Today is a pretty auspicious day. Today is the day I turn 31, and have to come to grips with the fact that I am no longer 17. While I may have more forehead, less hair, more money, less time, more responsibility and less ego (yes, I actually have LESS now than I previously had), I have also been able to take some time to form perspective on the things that are important to me and what those things actually mean to me. These are the things that have formed who I am, why I do what I do, and give me a driving force to continue to move forward in a direction I see fit. I’d like to share some of these things with you today.

#1. My parents

I still don’t know how they did it. They managed to raise three boys (of which I’m the youngest and smallest), keep them clothed, fed, and involved in sports, worked full time, had supper on the table each and every night, helped with homework, gave endlessly, and taught us how to fend for ourselves to become independent and successful citizens. There was never a lot but there was always enough, and I owe them everything.

2. My Brothers

Whether it was a kick in the ass (I have the scars) or some good advice, or letting me drink waaaaay too much rye and wind up puking in their bathroom sink while sitting on the toilet, brothers have a way of creating your life direction. A heavy involvement in sports and automotive mechanics has always been a cornerstone of what I do as a profession, and lead me to want to work with people in a physical capactiy, and then help put them back together. Any one who has ever had older siblings knows you are always trying to gain their approval in any way possible, I guess this was one such way.

3. My Beautiful Wife

Who else could put up with me working the hours I do, having the sense of humour I have, and keep me on a short leash like this little lady? Aside from being an amazingly inspirational athlete and one of the hardest working people I know, she still has an uncanny knack for self-depreciating humour, elegance, grace, and dignity that seems unmatched. Plus she’s pretty, so she has that going for her.

4. Mentors

Some of these people you may know: Gray Cook, Dr. Stuart McGill, Eric Cressey, Tony Gentilcore, Jon Goodman, Jeff Cubos, Rick Kaselj, Rob King, Jason Feruggia, Mike Boyle, Charlie Weingroff, James “Diesel” Smith, Michol Dalcourt, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jack Lalanne, even Richard Simmons. Hey, the guy may wear sparkly shortie shorts but he could get people moving who didn’t want to move, so I have incredible respect for that.

Some other people you may not know but who had probably a bigger role in teaching me more about fitness, health and how to train people include the following: Marc Lucius, Mary Wood, Cory Choma, John Sinclair, Simon Bennett, Dr. Kerry Courneya, Neil Eves, David Stride, Dawn Payne, Wayne Naka, and countless others who I have either worked directly with to coordinate patient info, learned from in university, talked shop with at work, and grew to respect and take tidbits of info from them to make myself better. No one ever does it all on their own.

5. Foam rollers

FOOTBALL!!!!!

18. Interperative Art History class in my second year of univeristy

I decided to take this as an elective, and found it absolutely amazing that looking at a basic painting or sculpture could say so much. It was kind of a defining moment for me, because it helped me to understand that small details could mean big things. An open palm facing a certain direction in Michelangelo’s David was synonymous with seeing a small flexion bias of L2-3, as it told a story as to how the individual moves, what works and doesn’t, and where they have to begin their training program. Learning how to look belong the superficial impression was the biggest lesson I could have taken away from that course, because the grade point I got sure didn’t. Damn there’s some smart artsy kids out there.

19. The Muppets

That shit drove me bonkers when I was a kid. That and ThunderCats. And Pixie Stix. Lots of Pixie Stix

20. Steak

Vegetarians are strange due to steak being delicious – Click to Tweet 

21. This Story 

This coincides with #15. Serious lulz.

22. Teaching Trainers to become awesomer

I’ve had the distinct pleasure to stand in front of rooms of trainers looking to increase their education and help their clients, and have managed to do so in front of over 5,000 trainers across the continent. Having the honour of speaking in Calgary, Toronto, Las Vegas, New York, Tulsa Oklahoma, and Vancouver gives me a fantastic opportunity to see what other trainers are doing as well as showcase some of the things I do, which allows me to become better than existing inside my own bubble. It’s a pretty awesome feeling.

23. Social Media

Through Twitter and Facebook, we all have the ability to connect and inter-connect with like-minded individuals, friends from high school, people who want to reach out and simply chat or ask questions to help them or their trainers get better, and also let me reach out to those whom I admire and want to learn from. Hard to believe it’s only been around for about 7 years. Jon Goodman wrote a book about how to succeed in social media marketing titled Race to the Top: How to take over the social media feed, and I would urge everyone to give it a read.

24. Sunshine

I live in Edmonton, which get sunshine from approximately May 24th until about August 22nd, at least that’s the time I can actually see sunshine when I drive to and from work. I spend most of my days inside, which means I get to see sunshine on either days off, when I have to run errands outside, or on my daily commute. In the winter the sun rises at around 8:30 and sets close to 4:00, which is well outside of my daily work schedule, meaning I will see the sun once a week on some occasions. This is not right. I wish I could work in a climate where the sun was out every day, I could see it and actually go into it once in a while. Maybe when I’m closer to 40. That being said, when I do get a chance to be in the sun, I fully enjoy it.

25. Boobies

Yes, boobies. I am a guy after all.

26. Taking Thursdays off

This was a decision I made a few years ago after noticing I was slowly deteriorating my energy and attention levels as the week went on. I decided taking Thursdays off and working Saturdays made sense, seeing as how I could condense my day on saturday by booking sessions back to back, people could come in more readily because it wasn’t during their work days, parking was cheaper, and having the day off could act as a re-charge for me. Lately, I’ve almost been using Thursdays as an over-flow day, booking sometimes as many as 6 sessions that day. This will stop soon, and I will reclaim my days off. I would encourage everyone who could possibly do so to re-vamp their schedules to attempt to work no more than three days in a row.

27. Tracy Anderson, Jillian Michaels, and Curves

They make me look good by comparison

28. Watches

I like watches. They look pretty on my wrist

29. Simpsons and Family Guy

I don’t watch much television, but these are two shows that I will actually watch. The Simpsons has been around for as long as I can remember, and I have watched every single episode. I’m actually pretty proud of that fact.

30. Post Rehab Essentials

This is my first stand-alone digital product where I wasn’t merely a contributor, so it’s pretty special to me. As a result of me loving it so much and wanting to celebrate my birthday a little, I wanted to extend a chance to everyone out there to pick up a copy for themselves for a reduced cost.

Until Friday evening, I’ve reduced the cost by $31

It’s managed to help a lot of people learn a lot about how to work with injuries, train movement dysfunctions, and get better as trainers, so it’s definitely a steal of a deal.

31. You guys and gals out there

To give you an idea of how awesome you fantastic readers are, I gave you all the reins to design and style the t-shirts I’m currently rockin, and then pick the ones you liked the best. In all honesty, the concept of group-think isn’t a new one, but when a thousand voices unanimously speak at once, it creates a cacophony of excellence that makes me incredibly happy to be a part of. You all rock. Please never forget that.

So I’d like to hear from you. What’s something you’re grateful for? Drop a comment below, and hopefully it can help to inspire someone else.