My name is Reza Zarmehr, a 25 year weightlifting veteran and former worldclass bodybuilder, and I know exactly what it means to work with what you don’t have. We are all limited by things in life— our jobs, our finances, our abilities, but my own personal experience has defied these limitations. I want to show you how you, too, can defy your own limitations and achieve your HW goals as well. First, a little bit about me. I was born in the historical city of Esfahan, Iran, a beautiful yet humble place. I lived there until I graduated from Isfahan University of Technology. Like many Iranians, I excelled in soccer, but as I grew up my interests evolved, thanks to my grandfather and my uncle. They trained in the traditional Iranian weightlifting sport called Baastani. At first I was forbidden from going to the gym, but my father bought me a bench with some weights, so I started my workouts in our basement. I remember being limited by so many things— tools, money, and circumstance. My program was the big famous book by Arnold Schwarzenegger. In it he demonstrated all sorts of exercises. After training with Arnold’s virtual help for a couple of years and watching many hollywood movies, he became my role model. Eventually, my grandfather allowed me to join the gym, and since then I haven’t looked back. My personal journey has included being a world-class bodybuilder, a National bodybuilding champion, a certified personal trainer, fitness Consultant, Osteopath and today, a life and wellness coach.

But the journey was a major challenge. I left my family behind, moved to a new country, learned a new language, worked odd jobs, and supported myself to develop my life coaching fitness training business. Starting out I had no social support, no financial assistance, and suffered many emotional and personal setbacks. And it is here that I want to address the quote at the beginning of this chapter. I had a goal: to become an industry leader in the health and wellness (HW) industry. But I wasn’t sure how to get to it. The secrete, I learned years later, was not to ask myself what I could do with what I had. Instead, I asked myself: How do I work around the things that I’m missing? How can I take what I don’t have and turn it into what I will have, what I’ll need? Asking the question in this way forced me to look at the world differently, to focus on using the shadows to find the light. To being creative enough to forge practical solutions in attaining my goals.