For one moment our lives met, our souls touched – Oscar Wilde

I made a rather auspicious discovery the other day.  As regular readers of my blog can attest, I quite often use famous quotes either in the titles or in the body of my posts.  What you don't know though, is that before including a quote, I research it online.  Sometimes I do this just to be sure that the person I'm crediting for that quote is accurate; and when it's unclear or anonymous I don't include any references.  Another reason I research is to be sure I've got it right !!  I know this is just a silly old blog read by a select group of my friends and family, but I'm very particular about stuff like that. Must be my Type A personality ;-)

Another thing my faithful blog readers may have noticed is the small stat counter included in the margin of my blog.  From this I am able to check if there are visitors to my blog, telling me if I'm wasting my time or not.  Now don't panic, I can't tell exactly who is visiting, but the counter tells me things like how many visitors I get each day, the time and length of their visit, and their IP address - which is basically useless to me.  In addition to this it tells me what city they (or their ISP rather) reside in, and how they came across my page.  For example, if you saw on my Facebook page that I posted a new blog entry and clicked on the link, it would tell me that you wandered in via my Facebook page. This coincidentally is the number one source of traffic to my site.

Occasionally I get visitors from other sources too though ... like if you bookmarked my page and just check it on occasion it would tell me that, and I've also had visitors that clicked on the link on my LinkedIn profile.  And every once in a while I can see that someone discovered my site through a Google search.  My stat counter tells me what search criteria they entered on Google, and also the ranking my page was given when they hit the search button.

It seems one particular quote is extremely popular, as I get a rather high volume of traffic as people search for it’s meaning.  The quote I'm referring to is “Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow” by Norman Vincent Peale, which I used as the title to a blog entry I posted earlier this year.

Now here (finally) is the auspicious part ... depending on how they worded their query, my blog is the number one result on Google !!  I figured it out, and it seems if they type "throw your heart over the fence meaning", that's when I'm ranked number one.  If they typed a slightly different combination of words I can fall a little further down in ranking, but most often I'm on the first page of Google's results page.  If you typed it precisely as worded above and hit Google's "I'm feeling lucky" button, you will forwarded directly to my blog and that particular post.

At first I was stoked by this discovery, not to mention dumbfounded !!  Because of this people from all over the world have visited my blog, and I mean this quite literally.  I've had visitors from India, Greece, Russia, Dubai, Pakistan, Italy, the Philippines, New Zealand and the UK, to name a few.  It seems I wasn't the only one captivated by this phrase.  While most of them don't go beyond that particular posting, some of them hang around a bit and check the archives, reading some additional posts.  Cool :)

But while I say I was stoked at first, I also found myself somewhat distraught at this realization.  I mean, how many times has someone asked you something, and your answer to them was “Google it”?  There are people in the world looking for answers to their questions about something they found meaningful, and they're getting directed to my blog for the answer ?!?!  I'm sure this is a far reaching and highly inaccurate conclusion, however the thought of it is still somewhat scary.  Hopefully they realize quickly that's it's just a silly little blog by some nobody and continue on with their search ;-)  If not, I hope they find my definition somewhat useful.  For those who don't remember, or are too lazy to go back and check, my search at the time provided me with the following meaning for that quote: "complete success is attained when you find personal fulfillment in what you do, instead of just going through motions to receive a pay-check. It comes down to making a life versus making a living". 

That quote and that definition could have been the turning point in my career transition, and today I feel I have found that success, therefore I have no qualms if someone out there in the world relies on this interpretation.

Let your soul be your pilot :)

Courage is being scared to death ... and saddling up anyway - John Wayne

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I took someone's blood pressure the other day.  And I'm not just talking about when you screw around in the doctor’s office waiting in that little room for the doc to arrive.  I got a quickie tutorial and practiced on myself a dozen or so times (which BTW is not an easy task), and then I had my first appointment with a real live client.  I was hoping they wouldn't feel my hands shake as I wrapped the Velcro arm band around their bicep, cuz I was scared-to-freaking death.  My work doesn't have any of the fancy new gizmos out there to check BP; we have to do it the old fashioned way.  Wrap the arm band just above their elbow, find their pulse on the upper inside of their arm and hold a stethoscope to it, then pump to inflate the cuff.  This is when the arm band starts to squeeze tightly over your arm, something all of us have experienced many times before.  Then you slowly and carefully release the pressure ... again this is quite tricky as you must hold the pump and turn the dial with one hand, as the other is on the stethoscope.  As it slowly deflates you must carefully listen for the heartbeat, which is much softer than I imagined, while reading and remembering the numbers that appear on the gauge. 

This may not seem like a monumental event to some people, but I'm kinda blown away that I'm doing this.  Little 'ol me !!  A lifetime accountant taking someone's blood pressure.  Well I guess in some ways it still is number crunching isn't it?

This is the first step in our assessment process at work, and if their blood pressure is high I can't really go further as there are some physical tests that follow.  However if all goes well I can finish the assessment.  Next I take their resting heart rate, and as I've done it on myself a million or so times before, this part is easy.  I then take a few other measurements; height, weight, and waist & hip circumference.  This is where I actually have an advantage over the other trainers, as it's time to pull out my trusty calculator and do some quick calculations.  Using their height and weight I can quickly calculate Body Mass Index (BMI) and with the others a Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR).  The results give the client a quick overview of their current body composition and their risk for certain health conditions. 

