How a Miserable Health Club Owner Became A Happy Life Coach

Whenever I come across an interesting book, web site or if I'm thinking of buying from a company, I want to know about the person behind it. I want to understand what makes them think in such a way.

If I can understand why they think or act as they do, I see the logic in their ideas or whether I can trust them enough to do business with them.

I'm not really sure if anyone else feels the same, but in case anyone wants to know why I think and act as I do, here's my story.

I've always been interested in people... why they do what they do. But this took a big leap forward when I opened up a Health Club in Lowestoft, England in 1993.

The first six months were an exciting time. I was naive and thought I just had to come up with creative ideas and let everyone know we were there.

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   We got so much free publicity that a competitor complained to the local paper and the editor banned us.
   
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   A local radio station owner also pulled a planned program I had arranged with one of the D.J's unless we bought advertising.
   
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   We also got a couple of interviews on television.
   
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   In the first year I won a prize as Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition.

Yet after six months I was still over �60,000 in debt.

It was then that I had to learn the more disciplined aspects of business. Up until then, I'd been letting people pay as they used the Gym without any ties.

I paid a couple of people who were respected in the industry to give me some advice.

One thing became clear I had to begin tying people to membership contracts. Deep down, I didn't believe this was right... I still don't.

And that was the beginning of the end of my career as a Health Club owner. I stayed there for five more years, but I hated it from then on.

Today I would leave straight away, but then I felt a responsibility to the people who enjoyed coming to the club. For some it was their only social outlet.

I felt responsible to the people that I employed. And I owed lots of money.

One of the benefits of this time was that I was so concerned with making a year's membership worthwhile... that I spent most of my time trying to understand why people have such a hard time sticking to a diet or exercise program.

I read almost every book and analyzed hundreds of programs that help people kick addictions or maintain motivation. I qualified in NLP, Nutrition and many other areas.

I got so interested in the mind that I began Stress Management Counselling. This was a little counter productive for business though. Here's why.

Generally people begin exercising when they are feeling insecure. Perhaps they're worried that their spouse is having an affair... or for one reason or another they think they may be back on the dating market... or perhaps their kids have been ashamed of them being overweight... or their Doctor has frightened them into exercise.

So they start exercising to feel better. Then when they feel better they aren't so motivated... so they stop.

By providing Stress Management Counselling I helped them see their problem quicker and more clearly. This then meant that they saw more efficient ways to solve them.

Unfortunately often this meant they no longer needed a Gym membership. As a result I was literally talking people out of buying a membership.

So now I was in a real conflict. Either not help people solve their problems and make money, or close the club down.

It became clear to me that I had to get out of the business. My health had begun to suffer.

I'd had a permanent cold for three years and developed a recurring condition that caused me to be taken into hospital three times in six months. This was only a minor condition, but I knew that if I carried on living in such a way, I would develop more serious complaints.

The final push came when my first child was about to be born. I didn't want to miss out on spending time with her so I closed the club down.

I was a little lost for what to do for a while.

I worked for as a Cinema Manager for one of UCI Cinemas multiplex's. I had some success in increasing Staff morale and Customer Service. But I couldn't see myself doing this for very much longer and the career path didn't excite me.

I wrote a book and had some interest from publishers. But to be honest, it was no better than hundreds of others already on the shelves, so I didn't pursue it.

I looked into running training courses, but became disenchanted with the way many courses were run.

I couldn't run a course with people who don't really want to be there, but their Boss has made them attend. Neither could I try to motivate or manipulate people to do something against their interests for the sake of the company.

I drifted for a few months before deciding to go back to University. I studied B.Sc. Behavioural Studies (Mostly Psychology and some Sociology) with Business Management as a minor subject at Suffolk College in Ipswich.

It wasn't a prestigious University, but it was in the town I was living so it saved uprooting my wife and daughter.

While studying there I began to specialize in the Psychology of Happiness. I became amazed that little courses as simplistic as saying affirmations or just discussing a topic were found to make people happier.

I knew now that I had a framework that could use all the knowledge, and experience I had gathered previously.

I considered going deeper into academic psychological research, but I didn't think it was right for me.

Psychologists spend years researching and proving their theories, then it takes maybe fifteen to twenty years for that theory to filter through to everyday life. In the end even Scientists, to some extent, pick the opinion they believe in most and shape the facts around their views.

So I began coaching individuals on a one-to-one basis. This helped me to modify and clarify how people could become and stay happy whatever happens.

And then...