Last day of June - keep your eyes on your prize..

As July approaches, we are faced with the reality that the year is half way through – any way you slice it, we are onto our third quarter.

Are you prepared?

Have you been following your personal plan?

We need to plan every 3months. We are following a year plan. We have 5-10year focuses.

We all need to break down ourselves onto paper and create a tangible map. Where am I going and how am I going to get there? Categorize into sections – physical, emotional, personal, spiritual and intellectual. Each piece or sphere needs an inventory, a focus and a progressive direction…the what, why and how of what’s next.

Balance is key, but we all know that strict discipline on that specific focus will bring success. We are the only thing holding ourselves back. Let go and watch your success – it is as easy as that. Do you need examples? Let us know.

But really, it’s all about setting oneself for success. I’d like to share some great advise I received from a teammate…I think you will take something from it..

In the theme of personal plans being completed and some great 1on1's last week with our team, I want to provide some insight & advice on how to set yourself up for success during this stage in business (starting your career) and in your life (relatively new relationships, just finished school, etc). *And by no means do I feel there is a right OR wrong way – but the advice that I have received has been VERY helpful to help me get to where I am now, in terms of balance & focus on different facets of your life which for all intensive purposes are:

1. career focus – more responsibility leading to more income

2. relationship focus – girlfriend / boyfriend

3. personal focus – growth / hobbies & interests / next stage of life (house etc)

4. family focus – kids / mom / dad / brother / sister / in laws & extended.

Now, there is not ‘a right way’ to balance these areas, but what you have to understand is if you were invested equally across all 4 facets you would have only 25% of your focus in each.

• would you be successful finishing your 1st marathon (in the time you wanted) if you subscribed to 25% of a training program?


• would you be successful in purchasing the car you wanted if you went to the lot and put down 25% of the purchase price?


• would you be successful attaining a certification by answering 25% of the questions asked on the test?


• the obvious answer is no.

So the questions are

1. why do we keep kidding ourselves into believing we are capable at managing a career, relationship, family and personal at the same time (at such a high level)?

2. what and how do we plan on a) deciding which facets get the attention, b) for how long and c) communicating that to dependants in our respective areas?

3. why do we not adjust our expectation and goals in the event we wish to keep the results, that stem from the focus in certain areas of our life?

As it stands to reason.

• we must get ourselves established (in one aspect).


• ‘established’ comes with personal & financial stability garnered through time in a career


• the more we are established, the more confident we & others feel about us


• this, in turn enables us to focus more time to focus on things like a healthy relationship, personal and family responsibilities and bring it back to balance. (reminder, most of us have spent 20 + years heavily invested in our families – they are not going to drop off the face of the earth in 5 years).

Obviously

• the faster this happens – the better


• however most people are not willing to scale back x to maximize y. We think we can do it at the same time.


• I’ve got tangible news for those people. They are wrong and as unfortunate as it is to have to say – “at this time in my career OR family life OR personal situation OR relationship, that doesn’t work for me” – they try to cling to %’s in each sphere – hence taking them 2 & 3 times as long to arrive at the point they want.


• 2 & 3 times in a 5 year plan is substantial and of course as we see & hear every day, along the way – there’s no guarantee you keep 1-4 when you arrive at said point (that you have not identified)

Personal Example (and this is not a 'look at me'. This a lesson of what it takes and how to move fast)

• End of 2006 – I started at IF. Following EVERY system and listening to those who have been there before me; before long I decided I wanted to make this a career


• Where a lot of people are good at talking and not acting - I put my head down and started going through the roles; events, sales, product.


• Asked to start doing 1on1's, put myself in the position to be fully prepared when the time came. At the gym from 5:30am until often after 8pm (and still do), training a full schedule and staying later to get myself ahead


• Then I took myself through the management partner program - heading out to whiterock on Fridays (my day off at the time) to have Curtis assist me. NOT getting paid; free time, day off - most people chilling at the beach.


• After being here for just over 2 years I started managing; doubled my salary in literally a day; given opportunities I could not imagine when I first started


• trust me - throughout (and still do) I heard it all from everyone (co-workers, friends, family, etc): “you are working too hard / you are too intense / you are going to burn out/you need to get a boyfriend” . In this day and age - people are usually looking to get more while they give less


• I've decided what my focus is for this period of my life; communicated that to everyone around me, and am now doing it. I/we cannot do anything but that. Communicate and act.


• Now I have the opportunity to go to LA and continue pursuing my career goals and collective company goals. And as with everything else; realize there are sacrifices to be made, work to put into making it happen, and then doing it.


• And as the opportunities grow within the company I have put myself in a position to take advantage of WHAT I WANT...and the balance will shift once again...

The reality is:

• When we focus on one thing, it takes the time & energy away from something else. Hence, in order to get further ahead we need to be prepared to make sacrifices.


• I am not saying that there is a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way when it comes to establishing your career, developing your relationship, focusing on yourself (house), and expanding your family – BUT if you can plan do it one by one (instead of all at once), you will be able to provide more focus & energy to that one facet, and at the same time be able to enjoy the process that much more.


• What I am saying is that YOU CANNOT DO IT ALL.


