Product Description
Thomas Plummer, The Soul of a Trainer — You Were Born to Change the World
Thomas Plummer for many years has been a leading authority in the fitness field. I’ve leaned on him for many years and always look to him for savvy business wisdom. Plummer’s newest book, The Soul of the Trainer, is a new twist on things as he shares some incredibly deep personal stories and professional insights. I dare say this is his best book yet. I’ll further declare that this work is his legacy book. It’s full of extraordinary lessons, stories, and principles on what it takes to be your absolute best. If you’re a fit-pro who yearns to create maximum IMPACT in people’s lives, this book is a MUST-read!!!
~Todd Durkin, author of The WOW Book
Thomas Plummer has been a trainer, owner, consultant, and finally mentor to thousands of coaches and gym owners around the world trying to live their dreams of a life in the gym business. In The Soul of a Trainer, Thom shares his hard-earned insights not only about business, but also about a life well lived.
Modern personal trainers and strength coaches have learned to look to Thom for guidance on how to succeed in the personal training and coaching business. You’ve learned to trust his advice in your training gyms and to count on his direction in financial education. In this new book, you will discover a new side of Thom, one of personal leadership.
“In The Soul of a Trainer, when Thom leans in and whispers to us in his prose poetry style about living a full and balanced life, I can feel his arm around my shoulders.”
~ Dan John, author of Never Let Go
Audiobook sample, narrated by Thomas Plummer
Thomas Plummer The Soul of a Trainer
“Thom Plummer is the original godfather of the fitness business. In the 20 plus years we’ve known him, he has continued to push the bar (and push us) and raise the standards of the fitness profession.”
~ Alwyn Cosgrove, Results Fitness University
From Thom’s Introduction to The Soul of a Trainer, consider this:
You were born to change the world.
You exist to change lives. That is the soul of a trainer, and that is the mission of a professional coach. You are not here to build wealth, although if you are a true master coach, that will happen. You are not here as a simple employee paying your dues while learning your craft, although this is where many of you will begin.
If you’re a true professional, you are not there wasting a few years of your life waiting to grow up and get a real job, although sadly, too many coaches with immense potential leave the industry too soon because they never figured out what it takes to survive such a tough business. You are there every day to change the lives of those around you; this is a heavy responsibility few others can understand.
This long process of becoming a master coach is about lifelong learning and studying the lessons from those who have gone before you. The Soul of a Trainer is about those lessons, but you probably won’t find these anywhere else in your search. There aren’t any training tips here, no ideal workouts, or ways to coach a better swing.
The ideas and concepts in this book are about how to create a fulfilling career, sustainable over time, doing work that matters, and being able to make a decent living in the process.
Being a fitness professional is one of those rare careers where if you have the passion and want the dream badly enough, you can make it happen. You can be the coach who, at the end of his days, looks back and says, “I made a difference, and my clients and those around me are better today. I did my job as a true professional.”
“If I knew the fitness business was going to be this hard, I’d have gotten a real job.”
~ Thomas Plummer
What’s included in The Soul of a Trainer
This book is a compilation of 276 of Thomas Plummer’s Facebook and blog posts from 2017-2018. Ranging from short, impactful thoughts about life to long rants on training clients to ideas on how to run a training business in our modern times, in The Soul of a Trainer, Thom will teach, entertain and inspire you with each page.
“When I needed help restructuring my business model, I contacted Thom. His understanding of fixing business issues is unparalleled to anyone I’ve met in this field. Eight years later, I own and operate one of the most thriving of fitness businesses and brands. Thom is one of the main people I have to thank for this.”
~ Don Saladino, Drive 495
Thom Plummer
Thomas Plummer has been developing and teaching the business of fitness for over 40 years. Thom is the founder of the National Fitness Business Alliance (NFBA) and is a renowned business expert who presents his material worldwide in workshops, keynote speeches, and in private consultation.
Thom has sold over 100,000 books on the business of fitness. The Soul of a Trainer is his 11th book.
