Some of you may remember the 1993 film of the storied Rudy. It’s a story about a young man who dreams of playing football at Notre Dame. However, he lacked the grades, money, talent, and physical stature to reach that goal.
Still, nothing would deter Rudy from chasing his dream. After two years at Holy Cross and three rejections from Notre Dame, Rudy is finally admitted and attends football tryouts in an attempt to make the team as a “walk-on” player. The coach notices his tenacity, and eventually, Rudy makes the practice squad.
The underdog story ends with Notre Dame leading 17-3. The coach sends all the seniors into the game except Rudy, despite the assistant coaches’ urging. Fans, who are aware of Rudy’s goal from a story in the student newspaper, start a “Rudy!” chant in the stadium. After much built-up energy in the stadium, the coach finally lets Rudy play on the Notre Dame kickoff to Georgia Tech.
Rudy stays in for the final play, sacks the Georgia Tech quarterback, and is carried around on his teammates’ shoulders to cheers from the stadium. It’s an all-time underdog story as Rudy defeats the odds to accomplish his dreams of playing Notre Dame football.’
Rudy’s story has inspired multiple generations never to give up and chase your dreams, no matter who tells you you’re crazy. The story of Rudy is an inspiring story of setting goals and chasing those goals until you hit them. Despite all odds, Rudy wasn’t willing to quit until he made it on the field. He pursued his dreams with forward progress until he was carried off that field on the shoulders of his teammates.
I love the symbolism of the Rudy story because it shows the value of hustle, perseverance, and effort. However, while Rudy only got to play in the game, he never won a Super Bowl. Once you hit your goals, make sure to appreciate your progress before looking for your next impossible hill to climb.
If you’ve ever picked up this book, you probably have aspirations to build something great and take the hill of your dreams. For Rudy, playing for Notre Dame was his impossible hill. For you, there are lessons to be learned from Rudy. Yes, you should work hard, persevere, and give great effort. However, you should also set bigger goals and force yourself to level up to reach those bigger goals.
Let me tell you another story that may sound familiar.
In the year 2000, the New England Patriots selected a quarterback with the 199th pick. He was not viewed as much of a prospect. He was slow, awkward, and didn’t have great arm strength. None of his physical attributes would lead you to believe he would become an all-time great football player.
That player was Tom Brady, and many now regard him as the greatest quarterback to ever play the game. I am hardly suggesting that Rudy and Tom Brady had similar stories because Tom Brady had far more talent coming into the league. I am suggesting that Tom Brady took his opportunity and became so good they couldn’t take him out of the game. Today, he has more than 220 wins, 6 Super Bowls, 14 Pro Bowls, and a list of records that read more like a rap sheet.
However, Tom Brady didn’t come into the league a superstar. If you remember his early career, he was more of a game manager, sitting behind the mastery of a great defense and Bill Belichick. In his first six seasons as the team’s starter, Brady had established a consistent baseline of success: about 300 completions at a 60 percent rate and around 25 touchdowns. A little less than one interception a game. An adjusted yards-per-attempt rate of 6 or 7. And a lot of wins: 10, 12, even 14 each season.
Brady was focused on betterment every moment of his career. He was focused on refining every one of his physical skills, but he knew that’s where his limitations might hold him back. He was never going to have the biggest arm or quickest feet. Instead of accepting his limitations, he maximized his physical potential. Who do you want to emulate? Do you want to get on the field? while focusing on what he could control, his mind. Or do you want to chase Super Bowls? Do you want to celebrate good or chase great?
Brady approached every day with a chip on his shoulder. He remembered the frustration of being picked in the 6th round. He used his critics as fuel and became one of the hardest working competitive players to ever play the game. He maximized his mental performance, his sleep, his diet and every part of his life that he could control.
Tom Brady would routinely say “good afternoon” to his teammates that arrived at the facility at 6:30 a.m. because he had been there since 5. Brady used everything he could as fuel. His critics became his biggest allies, and his own fears pushed him to make sure they would never become a reality. Brady used every psychological and physical edge he could to become the greatest quarterback of all time.
That is the difference between Tom Brady and Rudy. Sure, Tom Brady could have been content after winning his first Super Bowl. They carried him off the field, and that could have been his Rudy moment. He could have celebrated for a lifetime after winning that Super Bowl. Many of the greatest athletes ever never reached that milestone. But Tom Brady didn’t want to be carried off the field and celebrated for one accomplishment. He wanted to be the greatest of all time. This was his North star driven with much direction and purpose.
There was a point in my life that I thought selling my first health club was my Super Bowl. I thought I had arrived, but that was really just my step from college to the NFL. If I wanted to win Super Bowls and go for great, I had to go all-in and refine my focus even more. I became a man on a mission, and much like Tom Brady, I used everything as fuel. I used my inner critic and outer critics as motivation to keep growing.
My North star was my Super Bowl. My dream was to open fitness clubs across the United States, and I couldn’t do that if I was busy celebrating past success. I definitely couldn’t do that if I didn’t refine our process to create championship results. Every decision was methodical and most importantly, scalable. Focus on results, not the fans in the stands.
I was laser-focused on my goals, and I knew that the Snap Fitness model was the best way to get there. I realized that although Snap Fitness didn’t have all of the amenities some larger facilities had, we had everything that somebody needed to get fit.
I took the time to understand the marketplace and evaluate the competition. After realizing that 30% of the exercising public wanted a full-service facility, I made the bet that 70% of the exercising population would love my product and appreciate the value for the price. Given my facilities’ size, I could strategically position them in neighborhood strip malls, making them convenient for my members.
I made the bet that most people felt like they were paying for amenities they weren’t using, and I went all-in on that bet. Snap. Fitness was 1/10th the cost of my earlier full-service gyms, instead of having 50 employees, there were 2. There was less overhead, and our return on capital was 5X that of a full-service gym. My Snap Fitness battle cry in 2004 was “we’re a 24-hour, affordable alternative to the typical big gym membership. Our facilities were full of state-of-the-art equipment, no contract, and we have everything you need to reach your fitness goals.”
At the end of 2004, on the back of that message, we began franchising. The first year we opened 12 locations. The second- year we opened 60. 3rd year, 180. In the fourth year, we opened more than 250 locations, and by year 5, I had accomplished my goal of opening one location per day. We opened 377 locations: in one year before eventually breaking 1000 locations. All of that happened because we simplified our model, reinvested into our business, and compounded our growth.
My original health club success felt like Rudy; it was a victorious venture. However, Snap Fitness was more like Tom Brady. We had that fire and desire to stop at nothing and place no limitations on what was possible. When you refine your focus and set new goals, you can win Super Bowls instead of just getting on the field.