When I left my personal training job at Gold’s Gym, I struggled.
For 3.5 years I worked in a commercial gym setting as a big fish in a small pond.
I had a full roster of clients, I was getting people good results, and was consistently regarded as one of the top trainers to work within the city.
But in 2014, I decided to make a big change and go into business for myself.
I very quickly learned that being a business owner carries many responsibilities that I’d never dealt with before as a personal trainer.
My search for answers led me to do several business courses, become part of a few mastermind groups, and read every business book I could possibly get my hands on.
Along the way and through the hard times I have made some landmark breakthroughs in my knowledge-base within the business world that have led to a life of financial freedom and massive personal fulfillment.
Now I run multiple successful businesses that has helped positive impact the lives and health of thousands of people.
While some credit could be placed on my hard work, I place nearly all of the credit for my successes to the lessons that I have learned from learning from people who are way smarter than me.
You know why?
Because the hardest worker in the business doesn’t always get the best results.
That’s right, you read that correctly. I know that probably runs counterintuitive to what many motivational quotes and positive self-help books have taught you, but it’s true.
The hardest worker isn’t the one who always gets the best results, the reality of the situation is that the only people who get major results are the ones who allocate their efforts to the most intelligent areas of business development.
I know a ton of people who could be considered hard workers, but their lack of strategy (and focus) nearly guarantees they will never make it onto the other side (the “freedom” side of owning a business).
They are stuck working tirelessly because they think that’s what’s required, and although that’s definitely part of the deal, unless you take the right action you will never be successful.
It’s just like a terrible training program — no matter how hard you train on it you shouldn’t expect optimal results.
With that said, here are four lessons I think will stand the test of time and could be allocated to help everyone reading this to put their efforts into the right areas for the best results.
#1: It Has To Be Your Passion
Your purpose on this planet is your passion.
Your passion is your abilities and your values combined into the best expression of who you are.
If the stock market is a part of your passion, then it could be a great investment.
But if it’s not, it’s much wiser to invest your profits back into your business instead.
Notice also how I said to invest that money back into your “business” and not invest into whatever the industry is trending on at the moment.
Trends come and go, passions are forever. I’ve met plenty of people who get excited about a certain ideology so they build an entire company around it only to be completely wiped out when the next big thing comes along and takes all the bandwagon health nuts.
Stick to your guns and build your business around your passion, it’s the only way you’ll make it the long haul and it’s the absolute best way to express your unique skills.
#2: Success Follows Valuable Content
If you want to start driving more revenue to your business, find ways in which you can bring more free value to your marketplace.
Even if you’re not at first sure how it will eventually translate into money, bring the value anyway and the money will follow in the future.
I did this for years in the beginning.
I didn’t have a business clue in the world, but, I made sure to post health and fitness tips every single day on social media, write tons of articles, and shoot tons of videos.
All 100% free to provide upfront value to my customers and start building a name for myself.
A good example of this is my online training and nutrition courses. Albeit these aren’t free, they provide all of my secret training and nutrition tips that I know about that has allowed me to be so successful in the field working with professional athletes.
Some people thought I was crazy to be training “my competition”, but I ended up with more referrals than I could handle and my income doubled.
Start asking yourself, how could you provide value?
Even if you’re struggling financially and don’t have a budget, you don’t need on. Be a value-creator no matter what status you’re at because at any status it will take you to the next level.
What you will find is that providing valuable content is the key to gaining people’s trust, and gaining people’s trust means that they will be lifelong customers of yours.
#3: Relationship Capital Is Key
One of my clients whom I have been lucky enough to be his nutritional coach name is Jayson Gaignard.
This guy is a business wizard, and his podcast CommunityMade is a great listen if you ever get the chance.
But in any case, this guy is very successful (to say the least) and something he taught me at an event in Toronto was the real value of being good at building relationships.
Relationships should be the core of everything you do.
Most health and fitness coaches invest in mental capital, i.e. education and training.
Don’t get me wrong, this definitely goes a long way.
But, relationship capital is the multiplier that can really grow your financial capital. It looks a little like this:
Mental Capital X Relationship Capital = Financial Capital
Right now, you probably have all of the answers to create great programs, but if you don’t know the right people than you have no way to spread your message.
Send emails and make calls today. Relationship capital is most likely your greatest source of unrealized wealth.
#4: Focus On Your Strengths
Your strengths are your internal characteristics.
Your knowledge, wisdom, and experiences all shape and mold what your strengths are and how you best express them.
Some people are great with technology, others are terrible.
Some are great with financial management, others have no systems in place.
Some are great on camera or on podcasts, whereas others might be better at writing and designing training programs.
The more you embrace who you are and what you’re good at, and the more you invest in that, the more you will be able to expand your means.
Focus on your strengths and delegate the rest because nobody is going to pay you for what you suck at.
Final Thoughts
I hope today’s article was able to point out some major new moves you could be taking to get your life exactly where you want it to be.
Some of these lessons may or may not seem simple, but, implementing them is a different story altogether.
If you want help on the implementation side of things, check out the courses we have here at Create Freedom so you can get on the fast track towards your goals today.
Dan Garner