• Decide where you want your focus to be, communicate to all of those affected and then “GO GET IT” in the order of your timeline.


• It just so happens for most of us, we can accomplish many of our goals (travel, customers, friendships etc) all in one job. We are VERY VERY lucky, but it still requires focus and balance to do this.

..the common theme is work hard get rewarded.
Let’s go team!

Can you Handel it?

How do we handle pressure? Every day we are faced with situations that cause pressure, anxiety or stress, but how we deal with these events is what makes the difference.

We are faced with different kinds of stress or pressure, from the simplest situation to the most difficult. In the work environment we have deadlines (assignments, programs, files etc.), giving a $100 workout, communication with owners/team/customers, or even earning that credibility from customers and teammates. In our own personal life we have pressures that can affect us in our work environment or vice versa. Relationship break ups, family problems, or drama with friends – everything is related and can affect all of our 5 spheres - spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical and social.

Obviously everyone has there own way of handling the pressure they are presented with. Currently the Wimbledon championships are being played in England. One particular tennis player has the pressure of a whole country on him – The United Kingdom. Not only is this prestigious tournament played in Great Britain, but it has been 73 years since a Brit won the tournament. We would assume that the nerves and the pressure would get to the young 22 year old Andy Murray but he deals with the pressure with optimism, he craves it and he believes it will help break the 73 year slump. He believes he is at an advantage because he has the whole country behind him. “Anytime you can play in front of a home crowd, in any sport, you know, is a huge advantage," the third-seeded Murray said Saturday. "A lot of people try and say that playing here at Wimbledon it's not, but I don't understand why - in football and in basketball, whatever, home court or playing a home match is a huge advantage.

He takes the nonchalant approach to pressure, which so far has been working for him. "You can either deal with that stuff or you can't. I don't get caught up in the whole hype thing, getting involved in reading all the papers, listening to what everyone else is saying. Because at the end of the day, it makes no difference if some guy thinks I can win the tournament or whatever," he said. "I think I can deal with it, yeah”.

We are surrounded all day by customers that are under a lot of pressure and we are as well put under pressure from teammates/managers, personal life and/or training game, but how you deal with it is the key. The example about Andy Murray is just one situation that is currently happening however their are numerous ways to deal with pressure. It is a matter of finding your own personal relief and not getting to that breaking point.

Actions Speak Louder than Words

Actions speak louder than words. It is a statement of fact – it means that your actions (what you do) communicate more clearly than your words (what you say). If you want people to believe your words, you should ‘speak’ with your actions, but why?

Besides the most obvious answer, I believe that it comes down to trust. When you ask something of someone else you are saying that you trust that they will complete the task, and if they don’t, they violate that trust.

It’s hard to ask for help, and people can make it even harder if they have no follow through. Whenever you ask someone to complete a task, you are handing over control of a situation and placing your faith in them. When you have believed something about a person and that person has broken your trust in that belief, there isn't a whole lot left and this is even more challenging on a team where everyone needs to be able to rely on everyone else.

Trust is the most foundational block of any relationship and is involved in all the basic elements namely, respect and consideration for another person. A team that builds its harmony on trust enjoys the ease and enthusiasm that bring success. In fact, that trust-foundation makes the harmony all the sweeter. As Steven Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, states, “Trust is the highest form of human motivation. It brings out the very best in people. But it takes time and patience…”

Gain Perspective

We all realize that we are incredibly fortunate to work for a great company in a great city. What very few of us realize is how lucky we are to be experts on 'destination fitness'. There is no doubt that the concept works and it is a lot more fun than training without a purpose and staring at the scale every morning. As IF staff we are encouraged to push ourselves outside of our comfort zone and take part in events and adventures, both local and out of town. Many of us belong to a demographic whose goal is to save money and take the next steps when it comes to relationships, career and home ownership or rent. While some of the extravagant, international destinations can be expensive and seem out of reach at times I am of the opinion that the experience is absolutely worth the price.

Vancouver perennially ranks as one of the most livable cities in the world. In The Economist's 2009 study here is how the top 5 stack up:

• 1. Vancouver, Canada - 98.0


• 2. Vienna, Austria - 97.9


• 3. Melbourne, Australia - 97.5


• 4. Toronto, Canada - 97.2


• 5. Perth, Australia - 96.6

For more details on this study click here: Most Livable Cities Ranking

This begs the question - why take the time, spend the money, and use the resources to get out of town when we live where most people in the world would love to be right now? Well, it's true that an entire lifetime of destinations could be accomplished in this very province such as skiing, snowboarding, white water rafting, sky diving, hiking, marathons, triathlons, mountain biking, etc. But staying in the comfort of your own background cannot offer what travelling to foreign places can. Here is my Top 8 List why you should experience international destinations:

8. Creates Memories. By visiting other countries you come in contact with people from different countries, cultures and way of life. Stay in a different place for long enough and you can meet new life long friends, people from a different world who can give you insight into your own life. Keep in touch and you've always got somewhere to visit.

7. They say nothing ventured, nothing gained. And the same goes for travelling. As you travel from country to country you pick up new experiences, make fond memories, and have stories you can tell back home to friends.

