This week I was scheduled to be in Texas hunting hogs with Marcus Luttrell, author of the book Lone Survivor.

But Texas had horrible weather (including a few tornadoes), forcing the hunt to be cancelled at the last minute.

So I decided to spend the week digging in harder on some very BIG projects on my plate right now.

I spent 15+ hours on the phone interviewing several clients. And with a couple of them (the newer ones we’ve only recently started working with) a very important issue came up.

I also received a very personal letter from a client struggling with the same thing right now (and it’s not a financial concern, he’s crushing it in that department).

This is without a doubt the most spirit killing, soul-crushing, cause-of-burnout there is in our industry.

And if you’re doing this right now, STOP!

Perspective (Young Man Mistakes)

I want to preface this article with full transparency.

I have made many mistakes in my life.

This was one of them.

But I’m not alone.

Chances are high (maybe 100%?) that you’ve made them too… and are possibly continuing to make them.

That’s OK.

As long as some “learning” eventually occurs.

And by hook or by crook… it will.

My wish for you is that you read this and make the necessary changes in your business and life NOW.

Don’t wait to learn this lesson the hard way.

YOU are More Important Than Your Business

Your health, happiness, and fulfillment are what’s most important in life.

NOT your business.

The purpose of your business is to support your life.

And taking care of yourself means that WHILE you’re building your business… you still must prioritize things like:

1. Making time to eat healthy food
2. Getting good rest at night
3. Ensuring you have time and energy to get in some exercise each week
4. Adjust things as necessary to keep your stress levels down (related to #1, 2, and 3 above… but also involves additional items).

Now that’s what you and I NEED to do.

And keeping that on track WHILE building a business will challenge you for sure.

But we’re not done yet.

What’s next?

Your Family Is More Important Than Your Clients

Once you’ve got taking care of yourself down… consistently… you’ve got a responsibility to your family.

Your spouse, your children, your extended family, etc.

They need your love and support.

And if you’re working all the time INSTEAD of balancing your time and energy investments to be there for them… chances are good that’s not gonna end well for anybody.

NOT taking care of yourself and NOT being there for your family and fulfilling those very important roles you signed on to play in your life BESIDES being a business owner, coach, etc. IS the root cause of negative symptoms like burnout, unhappiness, and general dissatisfaction.

Why Do We Do It?

So if NOT taking care of ourselves and NOT being there for those we love who depend on us isn’t good for us… why do we do it?

Why do we push things so hard to put ourselves in this negative and unhealthy place?

And how on earth do you get in a place where you become ADDICTED to repeatedly causing yourself that kind of pain… over and over again?

Well, the answers always lie within.

1. You have a strong desire to “succeed” in growing your business (the very loaded word in this sentence is “success”- how do YOU define it?)
2. Your desire (and need) to have your business to produce enough income to support your lifestyle goals and provide for those who depend on you (and making the mistake in thinking that money is what matters, when it really matters little. LOVE is most valuable currency we have in every relationship… including the one we have with ourselves.)
3. You enjoy challenging yourself… and seeing how much you can grow as a result
4. You enjoy learning new skills, systems, etc. you can apply in your business… and then pushing yourself to implement them, seeing how far they can take you
5. You are trying to prove something to yourself or someone else, namely that YOU can do this (because most can’t or won’t put forth the time, effort, and sacrifice to do so)

This is by no means a complete list. But I think it’s some of the big rocks.

Let’s dig in and talk more about this addition to pain piece, because there is a LOT to discuss there…

St. George and the Dragon

 This is a very famous painting of “St George and the Dragon” by Paolo Uccello (click to enlarge and take a look at it in full screen, it’s very cool!)

It dates from around the 1470s and is on display in the National Gallery in London (I hope to see it during my upcoming UK trip in April).

My friend John Du Cane, owner of Dragon Door, and I just spoke about it on the phone yesterday. And I thought it would be very relevant to share in discussing this topic.

There are many legends and versions of this story.

But as you can see St. George has come on his horse to kill the dragon and free the maiden.

And the maiden wants to be saved from the dragon.

But what she doesn’t realize is that she has been holding onto it’s leash the entire time.

And what she MUST do is let go of it.

This story relates very much to anyone dealing with addiction.

