How Diamonds can make nuggets.

A diamond is simply a coal under intense pressure. Remember this and you will understand how true champions are made.

If you have read any of my entries so far, you may have deduced that I do love people. I love starting conversations, asking people about themselves, and learning what makes them tick. If I have learned one art in all these years, it is the art of building rapport. I can safely say its helped me squeak my way through interviews, meet and start talking to pretty much anyone I wanted and has gotten me out of some hairy situations to say the least! In retrospect building rapport has always come easy to me, but its my curiosity about a person's life story that keeps me talking to them.

Over the years, I have met a few people who really stood out and some I have been honored to call a friend. These are the people I call Diamonds! They are rare, hard to find, and usually are quite unassuming at first.


The first diamond I met by accident. In 2016 I was rolling at a BJJ club I used to train at on a Wednesday class and as always introduced myself to everyone in the class who I did not know. A young athletic Purple belt named Marko approached me and told me that he was just visiting here from Los Angeles. As usual, I did all I could to make him feel welcome. 
We got talking and it turned out he had bought tickets with his girlfriend to visit and they ended up breaking up before the trip to Canada! This left Marko by himself in Canada! I took it upon myself to step out of my comfort zone and offer him to pop by and have supper with us that night. My wife giggled that I was bringing home a new friend. 


On the drive home I began to pick his brain, Man was THAT FUN! Marko was (and still is) down to earth, interesting and FUN. At the time he was single and made excellent use of his Tinder account (that might have to be for another blog one day!).It turned out that Marko's parents were from Cuba, and I mentioned that I had been to Cuba. He loved boxing (as I do!) and of course living in Los Angeles , had seen live boxing matches of and driven by stadiums I have only watched on YouTube! We both had a moral compass that was honest and relaxed...yet he was more relaxed (like very Californian I have ever met). 


 Marko's story was interesting and as usual, I found common ground with him instantly! We had both been divorced (though he had a son that he is still very close to),and chatted about how we moved on mentally from such a dark place. 

Marko and I went for drinks that night (relax...I drank Ginger Ale) in Downtown Calgary (a rather sad scene on a week night) and I took him to Banff the next day. He took in every inch of Banff, more importantly, we both left learning lessons about each other. 

At the time of meeting Marko, my relationship scars were healing and Marko was truly the dressing on my wounds. Marko reminded me to have fun, and to RELAX (something I have always had trouble with since being divorced).

Lets not forget what brought us together...Jujitsu.

Marko looked like he belonged on the mat... Athletic, strong, yet comfortable in his surroundings'. His Jujitsu skills told me that he was a strong Purple belt (bordering on brown belt in my opinion). This dedication and training method is what really impressed me. He started his journey with private lessons in a friends garage before joining a gym. He did not walk into the BJJ gym until he had a solid foundation of what the basics were (which I found incredible interesting and very methodical!). He told me he trained "a solid four times a week" and it showed. He spun around most of the junior belts with ease. Though my teacher managed to tap him, Marko could move on the mat! 

 Marko although athletic in stature, was never a gifted natural athlete. HE WORKED FOR IT.  This was absolutely a golden nugget lesson I took away from meeting Marko. His last text to me before leaving the airport was to "never stop training" and to be honest, I think of him every time I step on the mat if even for a second. I am honestly honored to call him a friend!


Below is Marko rolling with a training partner, and to the right is myself on the right and Marko after our trip to Banff! Great times!

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 Work is probably the last place that I would find someone that inspires me.  I have what some people call "Day Job Mentality"...where anything interesting in my life simply starts after 4:30 pm.  But my then co-worker and now friend Amy O proved me wrong in everyway possible when it came to inspiration that could actually be found in an office!

 I worked with Amy at WestJet and we became lunch buddies quick. At the time, Amy was going through a break up with a longtime boyfriend, and both her and I were living with our soon to be ex's until we could sell our places.  A weird coincidence that definitely got us talking! I find it amazing how a divorce/breakup can have such silver linings, like new friendships, and new experiences.

  Unlike other diamonds, my first impression of Amy was one of a fun, funky girl who although definitely had work ethic, didn't stand out to me immediately in terms of athletic achievement. I have never been so wrong about a first impression in my life!.

Though I had some inkling that Amy had an interest in running, She started a clean eating/exercise challenge for 30 days, which soon morphed into her running mini and half marathons. This escalated into full on marathons and indeed Triathlons!!. Note the gradual larger goals, measurable, strong steps forward and upward. Impossible goals seems to shrink when you see a staircase in front of those goals. Those of you who do not know her, remember this...she did this in a two year bracket. In two years she went from dabbling in running to making fitness and endurance an absolute cornerstone of her life. TWO YEARS....24 MONTHS....

Unlike every other 30-something I know who runs a half marathon once and posts it all over Facebook (and proceeds to get fat again), Amy trains 6 - 7 days a week with vigor while balancing a busy managerial position at the airline. Yet despite life's everyday obligations, Rain or shine, nothing seems to stop her and she documents her regiment regularly. Consistency coupled with intelligent training methods seems to be her formula. 


More importantly, Amy still remains a student of the game. Spending days off on library dates with herself where she reads about Triathlons , plans her upcoming training month and diet, and absolutely lives her goal.This left me with a golden nugget, Greatness does not have to be natural or God given, it can be earned through sheer hard work.

 Pictured below is Amy O, notice rain or shine, she is still training. Consistency and pressure. This is the very pressure and drive needed to create a diamond. (pictured below is Amy competing in both snow and sun!)

The truth is I look to such diamonds to help me rekindle that fire. I can safely say that these last 3 years have been great in terms of consistency, but I could ALWAYS do better. I have not seen such a fire in myself since my point fighting days in the mid 90's. I am constantly trying to get stronger and smarter. But sometimes you need help, inspiration, ..a reminder.


This all encompassing immersion in the goal seems to be a key driver of all people I know who are successful. They LIVE and BREATHE the goal in front of them. The goal goes from a nice idea, to a set of tangible milestones, that start to compound and snowball.  I often look to what some of the successful people I have met have accomplished, and see what I can golden nuggets I can collect along the way. 

Keep training

Osu.

Shak