For The One Who Endures – Daniel Archibald

Grit. I see it daily in my profession.

I see it in the eyes of the men and women, young and old, that have made the decision to improve the quality of their lives, and have asked me for my help. Everyone has different reasons for being there, but all share one thing in common. At some point they realize that if they are going to have success its going to take patience, dedication and a whole lot of grit.

Most might see grit as running into a tough situation and fighting through it. Now that might be true for certain situations, but in my profession it’s coming to grip with the realization that goals won’t materialize over night and that it’s going to be a journey. A journey filled with many obstacles.

My personal journey to become a strength coach required copious amounts of grit. I have heard repeatedly how lucky I am to be doing what I do and have so much success. But they didn’t see the beginning. They didn’t see me struggle financially and mentally. See me work a delivery job to make ends meet. See me deal with self doubt. See me put in ridiculous hours. See me fall on my knees every night asking God if I made the right decision. 

I went from teaching one class and having a couple of clients to having a thriving business that included being the personal trainer for the captain of the Toronto Maple leafs. A journey that took a lot of grit and equal amounts of faith. 

The lessons learned from experience and mistakes along the way have taught me a lot. The most important being that God has His hand on me and that the success I have had is because of Him. The race is not for the swift, but for the one who endures to the end.