“Remember how far you’ve come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be.”
– Rick Warren

Deep Squats (Thoughts)

Has it been another year already?! October 1, 2009 is when we became a CrossFit Affiliate. Thank you all for 17 years. Whether you just joined or are one of the few holding on from The Flower Shop, YOU are why we are here.

I was talking to my bromance, Craig Howard at Diablo CrossFit, yesterday about all the stuff we have dealt with over the years. (Diablo is a 20 year affiliate!) How much things change. How they stay the same. How we’re different, etc. And then I commented about what it takes to have the longevity in this business that we’ve both had. The love of people goes into this. Loving the act of serving others and what we get out of that. Both are valid and true.

Then I mentioned that spite is a big factor for me. Not in a negative sense of sticking it to someone, but in the sense of refusing to lose.

Please note that EVERY one of the next parts of our story involved unimaginable and unanticipated stress. And countless stories have been left out. (I really need to write that book.)

I started CFPA in my garage with a $5k seed fund from my parents. It paid our affiliate fee and insurance for the first year. Within a month the HOA kicked us out of the garage. Good. It made me find a spot in the “Storage” section of Craigslist that didn’t even have a photo.

700 square feet. No parking. No heat. No A/C. Tiny bathroom. And some crazy people that found out about us and kept coming back. About 70 people were members after a year. Gotta move.

2000 feet was next. This was it. We made it. Not so fast. Actually, the neighbors hated us and called the police constantly starting in the first week. They harassed our landlord into not renewing our lease despite having a permit to operate. The Fire Department even got called during a special workout because neighbors were “concerned” about our safety and the occupancy limits. It was a stressful 4.5 years.

FINALLY, we found a standalone building. THIS was it. Our forever home. Well, maybe, after it took over 12 months of permitting, buildout and fraud from our contractor. Eleven and a half years later and we are still here. IN SPITE OF IT ALL.

This is kinda salty for an anniversary email. Yeah. My point is that in spite of all the ups, downs, drama, covid, broken bones, bad decisions, good luck, blessings and more, I’m refusing to quit. I’m not the same as I was 17 years ago, praise God. And I’m going to keep showing up to do my best at giving you the best. That’s what I want for you, too. Keep fighting to show up. Maybe spite is a useful tool for you right now. Who cares. Use it to keep showing up and refuse to lose.

It’s not a sunshine and rainbows kind of message today. Because that ain’t life. We’ve got a lot of people hurting for myriad reasons in our community right now. I felt led to encourage you to get your eyes up, chest up, shoulders back and abs tight. Be aggressive. You are stronger than you think you are and can do more than you think you can.

Thank you all for another year.

See you in class.

Tim

What’s Going On?

CrossFit Teens Is BACK!

Tuesdays and Thursdays
4-5pm
August 25th – October 1st
w/Coach Ron

Email: [email protected]

CFPA Thorne Supplement Store

Overheard in Class:
“Is this a refusal?”

Good to Great by: Jim Collins

Analyzing 28 companies in 3 categories – good-to-great, direct comparison and unsustained comparison – over the span of 30 years, Jim and his team looked at which companies went from average or sub-par stock market performance to outperforming the stock market by a factor of at least 3.

The result is a set of strategies, habits, and practices, which can turn a company from good to great. Here are 3 of them to give you an idea of what it takes to build something that’s world-class:

1. Find your Hedgehog concept.

2. Only adopt new technology if it helps you reach your goal.

3. Confront nasty facts head on but don’t lose hope.

Want to go from good to great? There you go!

Tim’s Takeaway: Thanks to Randy Scott’s referral, this was my first business book that I read in 2009. Way before audio books! There are SO many valuable ideas in this book. I’ve used the Hedgehog Concept the most. We only offer CrossFit classes. We aim to do that well. That’s it. We don’t have screens for our workouts. We write in notebooks. And it all still works to get people fitter than they were.

Tell me what you like. Music? Books? Movies? Series?

Thank you for your support.

I look forward to what we will do together.