(This is a repost of a blog I did 9 months ago … I will do a follow up to this blog later today)

A few weeks ago, I read in one of the financial newspapers about the large number of gyms in America and the UK which have closed over the year because of “massive” drops in membership.

Today, I heard that my gym, an international brand of gym in Dubai has lost 40% of its membership over the past year.

To be clear, the gym I go to in Dubai has no joining fee and costs only 90 dollars a month – yet, 40% of their clients canceled or did not renew their membership in 2010.

Apparently, people are cutting the gym because of the economy…

Priorities.

Personally, I used the global financial crisis as a way to cleanse myself of the excess in my life.

The easiness of life before the crisis had made me complacent.

Sometime in 2009 …

I woke up one morning and realized I had stopped climbing higher on my proverbial mountain.

Basically, my world had become soft and cushy … without realizing, I had stopped climbing, set up camp and just enjoyed the cushiness.

Like a teacher slapping the back of a day dreaming students head, the crisis knocked me from my comfortable perch…

For many years, the plague of “comfortable” and “easiness” ravaged the world — this plague, or shall we call it “cushiness” made the world soft.

It made me soft.

That morning, I revaluated my life — where I was, as opposed to where I want to go; who I am as opposed to who I want to become.

I decided to do everything in my power to get rid of the “excess” and “fat” which clogged the path on my mountain.

My first step — I joined the gym.

How has the global financial crisis affected your personal priorities?

Instead of cutting out the gym membership – cut out the wine or alcohol, restaurants, and/or other superfulous expenses.

Cherish the opportunity of having less.

No matter where you’re from or how old you are — join the gym, exercise, get back in shape and start climbing again.

“Anytime you quit hearing “sir” and “ma’am”, the end is pretty much in sight.” …. from the book “No Country for Old Men” by Cormac McCarthy

Last season, a NBA coach who led his team to the playoff’s each year he was the coach; the team went to the finals his 2nd year and he was voted the NBA coach of the year.

Last year, he nearly led his team to the finals again, but lost in the conference finals.

Back in the day of “sir” and “ma’m” a coach like this was celebrated, but not in this world we live in today.

The coach was fired because the star player of the team, someone who was 25 years old didn’t like him.

I am not judging anyone.

I am just wondering when did it all change: when did authority stop having authority?

….I felt like re-mentioning this story which I  blogged about in June 010 because it’s sort of along the same theme as todays blog, but not really…

I have great respect for George Steinbrenner, the owner of the New York Yankees.

Irrespective of what you think about the Yankees … Steinbrenner’s team is unquestionably the most famous, successful and valuable professional sports franchise in the world.

George is well known for enforcing a strict dress code which everyone who plays for or works for him must abide by – including no facial hair, no asshole haircuts and there is no player on the Yankees who is visibly drenched in tattoos.

This dress code and code of ethics is strictly enforced.

If someone doesn’t like it, they play elsewhere.

I won’t waste time discussing (my opinion) on the direct correlation between a strict dress/ethic code to the consistent success of a team or company –  I beleive they are linked, but that’s not the point of today’s blog.

When I was a junior in high school….

My high school swim team was at the Florida high school state meet, competing for the state championship (to win the state championship in Florida is a big deal to a high school team)

Anyways…

One of the star swimmers on our team showed up to the meet with a mohawk haircut.

My coach wouldn’t let this guy get on the bus to go to the meet unless he shaved (as the coach called it) his “asshole haircut.”

We relied on this swimmer, Wes… and if Wes refused to shave his mohawk off, he wouldn’t be allowed to swim – and our relay wouldn’t be as strong.  Not to mention, Wes was expected to win his two events, thus we needed the points to ensure we won state.

Our coach (who is now the head coach of the USA’s 2012 Olympic swim team) didn’t care – he had a dress code and all swimmers were expected to adhere to this code.

Wes shaved off his mohawk and was allowed to rejoin the team.
Ultimately, he won his 4 events that year and our team won the state championship.

He and the team, we didn’t fight the coaches rules — we thrived because of them.

Yesterday, the “voice of reason” fwd me an article about a 14 year old boy who was recently, kicked off his junior high school basketball team because he refused to cut his hair – apparently, this boy’s hair is too long for the dress code set by the school.

Instead of adhering to the rules set by the school and enforced by the coach.… the kid and his parents are suing the school.

To my absolute disgust, many people are supporting this family; the family will probably win money from the school.

