Be It Till You See It

What’s your body missing to function properly? There is a way to heal, your diagnosis didn’t happen to you. Tune into our epigenetics specialist for simple ways to finally achieve optimal health for life-changing results.  

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] .

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Is there a healthy amount of stress? 
• How you change your pathway to health instead of disease 
• How to diagnose autoimmune disorder & find healing
• Why you are missing out on your life.
• The reason the quality of food matters
• What the refining system of your body
• How to eat healthy within budget 
• The issue with the high protein trend 
• The easiest way to reach optimal health

BIO: 

Mother to a funny and health-aware 7 year old Son with a beautiful soul.

Over 20 years of dedicated research to Human Biology, as a Board Certified Integrative Nutritionist, and Expert Health Strategist. 

Multiple award winner in the health and wellness industry. 

Amazon best selling author, co-author of Cracking the Rich Code Project with Jim Britt and Kevin Harrington, supported by Tony Robbins

International Podcaster and Speaker sharing stages with Darren Hardy, Grant Cardone, Bill Walsh, some of the most powerful and influential women and many more. 

Featured on NBC for over 7 years as a fitness and nutrition expert. 

Multiple business owner scaling businesses from 3k to 7 figures. 

Founder and CEO of Kingdom Health, a powerful network of the world's leading expert practitioners with real root answers to help you get whole health healing through simple and natural processes.

Creator of The Super-Natural Simple Health Solution, where your path to ultimate health starts with a 60 second cheek swab.

On a mission to positively impact the health of the world and reverse the aggressive rise of chronic dis-eases by helping people become more powerful, healthier, and ageless because we all deserve to know how really really great we are meant to feel.

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Resources

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!
• Lesley Logan website
• Be It Till You See It Podcast
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• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube
• Profitable Pilates

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Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan  

Okay loves. So I'm super excited about this because we're gonna get a little bit granular about your health. And I keep bringing in different people around the health and wellness strategy section because well, I love an inspiring story and I love hearing people's journeys. But the other reality is, is like, there are other things that are keeping us or keeping you from being able to be it till you see it. And it's not just access to a dream or access to inspiration, it could be actually something going on in your body, that no matter what your morning routine is, no matter how much you meditate, no matter no matter how many self development books you read, or, or journals you do, or visualizations you do that actually, you could do all of that and still not so optimal. And there are different ways to figure that out. And today's guest Jessica Brothers, she is going to explain that to you. And it's really inspiring. I know for myself, I feel fired up about this information, I feel like oh, there's an... there's a possibility of an answer right around the corner. And I don't have to do any more guesswork. And I share that because, you know, you can try all the different diets in the world, but like, at some point, you're gonna want to just know what's going to work best for you. And you're gonna hear from Jessica, how they actually do know what worked best for you. And there are there is information out there and there is support out there and you don't have to live like this anymore. And you don't have to trade your health for time in your future, you don't have to you can there's another way, there's a better way and so thank you for being here. Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. We could not do this without you. And if this podcast is helping you in any way please share this with a friend, leave us a review. Just so you know if you leave us a review you can email the [email protected] and you can get a free training on habits if you'd like, "Okay, Lesley I want a morning routine." It's like yeah, I have a habits course so you can have I'll give it to you free which you leave a review from you either on Spotify or Apple or anywhere there's podcast reviews that are taken. All right now without further ado, let's just dive in with Jessica Brothers right now.

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guests will bring Bold, Executable, Intrinsic and Targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

Lesley Logan  

Hey, Be It babe. All right. I'm so excited for our guests today, Jessica Brothers. I actually met her through another podcast guests, y'all loved Michael Unbroken. So we happen to be at a dinner where he was like, "I'm in town. I'm gonna see both of my friends at the same time." And this really great time and I heard her story and what she's doing I was like, oh my gosh, I have to have you on. So Jessica, can you tell everyone who you are and what you're up to?

Jessica Brothers  

Absolutely. First, Lesley, thank you so much for having me on your podcast. This is gonna be so much fun. (Lesley: Yeah, I agree.) Okay, so my name is Jessica Brothers. I am a 20 year Board Certified Integrative Nutritionist. I'm a human biologist geek for sure. I've been an Expert Health Strategist during that time as well. But my specialty is epigenetics. I like to dive deep at root causes of why people feel anything less than really, really great, which is mainly what I found in our epigenetics. So that's mainly my mission in life is to help the world heal. That's huge to me.

Lesley Logan  

Okay, so I loved all of this, I think there was a test that I, that thank God happened when they did, because I'd probably be dead, or at least as not functioning, as well as I as I am today. But for the person who's not aware, can you tell what epigenetics is?

Jessica Brothers  

Yes, it's your genes. And our genes are expressed and communicate, and they're responsible for every function of our body to work. So that's pretty much if if your genes aren't expressing themselves, or communicating properly, our functions break down, when our functions break down, we get symptoms, and its daily symptoms. It's not just the big diseases, it's smaller things too, like migraines, or anxiety, or how we feel stress, or bouts of depression. It's just even little things like that as well. Or it just pains in our hands.

Lesley Logan  

Okay, hold on, because like, you just said some things that I think a lot of people will think that that might not be related to but you're saying like anxiety, and the migraines and depression, these bouts? (Jessica: Yeah) This is this is crazy, because I think a lot of people think, "Oh, if I just get a job, that's less stressful." Like, yes, maybe do that, too. But like some of that can be, could be in your genes?

Jessica Brothers  

Oh, for sure. I mean, yes, your environment has a lot to do with how we feel stress, or can add stress, which will create different expressions in your genes as well. So yes, stress is everywhere in our life, but there is a healthy amount of it that we should always apply to our body. Because when we eat, it applies stress to our metabolism, but strengthens it. When we work out, we apply stress to our muscles, but it strengthens it. So take that into consideration. But how we feel stressed and are able to react to it. That variance can depend on how healthy your genes are. So yeah, if you feel stress or anxiety to a point where you have attacks, or it just overwhelms you, then there is some missing components in your body that aren't functioning 100% and can be functioning better. And that comes that basically comes down to your expression of your genes for sure.

Lesley Logan  

Okay, so, so then, like, if I have genes that are like, being sluggish not communicating. (Jessica: Yeah) How do we turn that, how do we like work them out and inspire them to get motivated? Like what is that?

Jessica Brothers  

Yeah, great question. (Lesley: Is it self taught?) You're gonna love this answer, too, because it's our food, the 100% our food, actually, let me not say 100% is mainly our food, but it's also our environment choices, and and our choices of the skincare products, the stuff we put on our body. So it is that it's it's environment choices, you know, externals and how we feed our body on the internal. So that's that that combination depends on how healthy your genes are going to be. Yes, we're born with our genes, but we are not destined to them. We can we can heal them, we have that ability. It all stems from food.

Lesley Logan  

This is crazy. And for the lis... like some people already know my story, and I won't go all into detail because it's like 10 years long, but Jessica: So as mine. You and I both) Yeah, well, like, um, so definitely food, set off something in my system. And then and then I went to a vicious cycle of not knowing is going on in my stomach, which is causing stress, which then that helped me not sleep. And then then I wasn't going through digestion, digestion. So then like, it was this vicious, I got down, to I was so bloated at the end of the day, that I looked like, I was nine months pregnant, I was sleeping 90 minutes to three hours a night and I was like, I can't sleep. And then when I had tests done, I didn't even think that this other stuff would come up with like just, "Tom what's going on my stomach?" And he's like, "So do you know that you have like, metal going on in your body? And it looks like you have a ton of like arsenic and cadmium were like through the roof." And he was like, "Where are you living?" Like, I'm like, "I'm in an apartment right here. Like, what are you talking about? Like, so everyone lives. Why is no one else suffering from it?" But it's like the way my genes dealt with that stuff and everything. So it's so crazy how environment plus what we eat, and then the skin stuff? Yes, he he made me throw out a bunch of the shampoos and I had a switch to all these other things. And I was like, well, I'm not changing the lipstick, but I asked permission on that first. He's as long as much shiny and glittery. We're doing okay.

Jessica Brothers  

Yeah. Okay, you know and choose choose your poisons, I guess. Because reality is we still want to live life and love the things that we do and have, you know, life bring us happiness. And, you know, I realized that I can't eliminate plastics everywhere. I use plastics all the time. So and I do my absolute best with them. But that's the one thing I don't want to say I'm lenient on, I'm very aware of it. But everything else is very tight. Because I know that plastics are in my life. And so everything else in my skincare, my environment where they feed my body, my brain, my eyes, my ears, everything around me, I'm very particular on because I, I accept plastics in the way, you know. (Lesley: Yeah) Yeah. So, so the metals in your body. Absolutely. So at the top of our genes is what I call the mothership. Okay, the mother of the genes is called methylation, and I'll go into that, but it is it is the processing of our system in our body that basically helps detoxify. So if your methylation was inconsistent, your body was building up all these toxins, which would result into you know, your result what what you were going through, for sure.

Lesley Logan  

That's crazy. That's so interesting. Okay, so when, so first of all, were you always like, you've been doing for 20 years, I'm looking at you, there's just no way like, you're 30 years old. So, but like, (Jessica: Thank you) what would what was what got you into this? And then like, what was that journey like for you?

Jessica Brothers  

Yeah, I mean, I was born for this. That is now looking back, I mean, I started my first bicep curls at nine years old. Like, let's be real, Jessica was just being bred for this, you know, I was starting to collect health magazines to learn healthy eating at nine. I was working out in my living room, making my grocery list, telling my mom, I only want this food mom, you know, create my own meal plans. I mean, who does that at nine years old, in the 80s, by the way, I mean, this is wild. But then I got to my 20s, I was working out seven days a week, eating what I thought was healthy, I was gaining weight, I had negative body image, I had depression, like, I did not love myself. And I realized that my mindset needed some working on. So I started doing that and started learning more about nutrition, because that was always a journey for me. And as I realized how much you know, my mindset was important with with, you know, the physical things started kind of clicking and changing more. But then one day, I got really sick, like really sick. My stomach blew up. It lookedlike I was nine months pregnant with 104 fever for 10 days straight. I couldn't even lift my head off the pillow, vomiting, couldn't keep any food in, and then about 10 days later, I would be okay, I'd be able to walk by I felt like I wasn't even here. I felt like I was in a cloud, a brain fog. I was getting out of body anxiety experiences. I was even afraid to drive my son around. He was just a baby. And so you know, three weeks later on the dot, it happened again, same exact symptoms, same exact sequence. So I went to the doctor, they told me it was the flu. I said no, this is not the flu ...

Lesley Logan  

... three times I've had it two times in three weeks. Like that's like I mean ...

Jessica Brothers  

Yeah, exactly. Nobody else in my house was getting sick. And I knew I knew it wasn't the flu than every other doctors said it was stress. Oh, this is just stress, you've had a lot of stress in your life. And like this is not stress. Maybe stress is aggravating this, but this is not stress, what is going on. And every three weeks I started tracking it about every three weeks on the dot, the same cycle would happen would last anywhere from five to like 11 days. And in between those cycles, I just I was walking zombie that couldn't focus, do anything. And on top of it, I had my own business and the son that I was trying to raise. (Lesley: Yeah) Come to find out after over 20 specialists, I found naturopaths and you know, hippie doctors and I found out I had an autoimmune. So that's what was happening. And I said to myself, "How can someone like me, who works out, eats right, feeds their mind good, develop an autoimmune? What is the reasoning in that?" Right?

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. Well, and and like I think like, so many people would be like, if if it happen to Jessica like well the rest of us gonna like how, (Jessica: Yeah) you know what I mean? So like, (Jessica: Literally) yes, I understand that question. And some people would just go, "Okay, I have an autoimmune." And you're like, "Wait, hold on. I've been doing all the things. How did this happen?"

Jessica Brothers  

Yeah, exactly. And so it made me dive really deep back in the human biology, and be like, okay, we do all these things to make us healthy. And we know healthy people who die of diseases. Like how did that person who never smoked, never drink, ran every single morning, die of a heart attack early. Like I started thinking about all these things. I'm like, "There's got to be root reasons here. And I'm going to find it." And that's when I found epigenetics, how genes, how our genes express and how we I didn't understand at the time, and there wasn't a ton of research on how we could feed our body correctly. So that our genes would express in a manner that created a pathway of health instead of the pathway of disease that we were given from our parents and our ancestors. And that changed everything. I started healing.

Lesley Logan  

This is so cool. I mean, I think people, I think you can be listened to as in like nodding along. You're like, okay, I get it like, like, seriously, though, like, everyone in the same household is eating the same foods pretty much like when I was growing up, all of a sudden, like, I got into modeling. So I started eating a different way, my brother was trying to gain weight. So he is like, we're all trying to eat different things. My mom was like, "This is crazy. There's three different types of milk in the fridge." You know, but like, actually, for some bodies, like different meal plans are what are necessary for optimal health. And this makes so much sense that it's on a cellular level and a genes level, because like the person who I went through, he used to do this for NASA, for astronauts, like you don't just send all the astronauts up with like some basic plan, they each have to have a specific diet to be up there for however many months so that they don't get sick, and they can run optimally. And like, it shouldn't just be for the astronauts, we should we could all live like this. (Jessica: Yes, yes.) So if somebody has to do this, like, what does this entail? Because now this sounds crazy, like, is it just blood test? Is it like, like, this is something obviously, you're a specialist in this, you can't just go to your regular doctor and go excuse me, "I would like you to test my genes today."

Jessica Brothers  

Yeah, most doctors aren't even trained to read those labs, they have no clue what they mean. You have to go to an epigenetic specialist. Like myself, and it's not even blood. It's even more simple than that. We send out cheek swabs right to your door, it takes 60 seconds. You literally swab a cheek, swab a cheek but back in the envelope, send it off. It's prepaid. That's it. That is it. That is the start of your healthy journey.

Lesley Logan  

Oh my gosh, every person who's afraid of needles just like paid attention.

Jessica Brothers  

Yes. Seriously, so simple. So simple.

Lesley Logan  

This is crazy. So so so you, so you we're, so you went through the school for this and now you do this. And how, how, what have you seen, obviously, your own body, you this changed your life? How long did it take to change your life? That was as a, do you still have this autoimmune disease? Like what where are you at with that?

Jessica Brothers  

So my first instant result was within two weeks, my energy returned, my focus returned, the brain fog dissipated, that I remember clear as day what, night and day like, wow, just two weeks after my protocol, I, I'm like, "Oh, my gosh, this is so great." And three months later, my body started changing. Like my life, I was so grateful, my life was given back to me. Like, I felt like me again. It was it was just so beautiful. And most people experience that within a shorter range of time, depending on what's going on with them. Do I still have an autoimmune. I'm still working on the last bits of my gut, because damage happened so much in my gut, I have healed my processes, and gut is now being cleaned out. And I'm just about there. Because I had to, I had to literally learn everything, you know, and test everything on me too. It wasn't just like, oh, this is what you do. And you're gonna be healed in three months. But now I understand so much that when people come to me, within one year, I can get them feeling so good. And on that that road to optimal health, healing. Because I've been doing this for so long now. And I understand so much. And I have this beautiful team of experts that helped me bring all this information together of what they know and what I know. So expedites the clients experience. It's just, it's amazing. 

Lesley Logan  

See... thank you for sharing, because I think like some people I mean, like a year well, it's not a magic pill. And it also didn't take most of us who have gone through something. It's you've been going through it longer if you're listening to this and you've got some health stuff. You've been going through it longer than a year for sure, (Jessica: Yeah) for sure. And you are going through it before you even paid attention to it. And so you have been in this process a long time. And I like having gone and I still have stomach stomach health stuff that I'm really frustrated by, so I'm listening ... there for my own personal benefit. But like, because I would give anything if I knew a year from today, I was going to feel better than I do right now, I would take that in a heartbeat. And I think we want things to be faster. But if we want them to be done in a way that lasts, they just, you're literally like, you have to do like rebuilding the systems from the base. (Jessica: Yeah) So in your, in your many years of experience with like helping people with their fuel and, and their diets in their protocols. When people don't do things like this, when people don't get something specialized? How does that actually keep them from feeling like the best version of themselves? Like, what are they losing out on?

Jessica Brothers  

Yeah, they're, they're literally losing out on health. Because every day that you go with feeling less than your optimal health, you are creating a stronger pathway to disease, I could look at someone's genes and say, in 10 years, you're gonna develop Parkinson's. And by the time you're this age, you're going to have dementia. By the time this happens, if you keep at this level, this is what disease pathway of disease you're creating. And it's sad, because it's all so preventable. But we're not educated. And this isn't the normal. And people think it's too good to be true to be able to just take supplements, and be able to heal their body because we're not taught this. So you're missing out on your life.

Lesley Logan  

This is crazy, because I feel like the way people talk about things like dementia or even Parkinson's. It's like, oh, it just happened to you. We don't really know how that's happening. (Jessica: That's true.) But it's true.

Jessica Brothers  

It's so untrue. Dementia is actually a type three diabetes, what happens is, our brain likes glucose. And if we eat too much of it, our brain has no place to store it. So what happens is, it builds up in these little crevices of your drinks, there's no place for it. So you actually don't lose your memories, you lose access to your memories, because it's a buildup that cuts off, you know, the waves to go to your memories, if your memories are over here. And this is how this is the pathway access it. But there's a big buildup of glucose, you lose access to it, it can't reach your memories anymore. And so if you if you, if you understand that in your bodies on that pathway, you can prevent that from happening. Or you can slow it or even in some cases, you can reverse it and clean out that dementia and re access those memories. That's how powerful this is.

Lesley Logan  

It's insane. So when you talk about a protocol, because people are like, "Okay, this now sounds like magic." We're talking like food, workouts, like, are we talking about supplements? What is what is like, is it a three part five part? What does it look like?

Jessica Brothers  

Yeah, great question. So protocol, is raw materials, which is nutrition. It's basically the usable form of our food. And I can explain that, but guest tools of working out meditation, because remember, it's, it's not only your food, but it's your environmental factors, too. So when you get a good grip on both of those, you're going to feel really, really good. And so what do I mean by raw materials and usable form? Well, the food we eat is, our body doesn't when you eat an apple, your body's not like, "Oh, an apple, I'm going to use this apple." No, that's not what works you know, you eat the apple, squeezes down the esophagus, it meets to your stomach and the acid start breaking it down to, you know, the enzymes and and basically, your cells start pulling it into them, and creates a catalyst for what's called your methylation process. It's the refining process, that your body takes all our food that we eat, and turns it into usable form raw materials, vitamins, minerals, micronutrients and delivers it to all 200 functions of your body. It's our refining system.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, and then so many people's if, if those if those organs aren't functioning, then it's not going to the right ...

Jessica Brothers  

That's that's when disease pathways to disease start happening. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. And that's why the qualifier food is so important. If you're eating fast food all the time, but no micronutrients in it, then your functions of your body are not receiving any tools. (Lesley: Yeah) I mean, you wouldn't build a house without without tools, right? I mean ...

Lesley Logan  

It's gonna duct tape it all together and hope it stays.

Jessica Brothers  

Yeah. And seriously, that's, that's what we're doing to our bodies when we don't feed it the proper nutrition.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. So you know, when people hear like proper nutrition, they hear things like that it can sound like expensive, like, because I mean, I remember growing up as a kid, my parents was like, so cheap for them to get the Taco Bell family deal because it was like 39 cent bean and cheese burritos, you know. With all the different people you've coached like, have you is there like, is this, is this like we're now going to eat like everyone's eating at Whole Foods and most expensive, like groceries? Or is it like, is there an affordable family plan of feeding yourself with the with the right fuel?

Jessica Brothers  

Absolutely, I think I think there's a huge misconception about eating healthy is expensive. I think that's something that, you know, is spread around that we've adopted that I don't feel is 100% true. Because if you think healthy is expensive, try being sick. Think about the doctor bills, a time out the work, the time away from your family, time period, you can't buy time. What's that look like when you're laying in bed all the time? Or when you come to a place where you're in the hospital, and you almost lose your life? Or you have to have organs taken out. And now you can't function properly. You can't run around with your kids. You can't work anymore. And now you're on disability. I mean, Lesley, you know what it's like to be sick. (Lesley: Yeah) I mean, you think healthy is expensive. Money is not, expensive is not just money expensive is wasting your time, wasting relationships, wasting yeah, money too. And not only that, when you feed your body, the proper micronutrients, when your body is hungry, it's not about volume, your body is not like, "Oh, give me this amount of food." No, when your body is hungry, is sending out signals of, I need this vitamin, this mineral, this protein, this amino acid, it's it has a list of what it wants satisfied. And those hunger signals may be shut off for a little bit. But they'll turn back on, as soon as it's not satisfied. Once it starts digesting the food and it's processing. It's like, wait a minute, I'm missing this and this and this, we better turn those signals back on and ask you for it. Well, we're not taught that. We get through cravings because of biochemical processes become addictions and, and all this stuff we're not taught until we look at our labs from our genes. And we know exactly what our bodies missing to function properly. That's, that's huge. And so one thing I've been vegan for over four months now, for research, I've eaten less than I ever have in my entire life, because I'm eating such nutrient dense food when I say I'm going vegan, I'm not doing like dirty vegan and I call it clean vegan, there's no processed foods in there ... Okay. It's all a bunch of microgreens vegetables cooked and raw, lots of salads, a ton of different rainbow colored veggies. I've never eaten so less. And I'm not saying I'm malnutrition because I'm not because I've gotten stronger in the gym and I workout seven days a week. (Lesley: Yeah) I've gotten stronger in the gym, less inflammation, more energy, my blood pressure has gone down. The results I'm getting is amazing. And my cravings, and I was a food addict have diminished, like diminished.

Lesley Logan  

You know, I remember when I was on an elimination diet, and I was on it for too long. So it was like definitely not something I (Jessica: Yeah ...) I was like left on it because like every time I would enter food back in, I would get sick again. So like well just, I guess stay on that. And like this was a bad idea. But I will say, I after the first couple of weeks, like just getting off the sugar. Like literally sent me crying for four days. I definitely had, like a like I definitely love a good sugar. But I didn't have the cravings. I would like it's so interesting how I would eat my meals and I would feel satiated. And I would feel fueled and I could do I was doing two workouts a day then like I was doing a lot of stuff and I was very strong. So I am a little jealous because I'm like, maybe I need to look at that. But I'm not going to until I do a test with you, because I'm gonna find out what I'm supposed to do.

Jessica Brothers  

Yeah, and I'm not saying like the vegan diet is the way to go. (Lesley: Yeah) I think my point is that, my point is that when you have a nutrient dense nutritional intake, it, it definitely has a result and effect on you. I'm not saying I'm going to be vegan forever, either, because I love my steak. But most people don't know this. And Lesley, you come from the fitness world. We're told in the fitness world to eat a ton of protein. And so I was eating a ton of protein. But something I discovered a few years back was our body has the ability to turn protein into glucose sugar. So when you eat too much of it, you get those sugar cravings, it gets stored. And I thought that protein was the one macronutrient that couldn't be stored in your body and that couldn't be further from the truth. So

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. I was just listening to a guy on Huberman about like you know protein, fat loss, glucose everything and what they actually, it's actually very interesting. Yes, we do need a lot of protein, but there's actually no benefit of having more protein than you need. And it's, it's basically like it's like a gram for every pound you it's like so it's, it's, it sounds like a lot, we're like, wow, that's a lot of protein for every pound you are or you want to weigh. So if you're like trying to lose weight. But more than that, it's just, it's, it's not satisfying your cravings. And it's not being you're not storing it for tomorrow in case you have less.

Jessica Brothers  

Yeah, and it's so true. It's so true and too much protein your body actually creates aging in your body. It does because it creates this like conglomeration around our cellular membranes. And so nutrition can't get in and nothing can happen. And what happens is these proteins are aging our cells, and they die off faster than new ones are being made. And that's how aging happens.

Lesley Logan  

Okay, that's so fascinating. So here's what's like, so interesting is how durable our bodies are, and how not. Like how people can live on diets to have zero nutrition forever and ever and ever. And also, how, just a simple of not enough of this thing, and too much of this thing can like, start shutting things down. And so it makes me just go like, geez, this would be like a full time job ... (Jessica: Yeah, absolutely.) Like, with pe... like, how, how difficult is it to? I mean, I guess it's probably a personal thing, like depend on how far off you are, how different your lifestyle is, from how you want it to be. But like, do you find that people have to, like, only pay attention to this all the time? Or is it just in the beginning as they get used to it? Like, how easy is this to incorporate into your lifestyle? For you it's your job, but like for the average person, what have you seen?

Jessica Brothers  

Yeah, it's pretty easy, we make it as simple as possible. Because, again, I've been doing this for so long, I understand change is difficult, changing your lifestyle, changing your eating, it's difficult, most people don't want to do it. They don't, because it's a social thing. It's a habit thing. It's a family thing. And everything we do revolves around food. And it's it's hard to change. So I understand that. So we make it as simple as possible. That's why we use supplements, we use supplements to help bring in the raw materials your body needs. So you can I don't want to say you can do everything you're still doing and still feel really, really great. But it's gonna be enough of a catalyst for you to start feeling great to want to make better choices. And it doesn't need to be perfect. That's the thing. So it's, that's why we we've made it so simple. Because I used to be a meal plan and fitness coach and design all those things for people. And I understand how difficult it is. So I'm like, you know what, let's just do the genetic testing. Because once you have that, it's for life, that doesn't ever change. Once you have it, it's for life. Okay. (Lesley: Cool.) Once you know what your body needs, we got that. So we create that protocol, we understand what you need. So there's no guessing work. There's no elimination diets. Okay. (Lesley: Amazing) Which is difficult, it cuts all that out. So we see, we have your body respond to that protocol over a period of time. So all you got to do is take your supplements every day. And, and you're going to notice changes in your body. And things are going to come up and we'll be like, Okay, let's take this out. Let's bring this in. And it really is a very simple way for you to achieve your optimal health. And then you decide what you want to do from there.

Lesley Logan  

I mean, my goodness, we should be doing this when people are kids. Like it should be like you're born, by the way when they started to eat healthy food ... Here's the best food for bigger child. (Jessica: Yes, it's never ...) Just like, can you imagine like the le... I feel like it'd be like less tears and less cranky children out there.

Jessica Brothers  

Alot less, ADHD that's for sure. That is the methylation issue. Huge, huge. (Lesley: Interesting.) Yes.

Lesley Logan  

This is, I mean, Jessica this is so fascinating because like I love bringing people on who have stories of how they're being it till they see it and I love doing people on her like here's why you can't and it keeps coming like I keep bringing it back to health y'all because it is I know when I was sick like there was, it was I was barely able to keep the plates spinning let alone like add a new plate like so ... like people go I'm gonna do this and I'm like, do I have the energy to do that? Like, I could only say yes to modeling gigs and auditions in the morning. If you and then also the shoot had to be before lunch because the moment because I could only make it so long before I had to eat something and the moment I started eating, the moment I didn't fit in the clothes, the moment I could not model the thing that they would want, you know. (Jessica: Yeah) And then and so and then with like, for life like I would have one outfit that I could teach in the morning but as the day went on, despite your head to get bigger, you know because the legs look the same and so no one was knowing what's going on in that sweatshirt. But like all of that was distraction from everything I get to do now because I have much better control over my health and I have energy levels to able to keep up with the things I want to do. And so, you know, all the inspiration and strategies in the world are great. But if you don't have your health, you can't do it. You can't be it till you see it, you can't do anything.

Jessica Brothers  

Yeah, it's so true. Your health is everything. It's the base of everything. Really, it's so important.

Lesley Logan  

We're gonna take a quick moment, and then we're gonna find out how people can find you, work with you, get to know more information about you.

Jessica Brothers  

Yeah, love it.

Lesley Logan  

All right, Jessica. Where do you like to hang out? Where can people get more information if this was intriguing for them, or they want to get more support?

Jessica Brothers  

Absolutely. You can find me on pretty much any social media. It's @jessicabrotherslife, if they can see my screen. If not, I know this is a podcast too but @jessicabrotherslife. If you want to follow me, get to know me more about what I do. If you just want to reach out and ask a question, I'm happy to just give out my email. It's [email protected]. That is my personal email and I'm happy to give it out. I will respond to you for sure. Because I'm here to help you. You know, I know what it's like to feel anything but healthy. And I know Lesley, you can feel for that too. And I am 100% here to help and use my team to get you to where you want to be.

Lesley Logan  

Amazing. Amazing. Okay, before I let you go, you've given us some great strategies and tips already. Like I'm already like, got notes like, oh, yeah, I forgot I was used to take those supplements. Let's get back to it. But BE IT action items. Bold, executable, intrinsic, targeted steps people can take to be it till they see it. What do you have for us?

Jessica Brothers  

Oh, be it till you see it. So for me, it's a morning routine. It is a morning routine, have a non negotiable, fill your own cup. And for me and it can look different for you. What I mean by fill your own cup, make sure you're doing things when you first wake up, first wake up, don't check your emails, don't do anything for work or for anyone else. Do it for you. Meaning like, have water with mineral salt in it. Okay, Himalayan pink sea salt, then do something that brings a smile to your face, whether it's writing goals, visualization of your future, right? That's huge. That's manifesting, right? Do something that makes your body feel good. So it can be anything you choose, whether it's stretching, Pilates, going to the gym, going for a walk. And again, it has to fill you and make you happy and mean something to you and do it no matter where you are. And it can be as little as a 15 minute routine, or it can extend on but you start there you will notice a huge catalyst in your life. And you will get to exactly where you want to be because it worked for me, it works for all my clients. I help with this this little mini routine starting every morning.

Lesley Logan  

I'm a big fan of the morning routine. You're not, I have some people I coach like, "Lesley, I just want to get up earlier." And I'm like, "You can keep arguing to not but I don't know you can't, you gotta have a morning routine for you. You just got to do it." So okay, because of the recovering perfectionist in the room. How much sea salt are we putting in like little sprinkle? We did a little ... in the water like what are we talking?

Jessica Brothers  

... So this is this is 20 22 to 24 ounces, depending on where I fill it up of spring water, and I get a little grinder of Himalayan pink sea salt. I mean 20 turns, 20 turns of that, so how would think that's probably I don't know. A teaspoon, teaspoon and a half.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. Okay, I'm gonna start this. I'm add this to my morning routine.

Jessica Brothers  

... and I just shake it up. It's I mean, you gotta be okay. It's gonna taste salty at first, but now my body craves it. Those minerals are so beautiful for your body in the morning.

Lesley Logan  

Okay, y'all, this drives Brad crazy. But like, literally he'll make dinner and I'm like, "Did you put salt on this?" And he's like, "Yeah, I put salt on this." And then I take a bite and then I go get this ... more salt and I know that's like a chef's like no, but I crave salt. Like I love like I love like I like chips and fries are just like a messenger for salt. So now that I can put it in my water, I just gonna try that out ... But one of the times I had my bloodwork done, he's like, you can have all the salt you want. You don't have to do anything low sodium. It's like you can have all that you want. Like, okay, well then thank you. (Jessica: And then now I will or keep doing what I'm doing.) Yeah, Jessica, I could talk to you forever. I'm so glad we're live so close. We have to make time to see each other again soon. (Jessica: Absolutely) And y'all how are you going to use these tips in your life, tag @jessicabrotherslife, tag the @be_it_pod. Let us know. Because when it brings joy to our lives, you know that this helps you but also it helps other people see that there is opportunities out there other than their current. And sometimes we just need to know that like if you don't know that there's another option. There's another way to live optimally. Then you just live your life like that. But we could, you could be the person that inspires someone to get their health check. So thank you, Jessica. Thank you for listening and until next time, Be It Till You See It.

Jessica Brothers  

Thank you

Lesley Logan  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review. And follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcasts. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others BE IT TILL YOU SEE IT. Have an awesome day! 

Be It Till You See It is a production of Bloom Podcast Network. 

Brad Crowell  

It's written, produced, filmed and recorded by your host Lesley Logan. And me Brad Crowell. Our associate producer is Amanda Frattarelli.  

Lesley Logan  

 Kevin Perez at Disenyo handles all of our audio editing.  

Brad Crowell  

 Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianranco Cioffi.   

Lesley Logan  

Special thanks to our designer Mesh Herico for creating all of our visuals, (which you can't see because this is a podcast) and our digital producer, Jay Pedroso for editing all the video each week, so you can.  

Brad Crowell  

And to Angelina Herico for transcribing each episode, so you can find it on our website. And finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Do you need a fear bucket? If you allow the hurdles in life to keep you from the things meant for you, you may in fact, need one. Join the recap of Johanna White’s episode to stop allowing fear to define your life and step into healing. 

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] .

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Lesley’s birthday plans 
• Fear is not an excuse, start living your life
• Where focusing on the healing, the positivity, the wins leads
• Making your branding purposeful 
• Buy the shoes for the next you 

Episode References/Links:

• Agency Mini

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.

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Resources

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!
• Lesley Logan website
• Be It Till You See It Podcast
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube
• Profitable Pilates

Social Media

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• LinkedIn

Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guests will bring Bold, Executable, Intrinsic and Targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co host in life, Brad and I are going to dig into the healing or differential. Oh, we get two, we have two words to choose from. You guys can actually tell me, you tell me what you thought? Is it healing or differential convo I have with Johanna White in our last episode. If you haven't yet listened to that interview, feel free to pause this now, go back and listen to that one. And then come back and join us.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, do it. What a powerful ... (Lesley: I know.) I literally stopped producing the episode and just stared at the transcription as it was being read to me. And I was like, just sucked into the ... (Lesley: Yeah.) Crazy.

Lesley Logan  

Y'all, have to listen to it because just incredible story about like, literally having a brain tumor. And, and then she did all these things. And she kept looking for to go away. And it's, I'm a spoiler alert, it's not gone. So she's still rockin her life and doing her things. And I think it's just such a testament to that we often can take a diagnosis and like make that be our life instead of like having our life with that. Like

Brad Crowell  

We were just talking about that. (Lesley: Like an end.) We were just talking about that with Claire Sparrow. (Lesley: Yeah.) Where women define, like have defined themselves like the clients that she's had. They have defined themselves by the punchbowl.

Lesley Logan  

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So I just I the pelvic floor health ...

Brad Crowell  

Pelvic floor. I was like, it's there (Lesley: Yeah) but it's not coming.

Lesley Logan  

It's like in Rachel Roger's book. Like you can want to go on a vacation and be broke. Like you don't have to go, I'm go... I'm broke, so I can't go on a vacation. You can actually have a desire and have something in existence. You can also be an incredible human being like Johanna is and like literally slaying it when it comes to like, luxury branding. And she's got this tumor in her brain, but she's not letting that stop her from living her life. And she stays so positive and doesn't bother her anymore.

