Erik talks about not waiting until January in order to change your health habits or starting to workout. Just make the changes now. 

• Most people are waiting until the new year/new decade in order to change their fitness and finance habits and goals.        
• Those who are successful do not follow the masses and start now instead of waiting.   
• It does not matter your fitness level because if you have not exercised in months or years, we all have to start somewhere.
• Even if we exercise daily we can improve as well.   

• “Just start with a 5-10min walk in your neighborhood.” –Erik Smith 

• “Get your family involved, as your children will not do what you say, but do what you do.” –Erik Smith  
• “Be that example to your children and your spouse and when you get results your spouse will want to make the changes too.” –Erik Smith

• Schedule a time to talk with Erik.
• Find Erik on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter

In this episode of Fitness & Finance, Claire Harrison, Entrepreneur, Business Owner, Exec Area Manager and Independent Consultant of Arbonne, Ex-Police Detective, and Mother of Two, talks to your host Erik Smith about going from working in law enforcement to starting her own business. Claire Harrison also discusses balancing her family life with her personal development journey and the health and nutrition changes she has made in her life. 

• Claire Harrison talks about her upbringing in England.        
• What got Claire Harrison involved in law enforcement initially?     
• How did police work affect her emotions and marriage?   
• Claire talks about the changes in her life, including getting remarried and leaving police work.   
• What did joining Arbonne do for Claire Harrison’s life?    
• What does redundancy mean in the UK and how did it influence her employment?  
• Claire shares specific mindset shifts she had that benefitted her life.  
• What was the moment that made Claire Harrison change her life?
• What steps did she take in her growth journey?  
• Follow the path of those that have already done what you want to do.  
• What did Claire’s health and nutrition journey look like?
• Were there reasons why it took so long for Arbonne’s nutrition products to reach the UK?      

1. Her transformational journey included personal development, health, growth leadership skills, the people she got to surround herself with and a shift in mindset.  

2. Have gratitude. If you can’t manage what you have, how can you attract more?     

• “You really have to look inside the person that you are to the person you want to be to make those shifts to become and achieve what you want to achieve in life, and really dig deep to those original goals and dreams as a child.” –Claire Harrison  

• “If you want stuff to change, you have to make a change, and it’s now about educating my children that there is way more in life.” –Claire Harrison  

• Schedule a time to talk with Erik.
• Find Erik on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
• Find Claire Harrison on Facebook and Twitter
• Arbonne: arbonne.com/pws/claireharrison/tabs/about-me.aspx 
• Book: You Are a Bad Ass by Jen Sincero 
• Book: The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy  
• Book: The Invaluable Laws of Growth by John C. Maxwell 

Erik shares some things to consider with it being Black Friday and what we are doing by spending money and paying someone else.   

• Instead of not spending money on black friday because of all the deals, lets match that same amount to pay ourselves.

• Do a dollar for dollar match because we are paying other companies, so we should do the same and pay ourselves.

1. Along those lines when people are opening an IRA to reduce their taxes owed as told to do so by their tax professional but people need to know where their money is going and what it is invested in. 

• “Just know what you have and where it is.” –Erik Smith  

• “People know exactly how much they spend on their cable bill…but they don’t know how much of where your money is going.” –Erik Smith 
• “Figure out how much risk you're willing take and make sure your investments reflect that too.” –Erik Smith 

• Schedule a time to talk with Erik.
• Find Erik on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter

In this episode of Fitness & Finance, Mo Shah, Entrepreneur, Coach and Investor, talks to your host Erik Smith for part two of this interview about how he has helped thousands of families achieve their financial goals. Mo also discusses why conventions have been such a huge benefit to him, how to get the most out of attending industry conventions, and what it takes to keep new energy and momentum going in your business.  

• Personal development should not be treated like a chore you don’t feel like doing.       
• What types of resources are most beneficial for Mo Shah?     
• How would Mo coach people that like going to conventions but need to apply what they are learning?   
• What has Mo Shah learned about putting on events?     
• How does Mo determine if an event made the desired impact that he was aiming for?    
• How does Mo view what momentum is?
• How can you avoid reaching a plateau and become stagnated?    
• How can new energy create a positive explosion in your business and how can you channel that?      
• What advice would Mo give to business owners getting started with similar goals?     

