At 97 pounds dripping wet, he was a sickly and skinny high school loner. He was ridiculed, picked and ostracized. Thick glasses, arch supports and a shoulder brace further stunted his self-image and hope for the future.
The constant rejection and his own self-deprecating lifestyle prompted him to drop out of high school. After that, his life became even more directionless and empty.
His life finally took a right turn when he attended a health lecture and made a conscious decision that his future would not be a repeat performance of the past. He junked his junk food diet, began exercising two hours a day and gradually changed his physical appearance, self-image and attitude about life.
As a result, this one-time, frail, self-conscious teenager opened his own health club in California. His passion for improving his own status eventually led him door to door, promoting and selling his new exercise business through which he became committed to changing the lifestyles of everyone in Oakland, California and beyond.
That man is Jack LaLanne who would forever become known around the world as “Mr. Exercise.” Mr. Exercise would probably be the first to tell you that exercising greatness is directly attributable to one’s conscious decision not to let the future be a repeat performance of the past and that almost anyone journey’s to personal fulfillment can be broken down into four life transforming processes:
- Set your goal.
- Create a series of steps that get gradually more and more specific until you finally have a single step you can complete now, today, right at this moment.
- Realize that any resistance to change is a normal subconscious effort to keep you safe.
- Finally, make a leap of faith and begin.
A client of mine who was making a career coaching transitions in Chicago was inspired by Jack LaLanne and his story. She realized that taking action on a daily basis will help you create new habits and build energy to face the barriers that occur in any successful journey. You’ll learn to develop new resources and recognize new ways around any obstacle to achieve your heart’s desire.
Once you do, you will allow your entire universe to support you in ways you never knew existed. Just like Mr. Exercise, you will begin to generate a wave of positive energy that cannot be stopped.
COACHING TIP: Exercising Greatness
By participating in this week’s “inspirational workout” you can follow in the footsteps of one revolutionary individual who exercised greatness by:
- Setting your goal.
- Creating a series of action steps that get gradually more and more specific until you finally have a single step you can complete right now.
- Realizing that any resistance to change is a normal subconscious effort to keep you safe.
- Finally, making a leap of faith and beginning to complete your action plan.