Author: Rob Shearer

The CrossFit Open is for YOU. 

A lot of people are intimidated by the workouts they see the big dogs doing in the CrossFit Games.  

These people are super-human and doing crazy hard stuff. 

That is not the CrossFit Open. 

Remember before you started CrossFit? 

How you thought CrossFit was beyond your reach? 

The workouts and the people were scary? 

Now that you are here you know better.  

Now that you are part of the CFB community you see that CrossFit if for Everyone. 

The CrossFit Open is for Everyone too! 

We don’t care if you don’t sign up officially at HQ, or just intramurals.  

We don’t care if you miss an Open event or two because you are going to Jamaica on spring break. 

Though I do care if you are going to Jamaica – we just ran out of Jerk sauce, can you pick me up some? 

We don’t care if you choose a different weight for the WOD 

If you are not officially entering scores, the weights don’t matter. 

Scale the workouts, most people do. 

From a WOD perspective, you can treat this like any other WOD, that’s all it is. 

There is a difference though. 

The Open is our biggest community event of the year. 

We get together. 

We workout. 

We support each other. 

We celebrate each other’s achievements.  

We sweat together. 

We laugh together. 

We cry together.  

Pretty much just like every other WOD 

Just all together on one day 

We all get more out of it because we are all together at one time – which is an amazing opportunity. 

Morning and Evening people meet and mingle. 

Spend time chatting with people you are usually too busy grunting to talk with. 

Drink some coffee, meet our awesome PT friends, try some SFH products, learn a new trick. 

Then scream until you are hoarse 

Cheer on that person doing their first open who just got their first toe to bar.  

Feel the excitement of knowing that your heat is up next and this is your chance to get yours. 

Know the feeling of adrenaline coursing through your veins when you discover that you really do have it in you! 

Finish your workout and high five fifty people to celebrate being done. 

Slam your protein shake. 

Sit against the wall. 

Smile. 

Soak up the energy of the room. 

This is your community. 

This is why we are here. 

All of it.  

Everything that defines CrossFit, in one room, on one morning, with the people who share your love. 

Then we fire up the grill, pop some tops, and complain about how much that sucked. 

With huge smiles on our faces. 

Sign up on the whiteboard at the gym. 

And remember – Team Tini has beer and bacon 

 

People dream about one big event that changes their life. 

The project that launches their career. 

The idea that opens a new business. 

The vacation that rekindles their marriage. 

The diet that makes them lose the extra weight. 

The four week program that gets them in shape. 

You all know better, and that is what I love about CrossFitters. 

It’s the grind. 

It putting in the work. 

Day after day. 

Month after month. 

Year after year. 

Diligence is excellence in the ordinary. Make your ordinary tasks excellent and watch your life change. “The Diligent prosper.” 

-Dave Ramsey 

“Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”  

– John W. Gardner 

‘What we must try and do is get at the ordinary, and so work that without any suspicion of deterioration … out of the ordinary … we bring excellence, without elitism.’  – Peter Blackman 

Learning to embrace excellence in the ordinary will make you a better CrossFitter. 

More importantly, it will bring success to your life. 

This is real life.  

It does not happen in a month, or even a year.  

Put in the time and effort in the gym, and it WILL roll over into the rest of your life. 

Do the ordinary things extraordinarily well and I guarantee success.  

Practice this in all areas of your life. 

Choose each morning to be EXTRORDINARY. 

Starting at the gym. 

A sloppy pushup will get you a better time, but it will not make you better. 

Make that pushup EXTRORDINARY! 

Take it to the dinner table. 

Eating “Not too bad” will keep you from your goals. 

Be EXTRORDINARY in your meal plans. 

Then to your relationships. 

One “great date” and then a lack of ongoing daily affectionate attention will dull a relationship. 

Be an EXTRORDINARY lover by telling them that you love them and think of them daily. 

Now go to work. 

Wasting time sucks the momentum out of your career. 

Make that spreadsheet EXTRODINARY, provide EXTRORDINARY customer service, weld an EXTRORDINARY joint. It will get noticed. 

Are you EXTRORDINARY?  

Just get to the gym at least three times a week.  

Put in the work. Intensity with Integrity. 

The coaches are on you about movement standards, because we are improving your LIFE, not just your workout. 

Teaching you to do the ordinary EXTRAORDINARILY well. 

This is what makes us different.  

This is what makes us successful.  

POSTED 

My father had shared something similarly with me.  

But at a different time and in a different way.  

He taught me to swing a hammer, and to use math. 

He taught me to repair an engine, and respect my family. 

He taught me to love poetry and to do pushups every night. 

That was a great year! 

We started 2016 with no expectations of taking on more than what we had. 

If I remember correctly, we were trying to simplify… 

I love how life has a way of throwing all of your plans a left curve. 

Adapting and accepting new opportunities that come along is what makes each new year interesting.  

It is what makes us grow. 

The time has flown by since August 1st when Laura and I took over CrossFit Bothell. 

It has been a wild ride.  

Scary, Fun, Stressful, Rewarding, full of frustration and laughter. 

Thank you everyone for going through this transition with us. 

We could not have done it without you. 

We would not have wanted to do it, if not for you. 

I think we are finding our groove. 

Now it is time to double down and improve. 

In 2017 we are committed to you – the CFB Community Members 

We want you to get an amazing workout. 

We want you to reach your goals. 

We want you to enjoy hanging out at CFB. 

The gym has always been our community.  

Our friends, our family. 

Our fitness is the cornerstone of our sanity. 

CFB was our home away from home. 

Now it is so much more. 

Thank you CFB, for taking us in, and letting us lead you into 2017. 

Are you motivated right now to reach your goals? 

Great! Let’s use that! 

Come in and get started. 

