If you answer: "I heard I can make a lot of money as a Personal Fitness Trainer, $50, $75, $100... up to $150 an hour." You're right! The IFPA has Personal Fitness Trainers (PFTs) making that much and more.

If you answer: "I have read in various magazines and newspapers that the Personal Training industry is one of the fasting growing career fields in the United States." You're right! Numerous magazines and newspapers have listed Personal Training as one of the fastest growing careers for the 21st century (that's now - by the way, we are in the 21st century, just in case you forgot).

If you answer: "I spend several hours a day in the gym working-out. Fitness is my passion and my hobby; it only makes sense to me that I turn my passion into my career." You're right! Every self-help, self-development and career counselor always advises people to make their hobby their job and their passion their career.

But there is a much deeper, much more important, much more serious reason why you should want to be a Personal Fitness Trainer (PFT). If you will take the time to read the following, you will discover if you are truly qualified to become a Personal Fitness Trainer and more importantly, if you take the time to understand the following, you will open up an opportunity to have a much more rewarding Personal Fitness Trainer career.

Many people have come to an intelligent and factually correct determination that among all the businesses available to Americans, Personal Fitness Trainer has potentially the greatest return on investment (ROI) than virtually any other business opportunity available today - anywhere in the world. You may have already figured it out - for a simple investment in education and certification fees of approximately $400 (IFPA Personal Fitness Trainer Certification fees vary from $399.00 to $449.00), you can start a business that can make you in excess of $100,000/year. It would cost you many times that amount ($1,000,000) to buy a Subway franchise and many, many times that amount to buy a McDonald's franchise.

Add to that the fact that helping people achieve their health and fitness goals is far more fun and rewarding than flipping burgers at McDonald's (helping to make them unhealthier and fatter), it would seem that becoming a Personal Fitness Trainer would be the perfect career.

But I'm about to do something right here, right now that you will NEVER see from another certification organization or fitness, health and nutrition education organization (the IFPA does both: educate and certify). I'm going to give you the down side - I'm going to tell you the BAD NEWS.

The first item of bad news you should know is that not all Personal Fitness Trainers make over $100/hour or $100,000/year. Those Personal Fitness Trainers that I know personally, that are making that kind of money, are among the most dedicated and hardest working professionals that I know of - in any profession!

The second item of bad news is that not one of those exceptional professionals became a Personal Fitness Trainer because they where looking for "BIG MONEY!" Each and every one of them dedicated their lives to becoming "the best they could be!" They dedicated themselves "to do best job they could, for everyone they could." They dedicated themselves to becoming a "Fitness Professional."

And now for even more BAD NEWS! To earn the distinction of "Fitness Professional" is going to take time, effort and energy. It's going to take hard work!

I have had many careers in my life: NCAA Gymnastics Coach, Air Force Officer and Fighter Pilot, Stock Broker, Investment Banker, Health Club Manager, Personal Trainer, World Class Lecturer and President of the IFPA, but the one constant in my life has always been my passion for fitness. I picked up my first book on fitness (the Marine Corp Book on Physical Fitness) when I was 9 years old and I have been teaching people to exercise ever since. I have always had a thirst for knowledge, always wanting to know more, always wanting to know everything there was to know on fitness, health and nutrition.

If you are going to qualify to be a successful Personal Fitness Trainer, you are going to need that same thirst. I and the IFPA have spent enormous amounts of time, effort and energy to synthesize the IFPA Personal Fitness Trainer Manual and Study Guide down to slightly over 400 pages of very concise, very practical, very useful information. The study materials were painstakingly designed to teach you everything you need to know to train healthy people safely and effectively (obviously, as your career grows and you branch out into specialized populations the IFPA will be there to help you with over 60 certification courses and approximately 100 continuing education credit courses).

More BAD NEWS: many of the students going through IFPA Certification Courses FAIL! That's right FAIL! I can not tell you how dismayed I am by the students that fail IFPA Certification tests. Every one of the Certification Programs is designed to teach you everything you need to be a success, but I can't make you LEARN IT! You have to make yourself learn it!

Everything the IFPA teaches you, you need to know and therefore everything the IFPA tests is what the IFPA teaches - so if YOU FAIL - shame on you for not APPLYING YOURSELF!

So, here's the deal: In order to qualify to become an IFPA Fitness Professional you are going to need dedication to the fitness lifestyle, passion toward helping others and hard work. In order to become successful in all aspects of your life I suggest you learn the following:

This has become my personal mission statement on my life's goals and it has become the MANTRA for the IFPA. If you are serious about a career as fitness professional then I suggest it also become your mantra. Please, if you are a "selfish little clod," find another career, but if you have come to recognize the "force of nature" within you and you want to use a career as a Personal Fitness Trainer to become a "mighty one" then I welcome you to our team, I welcome you to our cause of improving the lives of every man, woman and child throughout the world community.

Good luck in all your endeavors!