Why I do what I do.
“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”
Henry David Thoreau
This was a quote from the keynote address given by Brian Grasso, founder and CEO of the International Youth Conditioning Association (IYCA), at a fitness conference I attended a few months back.
What a powerful statement. And what a powerful keynote speech.
Although the quote and the speech were not directly related to health, fitness, physical therapy, or human movement, they did stir something deep inside of me.
An awakening.
I had to really figure out what I’m doing and what I’d like to accomplish in this field.
I had to stop and think about what gets me up in the morning and excited to start my day and what keeps me going and wanting to learn more, do more and be more.
I spent much of the conference doing what I should have done years ago.
I had to find myself.
Have you ever stopped, paused and taken stock of your life?
It’s not easy at all.
There are definitely ghosts to confront and skeletons to battle. You become vulnerable to those around you. And even more vulnerable to yourself.
That’s a scary position to be in.
In any industry. In any situation. Let alone in the “macho” and “testosterone-fueled” field of fitness and high performance where confidence and bravado reign supreme.
I had to take a deep, hard look at who I was, and what I wanted to achieve. I had to find my inner motivation. I had to find what drives me.
I had to find my passion.
I remember going to bed that night after having mulled my “quiet desperation” all day.
I remember waking up the next morning with a new clarity, a new sense of awareness, a sharper sense of self.
I had teased out the source of the passion in all that I do for my clients; for those looking for body transformations or looking to lose weight; for those looking to gain muscle mass; for those looking to become stronger; for those looking to improve performance and even for those looking to live their lives pain free.
There was one underlying and unifying motivation that has compelled me to serve my clients better.
That compels me to serve my clients better.
Empowerment.
