I want you to remember something. Write it on your hand. Do whatever you have to do, but never forget it.
“There’s absolutely no such thing as overnight success.”
I know you don’t want to hear that. Nobody does.
Our whole life we’ve listened to wealthy/successful people spew out words of encouragement. “Work hard and your dreams will come true. You can do anything if you put your mind to it. If I can do it, you can do it.”
It seems doable right? I mean… Why not you?
Then reality sets in. Fear sets in. You start realizing wow, where do I start? How can I pull this off?
It gets old doesn’t it? This “toughness” of life. That we have to work for a living.
Get used to it. Well, unless you don’t want to be successful. If that’s the case ignore it, and keep crying about your “horrible life.”
It’s funny, because there are people out there thinking that people like Oprah or Gates or Branson don’t work for a living and never have. That they haven’t put in the time.
Funny that I don’t have to give their full name. Yeah, they’ve earned that. Messi, Madonna, Michael, the other Michael, LeBron, Brady, Peyton, Steph, Serena…
Name me a bunch of people that got success handed to them. There aren’t many, if any.
I love when I hear people say, “They have too much money. Bet they sleep well at night.”
I bet they sleep only four or five hours a night.
Listen, I know it’s common sense that if you want to truly “make it” in this world, it takes work. A lot of work.
Ask any successful person. Ask them if it was a piece of cake. Ask them if they can turn off their brain for a minute and actually relax.
Hell, I’m technically a nobody in comparison to the people I mentioned earlier, but I have days where I want to sneak down into my basement with a couple cases of beer and three bags of Doritos, and hide for a week or a month. (Depends when I run out of beer.)
I just wanna sit there and watch Netflix and play video games. (Yes, I’m a nerd and have every video game system.)
I would never do that though. I can’t even do it for a day. I’d feel guilty. Not kidding. My wife gets so mad at me that I never chill out, but that’s me. Driven.
So, why do so many people in today’s world detest patience? Why aren’t the unsuccessful or the people putting off being successful willing to put in the time?
Far too many people aren’t willing to put in the adequate time or effort to grow anything. Maybe the “dream” is literally just a dream.
It’s ironic that much of the human race is unwilling to patiently build anything, but they’ll patiently sit around and bitch about how life is so unfair. Fear is a crazy thing isn’t it?
What’s the quote? Something like, “Being rich is hard. Being poor is hard. Choose your hard.”
There are so many brilliant people out there. Imagine what this world would be like if each year another handful of people with amazing ideas would give their passion just a little more time. If they’d persevere just a little longer.
Personal trainers are no different. As I’ve said and written a million times, 80% are quitting within two years of starting. I guess they thought there was such a thing as overnight success.
That’s another reason I started Personal Training Biz. I want you to give your passion more time. Work harder. Work smarter, so that you can make more money and help more people.
What usually happens when people see someone become super successful, they think wow that was fast. Well, that “fast” journey to success was just an illusion to the people watching.
The time flew by for the people watching from a distance. They weren’t the ones bustin their ass seven days a week year after year. They didn’t notice the ups and downs. They didn’t notice the second guessing. The depression.
They didn’t hear about all the times where the now successful person wanted to quit. When they thought their idea was dumb and a waste of time.
Where they felt that their dream was too much to think about. Too much to worry about. Maybe fearing what would happen if and when they did become successful. All the pressure. They weren’t sure if they could handle it.
Successful people don’t give in though. Some are quicker to the finish line, but they all end up winning in the end. Honestly there isn’t a finish line in their mind.
Hell, people have told me, “Well Mark, you made it. You’re successful.”
Made it? When did this happen? Where did I make it to? I’ll never stop pushing for more. I’ll never settle or be satisfied.
It takes awhile to grow anything worth growing. It takes awhile to make it what you want. There are mistakes and then more mistakes after that.
I loved hearing about all the bad business deals some of my clients made in their career. Those stories helped me so much.
If you’re on my success letter email list, you know that I actually started Personal Training Biz like nine or ten years ago, even though my website/blog went live only a handful of years ago.
I made so many mistakes. My mind wasn’t right either. I had no clue how hard this would be, or how time consuming it would be. I had no idea how much work it takes to grow a large blog following. I just wasn’t ready.
Am I bitching? No way. It was my fault, and it did me some good.
Sometimes you have to make changes as I wrote in “Never Change.” The Worst Advice Ever.
Sometimes you’re too afraid to make a change, or sometimes you change for the wrong reason. It’s all a slow learning process. It takes time.
So what’s my advice then?
PATIENT PERSISTENCE is my advice. I think I stole that from Kobe Bryant like five ago, and I’m happy I did.
Personal trainers come out of college or from gaining a certification thinking people will just hire them.
Why would that happen? Who knows you? Who trusts you? It’s just not that simple.
There’s this girl. She’s one of my followers and we communicate every so often. Not too long ago, she bought my newest eBook and scheduled a one-hour phone consultation with me.
The minute she started talking to me I could tell that she had what it takes to be a monster in this industry.
She is on her way to becoming “the trainer” in the Philly area. I wouldn’t be surprised if I see her on TV and in magazines very soon.
She is all over Facebook and Instagram to name a couple places, not waiting for people to stumble across her.
She’s taking responsibility for her own success. She’s GETTING KNOWN.
Making absolutely sure that no one and I mean no one forgets who she is and what she does for a living. She will dominate the industry in her market for a very long time.
You may know some people that bombard social media with their “product” and you may hate that.
Well, this girl doesn’t care, and I think that’s kick ass.
True friends, loved ones, and fans will support your efforts and your dreams. Not hate on them.
Bottom line is shoot for the moon and surround yourself with winners. People that support you and challenge you.
As far as all the negativity surrounding you, beat it. Kill it with kindness. You’re strong enough if you believe enough.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read another blog post from me. It’s truly an honor to be trusted and looked to for guidance by personal trainers and health club owners.
I very much hope you walk away from reading this feeling motivated and inspired to truly do what your heart wants.
Thanks again, talk soon.
P.S. How’s your mindset these days?
Are you focusing on patient persistence, or are you thinking of a way to jump ship into a different career?
Thinking that the personal training industry is too hard, and that it takes too long to build a solid base of clients.
That you should quit, because of all of the uncertainty pertaining to money, your schedule, and your future.
Let me ease your worries, and help you restore your passion for helping people with their health and fitness goals. Let me help you get the right clients.
Really quick, head to PTB Consulting to learn more. You’ll like the short video, so be sure to check it out now.
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