Stephen, but even better.

If you clicked this page, you probably want to know what sets me apart, so take a minute and hear me out. I hope you’ll like what I have to say.

I’m Stephen, a professional coach with a lot of passions : fitness, home cooking, music, gaming, nature, and learning everything I can about how people grow, and how they think. The heart of my brand is simple: enjoy the journey, not just the destination. My identity is built around two core pillars, and I’m really passionate, so let’s talk about it.

Pillar One: Build Habits That Build You.

Success starts with the ability to create good habits and focus on consistent improvement – no matter how small. Goals matter, but systems matter more. As James Clear writes in his book Atomic Habits:

“You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.”

Strong, constructive habits are the cheat code to life, and that’s what is hiding in all of the courses that people are trying to sell you, including mine.

Consistency and progress will always outweigh perfection. Sometimes, maybe most of the time, you have to start before you have everything figured out.

Pillar Two: Do the Hard Things, and Take the Shot

Not only do you have to take the initiative, but you have to be willing to struggle at least a little bit. Growth only happens outside your comfort zone.

Just as one doesn’t get stronger lifting the same weight over and over, but by adding a little here and there, growth also requires the willingness to take action, especially when it’s uncomfortable.

Too often, people talk themselves out of trying because they assume the opportunity is already gone. It’s like pulling into a crowded Costco and heading straight to the far end of the lot because you assume there’s no space up front. You self-eliminate before you even try, because you assume the opportunity isn’t there, or it just isn’t for you.

The secrets to success have always been here. Long before Wayne Gretzky’s famous quote, Ben Franklin had already said it best :

“He that won’t be counseled can’t be helped. He that won’t take a chance can’t win.”

Still, long before Franklin, every successful person in history has tried to tell us the same thing, all of their life lessons culminating in their voices echoing these two concepts. It goes all the way back to Aristotle’s attribution :

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

…and the classic Latin proverb :

“Fortune favors the bold”.

What I Teach

My philosophy rejects both extremes that social media pushes. In the real world, growth and development live between toxic hustle culture and settling for “good enough.” I help people build habits that last, take the opportunities that they can, and create a life that feels good and moves them forward.

It’s not only about setting big goals, and being ambitious, but it’s also about small changes, like parking further from the grocery store, swapping soda for water, and listening to an audiobook while enjoying home-baked cookies on your day off, without guilt. It’s about controlling what you can control in the pace of your life, combining science, mindfulness, and a bit of grit—to help you become, well… even better.

Now go fill out my coaching form 🙂

Stephen Austin

Personal Trainer and Habit Coach