Shownotes
Aryan Mohindra
Bio
Aryan Mohindra is an incoming third-year at the University of California, San Diego. He is the founder of Mind & Body Mastery, focused on leveraging a location independent approach to get executives in excellent physical shape. Aryan is also the host of The Apex Perspective, a podcast where he interviews elite entrepreneurs, executives, and investors worldwide to uncover timeless principles of success. Aryan's journey truly started with his weight loss of 70+LBS, where he learned the power of having a strong "why" in any pursuit of success, a principle discussed in his Ted Talk, "Find Your Why".
Intro
In this enlightening discourse, we explore the transformative journey of Aryan Mohindra, who, at a young age, overcame significant challenges that once hindered his academic and personal pursuits. Central to our conversation is the pivotal realization that one must possess a compelling reason to drive change in their life. Aryan recounts a formative experience from his childhood, wherein a lack of motivation led to academic struggles and health issues, ultimately prompting him to seek a deeper understanding of purpose and commitment. His journey not only culminated in a remarkable physical transformation, characterized by substantial weight loss and improved health, but also inspired him to engage in entrepreneurial endeavors and public speaking, including delivering a TED Talk. This episode serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of identifying one's motivations and the profound impact that clarity of purpose can have on personal and professional success.
Conversation
A compelling dialogue transpires in this episode, wherein host Jothy Rosenberg converses with Aryan Mohindra, a young entrepreneur whose life story reflects resilience and transformation. The discussion begins with Mohindra recounting his formative years, marked by struggles in both academia and personal health. He candidly shares how, at a tender age, he found himself failing academically and battling obesity, an experience that prompted a profound internal inquiry. The turning point in Mohindra's life occurred when he grasped the significance of having a purpose, a realization that was spurred by a poignant quote from a fictional character. This newfound understanding galvanized him to pursue academic success and health improvements, which ultimately led him to a platform where he could share his insights through a TED Talk and a burgeoning podcast.
The conversation then shifts to Mohindra’s entrepreneurial journey, wherein he articulates the influences that shaped his aspirations. Inspired by his mother’s entrepreneurial spirit, he began exploring the realms of business and real estate at an early age, actively seeking knowledge and mentorship. His podcast, 'Apex Perspective,' is a testament to his desire to connect with and learn from experienced leaders in various fields, aiming to disseminate their wisdom to aspiring entrepreneurs and executives. Mohindra highlights the importance of dialogue and education as essential tools for personal growth and professional development, fostering a community of shared learning.
In the final segments of the episode, Mohindra emphasizes that anyone can embark on a journey of self-improvement, regardless of their starting point. His central message revolves around the belief that identifying a compelling reason to change is crucial for success. This episode serves as an inspiring reminder of the power of motivation, the value of mentorship, and the impact of purpose-driven actions in navigating life's challenges and achieving one's aspirations. Mohindra's journey exemplifies that with determination and a clear sense of purpose, remarkable transformations are indeed attainable.
Takeaways
- Aryan Mohindra's transformative journey began at a young age when he faced significant academic and health challenges, which ultimately led him to understand the importance of having a compelling reason to strive for success.
- Through his experiences, Aryan elucidates the critical nature of identifying a 'reason worth fighting for' as a driving force behind personal growth and achievement in both health and academics.
- The podcast highlights the significance of a balanced approach to fitness, emphasizing that achieving a negative energy balance is more crucial than engaging in rigorous exercise or restrictive dieting.
- Aryan's journey illustrates that anyone can attain their goals by challenging preconceived notions about fitness and adopting a more sustainable lifestyle, which he encapsulates in his Mind and Body Mastery service.
- The discussion on podcasting reveals its value as a tool for knowledge acquisition and networking, which Aryan utilizes to enhance his understanding of business and personal development.
- Finally, the episode underscores the importance of mentorship and community impact, as both Aryan and Jothy Rosenberg express their desire to support aspiring entrepreneurs and share valuable insights from their own experiences.
- Jothy's TEDx talk - On why those with disabilities tend to overachieve
- The Who Says I Can't Foundation - Jothy's non-profit that helps disabled kids get back into a sport they love to restore their self-esteem
- Our YouTube channel
- Designing Successful Startups — Jothy Rosenberg | Author | Speaker | Podcaster - Site with all podcasts
- Tech Startup Toolkit book
- Please leave us a review
Transcripts
And welcome to you, Aria.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for being on my show.
