Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Personal Training Blasphemy?
Can I ask you a question?
When was the last time you walked into Amazon, Barnes and Noble or even your local bookstore to buy a book?
Was it recently?
When you were browsing around reading the book-sleeve, did an attendant run up to you and say "Quick! There's only 2 left! Buy it before they go!"?
What about the last time you bought a book?
Did you hand over the book and the money only to find out that they'd thrown 18 other books, a CD collection, a bunch of book tokens, the author's telephone number and a money-off voucher to Starbucks in your bag?
No?
I wonder why that is?
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that it's because bookstores generally value the works of each individual author and rely upon the fact that people are buying, say, a Stephen King novel because they actually like his work, value his craftsmanship actually WANT his book.
Nothing more, nothing less than that.
It's funny then, that in the internet publishing world we tend to do the exact opposite.
We tell people that 'There's only 4 left!' or that 'The price will go up at midnight... I can't guarantee the price!' or that 'Due to such high demand we'll be discontinuing the book but when we bring it back it'll be twice as expensive".
Worse still, we sell the book itself and then bundle it with a stack of bonuses so large that it would take 2 solid months of 8 hour days to get through them.. even if they wanted to!
(I recently looked at a product that had 103 'bonus' items attached to it!)
Excuse me, but this is just nuts!
I mean, seriously, what does it tell your prospect about you and your product?
1. That book is not good enough to be sold as a stand alone product.
If it were, it would be. That simple.
Borders doesn't give you 10 books as bonuses for the simple reason that each book on its shelves MUST be good enough to be there under its own merits and, that being the case, you should pay a fair price for it.
No ifs, no buts.
2. That you're not as confident of your materials as you should be.
If you were then you wouldn't want to bribe me with other stuff that, in many cases, doesn't support the primary offering.
And hey, if you're not confident then why should I be?
3. That you don't care whether or not I read your book.
If you really wanted me to read YOUR book and take what you're saying seriously, why on Earth would you want to distract me with 10 or more works from other people
Seriously, in this day and age the thing that people are most short on is time.
They want to be told what to do, how to do it and why in the shortest, quickest most concise way possible.
They don't want to read through War and Peace 10 times over from different people to figure out what they should be doing to get better abs.
In fact, they already get THAT kind of confusion for free on Google, so why should they pay YOU for adding even more?
4. That you want their money... BADLY!
What other message do you think people are getting when you say 'you can have this, and this, and this, and... oh yes, and don't forget this!'?
They're getting the message that for you it's all about the sale, nothing more, nothing less and that you'll keep bribing until they say 'yes'.
Now, the thing is, this has worked on the internet up until now but will it last?
Can it last?
Will we all find ourselves playing the 'He with the biggest pile of bonuses wins' game ad infinitum?
Will we see 500 bonus gift bundles in the not too distant future?
Who knows, but I hope not!
"But Dax, a lot of the 'big boys' have made a huge fortune this way... I want some of that"
Too true, over the years there has been some great money made from this approach but I don't think it'll last. I sincerely hope it doesn't!
You see, every one of these 'super bundles' just reinforces to the world at large that we're not 'real' authors.
They believe that we're 'just' e-book authors and that we're deserving of lesser status.
And, to be honest, most of the time they'd be right!
Yes, I know that much of this is coming off as marketing blasphemy but it's what I believe.
You may even think it's a bit rich coming from someone who's got e-books of his own but if you take a look at my MAGIC Hundred ($150,000 this year) and my Scientific Advertising ($37,000) you'll see that I offer no bonuses, no bribes and no slick sales techniques.
I simply offer what I'm selling in a (hopefully) captivating way and trust that those who want my books will buy and those that don't won't.
Yes, there are those who make far , far larger sales than I and yes, they use the bonus method to do so but I'm certain as certain can be that those days are coming to a close.
Regardless, the question is not just 'How many sales can I make?' but, 'what difference am I making when someone reads my book?'
If you're stealing precious time from them by loading them down with 15 books instead of just 1 good one, then are you really doing them a service? Are you really making a difference?
I'd love you hear your thoughts.
Dax
http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/
Thursday, 6 December 2007
Wanted: Personal Trainer To Help Me Train... Top Dollar paid
...That's the email you'll never get, yet you still couldn't help but be attracted to the subject line right? : )
Neither will you ever meet someone who went to Google, and typed in 'Wanted: Personal trainer to stand by treadmill, have pleasant conversation with and count to 10 a lot'.
And you certainly won't meet the person who type in 'Workout Wanted'
I know, I know, this is obvious right?
So why am I bringing it up?
Well, over the last couple of weeks as I've been putting together the
12 days of fitness , I've had the opportunity to look at the websites of literally hundreds of personal trainers who have told me that they're having trouble filling their lists, getting new clients and charging what they're worth.
They tell me that they're great trainers, have a lot to offer and yet, well, they never get the breaks they're hoping for.
They tell me that it's harder in 'their town'.
That people think differently where they come from.
That people won't spend the same kind of money where they live.
Know what I think?
That's B.S!
I know it is because I work with people from all over the world who live in towns just like 'their town' and after next to no time they're charging more, working less and earning serious incomes.
I know because I sell my goal achievement books to literally every corner of the world to people who shouldn't even be able to afford them... but they do. (I've sold books in Nepal, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Timbuktu... seriously!).
I know because I'm currently the most expensive coach in the UK with my clients paying £130 an hour ($260) to work with me and my mentoring students paying as much as $10,000 a pop to join my mentoring program.
I'm not bragging, that's just the way it is.
I make A LOT of money and I help others make a lot too but not one of those people ever had a client Google them in the way I described at the start of this email... and they never will!
You see, as I looked over the many hundreds of websites I noticed a common 'fatal flaw' in all but a handful of sites I came across.
They were selling the workout. They were selling the process. They were selling the expertise and qualifications of the trainers themselves but rarely (and I'm taking about 12 sites out of over 400) did they say anything about the one thing that made the prospect go to the site in the first place.
NO ONE'S TALKING ABOUT RESULTS!!!
And trust me, that's all that the client is looking for.
It's a bonus that you're a 'nice' person, it's a bonus that you're experiencesd and qualified and it's a bonus that you do kettlebell conditioning, sandbag training or 'functional' training.
It's just a bonus.
They really don't care, you know it and I know it.
What they want to know, plain and simple, is 'what do I get in return for my time, money and effort?'
Tell 'em on your site and you get a hot prospect, tell 'em in person and they're scorching, SHOW them by actually focusing on delivering the result and not just the workout process and they'll be on fire with enthusiasm and won't be able to stop sending you referrals.
Harldy rocket science is it?
So stop waiting for the email that's never coming, instead focus your entire site, your advertising and your training around results and you'll soon see a major difference... even in your town! : )
Truth, joy and love
Dax
P.S - If you want to learn how write more 'results-oriented' marketing materials then take a look at http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/html/sciad.htm where you can find a step-by-step blueprint for writing winning marketing copy specifically for the PT and fitness market.
