…and you're gonna see a video down below. BUT please DO NOT watch  the video below until you read this entire post otherwise things won't make any sense.

I'm somewhat of a germ-a-phobe. I'll take a "dap" over a hand shake any day.

And I hate when people cough and sneeze around me. And I prefer not to drink out of other people's cups.

Other than that, I'm pretty "normal" even though my assistants Marilyn and Allison wouldn't agree since I make them keep a bottle of GermX on their desk at all times.

The reason I'm telling you all this is because two funny things happened to me over the last three days. (Well, it's probably funny to you, but it really messed with my OCD big time!)

See, I spent a couple days last week teaching online client getting strategies at Joe Polish's Platnium Plus seminar in Phoenix, AZ. It was a killer event and the people there were awesome.

I also shared the stage with Paula Abdul. She's a totally awesome and sweet person and has amazing energy. All of Joe's attendees loved her.

WARNING: What I'm about to tell you is NO reflection on Paula. I totally realize that the problem is all me.

Funny story 1:
So at the end of Paula's presentation people lined up to take a picture with her. I got in line too (didn't want to pull the "presenter card" and cut in line) since I figured it would be a cool picture to put on my blog. While in line with 30 others I realized that Paula was kissing everyone on the cheek before snapping a picture.

Another Disclaimer: Like I said, Paula is a REALLY awesome person and I realize that the problem here is ALL me and not her.

Once I saw her kissing everyone on the cheek my OCD/Germ-a-phobe switch flipped and I realized that there was NO WAY I was gonna take a picture with her and risk getting a kiss on the cheek after she kissed all those people (again, the problem here is all me for the record).

So I bailed out of line like a bat out of hell, made random small talk with Joe Polish for about two minutes and I was outta there!

And that's why I have no picture of me and Paula Abdul to show you.

Funny story 2: This past weekend there were a lot of Birthday's in my family. Brother, dad, nephew, and a few others that I probably forgot about. And to top it all of there was a party happening that I couldn't get out of.

I promised my mom and dad that I'd stop by with Di and the kids and so we did.

Now, again. Let me just say that I realize the problem is once again ALL ME. I also realize that the universe has a very funny sense of humor and that often times I'm the butt of the joke – totally fine with me.

For funny story # 2 to make sense to you I have to kinda set the scene…

I'm Armenian. And If you know anything about Armenians it's that they love to put on big parties, weddings, and anniversaries and rent halls where they bring in a TON of food, music, and booze and the good times roll.

If you've seen the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" then you've seen a toned down version of an Armenian party.

So we got the kids together and headed to the party to hang with the Armenian side of the family who I had not seen for over five years.

We had a blast… until the end of the night when one of my dad's old timer friends decided that he was gonna give me ten minutes of drunken advice all while spitting while he talked. (By the way the advice was about how the internet is going to be the next be thing… ironic, right?)

Oddly enough Di happened to have her flip cam with her and she caught the very part of the conversation that I hated the most on video.

Since I consider you a friend and since I know for everyone else but me this is considered funny I thought I'd share this video from last night with you.

I'll spare you the long speech and just show you the "money shot".

Enjoy the video…

Those two cute kids at the end of the video happily eating cake are Andrew and Chloe. They had no clue daddy was being assaulted as they were chowing down… haha!

I'm curious. Do you have any weird quirks,  phobias, or hang ups? Let me know if the comment box below

You're about to read a funny guest post from my good friend and mastermind client Josh Carter. When he told me the story you're about to read I knew it was a blog post waiting to happen…

So without any further ado… here's Josh!

We have all seen it happen.  A prospective client walks up to the hot trainer with the 6 pack abs and instantly wants to train with them.  Writes them a check on the spot.

I hate those guys.

For most of us it is not that easy (if it is that easy for you, stop reading now, jerk.)

You see, trainers come in all shapes, sizes and intelligence levels.

I have seen hot trainers (both male & female) who are moron trainers yet seem to have a full roster of clients.

I have seen brilliant trainers who are less than fit (some fat)  and have  next to no clients.

And then there is most of the rest of us,  lying somewhere in the “hot to homely” / “genius to dumb ass” spectrum with varying levels of clients.

