History of Success
In 1985, Peter Taunton bootstrapped his fitness career by turning around a failing health club on a $16,000/year salary. He is the visionary and founder of Snap Fitness & Lift Brands which today has over 6,000 locations or licenses in 28 countries.
Peter Taunton grew up from humble beginnings in a small midwestern town in Willmar, Minnesota. He (and his twin brother) are the youngest of seven children, he attended a two-room schoolhouse and began his entrepreneurial journey at 8 years old by selling popcorn in front of his father’s grocery store.
Peter Taunton’s business accomplishments have been well-recognized by the business community. In 200, Peter Taunton was named Ernst and Young “Entrepreneur of the Year’. His companies have been featured in many business and industry publications such as Forbes, Entrepreneur 500, Inc 5000, Top Global and Franchise 500. Most recently, Peter became a Forbes Certified Master-class instructor, tasked with educating the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Peter Taunton is known for helping entrepreneurs around the world find their WHY.
1. What are you passionate about?
2. How do you maintain a positive attitude each day?
3. What are your core values?
4. How do you want to live your life?
5. How will you help others win?
6. How do you want to show up each day regardless of my job or the circumstances you’re in?
7. What are your non-negotiables surrounding your character and brand performance?
8. Objectively, what do you want to accomplish each day?
Set up each day with GOALS and CHECKLISTS.
You must set milestones and track your progress. It can be difficult to remember how far you’ve come when your feet are in the fire. You have to celebrate small victories.
As an entrepreneur, you must ask yourself what drives people into your business?
To make the impossible hill possible, these are critical components to ensure you have the necessary tools to do so!
1. Despite what you may have read or heard from some wanna-be business expert, there are no shortcuts to success. Believing this myth will only lead to disappointment and discouragement.
2. As you visualize the goal of reaching your North star, visualize it in its entirety. This will provide you with the motivation and inspiration to hold yourself accountable with great discipline, commitment, sacrifice, and accountability. As difficult as it will be, this will be the adventure of a lifetime for you if you enter this challenge mentally prepared.
3. Nothing is impossible as long as you prepare yourself both physically and mentally. It took me 35 years to get to the peak of my impossible hill. Yes I had unbelievable moments along the way, and every time I experienced one of those moments, I embraced it with gratitude and appreciation. But I never once settled or compromised on my North star. My drive let me turn my attention back to the ultimate goal I had set for myself, my company and my employees.
4. Having a positive image and confidence in yourself is the starting point for charting your course towards success. You have to believe that you are capable and deserving of whatever success looks like for you. Otherwise, when things become tough, you might remove yourself from the situation rather than overcome it. You’ve heard me say it before; winning isn’t easy. This is why discipline, commitment, and dedication become so important to press through difficult times.
“Success is where opportunity meets preparation”
The word impossible comes from people who have given up. They use the word impossible because from their perspective, the world around them appears impossible. Unfortunately, people underestimate the power of verbally projecting their shortfalls or defeats onto others. This is why earlier in the book, I spoke extensively on the importance of maintaining a positive attitude. I’ve concluded that people who tend to have a poor attitude toward life generally have a poor attitude or image of themselves. Remembr, your attitude is a mindset and a standard you set for yourself every waking moment of your day.
Most people take advice from the people they love the most. Our impossible hill mindset often comes from parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, teachers, and the people we trust the most. We are conditioned to believe them because they care about us. The problem is that they are projecting the same limiting beliefs that they were taught.
I still remember being that boy who grew up in a 2-room schoolhouse with nothing. I remember what it felt like to watch my dad take the hill every day to provide a beerlife for our family. I remember waking up and battling every day at my first health club, and occasionally, I would hear the voice in my head calling me crazy. That is why I am so passionate about the hilltaker method.
This is my invitation to fire whomever you are taking advice from in your life and start listening to your heart. There is probably something deep down that you know you want to achieve in your life, and somebody you love will probably tell you not to try. This is my invitation to reignite that fire that lies within you and consider me as your new friend and Sherpa!
You have been empowered with the truth that anything is possible, but nothing worth achieving. Your North star and big goal won’t be easy either. It shouldn’t be because nothing worth doing will ever be easy. You won’t appreciate easy anyways, and you never have.
You are now a hilltaker that understands this is a game we play forever. There is no shortcut on your journey, climbing the impossible hills of your life. There is no overnight success or get rich quick scheme. There are no funnels that will make you a millionaire and raising capital won’t make the climb any easier. You don’t need easy anymore because you have a vision and have decided that nothing will stand in your way.
Now you don’t have to worry about being an overnight success. You have your entire life ahead of you and a North star to aim at. Solidify your decision by taking the first step.