6. Education Outside the Classroom. The type of education you get from travelling is not the type of education you get in a classroom. It's better. It's practical and it will help you in your everyday endeavours.

5. "To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries." - Aldous Huxley

4. First hand experience. Issues such as poverty aren't as real to most people unless they have seen the children playing with no clothes in the street. You will learn the importance of charities in poor places, the value of freedom, and how greedy some people can be.

3. Opens Your Mind. Many of us can not imagine how other people live, that computers and cameras, cars and microwaves are not everyday items owned by all. Travelling opens up our mind to the world we live in, to a world different from our own, and creates a more understanding and thoughtful person. It helps you appreciate what you've got.

2. In the words of Mark Twain, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness."

1. Personal Growth. If you want to become a more cultured, educated and wise individual, travelling is the way to go. It not only opens up your mind, but also your heart. Your experiences force you to grow, to make decisions, to enjoy every aspect of your travels. It makes you a more tolerant, adaptable and patient person. You not only broaden your mind but have the opportunity to discover your self.

Even if you can't get 10 people to join you on a destination find a way to make it happen!

A True Legacy

When I was in junior high school, I had a project to do in Social Studies. We had to take a song, analyze it and do a presentation on it. Now, the presentation itself was fairly forgetful (trust me), but the song itself - "The Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin, resonated.

See, all too often we get caught up in the small details of every day - and although I'm not particularly against material goods (love my new Garmin GPS heart rate monitor, for example), at the same time, thanks to the song, I'm able to put things into perspective. Most recently, I had the opportunity to go back home and surprise my family for my niece's first birthday. I'd missed her first Christmas, but the only thing preventing me from going home on this particular weekend was the cost. I didn't really have the money available at the moment, but when I broke down what it would mean in the long run - I realized I couldn't afford not to.

Remember, there's only one true way to leave a legacy - and it's by passing it on to the next generation and hoping it continues long, long after you're gone.

A hundred years from now, it will not matter what your bank account balance was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove, but the world may be different because you were important in the life of a child.

Anonymous

~Guy

mypypeline staff meeting...it's about time...

http://www.mypypeline.com/

Staff meeting

Need: Projector, screen, laptop, extension cord and an excited staff!

11 team eats (set-up projector and bring up mpl site)

11:05 what is Mypypeline?

Online, on-demand video workouts and programming for group or solo participants, for every fitness level, for every interest, mypypeline provides over 500 high-quality digital fitness and exercise videos that can be watched online, downloaded to an iPod, or burned to DVD for viewing on TV.

*navigate the list of services (community, programs, videos, gear*, blog and free)

11:15 why promote the use of mpl?

This is an inexpensive tool that is featured on our website that makes our job easier. Mpl will allow us to keep our customers on-track during away months in addition to helping us manage large groups who are training for the same event.

*why else would we want to promote mpl? high level of service, extends our brand, etc.

11:25 how?

Tutorial

-Select a coaches pype to update from the team (5min max updating)

-Watch a video, select a program, look at calendar and how it populates ones pype
download a free rental (use a promo code)

-Groups (west coast trail, cyclebetes etc.)

-Jeff I to create a Moab group (5min max creating)

-what groups would be useful to have? – IFCP, Moab, Vic Full marathon etc.

More tools/gear

The Fit Kit*
MPL has 180 workouts for med balls, resistant bands and a yoga mat..

65cm swiss ball

8lb medicine ball

Yoga mat

Resistance band

Foam roller

Training DVD - The Prehab guide and DVD contain programs and exercises specific to each fitness level and activity that will teach you how to prepare your body and prevent injury.

11:40 Split into 3 groups for 5min to discuss your topic and spent 3min to teach the group about the importance of your topic (what, why and how)

Free videos

(what are they, why are they great, how do we use them)

Jeff

Hadley

Chelsea

Dylan

Programs

(what are they, why are they great, how do we use them)

Josh

Andrenea

Emmery

Kati

Group training

(what are they, why are they great, how do we use them)

Kate

Kris

Kevin

11:55 questions

Après send quiz and recap

For additional information, read http://blog.mypypeline.com/2009/06/how-can-i-maintain-my-fitness-while-i.html

Now that you know a little more about it…go ahead and create your own pype, see you soon!

Protests

On Saturday, as I was walking toward GM place to go and see the Cold Play concert, we passed the Vancouver Library where a protest was being held. The protests was about the election in Iran that happened on June 12th. All over the world Iranian communities are protesting to create awareness about the current situation in Iran.

The election in Iran created controversy when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad got elected, winning majority over the more popular challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi. The shock, disbelief and protest on the streets of Tehran were immediate. Iranians could not believe the result and protested to have a re vote due to the count being flawed. Now, the citizens just do not want a re vote they want a revolution

There is evidence that suggests that this election was flawed.
1) Mobile Polling Station. The ballot boxes were transported from place to place by agents of the interior ministry which were a close ally of Mr. Ahmainejad. Other events suggest that this happened through out the day which gave suspicion that something was not right. The SMS network was shut down and the interior ministry started kicking out employees, with only close and top official left.
2) Quick Results. Records were broken in Iran for the turnout of the election on June 12th. It is thought that the results were published remarkably quickly, only 4 hours after the polls had closed.
3) Number of Voters. In provinces in Khoresan and Mazaandaran, the number of people who voted exceeded the number of eligible voters in those particular provinces.