When I was younger, people followed the rules set by the leader, and the rules were not questioned.

But in the world we live in today….
people like this boy and his parents are vigorously, celebrated and supported.

Unquestionably, other coaches and schools around America have had to change their rules and codes of ethic to the “needs” of their athletes and students — just to ensure the coach or the school doesn’t get sued or hassled.

I can only shake my head in disgust…

Where is John Galt?

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/Parents-file-lawsuit-over-basketball-teams-haircut-policy-010311

Omaha, Nebraska in late 1970’s….

I started to swim competitively, when I was 7 years old.

When I was 8 years old until I was around 12, I was one of the top swimmers in America for my age group.

My coach (my first and only coach) was very tough, and even at that young age, I was expected to train hard.

I don’t remember him to be a nice guy; he was very tough on me, but I succeeded, and swam fast.  He wasn’t my friend, he was my coach.

I also did well in school, and had an overall good attitude.

My father would tell me years later – that the quality of my teammates on that first team was exceptional — most everyone on the team got good grades, and there were not trouble makers/losers bringing anyone down…at the time, that team succeeded in the pool and in their personal lives as well.

Around the time I was 13 years old, we moved and I changed swim teams.

I can still remember the first day I met my new coach.

The coach was very friendly, and I enjoyed that first swim practice with my new team.

The practice was easy.

I remember….

many people came to practice late, often the older guys would waste time playing around in the locker room and just show up 5-10 minutes late.

The coach would get angry, but the next day the same thing would happen again.

There was not the same strictness as there was on my previous team I swam.

Once a guy in my lane just decided to stop and get out because he was having a bad day.

I remember the coach jokingly, punch him in the arm, and they both laughed as my teammate walked away in the middle of a tough set.

I must have been about 13 at the time, but I understood the guy was a total pussy; the set was too hard, and the coach allowed him to stop.

This never happened at my previous club.

The coach was tough.
No one missed practice.
No one was ever late because the coach wouldn’t let them practice if they were.
No one ever left early.

The age group team was easily the fastest/best in the state – one of the fastest in the country

But at my new team, there was not the same discipline — and the club/team was not successful; it wasnt even ranked top 10 in the state.

The quality of the team was different – yes, some succeeded, but there were many bad apples who ruined a bunch with their bad attitude.

The team and coach didn’t have the same core values.

After a couple weeks, I went from being the star of my age group to one of the clowns on the team.

Practice was not challenging, it wasn’t difficult at all.

I remember skipping a couple practices just to ass around with my friends ….
The coach never said anything to me.

He was a nice, friendly guy….like a buddy.

At the same time, my grades went to shit.

I had a bad attitude with my teachers and a bad attitude at home.

I went from being a great talented swimmer to just another kid in the pool.

At school, I became a class clown

To be honest, I became a fucking loser…

2-3 years of mediocrity later….

I got kicked out of school for getting bad grades and getting into too many fights – overall I was kicked out for having a bad attitude.

Luckily, my parents never gave up on me.  My parents agreed to give me another chance.

They sent me to boarding school which had a strong swim program ….
The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida.

I did not know before I joined, but I quickly learned ….the coaching staff, Coach Troy and Coach Shofe were well known for being (exceptionally) tough.

I lived in the dorm – it was a boarding school, but in the summer the dorm became a swim camp  and summer school.

I remember my first day in the dorm … I arrived from Omaha at 9pm.

Although I was just 15 years old, I decided I would skip the morning practice (which started at 5:15) to be ready for my first day at summer school which started at 10:00.

At 5:20 am Coach Troy knocked on my dorm room door …. (I can still remember the big grin on his face and his voice)  “we’re waiting for ya….”

Of course, I had to get out of bed and go to practice.

My new team’s practice schedule was very intense – double the practice yardage I had ever done before.

The coach was incredibly tough.

You could not miss practice.

You couldn’t show up late.

There were nearly, no clowns on the team …anyone who was not focused, would not make the cut … not just because the coach would kick him off, but the teammates on the team wouldn’t allow it.

Everyone was focused not just in the pool, but also in their personal lives.

I had a fairly successful first year with the team,  but it wasn’t until my last two years in high school that it all click — not just in the pool, but also in school as well as in my personal life.

Practice was hell, but I really got into training hard.

Monday – Friday  5:15 – 7:30 am … school was from 9:00 – 15:00 and then swim practice from 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm every day.
Saturday was just one practice, but always the toughest practice of the week.

