Fail Intelligently

Failure. It’s happened before and it will happen again. It is something that we generally avoid at all costs because we are taught throughout life that it is a character flaw. There's no doubt that it can be upsetting and even embarrassing but it’s imperative if we are to grow. Unfortunately the larger your ambitions the more dependent you will be on your ability to overcome and learn from your mistakes. The sense of shame combined with inevitability of set backs when attempting difficult things explains why many people fall short when reaching for their goals or fail to establish them in the first place.

Sometimes failure is our own fault and occasionally it’s not but this doesn’t really make a difference. The key is to always internalize the scenario and ask yourself what you could have done differently. If you externalize the blame and accept that the failure wasn’t your fault you are missing out on an invaluable opportunity to learn. As author James Dale puts it,

“Every failure is an MBA on how to do it better next time. Failure doesn’t lead to success. It leads to knowledge which leads to success”.

But remember, you can only learn from a mistake after you have admitted that you’ve made it. Own it 100%. Then it’s possible to move the focus away from blame assignment and towards understanding.

Famous Mistakes:

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.
Albert Einstein’s parents were told that he was likely mentally handicapped.
Napoleon finished near the bottom of his military school class.
The Beatles were turned down for a recording contract by Decca Records.
John Grisham’s first novel was rejected by 16 agents and 12 publishers.
Elvis Presley didn’t make the glee club.

I’d wager a bet that nobody has ever heard of Jordan’s old coach or any of the others responsible for mistakes in the list above. Most likely because they didn’t learn from their oversight and redeem themselves. Conversely we all know Donald Trump's story: rock bottom bankruptcy to the status that we see today.

The learning from mistakes checklist:

Accepting responsibility makes learning possible.
Don’t equate making mistakes with being a mistake.
You can’t change mistakes, but you can choose how to respond to them.
Growth starts when you can see room for improvement.
Work to understand why it happened and what the factors were.
What information could have avoided the mistake?
What small mistakes, in sequence, contributed to the bigger mistake?
Are there alternatives you should have considered but did not?
What kinds of changes are required to avoid making this mistake again? What kinds of change are difficult for you?
How do you think your behavior should/would change in you were in a similar situation again?
Work to understand the mistake until you can make fun of it (or not want to kill others that make fun).

Don’t over-compensate: the next situation won’t be the same as the last.

Leading the Pack

I've had the pleasure of riding with a wide variety of different skill levels over the last three years, and recently realized what a difference it makes having the person leading the pack having a good grasp not only of riding, but how to direct the pack. They point out dangers, confidently and carefully lead us around them if they are across our path, and lead us on an appropriate route - whether it is meant to be challenging, reassuring, comfortable or instructional.

What I've also noticed is what it's like to ride in an entire pack of riders who are all capable of leading the pack... because when it's your turn directing them, you don't have to keep turning around to see how they're doing. You know that when you change lanes, point out potential problems or climb a major hill, they are either going to keep up or, at worst, catch up at the next stop light. When everyone is capable of leading, when you are designated to lead you can have faith that all will be with you...

Essentially, the goal is to bring everyone up to your level of riding (or better), because when this is the case the entire group will move towards the finish line that much faster....

~Guy

..Step by Step..

Overdoing it is a risk we all face in our profession. Especially surrounded by a younger team each year that push us to be young again…We each push the limits of our bodies and we each may even push past our limits and jeopardize an injury. No matter how many times we tell our customers not to over-train or over commit, sometimes we even fall victim to this reality.

In two weeks I am going into a private medical center and having my right knee worked on. For around $4500 + change I am having my meniscus trimmed and any excess material cleaned out of that knee…

I have always felt my knees after years of skiing hard and general abuse to my body in my younger years of manual labor and chronic tightness! Getting on Team IF had me taking care of my body in ways I had never thought possible…but it also had me using my body in ways I never thought possible…

The pinnacle of my physical ended up being last summer when we were racing a 7day mountain bike race, a half ironman and racing through the west coast trail…along with our local fun events and finishing the year with a handful of 10km’s and half marathons the issue was right around the corner. The winter was full on with spin classes and by mid January, the pain became very intense and too much to handle. Even lying in bed or driving my car became agonizing. The thought of something broken in my body was very new to me. I was used to being down for a week or two but then everything working out by itself was the norm…

There was no choice. Luckily, we train an MRI tech and they had me scanned within a week of asking + when I need a CT scan I was in that weekend. Wow, I was happy to have saved over a year right there…next was to talk to someone about my results. I made an appointment with a sports Dr. forty days away…whoa, that’s a long time away I thought…again, I asked the team and before I knew it I had an in with one of the best knee doctors in the city.

All and all I saved major time and red tape…I’m not one to spend big bucks on things, but I will spend more to get something of high quality or will spend more to have something done right. But $4500 bucks! That’s a lot of cake…so I fired off an email to accounts payable. Well it turns out that over the past three and half years with Innovative, I have acquired over $4600 dollars in vacation pay! Well well, I would rather fly to the beach and pay for all day massages…but paying to get myself back on my bike will bring me far more enjoyment than a sunburn and hangover!