Brad Crowell  

Well, before we get into it, (Lesley: Okay, so let's just ...) let me out a couple of announcements going ...

Lesley Logan  

We got a, we got a couple things that are super tight on this. If you were listening in real time, Agency Mini number eight is starting in 10 days. So you'll hear the ad, listen to the ad, go sign up. But seriously, sign up because if you have not done Agency Mini or you've only done it one time, you can do it a second time, but it is it is a truly powerful week. And as soon as you join, the sooner you join, the sooner you get to be in the group and start preparing for the homework. So while it's a week long program, we let you be a little earlier. Getting your, getting yourself situated and set up. We're so excited about it. If you're wondering, "I'll do the next one." I really stopped doing that to yourself and your goals and your dreams and your business. Because the next one's not till the fall. And at this time of recording, I haven't set the dates yet. I'm gonna do that, but it's in the fall. Next thing, it's almost my birthday. And I'm really excited about that, because age is just a number. And I have some shirts that I've been so thrilled to wear, where it's like a tough old bird. And to me 40 years look this good. Thank you for being the Fox and I have the owner coming on to the show. She's like, "Yeah, I'll do it. What are you gonna talk about?" I'm like, "Everything that you do that I'm in love with. That's what I want." So anyways, it's almost my birthday. All right. I want to get to Johanna. But we have an audience question. Right Brad.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, yeah. So what are you doing for your birthday?

Lesley Logan  

Okay, so here's the reality. We are recording this before Christmas. And my assistant is actually helping me plan my birthday. But here's what I do know, I do know, we're having a fabulous little birthday sale over on the OPC site. (Brad: Yeah) There'll be ads around that. As soon as, as soon as that's ready. I also do know that sometime in March, we're going to Mexico. I think it's a March. So that's really fun. And I'm super excited about that. And I am going to just tell my friends, "Hey, I'm going to be here if you want to come no pressure, but like I'm going to be in Mexico if you want to come." And then as far as like what I'm actually doing in Vegas for my birthday. Well, one shout out to Carrie ... She is actually celebrating her birthday in Vegas. And so we're gonna actually you and I and her husband we're all going to get together in first club.

Brad Crowell  

Oh, news to me, guys.(Lesley: Yeah ...) That's exciting.

Lesley Logan  

And we got like at 8:30 reservation, as we were told by the girls there last time we were there because we got kicked out of our table because we only be there for two hours. And we're there for two hours and 15 minutes we had to do. What do you call those trains? To to, we had to do the (Brad: conga line) the conga line, we had to do that. And then they were like, "You all have to go." Anyways, that's fine. We talked to them. I said I want to see the dancers now. 

Brad Crowell  

I think that was pretty good that conga line. So we definitely wasn't it wasn't because of that.

Lesley Logan  

No, we were amazing. I think they realized, oh, that's the table of nine. Don't let them sit back down. They're supposed to leave now. (Brad: Yeah.) So anyways, we said, well, we want to see the dancers. And so they actually had the dancers meet us up the exits, we could take pictures, which I thought was amazing. Shout out to my mom for telling me just ask her what you want at these things. That's a long story about a concert that I got into the pit for but at any rate, we found out from them that you should 100% come after eight o'clock at night. And so even though I don't eat at like Spain time, we're gonna eat at Spain time so we can get to the best part of that show. So I'm definitely doing that. Thank you, Carrie for coming out. And then actually celebrating actually doing it with my family and friends. I'm still planning that. And I have a meeting with my amazing assistant this week because she actually has itineraries for Vegas for when people come to visit and I'm gonna (Brad: Oh, that's fun.) pick from her itineraries.

Brad Crowell  

I didn't know that.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, I know. I've been working on it. So anyways, I am so sorry. You'll have to find out (Brad: Well keep up posted.) later on. We'll keep you posted. (Brad: All right.) Well, my birthday, but I am turning 40. And I'm so excited about it. Yes, you can sing happy birthday to me all month long, all month long. It's fine up until Valentine's Day. 

Brad Crowell  

All right. Now let's talk about Johanna White. Johanna is a woman who defied the odds, changed her mindset and overcame a brain tumor, all while building her epic branded company. She helps individuals, startups and fortune 200 brands attract their dream clients and opportunities to finally be what she calls as delightfully expensive as they deserve.

Lesley Logan  

I love that. I love that so much. Yeah. Okay, let's just jump into it because we already started. One thing I loved is that she actually talked about a brain tumor survivor story. (Brad: Her survivor's story.) Yeah. Her brain tumor survivor's story. And so, and these are some questions, these are some points that she made. So how do you drown out the fear? That's so hard to do, but that is like the thing. And also, by the way, that stuff is living rent free in your brain. So unless you start charging it money, every time then you have to charge yourself money,

Brad Crowell  

Tell me how we can do that. I'd like to make a profit.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, so you'll be paying yourself. (Brad: Since you can't) Yeah, since you can't

Brad Crowell  

You should just kick them out. You need to evict them.

Lesley Logan  

What if you had a fear bucket where you had to like put you know, people have a jar where they have to put the money if they say a cuss word obviously, we this household. We don't even have quarters, so we don't have pennies. But um, but what if you had to like, (Brad: That's interesting.) and then what if you had to donate it to a charity that you didn't like

Brad Crowell  

Right because it's not yours. You don't get to keep it.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, there's a thing. There's actually apps for that like if you like say you're gonna quit smoking and then you don't like it's gonna donate money to like a political cause. You don't want (Brad: Oh, yeah, yeah.) I don't I don't actually work like that doesn't work for me. But um, but anyways, because I would be like, get in there before that thing goes up. Focus on the fear (Brad: focus on the fear) focus on the fear, holds back progress. This is so true, you cannot move forward if you're thinking about what could happen. And if you need help on that go back to Chris Goodman's podcast about fear. Choose joy in the moment.

Brad Crowell  

I have comments. (Lesley: Oh) So I'm gonna jump in. (Lesley: Jump in) So, yeah, when you focus on the fear, you know, it actually paralyzes you. So there's not a chance to even think about the mindset of the future. Basically, you're, you're stuck, you are and I know this all too well, literally, I have I have, fear can be so paralyzing. I've experienced this myself. So when you're 100%, consumed by it, there's not a chance, you can think clearly and make decisions that are clear, none of that stuff.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, so um, all true things, all true. And also, we have an episode of the interview coming out that I just did today in the real time of recording this, but you won't hear it until February. Joe Casciani. He is a psychologist who works with older adults. And he's got the Living to 100 Club. And he talks a lot about how fear holds us back. And then also going into my choose joy, he literally tells a story about how like, you can be in the same room and like someone can see what's wrong with it, and someone can see what's right with it. So it's so possible to choose joy in the moment. So just just you might have to like, actually retrain your brain and how it functions. And that's really hard to do, it's really hard to retrain your behavior and how you react to things that cause fear. I know for me, like I can get like, it's not only paralyzing, but I go into a loop and a spiral of all the things that are going wrong, and then all the things are going wrong from that. And it's just like gonna keep going. And I have to like find a place to stop it. And that doesn't mean that I'm not going to have that same spiral happen. But my hope is that I stop it a little bit sooner each time. So that (Brad: Sure) maybe before it gets to like in 17 years, this is a bad. So it's going to happen if again, stop at 15 and then 14 and then 12 and 10. And I know that sounds annoying. It could be like a long time. But it's a practice not perfect. So

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, I mean, you already mentioned the next things she said, which is choose joy in the moment, and happiness is a choice. And I I I found that amazing. Because it wasn't until she personally experienced like her symptoms coming back. That she was able to connect the dots when she wants, she was like, you know, woe was me and everything is crashing around me. She was really sick. And she went into the doctor's and she left and her parents friend took her out and said like, here's all the things you should be focusing on, not this fear. And she started to focus on that, and she started to get better. (Lesley: Yeah) And then she went to the doctor, and they said, "You're not better. You still have this tumor, and you know, bad things." And then she went right back to being negative again. And immediately, the second time around, immediately, all of her symptoms came back, which had been dissipating. And she put the dots together was like holy cow. This, you know, and you two talked about how powerful the mind is in here. And that to me, it's so I think that she is a stronger woman than I because and Amy Ledin too. Because being willing or needing to actually focus on the positive. I have to imagine it comes down to a need. It's like past that ...

Lesley Logan  

Well, it's the only way they'll survive. (Brad: Yeah.) And like maybe we all need to think about it like that. Like maybe we all need to realize that all the things that you want to have are on the other side of the sphere. And if you really actually truly realize I got really honest with yourself that you have a limited time on this planet. This is a life choice. Like if you do need to start focusing on choosing happiness. And (Brad: Yeah) like you have like we we have to stop going I'll do it tomorrow. What was me like, yeah, shit sucks. I am not having a good week right now personally, I'm be real honest. But I am my I'm finding that like as I'm trying to, like, just wallow and shit. My, my, my inner training muscle is like here, oh, this fella was really nice. And I really liked my outfit and like, all of a sudden I started and I'm like, I just want to wallow, and I cannot because I've trained you well, and I gotta get back out there and do it. So

Brad Crowell  

You're talking about the limited time on the on this planet. You know, I might I can't necessarily relate to a brain tumor personally. However, I was just home visiting my parents. And it made me realize like, if I go home, on the schedule that we've been going home, which for me is one time a year and I'm halfway through my life or maybe not even not quite hopefully halfway through. I might only see my parents 40 more times in the rest of my fucking life. That is crazy to think about.

Lesley Logan  

Well, and that's if they own if they live 40 more years. That's possible.

Brad Crowell  

That's true. They might not live 40 more years. That's very true.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. If they listen to Joe's podcast about living to 100 it's possible.

Brad Crowell  

Right. But but you know, so like when you're choosing happiness, choosing like to be intentional about how you live. And for me that realization was, I want to go home and I want to see my folks and hang with them more. And, you know, I don't want to I don't want to live there. But I do want to see them more. So yeah.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. Everything's a choice. And if the sooner you start realizing that you have a lot more choice, and I'm not gonna give it away, but there's something called embodied consciousness, embodiment, embodied. Well, it's gonna be on Joe's podcast. Anyways, I was like, I need to write up. I need to find books on this. You all it is such be it till you see it with science. Anyways, what did you ... (Brad: I love that.) Yeah, what did you love?

Brad Crowell  

Okay, so specifically, especially in like this really, really challenging experience that Johanna has gone through and is still going through. She gave us some pretty straightforward tools, minds, she you know, which helps with a mindset for complete healing. And she said, collect evidence for what works for you and focus on that. And that brings us straight back to Amy Ledin with her with she she has her daily cards.

Lesley Logan  

Daily agreement cards, and she puts the wins every day and ...

Brad Crowell  

But she has a wins card. (Lesley: Yeah.) And when she's in a bad spot, she goes back and pulls out her wins card. And she really she focuses on that. So, you know, collect the evidence for what works for you and focus on that. She also said, what you believe matters. However, what you do about what you believe, matters even more. Okay. (Lesley: Yeah) So the action of like taking action on what you believe, matters even more than the belief itself. So you definitely have to start with that belief, you know, focusing on, you know, choosing what you're focusing on. But then you take action, right? (Lesley: Yeah.) And for her taking action was, she was listening to sermons and reading scripture and focusing on verses that were talking about healing from the Bible. And she started talking about anything that had to do with healing, like focusing on it. And so she would go to sleep with these planks, she would wake up, she would focus on if you dwell on the fact that healing can happen. Right. So that doing was crucial. And then finally, she said, see yourself where you're going to be, you really, really have to envision it. And she said, I, if I dwelled on the fact that if things go wrong, I could end up in a wheelchair and not be able to move, then I'm going to end up in a wheelchair and not be able to move, but I love to ride my horse. I love to run, jump and play. And I need to see myself in that way.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. Oh, y'all get those tools, write them down. They also are very helpful for beating imposter syndrome, by the way, so they work for both things.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah. All right, so finally, let's talk about those BE IT action items. So she already gave us a handful action items in the in the the other conversation. But what bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted action items can we take away from your conversation with Johanna White?

So she said, make your branding purposeful. We didn't even talk about it. But she runs a branding company. And she, like, did some amazing things with her company. She started landing clients that were massive, like Google, all this crazy stuff. And, you know, she literally charges like $50,000 to build a website. That includes like going through your branding, doing all this amazing stuff. And she specifically said, branding is happening all the time whether you do it on purpose, or it's happening by accident. (Lesley: same as goals) Right? So it's happening, it's either happening for you. And you're building those perceptions on purpose or it's happening to you. So don't let it happen by default, instead make it happen by design. And I thought that was crazy powerful, like, you know, we, when it comes to, you know, just getting the door like getting started. We always tell people, you don't need branding to open the business and get like the ball rolling. But you there there does come a point where you want to begin to focus on that and get that going because just like she said, branding will happen by default. You should make it happen by design.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, well, I think that's going because a lot of people, because they're actually afraid to get rejected and putting their stuff out there. So they just noodle around on branding. And they're like, look at me, I'm taking so much action because I'm picking my colors, and I'm picking my font. And the reality is, is that like, that's going to all change. (Brad: Yeah.) So get something done, and then have some consistency. But as you start to interact with people in your business, and in your life, you're going to go, "Oh, wow, the people that I work with really resonate and as this kind of person so these are the fonts or these are the colors." And Hilary Hartling who is on our pod. She actually said like branding is actually how you make people feel. So like you can go off of that in the beginning and then and then hire someone like Johanna to make you delightfully, look as delightful expensive as you deserve. And so I agree like whether it's your branding or insert goals there if you don't, if you actually don't set goals for yourself, other people set them for you, if you don't brand yourself, other people brand for you ...

Brad Crowell  

If you don't host your party, someone else will host it for you.

Lesley Logan  

Yes, I need to get that guest. I need that author with to put her on the list. It's called The Art of Gathering and I know you're hearing this after Christmas and you're like, Thanks Lesley for not telling me this earlier." Such a fucking great book. Free something. Anyways, it is something that I think about in all of my memberships and how I do everything, but it's also how you do dinner parties. Like she's got great advice on there. So anyways, just like that ... for you.

Brad Crowell  

So, so, so, okay, your turn. Take, take it away.

Lesley Logan  

Okay, of course I love this one. I mean, I mean, we knew I was claiming this, the moment she said it. Buy the shoes. Buy the shoes for the next you and then wear them. And so this is really important because I would see women, so I work in retail I'd see women buy these things for this future person they wanted to be and then they put it on a shelf. Just put it on a shelf, (Brad: Right) as if your future you could just jump off the shelf one day, it's not Tinkerbell, y'all. You have to put, you will actually act as if you are the person who wears those shoes if you put them on. So I 1,000% bought the purse that I felt was too expensive for me. I went 1,000% bought the Lululemons and the things like that to be seen as the person that the teacher I wanted to be, the teacher who made this kind of money. Also, I'm not saying charge of your credit card. I had a capsule wardrobe. I recycled that but don't don't buy the thing and then put it on the shelf to look at Alan Stein Jr. is like we're never finished. We are not meant to be in a museum. You put that stuff on a shelf, you're putting your future you in like a museum thing. And that's not going to work for you.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, so I love this because she had you know, when the brain tumor situation happened, it made her reevaluate everything in her life. And she said, you know what I might, I don't want to wait, I'm not going to put that stuff on the shelf. I'm going to wear it. I'm going to use it. In fact, she said she took three months off from trying to get clients and doing anything. And she treated herself like her own client. And she said, so she went out and bought a bracelet, went out and bought shoes, went out and bought a purse. She did her nails, she went and did this epic photoshoot where she literally dripped her her business card in gold. And then like they flung gold all, all over the photoshoot studio. And she decided to build her site as if she was building one for her client. Right. And then present herself to people in the way that her clients are. So she could basically put herself in the caliber of the clients that she wanted to attract. And they would see her and go, "Oh, you get me. You get me." So ... (Lesley: Look at that Google guy.) That's what I'm saying. No, it's it's amazing. She this story she had was she was at a coffee shop. Very shortly after the photoshoot. She had the her card. And he came up and ask her like, "Hey, can I borrow your laptop charger? Mine's gonna die." She said, "Sure." 30 minutes later, he comes back and he says, "Hey, what do you do?" And she gave her card to him. He looked at it and he ran over his computer type of stuff and literally came running back he said, "I love what you do. And you you need to come work for me. I need you to work on this project. What you're doing is amazing." And and it was a guy who works for Google.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. Yeah. So you know buy the shoes, put them on. Wear, be that person like these are things that some of us have like some people can do it the mind, some people need more physical kinesthetic way of being it till they see it and it doesn't matter which one you are and it's really going to be an amazing year for you the more you do this. Thank you Johanna White for like sharing your story with us. (Brad: Yeah.) I truly inspiring our listeners. I was inspired. (Brad: I mean, I ...) My favorite shoes to the shoe repair to get them sold because I was like, "I bought the shoes and I'm not wearing them because they need to be resold." So we got to go do that right now so I can have them for my trip so I can be that person on my tour who wears those shoes.

Brad Crowell  

I know. Yeah. I mean, you know, I'm pretty shit at this. I'm like, not good at buying, like the fancy thing I have ... (Lesley: No, I buy them for you.) I never have allowed myself to ever do that. So this is a challenge. And ...

Lesley Logan  

They just gonna want to know if you did it.

Brad Crowell  

Well, I haven't even I don't even though what I want to buy, so I'm gonna figure that out first, and then I'm gonna go buy something. So

Lesley Logan  

Y'all if that's if you're in the same position as Brad, you actually owe it to yourself to spend a lot of time with yourself thinking about that, because that is that's actually a sign that we have to like, get ... We've maybe achieved all the goals. And now you got to set new ones. Yeah. (Brad: I'm in.) I'm Lesley Logan.

Brad Crowell  

And I'm Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan  

Thank you so much for joining us today. How are you going to use these tips in your life? Let us know, send us a DM for the pod, tag Johanna White, tag us and and share with us and if you're like, "I have no idea how to tag." That's fine. You can literally grab your friend's phone, and you can find our show on the podcast app that they use. And you can download it for them. And you can say here I mean, I would love to know your takeaways because that would help with my love, my love language of words of affirmation, but it's fine. However you get this into people's ears is all that matters to us.

Brad Crowell  

If you want to contact us. You can hit us up on Instagram, send us a DM or you can email us, email us at [email protected].

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, notice that at email that is the correct one. (Brad: [email protected]) If you send one to the other ones that I've mentioned, they're not true. Anyways, perfect is boring. Love you all so much. See you later.

Brad Crowell  

Bye for now.

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review. And follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcasts. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others BE IT TILL YOU SEE IT. Have an awesome day!  

 Be It Till You See It is a production of Bloom Podcast Network.  It's written, produced, filmed and recorded by your host Lesley Logan. And me Brad Crowell. Our associate producer is Amanda Frattarelli.    

Kevin Perez at Disenyo handles all of our audio editing.    

Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianranco Cioffi.   

Special thanks to our designer Mesh Herico for creating all of our visuals, (which you can't see because this is a podcast) and our digital producer, Jay Pedroso for editing all the video each week, so you can.  

And to Angelina Herico for transcribing each episode, so you can find it on our website. And finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

What you believe matters. From a hopeless diagnosis to finding a way through a time of uncertainty, Johanna is a beacon of light for those struggling to find the things meant for them. You can find joy in the moment, you can tackle the fear, and healing is possible. 

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] .

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.

In this episode you will learn about:

• It’s possible to show up as how you want to be perceived. 
• The difference from being unique
• Why you should balance your confidence levels 
• How you connect to your ideal clientele
• A brain tumors survivors story 
• Mindset tools for complete healing 
• Change your story, say it differently
• The problem with searching for certainty 
• How you tackle fear for healing
• How a pair of shoes can change your life

BIO

Johanna White is an award-winning graphic designer and visual branding strategist who designs premium brand identities that create impactful first impressions.

As the founder of Design By Jo Studio, she believes that if someone is the best at what they do, they deserve to look like it! For the past decade, she’s worked with individuals, startups and Fortune 200 brands worldwide, helping them to attract more raving fan clients than they know what to do with, and be as delightfully expensive as they deserve to be.

Johanna knows there’s no limit on success, and she proved it several years ago when she took life by the horns and started three companies within one year while battling a brain tumor. At a time when everyone else in her life was suggesting that she quit working and go on social security to cover medical bills, she chose to do the opposite and defy the odds. As a result, Johanna is now a “Dreamer Extraordinaire” for top performers, goal-oriented individuals, and brands.

Specializing in designing premium brand identities from start to finish, Johanna assists her clients in a large range of needs, from brand messaging to visual brand identities to premium custom websites that convert visitors into customers!  

Clients have come to know and love Johanna for her ability to constantly expand their vision of what they are capable of, capture their true value in an aspirational personal brand that takes them from best kept business secret to brand name, and then cheer them on as they level up with new confidence and live up to their fullest potential. 

Episode References/Links:

• Design by Jo Website
• Design by Jo Studio on IG
• Design by Jo Studio on Fb
• Profitable Pilates Course: Getting Rejected to Success with 200 Noes

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.

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Resources

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!
• Lesley Logan website
• Be It Till You See It Podcast
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube
• Profitable Pilates

Social Media

• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan  

Hey, Be It babes. I have one of the most amazing interviews for you to listen to, and it's got two parts to it. So there's gonna be some business be it till you see it stuff in here and then there's going to be some help be it till you see it stuff in here. And I really do hope you listen to the whole thing. First of all, Johanna is going to become one of your besties for sure. So, Johanna White is our guest today. I met her through a Mastermind that we are in and I fell in love with her way of describing how she does her what her business is and how she does her life with that and then when I heard about what she did in her health for her be it till you see it story. I was like, "Oh my God, I have to have you on. We're going to have enough time." So we did, get it all in. But I'm going to have to have her back and Johanna and I want to know how this affects you. What your takeaways are? So please let us know. Definitely send a screenshot to your friend of course or just text it to a friend but if you can tell Johanna and I how this affected you. It would not only make our day but it would let us know that that that stories like this help you and if that is what helps you then I will have more stories like this. So, here is Johanna White.

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guests will bring Bold, Executable, Intrinsic and Targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

All right, Be It babes. I am really excited because when I met this woman, first of all her accessories were just, you know, top notch and you know how I am when it comes to jewelry and accessories and all the things and then of course she said all the things that I truly believe in when it comes to your brand and presenting yourself in the world. And so I couldn't think of a better guest to have you hear about being it till you see it. Then Johanna White, who is just a gorgeous inside out and she has not only ways to talk about how she does it in her business, but also how she did it in her life. And I think we're gonna have a fun conversation going back. So Johanna, will you tell everyone who you are and what (Johanna: Sure) you're rocking at?

Johanna White  

Absolutely. My name is Johanna White, and I am the best in the world at helping people who are really amazing at what they do, finally look as good as they are through High Impact branding and design so that they can magnetize their dream clients and opportunities and finally be as delightfully expensive as they deserve to be.

Lesley Logan  

But just something I love that you say I love, Brad and I have like quoted you a few times on, it's delightfully expensive, I guess our friend Johanna would say. So I'm wondering though, like, first of all, can we all just like, did everyone just catch that she said, I'm the best at this in the world. Like, I just like you're such like it just flew off your tongue like no big, like, it's just, it's so awesome. And some so many people don't even say that they're like, "Oh, I do this." And it's like, "Oh, are you? Are you the best? Are you the number one? Are you the only one where you are?" Like, I love how you, you put that in there. Have you always been doing this role? Like what what got you into doing this? What was the path there?

Johanna White  

Well, I have been on a winding road that has had a lot of moments of being it till I see it. But I have been doing first graphic design and then expanding into branding, and big picture branding, clarifying your message, creating badass, high impact visuals, and then building custom websites that turn visitors into customers for the last nine to 10 years, really is when I stepped off on that journey. Before that it was a little bit of everything. Like I just made my way through high school barely surviving no clue what I want to do, have a lot of hobbies, but not sure which one to turn to a career. I tried to go to college for training horses, because I loved and riden my entire life. But then when I went to school for it and turned it to a career, it totally burned me out. And I hated it. And I came home like well, I just totally struck out wasted time, wasted money. I'm gonna go bury myself in a small cave of shame and depression for about three years. And I spent that three years working floor covering installing tile, I can put in a mean kitchen backsplash.

Lesley Logan  

Oh my God, what a journey. You're like, "I'm gonna like train horses." And then first of all, the fact that that was a burnout career who would have thought like everyone's like, "I want to work with the animals." And then, now you can like tile. That's a skill set. So many people would want to have.

Johanna White  

It is. But at that time, I did not know how to brand position myself. So I was just a commodity in any job that I did, and didn't pay well. And I had to get up at 5am and it was freezing cold and would crack my hands. And I played violin and rode horses and did a lot of things with my hands. It was super painful. And it took though that pain to finally nudge me out of my self pity and my fear of failing again. And I went back to college a second time when I felt way too old for it. I wasn't that old, but I was like 21 ...

Lesley Logan  

... you're like, "Oh my God, I'm going back when people are graduating. Gosh, I'm such a failure." But I say that like tongue in cheek because like, I think I remember switching my degree like my, whatever my degree was going to be in I guess your major, whatever it's called. It's been so long since I've been in college. And I like could not like for besides the money, like I like absolutely did not want to be graduating at 23.

Johanna White  

I know. I know. I was like, "I'll be so old. And I'm hanging out with these 17 year olds." And oh, well, well, looking back I just laugh. And the fact that it took me even three years to work up the courage to go back because I didn't want to be three years older and just graduating. (Lesley: Yeah) But that time was passing anyway. And so now it was even three years later. And that's so second time though, I went back to school for graphic design, got really lucky to have a couple of professors who really instilled in me the love of all design, and also really taught me about having a reason for what you do, like great design should have a reason. And that gives it a powerful story. And that helps it communicate a message and, and it lessons in making the mundane, extraordinary, which those stuck with me a lot like for my clients. Even to this day, I'll make these kickass luxury business cards, which is something that most people think is either not important in this digital age, nobody cares, or business cards or something that people throw away. And ...

Lesley Logan  

You have the best business card. I still have yours. It's so nice.

Johanna White  

Thank you. But that's because I wanted to disrupt something that was old school, something that was considered non important. And in a digital world, give someone something that, you put it in their hand and they go, oh my God, and they pause what they're doing, they stop and they pad it. And they look, it's got gold edges, and it's so thick and it feels like suede. And what is this? It's like literally dripping gold. And, and I just, that was one of my first actual experiments in being it till I see it was I got tired of telling people, I could do premium branding for them, and decided it was time to just do it for myself (Lesley: Yeah) and show them as possible. But ...

Lesley Logan  

So so I love this because you're, you're ... you're basically going out and said, "I do premium branding. I do premium branding." And people are like, "Okay, I'm looking at your stuff." And not that, no, there's no way you could look like anybody else's stuff, but probably like it look like another brand new person site. And, you know, like, and so then you're like, okay, let me let me do some that stands out a little bit. And then looks like the brand I want to be when my brand has been more established. So you took the steps there. So some people might say this, like, fake it till you make it. But I think it's really important. You already were good at what you did. You already were wanting to work with these clients and had worked with clients. And that way, you're just actually making a bigger statement to show that like, this is the route that I'm going to this is the way I want to be perceived in the world.

Johanna White  

Yeah. So let's hop back one step so that we didn't leave them hanging in the past. And we'll go back to the past because there's a very important kick in the pants, be it till you see it moment that happened between college and today, which was a brain tumor that turned my world upside down, and ended up being the catalyst for me not graduating, and then going to get an agency job, but instead graduating, quitting my, like teeny tiny agency designed job and starting Design by Jo, which has brought us here, but but yes, in my business, when I decided that I was tired of having to explain why I was different than everyone else. Or what I could do, or why it was like I started to realize I was way under charging for services, and I got tired of explaining why it was worth it. And what made it different. And all of these things, I suddenly realized that it wasn't enough to just know that I was worth more. And to be telling people that I was worth more, I had to show up as worth it in the world. And so I went all literal, be it till you see it, which I call brand positioning in the branding world. And I said, I, what can I do to my website to make it a premium experience? Just to be honest, what can I do to my photos to make them feel like they're oozing luxury branding from their soul? And what can I do to myself as the owner of this business, to live as that person today? And so I did a couple of things that are super practical, and a couple of things that are super silly ... super silly.

Lesley Logan  

I love it. I love it. I think there's that's an equal balance.

Johanna White  

Yeah, so I actually I started Design by Jo in 2014, right after the brain tumor diagnosis. But for the first like five years of it, I just ran it like every other design business, very middle of the road, very much a commodity, looked like everyone else, and acted like everyone else too. Like, you want a brand cool, tell me what it should look like and what you want on it and your favorite colors, and I'll make it for you. (Lesley: Yeah) So I could make it really great, but not greater enough for it to be something that would change their life. What I (Lesley: Yeah) discovered was what they really needed was someone who could walk them through the whole process, help them with research, help them know what they should build their brand around, help them mind the content and the diamonds from their story, crafted into a message, turn it then that story into a picture that really is worth a thousand words. And and then tell that story and use those images to create a website that's an experience that walks your your ideal audience through a journey.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, I think (Johanna: And ...) I'm so sorry to cut you off. I think like because I, because I have done like branding experiences and I and for the people listening like, "I not, need a branding." Don't worry, we're going into the brain tumor in a moment and that is going to be interesting for sure. But we had Hilary Hartling on who's like, even if you're you're a brand, whether you have a business or not like you as a person are brand so like, pay attention to this, but it's for whatever business you're in, you can either do it the way that everyone does it and then just like try to figure out how to stand out amongst the rest. Or you can actually go, "How can I do it differently than everyone is doing it?" So that people have an experience with me that makes me stand out as the person I say, "I'm better than," you know. So I think like, what's cool is that so many people that you did is so cool, because so many people are like, oh, well, everybody has like, for example, Pilates world. Well, everyone has packages. So I'm not going to do this thing over here. Because you know what I mean, like, you're like, well, where I live, everyone's used to like, unlimited memberships. And you're like, yes, everyone's used to just hearing someone go to your colors. But like, what is this? And I'm like, how do I help you tell the story. So I think it, it's scary to be different, but like, it makes the most sense if you want to have the life you want to have to be different than what everyone else was doing.

Johanna White  

Yeah, and you will get more noes at first, you will get better yeses, but you will get more noes. And those noes leave room for the more and more ideal customers, clients audience, the more leveling up of who you're working with. So my like, be it till you see it revelation was I was running around telling everybody, I'm different. And it wasn't working, I needed to do something that anytime they landed on some part of my brand, it felt premium and luxury. And so I went out. And this was back when I was still barely paying the bills, like, I looked like a commodity and I got paid like a commodity. And I said, if I'm going to show up as luxury, then here's what that Johanna looks like, acts like, and how she dresses. And so I went out and I bought this Hermes bracelet that was like a 10th of my annual salary. Surprise? (Lesley: Yeah) I bought these Louboutin heels. And I brought in my photographer and had gotten actually, I had those really cool business cards first made for this kind of launch. Like I knew I wanted to show up different. And then I planned a photoshoot around that card, I got these custom made nails with diamonds on them from this woman in LA. And we shot like, I found inspiration from luxury handbags and various things and how I wanted the lighting and we shot these photos, flung gold paint around the studio, did all this, I took three months off from taking any client work, I treated myself like my own client. And I said that I'm not going to be a victim of my circumstances anymore, or just accepting like, what comes to me or what has been. I'm going to pause, I'm going to choose who I want to be, and step into that nice room at. So I redid my website with the new photos, and I started like wearing the bracelet and wearing the shoes for interactions with people and just saying, what is one way that I can be this person today and feel like her now and I'm not advising people to go on a spending spree, fill up a bunch of credit cards and, like, fit in with the Joneses that wasn't it at all. I could have rented the bracelet, (Lesley: Yeah) I could have borrowed it from a friend. But I needed to believe that I was going to become that person very soon. And that the price was going to be irrelevant. So from my mindset, I needed to do that thing. And ...

Lesley Logan  

Well. (Johanna: I did.) I'm so sorry. You did and like also like, um, I think it depends on like, what it is that you're trying to be it till you see it, you know, like yours (Johanna: Yeah, yeah.) was like that was particular in it. And it made sense. And also like, we've all seen the people take pictures in front of like a random G Wagon in a parking lot and act like it's theirs. And you're like no, no, these are my things. And so I bought them. So they're my things and it's like completely in alignment. But I think like you could have probably there's a couple clients, you probably got that maybe you could have gotten had you not done this brand name. Like there's just there's every once in awhile, like some unicorn client could like land in your lap. But then you would have been waiting to make some money from some clients to then like, prove yourself to be this thing instead of like what you did was like, "No, I am this thing. I'm going to be at right now. So what do I have to do to make sure that everything, every aspect of what you experience with me, makes you realize that I am that person now." And I think that takes massive guts. First of all, I think being it till you see it always does. But that takes massive guts and also to like, pause your work so many people are trying to they have this like be it till you see it idea over here that they compartmentalize and then a 90% of the time they're just like them, they're just doing the other thing that they're hoping to get rid of someday and it's like you actually you can't be two people you're gonna go crazy. You have to go all in on the one thing and so that's a really that's really cool that you were able to do that.

Johanna White  

You got to commit but the rewards are great. The day after I launched my new website which you very kindly said there's no way It was terrible before, but it just literally looked like every other design portfolio and I would cringingly send people to it and say, "Look at my work, don't look at the website." Like, "I know, I'm telling you, I can do a good website for you. Don't look at my website, just look at my work." So if you ever feel embarrassed to send someone to your website, whether you're a designer or any other industry, you may not realize that that is important, but you are communicating with less confidence when you do that, like you're gonna show up as less proud of who you are. Because you know, they're about to experience something that feels off based on what you are. So like, for me leveling at my website, level that my confidence as well. I was proud to send people. And the day after I launched it, I was in a coffee shop working away. And some guy came up randomly asked if he could borrow my power cable because he had a Mac also, and it was fine. I was like, "Yeah, sure, no problem." He returns the cable in 30 minutes, he asked what I do, I give him my card. And he just goes, "Oh, wait here." And he runs back to his computer. And Google's me apparently, like, looks it up, finds my website comes running back over, he goes, "Oh my God, like your brand stopped being in my tracks. Clearly, you know, branding, and you know, luxury, and I need you to work for me. I need you to do some work on a project I'm on. Oh, by the way, I work for Google."

Lesley Logan  

Oh my God. That's insane. That is insane.