We did sets that no other high school team would or could do.

The team thrived on working hard together – and for the most part, no one moaned and complained.

We all had the same goal – to be the best, not just as individuals, but as a team.

Reflecting back – the secret was obvious:  we were led by a great coach who ensured we all had or developed the same core values.

Because we trained so hard – the team became very close and there was a possessiveness of  “the team.”  Clowns, mediocre, half assed teammates did not last.

There was strong pride amongst us … we considered ourselves to be the best high school swim team in America.

No one missed work out – but, no one ever wanted to miss workout.

No one was late, but no one wanted to be late – if anything, some fought to see who would be the first in the pool.
We were an exclusive team, like an exclusive club ….

And we supported each other from letting anyone or anything bring us down.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

My senior year, we were the number one high school swim team in America.

Unquestionably, what made us, “the team” so good was the discipline Coach Troy instilled.

His discipline created consistency.

To be continued….

I am not a baseball fan.

However, several years ago, Larry Lucchino, the CEO of the Boston Red Sox promoted Theo Epstein, a 28 year old with nearly, no management experience to be the General Manager of the club – the youngest General Manager in Major League Baseball’s history.

The Boston Red Sox had not won the world series in 80+ years … and promoting a 28 year old with no management experience was extremely, controversial.

I was intrigued.

Imagine being 28 years old and being in charge of the 2^nd most valuable baseball franchise in Major League Baseball.
The pressure must have been incredible – having the entire sport, the media, the other management, and an entire city – all watching and questioning your every move.

So from that day, the Boston Red Sox became my favorite team – and I followed Theo and the Red Sox with great interest.

2 years later, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series.

3 years after that win, the Red Sox won the World Series again.

A brilliant success story.

Larry Lucchino didn’t care about Theo’s age; he didn’t care about Theo’s lack of management experience – he chose Theo Epstein because he believed Theo was the best man for the job.

Yesterday, I promoted Robin Titus, a 25 year old with relatively, no management experience to be the General Manager of the Middle East and Africa.

Robin has been the number one salesman at naseba for the past 5 years.  The past two years, he has been involved helping the producers develop the product, as well as working with marketing to expand our marketing machine.

Although he will have the experienced, senior management support in ensuring his development, and success, he is now the boss responsible for developing/leading/managing our Dubai office which has 43 people; and in charge of developing and expanding our Middle East and Africa business.

I don’t care if Robin doesn’t have a MBA.

I don’t care if he doesn’t have a wealth of management experience.

I don’t care if he is only 25 years old.

Robin Titus has something that age, experience, and no school can teach — he is driven.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

If you work in sales, or want more information on Robin Titus this is worth reading:  http://www.scottragsdale.com/?p=2709

I am 6’ 5” and weigh 85 kilo (187 lbs).
I haven’t been in this good of shape since I was a senior in high school.
I will turn 40 in January.

A few weeks ago, I read in one of the financial newspapers about the large number of gyms in America and the UK which have closed over the year because of “massive” drops in membership.

Today, I heard that my gym, an international brand of gym in Dubai has lost 40% of its membership over the past year.

To be clear, the gym I go to in Dubai has no joining fee and costs only 90 dollars a month – yet, 40% of their clients canceled or did not renew their membership in 2010.

Apparently, people are cutting the gym because of the economy…

Priorities.

Personally, I used the global financial crisis as a way to cleanse myself of the excess in my life.

The easiness of life before the crisis had made me complacent.

Sometime in 2009 …

I woke up one morning and realized I had stopped climbing higher on my proverbial mountain.

Basically, my world had become soft and cushy … without realizing, I had stopped climbing, set up camp and just enjoyed the cushiness.

Like a teacher slapping the back of a day dreaming students head, the crisis knocked me from my comfortable perch…

Dickens put it best, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

For many years, the plague of “comfortable” and “easiness” ravaged the world — this plague, or shall we call it “cushiness” made the world soft.

It made me soft.

That morning, I revaluated my life — where I was as opposed to where I want to go; who I am as opposed to who I want to become.

I decided to do everything in my power to get rid of the “excess” and “fat” which clogged the path on my mountain.

My first step — I joined the gym.

How has the global financial crisis affected your personal priorities?

Instead of cutting out the gym membership – cut out the wine or alcohol, restaurants, and/or other superfulous expenses.

Cherish the opportunity of having less.

No matter where you’re from or how old you are — join the gym, exercise, get back in shape and start climbing again.