I Was Born To Be A Personal Trainer!

One day I was training a client (what's new), but not just any client. This client was someone who I considered a mentor to me. I mean, this guy had 2 PhD's; working on his third book, and was an important figure for the Michigan Department of Education. Anyway, while training him, we got into a conversation about life. I know, that sounds extremely general. Specifically we were talking about work. He told me there are 3 different types of "work:

1. JOB: A job is something that you wake up everyday for. It's something that you probably aren't happy doing, but you're able to put clothes on your back, food on your table, and a roof over yours and your family's head. You find a way to make ends meet, and you just keep on taking it one day at a time until you find something better.

2. CAREER: A career is something that you may or may not have went to school (college or trade school) for. It may not have been what you initially wanted to do in your life, but you know that you'll never leave this particular line of work, so you get comfortable and you still take it one day at a time until you retire.

3. VOCATION: Cambridge Dictionary defines vocation as, "A type of work that you feel you are suited to doing and to which you give much of your time and energy." Vocation is something that God put you on earth to do. It's your calling, your mission.

Personal training is my vocation! I was put on earth to do this. I was someone who went to school for something other than health and fitness. Yes, I was a college athlete, but my 2 bachelor degrees are Speech Language Pathology and General Studies with minors in Psychology and Linguistics. Absolutely nothing dealing with the occupation I do now. I have always been someone who was asked by others to show them how to perform a certain exercise movement (whether I knew how to do it or not). As that continued I decided to get my certification in personal training over 20 years ago. I've had jobs while being a personal trainer (Logistic planner, dispatcher, systems trainer, factory worker, fast food employee), but I always trained people in some magnitude. It never left me, nor have I ever forgot it.

My first personal training studio was a failure. I lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana at the time. I was more intrigued and proud to have my company name on a sign on a busy street then to keep the business up and running, or to keep working on client retention. I learned a lot from that experience. When I moved to Michigan, I refused to fail. Why? I refused to fail because personal training was my vocation. I would get up at 2 o'clock in the morning just to train someone 1.5 hours away. I would work on my brand and my business (still am) until my eyes couldn't stay open any longer. I knew, if I put in the effort, my vocation would be successful.

I am blessed beyond belief because I'm doing something I love while changing lives. People come to me and say, "Pete, you're lucky. You're doing something you're good at and that you love." I always tell them that you can do the same thing. People reading this blog, YOU can do the same thing. There is nothing stopping you from finding your vocation. Doing something you love. Statistics show we spend 50% of our lives working. Why not do something you were put on earth to do.