There's an old fable from Japan I'd like to share with you guys. It takes place hundreds of years ago, and it's a young boy who's training to become a Ninja. On the first day of training, his master takes him out into a freshly planted bamboo field.The master pointed at a bamboo sprout and asked the young ninja to jump over it."What's the point of this? It's so easy" said the young ninja.The master replied "Have faith in the process."The next day they came back and did it again. The sprout had grown another 1/8 inch and it was again, no challenge.And so, every day they went out in the field and the young Ninja jumped over this growing bamboo tree.Eventually it grew to a foot and then a foot and a half, two feet, three feet, four feet. Every day the bamboo grew a quarter of an inch, and every day the young ninja jumped over it.One day, the master looked at the ninja in training and said, "Today, you are a ninja". Without realizing it, the ninja had grown in ability to jump over a 6 foot tall bamboo tree, one quarter of an inch at a time.
Plant Your Bamboo Tree Today
The lesson of this story is the beginning of your journey. Today, we plant your bamboo tree together. By the end of 2020, you and your gym will be doing unimaginable things, one small step at a timeI'm tired of seeing people using the New Year as an annual reason to "reset" things. PushPress is going to help you start incrementally building your business today. If you focus and work on your business this year, it will be steamrolling into 2021, no need for a reset.
STEP 1: COMMIT & GET OBSESSED
So if you feel like your gym can see some big improvements in 2020 - I'd like to you take a long look at yourself in the mirror. Tell yourself this is the year its' going to happen. COMMIT to spending more time focusing on - OBSESSING OVER - your business.Big changes only come to the committed and the obsessed. Do you want to improve, or do you want things to remain the same. Get mentally and emotionally on board.Stop identifying as a FITNESS PROFESSIONAL. Start identifying as a BUSINESS PERSON.
STEP 2: IMMERSE IN EDUCATION
We're going to help you with this. We will continually be linking to podcasts you should listen to, books you should read, and start to engage our clients with discussions on how to deploy educational tidbits in your gym.We will be talking a lot about business concepts that are NOT rooted in the fitness/gym space. We will be bringing to you books, podcasts, and ideas that are NOT from fitness professionals.This is because the world of business is immense, and the fitness industry should learn from those who walk this path for $100 million companies.
STEP 3: DEDICATED TIME FOR ABSORPTION AND REFLECTION
You need to set aside thirty minutes a day where you can focus and think about your business with no distractions.If you consume books and podcasts in a lace where you are distracted, you will not absorb anything.If you do not spend dedicated time reflecting on how this new information can help you in your specific business, it will not help you.For me, this is running. I put on my headphones and an audiobook or podcast and try to hit the trails for at least 30 minutes, four times a week. This gives me the chance to think about my business while I'm away from all distractions.
Today's Podcasts to Listen To
- The GymOS Podcast from PushPress - Just bookmark this now, so you have it.
- WTF Gym Talk x Dan Uyemura - Had to include my talk with Stuart Brauer of WTF Gym Talk that came out a couple days ago.
- Masters of Scale - The Millennial Episode - How to adjust to the upcoming generation of consumers and turn them into loyal customers.