Top 5 Hacks for Increasing Your Income & Impact

If you’re reading this right now, there’s a good chance that you and I have something in common.

You want to achieve more.

Be the best coach you can be.

Find a way to have a greater impact on those around you, which will, in turn, increase your income.

Most people say that they want all that, but they’re not willing to put in the work to get there.

You’re here, so I’m going to assume you’re one of the few who are. And I want to help you with a few key tricks that I’ve had to learn the hard way so that hopefully you don’t have to.

These hacks probably aren’t traits that you have naturally. They’re attributes that you’ve got to develop. Grow into. So in keeping with the first point here, let’s get right into it.

Hack #1: Improve Your Communication

I think we all struggle with communication in some way or another. Whether you’re introverted and have trouble speaking up (like Erin) or talk a little bit too much when you’re nervous (like me), you’ve probably had an experience or two where you didn’t say exactly what you meant.

The words didn’t come out right.

You made yourself sound like a dumbass.

Or, you just thought of the perfect response to a question you got asked in a business meeting three hours ago, now that you’re home and in the shower. Annoying as fuck, right?

And it happens to everyone.

But when we think about how to make the most impact on those around us, whether it’s at work, with our fitness clients, or in our relationships, we have to start by communicating effectively.

I want you to think about the main ways that people communicate now. What platforms do we use to share content?

Instagram…text messages…TikTok…even email—these are not modes of communication that lend themselves to long explanations and in-depth discussions. If you’re trying to create—or nurture—your client base, you’ve got to work within your means. And that means getting your point across in the most concise, quickest way. Because…

Time = Money
and
Impact = Income

If you’re posting on your IG stories and spend 3+ minutes just leading up to the main point you’re trying to make, people are going to scroll. They don’t have the time (or attention span) to process that much info on that type of platform. Even if you have a great message you want to share, chances are that it’s just going to get left-swiped to the next entertaining thing.

And sure, that sucks when you have something important to say that just can’t be condensed into a 15-second story.

But it also forces you to think about each thing you say—every word you choose—and how you can leverage that into making the most impact. I’ll talk a little bit more about writing later on in this post, but one of the first things you’d ever learn from a writing class is that every. word. matters. If it doesn’t serve a purpose, cut it out. You need to be thinking about how you communicate over social media the same way.

And this is relevant beyond social media, too.

If you can sit back and listen instead of speaking, you’re going to be taken more seriously when you do choose to talk.

If you try to be more deliberate with your choice of words, there’s less room for confusion.

Moral of the story? Just get to the fucking point.

Save the stories that you post on Instagram and listen back to them the next day. Did you make your point? Did you make it fast?

If the answer is no, then you need to spend more time thinking about how to spend less time communicating with others.

You can also gauge how well you’re doing with this by looking at your engagement. If you get a lot of viewers on your story but no comments or responses, you might have a problem.

There are probably about a million websites out there that can show you how to improve your communication and content, so if you’re looking for help, consider this second point.

Hack #2: Tap into Your Resources

The most successful people in the world aren’t born knowing everything. They have the resourcefulness to find the tools they need and get the job done on their own.

If you join us at IFCA, we’re not going to hold your hand and walk you through creating a MailChimp account. That would be a waste of time—for everyone involved—and it robs you of an opportunity to practice figuring shit out on your own.

This makes me think of people like Amanda Bucci. She built an empire from the ground up…not because she had all the answers going into it…but because she was willing to figure it out along the way.

Back around the time Erin and I recorded the podcast about these hacks, which you can listen to here, Amanda posted on Instagram about her own journey in resourcefulness:

“I got resourceful AF when I didn’t have the money to hire someone to show me or take over the role — I spent the time, effort, and energy required to solve my OWN problem using the good ole internet resources available for free. ⠀

Although it sometimes took hours and days to figure something out, it was worth it to develop the ATFSO skill. ⠀ That’s the secret sauce of being embodied as an expert. ⠀

The entrepreneurial skill you miss out on is —ATFSO— is the ability to figure shit out.”

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I want you to harness that ATFSO with every problem that arises. Because with every issue you solve on your own, the more confident you’ll be going into the next one. And the next one.

Every fixed problem means more skills to bring to the table. More value to share with others.

Greater impact in every relationship you have.

Once you’ve got that ATFSO, you’re in a better position to help others—both with the knowledge you’ve gained and the ability to encourage them to figure shit out on their own.

With all of that in the bank, there’s no choice but to live in abundance.

Hack #3: ~~Scarcity~~ → Abundance

I want you to remember that each of these hacks go hand in hand. You can’t have one without it leading to the others. And it all circles back to living with an attitude of abundance.

It might sound a little ‘woo-woo,’ but I promise you. It’s not. Or maybe it is, but there’s nothing wrong with a little ‘woo-woo’ from time to time.

