Today’s episode goes in a slightly different direction. One my biggest shifts over the last several years has been to ask myself better questions when I’m struggling or working through particular problems in my personal life, fitness or business. Albert Einstein used to give the same end of year exam question to all his students because “the answers are always changing” – these are some of the questions that I’ve taken directly from the notes on my phone. I come back to them regularly (especially if I’m struggling or feeling demotivated in a specific area of my life)
I hope you enjoy this two-part podcast.
“Smart people have great answers. Genius have great questions”
– Mentor
Questions I Ask Myself?
Topics Covered On Today's Q&A
1: What would be your top exercises for losing belly fat as fast as possible? 03:44
2: I’m trying to set up a podcast in a totally different field (weddings) and need any tips/help to get started? 20:25
3: Quickfire on caffeine. 29:34
4: I always make bad decisions, I go after the wrong guys, say the wrong things and let my emotions take control? 36:49
This was a difficult episode to record and I talk about some of my own issues that I haven’t talked to previously. I’ve had my own issues with mental health and your mess becomes your message so here’s to hovering over the ‘publish’ button for several minutes.
“Depression is about what has happened, anxiety is about what could happen”
Do you have a mental health issue or an ‘ I have too many negative people on my life’ issue?
Control the controllable (exercise, meditation, mindfulness, yoga etc.)
What’s causing your issues?
“Smart people have great answers, Geniuses have great questions!”
Stay on top of it.
“Tell me what you do every day and I’ll tell you where you’ll be in a year.”
Make of list of what makes you happy and unhappy - it’s that simple.
Don’t be a f**ing victim anymore!
“If you do what is easy and your life will be hard, if do what is hard and your life will be easy.”
Mental health is an advantage if you choose to see it that way.
There’s nothing you can call me that I haven’t already called myself already (and ten times worse).
Become stronger and it becomes your superpower!
Tom has been one of my biggest influences over the past year. After battling cancer and changing the way he saw the world; he has since gone on to become one of Dubai’s leading entrepreneurs, a successful ultra marathon runner and is constantly pushing the boundaries on his physical and mental limitations. Alongside our mutual friend Marcus Smith (Episode 141), Tom’s advice and support is one of the main reasons I was able to finish the 250km run through the Sahara Desert in April.
We talk everything from the mindset developed through running and nutrition for half or full marathons to the difference between real and perceived problems and the importance of the right romantic relationship for long-term success. I got so much from this interview. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed recording it.
TOPICS COVERED
TOMS LINKS
“Ordinary things done consistently well is what leads to extraordinary results”
Q+A:
James Smith is an online personal trainer and speaker. His mission is to remove bullsh*t from the fitness industry one post at a time and I have to say he has one of the funniest Instagram pages that I’ve ever seen.
This episode is hilarious and it’s loaded with value for anyone looking to get the body they want, build their fitness business or how to live life without caring what other people think. I broke with the traditional format to go in whatever direction worked best, we talked everything from basic fitness principles, keto diet, tinder hookups and not sh*aging your clients or people you work with.
Rapid fire: 42:53
Shownotes:
James Instagram
James is an online entrepreneur, health and sleep expert and former ESPN, Sky Sports News and Celebrity Interviewer based in Venice Beach California.
Over the years, he has interviewed some of the top stars and celebrities on the planet; everyone from Brad Pitt and Will Smith to Kobe Bryant and David Beckham. During or after every interview he would always ask them about their favourite success habit. Some of their answers are worth their weight in gold!
This episode goes everywhere from strategies for giving up alcohol (or whatever your personal vice) and training with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Gold’s Gym to not judging yourself in romantic relationships (James’s advice to me personally) and blocking blue light at night to improve your sleep quality. This is a real ebb and flow episode. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed recording it.
Notable timestamps:
I think I need to do a separate introduction as I get super heated on the mental health issue at the end of this episode. I’ve had my own issues in this area and I’m purely speaking from my own experience, but I the intensity level is very high here so just warning you in advance if you’re listening to this in public.
Questions for Q&A:
SHOW LINKS
Karl is the leading fitness expert on RTE 1’s Operation Transformation and is one of Ireland’s top personal training transformation specialists.
Today we talked about everything from cultivating the skills and knowledge to thriving in the fitness industry to taking the first steps with any goal, even if you have no idea where the path leads. Karl’s positive mindset is infectious! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.
Karl’s Social Media Links
(Side note from Brian: I got a bit fired up on this one so apologies for the excessive swearing if you’re listening to this one in public).
Personally, I think the best diet is one that fits into your lifestyle and schedule, that includes foods that you enjoy and is in alignment with your specific goals. However, there are some diets that work better for certain people than others so I’ve used today’s episode to go through some of the pros and cons of the most popular diets at the minute. I hope you enjoy it.
Be sure to comment on my Instagram wall if you’re currently following one of these diets or plan to in the near future.
Links:
This episode is for any who works 1:1 as a personal trainer or wants to move their business online and how to do that. I’ve also discussed questions to ask yourself if you’re considering going into the fitness industry from school and college or anyone looking to have a fitness service, product or business as their ‘side hustle’. Everything below really applies to any business but I’ve used fitness as the example in most cases, so I hope it helps.