And I would define addition as “a continued involvement with a substance or activity despite the negative consequences associated with it.”

And is this case, we’re talking about addiction to pushing yourself SO hard that you cross the barrier into very negative pain and suffering in growing your business.

When you are experiencing dissatisfaction, unhappiness, and burnout symptoms WHILE pushing yourself extremely hard to grow your business… you become like the maiden in the legend of St. George.

And what you must be made aware of, which is the whole purpose for me in writing this article, is that YOU are the one holding onto this leash and only YOU can let go of it!

Letting Go of the Leash

So, how on earth do you let go of the leash and kill the dragon?

And put an end to this negative cycle in your business and life once and for all?

I think the first thing that must occur is the very deep understanding and awareness that:

1. There is a dragon.
2. There is a leash holding the dragon close to you and it’s in your hand….
3. Only YOU can let go of the leash, and you must do so before you…
4. Kill the dragon.

This is not an easy process.

I’ve been through it and I’d say it took me 2 years to work through steps #1-4.

There is obviously a lot to this very big topic.

But let me start with some fundamental and basic action steps I feel are important in beginning the process.

Hierarchy of Responsibility

I think one of the first steps is to understand that when you’re in this place, your values are out of alignment.

I wrote a well received article on this called “Unspoken Conversations and the Hierarchy of Responsibility” last year which talks about this in more details and how to start fixing it.

The short version is that you must value yourself first, your family and friends second, your team third, and your clients fourth.

Anytime you get those mixed up or out of order, you will suffer and your path is unsustainable.

The second, more structural piece involves how you manage and choose to “invest” your time.

Time Investments

Time IS the most valuable asset we get to enjoy in the universe.

And I say “get to enjoy” because once it’s gone, it NEVER comes back.

Money is actually not that valuable.

And you can ALWAYS do things to get more money, but you NEVER get more time.

So therefore it’s extremely important to make careful decisions about how you INVEST your time (and energy).

I really don’t like the phrase “time management.”

Because it’s impossible to “manage” time.

Time simply is.

What we have the ability to control and direct is our FOCUS and activities.

So that is what must be managed.

But the word “manage” to me also seems to have a negative and boring connotation.

Nobody wants to “manage” anything.

Managing implies “watch this so you don’t screw it up”.

Oh joy.

Let me go do some more of that!

No thanks.

I prefer to use the term time “investments.”

Because that’s more fun… and actually a much more accurate description I think.

When you “invest” your time… you can get either get very positive or negative returns.

And the positive returns can grow exponentially… making you a very “wealthy” person in multiple areas of life.

Your health, your finances, your relationships, etc.

So let’s talk about some very basic good time investment DECISIONS you can make WHILE building your business.

First and foremost, I think it is absolutely essential you…

Eliminate Split Shifts!

Everyone has done this in our industry.

Get up early.

Go to the gym.

Train clients until late morning.

Have lunch.

Try to do a little work.

Try to workout yourself (even though you are tired from little sleep and getting up so early).

Get cleaned up.

Pound caffeine because you’re tired… but the day’s not over yet.

Pick yourself up to train clients again in the evening (showtime! part 2).

Finish late evening.

Head home.

Say hello to anyone still awake.

Try to get to sleep so you can get up in a few hours and…

Do it all over again!

CRAZY!

This is an unsustainable path. And it will break you at some point one way or another.

So my first advice to EVERY SINGLE CLIENT is to STOP DOING THIS NOW!

Just stop.

Cut yourself off from the bar immediately.

No more for you!

Decide whether you want to be a morning worker or an evening worker.

Set your hours and schedule.

And then protect those boundaries you are setting with everything you’ve got.

It’s pretty simple.

All you need is to use one word in your vocabulary “NO!”

If you have a family, let me make this simple for you. You are probably going to be a morning worker and finish by 4pm.

Then evenings will be spent with your family. Because nobody wants to hang out with you at 6am in the morning.

And there are no little league or youth football games at that time.

So go to work in the early morning and see everyone later.

You DON’T need the money from working a split shift.

More important you need time to take care of yourself and devote to other relationships (especially if you have children!).

Better you get smarter about raising your fees, offering semi-private or group training, do some better marketing to fill up group classes to better leverage the time you ARE working IN your business to produce more income.

Ok?