Growing your income starts with escaping the middle-class mindset that tells you there’s only so much money to go around.

There are only so many potential clients to sign on.

And if you don’t scramble to get the money and clients right now—at any cost—then you’re never going to succeed.

Honestly…how the fuck do you think that’s going to work out for you?

That scarcity mindset is going to cut off the blood flow in every area of your life. You’re going to be stingy with your relationships. Hesitant or even unwilling to invest time and money, because you’re holding onto it all in desperation. And when you’re feeling like you’ve got nothing to give, you’re probably not going to graciously receive, either.

The key here is focusing on what you have instead of what you don’t.

You’ve only got 20 followers on Instagram? Great! Latch onto that resourcefulness and figure out how to develop the most meaningful relationships you can with those 20 individuals. Share your knowledge and passion with them.

Be authentic and deliberate in your desire and communication.

Because there’s no way that those 20 followers will turn into 20k if all you’re thinking about is what you don’t have.

Finding success isn’t about having the best set of circumstances at all times. It’s about reframing the way you look at your circumstances and make the choice to see the glass half-full.

Hack #4: Grow Your Confidence

It’s easier said than done, I know. And sometimes the whole ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ attitude works well here. But if you truly want to make an impact, you’re going to have to believe that you can. That you have something of value to share with others. That you are worth it.

There’s a little anecdote I heard about crustaceans, which actually have similar limbic systems to humans.

When lobsters engage in conflict, there’s always a winner and a loser. The winner gets a boost of serotonin. They stand taller. They’re more willing to fight again. Therefore, they’re more likely to win again.

The loser misses out on that serotonin, and their body posture will diminish. They’ll be less likely to engage again because they “remember” the pain of losing.

Fucking crazy, right???

But this chain of events—a.k.a. a biofeedback loop—looks really similar in people. You feel confident? You stand taller. The taller you stand, the more people trust you and take you seriously. The more people trust you, the more confident you feel. And that cycle just keeps building on itself.

And the opposite is the same thing? If you feel like shit, you’re probably going to radiate that energy. You’re going to be slumped over, or you’re not going to project authority when you speak. Other people are going to sense that, and they’re probably not going to listen.

The main difference between us and lobsters—at least in this anecdote—is that we have the power to choose how we respond after a loss. Whether or not we decide to get back in the ring again is completely in our hands.

You have the power to find success in whatever form it comes. Even if it’s just getting up and making your bed. Getting through a tough workout. Making it to work on time.

Being a goddamn boss lobster.

One small success makes you more willing to try again.

A few small successes lead to bigger wins.

And that’s why it’s so important that we rely on discipline and routine, instead of those quick hits of happy brain chemicals, when we want to create a long-term game plan for success.

Hack #5: Discipline over Inspiration

If you’re just sitting around waiting for inspiration to strike, you’re never going to succeed. Erin and I don’t wake up every morning and get struck by some magical lightning bolt of inspiration that powers us through the day. No one does.

The power to continue growing—as a person, as a fitness coach, whatever—comes from having the discipline to keep working towards that end goal whether you’re feeling inspired or not.

And this type of discipline can start small, just like growing your confidence.

Get into a solid morning routine. Make your bed. Spend 20 minutes journaling or practicing meditation. Dedicate yourself to some sort of movement every day, no matter what.

Whatever your plan is, the point is to create a productive routine that you stick to, whether you want to or not. That’s what’s going to help you learn the discipline that you need to bring into your fitness and coaching career.
Relying on a routine keeps you moving towards your goals even when you feel like quitting. When you feel like you’re not good enough. When you feel like you’ll never succeed.

In those moments, you don’t have to think about the end goal. You just have to complete the task at hand.

And sure, maybe every once and a while you get struck by inspiration lightning. Harness the energy of those moments to imagine the big picture. To embody the success you’re going to have.

I mentioned earlier that choosing each word carefully is a critical aspect of communicating effectively through writing. Copywriting is a skill you need to hone if you really want to build your own business, and it’s not a skill that most people just excel at.

But that’s why they call writing a practice.

You have to be willing to just put pen to paper—or fingers to keyboard, more likely—and do it over and over and over again before you get good at it. You can definitely take a class or find resources online to get tips. And you should, because that’s using your resources wisely.

But a lot of things will only come with repetition and practice, and that’s why practicing discipline is so important.

So here’s the deal.

If you want to increase your income, you have to increase your impact. And probably vice versa, but that’s a story for another post. But finding the success you want doesn’t mean you have to be born with boss skills. It just means that you have to believe you can. Find the resources that’ll help you figure out what you’re missing and where to find it. Stand tall and be willing to fail a lot, but still keep trying, because you’ve set up a solid routine to fall back on.

When all else fails, just remember that there are thousands of people who’ve done this all before you and have overcome it. People like me. Hopefully someday like you. And we’re right here, waiting to help.