Just a suggestion... you could always just write it yourself : )
Neither will you ever meet someone who went to Google, and typed in 'Wanted: Personal trainer to stand by treadmill, have pleasant conversation with and count to 10 a lot'.
And you certainly won't meet the person who type in 'Workout Wanted'
I know, I know, this is obvious right?
So why am I bringing it up?
Well, over the last couple of weeks as I've been putting together the
12 days of fitness , I've had the opportunity to look at the websites of literally hundreds of personal trainers who have told me that they're having trouble filling their lists, getting new clients and charging what they're worth.
They tell me that they're great trainers, have a lot to offer and yet, well, they never get the breaks they're hoping for.
They tell me that it's harder in 'their town'.
That people think differently where they come from.
That people won't spend the same kind of money where they live.
Know what I think?
That's B.S!
I know it is because I work with people from all over the world who live in towns just like 'their town' and after next to no time they're charging more, working less and earning serious incomes.
I know because I sell my goal achievement books to literally every corner of the world to people who shouldn't even be able to afford them... but they do. (I've sold books in Nepal, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Timbuktu... seriously!).
I know because I'm currently the most expensive coach in the UK with my clients paying £130 an hour ($260) to work with me and my mentoring students paying as much as $10,000 a pop to join my mentoring program.
I'm not bragging, that's just the way it is.
I make A LOT of money and I help others make a lot too but not one of those people ever had a client Google them in the way I described at the start of this email... and they never will!
You see, as I looked over the many hundreds of websites I noticed a common 'fatal flaw' in all but a handful of sites I came across.
They were selling the workout. They were selling the process. They were selling the expertise and qualifications of the trainers themselves but rarely (and I'm taking about 12 sites out of over 400) did they say anything about the one thing that made the prospect go to the site in the first place.
NO ONE'S TALKING ABOUT RESULTS!!!
And trust me, that's all that the client is looking for.
It's a bonus that you're a 'nice' person, it's a bonus that you're experiencesd and qualified and it's a bonus that you do kettlebell conditioning, sandbag training or 'functional' training.
It's just a bonus.
They really don't care, you know it and I know it.
What they want to know, plain and simple, is 'what do I get in return for my time, money and effort?'
Tell 'em on your site and you get a hot prospect, tell 'em in person and they're scorching, SHOW them by actually focusing on delivering the result and not just the workout process and they'll be on fire with enthusiasm and won't be able to stop sending you referrals.
Harldy rocket science is it?
So stop waiting for the email that's never coming, instead focus your entire site, your advertising and your training around results and you'll soon see a major difference... even in your town! : )
Truth, joy and love
Dax
P.S - If you want to learn how write more 'results-oriented' marketing materials then take a look at http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/html/sciad.htm where you can find a step-by-step blueprint for writing winning marketing copy specifically for the PT and fitness market.
Just a suggestion... you could always just write it yourself : )
Thursday, 29 November 2007
How To Quadruple Your PT Income In 6 Months
I just got off of a coaching call with my current round of students who're going through the Financial Fitness Mentoring Program where today we were talking about how to incorporate many of the strategies we've been employing over the first month.
During that call it dawned on me just how much material we get through in so short a space of time as well as how much real-life action is taken.
Seriously, several of my students have confessed that in the four weeks that they've been involved in the program, they've taken more action and seen more results in their businesses than most of them had seen in the previous 2 YEARS prior to joining.
Better yet, one of my students who is taking the program for the second time confessed that he has more than QUADRUPLED his income, taken his business from 1 general website to 7 niched, targeted ones, grown a fairly respectable sized list AND written his first book.
Not only that, he actually complained this week that despite having a trainer working for him he's actually TOO BUSY and that he's had to start a waiting list because he's taken on 11 new clients this week alone!
I'm not making this stuff up, in fact, I'll more than happily send you his contact details of you want to verify this for yourself.
The thing is, though this is great in and of itself, Tim is not the only person experiencing this kind of success.
EVERYONE who's gone through the program (and those that are going through it now) have experienced or are starting to experience the exact same thing with exponential rises in income, generation of passive income streams and a 'slightly famous' reputation within their own geographical areas with each being considered THE expert to go to for their own niche markets.
I guess I kind of take this stuff for granted sometimes and often think that everyone has the same kind of successes going on in their own businesses but clearly, this is not the case.
I get stacks of emails from PT's who tell me they're struggling despite 'trying everything' and that they'd love to know just what it is that I teach my own students that makes them so successful.
It's no secret.
I'll tell you right now EXACTLY what we've been covering on the program up to this point.
Week One: Excellence Strategy
The concept of excellence along with how we define and police our own standards of excellence is rarely, if ever, taught on any traditional marketing and business strategy courses.
That's a real shame because it is the commitment to excellence and the ongoing measuring of our own journey toward it that defines at a very fundamental level how much success we'll achieve.
This course lasts a full 30 days supported by video, email, homework and action steps that bring excellence to life.
Week Two: The Gatekeeper Strategy
The gatekeeper strategy is about deciding IN ADVANCE who we let into our lives and how we want them to treat us. During this module we learn to define our ideal clients, the qualities that make them so and how to attract these people into our lives at will.
We also identify those clients and individuals who are 'energy vampires' and who are stealing our love and passion for what we do and create a 'red flag' system to either bring them into line or let them go altogether.
Most students actually fire between 3 and five clients during this phase (one fellow fired 9!). In every case, however, they replace them very quickly with better clients who they enjoy working with and who see it as an honour and a priviledge to be 'allowed' to work with their trainer.
If you're thinking 'Velvet Rope' then think again; this is velvet rope on steroids!
Week Three: Your UMI Strategy
Most trainers have been taught to think about developing their U.S.P or unique selling proposition as a means for attracting the best clients but during this module we discover the fatal flaw of the U.S.P theory and why even considering developing one may doom you to failure.
Instead we develop the concept of Unique Market Identity where we'll learn how to make YOU and not your products or services the main focus of public attention and in doing so, pluck you from the grey masses and make you a 'sparkly' client attraction machine.
Week Four: Your Target Client Strategy
Most personal trainers subscribe to the 'wallet and a pulse' philosophy of client attraction. If they're alive and can pay for it then they're a candidate for training.
Trouble is, when you adopt this approach you become a complete jack of all trades who is always seen in the eyes of your clients as a commodity to be bartered for.
Your target client strategy de-commoditises you by making you the undisputed expert in what you and puts YOU in the driving seat with regards to your working relationship.
By the end of this module you'll know who your target group are, what they're looking for, what their pain is, what brings them pleasure and the very language you must use when communicating with them.
Notice the theme?
Up to this point, there has been no marketing whatsoever.
None!
No web design, no copywriting, no Google adwords, in fact NOTHING that would traditionally be called 'marketing'.
Yet, with these four lessons alone, my students often change their entire business in that first month and start to attract better quality, higher paying clients as a result.
