Posts Tagged ‘personal development’

This commercial gave me chills when it first came out. I now have a framed picture with this quote on it in my office…

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AC

PS – make sure you are keeping up with me on Facebook — > Alwyn Cosgrove Facebook Page

Today we enter what retailers and businesses call Q4. The fourth quarter of the year.

2011 has flown by – for me at least.

But here we are – October 1st. Only 3 months until 2012 and you’re setting the same old New Year’s Resolutions…again.

But before you get too depressed and think that thee year is over – let me point out that 3 months is a long time – you can get a lot done in 3 months. And there’s no rule that states you can only set goals Dec 31st. You can start progress towards a goal anytime….

Is your goal to lose fat? You could EASILY lose 2 or 3lbs per week by starting now, tightening up your training and diet and focusing your efforts. You’ve got 13 weeks until New Years Eve. That would mean somewhere between 25-40lbs gone.

There’s 13 weeks left in the year. Imagine starting 2010 having lost 20-40lbs more fat. Get started on a solid, effective, fast-acting fat loss program today.

Muscle gain? Check out Muscle Gaining Secrets and start growing today. By Jan 1 you’ll have quite possibly made 8-10lbs of solid gains in muscle.

You’re a trainer who needs more income? Picking up just one more client, could increase your income dramatically. Pick up 55 fitness business tips or The Evolution of Personal Training DVD and start doing something dramatic.

No idea where to begin with goal setting? Pick up Dax Moy’s product and start checking off items on your dream “to-do” list.

If you’re on track with your 2011 goals- don’t lose momentum.
If you’re behind schedule – step it up.

And if you haven’t even started – it’s NOT too late. Make your 2011 Quarter Four Resolutions now and get a jump start on 2012.

Don’t let the next three months slide by without doing something!

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AC

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AC
Ps – for another great motivational video click here

I co-wrote the following top ten list with Jason Ferruggia in mid 2006 for EliteFTS.com. Five years later and it’s still pretty good career development advice – check it out:

 

1) Set benchmarks of success that you want to hit. If you work in a club, maybe you want to become the head trainer or the busiest trainer? Perhaps you just want to have a full client load or charge more money?  Maybe you want to go out on your own or open your own place? (Keep in mind that although it seems like a goal, opening your own place or even working for yourself is maybe not the way you want to go. There are some GREAT trainers who have made a name for themselves working for someone else)If you’re just starting out, seek out a mentor to help you. Offer to assist them for free or even pay them for their time. It will put your experience and education on the fast track to a level far beyond any financial investment you may make.

 

2) Establish a level of excellence in everything that you do. For example – How’s your exercise technique? How’s your client’s exercise technique? What if you’re not there? Your client’s exercise form, without your supervision, is a window into your abilities. If you took a vacation and Dave Tate was supervising your AVERAGE clients’ squat workout (not your star client!), would you be proud of their form, or would you have the excuses lined up? Think through your communication skills too, your customer service skills, phone scripts etc. Revisit EVERYTHING.

 

3) Create a replicable system of program design. There has been a backlash against formal program design recently. The attitude has been “I don’t know what I’m doing exactly until I get to the gym.” This is acceptable when it comes from an experienced trainee, but in business, systems are everything. We should be able to write a program exactly as you do, without your input, by merely following your directions. This is the first step into hiring staff or increasing your business.

 

4) What are the results of your TYPICAL client? We all have the superstars that we can hold up and say “this is our work!” Well, guess what. ALL your clients are your work, even the “athletically challenged.” It’s easy to show us a picture of a pro athlete who you work with or  a Men’s Health cover model and take all the credit (even though these guys were pro athletes or models before they even met you). Your reputation is built on improving the average client, getting Johnny off the bench and into the game, getting 30 lbs of fat off of Suzy. Raise the standards of your results across the board. We have a basic rule that if you’re not getting 10-12 inquiries or referrals per month – go back and work on your skills because you’re not good enough yet.

“People who are cocky and arrogant say, “I know that” and move along.People who are confident and positive ask themselves, “How good am I at that?” and seek to improve”-Jeffrey Gitomer

 

5) Think about the type of clients you want. You may want to train baseball players exclusively but right now only 10 percent of your clients come from that niche. How can you target more in that market? Maybe it means offering your services to some local kids for free to build your reputation?

 

6) And what kind of clients do you have? If you were to classify them as A, B, C, or D, with A being a highly motivated client in your target market, who trains hard, never cancels, is a great ad for your business, and refers other clients, and D being “you need the work to pay your bills,” how would you classify them? (You can use any system of classification that you want but hopefully you get the picture.) Every three months, you should be able to “trim the fat” and get rid of the bottom tier of clients. If this isn’t the case, then it’s doubtful that your skills are where they need to be.

 

7) Start studying the ancillaries of your profession. For example, if strength is your forte, then make sure you have a basic understanding of nutrition, mobility, energy system work, flexibility, and injury prevention/rehabilitation. The goal is NOT to become an expert in all of these areas, but to build a basic level of competence so that you can communicate on the   topic and establish who the experts are in these areas. You want to look for THE expert and also the LOCAL expert. This helps build a network for you to consult. (It has basically been the impetus behind the EliteFTS advisory team). To be quite honest, until you are good at what you do, no one cares about your ability to write about it or wants to view your new DVD on it!

