Expert – “A person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of skill in a particular area”………..

I’ve never viewed myself as an “Expert” when it comes to diet, training and supplementation. I mean, I know alot about training, and I understand the science behind nutrition and dietary supplements, however never would I go as far as to suggest that I’m an expert in these fields. And even though I am a fully licensed and insured Personal Trainer, with over twenty years of experience working within the health and fitness industry, I don’t feel confident enough in my own skill set to make claims of being an expert within my career of choice. I’m still learning and my philosophy on diet and exercise continues to evolve as more information, studies, and educational material, are released.

Therefore, with all that said, you can understand my hesitation to make bold statements claiming that I am an expert in my field and know more about building muscle and burning fat, than my competitors do. However, if after these same twenty years of helping hundreds of people transform their physiques and better their health, I still don’t feel confident to suggest that my training and dieting methods are in fact “The Best”, than I’m perplexed as to what gives some people who’ve been doing the same job as me for a quarter of the amount of time that I’ve been doing it, the audacity to make these claims and statements about themselves.

And now I’m left to wonder – Do these very same people with less experience and less education, somehow know more about diet, training and supplementation than me? Are my methods outdated? Are my theories no longer relevant? Is my time as a Personal Trainer/Online Coach about to expire?

The Tourist

As most of my clients know, I have a love hate relationship with Social Media. I’ve covered my rocky relationship with Social Media in the past and understand that like any relationship, with the good, usually comes the bad. Fortunately Social Media has provided a platform for people to speak their minds and share their beliefs. Unfortunately Social Media has also provided a platform for people to speak their minds and share their beliefs.

Wait. What?

I don’t have an issue with people putting out information that can be helpful and resourceful. In fact, there are certain people that I follow on Instagram strictly because I enjoy their content and find them to be extremely informative and entertaining at the same time. Where I do take issue though is with the people that are putting out information that is inaccurate, misleading and in some cases, can even become harmful. Whats even worse, is some of these people have a large number of followers and their messages can reach a wide range of audience with a click of a button.

Hopefully most people see these people for what they truly are. And what they are, are tourists. Yes, some might be scammers, some might be liars, and some might just be so thirsty for validation from their peers and strangers alike, that they will do and/or say anything for attention. But for the most part, I don’t think that these people are purposely trying to hurt or deceit anyone. In my opinion, I think they are just dabbling around with a hobby that they hope to turn into a career.

Turning a Hobby Into a Career

Turning a hobby into a career IS NOT easy. Trust me when I tell you this. It took me a LONG TIME to build up my clientele base and establish myself as a reputable and knowledgeable Trainer. And I was able to do it all on my own. No help from a gym spoon feeding me clients, no Social Media apps marketing my services, and no cheesy Groupon or BOGO sales to help get people in the door. I built my career and my business through referrals. I networked with people in the clubs and restaurants that I worked in when I first got started. And I provided the absolute best damn customer service that I possibly could to every single client that I worked with. And the only reason that I believe that I have become so successful with my career is because I was incredibly passionate about my little hobby of exercising and working out.

Becoming a Passionate Professional

A client once asked me if I ever felt threatened or worried about losing some of my clients to my competitors who might be underselling me or offering discounted rates on their services. And truth me told, I’ve never been worried about what my competitors are doing or not doing. I’ve always believed in staying in my own lane and remaining true to myself and providing my clients with a formula that will help them achieve their target health and fitness goals. I would be lying if I said that my annual income wasn’t a factor as to why I continue to try and expand and grow my business. However it’s not the main factor.

And this is where I believe the tourists fail. All they care about is the amount of money that they will make on their goods and/or services that they are providing. They might be passionate about their hobby, but they’re not passionate about being a professional to their prospective clients and potential customers. And the consistency in this lack of professionalism shows.

Expert Statement

As I said at the beginning of this week’s blog, I’m no expert. I’m just a guy that got lucky in an extremely competitive industry. And I say lucky because I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some pretty amazing people who have trusted me with their health and fitness goals from the very beginning. And because of their success and the results that they have achieved, they themselves are one of the main reasons as to why I’m no longer a tourist and have been able to turn my own little hobby that began as a teenager, into a successful and rewarding career as a man.

“An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.”
Niels Bohr

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance