He who hears not the music thinks the dancer mad - African proverb

I’ve been writing in my blog for close to a year now, and though many have suggested potential responses, I think I finally found the answer to the question “Am I Nuts or What ??”.

The answer is … I am indeed.

Less than 2 weeks ago I wrote about a “fantastic opportunity” at my workplace; to work as the Acting Fitness Manager for my boss who may have to take her mat leave early due to some unfortunate complications.  Late last week I found out that she will not be returning to work and therefore her mat leave will be starting immediately.  And that very same day I walked into the Club Manager’s office and told her I was not interested in taking the job.

While I thought at first it was a great opportunity, and who knows, maybe it is, after just a few days in the job I quickly realized it is not at all what I want to do. Sitting behind that desk again for 8 hours plus, plugging away at the computer and filling out paperwork, attending meetings, doing those mundane administrative tasks  ... it was all just too familiar.

It was exactly what I left last summer and swore I would never do again. But I was lured in by trivial things like job security, a boost to my resume and a regular full-time salary. Silly me. If I had wanted those I'd have gone back to accounting a year ago like a good little girl.

But there were many more reasons I decided not to take the job. I want to be a trainer full-time, eventually adding nutrition counseling to my repertoire. And while I was assured that I could train concurrently with the Fitness Manager job, I quickly realized how difficult this would be. I have just 5 clients so far, but still I found it difficult to prep for those clients while performing my daily office duties. I don’t want to just go through some cookie-cutter program for these people … I like to take my time designing a program that will work for them personally so I can help them reach their goals.

On top of that, not once in that 2 week span did I pick up my nutrition text and continue my studies. And I found it very difficult to find time to train myself ... physically I am not feeling on top of my game.  How on earth could I manage any more clients or finish my nutrition course?  And training clients outside of my gym would be nearly impossible.

So while I could certainly handle some PT clients while performing the Manager role, I can’t see that I could successfully build my client base or my business enough to sustain a living.  And then what happens when that one year mat leave is done and my boss comes back to work?  Am I to start over again at that point to grow my clientele?  That doesn’t sound very smart to me.

Bottom line is not only does taking this job seem unwise for my planned career path, but my heart is really not in it :(

They took the news very well and were very supportive of my decision, then posted the job internally last week.  I finished off the two week contracted period, and today I went back to my regular, part-time hours of floor shifts and personal training.  I did offer to help out if they needed it while they searched for a replacement, and they gratefully accepted.

Perhaps 6 months down the road I will regret this decision, but something tells me this is what I need to do.  I’ve stuck to my guns thus far, and taking this job would have been the easy way out, and in my opinion not conducive to my overall goal.

In the words of Mick Jagger … dance little sister, dance.

Don’t make me walk when I want to fly - Galina Doyla

I downloaded this cute little app on my Blackberry a while back called Daily Horoscope.  At precisely the stroke of midnight each night it updates, providing me with my horoscope for the following day.  It was free … I pretty much refuse to pay for apps on either my Blackberry or my iPad, so I figured no harm, no foul.  Being a non-believer in just about anything spiritual, it goes without saying that I don’t believe in astrology, but I figured since it was free it would at the very least be entertaining.

I’ve been surprised to see that for the most part the predictions have been eerily accurate.  Quite often it foretells of major life changes, reaching for and achieving my dreams, striving to be the best I can be … all that crap.  When I read them I get all excited, thinking the stars are aligned and I’ve received a cosmic confirmation that I did the right thing with this whole new career endeavor, then logic kicks in and I remember astrology is futilitarian at best.  It’s still kinda cool though ;-)

Perhaps a better way to gauge my future success is to view my progress to date, and so far it’s going wonderfully :)  Within one month of being certified, I have 5 Personal Training clients already !!  So far my clients vary in age, sex, knowledge base and goals, which is awesome as it will give me a wide variety of experience.

The first client I signed is a 25 year old male; I did an assessment and program for him a few weeks ago and I knew instantly I wanted to work with him.  He’s extremely motivated and will do pretty much anything I say (one of the perks of the job !!), so he’s really an ideal client, and I want desperately to help him achieve his goals.  I’ve already done several training sessions with him and another woman, and my third client starts tomorrow.  I signed the other 2 today and will start with them next week.  Most people buy multi-session packages, so I will be working with each of them for at least the rest of the summer.

I have quickly come to realize that I love, love, LOVE my new job !!!  In one of my inspirational books the author quoted his father as saying “Find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life”, and I do believe I’ve done just that.  It never feels like work when I’m at the gym working with these clients, or when I’m sitting at home prepping for our sessions.  It really is quite a pleasure :)

On top of all that, I was presented with a potentially great opportunity at my workplace this week.  My boss, who is the Fitness Manager, is expecting, and although she’s not due until November, last week she was ordered 2 weeks bed rest by her doc.  They approached me and asked me to perform her job for those 2 weeks, so I started this week in the role of Acting Fitness Manager.  I had already approached them and inquired about her job as soon as I heard she was pregnant, and submitted my resume at that time.

At the end of 2 weeks she will visit with her doctor and see if she will be returning to work or if she must start her mat leave early, and if that’s the case I can apply again to be her mat leave replacement.  This is a full time salaried position, managing the club as well as all the staff, however most importantly I can continue to perform personal training at the same time.  This was my first question before I even applied, as my ultimate goal is to train !!

I figured this would be a fantastic opportunity for me right now.  For starters it will provide me with a full time salary for at least one full year.  But I would also be endorsing my own success by increasing my hours and presence in the club, performing personal training services and interacting with members while acquiring new clientele and building myself a successful business.  I hate to throw in a cheesy cliché, but it sounds like a win/win situation to me.

I’m spreading my wings baby :)