Upon reflection on your last year, what did 2017 represent for you? 2017 was one of courage for me. The best part about it is that this time I got to choose to be brave; it was not a requirement due to my circumstances. After spending five years reestablishing my path after a divorce, settling into a new life and home with my child, and building my private fitness training business, I was ready to step out of my comfort zone again.
There are five major ways in which I leapt out of the ‘known’ in 2017. Spoiler alert: I was rewarded each time in unpredictably wonderful ways.
My five leaps were:
- The launch of my first personal bi-weekly blog, Coparenting for Grownups.
- A 10-day Silent Meditation Retreat in February
- Inferno Hot Pilates Teacher Training with Gabi Walters in May
- Volunteering at the Healthpreneur Conference with Yuri Elkaim in Arizona in September
- Launching my online 6-week fitness program, 10UP
These may not seem like bold steps for some; for others, they may seem unthinkable.
The point is, they were each huge departures from anything I was doing, or thought I would be doing.
Another thing they all had in common? When I heard about each of them, I immediately got excited, even a little nervous, and felt strongly only what I can describe as a little ‘tug’ saying: “this is for you”.
In each case, I decided to say ‘yes’ to it, not knowing exactly why, but trusting that this feeling meant that I was on to something. I love that sweet little precious feeling. It was right!
Finally, they all required investments of time, money or both. I chose to accept this. I chose not to listen to any excuses or ‘reasons’ not to proceed; and to be what I like to call ‘un’reason’able’.
Writing has quickly become one of life’s passions for me. Committing to a bi-weekly schedule for sharing my blog has had me creating far more regularly than if I had simply waited for inspiration. It has become a creative outlet, a valuable business tool, and a medium through which I can help others.
The meditation practice I established over the course of that ten days (meditating 10 hours a day!) is now an amazing gift I truly cannot imagine living without. Meditation has bestowed upon me added clarity, self-awareness, patience, forgiveness, and compassion (for myself and others). In essence, I have more peace whenever I practice it, regardless of my circumstances. What an incredible life tool.
The Inferno Pilates training breathed new life into me; both in my passion for fitness, and the direction that I saw my career heading in. I had been training mostly seniors, aged 55-100, for the majority of my fitness career to date. I have always loved this demographic, and saw it as my sole niche. I suddenly realized that a second niche was revealing itself. Through a more intensive and still very functional approach, I saw the opportunity to be a motivator and guide for those much younger than me as well. I made incredible like-minded friends in training. I began to attract younger clients with different needs and abilities. Since June, I have been teaching my own Inferno class, and look forward each week to working hard and having fun with my amazing students.
Healthpreneur is a live conference led by my favourite health guru in the world, Yuri Elkaim. Having followed Yuri for years and read his books, I admired his way of making fitness and nutrition accessible, and his down-to-earth approach. Never did I imagine I would meet him in person, let alone get a chance to work alongside him. One day he posted on Facebook about this amazing upcoming event in Phoenix. He was looking for 5 ‘rockstar’ volunteers with a passion for health and fitness that could help out with the event and meet and learn from the participants and speakers. ‘That’s me!’ I thought. Applicants were asked a to film a video explaining why they were a good fit. I was selected. Volunteering meant not getting paid, and the trip was not paid for. Most of the other applicants were local. I had to take 4 days off of work. It seemed like a fairly unreasonable thing to do. But being un’reason’able had been paying off in spades for me lately, so I trusted my instincts. When I got there, I had an unbelievable experience. I got to know Yuri, gained a ridiculous amount of knowledge on how to move my business forward, made a new bestie, and met dozens of other amazing inspirational health industry leaders, including my future coach. I have already signed up for Healthpreneur 2018, this time as a participant.
The coach I met guided me to pursue my passion and I developed my 6-week online fitness program, 10UP. I doubled down to get it ready for its first run before the Christmas holidays. It was greeted with much enthusiasm, and I am so humbled and excited by the positive response from the 10UP program. I look forward to the further development of these online offerings, as they allow me to help people anywhere in the world! For more information on 10UP, click here: www.leighgraham.com/10up-online-fitness-program/
In 2018, I will continue to listen to that feeling as it arises, and keep acting on it. I cannot wait to see what comes next.
How can being un’reason’able pay off in your life?
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