The trick is to be able to be a fat trainer and have a full roster.  Ah yes, the holy grail of trainerdom. (Well, maybe not)

But that is where our story begins….

There was one fat trainer I once knew who always seemed to have clients-, I’ll call him Joe.  Joe was a minimum 50 pounds over weight, yet most of the time he had no trouble getting clients (retaining them was another issue and that’s another story.)

A few years back I owned a gym in North Hollywood, and Joe was a trainer that worked there. Joe was also a fearless salesmen.  I mean NO fear. This guy could sell ice to Eskimos.  He always seemed to have no problems filling up his schedule, mostly with hot young women, even though he was fat and 20 years older than most of them.

Joe was not afraid to approach anyone on the gym floor, or even walking by, and talk to them about training.  Although I never asked, I assume he never read anything on sales or marketing (I don't even know if he could read),  but the guy just seemed to have a gift.

One day Joe and I and a few others were hanging out at the front desk when a hot young thing started to pass by outside.  Like someone had just stabbed him with a cattle prod Joe sprang into action as he sprinted for the door.

I just sat back and watched the show, which I had seen before but it was always entertaining.  I heard Joe say something flattering to the young lady like “Hey you look great, would you like me to tell you how I can help you look better?”

She turned and shot him a look, and quite emphatically told him “ F&^K YOU,  MOTHERF^$CKER!!!”

Joe simply shrugged, apologized for disturbing her and turned back and headed into the gym- completely unphased.

A few moments later, after I recovered from my cramp inducing laughing fit I asked him how he could do it.  How could he go out there and talk to a woman he didn’t know when THAT was a potential outcome?

He simply stated “You can’t get a hit if you don’t take a swing.”

Ah, profound words from an otherwise un-profound man.

Whether he knew it or not, those words were the secret to his client attraction success.  I took those words to heart, and repeat them to myself when I am feeling unsure about my current marketing course. Successful marketing requires you to be fearless, relentless and at times ruthless.

Like the great Babe Ruth once said, "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run."

There is one other guy I know who is even better than Joe at marketing and sales (plus the other shiz that comes after that.)  His name is Bedros Keuilian.

His marketing and sales strategies follow the “You can’t get a hit if you don’t take a swing” methodology.

Bedros has said to me on several occasions “Throw it against the wall and see what sticks.” Sometimes something will work, sometimes it won’t.  But you will never know until you try.

If you need successful sales & marketing strategies with a low potential for hot women telling you to "F off", this is your guy.

Now, I’m not saying you should be a fat trainer.  I think we have a responsibility to inspire our clients on multiple levels, including but not limited to practicing what we preach.

What I am saying is that YOU CAN be a fat successful trainer if you adopt the “You can’t get a hit if you don’t take a swing” mentality in your marketing and sales.

Now go out there and fearlessly kill it.  And if you need some guidance, check out CloseClients.com and get the skills to close 9 out of 10 clients. And if you want some killer done-for-you marketing material and proven client getting ads, postcards, letters then check out TheArtOfSellingFitness.com.

A-N-D if you have a funny story about a trainer you once worked with be sure to leave it in the comment box below so we can all get a good laugh

Until Next Time,

Joshua Carter
Calabasas Personal Trainer & Rock Star

Here's a killer post from Body Transformation Expert, West Hills Personal Trainer Josh Carter. I've known Josh for a long time. In fact he first hired me for coaching four years ago – just before opening up his now famous "Carter Fitness Personal Training Studio."

He's also in my Seven Figure Formula mastermind group along side some other big names in the industry. Josh is a goal setter… and a goal achiever. And in this post he's gonna share with you how he sets and achieves goals.

**SIDE NOTE** Speaking of coaching, I'm officially shutting down my 12 month mentorship program for good. I've been blessed with more coaching clients than I ever anticipated (which is a good problem to have), however since I'm dedicating 2010 to the growth of Fit Body Boot Camp and my mastermind groups I don't want to take on new coaching clients several times each month because the learning curve is always the steepest in the beginning and requires a lot of my time.

So, I've decided to indefinitely close my 12 month mentorship program. HOWEVER, since I know there's probably a bunch of people sitting on the fence and were waiting to get on the program at some point, I want to give you the opportunity to get on board now.

