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Feb. 3, 2026

The Coach Gets Coached: The Real Reason Coach Brian Does This. Guest: Jon Sheldon - 59

Episode 59 is for the business owner, entrepreneur, or driven man who can handle hard work all day, but feels like his health and home life keep getting the leftovers.

Coach Brian brings back returning guest Coach Jon Sheldon for a live coaching conversation that goes way deeper than workouts. They walk through a simple framework Jon uses with leaders to build clarity and make better decisions under pressure.

You’ll hear Brian talk honestly about purpose, vision, what’s actually motivating him right now, and what’s draining him. If you’re trying to lose fat, get your energy back, stay focused at work, and stop feeling like your business is stealing your best from your wife and kids, this episode will hit.

A big theme is this: driven men get stuck when they are doing everything, thinking about everything, and still feel behind. You might be doing the fitness and nutrition basics, but stress management, attention, and decision-making are the real bottlenecks. If your phone, your calendar, and your work-life balance feel out of control, your results in men’s health, fat loss, and productivity will keep feeling harder than they should.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

How to define your purpose so you have a filter when life gets chaotic
A 3-year vision exercise that helps entrepreneurs focus on what actually matters
What environment supports your best habits with fitness, nutrition, and consistency
Why “being busy” is not a plan, and how it silently crushes energy and focus
The real cost of always being “on” for your business, but disconnected at home
Why marketing and online business pressure can drain you even when you love coaching

It’s a real conversation about men’s health, leadership, business performance, and how to build a life where your energy, your body, and your relationships are not always paying the price for success.

If you want to take control of your health without tanking your productivity, and you’re ready to lead better at work and at home, press play.

Now, Coach Jon works with individuals and teams to build performance systems that scale sustainably, without losing what matters most. His coaching is grounded in Stoic calm, radical honesty, and a belief that real growth starts with owning the truth.

Social links:Instagram: @Belleauwood_coachingLinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-sheldon-82760a51/⁠

Jonathan’s coaching practice:

Belleauwood Coaching

Visit https://www.belleauwood.coach/ for his free PDFs: Authentic Blueprint and Battle Plan frameworks.

The Call To Rise is a 100-day fat loss transformation experience designed for driven men ready to get back to a healthy body, boost their energy, and lead as a powerful man.

Through a proven system of strength training, personalized nutrition, and radical accountability, you’ll drop 20–30 pounds and rebuild confidence from the inside out. It’s more than a fitness program, it’s an body transformation experience with a Brotherhood of like-minded men committed to showing up, leveling up, and leading in a body they are excited about. This is your wake-up call to rise.www.thecalltorise.com

Want help applying this to your own health, weight, energy, or lab numbers?

Coach Brian Parana offers Health Hot Seat coaching segments for men who want a clear next step with nutrition, fitness, weight loss, blood pressure, cholesterol, A1C, or daily consistency.

Learn more about The Call To Rise, a 100-day coaching program for driven men over 40 who want to lose weight, improve their health, and rebuild confidence:

www.thecalltorise.com

To connect with Coach Brian:
brian@brianparana.com

Disclaimer: This podcast is for education and coaching support only. It is not medical advice. Always work with your physician before changing medication, treatment, or medical care.

