Aquatics Nation. This is your community, and I am your host of the Aquatics Today podcast, Jamal Hill. So strap in, whether you're on your way to work is already there. Let's get inspired. Let's get it going.
And we're live Aquatics Nation. That's right, we are alive and today, so we are talking about why, why aquatics today? Why this platform? Why this podcast? Why try and build this community? Well, before I tell you why today? Guess what? I want to share a little quote with you, an inspiring quote that touched me this week, and I think it's the perfect segue way for today's show. Check this out. The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable one persists in adapting the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man. Listen, I am that unreasonable man aquatics today, and I hope that you too are an unreasonable person because we're depending on you to push the ball into the future. So why? Why aquatics today, Jamal? Well, we've all heard it. Any business, any movement, anything that you want to accomplish in life, you need to first sit down and ask yourself that three letter word W8 why? Why am I doing this? Why does it matter? Why? It's really that it's really that simple, but so few of us really sit down and think about it. I had an opportunity to do that. And truth of the matter is most of you don't know this. The first job I ever had was as a lifeguard. First one I ever had in my life was as a lifeguard. And I remember what it was like. Man, that thrill. You know, I'm a hero now. And and and and the saving and oh my god, you know, I got my first check in and the first person, you know, I'm saving people. I'm young. It was all so much and I was so excited. I was so thrilled. And I was a lifeguard for years and years, and ultimately the point came where I felt stagnant as a lifeguard. I felt like there wasn't enough there to continue to develop me not only as a lifeguard, but as a person and. Ultimately, that's what led me, I think, to leave in that career and seeking that elsewhere, you know? But I remember what that was like. I remember that initial excitement, the initial just just kind of honor and pride. And and, you know, we started off so strong, right? I had we had our training. There was like this, you know, almost four month training that went into it. Obviously, you had to be in shape and then, you know, we had the annual in-service it and and things were going great. But again, there came this point where I just stopped developing. I stopped developing my my, my, my team development skills. I stopped developing my leadership skills. As they applied to this space, I stopped developing kind of my communication skills. It wasn't built into the system. And don't get me wrong, I'm not pulling anything. Fingers you, I don't feel like my superiors as a lifeguard had much, you know, support in that department, either in there leading not only a team or lifeguards, but a lot of them were running the entire aquatics facilities. And I just remember thinking during that time. How much I wish I had had something that would have been a space for other lifeguards or other aquatic professionals to come into, to come into community and to share the best practices, to try and figure out the best better systems and and really develop leadership among our ranks. Because ultimately, you know, I felt like these lifeguards, these are the ones that were heading out into the world and guess what they were? They were queuing up that project at work. They were sitting in the front of the classroom. You know, they were the one to hold the hold a door open or carry. Some goes for these servants, either people who wanted to be the best. But again, we kind of found ourself in this space where we were being limited. So that is why I'm bringing you Aquatics Day because I'm invested and I now know that. We are going to build that community that wasn't there, and we will get the best practices, we will get that leadership development and we will get those better systems for our lifeguards, for help, for our so much work, for whoever you know. Obviously, I ended up going more in the process of morale. But do you trust me there with the time where I was thinking, what does Jamal Hill look like? You know, a facility manager in five years? And I think the thing that kept me from that was just a little bit stronger leadership and a stronger system in and in the department that I was participating in. So that's why I came out today. That's why I'm doing this. This is what I want you guys to do, man. We're going to be at the Association of Aquatics Professionals conference next next week on February 8th and 9th. We will be there. Aquatics Day team will be there, will be live, will be in action and will be wanting to talk to you. So make sure you tune in for that. AOP and averting the quietest conference going down in Florida, we are going to be there the 8th and 9th. Other than that makes you subscribe and tune in for the next episode, episode two. We're talking about leading with innovation and how you get to think of new ideas in your agency and in your career in this space that are going to be better for everybody. We're going to lead with innovation. Tune in next episode. I'll see you guys soon.
