Friday, October 30, 2009
Scary Indeed... Focus and prioritize
Why such a big deal? Well, the question to me is why is it necessary? Really, how many of us need to chatting away to our brother's girlfriend about last night's Gilmore Girls re-run while coasting on the highway over the speed limit, or making idle chit chat idling in traffic only to risk distraction and bumping the next person in line. It's a matter of focus.
Before my arrival at IF I worked out at various gyms and fitness clubs, and have witnessed those who will put down the weights during a set of bench press or hop off the treadmill to answer a cellphone. Now I cant know what each call is about, nor would I want to, but in reality how many of those are emergencies or necessary calls? How many are just an indulgence in ego and inability to focus on the task at hand? Would I stop a conversation with a friend on the street to do 15 extra pushups? Well no, THAT would be silly. Besides, I am focused on my conversation, on my friend. I have my priorities in order.
I had this debate with a friend who suggested I viewed technology as a bad thing. Technology is inanimate, it's how we use it and apply it to our daily life that determines whether it is positive or negative influence. Much like our health, there comes a time in life (holidays, busy work periods, personal commitments) when we might slip in our gym routine, then work extra hard to recover. That's being responsible for our health, by re-focusing our commitment. The scenario in the gym or car is more about technology enabling us to be lazy. Driving isn't a place to kill time by chatting away. It's a place where you could kill a whole lot of people within a split second with one minor discretion. The gym is one area... The open road at high speeds... A completely new level. It's a perfect example of imbalance in priorities.
The point: Focus, responsibilities and results/success go hand in hand. Many see it in regular clients everyday. Those who come early in the morning (or realistically whenever they can) and give a hard effort in their hour as opposed to those who come 15 minutes late, hungover, and answer the berry device with every little chime to make party plans. In fact, I have just described a regular to the bone, someone who is very friendly but has been given the priorities lecture by several trainers many times. The ability to focus on ourselves, our well being, and our responsibilities as they relate to the individual within society are all dictated by priorities. In the gym, its your own health you toy with, and it's fairly easily remedied if you can focus. On the open road, it's everyone else's well being, not just your own. If that can't be a priority to the people driving in the time they are there.... Scary.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
What frightens you?
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Validation
I had one of those moments a few weeks ago.
Back in 2002, I lived at Capilano Road - 3924 Capilano Road, to be exact. I used to cross the street to jog in the park, but there were no crosswalks to the entrance... there was one up the hill, but it meant going up two blocks before coming back down to the entrance immediately across from me. Now, I know what you're thinking - quit being lazy.
Indeed.
I probably wouldn't have cared, except for the number of other pedestrians I saw trying to cross there - especially kids who went to the elementary school. And this was the straw that broke the camel's back - I was heading out for a run one day, and saw this 7 or 8 year old girl trying to cross the street. Standing there with her arm out, waiting for the cars to stop - and every single car whipped by at 60-70km an hour. Without fail. I finally walked out an stopped the traffic, because it became clear nobody would do so otherwise. I realized that this was a tragedy in the making, as some kid was going to get creamed trying to cross.
I wrote the district. They had some intern write back explaining that this wasn't a significant enough issue, and that they couldn't just randomly put in crosswalks. I called, and asked for the transit supervisor, and had a meeting where I showed that this wasn't a "random" crosswalk, but a point where many of the locals crossed, particularly children and the elderly for whom that two block climb was just too much. I was politely told not to worry about it.
So I called the paper. I told them that I was getting the "thanks, now just go away" treatment from the district, and that someone was going to get killed at this crosswalk and I wanted to publicly hold someone accountable for it. If someone was going to die - I wanted to be able to walk up to the transit supervisor and say "I warned you about this, I told you it would happen - you are as responsible for this person's death as the person driving."
Anyway, despite everything, no crosswalk went in and I moved shortly after - I had tried all I could, but without simply paying for it myself there was nothing else to be done.
BUT: the other day, I had a craving for Chinese food from Capilano Heights Chinese Food (delicious restaurant, by the way) and drove past the old house for the first time in years. You know what? There's a crosswalk there now.
Having been a part of this fight - I had a small celebration as I drove home for this small victory.
On to the next one.
~Guy
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Balance
Getting many things done (things you need to do, including thing you want to do)
It’s not a message we haven’t heard before. Balance is key in order to maintain ones success. When referring to ones focuses, we need to be orderly and uphold our balance.
Personally, I have heard this all before and it hasn’t really sunk in until now. It is now apparent what it takes to do all the things that I need to do in order to do the things I want to do…
As an example, in order to spend time with a friend after work, we need to get our work done to the best of our abilities beforehand.
