You Good? - Jan 31, 2022

Over the past two years I’ve hired four different consultants to help my company figure out it’s brand voice.

They put in 1,000s of hours of market research and prepared fancy powerpoints telling us what words our customers wanted to hear.

Unsurprisingly, our communications became boring and uninspired.

We spoke how we were supposed to.

We were careful not to offend.

We said nice things. It all sounded so . . . nice.

Instead of speaking the way I know trainers speak we followed the research of costly consultants, many of whom had never set foot in a gym.

How fucking stupid.

Well, if I’m honest, I always said fuck.

Not excessively, but I believe that profanity is a harmless language construct that can add emotion, meaning, and emphasis.

Afraid of what people would think, I never swore online before.

For years I thought that I had to create this bullshit fake façade because it was how I was supposed to act.

It was a charade.

Maintaining a fake persona is exhausting.

If you’re acting in a way you think you should act but doesn’t feel true to you, I urge you, stop. Be true to yourself.

Alison and I were living in Costa Rica. A friend was building an ashram in the area. His name’s Dandapani. That's him above.

We met him at sunset. He was knee-deep in the water.

On the way over we wondered where they were staying. So, when we got there, Alison asked him, "where are you?"

Dandapani responded by saying,

"I am here."

It was perfect.
...
In those three words, my Hindu priest friend taught me a lesson that I'll never forget:

Stop worrying so much about getting there and just be here.

The Internet leads you to believe that you have to chase riches.

That you should always strive for more.

That whatever you have now is not enough.

That's it's there you want to be. Not here.

Be true to yourself. Take it from me because, for a while there, I wasn't.

I was obsessed with getting there but when I stopped doing what I thought I should be doing and started doing what was true to me, sales began to grow––and, like, not just a little bit.

Beyond the business growth, I’ve been enjoying my work more.

At the end of the day, we're all living our own journey.

Mine started out training clients in-person in a small gym in Toronto.

Then I wrote a book, and started a website, and built a company.

And for a decade I’ve been deeply involved in online fitness.

By all accounts I’ve done well, achieving what many aspire to do:

I've made millions, travelled the world, and started a family.

After a decade doing this, if I'm being true to myself, want to know what I want to do?

I want to train clients in-person in a small gym in Toronto.

So, when I get back home, that’s what I’m going to do.

Thanks for reading.

-Coach Jon

P.S. If you feel a pull to reply to this email, I’d love to hear from you and promise to read it.

P.P.S. Below is a list of a few podcasts I’ve appeared on. All are available wherever you listen to podcasts (I’ve linked the Spotify.)

Real Talk With Jon Goodman - Jeremy Scott Fitness Podcast

This is the most in-depth interview that I’ve ever done. It spans the gamut from fitness to business to finances to lifestyle.

The Laptop Lifestyle, Done My Way - Nikki Talks Podcast

This one goes much deeper into lifestyle design. Nikki and I also have great rapport because she ran operations for my company for a few years back in the day.

Online Business with Jonathan Goodman - The Coach’s Playground Podcast

This one goes much deeper into building your online fitness business.