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.

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?

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 last remaining RELIABLE path to prosperity is your fitness business.

The previous three years prove that.

The stock market has turned into a Vegas casino.

Real estate is “the money pit”.

And there’s no upside leverage to a regular job, if you can even get one.

That leaves your business as the only remaining reliable way to get ahead.

But…

As we enter the 4th year of this economic swamp, there’s NO good news.

None.

So you’ve gotta take a long hard look at your goals and aspirations for the future.

Then you’ve gotta make a choice.

You can either lower your expectations and just hope you’ll weather the storm.

Or you can fight.

Because the gravy train has derailed.

It is virtually impossible to “get lucky” in business anymore.

Just being “really good” at getting results is no longer enough.

You can’t just build it…and expect them to come. Ain’t gonna happen.

We are in the “wash-out” period now, and I believe it’s going to last for quite some time.

Only the strongest, most committed are going to survive and thrive.

Cause it’s truly dog eat dog out there.

And hoping things will change in your favor is not a strategy.

So if your name is NOT on the list below, you are facing a VERY real risk.

The 202 people listed below are all registered for MEGA TRAINING this October 20-22.

These are the fighters – the ones who will prevail – because they know how VITAL it is to keep their saw sharp, to stay on top of cutting edge marketing, to ensure they’re delivering an amazing REFERRAL WORTHY experience to their clients, to get and stay “tight” with the best and brightest in our industry…to learn and grow.

Because if you’re not growing – you’re dying.

This IS the harsh reality of the times we live in. You may not like it, but that doesn’t change the facts.

If you’re not on the list below, you’re not playing to win – you’re playing not to lose. And that’s a losing game.

Whatever it takes, get yourself to MEGA TRAINING.

*****************************
202 REGISTERED
MEGA TRAINING ATTENDEES
(as of this morning)
*****************************

Are you on this list?