I'm going to start one last group of mentorship clients this month and that's it… after that no one else can get on the program – ever.

So here's the deal…

On Friday, January 29th I'm closing the 12 month mentorship program and we're pulling down the site. But you can still get on board right now and be in the last group of coaching clients I take on (this is email and phone coaching where I help you take you're business and profits to the top in 12 months).

If you think you're interested, just go to 12 Month Mentorship, read all about the program and get on board.

That's all I gotta say about that

Josh Carter, take it away…

Ok, the title is a stretch.

I intended to imply that you should strive to reach your goal, and have the fortitude to persevere (the definition of “mettle”.)

You may have inferred, however, that Josh has lost it and can’t come up with a decent pun for a title.

So let’s just agree that implications and inferences aside you should get from that title what I meant to say and not necessarily what I said.

Agreed?

Moving on…

I have talked on my own blog about the importance of goals before, but given the time of year I thought I would revisit the topic and illustrate how you can use it for your personal and professional lives – plus your can share it with your clients.

Be a jerk, Josh says it’s cool

Goals are exceptionally important – and an effective tool for improvement in all areas when used properly.  But conversely, goals can be as useless as a pile of turds.

For instance, “Maintenance” is a crappy goal.   I really hate that one.  High turd factor.

“Lose weight”, slightly better, but still not good enough to be called a goal in my book. Less turdish though.

For a goal to be truly effective and worth the paper you write it on (and you will) it needs to be a SMART goal.

Specific,
Measurable,
Achievable or Action-Oriented,
Realistic,
Time Bound

Clever right?  (FYI – I did not come up with this, but it is very cool.)

It’s time to re-set your thinking.

So let’s break this down..

Specific
Saying you want to “lose weight” or “make more money” is too general.  How much weight?  How much money?  It should be like this:  “ I want to lose 20 pounds”, “I want to increase my income by $1000 per month”.  Simple & specific.

Measurable
This should be covered at least in part by being specific.  When you are specific you should be able to measure it.  For example “ I want to appreciate my wife everyday”  might seem specific, but how do you measure that?  How about “I want to tell my wife I love her everyday” – that you can measure.  (And if you forget she will remind you.)

Achievable or Action-Oriented
Achievable and Action oriented means there must be real steps you can take to reach that goal. Real steps that you know (or know you can find out). For example if your goal is to quit smoking, then there are real definable steps you can take to make that happen. For instance – Step one:  Don’t smoke.  Step 2: Freak out about Step one.  Well, hopefully you would have better steps in mind.

Realistic
Be real.  It has to be achievable.  If you say “I want to make 100 million dollars this year” that might be specific, measurable, and there might even be steps to get you on that road,  but please – realistic?  I think not. (If it is, Hi, my name  is Josh I would like to be your best friend).

Time Bound
This is a big one. Set a deadline.  Going back to “I want to lose 20 lbs” – when?  In a year?  Next year?  In the next 10 years?  Set a deadline and stick to it.  “I want to lose 20 pounds by March 1st.”  Bing0 – now that’s a goal.

I recommend people ALWAYS have a goal.  When you reach a goal make a new one.

Got one?  THEN GET ONE!

Preferably a few.  And though I am a fitness dude I generally have clients tell , me their fitness & health goals,  this goal setting toll is not to be used exclusively for fitness goals.  It can be related to all aspects of your life – financial, romantic, educational – whatever.

It can be insanely effective when creating professional / business building goals.

I have made a PDF for you guys to help you out.  There is room for 4 goals, but write as many as you want so long as they follow the guidelines above.

Personal Goal Sheet

Right Click Here

It’s 2010 – time to get off your ass and take action.  This goal sheet can serve as your “to-do” list.

Joshua Carter, CPT
The Body Transformation Expert
Personal Training in Calabasas & West Hills

Also, I just opened up Fitness Marketing Manifesto and we're taking on a few more new members.

Get your first issue of FMM delivered to your door for only $9.95

Click here to learn more >>

The reporter asked the old timers what their secret was for living to such a ripe old age.

One lady said to live each day as though it was the only one given to you.