Protesting is an interesting topic as it “expresses relatively overt reaction to events or situations.” The organization of protests is “a way of publicly and forcefully making their opinions heard in an attempt to influence public opinion or government policy, or may undertake undertake to attempt to directly enact desired changes themselves”

There are many different types of protests that ones can experience, be involved in or be a spectator of. Types of protests include, marches, picketing, lock downs, radical cheerleading, petitions, formation of a tent city, riots, lockout are just a few examples. You have a protest that can be misconducted and create violence or harm, or you can have those that are simply creating awareness for the world to understand what is going on.

Unfortunately, the protest in Iran did start peacefully but as the results of the election started to spread throughout the country, the protesters started to become violent. Crowds broke into shops, vandalized signs and windows, set fir to tires and formed a human chain of 300 people to close off a major Tehran Street. This is apparently the "biggest unrest since the 1979 revolution in Iran."

In BC, the protests are tame but growing. On the first night of protest at the Vancouver Art Gallery there were approximately 500 protesters standing there silently with signs and candles, last night it has grown to over 1000. It is not just the young Iranians that are out there protesting but all generations are taking a stand to support their family and friends in Iran currently.

Even though this crisis is far from us, it become more real when the protest in our own city make a difference and allow us to become even more aware of the situation.

What's the Buzz

President Obama has proven that he is enormously skillful at killing flies and, not surprisingly, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is none too pleased about it. The PETA Obama fly swatting story all started when President Obama sat down for an interview at the White House with CNBC's John Harwood. The two men were about to discuss the nation's economic woes when, suddenly, a pesky fly started buzzing around the president's head. And that fly was extremely persistent.As luck would have it (not for the fly, for Obama) he landed right on the president's left hand, opening up an opportunity for Obama to move in for the kill - and that's exactly what he did. President Obama took his right hand and swatted that poor fly.

"We support compassion even for the most curious, smallest and least sympathetic animals," PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich said Wednesday. "We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals."

PETA's detractors have long thought that the organization is far too radical. And now the PETA Obama fly swatting incident has got some people once again shaking their heads in disbelief

"Are you kidding me? PETA is upset because Obama killed a fly? Comments like this take away from their organization's credibility and make them look ridiculous. Are there not any other situations they could make an intelligent comment about this week?"

As commentator Rebecca Alford pointed out above, the only thing that is going to be destroyed by this story is PETA’s credibility.

When you are credible, you are worthy of other people’s trust. They know they can count on you. Personal credibility is about respect, trust, and being believable. It’s about actions. What you do forms other people’s opinions of you, shapes their relationships with you, and helps them decide whether to trust and respect you. And, whatever credibility Peta had before this is now gone.

Beware!!

With the summer fast approaching we will inevitably see a drop in hours as customers take time off work and head out of town on holidays. It is very important that we understand the trends that take place this time of the year and find solutions so that we are highly productive. But there's another looming threat that will slice hours off of your personal schedule: bad breath.

A study conducted by the Hendry Research Group in 2006 found that bad breath can reduce your weekly personal training hours by as many as 8. With this startling revelation we must be vigilant and find solutions. Chronic bad breath, known as halitosis, affects approximately half of the population and can be the cause of incredible distress. As professional training coaches we are frequently in close proximity to customers and the last thing that is going to help them complete that pain-staking 12th repetition is a wafting odour.

Here is what you need to know about bad breath control:

• Halitosis is caused by the same compounds found in rotten eggs. These sulphur compounds are released when bacteria in the mouth break down protein from food.


• The more bacteria present, the greater the chances of having bad breath. Bacteria proliferate when they have places to hide. Such fertile conditions are in play when you have: teeth that need dental work, a build-up of plaque, periodontal disease and/or a habit of not brushing your teeth regularly.


• Certain diseases are associated with particular oral odours: diabetes creates a fruity smell; liver disease produces rotten-egg breath; kidney disease causes a fishy odour.


• Stress can cause bad breath. We all know how quickly our mouths can go dry when faced with a stressful situation such as public speaking. When stress is chronic, that dry mouth can be a hotbed for bacteria. As Dr. Ted Fillery, head of the faculty of dentistry and oral microbiology at the University of Toronto, explains, saliva is produced from glands both in the sides of the mouth (runny) and under the floor of the mouth (thicker). “When stressed, the body shuts down the runny saliva, so the saliva in the mouth changes from runny to thick,” he says. “Most of the bacteria that would normally be swept away by fluid saliva hang around, some of which are malodour-producing.”


• Some products can kill oral bacteria, but only temporarily. Regular oral hygiene is absolutely fundamental to bad-breath control, but sometimes this isn't enough. “A lot of people clean their mouths meticulously and yet still suffer from bad breath,” says Fillery. For these people, one of the following products might help: an antibiotic such as Flagyl; a mouthwash containing an antibacterial agent such as chlorhexidine (Peridex); products that contain xylitol, an all-natural sweetener that stimulates saliva production, which helps remove food debris and bacteria; or toothpaste that contains sodium bicarbonate (baking soda).