 Summary

Now I could’ve just started and ending this article by saying “stop doing split shifts”.

But if I just did that, you wouldn’t REALLY get it… probably wouldn’t do it… and therefore would be destined to repeat the same mistakes you are making over and over again.

So I’ve taken the time to dig into this with more discussion, in hopes that you can really understand this whole thing a little better and kill your own dragon.

It’s a lot to think about and digest.

So give this some time to mullover, but DO take swift action.

I challenged the client who I spoke with dealing with this issue to write a letter over the weekend… deliver it to all 38 of his clients on Monday.. and have the change in his schedule take place end of this week.

Any client in a contract that wants out as a result of cancelling an evening class… try to plug them into a morning class or let them go.

Life is too short to quibble over a few dollars.

I hope he’s writing the letter right now and gets it out the door tomorrow.

Will let you know how it goes.

For the rest of the day I’m following my own advice and heading off to enjoy another beautiful day in the sunshine at the lake.

Because I’m in full agreement with the immortal words of Rodney Dangerfield that “If you don’t look out for #1, you’re likely to step in #2.”

Peace out.

Sean

 P.S. I think everyone in our community would benefit from some healthy discussion on this topic. So please engage in that process by sharing your experience and comments below. We’ll see where that takes us.

Got a great short video and gift for you today.

This is without a doubt the MOST profitable 3 minutes you’ll ever spend working IN your business.

Check out this video on the MOST profitable 3 minutes you’ll ever invest working IN your business

Check it out and enjoy this gift from one of our partners (you may know him!)

Sean

P.S. Minimum of $89 in 3 min… equals $1,780/hour working IN your business.

I’m normally a work ON your business guy, but when you’re working IN it… make sure you’re investing your time on high return and leverage activity. This is one of those activities.

Check out this video on the MOST profitable 3 minutes you’ll ever invest working IN your business

Hey, sorry I’ve been quiet on email the past couple weeks.

I’ve been “holed up” in my cave putting in a lot of project work time on some exciting things over here… including a ton of NEW developments for our VIP members.

Anyway, thought I’d share a great video with you today from the late Jack Lalanne.

It’s some great advice that we can all be reminded of from time to time.

Enjoy!

Sean

P.S. Some of the best advice always seems to come from folks who’ve been around a whole lot longer than we have.

Don’t you agree?

We’re less than 5 hours away from the big ball dropping in New York City.

And I’m taking a quick break from my holiday up here in Vermont to wish you a very happy and healthy new year.

As we call a close to 2011, I want to say “thank you” for being our client, customer, and subscriber.

We’ve had a blast serving you this year.

And I want to encourage you to take time to celebrate all the amazing work you’ve done, the growth you’ve experienced, and your tremendous accomplishments.

It’s all to easy to get busy working, working, working… and forget to pause and reflect on how much you’ve grown and all that you’ve achieved.

So be sure to raise a glass and celebrate tonight, OK?

From all of us at NPE, we want to wish you a wonderful year ahead and we look forward to serving you again in 2012.

Let’s make it another great one!

To your success,
Sean

P.S. Depending on what part of the globe you live it, it may already be January 1st.

And I sincerely hope you’re NOT up shopping right now. But just in case you are, you’ve still got 4 hours and 36 minutes left to take advantage of our “Year End Sale” over here.

Happy New Year!

Well I’m off this week, enjoy the holidays with my family and friends up in New England.

But wanted to take a moment away from vacation to share that we’re closing 2011 with a bang here at NPE:

Click here to go to the NPE Holiday Sale webpage

The big news is everything is on sale…but only until Saturday, December 31st.

We’re holding this special HOLIDAY SALE to celebrate both our sixth kick-ass year and the financial and the personal freedom you are creating using our “best-in-class” fitness marketing, sales and management systems.

Because we continue to grow at such a rapid pace, we’ve outgrown our office (again) and are set to move into another larger space in the next couple months. In the meantime, we’re crammed due to all the new staff we’ve brought on board in 2011.

Our current office is packed to the gills AND we’ve also got 2 big storage units chock full of items from events, including a ton of product samples used at  MEGA TRAINING, VIP Spring Training, and on the road with other partner events this past year.

And we need to “lighten the load”.

