What an amazing concept it is that you can change your entire life with a question and the consequent actions. In 2014 I had been a fitness trainer for 2 years and my career really began picking up steam. I had a ton of clients, was gaining a lot of experience and really enjoyed helping others, but I was also still serving on active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard. This caused my work week to last 80+ hours and that was not sustainable. In August of 2014 the crossroads were closing in and a decision had to be made. It was time to determine if my 10-year career in the U.S. Coast Guard or my blossoming 2-year career as a Fitness Professional was going to end? So, I asked 2 questions to help me make the decision!
- Who needed my services more?
The Coast Guard would just replace me with another E6 and keep plugging away because that’s what the system is built for!
My clients on the other hand may not have the same opportunity to keep plugging away if I wasn’t there supporting them. You see, I work with many 70+ year old’s and I literally feared that they may not stay active if I wasn’t around to help them.
- God, what should I do with my life?
I lifted my question to the lord and he delivered as always. I went to church that week and the Mass’s homily was built around using your God given abilities to help others and improve the world.
Believe it or not this was the moment I knew what I had to do and went to work. I went back to school and earned a degree in Exercise Science, started building tools to help me and my clients, began preparing financially to transition out of the U.S Coast Guard and saving for the down payment on our gym, talking to the owners of my current gym about my potential future with them, convincing my then wife it was a good idea and I would succeed, attending as many workshops as possible, and listening to or reading as many books as I could find. Click here for a short list of my suggested readings to live and work better.
As you can see I didn’t just jump off a cliff hoping to find a parachute, I built a plane first. The decision to make massive changes in your life is scary, exciting and difficult, but asking the right questions will help you envision the right answers. Are you happy, healthy and excited to be alive? Only you can change these answers. Don’t let another day go by without asking and answering the most important questions in your life!
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