Now let’s be realistic.  

You are not going to feel motivated every day.  

You are not going to feel motivated most days.  

Motivation comes and goes. 

Motivation gets you in the door to the gym the first time.  

For some people, they are cranked up and ready to go at their No-Sweat consultation.  

Then after they walk out the door back into their regular life they lose it. 

Don’t be that person. 

Don’t rely on motivation alone to get you to your goals.  

You are smarter than that. 

Motivation gets you in the door. 

Dedication carries you to your goals. 

Motivation comes and goes. 

Dedication is consistent and guarantees results. 

Be dedicated to yourself. 

Be dedicated to the process. 

Be dedicated to results.  

This is your life! 

Make it an Epic Journey! 

Not a series of fits and starts.  

Thanksgiving is tomorrow! 

There is a sign in Woodinville that reads “Gobble till you Wobble” 

I love this phrase because it is catchy, creative, and I have never see it before. 

Call me a word nerd – but I love that stuff. 

We are having a ribeye roast, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole. 

Then Laura’s famous pumpkin and apple pies.  

Swing by if you want to hang out – there is plenty of wine! 

Many people who are trying to make a positive change in their diet and body composition dread this day. 

I have seen people flat out avoid events because of the fear or ruining their plan. 

Please. Please. Please just enjoy the day! 

Get out there, spend time with your family and friends.  

Enjoy their company. 

Enjoy a savory meal. 

… and maybe even a treat. 

Just maintain a little moderation. 

You will only maintain this lifestyle if you learn balance. 

Balance means letting go sometimes.  

Balance means not letting one part of your life ruin another part. 

Balance leads to consistency. 

Hard core restriction in the long term leads to resentment. 

You have the strength to get back into your routine on Friday. 

I believe in you. 

We are here to help. 

Live your life, and enjoy your day tomorrow.  

Friday, get into the gym and get back on a balanced lifelong diet 

Forget about the old adage “You can’t take it with you when you go” 

I prefer the phrase “Die Empty” 

Those of you who know me, know that I intend to live forever. 

That is just one reason I manage what I eat and I bust my ass in the gym. 

I refuse to die. 

I have too much I want to do, and too many ideas to pursue. 

I will not be ready to go until I am empty.  

Empty of ideas. 

Empty of goals. 

Empty of causes. 

Empty of drive. 

As far as I can see, these are all growing bigger and bigger for me, not smaller and smaller. 

Every day I learn a little more. 

Which spawns new ideas. 

Every day I meet someone new. 

Who helps me understand humankind better. 

And gives me another cause to care about. 

Every day I see a new problem to solve. 

And I make a goal to solve it. 

How about you? 

Do you have more you want to do? 

Are you the person you want to be? 

Have you seen everything you want to see? 

Don’t give up now. 

Don’t give up ever.  

Try to use it all up, try to die empty. 

I’ll bet you find that you can’t. 

I’ll wager even more that you will find that you have lived more in the process. 

When you get up in the morning, do you sit and debate brushing your teeth. 

Do you think “Nah – I brushed my teeth yesterday,” or do you just do it? 

I guessing (hoping) that most of you said “No, I just do it.” 

Why is your workout any different? 

Make coming in to the gym part of your routine.  

Some decisions are a no-brainer.  

Your physical fitness is just as important as your oral health. 

You know you will feel better, and you know that you are getting results. 

All you have to do is get your butt there. 

We take care of all the decisions and planning for you.  

Show up, do the work, get the results. 

But please brush your teeth first. 

I believe that the most important ingredient for success is the people you associate with. 

This is what makes CrossFit work. 

You Inspire Me CrossFit Bothell 

When you practice a movement over and over.  

When you dig deep and push for just one more round. 

When you are tired, beat down, fighting for air, but you walk up and grab that bar. 

When you finish last, and smile with pride that you finished strong. 

When you ring the bell loud with a huge smile. 

When you ring the bell timidly, but still ring it. 

When you finish first, and ring that bell. 

When you finish, just happy to have survived. 

You Inspire Me, CrossFit Bothell 

You are why we keep coming back to the gym. 

You are why, after years of training, we still see improvement. 

I love to hear your stories. 

About your work, your kids, your life. 

About the time you drove a golf cart into the creek. 

About the Spartan Race you finished. 

About the half marathon that you didn’t. 

I am a story collector and CFB is full of them. 

What keeps us coming back is 50% the workouts and 50% the people. 

We chose this gym because of the type of people in the community. 

You Inspire Me, CrossFit Bothell 

You make me want to be a better coach. 

We already have amazing coaches, and we recently had the opportunity to add another. 

I don’t personally need to coach 

All our other coaches are better at it already 

I have 30 years of fitness, health, and nutrition training 

I have 20 years of career and personal growth mentorship 

I used to just use it for my own gain. 

I have recently discovered that I love to share it with you. 

I love helping you get better. 

I love guiding you on your own personal path. 

You helped me find new meaning. 

You Inspire Me, CrossFit Bothell 

It has been one year since we took over as custodians of CFB. 

Out of all the things that I have learned. 

The most clear is that this Community is a Living Organization 

Just like each of its individuals. 

We don’t control it. 

We guide it and nurture it. 

It will continue to grow and change as long as we feed it.  

Members join, members move away.  

The Members point us where they need to go 

We follow and serve. 

The Community will always survive and the community will always thrive 

As long as we nurture those who contribute to it.  

Everyone here is on a journey. 

Each journey is a little different. 

Each is fascinating and exhilarating. 

Where do you want to go? 

Are you making progress to get there? 

Are you helping others on their journey? 

The greatest stories come from those who have struggled, and helped others in the process. 

Share this message with a friend who is struggling to find their way. 

You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. 

-Zig Ziglar