Self-serving but not selfish

Necessity is the mother of all inventions. I have always wanted to reach a larger audience to be able to share my knowledge, philosophies and services. It is only of late that I found the courage to do so. I have been in the industry for almost two decades. In the earlier stages solely as an athlete and in the later parts (until present) as both an athlete and a coach. Being a strength coach for the last 10 years has allowed me to implement various training methods to a host of populations. I've handled regular Joes as well as international level athletes. Even so, I was never quite self assured that I was "enough". There was this voice at the back of my head that keeps on saying "You need to be more to be able to pull this off". Couple this with the commitments that come along with managing my own training facilities and supervising my own team of coaches, much of my desire to have my own medium fades to obscurity. Enter the COVID-19 pandemic.

The year 2020 will be marked in history as the year that the global pandemic COVID-19 changed the world. The virus has spread to over 152 countries with over 1 million cases and counting. The world was put on a standstill. Quarantines were imposed to control domestic and international spread. As a result, people had no choice but to stay at home including yours truly. The quarantine also warranted temporary closure of commercial establishments (along with the the succeeding suspension of work) including gyms and training facilities. Suddenly, everyone was stuck at home without access to exercise facilities and training implements. More importantly, there was a resurgence of exercise as the prime defense against diseases. A common fact that we have blatantly ignored for such a long time. Suddenly, everyone had the time to exercise. Suddenly, everyone saw exercise as a need. Suddenly, everyone was interested.

You see, for the longest time it has been a great aversion of mine to "sell" what I have to offer. I have always believed that the good in the body of work I've done will speak for itself and the selling part will take care of itself (through word of mouth and referrals). The beauty in this is that it changes the narrative from "selling to work for" to "hiring to collaborate with" and in the dynamics involved in coaching and training people, collaboration is the key for long term success. The global pandemic essentially did all the work for me. People saw the need and virtues of exercise (sad to think that a deadly virus was needed to open the eyes of the public about this). People are now, more than ever, willing to "buy". The narrative has changed.

I am now willing to put it all out there. I take pride in my work. I am proud of my achievements but most of all I am proud of the people I work with. They are the highlight of my career. This has worked for me because of our collaborative efforts. The COVID 19 pandemic made way for the premise where I operate well. Now is the time to shrug off my insecurities as well. I now understand these feelings of inadequacy despite the tenure, accomplishments and accolades. All of these stems from the fact that I demand the best from people therefore I myself must be the best. Although there are moments that this can push us to greater heights, this mindset can also be debilitating at times which is what exactly happened to me. For this occasion though, I am willing to let go of the ego. Lower my stance to understand the process better. It is the willingness of both you and I that will allow for success. Enabling each other. Empowering each other. Enlivening each other. So that we may both be the best that we can be.