Speaker B:Absolutely, Jyoti.
Speaker B:And it's an absolute pleasure of mine, especially after you were a guest on my Apex Perspective podcast and now I'm a guest on your show.
Speaker A:I know that return the favor is really an excellent, an excellent plan here.
Speaker A:I like to always start like this.
Speaker A:I'd love to know, and I never asked you this, where are you originally from and where do you live now?
Speaker B:So I was born in, in India, actually, and I was born around.
Speaker B: It was: Speaker B:So all I really know is the U.S. so essentially, I would say I grew up in the US And I pretty much called the US my home.
Speaker B:My parents are originally from India, but I would primarily call home US.
Speaker A:Did you ever.
Speaker A:Have you been back to India, even though it's not really back for you?
Speaker A:You've got family there probably.
Speaker B:I sure do.
Speaker B:And I would say I've been back about once or twice.
Speaker B:It's not a regular visit, and I hope to make it more of a regular visit when I get more time, especially out of college.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:That's the other thing that's interesting about you.
Speaker A:So most.
Speaker A:I've actually talked to a couple other fairly young people and they just didn't have enough sort of the school of hard knocks, of just experiences to.
Speaker A:To be on the podcast.
Speaker A:Because I, I'm looking for.
Speaker A:I'm looking for people that are entrepreneurial and have had some success and have had some challenges and some mistakes or whatever, because I'm a. I'm a big fan of talking about my mistakes and I've made plenty because I just turned 69 last week.
Speaker A:I'm a little bit older than you.
Speaker A:I actually have a grandson who's older than you.
Speaker A:I have a 22 year old grandson.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:Which is funny.
Speaker A:So something happened to you and I'm just serving this up for you to tell the story.
Speaker A:Something happened to you that was really life changing and it led to you doing a TED Talk.
Speaker A:And then I think it, it essentially set you on this path for both your, your little company and your podcast.
Speaker A:So maybe you could tell us that very significant life changing event that happened to you not so long ago.
Speaker B:Of course.
Speaker B:And my story, it starts nine years ago, but I truly remember it as if it was yesterday.
Speaker B:I was sitting in the classroom and I was in elementary school.
Speaker B:I was failing out of all my classes.
Speaker B:I was about to repeat a grade and I was also completely overweight.
Speaker B:A lot of the problems that were occurring in my life were simply a result of the lack of effort into putting things, putting my effort into things and the inclination to put effort into things.
Speaker B:And because of that, I was forced to be in a position where I was failing out of school and my doctor was telling me I was going to lose 15 years of my life if I didn't fix anything.
Speaker B:And mind you, I was around 12 years old at this time.
Speaker B:The issue was my family was very academically driven.
Speaker B:My family praised being excellent in a lot of things.
Speaker B:So of course there's going to be some backlash or a little bit of scolding.
Speaker B:As you can probably imagine, they want the best for you, of course.
Speaker B:So I was never motivated by the scolding.
Speaker B:I was never motivated by praising excellence in school.
Speaker B:The issue with what I was facing in life was not that I wasn't intelligent or that I didn't know how to be fit.
Speaker B:It was a lack of a reason worth fighting for to make something happen.
Speaker B:When you don't know why you're doing something, when you don't know why you're even at a certain place, there comes with a lack of effort associated with that.
Speaker B:And that was the exact experience I was feeling both in my school and in my health and fitness.
Speaker B:I didn't even know why I was doing what I was doing.
Speaker B:Being careless in school, being careless in my health and fitness, which is what translated to me not caring about the words my teacher was saying at the time, not caring what food came to my mouth, not caring how much time I spent on the television sitting down.
Speaker B:All those components came in order due to the fact that I was, I didn't have a reason worth fighting for to actually care about.
Speaker B:So there was what was stumbled upon me actually starting a change really came when I was watching a lot of YouTube at the time.
Speaker B:As you can imagine, YouTube was starting to become more prevalent, especially among the younger people at the time.
