Being around smart and motivated people really can light a fire under your ass to get your business and life moving forward FAST.

One of our speakers at the seminar was a guy by the name of Frank Kern.

(Pic on the left is me meeting Frank Kern VIP Party)

Long story short Frank Kern is a reefer smoking, laid back surfer dude who makes multi millions online.  He is beyond successful and he is one of the guys that I look up to for being cool, having an amazing life and creating a awesome business that helps millions of people.

Out of an hour presenting where he gave away so much incredible information there was something he said that really stuck with me.

It was Frank Kern’s 2 Commandments Of Success.

So I am going to tweak his version and apply it to fitness for you.

This will be very different so get ready.

Kern Commandment # 1 – Though Shalt Not Fuk Around

Now in business terms this means basically “Do Work” and stop messing around pretending to do work.  When your self employed you don’t get paid by the hour, you get paid to get work done.  But it’s easy to waste time, check facebook, text, goof off etc.

Well I want to take “Though Shalt Not Fuk Around” and apply it to FITNESS & your gains.

“Though Shalt Not Fuk Around” can simple mean, stop wasting time and FOCUS IN on your GOAL(S)!

When was the last time you really focused in and gave your training and fitness goals 100%?  Seriously?

How about even 80%.

Were you suppose to do legs yesterday and skipped them?

How about AM Cardio?

Did you sleep in?

Did you eat a bag of chips last night when you were suppose to be dieting?

“Though Shalt Not Fuk Around” Can simply mean STEP UP, GET SERIOUS and FOCUS ON YOUR GOALS!

Excuses are like assholes…everyone’s got one .

Want to see what TRUE focus can accomplish in just 42 days?

Check out our before and afters for Rippedin42, where 40 people lost OVER 400lbs in just 42 freakin days!

So for Commandment #1 “Though Shalt Not Fuk Around” how about YOU start getting focused on our goals RIGHT NOW and not fuk around anymore!

Kern Commandment #2 – Don’t Be A Pussy

For Business (and life), Kern means for this to not be afraid.  To get out of your comfort zone, put pressure on yourself, and to take steps that make you uncomfortable.

(Picture on the right is my coach & friend Bedros Keulian)

We can easily switch this to Fitness.

When was the last time you did a DIFFERENT PROGRAM?

When was the last time you did Legs on a Monday instead of Bench Press.

When was the last time you make a COMMITMENT to a Goal with laser like focus?

When was the last time YOU got out of your COMFORT ZONE?

Commandment # 2 – Don’t Be A Pussy means simply to CHALLENGE YOURSELF.

Put more plates on the bar on Squat day

Add in an extra 30 minutes cardio

Throw out the junk food in your cupboards

CHALLENGE YOURSELF and STOP BEING AFRAID!

(Pictured Above Fitness Authors Craig Ballantyne, Alwyn Cosgrove & Elliot Hulse)

We all have these little voices in our head (well I have many but we aren’t going there right now), these little voices are designed to keep you safe, to stop you from FAILING. Nobody wants to fail, so they never take that STEP and do something different.

Well the most rewarding thing YOU can do is to take that step, not be a pussy, and challenge yourself to do something YOU DON’T THINK YOU CAN DO!

THEN DO IT!

It will be the best feeling ever.  I know I have failed many, many times both in business, fitness, and life.

But ya know what, you get back up, and move forward.

Never be afraid of failing. It’s when you stop trying that you fail.

So there you have Frank Kern’s 2 Commandments twisted to Fitness.

I hope this helps you and I would love some feedback from you! Hope to hear from you, leave a comment below!

Not often do I wake up and not want to work, to me work isn’t a 4 letter word, I LOVE work.  I know I am very lucky to be able to say that, but it hasn’t been an easy road to get to where I am I can tell you that.

Just this weekend I was eating fresh fruit post workout and I had a moment, I was very grateful for something as simple as being able to eat fresh fruit!