1. John Abare
2. Rommel Acda
3. Chrisie Allemand
4. Nelson Alvarado
5. Mike Alvarez
6. Mary Jane Amrein
7. Naaij Asaad
8. Audra Baker
9. Sam Bakhtiar
10. Clint Barr
11. Jennifer Barr
12. David Beares
13. Brian Benoit
14. R B Berry
15. Jordan Biamonte
16. Michael Bianchi
17. Laura Bickford
18. Laurel Blackburn
19. Matt Blades
20. Christine Boakes
21. Michael Bouchard
22. Dexter Bowen
23. Ken Bowman
24. Mary Catherine Boyorek
25. Paul Britt
26. Jason Brown
27. Rick Byron
28. Rick Caputo
29. Jesus Castillon
30. Kri Chay
31. Matt Clark
32. Jenny May Clermont
33. Sue Clermont
34. Michelle Collier
35. Philip Cook
36. John Daigneault
37. Dave Dambrosio
38. Adam Davis
39. Ben Davis
40. Tina Davis
41. Trish Davis
42. Robert DeFreese
43. Tim Detmer
44. Chas DeVetter
45. Brian Devlin
46. Patrick Diver
47. Anna Dornier
48. Anthony Dornier
49. Daniel Eckerman
50. Trey Eckerman
51. Leanne Ellington
52. Dave Fannin
53. Paul Fetters
54. Stefanie Fisher
55. Brandon Flowers
56. Juan Garcia
57. Cassandra Gaudet
58. Eric Gelder
59. Isabel Gelo
60. Erin Gentry
61. Peter Gibbs
62. Susan Gibeau
63. Jason Goggans
64. Chris Gray
65. Jeremy Gritton
66. Ginny Grupp
67. Carlos Guest
68. Jerremy Guthrie
69. Travis Hackett
70. Karen Hadsall
71. Shaun Hadsall
72. Brad Hamilton
73. Carl Harmon
74. Lori Harris
75. Randy Hartz
76. Kevin Harvey
77. Kristen Harvey
78. Matt Hedman
79. John Heringer
80. Matthew Hickey
81. Josh Hightower
82. Maryann Hightower
83. Mark Hill
84. Hugh Hines
85. John Hinkle
86. Larry Hinson
87. Jessica Hoffman
88. Jordan Holland
89. Zach Hunt
90. Amy Hunt
91. Diana Inglis
92. Mike Inglis
93. Daniel Iversen
94. Tom Jackobs
95. Rita Jagodzinski
96. Gregorz Jasnikowski
97. Bonifacio Jimenez
98. Ryan Joiner
99. Jeffrey Jones
100. Greg Justice
101. Adam Kessler
102. Bret Kliethermes
103. Robert Knapp
104. Carrie Kukuda
105. Barney Kuntze
106. Sean Lee
107. Thomas Leverett
108. Arin Lindauer
109. Tony Lindauer
110. Brad Linder
111. Troy Lindner
112. Michael Lindsay
113. Ben Llames
114. Belton Lubas
115. Paul Lyngso
116. Kenny Mack
117. Shawn Manning
118. Justin Marcis
119. CJ Martin
120. Jim Martin
121. Michael Martinez
122. Rick Martinez
123. Tony Maslan
124. Stefan Matte
125. Kristen McBryde
126. Matt McBryde
127. Kerry McElroy
128. Thomas Mitchell
129. Trent Mitchell
130. Claudia Montanari
131. JP Montanari
132. Michael Moore
133. Alexander Morentin
134. Dave Mugavero
135. Paula Mugavero
136. Mark Murphy
137. Nathan Nowak
138. Lisa Olson
139. Fatimat Olukoju
140. Christopher Page
141. Jake Parent
142. Erik Peacock
143. Conni Ponturo
144. Terry Pratt
145. Julie Prince
146. Matthew Probst
147. Jon Quinn
148. Angela Ramos
149. Fernando Ramos
150. Dustin Rippetoe
151. Deborah Rodgers
152. Desean Rodgers
153. Keith Rodgers
154. Lenora Rodriguez
155. Kirk Rogers
156. Delaine Ross
157. Jeffery Rowe
158. John Saeger
159. Tim Salvador
160. Roberto Santarossa
161. Tom Schiltz
162. Bradley Scott
163. Chris Scott
164. Jayson Scott
165. Jason Scully
166. Heather Seltzer
167. Brian Sheridan
168. Lisa Sheridan
169. Danny Short
170. Daniel Silva
171. Mark Snow
172. Nikki Snow
173. Shondelle Solomon
174. Herman Soto
175. Jennifer Stockero
176. Alicia Streger
177. Shawn Strickland
178. Robert Sutton
179. Rudy Tapalla
180. Terrence Thomas
181. Jeff Tomaszewski
182. William Vasquez
183. David Veras
184. Dagoberto Vila
185. Toby Watson
186. Matt Wells
187. John Wolf
188. Mike Worden
189. Stacy Wyman
190. Julia Zammito
191. Diedra West
192. Christine Fox
193. Marshall Rogers
194. Olivia Burnell
195. Erica Salio
196. Jason Mollter
197. Pamela Winters
198. Kim Saverly
199. Josh Barton
200. Ahmed Morgar
201. Sheila Johnson
202. Brad Zegula

If you don’t see your name above, then go here now to register.

I’ll see you in Orlando,
Eric

Maybe you know by now that NPE was named to the Inc 500 list of fastest growing privately owned companies in America for the second year in a row.

And in celebration of that accomplishment we’ve slashed the price of this October’s MEGA TRAINING event from $495…to free.

All the details on MEGA TRAINING 2011 are here.

We’ve got a tremendous line-up of presenters for MEGA TRAINING, including 8 of your peers who will share with you their most profitable promotions from 2011.

These are “copy and paste” promotions, meaning the fitness business owner who presents will reveal the exact steps he or she took to implement the promotion, the exact marketing tools used, and best practices discovered along the way (so you can possibly do even better).

You’ll leave MEGA TRAINING armed with all 8 promotions so you can “copy and paste” right into your fitness business as soon as you get home.

Here’s a quick list of the 8 profitable promotions you get:

1. Publicity Profits and Expert Positioning – How she leverages the media to get clients for free.

2. 24-Day Challenge Contest – The nutrition “hook” he uses to pull clients like crazy.

3. How to Run a Fitness Client of the Year Contest – His produced 743 new leads, HUGE client love, and so much profit it’s hard to calculate.

