No Job is Beneath You

Parents, friends and acquaintances may regularly tell you you’re smarter than Bill Gates and can do anything you want. But I don’t know anyone who hasn’t benefited from a willingness to start at the bottom. Even Bill Gates began by doing odd jobs as a programmer.

Starting at the bottom builds character. It makes you hungry and determined. It’s also a very good way to find out that you’re not as smart as you think you are. And it’s the best way to learn. Because if you haven’t figured it out already there’s a lot more to learn out there. And you can learn it only by admitting you don’t know it already, which means starting at the bottom.

Starting at the bottom is not about humiliation. It’s about humility – a realistic assessment of where you are in the learning curve. And be honest with yourself. Learn what you’re not good at and appreciate those coworkers who are.

You can’t short-circuit the learning process. It takes time to get to the top, and that’s good – because by the time you get there, you’ll have learned what you need to know in order to stay there. Just shelve your ego, put your head down and bulldog forward, grinding it out. There is no better way to gain respect - and self respect than through hard work.

When what you want is out of reach, you keep climbing until you get it. And when you work that hard to pull yourself up, it really means something when you get there.

Pay it Foward

Do you remember when you were the new coach at Innovative Fitness? Did you feel welcomed? Did you feel like you were part of the team? I am sure if you are reading this you answered yes to all three. Now, do you remember the time where you walked into a previous job for the first time and you were not welcomed? Did you feel a team dynamic or did you get the feeling everybody is just in their own little box and all about themselves.
When you went through orientation at Innovative Fitness, did the employees really take the time to help you or did it feel like they were helping you because they were forced to.

Well, let me explain my experience. Walking into West Vancouver Innovative Fitness 3 years ago was a different experience than my previous jobs. I felt welcomed the second I walked into the facility and heard my name being yelled. Although I felt welcomed, I did not feel comfortable at the beginning. I was definitely outside my comfort zone but the more coaches took the time to get to know me and share their experiences at IF, I started to feel more comfortable and started to slowly feel at home. I slowly started to trust the coaches who took the time to help me. Those are the coaches today who I appreciate their feedback since they invested time in me from the start. It was a long and slow process but the feedback I received allowed me to climb the mountain and become a very successful professional coach today. If I was not welcomed on the team, who knows where I would be today!
Over the past few weeks there has been a few new faces in our home at IF West Vancouver. These new recruits have been going through orientation. This can be quite scary and nerve racking experience; especially for these candidates. The better job we do as a team to make them feel welcomed and get to know them, the more comfortable they will become with the team and they will become more accepting to feedback. So now is the time to get to know our new teammates. It is great to see the coaches working as a team to work with the new recruits. The better coaches our new recruits become, the better our team becomes.

Nobody's Ever Happy

So, the budget came out yesterday, and the fallout is still rolling through the media. Generally speaking, we pretty much got the result that should have been expected.

Absolutely no one was happy.

The Conservatives didn't put forth the budget they had originally intended.

The Liberals didn't get into power through a political back door.

The NDP didn't get a person in power that they could manipulate like a puppet.

And the Bloc Quebecois didn't get a leader who is a sympathizer.

Oh, and don't forget - the environmentalists aren't happy, the economists aren't happy, the poverty advocates aren't happy... generally speaking, I don't think anyone's happy.

Thing is - I don't know that there's anything that could have been done. Just like Barack Obama would be hard pressed to make things worse in the U.S., well, is there any sort of budget that would have left a majority of people in Canada satisfied? Sure, they could have put extra money towards certain areas, but only at the expense of other ones - but then, that's never acknowledged by the special interest groups.

Nope, it's all about them, and if it's not good for them, then it's clearly not good at all.

I wonder when the "Me" society is going to realize that this sort of thinking is exactly what got us into trouble in the first place? If an economic meltdown greater than anything seen in the last quarter of century doesn't do it... I shudder to think what it would take...

~Guy

We all need some help sometime

No matter who you are – no matter where you are from – chances are, you will need some help at one point or another.

