Life.... My Perform Better Review

Life…

My Perform Better Summit Review

By: Justin Levine, CEO California Fitness Academy

I don't know all the answers, but what I do know, is that a big part of life is really nurturing your truest relationships, valuing the time we get each day and truly loving life.

There are going to be major hardships in life, it's just a matter of time. But what I've come to realize is that life happens in that uncomfortable zone. That is where the magic takes place.  You feel pain, you respond, you start to expand, then you grow and you get stronger. As long as you are willing to battle for your dreams and goals, take quitting off the table and be resilient, you will come out ahead.

This was my big takeaway from this year’s Perform Better Summit in Long Beach.  Kind of odd that this became a life seminar, more than a fitness or exercise lesson.   The first few years I attended Perform Better Summits, I was the young trainer who wanted to learn the new and innovative exercise technique.  I wanted to fill my bag with “tricks” so I can come home and share with my clients.  I walked around like a chicken with his head cut off, entrenched in the industry leading educators.  As I still yearn to better my training system and fine-tune my program design skills, it has become farther down on the priority list.

Number 1, I am a husband and a father.  If I lose my ability to do those two jobs at an ultimate level, I start failing quickly.  So my family is my priority and foundation and I work so hard and sacrifice time away so I can provide for them.  Being an entrepreneur/fitness business owner has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.  Constantly, I am living in an uncomfortable zone.   And constantly, I am battling.  Battling inside my own head.  If you are a business owner, you understand. 

(Don’t worry; I bring it all back down below…)

I came to the Long Beach event on Friday morning with a tranquil mindset, a complete turnaround from past years.  I know my business, I have my training system and I have experience.  Like I said above, I am always looking to better every aspect of my life and business.  But, I was not coming to this year’s Summit to learn the new exercise; I was coming to network with great people, fill my mind with intellectual and optimistic thoughts and have fun!  What I came out with became, once again, life changing. 

I know it can get monotonous if you have read my reviews the past few years but Todd Durkin once again hit the nail on the head.  He always has a “punch to the gut” presentation.  Listening to him speak on the mistakes he has made in his career was so good to hear.  No, I am not being an ass hole saying that I’m happy he goes through tough times, but knowing that I am not the only one, that helps.  Todd is a mentor to the entire industry and his transparency gave us business owners a sense that “it happens”.  And yes it happens, but more importantly, how do we respond?  How do we get better?  What did we learn? 

At one point, Todd became so emotionally entrenched as he was talking about “fear”.  I could feel his emotion and his words resonated into my heart.  

He went on to say:

“Life is hard.  I was SCARED when I got married.  I was SCARED when I had kids.  I was SCARED when I opened up my business.  I was SCARED when we expanded.  But at those most fearful times, that is when we start doing big things.  That is where we grow.  That is how we achieve greatness.” 

All I can say is WOW!  See how this was more than just about exercise?  See how being around high-level people and big thinkers can help you expand your mindset and aspirations? 

Another example…

I was listening to Eric Cressey and Mike Boyle.  To me, these are two of the smartest guys in the industry.  I thought in my head, what standards to these guys have in their life and business’?  When they walk into their facilities, they demand greatness, perfect movement, engagement, learning, motivation, EVERYTHING to be world class.  I have always set a high standard for my business and myself but as I thought more about these business mentors and how they run their facilities, at that moment, I told myself, “I need to raise my standards in every facet of my life and business.”

This is hard for people to do.  Ego, pride and lack of maturity get in the way.  Through personal growth, good mentors and consistency, now growth…BIG GROWTH will happen. 

My last major lesson was from Thom Plummer.  I was lucky to hang out socially with Thom on Friday night.  Thom basically kicked my ass and told me straight up, “If you aren’t pissed off enough to grow your business, you will not get there.”  And instead of disagreeing with him and getting on the defensive, I said, “I know, what do I need to do.”  I asked for help.  If you are not willing to ask for help, you will get lost.  This industry is full of awesome and helpful people who are willing to guide and support you to your goals.  Don’t do what I did and wait years to ask for help.  Go ask right now if you are stuck.  If you do not like something or you feel you may not know the answer, ASK someone who has been through the situation.  They may not know the exact answer for your situation but they will give you advice.  Then it is up to you to smartly implement that advice based on your situation.  (FYI, Saturday night I emailed Thom’s assistant, set up a phone consultation Monday, talked to Thom on Tuesday and now implementing – ACTION IS REQUIRED!)

So there you go, my Perform Better Review.  If I had to choose one “exercise idea” that struck a nerve, it’s BREATHING.  Teach your clients to breath correctly and their fitness, strength, movement and way of life will improve.  Many people have poor breathing dysfunction and this faulty pattern sets up a weak foundation.  Nobody wants a weak foundation.  So teach your clients to breath!

Thank you to Chris Poirier and his crew for always putting on a life-changing event.  Thank you to all the presenters and coaches who supplied awesome information. 

Life….let’s keep living!  And NEVER, EVER accept the average road.  

Thanks for reading!