Bye Halmstad – Hello London!
Traveling alone has always been a freedom thing of mine. I don’t have to be dependent on anyone else. The whole hassle about plans fitting everyone, people who are uncertain if they want to go or not and so. It spares me a lot of time and energy to do the things I want on my own terms. If I want to go to London for one seminar over the weekend, then that is what I will do.
I decided to go to London on my summer holiday and I am happy that I did. When it comes to personal training and development Sweden is a small country. We don’t really have that many with long experience and honestly I’d rather learn from the best than being a half ass coach. Therefore I travel. I try to put my money and time on things that matters. Why waste my time on going to a seminar with less information than I already have? To me it doesn’t make any sense.
Phil Learney has been a personal trainer for about 20 years. He is highly successful with people lining up to train with him, people who travel long distances to go to his seminars and as I type people who want to attend his academy programs in the future. The great thing about Phil is that all success of his has not gone to his head. He is very down to earth and honest. When I trained with him 1,5 years ago, he showed me great professionalism. He has the strongest client focus that I have ever come across in this business and therefore he grows his success.
I arrived in London late Friday night at Gatwick airport. I managed to find my hotel and went to bed early. In the morning, I felt rested and went for a walk in a park nearby my hotel. I later came back and did some exercise to feel energized for hours and hours of talk the same day.
I took the bus to Gatwick airport and from there the Gatwick express to Victoria. From the station it was a walking distance to the seminar that started at 9 am. When I walked in, the room was almost full. I took a seat in the middle and the seminar started.
I could tell by everyone’s faces that this was something that they had been waiting for, for a while. As soon as Phil started speaking, pens started to scribble and notes where taken. Phil brought up so many things during the time between 9 am – 6 pm that I now have to look at my notes to remember it all. He was asked many questions and he engaged with more or less everyone the whole time. The first thing that comes to mind is that we had to do a homework assignment before we even attended the seminar. He wanted us to be engaged before we went there.
This was a business seminar that we attended. Many of us/all of us are great at what we do. But to take off can be hard. As for myself I have had a website, twitteraccount, professional facebook page, instagram, podcast and youtube channel for a while now. And still clients have a hard time finding me. One thing is that I am a full time teacher during the day and “superhero” at night. Sorry for the joke! What I am trying to say is that it can be hard to be noticed when you work with other things alongside your business which makes it hard to fit things into your business. Hopefully that will change.
We talked a lot about social media and how to portray the business and brand. Who are you being associated with? Do you sell yourself out to make a buck or do you have integrity in not letting yourself take the easy way to some quick cash and work long term for the brand (you). In my case I have to say that I do. I would not want to be associated with a brand or a company that have no honesty or sell shitty products. I have been asked many times if I want to sell this and that or work with people who are not, in my eyes, the standard of my liking. I know that I could have earned a lot more money if I would have. But my brand as being an honest, empathic and skillful coach would go down the drain and I can not let that happen. My brand is my responsibility.
We talked a lot about demographic and how the world will look in a couple of years ahead. The numbers are scary to be honest. In the fast rate that obesity is rising I don’t know how we as trainers can help all these people. I sure hope that many of us get contacted during the coming years to do something to prevent it from escalading. I know from my own experiences, from my clients experiences that to make a change in your life you need support. You need a professional who sees you and who is ready to step in helping you take control of your life. It is hard to do it on your own. I am well aware that a price tag can be the tipping point into why people don’t seek help. Is it worth having a heart attack before you are convinced that life can be so much better than this? Nobody says that you need to live on a bodybuilding diet to be healthy. Nobody says that 5% of body fat is going to make you happier than 15% of body fat.
I have done lectures to the general public before and I really enjoyed it. After this seminar, I feel that the spark once again has been sparked into pushing myself to help people by giving them information. It is so important to spread the stuff that you know to help others. That is a also a mantra that Phil keeps repeating.
When we spoke about brands, I really liked what Phil said on the question, who is your product?
“My product is me” Phil Learney 2015-09-05 London
I am very happy about the fact that I’ve spent my time and money wisely. This is probably one of the best things that I could have done to again feel motivated and inspired to keep doing what I love. To help people finding their optimal health and longevity.
Before I rest my keyboard I want to thank everyone at the seminar for all their insightful questions which helped me reflect and analyze more. I would like to thank Stina Egenberg for letting me crash on her sofa giving me food and being just a totally awesome friend. I want to thank Kerstin for taking care of my lovely dog Larissa. And I want to thank Phil Learney for always delivering top quality in everything you do.
Share this post if you have been to the seminar. And tag yourself in the picture if you get the chance. I would love to reconnect with you guys again.
It is selfie time:
Sincerely JustLotta (Charlott Zsoldos)