Click here to go to the NPE Holiday Sale webpage

So to help you make 2012 your best year ever, we have slashed prices by 50% on limited quantities of our products and systems…so you save more…make more…and get more freedom…faster than ever before.

If you’ve been waiting for just the right time to invest in one or more of our client-attracting, profit-exploding products for Fitness Professionals…the time is now!!!

Click here to go to the NPE Holiday Sale webpage

To your success,
Sean

P.S. I’m hoping for some fresh snow in Vermont to enjoy some great snowboarding this week. Thanks for investing in your education, and therefore helping me to buy more lift tickets for everyone at Killington.

P.P.S. If you have NOT yet seen our new rap video… check it out here.

It’s been a busy last couple weeks of year end here for us.

But before we shut down for the long weekend I wanted take a moment and wish each of you a Merry Christmas (or if you don’t celebrate, a wonderful holiday weekend)!

Check out the NPE Christmas video (ala RUN DMC!).

Enjoy the holiday guys!

Sean

In business money is like blood.

And it’s YOUR responsibility to keep the business “flush” and healthy.

So if you see it running out of blood (ie money)… you better do something quick to take care of things before the patient (your business) dies!

Here are 3 IMMEDIATE steps you can take to fix this problem.

And a TIME SENSITIVE opportunity I’m offering this week to personally guide you through the process of getting it done.

Be sure to head on over today and read the details on this.

Door opens on Thursday at 9am EST.

Sean

P.S. Of all the things you’ve got to manage when running a business, make no mistake THIS is #1.

Just got back home late last night from Houston, were I spent the last couple days with our newest partner The Boot Campaign.

If you missed attending MEGA TRAINING, then I haven’t gotten to share with you the big news that we’ve partnered with a fantastic organization called The Boot Campaign for our Pushups For Charity program in 2012.

We’ll be sharing much more on this over the coming months ahead!

But today I just wanted to introduce them to you and share a little bit about their story with you…

The Boot Campaign is a grassroots military appreciation and veteran awareness campaign started by five women from Texas, known as the Boot Girls.

The Boot Girls launched the Boot Campaign in 2009 to spread awareness of the needs of military personnel returning home from combat and express gratitude to current military.

And since that time, the initiative has really exploded in a very big way!

We’ve got some VERY big plans in the works behind the scenes right now.

And our goal for 2012 is to raise $500,000 to donate to the Boot Campaign through the Pushups For Charity project this year.

More to come on this.

Stay tuned!

Sean

P.S. I’ve been so impressed with this organization that I’ve now stepped up to serve on their board. I believe that “Giving back” needs to be part of business (yours and mine). And I hope to have you join us for Pushups For Charity this year. We are going to have a blast!

P.P.S. If you haven’t do so already, take a moment now to grab the Member of the Year Finalist Case Study submissions from MEGA TRAINING this year (you’ll want to have  all their tools and swipe file goodies so you can see exactly how they exploded their fitness business sales… and how you can model their success to do the same!).

All we ask is that you make a small charity donation to The Boot Campaign in support of veteran’s causes. This is one fine organization that does a heck of a lot of good helping the men and women of our Armed Services.

You can get the PDF via instant digital download of all the Case Study submissions for just a small donation of $25 OR download $50 and get the digital download PLUS we’ll mail you the hard copy – which you’ll want because this thing is HUGE and VALUABLE (not something you want getting forgotten or lost on your harddrive – you want to be able to engage with this thing, study it and refer back to it often).

Donate $50 to the Boot Campaign and get the DIGITAL download PLUS HARDCOPY MAILED TO YOU!

Donate $25 to the Boot Campaign and get the DIGITAL download only

The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind for me.

Well, who am I kidding?

The past few MONTHS (years?) have been a whirlwind.

I haven’t stopped moving since July.

Five week bus tour around the country.

Back on airplanes for events in Texas and California.

Then MEGA TRAINING.

Back on airplanes again to Calgary and Atlanta.

And this weekend I’m taking just a brief moment to catch my breath (left Atlanta late Friday night) before heading off to Texas again this week, then Australia for a couple weeks, then an extended 5-day California stop and visit on the way home.

Add a couple weeks of year end meetings when I return and it’s 2012 already in the blink of an eye.

Life (for me) is moving very fast.

But I’m doing my best to slow down for a few moments here and there, take a few deep breathes, and do some reflecting.