Speaker B:And I remember a video, a video, a YouTube video about this show called the Arrow and the character in it, his name is Malcolm Merlin.
Speaker B:And I was a big fan of like fighting shows.
Speaker B:I was a big fan of these, these shows that were all about fighting, getting to the objective and those kinds of things.
Speaker B:And there's a quote that that individual said, his name is Malcolm Merlin.
Speaker B:The reason you can't beat me to the opponent is what he's saying.
Speaker B:It's cuz you don't know what you're fighting for.
Speaker B:You don't know what you're willing to sacrifice.
Speaker B:And that hit me with a ton of bricks.
Speaker B:It made me realize the entire reason I'm not doing well in anything in my life is I don't know what I'm fighting for.
Speaker B:I don't know what the reason is.
Speaker B:I don't know what I'm doing at school.
Speaker B:I don't know what I, why I'm even there, or why I'm trying to prioritize my health.
Speaker B:And then I had the time to think about why I should do well in school.
Speaker B:And ultimately my mom's an entrepreneur, which is maybe something we discuss a little bit later.
Speaker B:And she told me sometimes before I recollected this in my memories, that she, she leveraged college to build an excellent career which, where she could build value for society and also create community impact at the exact same time.
Speaker B:And if I wanted to do something great in my life that I would, it would require me to do basically well in school and to excel in school.
Speaker B:That was my reasoning.
Speaker B:Maybe people today, and I'm sure they do have different reasons with school and why they should succeed.
Speaker B:But I held onto that reason.
Speaker B:And that one thing, that one reason, it changed the entire way I operated.
Speaker B:I started to study late nights.
Speaker B:I started to study when no one was looking.
Speaker B:I started to study when I started to pay attention and study whenever I got the chance.
Speaker B:I knew that if I worked on this, there was one day I got the chance to do something great in my life because I associated college to being able to do something great in my life.
Speaker B:And again, we can discuss why that may not be as impactful today.
Speaker B:But that reason compelled me to do something difficult and succeed because my grace completely turned around.
Speaker B:Now seeing this change in my life, it made me believe there, there may be a chance I can have the same impact on my health.
Speaker B:Subsequently, I started running every single day.
Speaker B:And this is around 13, 14 years old.
Speaker B:I started running every day for a single, for entire year and 3, 3 to 4 miles.
Speaker B:And by the way, when I was starting this specific journey, I could barely run.
Speaker B:I could barely run.03 of a mile.
Speaker B:Just letting you know.
Speaker B:So I solely built up from.03 of a mile to about 3 miles in a single year.
Speaker B:The capability of doing that in one go.
Speaker B:And in that same year I lost 40 pounds.
Speaker B:That is when everything else in my life basically changed.
Speaker B:Because that's when I realized, because I've seen the proof in front of my eyes that I'm capable of change it made me realized I can do anything I put my mind to.
Speaker B:And this is what actually led me to not only just excel in school and get essentially become a straight A student, but it also led me to start to learn more about business at a much younger age.
Speaker B:Around 15 years old.
Speaker B:I actually, after I lost that first 40 pounds, I started learning about, about real estate and about how real estate worked.
Speaker B:So, so I would go to these networking events and I would walk to them and I would learn about all the intricacies within real estate.
Speaker B:And by the way, this is during the COVID time.
Speaker B:So I was learning about medical office spaces, I was learning about office space as a whole.
Speaker B:And essentially I realized that based on all the terminology, I was learning that office was a asset class that was going to be underutilized and essentially going to drop in massive value.
Speaker B:But if it's used in the right way, like for medical purpose, it can be repurposed for much better use and it can be actually reduced.
Speaker B:It can go from a much reduced value to a much higher value if you repurpose the office space.
Speaker B:And I told this to one of a prominent local real estate individual and he was surprised I had this knowledge at a young age.
Speaker B:So what he did is he invited me to do an internship with him while I was in high school.
Speaker B:And that's where I started learning a lot more about real estate.
Speaker B:I started to get intrigued about how real estate works.
Speaker B:And then we went out to do a small little project and in that project we were able to basically take a land and give it permits and I could understand the coordination with what it takes to develop land.
Speaker B:And I partook in actually learning about the financials of the property and reducing the, the expenses so I can increase the net income.