You could do exactly the same
You really could.
This isn't exactly rocket science after all.
In fact, it's nothing more than working from the principles that every single super-successful on the planet works from.
You could too.
Either by yourself starting today or by popping over to find out more about my Financial Fitness Mentoring Program at www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/mentor.pdf
Sure, it's not cheap but then again, when was the last time you quadrupled your income in 6 months?
Don't worry, I'm not 'selling' this program so you won't get a hard sell when you read about the program.
Entry is by application only and only to a select group of people who're ready to quantum leap their PT businesses next year.
Are you one of those people?
Who knows!
Go look www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/mentor.pdf
To your success
Dax
During that call it dawned on me just how much material we get through in so short a space of time as well as how much real-life action is taken.
Seriously, several of my students have confessed that in the four weeks that they've been involved in the program, they've taken more action and seen more results in their businesses than most of them had seen in the previous 2 YEARS prior to joining.
Better yet, one of my students who is taking the program for the second time confessed that he has more than QUADRUPLED his income, taken his business from 1 general website to 7 niched, targeted ones, grown a fairly respectable sized list AND written his first book.
Not only that, he actually complained this week that despite having a trainer working for him he's actually TOO BUSY and that he's had to start a waiting list because he's taken on 11 new clients this week alone!
I'm not making this stuff up, in fact, I'll more than happily send you his contact details of you want to verify this for yourself.
The thing is, though this is great in and of itself, Tim is not the only person experiencing this kind of success.
EVERYONE who's gone through the program (and those that are going through it now) have experienced or are starting to experience the exact same thing with exponential rises in income, generation of passive income streams and a 'slightly famous' reputation within their own geographical areas with each being considered THE expert to go to for their own niche markets.
I guess I kind of take this stuff for granted sometimes and often think that everyone has the same kind of successes going on in their own businesses but clearly, this is not the case.
I get stacks of emails from PT's who tell me they're struggling despite 'trying everything' and that they'd love to know just what it is that I teach my own students that makes them so successful.
It's no secret.
I'll tell you right now EXACTLY what we've been covering on the program up to this point.
Week One: Excellence Strategy
The concept of excellence along with how we define and police our own standards of excellence is rarely, if ever, taught on any traditional marketing and business strategy courses.
That's a real shame because it is the commitment to excellence and the ongoing measuring of our own journey toward it that defines at a very fundamental level how much success we'll achieve.
This course lasts a full 30 days supported by video, email, homework and action steps that bring excellence to life.
Week Two: The Gatekeeper Strategy
The gatekeeper strategy is about deciding IN ADVANCE who we let into our lives and how we want them to treat us. During this module we learn to define our ideal clients, the qualities that make them so and how to attract these people into our lives at will.
We also identify those clients and individuals who are 'energy vampires' and who are stealing our love and passion for what we do and create a 'red flag' system to either bring them into line or let them go altogether.
Most students actually fire between 3 and five clients during this phase (one fellow fired 9!). In every case, however, they replace them very quickly with better clients who they enjoy working with and who see it as an honour and a priviledge to be 'allowed' to work with their trainer.
If you're thinking 'Velvet Rope' then think again; this is velvet rope on steroids!
Week Three: Your UMI Strategy
Most trainers have been taught to think about developing their U.S.P or unique selling proposition as a means for attracting the best clients but during this module we discover the fatal flaw of the U.S.P theory and why even considering developing one may doom you to failure.
Instead we develop the concept of Unique Market Identity where we'll learn how to make YOU and not your products or services the main focus of public attention and in doing so, pluck you from the grey masses and make you a 'sparkly' client attraction machine.
Week Four: Your Target Client Strategy
Most personal trainers subscribe to the 'wallet and a pulse' philosophy of client attraction. If they're alive and can pay for it then they're a candidate for training.
Trouble is, when you adopt this approach you become a complete jack of all trades who is always seen in the eyes of your clients as a commodity to be bartered for.
Your target client strategy de-commoditises you by making you the undisputed expert in what you and puts YOU in the driving seat with regards to your working relationship.
By the end of this module you'll know who your target group are, what they're looking for, what their pain is, what brings them pleasure and the very language you must use when communicating with them.
Notice the theme?
Up to this point, there has been no marketing whatsoever.
None!
No web design, no copywriting, no Google adwords, in fact NOTHING that would traditionally be called 'marketing'.
Yet, with these four lessons alone, my students often change their entire business in that first month and start to attract better quality, higher paying clients as a result.
You could do exactly the same
You really could.
This isn't exactly rocket science after all.
In fact, it's nothing more than working from the principles that every single super-successful on the planet works from.
You could too.
Either by yourself starting today or by popping over to find out more about my Financial Fitness Mentoring Program at www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/mentor.pdf
Sure, it's not cheap but then again, when was the last time you quadrupled your income in 6 months?
Don't worry, I'm not 'selling' this program so you won't get a hard sell when you read about the program.
Entry is by application only and only to a select group of people who're ready to quantum leap their PT businesses next year.
Are you one of those people?
Who knows!
Go look www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/mentor.pdf
To your success
Dax
Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Sunday, 11 November 2007
The Truth About Passive Income...
It's been a rather unusual Sunday for me today.
Because I'm taking 5 days off next week to go to Craig Ballantyne's Online Super Profits seminar in Palm Beach, I'm 'catching up in advance' on a lot of things that'll need taking care of in my absence.
So far I've communicated with mentor students, written 5 different newsletters for various lists and even managed to talk with my good friend Pat Rigsby about various projects we're both working on.
Strangely enough, although I've actually done a lot of work, it's been a low-key, stress free day too.
I've really enjoyed it actually.
In fact, I've enjoyed it quite a bit more because whilst I've been sitting here today I've gotten to hear a regular 'click' in my inbox as various products have sold.
Today alone I've sold 7 copies of The MAGIC Hundred and 5 copies of the Scientific Advertising For The Fitness Professional and made 4 affiliate sales of Holly Rigsby's Fit Yummy Mummy. Not exactly the largest ever sales receipts but then, I've made over $800 today without doing ANYTHING to create these sales.
I've done nothing whatsoever.
In fact, the last MAGIC Hundred email I sent out was about 4 months ago and I think it's been about 10 months since I did any work on Scientific Advertising.
So I've earned $800 for work I did ages ago, not bad huh?
But the thing is, that's not unusual.
Granted, some weeks it'll be more like $300 and others it may go over $3000 but regardless of the amount, I'm earning money whilst I sleep, whilst I sit on the beach, whilst I'm in the bath.
I'm not bragging. I'm really not.
In fact, I wouldn't have believed anybody that told me this was possible 5 years ago and yet this year I've proven that semi-passive income is really possible again and again and again.
In February my wife Deana and I went to the Arctic circle for 4 days where we stayed at the Ice hotel and went on a ski-safari and saw the Northern lights. The trip was paid for from the amazing $100,000 plus sales of The MAGIC Hundred and, amazingly, was REPAID whilst I was in Norway with sales that were maid in my absence. In other words, it was free.
