Personal Fitness Professional - October 2008 - (Page 11)

RISKS THAT SUMMON FEAR ü Death ü Inability to support a family ü Losing the use of one’s limbs and body ü Losing sanity ü Hanging between life and death in an intensive care unit suddenly ﬁnd the motivation to change nutritional intake and exercise habits, even if they’d never been able to change before? The heart attack experience brought about intense fear, and that fear gets stored. Neurologically, the stored signals gang up to recreate the highest experienced degree of motivation. If we could theoretically increase the level of fear early on, before inﬂammatory disease leads to a heart attack, we might be more eﬀective in preventing cardiac episodes. If we could theoretically help people link an expanding waistline to the thought of reduced capacity limiting “playability” with a young son or daughter, we can likely spark action sooner and more powerfully than we could by using the waist measurement itself as an intended motivator. If a 48-year-old man ﬁnds out his blood sugar’s high, and the doctor casually prescribes metformin, the message is, “Take the meds, and you’ll be ﬁne.” Suppose that same 48-year-old man was sent into a room to watch a video about a 49-year-old man having his foot amputated shortly after being diagnosed with diabetes. Wouldn’t the action stimulus be heightened? I’m not suggesting we make a practice of scaring our prospective clients to the near-death point, but I have found virtue in contrasting the possible outcomes of neglect with the possible outcomes of proactive response. “Die, or love your life” is a pretty powerful contrast. Fear as an Ally If we want to convert prospects into clients, we want to use fear as an ally. No, we need not be in-your-face, throwing out ghoulish predictions, and I’m not suggesting anyone make fear the cornerstone of their business operations. Laugh with your clients, as laughter prompts a body chemistry ideal for bonding. Inspire your clients, as they’ll beneﬁt from the images and self-talk you implant in their minds. Be who you are. Be positive, joyous and empowering, but don’t get caught up in believing positive thinking is the key to all success. Appropriate response in moving toward any goal is a more valuable key, and by sharing hard-hitting realities, actual statistics and by asking questions that prompt realizations, we can quickly turn indecision into yes, quickly escalate our perceived value among those who need our services and quickly reposition the ﬁtness professional as an absolute need for a marketplace headed toward abysmal health. Scare someone into health and happiness, and experience the joy of giving someone back a well-deserved life! Phil Kaplan shares success skills and strategies with ﬁtness professionals worldwide. Visit philkaplan.com for information on his Be Better Project and Benevolent Uprising Tour, and watch for Phil’s newest book, The NAVAQA Formula: Emotional Persuasion for Fitness Pros. ● OCTOBER2008 · WWW.FIT-PRO.COM 11 http://www.power-systems.com http://www.power-systems.com http://www.philkaplan.com http://WWW.FIT-PRO.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Personal Fitness Professional - October 2008

Personal Fitness Professional - October 2008 Contents Letter from the Editor, Writers Current Controversies Combating with Obesity Pilates and Yoga for Athletes New! The Balancing Act The Top Prize Building a Base of Special Populations Datebook The Success Image The Anatomy of a Fitness Assessment Branding Training Ruts Product Profile New on the Market

Personal Fitness Professional - October 2008

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