02/03/2023
Have you ever wondered “What if?” Have you ever thought about how your life would have been different if you would have done “this” or “that”? Do you remember when you were a child, and you dreamed of being a pro football player, basketball player, WWE wrestler, police officer, firefighter, astronaut, famous singer, or doctor? Do you remember the days when you were told “You can be ANYTHING you want?” Do you remember the days when nothing seemed too difficult or impossible? Do you remember when life was simpler? Do you remember seeing the world and all of its possibilities & opportunities through the eyes of expectation? Do you remember? Do you know what happened?
Going into 2020, I had a lot of excitement and expectation, maybe you did to? There seemed to be something about “2020” that was going to be great, grand, and BIG. At the time, I was living in Denver, Colorado. That previous fall, I had been teaching at a charter school in Colorado Springs. Unfortunately or fortunately, things didn’t work out for me at that school. After stepping down from my PE position, I packed my bags and moved to Denver. I had the opportunity to personal train at an Anytime Fitness in Littleton, CO, a suburb of Denver. I enjoyed the job, I got to connect with some great people, and learned a lot about the business side of personal training and running a gym. All was good. But deep down, I knew something had to give, why? Personal training part time doesn’t pay the bills, that’s why. And so, I was on the search for another part time job to fill in the gaps.
If anyone knows me on a personal level, you know at least one thing to be true about me, I’m a dreamer, a BIG dreamer. I can’t explain it really, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but since I was young, I’ve just always felt like there was “more.” Something inside of me won’t allow me to “settle.” And so, personal training part time in Denver was great, but it wasn’t cutting it back in 2019. I was in limbo. But I knew that some-way, some-how, things would work out.
2020 was right around the corner, it came, and then it all blew up. The world literally came to a screeching halt. We entered into a world-wide pandemic. Something had to give in my life, Covid, caused that “give.”
With the entire fitness industry shut down due to Covid, I once again packed my bags and this time, headed back to Cherokee. I had weights in Mom and Dad’s garage, so I knew that whatever was going to come of this Covid craze, I could at least hideaway in my parent’s garage and keep myself sane with my weights.
2020 was one of the hardest years of my life. A year that started off with so much excitement and expectation, quickly became one of the darkest years of my life. If I’m being truthful with you all, I didn’t want to be back in Iowa and I didn’t want to be back in Cherokee. Nothing against Iowa or Cherokee, but Colorado was just my “place.” And so, when I set foot back in Cherokee, my entire focus was getting back to Colorado as soon as possible. That “as soon as possible” never came. God had other plans for me.
As you all know, on September 1, 2020, I took over ownership of Victory Gym. As I prayed and sought God’s counsel, after the opportunity to buy the gym was presented to me, I knew this was what God wanted me to do. A life-long dream of mine was to own my own gym, and so, that dream became a reality in September 2020.
Over the last 3 years (I’ve been back in Cherokee 3 years in March), God has taught me so much. As I mentioned earlier, 2020 was one of the hardest and darkest years of my life. Although owning Victory Gym put some purpose back in my life at the time, the dark days didn’t disappear over-night. There have been a lot of dark days, tough days, days of struggle, questioning, crying, and wondering. But through it all and in it all, God has drawn me closer to Himself. For that, I’m thankful.
And so, here we are, at the beginning of a new year, another year of possibilities & opportunities. A new year of new beginnings. I recently made it public that I will be selling Victory Gym and once again, “packing my bags” to move back to Colorado. This has been nearly a year in the works. But like many things in life, timing is everything. Cherokee is my hometown, but Colorado feels like “home” to me. Since the day I left Colorado, my heart has remained there.
There’s so much more that I want to accomplish and pursue. There are so many dreams that I can’t let die in the grind of this life. Do you remember? Do you remember what you wanted to be when you “grew up?” Do you remember what you wanted to accomplish when you were an adult? Do you remember those dreams you had as a youth about changing the world? Do you remember the excitement you had and the expectation you carried into life after high school? Do you remember?
I want you to remember. I want you to think back to those younger years. I want you to ponder times past. I want you to reflect on who and what you wanted to be before “life happened.” Do you remember? What happened? Where did your dreams go? Where did your dreams die? Why did you give up? Why did you settle? Why did you throw in the towel? Why did you choose a path that wasn’t set for you?
The beautiful thing about life is, there are new beginnings all around us. I want you to take some alone time and reflect on your past. Reflect on your present. And then, reflect on your future. Where do you want to go? Who do you want to be? What does God have in store for you? What dreams have you given up on? It’s never too late.
Tomorrow is a new day. A fresh start. A new beginning. Life is meant to be lived. I want you to LIVE your life and I want you to LIVE your life to the FULLEST! God has a plan, God has a purpose, and God most certainly has a direction specifically for you!
And so, here we are. 2023. A new year. New beginnings. A new adventure. Old dreams remembered, new dreams pursued. Today is here, tomorrow is yet to come. It’s never too late… I’ll see you in the gym.
Quinton