You see many years ago when I started my Fitness Business I was beyond broke, I couldn’t afford fresh fruit.  I pretty much lived off tuna and protein powder because I was so broke (I kid you not).  However I NEVER gave up, and today I love my job and I love the people I meet in my job.

I love dealing with people like us.  I mean sh*t how bad can it be talking about working out, supplements, and getting in shape all day?  It ain’t bad at all!

I get asked so many questions every week it’s crazy and I ALWAYS do my best to answer every one of them.  However one of the biggest questions I get ask is

“How Did I Start My Business”

or

“How Can I Start A Fitness Business”.

Let me say right off the get go that starting your own business is THE MOST REWARDING THING YOU CAN DO.

Period.

It is amazing!  However, don’t think it’s easy.  You have to work twice as hard, you have to problem solve, you have to work (and by work I don’t mean punch hours or a clock I mean WORK).

I am pretty much working from the time I get up, until the time I go to bed, no joke, it’s the truth, however when you LOVE your work it’s a great thing.  I LOVE helping people, coaching people, training people, learning about anything related to Fitness & Business.  Yes I have a great job!  I am very grateful for that.

Every day I get asked on Facebook or E-mail how someone can start trying to turn their passion into a business or a side business.

Maybe you have a 9-5 job and you would LOVE to train someone on the side or don’t know where to start.

Maybe you have an amazing idea for a fitness book that you want to write but don’t know where to begin.

Maybe you LOVE teaching classes and would love to do this and making money would be a huge bonus.

Maybe you love ALL of the above or something different.  It doesn’t matter.

What matters is the fact that doing something YOU LOVE and getting PAID (well) for it is the best feeling in the world!!

But 99% of people don’t do it.

Want to know why?

FEAR.

You fear what you don’t know.  You fear that maybe you don’t know a thing about business, or about creating an ebook, or teaching a bootcamp.

Maybe you fear FAILURE?  Maybe you fear losing MONEY?  Maybe you fear CHANGE?

Fear is a KILLER.  It stops you dead in your tracks.

Well FU*K FEAR!!!

There, I said it.

Once you get over the fact that you are afraid and that the only thing causing you to NOT make that step is FEAR, it isn’t as big deal.

I started my Supplement Business “Heavyweights Sports Supplements” out of my parents house in my bedroom when I was in university.  Want to know how much I knew about Business when I started?

NOTHING.

Was it a right decision?  Maybe not, would I change that decision?  Not a FU*CKING CHANCE .

So what if you want to start your own fitness business?  Where do you start?  What do you do?  It’s damn confusing and it isn’t easy!  However I have something that will help you take that step BIG TIME!

One of my business coaches (yes I am a successful business owner and I have a coach, actually I have many coaches), Craig Ballyntyne has put together something that you can take that first step in creating your own Fitness Business.   I met Craig about 1.5 years ago, since then my business has TRIPLED.

Let me repeat that, my business has grown %300!!

So essentially for price of a pair of new workout sneakers Craig at my request has created a “Fitness Business Starter Package” that will help you get started and TAKE THE STEP to having the best job ever!

It’s only available at this price for 5 days or until the copies sell out so I suggest you check it out by clicking here

Fitness Business Starter Pack <———— Click Here

Seriously YOU CAN DO THIS!  I failed out of university twice, I barely made it through high school, and yet I managed to grow a business out of my parents house into a full time career in the fitness field!

This is DONE FOR YOU information.  I  WISH I had this years ago.  It would saved me hundreds of thousands of dollars in MISTAKES!

Simple if you want do anything in the fitness field this can help you!

My Coach & Friend Craig Ballantyne

* Run a Successful Boot Camp
* Become a Personal Trainer
* Get More Personal Training Clients
* Start a profitable Blog

* Sell Fitness Books of Fitness Ebooks

* Create a Second Paycheck From The Internet
* All this and MORE!

Take a look at the list above.  I personally have every one of these going.  Why?  Because of Craig and his information!

Now I want to share it with you because being your own boss and being in the Fitness Business is the best job EVER!

Fitness Business Starter Pack <———— Grab This Now! Less than a pair of sneakers!

You will thank me when you do! If you don’t, well don’t complain in 20 years when you WISH you took the first step!

Got a question regarding my business or how you can get started?  Post it up I will do my best to help you!

Is there a worse fate than paying too much tax?  Like most people, you do everything you can to (legally) reduce the amount of tax that you pay.  You keep every receipt and you check last year’s tax return to be sure you don’t miss something that you claimed last year.  But, are you claiming ALL of your deductions?

If you are earning income from offering services as a personal trainer, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) allows you to claim that you are a business.  You have to declare all your revenue as from your training services (including any products that you might buy and resell to your clients), and you are entitled to claim reasonable expenses against this revenue.

For unincorporated businesses, revenue and expenses are reported on Form T2125 on your annual income tax return.  You can pick up a copy of this form at any Tax Services Office, online at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/t2125/ or you can request a printed form by phoning 1-800-959-8281.  The form is included with most tax return software.

Some things to note when you are sorting your receipts.  First, if you are not registered for GST/HST purposes, then make sure you claim the full expense listed on your receipt, not just the pre-tax portion.  Second, you can only claim half of your meals and entertainment expenses; if you spent $1,000, you only get the tax break on $500.  Third, your equipment will usually get reported on a different form – the T2125 CCA Summary.

CRA allows you to claim only a portion of the expense (amortization) for your more expensive, durable items.  A camera would be amortized, but the memory cards would be expensed.  On most equipment, each year (except the first year), you can claim 20% of all amounts not previously expensed.  In the first year, you can claim 10% of the purchase price as an expense.  In Year 2, you claim 20% of the purchase price less the 10% you claimed in Year 1; in Year 3, you claim 20% of the remaining balance, and so on.  There are many different classes of assets, and each has a specific rate of amortization.

CRA will also allow you to claim a portion of your household expenses if you are using space in your house for office work, storing supplies, training, or otherwise working on your business.  To determine the percentage of your expenses to claim, total up the square footage of workspace and divide by the total square footage of your house (exclude bathrooms, kitchens, and porches).  The lines for entering these expenses, and the percentage of use are also on the Form T2125.

Finally, if you use your own vehicle for business travel, CRA allows you to claim a portion of your automobile expenses.  You should keep a log of how much driving you do for business purposes.  Show the date of the trip, where you went, and how far you drove.

Keep every receipt for the year, total them up and report them on the Form T2125 Auto.  You will also need to know how many kilometres you drove for business and how many kilometres you drove in total for the year.  So, if you drove 3,000 km for business and 18,000 overall, you would get to claim back 3,000/18,000 (or 1/6) of all your expenses.

For all expenses you claim, keep your receipts.  While you do not have to submit them when you file your income tax return, you may be asked to supply them as proof at a later date.  If you do not have the receipt, CRA may disallow your claim and you may have to repay the taxes.

Here’s the big benefit – if you work a “real job”, you can claim some losses from your business against the income from your full time job.  This can lead to you getting a tax refund from taxes you paid in during the year at work.  I see many people who keep their small business “under the table” to avoid paying taxes, when, in reality, they probably could get money back from the taxman if they reported it.

Please note that this discussion is for general information purposes only, and is not intended to be tax advice for a specific individual.  Everyone’s income tax situation is different.  If you need specific tax advice, please e-mail.

Rodney Payne, CGA is an accountant with over 15 years experience in tax.  If you have a specific question about your business, you can e-mail it to rodpaynecga@gmail.com

Tomorrow I am off to Las Vegas with my good friend and Top Personal Trainer Andy Pratt.

I am pretty excited for this trip!  But it isn’t all sun & strip clubs!  I am going down there for a reason, a BIG REASON!

I have been keeping this quite for a bit now but here is a sneak peak!  Basically I have been working on 3 books the last 6 months and this seminar I am attending is all about creating fitness products & brining them to the market!

