Three Life Lessons for ALL Fitness Pros

Guest Post by Adam Toohey

There are times when life has served me up lessons and I have taken a little bit of time to get the message.

Whether it be ignorance, procrastination or distraction, we all fall into the same trap. IF you are intelligent (and I know you are) you will get the lessons life serves you even if it takes time to sink in.

The penny dropping is a liberating feeling (or painful if you kick yourself) and being reminded of such lessons is a key part of life's success puzzle.

My puzzle and your puzzle could be vastly different in terms of size, shape and appearance and that all comes down to your vision.

• What is your vision and how do you intend to construct it?
• What will it look like?
• How will you know you have achieved its completion?

They are all important questions to ask yourself and along the road you must.

That road will be filled with obstacles BELIEVE ME it will be.

Which brings me to lesson number 1 - Persistence and Belief

How many of you have started (or are currently) working towards a goal, or the creation of a business or product and are experiencing an incredible amount of obstacles?

What you thought would take a week, has taken 5 weeks. What you thought would take a few months, has taken nearly a year.

It may be technology being a bitch… people sending you all their doubts and negativity… or it may be your own self doubt and fears that hold you back.

Perhaps life in general trying to beat the piss out of you… beating you down until you decide to quit.

There's a dude I know who was 3 months out of his first Body Building Comp and all of a sudden his appendix exploded (which you can die from) had emergency surgery and he ended up on the shelf for 6 weeks feeling pretty sorry for himself. Although progress has been very up and down since that blow, I continue moving forward even if sometimes it feels like I'm going backwards.

So I ask you… how much can you take? How many times can life beat you down until you decide you have had enough… and quit? Or do you say F@&% You and pick yourself up and kick some ass.

In order to do that you need to BELIEVE in yourself. That no matter what happens you will continue to push forward (persist) until that day comes when you can claim victory.

Here's an awesome clip from a guy we all know, and most of us love delivering the lesson as good as anyone can…

Lesson number 2 - Your single greatest strength

What is it?

Do you know?

You probably know all your weaknesses.

Let's see…. "If only I knew HTML then I could put up a website in no time and not have to worry about the shitty web guy I have cuz he never gets anything done on time" … sound familiar?

How about this one… You spend MASSIVE amounts of your day in your office putting up craigslist ads, facebook ads, blogging, commenting on other people's blogs, reading new material, reading more material, reading MORE material AND checking your email 59 times each day just to see if you have received any leads from craigslist or facebook yet?

OR… "you know I really should learn how to do graphics and css cuz then I could use Dreamweaver and Photoshop to put up everything I need and THEN I'll get more leads and conversions….

Here is a question that was put to me a little while back…

How many F@#%G prospects do you have sitting in your office?

The answer for most of you would be zero.

You don't need to know HTML, CSS, Graphics etc. Find your single greatest strength and then ride that horse all the way to the finish line. It may be "networking" or it may be public speaking… Remember that we are PERSONAL Trainers… key word being PERSONAL. How personal can we really get when we waste time focusing on our shortcomings?

Here's the second clip you will love. Take note of all the shortcomings our hero faces, yet we see him focus on 1 thing… one weapon of mass destruction that will ultimately lead him to victory. (at least in his eyes)

Lesson 3 - Learn to love unconditionally

This last lesson is very close to my heart. A belief that has served me incredibly well since I decided to adopt it into my life.

People are not their behaviors.

Growing up wasn't easy and I'm sure many of you can relate. My folks had their problems and being the oldest of 2, I was ALWAYS the meat in the sandwich. The problems stemmed from alcohol (too much of it) and money (not enough of it). Mind you, with a little intelligence and sacrifice, it could have easily been avoided.

At one point I was the rock (emotionally and financially) that held the family unit together. I was only 15 at the time. That carried on for a number of years and my folks first broke up when I was 18. That was tough. They soon got back together and by 21 I welcomed the second break up as I was totally over all the shit that I had dealt with for the best part of my teenage years.

I held resentment towards my folks for a while until one day I decided to take the high road. I became a bigger man by deciding that regardless of what happened in the past, and what may happen in the future, deep down my folks were caring, loving people. Although there were countless times where it really didn't feel like it, they truly loved me and would do anything for me.

If I saw people for their behaviors and not who they truly were I would not have a mum or a dad. I would resent them for petty reasons and I wouldn't see through the shit and see them for who they really are.

What happens when you take this belief on is that you learn to love someone unconditionally. In order to feel love, you need to give it. Do not expect that it will come and fall in your lap or that people should love you first. You gotta give it to get it.

Loving unconditionally is a challenge but it can be incredibly rewarding. The consequences (positive) it will have in your relationships will be phenomenal.

Here is a deleted scene that gives us a classic example of what it means to see someone for who they are and not their behavior. To really be able to love someone unconditionally. It's a pity this scene was cut from the movie.

Oh yeah, and if you ready to walk through the fear the of lack, failure, success and wanna find out just exactly you're capable of… I HIGHLY recommend this coaching program here

Adam Toohey is Etobicoke Personal Trainer and boot camp instructor, as well as one of the most passionate and cool dudes you'll ever meet. If know anyone looking for personal training in Toronto, send em' to Adam, he'll take awesome care of em'

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