I’m just going to say it. The world needs to come together. And soon.
I’m not talking about the political conversation. I’m talking about coming together for our health, for our well-being and for the sake of our future. We need to come together and understand, honor and tap the power that groups have on our individual lives.
We celebrate individual heroes who accomplish great things, yet we all know that nothing happens that way. Behind every great success is a group, a team, a family or a tribe that has come together in some way. This is also true for our health, fitness and wellness transformation.
I have always been fascinated by groups—as a young girl I remember the energy at concerts, in my favorite dance class, at church, and I was intrigued by what made groups come together around a common idea. As a teenager, I was always searching to understand and find ways to motivate my cheer squad, yearbook class and student council to greater impact. A very insightful humanities teacher gave me two books to read: José Ortega y Gasset’s “
The Revolt of the Masses” and Eric Hoffer’s “
The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements.” I found them very odd reads, but quickly realized the deep similarities between what drives the mind of the fanatic and the dynamics of a mass movement—the core mechanics of motivation that transform a group of disparate individuals into a unified collective in pursuit of a mutually agreed-upon experience or goal.
This is true for sports teams, rock concert fans—and as a fitness professional, I soon learned it was also true for the most popular group fitness classes in the world. So I continued to study it. When we come together in a well-designed, well-executed group experience, class or challenge, we walk away transformed. At the heart of this transformation is a ritual in which our sense of the person we are and the lives we live are temporarily put on hold, and we stand at the threshold of who we can be and in fact are becoming. We all become equal in status, and yet elevated in our potential.
The other amazing things that happens in a group is that we get superhero powers—we can do more. The presence of the group literally provides the energy and motivation and entrainment to do more, go further, to reach the finish line. It’s so interesting and beautiful that as humans we will too often give up on ourselves when the going gets tough, but when another man or woman is standing next to us and in need, we will indeed go an extra mile.
This issue is dedicated to this phenomenon. Each article is intended to deepen your understanding of the power of groups and teams in your life. Our cover story features
Shaun T, known across the globe for his game changing
Beach Body workouts. You probably know him as the creator of the at home fitness workouts INSANITY and T25. His new book, “
T is for Transformation,” reveals everything you didn’t know about him including his methods for changing his own life, and his unique approach to transformational fitness. We’ve also got five of his favorite moves to transform your workout or coffee break.
We also catch up with
Shawn Phillips, author, inventor and creator of Strength for Life. With his brother,
Bill Phillips, he was instrumental in the game-changing success of EAS and the Body For Life movement—which ultimately launched the fitness transformation industry we all know today. Don’t miss
Angela Duckworth’s advice on how use grit at work, to persevere and turn passion into results, tips for great conversation from
Jim Kwik and 24 ways to express your gratitude.
Finally, this is a great month to honor with gratitude our veterans, who risk their lives for a vision of a better future for all of us, as well as first responders around the world who are serving so many in times of need. Author Steven Pressfield, another great mind who understands the ethos of man and the unique creed of men and women who gather together for a great cause, wrote in “Gates of Fire:”
Finally, this is a great month to honor with gratitude our veterans, who risk their lives for a vision of a better future for all of us, as well as first responders around the world who are serving so many in times of need. Author
Steven Pressfield, another great mind who understands the ethos of man and the unique creed of men and women who gather together for a great cause, wrote in “Gates of Fire:”
“When a warrior fights not for himself, but for his brothers, when his most passionately sought goal is neither glory nor his own life's preservation, but to spend his substance for them, his comrades, not to abandon them, not to prove unworthy of them, then his heart truly has achieved contempt for death, and with that he transcends himself and his actions touch the sublime. That is why the true warrior cannot speak of battle save to his brothers who have been there with him. The truth is too holy, too sacred, for words.”
— Lashaun
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