Recently, I’ve had the pleasure to connect with Jon Goodman, a successful and inspirational fitness and Internet entrepreneur. I admire the way he has created his career because it revolves around two things that I’m most passionate about: fitness and the Internet.
I bought one of his books, called “The Race to the Top
He has developed a number of resources for personal trainers, including The Personal Trainer Development Center and Viralnomics.
The reason I interviewed Jon is because he has a wealth of knowledge on the subject. His success story as a fitness professional really inspires me. Jon went from being an overworked personal trainer to a highly successful fitness entrepreneur. He is definitely one of my role models (yes, I have a few…).
YANA: Have you always wanted to be a personal trainer or did you have other career aspirations when you were younger?
JONATHAN GOODMAN: I didn’t ever think of being a personal trainer (or even really knew that personal training existed). I grew up in an affluent, predominantly Jewish, neighborhood. All the adults I knew were professionals. So I thought that the only way to earn a respectable living was to be a teacher, doctor, lawyer, or accountant.
So after I threw out my arm and my dreams of becoming a professional baseball player went away, I found and became obsessed with science. Chemistry and Biology came naturally. I started studying Kinesiology in University with the goal of becoming a doctor. After first year, that changed to a desire to follow a path in academia, in particular studying muscle physiology.
I personal trained all throughout University and started full time upon graduating. The plan was to work for a couple years before going back for a masters and Phd.
I had actually booked interviews with professors internationally for interviews to pursue a masters degree. At that point I had a conversation I’ll never forget. It was with a client who, at that time, was the associate dean of medicine at a major University in Toronto.
He asked me why I wanted to get a Phd, my response was that I wanted to write a book. To this day, I can still remember his facial expression and hear his words: “So write a f****n book.”
So I did and you know what? I’d have just finished my Phd last year and would probably be just starting on my book around this time. Instead, I’ve had two published.
YANA: What does a typical day look like for you?
JG: I don’t train clients anymore…
Currently, I’m in Hawaii and will be coming back to Toronto in May. I’m here working hard developing a number of programs and products.
I’ll wake up around 7:30am and make a great breakfast. Afterwards I spend 1-2hrs checking and responding to emails and making sure all is in order for the day. If it’s a training day, I’ll go to the gym around 10am and head to my favorite coffee shop (Starbucks in the Maui Marriot) for the bulk of the afternoon.
I generally block social media and email in the middle of they day and spend 3-6hrs straight writing.
Around 6-7pm I get home, make dinner, and settle in at my computer for the night.
My best writing takes place at night. So once every 2-4 nights I knock down an espresso and work from 8pm-3ish in the morning. This is when I produce the majority of my blog posts or premium materials.
YANA: When you were writing “Ignite the Fire 
JG: There were a lot of challengers. I’m happy I went into the process ignorant because if I hadn’t, I’d probably have never started. If I had to outline two I’d say they were the following:
1. Feeling the complete isolation of the writer’s life. I had a lot of smiles and nods when I told people about the project but they either didn’t believe I would ever do it or tried to offer advice that wasn’t all that helpful. By the end of the first year, I stopped telling people that I was writing it and made up other excuses about why I wasn’t going out on Saturday nights.
2. Finding an editor. It still saddens me when I think about how many people tried to cheat me upon approaching them to edit my book. The editing process cost me $10,000 start to finish and had me approaching bankruptcy. If I chose the wrong person, the book would have never gotten made.
I try to tell everybody wanting to write a book to find a good editor that they trust and learn to identify the scammers. I’ll take this opportunity to thank Bryan Krahn for being a beacon of hope and guiding light during the process and my editor Kelly James-Enger for doing a freakin’ amazing job!
Above: the front cover of the book Ignite the Fire
YANA: What do you like the most (and the least) about the fitness industry?
JG: I love the community. Getting and interacting (and hopefully eventually meeting) people like yourself is the best part of my day.
I’m not going to say what frustrates me about the fitness industry. There’s too much negativity out there already. What I will say is to always aim to produce positivity and add value in everything you do.
YANA: What piece of advice would you offer to people who are struggling to stay on track with their fitness program?
JG: Remember back to why you’re actually there in the first place. Look past the superficial goals that either you or somebody else set for you, like losing 5lbs, and try to remember why you set that goal in the first place. The brain can only make sense and develop a plan for something it already believes is a reality. Become great at visualization—close your eyes and visualize yourself already having achieved success, then work backwards.
YANA: What do you feel have been the most critical success factors in getting your books out there?
JG: Network.
When I publish a book I write a personal letter to the 60+ people I’m sending an early copy to. This letter talks about the influence that person has had on me either directly or indirectly. At the same time, I find a section in the book that they are featured in or have influenced and put a sticky note in the page.
Often I’ll actually write a note to the person in the book itself on that page. I’ll also inscribe the book with a personal note. In the letter, I tell them that I thought they would be interested in one section in particular and bring attention to the stick note.
Busy people (especially editors) don’t have time to read an entire book sent to them, especially if it’s an unsolicited request. But they have time to read a single page or two. So I gave them a page that represented the book to peak their interest to read more.
YANA: What does your workout routine consist of?
JG: Right now Dan Trink is training me. He’s a beast and has designed my last two programs—I’ve never gotten better results in the gym than I have with him. We packaged the first program for sale at 2ticketstothegunshow.com and I’m currently preparing for a photoshoot under his guidance. You can follow along on Facebook.
YANA: What would you say is your favorite form of exercise?
JG: I love deadlifts.
YANA: Do you have any additional comments?
JG: Thanks for giving me the opportunity to reflect on my own journey and share some of the things I feel have helped me have some success with others.
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I would like to thank Jonathan for his time in this interview and I wish him continued success. I’m also looking forward to reading “Ignite the Fire
Disclosure: Yes, the links to Amazon