They have a magnetism that attracts. I’m often asked if there is a secret to success based on my observations of these people when training them, such as any standout traits, or what I call “highest common denominators”.

The answer is YES.

All the successful people I see have a willingness to push themselves. They know that some days can be easier than others and that sometimes things are working better than other times. But regardless of how they feel or whether they are seen to be winning or losing, they line up and go for it, putting in the hard yards. They do this because they know that if you persist, then you open the door for the tide to turn.

In sport, this is easily understood in either individual or team sports. Some times when things aren’t going well you just have to hang in there. I work closely with Hugh Bowman and James McDonald, two of the best jockeys in Australia – if not the world – and they are a great example because they can both be at the top of their games and in peak form, yet still not winning.

This could be due to factors such as luck or the great form of others, but they know that if they continue to train, stay motivated, study their opposition and push hard, then the luck will definitely (100% guaranteed) change. They play in a game of centimetres, where the narrowest of margin can mean many thousands of dollars, so they cannot afford to slacken off, knowing that those who do lose the competitive edge. So they work their butts off.

In team sports you often see one team that isn’t playing well in the first half just in hang in, keeping as close as they can on the scoreboard, before turning it around and gaining the upper hand in the second half to emerge with victory. You just have to keep hanging in and staying the course because it always turns around sooner or later if you continue you put in the effort and never give up.

It’s the same in business. I have clients and friends who are some of the most highly powered CEOs and business owners in the country. I see them at times of great stress and pressure. When they arrive for a session they might appear distracted. I can feel the tension in them. And despite the temptation for them to miss a session – to put it off while getting to the heart of their business problems – they line up with me and work harder physically and mentally because it buys them energy and clarity of mind to tackle the office problems properly when they return. And that’s what makes them winners.

The kind of total wellbeing I am interested in is not just “flogging someone around the park boot-camp style”. As I said to someone recently, there are plenty of people who will make you vomit if you want to pay them for the privilege. I’m more interested in working with the type of people as mentioned who are dedicated to creating a sustainable better self – and measuring that success by what they get out life in terms of professional and personal achievement.

In our Lifecycle Fitness gym at Bronte I see mums and dads on a path of progression to be fitter and healthier, and that’s a wonderful sight. Some of them might want to take the next step and push to a next level – through personalised strength and core fitness training as well as the broader dedication to better posture and my focus on the human form. But I can see the traits early – winners keep putting in the effort and playing a numbers game that like this: more effort, less stress, more fitness, less fatigue, more focus, less worry and so on.

The great author Malcolm Gladwell once said you can become a professional at anything by applying 10,000 hours of dedicated training to that mission – even to the point of playing the guitar like Hendrix. And there are scientists who say that if you do something for 66 days you will form that thing as a habit.

Well, my magic number is ONE, and that’s you as an individual – one person – who has to make the choice to be better and be exactly the same as the sports professionals, business legends and celebrity stars who I train each day.

You will amaze yourself if you make that choice.