We all have heroes, right? Maybe some one you’ve looked up to your entire life, someone who has taught you invaluable personal or professional lessons, someone who has always been 100% true to themselves and everyone else. Maybe it’s your friend, maybe it’s your boss, maybe it’s your mom.
One of my heroes is another trainer, named Alwyn Cosgrove. He is just an awesome all around guy. He is from Scotland, but lives in California. When you hear his accent, you wish you just go sit in a bar and have a beer with him. I could listen to him talk for hours. He and his wife, Rachel (also super awesome) run one of the Top 10 Most Successful gyms, in the country, Results Fitness. It’s not successful because it’s big or beautiful. It is actually not huge and fairly sparsely equipped. It is one of the most successful gyms in the country because Alywn, Rachel and their trainers deliver services in a way that gets their clients incredible results. They work mostly with women between the ages of 40-65. Their client’s transformation stories are incredible.
I think what I look up to most in Alwyn is his attitude. He is successful in everything he does because of his attitude. In fact, to hear his life story, it is easy to see that without his attitude he would not be here. I mean that literally, he would not be alive. Alwyn has survived stage 4 cancer. Twice. So, clearly, in this game called life, he does not mess around.
I got to hear Alwyn speak on Saturday and I had tears in my eyes through most of it. He’s not a hugely emotional speaker. He’s actually hilarious in almost everything he says. But when you really listen to him, it is easy to learn so much, in very few words. That inspiration made me tear up over and over. His words change the way you think, the way you act, the way you live. What he taught me on Saturday was supposed to apply to business, but it really, TRULY applies to life.
1. Be positive – ALWAYS. It is so easy to get sucked into negativity. It’s all over the web and Facebook. It’s every where we look. Why waste your time with it? Why share FB posts and pictures that perpetuate negative attitudes? Why post your own cranky pants attitude? No one else wants your bad energy. And if that’s what you’re choosing to put out there, it’s likely what you’re going to get back.
Alwyn’s personal motto: “There are only good days and great days.”
Life is what you make it. Yes, some days will be better than others. But even your worst days are filled with lessons and opportunities. If you’ve survived stage 4 cancer twice, you don’t have time to mess around with bad days. But, even if you haven’t survived cancer, why in the world would you waste your limited time on Earth moping and whining?
2. Taking one step can change your life. Never minimize the importance and significance of small steps. So often we put off things in life, thinking it would be better to wait. Perhaps we’re not quite ready. Today is not the right day – maybe tomorrow will be more ideal. If you take one small step today, it could impact everything about tomorrow and everything about the rest of your life.
The first time I went running, I think I made it about two blocks. I was scared to death someone I knew would see me. I was scared to death I wouldn’t make it one block. I was scared my fat would jiggle and cars passing would wonder why such an unathletic person was even bothering to try running. But if I didn’t run that two blocks I would have never run a 5K, a half marathon, a marathon. I would not have done a bunch of triathlons, where I earned medals and trophies for my performance. I would never have gone to school to be a trainer. I would not be sitting writing this right now. Running 2 blocks changed my life.
Along the same lines, I almost didn’t call my husband back when he called to ask me out after our first meeting. We met at a wedding, under the influence of much alcohol (totally not my fault by the way – I blame my cousin!!!) I didn’t want to call him back because I thought it would be stupid to go out with someone I could barely recall. My roommate pushed me to call him back, pointing out that I really had nothing to lose. If I hadn’t called him back, I would not be married to him. I would not be pregnant with our child. I would probably not even live in Seattle. One phone call changed the course of my life.
These small steps felt huge at the time, like I-might-crap-my-pants huge. But now I just see them as stepping stones to exponential growth and a level of success I never imaged.
3. “Your success [in life, as well as business, motherhood, marriage, etc] will not exceed your level of personal development.” Always be working on yourself. Here on FHM we talk a lot about working out and eating better to lose weight and lose fat. But it’s about so much more than that. When you are strong on the outside, you are strong on the inside. That impacts how you interact with the world. It’s all about understanding yourself, your strengths and limitations, and learning how you relate to the world – making the world better as the world makes you better. You can’t understand the gravity of this if you are not constantly working on improving yourself. Read self help books – books that inspire you to be a more positive and optimistic person. Reflect on your life, your actions, your behavior everyday (I do this while I exercise.) There are always things I feel proud of and there are always things I wish I could have done a little better. It’s important to acknowledge both. Challenge yourself to be a better person everyday.
These were powerful lessons Alwyn shared with us on Saturday – lessons I really took to heart. Sometimes I struggle with stepping out of my comfort zone. Sometimes I complain (especially to my husband) about things not being exactly how I want them. I’ve been working on improving these behaviors over the past couple years and I have noticed a really big difference. In fact, I have noticed that “THERE ARE ONLY GOOD DAYS AND GREAT DAYS.”
Make today great.
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