Well, everyone, thank you so much for joining us. Episode 59, Coach Brian coming back with Dream for Health and I'm bringing back a returning guest. We had such a great conversation on episode 44, Coach John Sheldon, that I invited him back and we're going to get a little bit in the thick personally with me.
I offered up a hey, coach me on what you do to showcase your expert authority and your subject matter expertise, which is really exciting. Hopefully at this point you've been listening to a couple and you know that's what I do. Been doing it for a long time. Today we're going over blueprints, briefs, and battle plans.
And I'm going to give the floor to Coach John to take it away and we're going to have a blast. So I hope you really enjoy this conversation. I'm I'm looking forward to it. Um so thanks so much for having me back on, Brian. Uh, you know, I I I loved our last conversation as well and was happy to to see you reach back out.
So, um, super cool. And look, I just got to get your permission that, you know, we're going to have a really authentic conversation because this doesn't this type of coaching for me doesn't work unless unless you're you're open to it. I am wide open and I think it offers a really good opportunity for my audience to get to know Brian a little bit more because I talk and I talk and I talk a lot about fitness, nutrition, and all that stuff.
But this will be really exciting to to to to go under someone else's wing here and you're leading the way. So, let's let's take it away. >> I'm excited. All right, man. So, um this is this is a what we're going to go through today. uh if if we have time for the whole thing is what I call uh blueprints, briefs and battle plans just to give you and your audience a high level of what that is.
So the blueprints piece of it is what I call building your um your personal performance blueprint. What I realized about my own life and about and working with hundreds of clients at this point in time um was that everybody has this uniqueness about them that they perform and need to perform at their best. I'm sure that you realize this with a lot of your clients too.
And what I also started to realize as I went through these these steps and had gone through probably four or five iterations of this um as we've seen what's actually worked with clients um was that not only was this really important for themselves but if they understand these aspects of the people around them how much more efficiently of human beings as leaders that we could possibly be if we understood the aspects that made the people around you tick as Right.
The where the briefs and battle plans comes in is actually a decision-making framework. Now, why that's important is where I see a lot of people and business owners get stuck specifically leaders, right? Men that obviously men's health, I see this a lot with men is getting stuck in indecision a lot of times, right? Or making too quickly of decisions without enough of data.
So, one of the questions I was getting a lot based on my time as a Marine Corps squad leader, um, and I've done, I think we talked about this last time, did a few pumps to Iraq, run about 150 to 200 missions in that sense, leading 13 Marines. And one of the questions I got so much was, John, how actually my father last year, um, we were sitting down, he asked me this question.
We were sitting on his bench outside of his house. He said, "John, how do you make decisions? How how do you make quick decisions like this?" And I said, "Dad, well, first off, >> it's not as quick as you think, right? Most of the time I have I can respond quickly, but I've mostly been thinking about this, right? But in the moment, that got me really thinking of, hey, looking back at my life, >> you do have to make split-second decisions.
You do have to make decisions, especially in combat. What is the process that you know what I realize that leaders go through in order to make efficient decisions that are strategically and tactical in the moment? Not when you have two hours on a Saturday to really sit down, think, meditate like in the moment with your families, with yourselves, with your boss, with your employees, whatever that might be.
How do you make smart tactical strategic decisions and walk through with confidence? Right? So, that's that's what we're going to go through today. Um, these are things that I work on with clients specifically as as setting kind of a foundation of coaching >> before we dive into a lot of their specific needs that they go through. It's like a foundation of how do I get to know my client the best, right? >> All right, >> perfect. Cool.
>> The first step there there's four steps to the blueprint that I believe everybody needs to know about themselves to make them the most efficient and purposeful person. Right? And that first word I used intentionally. The first step is purpose. The next is vision. Third is what environment or ecosystem. And the last is what motivates you.
However you do these fingers. I don't four. >> Yeah. Right. >> And while that may seem basic, I find that a lot of people are always missing one to two of these key aspects that they're not really defined on or haven't really flushed out. I feel that's just really, really important. So, I'm actually going to walk you through some of the questions, right? Again, if you're open to it, on finding what Coach Brian Pana's professional performance blueprint is.
>> I'm ready. >> Cool. >> I'm 100% in. >> All right, man. So, as we start this, we're going to start with purpose. All right. So, purpose is a cornerstone of this blueprint. As Simon Senn says in his book, Start with Why, it is the why. You show up when it's hard, right, to filter for what matters, right? We're going to use this why statement and we're going to constantly go back to it to filter what really matters in our life.
So, I want you to take as much time as you need, but this is supposed to be a gut check, okay? It's supposed to be done like this >> in totally unprepared. If you're listening, >> he's very unprepared. He's never heard this before. >> I told him what I should prepare and he told me nothing. Just show up. Okay. >> This is the purpose.
This is the purpose for it. All right. All right. I want you to state, speak from your truth, speak from your gut. What is one unapologetic sentence of what your purpose is in life? >> Uh with per my profession >> or just life. It's your personal performance blueprint. I I I misspoke earlier and said profession. >> Okay. >> Purpose.
Brian is here on this earth to give people hope, inspiration, and clarity on creating a fantastic life that they look forward to living as not only in the present, but in the future as well. >> Awesome. >> How does that feel saying that to the public right now? It feels really good and it resonates with me because any time I ever talk with anyone, I'm looking for the opportunities of success and life fulfillment >> always.
