Changing Lives & Thanks

I've mentioned this kind of thing before - when clients say thank you.

On Joe DeFranco's latest podcast, Science vs. Experience, he talks about why he does what he does - changing lives.

You can hear this particular bit starting at 37:30. (Warning, brief profanity about 10 minutes into it.)

He gets a bit choked up about it. If you've ever wondered why Joe talks more about the pro athletes he's helped than the kids he's helped transform, well, that's probably partly why. It's easy to get emotional about changing the course of a kid's life.

I've experienced this to a much lesser degree - not nearly as many people. But even with one, it's both fulfilling and humbling.

Fulfilling because yes, I'm in it to change people's lives. I'm in it not to get you that last 1% of performance but to get you that first 50% of zero to capable. It's incredibly rewarding to get someone from "I can't" to "I can and will." It's equally fulfilling to do this with an adult - giving back what was lost or never had - as a child or teen - giving them to tools to make their life that much better going forward.

It's also humbling because at one point I was that zero. I couldn't do a proper pushup, or a pullup. I was out of shape. I was easily winded beyond the explanation of asthma. I was lacking in physical self-confidence and it bled into other areas. I made a big change on my own - maybe the largest change on my own - but then enlisted trainers to help me move further along into being the best me I can be. It's humbling to think I have the capability to show someone how to do this.

After all, it's not me. It's not us, as trainers. We just provide the knowledge, the tools, and the setting. The trainees provide the work and provide the results. We set the table and hand over the ingredients but they cook and enjoy the meal.

So I get why Joe gets choked up, here. I have problems taking compliments and thanks. I tend to look at things at can't do with great awe and things I can with a total lack of awe. But it's so rewarding to see someone change and be part of the help that let them do it.

It's what I'm in the industry to do.