 

8)  Magazine writing and product development all hinge on your abilities as a trainer. Getting good is not a step you should want to skip. If you want to get away from training and coaching, then maybe this field is not for you. Coaching is why we all do this. Don’t be in a hurry to get past that stage.

 

9) Similarly, if you want to write, STUDY writing. Some of the top journalists in this field, such as Sean Hyson, Adam Campbell, and Lou Schuler, have spoken to more top trainers than anyone else. These guys know a great deal but NEVER pass themselves off as trainers – they never disrespect our field so don’t be disrespectful to these guys and think you know how to write. Learn your craft.

 

10) Business book number one has to be The E Myth by Michael Gerber. Your goal should be to read this book ASAP. A good goal is to read a business book a week, alongside studying training. The second book to read is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. It has about 15 chapters. Keep reading this book. Read a chapter a day every day so that you basically read it twice a month. While we’re on the subject of reading, a competent trainer should be reading Entrepreneur magazine, Fortune Small Business, Inc, Fast Company, etc. You should also be reading all the fitness magazines and websites. You can make fun of the fitness magazines all you want, but it’s what your clients are reading and you should know what’s out there. And face it, there’s not a single trainer out there who wouldn’t love to have a column or article in a national magazine. Read the magazines.

 

11) Attend any and all seminars in your area. You’re not that good that you can afford not to attend. We’ve never got dumber from attending any educational event. In fact, the networking alone is worth more than the seminar fee. And don’t limit yourself to only training events. You want your butt in all the business seminars in your area also.

 

The fastest shortcut to career success? You just need to have a methodical plan to improve your skills and therefore your business, and do everything in your power to execute that plan.

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AC

What is it that separates you from your goals? Or from being at the very top?

If you want to be a World Class personal trainer – what is it that is keeping you from accomplishing that?

Is it education?
If so – what books do you need to read?
What DVD’s do you need to watch?
Who do you need to meet or consult with ?
What audio CD’s do you need to listen to?
What seminars do you need to attend?
Is it experience? If so – who can you study under to fast track that experience?
How many clients would you need to train to get more experience? If you currently train 20 sessions per week, if you got up to 25, that would be an extra 250 sessions per year (or over twelve extra weeks of experience each year compared to now).

What about a personal goal of fat loss or muscle gain? What if you want to lose 20lbs?

What foods would you have to eat on a daily basis? What training would you have to do? How much cardiovascular work? How many sets, reps, exercises in your weight training program? Should you even have a weight training program?

Who is the best trainer in your area that you can hire? What time commitment realistic for you?

Are you just lacking the information? Are you lacking a plan? Do you know what to do and just aren’t doing it? Are you supposed to take a 6am spinning class and sleep in instead? Are you just not taking action?

I bet most of you have never even figured out these factors. Most people prefer to stay the same, yet complain about where they are, and how hard it is, and how it’s “different” for them or in their gym/town/city/state/country…

As we enter the second half of 2011 are you where you wanted to be 6 months ago? What about 6 months from now? What steps do you need to take?

If it’s a lack of information – then get that information and then take action.
If it’s a lack of action – then get off your butt and DO something.

If you can answer these questions make a list and start moving towards your goals.

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AC

Here’s a question I was asked at a seminar a couple of years ago that I really couldn’t answer:

“What do you do when a client just doesn’t follow your coaching advice? in other words, they are cheating on their diet, and aren’t doing their additional cardio work?”

I had a hard time answering this one as quite honestly I’ve never had it happen. I put it down to us having a great reputation, and maybe being more expensive than most trainers so we have attracted a more motivated type of clientele.

But over the past few months I’ve had several emails from trainers asking the same thing. There really does seem to be people who hire a coach and don’t follow their advice.

So what if we flipped the question somehow:

“I’ve given you (the reader) my very best business and training advice. Why aren’t YOU following it?”

In effect, what is the underlying reason why anyone doesn’t take action?

Right now as a trainer you could easily be on your way to changing lives and being compensated handsomely for it, if you follow the advice I’ve given on this site.

How many people do you think have access to this information, or even worse, have purchased this information and haven’t followed it?

I’ve told you about all the people who email me and ask about “where they should start” with X program, or how to adjust Y etc. Why not follow the exact plan as it was written as closely as possible and reach your goals? Why not take action?

I’m not sure I have a solid answer. I’ve touched on it before here, with posts about over-analysis and the success mindset. I guess the reason some people don’t follow through with the plan of action that they know they should – is because of an underlying mindset that prevents them from breaking out of their current situation.

Obviously in a coaching situation, I’m able to break through those “defenses” per se and get to the root of the problem. that’s why my business coaching clients are all making huge progress. That’s why we have so many great success stories and before-and-after photos with clients. And that’s why we have so many successful business coaching members.

I shall work on providing a solution that I can share with you. But it is all going to start with belief systems. And immediately followed by taking action.

Set a goal. Believe you can achieve it. And immediately upon setting that goal – take the first steps towards it.

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AC