The Blog

One of the biggest mistakes I made in my career

April 19, 2018
by Todd

One of the things I love when presenting at conferences is the questions I receive after my presentation or workshop.

I have had a ton of great questions from all the trainers/coaches in attendance of my sessions so far this year.

Here were the Top 7 questions I received from them with my answers below:

Q1. Do you ever have days when your “mind is not right” and what do you do if that’s the case to get out of the funk?

Q2. What is the difference between training a high-level athlete and a “regular” person?

Q3. How do you find greatness inside of yourself?

Q4. Which book of yours is more important to read, your IMPACT Body Plan or The WOW BOOK?

Q5. What is your purpose in life?

Q6. It always seems like you have something “crazy” going on. What is one of the “crazy” things you are working on right now?

Q7. What’s one of the biggest mistakes you made in your fitness career?

See below for the answers.

Q1. Do you ever have days when your “mind is not right” and what do you do if that’s the case to get out of the funk?

Me: Of course there are moments or times when I don’t feel my “normal” energy or my mind is not right. And there a few things I do when that is the case:

Snap my band. I literally snap the “IMPACT” band on my wrist. And now I have a “WOW” band also so I snap them both. It helps!
I use positive self-talk. All-day. All-the-time. I talk to myself.
I workout. There is NOTHING like a good exercise session to make you feel better. Even a 15-minute routine can release endorphins and help get your mind right.
Realize that your mind/body/energy has circadian rhythms throughout the day. There are times in the day when you have natural “highs” and “lows.” That’s OK. Identify your typical “high” circadian rhythm times and maximize those times.
Hang out with people that will lift you up. Who you learn from, listen to, train with, work with, live with, and spend time with all influence the way you think and act. So make sure you are hanging and learning from people that help you #GetUrMindRight.

Q2. What is the difference between training a high-level athlete and a “regular” person?

Me: Not a ton. Athletes need motivation, accountability, and expertise in training. So do everyday fitness enthusiasts. People think athletes are just naturally motivated all the time. And while some are naturally more motivated than others, ALL people need motivation on a DAILY basis. Regardless of what you do for a living, we all need to get our minds right every single day.

Expertise in training is important for everyone. Program design, proper progression/regression, nutrition, supplementation, recovery strategies all play a crucial role in maximizing results.

Q3. How do you find greatness inside of yourself?

Me: Great question. I believe everyone has unique gifts in them. But it’s your job to have the courage to go deep and tap into that.

It takes A LOT of learning. Like OVER 10,000 hours.
It takes having mentors.
It takes attending live events, conferences, workshops, and mentorships. Attend at least 2 per year if you want to maximize your growth.
It takes a lot of practice.
It takes failure and making mistakes. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. It’s how you learn.
It takes surrounding yourself with people who BELIEVE in you and encourage you to live out your dreams.

Q4. Which book of yours is more important to read, your IMPACT Body Plan or The WOW BOOK?

Me. Both! (Laugh). Seriously. The IMPACT Body Plan is my fitness bible. IMPACT to me is more the nuts and bolts of training, nutrition, and mindset. It’s my “legacy” book.

The WOW BOOK is the motivational book that I wrote to inspire people to be their best every day. And I know that happens by creating “WOW” moments and experiences. The WOW BOOK is very easy to read—short chapters, action steps after each of the 52 chapters, and profound stories to move you emotionally.

So I’m proud to say that both books are well worth the approximate $20.00 you may spend on each one. And if either book doesn’t deliver 100x the value you spend on buying the book, then I stink.

Let me know what you think…

Q5. What is your purpose in life?

Me: To motivate and inspire GREATNESS in others and create IMPACT every day. I want to IMPACT 10 million people in my lifetime. I want to be remembered as a great father, husband, trainer, coach, leader, and man of IMPACT.

At the end of the day, I want it to be said, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Q6. It always seems like you have something “crazy” going on. What is one of the “crazy” things you are working on right now?

Me: My 2018 ONLINE Mentorship program is the one BIG crazy things I’m working on right now. This Mentorship program is going to have the best content from my live mentorship all online for hungry fit pros to have to get motivated and take themselves to the next level. I am so excited for this one since I am working on sharing content I have never shared before between the 4 pre-cons and workout I have never had recorded, and great content on building a brand through social media, it’s going to be a GAME CHANGER.

For me, there is nothing like motivating and teaching passionate, hungry fitness professionals that want to go deep on personal mastery and business success. For this reason, I decided to do something I have never done before and am offering a pre-sale of the program at a massive discount and with never before seen bonuses. You can’t miss this one!

Q7. What’s one of the biggest mistakes you made in your fitness career?

Me: That I didn’t systemize my business earlier on. 2-years into business (2002), I was so busy working “in” my business, training clients, and growing my business, that I rarely stopped to work “on” my business.

As a matter of fact, because I was so busy doing 40-50 sessions a week, I had few systems in place. Despite growing to 18 trainers within 2 years and a rapidly growing company, I had NO financial systems, a POOR check-in system, a HORRIBLE accounting system, and my HIRING system wasn’t good.

And after a major lesson (that cost me over $18,000), I quickly changed and built my SYSTEMS for all these aspects. And now we have systems for EVERY aspect of the business. Every. Single. Aspect.

Remember, S.Y.S.T.E.M. stands for “Saves you Some Time Energy and Money.”

I’ll stop there. 7 great questions. Apply the answers and you are well on your way to creating success in your fitness business also.

Much love,

Todd