• According to the Canadian Dental Association, here's what you should be doing as part of your oral hygiene: Brush your teeth at least twice a day with a fluoride-containing toothpaste to remove food particles from your mouth / Brush your tongue and the sides and roof of your mouth at the same time / Use dental floss at least once a day to remove food particles from between your teeth (if you don't floss, you're missing more than one-third of your tooth surface) / Have your teeth cleaned by a dental hygienist every six months to make sure plaque – and bacteria – does not accumulate.

The Top 10 Foods to Avoid Before a Training Session:

Milk, cheese, yogurt, orange juice, coffee, onions, deli meat, alcohol, garlic, curry

Exploit Your Strengths

When I was working with the Ministry for Children and Families, I had the opportunity to interact with a number of different social workers - something that taught me a great deal about inherent vs. learned abilities. You see, all of these people had a degree in social work - but a shocking number of them still couldn't relate to the kids they were trying to help. I'd sit there in meetings, and watch them talk to the kids, sounding like they were reciting the script from a textbook and the whole while I'd be seeing the kids' eyes glaze over. To make matters worse - the social workers themselves wouldn't pick up on it, and they'd just keep rolling on with their dictation. It was painful.

Meanwhile, there were co-workers I had that came from all varied backgrounds - history degrees, one was a relief firefighter, and so on... people with no formal education in counseling. But they could connect with the kids from the moment they walked in the door - they'd relate to them, treat them with respect and, ultimately, earn their trust.

The point is - there are inherent talents that we are born with, and there are learned abilities, and we all have a ceiling of potential that we reach. The example above highlights what I'm talking about - perhaps some other examples would be Wayne Gretzky, Michael Phelps or Tiger Woods. How many parents, suffering delusions of grandeur, put their children through the same training protocols that Wayne, Michael or Tiger went through? And how many people have reach their level of success? No one so far... and no amount of training will do so without a natural gift.

The best thing we can all do for ourselves is learn how to use our strengths to our greatest advantage - whether it's in a career, our physical endeavors or our personal lives. Don't misunderstand this to mean I believe we should ignore our weaknesses - we should work to improve these every single day. However - the better we learn to develop, and then to utilize, our strengths the faster and higher we can go.

~Guy

I’m doubling who?

So you read the daily review at 6pm and you see that you are training an unusual double the following morning…what do you do?

Relax, follow the systems…easy, you prepare!

The first thing we would do is read over their current files making sure that one is up to speed on any injuries and aware of any possible issues that will come into play during that hour. Check their current skill level and be sure to plan to accommodate both customers during that hour.

Ask you teammates about them. Chances are, there is a vet coach who has trained one of them before and asking for help will surprise you because the team wants to help.

Break down what they want, need and can do. Maybe this double will need to be split up part way through the session. It’s important to find out what they can do together and what they may need to work on separately.

Also, look at their realities and figure out if it’s a money thing, friend thing, convenience thing…knowing what their reality will help in terms of knowing if they are looking for a lite up session or just looking to hang out. The urgency must still be there in any case, but lightning fast transitions may be able to be turned down a notch or two.

Don’t think about the session as a whole hour. Break it down into sections that you want to work on. Think of the hour in mini sections with mini focuses.

Eg.-warm up with education and front end the hour-cardio split-body weight pared, alternating and circuit set-cardio split-weighted functional strength set (systems)-core split-cardio split-weighted functional strength set (systems)-posture split-core split-fitness challenge and or weekly theme?-mat work and a stretch

It can be as easy as that. Knowing what each participant can do and systematically creating an hour that flows..

Just have fun with it!

Besides that, once you prepare like that, the next time (cause there will be a next time) will be super easy!

How highly do your friends rate you?

I read a very interesting article in the Globe and Mail on Friday about how humans make friends. Animals make friends for either protection against other predators, to collect food together or for mating purposes but what about humans.

Friendship is a “story of loyalty, but also jealousy”. People do have different kinds of friendships like co-workers, family friends, high school/college friends and active friends and it is true to say that "people are very territorial and aware of what their friends' other friendships look like, even if strategically people try to cover this up”. Think of the environment that we work in everyday, I know personally my “outside of work” friends our jealous/envious of what I do and the people I get to be surrounded by everyday. However, I also feel the same way when they are able to be out late during the weekdays and I choose not to go as I have to work early.

A new study "The Alliance Hypothesis for Human Friendship" was done on how “people make friends based on a perception of how they are ranked within their friends' own social circle”. The study was done by Prof. De Scioli and his co-author, Robert Kurzban; they found that the main predictor of friendship is the “value of an ally who ranks you first in importance.”

They took 300 different men and women and asked them to rank 10 friends from closest to least close. They ranked their 10 friends in terms of intelligence, popularity, benefits, friendships, secrets shared, similarities, length of friendship and how often they saw each other. Also they then ranked themselves on how they thought their friend would rank them. There study showed that rankings are a part of friendships, “you care not just how much a friend values you, but how much they value you compared to other friends."

Personally, this was an interesting concept and I challenge you to take this test and see who you think your closest friends are and analyze why you think this.