Look out van city, give me a couple weeks after surgery and we’ll be riding again – get ready!

Moral of the story, if you want something, makes it happen and don’t let money stand in your way…

Affirmations

There has been some speculation as to whether using affirmations is helpful in pursuing personal development and setting goals.

In a word, yes.

Affirmations are repeated positive statements designed to bring about a desired result. The repetitious aspect is meant to influence and trigger the subconscious mind into positive action.

It's no surprise that on a daily basis we often unconsciously repeat negative statements to ourselves about different situations in our lives. In doing so we often bring about the undesirable circumstance itself.

We might say to ourselves "I can't do this", "I'm not good enough for that" or "this will never work".

Needless to say, our proclamations become self-fulfilling prophesies.

The reverse can also be true.

If we were to turn the negative statements we frequently utter into positive ones, we would bring about more favorable outcomes.

Take Muhammad Alil as an example. Who hasn't heard his famous declaration?

"I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was." Muhammad Ali

Is there any question in anyone's mind that Ali's repetition of that phrase helped him achieve the status of being "the greatest"?

Another interesting illustration for the effectiveness of affirmations comes from the auto suggestion work of Emile Coue, the French psychologist and pharmacist who introduced the now famous phrase:

"Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better".

As a tool for self-improvement, he recommended that we begin each day by stating it firmly and convincingly.
Coué felt that, as stated in his "Law of Concentrated Attention", whenever attention is concentrated on an idea over and over again, it spontaneously tends to realize itself. In working with his patients he utilized this law to help them build their self-image.

Since then affirmations have also been used in cognitive therapy and found to work quite well. Needless to say there's no magic to it and there are limitations. Certainly you wouldn't make an affirmation that is unrealistic or makes no sense. Ultimately they're meant to serve as another helpful tool in furthering your personal development.

Do You Feel Lucky?

Last week an old friend of mine began training at White Rock IF as a customer. We played Metro soccer together in high school and I remember him as a naturally gifted athlete. He was a year younger but played up in my division because he was highly skilled, stronger and faster than everyone else. Fast forward 7 years or so and he is now 24 years old and borderline obese.

During his first training session we had the opportunity to briefly catch up while he was on the bike. Over the past few years he has experienced his fair share of turmoil. In his words, it’s been a spell of bad luck: adversity such as being seriously electrocuted at work and experiencing a foot fracture amongst many other unfortunate occurrences. After reflecting upon the conversation I asked myself, what exactly is luck and why do some people seem to stand out as either very lucky or terribly unlucky? Consider the millionaire who wins the lottery or the poor chap who is struck by lightning twice. My intent in posing this question is not to cast judgment on his character or place blame but I wanted to dig deeper.

Luck can be described as the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities. It seems that most research on the concept suggests that we always have the opportunity to make choices which influence what happens, be it good or bad. Even in the case of freak accidents we make choices to put ourselves in vulnerable situations. For example, a cyclist who was struck by a car could have likely reduced the risk of an accident by choosing a road with a larger shoulder, wearing bright attire or avoiding streets with traffic altogether.

Professor Richard Wiseman, 37, is head of the psychology research department at the University of Hertfordshire in England. For the past eight years, he and his colleagues have studied what makes some people lucky and others not. After conducting thousands of interviews and hundreds of experiments, Wiseman now claims that he's cracked the code. Luck isn't due to karma or coincidence, he says. Instead, lucky folks - without even knowing it - think and behave in ways that create good fortune in their lives.

According to Wiseman, these four principles can create good fortune in your life and career.

1. Maximize Chance Opportunities

Lucky people are skilled at creating, noticing, and acting upon chance opportunities. They do this in various ways, which include building and maintaining a strong network, adopting a relaxed attitude to life, and being open to new experiences. How will you win the lottery if you don’t play? How will you receive the promotion at work if you don’t apply for the position?

2. Listen to Your Lucky Hunches

Lucky people make effective decisions by listening to their intuition and gut feelings. They also take steps to actively boost their intuitive abilities -- for example, by relaxing and clearing their mind of other thoughts.

3. Expect Good Fortune

Lucky people are certain that the future will be bright. Over time, that expectation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because it helps lucky people persist in the face of failure and positively shapes their interactions with other people.

4. Turn Bad Luck Into Good

Lucky people employ various techniques to cope with, and even thrive upon, the ill fortune that comes their way. For example, they spontaneously imagine how things could have been worse, they don't dwell on the ill fortune, and they take control of the situation.

*** Please watch this 10 minute video when you have a chance. It reveals Wiseman's research and explains how we all can dictate our luck. Luck Video. ***

Another Post on the Sun Run

Okay, so probably everyone has something they want to share about the Sun Run - and that is a huge testament to the event, when so many stories can come from the same singular happening. Some are inspiring - such as Monday's post - and I truly enjoy reading those.