Johanna White  

So I can guarantee that had it been three months prior. And I had given him my old business card, which was like a little cool but not that much. He would have probably tucked it in his wallet. Thanks me for letting me borrow the power cable, walk back to his seat. But he said, "You get it. I need you right now." And stuff like that started happening. I had people emailing me, they'd hear me on a podcast. And then they check out my website. And I'd get this long email saying, "I need branding and it has to be you because I saw the Louboutin on your website and the way you did this and like you get me." (Lesley: Yeah) And it was me putting myself into the world of my ideal client. And yes, I was getting customers before because I was good at what I did. But I was spending way too much time working on projects that weren't making that big of an impact, because those people weren't aligned with what I could bring them. And when when I made the shift, I was able to go from charging, like $1,500 for a logo to 10,000 to 50,000 per brand package to 150,000 for brands and, and websites and like that quantum leaping in the types of clients I was able to work with and the types of service I was able to provide happened in the space of just a few months and then a few years like (Lesley: Yeah) so fast.

Lesley Logan  

Well, because you're also I mean, getting the referrals from the people at the level that you are trying to get at at the first place. So and you just like really stop people in your tracks. I think I've, while you're saying this is thinking back, like when I first became a Pilates instructor, you know, I was a teacher on the Westside of LA. And I, I really couldn't afford a bunch of Lululemon items, but I knew that like, all the clients that I'd be asking to pay me, that's what they'd be wearing. And I'm trying to get them to invest in somebody that they don't know that, you know, there's like I'm brand new teacher so there's no testimonials, there's no referrals, there's no anything. So how can I make them feel safe and seen as meet me as their teacher. So guess what? I budgeted everything out to where I could afford a new Lululemon outfit every paycheck, which is like freaking crazy. But as like, I'm gonna do this for a couple of months, so that I have enough that I can mix and match. So that I can like, be this person that they they see it at their level. Because these are people who I know I'm not a mom, so I don't have that relate to them. But they are eating at these restaurants there. This is what they want to talk about. These are the restaurants that eat out, this is the things that they drive, this is the places that they go. I have to I have to crossover in some way so that they feel like I get them. And so I had to make that investment. And then I became the teacher who has all these clients on the Westside who could afford Lululemon or whatever I want whenever I want it. But though that was like how I had to do it so that people could stop me and go, "Where did you get that sweatshirt?" While I was out in the area where I wanted the client so I can start the conversation. So I fully resonate with the story. I think there's different ways people can be it. I know. We'll come back to all of these things with your business but I do have to say that I'm sure the listeners was like, "Okay, so tell us about ... Are you okay with your brain tumor like what happened?" (Johanna: What the heck happened? You said brain tumor.) What's going on?

Johanna White  

Yes, so let's rewind this story a little bit to really the first time that I learned to be it till I see it. And it was the moment that totally changed my life. And the reason I'm still here today. So I told you, I went back to school, finally, at the ripe old age of 23, or 24, graduated for the second time. And I was like, "This is it, it's finally onward and upward. I'm going to move out of my parents basement, finally, and I'm gonna go find a job. It's a massive agency in New York instead of this small one here." And I was I was working at a design agency at the time, but it was very small, morale was super low, it was really like, the sky is always falling. And you never knew when you were gonna get fired, and there was really no ladder to climb, and (Lesley: So stressful.) so stressful. But I was convinced myself, I was just happy to have a job in design. And so I had worked my way through school at that job. And, but I graduate, it's onward and upward. And then two weeks later, I was woke up in the middle of the night with a skull pounding migraine, which I had never really had a migraine in my life before. That and the migraine lasted for four days. (Lesley: Oh my gosh.) And it was so intense, I had to sleep in a closet, because even a little pinprick of light would make me vomit. And, but I just convinced myself that it was too much time in front of screens, or some logical explanation for why my head is killing me. But when the migraine finally went away, what was left its place was sudden partial paralysis down my left side.

Lesley Logan  

Oh, my God, that's so scary. You're so young.

Johanna White  

Yeah. I was I was very scared. And like, I'd kind of dealt with low grade anxiety for most of my childhood to begin with. So you dump this in there. And I'm panicking. (Lesley: Yeah) And it made muscles in my neck atrophy, I couldn't raise my arm very high on the left side, I had, I couldn't speak because the vocal cords were paralyzed. And the most frustrating symptom probably of all was food would not go down my throat. It came out my nose instead when I tried to swallow. And so we very quickly realized something major is wrong. And started going first we went to an ear, nose and throat, who said these are really weird symptoms, sent you to a neurologist, who then did CAT scans and MRIs. And I was it probably took a week or two, to dive through all that. And then I was at work, working second shift, still trying to deny that there's anything really wrong with me. And I get a call from the doctor and he says we found a mass. And I immediately start asking, what does that mean? Am I going to die? What's happening? Tell me more. And he's like, we don't really know, tumor ... Right?

Lesley Logan  

... we don't know. You're the brain doctor. You don't know.

Johanna White  

You said doctor, it's a brain, surgeon doesn't know, who knows. But that's when I found out that at least certain types of tumors are as unique as snowflakes. And each one has different things about it. And so they don't know. Plus doctors are often you know, they don't want to tell you something and then have it be wrong. So of course over the phone, he's not gonna tell me but ...

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. While you could be like driving or something.

Johanna White  

Yeah, well, he, he did make sure I was not driving and while I was sitting down, but so my life came crashing down around me. And I went home, told my family prepared for whatever is going to happen next. I'm prepared to lick my wounds, prepared to tell everybody, I have this thing, prepared for this and that, but the next morning, thankfully, a really good friend of our families showed up on our porch. My dad had called him and said, like, "Hey, Doc, this is what's happening." And he was a chiropractor. He canceled all of his patients for the day he showed up on my porch, gave me an iPad Mini loaded with every Bible verse he had found on healing. And he said, "This is tools for the battle and we're going to fight. Now grab your parents, we're going for walk, we're going to talk." And (Lesley: Wow) before I had a chance to go tell my sob story and become this like girl with a brain tumor, I need help. (Lesley: Yeah) He he jumped in and said some things that I did not want to hear, but ended up being the most helpful things that I could I've heard at that time, which was, Johanna, you have said your whole life that you believe in God, and you believe in healing. But you're not talking like it right now. And you're not acting like it. So you get to choose how this story goes and hear at the beginning, before you start saying and repeating what the doctor said, is your chance to change your story and say it differently. (Lesley: Wow) And so he challenged me. And of course, I had all the like, "Well, yeah, I believe in healing. But I've known these people, and they believed in it too. And they died. And I saw this person, pray over this for forever, and they never got healed." And he said, "Stop looking at anyone else. Their story is not your story. You don't know what's happening in their mind. You don't know anything? And it does you no good focus on that. All you need to focus on is what you claim to believe, which is the Bible. And every verse in here that talks about healing says he heals all who asks. No exceptions. That's what you need to focus on." And so I tried, failed, tried failed, like ...

Lesley Logan  

All right, thank you for sharing that because it's like it's not, it's like, it's one thing to go yep. And then and then you can say it, and there's going to be some dissonance, some days, because like, when you're tired, it's really hard to tell yourself motivating thing.

Johanna White  

Yeah. And when your body is not doing what you want it to, and you've always been a really strong, really fit, healthy person. And all of a sudden, you've got pounding headaches, and you can't work out and you can't swallow and nothing seems to be helping. It's really hard to keep saying, "I am healed, I will be healed, I believe that I will be healed." But I accepted his challenge to the best of my ability. And I would play verses on healing while I slept, and just let it be in there. When I would be in so much pain that I'd wake up. I would just start pacing and speaking them out. And I was still terrified, of course, because it ended up being like a two year journey from neurosurgeon to neurosurgeon, each doing more MRIs, each saying the results are inconclusive, brain biopsy, we stuck a needle in your skull, we still don't know the results are inconclusive. And so everything was so uncertain. (Lesley: Yeah) And I wanted certainty, even if it was certainty that I was gonna die in six months, at some moments that felt like a better thing than the results are inconclusive.

Lesley Logan  

Right. Well, because it's like, "Am I dying tomorrow? Do I have six months at least? Like what do I, what's going on?" And, and, and I also my brain is like, "So how are you eating food, though?" Let's talk on the not swallowing.

Johanna White  

No. So so what happened was, I accepted my friend's challenge to my faith very quickly. And I started standing on every verse I could. And if I couldn't speak, I'd call my boyfriend at the time, or my parents, and they would speak them over me. And within weeks to month, like I didn't really eat for about a month, and I just went down to skeletal. (Lesley: Yeah) But I would try, I try to like sip smoothies or little tiny things and get a little bit down before it would come up my nose. But that was the symptom I tackled first, and I just started, like speaking directly at it. And my symptoms started to get better. And even the doctors had said, like, a lot of this now is nerve damage, and it'll be permanent. And even if we are able to remove the tumor, these symptoms will still remain. And I said, no, they won't. Because it says that if I live by the flesh, I will die. But if I by the spirit, put to death, the misdeeds of the flesh, which are tumors totally a misdeed, my body was not meant to have this, then I will live. And I just kept saying that and my symptoms started getting better and better and better. And then I went to my first like, follow up MRI, and my symptoms are doing so much better than I'm expecting that they'll say it's smaller, (Lesley: Gone. Tumor is smaller.) gone. Yes, exactly. So my faith has grown as the symptoms have started to fade. And because I've been being it, and finally I'm starting to see it. And then they do that the scan and they come back they say, well, it's the same. Or maybe it's bigger. We're not really sure we used a different machine. It's still there. And in fact, here's probably the next like five symptoms, you're gonna experience. I mean your vision in your right eye and numbness in your face and you can put your jaw out and all of this stuff. And I went into that appointment full of hope and faith. And I left completely crushed because (Lesley: Yeah) now here was evidence that what I was is believing what isn't working, at least what I thought like evidence on a piece heartful ...

Lesley Logan  

What you were judging was working? Like what would be working, even though like other things were getting better, like you wanted that (Johanna: Yep) to be the marker, even though like, it probably wasn't the real marker that we should be paying. But yeah, I get you because ...

Johanna White  

Right. I wanted certainty. I wanted proof. I wanted to not sound like a crazy person saying I'm healed. But there's an MRI over here somewhere saying I'm not. So I wanted all of those things. And I went into that appointment like this high and left down low, cried all the way home woke up the next morning with all of my symptoms back, plus some new ones. (Lesley: Oh, no.) And that is when I realized the insane power of our minds. (Lesley: Yeah) Because I knew that like, okay, sure, maybe there's still some healing to go. But there's no way that it all comes back overnight reverses, just because I found out (Lesley: Yeah) but it did. And so I, I mean, that was awful feeling, but also kind of hopeful because (Lesley: Yeah) I was like, wait a second, I have so much more power (Lesley: Yeah) over this situation than I think I do. And I went back at it full bore like, well, I'd be working, I'd be playing sermons in my ears, headphones, just in the background, because I knew that that fear, extreme anxiety was doubling the symptoms or making them worse, because I'd go from like, partially collapsed throat to fully choking on the bathroom floor when I would get anxious and think about it, the more I think about the tumor, the more that spot in my head would hurt. The more I'd think about it, the more I'd like symptoms would start to show up again, and the panic would accelerate it. And I said so after round two, I was like, "Okay, I don't know yet for sure that I can tackle this tumor. But I know I can do something about the fear." And clearly the fear is having a big, nasty impact on my outcome. So I'm going to do everything I can to drown out the fear, which is like, it doesn't matter if it's a health issue or a business thing, or your bank account isn't showing up, like you want it to that fear as long as you're still focusing on it, is holding back the healing and it's (Lesley: Yeah) holding back the outcome and it's holding back that physical, like appearance of what you're going for.

Lesley Logan  

Which is what fear does, no matter if it's your health or anything, like fear just holds us back paralyzes and almost moves us backwards. It's it's it's that powerful.

Johanna White  

Yeah. Yeah. So I said, well, I'm going to tackle the fear first (Lesley: Yeah) if I can't tackle the tumor." And first I tried to just tell myself not to be afraid, like, "Johanna stop." Yeah, you can imagine that worked real well.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, it's like telling someone to calm down when they're anxious. It's like that this actually like, ignites it even more, you know?

Johanna White  

Yeah, I couldn't, I couldn't just stop thinking about it. So I had to drown it out. So it became eight hours a day of listening to sermons, listening to Bible verses, reading everything I could on healing. I didn't care who said it, or what it was. I just did it. And and as I did that, the fear started to fade. And the healing returned rapidly, like symptoms gone again. And the fear faded beyond what it had ever been in my entire life. Like I had been fairly anxious as a child, as I mentioned, for no good no reason, just like lived in low grade anxiety, even that faded. Because I dug into what am I actually afraid of? (Lesley: Yeah) I forced myself to sit down and ask myself, "Am I afraid of dying?" Well, no, when I think about it, there have been many days in all of this pain, I actually wished for death. I'm not afraid of dying. (Lesley: Yeah) I believe in God, and I know where I'm gonna go when I die. And I'm not actually afraid of dying, but what I am afraid of, is living with a lower quality of life (Lesley: Yeah) with with going from being fit, healthy, inactive, to maybe being in a wheelchair, or on a feeding tube, or die, whatever you think.

Lesley Logan  

Having your left side disabled. Yeah, something like that.

Johanna White  

And if that happened, I thought, then I won't be happy. Because those things are what makes me happy being fit, running, jumping, riding my horse. That's what makes me happy. And if it's was gone, who will I be? But I realized, as I sat there, through the pain, that I could actually choose joy in the moment, no matter what was happening, and when I realized that joy was a choice and happiness was a choice, then there was nothing left to be afraid of, because it didn't matter how bad life got or whether this worked or not or whether I ever became healed, I could still have joy. And if that's all I was afraid of losing, then there's nothing left to be afraid of. (Lesley: Yeah) And like that just melted, the last of the fear. And the healing just kept coming. And, you know, I'm maybe not the smartest crayon in the box, because I went back for another MRI six months later. And at that point, my body is glorious, functioning fully. Everything is back, muscles that they said would never return are back and stronger than ever. (Lesley: Amazing.) But I want certainty. I think that that's the most important thing in life to never have to ever think about brain tumor again. And if some doctor can just chisel this thing out of me, (Lesley: Yeah) I'll be good. (Lesley: Yeah) Even though it's no longer affecting my life. And for all we know, it's gone. (Lesley: Yeah) But I go back and find this surgeon who says, "Yeah, this no big deal. I can help you. I've worked in this particular area, a lot of times, it'll be pretty low risk, just maybe a little bit of like, nerve damage on your jaw. And come back in three months, we'll do the surgery." So here I go, thinking I'm finally going to resolve this in the critical world.

Lesley Logan  

Settled. The last part of it, and this ready to go.

Johanna White  

Ready to go. And I show up three months later for this surgery. And they've got me prepped on the operating table, the anasist, ana...

Lesley Logan  

Physiologist. (Johanna: Thank you.) Yeah, that's a hard word. I can't spell it.

Johanna White  

And I apologize to all of them out there. But they're, they're ready to put me under and the doctor comes walking in carrying my MRIs and he looks at me goes, "I can't do this surgery. I changed my mind." And he says, "The risks are way high. It could put you in a in a feeding tube or in a wheelchair. And I can't do that to an otherwise totally healthy person. So it doesn't matter what your scan say, I won't operate on you unless your symptoms are also like back to what they were." We're in ... Yeah.

Lesley Logan  

What I mean like, yes. And also like, what?

Johanna White  

Aha. First the what, screamed and yelled and like you gotta be kidding me. (Lesley: Yeah) You couldn't have, you couldn't have looked at my charts like three days ago or three months ago, maybe and ...

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, like I'm here. I'm everything's prepped (Johanna: I'm ready.) I'm taking the time.

Johanna White  

... who cares if it kills me, just like I just want to be done. Which was I'm very grateful (Leslye: Yeah) that he risked his, like, reputation to say that.

Lesley Logan  

I mean. It's so amazing ... (Johanna: But I was so mad.) listening, so amazing. And also like, like, of course, when we all want a doctor who's actually like, no, actually, I could screw this up. So we're not. I mean, like, bless him. But I understand like the devastation of like, because you plan like, okay, tomorrow, I'll be healing (Johanna: Yeah) from this surgery. And now you're like, "No. So, so what happened next?"

Johanna White  

So I finally realized that it if they don't care what the paper says, I have no reason at all to care what the paper says. And they want me to come back every six months and do like a watch and wait. And I was like, "Oh, heck no." I, my faith has grown. But I don't think it's grown quite enough for me to come back every six months, and be scared to death again, and then have to recover. So I am drawing the battle lines. I'm taking a stand. I'm doing what I should have done a year and a half ago, which is say, "Lord, you have healed me. And I trust that. And I'm just going to walk the rest of the way into it." And so when I stopped, like worrying about finally having some surgeon take the remnants out, the last of my symptoms faded away, and I haven't been back in five years.

Lesley Logan  

Wow. And you've been symptom free? (Johanna: Yeah) Our minds are so freakin powerful. Like, and by the way, y'all I'm not saying like don't go to your western medicine and get things checked out. Like please ... (Johanna: No ...) there's a combination here of like, massive faith in like what you're capable of. And also, and also having things looked at and if these doctors had other things to say where they could actually fix it without damaging you, then you would have done that. But that wasn't that's not possible in your situation. I have a cousin who has a couple of tumors and like, they're there, they're there and they actually affect him in a not so fun way. But like, you can keep going and that's what you've done. And if you make me think of, I think it's episode three with Amy Ledin. You know, she's had the diagnosis stage four cancer like four times now. And she keeps, she has her faith, she does the work. And then she also looks for evidence of people who've have survived what she's doing, she looks for anything like proof that it's (Johanna: Yeah) possible to survive. Like she had friends who were always looking at why did I get this? Why this happened to me? And I kept looking for the answer of why. And she focused only on that there's a future for her. And, and she has survived many times over and the people that were always searching for the wy have passed from the cancer. So it is powerful. That is the ultimate be it till you see it, because it's your life. And you're still doing it today. And I mean, I'm so glad that you're healthy and well. And, and also like, I think even on a even if you're listening to me, like I don't have a brain tumor, but I've got this pain here. It's like, it's not about telling yourself some that's not true, but it's about believing in the power that you have. And seeing how much can your mind, mindset support your health? (Johann: Yeah) You know, I think we ... (Johanna: Sorry.) Oh, I just think we outsource a lot of our health to, to getting that certainty and we forget that we actually have a bit of a role in it that we could play.

Johanna White  

A big one. I love what you said about Amy, I know her. And that collecting evidence is so important. That's what my friend challenged me to do is like stop looking at all the things that didn't work and focus on what did and collect that evidence. That's what you need to focus on. And, and people there were some people who would say, "Johanna, you just need to accept this, you just need to like, brace yourself for the worst." To what end? If I do that, I will definitely die. And I will definitely remain broken. But if I focus on ways that it can work, ways that I can be healed, and speak that out, there's a really good chance I'm going to be. So I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go with that.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. Yeah. What seems to be working to?

Johanna White  

Yes. And I think what I learned the most was what you believe matters. But what you do about what you believe, matters even more, so that's why it matters to be it till you see it. Because it's not enough to just whether it's health, believe that you can be healed. But take no steps, speak nothing out, do no actions, tell no one. It's not enough to for me with my business to, to believe that I could be so much more than I was. I could help so many more people that I was. I could work at such a greater level than I was. I had to step towards it and become that in order for it like I had, it wasn't enough to believe it. I had to do something about what I believed (Lesley: Yeah) and, and that's why I started Design by Jo. Like, shortly after the diagnosis, I looked around and saw just hopelessness. And if I didn't know how much time I had left, I was definitely not going out like this. (Lesley: Yeah) Not going out leaving all of my potential on the table having never tried. But more importantly, I needed to believe that there was a Johanna, on the other side of this diagnosis. She was healthy, she was strong, she was successful. And I couldn't wait two or three years in a pool of uncertainty to then recover from that and then try to go be successful. I needed to start something right now that was the future Johanna's success. So I started Design by Jo and it didn't take off super fast one because I was dealing with a brain tumor. But but two there's just so much more for me to learn and so many things. If I knew this about business, when I started, I would be way further along than I am now.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, I think like, well, thank you. First of all, thank you for sharing your whole entire story. And also thank you for sharing that it, you know, there was a little bit of a learning curve in that because I think people will go, "Okay, y'all, I believe it. And I'm taking action. And it's not I'm not getting the client yet or I'm not getting the thing yet. I'm not getting this." It's like yeah, but it's like it's a practice it's a muscle, the being (Johanna: Yeah) it's a muscle, that taking actions and muscle. And those ups and downs like you I want to go back to the beginning of the pod when you mentioned like you got a lot of noes. But then you got better yeses. And like those noes, teach us so much more about how we can be it till we see it, in the actions that we can take and how we put ourselves out there. Brad has a course called 200 re... like 200 rejections to success, because he's like the go for 200 noes for sure by the time you hit 200 you probably have a full clientele like you probably do because so we have a mutual friend named Renee who has who will have on the pod soon who had 100 rejections on her book proposal, but she got one and with the best person. So I Johanna, I could talk to you for ever. Our coffee chats do always go over. So we'll have to do this, we'll have to have you come back, I'm sure. But before that we're gonna take a brief break, find out where people can find you, follow you, work with you, and then also your BE IT action items.

All right, Johanna, where do people get to know you, get to talk to you more, work with you?

Johanna White  

Well, first, you can visit my website, which is designbyjostudio.com. And just request a free console, let's chat about who you are as a personal brand, or who you are as a business and where in your life, you're, you find yourself just thinking you could be this and not actually being it, and how we can help you show up in the world. So that the whole world can see it, not just you. So let's talk. You can also find me on social at @designbyjostudio, both on Facebook and Instagram.

Lesley Logan  

Perfect. We'll put all those in the show notes below. And you're also going to want to tag, tag, tag Johanna and and the @be_it_pod with your takeaways for sure, because we want to, we want to know. All right, bold, executable, intrinsic, targeted steps people can take to be it till they see it, what do you have for us?

Johanna White  

Well, they can buy the shoes. So whatever the, whatever the shoes represent in your life, figure out who that next you is, how would she act and by one small thing, or one big thing or something to become that now and a lot of times just taking that action shifts your mind and you you become that person. And then they can pay attention to how they are showing up in the world because it's not just you who needs to see it. If you're wanting to be something and you're not that yet, you want the world to be able to see that and know you for it and love you for it as well. So talk, like look at your brand, whether you are a personal brand, you are part of an organization and you're wanting to move up, or you are your own business. Like that is literally what I do is help people become in the world, but they have known and seen about themselves in real life. So talk to someone who digs branding, loves branding, it doesn't have to be me. But don't be afraid to get some help. (Lesley: Yeah) Because that can be one of the hardest things to discern about yourself, and to bring to life. But so many business owners struggle through it on their own. And they think, well, that, you know, branding is not my strong point. But I just gotta do what I can and put a band aid on it. And eventually I will show up in the world as this magnificent human that I am. But what happens is, branding is happening all the time, whether you do it on purpose, or on accident, it's either happening by you, you're building those perceptions on purpose, or it's happening to you (Lesley: Yeah) by accident. And then what happens is you end up a couple years down the road with the visual brand that's held together by duct tape and band aids. And it's happened to you by default instead of by design. (Lesley: Yeah) And you look and you're like oh, I didn't work you collect your evidence that you didn't become what you were seeing because you didn't get intentional about it. (Lesley: Yeah) So get intentional about what you want to see and then start collecting that evidence like Lesley said earlier.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, I love I love that evidence collecting we we make people do it on Fridays it's Fuck yeah, Friday and so you have to, you have to celebrate wins on Friday so that if you ever feel like nothing's going right and look back at what you posted last Friday. Oh actually had a win last Friday. Oh actually now that I think about I had win this Friday. But I think intentionality is so important and I gotta be honest, like the buy the shoes thing is such a it's the first time we've had it on the show and as the best advice because you put your feet in those shoes every day. And you will look at them where they are and you it's like the it's like a physical way of reminding yourself this is who I'm being right now. So yes to that... You make, I think I might go buy some shoes.

Johanna White  

Do it and don't hide them, don't hide them in your frickin closet. I actually built a little platform on my dresser for my Louboutin and then you know built the little shelf for the first time I got the Louis Vuitton bag that was for a photoshoot and then became the next level and like, I just wanted to see that woman every time I walk into the room (Lesley: Yeah) not just wait till I'm going out. So

Lesley Logan  

Oh my gosh, you're such an inspiration. I freaking love that you're in my life. Thank you for being here to share your story with our listeners. Y'all again, how are you going to use these in your life? Tag Johanna, tag to @be_it_pod. Share this with a friend. Whether it's a friend who needs to be reminded how to be be it in their business or in their dreams or in their health. Both will, both will will win after listen to this episode. Thank you for being here Johanna and thank you for listening everyone. Until next time, Be It Till You See It.

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review. And follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcasts. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others BE IT TILL YOU SEE IT. Have an awesome day! 

Be It Till You See It is a production of Bloom Podcast Network. 

Brad Crowell  

It's written, produced, filmed and recorded by your host Lesley Logan. And me Brad Crowell. Our associate producer is Amanda Frattarelli.  

Lesley Logan  

Kevin Perez at Disenyo handles all of our audio editing.  

Brad Crowell  

Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianranco Cioffi.  

Lesley Logan  

Special thanks to our designer Mesh Herico for creating all of our visuals, (which you can't see because this is a podcast) and our digital producer, Jay Pedroso for editing all the video each week, so you can.

Brad Crowell  

And to Angelina Herico for transcribing each episode, so you can find it on our website. And finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

As we welcome in the new year, we are also welcoming the best tips to start your 2023 fitness biz on the right foot. Giving a sneak peak into Agency Mini, Profitable Pilates 7 day coaching program and sharing advice to help you have the most successful business this year.  

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] .

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Fitness Biz Coaching Tips
• Agency Mini Testimonials 

Episode References/Links:

• Agency Mini

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.

Be It Till You See It Podcast Survey

Use this link to get your Toe Sox!

Resources

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!
• Lesley Logan website
• Be It Till You See It Podcast
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube
• Profitable Pilates

Social Media

• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Happy birthday to Lesley! Join in her birthday celebration as she shares the things that have helped shaped her and continues to support her as she works to show up as her ideal self. We know there are some gems that will give you permission to dream and begin to create the life you want in the upcoming year.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] .

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.

In this episode you will learn about:

• 10 things learned by 40 
• 10 things that shaped Lesley 
• 10 things that support Lesley throughout the year 
• 10 things manifested for the next year 
• Change the perspective to "How is this happening for me?"
• rephrase your perspective and ask a new question
• Ideas want to be born
• You have more time than you think. Use it.  

Episode References/Links:

• Sauna Space Affiliate
• Reach out! [email protected]

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.

Be It Till You See It Podcast Survey

Use this link to get your Toe Sox!

Resources

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!
• Lesley Logan website
• Be It Till You See It Podcast
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube
• Profitable Pilates

Social Media

• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guests will bring Bold, Executable, Intrinsic and Targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

Hello! Hi! how are you? Happy birthday to me. It's not actually my actual birthday today, but it's my birthday month and I am 100% one of those people who celebrates it. No, I don't care if you think that's a terrible idea. If you think, "Oh my God, you're so indulgent." Yes, I am. And, and I, I think that's okay. And if you hate that, that's also okay. You don't have to celebrate your birthday for a month. And it's not that I make everybody say it's my birthday every single day or anything like that. I don't, I do like some sort of big extravaganza everyday or even daily lunches. I just love my birthday month. I just do. And so thank you for listening today. I thought it'd be fun to sort of figure out like, what do I want to talk about 40 things you should know about me, 40 things I've learned. And I just kind of like, I share so much about what I've learned. I wanted to break it up a little bit. Also, because in case you're new to the show, and you don't want to go all the way back to the beginning, which you can, I'm doing that with another podcast I'm I'm listening to. You can maybe get a little gist of like, who I am, what I'm about. And maybe some of you know me for a long time, you might not have heard these things, or they've always wondered.

So what we're gonna do today, for this solo episode of somehow getting 40 things in about myself, without it being like all about me, cuz I definitely want you to take something out of this. That's what the point of this podcast is. I want you to be able to be it till you see it, and act as if you are the person you want to be today instead of waiting for that to happen. So I'm hopeful that these things I share with you can give you either permission to feel the way you feel, permission to be who you want to be, permission to dream, permission to want and you know, have a good time doing it. So I'm going to do 10 things I have learned. And I don't know that this is like the top 10. It's just the 10 that I think about a lot and I reflect on a lot. 10 things I'm glad I went through. So these are going to be things that are like, lessons I've learned definitely. But some things that people might think are a little rock bottom, and I've definitely had people say, I'm sorry, went through that. And at this point in my life, I'm not sorry. So I think it's really important to share those things. 10 things that support me. So these are a lot of my favorite things, but also things that just support me in showing up each and every day. And some days is easier than others. Some days I really lean into these things. And then lastly, 10 things I want in the next year or so. And this is just like a manifestation thing. It's kind of like a podcast version of a visualization board. And so hopefully we can check back in throughout the year as you listen to episodes and hear which of these things I got. I have I have made reality. So here without further ado, the 10 things I have learned. And in no particular order.

First of all, you hear me say it all the time in every podcast. Perfect is boring. It's so boring. Oh my gosh. And I catch myself, I catch myself getting into perfection mode. Something doesn't go the way I want. I don't like how that feels. And then I like get a little ... And then I'm like, "Oh, are we trying to be perfect here?" Yeah. So what can we do for the future so that that doesn't happen again. So, I'm so glad I learned that because being a perfectionist really held me back in my life. There's a lot of things I think I could have done sooner if I wasn't trying to be so perfect. So I'm so glad I've learned that. Two, I mean, they're numbered, but that doesn't mean it's number two. And the importance of these things. Bad things are happening for you. Oh, yeah, we get to the next section, you'll hear more of that. Because I know you can think, "Lesley, like, easy for you to say. You're not going through I'm going through." You're correct. I am not. But I also think that we forget that the things that we're going through help us, learn a lesson, gain a muscle or a skill set that we're going to need for the future. The future you, the person that you're wanting to be in this planet has to have experience and things. Not just you can be empathetic, not just so that you can have those what comes with that lifestyle, or that job or that dream or that relationship or that friendship, but also like to be that person, you have to have gone through things. I always think about this ... I had heard this story when I was in the fifth or sixth grade. And I've never forgotten it. And this little kid, he had this like magic string. And whenever he like got a little bit bored or something bad was going on, he would pull on the string. And he'd pull on the string and it would fast forward his life. And he'd be an older version of himself. And then he played around in that age and then he pulled the string in. He'd be an older version of self and he just kept pulling the string whenever things weren't going the way he wanted. And then before he knew he pulled on the string, and he was at the end of his life. And so I say that story because I think we want to avoid the bad things, but they are really the things that have happened, they are happening for you when you're in it. Look, you're in a bad car accident, someone died. So there's tragic shit that happens. I am not downplaying that in any case, or any way. I can only say, feel your feelings, make sure you get support, make sure you get therapy around it, time away from your life to to actually handle that and deal with that. Don't bury and go, "Oh, it's gonna be happening for me?" No, but like, actually, actually go through it, and go all the way through it. And then I promise you, in a year, 10 years, you'll look back and go, "Wow." I mean, there are some things that happen in 2020. I was like, "Fuck." Like, we just canceled our entire income for the whole year. And I know that happened for a lot of people. And it sucks. And you know what, two weeks in, I was already seen a glimmer of light because I refuse to feel like this was happening to me. And I was like, "It's gotta be happening for me. This must be setting me up for something." And so I'm going really long on that. But I just really hope that you can, just keep that in your mind's eye when you start to go, "Why is this happening to me?" I think that you should first go, stop, pause, "How is this happening for me?" And maybe you don't have an answer that day, you maybe don't have an answer that week. But maybe in a month or a year, you'll be like, "Ah, that's how." Okay. Three, when you have to redo something, the second version is the best version and when that was the one that was supposed to be born. So I remember years ago, hearing a podcast episode where this woman she's like, like a life coach. And she mentioned having to redo something. And she men... she was talking about a time where she like, recorded something. And it took a long time to record and it disappeared. And she spent hours trying to find it, and like put it back together and it was just corrupted, it just wasn't gonna work. And the amount of time she spent trying to make the original version become the version was three times the amount of time it took her to record the first version. And so she ended up recording the second version, which took her a shorter amount of time, and it was more concise, more precise, more exactly what she was hoping it would be. And I remember like, replaying that episode, because at the time I was blogging weekly. And twice, I had blogs disappear. And twice I was like, crying at my computer. And Brad was like, "What is going on?" I was drawn. And I was just like, "I have to, I lost it. I spent an hour doing it." You know what, when I actually heard that, and I went and rewrote one of them. It took me half the time it took me to write the first one. And it was way better. Like I got my thoughts out faster. So now, when the issue hits the fan and I lose the verse version, I just immediately start going into the second version. I've had a rerecord many OPC workout. Oh, the first times I cried, I'm not gonna lie, I cried. And then this after I like got this mantra in my head. Got this idea in my head. I just was like, "Alright, set the camera up. Let's go." And oh, I wasn't happy. No, it wasn't like jumping for joy. Yes, I get to redo this but by not fighting having to redo something. a) I wasted less time and b) that version ended up getting out there and I got so much feedback. So that was positive. So always know if you have to redo something try to try to let that that just try to let yourself get into the space to to redo it without fighting it and being frustrated. Like I just wasted all that time. You didn't that was like a rep. Okay, that was that was happening for you. So you can have a better second version? How can we tie those two things together, and ditch that perfection because you're gonna make mistakes, you're going to actually delete some, you're gonna have to do it again. Number four, ideas want to be born. So the book Big Magic is a must read if you haven't read it. I can't tell you how many times I've heard I've done something. I've heard people say like, oh, I had that idea. And I never did it. And same like not that I'm the only person that has ideas. I have also seen people do something. I was going to do that. So here's the deal. Ideas are like little seeds of energy and they go out. And they they plant themselves in someone. And if you keep that like pushing it back and pushing it back and not acting on it, it's gonna go to someone else. And Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert really explains this in the best way. So I'll let you read her words. There's a great story in there that I like think about anytime, I don't act on something. I'm not saying that you act on every single idea right now. But what I am saying what I hope you get out of this is if you see someone do something that you had the idea of doing it and you've had on your ideas parking lot for 10 years. Don't be mad at yourself and don't be frustrated about the fact that they did it. You just have to ask yourself like why did I keep postponing it if I really wanted to do it. What was holding you back? act, something tells me has to do with perfection.