7 Life Lessons

I recently read an article about 7 important life lessons, and I would like to share it with all of you, as I feel that getting to know and understand these can make a big difference in creating a balanced lifestyle for yourself. Remember making positive choices is one of the most crucial life skills you can ever master.

1. The world does not owe you a living. You have to make your own way in life and no one can live your life for you. Learn to stand on your own feet as soon as possible. Becoming independent and steering your own course means you will be able to progress in life positively.

2. Be Yourself. It’s a good thing to learn lessons and life skills from other people. When emulating others become somewhat of an obsession you may be trying to opt out of facing the ‘true you’. Overcoming personal obstacles is a part of everyone’s life challenges. The sooner you learn to master yourself the quicker you will move on.

3. Learn to make unpopular choices. Try to make life choices that will improve your standing as a person. This may mean making some unpopular decisions sometimes. Always following the crowd because it’s the easy thing to do can lead you into a dead end. Sometimes you have to say ‘No.'

4. Work on your life skills. One of the big fears in life is public speaking. There are a number of other life skills equally as important such as communication, financial discipline, problem solving, managing skills etc. Mastering these skills in spite of personal fears is a critical part of being successful. Make up your own list of life skills that you believe you will need to enhance your life. Take courses, read books but move ahead with your personal development.

5. Have Faith. To believe in yourself is one of the hardest things in life especially when we are constantly bombarded with images of beautiful and successful people. Work hard at building up your self confidence as life can play rough sometimes.

6. Keep looking backwards. You need to take time to look backwards and see how far you have come. You can easily forget the progress you have made especially when something batters your self confidence. Knowing how far you have developed often helps to re-build confidence for the next hurdle.

7. Get up and get up again. You will fail at some things – this is a certainty. There is no shame in that everyone, even the most successful sometimes make bad decision or lose a crucial match. Learning to be resilient after a failure is the life skill successful people have learnt. You need to get over it and move on an adventure is waiting for you ahead.

Leading Through Adversity

Just over a week ago the Orlando Magic knocked the Cleveland Cavaliers out of the NBA playoffs. This came as a shock to many because the league’s MVP, Lebron James, seemed poised to take the Cavs under his wing and win the title. Lebron has lived up to the hype that first started when he was a 12-year-old phenom appearing in Slam, a popular basketball magazine. He has proved to be one of the most talented players to grace the court since Michael Jordan. While the comparisons have been made between the two it seems that James’ ability to lead his team when it really matters is still in question. After all registering a triple-double every single game is great but it’s useless if your team loses. The best leaders in sports are able to make everyone around them better.

Don’t get me wrong - I think Lebron is the best player in the game right now with Kobe Bryant nipping at his heels. But he made an egregious mistake following his team’s loss that proved he still has a lot to learn. Immediately following the game he left the floor without congratulating or shaking the hands of the other team’s players. He also bailed without speaking to the media which is an expectation for the game’s poster boy. In his words:

“It’s not being a poor sport or anything like that...If somebody beats you up, you’re not going to congratulate them,” James said. “It doesn’t make sense for me to go over and shake somebody’s hand.”

On one hand I love this attitude because it shows that he’s a cold-blooded competitor, which undoubtedly attributes to his success. On the other hand I can’t help but remember the quote “The best time to judge a person’s character is when things are not going their way.” There is certainly some hypocrisy in Lebron’s actions because he doesn’t hesitate to bask in the glory, look to shake the other team’s hands and yuck it up for the media when his team wins. In my opinion it’s awfully easy to lead when things are going well; everything seems to take care of itself because winning is contagious. Unfortunately losing is also contagious. Sure, it was just one playoff series loss but the last thing you want is to get glossed as the great player who can’t win the big games.

Lebron is my favorite player in the league and he has incredible talent and charisma. But I think his reaction to the loss is one that he’d like to have back. Instead of hearing about his amazing performances and game-winning shots throughout the off-season everyone will be discussing his poor sportsmanship and inability to win when it really counts.

For instance: Lebron Article

Ask yourself the following questions:

How do you respond to adversity? Do you ever get rattled and let it show?

Freedom

It's a big word. Not in actuality, but in essence. Two syllables that carry with it one of the most difficult concepts in our collective consciousness, and yet gets thrown around almost as much as "love".

But what does it mean?

I had an interesting debate with a customer today - someone whose opinion I value a great deal. And it truly was a debate - there were no emotions attached, simply a clear disagreement on a principle. What the principle was isn't relevant to this blog - however, the reminder it offered to me was.

You see, some people misunderstand what leadership means - they believe it's about convincing others that your "way" is the right one. Well, sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't... but that's not the hard part about leadership.
No, the hard part is realizing that your way isn't always the right one... and that sometimes we need to let others find their own way. Or realize that maybe we're wrong. Or (and this is the hardest one) - accept that we may never find common ground. And when that happens, we must be willing to stand up and fight for their right to express a different opinion, even if we disagree with it 100%. We believe we have that right... the true measure of our commitment to that belief is acknowledging others' right to the same principle.

I'm loathe to print other people's ideas or writing, because more often that not I think that it's a shortcut... or worse, we simply haven't thought things through on our own. At the same time, occasionally, someone says what you're trying to better than you can say it yourself - and this is one of those cases.