Shownotes:
#152: Life Skills Needed For Building A Successful Business with Paul Dermody
#93 and 94: Book Competition Winner Comes To Interview (part 1 and part 2)
Q+A:
Shownotes:
This was a press record and talk episode. I’ve talked about my experiences in dealing with negative people over the last ten years. Parts of this episode are very raw and I’ve used some stories from my personal life that I haven’t talked about before so I hope it helps.
Notable timestamps:
Ask yourself, who am I spending most of my time with? 05:34
“You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with” – Jim Rohn
If you can’t cut people because they’re family or in your workplace, you need to give their words less weight! 14:36
“If you wouldn’t switch positions with someone, why are you listening to them?”
There are three types of people in this world, people who give you energy, people who drain your energy and those who are neutral.
Who are the emotional vampires in your immediate environment?
Are they just projecting onto you? 36:49
“Somebody projecting hate or negativity on you is normally a reflection of what’s going on in their life. That’s on them, not you! Remember hurt people hurt people”
“There’s always someone smarter, leaner, bigger. There’s always a bigger d*ck!” 43:10
Shownotes:
Personally, I’m always trying to optimize things in my life to get more done, have more impact and be more effective and happier in general. I break my life into four quadrants (Health, Wealth, Love and Fulfillment) and score them out of 10 every month. These experiments are all ones that have ‘stuck’ and that I’ve doubled down on to improve on the areas of life that are important to me so hopefully, this episode helps you determine what’s really important to you and what experiments can help you get to those goals quicker.
1 Getting up an hour earlier (start with 15 minutes earlier) 20:41
2 Not checking social media first thing in the morning 25:05
3 Getting ‘R.E.M.’ based sleep 28:18
4 Doing finishers instead of ‘boring’ cardio 31:43
5 Turn your car into a library on wheels (audiobooks) 37:02
6 Digital detox every Sunday 45:11
7 Emails, Whatsapp or ‘100 times a day tasks’ at designated times only 47:00
8 Reducing blue light in the evening to help with better sleep 48:11
9 Cutting all caffeine three days every week (this is hard!) 49:51
10 Seeing money and time as wasting, spending or investing (paying for value, not price) 52:21
11 Working only at optimal times – being productive vs. being busy 56:08
12 Writing down goals or things that are bothering me to reduce anxiety 59:40
What’s your opinion on taking zinc as a supplement? 11:06
What’s next after finishing Marathon Des Sables? 17:54
I have a holiday in 8 weeks, can't get motivated to get in shape for it, any tips for getting motivated? 20:59
I’m a mom to a 10-month girl, I was heavily involved in fitness before I got pregnant but since I’ve had her I feel like I don’t deserve to train again, as if guilt starts to kick in. Is it a maternal thing? I desperately want to train and not have that guilt hanging over me, I find it helps me escape from the world? 24:43
The blog today was exceptional Brian (in show notes). Question and maybe it's silly but how do you keep yourself on track every day mentally? Do you have things every day that you do for yourself to keep you at peace or pushing forward? Or is it all about your frame of mind rather than routines? 33:15
5 Questions To Ask Yourself If You Struggle With How You Look BlogQ&A
BRIANS LINKS
Ben was born with the genetic illness Cystic Fibrosis and made the choice a long time ago to use his ‘weakness’ as a strength. Better known as the Ben ‘Thor’ Mudge (he looks just like the muscular god Thor), we talk about how a conversation with a Dothraki (he worked on Season 1 of Game of Thrones) led him to work in fitness. If you want to know how to use your ‘weakness’ as a strength and how to give your problems all the time they need and no more, this is a must listen!
Rapid fire questions:
· Do you have a quote that you live by or refer to often? 58:17
Ben's Links:
Former Kerry football star Paul Galvin joined me for today’s awesome podcast. We talked everything from how he uses Irish culture to tell stories through his clothing line, how playing on arguably one of the greatest teams of all time makes you physically and mentally stronger to making real connections with people and minimizing time on your phone and not letting your ego take control when making decisions. Mindset knowledge bombs galore in this one!
Notable Timestamps:
Paul's Links:
Paul is one of my best friends in this world and you may have heard me mention him on the podcast in the business (as one of my inner circle) so I’m so excited to have him on the podcast to talk all things business, fitness and life. Paul came through my mentorship program and over the last two years has gone from working full times in a bookies to being one of the most successful 1:1 personal trainer in the country to now moving his business online and working with clients from Spain. We completely ebbed and flowed on this episode and talked everything from business and personal training to suffocating excuses and attacking the things you’re afraid of. This was absolute fire! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Notable timestamps:
Show notes:
Dr Hazel Wallace is the girl behind the food medic and is very much spearheading the new generations of doctors that encourages her patients to think outside the pillbox and manage their health through their nutrition, fitness and sleep.
Hazel is so incredibly knowledgeable and I LOVE her message. We also got into her new book ‘The Food Medic For Life’ (which has hit the bestseller list everywhere its been released). I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did!
Notable timestamps:
Hazel's Links:
Similar to the first time Ross was on the podcast (episode #114), we just caught up about everything since we last talked (he’s since swam nearly 100km in the Caribbean). We also went through everything from his new book ‘The World’s Fittest Book’. As always, Ross just dropped fitness, training and nutrition bombs galore!!! I hope you enjoy this episode as much I enjoyed recording it.
Notable timestamps
ROSS'S LINKS