So, so just keep that in mind. And I do have an idea as parking lot is placed where I put things that I cannot act on right now. And I review it consistently. And sometimes I don't remember what the idea is. And that's why the parking lot is so great, because then I'm not just like, shiny object syndrome. And sometimes I'm like, "Okay, I freaking I'm gonna fight to make this happen, because it's been on here too long, and I don't want someone else to birth it. I want to be it." So, so that's a great thing I've learned. Okay, number five. We have more time than we think, oh, you know, I've talked to you about the big leap. There's a whole thing about Einstein time and Newton time. And I just have to tell you, like, it's kind of amazing how much time we actually have when we stop fighting, how much time we think we don't have. So please give yourself permission to take time. And when you find yourself saying, "I don't have any time, I'm too busy. I don't have any time." I want you to first of all, make sure that you are giving yourself time. And then see how when you give yourself time aka prioritizing yourself first, you have more energy to do things. Second, I actually wants you to look at the things that drain your energy because they take too much time. Anytime you're doing anything that is not a strength of yours. It's going to take you way too much time. Trust me, trust me, me trying to log in and change things on a website or a Canva thing like, oh, nothing is worse for me. So while I can do it, it does not bring me joy. And so it takes me more time than someone else doing it. So give yourself permission to believe you have more time we think because I have learned that and has been amazing. Number six, ask for help. Holy frickin moly. You have more time than you think. No, seriously, this goes back to that perfect is boring. We think we're the only ones who can do it right. And you know what, even if someone does it 80% as good as you that is better than you trying to do everything. It's also way more fun. It's more fun to have people participate with you. And it's so hard for me to ask for help. Some people have no problems. Brad has asked for help. Probably, "Oh, let's ask him. Oh, let's ask him." And I like I have to give myself a pep talk, that I'm not burning people that people want to help me. But so I get it if you are someone who's like, "Oh my God, I can't believe she said that." I have learned that the more I ask for help, the more fun things are, the better things become. And the more more impact I can make. And the more I can be it till I see it today. Trying to learn how to do the thing to be the person I want to be. Can happen faster if I just ask people who know how to do the thing I need to do. So ask for help. Seven, you can change your mind. Oh yeah, that's hard. That was a hard lesson to learn. But I'm glad I learned it. I still have to remind myself every once in a while that you can change your mind. You know, sometimes changing your mind cost you money. And that's true, but you can do it. And so if you find yourself in a position where you feel like you are not in alignment with what you said yes to then give like weigh the pros and the cons of changing your mind. And the sooner you change your mind, the better it is for those people that changing your mind effects. But people don't want you showing up for things that you don't want to be at. They don't want to like you can tell people who are at those parties, those weddings, those meetings and they don't want to be there still like oh my goodness, want to be so and you're like, "Gosh, I wish that person just didn't come." Yeah, it wouldn't have been so nice if someone had told them you can change your mind. So that one was a great lesson to have learned and I have sometimes just played the game of changing my mind so many years ago, Brad had told me that I could quit Profitable Pilates and so that's like changing your mind on something because I was like you know really like going full steam ahead making this thing happen. And he said we can just quit like I could just change my mind and not do that anymore. And giving myself permission to just picture what that would look like made me realize how much I was gonna fight for Profitable Pilates and I'm so glad I did. So but if I hadn't taken that moment to give myself that permission I don't know that I would have grown it to what it is. I think I probably would have said like you know mellon conley moving it along. Alright, eight, 'no' is a complete sentence. It is. 'No' it's a complete sentence. I think I think we just need that reminder. I think we've all heard why that is complete sentence. And I think as I know most of our listeners here are women. Please stop people pleasing yourself to a yes, no is complete sentence and I and we can if you need more support on that, let me know I'll get a guest in here, but check out some of our podcasts on confidence. You, like Elle Russ. Well, like, like, definitely get you into, into admitting that no is a complete sentence. Nine, what others say about you is none of your business. Oh, God, this one is hard. But this one, I'm so glad I learned. Thank you, Brené Brown. And it's something I remind myself of when I know people are talking some shit. And it's okay, you know, they, they want to spend their time talking about me, that's their thing, I don't actually need to know what that is. It's not my business, because it's coming from a place of whatever their pain is. And I'm never going to change their mind. That is one thing, I'm so grateful that I learned when I was on the debate team in college, you don't look at the opposing side and try to convince them. You look at the judge, the person whose opinion of the whole thing matters, because the other person's side is to not agree with you ever. And so when I like understood that, then I like really took that into my life when Brené Brown said that, like other people's opinions of you and what they say about you is none of your business. It really was like, oh, yeah, because it's not my job to convince them to like me, my life, me if I was run around and try to make every person like me, holy crap, does that sound like exhausting? And you know, we said this all the time on the podcast, I'm not a taco, so not everyone's gonna like me. And so that is a great lesson I have learned. And number 10, just because you can doesn't mean you should. And one of my coaches from BBG, he always says like, it just makes you a shithead. Right. So so anyways, write that down, just because you can doesn't mean you should. I'm so glad I learned that. And I remind myself that all the time, because I find myself wanting to do things and I'm like, I can do this. And this goes back up to like, we have more time than we think I have more time because I don't do the things I should do or can do I do the things that are aligned with what my job position is as a person. I'm being today till you know. So anyways, hope that all makes sense. Those are the 10 things that I have learned.

Now 10 things I'm glad I went through. I'm gonna go through these a little quickly. I'll maybe dive in a little deeper to some of the ones I don't know that you have heard before but also just DM me like, "Lesley, number three I want to know more about that." And we'll I'll do a whole solo episode on it. How's that sound? So number I'll get no particular order. 10 things I'm glad I went through. My first Pilates class y'all know, I thought Pilates was BS. I'm so glad that girl dragged me into that class. And then because it changed my frickin life. Number two, and number three are actually are all together. They're all combined. And I'm really excited by this. Number two is my 2013 breakup, y'all I sat on a couch that I did not pick out, trust me, I would never pick out a leather of those like man cave couches, no offense to men cave, man caves. But like it's not you've seen my style, not my style. On this 80 inch screen TV and I was watching He's Just Not That Into You, reading the Strength Finders 2.0 book. And I had this beautiful view of this house that like was not decorated by me. And I was like, "I don't think he's that into me. I wonder if he knows that." And I, and so so that led into number three, which is my 2013 summer where I just spent the whole summer couchsurfing, I was homeless. I never had to that particular that's my third time being homeless. And that third time, I did not have to like sleep in my car. But I slept on people's couches and I bounced around and I also totaled my car. And then the studio that I rented space from a shutdown and I had to move a place that I made money at and then I was tra... my other job transfer me across town. And so that whole summer was just like, like Saturn returned, just removing everything from me. And also, so many amazing things came out of that I spent the summer with a friend, the only friend I had who I just met, and she is one who introduced me to Brad. She also like got me out into my own city even though I've been living there for almost seven years. So I could see the place and it really helped me truly get to know myself in ways I never thought was possible. I also wrote a dating blog that year with my friend Clare. She's been on the show, so that oh my gosh, those two things were like the freakin best things to go through. Not not easy. Trust me, scary as fuck. I didn't really know what I was doing. I was like, "Okay, here we go. Jesus take the wheel." And then I drove straight into another car. But that's another story. And and it really it the every time something bad happened, I was just like, Okay, what else do you want to take? Take it all now because I don't want to I don't want to pack it if it's not come with me. Number four, being asked to quit. So this is a really cool thing that happened to me it was really uncomfortable. I'm still friends with this person. She was my mentor for a time. And they suppose asked to quit. And I was like, "Oh, thank you for doing the thing that I couldn't do for myself." And so sometimes we like with jobs when we're, you know, things aren't going the way we want. And we're just like, "Why can't it go this way?" We're kind of trying like I was on like, my WOO basement, right? I was like, am I Winning Others Over based on like, I can do it all. I going back to things I learned, I can't do it all. And I shouldn't. Just because I can, I just doesn't mean I should. So, so glad I was asked to quit because it really helped, like, helped me make the leap that I was too scared to make. And the net did appear big. And I also got to see what I was made of. So when 2020 happen, and frickin net disappeared again. I was like, Oh, I've done this before. I've had to make a leap before. I've had to have like no runway before. So so again, that's why things are happening for us. It was such a great, like that moment, I've been asked to quit with such a great practice run for what was happening in the future. Number five, my husband choosing in our honeymoon. Trust me, y'all like I never had Japan and Cambodia, or even Thailand on my list of honeymoon things. I definitely saw beach on my honeymoon. You know, but I don't know, maybe I was thinking like Fiji or Belize or something like that. So he planned it, he chose it. And and I I'm just glad because it took me to a part of the world. I don't know that I would have experienced that time and also get to experience as much as I do. And I'm just, I freaking love it. And I can't wait to go back and I can't wait to try out new places with it. So thank you, Babe. Number six, I know that that like in the things I'm glad I went through I preface it with like, these could be bad things. But obviously number one and number six were pretty fucking awesome. Right? So so they're just things I'm glad I went through. They're not like the all bad things. Number six, that I was a model for a brief moment. So you may not know this about me. But like, LA is a funny world, y'all eventually. Somehow you get an agent. So I got an agent for modeling, I had an agent for commercials. The two did not agree for commercial. For my modeling agent, I was never skinny enough for my commercial agent, I was getting too skinny. And I so that was complicated. But I did book a couple ads. And that was a lot of fun, because I got to really experience what that was like. And that changed the trajectory of how YouTube worked for me, how like me being comfortable with filming classes, and also being on Pilates Anytime, if I hadn't gone through commercial acting, I don't know that I would have had that skill set as quickly as I did. So if you are someone who is wanting to get better, at looking on the camera, like I'm doing right now, if you're watching this on YouTube, commercial acting classes can be really, really great. Go out to LA, sign up for one and have a good time. I'm sure they have in other places. But that one was a really great thing. While I didn't do a lot of good for like I had to like learn how to like build up self esteem to combat that you're not skinny enough, even though like you all the time I was I was 20 pounds lighter than I am today. So and I was way, like way too skinny, not attractive. For me, like it just was, it was a lot. But that's where our society was, at the time when it comes to body images and what people should look like, and I'm, I'm glad I went through that so that I could so that I can actually fight for myself. And so I could actually fight against what that was. And I could hear them say that and go. No, no, I actually like who I am and I am not going to lose more weight for you. And on the flip side, the good shit that came from it is so I got involved with Carbon 38. Just how I met Kirsten Holliday who introduced me to Laurie Harder. Laurie Harder introduced me into my first coaching program, which then led me to my next coach and my next coach and my business wouldn't be what it is today had I not had this moment, there's one year where I was I had a modeling agent because I needed those women at that time. And so everything happens when it's supposed to. And that really did happen. That was a that was a good thing that came out of that. So that's why I choose to focus on. Number seven that I'm glad I went through was opening and closing my own studio. So one I'm so glad I opened it because it gave me the opportunity to really step into what I wanted OPC to be and it allowed me to have an experience of opening a studio, which I had not done. I'd open studios for other people but I'd never actually done it for myself with all the investments and all of that stuff. And then closing it was a really hard thing to do and so as I coach people who are going through that decision of like, oh my gosh, I'm gonna close this I, it sucks. That is a feeling of pure, it can be there's, it's actually complicated. I had so many emotions around it. I was so freakin excited to move to Las Vegas, and I was so sad to never see these people again in person. Some of the people I've been teaching for 12 years. So it was a humongous investment. It was an inte... it was a great experience. And it was a motion that I, I would never wish on anybody, but I'm so glad I experienced because I do understand when I'm coaching people and, and helping them see the opportunities of opening a space and closing a space of like what they're truly up for, in a way that was different than me doing that for the companies, I did it for what it was their money. So, so that was a beautiful experience. And I will always love that studio so so much because it is, especially in my heart. And also, it really has helped me show people that like you don't need a big space to have a studio that makes a lot of money. My studio was 600 square feet, and that included the bathroom, and a waiting room. And I had one of everything. And it made over six figures. So and I didn't have to work seven days a week to do that. So I'm really, really proud about that. Number eight is the 2020 pivot. Yeah, that was scary. That was hard. And I think a lot of you listening to this had a 2020 pivot, and maybe your 2021 pivot and maybe three pivots. And I hope you give yourself permission to look back at what you learned about yourself and what you saw about yourself. And what that led you to, because I bet you it gave you this, this skill sets and opportunities to see parts of you that you never knew before. And it's what led us to being here in Las Vegas and having the friends that we have and being able to provide this podcast, I promise you this podcast will not exist if we were still in LA. And there'd been no pandemic. That just not not I was not an option back then. Number nine, glad I went through. I'm glad I got rid of my car. So yeah, that was great. It's so great. I miss, you all I promise you I'll be talking about a car in a second. But like that having no car allowed me to have more time, I saved a ton of money on parking tickets. And it really allowed me to assess like, what do I really want to do because things I was willing to get an Uber for, or find a bus for or ride my bike for. I was like, "I must really want to do this." And things I was like, "Oh, I don't have a car." I was like ... it's an excuse I'm using because I clearly don't want to go. So um, y'all if you can take a moment to not have a car for a while. Give it a try. I know my New Yorkers are like, "We do this all the time." But like truly like get rid of your your that mode of transportation that is convenient to see what you're willing to fight for, what you miss, even for a couple of weeks. Just like don't let yourself like what makes someone borrow the car or like Turo that car, I think it's called Turo where you like rent the car out for a bit. Just to like, just to see what you're using that car for. And if it's a distraction for you. And number 10, my wedding venue having to move, so you may not know this, but five weeks of for our wedding, it was six weeks for our wedding, but I think it was five. We lost our wedding venue, we had to like move the wedding. And I'm so glad that happened. I'm so glad that happened because I love our wedding so much.

Okay. 10 things that support me. So these are things that I love. You may have heard these things before, so I'll be running through them. If any of these things you want a deeper dive on in a solo episode, I want to hear from you. So hit up the [email protected] or on Instagram, at the @be_it_pod. Number one, my morning routine. This supports me, oh my gosh, if anyone interrupts my my morning routine, even if it's the condensed version of my morning routine, it really changes my day. I have to find I have to actually rely on more reinforcements to support me. So my morning routine is a non negotiable. Even if I'm on the road for tours, I have a version of my morning routine that I do so that I can support myself on that drive. And my mind doesn't wander to all these negative things that could be going on. Number two, my schedule, I live and die by this thing. My assistant is also there to help protect it. But I, we'll have a free webinar on how I create my schedule so that you can use that. And I really do change it almost at least every six months, but sometimes quarterly. So that it is all it's supporting me. And I say that like it is it is a living breathing existence of a beam because as I change as I be it be it till I see it more and more my schedule has to support that. And in your schedule, it will reflect who you are and what you do and what your priorities. Period, end of story. So my schedule has to prioritize who I want to be in this planet now. So the future me now so that I can't be the person who might if I if my schedule doesn't allow for me to be the person I want to be in the future now. I'm not going to it's not going to magically happen. Okay, so your schedule has to reflect the person you want to be today. The person you want to be in the future today. So my schedule is a big support for me. Number three, my Pilates practices are non negotiable. Even if I'm traveling I do something, even if it's like I've been doing I've done a Mat class in the bed, on the van while it's going. It's not easy but wohoo have that core strength. My red light, my sauna space red light, you know, you've heard it, we have a, we have an affiliate link for you. So make sure you use it. But grab that baby, set it up. Oh, I do it. It's so so good. There's a lot of a lot of information about what it can do for you. It is a mood booster for me for sure. It also just makes me sit down for a moment and like take a beat, which leads me into number five, which is my PEMF mat. I love this thing, I find I you know, this goes back to like learning to have more time than we think. I was like, "What am I gonna have time to go on this every single day?" Let me just tell you, you will make time for the things that you want to do. And I pulled that baby out. And I got it, I get on at least five days a week when I'm at home for 20 to 45 minutes even. Because I just love I love just laying still for just a moment. You'd be surprised like the ideas that come to you and so it supports me and all the things that I want to bring for you and support you with. Okay, number six, my lashes, my facials, my hair first and then my trainers. So as my Pilates teachers, so like my support team. In case you didn't know these are these I was not blessed with these lashes. I will be honest with you about that I have very short very blonde lashes. And I really don't like to do my own makeup that much. So so I make sure that my hair is up to date, all the time and so are my lashes. So I can do is put on some moisturizer, and some lipstick, but my facialist you heard her on here, she's Megan Linney from the Layer Lounge. I can go there at least once a month and really have that moment in time where someone can take care of me. This is the point of having a team everyone isn't even about the lashes. It's about the hour that I lay there and someone takes care of me. So for you, it might be like a chef or it might be a pedicure or it might be a manicure or it might be a massage. Like who is your team that supports you, and pours back into you. And then my trainer who I get to, I get to work out with her with my husband and my father and a bunch of amazing people. And those things help because I don't have to like pick my own workout. Someone's doing it for me so that I can do what I do best which is help people with their workouts. Number seven, my besties. Oh my gosh, if I name anybody, I'm afraid I'm going to forget them. I like whenever I watch his award shows. I'm like, "Oh my god, don't forget your wife. Don't forget your wife. Don't forget your husband." So I'm just gonna say my besties ladies you know who you are on this planet. And I just absolutely love and adore that we can we can support each other from afar, we can we can we also make so much time for each other at least a trip to see each other in person. We make excuses to work together in a different city just so we can like hang out. So thank you ladies, for being you and for for just being incredible women who inspire the fuck out of me. Number eight, my husband, honestly super amazing person who really does everything on every single day to support me and my ideas and bringing the things that we want to bring to you each and every day. So thank you, love bug. I don't even call him love bug. I just call him, Babe. But thanks Babe. Number nine, sleep. That's the thing that supports me like freakin crazy. And I'm a cranky bitch. If I don't get my sleep the way I want it. Like if my aura ring tells I don't even look at the score because I'm afraid it's going to tell me that I'm bad day, but I'm gonna have I know, I know if I get my sleep interrupted. It's not gonna be a good day. So my alarm clock which is amazing sunrise, sunset alarm clock is key for helping me go to sleep and wake up. And finally number 10, is breathwork. Breathwork truly helps support me when I'm feeling anxious, when I'm feeling like I don't know where I'm going next. I can do it for a minute. I can do it for 10 minutes. I just love it so much.

All right, so now we're on the final 10. So this is that manifestation thing. I hope you do this for yourself every single year. What are the things you want? It is okay to want things in this world. And that you need to know what you want so that you can celebrate when you get it. And you're not like oh, here's another thing, right? Like just recording. So, 10 things I want and the next year or so. A G Wagon it's happening guys. I already picked the color I want this China blue color. It's kind of a tilly blue. It's like a Barbie blue really is what I would call it. I frickin love it. It just it's I'm already picturing myself driving. I know I said I'm grateful I don't have a car but I promise you like I'll be going places in that thing. Number two by the time you hear this, I may have got it for Christmas. So who knows? But I'm gonna have an espresso machine because I've just been really wanting lattes every day and not my coffee. And I'm trying to make my coffee a latte and it just saddens me sometimes and so I used to be a barista. So I'm so excited to go back to that skill set and make myself a lovely latte every single day. Number three, another girls weekend I'm already in the planning of this. I'm trying to make these things happen multiple times a year. So going back to my besties, who support me, a girls weekend is truly a massive support for me. I just getting out of the routine, and hanging out with women who who are like just truly inspirations and who they are and what they do. Cannot wait for that. Number four, I want to host more retreats again in real life. So obviously, you know, I'm doing a Cambodia retreat. But I do have another business idea retreat. I have the eLevate alumni retreat I want to do. And then I want to do a retreat in a different place. For those of you who have been on my Cambodia retreat to come to, Number five, I want to get back to Australia, New Zealand, again, don't worry, Europe, I've got things already have you on the books, I can't wait to announce it. It's not available for me to announce yet. But there's two countries in Europe, I'm heading up in the next year. But I do want to get back to Australia, New Zealand again in the next year or so. Number six, a West Coast tour, I've heard two people, trust me, it's on the list, I fucking want to do it too. But I'm like, well have to make it happen. I want to go from when I go down to Arizona, through San Diego, up the California coast into Oregon and Seattle, and then Vancouver. So I want to do the whole thing. So it's I want it, it's just I'm letting you know, I want it and it's gonna happen. Number seven, a tiny house in the back. I want to actually move the guest bedroom into the Pilates studio that we have right now. Make this the guest room that I'm in. My full time office and not like part time office, part time guest bedroom. And I want to put the tiny house on the back so that I can have all the Pilates equipment in one amazing space to film and I know that it's just going to be amazing. And I and it's on our list, we have some plans drawn up that I'm excited to to see how we could do that. So I cannot wait for you to know when that comes to fruition. Number eight, this podcast and the top 1%. Y'all, I need your help for that that actually comes down to you. So not only your reviews, which by the way, if you leave a review on Spotify or Apple, you screenshot that and you send it to the [email protected]. Do get my habits course for free. But also, the more you share, the more people who listened to it, the quicker we get to the top 1%, we're in the top 2%. We've been there for a year, I want to get the top 1%. And I need you for that. Number nine, I want my flashcards in stores, in bricks and mortar. So I'm talking like the big guys. I want to see them in the Bloomingdale's and the Saks and like but Nordstroms and you know, some Target stuff, I want to see them in stores. And number 10, I want to triple the OPC membership if not more, but especially in the next year, I want to triple it and I want to have an app for you guys, I definitely want an app for you. It is complicated. We have to build it from scratch. And so I need more members to do that. But you guys bring me life and I am so excited for what we have to do together.

Okay, so that's 40 things. I hope that this was fun, I hope that maybe gave you some ideas for what you can want in this world. Or some things that could support you or some things that you can glean from, to learn from and use in your own life. And if you have questions about any of these things, feel free to let me know which section it was, which number it was. And I will make a whole solo episode on a deep dive on that if you would like that I truly will do that for you because you are amazing people and I could not do the show without you. And happy birthday to me, to my fellow Aquarians and this might come out with the caps are still around. So happy birthday caps and happy unbirthday. And you know what? We all can play the Lizzo song. This day is your birthday because it is your birthday. And I would do the little clap, clap, clap. It's a great song. Thank you. Thank you so much and until next time, Be It Till You See It.

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review. And follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcasts. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others BE IT TILL YOU SEE IT. Have an awesome day!  

Be It Till You See It is a production of Bloom Podcast Network.  

It's written, produced, filmed and recorded by your host Lesley Logan. And me Brad Crowell. Our associate producer is Amanda Frattarelli.   

Kevin Perez at Disenyo handles all of our audio editing.   

Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianranco Cioffi.  

Special thanks to our designer Mesh Herico for creating all of our visuals, (which you can't see because this is a podcast) and our digital producer, Jay Pedroso for editing all the video each week, so you can. 

And to Angelina Herico for transcribing each episode, so you can find it on our website. And finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Coming off of a great conversation with Alan Stein Jr., Brad and Lesley, recap the ways that you can become the best on your personal court. Tune in for insights into finally breaking the cycles of shame, guilt, and fear that are holding you back and ways to instead nourish your soul.  

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] .

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Excel at teaching Pilates the way only YOU can with Agency Mini 8 
• Perfect is unattainable 
• The driving force behind the pursuit of perfection
• Grace through the mistakes 
• How to break the cycle of guilt, shame, and criticism, that can lead to depression
• Create a clear vision of who you want to be 
• How to set yourself up to become your ideal version of yourself 

Episode References/Links:

• Agency Mini 8
• eLevate Mentorship waitlist

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.

Be It Till You See It Podcast Survey

Use this link to get your Toe Sox!

Resources

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!
• Lesley Logan website
• Be It Till You See It Podcast
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube
• Profitable Pilates

Social Media

• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guests will bring Bold, Executable, Intrinsic and Targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co host in life, Brad and I are going to dig into the slam dunk in convo I had with Alan Stein Jr. in our last episode. I cannot believe he made me say that out loud. Someone wrote that clearly has never played basketball. (Brad: Slam dunk in.) Slam dunk in and is also from the East Coast. Anyways, if you haven't yet listen to this interview, feel free to pause us now, go back and listen to that one and then come back and join us. Just so you know, Brad, listen to it. How many times? 2 3 (Brad: 3) 3 times. (Brad: Yeah) So fucking great. Love it. Love it. Love Alan and hope that we can cross paths again. If you're listening to this Alan. Hi. Basically, we're pretty obsessed. Anyways, real quick announcements. We got a lot of them because Happy 2023! Holy moly.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, I can't believe it.

Lesley Logan  

This is a big deal year, y'all. (Brad: It's a big deal year.) First of all, we just got back from our tour 6500 miles, it was a trip. We also are tested out a new way of doing the van. Brad and my dad like built out a bed four feet off the ground. So I feel like I'm 11 with bunk beds. But no one is below to like pushin the mattress up.

Brad Crowell  

You can see what we're talking about on the OPC blog. So if you go to onlinepilatesclasses.com/blog. We we have pictures up.

Lesley Logan  

Oh, that's so fun. Thanks for doing that so people can follow along. (Brad: Yeah) We also officially kick off around two of my eLevates which is my mentorship group and for Pilates teachers. And it's so fun. (Brad: It's called eLevate.) eLevate. (Brad: This making sure that was clear.) And it's a capital L not that that matters when you Google. Anyways, I just like it. Like I just like the way it looks. Round one was so much fun. We had so many amazing women from all over the world, literally all over the world join us that we decided to do a round two. It sold out so fast and we had so many amazing applicants that I opened up round three. So hey loves, if you're like, "Wait, you have a mentorship?" Yes, I do. And we kick off this third one in May. (Brad: What is a mentorship?) That's great question. So a mentorship is a little different than a Mastermind, although, you know, I'm big on community. So if you're in my mentorship, you're still going to have community that you get to learn from and work off of. But a mentorship is basically a group of people who pick someone that they want to learn from because that person teaches or understands or does them in a way that they are like, "I want that." And so if you watch my tutorials, and you take my classes and you just really enjoy the way I teach, you will still sound like you because that is priority number one.

Brad Crowell  

So specifically we're talking about Pilates.

Lesley Logan  

Well, you can have a mentorship in anything.

Brad Crowell  

No, but this is a Pilates mentorship. (Lesley: Yes.) Meaning you're gonna learn basically, classical Pilates from Lesley, as taught to her by her teacher, Jay Grimes....

Lesley Logan  

And other teachers that I studied from yeah.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah. And Jay was a student of Joseph Pilates.

Lesley Logan  

Yes. And you have to already have been a teacher (Brad: Yes) to do it.

Brad Crowell  

So anyway, there's, there may still be a few spots left for round three, which we'll be getting started in May.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, the time of recording this. There's three left. So at the time this comes out if there's still three left. I hope it's you.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah. Go to lesleylogan.co/elevate for more information on that.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. And then this is my birthday month.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah. Happy birthday.

Lesley Logan  

Start wishing me happy birthday. Just so you know, if you wish me an early you don't have to also wish me on the day. I get like that people don't like the whole birthday month thing. But like it's just so that you don't have to like you go, "Oh, I missed it." You haven't missed it. Because you have a whole month to tell me. And there's gonna be some amazing, yummy stuff that we are cooking up for you. And we'll let you know. So make sure you're listening to the ads on this show or paying attention to what we emailed out because I'm I don't know what that birthday bash is going to be at. (Brad: Yeah. We're still working it out.) Still working it out. And lastly, on the ...

Brad Crowell  

One thing we're not working out which is totally in stone and happening.

Lesley Logan  

Oh yeah. And let me just say dialed and this is our eighth round of Agency Mini which is our coaching group, which is different than elevate because this is that everything but the exercise which what is what Profitable Pilates has always been.

Brad Crowell  

It's all about the business side of (Lesley: Yeah) running a fitness business.

Lesley Logan  

And if you're listening to this in real time, if you're not already on the waitlist, get on it because we're going to open up the doors probably any day now for people to join in the group early. We started this last summer with Agency Mini seven where we actually let those people who were like early like overachievers and got signed up right away. We let them in the group early so they can actually do some homework to get prepared for the week of a mini. (Brad: Prep work. Yeah, yeah.) Yeah, Agency Mini is all about clarity, y'all. You're going to literally have clarity on your business who you work with, how you help them, how they find you, what you offer all those ... (Brad: What you should charge?) what you should charge, you know, what's your schedule, all those things. And of course, any question in between and beyond is appropriate to ask us. But our workshop is designed and the homework designed to really help you have clarity, because if you don't have clarity, you're just gonna get overwhelmed. And so this is our eighth one. And we say this all the time, if you've been listening for a while, but we don't know exactly the dates of Agency Mini number nine, but I can tell you, it's in the fall, which means almost next year, and if you if you wait nine plus months, for coaching on your business, you're probably keeping yourself from sanity making the money you want to make working with the people, you want to have having boundaries that just make you feel like a rockstar, all those things.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah. And if, if you're like anybody else, and you've heard that dreaded R word, the recession, you know, we are working with all of our everyone who's in Agency, we're working through all of that stuff together. So if that's something that is causing fear in your life, you're not alone, there's a community of people who are still also worried about clients and retention, and getting new clients and growing and all those same things. And that's definitely a common topic of conversation. So

Lesley Logan  

And also, y'all because at the time of this, like, it's really unclear if we're having one, if we're in one, (Brad: Yeah) if there's going to be one, it's also going to be very different than the one that was in 2008, which is, I think, what everyone fears, (Brad: Right) because it's a very different reason for being in one. So what I have to say about that just really quickly is your fear is going to make you do some really fucked up shit in your business. And you might end up discounting things before you need to, or saying yes to working on your days off and you're gonna burn out and you're going you might end up making decision ...

Brad Crowell  

... resentment and creates more fear.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. Or also you could offer services at a price that literally cost you money. And (Brad: Right) so then for it, you actually start to lose your business. So what's really important and what we pride ourselves in an agency is every time something like this comes up in any part of the world, or like when the world went pandemic, we all get to work with each other and you can see a possibility is there are studios in there that are so thriving. It is unbelievable. They're like what our work and there's other studios that are struggling and it's because we have to change their messaging so that they're reaching the right people you can no longer can you just go Pilates six o'clock Tuesday, that doesn't work. People need to know why why you, why are you there to help them and that's going to work on Agency Mini. So definitely join us by the way, the cost of Agency Mini the full price I can't remember it's, it's like $75. Right? (Brad: $62.50) $62.50 holy frickin molly ...

Brad Crowell  

For one week of coaching and we will effectively answer any question that you have.

Lesley Logan  

And if we have early bird going on right now, when you click the link in the show notes, then lucky you

Brad Crowell  

It's only 25 bucks if that's the case. (Lesley: Yeah. So there you go. Okay.) Yeah, so you can find that at profitablepilates.com/mini. (Lesley: Yeah) Profitable. I know I like flub that word profitablepilates.com/mini.

Lesley Logan  

It's just a really like, I'm gonna be really honest, all of the everything except for my own name. And then people get that wrong. All of our titles. I'm like ... I feel (Brad: Yeah, that's a novels.) like Sally Sally sold sold seashells at the seashore. Like, I feel like I need to do that before I say any of our web addresses. Anyways, profitablepilates.com/mini. Get yourself over there. We cannot wait to work with you. (Brad: Yeah, do it.) Okay. Before we go into Alan, which I can't wait. I think we're gonna probably go long. We had an audience question.

Brad Crowell  

We did. The question and this is a great question. I'm glad you DMed. And I've been following your posts. And I feel that I'm at a point where I need to do a coaching call with you. My business is really complicated. But I feel like it's not growing the way that I want. How do I book a call and what is the cost?

Lesley Logan  

I love this question. It came through on my Profitable Pilates, Instagram. And I just want to like couple things. When I read this, I was like, I kind of can feel like I read between the lines. When I hear complicated business. It tells me like you have a lot of great ideas and you're trying to have too, you have too many fires going on. Or maybe you've got like some like membership over here, but packages over here like you've ...

Brad Crowell  

Right. We like complicated offerings.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. And I'm not saying that those were the wrong things to create. But we often do that when we're trying to put an idea together and then we try to mold it to people without having some guidance. (Brad: Sure) And hi, did that. (Brad: Yeah, been there.) been there and and that is why we got coaching and also like some things we had to get rid of and some things we had to tweak. And some things we have changes in streamline things. And so first of all, there isn't a complicated business, we have not been able to uncomplicate if you can take the right actions and second of all, yes, I do do coaching calls, so does Brad and we actually have four amazing other coaches inside of Agency. But that's a specific word. It's all inside of Agency. We don't have any outside coaching calls and here's why. There's so much information that goes into a coaching call because we don't have any like formulas or tools. We're like, "Okay, this is your problem. Here's your solution." Here's like, we don't have an if this then that. (Brad: It's not templates.) Yeah, that's a good word for it. So what we have to actually do is know you, I know your goals, and we want to make sure we have your magic number figured out. We want to look at all these things, we tweak it apart. And then also, you're gonna have questions afterwards. And I know, I know people we're like, "No, no one called me enough." Is not enough, is not enough. And you're gonna go home, I know what you want to why? Because I have a coaching call with my coach. And then a week later, I'm like, "Oh, what did she mean by that? I need to call her up." And guess what? I have to do it within her boundaries, which is in her mastermind that's a year long program. It's the same thing we haven't said of Agency, we need you to be in the group so that we can actually guide you along because you're gonna have questions and we don't want you off on your own. Going, "Okay, this is what they said. And now I don't know what this means. And I'm just gonna have to do it or worse have wasted that money and I just do things the way I been doing it."

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, so yes, we absolutely offer coaching calls. You can only book them if you're inside of Agency. So the best way to do that is to go to profitablepilates.com/agency or if you want to have a teaser of what Agency is. Join us in Mini like we were just talking about so profitablepilates.com/mini.

Lesley Logan  

It's a great way to see if you like our vibes. Right. (Brad: Yeah) And like hear how we coach. So cool. 

Brad Crowell  

Okay, now let's talk about Alan Stein, Jr. His first love in life was basketball. And before he became an author and keynote speaker, Alan Stein, Jr. shared his lessons, strategies and mindsets with some of the world's best basketball players as a performance training coach. He even had, like, you know, deals with Nike and you know, Adidas and whatever these massive companies ... (Lesley: His resume is ridiculous.) It's kind of insane. He's worked with like crazy athletes in basketball for 20 years being performance coaches for them. But Alan now leads and he coaches, leaders and organizations on how to use those same tactics that he was helping the the players in the court, he helps leaders and organizations to become the best at what they do, and level up on their personal court, or their business core.

Lesley Logan  

I love that. That's super cute. It's not he's got basketball to use sports for leadership and I love to use like dating for for businesses. So I feel like, you know, all works together. Anyways, okay, where do I start?

Brad Crowell  

Okay. I think this is something that you say all the time. And it's basically it's has something to do with boring.

Lesley Logan  

Oh, yes. Perfect is so boring. (Brad: Yeah) And I loved he talked about, like, the justification for why like he actually justified why perfect is unattainable and boring. So he has a measuring stick, Am I doing the best I can with what I have, wherever I am? What a great question to ask yourself. So we have somebody who are like ...

Brad Crowell  

Well, before he got to, he forgets that point, though. That's his, that's how he lives his life today. He talked about his fear of unworthiness, driving that pursuit of perfection, so he didn't feel worthy. And so he thought, "Alright, well, if I don't feel worthy. I need to feel worthy. So I'm going to be the absolute best at my thing, at my craft, at my game, at my all of the things." And so it drove him down this path, pursuit of perfection. Right. And it's an unattainable goal.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. Thanks for taking us back on the journey. I'll make sure I don't forget what I was ever I was saying. I probably did. But it's okay because I'm not perfect. And thank God for that. So life isn't a perfect game. In that episode, we actually talked about like that there's never been a perfect game ever. (Brad: Right.) There's never been a perfect game ...

Brad Crowell  

Yeah. So it was like no fouls, no, like, no ...

Lesley Logan  

No missed baskets. No, no, whatever.

Brad Crowell  

Those three stats and he said, "Never in the history of basketball has been a perfect game."

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, I mean, you know before like, at the time of recording this you all the World Cup was going on. There has not been a single game with all those incredible players we can all say are the best of the best where they live and where they're from. That has been perfect. And I know because I my little news app would show like this awful thing of some amazing player making a mistake. Of course that's what they show. And I think that's our fears like everyone is going to see the mistake you made just so you know, very few people are going to know the mistake that you made and you are not that mistake that you made and so life isn't a perfect game. And he his his new measuring stick, which was I talked about earlier is that, "Am I doing the best I can with what I have wherever I am?" And I think this is what's cool because I don't want us to take away is that you don't have to strive to be better or or like you, can you like that at any strive of trying to be a better version of you, is pursuit of pursuit of perfection? That's not it because we all can get stronger or learn more or do better as we know better. But I love this question where it's like, "Am I doing the best I can with what I have wherever I am?" Because if that ever is a no, that's when you know, "Okay, now it's time for me to level up or learn more or do this thing." But if the answer is yes, like it's fucking chill out. Take a beat. So a couple of bullet points, except that I have flaws.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, he's talking about his you know, the reality of it.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. You're like, he's like, he's fallible. I'm going to make mistakes. I'm going to make boneheaded decisions. We all do. Because also, you know, we're all going back to Chris's podcast, like, we all fear you never, like you're never going to be fear, like, without fear ever, we add a new level, and you just get better at identifying it faster. But you are going to make decisions based off of that and go, "That was dumb." Right? There'll be days where I'm going to, or I'm in a funk or feeling lousy. Give yourself permission to feel and do things to be less than perfect. And that is really hard. So for those who are like, "How do I practice that though?" Like, here's some apical ways. Don't overthink your frickin social media posts. Like just like, right, there is a great, great place to practice being imperfect. Like don't worry if that no one cares with commas, they're they're not reading all the words anyways. If they go, "You to put a period here." And go, "Oh, thanks so much for editing that." Like seriously, like, I it was really hard, like, part of my ditching perfection was like when someone was, was editing my posts for me and the captions. And I was just like, okay, and I went back and edit as like, thanks so much. Another thing you can do is like, if you're practicing Pilates, and I know some of you are teachers, or those of you who have like, started doing Pilates with us, just allowing your practice to be what it is. So it's not that you're like, like just flinging your arms around. But you're noticing, "Oh, wow, that isn't feeling the way it did yesterday." Okay, you know, and not going, "Oh, I didn't get that right. I'm never hitting the mat again." So and then he also said, instead, focus on giving your best effort, and having the best attitude to be kind and of service, do the best you can with what you have, wherever you are. And that just goes back to his measuring stick. Am I doing the best I can with what I have wherever I am? Sometimes, like, oftentimes the answer is yes. You guys. Like oftentimes the answer is yes.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, one thing that you were talking about with the World Cup, and you know, these players being on the world stage, and also not being perfect. I'm sure you heard about the, the captain of the US team was put in a very, very difficult position by an antagonistic journalist. And he asked him like, you know, he accused him first of pronouncing Iran incorrectly. And then he asked him, "How could he represent the United States when there's so much racism that happens in the United States?" And it was like this really, like, touchy moment. And the this guy 23 years old. His response was, "I'm terribly sorry, that that I pronounced your country's name incorrectly. And I'm grateful for you for correcting me on how to say it." Right. And secondly, he said, "You know, in the United States we're pursuing, you know, we're in pursuit of being better and in pursuit of being of being less racist. And that's how I can justify representing my country, because we are pursuing something better." And I thought at first, I thought that was an unbelievably like, (Lesley: Oh, my God.) well, like, well ...

Lesley Logan  

I didn't even breath, was waiting to hear what he said.

Brad Crowell  

Oh, man, it was like it could have been clearly so bad. But it was an amazing, amazing response. And but one, what I felt was incredible was the first off the humility that he showed by saying, I'm he straight up, apologize. There wasn't even a hesitation you said, "I'm sorry. I, I definitely said it wrong. And thank you for teaching me." (Lesley: Yeah) You know, and and, you know, when you're pursuing perfection, like you actually, this is another point that we that I hadn't even included, including our lineup here. But Alan actually said, you asked him a really great question, "Over your career of training these people. Did you notice any recurring theme among like these epic athletes?" And he said, "Oh, yeah, there are three trends from high performers." One is they respected the foundation, the basics, they keep going back to the basics. Second is that they blend confidence with humility in a masterful way. And the third is he said they were very process focused, right. And so that second point of being him, having humility, being humble, you know, was well, I was put this guy knows he's not perfect. And he was humble about it when, you know, like, put in a really tough position on the world stage. So ...

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, I mean, and here's like, you know, I think we, I mean, we can't I'm, those questions are just so harsh. A little like, out of to me like very antagonistic is the best word. I think we have to I try to assume that like most people who are making mistakes without being perfect are like there were not intentional mistakes, you know, like, the him saying the country's name incorrectly I have heard in our country that kind of that name said in so many ways. (Brad: Yeah) I you know what I mean? So like, I feel like, I feel like one what we can learn from that is like, an instant apology, and it should be enough. And like, it is, it is okay to be in process. Like we make mistakes all the time. Most are unintentional. And I think if we can all go that was like, let's give that person that grace to correct that. And also, and then those people who have made the mistake giving yourself the grace to go, "Okay, what happened here? Okay, I didn't know that. Now, I do. Now, I won't make that mistake again." And just moving forward, like Jen van Barneveld-Pe said in her episode with us correct and continue, correct and continue. (Brad: Right) Like, you can't go back and like re say how you did that. So you just have to take make that correction and continue. And that's it goes back to that like process of those athletes we're doing?

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, totally and absolutely. And you also mentioned something that leads right into my point (Lesley: Great) which I loved ...

Lesley Logan  

... loved when, I'm a good transition.

Brad Crowell  

You mentioned grace. You know, you the two of you really got into a couple of different things. Like what do you do when you make a bad decision? Right. And you were just kind of talking about getting back to process? But also how making a bad decision? What's the first thing we do is we beat ourselves up? (Lesley: Yeah) You know, and, you know, so when, when Alan was talking about his own pursuit of perfection, and how is an unattainable goal? And, you know, what did he do? How did he come to the realization that, you know, he's not gonna be perfect is because he was making these mistakes. And he said, ultimately, he realized, I have to give myself grace when I make a mistake like that. I have to give myself space. I have to be kind to myself. And he said, the worst thing we can do is pile on the shame, the guilt, the criticism, in our own self talk. (Lesley: Yeah) Because it keeps us in a loop of fear, of anger, you know, (Lesley: Oh, yeah.) depression and like, leads to depression. You know, so he said, you know, how do you do this? You know, he said, "Well, what if it wasn't you that made the mistake? What if it was someone that you loved?" You know, more likely than not, you're going to say to them, "Hey, you know, you made a mistake, you know, and that's, you know, maybe it's, maybe what you did needs to be corrected, but it was a mistake." And we can move through this, you know, and he said, you know, "Speak to yourself with the same kindness, compassion, empathy, that you would show for a loved one." And then you two had a fascinating conversation about the things that you say to yourself, you probably would never say to someone else.

Lesley Logan  

Oh, yeah. You know, it's so interesting. I know, everyone's hearing this going, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." And then like, and then it happens, and like, something recently happened was an unintentional mistake that that we made. And I found myself fighting to, like, apply all of this. And like, in real time, like, don't pile on the shame. But I felt shame. Don't pile on the guilt. I felt guilt. (Brad: Sure) I felt guilt in a weird way because I was like ... I didn't intend to make that mistake. But like, because I am a recovering perfectionist, I found myself finding things to feel guilty over. You know, because I was just like, you know, and then the criticism and I found myself fighting back and forth, not to be angry at the mistake itself and not to be angry at the people but like to my attention and not be angry at myself. It is not easy. And so even in your pursuit to be kind and gracious to yourself, you won't be perfect. (Brad: Sure) And I don't necessarily want to go through that again. But I do hope that the next time I make an unintentional mistake, or even just a mistake, that had unintentional consequences that I can shorten up how hard I am, or, and try to get back to the grace because it is it like what it did do was like 1,000% took me out of what was in purpose. It took me into a place where like I really was struggling to even make any decisions. And that actually hurts everybody. (Brad: Yeah) That hurts everybody even more than the the mistake. And and oftentimes the mistake is not even as big as it is. But even if it is, even if it feels like it's on this world stage of sorts, you know, I don't believe that we are, we are the one mistake we've made like we are more than that. And I do love, like, how would you talk to a family member? It's like, okay, if it says this happened to somebody else in my family, I'd probably say these things. And that did help calm me down and at least get me to like finish work for that day.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah. And I liked what you said about, well, so your thoughts become habits. Right. And I know we talked about this in another episode, that we can choose our thoughts, and we can break that cycle of negative self talk. And each time you do that, you're creating a new path for your brain to go down. And while you are still going to feel the the shame, feel the guilt, feel the frustration. Instead of it being something that can, you know, derail everything, maybe it's a smaller experience that time. And then, okay, let's get on this new brain, you know, this groove that we've carved in our brain of, okay, have the conversation with yourself of, you know, being creating, that grace, that space, that kindness. And, you know, as we go through life, because it's a lifelong pursuit, you know, maybe we can shift more quickly as we grow.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. Which I think is great. So I just this conversation was amazing.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah. I was so impressed by he's, so he's clearly a thinker. And he's like the epitome of of like, the coach that you see in a movie, you know what I mean? And like, like, the things he was saying ...

Lesley Logan  

You hear that Alan, you need to be in a movie. (Brad: Yeah.) They should make a movie about you. (Brad: Yeah.)

Brad Crowell  

You know, the things he was saying are, he's put so much thought and so much study into working with performance. And it comes across and he was going through, I mean, everything you two were talking about, could have been the theme of this recap episode. Just so much amazing quality perspectives in there. That's why I listened to it three times.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, I don't know. We'll have to find a reason. We'll have to happen back again. Because there's more to talk about. He has two books. (Brad: Love it.) So go listen to him and Agency we actually picked his book for our January book club. (Brad: Oh, fun.) So yeah, I'm very excited for them, too. I know a lot of them listen to an audio. So I'm excited for them to hear his voice.

Brad Crowell  

Amazing. All right. So finally, let's talk about those BE IT action items. What bold, executable, intrinsic and targeted action items can we take away from your conversation with Alan Stein, Jr.? I'm gonna go first. So I thought this was really profound. I thought this was really slam dunk in.

Lesley Logan  

It's a slam dunk, it's just a slam dunk.

Brad Crowell  

He said, have a crystal clear vision of who you want to be 20 years from now. And he rattled off a list of like, three different major bullet points of who he wants to be, how he wants to operate. Like the things he wants to see in his life, the family, the friends he wants to see in his life, the things he's trying to do for others. I thought it was really impressive. He like knows that by heart, it was a crystal clear vision. And he said in as if you know who you want to be 20 years from now. Every single decision you make today should be done should be made through the lens of is this going to help me become closer to that person I want to be 20 years from now? Or is it going to take me further away? And he boiled that down all the way to, what am I watching on Netflix tonight? What food am I eating? What am I going to bed? What is my morning routine like? I mean all these things every single decision that you make, should drive yourself towards being that person and he said you know what the byproduct is? You become that person today.

Lesley Logan  

Well, you know that's all be it till you see it and I you brought up Netflix and I'm so I'm not ready to give up my habits ... There's some other places I could probably make it happen. I just wanted to middle some series and I just have to get the questions answered.

Brad Crowell  

Well, aside from that. (Lesley: I know but ...) What about you?

Lesley Logan  

I actually have I wanted to do this because it's in this month because I'm like, it's so easy to picture 60. (Brad: Sure) Because it's my 40th birthday month. And, and I'm like, "Oh, 60 like Oprah." Like, you know, I'm just, I think she's probably past 60 at this point, but I remember when she turned 60 and like, "Oh, I can picture that." And like, it doesn't have to be scary, doesn't be like, "Oh, I'm going to be 60 in 20 years." Like, what? What, at 60 fucking hope I'm retired, and what am I doing, and I can't wait. So that's the fun, thanks for that BE IT action. And my favorite, of course, has to do with free routines, self audit of you, your morning and evening routines. So this is great. This is for my people who like, like, they're like tell me how to journal, tell me what to do. So you grab a piece of paper, I mean, just remind you what it is, on the left side of the paper, I want you to come up with an exhaustive list of all the things that fill your bucket and nourish your soul. And you guys, it might take you a day, like you might have to like put this list and like set it down and like walk off and then all of a sudden you like, someone opens the door for you at the coffee shop and you're sitting there and friendly slash like, oh, fresh flowers nourish ... like, you know what I mean? Like it might be, if you've not done this and you're not paying attention to it, it might take you a little bit longer than just like a brain dump. Okay. And give yourself permission to have that time. Then on the right side of the page, I want you to write down, oh, he wants you to interrupt me. He wants you to write down how you've been spending the bookends of your day. So your morning, evening routine. Then he wants you to compare the two sets of notes. And ask yourself a very important question. Are you doing things in your morning and evening routine that will fill your bucket and make you feel most alive? So if what is on the left is not hanging out in your morning and evening on the right, you got some things to do.

Brad Crowell  

So let's say on the left side, if something that fills your cup is spending quality time with your significant other or maybe connecting, reconnecting with your family. And in your morning and evening routines. You're not setting aside the time to do that quality time. Maybe that's an adjustment that you should be making.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, yeah. And, and you guys, it's not all or nothing, right? So like, like five minutes at a time is where we can make increments and I know you're like that's nothing but five times seven is 35 quality minutes you didn't have last week with that person. (Brad: Sure) And you may find because of the way the brain works, that you're enjoying it so much you end up finding eight minutes, and then 10 minutes and then 30 minutes. All of a sudden you're like what or something cancelling you're like we can have a whole evening a quality time together like your brain will start be seeking out more of what makes you feel good. Like that's how it works. (Brad: Yeah) But you've got to be spending time in the field good so your brain can start to seek that out. So anyways, Alan, you're fucking amazing. Y'all, I'm Lesley Logan.

Brad Crowell  

I'm Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan  

Thank you so much for joining us today. How are you going to use these tips in your life? Seriously, let us know. Tag @alansteinjr, tag the @be_it_pod. We are so grateful for you. I can't believe we're going into another year with you. (Brad: Yeah) This is like technically year two but like year three, I'm not really sure what the calendar. At any rate, it's been awesome. And we are we are we're so we're so grateful to have you. So we'll catch you on the next episode.

Brad Crowell  

Bye for now.

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review. And follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcasts. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others BE IT TILL YOU SEE IT. Have an awesome day!  

Be It Till You See It is a production of Bloom Podcast Network.  

It's written, produced, filmed and recorded by your host Lesley Logan. And me Brad Crowell. Our associate producer is Amanda Frattarelli.   

Kevin Perez at Disenyo handles all of our audio editing.   

Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianranco Cioffi.   

Special thanks to our designer Mesh Herico for creating all of our visuals, (which you can't see because this is a podcast) and our digital producer, Jay Pedroso for editing all the video each week, so you can.

 And to Angelina Herico for transcribing each episode, so you can find it on our website. And finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

How can we have more impactful conversations with our health care providers? How can we confidently leave each appointment without fear or anxiety? It all comes down to the bedrock of self-care, advocating well for ourselves and our loved ones. 

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] .

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How you beat burnout.
• The trends of high performers
• Justification for why perfect is unattainable
• Where does confidence come from? 
• What's your default reaction when you make a bad decision? 
• Why your self narrative is so important 
• The reason your feel apathy 

BIO: 

Alan Stein, Jr. is an experienced keynote speaker and author. At his core, he’s a performance coach with a passion for helping others change behaviors. He spent 15+ years working with the highest performing basketball players on the planet (including NBA superstars Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Kobe Bryant). Through his customized programs, he transfers his unique expertise to maximize both individual and organizational performance.

Alan is a dynamic storyteller who delivers practical, actionable lessons that can be implemented immediately. He teaches proven principles on how to utilize the same approaches in business that elite athletes use to perform at a world-class level.

His previous clients include American Express, Pepsi, Sabra, Starbucks, Charles Schwab, and Penn State Football, and many more.

The strategies from Alan’s book, Raise Your Game: High Performance Secrets from the Best of the Best, are implemented by both corporate and sports teams around world.

Alan Stein, Jr. References/Links:

• Website
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Raise Your Game hardback book
• Sustain Your Game hardback book

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.

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Resources

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!
• Lesley Logan website
• Be It Till You See It Podcast
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube
• Profitable Pilates

Social Media

• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan  

Hi, Be It babe. How are you? Well, today's guest is phenomenal. He's amazing. I'm obsessed. You've probably even heard me talk about him on the pod already, because I'm so excited to get him on. And his name is Alan Stein, Jr. You're gonna love him. Take out your notebook, just like get it out. And then also, like, if you got audible if you've got like, if you got some local bookstore that you love to support, then you're gonna want to grab his books. He's got two of them, Raise Your Game and Sustain Your Game. And I have listened to Sustain Your Game two times on Audible. I love it. There's so many nuggets in there. And I just, I can't wait for you to hear this because one, he is he is someone who had this incredible dream, and then changed his careers. And then he changed his career again, and now he's speaking and he's sharing his stories and he's sharing his his lessons that he's learned from being a coach of basketball players to how we can apply these to your lives. And if you're like, "Oh my god, Lesley, really basketball." Don't worry. You're not going to have to know anything technical about basketball to get all the frickin nuggets that Alan has for you in this podcast, and the BE IT action items. I know I say this every episode, but I mean it like I can't, I can't wait to do one of them. Like I haven't heard this one before. And I'm like, "Oh, homework for Lesley tonight. It's happening." So I'm gonna want to hear how you use these BE IT action items in your life. And so definitely make sure you tag us, tag Alan Stein, Jr. Let us know share this with a friend and let's just get into it. Here's Alan Stein, Jr.

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guests will bring Bold, Executable, Intrinsic and Targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

All right, Be It babe. I'm super stoked. I'm I'm actually more excited than I probably been, for guests, I'm so sorry to my other guests listening. But seriously, I've wanted this man on our podcast for a long time. I heard him somewhere else. Read his book. Read it twice. There's a whole be it till you see it chapter in there. So I was like, "This man has to be on." Alan Stein, Jr., thank you so much for being here. Can you tell everyone, who you are and why you rock so much?

Alan Stein, Jr.  

Oh, my goodness. Well, I'm so excited to chat with you. I think we'll have a fun conversation. Professionally speaking, I'm a keynote speaker and author and a former basketball performance coach. I'm also a very amicably divorced and proud father of three kids. I have a 12 year old twin sons and a 10 year old daughter, and happy to expand on any of that that you'd like me to. (Lesley: You've twins?) I do. Yeah, twin boys. They're in seventh grade. And they are a handful. A good handful. They're great kids. But yeah, twin boys can give me two tornadoes.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. So, well thank you for sharing all of that. I so one of the things that I thought was super cool, and I'm sure you talk about this all the time, but you were an NBA performance basketball coach and like what, how did you? Like is that something you always grew up thinking you wanted to do? Like, what was, what was the process getting getting from like maybe playing basketball to coaching it?

Alan Stein, Jr.  

Well, well, basketball was my first love. And I fell in love with the game at five years old. And I'm so grateful that here four decades later, basketball is still a major pillar of my life and, you know, falling in love with the game. So early, I spent the first portion of my life as a very dedicated player, was able to play up through the collegiate level. I played at Elon University in the mid 90s. And while I was at Elon, I started to develop an equal love for what we now call performance training. Back then it was basically strength and conditioning and running and jumping and lifting weights and mindset and nutrition. So when I graduated in the late 90s, I figured what could be better than combining my original love of basketball with this newfound love of performance training, and I became a basketball performance coach, and most of my work specialized at the youth and high school level, because that's where I felt I could make the biggest impact. And I took a lot of pride in being a role model off the court for the players I was working with. But I had an opportunity to work at two different high schools here in the Washington DC area, which is where I grew up and where I currently live, that have produced over a dozen players that are currently in the NBA, Kevin Durant being the most notable. So they weren't, they weren't normal high schools and having that opportunity to work with such elite level prospects. That got me on the radar of Nike and Jordan brand and USA basketball. And then I started working events for them and had a chance to be a part of events for Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Steve Nash, like it was a pretty incredible list. So I've gotten to see both sides, you know, what it takes for a young up and comer to climb that proverbial mountain, and then what it takes for someone who reaches that peak, what they need to do to stay there and sustain excellence, but also have immense fulfillment in the process. So I've had a really unique journey. And then lastly, five years ago, I decided to leave the basketball training space to take all of these lessons and strategies and mindsets that I'd learned from such great players. And I show folks how to apply those to their lives, in their business as keynote speaker and author.

Lesley Logan  

That'd be a really big decision, though. Because like that four decades, in one career, you know, and around around a thing, like and then to go, "Yeah, I'm gonna like, I'm gonna close the door on that." Like, what what? Was there a fear around that? Was it like exciting? Did it did it? Did it feel easy? How did you get your brain to go? "Yeah, that's going to be a that's going to be a path for me that I can see myself going through."

Alan Stein, Jr.  

One of the most important topics that I talked about in my most recent book, Sustain Your Game is how to beat burnout. And one thing I say is of the stuff I share on stage and the stuff I share on page, I'm not coming from a place of mastery, you know, I basically write the books that I need to read myself and, and the reason for that section on burnout is I've experienced burnout twice in my career so far. And, and one of them was five years ago, when I made this pivot, I found myself getting burnt out on basketball specific training and strength and conditioning. I found myself getting burnt out on pouring into 15 16 17 year old basketball players. Now, that was my favorite thing in the world to do for the 20 years that I did it. And I loved it. I mean, immeasurably. And I took a lot of pride in it. But when I started to see my flame was starting to flicker and eventually almost extinguished, I knew I had to make a change. I have so much respect and reverence for the game of basketball. And for players and coaches, I knew that was not the type of vocation that you can just mail it in, that you just go through the motions, you know, I'm there to pour my heart and soul into young people. And when I found that, that was no longer filling my cup, and was no longer fascinating me, I knew I had to do something different. So that was why I made the pivot. And when I made the pivot to do keynote, speaking and writing, it actually relight my flame. I was I was so excited. I mean, I, I was very thankful for the career that I have had. And I wouldn't trade any of those moments for anything, but it really got me excited to try something different and and I'm still so connected to the game of basketball, because most of the stories and lessons that I share from stage are the lessons that I learned from the game. So while I'm not training players anymore, I still feel so connected to the game.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, yeah, I love that you brought up burnout because I feel like, I feel like that's a thing that a lot of people are going through and you wrote in your book like burnout as the having too much of too little. And like I found that to be so interesting. I have a lot of people listening to this, their fitness instructors and oftentimes there's like, oh if I need to make more money than I need to just teach more clients but then it's like too much work have too little time like like there's just not that's not actually sustainable. And I think it's also what can cause the flame of whatever you love doing to dwindle if you're just if you're if you're doing that that too muchness. How how did you? You said, you said twice in your career. How did you solve it the first time? Because you didn't pivot then, you kind of stuck with it, I'm assuming.

Alan Stein, Jr.  

Yeah, so the first time was as beginning, my sophomore year in college, I started to get burnt out on playing the game of basketball. I started to feel like it was more of a job instead of something that I had always loved to do. And part of that was because I wasn't playing very much in college. And, and I can say this with a huge smile and a ton of self compassion and forgiveness. I had a bad attitude at that age, you know, I, I did a lot of blaming, complaining and making excuses for why I wasn't playing. And I allowed it to kind of suck the love of the game out of me. And, you know, as a sophomore in college, you know, I wanted to be in a fraternity, I kind of wanted to chase girls, I wanted to party, I wanted to do a lot of things that were really taking me away from this, this core love of basketball. And, you know, the remaining part of college, I can say openly, I really was was getting tired of the game. And it wasn't until I found this love of performance training, that I was able to kind of flip the switch and basically transition from being a basketball player, which I just wasn't enjoying anymore, to then becoming a basketball performance coach and pouring into and serving others that completely re lit my fire. And, you know, a big antidote for something, when we find ourselves kind of woe is me and in our feelings and feeling a little down or lousy, one of the best ways to get out of that funk is to serve others is to, you know, make it not about you, but make it about someone else. So for me, the remedy for that in college was to shift off of being a player to being a coach. And then when that happened recently, it was to shift from being a basketball trainer to being a keynote speaker. So these are just pivots that I made in order to get that fire back.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, yeah, I think that's, that is really my, my brother was a college football player. And then he got injured out and, and he was so bummed because he wasn't, it wasn't his time, right. Like, that was like, not the plan. And but I saw a different light in him when he became a football coach, like he like, and so he did that for the college level for years. And it's and that's, that's an interesting thing, I think we can say, see something as like an injury being a bad thing or like a burnout being a bad thing. But it actually kind of puts you on the path of like, the next thing for you. And so, so that's really cool. You mentioned earlier that you got to see these players, and what it took to get, you know, from that high school level to like college and beyond. I'm wondering as you look back, because I don't know that you could make that, you know, psychic decision back then when they were in high school. Were there things that you saw different players doing that you're like, yeah, that that they were like that made it to the NBA and made it beyond the high school level? And the rest of their, was their behaviors that people were like, kind of like maybe you like had that negative attitude or, you know, party and stuff? Was there something that made those people stand out and make it all the way?

Alan Stein, Jr.  

Absolutely, and you are a completely, it was incredibly insightful to realize, I didn't know that at the time. This is the gift of hindsight, looking back, and kind of connecting the dots. And, you know, there's probably about a dozen traits that I think high performers in any area of life, whether it's basketball, business, or anything in between, I've noticed some trends. And I'm gonna highlight three of them for you and looking back at these things. And the first is they have a respect and appreciation for the basics. Like they embrace the fundamentals, they recognize that the fundamentals are the foundation to which everything else is built. And if you can work towards relentlessly work towards mastery of the fundamentals, especially during the unseen hours, you give yourself a chance to be pretty successful. And it doesn't mean that you don't also do more advanced techniques or try some more advanced things. It just means you never leave the basics of the fundamentals, because they create that foundation. And and anytime I would meet a young player that was trying to skip steps or thought the fundamentals were beneath them, or thought it was more important to be flashy, and to be sexy on the court. Instead of being good and being sound, those players rarely made it to the next level. The second is, and once again, I'm referring to players, but this is applicable to all of us. (Lesley: Yeah) The second is they were able to blend confidence with humility in a very masterful way. They earned the right to be confident because they put in the work during the unseen hours and they put in the repetitions to earn the right to be good at their craft. But they always blended that with a stroke of humility, which is what kept them open to feedback, which is what allowed them to be coached and most importantly, allowed them to remember that no matter how good they were, they could still get better. You know the best of the best always look at themselves as a work in progress and as an unfinished product. You know, that no elite performer that I've ever met will allow you to put them under museum glass, you know, for everyone to look at, they're like, "I'm not done yet." And, you know, you can look at that with elite level athletes and celebrities and performers and actors and musicians and business, you know, titans in the world today, they know that they still have further to go. So blending that confidence with humility is another trait. And then the third one is the most successful people I've ever been around. And the players that were able to ascend to the top, were very process focused. Now, they had tremendous clarity on their Northstar. And these young players, I mean, they were crystal clear on the fact, they wanted to become NBA players. That was their goal. But they didn't focus on the goal as much as they focused on the process, and the steps and the disciplines and the decisions and the micro behaviors and the daily choices and the habits that would allow them to reach that goal. So they focus on the process and then the goal becomes a byproduct of that. And, and of course, it needs to be said that when we're talking about professional sports, certainly there is a physicality component to that, you know, if your goal is to play in the NBA, it's, it's probably in your best interest not to be four foot three, you know, I mean, there's, there are certain there are certain genetic predispositions from a physicality standpoint, that will enable you to do that. And of course, those players had the physical gifts, they check that box. But there's a lot of players that can check that box that don't check the other boxes, and then never make it. And the reason I love our business and life discussions, is you can be four foot three and still be an incredible business person or an executive or sales professional or podcast host or mom or dad fill in the blank, the physicality no longer becomes a prerequisite when you step outside of the arena of athletics.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, I love all three of those things. Because as you're saying them I'm a Pilates instructor. I'm second generation and what that just means that my teacher was taught by Joseph Pilates. And what I tell people who want to work with me all the time, I'm like, you have like, you have to do work on the foundations, and you're only advanced, if the beginner exercises are hard for you. And if they're not hard for you, then it doesn't I the advanced stuff is just compound choreography, I'm just taking the beginning stuff and putting them all together. So it's, that's not the hard part. The hard part is like being okay with understanding the foundations and sticking with that, and also not being perfect. You know, I was teaching a teacher and I gave her some feedback and it frustrated her and I just said, "Well, I'm always gonna have feedback for you because we're not they're not, there's no way to be perfect at this. This is this is like not in a depressing way. But there's a no top to this mountain. Like we there's always a new day, and especially with stuff that has to do with your body. Your body is different every single day. So it's not like this one and done like tomorrow, maybe you slept wrong on that side. Or maybe, maybe you actually are stronger. And so now you can go further." So I really, everything you said applies to like, how I teach, but also like how I see the way that you can approach life. Like if you're if you're not allowing some feedback on the things that you are wanting in yourself, it's going to be pretty hard to get somewhere.

Alan Stein, Jr.  

Absolutely. One of the biggest shifts they ever made was to start viewing feedback as a gift and saying, "Wow, this person cares enough about me to share with me things that I can do to get better. You know, this person cares enough about me to help expose some of my blind spots. You know, this person cares enough about me to hold me accountable to a very high standard of excellence." And as soon as I shifted from making that feel like, you know, I was being punished, but instead I was being handed a gift that changed everything. And that's also how I tried to position feedback. You know, when I have to give feedback, whether it's to someone in the work environment or to my own children, I remind them, "Hey, I'm doing this because I love you. You know, the day that I stopped holding you accountable. The day that I stopped pouring into you. And the day that I stopped giving you feedback means I no longer care about you or your future. That's when you need to get upset, not when someone actually cares enough to offer you the constructive feedback that that allows all of us to get better."

Lesley Logan  

Oh my God, that's so good. That's so good. Okay, so I want to talk about perfectionism. Because I imagine that in sports, and you've seen a lot of people who are trying to go from being perfect, and obviously those people listening, I'm a recovering perfectionist, and overachiever. We have a lot of perfectionist who listen to this. How do you see that keeping people from, you know, getting what they want? Like, what did you see, how did that maybe affect you? Or how did it affect the players that you've coached?

Alan Stein, Jr.  

I'll speak from the first person because I'm I'm also a recovering perfectionist. So I'm not saying this to project on to anybody else. And I'm certainly not saying this with an ounce of judgment. I think my deepest insecurity that I have and something that I'll wrestle with for my entire life, is that that I'm not worthy, that I'm not good enough. And I think perfectionism was an unconscious way to compensate for that, that in my mind, if I could do something perfectly, or if I could be perfect, then I wouldn't be worthy of love or affection or attention or achievement. I mean, fill in, fill in the blank. But it doesn't quite work that way. Because you said something perfect that you said something before that's really insightful. And that is perfection is unattainable. Life is not a perfect game. You know, Pilates is not a perfect craft. Basketball is not a perfect game. In the history of the game, every single game of basketball that has ever been played at every level, anywhere in the world, there has never been a perfect game played. A perfect game with mean zero miss shots, zero turnovers and zero fouls. No one made a single mistake over the course of the game that has never happened, not even at the professional levels. So perfection is unattainable. So if we think that we're going to derive worthiness, buy something that is unattainable, we've just put ourselves on a hedonic treadmill that we can never get off of, and will never actually have a sense of fulfillment. So as a recovering perfectionist, I've learned to accept the fact that I have flaws, that I am fallible, that I'm going to make mistakes, I'm going to have boneheaded decisions, there are going to be days where I wake up, and I'm just in a funk or I'm feeling lousy. And the other shift that I made similar to what I said before, is I now give myself permission to feel those things and to do those things. I give myself the space to be less than perfect, which is good, because that's the only thing I can do, because I'm not perfect, and I never will be. So I've learned to embrace that and lean into it. And for me, I focused much more on giving my best effort on having my best attitude, on trying to be kind and be of service when I can put my my faculties into those areas, then I'm going to do the best I can with what I have, wherever I am. And to me, that's now my measuring stick, "Am I doing the best I can with what I have, wherever I am." And that's what's most important at present.

Lesley Logan  

And also that's something you can like live with, like just going back to basketball. We go to the WNBA. I live in Las Vegas, so Aces, love them. They're amazing. They won this year. Fabulous. Anyways, last year I was with my dad he was a basketball coach for when I played which probably my listeners was never heard that I've done sports. Yes, I have. I, I was on an undefeated basketball team. And then I probably quit too soon to be completely honest, I probably could have given that sport a little longer. However, this girl I can't remember her name. She retired last year, but she's she literally did not foul like she was standing there. And the the girl from other team like hit her after coming out in the basket. And it was like a foul, each time. And I'm like, I know this game. That was she did everything perfectly right. So you can be perfect. And someone else doesn't think it was perfect. Like for that official that was not a perfect move that she did, even though like from where I was sitting it was. And so I think like, perfection just gets to be this crazy thing. Because even when you do what you think is the most perfect thing in that moment, someone else is going to find imperfection in it.

Alan Stein, Jr.  

