Tim’s Search for a New Purpose

Three years later, Tim remarried, but the union was short-lived. Still reeling with grief from Liz’s death and dealing with a fresh divorce—not to mention a “business that went down the tubes at the exact same time”—Tim was struggling more than ever before.

Worse, he felt lost. “I didn’t want to go back into insurance, but I also didn’t want to retire, sit down, and do nothing,” he says. “I just knew I had to do something.”

So, he decided to formulate a plan for refining his mind, body, and purpose. It wasn’t long until he found a way to tackle all three.

Tim always considered himself to be a fit person, but he didn’t know much when it came to the actual field of fitness. Or nutrition, for that matter. So he started studying up, devouring as much scientific information as he could find.

“I realized that your age makes such a difference in how your body metabolizes food and builds muscle,” he says.

Once Tim figured out what kind of nutrition plan made sense for his body, he started shedding pounds. “Within a year, I got my body fat down to 9 percent, and I could really see a difference,” he says. “That’s what prompted me to develop a plan to keep that weight off, gain muscle, and truly look and feel the way I should.”

Next, Tim crammed for his personal trainer certification, administered by the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

“It was hard,” he admits, “but I learned a heck of a lot. If you’re going to be in this business, you have to learn constantly.” No kidding: Tim has also since earned certifications in senior fitness, golf fitness, and corrective exercise.