“I don’t know!”

“I’m afraid!”

“I’m intimidated!”

This was in reference to…a Smith Machine.

At the gym.

By a person.

Who worked at the gym.

For those non-gym-bros who do not know what a Smith Machine is…it’s a barbell that’s on a track, held up with ratchets, so you can quickly slide that bad boy in and not drop it on your toes, or body parts of that sort.

The thing was, I was intimidated by the Smith Machine. I didn’t know. I was mildly afraid.
​
BUT I DO NOT WORK AT THE GYM.

Then I thought…

I’ll go figure this thing out! I am on a quest to get jacked and I will not be denied!
I am more intelligent than a piece of gym equipment in the form of a bar!
Also there is YouTube.

Before I ventured out on my own, my man Clayton accepted the challenge and walked me over to the ol’ machine. To be clear, Clayton weighs as much–maybe–as the barbell itself. It was like a skinny pole showing me how to use a skinny pole…with weights.

FYI turns out using a Smith Machine is shockingly easy! I mean the mechanics of it. The bench squats required of me by my trainer are TORTURE on my 🥞 I mean 🍑.

Was Clayton helpful? Yes.

Could I have figured it out? Yes.

BUT EVERYONE THAT WORKS AT A GYM SHOULD KNOW HOW THE SMITH MACHINE WORKS. And all the other machines for that matter.

Just like everyone on your team should know how the ____ works. Your service, your product, your process…if someone asks, they gotta know the answer.

Should MFPPF (My Favorite Place Planet Fitness) have trained their staff? Perhaps…

PERHAPS the staff at Planet Fitness could be fired up and stoked enough and interested enough to say, “Hey, ho, there’s this thing called YouTube. I bet if I watch a few videos I can figure these machines out and then seem competent and credible and generally excited about what I’m doing and where I’m doing it.”

Do people need training?

Absolutely.

Do they need resources?

Absolutely.

Do WE need to step up and stand up and take the bull by the horns and do our research, gain some knowledge, and be enthusiastically all in on our services/products/processes?

You would be correct if you thought my answer was YOU’RE GOSH DARN RIGHT WE DO!

Why wait around waiting for the goods to come to us, when we can make the goods happen ourselves?

Plus we get the benefit of initiative, learning, and building out our 🍑, if you happen to work at PF or the like.

What is one small, medium, or large thing you can do at work, at home, in life, to take some initiative and send the signal to your mind that you are all in?

What is one small, medium, or large thing you can do at work, at home, in life…to take some initiative and send the signal to your mind that you are all in?

A moment to step into your integrity?

A moment to share your belief in your work?

A moment to go from cranky to excited about the work you’re doing…the life you’re living?

People sense that all in energy and want to be all around it…

So here’s my invitation to you: stand up with excitement and go all in this week–and see what happens…

I’ll be standing next to the Smith Machine, dripping in sweat, waiting for your reply! (Or you can respond to this email.)