Now, in keeping with the positive vibe, I'm going to be temper my usual, poorly hidden irritation and try a different approach. I'm going to gently ask.

What, Guy? you question. What are you going to ask?

Just a few, simple things. Firstly - please, sign up for the speed you are actually able to do. While I think it's great for you to challenge yourself - if you put yourself down for a sub-40minute time and wind up walking in the first kilometer, you've significantly overestimated your ability. And you are one of the people that slow down the run for the rest of us. NOT, mind you, that I'm going for a personal best - this is all in fun. But it's not fun when I have to keep dodging you in the first kilometer.

My second request is that you actually start at the gate that you're supposed to. If you're wearing a race number that implies you're going to be walking... again, how do I wind up behind you within that first kilometer? I'm not fast... but I'm not that slow. Please, start with the group you're supposed to - don't push your way to the front because you want to get on the course more quickly. Again - you wind up creating a traffic jam behind you.

Finally, if you're going to walk (and let me be clear: there's nothing wrong with that!!), please, please do so off to the side... and single file. Don't force me to push through a solid wall of walkers... I feel rude about it, and quite frankly, not everyone will be as gentle or courteous about it, which raises a safety issue.

Bottom line, this is a great event that can be enjoyed by many, many people - but it takes some consideration on each of our parts for the other 55, 245 people running with you.

See you next year.

~Guy

Our Vancouver walk in the sun…

Since March, Linda and I have been focused on walking the sun run. She worked her way through her walk program by following it to a tee in the gym and on her own time.
The day was approaching and we made plans to ensure success. We planned for her to drive to my place and then for both of us to cab to the start line.At 9:30am she arrived at my place and in quick order we hopped into the waiting blacktop cab. Within minutes we ended up on Seymour (along with what seemed to be the world)
We made our way to the entrance of the event. Our bibs were pink which seeded us in the walker’s field which placed us in the last wave of over 55thousand participants.

We had to wait for a little bit but sure enough we began our journey. It did take a while to get to the actual start line, but once we heard the buzz from our timing chips on our shoes we knew we were on our way.

The start of the event sends you downhill to the west end – we headed over to the right hand side thinking that we would be slow but ended up using the open space to pass and stay on a really good pace.
The day was overcast and cool – perfect for our afternoon adventure!

We made our way around the back side of the west end on the packed road of walkers and runners. As we came through to the English bay side we saw the first water station. A quick stop and we were back on it. As the walkers started on Pacific Ave, we cut right again and headed down to the seawall. This route took us beside the walkers, but with way less traffic, we were able to chat and enjoy the water and beach. As we approached the Burrard Bridge, we cut back to Pacific Ave and joined the participants at another water station (perfect timing!)

The hardest hill of the day took us up and around the corner onto the Burrard Street Bridge. As we made onto the bridge we passed the halfway mark. 5km down and 5km to go!

There were lots of runner and walkers around us - lots of chatting with the passers by. We made our way down the backside of the bridge and turned left on 2nd Ave. from past experience, I knew this was great because we were close to seeing one of the final straight shots towards the finish.

We ended up stopping for a moment to stretch our calves and had a couple more sips of water.

As we made our way along 4th, the route turns into 2nd Ave again and one can really see all the way to the Cambie Street Bridge. Now Cambia Bridge is where you turn back towards the city and can see BC place – the finish of the event.

That last stretch of road was great. Linda powered along. There were lots of people around us. The bands were playing strong and the kids passing out water were in mid water fight!

We were consistent and we made our way onto the Cambia Street Bridge. Here was our last hill…the last long stretch of road which takes you down a soft right hand turn to BC Place.

There it was, the finish line...I felt goose bumps on my arms and down my neck. We could hear the announcer in the near distance. There was a big group on our left hand side and they all let out a big cheer and clapped as we made our way towards the line. With less than 50meters to go, I pulled out my camera and set it up. As we walked over the timing mat we could hear the loud buzz which could only mean one thing, this adventure was complete! We turned to each other and shared a big hug. I extended my arm and held the camera out (snap) the moment was captured and we made our way out of the finish area (now where’s a chair for us to rest!)

Congratulations Linda, you did a fabulous job and I am so very proud of you ;)

Remember our deal; now that you have one race bib, we are going to exchange it for another one from another event soon - Looking forward to it!

Sincerely,
Richard

Putting Others First

I would like to share with you this touching story of a daughters love for her 90 year old mother and what she accomplished at the Sun Run yesterday.

The journey began late February when Sharon Gramchuck’s idea was born...

Over the last 6 months Sharon’s mum has been extremely sick and it was thought she maybe at the last chapter of her long life. Sharon’s idea was to share running the Sun Run with her mum. To accomplish this it meant Sharon must run the race while pushing her mum in a wheelchair. There was a lot of hard work and training involved, but Mum and daughter were determined to fulfill their dream.