There is a value in disagreement - as leaders, the challenge is for us to learn to find this value separate and isolated from emotion. If we can learn to master this - then we've taken ourselves to a whole new level of leadership.

I'll leave you with the following. It's a segment of a speech from the screenwriter Aaron Sorkin in the 1995 film "An American President":

You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free".

~Guy

Close the loop

After a massive weekend of events, successful participation and completing goals, we see the benefits immediately. There are several results that commonly play out the pulls the IF community even tighter..

Of course the challenge of the event, the adversity of training and racing are major but in order to truly celebrate victory we must acknowledge ones path so far…

Supporting the event in real time is one of the most rewarding experiences. Doing the event selfishly is amazing, but really being there around every corner with a smile and an encouraging word is heart-warming at least.

Being at the actual finish is as big as it gets. The cheering, the high fives and looking into the eyes of that competitor is very rewarding.

The next steps to the process are key to keeping the momentum of the challenge, adversity and victory cycle…
A supportive card, phone call or emails with photos attached begin the process but there are other steps to consider.

Face to face recognition along with thunderclaps and public support tie the knot tighter. A coffee or stretch together is appropriate and truly listening to someone reflecting during this time is important.

Absolutely making a major deal about it is the way to go. They will have been talking to loved ones and friends. Even work mates are probably asking why they may be limping or where they got their sunburn!

Rarely will a new challenge be put on the table right away after a major destination, but it’s important to understand that timing is everything. Turn down the heat, but understand the reality of that customer you are challenging. Quite simply, they just may want to get back to their family and stay away from training for a moment.

A real-time example could be a customer I have been training. The journey really started in early fall and all the steps along the way really lead her to the start line of the oliver ½ Ironman this past weekend. But if I was to spin around and deliver another challenge right now, she would stop dead in their tracks and not want to entertain the thought versus another customer who still has another step to go by completing the full Ironman in August…

Every case scenario will require a different tactic to get them to another start line.

Whatever the step may be, follow through and close the loop…we are a destination business and we facilitate personal reinvention through physical challenge, adversity and victory…don’t let it stop with you...

What are you training for?

WE KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!

This past weekend we had a very succesful event up in Oliver competing or supporting the Half Iron Man. I would like to share one particular story about a lady from West Van, who challenged herself in January to take on this epic event, overcoming adversity by learning how to swim and finally celebrating the victory with her completing her first Half Iron Man.

Her story below is one of true dedication, determination and overall inspirational to all of us.

Hi All,

As you know, I have been training for the Oliver Half Ironman and, although I took swimming lessons and spent a lot of time in the water, I just haven’t been able to get over my fear (yet). Two weeks before the race I went to Oliver for training with the Innovative Fitness (IF) group. The ride was beautiful and I really wanted to do it again on race day, but the swim was a catastrophe. I was so afraid, I was disoriented in the open water and I just knew I wasn’t going to be able to make it 2,000 metres in open water. I made the decision that I wasn’t ready. I really wanted to do that ride though….so I kept it in the back of mind to keep considering. Then a couple days after the Oliver training, vertigo set in. It’s scary to not have your balance, especially is you are going into open water, or riding a bike. That made it difficult to get out on my bike or into the pool for any further training, or worse, open water.

To be honest, it didn’t bother me when I decided I wasn’t ready for Oliver like it would many others. I felt so good about my training and the people I met and learned to know better, that was reward enough. However, it seemed others did not feel the same. I soon started to receive phone calls and e-mails in support, encouragement and, well, STRONGLY suggesting that I couldn’t just give up, I had to at least try. When I told my sister Bonny that I wasn’t going to try the race, she surprised me by saying “Why not?” I thought she would say something like, “It’s OK, you’ll know when you are ready.” I started to realize that I was talking myself out of it, when I should have been talking myself into it. By Thursday before race weekend, I received a call from Justine (the manager at IF) and, along with everyone else’s support, she had me seriously thinking that I should at least give this a shot. I realized that I had been spending more time rationalizing why I shouldn’t do it, than why I should. I also realized how many people would be disappointed that I didn’t at least give it a shot. I later learned (after the race) that because I made the decision to do it (technically I didn’t mentally decide until Saturday night), another gal that had been training but was going to pull out decided to do it as well. She did do it and crossed the finish line beaming!! I’m so happy for her.

Going back to when I decided not to compete, I still wanted to go to Oliver and support all those that would be competing in our group. I wanted to give each of them a hug of encouragement before the race and see their big smiles as they crossed that finish line. (Instead, they did this for me.) So I lucked out and was able to get a camp site reserved at the Lakeside Resort, right beside the race start. Very lucky as I am sure it was sold out – I just happened to call after they just had a cancellation. Hmmmm, that may have been a sign? Anyway, my sisters and I drove up Saturday morning and arrived at around 11am. The one thing that would stop me from at least trying the swim was the wind. The lake we would swim in is very small and when the wind kicks up, as it seems to do in Oliver, the lake can get very rough. Well, Saturday this was the case. The wind was so strong that we had to tie extra ropes to our tent so that it would not collapse. The tents around us were literally flattened to the ground, and the water was churning. Not a good sign.

