A Dandelion Wish For The Fitness Industry
Profound Lessons for Positivity
“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise” – Victor Hugo
When our son was growing up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA, he would often pick yellow flowers from the yard, or rather the neighbor’s yard, for a Mother’s Day bouquet that would make me proud and his mom cry.
When my daughter and I would walk our dog, “Rookie” down the street in Gibsonia, PA, she would marvel at the beauty of dandelions. She especially enjoyed them when they became white “puffs” that would result after those pesky weeds, she called them “wishies”, arrived in the yard.
Me on the other hand, would go to war with Scott’s fertilizer to defeat them, cut them with a mower each week, only to see them return by the next weekend!
In retrospect, I too marveled at the flower that some call a weed.
Especially with challenging 2020-2021, everything for a time was weed like and pesky and a downright hassle.
I thought, as I have had more time in the yard myself than usual this year, I wondered, what If I had the staying power of a dandelion? What if I could stretch my roots so deep that a business challenge could not separate me from the source that feeds me for life, positivity? What if I could come back to face the world with a bright, sunny face after someone has run me over like a lawn mower?
I thought, if only I could spread such well wishes of encouragement as freely, exponentially, and fully as this flower spreads seeds of itself. Did you know that each flower holds up to 400 seeds, which can sail as far as 5 miles, usually producing 180?
If I blew all 180 seeds from one flower, and each of those makes a new flower that sends off 300 seeds, my daughter and I could have 54,000 wishes?
Imagine if you had such support that is freely and frequently reciprocated?
Well you do REX Roundtables, the original mastermind group in our industry since 1989.
In fact, many who are members and have been for decades, credit the face to face meetings, comradery, and business re-building strategies with surviving our weed infested industry of restrictions, revenue dips and retention issues.
The collegial nature, the compassion and friendships have kept our collective roots strong, weathering the storm, and getting primed for our collective comeback.
Over the past 3 years my highlights of our REX togetherness include:
- Commit to growing
- Unabashed Confidence to return
- Feed our souls, our relationships, our minds
- Be a positivity portal for your owners & teams wishes
- Comeback like the dandelion despite the haters
My “wishie” is for our industry to stretch our roots deep enough that the strongest poison cannot reach our souls.
I hope that we can overcome the poisons of anger, fear, lost revenue, media criticism and consternation with positivity.
I hope that we can see flowers in a world that sees weeds.
What do you wish for?
Frank’s experience spans over 30 years exclusively in the Fitness Industry in the club, non-profit & medical fitness sectors as GM, VP, COO, CEO & Owner. Founder and Chief Coaching Officer of www.ClubCoachServices.com, a boutique consulting practice, Frank is passionate about creating a little L.I.P. Service, that is Leadership, Inspiration and People Management.
He is a current Chair for REX (Roundtables for Executives) & IHRSA Headlight Committee
Member for both Membership & Facility Standards.