4. REFERRAL-O-MATIC – Everybody talks about a referral-driven business…he actually does it…and shows you how.

5. Bring A Buddy Campaign…With a Twist – How to turn your clients into a referral army.

6. You…MULTIPLIED – The most profitable promotion of all.

7. 21-Day Profit Monster – If you can send some emails, you can crush it with this profitable promotion immediately.

8. NO-COST Promotion Produces 958 Leads, 108 group training clients and 72K in 60 days

Each of these promotions can generate new clients for you – that’s a tested and proven fact. And most can do so very quickly.

But one of them, in particular (#8) can explode your fitness business within weeks, and it doesn’t cost you a dime to implement.

The man teaching this promotion to you at MEGA TRAINING is a very sharp fitness marketer and he’s got this thing dialed in tight.

There’s no guesswork involved, just copy and paste what he shows you and roll this promotion out as soon as you get home from MEGA TRAINING.

It will more than cover any travel costs you incur to attend (by a factor of 15-20X), and give you the confidence and cash-flow to market more aggressively, with greater certainty in the results…which is one of the big secrets to success.

Read all about these 8 “copy and paste” profitable promotions and everything else you get when you attend MEGA TRAINING 2011…for free.

All the details are here.

Be a consistent fitness marketing maniac,
Eric

P.S. Just for attending MEGA TRAINING you’ll be entered into a special drawing to win Sean for an entire day of on-site business RE-ENGINEERING (he comes to you). This is, by far, the most valuable prize ever given away by anyone in our industry, ever. Be sure to read about it here.

A while back I wrote an article about some of our more interesting clients and the bad habits they’ve gotten themselves into….well, the more I do this, the more I see…so, here’s

Volume II of What Not To Do If You Want To Be Successful in Business…

Keep in mind – these are real live people (no names, to protect the innocent…), but I’m guessing you will be able to relate to some of their stories…and they have ALL signed up to attend Mega Training this year – so if they’re willing to fess up – you can actually meet them and pick their brains….

The Charity Organizer

This happens way too much!  When asked what do you pay your trainers, the answer 9 times out of 10 is way too much!!  This happened recently when I asked a new VIP client this question and found out he was paying 70% of the session rate to his trainer!  And then, to top it off (and I give him credit for coming clean on this), the trainer was also getting a bonus for new sales… 

And you wonder why there’s no money sitting in the bank….

Understanding what you pay out as it relates to what you bring in is critical.  Too many people don’t take the time to really evaluate their expenses and understand what is going out the door.  Or worse, they know it and don’t do anything to change things.

Remember, you’re not a charity. 

These folks are coming to work for you – you’re giving them the client base, the place to work, all the tools they need to be successful trainers -

They have the JOB, you have the BUSINESS.  

It’s great to want to see your staff make good money and be successful and drive nice cars, but do it in a way that allows them to grow when the business grows.  Never pay more than 30-35% of your total expenses towards payroll, and incorporate incentives such as referrals, renewals, and results oriented bonuses that drive the business and allow them to generate more income on YOUR terms.

I had a conversation with a client the other day who told me his trainers get burned out after teaching 30 hours in a week – but he still wants them making 50-60k a year…

Ok, so they live in a high rent district, but seriously? 

There’s a major flaw in that thinking – and the decision needs to be made – do you find folks that can handle the full-time work – or do you pay for part time work – something’s gotta give….

But enough about the Charity Organizer…let’s move on to the….

Dinosaur……

Yes, I said Dinosaur.  Many of you won’t even know what I’m talking about, but I’ve been working with a client over the last few months as they convert from a MS-DOS based tracking system to EZ-Operator.  For those of you that have no idea what I’m talking about – and at the risk of showing my real age, let’s just say that  MS-DOS is ancient – really ancient…. 

We’ll leave it at that.

The point here is that is chugs.  And chugs.  And it wasn’t efficient.  And this business owner (a quite successful business owner, I might add) was the only one who knew how to run it. 

For 25 YEARS he had to work every weekend to pull reports and get his numbers together because it was a painful process and no one else could…not really the best use of his time – would you agree?

The lesson here is that it’s always important to remain current and implement technology to support the growth of your business.  It’s one of the ways you can gain speed and leverage – and allow yourself to focus on the things you need to be focusing on.

The happy-ending here is that this client has successfully removed himself from the Dinosaur, implemented EZ-Operator and now has been spending weekends with his wife and family….