Speaker B:So this entire experience basically allowed me to understand and get more confidence in, in, in business.
Speaker B:But this originally from the fact that I had reasons worth fighting and understanding what it takes to really to get something I want to succeed in.
Speaker B:So fast forward to today.
Speaker B:Yes, I did the real estate internship, but how did I get started with the podcasting?
Speaker B:Of course, that's probably the question you want to learn more about.
Speaker B:So when I graduated high school and I moved into college, I was essentially a bit lost.
Speaker B:As you can imagine, when you're 18, 19, you don't know.
Speaker B:You don't know exactly where you want to go yet, but you're trying to figure out what you want to do professionally.
Speaker B:So an idea that came to mind, and this is something that was thrown around here and There is podcasting and the impact it can have on accelerating your understanding of business.
Speaker B:So for me, I actually this actually was hands in hand with mind and body mastery.
Speaker B:The reason why is because within the years that that are from 15 to about 18, I did actually fluctuate in.
Speaker B:In weight, but I found a method that was much more sustainable, which was leveraging a location independent approach and basically doing it in a way that was a lot more efficient.
Speaker B:So the reason this was hand in hand is because I wanted to find out ways I can coach people, but also learn more about business.
Speaker B:Business at the exact same time.
Speaker B:Podcasting was actually one of the ways I thought was thrown around and that I further learned more about that I can meet individuals, learn about business education, and I could potentially work with people to become clients.
Speaker B:And that's basically a little bit more about what I do today.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And it's pretty hard to get invited to do a TED Talk, and usually there's somebody has to nominate you or you can nominate yourself.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:How did you get approved?
Speaker A:Did you nominate yourself?
Speaker B:Yes, I nominated myself and I essentially described the concept which was understanding the reason why you do things and having compelling enough reason to do something to make something happen.
Speaker B:That was the premise of the TED Talk and luckily it got accepted.
Speaker B:So I went forward with the opportunity.
Speaker A:Was it a.
Speaker A:Was it one of the TEDxS in your.
Speaker A:In fairly close to where you lived?
Speaker B:Yes, in fact, it was at my high school.
Speaker B:It was an opportunity for the students at my high school, and I took the opportunity and I nominated myself, gave the description.
Speaker B:I pitched it to my teacher, to the one who was running the program, and they said, I can go forward.
Speaker A:Were you nervous?
Speaker A:You didn't.
Speaker A:You couldn't have had a lot of experience doing public speaking in the short number of years you've been on the planet?
Speaker B:I had to do.
Speaker B:I had to pitch.
Speaker B:Like I said before, I was.
Speaker B:When I was 15 years old, I had to pitch in front of all established individuals who are into real estate.
Speaker B:How to lower the net income.
Speaker B:I'm sorry?
Speaker B:How to lower the expenses to increase the net income.
Speaker B:It was hard to do because I was 15 years old and I felt like I knew what I was talking about, but I was basically talking to sharks, and I was 15.
Speaker B:Sharks in real estate.
Speaker B:So it built my confidence to the point where if I know something is true, if it cannot be in, if it's inrefutable, I'm going to stay with full conviction.
Speaker B:And when something's inrefutable, it's something that's happened in my life or I verified through multiple tests.
Speaker B:So I believe that a part of it was coming talking about thinking of truthful, and a part of it was also developing the confidence from speaking with people who were a bit more established than I was.
Speaker B:So, of course I was nervous, especially talking in front of both classmates and older people in a large room.
Speaker B:But I would say what trumped the fear was the message I wanted to give to people.
Speaker B:Because if there's one message I could give, it's that having a reason worth fighting for can make you capable of doing anything in your life.
Speaker B:Because if you think about it, in the past, in many wars, people would die to defend their homeland.
Speaker B:People are willing to give up their life to defend their home.
Speaker B:They had a reason worth fighting for.
Speaker B:They had a reason worth dying for.
Speaker B:Imagine if you.
Speaker B:You had a reason that was a tenth as strong as that today, how capable would you be?
Speaker B:So it's a combination of things is what I would say is certainly I developed the confidence, but I had a reason worth fighting for to deliver this TED Talk, which kind of trumped all.