My trip up to Banff Springs last week was a great opportunity for me to do that.

And if you’ve been “moving fast” as well… which I know many of you have… I encourage you to find some days when you can get out of town and dedicate some blocked time to work on your own “reflecting” as well.

How YOU (and I) Learn…

Interesting workshop I attended in Banff that reinforced a framework of LEARNING I really appreciated spending time with.

It’s only through REFLECTING that we can then move into CONCEPTUALIZING and then DEVISING new ways of moving forward… and improving the path we take and how we get to where we want to go.

So the process and “4 seasons of learning” we spent some time discussing and working with look like this:

CONCEPTUALIZING –> DEVISING –> DOING –> REFLECTING

As part of my own reflecting time I’ve been thinking about a number of conversations I’ve had with clients over the past 3 months.

Through all my travels, events, and phone calls I’d say I’ve had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with at least a few hundred folks in the past 90 days or so.

And regardless of who I speak with or where we meet, I’ve witnessed a reoccurring problem that everyone seems to struggle with.

I should note that this problem is NOT unique to our industry or clients.

I think it’s a problem over 95% of the entire human race suffers from.

What’s the problem?

The problem is that NOBODY HAS DEFINED (CONCEPTUALIZED) WHAT THEY REALLY WANT.

Nor can they articulate or understand WHY THEY REALLY WANT IT.

And until you do THAT, it’s impossible… (although it’s through set-backs, mistakes, and failed attempts that we get to experience some wonderful learning)… to try and develop a truly ACCURATE plan of action or DOING… because you haven’t yet figured out where you want to go!

“Get Your Shit Done” and “Follow The Damn Instructions”… 2 sayings that have become mantras in our coaching process and work with clients… ultimately have little meaning until you’ve answered the bigger question of “What is my AIM?”

And that’s NOT an easy question to answer!

In fact, I think it’s one that MOST people would rather run away from.

Because if and when you ever truly slowed down enough to answer THAT question for yourself, then you’d have to take full responsibility for the results and outcomes you’ve created in your business (and therefore your life).

And it’s MUCH easier to just run away from that!

We all love our own little “drama” so… don’t we?

Truly accepting FULL RESPONSIBILITY is  a very scary proposition.

Now of course there are degrees of accepting “responsibility”.

Like taking responsibility for executing a plan and getting your work done is one level.

Let’s call that the 1st level.

But taking responsibility for defining where you really want to go is another (let’s call that the 2nd).

And then taking full responsibility for defining and understanding your REASONS WHY that’s important to you, well now we’re getting up to the top of the mountain (we’ll call that the 3rd level).

An Interesting Exercise…

Here’s an interesting exercise for you to play with.

Take out a sheet of paper and a pen, then write down the following 3 questions in the proper order:

1. What are your goals?

Take a few minutes and work on writing them down.

Ok got it?

Great. Now onto the next…

2. What are the goals of your goals?

Do your best to work on answering that question. You will struggle with this one for a big longer.

Actually quite a bit longer.

And when you *think* you might have reached some idea of the answer or final consensus… try asking yourself this final question…

3. What are the goals, of your goals, of your goals?

Not easy trying to work 3 levels up!

Just attempting that one will take you way down the rabbit hole.

Ok, now that your mind is blown…

Let me bring you back to Planet Earth…

When I speak with a client… or prospective client… they inevitably want to start talking about PROCESS.

And by that I mean they are either doing nothing right now… or they are doing this, this, and that… and they want to know what they should be doing or or how to make their PROCESS work better.

Everyone wants to be told “do this”.

And I get it.

You *think* that would just make everything work out wonderfully.

However, in my experience that’s a terrible place to begin the conversation.

And I’d be doing YOU a real disservice if I DIDN’T hold up a big red STOP sign.

Because if you DON’T stop and take several steps back… to the beginning… and do the work to get THAT right… then it doesn’t matter what your PROCESS is.

You will not be satisfied even if you ARE successful in executing a process… because you haven’t clarified your destination!

My Challenge and Recommendation To You

Here are 3 (scary?) questions I think you MUST invest your time in working on.

And the MORE TIME you put into working on them… the HECK OF A LOT EASIER all the business “process” questions and learning will be for you when you get there.