>> I love that, man. I love that. That's powerful, too, right? It's >> it's this it's outside purpose, right, for others. That's great. That's great. So the next question then is and I believe this is an important piece of it is stories of purpose under pressure. Would you mind sharing with the audience and with me right now knowing that what you just announced to your audience and me what your purpose was? Can you name at least one story where that purpose was put under pressure or was easier? It would have
been easier to tap out but what kept you in the fight? So if you could think through, take as much time as you need, think through one story that put that under question or under pressure and how did you get through it? >> Leaving my first gym, the person that I partnered with, we just weren't a good fit.
when we all retrospectively look back on it and it's spent about two and a half years with this person. Spent a lot of time, energy, life savings to get this thing, this gym going and move forward in my career. This my first CrossFit gym. I came to a headway where we just weren't seeing eye to eye and I was the one to leave the gym.
And in that moment in time, I'm what do I do? Right? There's this lack of Brian >> all of a sudden because the only identity that I've ever had is being a health coach whether it's through fitness, through nutrition, through lifestyle, through seeing people lose weight and creating confidence in their life to go do really awesome things.
And that's been say my drug or the the hook for doing this in the first place. So I leave the gym in a emotionally distraught place and financially challenged and I'm starting from zero again after literally I I was so into it that the first not only did my second son get born there in the in the beginning we opened the gym a month and a half earlier than we were going to about two months earlier and my second son was born we have two kids now 15 months apart and I am so sleepd deprived sleeping four hours a day,
waking up at 4:00 to get to the gym by 5 to do the morning and the evening classes and then to wrap up after that to go to bed at midnight. That was my life. And I was I was falling I was literally falling asleep. We went on my wife and I went on date night and I was falling asleep walking through Toys R Us looking for diapers.
And I was like holding on the car for dear life because I couldn't keep my eyes open and the the it was quite a date night from her perspective. I couldn't stay awake sitting across the table from her at Outback. I poured my life, my energy into this this this thing to to create and we made amazing transformations and and again that core purpose but leaving that is am I selling direct TV at Sam's Club? >> What am I doing with myself? I don't know because I I went to look out and there's there was that point there was another point in about 2017 and even
right now one of the the expressions of coach Brian is say this podcast this didn't exist this didn't need to exist >> before this last year because the landscape has been evolving professionally and finding people to help is it shouldn't be as hard as it is but there's there's lots of trust that is getting challenged in the in our social media place.
There's lots of challenge of of connection, right? People are not connecting with other humans. They're connecting with this screen and there's not a lot of real conversations happening and therefore people aren't seeking it out or they don't know where to look or they're confused or there's a thous a million different videos on how to lose weight on YouTube right now.
So, so even right now going through this shift of okay, how do I how do I speak my truth? How do I show up as a leader? And how do I continue maintaining this identity and this this person of someone who transforms other people's lives, meaning Tony Robbins in a sense, but [laughter] how do I maintain this and not get stuck in this the cycle of, oh, I I can't pay my bills.
I I can't find people to talk to. I I can't create an authentic connection with someone to get them to know, like, and trust me to sign up in my service to get help. >> Yeah. What what what what is between those situations, you you mentioned your your purpose a second ago, unapologetic sentence, what kept you in it? What what kept you doing this right now? >> Shifting is more painful than trying to figure it out.
shifting the the long-term Yeah, the long-term regrets. Uh I did a why your New Year's resolutions fail episode, if I remember correctly, 54 because I just did it yesterday or two days ago, but the rocking chair analogy is what I used in it. And sitting when you're 80 and you're in a rocking chair analyzing, looking past, there's don't want regret.
I don't want to feel that >> I could have done more. I could have helped more. I could have I I don't and I and I I sold out on some level, but also for just I have four kids, the family of six. We're really we love to live life. I we've traveled all 50 states. We've been to multiple countries, continents.
We literally our goal is to go to all seven continents for all six of us which would place us in a incredibly rare position of people ever in the whole world of traveling and experiencing humans >> and and seeing that that I I can't let my wife down. I can't let my kids down and I need to be able to find a way to do it.
And I I think that that say rocking chair analogy of looking back when I'm older that I feel self-fulfilled that I I did what I could. I tried my best. I put my best foot forward. I I woke up and I had energy to to give to someone else to help them better themselves. >> Yeah, man. That's powerful, dude. That's so that's that's such a special thing that you're doing with your family, man.
Can really that's that's super super cool. >> It is pretty cool. That's why right now I can't be in a barn cuz it's zero outside. So I'm inside my family room and I just use the map. This is my wife's map. I'm hogging it from her. But yeah, we're looking to go we've got we're going to go to Peru in April.
We have we'll go to Japan at some point. Australia is the landowner. That's been on my my you know bucket list for since I was ever young. And the one place that I'm most excited in anticipation is Antarctica because my third son, Maxwell, we were in Moab walking back from the Utah license plate and he said, "Hey, how about after we get done with the States, we we do all seven continents and I look back, [laughter] what never crossed my mind to do something like that, to go to Antarctica and just to explore the world." Uh, and
it's brought a lot of wealth in terms of experiences. >> Yeah. >> And connection and connectionability because I can connect with so many people because of the travel experience. And I'm so appreciative of being able to see different cultures, to see different people. And honestly, everybody wants to live a joyfilled life.
