Last week, I slowly packed my office.  Placed all my books in a box, along with all my belongings of my desk and filing cabinet.  It was a strange feeling.  Knowing that I would not be coming to the same place.  No, I did not quit my job.  We are in the middle of a renovation (painting, cleaning and reorganizing).  It is going to be nice to come back to a “new” gym.  However, with renovations comes the subsequent displacement of our staff.  And that lead to a productive three days in a boardroom discussing the direction of our company, our roles and our responsibilities.  Much of that discussion was based on who we are as a company and who we are as coaches.  We as a company have made a major policy as well.  We will be mindful of what others are doing, but under no circumstances will we be concerned with other “competitors”.  It brings about too many distractions and negative energy towards the goal we are doing as a company.  We need to put that focus on what we are doing.

I have been reading Men’s Health for quite some time and I would say that David Zinczenko as editor has been one of the best things to happen to the magazine.  The last editorial this past month rang so true to the message of this post.  There are a lot of so-called “experts” out there.  With the Internet, everyone can set up a site and post their opinion and call it law or fact, and that includes me.  However, what is not evident is the level of expertise and knowledge that these experts possess.  Many lack the practical experience, clients or theoretical knowledge to back up their claims. Many of these experts work in “packs”.  What I mean is, they are friends with others who are writing on the Internet, and they are all promoting each other.  They scratch each other’s backs.  But that is the times in which we live.   The Internet has created over night experts.   Not only are these experts sharing their information via email, some of them have begun to create courses and certifications based on their ideas.  And they then foster a new group of followers spewing the views of the so-called expert.  It is a vicious cycle, and I guess you could say it is almost cult like.

And a lot of people follow what these experts are posting.  I have been guilty of that when I first started in the profession.  I read everything that others wrote and took it for fact.  However, I was so naïve that I did not take a critical look at the information.  However, with the completion of grad school, I have become more critical of the information I read.  And that is the message of this post.  To be critical of the information that is out there, the information on the Internet, and the information that is shared by these so call experts.  Look at the information that is being presented and look at what others are saying about it, not everyone will share the same view.  That critical look at the information includes the information from this “expert”, me.  If I begin to spew BS I want you to call me on it.  If I become a self-promoting asshole, email or comment and say, “Hey, you’re becoming a dick.” That will force me to be credible in the information that I relay on to all of you.  And one of the goals I have always maintained is to not become one of the self-promoting “experts” out there.  Because who am I kidding.  As one of my friends put it, “I am just above nobody status in the grand scheme of things.

Yours in Health and Performance,

Jeff Osadec, MKin, CEP, CSCS and emerging expert.