Welcome to the summer, everyone! I hope you and the rest of the athletes showing up to your gym are bringing the same positive attitude that seems to kick in with all of the CSP clients who are enjoying the change in seasons, escape from academia, and central air that we didn't always have in the gym (the summer of 2007 was toasty at CSP).

I've pulled together some great business-specific content from people/businesses that are doing amazing things in the fitness industry for this week's Friday Four.  Let's get in to the content. 

First things first, here's a link to my blogging efforts from this week:

• Keep Chasing Elite Athletes - I'll Be Over Here Collecting General Pop Dollars - Roughly nine out of every ten intern candidates I interview tell me that their long term professional goal is to work exclusively with athletes.  While I can appreciate the fascination with top performers (I'm as big a sports fan as anyone), I have come to learn that unless you're working in an Olympic Training Facility, you should assume that general fitness population will play a role in your day to day.

• 5 Surprising Keys to Next Level Growth in Your Fitness Business - If there is anyone who is qualified to discuss "next level" growth in the fitness industry, it would be the business mind behind Mark Fisher Fitness.  In this piece, Michael Keeler shares some important lessons learned during their run from 2012 start up to Inc. Magazine's 312th fastest growing business in America. 

• How We Built an Online Intentional Community - The awesome crew over at Strength Faction has been kind enough to allow me to "linger" on the outskirts of their "summer faction" so that I can get an appreciation for how they are killing it with the tight-knit community they've pulled together almost exclusively through a private Facebook group. Check this piece out to learn how Todd and Chris chose to attack the process of creating this special online environment.

• 3 Steps for a Mentorship Program That Works - This piece could serve as the most basic yet appropriate blueprint you can find when laying out a game plan for implementing an internship program at your fitness facility.  If you already have a program in place, give this one a glance and ask yourself if you've met (and continue to implement) all three steps. 

• A Simple Way of Thinking About Things - The "connect-deliver-multiply" system that Pat Rigsby explains here for growing your fitness business is both simple and brilliant at the same time. While it sounds like a basic concept, you'll appreciate the level of detail he provides with each component.