NOTE: In fact.. since we’re here talking about this now… I think the reason so many folks struggle with PROCESS has absolutely NOTHING to do with PROCESS at all… and EVERYTHING to do with the fact they can’t articulate the answers to these 3 questions. “DO THIS” is actually quite simple… if you know WHERE you want to go and WHY you want to get there.

Ok, the 3 questions…

1. What is the life I want for myself in the next 1, 3, 5 years?

2. Why do I want that life? Why is it important to me?

3. What NET INCOME do I need to support that life I want and how much TIME am I willing to devote toward creating it WHILE balancing my other lifestyle goals and the roles I am committed to playing in my life (like husband, father, friend, mentor, etc)?

BONUS: Once you’ve answered THOSE questions… and you really do need to answer THOSE questions FIRST… then what’s important to you on the bigger scale of “making a difference in the world” and leaving a “legacy” behind?

Now to be fair I think it’s QUITE the challenge to answer these 3 questions.

It may take you a few years to even be able to see them on the horizon.

And then it may take you a couple more years to get close enough to bring them into focus.

And then another year or so to truly see them clearly in front of you.

But when you finally DO… oh boy… watch out!

It’s when the last 10-20+ years of your life all of a sudden make sense!

I’ve witnessed this phenomenon in a number of people around my life lately.

And it’s quite an amazing “evolution” to witness.

You may not be even able to understand what I’m talking about here today.

But some day you will.

For now I’d encourage to just keep these 3 questions in front of you.

And don’t be afraid to keep asking them of yourself.

I think most people will never even ask them… let alone work hard enough to find the answers.

To your success,
Sean

P.S. LOTS of ‘nuts and bolts’ PROCESS things we can talk about.

And I’ll advance those conversations more over the weeks ahead.

We’ll have some fun talking about them.

But all of that is about the DOING.

And the DOING is meaningless until you CONCEPTUALIZE and define the WHERE you want to go and work to understand your WHY you want to get there!

So invest some time in this… and wherever you’re at with it now… work on defining it clearer.

Doing so will allow everything else you work on to become a whole lot easier!

The Performance Menu Journal of Health & Athletic Excellence is a monthly magazine that contains articles exploring Olympic weightlifting, strength training, athletic strength & conditioning, fitness training, CrossFit, nutrition—including recipes—for athletes, coaches and trainers. I'm a long time subscriber and now writer for the publication and I encourage you to check it out!

Greetings from Atlanta!

I’ve been quiet on blog posts and emails the past couple weeks, but glad to report that with “all hands on deck” the new business tsunami created by MEGA TRAINING (and a couple other recent promotions) is starting to get under control.

What does that mean for you?

Well it means I’m finally get a chance to catch up on my writing to you… and I’ve got a LOT on my mind to talk about!

Watch your inbox for a big blog post from me this Sunday.

In the meantime I wanted to let you know about a great publication I encourage you to check out called the Performance Menu Journal.

The Performance Menu Journal is a monthly magazine that contains articles exploring Olympic weightlifting, strength training, athletic strength & conditioning, fitness training, CrossFit, nutrition…including recipes..for athletes, coaches and trainers.

A friend of mine named Greg Everett is the publisher. And if you don’t know Greg yet, I encourage you to check out his website.

Greg is one of the top Olympic Lifting coaches in the country and also a really sharp creative guy who’s got a ton of great information to offer athletes and coaches alike.

I’ve been a long time subscriber to the Performance Menu Journal myself, and have now the pleasure of making my debut as a new writer and content contributor.

You’ll find my newest article in this month’s issue which you can grab immediately upon subscribing here.

Grab 12 monthly issues for just $29.95, or download a free trial issue if you just want to check it out first before subscribing.

I think you’ll enjoy the publication and also some of the other great things that Greg has to offer in his online store- like books, dvds, and terrific posters!

Ok, off to a meeting now.

Watch your inbox for an important post from me this Sunday am!

To your success,
Sean

P.S. Greg also owns a really cool gym called Catalyst Athletics in Sunnyvale, CA.

If you have an interest in Olympic Lifting then I encourage you to make a point to visit and spend some time with Greg. He’s an amazing coach is the best “go-to” guy I know of in the sport.

In the meantime, be sure to check out the Performance Menu Journal here.