10-minutes to talk about fitness (Jason Womack)

Occasionally, someone asks a question that gets me talking about a "subset-interest" of mine:

Physical Fitness.

As the "Productivity Guy" (another title I hear from time to time), I know there is a connection between the physical, mental, emotional and energetic levels of engagement. I mean, if I don't sleep enough on the night after a big race, I'm a little more tired and focusing is a bit of a challenge the next day - it's just a little harder to get everything done. (And, yes, I've tried this before, in November of 2005! *Please read the post continuation for the full story...)

I'm preparing a FREE 10-minute TeleSeminar presentation for a client here in California titled:
"Kick Start Your Fitness Program."

As I prepare my comments, I would appreciate any questions/ideas/facts/suggestions from the "blogging community." If you'd like me to cover something specific, just leave a comment below, or e-mail me directly. Oh, by the way, I'll plan to make the recording available as an MP3...just let me know if you'd like me to send you a link.

(And, for anyone who would like to attend LIVE, send me an e-mail by 7am PST on 1 May 2008, and I'll send you the call-in information. I'm reserving a few conference lines for this community...)

November 15, 2005

LAX-ORD: air; ORD-CLE: car

On Monday morning, I received this note from an editor I have worked with in the past:

I'm currently working a story about shrinking [airline carrier] capacity in the U.S. (down 5% for month of December), and what that means for airlines, travelers. If you've noticed tweaked schedules, maybe consolidated flights, different aircraft, etc., let me know!

Well, let me tell you a story. Last Sunday started as one to remember. I woke up fresh and ready to run in a 5K race. The race went well: I saw many of my friends, placed in my age-group, won a prize, and got some great pictures with Zuma (our black lab).

That night, I had a plan to fly from Los Angeles to Cleveland (through Chicago), to present a seminar in Mayfield Village on Monday morning. In fact, this was a last-minute addition to my schedule, as I had originally planned for a couple of days in Ojai. When the client called, however, I went back into rotation.

On a tight schedule, I left Ventura after the race events finished at 11:00am. My departure time: 1:51pm, out of LAX. I arrived, bought a lunch to go at Trader Joe's, and made my way to check in. As I arrived about 50 minutes early, I went up to the lounge to check e-mail one last time, and get a glass of water.

Then, shift happened.

At gate 42B, the agent informed us of a 1-hour delay, "due to high winds in Chicago."

"Ok," I thought, "back to the lounge." For the next hour, I read my Triathlete magazine, made some phone calls, even stretched out my tight calves/tendons from racing that morning.

An hour later, things were looking good. I was seated, with the seat back and tray in the full upright and locked positions.

Then, the captain made an announcement: Our departure time had been moved back another hour. Uh oh.

We did eventually take off. A few hours later, we landed. Departing the plane, however, I had an eerie feeling that things were going to get interesting. Sure enough, all the flights (on all carriers) to Cleveland that night were cancelled. So, at 10:15pm I had to make a time-sensitive choice.

Do I call the client and tell them I will not make the Monday seminar?

Do I rent a car and make the drive overnight?

I remember sitting down, then I closed my eyes. Repeating a few of my affirmations, and reflecting on some of the purposes I have for continuing to work in this particular job, I knew what I had to do.

After making four phone calls, I was on my way. I took the bus to the Chicago O'Hare Hertz lot and loaded up my one bag (I checked the other one, who knew where I would see it again!). Soon, I was driving east on 90, getting closer to Cleveland by the minute. I knew there would be a time change, so even though it was only 9pm to my body (I was on the west coast the week before), at 11pm Chicago time, I only had 8.5 hours until I was to meet at the client site. The drive, by my limited calculations, was going to take about six of those hours.

I did the drive in chunks. One hour of listening to the radio, one hour of intentional breathing, one hour of listening to my iPod, and so on (only listening through one earpiece!). At one point, I found myself talking to myself, out loud! I wanted to hear what I was thinking, so I just started in. One thing I said surprised me (I even recorded it on my Palm digital recorder), "I wonder how this trip will change my life."
I will not say I particularly enjoyed the drive; but I did learn a lot in those hours.

Some of the ah-has I had during the trip are:

I keep my agreements
Identifying, reviewing and living principles works
People can count on me

I checked into my hotel at 6am. In just over 6 hours, I traveled 379 miles, stopped once for gas, and stayed awake and present the entire time.

My luggage was still somewhere between LAX, ORD, and CLE; I knew I was going to present in the same set of clothes I traveled in. So, I closed the room curtains, put on some light meditative music, and rested on the bed (the alarm was set for 7:30am). I cannot say I slept, so I got up at 7:07am. Within the hour, I was ready to go. I arrived onsite to meet with the client at 8:25am.

When I got there, I went on to explain why I was wearing running shoes and jeans. As I described the travel day, the client started showing concern.

Are you ok? Will you be able to do it? Will you want to take extra breaks? If you need a break, she said, just let me know. If you want to finish early, tell me and we will change our plans.

I simply looked at her and said I would do my best. I also said that if I did not think I could do it, I would let her know.

It was my intention, and my expectation, to present the best seminar I could. I gave myself the opportunity to step up to the situation, and I believe I did well. Apparently, the clients thought I did well also, they want to bring us in to do several seminars next year!

I enjoyed this week. No misunderstanding, I would not want to have to make that drive again; but, I like knowing that the people who count on me, can count on me.

I have grown to appreciate that expectations work. Try it out, you will usually find what you are looking for. Look for things that are wrong, and you will find them. Look for ways things are great, and you will find them.