Entrepreneurial ADD
Most fitness professionals we encounter that consistently fall short of achieving their goals suffer from a debilitating disease…Entrepreneurial ADD. Since Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline have failed to create a type of Ritalin specifically for fitness entrepreneurs, I’m going to help you understand this disease and how you can overcome it.
Understanding EADD
When I was younger there were guys that would come to the gym each week with a new ‘Best Mass Building Program Ever Created.’ Week One might be Lee Haney had all the answers, Week Two, Mike Mentzer’s High Intensity Training might be the solution. Week Three ‘Old School’ might be the way to go and Vince Gironda held the keys to success.
These guys would read every magazine they could get their hands on, always in search of the ‘quick fix’ to getting big and strong. So, in their never ending quest for the ‘perfect program’ they never saw any program through long enough to reap real benefit - and remained in the purgatory of 13 inch arms and 150 lb. squats until they finally just gave up. In the mean time all of us that weren’t ‘in the know’ and stuck with the basics – squats, deadlifts, rows and presses – and worried about getting stronger, never had any problem adding size or strength.
As I moved into the fitness industry I quickly saw that the same mindset was prevalent among trainers. They’d start project after project and never see any them through. The e-book would never get done. That great idea for a web site never became more than an idea.
‘Moving from one-on-one to semi-private seemed like a brilliant idea but then I decided to focus on my membership site and I put it on the back burner’ was something I heard from a fitness pro last week. So I asked how the membership site was doing. “I never finished it’ he said sheepishly.
Most fitness pros are afflicted by EADD. It’s only a select few that consistently finish what they start. No wonder there are so few truly successful fitness professionals.
A Case Study In EADD
I have an acquaintance – and he’s not a fitness professional, but he was a co-owner of a health club. Over the past two years I’ve seen this guy start 5 different businesses, all in separate industries.
Each time he’d run the idea for his business by me and show me all the research he’d done on his concept. Each time, I’d play ‘devil’s advocate’ and he’d refine his plan until it appeared sound. In every case I though he had ideas that not only would work, but in couple of instances I was downright jealous that I hadn’t thought of the concept myself. Any one of these businesses could have easy made this guy $100,000 a year, perhaps significantly more.
Each time he’d work his ass off to get the business started. He’d spend 16 hours a day and dump plenty of money into each venture. About the time the business became ready to market and really take off – 3 months or so, he’d lose interest and move on to the next ‘great idea.’ Sure, he could take action to get it started – but he was completely devoid of the persistence necessary to be a success. So, instead of making $100,000, $200,000 or even $300,000 a year by following through with any one of these businesses – he continues to ‘just get by’ working for someone else waiting for the next ‘get rich idea.’
Sound familiar?
Overcoming Your EADD
Until the drug companies come out with their version of Entrepreneurial Ritalin, here are my suggestions for holding your EADD in check:
Focus On Your Core Business – Not everyone has to have a dozen e-books or a membership site. Get your offline training business running at an optimal level before you bother trying to get ‘internet rich.’ If online stuff is your core business, get great at one or two things instead of being ordinary at six or seven.
Think One Project At A Time – Set a goal of not just finishing what you start, but tie goals to the project and don’t move to another project until you’ve reached the goals for the first one. If you are working on an e-book, finishing it isn’t enough. Don’t move to the next project until you have 30 affiliates, $10,000 in sales, etc.
Vertical, Not Lateral – Have you maxed out what you can do with your offline training business? Add things like weight management, autoship supplements, group programs and other things that fall under that ‘personal training’ umbrella and are marketable to the same people rather than branching off to another are unlikely to provide a quick return – therefore unlikely to hold your interest.
How Do You Eat An Elephant? – One bite at a time! Commit to spending an hour a day working on your project until it’s done. I’ve gathered that Alwyn Cosgrove writes for the first hour of the morning each day – seems like a pretty good plan to get a lot of writing done doesn’t it?
Stick To What You Know – If you’re passionate about something you’ll be more likely to want to work on it and less likely to lose interest. Most of the fitness pros that I know that have enjoyed great success with businesses or products were passionate about the topic – not just putting something together that they thought might sell.
Hopefully this helps you understand what EADD is and how you can cure yours. Most people struggle with trying to juggle several projects at once – it’s a select few that can work on five or six things at once and not only complete them, but do a great job with them. If you’ve been trying to do that with little if any results – try a different approach. You’ll be more successful and that success will keep you motivated to complete the next project and the next…
Talk to you later.
