So You Want To Be A Trainer…

Posted on by Jerry
Awesome personal trainer

Name’s Jerry. Been a personal trainer for a little over a decade. I’ve learned a lot over time and I’ve had my fair share of successes and failures. You know, I’m willing to bet that we actually have a lot in common. I also believe we are probably world’s apart. Let me tell you why…

First of all, I can remember when I first started off as a trainer. I had my story and I was able to convince quite a few people that I was good at what I did. Of course, I didn’t fully believe that, but you couldn’t tell me that any of that mattered at all, because I was making bank! After buying a luxury car and upgrading my apartment, I was feeling so confident that I felt like I could conquer the world.

I trained people pretty much from sun up to sun down.  So that’s like you probably right now.  I was making tons of money, so that’s probably not you right now. No, I’m not being a hater, I’m just saying that statistics show that the average personal trainer makes barely a mere $10,000 over the poverty line.  So unless you are selling body parts for cash in your spare time, you know where you sit.

I made a lot of money being a personal trainer, but I wasn’t happy for some reason. I ended up spending more than I was earning just to keep my sanity. It was kinda insane when I think about it. The clock on my 15 minutes of fame was ticking 14:59…

The thing about personal training is that it is not like most professions. Because it’s not regulated, there are so many versions of it, it’s not funny. But what ended up happening for me is that I started to get bigger than the training. I was young and I believed that people were making changes because of me. Because I was that cool guy. The guy that would pay top dollar to, simply because he was a cool person.

Gimmicks and Crutches

You see brozilla, you can be the coolest person in the gym and people may like you for awhile, but once they find out that you’re more about yourself then you are about them, it’s a wrap. It’s pretty much the same in everyday life as well. You’ll see someone that seems so cool because she has the coolest outfit, or the newest toy, but once people are done admiring that specific aspect of their personality…well you know. It’s a shame, because so many beginner trainers feel like they need a crutch or a gimmick.

Honestly, gimmicks don’t set you apart though. Think about those days when you find “block buster deals” like Black Friday, or Christmas. All of those companies that have sales and gimmicks are all just trying to make more noise than the next. Their plan is to attract as much attention as possible to themselves and try make as much as they can with whomever they reach. They don’t care if they have a relationship with their customer and in the personal training field, that’s probably the worst approach to take.

But the flip side is if all you are trying to do is make friends, you don’t get paid. If you’ve ever lent a friend money, you probably know that some friends don’t pay you right away.  As a personal trainer, I’m sure you would agree, it’s kind of important that you get paid, but some people are unwilling to part with their money if you don’t have the confidence to ask for it.

Trainer or Money Maker??

So you are stuck. You start off trying to attract attention. You realize that all you get is unwanted attention. The people that fall for your gimmick come in droves and you realize you have to work hours on end with these people. It sucks HARD.

You’re trapped because if you step away you lose the security of the money you’ve been making. But if you stay with it, you just might go insane. I know, because I’ve been there as well.

You see, as I’ve said before I’ve seen both sides of the coin.  I’ve had my fair share of both for various reasons, but what I’ve realized that it’s not the gimmicks. It’s not just being the coolest guy. It for sure is not having the lowest price. Someone can come along and match all those things.  You wanna know what will really make you a great trainer? This might blow you mind, because it did for me when I realized it. The only way that you, (insert name here) will be a great trainer is if you make it not about (insert name here).

What I mean is that you drop the reliance on anything other than your own desire to improve their lives. You wanna be a trainer? Prepare to be the best servant to people as possible. You wanna be a great trainer? Well there’s a few more things that I don’t have time to talk about today, but if you’d like to know just post your comments/questions below.

 

Jerry “no gimmicks” Washington

P.S. I’m still the cool charismatic guy that I always was. The key for me though was to be charismatic in showing people how I could help them rather than trying to impress them. There is a huge difference and if you’re a personal trainer or a fledgling personal trainer, I would love to chat with you about your experiences. You can always contact me directly here.

Time + Effort = ?

Posted on by Jerry
value, time

Hey, d’ja miss me? Gone for a day and I get a random text from someone telling me that I forgot to post today lol! I’m glad to see that my lack of presence is well accounted for (at least by one person) That’s actually what I wanted to talk about today. No, not that one person, but what we sometimes get (or don’t get) as a result of the use of our time.

