Nick has made the difficult transition from athlete to coach with poise and humility. He has a great passion for helping people move and live better, and his extremely outgoing personality is a good change of pace for our community as a whole.
Click below to learn more about "The Man of Wood."
At a certain time of year Upstate New York feels like the arctic. The weather brings cold, snow and little daylight that can make it really difficult to stay motivated to workout. After all, I am going to be in big cozy clothing all winter, who cares what is underneath.
Read MoreCoach Anthony and I have read several books, well Coach Anthony has read SEVERAL books and I have focused on a select few that have had an impact on my thinking. One of our favorite authors is Jon Gordon. He writes books to inspire people to think, become a better version of themselves and to help others see the value in becoming a team player. He works with professional sports teams, Fortune 500 companies, school districts and other various platforms to spread his knowledge of developing positive leaders. (www.JonGordon.com)
Last year, Anthony discovered one of Jon Gordon's books entitled "One Word that Will Change Your Life" in which he speaks about choosing ONE word to live by for an ENTIRE year, a theme so to speak. Whoa! I immediately thought, no way is that possible, and I was very skeptical (like always which is why you need to read many positive books to check yourself!) HOWEVER, being the loving, amazing wife that I am….I went along with Anthony’s desire to choose words for ourselves to live by for the year. (http://getoneword.com/)
Keep in mind at this point in time we…
Therefore, with all these NEW things happening, I was not in the best place mentally, physically, emotionally and whatever other –allys you can think of…Nevertheless, we printed out our One Word Action Plans (http://getoneword.com/about-the-book/) and got to work thinking of our words to live by for this past year (2015).
It turned out to be an amazing opportunity to reflect on overall strengths and areas in need of improvement as an individual. Knowing that we had a million unknowns coming our way in the New Year, I decided to choose the word “fearless” because well…I was terrified and fearful of everything…change and I do not always get along therefore I wanted to make it a point to focus on being FEARLESS!
Anthony selected the word “courage.” I am assuming for some of the same reasons that I picked “fearless” but you will have to ask him! That’s the best part of this One Word task—it is tailored to YOU and what YOU want to achieve in the New Year.
After choosing our One Word, it is important that you make it real—not just a word you pick and never think about…so we, and by we I mean Anthony, bought paint supplies and got creative! We painted canvases of our word and made it something tangible that we could refer to throughout the year…a year is a long time and you will need reminders!
Pick your ONE WORD today and write it on the GOAL board so we can help in your journey. At CrossFit Utica, we look at each and every member as family. We are a team and have the ability to help each other and hold each other accountable!
Whether you paint it, write it, draw it, you must be sure to live it!
ONE WORD.
For as long as I can remember I have spent many days living a “farmer’s work ethic.” For a short period of time I actually did work on a farm. I have always had a job and have never turned down an opportunity to work more, a curse in many ways.
Here is an example, my typical Monday; Alarm goes off at 3:53am, I take the dog for a quick walk and head straight for the gym. I unlock the doors around 4:30am, turn the lights on and spend the next 2 hours training in solitude (only time of the day I actually spend alone). At around 6:15am I head home for a quick shower, breakfast, some quick family time and then off to work. I teach, mentor, advise and coach high school students, athletes and coaches until roughly 6:00pm. I then head home for a quick dinner and family time then head back to the gym for some more coaching, this time for adults looking to improve their health and wellness
As you can see, from 3:53am to 9pm, I am on my grind. I am hustling day in and day out to provide for my family and help others improve in their health, fitness and athletic endeavors.
I am no stranger and certainly not afraid of hard work. I also have the inability to say no to a friend or colleague who needs help. With that said, I do feel as though I have missed opportunities and have been waiting for something to bigger to come along. Waiting is a treacherous game.
Unfortunately, at 31, I am nowhere near where I thought I would be at this point in my life. For lack of a better way to phrase it, I have spent almost all of my time working IN my business as opposed to working ON my business. I have sacrificed friends, family, etc. to work tirelessly at something with no end goal. But…change is a brewing.
My wife and I spent our New Year’s Eve painting, yes painting. We used the book “One Word That Will Change Your Life” by Jon Gordon to guide us through a series of exercises to select a theme for the year. We then chose one word that epitomized that theme and painted it on some canvas. I ended up with the word “COURAGE.” The courage to say no. The courage to do things outside of my comfort zone, and most importantly the courage to change my life.
Shortly after, we solidified the idea that it was time to leave NYC, a place that I called home for almost a decade. We are reinventing ourselves in our hometown of Utica, NY. In a few short months we will be opening CrossFit Utica, a small strength and conditioning facility designed to help people move better and achieve their health, fitness and sport goals.
With courage came opportunity.
What would you do with the opportunity to change your life? How will you define your day, your month, your year, your life? Take some time and think about where you are and where you want to be. Remember…you are the driver of your life, so take the wheel and make something great happen!