Another great analogy most of us have been exposed to is ‘being 100%’. The meaning behind this is using ones time to the highest of ones capacity in order to simply get the most out of each day.
How often do you sit down to begin a task only to be side tracked or start an additional task…meaning if you are not performing at a high level on one task, you are most likely performing at a lower level on 2 or more tasks. To be 100% all the time takes planning and practice. If you plan to relax, you relax..if you plan to workout, you workout…if you plan to complete a task, you complete that task…
There can be many personal values put towards balance. But whatever that value, we need to recognize balance is key in order to do all the things we want to do in our day.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tool Box
In our Innovative Fitness Forum Meeting this past weekend, one of the main topics we discussed, was using our “tool box”.
The key is to think about what is actually in your tool box so that you can use them to solve problems, conflicts and issues you may have in your professional and/or personal life.
The tools can be used in many ways, however you need to think about which tools you have, when to use that tool and if that particular tool doesn’t work – use a different tool.
A simple example that relates to our professional carreer – is how do we motivate our customer?
What tools do we have to motivate our customer?
1. The systems we already have in place here at IF (program, goals, profile etc)
2. Their Currency – values, motivators, what makes them tic
3. Their Color – what drives them, how they come across, and behavior patterns
4. Their P.I. – Their story, where they are from, experiences, strengths and weakness
5. Other coaches – the experiences they have had with a customer, insight they can give to you about points 1-4.
Theses are 5 tools out of many you can use to motivate a customer and this is just one example. You can use your tool box for many other things; like conflicts with another coach, problems with you significant other, and/or getting a message through to your family members.
You have to THINK about how you are going to use the right tools to get your message across and solve your problem.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Be Your Own Leader First
Personally I prefer to lead by example, since you cannot expect someone else to carry a torch you have handed them any further than you have brought it yourself. By this I mean your expectation of others should not be any higher than what you expect from yourself and display on a daily basis. A few examples come to mind;
The Critical Mass cycle group has very lofty ambitions and noble goals. However, having witnessed this somewhat regular venture a few times left me disheartened. No one will argue the goals of reduced fuel consumption, cleaner air, and overall environmental benefit are not worth pursuing. However, when upwards of 5000-7500 people take the streets at once, aiming to cause crippling gridlock during rush hour traffic I was appalled by several glaring holes in rationale; lack of bike helmets, complete disregard for traffic signals and cars (apparently the laws do not apply to the environmentally self righteous) and the immediate cause of hours worth of idling... Negating any possible benefit they were hoping to impose. Right idea, wrong implementation. If you want to hold society to a higher standard, be the first to display the behaviour.
I recall a client asking the best way she can push herself on weekends when running longer distances by herself. She had the right motivation, but when hitting the wall on her run, she needed someone to push her through the difficult phases. I asked her if she had tried coaching herself, and after a confused look, explained my own personal approach; When faced with a difficult exercise or moment of mental/physical weakness, I think of myself as a client, and what I would say or do to coach that client through those moments. Realistically, its a minor degree of seperation in your mind, and while it isn't perfect, being able to lead myself through those periods the way I would lead someone else is how I have managed to become my own coach. If I expect my clients to trust me and follow me through the times we are together, I need to be able to trust myself and my own coaching to truly call myself a leader. Is it as effective as having a second person there? Probably not to the same level. Has it helped me reach new levels and hold myself to a higher standard?Absolutely.
Talk is cheap, as are half-hearted actions and knee jerk solutions to problems in society or in personal life. Though our intent may be pure and our aim true, the impact and effectiveness of our message is rooted in the source. Be your own leader first. Become the change you wish to see in the world. Set the standard as high as YOU can place it, then use yourself as the example to pull others up. Anything else is simply hot air, idling away for others to fume about enmasse.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Speak and be Heard
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Problem With Construction
Dirty laundry
What’s with people airing theirs out in the open? We all have things on our mind and whether it’s first or second hand information, we all need to keep non relevant topics to ourselves. Being professionals in our field, we need to understand that our customers are coming to us for a workout versus gossip or to spread confidential matters with.
There are some common sense rules that may need to be refreshed...
-Leave your issues at the door when you come to work. Don’t even bother trying to solve personal issues while you work – guess what? Our customers are not coming to us to provide us with support because we are here to provide them the support
-guess who’s listening? Everyone. And guess what else, everyone is watching. It’s interesting because you may be doing everything right and never making any mistakes, but that one slip up you make will not go unnoticed. Even the most veteran coaches can fall victim to this. Pay attention because the walls have eyes and ears.
