Over thirty years ago I stood for a split second stunned in shock at the counter in our gym. In front of me was a person wanting to join. The phone rang with a supplier complaining about an unpaid bill and to the right of me, members were instantly swarming around someone who had collapsed on the floor. When you are running a health club a heck of a lot can happen in a short time. To survive, you’ve got to develop something called ‘resilience’.
When we bought-out our competitor -All Seasons around 1995, I remember employing on my Tae Kwon Do Instructor as Te Atatu Manager. This guy was an accomplished fighter and extremely good with people. He lasted two weeks; “too stressful for me” he explained as he disappeared out of the door.
This month and in his third week as Manager of Te Atatu, I chatted with my son Brahm (pictured above). We discussed some of the lessons learned over 38 years of operating up to fifteen health club locations at a time. Yes, allot can happen in an hour, let alone a day. He agreed.
Last weekend Club Physical member and Pastor of LIFE Church Paul DeJong spoke about why we should develop the quality of RESILIENCE. He described it as having the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. An elasticity; The ability to ‘spring back into shape’. He said that the Chinese have a saying. ‘The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists”.
Stuff happens every day to us all and it always will do. One of the best things that YOU can ever do is to accept this and to develop the ability to bounce back and be resilient.