Now I’m no saint. I must admit to judging people by their cover sometimes – I can’t always help it. I see someone who looks unkind – I think they are ‘mean’. I see someone ‘large’ I may think they are slow. I see someone who may be homeless – I could even think they are a bum. When I was younger you may have even witnessed me passing judgment verbally – but that’s another blog…

I live in the East Side and the sight of homeless people doesn’t really shock me. In fact, there are plenty of them – one needs to make a game out of the inevitable interactions, because it’s not if, it’s when you’re going to be speaking with them…

A few years ago I was on route from my car to my local shopping center – I had some stops along the way, banking, the post office etc. I was coming up to a man that was going to ask me for change. He didn’t look too hot either. I was thinking what I should say to him to keep the situation light and easy (it’s not like I’d just pretend he wasn’t there – I do have respect)

So as I approached him, I locked eyes with him and before he could say anything I said, ‘do you have any spare change?’ thinking that I stumped him, he came right back, ‘sure’, he responded with a smile – he dug into his pocket, pulled out some loonies and toonies and passed five dollars in coins my way, ‘we all need some help sometime’

I was totally shocked. I didn’t know what to say – so I simply said, ‘thanks, thank you for that’. He simply nodded and looked over my shoulder to the next passer by…

As I walked away I thought to myself wow, what a turn of events. Such a small gesture of cash, but what a profound statement from this man…

It made me realize – first off, don’t judge a book by its cover, but more importantly don’t discount the possible lesson that may be just around the next corner stemming from the least most expected situation…

Keep it Clean!

Over the past couple of weeks, Vancouver was covered in fog. You could hardly see the car in front of you when driving, see any mountains or even the skyscrapers of downtown Vancouver. However when you escaped above the fog you were presented with warm, clear blue skys. A completely different environment from that below and you felt that you were on top of the world.

This phenomenon was caused due to a change in atmospheric pressure called Inversion. Scientifically inversion is a “deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude.”

What causes inversion?
Basically, inversion happens when air is colder near the surface of the earth, and a warmer, less dense air mass moves over the cold air.

For us Vancouverites, we were all amazed by this weather and purposely drove up to the higher ground to see the city covered in fog. Luckily, the inversion that we experienced was a natural weather phenomenon. Other cities like Mumbai, India, Lose Angeles, California and Mexico City live with this fog all year round due to pollution. The air there is murky because of the dust and pollutants cannot be lifted from the surface.

The natural beauty and clean environment that we are fortunate to live in, here in Vancouver is something that we should not take advantage of. We should all do are part to help keep our city clean by individually doing your bit, for example, turning your lights off or biking to work.

We live in such a beautiful city, and sometimes take it for granted. People are starting to move to Vancouver from other smog-infected cities because the air and environment is clean and fresh here.

We can all do our bit, let’s continue to keep Vancouver beautiful.

Relationships

Recently I was reading an article about the kabbalistic view of people and the purpose they have in our lives. According to this article, each one of us came to this world to transform and to become a better version of ourselves. And it is this very same transformation that brings more light, blessings and fulfillment into our lives.

This is why, in order to facilitate our personal evolution, we are each born into the exact situation that will best push those buttons of correction that need pushing. The people within our lives are there for a very important purpose – one that is not always comfortable (change is rarely comfortable). Their purpose is not always to make us feel good, but to push us in ways that enable us to grow and change.

I think that when we are able to see people through this lens, it gives us a greater appreciation for our relationships – even those aspects we find difficult and uncomfortable. It awakens an understanding of what is my lesson, and what is it I am meant to learn?

Relationships are here to help us grow. There is a beneficial reason these souls are in our lives. And remember, no relationship is perfect.

Are you sleeping enough?

In my teenage years, the teens slept too much and now in my young adult years, adults sleep too little. During my University years, I slept on average of 6 hours a night. I remember the struggle it was to wake up for class. I slept 6 hours because I thought that was the norm for an University student; but for me it definately was not enough sleep. At this point, I decided to take caffeine pills to make it through the day. I would spend a lot of afternoons snoozing away in the library. As my life continued and starting working at Innovative Fitness, my sleeping patterns did not get any better. Averaging 5-6 hours of sleep per night just did not cut it. On the way to work I would drink a coffee and blast the music so I could survive the drive from Coquitlam. Once I arrived at work I would have another coffee. When I got home from work I would take a 1 hour nap thinking that it would make up for my loss sleep from the night before; however it set me back a few more hours since I was less productive after the nap. Throughout most of my life, I would sleep enough to get by, but never listened to my body how much sleep it wanted. About a year ago when I moved into the nights, I was unsure about the switch; but I took advantage of it and decided to try to change my sleeping patterns. I set my alarm at 9am and went to bed at 12 midnight. I automatically woke up at 8am just before my alarm went off. I felt amazing and had so much energy. I realized what a difference slept made so now I make it a priority in my life. We should all be striving for 8 hours of sleep since are jobs as Professional Training coaches takes alot of energy.
According to leading sleep researchers, there are techniques to combat common sleep problems:

