Will You Be Successful or Significant?

If you attended the IHRSA Convention this past March and sat in on Augie Nieto's presentation, From Success to Significance, you might be asking yourself, like I am, whether you are on the path in life to be successful or significant.

The truth is, we never really know what dots are going to connect in life to lead us to where our lives will ultimately end up — despite the decisions we make and chances we take along the way. Augie, pioneer of the first piece of cardio equipment, founder of Life Fitness, crusader in the quest to find a cure for Lou Gherig’s disease (ALS), and now legacy, is a keen example of that. But, he has learned that if you have a passion for something, no matter what path your life takes, the dots along the way always end up connecting. In his presentation, Augie explained, “You can’t look forward and connect the dots. You can’t look back. What you have to do is find a passion and the dots will connect.”

I often think of Augie’s presentation. His spirit, his honesty and his message truly touched me. Augie's dots connected because he had a passion. Through his passion for fitness, he strove to make people’s bodies stronger. Augie says that his dad once told him, “Take the biggest risk you can, early.” Augie did, and with the eventual success of the Lifecycle and of his company Life Fitness, he, himself, became successful. Now, with his passion for finding a cure for ALS, he is striving to help science and to stop the disease from afflicting others in the future. With the millions of dollars he has helped to raise to date through Augie’s Quest, scientific progress has been, and is still being, made, and Augie has progressed from being successful to being significant. “How do you go from being successful to significant?” asked Augie. “If you’re gone and you’re successful, you won’t be missed. If you’re gone and you’re significant, you will be missed.”

We could all learn a lesson from Augie. The fitness industry is all about passion. Have you pinpointed what, specifically, your passion is? Will you be successful in our industry, or significant to our industry?

“Success is never final,” says Augie. “Failure is never fatal. What matters is passion. And passion allows you to do what’s right and what’s wrong.”