They want to be happy. They want to be around people that they care. They want to have their basic needs met and and be able to enjoy. >> Yeah, dude. Such a such a good answer, man. Right. So, this this this overarching purpose of your life is obviously so deeply connected to the the future and and probably honestly the next question that we'll ask or the next topic here of like where you want to go and that's what kepts you in the fight.
That's awesome. And that's that's a part of that's a part of this too. So, here's here's the last one. All right. to to really unpack this purpose is where are you out of alignment? Where does if you look at your life right now, where does your calendar, behavior or relationships not line up with that purpose today? >> This is a good one.
[laughter] This is the one that Brian didn't talk about, right? We all have we all have our positives and our our negatives. One issue I believe that I have is is maintaining relationships. uh is going hard in the paint in a sense going hard all the time. I I have spent the last more than one month going all in on work and then that that neglects my wife that neglects my children that neglects other relationships with my parents or other associations of people because >> when I go to the soccer game to watch my son I bring my computer and I do work I
don't connect with the other parents that are there >> not for for any other reason of like I have this open time I need to do this and and you understand self-employment and entrepreneurship and stuff. So you have to take those windows of time and not because it's more important for me to spend my time with my family my free time with my family not with an associated relationship because my kids our kids are on a soccer team.
I can be cordial and and and polite and all, but I'm not going to strike up a conversation with them that ultimately isn't going to serve a purpose in my eyes and for any matter of fact. And maybe that's where I go wrong, too. I have this grandioso vision of of who I am and whatnot, but then I I'm I'm missing the some of the bigger picture possibly because I'm so focused on on work and and that's where things are out of alignment for me is uh so tomorrow be the fifth day my kids are off school from from being so cold. And this is a
rarity. Not even in my lifetime have I ever seen five snow days in a row. [laughter] So this is this is interesting, right? >> But I'm playing dad guilt. I'm playing husband guilt. I'm playing a lot of >> things in my head of where should I spend my time because it's very limited. Do I spend it with this or do I spend it with that? And today I did stop and I played a a raining unicorns with my daughter and we're dancing around doing these unicorn games and stuff.
But if we look at the whole picture of the day from I woke up to 8 o'clock till I'll go to bed somewhere around midnight typically how much time am I actually spending with my family not necessarily a lot also there's this role of providership that you have to do or we need to pay bills there's a certain expense that my family cost me and cost my wife to provide so there's that's where the friction lies for me is how do I have this role and this leader identity and make and produce and create the results and the impact to then get
the say the financial rewards of that and do it in a way that's aligned. I think that this podcast is in a direct alignment because I really enjoy talking and speaking. I can do it endlessly. But say for example, say posting on social media that feels like like a life suck. I'm not going to lie.
every post and content, as you know, takes 20 to 40 minutes of time to put something out there that fades away and goes nowhere. And so, but you have to play the game >> of and and it's that's where I'm getting a lot of internal friction around showing up to my best self and doing my zone of genius versus am I doing all this busy work and I'm not leveraging myself in the full capacity of hiring a team of people or or whatever.
then that just creates more responsibility to create more income to then provide for them as well because they will be part of like my family that I will want to give to them and now I have to 10x just to provide everything and now I'm still back in the same situation of >> making you see that's this is the friction that I I live in.
>> Yeah. And and you know Brian man you're not alone. And if I I could say the number one thing when I take on a a a male client is when I ask them some of these questions, right? What are you all do? What are you doing it for? I primarily work with leaders, business owners, etc. And when when I ask them this question, they give me almost the same exact response.
>> Sure. >> Not not exactly the same. >> No, but I'm I'm swimming in the same bucket as >> you're swimming in the same bucket. And again, this is all about men's health. And that's is one of the things that I notice with men and and this one of the things that I really enjoy about what I do too is getting on a call and being able to challenge you on that.
When you say, "I'm just so busy. So busy." I'm like, "Okay, great, man. What's your purpose again?" >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yeah. Yeah. It's awesome, dude. Appreciate you sharing that, man. That's powerful. It's powerful stuff. >> You mentioned it a couple times. You actually mentioned that next word, >> vision. Right.
So, now we've defined your purpose. Now, we've challenged your purpose, right? How are you showing up? what's challenged it in the past and what's challenging it right now. So now we go into that's who we are. That's why we exist. Where are we going? What's that vision? What's that north star? So if everything went right, Brian, coach Brian Piranha, if everything went right in the next three years, what does your life look like? I'm lead I'm leading a a movement. There's a brand.
There is impact behind that in men's health and guiding men to be better better men better for themselves better for the people that they care about the most better for their responsibilities in the professional world. And right now it's called the call to rise 100 day challenge that I have created back in July.
I'm working on building that as a core mission for the next 10 to 15 years to be able to see the fruits of of the effort pay off. Uh three guys that recently graduated all lost 30 lb 30 lb 38 pounds in 100 days. And for me it was easy. For me it was joyful. For me, I had so much energy from being able to participate in their life and offer different perspectives around how they look at their health.
Most importantly, how they manage their time, how they manage their stress, how they use food and nutrition, how they use movements and exercise to create the outcome and the impact that they need in their life for again first and foremost themselves. But then the other people that are most important to them. >> Yeah, man. That's awesome.