“Anyone can build a gym: a space and a pile of equipment, mirrors, and a desk. Very few can build a gym business, manage it, and make it flourish. Thom Plummer can, and he will tell you how and without fail or failure.”
~ Dave Draper, Mr. America, Mr. World, Mr. Universe
“The bottom line is that when you talk about the modern fitness business, you have to talk about Thomas Plummer. Thom was the guy who set everybody straight and in the process really changed our industry.”
~ Mike Boyle, StrengthCoach.com
To enjoy Thom’s reflections of his decades training the trainers, order your copy of The Soul of a Trainer today.
Chapter List
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Fitness professionals only have two speeds
Why did you become a coach?
We forget the power of a soft whisper
The more connected you become, the more isolated you can end up
Five mistakes every professional makes at least once in a career
Today, I only see beautiful
You are never where you are supposed to be
Life is never about what you own
First, there is life
There is never a day
I think of lost days spent walking in the sun alone
Just walk!
I am okay, although a little messed up
There is bone weary
Doing what you are doing
Come, grow old with me!
Alarm at 4:15 a.m.
A sign doesn’t make you a professional
Nothing to write about
You will hit bottom in life at least once
Stuff that should be hanging on your mirror
The client was a miserable human being
I want to be four years old again
Got up today and tried to save the world
I was so busy being busy
If you wear the suit
When you are young
You sleep
Fitness is a celebration of the respect you have for life
Going to the gym isn’t a punishment
Be comfortable being crazy
Balance in life sucks
Ass anchors
If you see a post you don’t like
You think it will never end
Right at this moment
When you are out of choices
Somewhere in the world
Everything you do in life matters
Are you okay?
An old client and his son
If you dread a client
We get stuck in the bad times of life
Living within yourself
There will be times
What I know now I wish I knew then
She tried to talk to the dog
Just show up
Just for one day
Just because we disagree
January is the time of year
One day you will wake up
Where will you be in life 10 years from now?
There are far fewer women owners
One of the hardest questions I have ever been asked
The bitching and moaning has to stop
The alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m.
“I am dying. What do I do?”
Being a coach must be the easiest job in the world
Sometimes I don’t have to be perfect
Here is what I think
Sitting in an airport
So you want to join a gym?
When you understand time, you will understand life
You are who you are today
Swearing you will get into shape
The hardest client to have
Personal pride is personal belief in yourself
Nothing changes until you get pissed
You were a complete and utter failure
Please, stop obsessing
Fitness made simple
Failing does not make you a failure
It’s Saturday. I am at the airport, and I am baffled
If you want to survive life
Your purpose in life is to make a difference
You can become so passionate about fitness
The gym business simply explained
The future of the fitness business 142
Creating magic in your life
You own a beautiful car
If you are walking through hell
Do what you promise in life, but never promise too much
Five things you should learn before you are 30
Watching people doing cardio in a mainstream gym
It is your life, take control
It is so hard to get people to live now 155
Nothing changed in your life today
Never let the big karma bird of life poop on your head
Never leave anything undone
We die slowly in today’s world
You cannot change anyone who doesn’t want to change
The five stages of the client and coach relationship
Time is the enemy of fitness
A prayer for the mentally unaware
Dear out-of-shape person
It is all lies, lies I tell you
It is hard to understand why you are so pissed at the world
We are who we are 173
You can never be great
Here is the formula for failure
Don’t waste time trying to win over the haters in the world
A prayer for those who coach
A perfect life made simple
“I’ve never worked with a coach before—what can you do for me?”
We are so busy in life, we forget how to do nothing
How you know you are a trainer
Never a bad day
My prayer to the universe this holiday season
You have to help 100 clients cross a dangerous field
The biggest reasons your clients can ruin your day
Stop talking about everything you are going to do and do something
Success often leads to isolation
You just might have a phone problem
At some point, being absolutely correct means you are absolutely wrong
We sell hope! We sell what is possible in life
Remember this!
