33 workouts to megawealth
How do you build a $50 million business with everything stacked against you? In Dumbbells to Diamonds Bob Cheek takes you behind the glamour and glitz of the fitness industry and explains how to succeed where most others fail.
If it was easy, everyone would be doing it “The world is full of people with talent who come up with great ideas, but very few turn their ideas into a successful business. Dreaming is easy. It’s the risk-taking and hard work that follow that count.”
It’s the profit, stupid
“If you’re not making a profit, you won’t be in business very long.”
The loony land of landlords
“Beware of developers and landlords offering great deals. There’s a reason: the site stinks and they can’t get anyone else.”
Money is not everything
“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.”
“Business is just like a gym workout: the harder you toil and sweat, the better the result. This book will ensure you do. You’ll be a ‘smart’ bell, not a ‘dumb’ bell.”
But after a comedy of mishaps, mayhem and failure, Bob never gave up and eventually launched a chain of 24 hour gyms; eight years later he sold out for more than $50 million.
How did Bob turn Dumbbells to Diamonds without borrowing any money and at an age when most people are heading into golden days of golf, gardening and grandkids?
Get the inside story with Bob’s 33 workouts to megawealth – achieve the same result with luck, timing and good old common-sense. His laugh-out-loud story is brought to life with cartoons by legendary cartoonist John 'Polly' Farmer.
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Curious? Read chapter 1 of Dumbbells to Diamonds
Bob Cheek
His chequered career has included time as Tasmanian Liberal Party Leader and Leader of the Opposition.
Before tearing through Parliament House like a tornado, determined to change Tasmania for the better, Bob was a state champion footballer.
On top of his sporting and political careers, Bob was a journalist for The Mercury, Tassie’s iconic newspaper.
He’s also the author of the best-selling political memoir Cheeky: Confessions of a Ferret Salesman.
And now, he’s telling his rags to riches story in Dumbbells to Diamonds. It’s a candid and humorous tale of how an everyday Aussie, washed up and broken after an ill-fated foray into politics, turned one loss-making gym into a fitness empire.
“Most successful business and life decisions can be reduced to two words: timing and luck. But you also have to keep trying; if you do, those two magic words will eventually fall in your favour.”