And this old guy said… and I quote: “lots of booze, late nights, and women”

I couldn’t stop laughing my ass off!

You know what I got out of that fifteen-second news clip?

1. Don’t get old.
2. Don’t get old and have regrets.

You can tell by both of their answers that these folks don’t have regrets.

Tony Robins has this little test in one of his books called the “rocking chair test”.

It’s where you imagine yourself old and gray, sitting on a porch somewhere in a rocking chair.

Knowing what you know today will you have any regrets?

Will you regret never starting that business?

… or not getting out of your comfort zone when you had the chance?

… or not taking that world cruise or living in another country?

… or not getting up in front of that audience?

… or not approaching that guy or girl you got your eye on?

… or not dumping that dead end job that’s actually holding you captive?

… or not skydiving, swimming with sharks, running with the bulls, or whatever crazy adventure rocks your boat.

See most people fear failure so much that they’re willing to deal with the bullshit circumstance they’re in.

F that!

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be in that rocking chair laughing at my past failures and glowing about my successes rather than being bitter with regret wondering what may have happened if only I had pulled the trigger and made that one decision.

You gotta live your dream!

Don’t let others tell you what your dream should be or why it’s such a bad idea. What the hell do they know?

Get out of your comfort zone and do something!

Make that decision that you know you should because failure is temporary but REGRET is forever.

Give yourself the “rocking chair test” right now. Are you feeling any regrets?

If there were ever two elements in life that would guarantee that your life would suck ass, that you’d experience zero success in anything you do, and that you’d be miserable in every way -  it’s the feelings of fear and doubt.

Most people experience fear and doubt throughout life.

It’s normal…

It’s part of life…

And I bet head shrinks would even say SOME small levels of fear and doubt are healthy.

But if you ask me what the top two reasons are that destroy dreams, kill ambition, and stop most people from getting what they want in life, I’d tell you it’s FEAR and DOUBT.

THE ULTIMATE DREAM KILLERS

And even a little is too much.

Here’s what happen…

A dude see’s a girl he likes. She might like him, too. But his fears and doubts override his logic and desire to get what he wants and he never asks her out. Disappointing himself and her.

You have an idea for a business. It sounds like a winner. But when it’s time for the rubber to meet the road you start thinking up all the POTENTIAL problems your business might experience and the risk that comes along and so you scrap the idea. Leaving yourself and starving market place disappointed.

Variations of the two examples above happen hundreds of times each day.

- I want to start this awesome business – but I don’t have enough money.
Bullshit! You’re afraid of failure. Afraid of hard work. Afraid of going broke.

- Just as soon as I get a better job or get that raise I’m going to start saving up for a home.
Bullshit! You don’t think you deserve a home. You’re afraid that you might lose it. Cause if you REALLY wanted that home you’ll find a way to make that increase in pay happen TODAY.

- I’m going to start exercising and watching my diet as soon as I get my business in order, or get over this cold, or when January rolls around.
Bullshit! You’re afraid of change. You doubt you can take and keep it off. You don’t think you REALLY deserve it.

Fear and doubt are the two most limiting emotions EVER. And for some reason folks live in this super heightened state of fear and doubt NOW more than ever.

Let me draw you a word picture of what happens when you let fear and doubt creep into your head.

It all starts with the thoughts that occupy your mind.

First the negative self-talk begins (sometimes without you ever consciously knowing it).

The negative self-talk leads to limiting actions and behaviors.

The limiting actions and behaviors lead to self-sabotage and a sorry “attempt” at doing something good for yourself.

And nothing feels better than saying “I tired but it didn’t work out” when really you had programmed yourself to fail along.

But self-pity feels good. It makes it “not your fault”. And so the cycle continues.

Like I said…

…FEAR AND DOUBT ARE A BITCH and they create a vicious cycle of failures in life.

But there is a way to overcome fear and doubt and get anything you want in life.

First you gotta know where both of these crappy feelings come from.

FEAR, when you distil it down to its core is UNCERTAINTY.

DOUBT, at it’s core level is FEAR OF FAILURE.

Take a look at the state the world is in today. The global wars, the economy and the scare of sickness (like swine flu) have people living in UNCERTAINTY and in FEAR OF FAILURE.

