We are now two weeks away from baby MFF’s due date. Yowza!
With a baby on the way, now’s not a great time for me to be on the road. So it’s pretty awesome that I can now do virtual keynotes from the comfort of my own home.
Today I have the good fortune of delivering the keynote for Camp Gladiator’s annual conference.
I’m going to share some thoughts with their hundreds of trainers on how to succeed in the fitness industry by being yourself.
While I’m saving up the full buffet of stories, jokes, confessions, and frameworks for the attendees, I wanted to share one choice takeaway with you.
Memento Mori.
This is a Latin phrase that means “remember you will die.”
Now stick with me here, as I know we’re getting kind of heavy…
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s this: mortality provides a sharpening saw for carving out a truly intentional life.
It’s pretty easy to lose sight of what matters most as we navigate the day-to-day, as we answer emails and pay our mortgage and tiff with our spouse and get the oil changed. But when we realize how short life really is –– not as an intellectual abstraction, but with deep awareness in our bones –– it cuts the clutter.
We only get so many summer mornings.
We only get so many weekends to spend with our closest friends.
We only get a finite number of visits with our parents.
I’m not saying this to be morbid. I’m saying this because death-bed clarity in the prime of your life is a powerful gift.
To be clear, I’m not endorsing a crippling obsession with life’s brevity. That’s also a trap.
I AM saying that unless we’re periodically honest with ourselves, we may miss the chance to live the life we really want to be living.
When viewed through the lens of our brief mortal coil, many of our concerns and worries fall away.
It’s immediately apparent what really matters. And while there’s variance between different people, for most of us it’s some combo of:
- Serving a compelling purpose bigger than ourselves
- Expressing and developing our unique gifts and talents
- Doing so in the context of meaningful relationships with loved ones and community
This lens is incredibly powerful when thinking about your career as a training gym owner. Because while your job will include unclogging toilets and navigating clunky billing software… it can also touch transcendence. You can leverage your personal superpowers to improve the life of your clients while creating an incredible life for yourself and your loved ones.
As I write you this love letter, I’m experiencing a particularly full season in my life.
I’m weeks away from becoming a father.
And I’m still in mourning from losing my mother in April.
These are both primal experiences. For a guy with oddles of blahblahblah, I’m at a loss for words. I can’t adequately express the gamut of emotions that I’ve been grappling with.
Obviously it’s been a challenging few months. But when viewed through the lens of my life as a whole, I’m grateful for every damn feeling.
I’m grateful for the reminder that this life is short. I’m appreciative of the gut check.
Like each one of you reading, my life has had plenty of slings and arrows. And in this season of FULLNESS, I know I’m living a life I truly love, doing things I love, and most importantly, with people I love.
And in your own small way, by giving me this space to share my heart on business and life, YOU, my gentle reader, are a part of the magical tapestry. So thank you for that.
I’m grateful to travel on this road with you.
