to make some adjustments because if I kept doing this I would not be able to reach my full potential as a person. So what did I do? I challenged myself that everytime I ran into a problem I would stop and really think of all of the ways that I could solve the problem.
One habit that I used to have was I would only think that people in my specific industry had good input on my situations and that everyone else’s advice in other industries were irrelevant. That was wrong and everytime I started to think that way and think my thoughts on paper for a solution I would ask myself … am I thinking too much inside the box? Could someone that is an outsider look at this problem and see the solution much clearer than I could because they were not attached to the situation but saw it for what the situation was. I found out this is one of the best ways to solve a problem or come up with a solution. I also found out another lesson within this lesson which is that there is nothing wrong with asking for help. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness or stupidity (which is the way I viewed it) but it is actually the sign of a smart leader.
What limits are you putting on yourself ? What limits are you putting on your team ? If you are anything like me you most likely see a problem for what it is and then think that there is only one way to solve it. That is until you bring someone else into the situation and ask for their opinion and they see the solution clear as day. So here is the question I am in the habit of constantly asking myself…. where did we get these limits ? Who set or decided that there was only one way to do something ? Sometimes we get so caught up in the world of needing knowledge that we sometimes forget how to think for ourselves or even worse think that our solutions are dumb because of course… we thought of them.
Some great tips that I have learned through challenging myself on thinking outside of the box are when a problem is presented step back and write the problem down. After you write the problem down then write ten or more different ways to solve the problem. After you do that ask some other friends and co workers how they would solve the problem. Then after you have several solutions start going through them and asking if you took the action of following through with that specific solution….what is the worst thing that could happen? If the worst thing that could happen did could you handle the problem and come up with another solution?
Never take a problem or a situation and think that it is permanent because it is not! Do not fall into the trap like I did and allow yourself to get trapped in the mental box. Be creative and focus on the solution and your decisions will be more effective and you will be happier. Don’t fall into paralysis by analysis. Now go out and take an action NOW.
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Clear Communication
Are you being effective with what you are trying to say to your team? When you have goals and dreams you should share them openly so that people know where you stand. When people know where you stand they can help you reach your goals or at least know how to get out of your way of reaching them. One of the biggest frustrations that we face in our world is that when a message that is trying to be communicated is not being understood. Think about the many times you have had an idea of exactly it is that you want and when you were telling someone or your team what that was they took it waay different than you meant.How mad or dissappointed were you? This is the crucial part of being effective and happy because when you can clearly communicate what you want it makes life so much easier. Think of how much more productive you would be if the people you are communicating to could read your mind. Well that will never happen but there are things that you can do to improve your skills.
A key part in being an effective communicator is listening. Listening is an art because when you listen and let the other person talk you can actually contribute something worthwhile to the conversation. When someone is talking to you make yourself listen to each word and then repeat back what it is they said so you are both on the same page. When you repeat back what the other person said it does two things. One thing it allows you to do is show the other person you were listening because most people do not listen to each other, and second it allows the other person to see how you interpreted what they said. Once you guys are both clear on what it is that is trying to be communicated you can move on to the next step.
Be clear on what it is you want FIRST and then tell someone about it. When someone is trying to communicate something that they do not even know what they want to you, this is just sooo confusing. Know what you want and if you do not know what you want then I think you should think about it first. After you know what you want think about how you would like best to communicate that to the other person. Think specifics and the more specific and clear cut you are the better the outcome will be. After you tell this person what it is you want to communicate then tell them to repeat it back to make sure you guys are on the same page.
Communication is key in any organization or relationship and that is what everything in life is relationships. So work on this for the rest of your life and make it a life goal to master it because it can change everything.
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The Risk Taking Leader
Taking Risk is crucial in keeping you as a leader exciting and powerful. When you are taking risks it gives you an adrenaline rush like nothing else in the world. That adrenaline can take you to levels that you never thought possible. It also gives you the confidence to achieve many other things indirectly. The reason why this is, is because when you are afraid to do something and take a risk you fear the unknown. As humans I think we are all afraid of the unknown. The cool part about this though is when you go through a risk and you succeed you realize something. You realize that there are things out there that you never thought could be possilbe for you that you could achieve. It makes you think what else am I holding myself back from?There is something about taking risks that your team will admire. When your team sees that you are willing to go out and put it all on the line, they know they can trust what you say. It gives your team power because they have a real leader. A leader who backs up what he says with ACTION. Action is the most powerful thing you can do and also the riskiest and scariest because God forbid we make a mistake and fail. How did we learn what is a risk anyways? Who decided certain actions were risky or that we should not do them for fear of not doing them well? These are all society norms that tell us what we can and can’t do. This is not for us because we want to LIVE and not die a slow conforming death. We only live once and we need to take advantage of as much life as we can as possible. Think to yourself if I got shot tomorrow or hit by a car tomorrow would I be completely happy with all of the chances I took? Did I even attempt my dreams or did I talk myself out of it?