-it’s not about you…it’s about them. We provide a service. Are you aware of what that service is? It has nothing to do with anything but that person’s personal reinvention through physical challenge, adversity and victory.
Finally, if someone asks you about someone else’s dirty laundry, guess what? It’s none of your or their business. Period. Personal information is secret and well, private.
Don’t help create drama where doesn’t need to be any..
Thoughts or comments?
Monday, October 19, 2009
Olympics - Are you excited?
I find that many people are nervous, pessimistic and negative about these road closures. For me, I just want to tell them, "Who cares!". This is one of the biggest events ever to hit Vancouver and we are concerned with how we are going to get around. Is it such a big deal to take public transit? To plan ahead and leave you car in the driveway. I agree that it will be hectic at sometimes but think of the bigger picture and what is actually happening in our city.
The Olympic Games!
Vancouver is being put on the map, we will be able to interact with countries from all over the world and be able to cheer for Canada in our home country.
Embrace the Olympics, make a plan for the two weeks and enjoy all that will be happening in our beautiful city!
Friday, October 16, 2009
How to Take Criticism
There are two kinds of criticism which come to us all in this world. One is constructive criticism. To be really constructive, criticism must come to us from people whom we know and whose judgment we trust and who we feel really care, not only for us as individuals, but for the things which may be affected by the actions or attitudes which we take. Destructive criticism is always valueless and anyone with common sense soon becomes completely indifferent to it. It may, of course, be cruel at times.
To do anything constructive or creative in this world, people must have some self-confidence. Therefore people who love them must always be careful even in giving their honest criticism and opinions, not to destroy completely an individual's faith in their own judgment!
It is sometimes better to let people make mistakes and learn from experience. This may be less harmful than being criticized, and told over and over that something you are doing is wrong or inadvisable. Everyone who launches forth on constructive criticism should bear in mind the fact that it is sometimes hard to put oneself in anyone else's shoes. What might be right for you may be quite wrong for someone else, because they approach life from a different angle. In addition, I think that if you care about people you sometimes allow your judgment to become clouded and criticize with a view to preventing them from doing things which you feel will bring them the difficulties of general criticism when as a matter of fact, succumbing to such considerations would perhaps be more painful than all the outside criticism could ever be.
Fear for those we love is one of the reasons that many of us are critical and it is something which we should weigh very carefully before expressing ourselves.
I would not want the people I love and who are most often with me to withhold criticism, but since those are the people you must count on for giving you the courage to live with a purpose, they are the ones who have the greatest responsibility to make their criticism constructive, since they know you will pay attention to them.
As Eleanor went on to write in the same article, “Some criticisms I read and forget. Some remain with me and have been very valuable because I know they were kindly meant and honest and I admired and believed in the integrity of the people who expressed their convictions which were opposed to mine.”
And, in the words of her aunt, Mrs. William Sheffield Cowles, who was President Theodore Roosevelt’s sister, and the aunt that many of the young people in their family went to for advice, "Do not be bothered by what people say as long as you are sure that you are doing what seems right to you, but be sure that you face yourself honestly."
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Currency: What's your exchange rate?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The Continent of Excess
Paul was down in San Francisco, and ordered a plate of pasta. When it arrived, he was completely taken aback - it was a portion that was the same size that he would cook for himself AND Emily for a week's worth of meals.
I was looking into a new car - preferrably a small-size SUV. I had to search high and low for one that was available in standard transmission - apparently we find shifting gears here in North America to be a hardship better pushed aside.
I find it depressing that this is the direction of our North American culture - that we are so lazy, and that we live in such an age of excess, that we have to make "small" shirts the same size as what used to be extra-larges, and that shifting gears is too much work.
Is anyone else frightened by the direction our society is going?
~ Guy
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
We may all be going one direction but trust us, it's a 2way street..
We’re a team first and foremost. Every day we come together and execute preset systems along with contributing that sparkle to create an IF experience. There’s no magical secret and it’s nothing you haven’t heard before..
-plan
-be 100% when on-task
-follow up
-celebrate
-pay it forward
A team is made from many types of players with plenty similarities but numerous differences which contribute to any team having the potential to be difficult to manage. Think about how challenging it may be to lead 20 different types of people with different ideas down the road. 1 or 2 may change direction (doing it their own way) while those teammates are brought back to square one again (because their way didn’t work and they have to start again) there ends up being 2 more who have changed direction..
What this illiterates is the fact that teams are human and we seem to be programmed to do funny things..like not following a system that is tried and true.