It was inspiring to witness Sharon and her Mum practice by running the sea wall in preparation for the big day. To see Sharon’s persona change and watch with interest her determination to give her Mum this special gift.

Sharon and her Mum completed the Sun Run yesterday in 85 mins. I would like to share with you Sharon’s E mail she sent to us after the race. This story is a true inspirational one. As athletes we are often selfish in our goal to be the best we can, this story makes us realize just how important it is to put others first sometimes.

I couldn't wait to tell you about our most excellent run today!!

Here's our story.
My biggest concern was getting to the care home and finding my Mom not well enough to get out of bed. But there she was - all dressed, breakfast eaten, coat ready and big smiles!

We had to get her Sun Run official t-shirt on, load her up and we were off downtown. Norm drove us down right to Howe Street (the "whites" lineup). We had to wait until the whites has run through then we were at the front of the line for purples. Mom was cozy with a blanket around her knees, mittens and her toque. I think it was pretty overwhelming and pretty loud for her - but she was so excited she kept looking at her watch. I tried to keep active by jumping around a lot.

Finally it was our turn to start running. Someone threw us down a party pompom from the radio stands. So Mom started waving it at anyone on the sidelines. The hardest part of the whole run was going down Georgia Street and keeping control of the chair.

My next concern was making sure we didn't hit anyone in the heels with the chair. A bit of a bottleneck down around the lagoon, as we wanted to run, but lots of people were in our way walking. We ran as much as possible where we had a path to get through. Someone helped me push her up the big hill to the Burrard Bridge which was sweet. I burned 884 calories and had my heart rate up in the 170's almost the whole time. We got so many "high 5's", smiles, and good comments along the way and Mom was so cute waving her pompom at everyone. I don't know our official time yet, but it was around 85 minutes. I was anxious to run more, but we were always trying to get around people walking - it was nice passing so many!!

At the finish line, I got Mom out of her chair and she walked across the mats on her own.
It was amazing!! It was the best run I've ever done. Not the fastest, but so much fun.
Mom told me in the car coming back that she would never have missed it for the world!
(We only saw Josip down on the field when we got into the stadium and got a yogurt and banana)
I guess you guys were already home and eating lunch by the time we got through!!

Take Their Goals Away From Them

All coaches will face times when their clients are resisting something. It can be extremely frustrating to constantly hear a client or a friend for that matter, talk about why they can’t do something, and keep bringing up blocks instead of looking for solutions. It’s almost like they are committed to staying safe and not going for their goal. I admit, I can sometimes find myself drawn or sucked into throwing out possible solutions that come to mind and still they knock these down. And, I have learned that sometimes the best thing to do when clients are resisting a goal, is to take it away from them.

Below is a conversation from an article that I recently read which highlights exactly this:

John said: ‘What would you say to someone who always wanted to play more music, but didn't have the time or money to do it?'

We talked about what he really wanted, and he brought up several blocks in the way: 'Oh but my work takes up a lot of time'.

'How would it feel to cut back work to 3-4 days a week and put time into your music'? I asked.

'Oh - but we really need the money because we have a mortgage'

'Well - would you be willing to devote 7 extra hours on the weekend to expressing yourself through music?'

'Oh no - I need some time to relax and to be with my wife. Plus there's a lot to do around the house'.

After less than five minutes of not enjoying this I finally said: 'Well how's this for a plan? You keep your current hours at your job, pay off your mortgage, and then when you're 80 you look back and wonder what could have happened if you really followed your passion?'

He sat there stunned for a few moments, and then blurted out: 'But that sounds like a terrible plan!' 'Well - isn't that one you're currently working with?'

The Power of Colour

Which variable will have the biggest role in determining who wins the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup?

Goaltending
Veteran leadership
Momentum entering the playoffs
Defense
Offense
Coaching
Power play
Penalty kill
Depth
Toughness
Luck
Jersey colour

The last one was thrown in there as a joke right? Nope. Believe it or not many scholarly peer reviewed studies from sources such as the Journal of Sports Sciences and Nature have indisputably revealed the power of the colour red. How does this relate to NHL hockey? Well, in the past 6 years, every single Stanley Cup final has featured a team that wore red.

2008 – Detroit Red Wings (red) beat the Pittsburg Penguins
2007 – Anaheim Ducks beat the Ottawa Senators (red)
2006 – Carolina Hurricanes (red) beat the Edmonton Oilers
2005 – Lockout
2004 – Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Calgary Flames (red)
2003 – New Jersey Devils (red) beat the Anaheim Ducks
2002 – Detroit Red Wings (red) beat the Carolina Hurricanes (red)

Considering only 9 of the league’s 30 teams have primarily red get-up, this is astounding. And until just a couple years ago, there were only 8 as the Washington Capitals switched from blue & gold to red & blue.