Oh, absolutely. And then what we end up doing is playing the comparison game, which is a really dangerous game to play. You know, as as a keynote speaker, which is my prime primary vocation at present. I mean, even the times where I've gotten off stage, and I felt to myself, like I nailed it. That was one of my best performances. Even when the audience agrees, you know, you see a lot of heads nodding, a lot of smiles, maybe even a standing ovation. Even in that instance, if I go back and watch the video of that keynote, I can still find a couple of things that I could have done just a little bit better. You know, maybe it was a little bit of timing or pace, or maybe I could have made a better gesture with my hands. Or maybe I forgot to make a point that I could have made. So even that is an imperfect game. But I lean into that. And that's what I enjoy is, is the challenge of it. So for me, and I know this has become somewhat of a cliche statement. I don't allow myself to get stifled by perfection. I allow myself to be inspired by progress. And as long as I'm slowly getting better, you know, can I be a better father in 2023 than I was in 2022? Can I be a more effective communicator and keynote speaker in 2023 than 2022? Can I take my my mental, physical and emotional health to a slightly higher level in 2023, then that's my goal is progress. You know, once again, by the end of 2023, I won't be perfect in any area of my life. But can I be a little bit better than I was? I saw this slogan. This was I mean, probably 15 years ago, Apollo Ohno, the famous the famous skater (Lesley: Yeah) had this thing where he said, "Be greater than yesterday." And it was the word b e and then it was the greater sign like we used to use in math yesterday. So, "Be > yesterday." And boy, that just really resonated with me. And that's kind of the goal every day. Can I make slightly better decisions and have slightly better habits this month than I did last month?

Lesley Logan  

Okay, so total sidenote, I used to live in LA, and there was the stairs. And oh my gosh, these stairs like there's these famous stairs that people go and do. And they're cement stairs. And then there's wood stairs. And by the time you go from the bottom to the top, it's like five or six storeys, and the cement stairs are like little steps. And you just have to like, either go two or three at a time, or you're just doing lots of little steps, right? And then there's these wood steps and I was do... I was not doing well, that day, I'd been training, I did too much training that day, and I was watching this guy go up the stairs on the wood side two at a time. So these are big gaps are huge. It's like basically leaping on one leg all the way up. And then he ran down. And then he did the other side. And I was like, "Who is this dude?" Like, what are we doing? We're just all trying to get to the top of the stairs, like what is happening? And then I looked at his face, and it was Apollo Ohno I was like, okay, fair, (Alan: Wow) I don't I'm talking about comparison. I'm not comparing my trying to get up the stairs to that guy. We are on two different athletic levels. And we have two different goals here today.

Alan Stein, Jr.  

Oh wow, that is that is so cool. And, you know, it is a good reminder. Why don't we pull on that thread a little bit of the comparison game, because, you know, that's another shift that I've made in my life. Because there have been times previously where I absolutely was caught on the comparison trap. And it always left me feeling hollow and shallow and never felt like I was enough. And the reason that comparison game is so difficult is because you can't win it. And why sign up to play a game that you literally have zero chance to win. I mean, no matter who you are, you can find someone that's doing better than you in a certain area of life. Like it's not that hard. I mean, I I could walk outside my place right now. And within five seconds, I can find somebody that's taller, that's better looking, that's funnier, that makes more money, that has more Instagram followers, that gets paid. Like, it's easy to do. So what I've tried to do is untether from the external and not derived my self worth, my self belief and my confidence from external metrics, but instead try to be much more intrinsically motivated. And just know that when it comes to the comparison game, and if we're looking at external metrics, yeah, there's a lot of people doing better me better than me in a lot of areas. And I'm probably doing better than some other people in some other areas. But it doesn't matter. You know, there's no reason to try to keep score with any of that stuff. And, you know, even take something like since since basketball is my passion, you know, LeBron James, a once in a generation athlete, but the king of the NBA for 20 years. And even he can't escape. People that compare him to Michael Jordan and say, "Oh, well, Jordan was better." You know, I mean, you know, Jeff, Jeff Bezos is, is an absolutely game changing entrepreneur, Amazon has changed the way we look at E commerce. And I think at the time of this recording, he's not even the richest man on the planet, because I think Elon Musk is overtaking him. So here's somebody that has changed the way we interact as human beings. And he's not technically the best if you're going to look at that metric of wealth.

Lesley Logan  

And also like at the time of recording this, yes and who knows, by the time this comes out. They could there's because those two and then like, there's a third guy, they're always like, just, you know, leapfrogging each other and so I you're correct, like that comparison game. I love the reminder, we can't win it. So it's like, why play? Why not just focus on yourself? And, and you mentioned something in your book, that confidence comes from ourselves. Can you kind of, can you chat a little bit about that? Because you brought up confidence. And that is one of the reasons podcast exists is everyone's like, "How are you so confident?" I'm like, "I'm so fucking scared most of the time." I'm just like, "... let's just, let's just, this is action brings clarity, it's antidote to fear. Let's just try it." But like, what, what what how did we how do we get confident? Like, where does it come from?

Alan Stein, Jr.  

There's a handful of things that I think contribute to our confidence. And once again, I'm only going to speak to the first person and things that have helped me. First, it comes from demonstrated performance, it comes from competence, you know, when when you do something over and over, and you see that you can do it, you start to derive some confidence in your ability to do that. Now, in fairness, that type of confidence is is somewhat compartmentalized, you know, you might put a whole lot of time and attention into becoming a really good Pilates instructor. That doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be confident in every other area of your life. But you'll be a very confident Pilates instructor. So it comes from demonstrated performance. It also comes from keeping the promises that we make to ourselves, like keeping our word. You know, if I tell myself that I'm going to get up every morning and go work out. As soon as I don't do that. I've broken my word and my promise and my commitment to myself, and that's going to undermine my confidence. Now, whether or not these are world class workouts, whether or not I do them at five in the morning. All of that's irrelevant. But if I promised myself I'm going to work out in the morning, and I do if I can start to string several of those days together, it starts to snowball and it starts to add to my confidence. Confidence also comes from the little voice in our head, in our self narrative, our self talk. And we have to be very careful about how we talk to ourselves. I think I can make a compelling argument that the things we say to ourselves in silence might be the most important things we ever say. And we have to make sure that we talk to ourselves in a kind, compassionate, encouraging way, you know, many high performers that I've been around, and I was guilty of this as well, can be very self critical, very self judgmental, when things aren't going well, we can pile it on, instead of giving ourselves some space and some grace to simply know that we're doing the best that we can. And and I found that when we do these things, and and then part of it, too, is not playing the comparison game. So there's three things you can do. And then if you can resist the temptation to play the comparison game, because that will zap your confidence too. You know, I mean, once again, I'm a keynote speaker, I take a tremendous amount of pride in my craft, I love what I do. I know dozens and dozens of speakers that are on bigger stages that I am, that command bigger fees, that have bigger followings, that have spoken to bigger brands. And I cheer for them. I'm happy for them. I hope that I can work on my craft to the point that that I earned an opportunity to do some of those things. But I don't compare myself to them. Because it will leave me feeling less than and that would undermine my confidence.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. So yes, all those things you brought up like, though, like you said, the workout doesn't have to be like a 5am, doesn't have to be like the world class workout. It's just that you did it. Like that's a confidence bucket. And so I study with BJ Fogg who, Tiny Habits, right. And it's like, you don't have to go big or go home, y'all like your workout can be five jumping jacks in your living room. Like that could be the like, that could be it. You know what I mean, like, there's, I'm working on my pull up game just dropped drastically after the pandemic, when I'd have access to ... moved to Vegas, I didn't have anything. And so I've been getting on my Cadillac and going over to do every day, it's just hanging here and try to hold on without our ... That's all we're gonna do it, we're not going to try to pull up anything. And so then when I went to the gym last week, and the trainer said, we're gonna do five pull ups, and I could use a Thera-Band, whatever. I was, like, oh, yeah, I can, I can do that. Because I have been showing up every day and just holding on to the bars, making sure that I have the grip strength for it and I think we tend to think that if it's not world class, if it's not something you'd share with your friends, which is just another version of comparison, you know, it's not worthy. And actually, those are the things that helped build the most confidence. It's like just the fact that you got there that day, because you said you would.

Alan Stein, Jr.  

Absolutely. I love that, you're basically talking about making small incremental gains over time. You know, one of the analogies I use when it comes to outcome versus process, is if you ever were tasked to build a brick wall, don't really worry about the wall, just focus on laying bricks with as much care and precision as you can. And if you take a brick, and you set it exactly where it needs to go, and then you take another brick, and you set it exactly where it needs to go. If you do that enough times the wall will just take care of itself. And there gonna be some days in our lives where we only lay one or two bricks, and then there'll be some days in our lives where we'll lay 150 bricks, you know, but every single brick takes you a little bit closer to completing that sound, sturdy wall. So every brick matters. And when we can learn to focus on the reps, focus on the bricks, saying, you know, today I'm tired, I'm a little off my game, I'm feeling lousy, you know, maybe I need a day off, and I'm not gonna lay any bricks today. That's okay, we we need some space to do that. But if I am going to lay some bricks, maybe it's only a couple of them. But I'm going to lay them with as much care and precision as I can. Because if you start just laying sloppy bricks, and you just start kind of throwing them up, you just end up with a pile of bricks, you don't end up with a sound sturdy wall. So we the care and the precision. And the quality is always more important than the quantity or the speed when it comes to most things in life.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, yeah. Oh, my goodness, this is like, I think, I think one of the things that I'm hearing from all of us, it's also just the grace that we can give ourselves the kindness. And you said it, you said, the things we say to ourselves and ones listening might be the most important things we say. And it's so true, because you can lay the bricks every day. And then when no one's around, tell yourself something horrible and remove everything you built from the bricks that day.

Alan Stein, Jr.  

Yeah. Well, you know, it's interesting when when we don't perform well, or we don't show up as our best selves, or we make a poor decision. The only way to make that worse is the pile on shame and guilt and criticism. And that tends to be the default for most people. So it's like, Okay, I just made a bad decision, or I made a bad choice. Or I said something I wish I wouldn't have said or, or I laid a few sloppy bricks. Well, that's now in the past. There's nothing I can do about that. And I can make it worse exponentially worse by then being very critical and beating myself up and you know that what we need to learn to do and this is something I work on all of the time with my self, is learned to speak to ourselves with the same kindness, compassion and empathy that we would speak to a loved one. You know, I know you and I are just meeting and just getting acquainted, but let's just say we've been friends for a decade. And if, if you called me up tonight and said, "Man, Alan, I just had a rough day. You know, this went wrong, this went wrong. I said this, and I shouldn't have. I didn't show up as my best self." You know, the first thing I would do as your friend would be to try to comfort you and just say, "Hey, I know what it's like to be a little off your game. I'm sorry that things didn't really line up in your preferred manner today. But I believe in you. And I know you're good enough to learn from this, and I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a better day." I would still hold you accountable. You know, if you did something that warranted an apology, or needed to make amends, then I would encourage you to do that. This is not about you know, condoning less than exemplary behavior or less than ideal standards. But my natural inclination would be to comfort you as your friend, my natural inclination as a father is to comfort my children when things are tough. It would not be to be critical. If you called me up and said that the last thing I would do would be to start berating you and make you feel worse and try and guilt you and shame. You know. (Lesley: Could you imagine?) But that's how we talk to ourselves. (Lesley: Yeah.) So so if we can learn to talk to ourselves the same way we talk to those that we love, I think that's better. And again, I want to stress the fact this is not about saying, doing something bad is okay. It's just saying that that is now done, we need to learn from it, we need to learn pull the lesson from it, we need to give ourselves grace and space, to be less than perfect. But then we need to move to the next play. Yet, we can't keep dwelling on it.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, I was probably in 2019. I was at this conference. And one of the speakers asked everyone to write down the things that they say to themselves when no one's listening to like write them down. And so write them down. And then she asked for two volunteers. And I was like, "I know where this is going. And I'm not volunteering for that." (Alan: Yeah) And these two girls got up there. And then she made them read what they wrote to the other person as if it was about them. (Alan: Oh, wow.) I get I get tearful every time I think about it, because like, the first girl couldn't even do it. She like couldn't, she couldn't even she's like, "No, you I can't do that." And she's like, "Well, this is what you have to say this." And she couldn't and she like, everyone was crying because like, most of the things that she's saying, we all have written down in some form on our piece of paper, like we're all saying the same nasty things for ourselves. And by just that, just that visualization in that scene, and I was like, "Oh, we have got to stop. This is a serious problem." Like, it's not like just like a problem, I'm keeping to myself, this is like a massive problem that I'm doing to myself every day. And if I'm expecting myself to support others, I have to support myself, I can't do that that's going to be a burnout. Like, that's not gonna lead to any success of any kind.

Alan Stein, Jr.  

Oh, gosh, that's such a powerful exercise. I love that. And imagine that. You can't even bring yourself to say this to another human being, even if they're a complete stranger. And yet we say these things regularly to ourselves. So the the self talk and the self narrative is so important. And, you know, part of that is a lot of these things that we think and believe as truths, aren't really truths. They're, they're just narratives that we've told ourselves, and we've told ourselves these stories long enough, that we start to think that they're true. And there's, there's some examples and some things in our past that we believe, solidified as being true. But it's, it's not an actual truth. You know, most of what gets discussed in the world today is not truth, is not factual. You know, it's, it's a perspective, it's a, a vantage point, it's a, you know, it's a way that we're choosing to interpret it, which is why, you know, you could take something like the pandemic, which, you know, was was really tough on a whole lot of people, but but you and I could have completely different viewpoints on it, you can say the pandemic was the worst thing to ever happen to humanity. And I can say it was the best things for a variety of different reasons. And neither one of us is right, you know, it's a matter of perspective. So we just have to remember that when we tell ourselves these stories, we give ourselves these labels, we make statements like, you know, I am not disciplined, or I am not this, it's like, we that's just what you're telling yourself. (Lesley: Yeah) But the beautiful part is, we're the authors of our own story. Like you can change that whenever you want. You know, you know, when you can start becoming a more disciplined person, the very next decision that you have to make in your life, you have an opportunity to make a slightly more disciplined decision. So do that there's an opportunity. Now you may have 50 years of experience of making really undisciplined, poor decisions, but you can't change any of them. Those are all behind you now. But the very next decision you make, the very next meal you make, the next time it's time to go to bed, the next conversation that you have, you can make a more disciplined decision and then start stringing some of those along and you can start to tell yourself a different story.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. Because the things that we think first of all your thoughts, you are the thinker of your thoughts, you can actually think and you thought, but also, it's just a habit. That's just a habit. That you are someone has been telling yourself that story for 50 years, that's a 50 year old habit, it's you have to unravel that, you're gonna do something different. But if you're aware of it, and you want to change it, it's possible. And I think we forget that there's some there's possibility out there for us to make different decisions and think different thoughts and have the life that we want to have the confidence that we want, by just making those small changes over time and not being trying to be perfect over and going, well, fuck that up today. I'm gonna that's it for that break. That's it for that new thought pattern.

Alan Stein, Jr.  

Yeah, and one of the main things I want your listeners to leave with this is, is this concept of compassion, you know, is, is be compassionate to yourself, but be compassionate to others as well. And compassion and high standards can coexist. I mean, I'm not telling people to lower their dreams or lower their core values or lower their standards, anything. But in fact, I think we should be raising all of those things, but then encouraging ourselves and cheering ourselves on to reach those higher bars. So this is not about condoning apathy, or just allowing ourselves to do whatever we want and saying, "Oh, that's fine, I'm going to be kind to myself." I think we should have high standards of excellence. We should live by our core values and be crystal clear on what they are. I think we should dream as big as we can possibly dream. But just know that that part of the human condition is we're going to get bumped and bruised, we're going to fall down. We're going to make mistakes, we're going to lay imperfect bricks, we're gonna say stupid stuff. That's just part of it. And don't make that worse.

Lesley Logan  

Oh, Alan, you are amazing. This has been awesome. Where can people find you, follow you, get your books?

Alan Stein, Jr.  

Well, alansteinjr.com is kind of the hub, that's information on all of my speaking programs. I'm also very easily found and very accessible and responsive on social media, just @allnsteinjr. So if anyone if you have a question, you want to share something, you want to keep this dialogue going, just shoot me a DM on Instagram or LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook. I'm very good about getting back to folks. And if you have an interest in either book, Raise Your Game or Sustain Your Game, you can get an Amazon or Audible or wherever you'd like to get books and audiobooks.

Lesley Logan  

Okay, before I let you go, you've said so many amazing things like this is going to be one I re listen to over and over but bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted steps people can take. What do you have for us?

Alan Stein, Jr.  

All right. There's there's two that I can think of. The first is a self audit. And I do this during a lot of my keynotes and workshops. I want folks to take out a piece of paper and draw a vertical line down the middle. On the left side of the paper, I want you to come up with an exhaustive list of the things that fill your bucket. The things that light you up. The the things that gets you excited, that make you smile, that gives you confidence. The things you just love to do. This could be taking a Pilates class or jumping on your peloton bike or taking your dog for a walk around the lake. This could be watching a documentary or a funny movie or listening to a podcast or reading a good book. This could be enjoying the stillness of the early morning while sipping on some coffee, or reading the paper. It could be conversation with a loved one or meditation or prayer. But come up with a list of all of the things that nourish your soul and make you feel alive. Then on the right side of the paper, the right side of the line, I want you to write down how you've been spending the bookends of your day, your morning and your evening routine. How have you been spending the first 60 minutes after you wake up? And how have you been spending the last 60 minutes before you go to bed and and I don't want you to write down what you wish you did or what you think you should do. I want you to write down what you've done in the past several weeks and look for some patterns. And then to complete this self audit, I just want you to compare the two sets of notes, the two sides of the paper and ask yourself a very important question. Are you doing the things in your morning and evening routine that you know fill your bucket and make you feel most alive? The things that energize you and if you're if you do this with some humility and some vulnerability and some honesty, you'll most likely start to see a disconnect, you'll start to uncover what's called a performance gap. And that's the gap between what we know we should do to feel alive and feel like our best self. And what we're actually doing. And one of the key tenants of my work is helping folks close that gap, do the things that we know we need to do to be the best version of ourselves. You know, if if you know you love doing this thing, and then you're like, "Well, I hardly ever do it." Well, that's probably why you you feel apathy. Why you have low energy, why you're in moods all the time, start doing the things that you know you love to do. So that's one very practical exercise. The other is a little bit more evergreen and esoteric and I'll use it in the first person again. So I'm 46 years old. I have a crystal clear vision of the man I hope to become 20 years from now. I want the 66 year old Alan to be physically, mentally and emotionally fit. I want the 66 year old Alan to have a strong, deep loving connection with his children, his family and his friends. And I want the 66 year old Alan to be doing work he considers meaningful and in service of others. That's the man I strive to be 20 years from now. Now, I fully acknowledge that time is not promised, tomorrow is not guaranteed that even though I take great care of myself, there is no guarantee that I'll even live to the age of 66. But barring something unforeseen, I don't see why I won't. So here's how I use that, every single decision I make in my life, I simply ask myself, "Is this going to take me closer to becoming that guy? Or is it going to take me further away?" You know, when it's time to decide what I'm going to eat for breakfast, you know, Option A or Option B, which one will take me closer to being physically, mentally and emotionally fit, you know, who I follow on Instagram, what I watch on Netflix, you know, what I choose to do for my morning routine, are these things taking me closer to that guy, or further away. I intentionally make it binary. And my goal every day of my life is to make as many decisions as I can, that are in alignment with becoming that guy. Now, I'm not batting 1000, I've never had a perfect day. But if most of the decisions that I make, are in alignment with becoming that person, then 20, 20 years from now, that is exactly who I'll be. I don't want anyone to be surprised by it. I will be designing my future by the decisions I make in the present. And the beautiful part is, I'm not postponing being that guy, 20 years from now, because I'm reaping those same benefits in the present, because this is when I'm making those decisions. And I sure hope this doesn't sound like it's lacking humility, because it comes from a really grateful place. But right now at 46 years old, I am physically, mentally and emotionally fit. I do have an amazing connection with my children and family and friends. And I am currently doing work that I believe is in service of others, and hopefully making a contribution to those around me. So that's the person I aim to be 20 years from now. But that's also the person I am today, because these are the decisions that I make on a daily basis. And the last thing that I'll leave your listeners with, this is kind of my recalibration exercise every single night. I basically say to myself, "Alan, you just traded 24 hours of your life, for the progress that you made today. Are you happy with that trade?" And if the answer is yes, I get a very restful peaceful night's sleep. On the rare occasion that the answer's no. Today was not my best day. I didn't show up as my best self. And I'm feeling kind of lousy. I was in a funk. I give myself some grace and some compassion. I remind myself that that nobody's perfect. And I get another crack at this thing tomorrow, and I still get a restful peaceful night's sleep.

Lesley Logan  

Oh my goodness. I'm obsessed. I love it all. I also can't think of a better way to explain how you be it till you see it and the way you just described number two right there. Like that is so cool. Y'all, how you gonna use these tips in your life? Tag @alansteinjr, tag the @be_it_pod. Share this with a friend. Share this with a friend who needs to understand how to have more confidence and more compassion for themselves. And until next time, Be It Till You See It.

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review. And follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcasts. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others BE IT TILL YOU SEE IT. Have an awesome day!  

Be It Till You See It is a production of Bloom Podcast Network. 

Brad Crowell  

 It's written, produced, filmed and recorded by your host Lesley Logan. And me Brad Crowell. Our associate producer is Amanda Frattarelli.  

Lesley Logan  

 Kevin Perez at Disenyo handles all of our audio editing.  

Brad Crowell  

 Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianranco Cioffi.  

Lesley Logan  

Special thanks to our designer Mesh Herico for creating all of our visuals, (which you can't see because this is a podcast) and our digital producer, Jay Pedroso for editing all the video each week, so you can. 

Brad Crowell  

And to Angelina Herico for transcribing each episode, so you can find it on our website. And finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Can your feelings be a good navigation point? How do you actually listen and implement change strictly based on how you feel? Brad and Lesley pull out ways you can start to be what you want your life to include through Stacy McApline's applicable journey to peace. 

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] .

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Profitable Pilates Agency wins 
• The pros and cons of driving long distances
• Where a moment of clarity can lead.
• How you become your own client?
• Start with the being.
• How do you use your feelings to navigate?

Episode References/Links:

• Agency Mini

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.

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Resources

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!
• Lesley Logan website
• Be It Till You See It Podcast
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube
• Profitable Pilates

Social Media

• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guests will bring Bold, Executable, Intrinsic and Targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co host in life, Brad and I are going to dig into the applicable, applicable, applicable, (whatever you want to say it) convo I had with Stacy in our last episode,

Brad Crowell  

What if, what if I said applicable?

Lesley Logan  

You know, okay, sorry. I just watched John Oliver and apparently during the Thanksgiving week every morning show on the planet was like, is it pecan or pecan? Pecan or pecan? Pecan or pecan? And I'm like, it's not pecan. You don't want to eat a pecan, smell a bathroom can and I was how do I say it? I say pecan or pecan, so a pecan, I say it pecan pie.

Brad Crowell  

I say it pecan. Pecan pie.

Lesley Logan  

Pecan pie, pecan. I don't know. Anyways,

Brad Crowell  

Eat the pecan pie.

Lesley Logan  

This was an applicable convo I had with Stacy in our last episode. If you haven't yet listened to that interview. Feel free to pause this now. Go back and listen to that one. And then come back and join us. Because she's so cool. I can't wait to ...

Brad Crowell  

Yeah. We almost went off the rails there, y'all. Thank you. Thanks. So we're good that we're back on track here. We got this.

Lesley Logan  

We want to keep... this is in case people want to fast forward through the intro part to get to the good stuff. (Brad: And this is the good stuff.) I know. (Brad: I'm missing it.) Why? They will miss it. (Brad: Yeah) So you got to like, you got to make sure that the on the entry you keep them on their toes. Keep you on your ears.

Brad Crowell  

This was this was a really fun convo. I felt like... (Lesley: It was a journey.) Well, yeah, it was a journey. It was really like her story. Not all of it. But almost all of it is what it felt like. And then she just had these nuggets of wisdom that she's sprinkling in throughout. So it was great. I really had a good time listening to it. 

Lesley Logan  

I hope you watch it on the YouTubes on the YouTube channel, because I would like I would like ask her a question. And I would think that like, okay, this is the time it turns around. And like with a smile on her face. It was not the time that turned around. I was like, oh, no, that's not good. It's not good yet. Anyways, but I love that because I think it's so easy for us to think, oh, you just flip the switch. And then like, life's good again.

Brad Crowell  

Life's good. Or like I you know, I have this amazing moment of self discovery. Everything will work out.

Lesley Logan  

And then it did, that does not happen. (Brad: Yeah) And also like that's so boring if nobody wants to hear that story. Anyways, we are if you're listening to this in real time. Thanks so much. I love that you do that. We're literally almost home. We are bout to have lunch in Denver. That's the goal of today.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, so we are more than two thirds of the way home.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So if you wanted to have lunch with us in Denver, I think it's a little too late for you to tell me. But

Brad Crowell  

No, just send us a DM. I mean, you gotta be, you gotta be willing to scramble here. But yeah, this comes out. We'll still be in Kansas when this drops as we're driving in.

Lesley Logan  

Okay, well, if you're sitting at your phone waiting for this to drop in, and you listen to it before lunchtime. In Mountain Time, then please let us know if you want me to somewhere in Denver. I'm also huge news. I just I'm so glad this is on here because I can't believe how much time is flying. But we've had some massive wins with our Agency community. Like we're talking big time (Brad: Yeah) massive wins. We've had three or four people open a studio in the last month. Yeah. And yeah, (Brad: And one of them in Denver.) one of them in Denver. So we've had yeah, Denver, Washington, somewhere in the Ontario situation and Boston. (Brad: Yeah) And I feel like I'm missing one, so that might maybe five ... (Brad: Well, and Saskatoon is moving.) Oh, Saskatoon is moving. We just got that update. We've also had some amazing ones one on one of our members have had for a while. She had on her vision board that you want to teach 10 hours a week. And she was pregnant with her baby when she wrote that. So she was like, "There's no way I could teach 10 hours a week. I've got a four year old and an a one on the way." And she just checked her schedule and not only she teaching 10 hours a week. Boom, it's happening. Also, she wanted to have timed her income to date by the time she did the thing from the year before. And she said, "I probably will 1.7 it." So she'll almost have doubled her income in a year. So ...

Brad Crowell  

I just got off a call earlier where we have a teacher in the UK. And she said, "I had a major family event that took me away from teaching. But because, and I've only been teaching a few hours a week, but because I've raised my rates, I've made $10,000 more this year than last year."

Lesley Logan  

Freaking amazing. (Brad: Yeah) That's the goal. (Brad: Yeah) Like that's the goal. So while we're telling all those wins about Agency is that Agency Mini number eight is coming up. It's, it's actually coming up at the very beginning, end of January, (Brad: End of January.) very, very end of January, very ... And if you know this, we only run this twice a year, it's the best way to get a taste and get some love and support. And you'll have wins just by being in Mini. So make sure you go to profitablepilates.com/mini to get on the waitlist or maybe the doors will be open free to sign up. We're so excited about it, it's gonna be a lot of fun.

Brad Crowell  

This one of the best programs that we run y'all, and is so powerful, and people come out of it like flying high. It's, you know, it's more of an investment of your time, there's a little monetary investment. But you know, you take a week with us to ask any and all questions and then we guide you through a couple of really incredible webinar and a group call stuff. And then we invite you to come join us inside of Agency.

Lesley Logan  

It's about an hour of your time a day for a week. It's not a lot if you have a day where you can do three hours, and then a day where you can only do one, that's okay, you'll be able to catch up on all the replays and things like that. So at any rate, Agency Mini number eight is coming up very soon. So you're going to want to be on the waitlist, because that's the best way to make sure you don't miss it, profitablepilates.com/mini. And, okay, here's the best announcement ever. In like two days, it starts the birthday month of me. I ...

Brad Crowell  

It's the weirdest way to say that. The birthday month of me. (Lesley: Yeah, my birthday month.) Okay, that's different. But the birthday month of me. It's the ... Okay.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. Well, people are listening now. (Brad: They are.) They are, they're like, (Brad: The birthday month of her.) birthday month hers. That's right. So um, it's my 40th birthday at the end of January. And I'm so excited. I have some friends coming in. I've got a great outfit. Well, as I'm recording this, I'm hoping that I have a great, a great outfit coming. Because I told my husband which jumpsuit I wanted.

Brad Crowell  

She may or may not have a great outfit upcoming. (Lesley: Yeah) Because her husband also is really good at surprises.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. Anyways, it's my 40th birthday. Yes, I have already purchased the be in the fox store that said take me 40 years to look this good. I'm gonna wear it. Probably every day. I'm gonna wash it the night before and wear it every day. Because I'm so excited. So many people think that 40 is like, "Ah, it's my 40th birthday." And like, so many of my friends have been 40 for a long time that I've just seen that they love 40 more than they loved 30s. And so it's like, I may as well just like welcome it in. I'm stoked. I'm excited. We're gonna have some epic things happening throughout the month one is a solo episode. So you'll hear 40 things, not just like 40 things about me but like, things that support me, things I'm glad I went through, things I've learned and then things I want. Yes. And and then we're going to have a fun little shindig sale situation. I have no idea the deets on that at the time of recording this, but it will be just make sure on the email list so you can celebrate with me. It's gonna be awesome. Yes you can tell me happy birthday, any day of January, up until valentine's day really. Because, you know, they might not be listening to this till like the fourth or fifth of January. So at any rate, yes. I love birthday wishes. It's so fun. I am an Aquarius, and I will take all the goodness that comes with that.

Brad Crowell  

Amazing. All right. Well, we had an audience question to share. (Lesley: This one might made me laugh out loud.) Yeah. And it was the timing of it was hilarious. I'm sure it's because people are falling along the IG while we're on the road. But the question was, Do you even like driving? Because we are two days away from wrapping up a 6500 mile drive around the US of A and like Lesley was saying, you know, we are on our way to Denver, but we actually after that we're going to be heading to back home to Vegas. So and it's quite a lot of driving and we always we tag team it we share the responsibility there.

Lesley Logan  

So the question is do we like it?

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, that's the question.

Lesley Logan  

So no, I don't.

Brad Crowell  

Oh, I like it.

Lesley Logan  

I also don't dislike it but there's just like a few things that like I don't like that unless we're staying at our Loves that if I need to pee in the middle of the night that it's a little complicated. So (Brad: Oh, it can't be complicated.) I don't want that because I do, I just I like wake up I want to go the bathroom.

Brad Crowell  

Well we're not the vans not there yet that has the internal compost... compostable toilet ...

Lesley Logan  

... anyways we're gonna have some sort of toilet in there eventually that's not like that's key and then I'm gonna like fucking love it. I don't like driving at night. So I do like driving in the daytime. I don't like driving in storms so as long as it's blue skies, flat road and it's the morning, yes I like it.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah. She takes over in the morning and drives us and then into the afternoon and then we'll you know usually stop and whatever and then I'll usually pick it up in the evening is at dusk is coming through and then I drive into the night. 

Lesley Logan  

We have like routes we take the weights and the kettlebells and all when we're on the road. I'll do while the dogs to the dog park running around then I like swing the kettlebell around. I look so weird. People just are like, "Why is she doing?" I'm like literally like (Brad: At the dog park.) kettlebell swings, push up like I'll find a bench and I'm like, I can do step ups there. And I like make my own little workout and because Pilates I'll do the standing exercises. But I'm not I'm not laying down at a dog park. Like I know what's going on that ground. That's gross. So but in the bed when I get in the back I do a lot of stretches. Because my I'm the I don't even know I sit for work. I don't sit like that. (Brad: Yeah, it's a lot of sitting ...) I have a pillow that I use for my lower back to like, keep my hips adjusted in a certain way. Otherwise anyways, so do I even like it? I like the idea of it. And I like parts of it. But I don't, I don't love love it. Maybe when the van is together.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah. It's like it's pretty, it's pretty, it's pretty, it's it's pretty comfortable but it's not luxurious yet.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, we're not glamping yet. (Brad: No, not yet ...) This is not a glamping yet. Also, like in general, I'm not a big driver. Although, I know you know, I want a G Wagon. I can't wait to drive that thing. But

Brad Crowell  

She cannot wait to drive it, half a mile down the road. (Lesley: Yeah) And then half a mile back.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. I'm just gonna drive it to the coffee shop and the gym. Maybe I'll take us to the gym, (Brad: Oh, I love that.) you know. But, but I yeah, driving is not my like, "Oh, let's go for a drive." It's just I do enjoy, like getting out away out of the routine. My brain gets to think so. (Brad: Yeah) Yeah. I hope that answers. It's not, it's not answer. We'd like parts of it.

Brad Crowell  

It's a long trip, but it's okay.

Lesley Logan  

So thank you for your questions. And those of you who have to stay on the tour. Thank you so much for coming out. I know the holidays are crazy. And it's just like, ah, it's hard to get there. But we so appreciate you and stay tuned for future tours for sure. 

Brad Crowell  

Okay, now let's talk about Stacy McAlpine. Stacy was using her process improvement and change management skills at a big time consulting firm to help steer massive companies including the Department of Defense or ...

Lesley Logan  

I was like, okay, so really big, important ...

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, like the VA, the Veterans Association. (Lesley: Yeah) Is that Association? No. (Lesley: Veteran Affairs) Affairs, Veteran Affairs. I was like VA. Anyway, you know, massive, massive, slow moving government organizations. She was helping them move in better directions and was really good at what she was doing. However, at the same time, her life was in shambles. She said she was completely stressed out. She was totally overwhelmed. She was in an incredible amount of debt. She told a story about her daughter actually, literally getting bad grades and going, what's the point of school, I hate your life, I don't want to ever be you. So I don't want to do school, I'm out. And that was like a big wake up call for her. And also her husband. And she she realized she had this moment of clarity, where she's like, well, I somehow got myself into this mess. So that with decisions that I've made, so I can get myself out of it with decisions with my with that I made. And so she started treating herself as a client and applying all this epic expertise that she has in her own life and really started shifting into implementing. How do you implement these big like my like life changing moments? How do you how do you take that and then implement and actually make the changes in your actual life?

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, so ... (Brad: Pretty cool.) up your alley for sure.

Brad Crowell  

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Like all the project management. Everything's, I was like, "Oh, okay. Okay. I love it."

Lesley Logan  

Well, one thing I love that when she was talking about her overwhelming life, she said, by so far, by trade she processes improvement changes, basically project management. And so she took herself on as a client. So instead of it being personal, it was like, it was like, the if, if if she had walked into another project manager or process implementer place, how would they treat her and then that's what she did. And so I love this because I think it can be so hard. So I was just talking to one of our pro members on a coaching call. She's like, "I'm so organized when I help other people in their business because she's helping her partner. And then I'm not organized in mine." And I'm like, "Well, that's often the case." So because we get a little hung up and it's personal. And we wanted to hit our goals and we want it to mean something we want to be seen. We don't make mistakes. (Brad: Yeah) And so I love this because it's such a be it till you see it kind of thing, because you can actually, she basically made her business be the thing she wanted to be by being her bus... being herself a client. That makes sense. Yeah.