As we all know after writing and sharing one…a personal inventory (pi) is one of the keys to unlocking our behaviours. This tool will help us understand our currency of values/ motivators. This information will be valuable for life. With IF, it will not only let us tell how we prefer to be led but will let us see how tricky we are to lead and should inspire us to come to the table with as much input on how we’re going to improve those behaviours that may be holding us back.
Any relationship requires 2 or more people to come together. What's your currency and are you planning ways to work towards updating any behaviours?
Monday, October 12, 2009
October Thanksgiving vs November Thanksgiving
As some of you are aware, the American Thanksgiving is a huge holiday. There is “black out Wednesday”, which is where everyone goes to the bar the day before thanksgiving to see everyone who has come back in to town for thanksgiving. They have there thanksgiving on the 4th Thursday of November and then they have "Black Friday", which is the equivalent to our Boxing Day here in Canada.
In Canada, the first official Monday Thanksgiving was in October of 1936 and in the United States the official Thanksgiving Day was set in November 1940. There were many reasons and legends as to why Canadian Thanksgiving is in October instead of November. For example, Canada celebrates thanksgiving based on the bountiful harvest and not on the Pilgrims and the New World like the United States. Some believe that because Canada is colder, the harvest occurs earlier, so it needs to be in October. Others believe that because Canada celebrates Remembrance Day, the lawmakers did not want two holidays in one month.
However, both Canadian Thanksgiving and American Thanksgiving represent the gathering of family and friends and the giving of thanks, regardless on the month we celebrate it in.
Friday, October 9, 2009
My First Half
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Five Things I Know
- Wear a helmet
- Signal when you're turning
- Stay to the side of the lane - not to where you put yourself in jeopardy, but where traffic can actually get around you
- And for the love of God, STAY OFF THE SIDEWALK. It's outright dangerous.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
that sparkle..
In 2003 my sister and I gave our dad and step mum some sessions for IF from a Christmas promotion, ‘sneaker stuffers’. They absolutely loved the sessions they received and began their journey with IF at the kits location.
My sister ended up starting up and found a current customer to train with. When her double couldn’t make it she would call me and ask if I wanted to go.
‘hell no’ I would reply, ‘I lift weights already’..having no idea what I was passing up. Finally I said I’d join her and I went early to the kits location to run on the treadmill before our hour. Within 10mins of the session I was getting crushed into the ground and by the time the hour was up I couldn’t remember my name let alone the different exercises I had been doing. Half a dozen bone crushing workouts in kits (by some classic trainers – james, guy, casey) my sister transferred over to west van and was a consistent 2-3x/week and loving it. I ended up trying a couple over there and was blown away by how bright, energetic and motivating it was. I’d be looking up at big carson with a sweaty smile and wondering more about this place.
It was in meeting Curtis that my interest peaked and after an amazing session I asked him, ‘how do I get your job?’
‘I’ve got an open hour, lets grab a coffee’, he said with a big smile.
Within 20min Curtis had written down what to do, what courses and certifications I needed etc.. That spark in his eye has stuck with me. He took the time to clearly lay it out.
Less than a year later I walked back into the facility and told him I was ready. I had learned what I needed to get myself in the door and secured an application. Within 4days I had gone through 2 interviews and was heading to my third. The following week I was in orientation and the week after that I was shadowing..I was wearing my team uniform and training customers before Halloween 2005..
Sure I had drive, desire and determination but I credit Curtis for that special spark and that energy that he provided when he used pure passion to share about the opportunity. It was my first of many challenges from team IF. I mean really, if you tell someone the steps on how to do something, isn’t it a challenge to take each step to meet them at the finish? Sound familiar?
We all have the choice and are able to if we use drive, desire and determination to empower and create that special spark for someone else let alone ourselves..
Figure out what’s holding you back.
Look beyond yourself.
Follow the systems.
Change yours and many others lives in the process..
Be that sparkle in the eye of motivation!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Please and Thank You
These simple two words go along way but how it is said is more meaningful
Mostly we use these two words when you are asking someone to do something or when you are receiving something. However, in any situation – how these two words are said is equally important.
These two words can be used in terms of politeness, thoughtfulness, helpfulness or on the negative side as derogative and sarcastic. Which do you think would be perceived better: “Please get that into me today” Or “Could you please get that into me today”
At a young age we are taught to say please and thank you and it is ingrained into us to use it. Young children when asking for something, there parents would say “what is the magic word” and you would always reply… pleeeeeassssee.
However, did we actually mean that? Or did we simply use that word sarcastically to get what we wanted. Did we truly understand the meaning of this word? Or because it is what society expects us to say.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Tough Times Never Last but Tough People Do
"Success is not measured by what a person accomplishes, but by the opposition they have encountered, and by the courage with which they have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds" -Charles Lindberg