A mentor is a teacher or a guide. A mentor helps an understudy learn about a particular field of study or a certain craft. Mentors can be a rare bonus in the fitness profession. To actually find an experienced living source of information can be a life-changing event. Finding a real mentor is like striking a gold mine mother lode. That is something to be treasured.
Now visualize my true real life scenario as a raw rookie Fitness Trainer at a now defunct fitness chain some years ago. I was hired immediately after applying and told I would be given all of the support needed to succeed. (As I have stressed many times before and will continue to emphasize, be cautious about such claims.) I was given a desk next to an established, veteran Fitness Trainer. The manager that hired me promised that this trainer would answer any questions that I had and provide any necessary guidance.
This sounded like a winning proposition for me. I could learn from a successful mentor by osmosis.
Is this what happened? No way! This veteran Fitness Trainer would barely give me the time of day.The only time she communicated with me was a sarcastic daily greeting along the lines of
"Good morning Bleep Head!" (Replace bleep with a word that rhymes with mitt and you get the picture.)
At first I just shrugged off the disrespectfully crude greeting. One morning after not yet having had my morning coffee, I responded to her insult with some street kid vernacular of my own. (No, I won't tell you what it rhymes with.) After that our interaction reverted back to cold silence. So much for having a mentor!
Obviously, she regarded me as a threat! According to her belief I was out to steal her clients! There was only so much pie to go around. In the sometimes stormy seas of the fitness industry, there was only room in the lifeboat for one person! They wanted her to be a mentor - fuggeddaboudit!
Can you really blame people for this type of defensive thinking? Twenty years ago, Fitness Training
was in it's embryonic stages. No one knew how large the market would be. Today, the Fitness Training market is still a mysterious entity. Those who got into the profession early understandably wanted to hold on to any advantage. This is known in the business world as keeping your proprietary knowledge.
Why do all that groundwork only to give up your trade secrets to the next person that comes along
to pick your brain?
So you want to be a Fitness Trainer! You're just starting out. Who do you go to for advice?
- Other Fitness Trainers: As I've said, they can be defensive and maybe for a good reason. I did have a fellow college Fitness Training student with remarkable marketing/sales skills. He became successful enough that he could contract me out to train the clients that he couldn't fit into his schedule. I learned more about the business from him than anywhere else. He now provides practicum experience to the student trainers from our former college. Fitness Training mentors do exist!
- Seminars: I have attended seminars and gained a wealth of information and received e-mail connections that dispense news and updates.Seminars can also be a great source for networking contacts. Seminar speakers are are expected to be authorities in the fitness field and could be mentor material if available. I have also attended seminars where the speaker will skim the surface but not divulge any real helpful tips. If you try to pry any real pertinent information out of them they can become very evasive.
- Internet Gurus: The internet can be a source of valuable info or a load of horse droppings. For a while I was getting e-mail spammed by a professed 'former drug dealer and prison convict turned Fitness Training Guru.' He would apply the marketing principles of dealing dope to the tough business of Fitness Training. He was actually an interesting read. Every one of his e-mails involved a sales pitch for pricey products. Of course if you didn't purchase that day, the price would double. I'm always suspicious about such products that inflate in value if you don't buy them right away. There are many charlatans willing to help you - for a price! Investigate thoroughly before you pay! Mentors shouldn't gouge you!
- Teachers and Instructors: The people that teach your courses that get you accredited are mentor material. However, they must spread their time throughout the whole class. Once your learning time in the course is over, the contact may often cease. They must move on to the next group of trainees. In many instances, your instructors are teachers and never actually hustled for a living as a Fitness Trainer.
- Other Professions: Realtors, business people, retail workers, and even bureaucrats can offer great insight into how the game of life is played. Should the knowledgeable people from other professions also become your clients - all the better. Some of my clients were the best mentors. I was also fortunate to have a roommate who was an accountant and had a sound business mind. Don't get trapped into thinking that the only advice that matters is that of of other fitness professionals!
- Become your own mentor: Make yourself an expert. Research everything you can about your craft. Educate yourself with the theoretical and practical knowledge. Don't necessarily rely on others for guidance. Become the guide! Be the mentor! Be the Guru!
Once you do become the expert. the choice becomes yours. Do you willingly dispense advice to any inquisitive newcomers or do you protect your trade secrets and let them learn the hard way?
You may even want to monetize your expertise and become a mentor for hire to other Fitness Trainers.
There is no right and wrong answer. Much will depend upon the circumstances and the personalities involved. Whatever the game plan, please DO NOT call a raw rookie a 'bleep head'!
Show some honor.
Until next time,....keep fit!
Little Bobby Strong
schwabe27.uwmfatloss.hop.clickbank.net
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| Fitness Training mentors can be difficult to find! Protecting trade secrets is often a priority! |
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