Keep a regular sleep/wake schedule
Don’t drink or eat caffeine four to six hours before bed and minimize daytime use
Don’t smoke, especially near bedtime or if you awake in the night
Avoid alcohol and heavy meals before sleep
Get regular exercise
Minimize noise, light and excessive hot and cold temperatures where you sleep
Develop a regular bed time and go to bed at the same time each night
Try and wake up without an alarm clock
Attempt to go to bed earlier every night for certain period; this will ensure that you’re getting enough sleep

The Modern Archetype

Had an interesting conversation with Paul and Kevin a few months ago, and it got me thinking about how the current crop of archetypal characters reflect a very defined set of strengths and weaknesses themselves, and often can reveal a great deal about the person who identifies with them. Shortly after this, I took one of those online quizzes that was sent to me, to find out which Harry Potter and "24" character I was most like (Dumbledore and Bill Buchanan, respectively). What was great about both of these, as well as the conversation with Paul and Kevin, was the alternative way of looking at things that it presented... in fact, I've used variations of this in questions during interviews to try and dig a little deeper into the people I'm meeting.

So, I'll ask any of the people reading this - which of the following television/film cop archetypes do you identify with, and what do you believe it says about you?
The "good" cop (the one who brings coffee to the suspect, and tries to get the information out of him by building trust)
The "bad" cop (the one who comes in and scares the crap out of the suspect until they talk)
The undercover cop (renegade, operates a little outside of the system)
The "Internal Affairs" cop (black and white, rigid and inflexible - they represent the system and popularity be damned)

For what it's worth - Paul was "good" cop, I was "Internal Affairs"... and Kevin was the plucky comic relief sidekick.

~Guy

.reflect it.

Reflection or introspection is the self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations.
When our group traveled half way around the world, we had no idea that we would be changed forever. We never knew that the power of the visual we were going to experience would touch us and impact our souls.
To travel anywhere is a gift. To travel with friends is reward. To travel, experience, contribute to others well-being and even change people can only be explained as a beautiful moment in one’s personal growth.
As many say, ‘we must look where we have come to know where we are going’ - rings true. Don’t be in too much of a hurry to miss all those moments and be sure to take the time to get back to that place.
Maybe it’s a place where you have the feeling that you crave – peace or your definition of z.e.n. – whatever your picture of that is, hold on to it – don’t lose your dinosaur and be sure you are getting your piece…
Asia is a wonderful place – the sights, the smells, the feeling, the history, the culture...the whole package is just there, waiting to be opened by you - along with so many other places – Asia holds many treasures…
We were there just over one month ago and of course the group has been talking about a reunion ever since we got back. With busy schedules and our western ways in the way, it took a bit of effort, but the stage was set – we all could make it except for one (who is still in Mexico)
The night began with drinks at our meeting place (thanks Kim!) we were then instantly transported back to Cambodia via traditional appetizers followed by what seemed to be an endless flow of authentically prepared mains with visually stunning presentations and aromatically dazzling experiences…
Now the wine was amazing too, but what stuck with me was the way the smell just lifted us back instantly to that place. We spent the night laughing from retold stories and awing at over 1000 carefully chosen photographs. Wow – what a night…
Thanks to everyone who contributed and made that event so special.

Another observation was how magical it was to be transported back to a place or moment in time when a certain feeling was so strong. No matter what it was, it was right back there staring at you.
Whether you can remember off the top of your head right now or not – get into your hard drive – cue up some photos or hit random on a playlist – give your soul a little jumpstart and get back to that place which may have given you some inspiration…get ready, this may be a nice little nudge to get you back on track or refocused on your task at hand.
Regardless – thank those who have been there for you and be sure to schedule an adventure within the next month – you’ll thank yourself!

Finding a Balance!

How do we find a way to balance our lifestyle?

How do you find the time to spend equal time in each of our spheres when perhaps one sphere is more demanding than the others?

Through out this year you will come across different situations that pull you in multiple directions. Demands will be brought down on you and it is up to you on how you balance these demands.