I love that, dude. I love that. So, here's the challenging question. >> What scares you about that? >> Responsibility. More time, more energy, more money, more people, more I have to step up. I have to play bigger. I have to do different things than I'm currently doing. And that's where again a lot of friction is is I'm playing head coach, I'm playing sales, I'm playing marketer, I'm playing all the pieces and I'm not willing to let it go because I can do it best or I can do it whatever.
And I've even thought this. So what if I'm actually a better manager than I am a in the the trench type person? >> Yeah. And what if I can teach because I know all the things that I know coaching and fulfillment and I know sales and I know I understand marketing not amazing that's a a big missing link for me but I know and understand enough uh and attracting that and then so how do I I I grow and and maybe that's the biggest thing is allowing myself the space capacity and abilities to grow into that that bigger version of myself. Uh, so I
said little a mini Tony Robbins. Well, Tony Robbins is went through all the life that I did and we don't want to compare, but he's done a couple bigger things than I have uh at a bigger different magnitude for different reasons. and I haven't needed those reasons to do what I'm doing because we're living different lives and stuff, but >> to to be able to have that impact and and and all that I I guess that he would be a a a role model or a visionary to to look towards and shifting my persona towards something bigger than I am right
now. >> Yeah. Yeah, man. Bigger than yourself. Again, there's a theme here, right? >> Yeah. Right. This vision. Yeah. I love that you said what scares you too. That's important. It's it's like we don't need to lie to ourselves, right? And I think that's what guys do a lot of times is like how many times and I think we talked about this a little bit last time, but how many times does a a dude say, "I'll figure it out.
>> I got it." >> Yep. >> And they never they never actually open up and be like, "Yeah, not I'm not saying you need to have these deep existential, you know, IA moments, right?" I'm not saying that. >> But I'm saying but you got to be honest with yourself of what scares you. And you know conversations like this even just guy to guy and I know that we're in front of a bunch of people right like right these are important this is >> I don't have these conversations with people because I'm the leader I'm always the leader I'm always the one that is
giving >> and even unfortunately in a coaching experience that I have I thought I was getting into for one thing and I'm actually getting I'm not getting what I what I thought I was getting. I I bought into the wrong program in a sense and I I was looking for connection. I was looking for leadership guidance because I am I'm a rocket ship but I'm still sat on the ground in a sense in terms of of of where I need to grow and not having that leadership.
So I appreciate this conversation of just manto man and and having and being open. >> Yeah man. Absolutely. And I appreciate you having that. So last thing another challenging one. >> All right. Try and limit it. >> Okay, we're gonna Vision often is uh kind of like synonymous a lot of times and people confuse it a little bit with goal, right? Threeear goal, threeear vision, right? Here's where we change it from that to very very practical.
I want you to name based on what you just said, but not only what scares you, right? Obviously thinking through that, but what that three-year vision was. What are three non-negotiable outcomes that have to happen in three years? When I mean non-negotiable, I mean these aren't dreams. This is your reality.
What are the three things that have to happen for you? >> I I need to text my son right now. He's singing. Just reality of [laughter] all, give me one second. So, this is this is real life. This is amazing. I love it. [laughter] This is This is what I I'm I'm sat in my I usually sneak out to my barn and I'm quiet, but the two older boys came home from swimming and they're clanging and banging and the one's singing and here we are.
So [laughter] >> here you are. Here you are. Like you just said, it's life. >> This is real life. This is Brian's every day. And that's the challenge piece. Brian wants to do this, but there's real life things and there's constant if professionally it's distractions, it's disruptions. Personally, it's I need to be open to parenting and fathering my children and showing up responsibly and and in in that relationship as well.
So, that's that's a big that's a big challenge, too. They they want to do dishes right now. It's like it's inconvenient for my life, but we're this is my life. All right. Things that need to transond into the future for me to to live and ex and and to fulfill on purpose at all. Is that >> Yep.
So when know we're talking about vision, right? Yeah. So specifically, right? What are three non-negotiables from your vision that have to happen? If that's the goal, right? What are three things that have to happen? uh things that I have written down and thought about to whatever degree but one is uh to to have a hundred men through the program.
That's the the beginning to haveund men graduate and be successful. >> Okay, that's >> number one. >> Okay. >> Number two is increase my reach and impact. something I feel like I certainly can still use improvement and skills and development, but I feel as if I'm a good speaker. I talk a lot. This is literally how I've made a living. I'm personable.
>> I would agree. >> And I talk a lot and I can connect with people. One thing on my list is doing a TED talk and showing up and being able to do something like that or at the very least getting on bigger stages in front of people that are in my ideal audience, the people that I can impact and serve and and grow relationships, connections and and results with.
So that would be the second one. And then the third one is I guess complete the mission for for the family. Like let's get to all seven continents because if I can do that then means everything else worked out because I will have the money to pay for six people to go to Antarctica on top of all the other things as well.
So the there has to be the the the connection of my profession to match pace with the the demands of the goals that we have for our family to create core memories for our kids and our family unit together because our kids they my daughter's 10. She's she's slept in 49 states. >> Yeah, that's nuts. >> Idaho is the one that got away from us.
So I would I'd say those are the three things that I I can envision myself moving toward and and would feel fulfilled when accomplished. >> Yeah. And I think this is important. It's a word I love to use is that non-negotiable word, right? Because these are the things that especially when if if you know like like when I'm working with a client and we're talking about non-negotiables, right? It's think about it like this.
If if your life was a profession, what would you get fired for if you didn't do it by the end of the day? Right. Like same same thing and we don't need to go into that but like that's that's what we mean by this when people listen >> right it's like that's what non-negotiable is. It's so when you said and just to give you some on the spot like when you said um TED talk or large least larger stage to me no that doesn't work.
