[[[1]]]What makes a leader in this industry?
First off, my last name is DUKE…in English it means "Leader". However, just having that last name alone doesn’t qualify me for that status. The determination is to "be the example". Sometimes a Leader is a loner; the front of the pack if you will. A Leader is one who wakes up at the sound of the alarm clock, puts his feet on the floor, stands up, and is ready to take charge of their day. The skills of a leader are to seize every moment where we are allowed to influence ourselves and others around us in a positive, igniting, motivating, and example driven way.
As a Beachbody Coach, we must take that same approach to our "world" out there. Having just the "Coach" title alone doesn’t make you a coach unless we are just simply "Title-Driven". A Coach is one who seizes opportunities as they arise. It’s not only in the people we come in contact with; it’s in our own persona. It was brought to my attention in some of the recent before photos of me that my persona and attitude reflected in my pictures alone…depressed, no emotions, drained of life’s energy. But, as I progressed, my pictures began to take on a new persona…Smiling, upbeat, confident, and ready to seize the next goal laid out in front of me. We have to realize that Leadership isn’t the "before pictures of life" but rather it is the FAITH of the end results. It’s kind of like this…You’re at the starting line but you go and inspect the finish line and its end results to know what the goal looks like and how it feels…then, you go and start that race with the "finish line" embedded in your memory. It’s the picture of the finished product that presses us on to succeed.
I alone faced many challenges early on…moving my family many times in our young life. My wife working a different schedule than I did. Having to wake up at 4:30am to begin workouts. Overcoming my guilt from where I let my life and body get to. These all contributed to taking the Leadership role and placing it on the back burner.
But then I looked in the mirror one day and said…if "Duke" means leader…it is time I begin to live up to my name. So the questions…my family moving and my kids being taken from different place to place and learning to adjust…the answer…kids adapt, they are like spring boards in our life and "pop" back into place much easier than we as adults do sometimes. My wife’s schedule conflicting with mine… the answer is that although we are both a team, we both have to make an individual choice to reach goals set for ourselves and see them accomplished; she can’t workout for me and I can’t workout for her. So, we support each other but had to realize that it is not selfish to have the "me time" necessary to create the leaders back in us that our children need to see since kids are like "sponges" and soak up everything. So, if it is 4:30am I have to work out, then, I need to do everything possible the day prior to make the next day "available" to me from making "follower" excuses…prepare meals, clothes, etc. ahead of time. I like a comment that fellow BeachBody Coach Dave Ward quotes that is a saying of The Navy Seals…"The only easy day was yesterday"…what a great point!
Leadership isn’t a title…it’s an attitude…it’s a choice! Reading the forums and posts people put up is so inspiring and pushes even me to be Leader-Driven and it excites me to see my goals, as well as the goals of others, accomplished. You’ll never know what you’re about to step into if you are looking back all the time. Eyes forward toward our goals! We will get there…we can accomplish them. Bring It!
Tim Duke
