THE SECRETS OF THEIR SUCCESS

Fast Facts:

Pursuit: Founder and CEO of free online fitness centre HASfit.

Definition of success: “Having pride in your work and never giving up.”

My next guest is the man behind Heart And Soul Fitness, better known around the world as HASfit. If like me you’re too busy to get to the gym, or if you just can’t justify the expense, you’ve probably put yourself through some of HASfit’s exhausting and effective programmes, and I can tell you you’re in good company. With two million monthly visitors, thirty million YouTube views and in excess of 400,000 social media followers, HASfit has brought fitness into the living room in a big way. If you know the thrum of anticipation that goes with the words, “If you’re ready, I’m ready too, so let’s get started!” then you’re already familiar with the special kind of motivation that’s unique to Joshua ‘Coach’ Kozak, and it gives me great pleasure to welcome him to the blog. Don’t worry, absolutely no gym equipment is required!

You’ve probably come across people who’ve had some eureka moment in their lives, or perhaps a dramatic collision that’s seen them veer away from their steady course onto a path that turned into something more fulfilling. With Joshua Kozak, it was the subtler realisation that he’d reached a plateau in his career.

“A combination of factors led to the creation of HASfit,” he explains. “First, I was at a point in my career where I felt I had hit the ceiling in both title and salary. It’s really tough to earn a substantial income in the fitness industry and I needed a way to take both my career and income to the next level, but I had zero capital to do so. I read a book called the One Minute Millionaire by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert G. Allen. The book contained a test that helped you organize your strengths and resources into a business plan which honestly was a big help in coming up with the overall concept of HASfit.com.”

I probably shouldn’t be surprised, given the levels of self-motivation that Joshua evinces during his workouts, but you might not realize he now does a lot more than keep-fit videos. So what does a typical day involve?

“A typical day for me consists of spending between ten to sixteen hours staring at my computer screens. In addition to my work on HASfit, I am a Co-founder of two additional companies. One company is a personal training studio, Hasfit Personal Trainer. The other is a motion tracking and sensor technology start-up in Silicon Valley, Vimo Labs. I’ve taken on the CMO and Business Development role. We’re working on some really amazing apps utilizing the motion sensors in both the Android Wear and Apple Watch. Our first app, VimoFit, won the Google Android Wear Hackathon and creates customized workouts for the user while counting your reps for you. The second app, VimoGolf, replaces $150 golf sensors to give the user feedback on their swing using only the watch’s sensors.”

And the effect of these pursuits on Joshua’s social life?

“Needless to say…I don’t get out of the house much.”

If you’re a fitness fanatic you’ll probably be aware of Coach Kozak’s training maxims like “SWEAT OR REGRET: YOU DECIDE.” and “DO IT LIKE YOUR LIFE IS DEPENDING ON IT” but how does the man himself stay driven? What part of his sporting life gives Joshua the most satisfaction?

“Personally, fitness has always been my drug of choice. Exercising is the only time of the day that my brain gets a break. While working out, I’m not thinking about anything besides the next rep.”

I don’t know about you, but I’d like to know how much time it takes to maintain a fitness platform like HASfit, and what sacrifices Joshua has made along the way.

“After four years of development, HASfit is now in more of a maintenance mode. For a long time I would spend around seventy hours per week developing and promoting it. Now I probably spend closer to twenty hours a week. As a young man, I’ve sacrificed many of the social aspects of life. I don’t go out for beers or play fantasy football. My few friends are either thirty to forty years older than me or more like business associates. That being said, my life makes me feel fulfilled. The Lord has blessed me with skills to positively impact the world and I try to use them to their full extent.”

Twenty hours a week, well that’s part time surely? The thing is, Joshua whittled that down from over three times that many hours, and not so that he could kick back on the porch with a few beers more regularly. He did it to make time for the next challenges. He still works every waking hour, and his new ventures are taking up every bit as much time as the early days of HASfit. Soon he’ll have to forgo sleep altogether I imagine. Doesn’t he ever look back then to those pre-entrepreneurial days, when life was laid out in bite-size, five-day weeks?

“No. Being an entrepreneur is the only job on the planet where you work eighty hours a week so that you don’t have to work forty hours per week and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

And if we want to follow in Coach Kozak’s footsteps?

“First, write down a lofty goal for yourself and give yourself a deadline of when you want to achieve it by. Whether you want to sell a hundred thousand books or be a multi-millionaire, write it down and put it somewhere that you see every day.  Make sure you do at least one thing each day to achieve it. Disclaimer,” he adds. “You should be doing more like one hundred things each day.

“There are going to be times when your current skill-set isn’t enough to get the job done, so that’s when it’s time to learn a new skill! I’ve taught myself website design, graphic design, video editing, SEO, and more because I didn’t have the money to hire a professional. In this day and age of information, you can teach yourself anything if you have the will to do so. Don’t make excuses, make progress.

“Next, it sounds cliché, but never give up. It’s going to be hard and you’re going to want to quit. Be prepared to go a little crazy (or a lot) because everyone who is completely sane will quit. It takes on average ten to fifteen years to become an overnight success, but with determination, perseverance, and passion you can achieve anything.”

Before he goes, Joshua has one final pearl of wisdom, and if you’re about to embark on your own journey, you should write this one down.

“Many people spend their entire lives chasing “success” as if it is a destination,” Joshua says. “The problem for those with driven personalities is that success isn’t static. Every time you reach a goal, you just want more. This inevitably leads to feeling unfulfilled and feeling like you’re not successful.”

So be prepared…

I’d like to thank Joshua Kozak for sharing his story and his advice. If you’d like to discover more, or you’re in need of a tune-up, search for HASfit on YouTube, or go to www.hasfit.com

If you’re looking for a training routine tailored specifically to your needs try https://www.hasfitpersonaltrainer.com/

You can follow HASfit @HearSoulFit and for more information about Joshua’s recently developed apps go to https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=vimo.co.seven&hl=en and https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.vimo.golf&hl=en

<a href=”https://www.hasfitpersonaltrainer.com/”>personal training</a>
<a href=”https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=vimo.co.seven&hl=en”>VimoFit</a>
<a href=”https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.vimo.golf&hl=en”>VimoGolf</a>