Mastering the Martial Arts Business Asks…. Brian Tracy and Tom Hopkins.

What are some of the reasons so many people fail to achieve their goals?

If people knew that all their hopes, dreams and plans are dependent on their ability and willingness to set goals, and realized how important goals are to a happy, successful life, then far more people would have goals today.

One reason people don’t set goals is, simply, they’re not serious. They’re talkers instead of doers. Although they want to be more successful, and improve their lives, they’re not willing to make the necessary effort. They don’t have the “fire in the belly” to make their lives bigger, better or more exciting. They want to be better martial artists—they talk about being better martial artists—but they don’t put in the hours of training. They don’t put their thoughts into action.

Your true values and beliefs are expressed in your behavior. One person who takes action is worth ten brilliant talkers who do nothing. I receive countless phone calls, letters and proposals from all kinds of people with all kinds of ideas, yet the only ones who impress me are those who actually do something. Don’t tell people what you will do. Show them. Be serious!

The second reason people don’t set goals is because they’ve not yet accepted responsibility for their lives. I used to think that goals were the starting point of success, until I realized that the first step toward goal setting is being fully responsible for your lives and everything that happens to you. The irresponsible person is the per¬son who’s still waiting for real life to begin.

The third reason people don’t set goals is their deep-seated feelings of guilt and unworthiness. A person in a low mental and emotional state is not the kind of person who confidently and optimistically sets goals. A person who was raised in a negative environment may develop the attitudes of “What’s the use?” and “I’m not good enough.” They are hardly capable of serious goal setting.

The fourth reason people don’t set goals is that they don’t realize the importance of goals. If you’re raised in a household in which your parents didn’t have goals and the setting and achieving of goals wasn’t a regular topic of family discussion, then you can reach adulthood without even understanding the concept of goals.

If you move in a social circle of people without clearly defined goals, then you’ll probably assume that goals aren’t a particularly important part of life. Since 80 percent of the people in your life are going nowhere, if you’re not careful, then you’ll drift with that crowd and go nowhere as well.

The fifth reason people don’t set goals is that they don’t know how. You can earn a university degree ¬and never once receive an hour’s worth of instruction on goal setting. Goal setting is more important to your long-term happiness than any other single subject that you could a ever learn.

Look for five more reasons why people don’t set goals next month.

Tom Hopkins

In your view, how much time and effort should instructors invest in generating leads for new students? 

A school owner’s most important investment of time and effort is to sell memberships. A major part of that effort is to become known as an expert, an advisor in physical fitness and marital arts, in his or her community.

One of my first steps would be to join the Chamber of Commerce. Go to some of the business meetings. I would want to become known as the martial arts expert, and network with everyone I know and meet.

Every business owner is looking for a unique way to generate prospects. If I went to a meeting with five other local businesspeople, then I’d be sure to exchange business cards with them; I’d want them to know what I did. I’d also offer to refer potential customers.

That is certainly one prospecting method that would be easy for a martial arts school owners, to use to generate plenty of new business. The key is to exchange business cards with other businesspeople.

The saddest part of the martial arts business is that school owners fail to consider everyone they meet as a prospect. You must have your antenna in the air. I used to call it the Three-Foot Rule. Whenever you’re within three feet of anyone, say hello, let him know what you do and be very excited about your martial arts program, so he will want to know more about it.

Make sure to ask for a business card and then send him a note, thanking him for discussing your business. That’s a great way to develop a network and build momentum.

When you first make the effort to generate more leads, it’s all a matter of numbers. Once your enrollments and renewals are increasing and you’ve built a solid business, you must continue to communicate with your students to retain them as long as possible and not let their memberships lapse.