Tuesday, December 18, 2007

"Paying the Correct Price"--A Personal Trainer's Advice




Joe London gives his personal training clients top-caliber guidance at The Fitness Forum in Gainesville, Georgia. During the fifteen years I have known Joe, we have exchanged our ideas about life and success, quite frequently. Recently Joe sent me this article, which I'm delighted to publish. For all of us who are interested in succeeding, his words provide a sure-fire formula.

Here's the article:

"Nature cannot be tricked or cheated. She will give up to you the object of your struggles only after you have paid her price.” Napoleon Hill

I use this quote several times each week. It helps me get clients or potential clients to evaluate their current situation. This is how the conversation typically goes, “I’m not losing any weight”....my response “Nature cannot be tricked or cheated.” “I don’t feel like I’m getting stronger”....my response “Nature cannot be tricked or cheated.” My reply is perfect every time. The next common statement I often hear from people is, “I’m watching what I eat or I’m lifting weights or I’m doing my running..” The list goes on and on and on... ad nauseum. Well, Nature cannot be tricked or cheated.

"Red” Blaik was the football coach of Army in the 1940s and 1950s. He won two national championships and wrote a book titled, YOU HAVE TO PAY THE PRICE. This was his life mantra: if you want to win championships, you have to pay the price. Incidentally, he had a young offensive coach who learned about paying the price by sacrificing health and family in order to win ball games. His name was Vince Lombardi, and he led the Green Bay Packers to two Super Bowl victories.

I have learned about paying the price with an outfit called ebay.com. I have learned that I am only willing to bid a certain amount of money for some items. If I win the item, good; if I don’t win the item, no big deal. If it is an item that I want very badly, I tend to pay the correct price and win the item.

Basically, I am doing the same thing that a client or potential client would do. Either I am willing to pay a price or I’m willing to pay the Correct Price. It is pretty much black and white at this point, no middle ground.

I call this the ebay effect. People go through the motions of paying a price, and they hope they reach their goals with a low bid. What they are doing is paying a price, but they are not paying the Correct Price.

You want to lose weight? You need professional help such as a dietician or Weight Watchers. Most people balk at this idea and try to do it on their own, never paying the Correct Price.

You want to get stronger or faster? You need a professional when it comes to technique and program design. Most people (in my estimation 95%) would never think that their technique or faulty program design is the problem. They are paying a price, but not the Correct Price.

How will you know if you’re paying the Correct Price? Nature cannot be tricked or cheated--if you’re reaching your goals, you will know....and so will everyone else.

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For more guidelines about motivation, order Bill Lampton's audio CD--titled "Maintaining Maximum Motivation: Strategies for Staying in High Gear!"--by visiting his Web site's shopping cart:
http://www.championshipcommunication.com/store/index.htm