Time to get schooled

I am an ex professional student, if I could earn a living from studying, I would never have ended my career in Varsity hopping.  Matriculating at a ripe 16 was never easy, having to decide how to define your future whilst still shopping in the kiddies section leaves you as confused as a fat kid with a salad.

I am passionate about many things, first and fore most, the culinary world.  This took me through many years getting educated, chopping at the grindstone and sweating buckets for countless hours in hotels around the world.  I earned my place in the society of the industry, I put in the hours, I put in the cash and I earned the respect of my peers.

Having since then returning to get schooled in Sports Science, and again hitting the books for years, starting in the trenches, following another passion, it has been difficult to say the least, however what I did learn from my years in the culinary world is that experience is key but education opens the door.  This applies to everything, every game.

You need the fundamentals to cut through the surface.  You need the basic knowledge to challenge mastering the game.  Having put myself through the marrow and the outdated theory, I did learn that some things never change, the anatomy will always be the anatomy.

Bringing me to my point,  spending a couple months training in a discipline doesn't earn you a level of mastery and ability to now coach in that discipline, nor does a 2 day workshop, or an online certification from the same institution that sells doctorates. These workshops may give you the right to teach but you owe your clientele the foundation.  On that same note, I have however seen qualified trainers dishing out programs and exercise sequences that should never have left the figments of their imagination.

Education and experience goes hand in hand.

Passion gives you direction, but hard work, experience and education gives you permission.

I have researched a handful of institutions in our country offering certifications in the exercise world, as outdated as they may be they give you the basics, they give you the right.  With this knowledge and background the world is yours for the taking, those 2 day workshops now become applicable, those weekend seminars and trips around the world to learn from the best can now be readily applied because you have that basic knowledge, you have that key.

The people in this industry are driven by their sentiment for it, yet the enthusiasm doesn't earn them a roof over their heads.  Education is not just attending an academy for a piece of paper, its ongoing, its evolving, its never ending research.

Its dissecting techniques, its breaking down mechanics, its learning a science, its reading hundreds of books, its spending time with the experts, its late night programming, early morning teaching and all day learning.  Trips to Mauritius, nights on the town, holidays in Maui and social gatherings take a back seat.  Its working through the trenches, its starting at the bottom, its keeping your head above the water while you learning from the best.

Personally going from a life of high rolling entertainment, celebrities, Dom Perignon and designer shoes to counting pennies, cereals for dinner, early mornings, late nights and mountains of debt was not easy, it is still not easy.  The time and dedication it takes to build up a business, compete against the market and offer something that is based on theoretical knowledge, years of learning and working with the experts, I know will someday make me really good at what I do.  Not today, not tomorrow but someday.

It is not all about scoring the winning touchdown, its about hard work, education, dedication and commitment to that very passion and enthusiasm that drove you to it.

If you claim to be passionate about something you will devote your last hour and your last cent to being the best at it.

You have to learn to crawl before you can walk.