Fail Your Way To Success

People have always sought me out during times of major transition in their lives.  In the beginning, I viewed it as though I was simply listening and "giving advice" to my friends.  And then I started competing in a division of bodybuilding called Figure. 

That was when friends, family and co-workers started coming to me with fitness-related questions and goals.  So, I'd write exercise and nutrition programs for them, and guess what?

They all FAILED MISERABLY.   In fact, they actually ate WORSE than before we started working together. 

So I went back to the drawing board, frustrated and confused.  I honestly couldn't understand why they would pay me and do the OPPOSITE of what I recommended.  Then I remembered the strong teachings of Dr. Vertuno, a Physician Chief-of-Staff  from my very early years as a brand new nurse.   

Dr. Vertuno always said, "When in doubt...go see the patient."  

So I took that advice and went back to the people who had hired me to find out what the problem was and why they did WORSE than before we started together.  

What I learned with that first go-around was that the failure was on MY side.  

I failed to properly qualify those individuals and align their expectations of time investment.  Had I known more about the sales process, and more importantly how to QUALIFY Clients, I would have saved all of us a lot of time and frustration from the get-go.  

Fast forward a few years and many years of training, I had gotten WAY better at the qualification process.  I've got systems in place and the entire conversation with an individual is so much easier and natural.  Best part, I get to work with the BEST PEOPLE.   

Some have athletic goals.  Some have aesthetic goals.  And others are in "Operation Overhaul" and are severely deconditioned or have other health and fitness problems to content with, and are GALAXIES away from what they would ever imagine their ideal goal to be.   It's totally fun, because they are COMMITTED, COACHABLE and they do the work. 

I firmly believe that every person likes to improve themselves-and usually it's because there's something greater that they want to do.  But I never really gave it any more thought until I myself wanted to improve my skillsets to be able to serve people at a higher level.    

My approach to how I view things today is very similar to how I did while working as a clinical Nurse.  It's having the ability to see both telescopically and microscopically- see the one detail happening with my patient, and I see the big picture-what's been going on for the past few DAYS.  I always look for trends and patterns within THAT individual's course of care; as well as within other patients' who have the same problems/conditions. 

That's how you become great-You expand your mind and always look to serve at a higher level. 

I did the same thing with the people I coached in the GOALS Program.  

Yes, they all came to me with what was initially an AESTHETIC goal:  they wanted 6 pack abs, they wanted to lose weight, they wanted to put on muscle.  

But "after further review," what I found was that was not the ACTUAL reason they came to me.  

The ACTUAL reason was that they were at a major transition point in their life, and wanted to "get healthier" so that they could pursue a goal, and/or were COMPLETELY OVERWHELMED and came to me to basically help them organize their brain.  

THAT'S ACTUALLY HOW WE HONED OUR BUSINESS TO SPECIALIZE IN BOTH MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT AND LIFE COACHING.  

Crazy, isn't it?

I bring all of this up, not to impress you; but to impress upon you that ALL OF US FAIL ON THE WAY TO SUCCESS.   We fail to take responsibility, we fail because we don't have the knowledge or the experience to handle the endeavor, we fail to execute, we fail to properly plan, we fail to understand, we fail to communicate...  It can be completely demoralizing, or you can CHOOSE to use that frustration as fuel to catalyze your come-up.    The choice is yours.  CHOOSE POWERFULLY.