|
Written by Phil Kaplan, June 19th, 2006
I'm on American Airlines Flight 433, flying to La Jolla to spend a few days with some folks far smarter than I. We meet in a group several times per year to help each other grow.
This meeting is of particular importance as I just resolved a costly mistake and I’m going to share it openly with the group. The mistake changed me. I can identify incidents, emotions, and situations that shaped the course of my career, and this mistake was one that will play a vital role in my impact on the personal training industry within the next five years.
I’ll say that I now have a reinforced outlook on the future, and a heightened sense of what is possible, and I’m so fired up about it I want to scream from the rooftops . . . but there are far too many rooftops and my vocal chords would never hold out. I’ve opted instead to begin right here, right now, igniting a group of fitness professionals and allowing the power of the message to take on a life of its own.
I’ve decided to assemble a group of 20 personal trainers with the intention of helping them go way beyond mastery of their personal training crafts, out into a new realm of growth, achievement, possibility, and potential.
When I land, I’m going to close this document and prepare to send it off to 360 fitness professionals (not a random list, but a calculated number). I’m going to send it as is, without proofing it, without modifying it, knowing that only 1 out of every 18 personal trainers who receive this will act on it. Those are the trainers I want. The ones who have what it takes to lead, not necessarily as managers, but as role models.
The elements that you won’t be able to discern from this writing exercise are the visuals, so allow me to mention that the very nice but somewhat clumsy flight attendant spilled water in my lap, was very apologetic, and embarrassed us both by attempting to minimize the remnant dampness of my jeans. If you were beside me you’d also no doubt comment on my two-day beard growth. I had to wake up at 4:45 AM to catch a 7 AM flight . . . so in my unshaven state with my pants soaking wet . . . I begin . . .
This is a very sincere invitation for some rare personal trainers with the desire to change the world around them to join forces, to invest in a relationship that will be unmatched in its ability to take our industry forward by creating a new breed of professionals with unbridled power to prosper by helping others.
If you want to read about my mistake, my offer, and if you feel you might be one of the few who will commit to exceeding your previous "best," click here.
|
