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I am Greg Ryan, a high profile fitness expert with 50,000 hours of paid personal training under my belt, and twenty years of consulting health clubs. My career began in the eighties. I grew up without self-discipline, confidence, or faith in myself. I was raised on a farm, which required a lot of discipline, but not self-discipline. As a youth, I was overweight. In my late teens, during the first few years of my career and with the help of a few close friends, I was fortunate to have discovered three very important things about myself that changed me forever: hope, belief, and motivation.
As I worked on getting in better shape, I began each day with a glimmer of hope. Hope that I could do something with my life by exercising; hope that I could help someone else through my own experiences; and hope that someday I could give back what life was giving to me. “You can live a month without food. You can live a week without water, you can live five minutes without air, but you cannot live a second without HOPE." Even today, there are times I do not feel like exercising, eating right, and especially working on correcting bad habits. However, it’s that bit of hope for the future that keeps me going, even if it’s just for one more day. “All you need is a little bit of HOPE!"
My father taught me to work hard, have faith, and treat others with respect. It was easy for him to say, but not so easy for me to follow. Treating others kindly was much easier than having faith in myself. Life was scary for me growing up. I was afraid of not meeting the expectations of those around me. I didn’t know what direction to take in life or what advice to follow. When I first stepped into a health club, it was equally as frightening. I had two friends that exercised with me on a regular basis. The confidence they had in me started positively affecting my attitude and fear of failure. After awhile, I noticed those fears I had about myself slowly began to disappear. Then one day it dawned on me. Somewhere, down deep inside, I believed I was doing something good. I suddenly knew that with the advice of my father, having realistic expectations, and a one-day-at-a-time attitude, I could change.
With a little bit of hope, mixed with some faith, I knew I could really make things happen. “When you know that you know that you know…" This quote had a deeper meaning for me now. The more I thought about the good I was doing for myself, the more I believed in me.
Motivation
As I developed more confidence, I started to realize how important it was for this change to come from me inside out. Looking better, having more energy and getting physically stronger are great things to experience, but what I am most grateful for is that my heart was also changing. I felt better about myself. I had purpose and I was doing something positive.
That heart-felt motivation became the glue that has kept me going for all these years. No matter what you do in life, if you have purpose, and if it is good for others, life will be rewarding. Your MOTIVES must come from within. Listen and follow your heart.
Over the years I have achieved quite a bit. I have the education and experience in fitness educational programs, health club management, body building championships, business ownerships, movie star and world class athlete clientele and professional speaking engagements. In all my years, in all the miles of travel the message is all the same; weight loss, fitness and a peace of mind is not about the numbers on a chart. It is about your approach.
If I had to narrow the secret to weight loss and fitness down, I would say it in three words; Consistency, Variety, and Efficiency! Combine that with some Hope, believe and pure motives and then you will succeed! My hat is off to you who will follow that!
Greg Ryan best selling author of the Changing from the "INSIDE OUT", former employee of Kathy Smith and a high profile fitness expert. Discover the five step common sense way to lose weight that the medical and fitness industry’s DON’T want you to know. FREE Mini Course