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Politicians
I love the smell of campaign season!
Not really.
It reminds me of how willing people are to compromise in pursuit of their own gain. We get to witness how candidates are willing to say the right thing and how they avoid doing the right thing. Stay away from controversy and figure out how to be stylishly lukewarm.
Passionate, strong, consistent, specific, honest? Stay away from politics.
Being Different
About a month ago, we went to visit our 11 year-old son on visiting day at his summer camp. He went for three weeks. It was his first time away from home. He’s of an age and a personality that caused us to miss him. He loves farms and nature. We were anxious to see how he was doing.
When we got upstate, he greeted us in the manner that I guess was age and context appropriate. We couldn’t do anything right. We were too friendly, we were too standoffish. “What did you bring me?” “How are the Mets doing?”(yes, the Mets - see YouTube for his video) “Why are you sitting there?” Why are we just sitting?” – I steeled myself and let his peer-nourished rudeness just wash over me.
After several hours it was time to go. The other families were in clusters exchanging emotional goodbyes and taking farewell photos. I pointed out to Vidar that we too should probably take a family photo of the occasion. After all, we don’t want to stand out, do we? He asked, “Why not? We’re not like everyone else and I don’t want to be.”
He was absolutely right about that first part, but it was still a little jolting to hear that he was more than ok with it.
My kids have paid what some outsiders might feel is a price for my professional decisions in pursuit of independence and service. The Bhagavad Gita points out that we are only entitled to our labor and not to the fruits of our labor. This is actually a genetic mutation passed down from my parents – family cars, vacations, the latest clothes? Ha!
Doing the Work
At some point, I learned not to fall in love with my profession(s). I learned to love and care about the people I do the work for. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? You’re not really here to learn how to bench press more or have washboard abs, right? You want to make a change. We want to help. It’s what we value and it’s our mission.
Did you know that there’s a 72% attrition rate in the first year for personal trainers? Those are the people who look at this kind of thing as just another job. That’s the guy you met at the big name gym after you got hustled by guilt and the sales rep.
That’s not what we do. We’re more coach than trainer. We’re here to help you tell a different story and develop a different strategy. We’re clear about our nutrition (for more on that you can go here or here) and exercise preferences. We tell you the truth. The three of us will continue to tell you that you can’t out-exercise poor nutrition; you won’t get that beach body with one workout per week; you’re killing yourself on that 1,000 calorie/day diet; if you’re not going to spend the time to cook and learn the right way then stop pretending that you can be vegetarian and healthy.
Choosing
We understand our program isn’t for everybody. Because we meet you where you are doesn’t mean we will let you stay there. That’s what a politician would do just to keep your vote.
What does it take to be a politician and to run for office? Whatever it is, no one who lives or works at Brownstone Fitness has it – and that’s a good thing for you.
Oh yeah, that trainer making $5k per session that I mentioned in an earlier email? That was me. But it’s not exactly what you think. I’ll explain when we talk next.
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