I’ll try to make this one short. I realize that my passion sometimes gets the best of me. So I’ll cut right to the chase…

As I am sitting here after just returning from the hospital, I thinking about my grandma. I think about how granny bear is laying there right now, breathing her last breaths and I wonder what’s next. You, see granny bear lived a pretty hard life and as my family is getting ready to prepare for her passing, I’m getting a little uncomfortable.

The thing is, she was a VERY good person. You like one of those people that went to church every day and would give the shirt off her back to anyone. In fact, I believe she’s done that once or twice. But what makes me uncomfortable is the fact that although she had the best attitude about just about everything and everyone, she still could have had more.

Is it really worth the time?

My grandmother was always poor. My mom used to tell me stories about how she used to boil water in the community cooking area back in Jamaica so the other neighbors didn’t notice when the didn’t have anything to eat. And that’s fine, everyone has their struggles, but the problem is that she kept that mindset throughout her life.

The thing I’d like you to consider here is that although she worked hard and put a A LOT of time in at work (16 hour days until she was 65) she still remains in the same tax bracket. Why?

One word…mindset.

You see if your mindset is set to expect to gain little in exchange for hard work, then that’s exactly what you’ll get. You’ll work your butt off, but something will always be there to hold you back. It’s a little something that some call the law of attraction, others just call it getting what you deserve.

Some people would say if you put in the hard work and enough time, you  DESERVE everything you get. And that’s true because if you’re suffering along the way then that’s what you’ll get back…more suffering.

So in closing I’m gonna end this one with a profound statement (if I do say so myself).

You can’t suffer your way to success/happiness/fulfillment.

Read that again brozilla ^^^^^

What you put in is always what you get out (plus interest). So if you want greatness your only option is to work to be great.

Jerry “working on my greatness” Washington

 

P.S. I know that may seem a little obscure, but I’ve got backup. If you are in the Philadelphia area, I would encourage you to jump in my group on Facebook by clicking here. Otherwise, I would love to continue this conversation with you. I’d like to talk with you more about how you can live the good life. If you’d like to discuss a few simple tricks I picked up over the years, just email me. Talk soon…

You’re The Best

Posted on by Jerry
Awesome personal trainer

It’s not every day that you have someone actually trying to put the attention right back on you, but I want to you to stop for a second and put your hand over your heart. You feel that there? It’s called purpose.

 

It’s your purpose that pumps through your heart and literally gets you out of bed. I want you to have a real cause that gets you amped up and ready to focus on what’s important…you.

 

You see, what most people don’t realize is that in today’s world of on-demand television programming and social media, we’re pretty much always distracted from our own life. I don’t want to be part of that distraction, however. Instead, I’d like to help you get “undistracted.”

 

So how do you shift from distracted to impactful? Easy. Use simple reminders.

 

I don’t have time to go into everything that I do to help myself and others stay focused on the important things in life, but I’ll leave you with this one hint today.

 

COMMIT TO YOUR DREAMS

 

I would have you consider that the easiest way to go about that is to write down your goals.

 

Over a year ago, I wrote down on a sheet of paper that I put on my bathroom mirror that I will do more to help people. I also added in that I would make 6 figures doing it (and I believed it). I started trying to find different ways to help people and boom, 6 in the bank.

 

It’s simple, but not easy. Believe me, if it were easy everyone would be doing it. Not everyone can stay committed and there are a few that don’t even know where to start. I was both those people, but it wasn’t until I stopped trying to do it on my own that I came across the right mentors and supportive people to help me turn things around.

 

I would like to return the favor out into the world so, if you would like help getting started on achieving your goals and maintaining a real purpose that literally will have you excited to get out of bed every morning, contact me.

 

You can leave a comment below or you can message me here

 

Jerry “love yourself” Washington

 

P.S. I’m a fan of meditation as well. Getting in touch with the real you and your deepest desires is something that you don’t just come up with sitting on the couch watching t.v. It takes a little work to get all those distractions and unexpressed emotions out of your head.  For more on my proven mediation method that I teach to my clients click the link here to one of my previous posts about meditation. So apply named: How To Meditate. Talk soon…