The Hamster Wheel Spinner

We have lots of these.  Folks that are busy all the time – running here and running there and doing this and doing that, and honestly, getting nothing done. 

Or at least, nothing that really matters to their ultimate goals.

Picture a hamster wheel.  And picture the hamster running on the wheel – just going as fast as it can – so fast it’s legs are a blur…

But, it goes no where.

No focus, no direction, no clarity.  

Sound familiar?

Yes, well I see this all the time.  There’s a couple types of hamsters.  Ones that avoid the “real” work and just do the busy stuff because it’s easy and they can feel like they’ve accomplished something – when in reality, they haven’t accomplished the right thing.

And then there’s the hamster that just gets distracted by the shiny objects.  This person can’t focus on the ultimate goal – or any goals for that manner and usually find themselves with a whole bunch of unfinished projects.

Like I said, I come across lots of hamsters, but one that sticks out is the one who presented his Project List to me with 70 current projects!!  (It may have been more, it may have been less…I stopped counting).  Ask yourself, with that many current projects – how can you possible expect to get anything done?

Doing a weekly review – kills the Hamster Syndrome in an instant. It forces you to stop, take a breath, refocus…

Focus to your goals, prioritize to those goals and getting things done is the only way you’ll actually be able to grow a successful business.

I’m pretty sure you can relate to all these folks and their stories…and the fantastic thing about them all is that they’ve all realized the error of their ways and have made the necessary changes to become successful – they are some of our best clients.

And – you can get a chance to meet them.  Folks like these – and many others – who are already registered to join us at our MEGA TRAINING 2011 event in October…some have attended our past events and it’s the driving factor of what convinced them to become NPE VIP clients.

See you at the event!

Camelia

P.S.  Head on over to the MEGA TRAINING 2011 site for complete details and grab your spot.  

We’ve got some MAJOR announcements about what’s always a fantastic event, and more to be announced later! 

But hurry, spots are filling up quick! 

You won’t want to miss out on the chance to mingle with the Dinosaur, Hamster and Charity Organizer – as well as so many more fantastic people!!

Click here to read all the details and Register for MEGA TRAINING 2011 now.

I’m on the road in Nashville this morning, but recorded this video late last night (in Atlanta) to  “officially” announce that registration is now open for MEGA TRAINING 2011!

Watch the video for more info, then head on over to the MEGA TRAINING 2011 site for complete details and grab your spot.

We’ve got some MAJOR announcements about this killer event, most of which you’ll find over here… but we’ve got a few more up our sleeve we can’t reveal just yet.

Stay tuned as I’m broadcasting more updates from the road over the next month!

Click here to read all the details and
Register for MEGA TRAINING 2011 now

To your success,

Sean

P.S. If you know me at all, you’ll know I’m personally NOT a big Facebook fan. Even though we use it successfully in our business and have helped many of our clients kill it with Facebook advertising and integrated marketing promotions.

However, I’m using our Facebook fan page all month long to share updates and coordinate client and partner get-together events on the road. Head on over to “like” the page to watch details of our adventures I won’t be posting anywhere else!

Do you know Paul Chek?

I’m not sure how you can be in this industry and NOT know his name by now.

Anyway, I’ll be speaking at the Chek conference over Labor Day weekend (September 2-4th) in San Diego.

And as a speaker, I’ve been offered to extend a special discount on the conference to you.

The full event info is online at www.CHEKconference2011.com

Just enter coupon code:

CCNPE10

At checkout to save 10% on individual, partner, or group registrations.

I also plan on hosting a special breakfast for NPE members in attendance, so shoot an email to support@netprofitexplosion.com after you register (or if you’re already registered now) so we can coordinate details with you.

To your success,
Sean

P.S. An interview with Paul is featured in this month’s issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine on newsstands now. To say Paul is a “colorful” personality is putting it mildly. Read more for the full story!

P.P.S. Our all-star coach Camelia will also be coming out to the event so you’ll actually get to see 2 (count em’) NPE staff members at this show.

So this post has nothing to do with business… or does it?

More on that in a moment.

About a month ago I got an email from long time NPE client and friend, Billy Beck.

Billy published a post on his blog about the “rice experiment”. And it was pretty amazing.