(Photograph to follow - it's on my studio computer)
In May I spent a week in Krabi Province, Thailand where I was writing my 90 day program for http://www.lookgreatnakedchallenge.com/ . I flew business class return on that trip and stayed at the amazing Rayavadee resort all paid for with the $33,000 I made in sales from the beta-test I made from the program (this is before I even launched the program to the internet for real) and again, whilst I was away, that same program sold several thousand more. Result? Free trip, and business class at that.
The beautiful Krabi region.
Not a bad year so far right?
But it doesn't stop there!
My summer vacation took me and my family to Australia where we toured the outback in a luxury camper van that we took to Kakadu, all throughout the Northern territories and down to Alice spring, Uluru and Kings canyon and even over to the tropical far North Queensland, the Jungles and the Great Barrier Reef.
Some of my 'tribe' (Reece, Sara and Connor) and me at Uluru.
It was on this trip that I fell and broke several ribs and was forced to extend my vacation to 8 weeks instead of four so that I could heal up. Those extra 4 weeks were spend in Thailand and, all the while, my e-products continued to sell. So much so that the extra 4 weeks (in the plushest resort in the area) were practically paid for whilst I, quite literally, sat by the pool drinking cocktails.
And the best thing is, my year's not even over.
I'm in Palm beach for 5 days next week and my family and I are already planning our winter hols.
Why Am I Telling You All This?
Believe me, it's not to blow my own trumpet, but simply because as I sat here this afternoon, I recieved email after email from FITPRO's who were asking about this 'passive income thing' and who were saying that most of what they were learning from the fitness industry 'guru's (and the finger was pointed at me too) was B.S and that success on the scale that's often promised is not possible.
So, I guess I wrote this today to prove that it is.
It really is!
6 years ago I had nothing and struggled to pay the bills and today I spend more on my travel and adventure every year than most personal trainers will even earn.
It IS possible.
But you've got to really want it. I mean REALLY want it.
The thing is, the whole 'passive income' thing is kind of a misnomer. It's not passive really. To create the products can be real hard work. Certainly nothing passive about the researching, writing and marketing of your product.
But...
Once you're done, you can create a RESIDUAL INCOME that pays out time and time and time again with very little work on your part.
Create 2 or 3 products and you can seriously impact on your income. Create 50-some like Ryan Lee and, hey presto, welcome to millionairesville!
So get crackin'
Don't sit around complaining about how you never get any good breaks. Go make 'em.
Create your products, create your books, your videos, your DVD's and make 'em bloody good. The best you're capable of. Put the highest level of excellence you can into everything you do and I guarantee, within 3-6 months you'll be hearing that little 'click' in your inbox that tells you you've just written YOUR next vacation (or swimming pool, or new car or....)
Truth, joy and love
Dax
P.S - Unabashed self-promotion time...
If you're struggling to get moving on your projects or just breaking free of the inertia that's holding you back then sign up for my excellence module over at http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/curriculum.htm
It's only $99 (£50) but is seriously priceless in terms of how much you'll achieve in 30 days. Failing that, spend $55 over at www.themagichundred.com and find out why Bob Proctor of 'The Secret' absolutely loves the program.
Because I'm taking 5 days off next week to go to Craig Ballantyne's Online Super Profits seminar in Palm Beach, I'm 'catching up in advance' on a lot of things that'll need taking care of in my absence.
So far I've communicated with mentor students, written 5 different newsletters for various lists and even managed to talk with my good friend Pat Rigsby about various projects we're both working on.
Strangely enough, although I've actually done a lot of work, it's been a low-key, stress free day too.
I've really enjoyed it actually.
In fact, I've enjoyed it quite a bit more because whilst I've been sitting here today I've gotten to hear a regular 'click' in my inbox as various products have sold.
Today alone I've sold 7 copies of The MAGIC Hundred and 5 copies of the Scientific Advertising For The Fitness Professional and made 4 affiliate sales of Holly Rigsby's Fit Yummy Mummy. Not exactly the largest ever sales receipts but then, I've made over $800 today without doing ANYTHING to create these sales.
I've done nothing whatsoever.
In fact, the last MAGIC Hundred email I sent out was about 4 months ago and I think it's been about 10 months since I did any work on Scientific Advertising.
So I've earned $800 for work I did ages ago, not bad huh?
But the thing is, that's not unusual.
Granted, some weeks it'll be more like $300 and others it may go over $3000 but regardless of the amount, I'm earning money whilst I sleep, whilst I sit on the beach, whilst I'm in the bath.
I'm not bragging. I'm really not.
In fact, I wouldn't have believed anybody that told me this was possible 5 years ago and yet this year I've proven that semi-passive income is really possible again and again and again.
In February my wife Deana and I went to the Arctic circle for 4 days where we stayed at the Ice hotel and went on a ski-safari and saw the Northern lights. The trip was paid for from the amazing $100,000 plus sales of The MAGIC Hundred and, amazingly, was REPAID whilst I was in Norway with sales that were maid in my absence. In other words, it was free.
(Photograph to follow - it's on my studio computer)
In May I spent a week in Krabi Province, Thailand where I was writing my 90 day program for http://www.lookgreatnakedchallenge.com/ . I flew business class return on that trip and stayed at the amazing Rayavadee resort all paid for with the $33,000 I made in sales from the beta-test I made from the program (this is before I even launched the program to the internet for real) and again, whilst I was away, that same program sold several thousand more. Result? Free trip, and business class at that.
The beautiful Krabi region.Not a bad year so far right?
But it doesn't stop there!
My summer vacation took me and my family to Australia where we toured the outback in a luxury camper van that we took to Kakadu, all throughout the Northern territories and down to Alice spring, Uluru and Kings canyon and even over to the tropical far North Queensland, the Jungles and the Great Barrier Reef.
Some of my 'tribe' (Reece, Sara and Connor) and me at Uluru.
It was on this trip that I fell and broke several ribs and was forced to extend my vacation to 8 weeks instead of four so that I could heal up. Those extra 4 weeks were spend in Thailand and, all the while, my e-products continued to sell. So much so that the extra 4 weeks (in the plushest resort in the area) were practically paid for whilst I, quite literally, sat by the pool drinking cocktails.
And the best thing is, my year's not even over.
I'm in Palm beach for 5 days next week and my family and I are already planning our winter hols.
Why Am I Telling You All This?
Believe me, it's not to blow my own trumpet, but simply because as I sat here this afternoon, I recieved email after email from FITPRO's who were asking about this 'passive income thing' and who were saying that most of what they were learning from the fitness industry 'guru's (and the finger was pointed at me too) was B.S and that success on the scale that's often promised is not possible.
So, I guess I wrote this today to prove that it is.
It really is!
6 years ago I had nothing and struggled to pay the bills and today I spend more on my travel and adventure every year than most personal trainers will even earn.
