I saw this floating around Facebook and I can't be the only one who would agree that the reality of life is nothing like we plan for it to be.
It's without certain that every time we feel we are making progress to another "check point" there's an obstacle right around the corner.....of course, it comes when we least expect it.
As much as I thrive off having a "plan", I can not control everything in my life and I am ok with that. With only two options - accept or get upset, I've learned to have the best possible positive attitude with every obstacle that comes in my way. Life requires me to be strong, creative and patient and I've learned to love those qualities that make me a better person.
I always wanted to be my own boss and to have my own business. I never thought about the difficulty of "running" a business but I was driven by making a career out of my passions in life.
Being a small business owner means working weekends, always having something to do and constantly thinking about what more you can do. Every day I am motivated and excited to change lifestyles.
As my family knows all too well, I have always enjoyed staying busy. I have always had a calendar that was packed. I need my Marni-time but it doesn't have to be a lot. I love being able to help others. I have never complained about only having 24 hours in a day for if there were more, I would fill those hours up too. I never sacrifice cooking, sleep and daily exercise/movement to "work" but then again, it's all about balance.
I went to a liberal arts college where I was forced to write, write and write some more - and I loved that. In high school and college, I loved any assignment that involved writing or speaking. Of course, back in the day, my hand got really tired from writing 10+ pages of rough drafts with a pencil.
I suppose my first day as a small business owner on January 1st, 2012 was 30 years in the making.
Four years of undergraduate education studying exercise science and psychology, followed by 1.5 years of earning a Master of Science in Exercise Physiology made for 6.5 years of hard work to move me closer to my dream job.
But that wasn't enough. I didn't want the education to only understand the physiology of the body during exercise but also, I wanted to learn about food and how it fuels the body but also reduces risk for disease and illness.
And thus, a return to school for my RD credential which meant pushing back my dream for a few more years....and more and more money spent on education.
Although "the plan" always looks easy at first when a dream is fresh and exciting, the truth is that in reality, it is never as easy as one may think it can be. But, despite all the challenges and low moments, you can never ever give up just because it is hard.
When I created my business, I had a vision as to how I would put my education and passion to good use. As any business owner knows, it's great to have credentials to set yourself apart from others but you also have to have a philosophy as to how you will be consistent with your services, words and actions.
My goal was to create a place (aka business), where athletes and fitness enthusiasts (not clients) would feel comfortable coming to on a daily basis (or as needed) for motivation, education and inspiration in the areas of coaching, nutrition, sport nutrition, health, fitness and life. A place where nothing was too extreme but everything was realistic and practical.
I also wanted my athletes and fitness enthusiasts to trust me that I had their best interest at heart (ethically/morally, medically and with individual goals in mind) but to be able to communicate with me whenever they had concerns, questions or comments. And most of all, to know that I practice what I preach.
But as any athlete knows, it takes a team to raise an athlete. And as any business owner knows, if you don't know how to do something and it is not your specialty, you should hire someone who can do it right for you.
Karel and I have been working hard on some new services and we have been so excited to offer them at Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition in 2014. But we knew we also needed a change.......a new look for our website.
My friend and athlete
Doris, who works for
It Just Clicked, took it upon herself to put together a new template (and hosting site) for my website without us even asking. She felt like the time was right and we loved that!
Oh, I forgot to mention that it was Doris who created our TriMarni logo!!
What a thoughtful measure to take time out of her marathon training routine to re-design my original vision for how we want to educate, inspire and motivate others.
Working with Doris on the new website was amazing - she is so creative, patient, helpful and open and she really has a great eye for detail. Plus, she has a great sense of what's important to us and our business (and of course, "our story" wouldn't be complete with a bio from Campy).
Even though I updated the content (words) for the website after she created the template with the words from my previous website, she was able to tweak my words to make everything clear, clean and precise within her template for the site. Total teamwork!!
This website required our attention almost every day for the past month and a half but in real life, you can never give up if you want something to happen. A little every day is how you make things happen for if you try to do too much at once, you will find yourself burnt out, exhausted and not appreciating the journey when the end result finally comes.
It was tedious and required a lot of brain power but the new website is FINISHED and oh does it feel great!!!
We hope everyone enjoys the new look, yet same philosophy, of