1. Personal development is a daily lifestyle to improve yourself and continually gain value from your activities.     

2. What are you doing on a monthly basis to spike up the momentum of your business’ core foundation?       

• “Knowledge is powerful. But only if you apply it.” –Mo Shah  

• “When you go to conventions, look at the person who is speaking and ask yourself, ‘Can I be that person? How far off am I from becoming that person?‘” –Mo Shah 

• Schedule a time to talk with Erik.
• Find Erik on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
• Find Mo Shah on Instagram & Twitter 

Erik shares about the importance of breathing when it comes to exercising. 

• When we exercise a lot of times we hold our breath whether it is when we strength train, play sports, and/or on the treadmill.      
• It is important to control our breath because it helps with the blood flow and getting oxygen to the different parts of our body.  

1. Erik described times when working with a trainer and how he would hold his breath throughout different strength training exercises and after each exercise he would not feel as though he performed as well.

2. Once he became intentional with his breathing throughout the exercises he was able to perform the exercises better.

3. This applies to the rest of our lives too because the more intentional we are the better we perform. 

• “When we are intentional with our breath we perform better.” –Erik Smith  

• “I am not as tired, if I am constantly breathing in and out.” –Erik Smith 
• “You’ll get to the point when you don’t have to think about it.“ –Erik Smith 

• Schedule a time to talk with Erik.
• Find Erik on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter

In this episode of Fitness & Finance, Mo Shah, Entrepreneur, Coach and Investor, talks to your host Erik Smith about how he has helped thousands of families achieve their financial goals. Mo talks about how putting his family first has had a motivational impact in his life, the correlation between basketball and business, and how to turn achievement into a lifestyle.  

• Mo Shah discusses his upbringing and early career choices.       
• What was required for him to be responsible on behalf of his two younger brothers?   
• Were there other people that Mo Shah looked up to as his leaders? 
• Is Michael Jordan the reason why Mo got involved with basketball so heavily?    
• How has he used the teamwork of basketball to excel in business?
• What is one thing Mo Shah learned when he got into business? 
• What was his mindset early on?  
• Which sacrifices has Mo made to succeed?   
• Think permanently and long-term instead of having an immediate gratification mindset.  
• How has Mo Shah helped people not make bad decisions when they are down?
• We often perceive things to be worse than they actually are.  
• What are some of the health-related decisions that Mo Shah made that may have been not so good when he was building his business? 
• Mo Shah is always open-minded about improving his health. 
• How does Mo have to be intentional on a daily basis to plan his day properly?  
• Busy people get things done and busy people that are structured with proper planning get things done effectively.   

1. Intentionally become the type of person you need to be to have the life that you want.  

2. Be coachable and make the necessary sacrifices to make your dreams come true and not let excuses get in your way.    

• “One of my first wise reasons why I was doing the business was to retire my mom. We were able to do that for my mom at an early age. Every time I talk to her she is just so excited about just being able to do what she wants to do.” –Mo Shah  

• “The two things I took from basketball on the coaching perspective is that you have to have a solid system and you have to have great leadership.” –Mo Shah 

• Schedule a time to talk with Erik.
• Find Erik on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
• Find Mo Shah on Instagram & Twitter 

Erik talks about how at the Build Your Network Live Event, one of the sponsors Daniel Blue, posed a question of whether taxes will go up in the future. 

• Do most people think taxes are going up in the future?      
• We have a lot of debt as a country at over $22 Trillion, not counting unfunded liabilities.
• Most believe that taxes will go up, yet they are putting their money for retirement in plans where they do not pay taxes now but pay them in the future.   

1. This is like having a business partner who can decide at any time when they want to increase their ownership percentage and we do not have a say in it.

