I started my personal training business oh, about seven years ago ( give or take)
Very few people thought I would make it
At the time… I looked more like a skinhead than a trainer ( I’m not a skinhead by any means) … I just kinda looked like one ( shaved head, goatee)
I had VERY little “people skills” ( thank God for Dale Carnegie)
Did horrible in school and pretty much stopped going in the eleventh grade
I lived with my mom ( 32 years old living with Mom… good times… I am eternally grateful though… thanks Mom! … btw, my Mom reads every last one of my posts and is KickBackLife.com’s biggest fan)
I had NO idea how to get clients
I had two, and they’d paid cash by the week
I refused to dress in “workout clothes” ( they look good on some people, I just don’t like em’ on me… even when I’m ripped)
I was pretty obnoxious ( I’m a line crosser and have a habit of offending)
I didn’t like all the “standing-on-a-swiss-ball-with-one-foot-trying-to-touch-your-nose-with-your-finger-while_activating-your-core-functional-type-training” that was SUPER popular among trainers in many of the big gyms at the time ( I liked Dead, Squat, Push, Pull… still do)
I could have cared less about certifications… I did read a helluva lot of books and other stuff on training though (Zatsiorsky, Siff, Poliquin, Thibaudeau… to name a few)
If you lined-up twenty trainers I looked the last one who would be a trainer ( even though I was in decent shape when I started my biz) – I just didn’t look the part
On the surface it looked like the odds were against me
HOWEVER, I did one thing that made all the difference in the world… ( Well, I did become friends with Steve Hochman which was HUGE, but that wouldn’t have mattered without this second ingredient)
I took MASSIVE action
I mean MASSIVE F*CKIN’ action ( sorry mom)
I was willing to do whatever I had to do to build my business, and I friggin’ did it
I tried a lot of things that didn’t work, I made enemies, broke things and even got some blood on the floor a few times… but I did enough of the right things to launch my business to the six-figure level literally overnight
I did what just about every successful ‘self-made’ entrepreneur does… I put one foot in front of the other and just friggin did it
I didn’t just think about doing it, I didn’t sit around talking about doing it ( in fact, ask Steve, it was joke at Next Level Fitness, in all the years I ran my business out of his gym I never sat down once… I did actually sit down once or twice, but it was so rarely that the legend among all the trainers there was that I had never sat down even once)
It ALL came down to action
How cool is that it’s really as simple as taking action?
I mean you gotta know what to do, but if you’re reading that blog and you’re a customer of mine you’ve got that part nailed… I’ve laid all that out for you… now as long as you’re taking massive action and not letting anything get into your way you’re success is far beyond just inevitable… if you’re not taking action.. well then… (you know what I’m getting at)
As long as you aint’ letting the economy, your clients, the owner of the gym where you train, your boyfriend/girlfriend, WHATEVER get in your way, you got it friggin made
It makes me a little freaked how when I hear trainers make excuses as to why they can’t succeed or why they need to WAIT to take action and WAIT to become successful ( typically there just not taking action cuz they’re scared to get out of their comfort zone, it’s crazy but they only way to get through that fear is to go THROUGH it… head first)
We ALL have hurdles and problems… all of us
But the ones who succeed friggin act anyway… success happens in massive amounts of chaos… it’s doesn’t happen in peace and quiet, that’s death, success is noisy and like an old Metallica album… it’s a friggin wild and sometimes stressful ride, but all in all it’s friggin bad ass and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
Life comes down to 80/15/5
80% will fail and be miserable employees or broke ass business owners… cuz they don’t act, they just talk and complain
15% will do ok .. because they take “some” actions
and 5% will kick ass….
… and the big difference here is that those 5% take MASSIVE action ( even if they don’t know what actions to take at first… they just start moving, the actions create the path)
It’s really as simple as that
BTW, I just released a brand new program detailing how to build SIX-FIGURE FITNESS TRAINING BUSINESS
No fluff, just what works… me, Zach Hunt, Bedros Keuilian, Steve Hochman, Mitchell Lee and Kaiser Serajuddin lay it all out
If you take action and do the simple things the program lays you, you can have a six-figure training business as well in hardly no-time
It’s called the ‘Fitness Profits Blueprint‘ ….
