The other day I was invited by Westview Secondary Basketball Academy to come in and speak in front of a group of kids. The coach had read my “why” on my website and asked if I would be willing to come in and speak, I was extremely humbled that someone believes in my story.
Westview means a lot to me, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today if I didn’t go through the maturation process that I went through there, and the amazing people I’ve met.
So of course I said yes.
But what most people don’t realize is that I’ve never really spoken in front of a group of people before, especially not talking about myself. I used to be frightened to speak in front of a group of people, I remember in grade 9 English class and we had to pick a song (I picked “Waving Flags” by Young Artists for Haiti) and talk about the meaning of the song, or the “theme.” I just remember waking up that day, cold sweat, really really nervous and when I stood in front of the class, I had my eyes stuck onto the cue cards the entire time, I spoke quietly, my “palms were sweaty, knees weak, arms were heavy”, I think I looked up once.
So no, I’m not someone who’s a natural speaker, or someone who’s got a voice that can transcend and reach out the way motivational speaker’s like Eric Thomas can, I don’t necessarily have that sort of talent or skill set. I don’t have a naturally strong voice, nor do I have the years of experience some people have, but I agreed to doing it because of my one and only goal,
To give back and inspire.
My story may not resonate with some people. In fact, someone out there might be thinking, “What has Hank done, He doesn’t have that much success in his sport or in his life, What has he even accomplished? Why is he even doing speeches?”
Okay maybe no one’s thinking that but I truthfully don’t think someone’s success determines whether or not they can give back. In my opinion I think if people of all “levels” whether in sports or life can all contribute and give back, the world would be a better place. Giving back doesn’t mean you have to go talk in front of a group, start a page like I’ve done, it can be as simple as lending a helping hand to someone in need, there are so many different ways to go about it. Through social media is just one of the ways I’ve gone about it and I can definitely do better in other aspects but that’s part of the process I’m on and working towards.
For those who heard my speech, I talked about my “dream.”
I said to the kids, “ Every time I dreamed about going to the Olympics in my mind, standing on top of the podium, listening to the national anthem, like right away I would think about standing in front of 1000 kids, sharing my story and 1000 kids went home and believed in themselves and chased after their dreams, and that’s my biggest passion too.”
You’re probably reading this now thinking either “Hank that is very inspiring” or “Hank you sound very cliché, you’re putting on a fake act, you’re only doing this for the followers and likes.” Maybe no one’s thinking the latter but some might.
But, my philosophy when I started this page was always to inspire just one person. If someone reads my content, and he/she went out and did something positive with it, whether that’s going out for a run, getting off the couch and doing something active, going out for a workout, or simply believing in themselves, then that’s all it matters to me. That’s all. So maybe what I’m doing may be inspiring to some, it may be annoying to some, but I do it for the “1” out of 100 people that takes away from what I do, not the 99 who don’t. I know what I do can’t resonate with everyone and no it shouldn’t, and that’s okay. But this is MY dream, not anyone else’s and my dream is to not only inspire 1 person, but 2 and 3 and 4 and so forth.
So truthfully, when I was asked to talk in front of the kids, I could’ve had some doubts because I’m not a Lebron James or a Usain Bolt, I’m not some famously successful athlete, or some revolutionary personal trainer, or an amazing speaker or some once in a generation genius of some sort.
And that’s okay, I just want to be me because I know my story is different and I believe in my story. No one else has to believe in my story, but hopefully they can take away from my ideologies and my “why” and do something bigger with it.
6 months ago when I started ‘hankfittraining’ I was so unconfident and nervous. I remember I came back from dinner with my buddy and he kind of suggested me to take a marketing course at UBC and said I could become those “fitness pages” and I thought to myself that would be so cool, I’ve always wanted to make a page like that but was never inspired to do it. That night I stayed up till 2am, I was so nervous, sweating like a pig, deciding whether or not to start this page, I would be exposing myself so much and sharing parts of me that I don’t share with a lot of people, I would be getting out of my comfort zone. I texted my few good friends and ask for their advice and finally convinced myself to.
It was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I’ve heard so many people said to me that they are inspired by my work, and that truly touches my heart. It also got me out of my comfort zone: I’ve interviewed others, sometimes strangers, or people I’ve looked up to, I mean I don’t even like writing that much and I’m typing right now on this page.
So when I was given the chance to talk in front of a group of kids about me, although it use to be out of my comfort zone, and I’m not the greatest speaker, I was thrilled to accept because I wanted to do it for that “1” kid who will hopefully take away from what I have to say.
And one of the athletes came up and thanked me afterwards over and over, told me about his injuries, about his struggles and I was truly touched. Moments like that is the reason I keep believing in what I do because I was once a kid who needed to “believe”, which is why I’m so humbled that people have taken away or taken in from what I promote, from what I believe in.
In the past few months I’ve also matured so much as well and I’m forever grateful for it. I’m still “me” but I’ve changed in a different way, in a good way. It’s because of a lot of different reasons, I’m just so inspired by the amount of positivity that’s came with what I’m doing so hopefully I can give that back to the world.
And hopefully one day people will look back at not anything I accomplish but who I am as a human being and what I want to achieve, which is greatness. For me accomplishing something great is like winning a race, getting an amazing result, or winning a medal, I don’t ever want to be remembered for that.
Achieving greatness is having that everlasting impact on those around you and that’s my ultimate goal in my life for whatever I do. Because 50 years down the line, no one’s going to remember what you did in 2017, what your personal best for your 5km run was, but if you’re true, genuine and kind then that’s a legacy that will carry on with you forever. That’s another big goal of mine.
Although I’ve done and said a lot in the past that I’m not the most proud about, and it’s something I can’t change but I feel like that’s a big part of this process I’m going through with my life.
I’m just so inspired by everything that’s happening around me, and I think giving the speech was another stepping stone into what I want to continue to do,
Because maybe what I do won’t change the world, but maybe I can inspire the person that does,
as Macklemore would say “don’t try to change the world, find something that you love and do it every day, do that for the rest of your life and eventually, the world will change.”
*If you are interesting in hearing my speech, please click on the link below