So being the “man of science” I am, I said to our team here… “Hey, we’re gonna do this in the office. And if we’re able to replicate the results then I’m going to post them to our blog.”

Here’s how the experiment works (and Billy’s inspiration behind it) as posted on his blog:

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Choose your words wisely.”  Usually some action hero in a movie states these boldly before he taps a keg of whoop ass.

However, there may be more to it.

Do the words you use create the life and body you live in?

I have always believed this to be true but it was not until recently that I found a way to put it to the test.  It all began when I watched a documentary called “The Hidden Messages in Water” by Dr. Masaru Emoto.

Dr. Emoto is a Japanese researcher who conducted research on the formation of water crystals on various stimuli.  I won’t go into detail here because I won’t do it justice.  You have to see it for yourself. You can pick a copy of the documentary on Amazon from the link here.

The experiment that really grabbed my attention was a simple one that anyone can do.

All you need is rice and some patience. Here’s how it works:

1. Place 1 cup of Cooked Rice into two separate containers. Place a lid on each.

2. Mark one container with a positive phrase. I used “Thank You Rice”

3. Mark the other container with a negative phrase. I used “Stupid Rice”

4. Place them in your kitchen at least 12 inches apart.

5. Once or more every day say aloud to the rice container the phrase written on it. I know this sounds nuts but just try it.  For example, every time I went into my kitchen I would say “Thank You Rice” and “Stupid Rice”  Try to say it from a place of gratitude (thank you) and a place of anger and frustration (stupid).

Well, we did the experiment and we DID replicate the results.

Here’s our 2 containers of rice as they were sealed for the experiment:

Here are our 2 containers of rice at the end of the experiment, just before opening. One container of "Happy Rice" and one container of "Stupid Rice".

And he’s what they looked like 21 days later upon opening:

Here are the 2 containers at the end of the 21 days. As you can see the "happy rice" is white and healthy. And the "stupid rice" is brown and moldy. I've uploaded high res photos, so if you click on the photo it should open up in more detail for you to see it clearly. This was just a quick photo with my iPhone, under bad lighting. Because the spoiled rice smelled REALLY bad, so I held my breath to take this quick shot, then we got both containers the heck out of the office as fast as possible.

Pretty remarkable results.

And if you don’t believe them. Or you’re like me and want to “see it to believe it”… then I encourage you to try the experiment for yourself. And if you really want to have some fun do it with your staff and/or family as a group experiment.

It was pretty interesting doing it as a team with our staff.

Everyone participated in “speaking” to the rice.

And it was pretty funny to see a couple team members (I’m not going to name names here) RAGING on the stupid rice.

Can you say “pent up anger and aggression?”

Thankfully we balanced it all out as a group giving enough love to the “happy rice”.

Summary

So what does this all mean? What should you take away from this?

Well, I’ll leave that up to you.

Because if you were just handed all the answers, then you wouldn’t get the benefit of healthy thought, reflection, and learning… now would you?

What I will share is I’m personally not a guy that gets into “mumbo, jumbo, voodoo” kinda things. And to be VERY clear, I sure as sh*t am not saying just “think happy thoughts” and magic will happen with your entire world changing overnight.

That’s fantasy land.

And if you’re into that.. well there’s another word you should be introduced to called “delusional”.

But the reality is that our thoughts and our words, DO have REAL energy behind them. And you can’t stick your head in the sand ignoring that fact.

That would be ignorance.

So explore and take from this what you will.

Keep an open mind, enjoy some learning, and any resulting personal growth.

The real “summary” of this experiment is up to you.

To your success,

Sean

P.S. Just this past week, Billy posted the results of ANOTHER mind-blowing experiment done with eggs. If you want to see this whole thing kicked up a notch, check out his blog and the video posting of that experiment here.

When you’re asked that question, many people immediately think about their net worth – but just as important as your netWORTH is your netWORK.

You see, it’s very difficult to build your net worth if you don’t have a strong network.

Your network – or your sphere of influence- is an important component to consider when building your business.

Networking is about developing lasting relationships with people of influence.  It’s what allows you to stand out from the crowd – remember the old adage – “It’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know?”….  You’ll want to develop relationships and create long-lasting impressions with people so they think of you when opportunity arises.

This especially holds true in the fitness marketing business – and as Eric always says – that IS the business you are in.

What can networking do for you?  