Brad Crowell  

Well, yeah, I mean, she made her life be what she wanted to be. (Lesley: Yes) You know, but also too, I think it's very typical. I don't I don't think this is an abnormal phenomenon or something weird. I mean, the cobblers kids have no shoes, right? I mean ... (Lesley: I said that to the girl on the call.) Yeah, it goes back to that whole thing. And I think that as a Pilates teacher, you probably and anyone else who's a Pilates teacher here can probably relate that somehow your practice seems to be the last thing on the priority list. And that's, that's pretty typical. I mean, inside of Agency, and even on OPC. We hear that all the time (Lesley: from the teachers) from the teachers. And they're like, "Oh, my God, I'm so happy that OPC exists because I'm doing my practice. I haven't been doing my own practice for so long."

Lesley Logan  

Our non teachers definitely get their practice in.

Brad Crowell  

So in this case with her like she is using all of her focus and skills to help move these companies along. And literally just ignoring herself.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. And she and she made herself her own client, which (Brad: Yeah) I think is just a it's just a better way. So if you've got ...

Brad Crowell  

Well, yeah think about that, if you're, the teaching is great. Like, how could you become your own client, a Pilates client? You know.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. So the first thing I do with a client as I schedule them into put them in the schedule. (Brad: Hey) Right. So like, how do I put them in the schedule, I would put my Pilates practice in the schedule. And then the next thing I would do is like, plan it out, like, okay, what are their goals? Like, what are their needs? Like what's going on? And then I would make that the lesson. I would go, okay, so then I need to do some reformer on the first day. I do this on the next day. So that's how I would do it.

Brad Crowell  

I think I think what you just said is probably the thing that people don't do the most is actually put it in the calendar.

Lesley Logan  

No, they're gonna put it in where it fits, which means it won't fit if you know my jar thing, you know, it won't fit. It's not it can't be last minute, unless it's glitter and your pri... your priorities are not glitter. Your priorities are a frickin rock and ... (Brad: Yeah, rock.) So yeah, I just thought this was I just love that. And I hope that you guys got that. Because anything, do you have a great skill set in that you are like using to support others? Can you like flip it around and put it on yourself and see how that helps you do what you want to do in this world?

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, can you be your own client, I love that. I really loved what she said, this was like, really poignant. And you, you stopped the whole conversation right after she said it and had a whole comment about it. But she said you do not have to have the outcome to have your life change. Okay, so I want to say that again, you do not have to have the outcome, to have your life change. Now, obviously, your life will change more when you have the outcome, whatever the outcome is of the thing, but the process of going after the outcome is going to change your life as well. Okay, so you do not have to have the outcome already finished, complete done today, in order for your life to begin to change. Okay. And, you know, she said there's, there's definitely ways, like, she talks about creating a systematic approach a trusted method, you know, but the point here is this, like she was in the most insane amount of overwhelm, and stress and debt with her, what her personal life, her husband at the time was going to college. He was doing law school, and that was like, you know, not only were they they had 90,000, in credit card debt, they had a upset mortgage, and they were adding $200,000 in law school loans to the pile. And she was like, you know, working so much that our kids we're calling her grandma, not mom. And I don't know why I didn't really understand that. But that was happening. And so so but she was she wanted to begin to get this change in her life, and started to prioritize herself. That's when change started to happen, even though she hadn't achieved the thing yet. But when she began to prioritize herself, all of a sudden, it was like, okay, step back. She literally was going to quit her job all these, like, very, like major changes. But you know, there were steps that she was taking to get to the goal, the end goal, and it was a long time coming. I think she ended up, she quit, she worked herself. She ended up going back into consulting for another seven years, and then quit again. Right. So she didn't actually quote unquote, get the outcome for like 10 years or whatever that timeline actually was. However, her life was changing through that whole time.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, and I think that's a really important thing. We just had Sandra Chuma inside of Agency. I don't remember her episode number but I just love her so much and she also talked about this like, it's, we often have a goal. And so we start by doing, and she was like, You should start with the being. And because how we think about something determines the actions we take. And so I just think that that's like a very similar thing. It's like, what if we didn't focus so much on like getting that outcome, and then I'll be happy. Hello, the name of this podcast is Be It Till You See It. So how about you, you actually start to have like, you can start to see the outcome happen in small, different ways, just by making the decision. And then, you know, maybe a tiny action, maybe five minutes, maybe seven minutes, but being the person who has had the outcome already, will allow you to see more change happen in your life.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, I mean, this, this is such a, it's, it's a little bit of like the enjoy the journey concept. But it's not that it's not annoying in that sense, this is just straight up practicality. If you are going after a goal, you have to make changes in your life to get to that point. And those changes, hopefully are going to start helping, you know, address some of the things that you're struggling with today.

Lesley Logan  

So I don't know where I heard this. It may have been in my own podcast. But did you know that obviously, the so there is a study that was done a research that people who like got go Olympic medals, and the the person who had the bronze statistically is happier than the person who got the silver because the silver medalist must be in, it must be an Allen Stein, Jr.'s book, and I just interviewed him, but the silver medalist only can think about what they lost. They lost out on the gold, but the gold medalist thinks about how close they came like (Brad: The bronze ...) the bronze, the bronze medalist goes, oh my gosh, I was like I just made it on. Like, like they're like so (Brad: They're grateful to be there.) they're grateful that they got to because they could have so easily not been on that platform at all. (Brad: Right) And so I think it's I think it's so fascinating, we can get so focused on an outcome and we missed out on all of the changes that can happen just by incorporating implementing the plans for the person you want to be or the life you want to have. So anyways, you're y'all, that episode's gonna be great, go, but we'll talk about that on his recap. Anyways, I just really enjoyed Stacy. She's had it, it was a real, a real story authentic and like, and I'm excited for her and she's got some good stuff coming up. So make sure you check out the show notes because what she talked about in our episode, there's an opportunity to work with her. (Brad: Yeah) Like right after this episode comes out.

Brad Crowell  

Oh, right. Yeah, she's running one of her programs. Yeah.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. Okay. We have more to talk about though.

Brad Crowell  

All right. Let's finally talk about the BE IT action items that she had. What bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted action items can we take away from your convo with Stacy McAlpine. Okay, so she gave us basically one that had a handful of steps in it. So I thought we could go through it together.

Lesley Logan  

Okay. So the the the overall one is use your feelings to navigate. And like,

Brad Crowell  

I thought this was super interesting that she boiled it like after listening to because we just had that webinar yesterday was Sandra Chuma. And she said, play the seven why's. And she said most often the seventh why really boils down to how you feel. And I thought it was so funny, Stacy called it out right away. She's like, nothing matters except for how we feel, period. We do everything based on why we feel how we feel what you know what we're feeling all the things so she said, use your feelings to navigate.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. So and you're like, Okay, thanks, guys. Because I know, perfectionists and overachievers are like, yeah.

Brad Crowell  

What does that mean? How do you navigate with feelings?

Lesley Logan  

She kept going. So first one is when feeling something you don't like and this is, this is so key. Notice when you're like avoiding something this goes back to Kate Wind's episode too, like, where in your house do you use a four letter word when you walk through? Right? Like, just notice the feelings you don't like and where they are in your body or where they are in your day?

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, so if you feel something that you don't like, stop,

Lesley Logan  

look and listen

Brad Crowell  

Stop, drop and roll. No, stop. Okay, identify where it is coming from. Okay, what is it that's causing that feeling that you don't like? And then she said, one you identify that. Now you can take one baby ... what is what is one baby step that you can take that'll get you close for, closer to feeling peaceful. So when you feel something that you don't like, notice it, stop, identify where that feeling is coming from. And then what is one baby step that you can take that will help you get closer to feeling peaceful? And she said, usually there's multiple steps like two or three, but just start with one.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, so I hope this I mean, you can do this today, like right now, I'm sure somehow and then between now and near tomorrow, something is not going to be going well you like and then you can play with these things and just see where it is like you can even see where it is in your body. You can see where it's, you know, that's gonna sound a little woo to some people, but you know, your body knows what it doesn't like and it might be like in your left shoulder and or it could be just that you are like I really do not like at this route but I take home. Okay, so then what, stop and then identify why that where where's it coming from? Oh, it's do not like your job. Do you not like the car you're in? Do not like who you're with? Or maybe there's another route? (Brad: Yeah, I need to use a hellicopter instead) Or maybe there's a different time? Maybe you don't like it because of the time of day, you know. So anyways, I think it's really fun. She's super cool. I hope you if this resonated with you, I hope we get a chance to work with her. Let us know how you use these tips in your life and like what you notice when you use your feelings to navigate. I'm Lesley Logan.

Brad Crowell  

And, I'm Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan  

Thank you so much for being here. We are so so so grateful for you. And until next time, Be It Till You See It.

Brad Crowell  

Bye for now.

Lesley Logan  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review. And follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcasts. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others BE IT TILL YOU SEE IT. Have an awesome day! 

Be It Till You See It is a production of Bloom Podcast Network. 

Brad Crowell  

 It's written, produced, filmed and recorded by your host Lesley Logan. And me Brad Crowell. Our associate producer is Amanda Frattarelli.   

Lesley Logan  

Kevin Perez at Disenyo handles all of our audio editing.  

Brad Crowell  

Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianranco Cioffi.   

Lesley Logan  

Special thanks to our designer Mesh Herico for creating all of our visuals, (which you can't see because this is a podcast) and our digital producer, Jay Pedroso for editing all the video each week, so you can. 

Brad Crowell  

And to Angelina Herico for transcribing each episode, so you can find it on our website. And finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

How do you take a great idea and apply it to your life? How do you get through the seasons of overwhelm and find your clarity amongst it? Stacy McAlpine is joining the podcast today to share her story of choosing peace over overwhelm, taking great risks, to find greater rewards. The way that she overcame is accessible to you! Listen to find the principles to wake up to the life you love. 

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] .

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How you get through the transitions of stress
• What to do in the space of overwhelm
• Your life can be different! Choose to make a change. 
• How to get clarity to make major change in your life 
• The value in the 'should test' 
• How to access your feelings and create the capacity for change

BIO 

My name is Stacy McAlpine, and I am on a mission to support the millions living lives full of “shoulds” shift into lives they truly love waking up to! That mission includes not only expanding the reach of my own organization’s life-transforming programs, but also helping others with aligned missions expand their reach and impact for THEIR clients who want to help people with using their own specialties (such as you if we are a fit!)

You can see from my bio that I have a background in consulting and, along the way, created a methodology that applies the industry-leading, proven project and change management methods I used to deliver transformational results to some of the largest organizations on the planet, to individuals in their own personal lives!

I cultivated these methods when I was on my own journey of trying to survive an inauthentic life with overwhelming stress and mental overload. My transformation happened when I connected what I was doing for my clients with what millions of us as individuals needed in our own lives but weren’t getting from traditional methods in the market -- the application of the standard, repeatable, proven, reliable, trusted methods and techniques used to make organizational change, applied to our everyday, individual life journeys.

Once I discovered the missing link between desired change and actualized change for individuals, I “systematized” my methods and have been on a mission ever since to share them with the millions of others out there who need a lifeline and save them the decades it took me to try and crack the code without them. 

Episode References/Links:

• Journey Fuel Website
• Follow Journey Fuel on IG

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.

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Resources

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!
• Lesley Logan website
• Be It Till You See It Podcast
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube
• Profitable Pilates

Social Media

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• LinkedIn

Episode Transcript:

 Lesley Logan  

All right. Be It babes, welcome. Wow, this is an exciting time, isn't it? I'm so, I'm so excited about this time of year. It's actually one of my favorite, favorite times for so many reasons. Anyways, today's guest I'm excited for you hear her story, it is a journey. It is, it's got lots of twists and turns. And also she's walking her talk. And I, and I think it's important to hear that you're not alone. And taking two steps forward and a step backwards that people it happens to us all the time. And then also that there's other ways of doing it. And I really, I really think you're going to enjoy this. There's a lovely free gift at the end. So make sure you check that out, check our guests out. And I also you know, you know, I love the BE IT action items. But I really love this one. I think it is something you can simply do right now while you're listening this podcast, while you're walking your dog or in your car. So so as she asked those BE IT action questions that she poses I want you to you know, maybe hit pause and like answer it and then like play and then and pause and then until you get there. Our guests this week is Stacy McAlpine. And she has an incredible career like, I'm not kidding. And then also what she is doing now and I think it is just so awesome to see that there are so many possibilities if you are wanting to change your life and change what you're doing. I know you might feel like there's all these obstacles in the way but there are things that are allowed, that will allow you to be able to do it. And there's not a lot stopping you but maybe you and your ability to have clarity and possibility in your life and so I hope Stacy's story inspires you. So after this quick break, you'll hear from Stacy McAlpine.

All right, Be It babes. I'm really excited. I have a wonderful woman for you to to learn from today, Stacy McAlpine. And, you know what I love so much about this podcast is I get to meet so many new people that I probably may never have met in real life. And so Stacy, one of those people that I feel like our paths would have crossed across eventually, but I'm glad they're crossing here. Can you tell everyone who you are and what you're up to?

Stacy McAlpine  

Absolutely. Thank you so much. I love doing this. It's so fun, because I can meet your audience a little bit. So hello, my name is Stacy McAlpine. My background is, I was in consulting for 20 years. Every time I do one of these, I'm like, I say 20 years and then years go by so probably more than 20 years. So but at a minimum, it's been at least 20 years of consulting for big four consulting firms. So PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and those types of firms. And my clients were some of the biggest organizations on the planet. So think Department of Defense, Google, you know, those big government organizations, and my specialty was all about project management, process improvement, and change management. And to do whether you're changing an organization of 250,000 people, or an individual of one, it all takes individual action. So the bigger ones, like you're trying to get individuals to take action, not just a giant group of people. And so through that process, what I realized because also being my big personal development nerd, which I think maybe your audience can associate with ... (Lesley: 100%) perfectionist maybe, perfectionismitis. But so you know, when just always love learning about how to be my better self or how to, like not hate my life. And so bcause that was easy to do back then. I mean, I was working 50 to 60 hour weeks, you know, there was a time when I was doing all this for my clients. But my life sucked. So you know, thinking my laws... my husband was in law school at the time, full time. I was living in the DC area with an hour and a half, one way commute with fun traffic. I had a stepdaughter in high school, I had a child, one child that kept calling me grandma, because she saw my mom more than she saw me, you know, racking up the credit card debt because we were living on one income. So (Lesley: Yeah) I had night literally $98,000 and credit card debt. Last and upside down mortgage, plus racking up a $200,000 law school loan. So I was a little stressed.

Lesley Logan  

I was gonna say before hearing all of that I was like, this job sounds so stressful. Because (Stacy: Yeah) like, these aren't, these aren't like, I'm not that you would ever just like, "Oh, so easy to consult." But like those are like the the things that those people put out into the world affect (Stacy: Oh yeah) millions of people.

Stacy McAlpine  

Yes. And I love and love, I'm glad you mentioned that because I loved that about what I was doing the clients that I was working with my boss at the time, he's completely changed my life. Amazing human being. I followed him to three different companies every time he left, I'm like, "Don't leave me. I want to work for you. You work for people, not companies." (Lesley: Yeah.) So but he was always talking about being tip of the spear, you know, touching the mission. And so, you know, and I'm looking at working with Homeland Security and helping people not blow up on a plane. (Lesley: Right.) Yeah, when I'm working with the Department of Defense, I was working with military health on Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, like the biggest longest sentence of all time. But the Department of Defense and then Veteran Affairs had a joint initiative to build the Center of Excellence to help the military recover from PTSD and psychological health is as well as how do you become more resilient? And how do you help people? So it's like, I'm working with these people.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. So like, each project was like, hugely impactful or needed to be for many people. So that's a level of stress. And so you're going in and you're like so focused on these things, but then your life out behind is like, (Stacy: Yeah) kind of needing a it's needing a reboot of some kind, it's needing some support, (Stacy: Yes) because that's hard because, well, I mean, I think a lot of people listening can all relate to having one income at some point, like my husband and I, there was a time when he was switching careers. So it was on my business only and then, you know, and then he had his his income started up again. And then we decided, "Let's just all go in on my thing." So then we're back on like, this thing. And those transitions themselves are big decisions and can weigh a lot on your mind. Yeah.

Stacy McAlpine  

Oh, yeah, absolutely. And so you know, that that pressure was heavy. And I would like literally wake up crying, like hating my life thinking like, there is no light at the end of this tunnel. Where's this light? How do you make up $90,000? in credit card debt? How do you pay an update on mortgage? How do you survive a career like mine? Like if I left, you know, the salary without pressure is, you know, it's a good salary. So, if I were to leave that profession, I would be taking a huge pay cut. So I couldn't afford to do that, either. You know, and I figured, well, if I leave, in order to match my salary, it's going to be just as stressful job. Like, who pays people this when that's no stress, right? Like, (Lesley: Right) that's how that works. And I never really felt like I was making as much as I was because it was all going to debt. So like, I never felt like, (Lesley: Yeah) so it just was like that. So frustrating to know that you're making a good income yet you're like, literally poor, literally, like checking the gas tank and hoping that ...

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. is it enough to get me there. Yeah.

Stacy McAlpine  

But so with that I was in a space of overwhelm. And yet I was getting all this change for my clients. And something that there's just a big void in the personal development space of how do you actually implement it? (Lesley: Yes) Right. So there's a lot of motivation, a lot of inspiration, a lot of like, really cool ideas. And totally legit that work. (Lesley: Yeah.) But when you're in a state of overwhelm when your life is like, if somebody asks me one more thing, I might punch them in the face because I can't handle my emotions right now.

Lesley Logan  

I feel like every mom listening is like, yeah, I would like if my kids say (Stacy: Oh yeah.) ... and one more time. So yes, I'm with you (Stacy: Right) because it's true. Like, I'll, I'll hear these amazing affirmations or, or quotes or like ideas or theories. And it's like, yes, and then that's why we have BE IT action items at the end of the show. And then what do I do? How do I do it? (Stacy: Exactly) ... this into my already crazy stuck, (Stacy: Yeah) overwhelmed life but ...

Stacy McAlpine  

Yeah. 100%. And it's like, did you ever seen, what is that? It's like a movie with the moms like not badass mom. What is the call....

Lesley Logan  

The Bad Moms? The Bad Moms. (Stacy: Bad Moms) Yeah. Yeah.

Stacy McAlpine  

It might as well be badass. Right? (Lesley: Yeah) But Bad Moms, you know when where, the woman? What's her name? Kristen?

Lesley Logan  

Christina Applegate or

Stacy McAlpine  

Yes, thank you. Yes. No, the other girl. Anyway, (Lesley: The other one.) that's in there, who I love. She is going to bug me now and have to ... It will happen. Anyway. So she was like talking about wanting to be in the hospital as a break. Like I literally was jealous of Martha Stewart. Thought, "Oh my god, if I go to jail, I could, like have time, I could process my ideas." You know, I was driving around the parking lot trying to find a parking spot at the post office. And I told my kids, I'm like, "You're gonna have to tell the kids at school that your mom is in a mental hospital because she couldn't find a parking spot because I was like, losing my mind." That was ... (Lesley: Right.) So this is who I was for my kids, right? And it's like, I don't even want my kids to be like me, like plus, they're not even gonna know who I am. Like, how do they even this is not the (Lesley: No) person that I want them to think that I am like, how do you have a relationship ...

Lesley Logan  

They're calling you grandma. They think that you're gonna go crazy in a parking lot. (Stacy: Yeah) They never see you. And then when they do see you there's no money or time for anything. So (Stacy: Right) what fun is that?

Stacy McAlpine  

You know what interesting? So my stepdaughter, so my husband at the time was in law school, I was working my ass off, like totally a disaster stressful. We didn't have much money even though we were you know, pursuing all these dreams. And she actually she was screwing up her grades like major. It's like really hard to have that bad of grades. And you have to try to get right. And so we're like, "What is your deal? Like, literally, all you have to do is turn in the piece of paper and circle one thing and you'd have better grades." Right? And she's like, "You know, I just don't want to work as hard as you guys. Like, I don't ever want to what's the point? Like, I don't want to have a life like that. So what's the point? I'd rather it is not like what's the point of school? That's what it does to you." And it's like, whoa, that's intense, right? I'm thinking were follow... He's following his dream. And maybe it's like this great example and it literally demotivated her so much that she didn't even want to deal with school. We could just like, what's the point? I don't like it. You guys are doing a bunch of stuff you don't like. So ... (Lesley: Yeah) Interesting, right? So that ripple effect.

Lesley Logan  

Well, I mean, actions are caught not taught and like, and like here you are like you have a job that is super impactful. Again, like all the things that you're consulting on are really supposed to be life changing for the better. (Stacy: Yeah.) And yet, they're what they're seeing is, oh, if I do well at school, I get to work too hard, be stressed out, have no money, have no time and want to go into a mental hospital after I've crashed my car into the post office so that I can find a parking space. (Stacy: Yeah. Exactly.) So how did you go from like, "Gosh, I we do want to follow up on how her grades are." But how did you go from like that, to like, what you're doing now? What was that, what what was the breaking point was at the post office parking lot?

Stacy McAlpine  

Right. Well, it was one when like, I literally threw my Blackberry across the car once which Blackberry, you know ... But I just like, "Who the hell am I right now?" Like, "Who am I?" And something had to change and I have a longer story that we aren't going to have time for of like what my real moment moment was. But it all comes down to you know, I was in a nutshell, I was at a mall of all places. Like when there were malls that you like, walked around in (Lesley: Yeah) purpose.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, I have anxiety attack walking around and realize I need to change my life.

Stacy McAlpine  

I know, right? And it's like my friend at the time she was and that was like snapping at my kid was just being cute and skipping around. And she's like, "Something needs to change." And I'm like a hot tip. Thanks. Like, I didn't know that, you know, but she cared like, you could tell she cared. She's like, you are just implode, like, you can't keep going like this. It's just killing you. And you know, when you hear something at the exact right time, because sort of like somebody's saying, How are you doing? Like, bawling your head off because they just triggered the tears because they asked you how you're doing? (Lesley: Yeah) It's not like I didn't know. It's not like I you know, it wasn't this news. Oh my God, I didn't know that. But so she tells me this and I'm thinking, yeah, I know. But I don't know how to get out of it. I'm getting into my minivan strapping my daughter into the car seat hoping she falls asleep. And the music that comes on is this hallmark CD, which is I don't know if you've ever heard them I've been trying to find that I can't find it's called like a drive in the country or until it's this happy, lovely, peaceful music. And it's what I used to listen to when I was dating my husband where we were just having this amazing time. And I could not connect, like there was zero emotion like there was no happiness at all. It was just numb. Then I just started bawling like snot bawling, you know, not just crying like my ...

Lesley Logan  

Like you like a girl who should be in a Hallmark movie of some kind before the (Stacy: Yeah) before the story gets to the happy ending.

Stacy McAlpine  

... So I'm thinking only God that that was a big moment for part of my like, what changed kind of thing. It was just, I can't keep doing this. And then I'm watching this movie called Flicka, whichever have you ever heard is about this horse and this teenager and Tim McGraw's in it. And this teenager, like builds this relationship with this horse, and they're kind of broken souls healing one another, right? Um, no one had a Blackberry. Nobody had a laptop open, except, you know, Tim McGraw was like counting the numbers for the farm, you know, so there's stress, and you know, it's a movie, but it's like, other people do different things. But there's other careers. (Lesley: Yeah) Other things, people do that. And then you can start, you know, when you really think about it, like, there are people that run oil rigs, like there are people that are on TV, like they're so different lives are so different. And I just realized I had this moment of, I've done this to myself. I did this, it's not like some victim, like, I chose to support my husband to go to law school. I chose to have this kid, I chose this crazy career, you know, I did this. And I need to get my way out, like I have to do something different. There are other things on the planet that could possibly be happening, right. And so that really triggered it. And then I was thinking about my clients. And I'm like, "Well, why the hell can I change if I'm helping these people like huge organizations? It's like turning the Titanic literally to get any government change. And it's working. So why can't I get that ..."

Lesley Logan  

That you can turn governmental programs around, I think you've (Stacy: Rgiht) can turn your life around.

Stacy McAlpine  

Exactly. So like, what am I missing? And so what I ended up doing was taking the stuff that I had been learning and personal development like Tony Robbins stuff, you know, all the things that you know, personal power and listening to them when you get clear on stuff, but then there's no implementation. So I used what was out there to get some clarity but then I started bringing in the change management process and the project management tools and business process improvement. That's like applying that to my life.

Lesley Logan  

So you're taking the tools that you already use, and changing individuals and organizations (Stacy: Yeah) and you're like, "I'm just gonna take what I already do, and I'm just gonna do it to me. And my, my life. This is amazing. (Stacy: Right) Yeah. Okay.

Stacy McAlpine  

Yeah. So I'm like, I'm gonna pretend I'm a client. And so I started doing that. And it just, like, changed everything, like everything, because in project management, what your purpose is, is to help your clients get clarity of what is the outcome that you actually want? A lot of project managers come in and are like, oh, what do you want? I want to implement a new system. But why? Like, why do you want it? Is it just because you want new technology? Because it's old? Or is it because you want to be able to enable your team to make a bigger impact by processing this faster to get money to these people faster? So they can be out in the field and not get killed by bullet ... (Lesley: Right) You know, like, you could (Lesley: Yeah) draw the threat, you know, pull that thread, and it's like, what is it that? What is it really, that your outcome is? And once you know the outcome that you want, then you can start to say, Okay, so what's it going to take to get that outcome? Like, what are the things that you know, if you were to do these things would make that happen? And then you can get into Okay, well, how do you know when you're gonna get those? Like, how can you measure? Yes, I am or not, and you get that? And then you can say, Okay, so now we know where we're going. Now we know what it is that is going to give us the indicators that we're on the right path. So how do we resource this? Who do you need to have? What kind of resources do you need to get there, and then map it out, create the plan, build it out, and then all you have to do is walk the plan. So we do that within the first month of the, you know, year long project, and then you're just working the plan. And so that's what I do for individuals. It's like, how do I help you get so clear, using change management principles, using project management techniques, on what it is that you really want your life to be about, and your impact? And how do you want life to feel? (Lesley: Yeah) And then work that process, right. And then we map out so I have a program called love and life accelerator, which is taking the stuff that we do in my foundational program, which is called Walk-The-Talk Weekends, it's a two and a half day program where you really get that clarity. You get (Lesley: Yeah) what is that out... helping people get that? It's like, oh, go get clarity. No, I help you. (Lesley: Yeah) You've walk through that? Right. So (Lesley: Yeah. I love this ...) there's implementation.

Lesley Logan  

So this is okay. So, so I love this. We have a project manager on our team and like, some I have a love hate because I'm like, "I wanted this thing." And they're like, "Okay, let's have a meeting." I'm like, "... do the thing. I just want to go. (Stacy: Yeah, exactly.) Let me do my thing." And they're like, no, actually, when, you know, like, what's the outcome? Why are we doing this? Who is that for? (Stacy: Yeah) ... of them process? Who who's involved? All the things. But what ends up happening is that everyone knows their role, and everyone can do the thing, and no one is falling it like off the plan. And then you get to the outcome, and you have something's totally different. So it's amazing. So can we so you did this for yourself? And so how long did it take for you to put the principles on your own life? And then how long did it take you? Like, did you get out of the debt to do? Did your ... did your partner get out of college? Like what happened to help you (Stacy: Yeah) not for your BlackBerry anymore.

Stacy McAlpine  

Right. Yeah. So it was not like an overnight fix, right. But it was the beginning of once the if I did my principles, my values with the Tony Robbins thing, then I started putting it into the pieces that I just talked about, you know, and that's like, I don't know, I guess you could maybe call it a month, I don't remember like my life was so you know like, I don't remember the timeline. But it was over the course of those next few months, when I say, here's the thing, you don't have to have the outcome, to have your life change. You want to know what the outcome is, and have a trusted system, a trusted method that, you know, when you do it, it works. So that gives you this sense of security and this relief. Now, so you have to ...

Lesley Logan  

That's brilliant. I hope everyone just heard that because it's like, it's so many people are waiting for the outcome to happen to feel the change. But you, you have you know what the outcome is, you know, you put the tools in place, and so you can actually feel the effects of that now. It's like the light at the end of the tunnel. It's not a train. It really is there. (Stacy: Yeah) Yeah. Okay. I love that. I love that. So so you did that. And then and then you started to feel those effects of it. And then how long was did you leave? Are you still consulting? Like what ...

Stacy McAlpine  

Yeah. So what, the fastest version of the story is basically I ended up trying to quit my job. And my boss was like, I was about to make directors six months from director which is not an easy thing to do in consulting. It's a very flat organization. So you go from if you go from manager to Director, they're expecting that you're going to be potentially a partner. So it's like a big vetting thing, right. So I was six months away from when that was going to happen. It gives my resignation because I got all this clarity that this sucks. I'm not doing this and actually what's good was I had a job waiting for me with Homeland, I was gonna give up all this maternity leaves like, I'll figure this out, right? I'll find a way. And so had that as a backup plan gave my notice. And he's like, what if you could work 40 hour weeks, two days a week from home? I'm like, you get fired? Who are you? And why are you saying this? (Lesley: Yeah) And he's like, well, but I, you know, I think you can do it. And I'm like, name one manager and a big four consulting firm and your entire time in this industry that's ever made director working 40 hour weeks, two days a week from home like name one. (Lesley: Yeah) And he looks away. Then then he looks back. He's like, "I think you can do it." Me, the only person on the planet can do it. So the here's the deal is that I had the backup job, right? So I said, "Will you hold my job for six months. And I'll do this whole 40 hour, two days a week thing from home. And if it doesn't work out, I've got a job in six months if I don't make director." (Lesley: Yeah) So that's what I ended up doing. And I ended up working 40 hour weeks, two days a week from home and making director at a big four consulting firm. And what it all came down to was getting clear on what is it that matters? And what doesn't, what am I getting measured on? And what doesn't? What is all this? I don't need to do all this stuff? Because he said, your do you do too much. That's what he said to me on that when he said you do too much. I was like, like might this, you know, moment of well Yeah, probably I do. Right. So what is the too much? What is the stuff that I'm doing that doesn't matter? So that's where when you get really clear on what matters most in applying the techniques that I teach in my programs, which is what are your core seven things that matter most in your planet? And what are the things you're doing that don't line up? And so you can do the same thing with your profession, right? So if you're at work, and you're doing a bunch of stuff, and you need this visibility, you need all this stuff but really do you. Like what are you measured on? What do you need to do in order to achieve those measures? Because like in consulting, if you hit your numbers, that's what it's about. (Lesley: Right) Don't hit your numbers, you're kind of screwed. But what do I need to do to hit my numbers? And what do I need to do to be able to hit all these other things that are going to be the differentiator between making it or not, and everything else I stopped doing? Because if it doesn't make an impact, then it's just taking me away from my ability to do it. And ...

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, it's almost an ego thing. You're doing it to show that I can do this and like a control thing. These are great questions. I hope you all if you didn't write them down, and she said them rewind and write them down. Because you can ask this of yourself in all areas. But (Stacy: Yeah) not just your work life. Yeah.

Stacy McAlpine  

Yeah. So I ended up staying, I did that whole thing. And then ultimately, I still ended up getting a new boss who was not a nice, even, and didn't support that work arrangement, even though it was making my number. So I ended up going out on my own as an independent consultant. And making three times my salary. I paid off my debt in a year. (Lesley: Wow) Because I was getting my full bill rate. Right? (Lesley: Yeah) So, working for my old client. So it's a matter of okay, what can you do with what you have, that's possible that can still help you achieve what you want, right. And so that's what I ended up doing. And that's how I paid off my debt. And that's how I ended up being able to take the next step of, you know, what do I want to do next, I ended up going back into consulting again, because my husband at the time, was getting himself fired. And so I knew I needed a job that had benefits. So I kind of had to give up on what I was going to do to help other people implement. (Lesley: Yeah) So I did consulting for another seven years, but then what happened was, I was getting miserable again. I was doing all the same things with not without the support that I knew I needed to be successful. I hated my job. I was crying and I'm like, "Okay, this is not me living what I just got out of that other place for." Right and so (Lesley: Yeah) it's okay, what can I do? And it turned into I ended up being able to start my own company Journey Fuel, where now I'm helping people I went out on my own 1099 consultant, so I wouldn't have all the pressure of that job. (Lesley: Yeah) ... not on my own 40 hour weeks doing like, the most easy stuff. Like oh my God, I'm doing visio charts right now. This is amazing. (lesley: Yeah) I didn't have 93 hats. I didn't have people not supporting me, I didn't have the you know, proposals. It was just a different life. So I went on my own. And while I went on my own with that, I started building Journey Fuel, which is what I do now, which is helping people live lives, they love waking up to using the tools and techniques that are missing in the personal development space, which is how do you go from knowing to doing. (Lesley: Yeah) Like how do you go from you know, it's great idea to actually applying it into your own life.

Lesley Logan  

Thank you for sharing that like you've had like you had to go back to go forward because I think a lot of people get really frustrated with themselves when that happens and it happens to all of us. Right. Like I, like I remember I was in a job that that gave me anxiety. And so then I quit that to just do what I was passionate about and I was loving it. And then I, for insurance reasons as well took another job. And I brought literally all the same things I was overdoing in the other job, I brought that into this job, which is probably why they gave him the job. They're like, "Oh, that's a girl who will do too much." (Stacy: Yeah) And, and, and I overdid it there. And I was like, "Oh my God, here I am, again. Here I am, again, in this situation." And you can get so mad at yourself, or you can actually recognize the patterns. And then you can you can go, "Okay, well, now I know like, every time I'm here, this is how I go." So I definitely, like it's no longer a hypothesis. It's a fact. So I can make these changes. And I think that I think that's really important for people to hear from, from people like yourself who like had like, have had these crazy transformations and are doing what they love. They sometimes people think, oh, they went from A to B to rock bottom to D. And now they're like living their best life. And you had to go from A to B to A to B, a couple times before you could do that. And I think that, that allows you to really understand the pitfalls and the problems and like see, like, "Oh, this is the missing link here." And this is the thing that everyone needs, so they can actually do the thing that they want to do and not just keep going back in that vicious cycle.