I’ll let the following articles strengthen the argument so check them out and prepare to be flabbergasted…

“Red shirt colour is associated with long-term team success in English football”
(Read the abstract and discussion sections)

“Red enhances human performance in contests”
(Just one page so read it all)

FYI - Of the 16 teams currently in the playoffs, 7 rock jerseys that are primarily red: Detroit, Washington, Carolina, New Jersey, Calgary, Chicago and Montreal. While the findings in the studies will obviously not always ring true, place your bet on red if you have nothing else to base your decision upon. Apparently the odds will be in your favour!

The Third Law

Though paraphrased, Isaac Newton's Third Law essentially says "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction". I actually had a Garfield poster in my room when I was about 10 years old that said this... and Garfield was hitting a racquetball against the wall which was returning and hitting him in the head (not unlike the hilarious scene in Splash with John Candy)....

Anyway, on my way in to work today and listening to the radio, this law of physics jumped out at me during the news. The thing is, it doesn't just apply to physical matter, but life in general - and similar to the old adage "be careful what you wish for" or the lesson to be learned from the short story "The Monkey's Paw" (look them up...), we, as a society, have to realize that quite simply, the greater the reward, the greater the sacrifice - we just need to determine which motivates us more: what we're getting, or what we're giving up.

An example that often comes up during election time in British Columbia - people want greater support from the government for social programs, but they don't want to pay more taxes. Well, just once I'd like to hear a politician say "I can give you one, but not the other. You want more money in social programs, well, we're gonna have to raise taxes to do so. OR, if you want lower taxes, we need to cut some of our spending - we simply won't have the resources." Call it like it is... I'd vote for him/her, though I'd probably be one of the only ones...

So as the campaigning gears up for next month's provincial election, please, pay close attention to what's being promised. Don't forget - no matter how amazing the pledge of the candidate might seem, if they are able to deliver on it then it will come at a cost.

There are no good policies or bad policies - there are just policies. Ultimately, the definition of "good" or "bad" will come down to what matters the most to you in the end.

~Guy

Group it up…

Group Work: to bring two or more coaches together and therefore creating a group of customers working together.

It’s so much fun for us but more importantly, fun for our customers. It switches things up and adds another dynamic into the hour. There are so many ways to incorporate group work into your sessions like a quick warm up or block run. How about trainer rotation or group glutes at half past…there’s the classis group abs but we can really put anything together to create group work. Anything.

Just last week we all started a 7am hour with jackets in our hands, ‘let’s go’ we shouted!All coaches and customers piled out the doors; each customer was in charge of carrying some piece of equipment. Originally I wasn’t sure if my customer would do it but when approached with confidence and leadership, he didn’t blink and was running out the door.Within that hour we went all over the place. We hit the beach from all angles rotated through all types of training and group work drills…
We came flying back into the gym for some group core and a stretch. As I helped up my customer who I wasn’t sure about, he looked at me all covered in sand and dirt and said, ‘it was great to switch things up, thanks!’

The only proper way to deliver group work is to be consistent. The only way to be consistent is to plan.
Currently in wvan we are picking hours in huddle eg. Josip has group legs at 7am.This is proving to be a great way to get the task done. A simple sticky note on a front computer as a reminder and the team to keep each other accountable!

Group it up!

Safety in Numbers.

A few weeks ago, a woman was killed while running in the endowment lands at UBC. For the Vancouver community this was a total shock to the city. We have all read and heard about the terrible gang wars going on but now to have a murder of an innocent citizen in broad daylight is unheard of. The life of Wendy Ladner-Beaudry was brutally taken as she was running in the trails in Pacific Spirit Park. She had done this regularly for over 28years and she was seen as a strong, healthy beautiful woman who loved sport and passed on that passion to others, especially children and women with under privilege backgrounds. For instance, she had organized/persuaded a group of low income women to participate in this years Sun Run, arranging run clinics and new running shoes for them.

This tragedy has made us all aware of the importance of safety while doing physical activity outside. Firstly, it is important to be aware of your surroundings at all times. For example, if you are running in the trails with headphones have the music turned down low or even only have one earpiece in. It is important to be confident as you approach a stranger, look at them in the eye with absolute confidence and perhaps nod your head or say hello. This is a clear indication to the potential attacker that you are confident and it will deter there attack, as they will generally attack someone with a weak character or weak body. Other important things to do are to let someone know where and when you left for your workout, to not workout at night and to carry bear spray, whistle, ID and or a cell phone

For some of you this could seem to dramatic but the reality is that there are a lot of crazy and messed up people out there and it is important to be safe and prepared.

As professionals in the health and fitness industry we need to lead by example. Lead group runs, hikes or bike rides so that our customers and you are always safe.

Coach Wooden

John Wooden has widely been regarded as the best college basketball coach in history.

He was the first person ever to be enshrined in The Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach and his 10 NCAA championships at UCLA have never been matched.

His players have said that they don't recall Coach Wooden ever stressing the importance of winning a game.

For him, it was about sticking to the fundamentals.