Leading is about taking things to the next level and their is literally no way you can do that by just sitting back and taking the safe road. The so called “safe road” is actually more risky because you have less control because you are not taking any action. When you are sitting back you are vulnerable to everything and you lose the power of chance and choice. The fact that you are choosing a short term gain like that will cause long term pain. You will wake up and wonder why did I not try more? Why did I not try harder? Why did I not commit?
Think of all of the great things that have been created and the paths that have been created by people who society thought were completely insane. Think about it they saw a vision and they made that vision a reality by taking the risk of not accepting the status quo. They were ok with looking like a fool if it did not work out right away or hearing the naysayers whisper about how silly they were. But what makes us different is that fact that we are the people that want to make a difference in the world. We want to affect our staff, our families, and loved ones have them believe that there is so much more we could be doing. So much more potential that we can be reaching and the things that seem like they would be impossible are possible. That is what we all live for anyways, the chance to witness or be a part of something bigger. As humans and as business leaders instinctively we know that it can be done and that there is hope. And with hope there leaves a chance even if it seems like a small chance that things can turn out just as we envisioned them.
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Creating a Different World
Are we really pushing to create a new world? We are transitioning into a world that is so much different and we have to help create it. We can no longer sit back and hope someone else will change it for us or tell us how to act. We are now in a world where we have to think for our own and challenge ourselves to be different and innovative. We as people are getting smarter and learning to get information faster than ever before. We are not in a world where it is a win-lose situation anymore. People simply will not accept that as an option. I know I won’t accept that! The new world is about building relationships with people and making it a win-win situation. It is about helping out each other to strive toward a common goal. It is a world where big things are meant to happen and if we come together to strive toward a common goal everyone wins.
Ask yourself what are your beliefs on what success is? Ask yourself what is it that gives your life meaning and how can you start doing that everyday? Everyone was born with gifts and talents and we have to use those to our advantage and then find another person who can enhance those even more. And when we find another person who can enhance our talents we keep finding more and then we set a goal as a team. Come up with a vision and do not be afraid to share it and think big. This new world gives us every opportunity to share how we feel and what our thoughts and dreams are in so many new ways. We have blogging, facebook, twitter, websites you name it and we can get the message out. The question is are you afraid to let people know your vision? Do you think people will make fun of you for having dreams? I have news for you those people that are making fun are not living, they are dying. They are dying to have the guts to go out there and be themselves and get what it is they want because they do not believe in themselves.
Now take those questions and apply it to your team that you lead. Gather your team up and do the exercise of asking everyone what it is they want to achieve in their life? What are there biggest goals that if they achieved them would make their life. Create an atmosphere of ownership and vision. Why just have one leader spreading the vision when the power is in teamwork and you can have many leaders in your organization. Train all your people to think for themselves and be entrepreneurs. Be bold and take your organization to the next level and do not be the same as every other company or team. Do not fall for the trap of trying to do the same as everyone else to avoid being embarrassed or ridiculed. As a matter of fact you should push the envelope and see how many people you can get to criticize what you are doing. If you have a lot of people who think you are crazy or risky for what you are doing and trying then you are doing the right thing. You are on the path that everyone is afraid of and THEN you can create a different world. The world can be yours if you decide to make it your world.
There is a reason why the people who are on your team are on your team. They are attracted to the leader that you are and can see that you have ambition. They can see you believe that a different world can be created. Empower your team by asking for their opinion and of course share your opinion so that you guys know what the end goal is and then ask yourself this question, how can we put those ideas together to create our world? The ideal world.
Be a visionary, be bold, and do not let anyone or any circumstance stop you because we are the leaders who will create this different world, we are the lucky ones, we have a chance to make a difference. Let’s Do It!!
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Entrepreneur Challenge
Being an entrepreneur, we are wired to want to be in control at all times. We believe we can do EVERYTHING better than anyone else. But are we holding our own growth and expansion back by having this belief. Well I have got news, there are plenty of people who can do many things better than we can. If you are serious about making some serious changes and improving your efficiency then I have a serious challenge for you! Take some time off and completely let go. Yes you heard right take some time off and delegate everything. This is the perfect way to actually see how strong your business systems are. This is the perfect time to check your flaws in your system so you can make real adjustments. This is most likely the scariest thing that an entrepreneur can think of. It is a much harder challenge then it seems. One of the hardest things to handle of this challenge will be the anxiety you get from letting go. Letting go is so tough but it is all mental. Just look at it like mental toughness training. The benefits of letting go will be so much greater because you will learn several things about yourself. You will learn that you can let go and tremendously increase your value to your company because you can focus on growing your company and being the leader your company needs and deserves. You will also learn more about your staff because while you are not there you can see who your leaders are and what your staff’s weaknesses are. This is great data and can take your business to the next level. I challenge you to try this and if you need a book that really helps with technique check out the Four Hour Hork Week by Tim Ferris.