But like I said there is a way to overcome this bitch and get anything you want in life.

Check it out… it’s easier than you think.

How to get over the fear of failure and uncertainty.

Are you ready for this?….

Here it comes…

Fail more often! And when you do get up, look fear in the eye and try it again.

I don’t know crap about baseball. But I do know that Babe Ruth struck out WAY more times than he hit home runs. But everyone knows him as the homerun king.

Everyone knows Trump as the successful real estate mogul. But if you read his book you’ll see he fail several times – BIG – and at one point had a NEGATIVE net worth of $900 MILLION with dozens of bankers on his ass.

What if Trump stopped there?

What if Babe Ruth dropped the bat and walked off after his first strike out?

Fear and doubt are the two most TOXIC things that can occupy your mind.

Here’s an exercise to help you overcome uncertainty and fear of failure – which is basically what fear and doubt really are.

Let’s say that you’re trying to do something big for yourself.

For example, lets say you’re trying to open up a personal training studio. The idea of taking on so much risk is scary.

Throughout the months fear and doubt might creep into your head several times. And when they do you gotta take immediate action to squash’em.

Here’s what you do… Find something that brings you some level of fear or doubt when you think about it. BUT it has to be something that you can overcome RIGHT NOW and not months from now when a project is done.

Example: skydiving might freak you out. GOOD…look at it in the eyes and go out, pay the $400 bucks and do it THIS WEEKEND.

There are a lot of things you can do RIGHT NOW to overcome fear and self doubt. Even if you gotta walk naked across a major intersection –do it. (but don’t call me if get arrested.)

My point is this. The minute fear and doubt enters your mind about anything, go out and do SOMETHING that puts you out of your comfort zone. Even if it’s not related to your big project you’ll instantly get the courage to get and stay on track and have anything you want in life.

Plus your life will be more adventuress.

I used to be scared shitless about getting up on stage at a live event. Now I can’t wait!

You should of seen the things I did to overcome the limiting fears and doubt I had back then. (I probably should have been arrested a bunch of times).

What are you gonna do about YOUR fears and doubts? Let me know below

It took me a LONG time and a lot of mistakes before I got my personal training business dialed in. Fitness marketing did not come easy for me…

… not like it does today.

If you’ve been reading my emails or blog for any length of time then you probably know that in the beginning I was a personal trainer… and a fry cook at Disneyland.

Then I was a personal trainer… and a bouncer (and if were at Fitness Info Summit last week then you heard the entire bouncer story and how it REALLY sucked).

Eventually, thanks to a few clients who gave me coaching when I didn’t even know I was getting it, I built by personal training business to multiple facilities and multiple six figures and at one point had over 50 trainers working for me.

I took a LOT of time to get there.

I could have taken a bunch of shortcuts and saved myself a ton of stress, money, and wasted effort knowing what I know today.

So I decided to write a post about what I would do if I were you and wanted to break my first 100K or even my NEXT 100K.

Knowing what I know today, there are a bunch of shortcuts I would take that would really shave years off my success curve.

Here they are… 17 things I would do if I were you.

1. I’d stop offering one-one-one 60-minute sessions all together.

2. If I REALLY loved one-on-one training I’d ONLY offer 30 minutes sessions (way more leverage opportunity).

3. I’d get rid of half the equipment in my studio and do a lot more group training and indoor boot camps.

4. I’d visit these blogs regularly: SteveHochman.com, Kickbacklife.com, Mike Boyle’s blog, Craig Ballantyne’s blog and of course PTPower.com.

5. I’d buy TT Boot Camps and train my clients that way for maximum results.

6. I’d become an affiliate of these products and create multiple income streams for myself: Turbulence Training, No Nonsense Muscle, Truth About Abs, Cheat Your Way Thin, and Burn The Fat.

7. I’d invest in a coach or mentor – here’s a good place to start.

8. I’d create a niche specific website that attracts and converts leads like crazy.

9. I’d specialize and NOT generalize.

10. I’d take massive action on things I know I should be doing (like the stuff on this list)

11. I’d lock in my Fit Body Boot Camp territory.

12. I’d manage my time ruthlessly.

13. I’d make sure I’m the person my community thinks about when they think fitness and fat loss.

14. I’d push the free line and give more away.

15. I’d stop selling number of sessions or period of time and instead focus on long term, results oriented programs.

16. I’d surround myself with more of the people I want to be like and less of the people I don’t want to be like.

17. I'd subscribe to the Fitness Marketing Manifesto and get the most cutting edge, 'what's working now' client getting tactics and strategies mailed to my door step each month.

