Warrior Stories Archives - TFW Greensboro

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I Can Do BETTER in 2019!

I have a confession to make…I can do BETTER in 2019!

A good coach ALWAYS practices what they preach. I coach my students to always give their best-whatever it is that day, because their BEST is enough! I also coach my students to celebrate their victories, and reflect on their journey constantly. It’s easy to get discouraged and to forget how far you’ve come unless you look back to see where you started. I also coach my students to embrace their failures and shortcomings, learning and growing from all of them. Our failures create growth. So as I look back on the last 365 days, I came to some realizations that I need to do BETTER in 2019.

Although I always strive to give my best, there are times I can recall thinking….”I could have done better today.” This means I did not truly give my best at that moment. When I look back at the times I know I could have done better, it seems to always stem from preparation…or lack thereof! If I didn’t deliver my best coaching performance, it’s on ME! When I don’t follow good nutrition or training habits, it’s on ME! When I can’t get ahead in business, and in life, it’s on ME! If I don’t prepare myself for greatness, I cannot be disappointed when it doesn’t come. In 2019, I will do BETTER with preparation & delivering my BEST!

As a small business owner, it’s frustrating when you don’t see the growth (internally & externally) that you expect. Truth: I did not grow my business or my team to the expectations that I set for myself this year. Interestingly enough, a handful of my students recently reminded me where we started many years ago…group training in the parks, with only 6 or 7 people, never knowing from one day to the next what location we would conquer our workouts in next. It’s easy to get discouraged when we don’t reach the heights we aspire to, but don’t let that cloud your vision of what you have actually achieved. Today we have an amazing facility with more equipment than we need, and we have more committed and enthusiastic warriors than ever! There’s no guessing about tomorrow. We KNOW where we are going to be, and that our journey is still evolving. Back in the days of training in the parks, I did not have a “team” to help me make things happen. It was just me, a one woman show. Now I have the best assistant on the planet, Natasha, who is helping me run every aspect of the business. I also have 2 part time coaches, Patti & Preston, who are not only coaching up our students, but they are giving me some precious moments to take a break from business so I can focus on my personal life. My resolve here, my expectations for myself and my business are high. I have a lot to be grateful for, and hard work has paid off. But in 2019, I will do BETTER setting expectations & recognizing the many successes along my journey!

As a coach and a team leader, I have failed many times in 2018. There were times that I did not always say the right thing. There were coaching moments that slipped through the cracks. There were times I failed to clearly establish expectations to my staff so they knew exactly what they needed to do. There were times that I dropped the ball and didn’t do what needed to be done. All of these failures have had consequences. I would be lying to you if I said I hadn’t beaten myself up a bit or been angry due to my failures. Hey, I’m human! But I know that these failures have helped me grow stronger, so I will not repeat them. I will do BETTER in 2019 by not repeating my past failures and I will let the failures to come help me to grow and evolve as a business owner and a person!

As I write this, I am not going to tell you that 2019 is going to be your best year yet. I cannot promise that. But one thing I truly believe is “your BEST is yet to come”…if you want it! I hope my confessions have helped you reflect a bit to decide where you want to be BETTER in 2019, in some aspect of your life. If nothing else, remember these three things each day moving forward to be a little BETTER in 2019:

Always give your BEST! Whatever it is that day, it’s enough!
CELEBRATE your victories each day! Make it the last thing you do before you go to sleep.
Accept FAILURE! It doesn’t define you. Failure is part of your journey, and it is a great teacher.

If you are striving for BETTER in 2019, let TFW Greensboro give you motivation and accountability that will change your life! Click here to get a jump start on the year and to experience the difference between the TFW coaching program & “other gyms”.

Peace & Health,
Coach Nicole

Do You Lack TIME Or PRIORITY?

As summer is closing, it seems life has turned manic as parents are adjusting their schedules and getting kids back in school. But wait, didn’t we just go through this already? As kids got out of school only a couple of months ago, life was manic as schedules adjusted for the summer. Then the summer brought vacations, summer camps, and many other distractions to the schedule. And rest assured that next month, everyone will be manic once again in preparation for Halloween, and the upcoming Holiday season, followed by the New Year! Whew! It’s an ongoing cycle! One of the most common responses I get when asking students why they aren’t getting to the gym, eating healthy, taking better care of themselves, or reaching their goals…across the board the answer is: “I don’t have time”. My reply to that: “Really? Or is it just not a priority?”

I’m a fitness coach, and I spend approximately 12 hours (or more) each day at the gym coaching students, running the gym, and working on the business. Because of that, one would think I must never miss a workout, which is why my personal experience with prioritizing might surprise you. After sustaining my first ever knee injury last year, a torn meniscus, my mindset shifted. As my movement & abilities were limited, so was my motivation. I was scared of making it worse, so I did less. Now, I know better than this. The coach in me kept saying “but there’s so much you still CAN do, so DO IT!”…but I didn’t hear myself. I found myself shifting my time to accommodate other things instead. It didn’t take long before I “never had time” to get my own training in became a regular part of my vocabulary.