After a brief medical history, I perform a few quick physical tests, which considering most are just joining the gym, they just LOVE this part ;-)  Push-ups, curl ups and a 5 minute treadmill test.  Once again these results are compared to some industry standards to assess their current muscular strength & endurance, as well as their current cardiovascular conditioning.

In addition to the fitness assessment, the club offers a one-time program design for all new members, and assessments and programs can also be done for free annually upon renewal.  I've done a few of these already, and all I can think of is that I can't believe I'm getting paid for this. Remember a while back when I talked about my obsession, and how every Sunday I sit at home and design my workouts for the upcoming week?  This is basically what I'm doing, only for other people with vastly different goals.  We set up a separate appointment, and in the interim I design their workouts for both cardio and weight training, based on discussions I had with them regarding their goals, experience, and any contraindications that might exist.

At that follow up appointment I walk them through the entire program, showing them how to execute the exercises properly and determining how much weight they should lift.  In essence it is training, except it's a one-time deal and just the one, pre-set program.  And when I'm doing this, I'm in my fucking glory !!  I'm enjoying what I'm doing so much that it doesn't even feel like work :)  I hate to say this out-loud, but if I didn't have to work for a living, I'd be happy to provide this service for free.  Being able to help someone improve their health and well-being and potentially improving their life in some way is an incredible rush.

I figured out I don't need to register a business to do this; I can just operate under my own name, which is what I've chosen to do … for now at least.  I do however need to get liability insurance in place, and I've started to look around and get some quotes.  Once that is in place I can start doing PT outside of the gym, but I can start at my new workplace as soon as I find myself some clients !!  While I’m super excited that this is now reality and I’m doing (or will be doing) what I set out to do, in many ways I’m also terrified.  These people will be relying on me to help transform their lives in some way and to help them reach their own personal goals.  Not only is that a lot of pressure, but their success is imperative for my own.

Giddy up :)

"Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever" - Lance Armstrong

I have 2 good news stories to share today:

1) I passed my exam and am now officially a certified Personal Trainer !!  My official designation is C.F.T. - Certified Fitness Trainer. Each of the educators that offer personal training certification programs has different titles, but they all basically mean the same thing.  The exam was tougher than I thought, which is definitely a good thing. My thoughts on anyone attempting to cheat turned out to be erroneous ... it would have been extremely difficult if not impossible to fake your way through that thing. 

I am certified with the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA), and the buzz in fitness circles is this is one of the tougher and more respected designations. Of course I knew that going in, and this was one of the main reasons I chose to go with them.  It's also American, which means my certification is valid if I ever chose to move to the U.S.  Most of the Canadian ones are not transferrable in the States. 

2) I got a job :)  It’s at a very prestigious tennis/squash/fitness club, with 4 locations in Toronto.  And I mean prestigious ... the first year annual membership is over $1300, and the basic personal training rate is $70 an hour.  Needless to say I would not be a member there myself at those prices, but one of the perks of being employed there is I can use the facilities for free, not to mention discounts at the pro shop, bistro and spa :) 

Initially I will start as a Fitness Consultant working the gym floor, helping members with inquiries and advising them with regards to equipment use and proper form.  I will also be doing fitness assessments and designing programs for new and renewing members, and leading a circuit training program for newly signed clientele.  There is no pressure to sell; I can work as a Fitness Consultant forever and ever if I so desire ... however we all know this is not the plan. I can start training anytime I like. I can find my own clients, and doing assessments and programs is a great way to do this.  When the sales staff get members inquiring about training they pass them along to the trainers, so some of my business will come from that as well. 

They also have no problem with me doing training outside of their place of business, as long as they are not a member of their club. This means I can go ahead as planned and try and get business in my condo, or anywhere else for that matter. Before I attempt that I still have to get a few things in order, such as liability insurance, a business registration etc., and perhaps a few small pieces of equipment to perform my own fitness assessments. It may take me a few weeks to get all this in order, although I'm anxious as hell to get started.

On top of all that, I'm feeling fantastic these days !!  My running program is going great; I'm in week 3 and have not missed any runs, and even managed to get out on those few sweltering hot days. I've lost the excess weight I was struggling so hard with earlier and I'm very pleased with that, and of course just in time to start training. Gotta show my clients that I practice what I preach right ??

I get my last piece of furniture (a sofa bed) delivered to my condo on Friday, and that means I will finally be fully settled there too. And I am loving condo life !!  I sit out on my balcony more than I ever sat on the back patio of my house  Rather than staring at a fence and endless rows of other houses, I have a great view with so much see it's truly awesome.  I bought a great high balcony patio set, and I even planted a small garden out there, something I never did in my house.

I can't believe how much my life has turned around in a little less than a year. I have made a complete 180 with my life, and I must say it's all for the better.  Just prior to getting fired I never would have guessed I'd be where I am today and doing what I'm doing. And truth be told I had some doubt as to whether or not I made the right decisions when I committed to this career change, or whether or not I could actually make it work. But now I know for certain I did the right thing ... I'm living the dream baby !!  When it comes to work I'm still at the beginning stages, but I can now see that elusive light at the end of the tunnel.

Next stop ... nutrition !!  Oh yes, I forgot to mention; my new workplace also has a nutrition counseling program, so as soon as I earn that certification I can start doing that as well.

Life's good my friends :)