It’s amazing what can happen in a year. A year ago right now I formally registered my coaching business, SDL Coaching, as a sole proprietorship in the province of Ontario. I had just left my old job in the strength and conditioning field, just a few months after having left a position I loved at the University of Ottawa and I knew I wanted (needed) to keep working in this field. It was a non-negotiable for me. But I had this gnawing feeling for a while, one that I couldn’t ignore, that I if I was going to continue working in the fitness industry, that it’d be under my own terms, building my own dream!
I had just started working full-time at Health Canada and would spend most of my free time working on the various aspects of my business while teaching myself and learning many things along the way. I was able to find better balance in work and life and found myself in a position to better achieve my goals, business-related or otherwise. After years of humming and hawing, I finally re-familiarized myself with WordPress and built this website. I successfully rehabbed a lingering injury and was able to have the most successful year of running in quite some while!
Towards the end of the summer, I finally got to make another long-dreamt plan a reality when I asked my partner Stephanie to marry me in my favourite place! We’ve since been planning our wedding and have that, among many other things, to look forward to this year!
It does oneself really well to reflect on things, from the milestones and triumphs, to the adversities and lessons learned through them. I’m not the same person I was a year ago when I registered my business late that night. Nor am I the same coach. It’s a wonderful thing to reflect on, as it’s easy to get so caught up in the day to day, that you don’t take stock of the fact that you’re now living the life that you once envisioned for yourself. And I say this with the most humility, but it’s a really great thing to be able to say, feel and know that I’m living a life that a younger version of myself would be astonished by.
I’ve learned much about myself and I know there’s still so much more for me to learn – in business, in life, in the S&C field, but I am immensely grateful that I still get to do what I love while helping others through it. I had a taste of time spent away from coaching in 2020 and it’s not something I’d ever like to repeat – I genuinely LOVE what I do and aspire to continue doing it for decades to come.
So for any of my clients, former or present, who are reading this, thank YOU! Your trust in my knowledge and abilities means so much more to me than you could ever know. And believe me when I say that I am beyond committed to helping you achieve your goals, in life and performance. And for anyone who happens to stumble upon this, client or not, thank you for taking the time to read this. I appreciate you. Here’s to another year of positive change and growth for all of us!
Steven