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE The Fitness Industry!  It has been a passion of mine since I have been very young!  So I took a BIG leap (with some help from the right people) and have created my FIRST BOOK!

I have 3 in the works, but only 1 is completed now!  I am pumped for this and cant wait to bring my passion & knowledge to a different level and help as many people as I can!

So here is a sneak peek of the 3 projects I am working on!  More info coming soon!  I would LOVE some feedback on YOUR THOUGHTS or what you would like me to create over the next 6 months!

Sports Supplement Guide - Get this FREE!!

http://www.sportssupplementsguide.com/

Beginner Bodybuilding Book

MMA Business Blueprint

Keep an eye out for some awesome blog posts this week!  Lots of training videos from Xtreme Couture & Tapout Training Center!

Wish us luck and I am hoping to get Andy Married at some Chapel after lots of gambling & Jack Daniels So Stay Tuned!!

]]> http://www.robkingfitness.com/announcements/vegas2010/feed/ 10 http://www.robkingfitness.com/fitness-business/is-my-gym-membership-tax-deductible/ http://www.robkingfitness.com/fitness-business/is-my-gym-membership-tax-deductible/#comments Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:44:54 +0000 Rob King http://robkingfitness.com/?p=148 I got this article from a good friend of mine who is a bean counter. Thanks to him for the article and what I learned from it.

If you want to learn how your gym membership may benefit you tax wise this article should help you.

Rob

————————————————————————————

Is My Gym Membership Tax-deductible?

Each year, I get clients who want to claim their gym or fitness club membership as a medical expense. In their view, the gym is preventive medicine improving their overall health. While this may be true, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) does not accept this argument. Typically, allowable medical expense under our current regulations will be reactive in nature rather than proactive or preventative. There are exceptions, but CRA usually only permits deductions for treatment of an existing ailment, injury, or disease. The list of treatments and items that are allowed is far too long to go into here. If you have questions about a specific item or treatment, you should contact an accountant or your local CRA office (they can be reached at 1 800 959-8281).

There is a Way

There are some individuals for whom we can reduce the cash outlay. If you are lucky enough to have an employer who is willing to pay for your gym membership as a ‘bonus’ to you, they can certainly do so, and this will be tax-deductible to your employer. For the employee, the gym membership will show up as a taxable benefit on the T4 at the end of the year. The employee will then pay income tax on this amount. The actual amount will vary depending upon each person’s tax rate. For people in Newfoundland, the tax hit can be as large as 44.50% of the cost of the membership.

For a lucky few, though, there is no taxable benefit. The condition upon this is fairly strict and slightly fuzzy (as are many areas of the Income Tax Act). In a Technical Interpretation (IT-211R) issued October 17, 2003, the Canada Revenue Agency permitted employers to pay the membership on the employee’s behalf without issuing a taxable benefit to the employee provided that it is clearly to the employer’s advantage for the employee to be a member of the club. Note that this is not restricted to gym memberships, but may also be applied to other clubs and associations.

Paragraph 2 of the IT states that “membership fees…will be allowable deductions from income if they can reasonably be shown to relate to the earning of income from the business or property.” It would appear from this wording that there is no taxable benefit to the employee if the employer is the primary beneficiary of the advantage of the employee’s attendance at the gym or health club.

While much of the discussion so far has centered around gym memberships, the general principles can be applied to other memberships in clubs and societies, as well. If your employer is footing the bill, the question to ask is: “Does my membership in this society benefit my employer (through networking) more than it benefits me?” If the answer is yes, then it would appear that the employer can foot the bill without passing along a taxable benefit to the employee. Of course, if you are self-employed, it means that you can claim the membership as a business expense rather than paying for it using after tax dollars.

Note: Canada Revenue Agency specifically excludes golf club memberships from this category.

Disclaimer: The information above is general in nature, and may not be applicable to every situation. If you think you may qualify, consult an accountant to discuss the details specific to your situation.

Rodney Payne, CGA

For Tax Services E-mail

RodPayneCGA @ gmail.com