We were lucky to catch up with Nicholas Hopper recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nicholas, appreciate you joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

Attention to detail. From my time in USMC boot camp, to the numerous hours spent in labs with a Science book open, metaphorically speaking, “The devil is indeed in the details.”

For the most part, people only see the end result of a successful product or service. People rarely, if ever see all of the previous amounts of small failures, small mistakes, trial and error, and vast amounts of practice involved to generate said product or service. Thus, to optimize efforts, be detailed with items such as units of measurement, decimal points, dates/events, and especially time.

This notion of detail reminds me of Van Halens song “Right Now” with the lyric “Miss a beat, lose the rhythm, and nothing falls into place.”

However, this lesson of “attention to detail” must be used accordingly. Too much thought on attention to detail can delay the initiation of certain projects/goals/and business ideas. At times, l am willing to give “attention to detail” less priority to the concept of starting a new endeavor.

Nicholas, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started as a trainer in 2003 at 24 Hour Fitness until 2014. In that time, I served six years in the United States Marine Corps reserves. In the fall of 2012, I graduated with my degree in Integrative Physiology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and earned a brown belt at Easton Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I also completed several certifications through USA weightlifting and National Academy of Sports Medicine.

In my time at 24 Hour Fitness, I serviced 7000 sessions, garnered management experience, and had the opportunity to work with a diverse group of people which included: Military personnel, former Division 1 track athletes, Division 1 cheerleaders and clients with general fitness goals.

After my bittersweet departure from 24 Hour Fitness in 2014, I created “Universal Performance.” Since then, I have had the opportunity to grow my client base to further include: youth population, clients in need of injury treatment and corrective work, and combat athletes.

My primary career focus lies in the realm of performance training, injury treatment, and weight management. I use an analytical approach to deliver scientifically sound training programs that are progressive, customized, and safe. I am most known for how often I encourage delayed gratification rather than a metaphorical and sometimes literal “quick fix” to goals and problems/areas of opportunity.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Active listening. Although the development of this skill never ends, I can always improve in this area of listening to understand rather than to respond.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Outcome independence. As kids, we can be exposed to outcome dependence as we worry about grades, final scores of ball games, if your crush said yes or no to a date night… Outcome independence liberates us from any and all concerns of potential outcomes and in turn allows us to be more genuine in our actions.

Personally and in other people and situations, I have seen what seemed to be significantly negative outcomes or occurrences develop into some of the most successful and promising endeavors. So take that chance, make the call, write that proposal, ask for the raise… Even with respect to combat sports, (although timing is important) never be afraid to make your move because of outcome dependence, be relentless.

Contact Info:

• Website: Hoppertraining.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopper.up/
• Other: https://www.google.com/maps/dir//Body+Balance+Strength+%26+Wellness,+4735+Walnut+St+E,+Boulder,+CO+80301/@40.0165611,-105.242985,17z/data=!3m1!5s0x876bee646d6a6895:0x2ab314460ef1484a!4m17!1m7!3m6!1s0x876bee647b53debf:0x5c7db034a8b38116!2sBody+Balance+Strength+%26+Wellness!8m2!3d40.019861!4d-105.242018!16s%2Fg%2F12hm3vk7_!4m8!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x876bee647b53debf:0x5c7db034a8b38116!2m2!1d-105.242018!2d40.019861!3e1

Image Credits
Kellon Spencer Media