It IS possible.
But you've got to really want it. I mean REALLY want it.
The thing is, the whole 'passive income' thing is kind of a misnomer. It's not passive really. To create the products can be real hard work. Certainly nothing passive about the researching, writing and marketing of your product.
But...
Once you're done, you can create a RESIDUAL INCOME that pays out time and time and time again with very little work on your part.
Create 2 or 3 products and you can seriously impact on your income. Create 50-some like Ryan Lee and, hey presto, welcome to millionairesville!
So get crackin'
Don't sit around complaining about how you never get any good breaks. Go make 'em.
Create your products, create your books, your videos, your DVD's and make 'em bloody good. The best you're capable of. Put the highest level of excellence you can into everything you do and I guarantee, within 3-6 months you'll be hearing that little 'click' in your inbox that tells you you've just written YOUR next vacation (or swimming pool, or new car or....)
Truth, joy and love
Dax
P.S - Unabashed self-promotion time...
If you're struggling to get moving on your projects or just breaking free of the inertia that's holding you back then sign up for my excellence module over at http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/curriculum.htm
It's only $99 (£50) but is seriously priceless in terms of how much you'll achieve in 30 days. Failing that, spend $55 over at www.themagichundred.com and find out why Bob Proctor of 'The Secret' absolutely loves the program.
Forget SMART Goals… Send Your Clients On A QUEST If You Really Want Them To Succeed
If you’re anything like most personal trainers you probably tend to think of yourself as a high-level motivator with the ability to help your clients achieve their goals faster and more effectively than they could themselves.
As such, you probably have a full arsenal of skills available to you to help you motivate your clients into taking actions that are in line with their stated aims. For example, you may have trained in NLP, Life-coaching or Health Counselling and use these skills in order to better help your clients to be more successful in achieving their goals.
Regardless of which methods of motivation you’re trained in, I know that chief among all of the skills you’ve been taught will have been the art and science goal-setting.
I also know that, if you’re like 95% of all fitness professionals, you’ll have been trained in the SMART method of setting goals that has you creating goals that are
Specific – Measurable – Attainable – Realistic – Time framed
I know this because this is how I was trained and how thousands of trainers
that I have had the pleasure of teaching, assessing and mentoring have been trained too.
Everyone knows about SMART goals don't they?
In fact, some authors I’ve read go as far as saying that ‘if it isn’t SMART, it isn’t a goal’!
Now, 4 years ago I’d have had to agree with them but since then I’ve come to realise something that’s vitally important if you really want to motivate people.
Now, 4 years ago I’d have had to agree with them but since then I’ve come to realise something that’s vitally important if you really want to motivate people.
That something?
That SMART goals don't really work.
That SMART goals don't inspire or motivate.
That SMART goals aren't... well, they're not smart!
You see, the SMART method of goal setting has a fatal flaw.
It's all about the goal, it has nothing to do with the person at all!
What’s more, its insistence that a goal be ‘Realistic’ kills off nearly all the motivational power that the goal holds. After all, who wants to be realistic? Not me. I, like most people, am more inspired by the dream of what could be achieved than the reality of what others tell me is possible or not.
And that’s the major problem with the SMART system of setting goals. It puts the trainer in the position of determining whether or not the goal can be achieved rather than asking the client what they dream of achieving.
The difference is huge.
It’s the difference between success and failure.
Not sure if you agree with me yet?
Then think on this;
You know what you WANT, you know that it's really important to you and you know that if you could only achieve that you'd see certain aspects of your life improve beyond all recognition.
Then you sit down with your trainer and they say 'Let's be realistic here. There's no way we can do Y but I'm pretty sure we can do Z' and right there, in that very moment, you've STOLEN the most important success ingredient.
Passion.
Now they're not really going for what they want, they're settling and, as you're probably aware, whenever you settle, whenever you're tolerating something that's less than you really want, you lose your passion.
Think about it; based upon your current level of success, is it realistic to expect that you'll be a six-figure income earner in the next 3 months?
Is it realistic to say that in a year you could be a millionaire?
Unless you're already very close to either of these goals, most people would say that they're unrealistic. Yet, for many people these 'unrealistic' goals are the ones that excite them the most and fill their waking moments with the passion that's required to make their goals possible.
And the truth of the matter is that people can and do achieve these levels of financial success in these timescales. They do all the time. But, because it's never happened to YOU personally, you say it's unrealistic.
You do this with your client too. You know you do. We've all done this.
We steal our clients' passion and then wonder why they're not fully onboard with our programs.
Nope, SMART isn't smart at all!
But what is?
The answer lies in taking your clients (and yourself) on a QUEST!
The QUEST formula is both a description of and a prescription for maintaining high levels of motivation toward the attainment of any goal. It’s a description because, in its truest terms a quest is a search for an answer (a goal) and it’s a prescription because if you follow every stage laid out below, motivation will never be a problem again.
QUEST stands for:
Qualify –The client for the goal and vice versa
People set fitness goals all the time. They say ‘I’m going to run a marathon’ or ‘I’m going to get a six-pack’ or ’I’m going to [insert goal here]’ and yet never achieve any of them. Yet, often they never even take the first step toward achieving them.
Year after year these same goals seem to resurface and year after year they go no-where.
Why is that? Why are so many goals going either un-attempted or unachieved?
I believe it’s because most people fail to qualify both themselves and their goals for compatibility. They happily set their sights on something, often in the full knowledge that they don’t really want it (In a future article I’ll go into more depth about why this happens but for now just accept that this is so) or won’t do the work to get it.
I call this a problem with qualification.
In much the same way that an academic or vocational qualification is earned by gathering specific knowledge, skills and abilities in specific areas, so too do goals have their own qualities that make them more likely to be attained.
These are:
1. Need – There’s no getting around it, the truest motivation is caused by need NOT desire.
As much as we may desire to look a certain way or achieve certain physical goals, it’s unlikely that they’ll happen…unless we decide they need to happen.
Example; We’ve all heard the urban legends of grannies lifting cars off of loved ones or children carrying their unconscious parents out of house fires haven’t you? Sure, there was great desire for this to happen but it needed to happen too or these people would die.
Put these same people into a gym situation and ask them to lift similar weights and they simply couldn’t. Even if they had the desire to do so.
If there’s no real need in your clients’ goals then there’s less chance they’ll succeed. Full stop.
2. Desire – Although simply desiring something is not likely to make it a reality (Try desiring to win the lottery and see where it gets you) , still desire is necessary to the achievement of any goal. What’s more, if used correctly, desire can be transformed into need, making it doubly powerful as a result.
So, how do we turn a desire into a need?
We make it a passion, an all-consuming passion, an obsession that you simply have to, need to achieve or you’ll go mad.
Just look at anyone who’s achieving great things and you’ll see the truth of my words. They’re passionate, obsessed, in love with their goals and THEY NEED to have them achieved.
How do your clients’ goals match up to that? Does ‘get a six-pack’ arouse this level of passion? If it does then great, if not then find something else to focus on.