For example:
Professional: programs being completed, organizing an event, or working 40hrs+
Personal: new relationships or spending time with family/ friends
Physical: training for a marathon or triathlon.

Certain spheres take precedence over our lives, however it is up to us to make sure we have pieces of all our spheres in our lives. Each of us needs to create a balance lifestyle or you will become run down and overworked. It is important as well not to spread yourself too thinly. Personally, I have done this multiple of times because I have wanted to do everything. Unfortunately, when this has happened I have in some shape or form disappointed someone or myself.

I strongly believe that having balance in your lifestyle requires planning ahead. Do not take on too much at one time but spread yourself equally through out the spheres and you will be a much happier, non-stressed individual.

Quitting

The other night, I came home from work and started watching The Larry King Show on CNN. Larry was talking with the trainers from the hit weight loss reality series The Biggest Loser about their experiences on the show. Together they are responsible for whipping contestants into shape.

Jillian Michaels, is a fitness expert who has gained prominence as a trainer on the weight loss reality series along with Bob Harper. Jillian is also a trainer in the Australian version of the show. Each episode depicts the drama of how overweight, out-of-shape contenders transform their bodies, their health and ultimately their lives with proper diet and nutrition.

Overall, Jillian Michaels has the best win/loss records of all trainers on every America and Australian season of The Biggest Loser in which she has participated. Excluding America’s season 3 (she was absent from that season), in every America season she took part in (as well as Australia’s Biggest Loser Season 1); she has always had one of her contestants win the competition.

I think it is because of her attitude. I had the chance to watch a clip from the show with Jillian coaching a contestant, in which the contestant was being pushed to their limits, and yelled, ‘I can’t go on.’ Jillian stood toe-to-toe with said contestant, and replied, ‘Tell me that you are going to quit, but don’t tell me that you can’t.’

There's only one thing that can guarantee our failure, and that’s if we quit. We have a choice in our success. Learned helplessness is the giving-up reaction, the quitting response that follows from the belief that whatever you do doesn't matter - make it matter, you're worth it.

Are you Drinking Enough Water?

I just got off the phone with my friend who is a nutrition expert and she insists that 80% of the country is walking around dehydrated, which is supported by scientific research. We drink too much coffee, juice, coffee and sodas which contain either caffeine or sugar. This causes us to lose body water. So, the question is simple: drink water. Being in a gym we promote a healthy lifestyle and this includes drinking a minimum of 8 glasses of water each day. Quite frankly, a majority people drink far less than the minimum and to make things worse coffee and fruit juices are the majority choice of fluid which enters the body throughout the day. As professionals we must constantly be educating the people in our lives about the importance of water; however it is very important to be aware how water plays a role within the organs of our body.

Here are some basic stats:

-Blood is 83% water
- Muscles are 75% water

-Brain is 74 % water

- Bone is 22% water.

Without sufficient amounts of water in our body, we are running on a low tank of gas and thus it prevents our body from digesting vitamins and nutrients effectively. Also, water plays a huge role in detoxifying the liver and kidney. So if you want to feel better and start functioning better in daily life, DRINK MORE WATER.

Other Health Benefits of Water

-Improve Your Energy
-Increase Your Mental and Physical Performance
-Remove Toxins & Waste Products from your body
-Keeps Skin Healthy and Glowing
-Help You Lose Weight
-Reduce Headaches
-Allow for proper Digestion
-Help to keep you more Alkaline.

Fool Me Once...

I hate two things a great deal:

a) Being a hypocrite

b) Being wrong

In order to avoid the first, I try to practice what I preach as often as possible, and never consciously ask someone to do something I haven't done, or would never do, myself.

In order to avoid the second, I try to do my research and know what I'm talking about before I speak up - this includes putting my ego aside when someone knows more/better than me.

That being said, a little back story:

When Vancouver was bidding on the Olympics, I was right there cheering them on. I thought that the arguments about the money being better spent, for example, was short-sighted nonsense (still do) - in the words of a former YMCA C.E.O. (a non-profit organization), "...you need to spend money, to make money". BC needed an economic stimulus, and having lived in Calgary during the '88 Olympics, I saw front and center what effect they could have.