Stacy McAlpine  

Absolutely. And the thing about that is, you know, Steve Jobs said, you can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect the dots looking backwards. I'm like, "That makes no sense. Like, why does that make any sense?" He said like connecting the dots? Right. How do you look backwards and connect? And then I thought, well, "He's really smart." So there must be something to what he's saying. So reflecting on it, it's like, well, you're having all of these experiences in life, right? It kind of comes back to you got yourself into it, how do you get yourself out of it. But there are things in those scenarios, like in those miserable experiences, or just skills that you're learning along the way that when you start to look backwards, like, "Oh my gosh, that was why that happened." Or if I didn't have that 32 years ago, and then I didn't have this like 20 years ago, and then fast forward another 10. And now where I'm at, I wouldn't have the ability to have the scope of experience to help other people. I just wouldn't. (Lesley: Yeah) There's, you know, I could have some of it and you don't have to know everybody's life. But to know what pain is, like to know what it feels like when you can't think past the next second without wanting to feel like a pile on the floor. You know and to know how to get out of it, and how to put things in place so you don't need to be a pile on the floor before you take the next step.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, you can, you can take it sooner. (Stacy: Yeah) I will and I think that's so true. I mean, like I have so I like I coach a lot of Pilates instructors and talk a lot fitness instructors and it works well because I've been in their shoes so when they say that their client who they see four times a week just told me her me gone for three weeks I know how much money that hurts. That's not like their friend or even another coach will be like, "Okay, so you have extra four hours a week." Like it's like no actually they don't have another client to slip in that person's been holding those four hours hostage for this long and they have to like come up with a new client overnight who wants that much. So it's important I think our experience is sometimes we go, "Why is this happening to me?" And it's like it's actually happening for you because what all that happened for you, all those snotty tears in the car happened for you so that you can actually understand on a very like deep cellular level when someone says like the music in the car is playing and I don't even hear it. Like I that's where I'm at and you can be like, "Oh actually I know how down the rabbit hole. I know how far you are. I know how close you are on the bathroom floor. Let's let's make these changes now." (Stacy: Yeah, exactly.) you know I think it's so I think it's it's so cool that you've like put yourself in this position of like of like taking the actual applying the actual self development into our lives. Because I do think that that is where people just become like the self development junkies they like I (Stacy: Yeah) I listen to a lot of podcasts and like it's so easy for me to like hear podcast about this and boundaries and this and boundaries and I'm like okay, but I gotta now have that conversation about boundaries. How do I how do I do that? So I think the world needs someone who can like apply it. So you when you when you start to like apply these product management tools in a things to adding the supplemental change they want to do to their life now is this something that has a pin on the thing that they want to do. How quickly can they add these things and is it really a month long like setup before they can ... What what's what's that process like because my perfectionist want to know? What's the timeline?

Stacy McAlpine  

I know. Right. How do I get this to happen right right now? So well and just as a you know background so I call my company Journey Fuel because like the journey right but and the idea of strategic planning and goals and measures just makes me want to like to grow up like I'm so sick of those, like, that's such a stressful set of terms. So I've changed the whole into different words, same concept because they work, but it's like how do you associate the process to be enjoyable? Like you're on a journey to find your authentic, amazing life. And that's to be enjoyable. So it doesn't just like some project where you're going to come up with these measures and these goals, like what is it that in you that you want, that's going to magnetize you forward versus having to push this rock up a hill is what most of it feels like. So what I do, my very first step is what program I call Walk-The-Talk Weekend, two and a half days, I just had one and another one coming up. And it's two and a half days. And we go through first day is how to just get the snow to settle and the snow globe, right, like you see shake is and it's like, just (Lesley: Yeah) snow settle. Let's just get that to stop. And then how do you get clarity on what you want your life to be like? And the very first thing and you guys can all do this right now. So you can start today, which is you know, life is a collection of feelings. That's it. That's it. Like we're here to experience, feelings. That's all there is. So all the stuff, all the people, all the things that we're dreaming and wishing for. That's all to feel some way. (Lesley: Yeah.) So when you get to if you start there versus what do you want? Like, what are your goals? What's your purpose? Like it's just, like, for me, I just, it paralyzes a lot of people. So I knew that I would do it. Thanks. Hot tip. (Lesley: Yeah) And plus your brain is so crazy how to even connect, you know, I couldn't connect to that music like I just wouldn't. (Lesley: Yeah) And so when you're in a space like that, the best place that and this is why I start all my programs this way is how are you feeling now? Why? How do you want to feel instead? And what do you want that life experience to feel like? Then we on that first day do some visualizations, different techniques that I use that incorporate the practices without it feeling like I'm doing some business thing, like it's all very fun and engaging. And it what ends up doing is it gets you into a space where you can start to use your feelings to guide what comes next. And then we do things like well, what's in your life when you feel that way? Then start to find the themes in that. And that becomes day two, where we're really looking at what can let's should test that. Like, do you just want it because you're supposed to want it?

Lesley Logan  

Oh, I love. I should test. Yeah, I think I should do that. Yeah.

Stacy McAlpine  

Yeah. Should test. And so is that for real? Like, is that coming from you? Or is that coming from your experience of other things that have gotten you there? Right. So we do, we should test in core, get it down to core seven, like seven things that you value most by going through that process? And then now that you know what your core seven are your things that matter? Most you can do what I was sharing earlier is like now you have a litmus test that went on day three, we talk about tools and techniques. And well, how do you live those seven and nothing else? How, what are the tools and techniques you can use? And it really comes down to listening, you know, every single decision I make and everything that goes on what people call it to do lists that I call a playlist? Is does it line up with one of my seven yes or no? And if it doesn't, I don't do it. And if I can't not do it, then the next question is, well, why am I doing it? What in my life is keeping me that I think I need to do this? What's happening? Where's that coming from? And you can use that to just start asking questions till you can filter that out. Right. (Lesley: Yeah) ... that out of your life. But now you are aware that this is here, it's not part of my core seven, how do I get shift my life and I teach a bunch of different techniques on how to do that. So two and a half days, you go from crazy snowglobe head to knowing exactly what your core seven or how to make a decision that's going to keep you in alignment and bring that experience of feelings and life to life. (Lesley: Yeah) And then the next step is my accelerator program which I actually broke into an eight week program where you now take that and now I help you step through, "Okay, now let's like activate that and and look at your life as a whole and by the end of the eight weeks, help you build the capacity for change ..."

Lesley Logan  

So that's nice because it's like it's not like we're not doing a one hour and we're not doing it in three weeks. It's like you (Stacy: Right) there's there's enough time in there to make mistakes, make tweaks, make changes and they can implementation. That's really that's really cool to know. Because I think I think sometimes we think it needs to happen tomorrow and we'd like it to (Stacy: Yeah) happen tomorrow. But there's a lot of unraveling that has to happen and some clarity that has to get in there. So this is so cool. I thank you for sharing this amazing journey that you've gone on because it's so it's always good to hear the behind the scenes and like, what was the what, what brought them to being where they are, where they just seem like, it's all amazing, it just it is, but they're that doesn't mean it was always. So it's so good to hear that like you are a human being. (Stacy: Yeah. Exactly.) And then you can use, you've like use what, what you were doing before but for for more impact and also so that you can also walk your talk, which is a lovely. Stacy, we're gonna take a quick break, and then everyone we're going to find out her BE IT action items for you and where you can find her and work with her. Okay, Stacy, where do you like to hang out? What social media platform? What's your website? Where can people find you and work with you?

Stacy McAlpine  

So the best way to find out about what I'm doing is to go to journeyfuelgift.com, g i f t.com. Because part of where, you know, coming on here to your point of like saying a bunch of things, but not how to do it. I'm all about how to do it. So when you go to journeyfuelgift.com. I have a gift for your audience that you can sign up for my next slot, Walk-The-Talk Weekend for free. And you can also sign up for a lot of times, I have these 90 minute but I call find your fire within sessions, where if you, you know, you're not ready for two and a half days, you just come to a 90 minute, find your fire within, get yourself started, get your soul back and alive. And you can get to that on that link as well. So when you go to that link, you can sign up for those two things. That's the absolute best way because then you're doing something for yourself and not just learning about me. (Lesley: Yeah) If you do, just want to know about a little bit more you the @yourjourneyfuel on Facebook, or Instagram. And you can find out what I'm doing from there. That's an it'll direct you to where my website is and stuff. But I encourage you to act in for yourself and take an action of do the 90 minute thing. Do the Walk-The-Talk Weekend. It's two and a half days of your miserable life. Right.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. You put it like that, it's like yeah, it's only you can keep going. Or you can take two and a half days off. But you're not wanting. Oh, I love that. Okay, you've given us some great questions, some great tips already. But for the people who like skip to the end, they just want the action item. Bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted steps people can take to be it till they see it. What do you have for us?

Stacy McAlpine  

Number one thing you can do is something we all have accessible, which is our feelings, which isn't something that we're generally taught to use as a way of navigating. But they're there for a reason. And so if you're having a feeling you don't like, you know, stop, think about okay, where's this coming from? And how do I want to feel instead? And what are three different things or if you can only come up with one but usually there's at least three things you can do to get closer to feeling that way. So even if it's the tiniest step, right. So let's say you're super overwhelmed, and you want to feel peaceful, like what's one baby step that you can take, that'll get you closer to feeling peaceful because the more baby steps you take, the more capacity you have to think bigger and to do bigger things. But until then, it's just getting yourself to where you have the ability to do it right to give yourself something achievable, that you can succeed in. So how are you feeling? How do you want to feel instead? What's one thing you can do to get closer to that? And it will change your life. I guarantee you.

Lesley Logan  

It will. Y'all I've done things like that. And it's like, it's like even sometimes it's like, I gotta go clean the kitchen right now. And I'm like, that's not gonna be fun. So I'm going to turn on some rap music and make it fun so that it feels like I'm having fun while I load that dishwasher. Stacy, (Stacy: Right) thank you so much for your amazing story and for your amazing tips. I really, I know these are going to be super helpful for our listeners. Be It listeners, how are you? Thank you so much for listening. How you gonna use these in your life. Let us know tag Stacy, tag the @be_it_pod. We'll have all those links in the show notes so you can take advantage of her free gift as well. And then share this with a friend because that is also how it is so much easier to be the person you want to be when the people around you are doing that as well. So make sure you let us know what your takeaways are. And until next time, Be It Till You See It.

Be It Till You See It is a production of Bloom Podcast Network. 

Brad Crowell  

It's written, produced, filmed and recorded by your host Lesley Logan. And me Brad Crowell. Our associate producer is Amanda Frattarelli.  

Lesley Logan  

Kevin Perez at Disenyo handles all of our audio editing.  

Brad Crowell  

Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianranco Cioffi.  

Lesley Logan  

Special thanks to our designer Mesh Herico for creating all of our visuals, (which you can't see because this is a podcast) and our digital producer, Jay Pedroso for editing all the video each week, so you can.

Brad Crowell  

And to Angelina Herico for transcribing each episode, so you can find it on our website. And finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Recapping pilates instructor and pelvic floor specialist, Claire Sparrow, Brad and Lesley breakdown the conversation around your pelvic floor health and how to open up the conversation to all. 

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at [email protected] .

And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Life on the road & more on Feng Shui
• What the heck is a pelvic floor anyway? 
• Removing the fear around prolapse
• Does Pilates help your pelvic floor? 
• Opening up the conversation for all genders 

Episode References/Links:

• Feng Shui workbook
• Claire Sparrow Profitable Pilates Course

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.

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Resources

• Watch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!
• Lesley Logan website
• Be It Till You See It Podcast
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan
• Online Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTube
• Profitable Pilates

Social Media

• Instagram
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• LinkedIn

Episode Transcript:

Lesley Logan  

Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I'm Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I've trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it's the antidote to fear. Each week, my guests will bring Bold, Executable, Intrinsic and Targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It's a practice, not a perfect. Let's get started.

Welcome back to the Be It Till You See It interview recap where my co hosts in life, Brad and I are going to dig into the flooring convo I have with Claire Sparrow in our last episode. If you haven't yet listened to that one, feel free to pause this now, go back and listen to that one and then come back and join us. And you're gonna want to listen to it because we there's no way we could cover all the things that she explained. But y'all if you've heard about your pelvic floor, if you've been told to strengthen your pelvic floor, if you've just been told, oh, you pelvic... it's okay that weak pelvic floor because you had all these kids like, no. Remember Jessica Valant whole thing that like just because it's normal doesn't mean it's optimal. So go back and listen to Claire, first of all, she has an amazing accent. So it's really one, wonderful to listen to. What do you think? (Brad: I think so.) Yeah. So anyways, go listen to that one but you can listen to this one now ...

Brad Crowell  

Well, she you know I mean it's what is the pelvic floor? I like (Lesley: It's not a floor ...) come from your from the yoga world. And we don't talk about pelvic floor over there. But I always like I had one teacher years ago talk about the punch bowl of the hips and he talked about keeping it level so that you punch bowls not spilling anything ever. And so that's what I came from so when I learned this phrase the pelvic floor, I'm just imagining a fucking punch bowl. (Lesley and Brad laughs) I never told Claire that but ....

Lesley Logan  

She knows that now. I also just love that she's like it's not even a floor like right there is like, why are we calling it that? Because it does make you think that like, you know, I don't know, it just makes you think you have to like, put a new flooring, and that's not that's not it at all. So it's a diaphragm. Anyways, that's also an episode. So, um, we are currently clearly sitting next to each other.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, if you're watching on YouTube, surprise, we decided to change it up a little bit today.

Lesley Logan  

We have to do this to other podcast where we're a couple and so like, the best thing to do was just like be on the same side because they were on their same side. And then Brad left town and then he came back and went to record these recaps before we travel and the mi...

Brad Crowell  

Still set up this way. (Lesley: Still set up this way. So ...) But it's kind of cool. You know, it could be it could be good, it's a little weird that I'm not looking at you.

Lesley Logan  

I know. I'm like ...

Brad Crowell  

I know. We keep looking glancing at each other.

Lesley Logan  

It's weird. Anyways, (Brad: Yeah. We'll see. We'll see.) I don't think we're sticking with it. Because I have to sit in my chair in a weird way. It's not, I'm not loving it. Anyways, we're gonna we're gonna love it for the moment. (Brad: I'm loving it.) So we are currently if you listening to this in real time, we are somewhere around Delaware at this point in time. We're in Delaware right now.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, we're in Delaware right now.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, we're in Delaware. So that means we have we have hit up Dallas, Houston, Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, Greensboro, and we are chillin in Delaware, which I think we probably are about to drive into Philly at this point. But yeah, it's winter tour time. And if you are like, "What this tour is happening? How do I get in on it?" There are two options left. I'm gonna be honest. It says you can join us in Cleveland, St. Louis, St. Louis has sold out. But ...

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, St. Louis is probably sold out at this point, Cleveland has a few extra spots. (Lesley: It's sold out so fast.) If there's a demand for in St. Louis like, we have the potential to add a second class. But you got to tell us that that's something you're interested in. (Lesley: Yeah) It's a reformer class. So you know, just send us a DM.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. So I'm it, I love our tours. So much fun. Before the tour, I got to go to one of our stops, right, like a week before. (Brad: Yeah) That, it's just it's a lot of fun to get out and see all we love, we love where we live. We love to get out and get to where you are. So that's a lot of fun. We will be hanging out in Denver for a little lunch sesh. So if you are one of our peeps out in Denver, make sure you reach out to us ... so we can let you know.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, cuz we don't know exactly what time we'll be rolling through. So we're gonna get not until we get a little closer.

Lesley Logan  

No, it's a road trip. So we're, you know, if we can have a detour we can like, go shopping. The dogs need a dog park. So we were some of these things you fly by the seat of your pants. And we just want to say, because while while there might be another episode, no, the next episode that you'll hear us is after Christmas. So right now and take this moment to say we're wishing you a very happy holiday. (Brad: Yeah) We hope you're enjoying your family. (Brad: Yeah, absolutely.) If you don't enjoy your family, I hope you're having a great time rocking out with yourself in the family you chose.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, exactly. Or being by yourself. Because (Lesley: Oh my God.) that could be great, too.

Lesley Logan  

I did Thanksgiving alone ish. My dad and I went out had dinner or lunch together. And I have to just say this. It was glorious. I slept in. And then I was like, I don't have I don't I don't have anything, I don't any I can't do whatever I want. Whatever I want right now, I highly recommend at least a holiday alone. Anyways, okay, we have to talk about Claire. But first, we have an audience question to share.

Brad Crowell  

We do. This is really cool. So thank you for actually reaching out here and firing off this question. It was specifically about a previous episode. So if you all heard ... (Lesley: 157) Yeah. Episode 157 with Kate Wind. The question was, hey, I'm listening to the latest episode today. Are there any Feng Shui books you would recommend? And we thought, since we're not the person to answer this question, we should reach out to Kate. So she actually just got back to us. And she said, well, she actually wrote a book. (Lesley: Yeah) And she would absolutely recommend her book. (Lesley: Yeah) So her book is called Vision Board Feng Shui, and it's an E-WorkBook. And we will have the link for you in the show notes. So (Lesley: Yeah) basically, she said, It's great for all levels of people who are interested in Feng Shui, it'll help you understand the concepts and start, you know, working through that in your own life.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, and so you can, so Kate Wind has, she's on Instagram, and she has her own podcast as well she and her mom do it's called Mom and Me and Astrology. And I really do get a kick out of their podcast it's I just love her view on these things. And I also have another listener bold moment was like, I looked up where my door faces and I like looked up what that is and I just love hearing these things from you guys because thank you for listening first of all, that's amazing. But also the whole goal of bringing these different guests on is to help you make changes and you don't have to make these big changes like even Kate said it right but even Claire said you don't have to like go all in it's an all or nothing. It's like what can you like just look up you know, someone else looked up their Strength Finders, they did their their their Strength Finders as well. (Brad: Oh, I love that.) Yes. And so so we have to have a whole conversation. (Brad: Share share us your results.) Yeah, so I got a result. We were on a coaching call. She's an Agency member. (Brad: Okay great. Okay cool.) And then we got to use Kevin Kepple. I don't remember ihis episode was like 150, 149, 151, (Brad: That's recent.) that's recent. And he was saying like the balcony in the basement so we're able to like look at our strengths and we use Kevin's references to like talk about like, how we're her balcony would be and then we're where the basement and beyond this so she could be on the lookout. So anyways, (Brad: That's amazing.) you guys, are you allowed to send us any question you want to the @be_it_pod, you can do it on Instagram, you can send to support. I think we've emailed [email protected]

Brad Crowell  

No, it's not it's [email protected].

Lesley Logan  

Oh, well, I've been telling everyone [email protected] because ...

Brad Crowell  

We don't have Gmail. So that definitely is not it. So there's that. (Lesley: Well...) [email protected].

Lesley Logan  

Okay, well, if you if you sent ... there. Send it to this new one. I don't know. I don't know what I read. Anyways. Okay, let's talk about Claire Sparrow.

Brad Crowell  

Okay, let's talk about Claire Sparrow, all the way from Leeds in the UK. Claire Sparrow is a Pilates teacher for over two decades, who specializes in working with women experiencing chronic pelvic floor dysfunction, after going through a traumatic birth experience herself. She didn't want to have surgery. So she healed herself through movement and breathwork instead. And now she actually brings hope to other women who are going through the same issues where there seems to be no answer. And she supports these women in person. She actually has a studio, a Pilates studio in Leeds. And also she has an amazing online program that will help you restore, restore yourself back to normal so that you can live the life that you want to be leading.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. Well, I just I love her. And it was so fun because we ended up that was an in house podcast. (Brad: Yeah, that was super fun.) She was, she was here at the house. She was staying with us. It was a crazy week. We had her and John Steele. And ....

Brad Crowell  

We did. It was actually amazing. It was such a fun week.

Lesley Logan  

It just felt like what where are the cameras now? Because this is a reality ... at this point, like an 87 year old man is like tapping on the window to come in and use the house and like that man happens to be the author of a book and like, you know, was Joseph Pilates like adopted son.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah. Amazing. So I'm going to happen here first and talk about the elephant in the room. Okay? What the heck is a pelvic floor anyway? And is a prolapse as terrifying as terrifying as it sounds. (Lesley: So a two elephants?) Two elephants. (Lesley: Okay) Well, because they mentioned prolapse, they mentioned you know, she mentioned prolapse and pelvic floor. So first off the pelvic floor, I'm just going to literally read well, like I listened to the section of the pod like three times, I'm gonna read what my notes on this because I want to make sure I get it right. So the pelvic floor is a set of dynamic muscles, three main muscles that are interwoven, like a French braid, they attached to the back and front of your pelvis, and each of your sitting bones on your butt, on your bottom. So they are meant to expand and lengthen. Three times the resting length. So meaning if the resting length is one foot, they are meant to expand to three feet to up to three feet, when you're doing normal movement. So imagine when you're doing a squat, if it's connected to your pelvis, you know that your butt and you're squatting, you're obviously lengthening that. Right. So that's the idea there. And then Claire use the example of like an elastic band, right, we've all used the Thera-Band. She said, it's not a floor, there's no floor at all, like, it's a weird term to call it a floor. She said it's more of like a diaphragm where it expands and shrinks. And also, she said, it's a superhighway of nerves, wrapped with those loads of muscles that she was just talking about. So the nerves that go through there are the biggest nerves in your entire body that will run straight through there as well. Which is part of the reason where, where this can be so complicated for women after childbirth, because you know, your body is going through something that's pretty extreme, and moving things around. And that can pinch things or not pinch things or whatever. And then it messes with your muscles, which are meant to hold all those nerves tightly and safely. And if your muscles get messed up, it can actually affect those nerves. So, nerves, so the nerves, those damn nerves. (Lesley: Your pelvic nerd.) Yeah, those pelvic nerds sounds like a fucking share to me.

Lesley Logan  

I just think it's I think there's those like those things and kids toys were like they go like, like ... if you're listening to this, you can't see what I'm doing. But you know, like, there's those like, those weird toys that like they come together like a little atom, and then they expand apart and they come together and like, thank goodness they do but why? Like, I know the human body makes a lot of sense. And these are muscles. So it's not organ, organ, but it like it feels like a little organ. Because it's like so important. And there's and it and it's a delicate balance like I mean the whole body is a delicate balance, which is why I love Pilates because nothing gets overworked or underworked. That's where your your pelvic floor can have the most problems because something can be overworked. And other things can be under worked. And then you you're out of balance. And that's where you get some issues. There's one more elephant you wanted to address.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah. So what is a prolapse? Right. I mean, it's just the the word itself is, I mean, it's a little scary sounding. And when we, the common misconception is that something has fallen out of you, or dropped and, you know, whatever. There's, it's just a very weird, visual and Claire's is kind of on a mission to change the way we talk about that. And she said, it's actually just moved or displaced, meaning, like so so your, if your muscles are not in a, they're not strong enough to hold those nerves and protect those nerves, those same muscles are also holding your organs into place. Right? So if your muscles are weak, then they can't do that they can't operate in that fashion. And that would that means that your organs have the potential to slide around to somewhere where they're not supposed to be? Because the muscles aren't strong enough to hold them in place. That is a prolapse. Okay, so she actually specifically used the uterus as an organ that has has the potential to move. You know, if you have a, you know, if you're dealing with pelvic floor stuff, and that's actually what happened to her. And so she talked about that. And then, so anyway, I think that it's really important to just like, get rid of this, like, terrifying concept of what a prolapse is. Yes, it's definitely (Lesley: You don't want it to happen.) You don't want it to happen. I'm not saying it's not a big deal. But it's also not like, you're not like, you know, your organ is not dropping out of your body. Yeah, that's not what's happening here. So

Lesley Logan  

It's not it's not ... to never be back to never be back in place again, like it's there are options. So, which I think is like, nice and helpful. Okay, I'm gonna jump in.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, yeah. So I mean, having covered those, I thought about that as like the elephant in the room, because I think it's important to dispel any preconceived notions. Such as the punch bowl analogy I put at the beginning, you know, or whatever the hell else it is that that has gone through, you know, any of our heads here, because when we can all talk about the same thing, then we can have a better, more educated conversation about it.

Lesley Logan  

Well, I think it's so that you can, if you are going through something and like you feel something is out of place. And I mean, I've had friends who've definitely felt down there and sometimes not been right. Having a better understanding scientifically around what you're going through is going to allow you to have a conversation with your doctor or your provider, in a way that makes you feel seen, and, and that you understand what's going on. And this is something that's very important. If you just go if it doesn't feel right, the doctor doesn't know how to handle that. But if you can actually like it, through listening to these experts that we bring in, if it allows you to advocate for yourself, and we have, we have an advocate coming, do we that's coming out next ...

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, couple couple more episodes, we have a health advocate on as a guest.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. So she talks about like, having this information so that when you talk to your provider, you can actually have specifics to talk to them about, it's going to allow you to have a stronger conversation with them and get the help that you need. So you don't have to be afraid of these things. And you can actually understand what they're saying, they can understand what you're saying, you can get the help faster. Okay, my thing. Of course, I loved that she talked to help answer the question, "Will Pilates help strengthen your pelvic floor?" And this is where we like chatted a little bit about the all teachers are the same, like for example, I'm not don't count me for your pelvic floor, clearly, but also like that's, yes, the Pilates that I teach could help that. But if you are in an acute situation where you do need to balance your pelvic floor out, then I want you to seek out a teacher who has actually been trained in this way, you can actually reach out to Claire because she has teachers that she's trained. She also has a course for this for this. She has classes to help you out with that. And I love that she also talked about like it's it's less about telling the pelvic floor what to do and more about stimulating it and that's where she got into the thing about the key goals. Oh my gosh, I had so many clients ... I'm doing my key goals at the stoplight and I'm like, okay, there's some other things down there. We got to do. We don't want to just like overdo it with those things, and that's, that obviously can cause the issues that Brad talked about in his talking points from her. But she, she mentioned that we can do more about stimulating the pelvic floor properly. So we can teach it how to move on its own without us thinking about it. And that's like, that's where Pilates really can come into place, especially if you have a teacher who knows how to incorporate Pilates and the pelvic floor. And here's why I don't think about my posture. I do enough Pilates that my body thinks about my posture for me, your body is actually when it's imbalanced. When you actually balance all the muscles, your body knows how to walk, sit, sneeze, breathe, all things without you going. Did I think about that? Did I think about inhaling that way, you know what I mean? So like, if you are, for example, trying to work on breathing through your nose more, it means you think about it a while. But hopefully over time, the goal is that your body will do it on its own. So I really loved that she talked about stimulating the pelvic floor properly. So we can teach it how to move. It's just a little bit of retraining, right? Because who knows how long you've been doing it the other way? So anyways, I love she's just I mean, I felt like I went to I felt like I did a three hour course in like 45 minutes.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, I mean, I think she talked about the difference between kegals and like, what, how the concept that Dr. Kegel came up with with Kegel exercises, and using Kegel devices, how Pilates can help stimulate similarly. So I think that's pretty amazing. That Pilates can do that.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, I know. I think it's I mean, it's all impressive. So yes, if you're coming to a Pilates for your pelvic floor, absolutely do that. But definitely make sure that the teacher you're with has done some training in it. Because, you know, we all like Pilates can also help with Parkinson's, Pilates can also help with a lot of knee surgeries. But when you start to get nuanced like that, you're gonna want to find someone who's gone down a path to get more training in that.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, definitely. All right, let's talk about those BE IT action items, what bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted action items, can we take away from your conversation with Claire Sparrow? I'm gonna, I'm gonna throw out the first one here. And really, truly it's talk about it. Open up conversations about pelvic floor, I know that it can be embarrassing. I don't personally know that. But I know that people are embarrassed about what happens. You know what's happening with their body. And it's it can become an awkward conversation. But it shouldn't be. It doesn't have to be.

Lesley Logan  

And also we talked about it hasn't come up in this episode we did. So that's why you have to listen to Claire's actual interview, we talked about can do men have one? And can they have issues? (Brad: Yes.) She actually said yes. And these are the signs of it. And you know, I'm not going to name names, but you had some men in your life who went through a certain situation down there, and became like a cancer situation. And because of that, you were like, "Huh, how am I doing? Let me go get that checked out." And so it's like, the more we talk about (Brad: Right) anything going on with our health, the more likely we can actually save more people from going down the wrong path for a long time.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, I think that pelvic floor issues are becoming even more common, because people are sitting more and more with their desk jobs. And then also, Claire specifically called out truck drivers, because they're sitting for, you know, 8 10 12 hours at a shot while they're moving the the trucks around. And ...

Lesley Logan  

Well, our yoga teacher said it like chairs and shoes are the worst inventions. But like, you notice, I think it's also a more common because people are also talking about it, like I think ...

Brad Crowell  

Right? Like it's actually just awareness.

Lesley Logan  

Just awareness. (Brad: Yeah) So keep the awareness going. Make sure you talk about it to the men and women and, and, and everyone.

Brad Crowell  

Yeah, and I'm gonna I'm just gonna jump around here because this isn't, wasn't on our timeline. But there was there was something very specific that I wanted to mention. If you've been told, you just have a weak pelvic floor, or you've had three children, this is normal. Oh, this is because of your age. And there's nothing that can be done. That's not the case.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, I think we, I mean, we've said it in many episodes, but seriously, just just because a lot of people went through that doesn't mean you have to live with that. You know, just because it's normal doesn't mean it's optimal. Like that is, Thank you Jessica for that phrase, right there. My be it ... My BE IT action item is, could we just let it go. So like ... about like, the fear, fear you gotta let that go. Because that's not helping you. In fact, that might even be causing more problems because when we're in fear, we sort of tense muscles and things like that and create more of a mo...

Brad Crowell  

It can mess with your sleep, your stress, your digestion.

Lesley Logan  

Which is not going to help any of the things.

Brad Crowell  

Any of the things.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. So let the fear go. You know, do what we, you'll hear it in and Lindsay's episode in a few weeks about like what you can do to make sure you are prepared to advocate for yourself in this situation. (Brad: Yeah) And that's going to take some of that fear away. And it's going to let you get the help that you need. She also meant to let, we're oftentimes pulling things in all the time. So we've talked about this before it was what episode but like, you shouldn't even be pulling your abs in all the time, like a Pilates instructor is often do this, because they're keeping their abs and they're teaching people their abs and your abdominals should be able to go in and out just like your diaphragm goes in and out just like your pelvic floor should not be in a tense mode all the time, it's only going to create more problems, just so you know that the app thing you will come become constipated. It's called hypertension, just (Brad: Yeah, I mean ...) jor no hype...

Brad Crowell  

I don't know what it's called. But if you keep you know, basically, when you're tensing all those muscles all the time, you're not allowing the bones to move, the muscles to move or anything. And that's supposed to be happening down there. So she specifically, Claire specifically said, your pubic bone has to move. And you can't, you know, you're not allowing it moves when you breathe. And if you're tense when you're breathing, you're not actually allowing anything to move at all. (Lesley: Yeah) And that's actually not benefiting you.

Lesley Logan  

Yeah. So obviously, when you're doing Pilates, you have a special special way of breathing. So do that. But then in life, she mentioned like getting that breath all the way down to the pubic bone. And I was like, trying to do that I was like, and I was, I was like, visualizing, I'm like, I think it's like just just above it. I'm not getting all the way there. So, so I got to work on that. But all these was just, it was just so I'm so glad to finally have her on the pod. She's not only she's so passionate about that, but she's truly changing people's lives with this. And the more teacher she's able to teach this to and the more people she's able to teach this to, her course is so thorough, it's so beneficial, the better we all will be.

Brad Crowell  

I mean, I was just floored by her interview. So

Lesley Logan  

Yeah, just by her interview, you're floored.

Brad Crowell  

I was floored.

Lesley Logan  

Oh, I got it.

Brad Crowell  

You got it. Okay. Thanks.

Lesley Logan  

I got it. 

Listen, if you take away nothing else from this interview, notice there's hope to get back to a normal life and pelvic floor issues don't have to stop you from living and doing the things you want to do. We talked about this in our interview, I not just pelvic floor issues, but I really do see that a lot of people's health issues, keep them from moving their life forward. (Brad: Yeah, sure.) And it doesn't have to be that way. But especially, especially this, like, we taught, like so many people are not doing things with their children or not (Brad: Yeah) saying yes to things because of, of what's going on down there. And it's like, there's hope for you. So

Brad Crowell  

And menopause does affect this, this region. So if you are going into menopause, and you have not addressed the pelvic floor issues you may have that can actually make things worse. So it's important to be aware of this kind of stuff sooner than later. But there's, there's still, you can still do things about it. In fact, Claire talked about one of her students that had pelvic floor issues, unaddressed pelvic floor issues for more than three decades, and is now addressing them and is now living a far more normal and enjoyable life than she has been for decades. So you know, there's, that's exciting to hear. I think that's amazing. I think it's incredible.

I just wanted to say. So basically, Claire has this awesome course. Right? In our show notes, we're going to, we've got a link down there specifically for you to go click through and see, you know, her course and what it could offer, she's got two versions of it. One is for teachers like Pilates teachers or fitness teachers who obviously will probably have an understanding of anatomy and stuff like that. She has another version of the course for people who are not teachers. So if this if you're like, I don't really understand the biology so much, maybe there's a version that's not for the teachers is going to be perfect for you. So click that link specifically because it'll let you, let her know that we sent you. And, you know, honestly, if you have an incredible experience with Claire, let us know. Because we love her. We already know she's amazing. We are incredibly confident that you will love her too. And, you know, hopefully she can help you through this delicate time. So,

Lesley Logan  

All right. I'm Lesley Logan.

Brad Crowell  

And I'm Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan  

Thank you so much for joining us today. How are you going to use these in your life? We want to know and we have to just say again, we're so grateful for you, for each one of you. For those of you who tell us is how each episode affected you in your life and also for sharing it with your friends and family. It is truly meaningful to us and it's actually what helps us get this podcast out to get more people. So thank you for doing that. And until next time, Be It Till You See It.

Brad Crowell  

Bye for now

Lesley Logan  

That's all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review. And follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcasts. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others BE IT TILL YOU SEE IT. Have an awesome day! 

Be It Till You See It is a production of Bloom Podcast Network. 

Brad Crowell  

It's written, produced, filmed and recorded by your host Lesley Logan. And me Brad Crowell. Our associate producer is Amanda Frattarelli.   

Lesley Logan  

Kevin Perez at Disenyo handles all of our audio editing.  

Brad Crowell  

Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music. And our branding by designer and artist, Gianranco Cioffi.   

Lesley Logan  

Special thanks to our designer Mesh Herico for creating all of our visuals, (which you can't see because this is a podcast) and our digital producer, Jay Pedroso for editing all the video each week, so you can. 

Brad Crowell  

And to Angelina Herico for transcribing each episode, so you can find it on our website. And finally to Meridith Crowell for keeping us all on point and on time

Transcribed by https://otter.ai