Speaker A:The fear and what we were, the rules that we had to follow.
Speaker A:And I gave mine in Paris, of all places.
Speaker A:But the.
Speaker A:They're all 18 minutes long, and they.
Speaker A:They don't allow you to have any notes at all.
Speaker A:Did they use the same rules for you?
Speaker B:I was offered a. I was offered some, I believe, teleprompter, but I refused.
Speaker B:You didn't see because you could tell if I would be using it if I was looking down at the board.
Speaker B:There's a board right in front of you, below the stage.
Speaker B:The stage here.
Speaker B:And there's one.
Speaker B:There's a teleprompter right below in front of the audience.
Speaker B:You would be able to see my eyes if I was using a teleprompter, but I didn't.
Speaker B:And it was primarily because I felt what I was talking about.
Speaker B:It didn't need a script.
Speaker B:It came from me.
Speaker B:That's probably the reason why.
Speaker A:That's good.
Speaker A:That's really good.
Speaker A:Okay, so then you heard about podcasting.
Speaker A:You thought it would really be helpful.
Speaker A:It was going to be a way to meet cool people, which is absolutely true.
Speaker B:I met you.
Speaker A:I met you.
Speaker A:And I'm.
Speaker A:I'm now up to eight.
Speaker A: goes back to the beginning of: Speaker A:And I. I actually reach out to some of them for various things throughout the two years that.
Speaker A:That have gone by, and they're they're friends.
Speaker A:And there's so far, there's, let's see what number.
Speaker A:Let's see.
Speaker A:You're my 82nd.
Speaker A:I know you've done way more, you've done way more than I have.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:And what you're talking to people about, you're trying to have accept what you call exceptional executives.
Speaker A:And so what sort of things do you, are you trying to accomplish in the podcast and who do you think your audience is?
Speaker B:Yes, I believe my audience who are primary on LinkedIn, they're all 95% of them, in fact, are founders and executives themselves.
Speaker B:The idea behind the apex perspective, which is why I'm elaborate why I called it the apex perspective, is to talk to individuals who have done something or are good at anything that they've done, who excel in whatever it is that craft that they do.
Speaker B:That was the primary objective.
Speaker B:I want to talk to people who excel in whatever craft they do.
Speaker B:For example, there are people who've been on the podcasts that aren't specifically entrepreneurs, but specialize in raising capital.
Speaker B:Brad Blas was one of my first guests, and he was, he talked about how he raised $2 billion.
Speaker B:There were certain, for example, there were certain terminology he used.
Speaker B:Instead of saying, would you like to invest with us?
Speaker B:He was would say, would you actually join us potentially on our next project?
Speaker B:So the reason I like to highlight people who excel in their respective crafts is because when they spend a majority of their life on a specific craft, they understand the intricacies within those crafts to the point where, to the point where they're essentially experts.
Speaker B:And I want to understand that kind of, that mindset in terms of their craft.
Speaker B:What are those apex perspectives?
Speaker B:Because they have got the experience to talk about that.
Speaker B:So the audience is other founders and executives who are accomplished or are rising to be more accomplished.
Speaker B:And if I can highlight the podcast with a group of individuals who are accomplishing what they do and have apex perspectives, my hope is that I can bring the same value that I'm getting as a student at learning business education to other entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs to learn more about what it takes and what kinds of strategies are prevalent in these other industries.
Speaker B:So that is the objective of the apex perspective and why I began it.
Speaker A:That's good.
Speaker A:It's very good.
Speaker A:And I think, I think that will work.
Speaker A:I am, I have, we overlap in a couple of areas.
Speaker A:On the podcast front, I'm trying to speak to startup founders or wannabe founders who, who have an idea that they think will change the world that's usually how it starts.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:And typically your idea for changing the world comes out of your knowledge of some market and a problem that, that you've identified in that market.
Speaker A:Maybe it's a market you've been working in, maybe you work at a bigger company, but you see a problem and you think it'll take a startup who can move quickly and make and pivot if necessary, but it'll solve a problem that you think is a big deal.
Speaker A:So fine, having a, having an idea and a problem that, that led you to that idea is great.
Speaker A:But where does, where do most people who've got some reason to start a company, where did they learn how to raise money, how to write a pitch deck, how to evaluate a term sheet?
