We were lucky to catch up with Paul Beckman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Paul, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
I was very fortunate in how and where I was raised. Not only were my parents both financially secure, they both loved each other, and their children very much. Our house was supportive, always learning, always eating together, always vacationing together. Other’s didn’t have it nearly as good as me, so I had lots to be thankful for- still do. I believe it’s important to stay optimistic, because the brain and body are very powerful. They listen to each other. I would rather not use negativity, to not give the brain a chance to hear it. As of recently, being optimistic has become even easier for me. A year ago, I finished beating cancer. Got to endure three rounds of chemotherapy, and two major surgeries. Lots of cuts, stitches, scars, and drugs were done unto my body. Through them all, I endured. From my mindset- what other option do I have? Lay down and die? I don’t like that. I’ll choose the other. I’m gonna decide to beat it. And beat it’s what I did. So what now? Live. Every day is a gift. To wake up, to be pain free, to be healthy, to have family, to have friends, to have a roof over my head, to have food on my plate- that is rich. That is a reason to be optimistic. That’s where my optimism comes from.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My name is Paul Beckman, and I’m a Fitness Coach. I’m all about fitness. I’m all about being fitness. I encourage others to find their fitness, to be fitness. B Fitness. That’s my brand name. B Fitness. The Beckman philosophy webbed into life, movement, and bettering the body. My journey has led me from Engineering school, to Manufacturing Plants, to Hollywood, to gym sales, to personal training sales, to training clients, to national pandemic, to cancer, to the best version of myself, me, here, now.
My mother instilled in me the importance of fitness, of taking care of your health. The body is such an amazing thing and is capable of so much. And so are we. We as humans are beautiful, in all shapes and sizes, and it’s important to remember that. You are beautiful. You are valued. You matter. Fitness is not just movement and how the body looks, it also involves the relationship between you and how you view yourself. One of the most difficult parts of being a human is deciding where we draw the line between “I’m good just the way I am,” and “I could be better.” It’s a tricky balance. I believe both can be true at the same time. I believe there are parts of us that we can strive to make better. And there parts of us we can’t change and we can do work to find peace with that.
What am I saying…
If you want to better yourself, great- I can help you with that. If you are willing to make the decision to make a change, and believe in yourself, I can help you achieve that.
***
Before I started treatment, I asked my nurse, “will I be allowed to workout during treatment?” She laughed, “if you want,” knowing full well that’d be unlikely.
And she was right. One of day during my third round of treatment, I barely mustered up the strength to walk to the end of my block and back, just to get out of bed that day.
Life throws surprises at you. How do you view them? 6 months after that day, I climbed the Highest Mountain in the contiguous United States. Middle of winter. Record snowfall. My cancer was a gift. It showed me a world in which I couldn’t workout, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t feel good. And Then I beat it, and got the ability to do all those things again.
This is why I started my business. Making my body strong has made me so strong, and feel like I matter- to myself. I want to be a source of inspiration and guidance to those trying to better themselves. To share with people the beauty of movement, of taking care of their body, of pushing it to its limit to find out what it can do.
I used to dial back my training. I felt ashamed for “working out too much” or “worrying about how I look.” But now, I workout because I can. I workout because I like the way it makes me feel. And yeah, I like looking good naked!
I work hard, because I ask my clients to work hard. To see them push themselves to their limit to get one rep, one extra pound, one more second- that inspires me to find my own limits!
That’s why I workout the way I do. That’s why I push myself. Because I can. And because others are doing it too. I want to work as hard as them. Let’s all succeed and kickass and find the best versions of ourselves!
Let’s B Fitness!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Decide what you want to do 2. Believe you can do it
3. Put in the work to do it
Believe it or not, step 1 is the hardest part. Ok maybe step 2. I really don’t think it’s step 3. Step 3 is just showing up. Just show up and do the work. You just have to figure out what that work is for. What is it you want? Ask yourself, and listen. Spend time listening. You’ve got it in you, just listen to yourself. Spend weeks, months. If the same thing keeps popping up, you probably want that, a lot. Decide for yourself you want it. Decide you’re going to get it. Make the decision. Then figure out a plan to get it, and put in the work. Show up. Show up for yourself. You can apply this wherever you want in life, but it works great for fitness goals. I believe The Universe is conspiring to help you at all times, but you have to tell it what you want!
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Yes, I’m looking for people that want to better themselves. People want help and are ready to ask for it.
But I’m also looking for people who have already found their fitness. Who are walking their path! Who are sure of themselves, have goals their working towards, and have a relationship with fitness that suits them. I’m curious as to what other methods people have found to keep themselves healthy and fit. I love learning! I’d be thrilled to share your workout with you! Invite me out, bring me to your class, walk me through your routine, throw me into your hardest workout! I love a challenge and expanding my fitness repertoire!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://justpaulbeckman.com/
- Instagram: paulybfitness & paulybpositive
- Youtube: pbproductionss
