Written by Torbørn Husevåg, Owner of Torbs Training
As the global lock-down began in early 2020, I decided to write down my best strategies on home-based physical and mental fitness, aimed for entrepreneurs and busy professionals (like myself). What happened next, changed my life.
The beginning of a permissionless journey
”Should you write a book at all?” This question by Tim Ferris haunted me. In his view; you should only write a book if it is less painful to put it on paper, than to have it inside your head.
Meaning; it is easier to sit down for a whole year and get all the ideas out of your head and crystalized on paper, than to have them flying around in your head.
I felt if writing this book could change the life of 1 or 2 people, that would justify all the pain of producing it. At least a handful of my friends and family that needed it. One of them being myself. Why?
Scratch your own itch
Because, a few years earlier my back suddenly gave up on me. I was struck with a back pain so intense that I barely completed a full semester in business school lying on the floor of the library. No doctors or therapists could do anything about my “non-specific back pain”.
I realized, since I am stuck with this body for the rest of my life, I have the potential to become my own best therapist - when properly educated. I could not wait for anyone else to find the solution for my back. By breaking down physical and mental fitness to its “first principles”, I found the solution that literally got me back on my feet (and a personal trainer education).
Regardless of your fitness goal (fat loss, strength, fill in the blanks), it all starts with taking full control of your mindset and habits in 4 key areas. The lock-down was my call to action to simplify and share this framework in a book.
The basic idea: First boil fitness down to the most fundamental truths and mechanisms in 4 key areas. And grounded on these 4 elements, you find the best solution for your situation. And it all starts with building a strong mind.
Overcoming imagined roadblocks
Reality check: No matter how much you like something or “scratching your own itch”, motivation is a luxury that comes and goes. Your mind will start to play tricks with you and question everything:
- Imposter syndrome: Who am I to write a book? Other people know more than me.
- Permission syndrome: I don't have a publisher giving me the permission to write.
Luckily, the rules have changed. I had stumbled upon a mystical black and white instagram-page. I clicked the link in bio, and discovered this mental goldmine:
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VV Community: By being part of this community I got constant reminders that I don't need anyone's permission to self-publish a book online via my own Shopify store and create supporting video courses.
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Build Once, Sell Twice: I got into the productization mindset. I was a business consultant & personal trainer selling my hours. So I created a digital training brand called: Torbs Training.
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How to Visualize Value: I learned how to make all the graphics in the book.
- The Business: I figured a low margin physical book could not pay all my bills. But it could be my main source of trust and authority. Inspired by VV, I started building a more scalable and high margin digital product ecosystem (audio & video programs) around the book.
Publishing
After committing to writing each night after work, the book had grown into a 270 page book by the end of 2020. After some Fiverr assistance, I uploaded my manuscript to Lulu (printing service) and ordered all the books you see in the picture at the top. Then, shared it on my personal LinkedIn & new project Instagram page - and BOOM!
I sold all my books via Shopify and had a profitable online business based on my passion (physical & mental fitness). In numbers: 201 hardcover copies, 14 audiobooks and 4 video program sign-ups in 7 days (NB: the timing around Christmas / new years resolutions helped).
AND due to the crazy organic reach on LinkedIn, it got picked up by one of the largest entrepreneur magazines in the Nordics. When they asked where I got the idea for this "permissionless" project, I answered…
...that is right.
Thank you VV.
Psst. Download the first chapter for free here.