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The Greatest Asset…People
People truly are amazing and can make such a difference in our lives. Today I spoke with one of my staff members and heard and seen the extreme passion that he had for helping his customers reach their goals. This is what it is all about. This is what we open our doors for to conduct business is to provide a mutually beneficial relationship. There is nothing that can be done alone and to achieve something truly great you need the help of superb people. Not just educated people but MORE importantly you need PASSIONATE people who love what they do. There is no computer software, no alogorithm, no replacement to a human being who has dynamic qualities that will give you their all. This is what we need more of in the business world today is people that show up to work with a smile on their face and the customer first in their mind.
The best way I have found to bring the best out of the people I have coached is encouragement and freedom. I have recently learned that defining goals are absolutely crucial to managing this way. You see if you give encouragement and freedom but no goal then nothing will really happen because they are spinning their wheels. But when you do set an exciting and empowering goal and let them do their thing it can really produce BIG results. I read an article yesterday by Richard Branson of Virgin who wrote about the key to letting go. It really struck me and made sense about the power of freedom and production. I saw the same thing on cnbc television where more businesses were adopting this practice. They have both claimed that it produces more productivity, creativity, and a better work culture. I am going to immediately implement the practices I learned which are give people freedom and ownership while empowering them all the way to success.
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Vision in Business
When you are a entrepreneur you have to have the ability to see things before they happen. The best entrpreneurs communicate that vision soo strong that they can recruit people to work with them before they even have their first customer. This is what I have learned by starting my own personal training business. I remember when I first told my friends and family what my business partner and I were going to start and they thought we were CRAZY! They thought out of all times you are going to start a business with NO FUNDING, NO EXPERIENCE, and in THIS ECONOMY!?? We believed that we could do it because we were not afraid of failure or maybe we were just plain dumb but either way we didn’t care.
I remember like it was yesterday I was scared and insecure about what and when this was going to happen! My business partner, his wife and I all lived in a very small trailer where we constantly talked about all of these great things that were going to happen that were not happening :). We never at anytime considered the option of quitting and that is where I think we had the edge. The funny part of the entire process of the start up was that we had to play pretend every single day that everything was ok. No one had any idea that we lived off of the dollar menu at sonic and mcdonald’s and that we hadn’t paid our bills in months. We would hire trainers painting the picture that one day we will be this glorious company and we didn’t have two pennies to rub together. That was a tough and stressful time because because each day we were the ceo, the salesman, the customer service rep, the accountant, the therapist, and you name the role we were it! The only problem was we were only experienced in one of those roles and that was sales.
It was the best learning experience that I could have ever asked for. We read all the books we could ever read and audio cd’s we could listen to, to do whatever it took to succeed and stay positive. Before I started the business I never quite understood what communicating a vision was. Now I do. The best ways that I have learned to build a vision is to first think of what your core values are and write them down. Second you have to be genuinely excited about the vision regardless of money. And third you have to choose people who match well with your vision. There you have it now go out and make your vision a REALITY!
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Leading through Care
When you are running a business there are people involved. When there are people involved there are uncontrollable circumstances. It is vital that you accept this immediately or else you will constantly feel blindsided. When you are leading a team you must understand that you have to care about people first work second. This is often the part where business leaders drop the ball. They are so worried about short term profits and efficiency that they push their staff too hard. This is a serious problem because when you are thinking short term you almost always make the wrong decisions.
Being a business owner I do care about making money and being efficient but I am a people person. I have been involved with companies where they just do not get it. They cannot figure out why their employees will not work harder or stop calling in sick or quitting. Now it is not rocket science. Treat the employees with care and have empathy. You see people can see right through a facade and they can see sincerity. If you want to have more productivity with your employees then stop thinking short term. Ask for their opinion and give them ownership of the ideas that they come up with. Share some stories of your personal experiences about how you have struggled or felt just like they have. Let them get to see the real you. Be transparent and let your employees see you are just as vulnerable as they are and that you too are human. Take them out to lunch, have some drinks with them, share your hobbies with them, and let the wall down. Business shouldn’t have to be so formal and uptight. Why must we have to accept the status quo and run our businesses like it’s the old days?
People are different and times are changing and we need to flow like water. Here is a quick example of what I used in my own business that made a significant difference. I started taking my staff out to dinners and giving personal time which is WAAAAY more powerful than just a certificate or bonus and I noticed a shift at the office. I noticed that they started having more of a smile on their face. They started to mesh better with the other members of the staff and even customers. It was soo counterintuitive but it worked. I am promising you try it it works.