After setting up camp, we met the group for a big pasta enriched lunch at a winery in Osoyoos. We ate outside, the view was beautiful, but I had a hard time concentrating on anything but what was to come the next morning. There I was met with yet more people who would encourage me to give this a try. So much support and enthusiasm, how could I not? I was told that the forecast was for calm winds by Sunday morning and, sure enough, by the time we were finished our dinner, the wind had subsided and by the time the campsite went to bed at 9:30pm, it was calm. I think most everyone camping that weekend was either in the race or there to support, so we all had the same idea to get a good nights rest. That was not to be for me. I laid awake the entire night. This is typical for me before any event, so I wasn’t upset about it, I just used the time to visualize and think about how I would make this happen. In the morning I methodically went thru pre race rituals and preparation. Double checking my gear, ensuring I kept focused and positive.

I made my way to the transition area where I would see several people in our group. All so happy that I was there and decided to give this a try. I buddied up with Deb, another competitor who is plagued by knee and shoulder injuries, but was still going to do the race. That made me think that all I was having to do was get over the fear, I wouldn’t have to deal with injury (or so I thought). We made our way down to the water and at some point I lost sight of Deb. I did meet up with several others in the group who took the time to seek me out and provide last words of encouragement, a quick hug and a big smile saying “have fun!”. What more could I ask for? I wasn’t nervous, I was doubtful. I had told myself I’ll give this my best and if that isn’t enough, then I pull out.

The first heat started with all the young guys (the blue capped swimmers). Our group was next, all women under 50. I thought I was in the back of the bunch but when we got going people started swimming over me. That didn’t last long and after the initial rush we thinned out and I was able to get some room to myself. I set a course and realized that the only stroke that I was comfortable with was the side stroke. However, I’m way stronger on my right side and that meant I was facing away from the course boeys. I kept going off course and by the time I reached 700 metres I was doubting my ability to do it. I put my hand up for assistance and swam to the closest kayak. You are allowed to hang on, you just can’t move forward. So I grabbed on and told him I didn’t think I could do this. He asked me what the problem was and I said that I was afraid, and that I’m not a swimmer. In my head I was saying that I had no right to be there. I kept trying to shove that thought out, but out in the middle of the lake, it was difficult. He simply said “You’re hear though, right?” He told me we had two options: I could hang on and think about for a minute, or he could call the lifeguard over and they would pull me out. Just the thought of having assistance getting out made me realize I couldn’t just give up. I told him I would get around that first corner boey (the course was a triangle, so we had two corners) and then I would see how it goes. He ended up following me along the course the whole way, taking breaks to watch others from time to time, but always catching up with me. The rest of the swim was a mix of trying to think about good things, and trying to talk myself into taking one more stroke. Because I was doing the side stroke on only one side, my neck started to ache and I knew that I was blowing my legs up using a tonne of energy I should have been saving for the ride and run. I tried the back stroke, but became so disoriented that at one point I was actually going in the opposite direction. So side stroke it was and I finally made it to dry land. I tried to stand up but the vertigo was enormous. I staggered as though I had just drunk two bottles of wine, but eventually made it to the suit stripping area. Thanks to that gal that was so patient with me and managed to get my suit off! There was quite a run from the swim to transition in bare feet but to be honest, I didn’t even notice it. I was so happy to be out of that water and looking forward to the ride.

The ride was great, albeit windy, but I really enjoyed it. Transition from bike to run has got to be the hardest part of the race (not counting the actual swim). Getting your legs to move is very difficult (liken it to that feeling after a good hard snow shoe trek or getting off a horse). By the time I hit the 1km mark I would feel the effects of doing the side stroke for 2,000 metres. My back went into spasm and would not let up. I stopped and stretched, walked, jogged a bit, stopped and stretched. This went on for 6 km. Then the Advil that I took at transition kicked in and thankfully I was able to get into a consistent, slow lope, favouring my back. I wouldn’t really even call it a jog because I was trying not to move my torso or my back would spasm. Somehow my body worked itself out and I pushed on. When I had 6kms left I met up with two other runners. I knew one of them from IF, Matt. He trained there from time to time, but we hadn’t really talked much. The three of us stayed together and talked our way to the finish line encouraging each other and those we knew along the way. I was so grateful for having them with me. It helped to push me to finish strong and it was a welcome distraction to all of the thoughts that would have been running in my head at the end of such a tough race.

It felt good to finish. Everyone was there to congratulate us on achieving this huge milestone. After the race I made a pact with myself that I needed to conquer my fear of swimming, not unlike how I have overcome the fear of going fast downhill on my bike, or running hard up a steep hill to the point where you think your heart will explode.

Thanks to all of you for your generous support, either telling me to “go for it” or to take the time I needed to get comfortable with it. Either way you supported me, and it is wonderful to know you care. Thanks to my sisters for being there to support, and to drive me home!! Thanks to the coaches and clients with Innovative who wouldn’t give up on me. The phone calls and e-mails (right to the race start!), the smiles and hugs and strength you shared with me. I hope that I can provide the same encouragement and support for you at some point.

Hugs,
Val