Speaker A:All of these things.
Speaker A:It's just, and it's an enormous number of things.
Speaker A:And in fact, I don't think that even the entrepreneurship business schools teach all the things that you need to be a founder at a startup.
Speaker A:Are you a business major at ucsd?
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Which is why I find it excellent that I get the opportunity to speak with people who are experienced in business on the podcast.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:And I think that we're both trying to educate a certain group of people.
Speaker A:I'm trying to do it three ways simultaneously.
Speaker A:The podcast is one of them.
Speaker A:But the book came out first.
Speaker A:The book was one thing.
Speaker A:It's been out just a year and I think sales are starting to pick up.
Speaker A:The publishers doing some more marketing to try to really spread the word.
Speaker A:And then the podcast and what augments both of them is an online course that I think even if you graduate from a business school, the online course is very valuable because fills in all those little gaps and you can refer back to things.
Speaker A:Let's say you're, you're ready to try to build your minimum viable product.
Speaker A:What do you do, how do you do it and what do you do right after you got that, how do you go from that to product market fit?
Speaker A:And they would be able to grab a couple of lessons and review that material and, and, and then hopefully it helps them.
Speaker A:And my whole goal is to, for people that really dig into this stuff to flip the script from 8 out of 10 startups fail.
Speaker A:That's what the statistics show over and over again.
Speaker A:And for these people to flip it to 8 out of 10 succeed, which is a tall order, obviously I'm right around the eight out of 10 fail because this is my ninth, the one I'm finishing up with here.
Speaker A:I've had two exits, so those are the two out of the.
Speaker A:I haven't done 10, and I'm not going to do 10.
Speaker A:So it's going to be like two out of nine because I'm selling this one.
Speaker A:But it's not going to be a great outcome.
Speaker B:I was actually curious, do you think that you're going to stay.
Speaker B:Are you going to stay retired or are you going to start another company?
Speaker A:I am not going to start another company.
Speaker A:I know that.
Speaker A:It's funny.
Speaker A:I've talked to another older entrepreneur like myself just a couple of days ago, did a podcast episode with him, and he's a guy that started five or six, then he went to an incubator.
Speaker A:He ran an incubator in Boston for a number of years, and then he became an investor.
Speaker A:And he remembers the moment when he made the decision, I'm done building my own startups.
Speaker A:I now want to help others build theirs.
Speaker A:He's doing it a different way than I am.
Speaker A:He's doing it as an investor.
Speaker A:And so it is a very certain thing when you say, I'm done.
Speaker A:Even at the end of number eight, my wife asked me, would you consider stopping now that you've done eight?
Speaker A:And I said, I'm not really ready to commit to that yet.
Speaker A:And I did a couple of other things, and then this opportunity just landed in my lap and I had to run with it.
Speaker A:And what I would do if a cool idea occurred is I would help someone else run with it.
Speaker A:Someone younger run with it.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:And you know why I ask?
Speaker A:Not sure why you asked.
Speaker B:Because a lot of my podcast guests were formerly retired.
Speaker B:They start new companies.
Speaker B:That's why.
Speaker A:Ah.
Speaker A:What just happened?
Speaker A:My sound.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I think that the fact is that maybe I'm older than some of those folks you're talking about.
Speaker B:Yeah, maybe.
Speaker B:But that's the reason I asked, because a lot of them thought they were going to be done and relaxing on the beach.
Speaker B:However, once.
Speaker B:When it's in your blood, sometimes you can't control it.
Speaker B:That's the only reason why I ask.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:But here's the caveat.
Speaker A:I don't believe in relaxing on the beach.
Speaker A:In fact, I think that's a good way to die early.
Speaker B:Agreed.
Speaker A:Is to not be active and with your brain.
Speaker A:I'm active.
Speaker A:I am a very active sports person.
Speaker A:This past Sunday was my 30th time doing the Alcatraz Shark Fest swim.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:And I flew out to San Francisco, as I do every year, and join 899 other people jumping off perfect, perfectly good boats into the water and swimming back instead of riding the ferry back.
Speaker A:It was a, another enjoyable experience and I will continue to do that.
Speaker A:But here's the thing about.