What is it? What is that non-negotiable? What would you fire yourself for if you didn't do it? And that's what we want to distill the vision down to. See what I'm saying? >> Yeah. Yeah. Um, let's move on just because I want to look at time and we're definitely be be able to get through the blueprint right now, but this is awesome, man.
I appreciate you taking so much time and energy doing this. This is going to be great. >> Yeah. So, the next one that I I believe and for me, it's one of the things that's mostly missed and I pro I would imagine that you see this with your clients too and when you're setting them up for their their health journey, right? You see patterns.
You always see patterns. >> Exactly. >> What environment and ecosystem does Brian thrive in? So, your surroundings either support or sabotage your mission. Let's dive into that. Hit me real quick. 90 seconds max. What supports your mission today? You went through purpose and vision. Awesome. What supports that mission today? >> Creating connections with the people that serve my my audience.
serve the people that I can help the most. I think that is probably the biggest one. So, even just having this conversation and our connection from the get-go, from even me starting the podcast to you reaching out to me responding and going back and here we are a second time. I think those very extrovert, very high energy, very connection driven, personable situations I need to put myself in to be able to to really thrive because Brian thrives in that. environment.
>> Yeah. So that connection piece, I love that. Love that, man. What reverse side, what sabotages it, distracts, drains, toxic patterns do you notice that could sabotage that mission for you? What sabotages that environment, that ecosystem for you? Phone. Yes. Pull them all up, dude. Bang. This thing. It's incredibly disruptive by a thousand.
It's it's I'm on my kids now. They get a coach for a father. Lucky them. But guys, let's stop living life 10 seconds at a time. You're going to wake up 10 years from now and realize that your dad was right and that you've wasted a lot of time on attention on people trying to grab their attention from you. And I think that's the attention economy is what we're in.
Especially if say from the entrepreneurship I'm doing it to the people that I'm after, right? Well, what's my hook? How do I I build the the thing? How do I all these things very methodical, very science frame, just like say the food industry is hooking people to get them fat and overweight so that they keep buying the food product that got them there in the first place, but they shouldn't do it.
It's a loop, it's a habit, it's behavior. So, the phone is definitely going to be the biggest distraction that I have. I believe I have a better system on which I manage some of my go-to things. There's sticky notes on my my MacBook here. So, I have I've just bought a new MacBook. So, it's top of the line at the moment. An M5 October 25.
It's got 32 gigs. So, it operates at a high capacity because I wouldn't be able to do this on my MacBook 19 2019 MacBook Air because it would fail and it would have quit and drop live stream. So, I can move at a higher capacity and uh Here it is. Here it is. I say this a lot to myself and I I say it to some people too.
Brian can't keep up with Brian. Brian as a person cannot keep up with Brian as the identity. There's the friction. There's There it is. It's all there. I can't keep up with myself because I have like a thousand things going on and I'm doing too many things at once. Like I'm literally producing and editing and processing three different podcasts right now so that this one can come out by Monday and then I have to start recording again.
But then there's this underlying drive of okay if I do more content and do the Hormosi which we all saw that Horoszi is unfulfilled [laughter] right with his Tony Robin conversation that's uh that that's it. That's that's the the grind. Brian can keep up with Brian and know what to do with it and how to manage Brian. >> Yeah, man.
Yeah, man. And and that goes that goes into this like this theory and this is actually what we we again we we won't be able to get to it today, but that's exactly what the brief to battle plan is is a way to be able to structure decision- making >> so you can get clear, >> right? Because when especially because you're a business owner, you're growing, you have this deep purpose, this deep vision, it's it's large, it's grandiose, it's amazing, but that comes with a cost, right? And that cost is what you just said. Can Brian keep up with Brian?
>> Right? That's what's sabotaging your environment right now. Not only the cell phone, but this maybe lack of internal decision- making or structure of like, hey, what's most important right now that's in alignment with that, >> right? >> And maybe maybe another time we can get we can get to that.
But let's let's keep ripping, man. That's really powerful stuff right there, dude. So, so what people or question on on ecosystem is specifically name a person, people or relationship that you need closer to get to your mission. Do you need more of >> my wife? >> Love that answer, dude. That's would be my answer, too. >> First one thousand%.
I need her to be there for me. And when she's not or there's a distance, I feel it because then Ryan isn't living his purpose. He's not matching his identity. he's not showing up for her because he's too much into business or vice versa or whatnot. Or then he can't provide for her to be able to experience the world.
She's the she's the world traveler. She's the one who wants to do these things. And Brian wants to provide. I've known this woman since I was 11. I've been with her for three decades, okay? I love her dearly. And I I enjoy her humor and her sarcasm and her her proxy and I I miss it if I if I get too far away from it.
like I literally am craving and I can't and that's a conundrum so in and of itself. So yeah, Amber is definitely the first person and the only >> Thank you for using her name. >> Yeah, thank you for using her name by the way too. That's that even that statement right that is powerful too. I I mean I had a similar I I really I love I love my wife and she challenged me this morning.
I've got a business conversation with uh with friends that are also, you know, uh you know, potential like referral sources and stuff and we've been, you know, friends. One of them I've known since I was four, you know, and I told her, I was like, "Yeah, I'm going to I'm going to lunch with them tomorrow." And she she challenged me. She goes, "Okay, great.
Is one of their business partners, is he going to be there because if not, you know, you guys are just going to grab a pizza and grab a couple beers." She's she's right, you know, and it's like, I need more of that. And I and I thanked her. I was like, Lauren, thank you. You're right.