Everyone has the right to fail
One of the hardest things to teach a person who is 30 is that his future may be his father
Run away, as quick as you can
We all lose our way in life
The five rules of life
Your personal physical perfection
The level of success you achieve
What is this “being happy” they talk about?
What integrity should mean to any coach
What if you risk everything
A good plan now is worth more than a perfect plan never
The highest risk in life is from doing absolutely nothing
Death happens
How mentally deranged
Hey, have you noticed
Hard to hurt a guy running full speed toward better days
Get over it; the world owes you nothing
There is only one resolution you need to make this year
There is no such thing as perfect…and that means you
There will be the day when I can’t
Things that set you apart in life
Twenty reasons you are a broke trainer
Being grateful for what you have
If I only had one day left, I would be a different man
Everything every woman over 50 knows
There are some clients you just can’t work with
The hours in the gym have been some of the best in your life
The evolution of a trainer
Dear Thom
Days like these are so very rare
Five things that drive coaches out of their over-caffeinated minds
If the situation doesn’t directly affect me
The most peaceful day you will ever have
I don’t know
I want it all
It only takes one
Years ago
The 10 worst ideas to hit the fitness world
The world is a simple place
The unwritten rules of fitness
The rules of crap
Generalists eat last
The fitness industry has changed
Breaking the hourly addiction
Stop the endless whining and complaining
Forgive, forget, smile and move on
Start the New Year right for a change
Five weird rules of business
Certain people become dark and bitter
If I am ever arrested
You are a role model, whether you want to be or not
If you are strong in spirit, you can take any beating life hands you
If you are strong in spirit
Feeling slightly old today and very jaded
If only
If making a change is hard now
If you are confused about your future
If we accept responsibility for the situation
You are being forced
Sometimes
Five rules for life after 50
You are here with me, but gone
Sooner or later, one of the Big Four will kick your ass
There is no person on the planet
There is nothing noble about being broke
If you are going to go down
Maybe it’s not you
Life made simple
You are not like everyone else
We always enhance, we never discount
Time passes—the things we value fade
Life is too short for cheap beer
Five reasons you are still not in shape
Movement is the basis for everything good and wonderful in life
Monday, you gone and done me wrong
Moderation sucks!
Mindset isn’t just a buzzword
When you have nothing to write about, you write about nothing
There is no magic
There is no change without pain
We all live badly at times
Your job is a promise
Your life
Your obsession for perfect can destroy wonderful
Your choice today
You will never have a day in any business without problems
Sit quietly and stare
Dear Millennial People
My holiday wish for all of you
Why now?
You will never be good at anything
You tired of fighting a losing battle at the gym?
You stay
If I told you
Failure shouldn’t bother you
There will never be a day in your life without problems
Why it is easier to like your dog more than your kids
Perspective is everything
What you think
Personal values aren’t what you say
People give all kind of excuses
Why the training gym is the future of fitness
If there was ever a time
Fitness should be movement, because movement is life
There is no perfect, but there can be wonderful
If I could teach you anything
Success is not always about the money
Every day of your life is yours alone
Promise little, but do everything you promise
Signs the world is ending
Sometimes, the best thing to do is to do nothing
Work ethic is an old-school lie
Winners are willing to do what losers refuse to do
Work ethic will beat talented and lazy 90% of the time
While you overthink, others do
Why?
When you find yourself
When you are in your 20s
When did you become so angry over politics?
The 17 immutable laws of money and coaching
There will be a day
There is no skill set in dying
There are a lot of things I care for in life
The Professional Coaches’ Code of Responsibility
Maybe you shouldn’t own your own business
I am tired of perfect people
Product FAQ
7×9 paperback, 392 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1-931046-46-6.
The ebook edition includes the PDF, Kindle and epub files
The audiobook was narrated by Thom Plummer (with Dan John reading the foreword) and is 6 hours and 59 minutes
Delivery
The print book will ship from the warehouse in Kansas on the business day following your order.
The ebook and audiobook formats are delivered instantly via download from a digital dashboard here on OTPbooks.com as soon as your order is placed.
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