Networking builds trust.  The relationships we build are the most important component of our life – we need to be able to relate to people and build the “know you, like you, trust you” factor.

Networking keeps you connected and in the know in your industry – and remember – what industry are you in?  Many of you would say the fitness industry right off the bat – but remember – you are in the fitness marketing industry.  As important is it might be for you to keep up with latest fitness trends, it’s equally as important for you to keep up with the latest marketing and advertising trends.

Networking builds your sphere of influence.

Nothing is better than meeting new people and building your sphere of influence.  And this is an evolving process.  As you grow, so will your sphere.  You need to be sure that you continually challenge yourself and ensure that the level and caliber of person you are surrounding yourself with continually challenges and allows you to grow.  Be sure to surround yourself with like-minded people.  If you go to the right events (and yes, there will be some where you will wonder – why am I here?) – you’ll find yourself surrounded by people that you can work with and learn from in some way.

Nobody does this better than Sean.  I’ve watched him build his sphere of influence as NPE grows.  And he’s building it in a manner that allows him to continue to grow NPE in the direction he wants by aligning himself with the right kind of people to help him achieve these goals.  Folks are calling him and asking him to be a part of their events and include him in their marketing pieces because he’s not afraid to reach out and connect.  He always makes sure that there is at least one person better than him in his sphere…(I think that’s why he likes to work out with me…he knows I can kick his butt and keep him challenged in some aspects…:-) haha) 

But seriously, it’s important, once you realize you’ve out grown your network, it’s time to build it bigger….

Networking is going to help you market yourself and your skills – and as a result generate more leads and continue to expand your client base.  Because, after all, with no clients you will have no business.  And – it’s usually free!  

Networking is not easy.  

It requires you to move out of your comfort zone, to put yourself ‘out there’ and start to build these relationships.  You are already a little apprehensive about building a business – paying the bills, keeping clients and staff engaged and focused, it’s a lot to take on – but there is no better time than now to begin the networking process.

Ease the pain by jumping in with both feet.  Make it a priority to attend 2 networking events per week – make a goal to meet 10 new people each week.  Still apprehensive?  Arrive at the meetings early – when fewer people are there, bring someone with you, become a board member – just jump right in.  

And please remember to be professional.  If you make promises to someone – keep them.  If you say you’ll follow-up – do so.  Send thank you notes.  Get involved – and stick to your commitments.  You want to establish a strong reputation for yourself – not a weak one.

It takes work. 

Believe me, I know.  Having just recently moved to Orlando, I find that my sphere of influence is now spread out across the country – more than in my new home town.  I’ve been here a year – and realize that I’ve fallen into the trap of being lazy and not reaching out to build my sphere….and yes, a little fearful.  Opportunities are all around us – we just need to reach out and put ourselves out there.  

How?

Simple.  Best place to start is through the Chamber of Commerce.  Big no brainer here.  Where else can you immediately connect to hundreds of other small business owners all with the same ultimate goal of growing their business?

From there, you can branch out to BNI groups, local rotary and Kiwanis clubs.  Trade associations are a good place to look.  Start attending workshops and seminars.  Go to trade shows – become an exhibitor – do presentations.  It’s simple – the more you put yourself out there, the more you’ll get back.

Remember the bigger your network and the more diverse – the greater the opportunities.

Of course, I have not seen a better networking opportunity than our VIP community.  These folks work together, play together and mastermind together.  Why?  Because they are a group of like-minded individuals all with the same goals and dreams.    They challenge each other – teach each other and give back to each other.  Our annual VIP Spring Training this year was a huge success and folks walked away establishing their own quarterly mastermind groups- genius.

There is such value in forming and maintaining a strong circle of contacts.  It’s never too late to strengthen and build your network – and once you start, this solid network will serve you well for years to come.  You’re building the know you, like you , trust you factor – and ultimately, more people will buy from you.

It really comes down to this statement…Your networth is only as good as your network.

So go out and build it.

Ready for Your “Best Month Ever?”

We’ve got 3 new team members in place and things are continuing to crank for us here at NPE.

If you’ve got questions on your business and/or any of our programs the BEST way to get them answered is to request a complimentary consultation with our team by filling out the webform here.

Click here now to request a complimentary consultation on
how you can have your “Best Month Ever”