On the first day of practice at the beginning of a new season he would say to his players that he wasn't going to talk to them about winning or losing because that was a by-product of preparation.

He preferred to focus on the process of having them become the best team they were capable of becoming.

Coach Wooden was one of the most successful and respected coaches ever because he emphasized that true success in life lies in personal responsibility, integrity and hard work.

He stressed that being prepared and being the best that you could be was the ultimate goal. It was no coincidence that winning happened to be the by-product.

"Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming," Coach Wooden.

The Bandwagon

Fan allegiance is the loyalty felt and expressed by a fan towards the object of his/her passion. Allegiances come in varying degrees; from fanatics who get decked out in face and body paint (even when the team is in last place) to the fair weather fans that only show up when the team is in first place. We’ve all seen it and experienced it. It is a phenomenon that cannot be avoided because its origin is deeply rooted in human psychology.

Being a true fan is tough. You have to deal with the emotional swings that go along with your team’s highs and lows. Conversely, the bandwagoner has it easy. They avoid the lows because they simply drop their faithfulness to the team when they’re no longer on top. This is an extremely important topic to professional sports teams. After all, consistent fan retention equals massive revenue through the sale of tickets, pay per view (if applicable) and most importantly merchandise such as jerseys and other apparel.

The bandwagon effect is a phenomenon that is of importance to all of us at Innovative Fitness as well. We function as a team and have customers who are essentially fans of our services. The effect is obviously quite different in our case however because we don’t ‘lose’. But there can be occasional obstacles in a new customer’s path that challenge their level of commitment such as minimal results experienced, a change of trainers or the adversity posed by long-term illness or injury. If we retain our entire existing customer base and gain new customers we will obviously grow. It is when we lose customers that growth is impeded. This begs the following question:

How can we ensure that all customers will be true fans and train with us over the long term?

Several psychologists have studied fan loyalty and the causes of an individual being loyal to their team through thick and thin. They attribute it to the following factors:

Entertainment Value = the value that a fan derives from viewership motivates him/her to remain a loyal fan

IF: The level of variety, education and progression that is provided to the customer. If they feel that they have learned how to train properly and can now do it on their own, they won’t think twice about leaving. We must keep things exciting and innovative so that they’re always guessing. Change up your routine, get outside, teach new exercises and push the customer outside of their comfort zone. This will ensure that their training could never be executed alone.

Authenticity = the acceptance of the game as real and meaningful

IF: Do we truly believe in the systems that we preach, walk the talk and lead by example? It is also important that we remind customers why their money is well spent: improved performance, reduced health risks, setting an example for children, etc.

Fan Bonding = identifying with the players as individuals

IF: Simply tapping into the 80%. Get to know customers outside of the facility and begin each training session by asking about things that are important to them such as family and other interests. If you are perceived as nothing but a fitness machine nobody will identify with you and rapport will weak.

Team History & Tradition = a long history and tradition is a motivator

IF: The history is there and this gives us an edge on newer competitors. 14 years and running. Share the victories experienced by other customers and discuss our involvement in the community. Carry on the traditions and systems that make us unique.

Group Affiliation = fans receive personal validation of their support for a team from being surrounded by a group of fans who also support the team

IF: Invite new customers to do destinations with you and tell them to bring friends and family along for the ride. As we’ve all experienced customers ride a high following their first experience with a great destination. Everyone wants to belong to a group.

It is up to us. We can allow customers to hop on and eventually off the IF wagon or we can lead them at the highest level and succeed through high retention. Let's create some fans!!!

Are You Serious??!!!

There are times when I hear a news story, and I actually choke on my coffee at how incredibly improbable the facts appear to be. Today was one of those days...

Apparently, a man is suing a casino for "letting him gamble", even though he's addicted to it.

This made me look into the story further, and apparently he's not the first person to try this... it's happened in the past. And I find it appalling.

Is it unscrupulous, and perhaps unethical, for the casino to serve you if they knowingly take advantage of your addiction? Maybe. Should they be held responsible by the government, perhaps shut down, for operating in such a way? Quite possibly.

Should they repay you because you failed to take responsibility for your actions?

Not a chance.

Nobody put a gun to this man's head. Nobody threatened his family. So an addiction has now become a "Get out of jail free" card? Hell, no.

As a society, we need to have options for people to access for treatment. We need to have ways for them to help themselves... but this is the key. They must want to help themselves. If they never suffer any consequences for their actions, then why would they ever want to get better?

We've created a society of users and enablers, where people are either blaming someone or something else for their problems, or they're accepting this as a reason to let them off of the responsibility for the inevitable aftermath they leave in their wake.

We can't want it more than they do. It's that simple.

~Guy

.cyclebetes.

