If You Build It, They Will Come: Sharing your Passion

There are so many ways of introducing people to your gift. You can take a very direct approach like walking up to strangers at Whole Foods or rolling over to your mat neighbor at morning yoga and sparking up conversation; you can set up a booth at Runyon Canyon where you assume the fit community would be dying to talk to you and get free tips for the success of their diet; you can create weekly emails and daily social media posts with wit and flare to share with your filtered social circle (who must have forgotten where the like button is or perhaps their keyboards were broken so they couldn’t comment on how much they LOVE your dedication and they are SO inspired); or you can even try to create free teleseminars and discounted group fitness classes with awesome topics and dance inspiring playlists that you just KNOW people will sacrifice their Sundays for.

I’m telling you people, when you have found your passion you’ll want to try it ALL just to share it! Nothing is better than seeing the smiles and hearing the testimonials of people who’s lives have been transformed at the hand of your service to them. It’s just those techniques, noted above, don’t always seem to work as big as you had dreamed them to, and the one thing you’d least expect to bring awareness to your passion comes out of nowhere!

It’s been almost 2 months since I started the Los Angeles Spartan Race Training Group on Meetup.com. The group has grown to over 86 people and we’ve met some really awesome folks. Since this group was largely intended to keep Tamara and me accountable for our So cal Spartan Sprint training, I don’t do a lot of nutrition or training education. Occasionally I’ll talk about the supplements I took before our session, or the meal I’ll have after and I’ll help out with form when needed but we are there to get in shape and people know where to contact me for extra help.  So it was a pleasant surprise when one of the group members connected me with the coaches of the Beverly Hills High cross country and track teams to do a nutrition seminar for the athletes.

I met with the coaches a few weeks ago and they explained their needs and what they hoped the athletes would get out of a nutrition presentation.  Hearing some of their concerns brought me back to my days representing the Madera High cross country team. I was clueless when it came to eating for life, let alone eating for competitive sport, and so were my parents! Preparation and knowledge are always the keys to success, and if I failed to pack what I thought was a healthy lunch for my day I would often find myself having just consumed one Gatorade or a small pintos and beans from a nearby Taco Bell before practice.  I suffered from serious fatigue, shin splints, a fractured foot, acid reflux, dehydration and I even passed out crossing the finish line at one meet; all due to my poor diet!  Fast forward a few years, as an adult professional athlete and nutritionist I knew I would a have a lot I could share!

The day of my presentation arrived last Thursday, October 2nd. There were over 30 student athletes and about 30-40 parents in attendance! My largest group to date! I created easy-to-read educational handouts about the basics of macronutrients, calorie intake and nutrient timing; quick and super tasty no-cook recipes; and had all the students fill out food journals. I had a fun q&a with the athletes and handout out non-gmo protein bars to those that participated, and also explained that those bars are great for snacks, rather than just eating nuts, cheetos, or skipping meals. Once the parents arrived I answered questions and did demos of 3 smoothies and our zuccatini salad from a few weeks ago. Everyone seemed to enjoy the presentation and all of the athletes got involved in a discussion or two. Many of the parents were even interested in training sessions and personal/family diet plans. As well,  I’ve already been asked back for the track team, which has over 100 athletes!

So the moral of this story is to never give up on your passion. When interest seems slow or you’re just not performing to your max, take the extra time and continue researching and educating yourself.  Keep plugging away and staying active. You’ll either catch the attention of those in need or you’ll stumble upon some information that will change your game for good. Preparation will one day meet opportunity! Build it, they will come.