Sadie Kurzban - Champion Of Fear And Founder Of 305 Fitness

Sadie Kurzban exudes a fiery confidence. I’m wondering… can she just be my helmet? What I find to be the most inspiring about Sadie is that her absolute sense of self worth and passion are met with the most genuine expression of gratitude for her students and everyone in the 305 family. “I am so grateful”, she said multiple times at the end of class. Maybe I heard the repetition due to the influx of oxygen to the brain after that killer workout. Either way, gratitude was everywhere.  As one of her students, I can say the feeling is mutual. Sadie is... Currently reading: Setting the Table by Danny Meyer Fierce Attachments by Vivian Gornick Current Podcasts: NPR 2 Dope Girls Democracy Now Sadie's morning routine: ·   Get up before 7am, even if I get less than 8hrs of sleep. I like the competitiveness of getting up early. ·   Have a tea. ·   Ten-minute stretch. ·   Start checking e-mail. Where does your drive come from? I grew up with really ambitious hardworking parents. I think that’s definitely part of it. That was the norm in my house. They would wake up early, go to work and get home at nine or ten o’clock at night. Most importantly they are very passionate about what they do. My mom is a writer and my dad is an immigration lawyer. They taught me to really pursue my passion and that was really contagious for me growing up. When did you decide to start the company? It’s always scary starting your own thing. I started this straight out of college which is in some ways scarier than getting a job because I felt I didn’t have the experience. I thought about being a consultant, going to business school, working for a competitor – but ultimately I just realized that there is no good time. I didn’t want to lose momentum and I decided that this was the time to do it. “Lead with love, you win. Lead with fear, you lose.” I don’t agree with this because I think it’s important to lead with all of your emotions. I think that always focusing on “staying positive” can sometimes get us down because we are human beings and we have a wide range of emotions. I like to channel all of my feelings and use them in a creative way or a way to motivate others. It is important to do things that you love and to start something with love but every day is going to be different, every hour is going to be different and there is no baseline for what emotion you should feel. “Problems are what sculpt our soul. Life is happening for us. Once we realize that, all pain and suffering disappears.” It’s definitely true. We are very lucky that we just stepped into this life. Sperm had to meet the egg. It’s a one in a million chance for that happening. Especially living in the United States not having to worry about violence or crime or abuse or all kinds of things that other people have to deal with. It is a privilege to be alive. But we also have a lot of agency and with that agency comes a lot of responsibility. We are the masters of our fate in a lot of ways. We only have a limited amount of time and we have to seize that every moment. What have you learned from all of this? The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to be really clear about my expectations from the beginning. I’m still learning how to manage people and lead. But the biggest thing is we assume people know how we feel about them. What I regret the most is holding things in when I should’ve just been really clear about what I needed. I’ve learned to communicate a lot, even in my personal relationships. How do you manage the feelings of fear and the unknown that come with running your own company and raising money to do so? It gets easier as you go on. The first time I tried to raise money it was hard and I didn’t know what to say but as time goes on it gets easier. It’s like learning a language. Now, it’s not so scary. Look, a business is just considering every day as a step forward. Every day I do it and it keeps moving it is proof to me and proof to the world that it is working. I would say time is the way to get over fear. You have to stay really focused on the small wins. That is how I stay afloat. Did you have a moment of panic when the gym space you were renting shut down unexpectedly? NO way. There are disasters every day. That’s what happens when you run a business or do your own thing. It was one hurdle that I knew we were going to get over. You have to stay focused on the solution and not the problem. What do you like to do outside of work? I love going to steam rooms, weight lighting, going to concerts at Brooklyn Bowl. I really, really like to cook. I like to be creative. My friend plays guitar and I sing, even though I’m not good. I like to write songs and poems. I asked Sadie if she would share one of her poems with me. I was not surprised to read something insightful and powerful. Here is an excerpt : Though I long to hear your voice Your baritone booming voice Your lullaby voice of promised lands Your voice That makes my toes curl I would hate my words To fall on tired ears The groggy no-sleepness scramble of bolting off the train So I resist   Visit www.305fitness.com to find out more. Take a class. It will change your life.