Understanding EADD
When I was younger there were guys that would come to the gym each week with a new ‘Best Mass Building Program Ever Created.’ Week One might be Lee Haney had all the answers, Week Two, Mike Mentzer’s High Intensity Training might be the solution. Week Three ‘Old School’ might be the way to go and Vince Gironda held the keys to success.
These guys would read every magazine they could get their hands on, always in search of the ‘quick fix’ to getting big and strong. So, in their never ending quest for the ‘perfect program’ they never saw any program through long enough to reap real benefit - and remained in the purgatory of 13 inch arms and 150 lb. squats until they finally just gave up. In the mean time all of us that weren’t ‘in the know’ and stuck with the basics – squats, deadlifts, rows and presses – and worried about getting stronger, never had any problem adding size or strength.
As I moved into the fitness industry I quickly saw that the same mindset was prevalent among trainers. They’d start project after project and never see any them through. The e-book would never get done. That great idea for a web site never became more than an idea.
‘Moving from one-on-one to semi-private seemed like a brilliant idea but then I decided to focus on my membership site and I put it on the back burner’ was something I heard from a fitness pro last week. So I asked how the membership site was doing. “I never finished it’ he said sheepishly.
Most fitness pros are afflicted by EADD. It’s only a select few that consistently finish what they start. No wonder there are so few truly successful fitness professionals.
A Case Study In EADD
I have an acquaintance – and he’s not a fitness professional, but he was a co-owner of a health club. Over the past two years I’ve seen this guy start 5 different businesses, all in separate industries.
Each time he’d run the idea for his business by me and show me all the research he’d done on his concept. Each time, I’d play ‘devil’s advocate’ and he’d refine his plan until it appeared sound. In every case I though he had ideas that not only would work, but in couple of instances I was downright jealous that I hadn’t thought of the concept myself. Any one of these businesses could have easy made this guy $100,000 a year, perhaps significantly more.
Each time he’d work his ass off to get the business started. He’d spend 16 hours a day and dump plenty of money into each venture. About the time the business became ready to market and really take off – 3 months or so, he’d lose interest and move on to the next ‘great idea.’ Sure, he could take action to get it started – but he was completely devoid of the persistence necessary to be a success. So, instead of making $100,000, $200,000 or even $300,000 a year by following through with any one of these businesses – he continues to ‘just get by’ working for someone else waiting for the next ‘get rich idea.’
Sound familiar?
Overcoming Your EADD
Until the drug companies come out with their version of Entrepreneurial Ritalin, here are my suggestions for holding your EADD in check:
Focus On Your Core Business – Not everyone has to have a dozen e-books or a membership site. Get your offline training business running at an optimal level before you bother trying to get ‘internet rich.’ If online stuff is your core business, get great at one or two things instead of being ordinary at six or seven.
Think One Project At A Time – Set a goal of not just finishing what you start, but tie goals to the project and don’t move to another project until you’ve reached the goals for the first one. If you are working on an e-book, finishing it isn’t enough. Don’t move to the next project until you have 30 affiliates, $10,000 in sales, etc.
Vertical, Not Lateral – Have you maxed out what you can do with your offline training business? Add things like weight management, autoship supplements, group programs and other things that fall under that ‘personal training’ umbrella and are marketable to the same people rather than branching off to another are unlikely to provide a quick return – therefore unlikely to hold your interest.
How Do You Eat An Elephant? – One bite at a time! Commit to spending an hour a day working on your project until it’s done. I’ve gathered that Alwyn Cosgrove writes for the first hour of the morning each day – seems like a pretty good plan to get a lot of writing done doesn’t it?
Stick To What You Know – If you’re passionate about something you’ll be more likely to want to work on it and less likely to lose interest. Most of the fitness pros that I know that have enjoyed great success with businesses or products were passionate about the topic – not just putting something together that they thought might sell.
Hopefully this helps you understand what EADD is and how you can cure yours. Most people struggle with trying to juggle several projects at once – it’s a select few that can work on five or six things at once and not only complete them, but do a great job with them. If you’ve been trying to do that with little if any results – try a different approach. You’ll be more successful and that success will keep you motivated to complete the next project and the next…
Talk to you later.
posted by Pat Rigsby at 9:40 AM
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