Meet Steve Hooper

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Steve Hooper a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Steve , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
My father served in the military for 22 years. My grandparents also served in the armed forces. Additionally, there have been numerous members in my family that served; it would be accurate to say that I come from a bloodline of warriors or soldiers, whatever suits your fancy.

The reason as to why I gave additional information is to showcase that life is worth living. You only have one and you have the responsibility to live it to become the best version of yourself. For myself in particular, I believe that man is at his greatest potential when he is rational.

For example, when I was in my 20s, I lived at home with my parents. There were years when I was extremely frustrated at the task of learning about fitness and sales alongside other facets pertaining to personal development. I believe that self-improvement can lead to self-mastery. Lastly, I’m at a phase in my life where I can live life on my own terms and I’m thankful for that.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m a Personal Trainer. However, you will feel entertained after hearing this story. The initial plan was to become a Doctor and I was on my way to pursuing it.

One day, I enrolled in a Physics course. There was a laboratory and lecture component to the course. However, the professor was known to be the most difficult teacher on campus and he took significant pride in failing students. I was failing his course which was a surprise to me as I wasn’t used to failure.

I had 2 lab partners and we were able to peruse through the experiments throughout the semester. However, I had a decision to make: either withdraw from the course and take it again with an A, or risk taking the failing grade and stay with my lab partners. Ultimately, I stayed and took the failing grade. I may have been loyal, but it cost me any hopes of becoming a Doctor. Even if I had As for the rest of the semester, that one failing grade annihilated any chances for obtaining my Doctorate.

Long story short, I didn’t give up on myself. I was accepted into an internship near the University of Michigan. When I finished my internship, I was hired by one of the Big 3 Automakers to train their employees to become more productive and reduce absenteeism. For example, I’ve trained employees from Fiat-Chrysler, Ford, GM, and Visteon Corporation throughout the years.

Then, I worked in the commercial sector of fitness. There were noticeable differences between working in the corporate and the commercial sectors. The latest sector was extremely mercurial and chaotic. Sometimes, I wondered if I should’ve left the corporate sector, because it provided job security.

Lastly, after working in the commercial sector, I decided to work for myself and enter the independent route. The business has been running for 9 years, but the entire process took 15 years overall, if you catch my drift.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Courage = this is the most important characteristic when it comes to doing anything particularly following your purpose in life.

2. Strength = I’ve heard a quote that resonates with me, “Strength is the only thing that matters in this world.” For men, we must constantly build or we will become lackadaisical and complacent. I despise laziness with every fiber of my being.

3. Excellence = the ability and willingness to do more than what was necessary. For example, I solve people’s problems through health, wellness, and fitness implementations. Whatever course of action you take, pursue it with excellence and do it for yourself first, because you only have one life.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
When I performed my first pushup, I was 2 years old. I began playing basketball when I was a few years older. My Dad was play against me and those games weren’t typical ones on average. These games were wars and war is hell. I learned from the sheer brutality of playing against this incredible soldier. Clearly, I was no match for him for a significant amount of time, but I learned the value of persistence and hard work through those wars against him.

My mother was in the business world. The things she taught me pertaining to business acumen changed my life forever. In fact, I’m still upset with her not telling me that she read the Wall Street Journal when I was a kid. I’m alright, because I have a copy of the Wall Street Journal in my basement.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Zai Johnson Photographer/Videographer Zai Films LLC 248-270-7902 [email protected] www.zaifilms.com

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