As I write this, it is Saturday at 6 a.m. Normally, I would be getting ready for an enjoyable morning run with my friends. Not today. This morning, I’m lying down with a bag of frozen peas on my knee. As much as I wanted to get out, the wise move was to take this Saturday morning off and let my painful and bruised knee heal.
On my Thursday night run, I ended up tripping on an ever-so-slight uneven surface and went down hard. Sitting in a bit of shock, I assessed the damage to my knee. I also evaluated the condition of my very nice, Galaxy Note 4 phone. Since I was watching my time on Run Keeper, the phone was in my hand and hit the concrete. It’s in a good case and has an expensive ZAGG glass cover on the screen, which did crack. My knee was pretty messed up. Thankfully, the phone was OK.
Although I meet up with the group for these runs, I take off on my own because I am so slow. That’s part of the charm for me. Saturday morning is my time to decompress and I go at my own pace. I can choose where I want to go and how fast I want to get there. (It’s never very fast.) I listen to music, or books. Currently, I’m listening to Tina Fey’s book, “Bossy Pants,” which reads like a Saturday Night Live sketch.
I’ve shared before that I was a cripple for most of my life from a motocross racing injury. In 2011, I had an ankle fusion surgery, which gave me my life back. With my fused ankle, I’ve been pretty amazed at the things I’ve been able to do. For Christmas, my wife got me a medal rack and it’s getting loaded with medals representing various accomplishments—primarily 5Ks. When I consider where I was at just a few years ago, I am pretty proud of these medals.
Walking and running, together with changes in my lifestyle birthed SuccessFit, a content component to the PPAI award winning FreePromoTips.com program. As I chose to become more active, I also realized that many in our industry maintain active lifestyles. SuccessFit was put together to offer useful content and create a community where people can share what they like to do to stay fit away from the office.
I have done a several SuccessFit interviews covering different perspectives on fitness, success and how that relates to business. Here are three of them:
Andrew Spellman from Victorinox talks about why he chooses to get shocked with live wires while going through mud in this video. Spoiler alert: He’s really not crazy.
In this February 2015 interview, Ken Kelsey, a distributor with Bankers Advertising, talks about the benefits of walking from the perspective of an older, active person. This all started with a FreePromoTips program done at the 2014 PPAI Expo where one of our FreePromoTips supplier sponsors, Fields, gave away a pedometer.
Brandon Mackay from SnugZ USA shares his thoughts on SuccessFit and some of the things his company is doing in this interview.
Everyone is invited to join the FreePromoTips SuccessFit Facebook Group. Post pictures of your cycling outings, runs, hikes and whatever you like. The goal here is simply to nurture online relationships and share the things we like to do away from the office.
Many of you may not be aware that March is National Nutrition Month. There are always “cause” events happening. I had no idea there was a “Love Your Pet” day. I love my crazy pets everyday…but having a “special” day is not a bad thing. And focusing on nutrition is a good thing.
These cause events enable us to spotlight important issues. They also provide the opportunity to raise awareness through the effective use of promotional branded products. That’s also a good thing!
At a running clinic a while ago, I met a local ABC sportscaster who presented a session on monitoring your heart rate. He’s an Ironman competitor and avid runner. After the clinic, we were talking about training. He introduced my wife and I to some supplement products he has used with great results.
My wife is training for a marathon (a bucket list item), so this was helpful for her. We’ve learned that distance running is driven by nutrition. Understanding what you need and when you need it is a key to success.
What impressed us the most about the line is the esteemed Medical Advisory Board, with amazing credentials. I like their endorsers as well. Drew Brees from the New Orleans Saints, Jason Witten from the Dallas Cowboys, musician Michael W. Smith and more. This company is now the official sports drink for MLS Soccer, bumping the popular green and orange brand from the sidelines. The products are good.
We were encouraged do a “24-day Challenge”. My wife and I could both benefit from losing weight, but the program is good for everyone. While I lost weight and felt great, over time, under the direction of my doctor, I was also able to drop a blood pressure medicine. That kind of blows me away. We can improve our health!
Real life happens and I will occasionally eat poorly, but overall, my life has changed. While I sometimes have coffee, for the most part I’ve replaced coffee with Spark, which is just an amazing beverage. If you would like a sample, let me know and I’ll send it.
I learned a lot about myself through this challenge. Most importantly, that I can change my lifestyle. There are many ways to accomplish your health and wellness goals. What I’ve been doing has worked for my wife and I, as well as for many of our friends.
I’m passionate about doing what I can to encourage others and, in the process, that keeps me motivated. If this topic hits home for you, I encourage you to do whatever you are comfortable doing to eat better and stay active.
We have created SuccessFit Champions, a brand new Facebook Group that specifically addresses these lifestyle issues. The goal is simply to encourage others to do what we can to stay healthy. While SuccessFit focuses on physical activities, SuccessFit Champions will focus on nutrition as well as being active. We can share the personal journey we are on to become champions in our personal and professional lives.
Hearing people’s stories-successes and challenges is a positive thing. It’s a closed group, like SuccessFit, but open to people inside and outside the industry. If this is of interest, I invite you to join. Coming together to encourage and learn from each other makes us all stronger and on the path to becoming Champions!
Jeff Solomon, MAS, is affiliated with a Top 10 distributor company and also publishes FreePromoTips.com, a popular industry resource. The PPAI award winning FreePromoTips.com website and twice-a-month e-newsletters are packed with beneficial information. On the website, you can opt-in to receive these informative twice-a-month e-newsletters! Check out what’s new in the GP2: Good Products—Good Prices section of the site. Take advantage of free end-user safe product videos you can share from the YourPromotionSolution.com website. Like the FreePromoTips.com page on Facebook, follow it on Twitter and Pinterest, and connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.