However, a friend of mine who had just moved out from Alberta gave me the first argument that actually gave me pause - he said that Alberta's Olympics were successful because the people of the province had long been lead by a government that basically took the attitude "You made your bed, you lie in it". BC, on the other hand, was used to an attitude of "What, you're in trouble? Just wait, I'll loan you money that isn't there to bail you out!". For this reason, he felt that the Olympics were destined for trouble in BC, because inevitably they would run into trouble, the government would bail them out, BC would relive the '76 Montreal Olympics and wind up paying off debt for 30 plus years. And while I did, indeed, pause at this, at the same time I thought "No, that would never happen".

I hate being wrong.

~Guy

Let’s face it…

What do you use it for?
There are many ways, but we don’t want to promote the wrong thing now do we…
We must remember that we never know who is watching.
Personally, I held off for ever – The last thing I needed was a site where people could keep track of me. Not looking to be in the lime light or have my moves recorded.
But then a light was cast down and was invited to look at it in another form…the ultimate network and marketing tool…until it falls into the great tool graveyard…
So we tightened up our focus and now are delivering a clean product for the opportunity of an exponential amount of participants to view. It ridiculous how infectious it can be….the hours must slip away on some. But don’t let yourself fall into that trap…
Remove the booze shots – clean your wall – constrict your shared information so you can funnel towards our common goal.
No need to post that shot from Saturday night’s fest, how about that one from Sunday morning adventure with those who facilitate your reinvention…
After all, what do you choose to portray? What’s your vision?

NO DRAMA

This past week at the West Van facility our hot water boiler exploded in our staff room. When we arrived at 5:30am on Thursday morning, we were greeted with 3 inches of water all over our gym floor, bathrooms, back office and staff room. Matt had received the call at 3:30am and had been working on the situation since then. As each coach arrived, we analyzed the situation, realized what needed to be done and everyone got to work, no questions asked. This is what makes this situation unique. I believe that with any other company, it would have been a completely different situation. Coworkers would have been assessing the situation instead of getting to work, there would have been complaints, negative attitudes and probably the facility would have closed for the day. However the West Van team came together in the early hours of Thursday morning and got to work. There was NO DRAMA. We came together and we did whatever it took to get us back running as fast as possible. We actually had a double training session going on at 6am, with the creativity of Richard Alm leading an amazing session all on the spinner bikes.

Our “No Drama” mentality for this situation was to be carried on with our conversations with our customers. We explained the situation and guaranteed that they would receive a great work out. As coaches we had to be creative with our sessions, we had to not blow the situation out of proportion and be able to keep our facility running as smoothly as possible.

Yesterday, Kris sent the West Van team an email asking if anyone was free at 6:30pm to come in and put our gym back together. The whole team minus 3 coaches came to help out last night. We arrived to our gym with the fans still blowing the floor dry, the mats and equipment out of place and the floors covered with pieces of dry wall. We came together again and within 2 hours we had the facility ready for business. The renovation company was amazed by our work effort, our team work, our and our NO DRAM mentality. Not to mention we had a blast working together, loud rap/hip hop music playing with coaches displaying there best ‘gangster’ dance moves, lots of laughter and jokes between all of us.

The situation could have been a lot worse if we had had a different mentality, if we had let ciaos run its course, if we had complained instead of just got to work.

We all learned a great deal from this, however the biggest lesson to take from this is the “NO DRAMA” attitude When something disastrous happens, take that mentality and you will be amazed by the things your will accomplish

What Not to Wear

For those of you that have been living in a bubble these past few years, What Not to Wear is a show that was popularized in the mid-90s as part of a culture wide personal re-invention craze, and is now among the many makeover themed reality programs.

It gets its contestants through referrals from friends and family of those who have been deemed to be ‘fashion challenged.’ Clinton Kelly and Stacy London appear at the designated contestant’s home or office, and announce that they have been selected for a complete fashion, and beauty makeover.

Once the cameras cover the inappropriate and unattractive clothing of the contestant, he or she is offered a Visa card with $5,000.00 on it in order to buy a whole new wardrobe. However, there is a catch. The contestant must agree to hand his or her entire wardrobe and go on a two day supervised, and controlled shopping spree. The contestant can only buy within a set group of parameters, and if not, they are not allowed to purchase the item. They complete the week with expert hairstyling by Nick Arrojo, and a makeup lesson from Carmindy.

