"The past 6 years I have been fortunate to have experienced a great deal of success. The gym has grown from the unused 288sf office space in a small dojo to nearly 10,000sf facility with our nearly completed construction. The success stories of the individuals that have driven the growth of our gym are truly incredible. Countless weight loss success stories losing 20+lbs, medications used to control blood pressure and cholesterol discontinued, 500+lb squats, 500+lb deadlifts, 300+lb cleans, 250+lb snatches, athletes qualifying for Crossfit Regionals and USAW National Meets, life-long friendships forged, and more than a few relationships. I’m not one to brag, most know I’m a fairly quiet no nonsense kind of guy who has gained a reputation for a habit of telling hard truths. It is undeniable, however, that we have had a long history of success and an incredible community of people. Our history has taught me that success is a habit within your control. Don’t get me wrong, you can’t control everything in life that affects you, but improving your health and fitness is fully within your grasp. The fitness industry is wrought with self-proclaimed experts who write articles in easy to skim bullet point format with encouragingly simple information. Their new shiny product or their easy program to add 50lbs to your squat or lose 10lbs in a week seem very convincing. The internet is a wonderful tool to spread information. Whether it’s useful or not is another story. Things that work usually have a telltale history of success, things that promise to make your success easy are often a great money making business but not much else. Fitness is a long term investment in yourself, arguably the most important investment that is far too often neglected. Fitness is not a get rich quick scheme. Think of it more like your 401k. Consistent contributions to your fitness portfolio will pay big over the long run, and just like a 401k the best time to start is 20 years ago or now. Another common mistake is impatience and an expectation that it will be easy. The misconception that fuels this is that people who are in good shape must have gotten where they are because they are talented or whatever other lame excuse someone convinces themselves is true to distance their struggle from others success. I can tell you from personal experience, as a competitive athlete and a highly accredited coach, that this is a shamefully untrue assumption. The hundreds or thousands of training hours required to accomplish a goal in anything are hard earned. The best athletes have hit roadblocks, plateaus, setbacks, motivational black holes, and overcame them with time and persistence. It’s much easier to convince yourself that you can’t than you can, however it becomes harder when you are surrounded by hundreds of people who have experienced success reaching their goals and can help you as well. Surround yourself with success, and your chances of becoming successful dramatically increase.