012: Taking Ownership, Incredible Determination, Excelling In The Fitness Industry, Quality Sleep & Playing AFL with Matthew Ferguson

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I’ve known Matthew Ferguson since I was about 10 years old, growing up together in Heyfield, Victoria. After both moving away, we have reconnected in the last year and it’s awesome to see what he has achieved.

Matt played AFL for the St Kilda Saints, but it wasn’t until he coached a local team after his AFL career that he started to realise his potential in leadership and personal development.

Matt speaks about how he took the risk on hustling with network marketing in a small country town and how he left his high paying job and came to Melbourne to follow his passion.

Matt also covers how he has become a leader at Isagenix with a very comfortable income and is currently growing an online personal training service business. He enjoys helping people achieve their goals as a personal trainer.

Matt’s story is very inspiring. There’s plenty of practical tips here too so get ready to take notes.

Please enjoy this conversation with Matthew Ferguson.

 

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My Biggest Take-Aways

  • Excuses won’t get you anywhere
  • Becoming a leader gave Ferg lazer focus to be as fit as he could be and be the best possible coach that he could be. His first year as coach of the club they had the most successful year in over 100 years of the Sale Football Club.
  • Following Passion can bring extraordinary results
  • There’s a lot of ‘right opportunity at the right time’ time moments for Matt which I put down to his competitive nature, open-mindedness and desire to be the best version of himself.
  • Going into an industry that compliments his existing business and skills
  • I like to ask people ‘What is the thing in your life that you would do if no-one paid you for it, and if they did pay you for it that you actually couldn’t believe that they would pay you for something like that. That’s what it feels like for me at the moment.’
  • What’s the one thing that you can do better than everyone else that comes naturaaly to you that you can stand out above the rest?
  • Matt used Facebook to make himself accountable – told everyone that he’d be a finalist in the 16 week challenge. ‘What’s the first thing that people look at in a personal trainer? It’s how they present and how they look. By doing the 16 week challenges they look at me and see that I walk the walk.’
  • Wake up at the exact same time every single morning. My earliest time I get up is 4am, so 4am is every day now. I’m more energized during the day because my body knows that I have to get up at that time. If I nap during the day, it needs to be either 30 minutes or 90 minutes due to our sleep cycles.
  • Finish the day strong with some end of day tasks – fold you clothes, put them away, clean-up your room a bit and download to a journal so you can get into bet and relax with the day behind you.
  • To say someone’s a natural at something, it’s just through putting yourself in that vulnerable position and being prepared to fail, doing your best and then looking gat where you could have improved on and then coming back in and going again. There’s no secret to it.
  • It might not be the book, it might just be 1 page or 1 paragraph but it can just change the direction about how you are going about your life.
  • There is always someone who has done what you want to do better than you and that’s gone before you and that’s wiling to teach you how to do it and to show you every step of the day.
  • Ferg loves to read (listen to books) and then go to work as a PT and tell his clients about it. He has found a fantastic way to involve the immediate benefits of learning into his everyday life. He has clients who want to know what’s the latest thing he’s reading and learning about.
  • Bring a good attitude and show up everyday and people are willing to teach you
  • Feel good during the day and watch what happens to your life
  • ‘Like shorter-term goals. What are the 5 things that I will be happy if I lay my head on my pillow tonight knowing that I have done and I try to get them done in the morning and it simplifies the day.’

 

Show Notes
2:30 The journey to AFL
4:40 Heyfield pride
05:50 What was it like playing at St Kilda
07:20 First AFL game
8:55 The standard of AFL compared with junior and local footy
10:20 On being delisted twice and then the next chapter
12:50 Full-time vs. Part-time – In football and in anything
14:00 The job at the Longford Gas Plant
14:30 First leadership experience and another change in direction
16:55 The problem with Ferg’s day job
18:15 The beginning of the network marketing adventure (Isagenix)
12:10 The big facebook post
23:50 The fresh start in Melbourne
25:40 The online training platform
29:20 How do I stand out in such a competitive industry
33:20 Are you the fittest you’ve ever been?
34:45 On sleep
43:10 On meditation
44:10 Presenting at Isagenix events
48:20 Where do you see your next adventure?
50:50 The storage unit epiphany
53:40 On taking action
55:50 The poster boy of Isagenix

 

56:50 The Big 5

  1. When Matt took 100% responsibility for his own life and decided to move out of home and to get out of that environment.
  2. Getting drafted to the AFL – which got Matt out of a bad environment surrounded by drugs and alcohol.
  3. Saying yes to coach the Sale Football Club which put Matt in a position to learn so much about himself.
  4. Saying Yes to something new and going in with no preconceived ideas or grudges. Went in with an open mind (Isangenix). If you don’t give up and you stay in it, you’ll end up being successful
  5. The day Matt woke up and decided that he could not go to this job one more day and left his day job

 

1:02:10 What is your favourite quote?
Everybody is waiting for someone else to go first – David Wood

1:05:25 What are the best books & blog-posts that you’ve ever read?
The Four Agreements
The Gratitude Effect – Dr. John Demartini
Anything by Wayne Dyer, Tony Robbins & Bob Procter
The ABC’s of Success – Bob Proctor
Think & Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
The Minimalists
The Big Leap
Tim Ferriss’s books
Robin Sharma

108:25 Best Movies, TV Shows & Documentaries?
Matt much prefers audiobooks!

1:10:05 What are your predictions for your industry in the next 5 to 10 years?
Matt goes into detail here about the importance of the fitness industry and the part that he plays in it. It’s evident that the fitness & health industry is only going to expand.

1:13:05 Did you achieve your goals that you set yourself over the last 12 months?
Matt likes to set goals that are way out of reach, because if you get somewhere near them, you’re going to be better off.

1:14:50 What goals have you set yourself over the next 12 months? Are there any that you’re willing share with us that we could help by keeping you accountable?
6 figure earner with Isagenix
Run his online business to a 6 figure income
Being able to be flexible with my Personal Training

1:16:25 Who are you looking to connect with?
Fellow entrepreneurs

Who do I think should connect with Matt?
Anyone wanting to do something about their health or would like to follow a system that is proven.
Also, anyone in the fitness space looking to grow their income!

1:18:15 The importance of networking (and being observant) with the right people

1:19:15 Where can people reach you?
Matt’s in the Hawthorn area
Find him at the Hurtlocker in Richmond
Facebook: Matthew Ferguson

 

Links
2:30 Heyfield
3:35 St Kilda Saints
5:00 Leigh Brown
5:00 David Wojcinski
5:00 Adrian Cox
5:00 Mark Stevens
5:55 Nick Riewoldt
6:55 Robert Harvey
6:55 Justin Kozitski
07:40 Port Adelaide Power
9:15 Aaron Hamill
9:15 Frazer Gehrig
9:15 Steven Milne
9:30 Matthew Richardson
9:30 Matthew Lloyd
10:30 Grant Thomas
12:30 Perth Football Club
13:45 Andrew Jarman
14:30 Sale Football Club
21:20 Isagenix
24:00 Australian Institute of Fitness
26:00 Lachy Horner
30:00 The Big Leap by Guy Hendrix
51:05 The Four Agreements
51:25 The Minimalist
1:02:55 David Wood
01:17:20 Brad Riddle

 

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