It’s amazing what can happen when you stop and listen to what you tell yourself (and others!). During my “injury pity party” one of my students and I were talking. We were discussing our busy schedules and the insane hours we work because of our businesses. They asked me, “So when do you get your workouts Nicole? You’re so busy, when do you have the time?” And THAT was my A-Ha moment! How could I tell them I don’t have time when I spend so much time in the gym? At that moment I realized I had fallen into the “Time TRAP”! When they were gone, I asked myself “Do you not have time, or is it not a priority?” Game changer. Of course it was a priority for me, it’s my LIFE! I had just allowed my workouts to become negotiable.

You see, EVERYTHING you do today is a priority! You’re making it happen. If it wasn’t a priority, you wouldn’t be doing it. Regardless of what you’re doing, you have adjusted your life to accommodate it. Taking ownership of how we prioritize is a tough thing. It can be painful to recognize and accept that we actually have the TIME, but we just aren’t PRIORITIZING it in a way that produces the results we want. When you make it a priority, it becomes non-negotiable.

So what in your life have you shifted to the bottom of the priority list that needs to be moved back to the top? I’m happy to say that my reality check caused me to shift my life around to accommodate my fitness goals and put my workouts back at the top again! Interestingly enough, it really wasn’t that hard once I committed to the idea. Here are a few tips to help YOU get your priorities back in the right order:

Make the decision that something needs to change. This is an absolute necessity in order to take action.
Make that decision NON-NEGOTIABLE. It becomes a must! Just as your faith, your family, and your need to put food and water in your body to survive is NON-NEGOTIABLE, same goes for other priorities you set for yourself. Say “no” to something else, and do whatever it takes to make this task happen.
“I don’t have time” vs “It’s not a priority”. When you start to tell yourself its ok if you skip it today, tell yourself “It’s not a priority” and see how that makes you feel. If it makes you feel bad…rearrange your schedule and make it happen!
Accountability-get some! Enlisting a friend, keeping a log, posting it to social media, hiring a coach-are all great ways to create accountability so it’s not so easy to let yourself slip back into bad habits.

If you are struggling with priorities, and your health and fitness goals need a re-boot, schedule a FREE strategy session with me at TFW Greensboro! If you’re not already training with our program, join our community for ONE MONTH to see how we can help you get focused and coached towards your BEST life ever! CLICK HERE to claim your 30 Warrior Kickstart! No more “Time Traps”! You’ve got what it takes and you can do ANYTHING you set your mind to!

~Coach Nicole

REFLECT, Look For Something DIFFERENT Each Day!

Just recently, my husband & I finally took our 1^st full week vacation in nearly 7 years. Since it was our 15^th wedding anniversary, we both decided the timing was necessary for celebration and reflection. Man! We both forgot what some time to be fully OFF felt like. He’s got a demanding career that never has an “off” switch, not to mention his 2^nd career…helping me run MY business. I’ve been so busy building, nurturing, and growing my business that I have not stepped back and made any time for myself. I had no idea I had grown numb to the “daily grind” of long hours and hard work. It’s just a way of life for me, and I love every minute of it because I am living my passion and purpose. When you love what you do for a living, it never feels like a job. But everyone needs to take a vacation from time to time! Which took us to Atlantic Beach, NC for a little R&R.

Nothing beats getting out on the water, so that’s precisely what we did while on vacation. We timed our first outing at low tide so we could find a sandbar to anchor up to and let our dog, Siler, run and play without restriction. However, it seemed that quite a few others had the same idea. The sandbars were all packed…except for ONE, so we claimed it! We had a blast, and were floored at the amazing ecosystem we found on this little sliver of sand. There were horseshoe crabs EVERYWHERE (a RARE sight these days)! A few really big ones, but a ton of babies all on one side of the sand bar. We found a few interesting shells never found on the beach, took some great pics, and headed home fulfilled.

Our intention was to explore various little islands and sandbars each day, but as we set out the next day, it seems once again everyone else had beat us to the “bar”! Strangely, that same sandbar was vacant so we decided to try it again. We assumed we would see more of the same from the day before & we would likely be bored. WRONG! It was a completely different scene. The sandbar LOOKED the same in size, shape, even the huge driftwood tree was sitting in the same spot. But there were no horseshoe crabs. Not one. Instead, we found hundreds of conchs and hermit crabs. Every direction we looked and walked in the shallow water we saw conch shells of all sizes. Although we really wanted to claim some of the gorgeous shells we saw, they were all inhabited and we left them all to grow and thrive. When the tide started covering our little sandbar, we pulled the anchor and headed back to land.