3. Opportunity – It’s all well and good setting a goal to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, desiring it, needing it even, but if you don’t have the opportunity to earn the money to make it happen or to get enough training in before the event then it ‘aint gonna happen.
Ask yourself, ‘does my client have the opportunity to create the desired outcome?’ If yes, then you’re onto a winner. If no, then simply ask ‘can these opportunities be created?’
If they can then how? If not then you don’t really have a goal, just a dream.
Understand – Your client by empathising with their unique circumstances and the desire to reach the goals they’re setting
There’s an old saying that ‘people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care’. Applied to personal training this is a powerful prescription for success that’s often overlooked by most trainers.
We listen to our clients as they set goals, we ‘uh-huh’ in all the right places and we jot the goals down in our notes but how often do you ask the important questions like:
1 Why is this important to you?
2 What are you willing to do to make this a reality for you?
3 What things are you NOT willing to do? (ALWAYS ask this!)
4 How will you feel when this is accomplished?
Of course, there are many more but the important thing is that you really understand why the goal is important.
If you get a sense of vagueness from the client then sometimes just explaining to them what you understand of the goal is enough to get either a better description or a change of tack altogether to a more appealing one. In other words, your clients will gain a better understanding too.
Educate – Them on what it’s going to take to accomplish it
In my honest opinion, one of the biggest reasons for clients failing to achieve their goals is education.
Now, I don’t mean their academic prowess, that’s irrelevant, but rather the education they receive from their trainers regarding what will be required to make the goal a reality.
Too often, trainers will simply say ‘yes, that goal is possible’ and take on the responsibility for providing all the ingredients for making it happen. This is a BIG mistake, yet one that most trainers are making.
When I say ‘educate’ I mean Educate with a capital E!
Tell your client EVERYTHING necessary to bring their goals to life.
1 Changes they’ll need to make to their diet, lifestyle and exercise
2 Types, frequencies and intensities of training
3 Things they may need to give up to get the result (smoking/drinking?)
4 Equipment they may need to buy
5 How much they may need to spend (joining a gym, hiring a trainer)
Quite literally educate them on every aspect of attaining their goals. Leave no stone unturned, that way there’ll be no nasty surprises later on that may cause them to drop their goal.
It may well be that once educated your client feels that the price of success in this endeavour is one that they’re not willing to pay. That’s fine. Remember, it’s their goal, not yours. You’ll have saved them months of time and effort and a massive dose failure if you make them aware of the cost of going for their goals.
Stimulate – Their Desire To Achieve Their Goals
If a client came to you telling you that they only visit the gym once a year and during that visit they spent 24 hours pounding themselves to pieces with every conceivable resistance exercise in the hope of getting into shape, what would you say?
If you have even quarter of one brain cell, I’m willing to bet you’d say that such an approach was ridiculous, poorly thought out and likely to lead to nothing but injury for anyone foolish enough to try it. It just won’t work!
So why do you do the same with motivating your clients?
You know what I mean. That huge hit of motivation you give new clients when they first start with you and then…nothing. Nothing of any real value anyway (Believe me ‘one more rep’ or ‘good set’ or the occasional ‘you’ve lost another inch’ are not motivation). You simply assume that your comforting presence and welcoming smile are enough maintain motivation.
C’mon people, you’re better than that!
If you really want to see a goal become a reality for your client then you need to stimulate their desire to achieve it. Not occasionally. Not once-in-a-while but EVERY DAY!
How do you do that?
1 Tell your clients to keep a postcard by the bed with the goals written on it clearly.That way the goal will be the first and last thing they see every day.
2 Find out as much as you can about the goal and make it a game with points for who knows most about it.
3 Send your client newspaper cuttings, site links, book titles or anything else that may be of assistance in making their goal happen.
4 Have your client experience the achievement of related sub-goals so that they get a feel for the main one. For example, if the goal is to climb Kilimanjaro then you may have them climb Snowdon and Ben Nevis in preparation. The buzz (and training) they’ll get from completing these will keep them focused on achieving the big goal.
5 Talk about the goal EVERY time you see your client.
As you can see, the aim of this is to stimulate the client into keeping their goal at the top-of-consciousness level of importance, creating what Anthony Robbins calls a ‘magnificent obsession’.
If you can help your client to do this then the challenge becomes fun and all of the work aspect of attaining the goal will seem to melt away.
Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself!
Test – Them against their goal on a regular basis
In my experience, failure to receive objective feedback about how well they’re progressing is one of the main reasons that a person will ditch their nutrition or exercise plans. After all, without feedback of some kind we have no way of knowing whether our efforts are leading to the success we desire or, conversely, whether we are investing time, money and effort into something that’s simply not working.
Without that knowledge we experience diminished desire because we have no idea how near or far the goal is and what is needed to achieve it. It’s like being lost in wild country with just a map showing only your destination and nothing else. Could you find your way home? Would you be feeling very motivated?
What if I put you in exactly the same spot with a detailed map, satellite photographs, compass and global positioning system? Would you feel more confident that you’d make it back ok? I bet you would!
Regardless of the distance involved you’d be far more motivated and confident because you’d know that every step you take is moving you toward your goal.
That’s what regular testing of your clients does!
It shows them exactly where they are on the map so that they never get lost. If they’re ahead of their targets they’ll be driven on by their success. If they’re behind, you can use that to motivate them to better efforts in the future but whatever the case YOU SIMPLY MUST TEST!
But what should you test?
Absolutely ANY and all variables that are relevant to the goal.
1 Strength
2 Endurance
3 Agility
4 Flexibility
5 Body Composition
6 Anthropometrics
And many, many more besides
The most important test? The goal itself!
Does it still motivate and inspire? Do they still feel the same passion about achieving it? If not change it so that it does.
In conclusion
There you have it, my QUEST formula for attaining any goal and motivating others to achieve theirs. As obvious as many of the stages may seem, it’s still the case that the majority of trainers either aren’t using them or using them with enough regularity to gain any of the powerful benefits they can provide.
I challenge you, and every personal trainer reading this to take your clients on a QUEST in your very next session and every session for a month. If you do, you’ll be astounded at the levels of newfound motivation in your clients and the stream of new referrals they send you.
So, will you give it a try? Or are you too SMART for that?
Dax
BTW - You signed up for this yet?
http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/html/ptsa.htm
Wednesday, 7 November 2007
Are You REALLY Motivated?
As health and fitness professionals we're often seen by our clients as an almost limitless source of motivation and inspiration that can be called upon to help them reach practically any of their health, fitness and lifestyle goals.
Whenever they're feeling stuck, unmotivativated or at a low-ebb they want, no, expect their instructors, trainers and coaches to say, do or be whatever is necessary to get them back on track and feeling great about themselves and their goals again.
And generally, we accomplish exactly that.
We say the things that need to be said, we do the things that need to be done and, with a cheery smile and an 'I know you can do this', we help lift our clients out of the dip they're in so that they can move onto bigger and better things.
