How to Get Ahead – A Manifesto

When I started to type, it exploded out of me. This was the most important thing that I’ve ever written.

The task was simple: share what fit pros need to know in order to get ahead in the industry?

Why do some win big while others struggle? What’s the special sauce?

My opening column in this month’s issue of Fitness Marketing Monthly begins:

It was a catalytic moment for me, my tipping point. If a single injury could wipe out two weeks’ worth of income, that meant training wasn’t a secure way to make a living. And without a secure living, I couldn’t support a family.

Was this what I wanted for the rest of my life?

There didn’t seem to be a way out. I had a degree in kinesiology, no business background, no knowledge of anything but health and fitness, and no idea what people with “real” jobs do all day.

With no idea how I would do it, I gave myself a goal: I was going to be 100 percent self-sufficient by the time I turned 35. I’d be married with a family, with the freedom to spend time with them whenever I wanted, however I wanted.

My dream came true well before my 35th birthday. But it wasn’t easy, and at times it wasn’t pretty. Getting ahead isn’t all unicorns and rainbows. You have to make sacrifices.

As I see it, there are 13 rules to follow if you want to get ahead. Some may be obvious to you. Others may rub you the wrong way. I’m just presenting the information. How you use it is up to you.

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The 13 rules to getting ahead are quite varied

Some of them you probably know you should be doing. For example:

Rule #1: Get noticed

Rule #4: Get started

And

Rule #12: Understand money

While obvious in theory. Application is what counts.

Other rules are less obvious. Those already extremely successful know them to be true. The earlier you follow these, the better. For example:

Rule #6: Be present, or don’t be there at all

and

Rule #8: Be prepared to absorb a loss

And finally . . .

. . . some of the rules are hard to swallow.

The reason why so few get ahead is because it’s not always pretty. You must be willing to do what others won’t, if you want to one day have what others don’t. For example:

Rule #13: Be selfish

From this month’s lead column – my manifesto on Getting Ahead – in Fitness Marketing Monthly:

All successful people have made sacrifices. They got ahead because they understood the tradeoffs required to make the leap. Sometimes it’s their health. Other times it’s their family or friends. Or, too often, it’s all of the above.

They were selfish, in other words.

Selfishness has a negative connotation, but if you want to get ahead, you have to be selfish at least some of the time.

The title of my manifesto is if you want to have what others don’t, you must do what others won’t, and perhaps that’s apt because most won’t subscribe to FMM even after reading this. And it’s not for everybody, but for some …

… It’s an Unmatched Opportunity

Those that win in the near future are going to win big. Your success is up to you and the deep skills you are able to acquire. Good enough won’t cut it much longer. You must know how to market, advertise, brand yourself, and sell.

This may sound overwhelming.

I get it. In the past 8 years I’ve read over 20 books on pricing strategy alone. Aside from the thousands of dollars I’ve spent on books, it’s taken thousands of hours to sift through it all – and this is assuming that you know what and who to study from. I’ve also spent hundreds of hours flying in order to build a world class network of experts to learn from.

There’s a lot to know. Where do you start?

You can choose to start at the beginning but I want you to intelligently skip ahead so I’m going to make you an offer.

What if I told you that instead of spending thousands of dollars and hours, you could invest less than $2/day and less than 3 hours a month to have the precise information you need, curated from the world’s best, delivered via priority mail to your doorstep each month?

This is everything that you need to get ahead and nothing that you don’t, served up on a golden platter.

What I’m describing is our renowned Fitness Marketing Monthly (FMM) service and, if that wasn’t enough, while you await your first issue of FMM, I’ll immediately send you a welcome gift valued at an astonishing $298, 100% free. This powerful gift contains the 9 steps. Every burnt-out fit pro is missing at least one, and usually 3 to 4 of these precious steps.

So don’t delay. Enjoy your first issue risk-free, with no obligation. Subscribe to Fitness Marketing Monthly and, if you decide that it’s not for you within the first 60 days, we will happily refund you 100% of your investment and you can keep the incredible free gifts.

You have no risk. The only way to lose is to do nothing and get left behind.

This industry is about to become much more competitive. The cowboy era is ending. The bonanza is almost over. You used to be able to get by with hacked-together marketing. Not for long. The cream will soon rise to the top. I implore you, take me up on my incredible offer, and make the decision to join us as a FMM subscriber at no risk to you.

–> www.fitnessmarketingmonthly.com

It’s sad that most reading this won’t take action. They’ll ignore my warning, turn me down on my offer, and try to save a couple bucks a month learning from an overwhelming array of free resources – many of whom developed by people who can hardly afford the computer they’re typing on. The most expensive information is bad information – even if it’s free. I’m offering you an unmatched opportunity but it requires you to be a one of the rare action takers.

The truth is that you have time to decide. I’ll sell you a subscription to FMM a month from now and a year from now. But I want you to ask yourself what the heck you’re waiting for? In a month’s time, you’ll be an extra month behind and it will take longer to get caught up. Subscribe now, get the welcome gifts, and take advantage of other’s inaction by propelling yourself past them.

–> www.fitnessmarketingmonthly.com

– Coach Jon

P.S.

Even if you’re not joining us this month as an FMM subscriber, I’d be remised to not share a more on the bit about being selfish.

I made a lot of selfish decisions from 2011 to 2013, turning down one family invitation after another. I did it because I had a vision for how I could build my business, and how my long hours and singular focus would eventually pay off for the family whose invitations I declined.

This winter I invited my in-laws to join Alison, Calvin (my son) and me in Mexico for a month, all expenses paid. It was a generous offer that was only possible because of the selfish decisions I made in those crucial years.

I’d say that it was worth it 

Sadly, they only had 3 Mexican hats and 3 donkeys. So I don’t have a hat, and my mother in-law is sitting on a cow.

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This article originally appeared on OnlineTrainer.com