I'll make sure that I'm not going to use their names, but I'll make sure that he's there. Cuz she's right. If he didn't show up, if this other individual didn't show up, we would talk. We've had a 15 year. We've got 20 year history. We would talk, joke, whatever, and then we'd leave and nothing. >> Yeah. >> Yep. >> She knows me. And I I'm the worker.
She's the thinker. I'm the extrovert. She's the introvert. I'm she's the one who has set me up for success time and again. And then if I can't continue being successful, then I feel horrible not being able to maintain and and provide for her and and her goals and her dreams and aspirations and and all that in her business.
She's she's her own employee. If I do well, then she doesn't have to worry about how well she does or doesn't do. She can just have fun doing it and express herself in a true way, which then gives her more confidence, more energy, and now I'm attracted to her even more. >> Yeah. Yeah. I love that, man. I love that. >> So, real quick, what people, relationships do you need stronger boundaries with? Brian, [laughter] you have a stronger boundary around him.
He's my boss. Could give me a review. [laughter] You're slow. you're indecisive. You take too long to do tasks. You you jump from one task to another. Uh that that would be when when we're off work, we're off work. When we're on work, we're on work. But as you know, life of entrepreneurship is different.
It's not a nineto-ive. Yeah. Yeah. I would say that's the first boundary that I would need. I have other boundaries around other people that have just create a more negative engagement around me, but I'm gonna say Brian is that's fine. Is it? Yeah, I love it. So, last last question on the ecosystem. What system, tools, whatever do you need to upgrade in the next 90 days a part of your ecosystem to push you forward? My leverage. 2026 is the year of leverage.
I've got to find a way to leverage myself. Uh I have an ads ecosystem that I'm creating and building out and I hope that that will leverage my say on social presence and I I'm getting more organized. There's purpose to and reason to why I'm posting rather than just going finding someone's viral content and and mocking it in a sense because that's what you're told to do in the social media space.
Go find a viral outlier and just do it again. make it your own and a lot of people don't. >> So that that's g me a lot more structure around the ads and understanding how to run ads so then I can attract my ideal client because if I can get them knocking on my door that solves a big major problem because I figured that out for 10 years and then it's not working so well and that's a hard a big thorn in my side.
>> Yeah, absolutely. >> Then then do I bring someone on? I have a light lean team and who is that person? Do I get someone from my do do I bring on a college intern that's in marketing and social media content and help them purpose all this content that I have? I've got days and day weeks worth of content.
Even the the podcast is over 2,000 minutes of me talking and there's Riverside clips it up into nice little chunks. But to be honest, I've done 50 I've released 56 episodes and my I only launched a clip from that episode like this week. I've been doing it since September >> and I could have been chopping it up and spreading around and and these are the pieces that people need to hear and understand who Brian is.
Not this manufactured whatever this on the spot of like, oh, I'm going to do content creation right now, but I'm not I'm not leveraging my in conversation and those nuances and all that that is inside just sitting in Riverside. >> Yeah. Well, straight up, I'm a huge proponent of uh technical school. I've had incredible Just throwing it out there, man.
I've actually had incredible luck >> with technical school interns. >> Um, so like one of ours around here, I live in Rochester, New York. RIT is actually a very good technical school. Their interns I've have found have been remarkable. >> Yeah, that's awesome. there. >> So, I think, hey, I'm a fully operational social media empire just ready to roll if you want to go and we can do scripts and I I am no problem talking, being on film, be on camera, doing this, that, the other, whatever.
I've got so much content. I have so much things we can roll if if you want to join me uh and and do something. >> Yeah. Awesome, dude. Awesome. So last one, motivation, right? So internal battery. You know all about this, right? It's probably one of the things I I I would imagine you talk very quickly about with your clients, like what motivates you, right? Why do you want to do this stuff? >> Um, so for the coach now, what actually energizes you? Not what should most people think most people think that, right? What actually energizes you?
So number one thing that stands out what actually energizes you? >> Yeah. The having real conversations in with humans and having them work through just helping them take the next best step in the conversation and seeing them unfold the the knot that they got themselves in. That is where oh it's so awesome.
The last conversation I had was with a consult and the gentleman name is Chris. Doesn't matter what his name was, but and his wife was there on the phone, too. I said, "Chris, your wife is giving you a blueprint." And she's literally telling us out loud what we need to do to create more fulfillment in your relationship with her while you take better care of yourself by just making better food choices and walking with her after work.
Like literally, if you could go walk with her for 10 minutes after work this week, you are going to get more connection than you've had probably in in a month from her. if you go away on a they don't have kids at at their age. And she said, "Man, it would be so nice if we could just go away from like a two-day weekend to an Airbnb on a cabin and go out and hike in woods and just stare out in the lake and probably do some other things.
" [laughter] And but he can't do it. He's not in shape. He's not healthy. He can't He can barely breathe. >> 15 minutes he's exhausted. He literally said he doesn't go places with her because of his phys like she'll go see family and two three hours away and he won't go. You're missing so much connection with her.
And so having conversations where people untie that rope and start living life in excitement and presence and anticipation. Holy holy lord. That's the juice. That's the that's the that's what we got to squeeze here. >> Yeah, man. That's awesome. Yeah. So, again, you know what's great about what what we've gone through already is there's so many correlations and this is kind of the point, right? There's so many correlations to like what motivates you to your why, right? Of helping others, right? It's in that authentic conversations that that's kind of how I