I know some of these things seem glaringly obvious.

And you wouldn’t think you’d need to be reminded to hang out with less crabs and energy vampires and more super achievers….

but for me I need these basic reminders. And I’m guessing that you’re human too, and like the rest of us you need to be reminded ‘the basics’ from time to time.

These were the things that helped me make the big shifts in my training business back in teh day– the shifts that helped me break my first 100K… and then eventually multiple six figure.

Andrew and Chloe give daddy a hand

I’m writing this blog post 39,000 feet up in the air.

We’re somewhere over Texas heading back to So Cal. from Orlando Florida.

Fitness Info Summit was off the hook!

…if you were there, then you know what a blast it was, and based on the comments on this blog and the feedback we got at the event the content we delivered was out of this world!

I want to thank the awesome presenters for giving the BEST stuff they had. Craig Ballantyne, Chris McCombs, Vince DelMonte, and Steve Hochman brought the THUNDER.

Of course it was easy for us to deliver our best stuff considering the audience was so HIGH ENERGY and AWESOME… All we had to do was feed of the energy.

It was magical.

And speaking of magical…

I want to congratulate everyone in the picture below. These are the fitness pros who were accepted into the “Your Next 100K” Info Marketing Mastermind Group. The next 12 months is going to be VERY magical for them.

The 2009/2010 Your Next 100K Mastermind Group

After the FIS ended my family and I stayed another four days and enjoyed Orlando. We did the Disney Animal park and spent two days at the Magic Kingdom.

Good times all around.

But the energy at the hotel changed the rest of the week. It got a stale. A little weird. The energy was gone.

Then I figured it out…

there was a new conference happening in the hotel. A conference for electrical engineers.

And they’re not like you and me.

They’re different.

They’re older…

They’re frumpy…

They’re too stiff…

Things got a little crazy when I started tossing out plastic eggs filled with money

They take themselves too serious…

Wankerski try's to foil the show - but fails

They dress in cheap collared shirts and old suites NOT because they want to but because they feel have to.

Then I realized it.

They (almost all of them) hated their lives. It was SO obvious. I could see it in their eyes.

And that’s when I realized that we’re in the BEST profession EVER you and me. And it was totally obvious this past weekend at Fitness Info Summit.

We’re fitness professionals.

We help folks change their lives!

The FIS presenter panel and surprise guests

We’re NOT the problem… we’re the SOLUTION.

We bring the energy, passion, enthusiasm and purpose because we went into this industry for the right reasons… TO HELP OTHERS.

And as a by-product of helping other we have the ability to earn more than electrical engineers, attorneys, doctors and other “typical” white collar jobs.

I’m not saying that other industries suck… we need them and I’m glad they’re there.

I’m just saying that the fitness industry kicks major ass!

For us it’s not a JOB. It’s a CALLING.

And there’s no other industry that can deliver SO MUCH value, change so many lives and impact so many people AND still have a TON of fun.

I love the fitness industry for all those reasons.

How about you?… What do you love most about the fitness industry?

Let me know in the comment section below

I'm in Orlando, Florida for the SOLD OUT  Fitness Info Summit. If you're going to be here make sure to stop by and say hi.We've got some killer stuff lined up for this weekend.

Here's a post from my good friend, body transformation expert and 7 figure formula mastermind member Joshua Carter.

Enjoy

In this business there are several dirty deeds that need to get done.  No one likes doing them, especially you the boss.

I’m not talking about cleaning the bathrooms (which I hope you don’t have to do either), I am talking about other instances where it would seem necessary that you get your hands dirty.

The dirty job I truly hate the most is dealing with clients with billing issues.  Whether is be a cancellation, a credit card decline or whatever, there never seems to be a cool way for you to handle that.  It’s hard not to feel like an ass when you are asking people for money, even if the money is rightfully due to you.