So far, so good right?
After all, a happy, smiling client is what being in a service profession is all about... isn't it?
Well, not exactly.
I mean, yes, we want happy clients and we want definitely them to feel that the time, money and effort that they're investing in us is being well spent, but measuring our success solely by the happiness and results of our clients is the quickest way to ensure that we'll lose heart, burn out and, in all likelihood, end up quitting the profession altogether.
Just like the thousands upon thousands who do exactly that every year.
And surprisingly, it’s not the poor quality trainers and instructors who decide that it’s time to call it a day and quit. No, it’s the most motivated, most passionate and most dedicated of the profession who, after doing exactly as they were trained to do and helping others to achieve their goals, decide that they’ve got nothing left to give. So they quit, and the reasons they give for doing so are many, yet surprisingly similar.
“I’m just too tired”
“I’ve lost my passion”
“I’m not enjoying it any more”
“I’m struggling to pay my bills”
And, the most common reason to quit of them all “I don’t have any life outside of work!”
Make no mistake about it, quitting or even thinking of quitting comes from not taking care of the one thing that matters most in the trainer/client relationship.
Ourselves.
You see, it’s all fine and dandy saying that we’re super motivators and that we really add to the lives of our clients, but that’s only a good thing if we can do that without taking away from our lives.
Abraham Lincoln once said “You cannot help the poor by become one yourself” and this holds true in more than just the monetary sense.
If you have no passion, you can’t help people find theirs.
Ditto for motivation, energy or, indeed, any quality you can name. If you don’t have an abundant store of it yourself, then your ability to help others is greatly reduced until one day, just like an overdrawn bank account, you find that when you most need it, there’s none left. Your credit is all dried up.
At that point we’re of no use to anyone. Not the client and certainly not ourselves.
That’s the point that we take our most cherished dreams of making a difference, put them all in a box and move on to pastures new, convinced that this personal training ‘thing’ just wasn’t right for us.
That’s the bad news.
Yet, that’s not the way is has to be. In fact, if you take Lincoln’s quote and reverse it you’ll find that the answer to this problem is very simple.
Very simple indeed.
You help others by becoming rich. Not just in money (though that’ll be a likely result of doing what I’m about to explain) but in time, in passion, in energy and in motivation.
In fact, the more of these things you have, the more you’ll be able to give away without weakening yourself.
But how do you get them?
Easy!
There are five steps to follow that, if you follow them all, will make you the most passionate, motivated and successful trainer around and, if others results are anything to go by, the wealthiest too.
Step One: Create an excellence strategy that allows you to continually improve yourself, your work and your life on a day to day basis. The Japanese call this ‘Kaizen’ meaning constant and never-ending improvement, and it features highly in the lives of practically every successful person you’ll ever meet or hear of.
And it’s not just about how well you do your work.
How do you dress? How do you talk? How do you communicate? Who do you associate with?
When you’re on a path to excellence, you begin to create a life that is beyond the grey ordinariness that most people tolerate and make the conscious decision to settle only for the ‘extra’ ordinary.
Step Two: Develop and maintain a gatekeeper strategy to keep energy leeches and undesirables out of your work and out of your life. I know it sounds horrible when put that way but nevertheless it’s true; some people are simply so toxic that they contaminate us with their negativity or stinkin’ thinkin’.
Create an ideal client ‘recipe’ so that you can identify those who bring out the best in you and make it your business to ONLY work with those who fit it. This means, of course, that if you already have toxic clients in your life then you’ll need to let them go too.
Sounds like a tough call, but the truth is that as soon as they’re gone you’ll get your passion back and start to attract the very people you want more of.
Step Three: Develop a fashion for passion by only working at the times, places and with the people you most want to work with and who fit your Unique Market Identity (UMI).
This means that if your passion is kids fitness then don’t take on adults, if your passion is outdoor training then don’t confine yourself to a gym and if your passion is to go out in the evenings to the theatre or to play or watch sport, then don’t take on evening clients.
Sounds obvious, but we never really think of this and instead resort to what I call WAP marketing where we will literally take on anyone with a Wallet And a Pulse, even though this ends up costing us our free time, our relationships, our hobbies, our passions and eventually, our careers.
By maintaining your fashion for passion, you’ll always be playing at the top of your game and the results (and income) you’ll gain will be far greater than you’ll ever get by going through the motions.
Step Four: Know where the finish line is and what it looks like. Imagine running in a race where you were simply told to run and keep running until you were told to stop.
Wouldn’t be that much fun would it?
In fact, it’d seem rather pointless to most people.
Yet that is the situation that most fitness professionals find themselves in. Working harder and harder for longer and longer hours without ever knowing for sure when ‘the race’ will be over. It’s no wonder they lose heart!
Yet, the simple action of defining the finish line either by saying “I’ll take a vacation every 12-16 weeks” or “Once I’ve earned £10,000 I’ll go lie on a beach somewhere” gives us a very definite finish line and can serve as the motivation and inspiration required to keep us going during the tougher times that we’ll all surely face on occasion.
Step Five: Know what winning looks like. It’s shocking to think that although most fitness professionals complain about their lack of success in either the profession or life in general, that it is only the rare few that have any idea of what their definition of success looks like anyway.
This means, of course, that even if success walked up and bit them on the backside, they’d hardly notice and, instead, complain that they never seem to get what they want.
Yet, it’s the very act of defining success that will, ultimately, make that success a reality as you’ll then be able to plot your course more accurately and measure the effectiveness of the various strategies you employ over time. Are they bringing you closer? Further away?
In his book The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, Dr Stephen Covey calls this ‘beginning with the end in mind’ and reminds us that as long as we know what the end is supposed to look like, we will, assuming we continue to take steps, eventually get there, and knowing that we will we remain happy and motivated along journey.
In Conclusion
People often talk about motivation or ‘being motivated’ without really stopping to think about what the word actually means. In fact, I often ask the fitness professionals that I present to around the world to describe or define motivation and rarely, if ever, is the correct answer given.
Motivation is simply the factors which cause an organism to behave or act in either a goal-seeking or satisfying manner.
Goal-seeking.
Satisfying.
If you’re not working toward a goal that satisfies or will ultimately satisfy you, then you lack motivation. No if’s, no but’s. And if you lack motivation, then just what is it that you think you’re giving to your clients when you work with them? It’s worth thinking about!
I challenge you then, to put the five steps of motivation into practice with immediate effect and use them consistently for just thirty days then send me an email to tell me how you got on. If you’re like all the other fitness professionals I’ve taught this to, you’ll be stunned by the change in your life in such a short space of time.
Dax
P.S - You can learn more about adding excellence to YOUR life by visiting http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/curriculum.htm
Whenever they're feeling stuck, unmotivativated or at a low-ebb they want, no, expect their instructors, trainers and coaches to say, do or be whatever is necessary to get them back on track and feeling great about themselves and their goals again.