Intermittently throughout the first half of the show, the contestant is asked to enter a nightmare room aptly labeled the ‘360 mirror.’ This is where the audience feels empathetically offended for and with the contestant. There does seem to be a valid point here: you can’t escape your body if you want to accept it, and you can’t dress your body if you don't.

Here’s the amazing thing, each week, you see a person go from being insecure and image-conscious to confident, and excited about life. ‘This was a life-changing experience! Is often the phrase most uttered by contestants during their ‘reveal.’ They learn that even though they were initially mocked, the ultimate goal each week is to make a contestant’s life better by teaching them to be comfortable with themselves. While designer clothes might not be the most ideal tool to do this, it works.

If we really think about appearance, what matters is the way in which we carry ourselves; others judge from there. Pure confidence radiates and affects how others see us, regardless of our physical form. What Not to Wear has a simple, ultimately admirable message: No matter your shape, your size, or whatever physical liabilities or hang-ups you have, you can be beautiful.

‘You can't fit your clothes well, and look your best if you don't know what you're working with,’ Stacy London.

Opportunities

As leaders, it is always great to challenge a teammate when the opportunity arises. When you see an opportunity for a fellow teammate which will allow them to grow professionally, then present them with the challenge and watch them grow. In my three years at Innovative Fitness, I have been presented with a few significant challenges which stand out.

1.) First Challenge was by Kris and Josh: I was presented an opportunity to go into the nights and was challenged to be a leader with Josh. I took on this challenge and started to feel more comfortable in taking on challenges and opportunities. Being a vet coach in the evenings allowed me to grow and help lead the newer coaches.

2.) Second Challenge was by Josh: Told me that I was great at following the systems and presented me with the idea of being the next Product Manager. I was unsure but the first opportunity he presented me was great in the long run so I decided to take on the role. Allowed me to grow professionally.

3.) Third Challenge was by Josh: Told me to sign up for Oliver ½ Ironman so I did. I gained alot of trust through Josh from the first two challenges and opportunties he provided me.

The lesson to be learnt is, challenge your fellow teammates when you see opportunities in front of them because you want them to grow professionally and personally. Sometimes all it takes is somebody to challenge you to make one of the greatest decisions in your life.

Follow Through

Our country needs a leader.

It has been a long time since we've had one - a true leader, that steps up and through a combination of passion, personality, knowledge and vision... draws us along and creates something new. Someone whom, when they speak... the world listens.

We had someone like that once. I was only vaguely aware of him when I was younger, and seeing as how I grew up in the West with parents who were Western Canadians... there wasn't a whole lot of love for him in our household. But one phrase my mom used has stuck with me ever since I was 5 years old: "I don't like him at all - but you can't help but respect him".

Now, as someone who is seriously considering politics in the latter stages of my life, this man is someone whom I aspire to be. Not because of his policies or beliefs, necessarily (some of them are 100% contrary to mine), but because of the statement above. He swept the world along, he was a name and a face recognized worldwide, he did not bow down to pressure - and he left a legacy. Without him, homosexuality may still be a criminal offence in Canada, we might not be bilingual, multiculturalism may be taboo, the federal energy program might not exist... the examples go on.

To reiterate - I don't actually agree with a lot of what he did (though hindsight's always 20/20). However, in the end what I most respect about him (and the key element that all of our current leaders lack, from municipal to federal) is this:

He told you what he was going to do - and then he did it.

Follow through.

"Just watch me."

~Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1919-2000)

Take responsibility and move on.

More so to the point – if you make a mistake, stand up and admit it…
Learn from it and move on.

We all make mistakes – we all have the opportunity to learn from these mistakes and help ourselves or even help those around us.

‘hey, I fu*ked up – sorry, won’t happen again – I will do xx or yy differently next time’
boy that controls the situation way better and looks way more pro than not saying anything at all and having anyone say, ‘man, they fu*ked up’

It brings the situation under control and shows those around you that you acknowledge that a mistake has been made and that you are aware that those around you notice. It instantly defuses the issue and allows everyone (including yourself) to move on to the next task as hand.

So – as an example – we are driving along and by mistake, cut someone off – we have 2 options – take responsibility and move on…or not even look in the rear view mirror only to feel the glaring eyes burning a hole in our head....(because we know what we did)

Hey, just put up your hand – ya, it’s me, I made a mistake and by me waving my hand like this I’m totally taking responsibility for that and saying, ‘sorry pal!’