The best way I have found to deal with the vast majority of my billing and accounting issues is to out source it all to another person – even if that person is not real. (I’ll get to that last part in a minute.)

Whether you own your own facility or are training out of someone else’s YOU are the master trainer, the expert, the “man”, so you need to make sure your clients see you that way.  Billing issues are beneath you.

Here was my situation:  Every once in a while a billing issue would come up- a cancellation or whatever.  That would often make me feel like I was the “bad guy” for having to remind people of their obligations- after all I held up my end of the bargain and trained them, their end of the bargain is simple – pay me.  In any event, I felt like a jerk.

Hiring a billing assistant was simply not feasible as these issues really don't  come up all that often (but I f’ing hated it when they did) so something had to be done.

So I created Rachel Ortiz.

To everyone else Rachel is my virtual billing assistant.  She works out of state and can only be contacted via email.  She handles all billing issues, so any billing requests need to go through her.  Got an issue – email Rachel.

In reality Rachel Ortiz is me with a different email address.  No, I do not cross dress when I am emailing as Rachel (you perv.)

My problems were solved. Now I am still viewed as the Supreme Trainer of the Universe and not the billing badee who will hold you to your contract.

Yeah, sometimes Rachel can be a real bitch, but that is what makes her so awesome. (plus she works cheap)

So until you need a real Rachel, make one up.  Just create a new email address and that’s it. Like billing@awesometraining.com- boom, done.

Have all billing issues go through your new assistant. Just remember, you are the king of training, not the billing dork.

So when a client comes to you with a billing issue, tell them you have people for that. Give them the new email address and get back to training. That one simple trick improves your stature in their eyes. This keeps you from getting dirty, essentially making you Mr. Clean.

Joshua Carter
”Mr. Clean”

Joshua Carter is a Personal Trainer in West Hills, CA and one of the coolest dudes I know.

Be the frist to comment and let me know what you think about this

I was swapping some stories with a couple of my coaching clients recently when the subject turned to the weird and crazy.

I got to thinking and realized that there have been some pretty whacked out things that have happened to me in my personal training career.

Babies and Embezzlement

One time, after taking a month away from my locations while recovering from ACL reconstruction I went back to one of my locations and asked my head trainer how things had been going. He asked me to have a seat and proceeded to tell me how one of our trainers got his client pregnant and now she's pissed at the world and wants to take ME to court.

I was floored!

Later that day I learned from the trainer who got the client pregnant that during the past month the head trainer had been taking cash from clients and pocketing the money while the staff trainers delivered the service. I came to find out that he had embezzled $4,700 in about 30 days.

I fired both of them on the spot.

The Shart

This other time, when I was trainer, I offered to give a friend who was having some weight problems a few weeks of personal training. Basically the plan was he'd show up three days a week after I was done training my last client (at around 9:30 PM) and we'd workout together.

Well, here's how the first "session" went… what a mess…

I'll call him 'Bob' to protect his identity.

Bob showed up for our first workout at 9:40 PM. The plan was to train the push muscles of the upper body. I did the first set up warm up dumbbell shoulder presses.

Then Bob did is warm up set.

Then I sat down on the bench to do my first working set…. all went well.

Then Bob sat down to perform his set. I thought all went well, though I did smell something rotten. But hey, people fart all the time when lifting, right?

When I grabbed my dumbbells and went to sit on the bench for my second set I saw IT just a fraction of a second before sitting down.

Bob had sharted himself.

Right there on the bench seat was a two inch streak of shiny fresh liquid poop.

I started to gag! But I got my composure together enough to ask "Bob" if he had sharted.

He said no.

I pointed out the brown shiny streak on the bench he just got off of.

In an attempt to prove to me that the brown stuff was a permanent stain on the bench and was there all along he used his knee to wipe the bench (proving it was a stain and not poop).

THAT'S WHEN THE SHART STREAKED ALL ACROSS THE BENCH…

"Bob took off to the locker room… and I made a B line to my car.

This workout was over.

What's you're "war" story?

I'm guessing if you've been in the training business for any length of time, then you probably have a funny, weird, crazy or twisted story to share.

Consider this post "group therapy" and let us have your best story down below in the comment section.