What is Cyclebetes?
It began in 2007 with one promise, one Champion and it spread. It began with a promise that a father made to his 12 year old daughter.
Vancouver businessman Kyle Balagno promised his daughter Taylor he would do everything in his power to help find a cure for her juvenile (type one) diabetes before her 18th birthday. He had 6 years.
That commitment spawned Team H2V, a 5 man team who cycled across Canada at break neck speed in September 2007. They made the epic ride in just 8 days, set a Guinness World Record and raised $900,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and millions of media hits.
The journey of Team H2V was remarkable and inspiring to all Canadians. The simple goal that fuelled the team was the desire to do….something that hadn’t been done…..something big.
Cyclebetes is the legacy of Team H2V - built on themes of community, responsibility, leadership and promise. Cyclebetes gives Canadians the opportunity to become Champions in four events that will take place across the country with donations benefiting the JDRF.
This past weekend, Rockridge Secondary school hosted their second annual 24hr indoor spin-a-thon. The Accu-Chek Cyclebetes Secondary Spin-a-Thon is an opportunity for Canadian secondary students to get active in their communities and develop leadership capabilities by organizing and participating in 24 hour community spin relays. Throughout the 24hrs, we had 40 Innovative Fitness customers participating by spinning and fundraising for the JDRF. Fri
We drove up to the school after work, parked in the lot around 5:40pm and unloaded spinners and bikes. When er walked into the gym we came to a table with students who signed us in a guided us to our spin area. The gym was buzzing with people and bikes. There was music and motion everywhere. Our spin area was alive with riders. There must have been 5 or 6. We got set up and spent 2hrs spinning with a great group. Chatting it up, people/movie watching and drinking water. The time flew by. I made it home, had a light dinner and I was in bed by 10.SatMy alarm went off at 6am and I was spinning by 7. The gym was still going. There were people who looked very tired and lots of fresh riders already zipping along. With 2hrs of riding under my belt, I had my fill. But the day was far from over for the spin-a-thon.
throughout the 24hrs

The entire event had over 700 people walk through their doors over those 24hrs and raised over $110,000 dollars with funds still coming in. This was a very successful event and everyone who participated should be very proud of what they helped accomplish.

My First Trail Race

I get such a thrill when I see a customer who accomplishes an event for the first time. There agonizing faces as they are running the course, which are quickly turned into celebration faces once they cross that finish line and receive high fives and congratulations from others.

This weekend this is exactly what happened to some of our customers. For some, this was there first event of the season in which they had started training for in January and for others they were doing this to gain 20 points in the Nutrition Challenge. If we had not challenged our customers to take part in the nutrition challenge or challenged them at the beginning of the year to train for this race, most of these customers would still be coming to do a gym workout with perhaps little motivation and would of not experience what it is like to be involved in something outside of the gym.

I think the biggest importance and lesson from this weekend events, is to be constantly challenging the customers to do outside of the gym workouts. Understand that we know people have different realities but as soon as you can make them see the light, that spending a beautiful Sunday morning running around the North Shore Trails is far better than sitting at home watching the morning news. The customers that participated in the events this weekend not only received massive support from Innovative but they also establish new relationships with fellow customers.

This is what it is all about – focusing on a customer’s physical sphere by challenging them to do an event and with that challenge and the accomplishments comes, emotional, spiritual, and social victories.

The Bundle of Sticks

A certain Father had a family of Sons, who were forever quarreling among themselves. No words he could say did the least good, so he cast about in his mind for some very striking example that should make them see that discord would lead them to misfortune.

One day when the quarreling had been much more violent than usual and each of the Sons was moping in a surly manner, heasked one of them to bring him a bundle of sticks. Then handing the bundle to each of his Sons in turn he told them to try tobreak it. But although each one tried his best, none was able todo so.

The Father then untied the bundle and gave the sticks to his Sons to break one by one. This they did very easily.

“My Sons,” said the Father, “do you not see how certain it is that if you agree with each other and help each other, it will be impossible for your enemies to injure you? But if you are divided among yourselves, you will be no stronger than a single stick in that bundle.”

Moral: To value the importance of teamwork, we have to appreciate the value of every individual.

Comfortable being uncomfortable

As some of you know I was invited to attend the Canadian-Korean Businessman's Association Annual General Meeting dinner last night as a guest of a customer. I agreed to go because I thought it'd be a great opportunity for me to get out and network and hopefully meet some other business minded people in the Korean community. Although many of the people in attendance were a LOT older I was able to have some great conversations and meet some different people from very different industries. This in itself was a big accomplishment for me as I continue to try and become more outgoing and engage people in conversations that I'd normally not talk to.

Also, just to share with you the benefits of stepping outside of our comfort zones, and not just in the physical sphere, I happened to randomly bump into an old roommate and co-worker of mine that I worked with in Korea for the World Cup. It just so happens that he's the Commercial Account Manager for the Prospera Credit Union branch in South Granville and as we got to talking about Langley, and our plans to franchise there, he told us that he might be able to help. Although Guy and I have to still set up a meeting with him and it might not really pan out it's just another opportunity and path that would've never been brought to us had I not gone to this dinner.