2. We are also restricted in the access and are required to take the money out and if we do not then we pay penalties.  

• “If we think taxes are going to go up in the future especially if we are not getting a match from our employer into something where we would get taxed more in the future …” –Erik Smith  

• “Why would we put our money into a vehicle where the buying power is going to be less?” –Erik Smith
• “Free money is the best money.”  –Erik Smith 

• Schedule a time to talk with Erik.
• Find Erik on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter

In this episode of Fitness & Finance, Travis Chappell, Founder and Host of Build Your Network, Super Connector and Real Estate Investor, talks to your host, Erik Smith, about how he went from being athletic, to gaining a lot of extra weight and rebounding back with fitness. Travis also talks about growing up in a tight-knit Christian community and building his Build Your Network brand.

• Travis Chappell discusses his upbringing and early career moves.      
• How were Travis’ life changes being responded to by family and his peers?
• Travis describes his discovery process of figuring out who he was becoming as a man. 
• Why did Travis go the door-to-door sales route?   
• How was fitness factoring into Travis Chappell’s lifestyle?
• What was the moment like when Travis realized he had gained a lot of weight?  
• What pushed Travis Chappell towards personal development?    
• How did Travis move into podcasting?  
• Money is the ultimate accountability partner.  
• What was it like trying to get guests on his show in the early days?  
• Travis talks about weight gain while his wife has been pregnant.  
• How has having his son affected his life?  
• What other advice does Travis have for listeners to take away?  

1. It is often necessary to have time alone to find clarity without outside influences.

2. Drinking a half-gallon to a gallon of quality water was the first step when getting back into physical health.  

• “That time alone by myself without outside influences I think was really necessary for me to be able to come to a conclusion by myself to say that this isn’t something for me and this is something for me.” –Travis Chappell  

• “You are the sum of everything that has been told and taught to you since you were 1, 2, 3-years-old.” –Travis Chappell 

• Schedule a time to talk with Erik.
• Find Erik on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
• Travis Chappell on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin 
• Travis Chappell’s Website – TravisChappell.com 
• Build Your Network Live

Erik talks about really knowing who we are as people through the process of self-discovery and self-awareness. Knowing who we are will impact the decisions we make in all aspects of our lives. 

• Looking inward helps us understand who we are as people and our core values as to why we do things we do in every area of our lives.
• The decisions we make are based on those core values and our identifiers help us understand what we do.  

1. The podcast has helped Erik understand the guests on the show and how our stories are intertwined and connected, as what we share with each other impacts us.

2. When we discover who we are to the core we can be more intentional in living the life we so desire to play to our strengths. 

3. Have you thought about who you are as a person in the process of discovering how to develop your strengths and the decisions you make to improve your life?   

• “We can’t settle.” –Erik Smith 

• “We can make the decision to pursue other opportunities out there...”  –Erik Smith  

• Schedule a time to talk with Erik.
• Find Erik on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter

In this episode of Fitness & Finance, Kerry Gough, Practicing Therapist and a ‘Practicing Person’ talks to your host Erik Smith about having mindful awareness and balance when striving for health and fitness. Kerry shares tips on how to check in with yourself to address your personal needs, how to feel more connected to others, and the power in vulnerability. 

• Kerry Gough discusses her upbringing   
• What led Kerry to pursue higher learning for psychology? 
• What was Kerry’s father’s reaction when she made her career shift?  
• In what ways are our stories all intertwined?  
• What does vulnerability mean to Kerry?   
• What has been Kerry’s experience with people feeling isolated because of social media and so much of life happening online?  
• Many people get involved in fitness because of body image fears and not with an awareness of health.  
• What is a tip to figure out if we are engaging in fitness to know if we are trying to look a certain way or because want to be healthy?  
• Kerry shares some prevention tools and ways to invest in staying healthy. 
• What can being present at the moment look like for people?  
• Does she have an idea of what is leading to older generations seeking counsel?  

1. The risk to show up authentically with others where the deep connection can happen with others on a profound and enriching level.  

2. Are there are draining things you can part ways with? Do you have any areas of improvement? What are you doing daily to address your biological needs?  Are you doing things that bring you joy?  

• “As we share ourselves, we can often see ourselves in others in shared experiences, in shared pains, and in shared joys.” – Kerry Gough 

• “A lot of these images that we are being fed aren’t even attainable or realistic because they are altered digitally.” – Kerry Gough 

• Schedule a time to talk with Erik.
• Find Erik on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
• Find Kerry Gough on Instagram 
• Visit KerryGough.com