We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tony Jacobsen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Tony, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
I was born with a rare bone disorder called Osteogenesis Imperfecta (O.I.), it’s also known as Brittle Bones Disease. I’ve fractured approximately 75 times throughout my life, have undergone 12 surgical procedures, and am equipped with 4 steel rods down each of the long bones in my legs. Because of my disability, I spent the majority of my childhood in a wheelchair. I got stronger and started walking on crutches in my teens and when I was 24 years old, I took my first unassisted steps.
This should be the end of my inspirational story, but it’s only the beginning. And that’s because, when I took those first steps, I didn’t realize I’d be walking into some of my biggest challenges.
I had lived my life with the mantra of “be careful”. This phrase is meant to protect but for me, it was the opposite. I was being careful in the wrong ways and because I was afraid of breaking my bones, I didn’t do anything physical during my 20s and 30s, and my health declined as a result.
As I reached my 40th birthday, I was in the worst shape of my life; overweight, pain every day, taking medications to ease my heartburn. I couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs without losing my breath or using the handrail.
Stomach pain sent me to the doctor. After administering a battery of tests, including an EKG, I was informed that I “may have had a small heart attack.”
Small, big, average size… a heart attack is a heart attack. That was all I needed to hear.
It was time to make a significant physical change in my life, but I was wrestling with years of “be careful” and fear of more fractures.
I had to take the biggest risk in my life, so I did the work.
Deep introspection, reconciliation of past limiting thoughts and patterns, and fortification of mental strength gave me the foundation to start my physical journey.
At 42 years old, I hired a personal trainer and transformed my entire being over 8 months. I lost 40 lbs. (I don’t like to say I “lost” them because I don’t intend to ever find them again, so…) I dropped 40 lbs., and started doing things physically I had never imagined for myself. This included doing box jumps in the gym and running. Later that year I ran in my first 5K race!
After experiencing the joy of what my transformation did for me, I wanted others to experience the same, so I took yet another risk. This time as it pertains to my business.
I wrote a book (Disable Your Disability: Live the Healthy Life You Deserve!), obtained my certification as a personal trainer, and launched a coaching business.
Up until then, I had worked in the entertainment industry, so venturing into this new space was all new territory.
But my hard work and determination paid off. I quickly found an audience and began selling books and booking coaching clients; some with my disability, others who were inspired by my story.
Since then, I’ve built and launched #UNBREAKABLE BODY, an online adaptive fitness club and I continue to give motivational talks and work with clients around the world.
Taking risks has paid off in major ways throughout my life and I’m always in search of ways to take more that are in alignment with my vision and goals.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My goal is to fuel an #UNBREAKABLE world and I do that through providing encouraging, unique, and fun support and services. Everything I create is for people who are ready to get stronger despite their limitations. I do this because I’ve been through it myself so I know what it takes. I understand that it’s not about ignoring our limitations, rather it’s about embracing and working with our limitations to reach our own personal peak performance in life. This is what I focus on when it comes to coaching clients and members in the #UNBREAKABLE BODY fitness club.
I’m very proud to be a leading voice in the disability community and adaptive fitness world, so I strive for excellence when creating and providing supportive spaces both in-person and virtually.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Writing and releasing my book has been one of the most effective strategies for my coaching business. It was hard at first when other business owners and authors would tell me that my book would be my ‘business card’, but in essence, it has been that and much more. It was a way for me to express myself and share my complete story in a way that would introduce me to someone and allow them to get to know me more sincerely. I’ve been fortunate to have the experience of inspiring and motivating my readers as well as having some of those readers become coaching clients. I encourage everyone to write a book and share their story. It’s not necessarily an easy process, but it’s well worth the rewards.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
The biggest challenge for me was convincing everyone around me that I was now a new person and doing something completely different with my life and business. Everyone in my life up to that point knew me as being a certain way. They defined me and interacted with me based on how they experienced me before my transformation.
The issue was–and most business owners will tell you this–that your first clients will be your family and friends. Those are the pool of leads you should reach out to first to secure clients.
Since I was embarking on a brand new venture that was unheard of for me and my existence, this was difficult… at first.
With all of the weird looks, lack of support, and continuous, “are you sure about this?” comments, I had to continue forging the path for myself and my new business.
Those early days contributed to a slow start and put my resilience to the test. But they also helped me formulate and structure parts of my strategies and systems that now benefit my business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tonyjacobsen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamtonyjacobsen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamtonyjacobsen
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamtonyjacobsen/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/tony-jacobsen-unbreakable
- Other: Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/45JrrDpOkkptGZVkj2umPe?si=c807b353c86b4e42