The next day, we couldn’t wait to get back on the water, and find another cool spot to check out. We had already decided that having our own “private beach” was pretty cool, so we cruised around looking for a different one. It was almost as if that little sandbar we had been to the two days prior wanted us to come back to see what it had to show us, because all of the other islands & sandbars were packed again. Yet, the same sandbar was vacant once again…as if we had a reservation on it! We anchored up and jumped out. We were once again surprised to find different life and landscape. There were still a few conchs, but there were a lot of crabs. Big ones with pincers running around under water. Fish, lots of small schools of little fish. And ONE stand-alone sand dollar. We also found that we were not the only humans to find this little slice of heaven. Someone else had found peace on this little oasis in the sound and drawn pictures in the sand that seemed to spell out a scenario, something like you would find on a cave wall. It seemed to be a parting message of their journey, ending with the car ride home. We stayed until the ocean wanted us to leave, and with the tide rising, we left.

Time off was great, but the reflection that came with it was the real gift. It wasn’t until I had some time away to truly decompress, rest, and to feed my soul, that I could recognize how tunnel-visioned I had become in my daily life. Have I been guilty of being in a routine “daze” and missing small wonders and different treasures that were in front of me each day? The experiences on the sandbar got me to thinking how, as a society, we have become numb to the many gifts and small wonders in front of us each and every day. Just because we have the same daily routines, drive the same routes back and forth to work/school, and stop at the same coffee shops and stores, doesn’t mean that there aren’t great things in front of us along that path each time. We just get numb to the obvious and fail to see the finer details.

I want to part with two challenges for you to consider. My first challenge for you is to keep your eyes and mind open today as you embrace your routine. Look for something DIFFERENT among the normal sights. Each day is a precious gift, so we must treat each day as just that…a gift! Search for the treasures hidden below the surface. My second challenge for you is to take some time “off”. Nurture and feed your spirit. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, just break the normal routine and let yourself decompress. It’s those moments that free up space in your mind so that you can let the good stuff in!

Peace & Health!

~Coach Nicole

Meet our “Warriors Of The Month”!

Meet our “Warriors Of The Month”, Tim & Karen Parrish!

One of our mantras at TFW Greensboro: “The couple that TRAINS together…STAYS together”! Tim & Karen are PROOF of this. Karen began her journey with Coach Nicole in 2009, long before we introduced TFW. Since then not only has she transformed, but her husband Tim has been training right along side of her for more than 5 years now. Together, they have never been more healthy, strong, and bonded as a couple! The dojo lights up when these two enter. Not only do they push each other & keep each other accountable, but they INSPIRE everyone around them to keep going! Every couple faces obstacles…they just don’t always face them together. Karen and Tim…keep leading from the front that TOGETHER we are stronger than when we are alone!

It’s all about the JOURNEY!

Anyone that knows me, knows one of my personal missions in life, and one of the core missions of Training For Warriors, is to “Save Lives”. I want to help people live longer and better!

My latest goal is to start writing about our INCREDIBLE students at TFW Greensboro. Each and every one of them have a special story and inspires others just because they are taking on great challenge and change with their training and lives. The truth is that so many people are scared of exercise and really don’t understand our message and what separates us from other training programs.

Today, I’d like to share one of those stories. Steve Johnson has only been with our program for 6 months, but he has gained SO much in a short time! Maybe his story will sound familiar.

1. What were some of your struggles before you came to TFW Greensboro?
Getting up and doing the workout – or otherwise making it a priority in my day, dedicate time to do it. , knowing WHAT to do to maximize my results from my efforts, and understanding how to eat.

2. What made you reach out to TFW Greensboro?
The gym I was attending closed. But I wasn’t sure at the beginning – my old gym was really just a loose collection of guys that got together 3 days a week to workout with a trainer… limited access to equipment (no free weights) and no motivation or other ways to manage progress. TFW was an entirely different experience that I wouldn’t change.

3. What are some of the significant results you’ve gotten since training at TFW Greensboro?
Oh good lord, where do I start? Better fitness consistency, stronger, smaller clothes, new friends, friendly competition, common goals with new friends, respect for others’ goals/struggles/successes, better diet, better understanding of how lifestyle and diet affects results, desire to keep going even when it’s hard.

4. What are the top 3 tips that helped you transform?
1) Be consistent on training but diverse in method,
2) learn how to fuel myself,
3) be surrounded by team members who are going through the same thing I am.

If you are looking for a community of like-minded people to inspire and lift you to new levels, CLICK HERE to apply for a limited time offer for a one month trial. See for yourself what separates our training system from the rest! APPLY NOW and someone will respond immediately!