Motivation – Part 1 of the Premier Success Formula for Martial Arts Schools – Barry Van Over
Posted by Member Solutions on Tue, Jan 17, 2012 @ 07:00 AM
For an owner to be successful in the Martial Arts industry he or she has to at some point wear many hats. We have to be the instructor, marketing expert, public relations person, personal development coach, manager, and even the janitor. For us to accomplish all that we must to become successful, we have to stay motivated.
Ah, that ever easy word to say, but increasingly difficult to stay, MOTIVATED. By definition it means providing a reason to act. If you do not understand what I am talking about, motivation is what you need when you have conducted your fourteenth school talk of the week and have sixteen more to go. It is what is needed when you are getting ready to go check lead boxes, to pass out 500 invitations, make another cold call to prospects, to teach that ninth high-energy class of the day, or to work that sixtieth hour for the week!
Now you know what I am talking about, Motivation … that inner force that separates the successful people from the unsuccessful. I was watching a movie with a friend a few weekends ago and in the movie was a poster in this boxing gym that said “winners are simply willing to do what losers won’t!” That inner willingness that makes us do what losers won’t is motivation.
But, getting motivated is easier said than done, staying motivated is even harder. After a movie that I saw, I started thinking about the importance and keys to motivating people. Whether it is your staff, your students, or yourself, we all need motivation. For someone to become motivated, they have to experience three important elements: confidence, effort, and results. But which one is first? Where does motivation start?
At first glance it would appear that either of the three would spark someone’s motivation. Someone that is confident would be the type of person to give the effort needed to get results. But developing confidence is a process all its own. If a person gave the right amount of effort, the person would see some type of results and possibly gain confidence from the experience. But getting people to give effort requires motivating them in the first place.
The fastest and easiest way to motivate someone starts with results. When someone experiences results they gain confidence in themselves and become motivated to give even more effort, which yields even greater results, developing more confidence, enabling a person to give more effort and getting even better results. This spiral of motivation continues to grow and allows a person to achieve anything they can conceive.
Going to the gym does not motivate you to workout, the results you see from how it makes you look and feel motivates you to go back day after day. If an owner or instructor implements a certain marketing system and gets even modest results, they begin to have confidence in the system, and then they try even harder with greater effort bringing them even more results. No matter if it is motivation for marketing, instructing, or staff training, an owner experiences more motivation when they see results. Signing up 52 students in one month will motivate your entire staff with the confidence needed to go out and give even more effort to get that same result next month.
Our students are no different. If you want to pump up that new white belt student, compliment them on the results they are getting with their new front kick. Watch that student’s eyes sparkle and begin to beam with confidence, and then watch him give you even greater effort, and of course the result will be him kicking even higher and harder. If you want to motivate a child to make better grades, sincerely compliment them on their “B” and they will soon give you an “A”. When animal trainers are training an animal to perform some amazing feat, they do not start with building confidence in the animal. They do not start working the animal hard to learn the trick. They start slow by rewarding the animal with a treat for even the smallest result, and thus building motivation for learning. Anytime you want to motivate anyone to perform at a higher level, start by showing them their simple results first, and then watch them start to get even greater results later.
Stay tuned for my next blog post where I’ll cover the second component of the Premier Success Formula: Education.
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Barry Van Over is the president of Martial Arts Management Group. Through his consulting and services company, Barry has helped hundreds of Martial Arts school owners maximize their profits and reach their business goals. The success of Martial Arts Management Group has allowed Barry to form one of the world’s largest organizations of studios, Premier Martial Arts, which has locations throughout the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.
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Member Solutions Martial Arts Business Bootcamp is coming March 31st and April 1st to the ACE Conference Center in Lafayette Hill, Pa. – just minutes outside of Center City Philadelphia.
The event will include new interactive workshops, business seminars and physical training classes. Plus, you’ll have lots of opportunities to network with the speakers and other Bootcampers.