Speaker A:That's why it's not your, what you think of as retirement.
Speaker A:Maybe because you mentioned relaxing on the beach.
Speaker A:I'm going to write more books.
Speaker A:I have another one in mind.
Speaker A:This one was number six.
Speaker A:Okay, I'll keep going.
Speaker A:I'll work on this course.
Speaker A:And one of the things that the course I hope leads to is mentoring.
Speaker A:I love mentoring.
Speaker A:When I'm on a board of a company, you're automatically a mentor for the CEO.
Speaker A:Some people don't accept your mentoring.
Speaker A:That's okay too.
Speaker A:But most welcome it.
Speaker A:And there's, there are all, these are all essentially initiatives.
Speaker A:They're not money making companies, but they're all consuming kinds of things.
Speaker B:Got it, Got it.
Speaker A:So tell me about.
Speaker A:You've got a.
Speaker A:It's a company, it's called Mind and Body Mastery.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Is it like an llc?
Speaker B:So it is actually not primarily an llc, but it's a. I would say it's a name for my service.
Speaker B:It's a name for my service, yes.
Speaker A:Okay, so you what, Tell us about the service.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:So I mentioned earlier that I found a lot more of an efficient way to make a successful fitness transformation.
Speaker B:Now the primary problem that I've identified, especially because I went back and forth losing weight and gaining weight and then finally successfully losing 70 pounds and keeping off, I found it and identified the primary problem that people face when it comes to making a physical transformation.
Speaker B:It's actually not what most people believe it is.
Speaker B:A lot of what people believe is that it's because the diet has to be restrictive.
Speaker B:It has.
Speaker B:Because I have to exercise rigorously, I have to come out of the gym sweating buckets in order to make my transformation.
Speaker B:And that's exactly what I thought before, which is why I was running previously.
Speaker B:The problem with this is that this actually, it makes most, a lot of individuals not even want to start their own fitness journey.
Speaker B:That's what it actually does.
Speaker B:It's this perception that you must be rigorously dieting.
Speaker B:You must be rigorously exercising.
Speaker B:And that was one of the reasons why people don't start.
Speaker B:But there's this other group who do start and follow that route and actually can't adhere to it.
Speaker B:Whether they're an executive, they're an entrepreneur, or if they're just an average individual that absolutely dislikes going to the gym or dislikes running, they also quit on their journeys.
Speaker B:And this is the same problem I ran into a while where I would get a lot more busy with my schedule.
Speaker B:Because I was actually a part time intern at a real estate real estate internship and I was also a student at high school.
Speaker B:I didn't have time to run every single day.
Speaker B:So I identified that maybe I have to challenge the requirements of what it takes to make a physical transformation.
Speaker B:Upon that, when you actually research what it takes to make a physical transformation, it's not the time you spend going to a gym.
Speaker B:It's actually your capacity to adhere to a negative energy balance.
Speaker B:What is a negative energy balance?
Speaker B:A negative energy balance simply means you're burning more calories than consuming on a daily basis.
Speaker B:So everything aside, as long as you get enough movement and you have the right nutritional strategy, we you're eating less calories than you're burning on a daily basis, you're going to make a physical transformation.
Speaker B:So because I understood this is the only requirement, there are so many other pathways I can take to make it happen.
Speaker B:It does not matter what it is I do.
Speaker B:It could be going to the gym or it could be using walking.
Speaker B:That's exactly what I now leverage, which is step count.
Speaker B:The reason why I wanted to, I felt like this was unnecessary value to the market is because I want to dismantle this perception that fitness is meant for individuals all the time in the world and that are for the most disciplined.
Speaker B:Because to this day I don't.
Speaker B:I still eat a bar of chocolate every single day.
Speaker B:I eat a Rice Krispie every single day.
Speaker B:And I simply just leverage step count which is basically just walking without any sweat.
Speaker B:And a lot of people don't believe me when I say this, but the reason why I want my message, I want my message to be clear is because when you challenge the requirements of any problem, even if you're an entrepreneur, you start to understand all the available pathways to make us making a successful product or a successful solution to the problem.
Speaker B:So that is a premise behind mind and body mastery is I want to challenge the perception that this is really meant for people all the time in the world.
