I put a post on my personal Facebook profile the other day.
It was a tongue-in-cheek joke about a novel way to get a response from people who ghost me when they owe me money.
Based off another post I’ve seen during the rounds.
Most people thought it was funny, but one person didn’t.
She made several comments on it saying, amongst other things, that I needed “to be professional.”
And that’s cool; everyone’s entitled to their opinion.
Who would I be to say what other people should and shouldn’t think and believe?
I get that different words might have different definitions for different people.
I know my definition of “professional” doesn’t necessarily match some people’s.
For me, it’s about consistently delivering a high-quality service that people have paid for (cough *** hundreds of verifiable success stories, four-time Top 6 in the UK at the National Fitness Awards, etc —> www.myrise.co.uk/apply *** cough)
It’s not about being a standard, vanilla cookie-cutter FitPro who hides their real personality for fear of putting off potential customers.
It’s about being my true, authentic self, knowing that some people will like that and some people won’t—and that both those things are fine.
I know (from literally thousands and thousands of conversations over the years) that my average customer likes the fact that I come across as a real human being and not a chicken-and-broccoli munching, burpee-loving, gym freak.
They know that I like a laugh and a joke, that I’ll have a drink or ten at times, and that I’ve gained and lost weight over the years.
The irony is many Fitness Professionals are just as normal.
I know this as I’m friends with a lot of them.
And I know how many put across this professional version of themselves in public because they’re scared of criticism.
Unfortunately, this often leads to them coming across as so bland and interchangeable that they don’t actually connect with people and help them change their lives.
So I’ll continue to be myself and consistently help people like I’ve been doing for the last 23 years.
And you should do the same.
You be you.
Become okay with some people not liking that because you don’t like everyone.
Know that, whatever you’re doing, the real you will help the people in your life more than the version you sometimes think you ought to be ever could.
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Much love,
Jon ‘indemnity insurance’ Hall
