“Best Day Eva!” Part II: A Look Back at the 2013 TFW Summit

And now for the thrilling conclusion (which can also be found at http://www.trainingforwarriors.com/2013/11/my-10-lessons-learned/)

When we left our story I was on the verge of a challenging rope climb. Let’s see what happens…

Cheers roaring. I came about 1 foot from the top just short of the bell, slide down, and fell into the shredded rubber beneath me, screaming expletives all the way down. I let a couple people go in front of me, before making my second attempt; again, climbing just shy of the top before falling to the soft surface below me. There was a family behind me so I let them climb first. We screamed and shouted and cheered them all the way to top. Soon, they became a part of our unit as well. I went for my third attempt, but to no avail. I tumbled down to the bottom once more, screaming my expletives and feeling more frustrated than ever. I was determined. Martin’s daughter Sophia, just turning 11 that day, is one of the smallest version of strength, fire and power I have ever seen. She came up next to climb the rope. Unsurprisingly, she powered her way up the rope and crushed it! I NEED TO DO THIS! Several of my teammates, Jay, Scott and Luka, came up to give me advice and tips on climbing technique. Then Carrie, my newest TFW sister did something immense for me! “What size shoe are you? Here take my shoes”, she said. “That rope is pretty slick and these have more traction than your tennis shoes.” Her shoes; someone whom I just met last night was willing to give me her shoes to reach my goal.

With my fourth attempt I climbed with even more confidence. I came inches from the top before sliding down, rope burns covering my hands, my thigh bruised from hitting the rope knots on the way down, belligerent with frustration that once more I came so close, but missed the mark. I AM DETERMINED! My teammates telling me, “We’re here with you until you hit it”; never leaving a man (or woman) behind. This is it! I took a deep breath, surveyed the situation. I wasn’t hitting my mark because my set up was wrong. If I start with the other hand on top all I need to do is reach up to touch the bell instead of taking the additional unnecessary step I had been attempting. I switched my grip and started ascending, higher and higher, hand over hand, pushing with my feet and the shoes that Carrie had given me, just me against the rope. I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED! Ding ding ding! I smack the bell with all the force that I had in me. The group erupts! I had finally done it! I jumped off the rope and was met with strong embraces and high fives. I was exhausted, but extremely proud.

We piled into the bus and headed back to get ready for an evening BBQ, where Martin gave several awards to stand out affiliates that year. We talked, bonded and listened to one of our own sing a song about whom we are. It was our anthem and occasionally, I find myself singing it at random parts of the day. We moved our party to a place where we could watch the UFC PPV and spend more time together until finally leaving to prepare for our final official day of the Summit.

Lessons

Our final day of the Summit was informational and inspiring. It was a day of lecture that was kicked off by Martin. We discussed how to be a bigger family, how to be better coaches and we went over the code by which all affiliates live by. The code which is…….A SECRET! Don’t be silly! I’m not revealing that! Without revealing too many details into this member’s only meeting, Martin talked about our brand, our system, our mission, our values and we were outrageously motivated. Luka Hocevar, originally from Slovenia, now living in Washington spoke next. He discussed how we could give back more to the community and how to make our charity events successful. There was even talk about a joint charity drive so that together we can make a huge impact in our world. Rob King from Newfoundland presented on how to be successful with client transformations. With over 500 members at his gym, Rob definitely has the keys to success. John Annillo, man of few words as he claims to be, spoke about how to get more clients into your business. Finally, Tom Robertson from Scotland finished things off with a presentation about leveraging social media.  The lectures were interesting, the breaks were fun, with a personal breakdancing lesson from Finland affiliate and world champion break dancer Hatsolo and it became the “BEST DAY EVA!!!” with the distribution of swag which made us feel like we were on “Oprah’s Favorite Things Christmas Show”! Adidas has teamed up with Training for Warriors and gave us amazing black and yellow backpacks to use on our journey of changing lives one person at a time. Greg and the O’Connor family gave us TFW towels which were only a small portion of the generosity that they showed us all over the course of the weekend. We received TFW clipboards, took countless pictures, but most importantly made friends and memories to last a lifetime. At the end of it all, we felt like a bunch of kids that had to leave summer camp. Sad that it was over, but anxious for next year!

The Take Away

So what are some of the things that I took away from this weekend?

1. Trust Yourself
2. Be a Coach Not a Trainer, “Anyone can make you tired, but not just anyone can make you better!”
3. Live By your Values
4. Instead of Thinking of the “Can’t”s Think of the “Can”s
5. Live your Passion
6. Never Give Up
7. Pay it Forward, Give back to others and your community
8. Celebrate your Successes
9. Share your Talents with the World
10. Build up your Network

To learn more about Training For Warriors, become an instructor or an affiliate check out www.trainingforwarriors.com

I hope that you enjoyed this look back! Stay tuned for more stories from my adventures!!