Fit for Life: 52 Years Worth of Lessons

Fit for Life: 52 Years Worth of Lessons

September is a big month for me.

First, because it’s my birthday month, and secondly, because I opened Providence Fit Body Boot Camp in September 2014.

So, after 52 years of life, and 6 years in business, I have learned a little bit through the years.

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No, I don’t consider myself as a “wise old man” like Mr. Miyagi, but I have scraped and hustled enough to learn some insightful and useful knowledge over time. Am I the smartest person you will ever meet? Hopefully not. (if I am, you need to find some better friends). Could I be more successful? Yes. Have I made some bad decisions and stupid mistakes? Hell yeah, but I still feel like I can offer valuable advice to someone willing to accept it.

Sometimes experience is the best teacher, and I have experienced quite a bit, so I am going to share some life & business lessons and hopefully, you can gain some insight from this “old man”.

Nothing comes easy. I used to always look for the easy way to do things, and always tried to hit a home run with everything I did. Yes, it’s good to take chances, but sometimes chances can get you in trouble, which I learned the hard way. I was always a hard worker, but success and money never came fast enough. I went through some financial ups and downs over the years, but now I am constantly trying to grow myself and my business the right way, which I now know, takes time and persistence.

Invest in yourself. I never received a formal education, but over these last 6 years, I have spent close to a few years of college tuition attending workshops, and self-help events. I am always trying to learn new ways to do business, improve my sales process, and become a better leader. I have put myself through vigorous physical, mental, and emotional tests, just so I can conduct myself at a higher level. Never think you know everything because there is always someone better and smarter that you can learn from.

Communication resolves conflicts. Never assume what someone is thinking. I used to be a hot head and would always go into a conflict with battle armor on. Most of the time when we think someone else is thinking something negative, it’s our own issues that cloud our judgment. Now when I think I have to confront a negative situation or have a tough talk with someone, I try to approach it diplomatically instead of going in with guns blazing. Most of the time conflicts are just misunderstandings that get solved with open communication and not aggression. It has to do with emotional discipline, which I learned not too long ago from a psychotic Marine who helped me stay in my “green” zone while he administered Navy Seal style training for 75 hours straight.

Be grateful, but never satisfied. Complacency Kills!! Think of what the word satisfied means. To me it means settling for something mediocre. Average. Who wants an average life? To eat at an average restaurant? See an average movie? No one. Be grateful for what you have, and the things you have accomplished, but when we get complacent, we stop moving forward in all walks of life. When you reach your fitness goal, do you stop working out? When you save a few bucks, do you stop working? When your kid reaches 18, do you stop being a good parent? If so, then you will be sure to regress, that’s why you should never be “satisfied” with being average.

Leadership is the problem; leadership is the solution. Ever been somewhere and had lousy service? Or had a bad experience? It’s due to poor leadership within the organization. Good leadership means taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving credit to your team when things go right. If a team or staff is poorly trained, it’s not their fault. If an organization just has incompetent help, it’s because they were allowed to be there too long or weren’t properly trained. This all falls on the person in charge. A poor leader blames everything on someone else, whereas a great leader looks within, and tries to make the necessary changes to themselves first, sets the example, then relays to others.

Be open to change. I was the last one to get a cell phone, and an email address. I fought technology tooth and nail, but now I embrace it. I am still not good at it, so I hire people to do the things I can’t do, or have no desire to invest the time to learn, however, I realize that if you don’t use it to your advantage, you will get left behind. Change is tough, especially for someone my age, but falling behind is tougher. Sometimes change isn’t better, but it’s going to happen anyway, with or without you. “This is how we have always done things”, should be dropped from your vocabulary. If you try something new, and it doesn’t work out, you can always revert back, but resisting change initially is the wrong approach in many instances.

Take fast action, even imperfect action. Don’t be irrational, but don’t dwell on decisions for too long, or you will miss opportunities. Action beats anxiety, and when you are faced with a tough decision, the more you think about it, the more it eats you up. If you make a bad decision, it’s ok to course correct and do something different. You will learn a lot more from making mistakes, then when you succeed at something. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying to go invest your life savings on a stock tip, I’m just saying to be decisive when faced with making an informed decision.

Only the ice cream man can make everybody happy. No matter how hard you try somebody will get mad at you for something. I used to, (and still do at times) take everything personally. In the past, I’ve been mad at people I shouldn’t have when I was having a bad day. It’s easy to be irrational when you have shit going on in life, so we have to take into account what everybody else is going through and realize that the reason someone is upset with you, may not be your fault at all. Therefore, do the best you can, with people’s best interest in mind, and hopefully, you can please a majority.

So, there are just a few things that I have learned and implemented over the years. These things apply to everything from your income to your health and fitness.

Remember, you are never too old to learn new tricks, or gather new intelligence.

Just be open-minded and be willing to roll with the times.

It will make life not only better, but less complicated in the long run.

Committed to your success,

Coach Matt