What happens next? The driver in the car behind feels instantly better and doesn’t go on to cut the next person off!

Or a personal real time example…

We are mid huddle and 2 coaches arrive late. One coach chooses to say, ‘sorry for being late’ the other – nothing….not a word….even after hearing those simple words…that easy hand in the air ‘hey, I made a mistake and I’d like to take responsibility for it right now’

So, interesting how such a little maneuver can give inspiration for a blog – but it’s that simple – if you make a mistake – take ownership and move on.

Thoughts?

Team Canada

This past Saturday I watched the exciting semifinal Jr. World Cup hockey game between Canada and Russia. I love watching two teams play with 110% effort, with passion and determination while wearing their country’s flag on their chest. For the young Canadian team, the pressure was on for them. Not only is Hockey a nationally watched sport but also the Canadian Jr. Team has reached the final game 8 years in a row. Canada is a hockey nation that we have dominated the ice since 1920, when the first international hockey championship was played in Antwerp.

This game was a battle between two rival countries, going back 35years when the first World Jr. Hockey Championship took place in 1974. Since then Russia has won 26medals (12 gold, 9 silver and 5 bronze) and Canada has won 23 medals (13gold, 6 silver and 4 bronze). The history between these two teams goes deep and you could definitely see it on every players face.

I was inspired watching these young 18 year olds playing with everything they had, risking their bodies in front of pucks, finishing every check to the boards and completely exhausted after every shift. With any action packed and intense sporting event, I was into it. I had not been following the tournament but for this game, I could not tear my eyes apart from the television. I honestly felt like I was live in the arena cheering on the Canadian team.

The young Canadian team led the game 3-2 going into the third period. The 3rd period was dramatic with both teams fighting for their lives for a chance to get to the final. The 3rd period was another game in itself, with the lead changing 3 times. With 1min left to play the Russians were up 5-4. You could see the nerves start to set in on both sides, Russia barley holding on to the lead and Canada trying everything to tie the game. With 20 second left, you started to see the relief on the Russians faces, believing that they had upset the Canadian team. However, there is something unexplainable about this young Canadian team, something that is deep within every young Canadian that plays hockey: The drive, the passion and the determination to be the winner and not let your country down. With less than 5 seconds left, the Canadians scored and the game was tied at 5-5. We would go onto play 20min of sudden death overtime and eventually win it in shootouts. The Russian were beside themselves, and the devastation was across every Russian player. However, you have to hand it to the Canadian side, they never gave up, the didn’t let their nerves get to them, they had the passion and the drive that comes from within to play until the clock says zero.

We can all learn from these young players by having heart, passion and the never give up attitude. These are all characteristics that we can apply to our everyday lives, whether it is coming to work everyday, training for your next event or planning time with your family. Have heart and passion to make your day, your goals, and your year more enjoyable, which will increase your drive to finish what you started.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

‘Why not come and chat with me,’ said the Grasshopper, instead of toiling and moiling in that way?’

I am helping to lay up food for the winter,’ said the Ant, ‘and I recommend you to do the same.’

‘Why bother about winter?’ said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present.’

But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.’

Take the Lead and Create the Mood

It is crazy to think that a tennis ball can create a change in the mood on the training floor at Innovative Fitness. The tennis ball does not change the mood; however what is done with the tennis ball that can change the mood on the training floor.

Take this example for instance: Leaker gets hit with a tennis ball thrown by Jeff, Leaker then throws the tennis ball at Josh, Josh thinks Richard threw the ball and hits him in the butt. The next thing you know we have a playful mood on the training floor. Creating a playful hour is great for the hours where everybody knows eachother on the floor.

Example 2: Richard is pumping up the fitness challenge with Ian and creating this presence around the targets. What happens, three other coaches follow and do the fitness challenge and Richard continues to call coaches out to take part in the fitness challenge.

Example 3: The training floor starts to get fairly busy but the energy is not quite there. Justine puts in her favorite Britney Spear CD on and starts to bounce around and then Jeff and Leaker start to dance around. Instantly you notice that we all start to project our voices more and create a sense of urgency. As a coach when the energy is low, music is a good tool to create a change in mood.

These are three examples how as coaches at Innovative Fitness we all need to take the lead to create energy or change the atmosphere in the facility throughout the day. If a fellow coach is keeping to themselves, throw a ball at them and give them a wake up call.