And generally, we accomplish exactly that.
We say the things that need to be said, we do the things that need to be done and, with a cheery smile and an 'I know you can do this', we help lift our clients out of the dip they're in so that they can move onto bigger and better things.
So far, so good right?
After all, a happy, smiling client is what being in a service profession is all about... isn't it?
Well, not exactly.
I mean, yes, we want happy clients and we want definitely them to feel that the time, money and effort that they're investing in us is being well spent, but measuring our success solely by the happiness and results of our clients is the quickest way to ensure that we'll lose heart, burn out and, in all likelihood, end up quitting the profession altogether.
Just like the thousands upon thousands who do exactly that every year.
And surprisingly, it’s not the poor quality trainers and instructors who decide that it’s time to call it a day and quit. No, it’s the most motivated, most passionate and most dedicated of the profession who, after doing exactly as they were trained to do and helping others to achieve their goals, decide that they’ve got nothing left to give. So they quit, and the reasons they give for doing so are many, yet surprisingly similar.
“I’m just too tired”
“I’ve lost my passion”
“I’m not enjoying it any more”
“I’m struggling to pay my bills”
And, the most common reason to quit of them all “I don’t have any life outside of work!”
Make no mistake about it, quitting or even thinking of quitting comes from not taking care of the one thing that matters most in the trainer/client relationship.
Ourselves.
You see, it’s all fine and dandy saying that we’re super motivators and that we really add to the lives of our clients, but that’s only a good thing if we can do that without taking away from our lives.
Abraham Lincoln once said “You cannot help the poor by become one yourself” and this holds true in more than just the monetary sense.
If you have no passion, you can’t help people find theirs.
Ditto for motivation, energy or, indeed, any quality you can name. If you don’t have an abundant store of it yourself, then your ability to help others is greatly reduced until one day, just like an overdrawn bank account, you find that when you most need it, there’s none left. Your credit is all dried up.
At that point we’re of no use to anyone. Not the client and certainly not ourselves.
That’s the point that we take our most cherished dreams of making a difference, put them all in a box and move on to pastures new, convinced that this personal training ‘thing’ just wasn’t right for us.
That’s the bad news.
Yet, that’s not the way is has to be. In fact, if you take Lincoln’s quote and reverse it you’ll find that the answer to this problem is very simple.
Very simple indeed.
You help others by becoming rich. Not just in money (though that’ll be a likely result of doing what I’m about to explain) but in time, in passion, in energy and in motivation.
In fact, the more of these things you have, the more you’ll be able to give away without weakening yourself.
But how do you get them?
Easy!
There are five steps to follow that, if you follow them all, will make you the most passionate, motivated and successful trainer around and, if others results are anything to go by, the wealthiest too.
Step One: Create an excellence strategy that allows you to continually improve yourself, your work and your life on a day to day basis. The Japanese call this ‘Kaizen’ meaning constant and never-ending improvement, and it features highly in the lives of practically every successful person you’ll ever meet or hear of.
And it’s not just about how well you do your work.
How do you dress? How do you talk? How do you communicate? Who do you associate with?
When you’re on a path to excellence, you begin to create a life that is beyond the grey ordinariness that most people tolerate and make the conscious decision to settle only for the ‘extra’ ordinary.
Step Two: Develop and maintain a gatekeeper strategy to keep energy leeches and undesirables out of your work and out of your life. I know it sounds horrible when put that way but nevertheless it’s true; some people are simply so toxic that they contaminate us with their negativity or stinkin’ thinkin’.
Create an ideal client ‘recipe’ so that you can identify those who bring out the best in you and make it your business to ONLY work with those who fit it. This means, of course, that if you already have toxic clients in your life then you’ll need to let them go too.
Sounds like a tough call, but the truth is that as soon as they’re gone you’ll get your passion back and start to attract the very people you want more of.
Step Three: Develop a fashion for passion by only working at the times, places and with the people you most want to work with and who fit your Unique Market Identity (UMI).
This means that if your passion is kids fitness then don’t take on adults, if your passion is outdoor training then don’t confine yourself to a gym and if your passion is to go out in the evenings to the theatre or to play or watch sport, then don’t take on evening clients.
Sounds obvious, but we never really think of this and instead resort to what I call WAP marketing where we will literally take on anyone with a Wallet And a Pulse, even though this ends up costing us our free time, our relationships, our hobbies, our passions and eventually, our careers.
By maintaining your fashion for passion, you’ll always be playing at the top of your game and the results (and income) you’ll gain will be far greater than you’ll ever get by going through the motions.
Step Four: Know where the finish line is and what it looks like. Imagine running in a race where you were simply told to run and keep running until you were told to stop.
Wouldn’t be that much fun would it?
In fact, it’d seem rather pointless to most people.
Yet that is the situation that most fitness professionals find themselves in. Working harder and harder for longer and longer hours without ever knowing for sure when ‘the race’ will be over. It’s no wonder they lose heart!
Yet, the simple action of defining the finish line either by saying “I’ll take a vacation every 12-16 weeks” or “Once I’ve earned £10,000 I’ll go lie on a beach somewhere” gives us a very definite finish line and can serve as the motivation and inspiration required to keep us going during the tougher times that we’ll all surely face on occasion.
Step Five: Know what winning looks like. It’s shocking to think that although most fitness professionals complain about their lack of success in either the profession or life in general, that it is only the rare few that have any idea of what their definition of success looks like anyway.
This means, of course, that even if success walked up and bit them on the backside, they’d hardly notice and, instead, complain that they never seem to get what they want.
Yet, it’s the very act of defining success that will, ultimately, make that success a reality as you’ll then be able to plot your course more accurately and measure the effectiveness of the various strategies you employ over time. Are they bringing you closer? Further away?
In his book The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, Dr Stephen Covey calls this ‘beginning with the end in mind’ and reminds us that as long as we know what the end is supposed to look like, we will, assuming we continue to take steps, eventually get there, and knowing that we will we remain happy and motivated along journey.
In Conclusion
People often talk about motivation or ‘being motivated’ without really stopping to think about what the word actually means. In fact, I often ask the fitness professionals that I present to around the world to describe or define motivation and rarely, if ever, is the correct answer given.
Motivation is simply the factors which cause an organism to behave or act in either a goal-seeking or satisfying manner.
Goal-seeking.
Satisfying.
If you’re not working toward a goal that satisfies or will ultimately satisfy you, then you lack motivation. No if’s, no but’s. And if you lack motivation, then just what is it that you think you’re giving to your clients when you work with them? It’s worth thinking about!
I challenge you then, to put the five steps of motivation into practice with immediate effect and use them consistently for just thirty days then send me an email to tell me how you got on. If you’re like all the other fitness professionals I’ve taught this to, you’ll be stunned by the change in your life in such a short space of time.
Dax
P.S - You can learn more about adding excellence to YOUR life by visiting http://www.personaltrainersuccessacademy.com/curriculum.htm
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