Speaker B:People who are extremely disciplined, but rather is meant for everyone.
Speaker B:And everyone can actually make a transformation if they follow the core principle to making the transformation.
Speaker A:I think that's good, that's good advice.
Speaker A:We each have our own way of doing it.
Speaker A:I became.
Speaker A:So what drives me is that as I have the physical disability of loss of my right leg, I have a second issue which is that I had one lung removed.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:And then I have a third thing which is I had A, a very well respected doctor tell me when I was 19 that I had.00% chance of surviving.
Speaker A:And so that was a, that essentially became a real mental challenge certainly.
Speaker A:And for me it was fighting back, it was fighting.
Speaker A:And, and the way to do that for me was all the things that people said I can't do.
Speaker A:And as I believe in this, who says I can't?
Speaker A:It's the title of that other book.
Speaker A:And also just my rallying cry.
Speaker A:And for, so for me, people had said from the moment I lost my leg, they said, you can't ski again.
Speaker A:You'll never be able to ski.
Speaker A:You can't ride a bike because your weight's all on one side, you'll tip over and you obviously can't swim.
Speaker A:You've only got one leg and when you kick, you'll just go in a circle.
Speaker A:And those are the three things I do the most nowadays.
Speaker A:And I became a double black diamond skier on one leg.
Speaker A:I be, I've ridden my bike from Boston to New York City four times and I do a century ride every year.
Speaker A:And I, like I said, I'm a competitive open water swimmer and so I'm driven.
Speaker A:And that's not the thing that's gonna work.
Speaker A:As you just pointed out, that's not gonna work for a lot of people.
Speaker A:But whatever it is that, that you need to do.
Speaker A:And I think people who are not gym rats, who are not, who find lots of reasons, you know, to give up after they, they try.
Speaker A:There's this phenomenon every January.
Speaker A:All these people make this, these January 1st resolutions and then I always see the gym a lot more crowded.
Speaker A:And then by February 1st, it's back, they're gone, normal.
Speaker B:And I see it all the time as well.
Speaker B:And it's, this is what something I used to do.
Speaker B:And I would say that the, the issue with that is you're using an equation as the reason why you should start.
Speaker B:And I think that is the wrong mindset towards approaching a health transformation or anything.
Speaker B:There shouldn't be occasion of why you should start.
Speaker B:If you have a reason to do something that's actually valuable and they'll contribute to society and yourself, then I think starting right away is the primary way to go forward.
Speaker B:It's not about a very specific occasion.
Speaker B:So I see that all the time.
Speaker B:And that's the same, that's the same reason I just told you why I started my journey finally, is that I understood that it didn't take an occasion to start.
Speaker B:It takes a reason worth fighting for.
Speaker A:To start all I could say to you is it's a.
Speaker A:It's really admirable that you were able to figure out how to lose that much weight.
Speaker A:That huge amount of.
Speaker A:Huge percentage of energy body.
Speaker B:You can probably see it here.
Speaker B:I wasn't.
Speaker B:It wasn't that I was just overweight.
Speaker B:It was hard for me to stand sometimes.
Speaker B:So it should give you an idea of the kind of trip tribulations I've been through.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Are you pretty tall as well?
Speaker B:I'm six foot.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:Yeah, pretty tall.
Speaker A:And I'm thrilled that you're.
Speaker A:You're in school and you're a business major.
Speaker A:You're gonna come out having a few more things added to what you already are learning organic way.
Speaker A:And I think the younger people in the audience listening to this are going to be highly motivated.
Speaker A:And I don't mean this in a patronizing way.
Speaker A:I mean it sincerely.
Speaker A:You do seem wise beyond your years.
Speaker A:And I'm very impressed.
Speaker A:And we'll be.
Speaker B:Appreciate it.
Speaker A:And we'll be.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And we should meet in La Jolla.
Speaker B:Yeah, we should meet.
Speaker B:Definitely meet in La Jolla when you come by.
Speaker A:Okay, I will.
Speaker A:I have your address because I'm going to send you a signed copy of the book.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:And I will be able to keep in touch and look you up and all that good stuff.
Speaker B:It's an absolute pleasure of mine.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for being on.
Speaker B:Thank you for interviewing me.
