What Clients Need: Keep going, You are almost there

By Jason Criddle

I never knew where training would lead me.

I used to weigh 400 pounds when I had an unfulfilling pool cleaning career, eating junk and smoking all day. And it wasn't until my daughter was born that I realized something had to change. With the help of a trainer, I lost 200 pounds in 2 years. My trainer was ISSA certified and, after going through five other trainers, he was different. He cared about my results more than the others who would just hold a clipboard, count reps, and text (all at the same time).

The experience was so great, I made a complete career transition to become a personal trainer, starting with my ISSA certification. Losing 200 pounds in my own kitchen, I was able to also give great nutrition coaching from my own experience. The education and experience were a perfect match for this new career.

In my new profession, I was a hit. I was one of the few trainers in the gym who consistently got my clients results. So many trainers in the industry had 6-packs when they were younger and knew almost nothing about exercise science or nutrition. They probably didn't even know how they got their abs in the first place. Consequently, they missed out on the most important thing- providing value to clients by getting results.

Getting client results means more than just being their support system. It means guiding them through permanent changes they can make in their everyday lives to help them reach their goals.

After a year, I decided to start my own training company - which soon became a nonprofit. I found I was of better use by educating many, rather than training only a few. One day, I was invited to go share my transformation story with a gym full of bodybuilders, and WOW! Doors started flying open.

I was asked to come back and speak again and again. The local news did a piece on my athletic club and I was approached by a publishing company to write my story. This led me to self-publish several books and start a publishing company.

My first book, which later became a best-seller, taught personal trainers how to scale their businesses and make more income in less time. Sales organizations enjoyed my public speaking skills, so I became a consultant with some well-known brands. Entrepreneurs sought my knowledge, and I was even approached by an investment firm who wanted a CEO passionate about value. Giving value is what I built my career from! You must value yourself first, and others will in turn value you back.

Only a couple years after my career transition, I helped more than 500 people lose 9,000 pounds. I launched a full dietary case-study where 6 of my clients completely transformed their health. I wrote over 20 books about my journey, my clients' stories, and the situations I faced throughout life and my training career.

Now I own a software and real-estate investment firm. And my experience with human behavior taught me that people are generally easy to figure out and make happy. They want to be listened to, supported, and shown the way to their goals. Any "coach" or teacher, is usually what someone needs to progress in life. In fact, my entire staff is ex-trainers and professionals who were once in the fitness industry.

Whether you're running the first mile with a new training client, counseling someone through a divorce, helping an entrepreneur launch a brand, or assisting a Fortune 500 company gain market share, it doesn't matter. What everyone really needs, is someone at their side telling them to, "Keep going, you are almost there."

I don't know what my future holds, but I work smart to steer myself in the direction I want to go. I never knew where training would lead me, but it taught me a few things.

It taught me confidence. I didn't become a man until I had my daughter and became a trainer.

It taught me that people will listen to you if you listen to them with compassion.

It taught me opportunities open when you take your health and your wealth seriously, and live your message each day.

We all need to lead by example, regardless of what industry we choose to work in.

There's a lot more to becoming a successful trainer than learning form, doing squats, and taking selfies covered in sweat. Regardless of what your ultimate goals are in life, believing in other people and allowing them to believe in you is a good stepping stone.

If you are on a path to becoming a trainer, working on your first book, or your next certification, the only thing I can say is,

"Keep going. You are almost there."