I’ve failed over and over as a dietitian and entrepreneur, and that’s exactly why I’ve succeeded.

I walked into the LA Fitness in Warren Michigan for what I thought would be a normal day at work, and then I was SHOCKED with what I saw.

My FAVORITE client was being trained by another trainer.

My heart sunk.

I thought to myself: “Not again! That would be the third client I lost this week. And not HER! This has to be a mistake.”

I anxiously approached the two and saw the surprised look on both of their faces. Almost as if I caught my partner cheating on me red handed with another person at the bar.

“Sorry Tony, it just wasn’t a good fit” – My favorite client said and nervously looked away.

“Nothing personal bro, it’s just business” – Said the trainer.

I felt like I was just broken up with and the girl gave me the old “It’s not you, it’s me!” line.

I was crushed.

To make matters worse, that was my only client I was supposed to train that day.

I walked out of the gym feeling like a failure. I sat in my 1999 Chrysler Sebring in the parking lot, tears in my eyes, head on the steering wheel, for an hour because I was too upset to drive home.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but these setbacks and failures were actually preparing me for the future success of being a dietitian and owning my own business. My clients always have, and always will be my greatest source of education. I have learned so much from them and I can confidently say without my clients, I’d be nothing.

Without these failures ten years ago, I wouldn’t have refined my coaching process to where it is today – A program that has produced hundreds of life changing transformations.

Listen, I know you might see me where I am today in my business, and it may appear as if success in my career came easy to me.

I’ve had people message me and say  “Man, you make this look so easy! I wish I was lucky like you.”

While I’m humbled by those statements, the truth is, it’s easy now because it was so fu*king hard in beginning.

The success I’ve found was predicated on the FAILURES I faced early on. 

There were plenty of times I wanted to give up and quit. Whether I 18 and struggling to retain clients as a personal trainer for $6 per session. Or years later when I was in massive student loan debt, washing dishes during my food service rotation to become a dietitian.

But I didn’t quit.

And that’s why I succeeded.

I used those early failures as feedback to progress forwards.

My question to you is are you giving up too early on your goals before you hit success?

I see SO many people throw in the towel too early on their journey towards their goals.

Whether it’s a dietitian or trainer who is BRAND NEW to coaching and they give up after only a few months because they think they should be making more money or have more clients then they do.

Or, someone beginning a healthy lifestyle transformation and they give up due to not seeing the results they had hoped for after only a few weeks.

Please read this statement over and over until it really sinks in.

NO ONE starts off as GREAT when they are just beginning something.

And you don’t get to SUCCESS without FAILING first.

Think about the time you learned how to walk as an example.

Do you think the FIRST time your parents tried to teach you to walk you just strode confidently throughout the house with some swag in your step?

No, you fell flat on your face.

You continued to fall over and over until you finally figured out this walking thing that everyone else around you seemed to be doing so well.

Your current goals are just like you learning to walk ALL over again.

You are going to fall at first.

But as long as you pick yourself up after every failed attempt, and use that failure as FEEDBACK to get a little better each time, soon enough you WILL succeed.