“[My husband] always tells me that I'm the most unrelenting person he's ever met, and it's true,” says Craig. “If I make a commitment to something I will stick to it no matter what.” From losing weight, to starting her own business, to coping with a freak accident, Craig has proven that with perseverance anything is possible.
When the Craig’s first sold their chain of Body Contour gyms, they did so in agreement to a non-compete clause. They were not allowed to set up shop again anywhere in the U.S. And so, refusing to wait two years before they made their next move, the couple went on a search for their next destination. Where could they begin their new line of fitness centres? What country was similar to the U.S. in terms of diet and fitness levels but presented no language barrier? The Craig’s decided on Australia.
Initially, Craig and her husband were happy with their decision. That is, until they told other people about it. Doubters lined up one after the other to criticize the move, calling the pair “nuts.” How could a chain of weight-loss centres be introduced in a country where the ideal look was “Midwestern beefy,” they were asked. Craig says she was told that Australia was “the toughest market in the world,” especially considering its 30 paid holidays a year.
Nevertheless, Craig and her husband remained bent on setting up shop in Australia. Their move was a difficult one at first, fraught with the exact difficulties they were warned of. But through hard work and perseverance, the pair made it work. “I always told people in Australia that I had a 24-hour job because we’d get up in the morning, talk business at breakfast and again at dinner,” says Craig. “Our whole life was the business when we were developing the company.”
Craig’s perseverance was not limited to her business life. In 1995, Craig became the victim of a freak accident. “I fell asleep and my head fell forward, resting on my chest, as it happens sometimes, I guess my mouth was open,” she recalls. “A commercial came on the television really loudly and when my head snapped up my lower teeth locked over the upper teeth and I had to pry them down.” Craig was experiencing focal dystonia and subsequently lost all of the muscles in mouth and jaw. She could not even speak.
Craig visited doctor after doctor, doing one MRI after another, but was told she was in perfect health. A total of 18 different doctors suggested 18 different treatments, including everything from acupuncture to Botox. She tried some, but nothing worked. “I said, ‘I’m going to keep trying to find someone who can help me,’” says Craig. Meanwhile, her muscles were getting progressively weaker. Finally, Craig found a doctor who was willing to reconnect her muscles. After a four hour surgery that saw screws implanted in hew jaw, Craig once again began to speak, albeit not the way she once did.
“I'm happy to be able to communicate, I'm healthy, and I have a great life,” says Craig. “I have so many things to be grateful for, I can't focus on the one negative.”
Lesson #4: Persevere and Push Through Your Problems
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