By Ramese Long
I was fat … At least 60 pounds heavier than I am today. I was broke. I went from gym owner to a handful of clients, then back to a desk making prospect calls…selling gym memberships.
Today, I’m not financially rich … yet but I’m doing much better because what I do have is hope. Hope…that everything will be ok. Hope…that the dreams I began to doubt are now coming to fruition.
So…what does this have to do with Business? Everything. When I starting doing “well” I was exercising, stress didn’t impact me as much and I felt good. When I stopped exercising? Well, you read the introduction to this piece. You see, putting these experiences out there for strangers to read and judge is scary. But, I’m willing to do it. Why? Because I know we have far more in common than we realize. Plus, 21 years as a personal trainer tells me I’m definitely not alone.
What’s the point? The point is this…I want you to take a journey with me — Exercise shoes required. A journey to see what happens when you combine your business goals with exercise goals. Short term goals, long terms goals, it doesn’t matter. This is all about momentum and accountability. That’s where the magic begins. So dust off your old dreams. How will you reach these goals? Let’s see what happens. Together.
What are you guaranteed? Well, if you decide to move forward and never go back…I can guarantee hope. And yes, I know what you’re thinking:hope doesn’t pay the bills. I need money. I want a new job. I don’t want to work for someone else anymore. Believe me…I know. I have a lot of failed dreams too, but this time seems different. I truly feel hopeful. I believe everything is going to be okay. I know I’ve weathered the storm. I feel like my dreams are possible again.
How did I get on this path? Self inventory. Asking questions like: What was the very first step I took that got me back on track? It was making the decision to start exercising again. Consistently. Exercise? Yes, exercise. You may be wondering, how a trainer who owns a gym doesn’t exercise. Simple. The same excuses that set you back. No time. Tired. I don’t want to. I’m hungry. I don’t want to. Sleepy. I don’t want to. Look at it this way, when it’s time for you to leave work, do you want to stay another hour when you can leave? Okay then. Back to our journey.
Here’s what we’re going to do. We are going to check in…right here, every 30 days. We must set and accomplish a goal each day; One exercise goal. What type of goals? Anything that will get you closer to making it real. For instance, do 10 push ups everyday for a week…order a Grilled Chicken Sandwich instead of the Fried Chicken Sandwich…stand up and march during the commercial break of your TV show. You get it now? Good.
Just like you, I have no clue what the future holds. As a matter of fact, as I write this, I truly have no idea if I will be writing a published Blog or simply writing a journal to myself. But, what I do know is I feel hopeful anything is possible because new opportunities are coming my way every day, which all began by me getting off the couch. Take the first step with me by getting reacquainted with your wellness dreams and take the necessary first step by getting your body moving.
Remember, you feel better, you do better … You do better,everything gets better.
See you in 30 days.
[button url=’#’ size=’small’ style=’black’]This month’s challenge: [/button]
*List as many goals as you can think of.
*List all the obstacles you can come up with. (If you have more obstacles than goals…create more goals.)
*Track and record your progress week by week.