I'm going to be a Personal Trainer

Last night I went to see a career counsellor at the AIF about becoming a personal trainer. It is something I have been thinking about for a while. I came out super excited about making a career change and learning new things.

I've been bored in my current career for about 2 years. I've been in the same industry (design/print) for 12 years. I have changed jobs 3 times in that time in an effort to determine if it is what I do, the company I work for, or just me that is bored. I have come to the conclusion that it is me - or at least what I do. I've dabbled in web design, production management and account management as well as being a hands-on designer. I've worked in trade and agency, for small and large companies. Every time I've changed companies, I get the "well, you certainly won't be bored here"... but I am. I am pretty efficient at what I do and am used to multi-tasking and having a million things on the go at once - but when I don't have a million things happening I am bored. I can't just cruise through my day... I hate that! I am someone who has always been able to do something I love... I don't love it anymore.

Apart from the boredom, I also feel I need to do something more worthwhile on a moral or ethical level. I'm a bit over the commercialism of what I do without making some sort of contribution to society. In my industry there is a big shift to environmentally friendly/carbon neutral papers and printing methods. Definitely something of interest, and one of the reasons why I took my current job... but it is not enough.

While career changes are common and considered relatively easy in today's society, I've found it is not quite as easy as I first thought. A complete career change involves a time and financial investment - both of which are in short supply at the moment. My day at the moment is:
5.15am get up
6.00am at the gym and training
7.05am bus home from the gym & breakfast
8.10am leave for work
5.45pm home from work
6.00pm leave home - walk to the gym
7.30pm home from the gym
8.00pm shower, dinner
9.00-9.30pm bed

So you can see there is not alot of spare time there! I don't train twice a day every day - I sometimes swap the afternoon session for dinner with a friend or something - but that is to stop me going insane during the week and is not going to change.

So whatever I choose has to be something I am passionate about. It also needs to be something that can generate an income comparative to what I earn now. My two options are personal training and nutrition. It is what I live and breathe every day - I love it, I live it and spend any downtime at work reading about it.

After my meeting last night I was super excited, motivated and ready to go (the girl I saw did her job really well!). I was even considering postponing my BR surgery until after my course was complete. But, this morning reality hit. A) I can't afford to pay for both surgery and the course at the same time. B) My journey isn't complete until I have had my BR

This morning I caught a glimpse of me running in a mirror and I felt a wave of disappointment rush through my body. It was an actual physical feeling. My boobs are massive - uncomfortable and out of proportion. I can't possibly start this new phase of my life until I've finished my current journey. I need to get to my goal weight and have my BR before I start something else. I walked into the gym feeling fabulous and walked out feeling the lowest of low.

So I am going to be a personal trainer, but just not yet. I've got things to do first. So here's my goals for the next 12 months:
1) Get to goal weight by April 2009
2) Find a flatmate so I can start saving more money (by December 2008)
3) BR surgery April 2009
4) Start PT course end April 2009
5) Qualified master trainer by September 2009