Yes, it IS about the money
It's a wonderful thought:
A world in which people just DO things for each other. Goods and services are exchanged freely, people don't take advantage of one another, and no one wants for anything...
Sounds amazing, right? But the world ISN'T that way. There is good and bad. Right and wrong. Winners and losers. It's the balance of these things that makes the world spin. One cannot exist without the other much as a chicken cannot exist without the egg--or is it the other way around?
Michael, are you going into one of your philosophical rants again?
Nope. Well, not all the way. Maybe. Probably...
Everything above has to do with a situation that happened in my office earlier today. I was listening to a prospective Trainer tell me why he wanted to persu the career. He talked about his workout history, how he fell in love with fitness at a young age, his desire to leave his crappy 9-to-5, and a burning need to HELP people. All was well and good--I've sat thru many of these speeches before, and was waiting for my opportunity to give him my advice on getting started.
And then he said it:
"...you know, I just love it. I love it all. I don't even care about the money, I just want to help people change their lives..."
Stop. You what? You don't care about the money? Bullshit.
My response was a little more eloquent then that, but there was an edge to it. I needed to make a point--a big POINT. I told him that was all well and good, but he was lying. He proceeded to ask me what I meant by that and I was happy to tell him that he was "absolutely about the money." Before he had a chance to protest again, I allowed myself to continue on so I wouldn't sound like a complete money grubbing asshole:
Money is not an evil thing. It is the one thing that allows us to do the things in life we want to do. Money allows us to buy food, put clothes on our backs, have shelter, buy toys, take care of our families, ensure our health, and help us live the best life we can. So what's wrong with that?
Absolutely NOTHING.
In fact, asking a high price for you services indicates that you are GREAT AT WHAT YOU DO. Paying someone very well is how we signify that they are going above and beyond for the services they provide. When you make a lot of money Personal Training, that translates into above average client results. It means that you are in demand and carry a heavy client load.
It's how CAPITALISM works, people!
Money is a medium of exchange between someone that NEEDS a service or product and someone that PROVIDES it. And since we live in a free market system, people are at liberty to choose which of those products and services they buy. The theory shoul stand then, that the products and services that yield the most money, ARE THE BEST.
That is the point of this rant.
You want to be the best, right? You want to be a Personal Trainer that is considered the BEST in the field. You want to get your client's the absolute BEST results you can. You want to help people achieve the BEST health they possibly can, yes? So how can you not be about the money?
I submit to you that in order for you to truly serve your client's well, you need to always be about the money. You need to be about providing the best level of service you can. You need to run the best, most successful business you know how. And because I KNOW you want to do that, you need to never feel one ounce of guilt or be ashamed of asking someone for money.
I can think of nothing more noble than being paid VERY well over a VERY long period of time for the services I provide.
