Have you ever felt totally betrayed?
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I remember the day Loss Prevention walked into my 24 Hour Fitness club in Westminster, CA. I wasn't worried at first... I was the General Manager. Usually, they just wanted to look at the books. But this time was different. They told me not to log in. My alarm bells went off immediately. This was weird. I started replaying my last seven years. I worked 70-plus hours a week. I worked my way up from a humble trainer to managing a staff of over 40. We were bringing in close to a million dollars a year. I bled 24 Hour Fitness. I loved that company so much. Then my new district manager, Jim, walked up. He looked at me cold and lied straight to my face. He said, "I don't know what's happening, but I need your keys." He knew exactly what was happening. I handed over my ring of over 20 keys. They felt incredibly heavy. Walking around with keys that big meant you were important. You meant something. Taking them away felt like they took a big chunk of my soul. Next thing I knew, HR called. I sat down with a classic yellow manila folder. It looked ominous with its paper clips and highlighted lines telling me where to sign. I had my termination in hand. My heart was broken. I left the building feeling numb. I cried hysterically on my way home. I was in total shock. I'd never been home in the middle of the day before. I called my best friend, and he couldn't believe it either. That night I went to the beach. I felt betrayed, double-crossed, and mad at the world. Six weeks later, I had lunch with my buddy Raffy. He told me this would be the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn't believe him... With my engineering degree, I actually thought about going back to UC Irvine for economics just to chase money. But the very next day, lightning struck. I realized I could start my own personal training business. I woke up with so much fire and passion. I wrote in my journal so fast my words couldn't keep up. I knew this was exactly what I was supposed to do. The reason I'm sharing this with you is because life's going to test you. In your health and fitness journey, you're going to face some dark moments. Maybe it's a tough diagnosis like diabetes or high blood pressure. Maybe you'll face giant dragons like cancer or multiple sclerosis. There'll be times when the world feels like it's imploding. But you need to know those giant dragons can be slayed. Life leaves diamonds in the dark. When you lean into the pain, you'll find something better on the other side. And you won't be scared of the dark anymore... Because you will be your own light. You've got this! Let's make it happen.
PS: I don't carry a giant ring of keys anymore. My pockets are a lot lighter these days. Honestly, I don't think Kona would be impressed by them anyway. |