Before we begin, I’m excited to announce that my next book called The Greatest Personal Trainer in the Universe will be self-published and released initially on Kickstarter early next year. Please click here to learn more and add yourself to the pre-support list.
Next, a new article:
Why I’m going back to self-publishing (via Kickstarter) after two books with HarperCollins
Moving on, here are a few short thoughts this week.
Money
1
You don’t get ahead by attempting to do the same thing as everyone else, only just a little bit better. Instead, you must innovate. Find a new problem to solve. Solve an existing problem with a unique approach. Market your products with a novel hook. Challenge the way you’re “supposed” to do things by creating your own category of one.
It’s hard, of course, to zig when others are zagging and requires two things to be true:
i) You know your market well.
ii) You’re able to fail.
2
Features speak to the head. Benefits speak to the heart.
Most marketing speaks to logic, even though emotion outsells logic 10 to one.
Emotion dictates purchase decisions. Logic justifies them.
Health
1
In the past three weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of getting on the phone with 43 gym owners as research for my next book. Below are a few of my favorite quotes from those calls.
If you own a gym in the USA or Canada and have 15 minutes to give me some advice in the coming weeks, please reply here to this email. I’d love to chat.
—
“She’s taken it seriously, because we’ve taken her seriously.” – Jessica Oosting Luepke
“We know enough to know that the important things are actually the human things.” – Justin Keane
“You don’t build a sailboat for calm water.” – Christopher Collins
“Even though they’re hiring you to coach them, you have to know when to follow.” – Jason Leenaarts
“They’re thinking, what can I do on my best day? But they’re not ever thinking about what can I do on the hard days.” – Tyler Ouwendyk
“I don’t like going to the gym. I’ve never liked going to the gym. But I do it. I like what it does for me.” – Elsbeth Vaino
“If you’re debilitated on the couch for 3 days because of your workout, and you can’t play with your kids, what was the point?” – Nolan Womack
If you enjoyed this, please consider forwarding a copy via the link below to somebody else today:
www.theptdc.com/articles/5-reps-July-31-2026
-Jon
Promo
My Books
Below are my top 3 bestselling books. Each was written for a different audience. If you enjoyed this email, please consider buying a copy of whichever best suits you.
All books are available worldwide in all formats (hardcopy, kindle, and audio) wherever you buy books. Linked below is the Amazon USA link for your convenience.
Ignite the Fire: The Secrets to a Successful Personal Training Career – For personal trainers (Buy here)
The Obvious Choice: Timeless Lessons on Success, Profit, and Finding Your Way – For small business owners and coaches. (Buy here)
Unhinged Habits: A Counterintuitive Guide for Humans to Have More by Doing Less – For people looking for habits and self-improvement. (Buy here)
Laura Gassner Otting with her copies of Unhinged Habits (buy yours here)
Coach. Author. World explorer. But mostly, Dad.
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Books: Ignite the Fire and The Obvious Choice
Mentorship: Online Trainer Mentorship
The post 5 Reps: Sailboats, zigging, zagging, and what you can do on your worst day appeared first on The PTDC.