That's great motivation Chris!
Action really is the biggest key as you say…The more you to action the higher your odds are to succed (and make more $$$$$$$$$).
Totally agree Chris…
Here in Australia I see too many trainers sitting on there backsides in the gyms waiting for it to happen for them. These some of them expect it to be handed to them on a plate, hard truth for them it ain't gunna happen. I just layed a trainer off for that very reason.
The ones who ALWAYS take action, are the ones who Succeed….
I agree Chris, it is all about action! Great post and I think the question is what will each and everyone of us do to take action TODAY. Here is what I am doing:
-working on my affiliate program
-working on my presentations for 2 upcoming fitness professional conferences I am involved in
-Donating Blood
-Celebrating with my friends the sale of their house
Get it DONE! that is Key
Nice to read that there are other trainers out there who started out like myself. Keep up the great work Chris.
Chris
Chris-You are a master-you know how to say things so that people will take massive action. Your personal training business will not go anywhere without you doing SOMETHING-ANYTHING-JUST DO IT!!!
Ready-Fire-Aim!!!
Nice motivational post Chris! Only those who are willing to work will succeed!
Chris,
You just made me feel like super man. Thank you brother for all the inspirational stuff.
Great post Chris. I looked at an opportunity in a neighborhhod here in NYC that everyone would sneer at, but when I got there, I saw no evidence of recession. No empty storefronts, no homeless people, no panhandling etc…I saw clean streets, a bustling neighborhood, and a VASTLY underserved market.
The opportunities right now are in niche specializations in and around your own neighborhood, OR a neighborhood near you, you'd never thought to bother with.
I highly suggest that every trainer take a look in underserved pockets of neighborhoods outside their current circles. If you're smart you'll be surprised at what you find
Love this post, I agree bruddah, You need 2 be doing insane action, I look back at some of the stuff I did to get clients.
I remember my
woooops, cont'd
I remember the 2nd seminar I did at a HUGE private school for their wrestling club
The night before I was at Kinko's at 3 AM running copies of some little wrestling manual I made, putting them in 3 ring binders, stuffing them into my trusty ol' red adidas bag!!
It was pouring out the day of the seminar, I got lost in Newark, NJ (NOT FUN!!!)
The private school was so huge I got lost INSIDE of it, and showed up last second to present!
I was lost in a hallway and one of the Priests found me roaming the hallway – thank God, literally – I never woulda made it to the wrestling room or out of that school!!!
those hallways spooked me man!
i got there last second, killed the seminar, and sold those 3 ring binders out of my adidas bag to the parents for $15 a pop!!
I was rich!!! driving home with $75!!
life was great and I picked up 1 client from the seminar!
you do 100 things and only 1 works!
most people quit at # 99..
you gotta do 100 things!
no quitting
kick ass and take names bruddahs!
thank U chris!
peace!
–z–
Although I'm not a trainer, what you say applies to nearly everyone who wants to succeed in their field. Action, big action that is, is the key. Thank you for writing such a great post, Chris!
Another AWESOME post Chris! Thanks man!
I couldn't agree more…if we stick to our guns and keep pushing forward it doesn't matter what's going on around us…The action we take ultimately decides the results we get!
This is one of my favorite quotes by John Wooden "Nothing will work unless YOU do!"
Sweet!!!
Your post are like crack…. never taken crack before….. just seen how people act when they are trying to get some….. I'm always looking forward to your post.
Hey Chris
Thanks for your awesome post and totally agreed with you about taking massive actions. Some actions may seem trivial but it's the build-up effect of all the actions you take. To be honest with you, your Kickback blog had kept me motivated, removed my fear and get me going for some months when the things were tough and now I am pretty much kicking back because I know where my clients will be coming from all thanks to your Market Annihilator program. Seriously, no program in the world can work if you don't take actions. And I am sometimes guilty of not taking enough actions. Will work on that and I know your blog will keep me going. Thanks again Chris!
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