The reason for sharing all of this is just to highlight that A) the lessons that we learn and growth we experience isn't just relative to what we're doing at work B) we must continuously challenge ourselves because that's when we'll experience growth (like Curtis said, "We don't know what we don't know") C) there are A LOT of benefits that come from being able to "story tell" and share the experience of what we do and why we're so passionate about what we do.

AND....to cap it all off I may have a referral for Curtis in White Rock so all in all it was a great night.

- Paul -

Get Up, Stand Up

Stand up for what you believe in and be passionate about something. Anything. I’m going to connect two stories that were in the news over the past couple days and conclude with a message. I would like to preface this post by saying that the topic is a bit dark and perhaps controversial but I feel that it’s worth discussion.

#1 “Landmark Khmer Rouge Trial Starts”

This article covers the trial of Pol Pot’s chief torturer who is being charged with crimes against humanity for his involvement as a leader of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia during the 1970’s. The Khmer Rouge is infamous for the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people (or 1/5 of the country's total population) under its regime through execution, torture, sexual abuses and starvation. This story really struck a chord with me because I have been to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, and have seen the Killing Fields and S-21 prison where the torture and executions took place. It absolutely boggles my mind to think that human beings are capable of such barbaric acts and to stand at the sites where these offenses occurred was chilling to say the least. My stop in Cambodia was by far the most powerful and influential experience in my life. Just 30 years after the country was a living hell, the Cambodian people were the most kind, welcoming and optimistic people I have ever met. There is one lasting image in my mind (pictured below) which will never fade. It is of the ‘fields’ which hold the mass graves of the victims. It may be hard to see but there are children playing in the background on a tree to the right. They were laughing and playing, impervious to the graveyard which they played upon. They were full of hope.

#2 “Police Clash With G20 Protestors”

Thousands of people demonstrated on the streets of London, England ahead of the G20 Summit in angry protest. World leaders arrived for the summit where they will strive to agree upon measures to tackle the worst financial crisis in decades. While every single Summit meeting in history has been met with large scale protests, this one is different. Much of the anger is directed at banks and other institutions who are being accused of contributing to the global collapse of the economy. People are upset about capitalism, corporations and most importantly greed. Conflict can be ugly because it often involves violence and destruction. In my opinion the most effective and powerful protests are non-violent yet incessant. But sometimes it is necessary to stand up for what you believe in at all costs. I respect the protestors who took the time to take to the streets as a sign of disapproval. Somebody needs to convey the message that we aren’t going to put up with it anymore. Otherwise there would be no reason for the G20 leaders to seek resolutions with a sense of urgency.

Significance

Now I am not Jewish and I wasn’t in Europe during the 1930’s and 40’s so I have no right opining about the Holocaust. But I came across a quote a few weeks ago that I thought was very interesting. Ian Kershaw (noted for his objective biography of Adolf Hitler) is a British historian of 20th century Germany who said, 'The path to Auschwitz was paved with indifference.' It’s a sobering idea to think that not everyone in Germany had to be a raving anti-Semite; they just had to be apathetic. This seems to be a theme when it comes to large scale social atrocities. Consider slavery in the United States, genocide in Africa, or mass murder in Cambodia. These movements were able to happen and persist because the masses didn’t speak up. People may have felt that something was amiss but nothing was done about it in the initial stages before it was too late. The financial crisis that our world is currently facing is certainly not at the same level as genocide. But I feel that we have found ourselves in a position where we all need to let our governments and the world’s financial institutions know that we aren’t happy, we’re passionate about not getting screwed over and that we believe in truth, honesty and hope. Don't be apathetic...

Accept the Consequences

Those of you who know me and have read my story, know that when I was younger I tended to bristle at authority. If a person in a position of "power" said something that didn't immediately comply with my narrow perspective, I immediately dismissed their opinion and mounted my own little rebellion (obvious, if not overt). Although I've been working on changing this (since more often than not it simply turns into outright bull-headed stubbornness), it would probably not surprise most that, in fact, I'm against too much government interference in the day-to-day running of business.

There are, however, exceptions - and the auto industry is a great example. Rick Wagoner, CEO of General Motors, was essentially told to step down by the Obama administration. This raised the ire of many, including his opponent in the election, John McCain. My thoughts?

Damn right they should get involved.

They are sitting with their hands out, asking for billions of dollars in taxpayers money - but they don't think that the people giving them the money should be able to set any conditions?

Wrong.

They have two options - take it, or leave it. Yes, it may seem like they have no choice but to take it or else they'll see the entire company collapse, but they were part of the reason that it would up in that position in the first place... the fact of the matter is that Wagoner is just one of the pieces of the puzzle, but someone has to be held accountable...

And the captain should always go down with his ship - or at least make the sacrifice necessary to keep it afloat. Bottom line - the only unfortunate part of this is that someone else had to force it to happen.

Remember - Wagoner was one of three CEOs who went to Washington with their hands out asking for help... but flew there in private jets.

The time's come to pay the piper.

~Guy