summarize what you just said. Like having those real authentic conversations with people really motivates you and jazzes you up. I'm I'm I'm similar. It's probably why we're in similar and different professions, right? Um coaches in different different spheres, but >> we do the same thing subtly different. [laughter] >> Subtly different.
>> Yeah. >> So, you probably know where this next question is. What drains you? What reliably drains you? What keeps you and looks even looks productive but is not? >> Uh the marketing piece. Yeah. Wholeheartedly. It's the marketing. It's spending so much time and energy on that. And it's not that I can't do it.
It's not that I don't enjoy it, but that's not the job. That's not the mission. That's extra. And it's costing exponential amounts of time, energy, effort, money, thousands of dollars of meta ads I've spent last year to solve a problem is painful. And then it makes me work longer and harder because I can't get it to align.
And I used to talk to people and now I'm just a content creator is how I feel sometimes too. I used to coach people all day every day. It'd be hard for you to I'd have 8 to 12 conversations every single day with pe real people talking about the real problems and helping them solve the situation. And because of the AI and the the GOP ones and our economic turmoil with our government and all, there's a lot of challenge in people's everyday lives now.
And looking for a health coach in a sense isn't the top priority. They want to make sure they can go buy eggs because eggs were supposed to go down, but I think they're double than they were or whatever. That's neither here nor there, but there's a lot of challenge in there. So, I can't I have to then play marketer, content creator, and and and that's there it is.
Yeah, I 100% is that that is that is me, too. I I've built um you know I built a financial practice before I ever did this and I've done everything including right now off of really referral only and I dove into this marketing sphere this social media sphere and if I could say one thing that drains me that feels productive it's that I personally have chosen to just be like I'm gonna take a backseat to that I do have an intern right that's posting a lot of stuff for me and continuing that grind but it's a choice that I've actually made too to be
like you know Right before this call, Brian, I was actually meeting with uh with what I call a center of influence on same exact thing of like I miss those types of conversations. Honestly, was the most productive conversation on marketing or prospecting as I call it I've had all week and there's something there, right? It's like kind of like fight the system, but we can talk about this another time.
Um >> got figure out a way to make it work for you. >> Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Um last thing, right? What rituals or routines keep your battery charged when the pressure hits? I need to make sure I spend time with my family and I need to connect with Amber. That that is it because if I can't connect with her, it doesn't matter how well I am off in other areas.
That's that's the thing that I need. And this is a a good kind of wrapping this thing up is the good realization is I need to make sure I I carve out time to connect with her. Uh with it being so cold, we walk and talk with our dog and it's zero outside. She she doesn't like the cold, so that's a challenge, right? >> You and I you and I are actually really similar in that way, too.
Like we we do a bunch of walks. Um, and it's I, you know, uh, we're in upstate right off of Lake Ontario. It's >> cold. It's cold. >> It's brutal, right? Yeah, it's brutal. [laughter] And so we we've even talked about that, too. And, you know, one of the things that we really like to do, too, is uh, you know, we we've got these like card games that we've gotten on Amazon >> that just like deepen our relationship.
And it's actually been we thought it was kind of gimmicky at first, but like let's try it out. And it's actually been pretty cool to keep conversations going and conversations we haven't asked each other in years, you know. Um, but yeah, so that's so we we we definitely don't have time for the rest.
Obviously, it's it's you know, we're we're 50 minutes in here and I know that we we both have we both need to get back to uh >> right as you as you so amply said and been like, "Hey, this is a good way to to put a pin in it." But um so what do you think if there's one takeaway that you learned today that you you verbalized outline in front of your audience and with me? What do you think is the one thing that you took away from today's conversation? >> I need to connect with my wife more.
>> Dude, that's that's one thing because then my internal battery is forever charged. I will run myself ragged for her. >> Yep. And I need to have that connection that there's purpose behind me getting up early, staying up late, doing this podcast, whatever, talking to people. >> Yeah, dude. Thank you. >> Yeah, this is great.
>> That's that's like looking anybody out there. It's like seriously like think about that. I mean, like that is something that I've I've personally come to the conclusion of as well very recently. It was like a really gut check for me is the same exact thing. Like generally speaking, on a Thursday night, it's kind of like my late night, you know, and I've come to this conclusion, too.
All right, cool, man. But you ever you've been here since 6 already, >> right? Go home, >> right? You know, go home, right? >> Yep. >> Dude, thank you so much, man. This was really cool to do live like this. >> I appreciate the authenticity that you came with that this conversation. for everybody.
Just to reiterate, I didn't send Brian any of this and that's the purpose. This cannot be done. I only do this in front of workshops. I only do this live because you think too much. You need authenticity. You need gut reaction when you go through what your actual blueprint is. And what people normally do for everybody out there that's listening is what you do is you overthink.
And then what you do is you manufacture answers because you think about it too much. >> Yep. >> It has to be done like this. In my opinion, >> agreed. And talking to people, it's exactly what I do. Hey, this we're talking about you right now is what do you want in your life? I really appreciate your time, your energy, this conversation, and be able to deep dive into Brian.
I hope that people listening in get a little bit more of who Brian is, why he does what he does, how he shows up, and and also Coach John. I hope that you check him out. I'll have his info in the show notes. So, if you want to talk with him and go through a discovery process of your own, you'll be able to do that with him. >> Absolutely.
>> Hit him up. He was very easy to talk to. Uh, he sent me an email. I replied back and here we are, second time in. >> Thank you so much. I appreciate you. Appreciate everyone else listening in. And that is a wrap for our conversation today. >> Off we go. >> Appreciate you. Better.