Building a Career You Love with Dan Feldman

You're listening to the PT Profit podcast, episode number 192. Today I'm sitting down with coach Dan Feldman and we're talking about how to build a career you love. Are you ready? Let's get started.

Hi, I'm Beverly Simpson, former fitness manager turned online personal training business owner. And this podcast is where smart fitness professionals, including trainers and clinicians, discover how to increase client performance and movement, package and position their products and services and get out of their own way so that they can increase their revenue to live a life that they love without sleazy sales. Welcome to the PT Profit Podcast.

What's up, coach? Thanks so much for tuning into another episode of the PT Profit Podcast. I'm your host, Beverly Simpson. If this is the first time you're hanging out with me today, welcome. I'm so glad that you're here. Today I have a very special guest, Dan Feldman, who is a registered dietitian, personal trainer, and competitive powerlifter. And inside of this episode today, he is sharing what sets his practice apart, how he built it from scratch, what it was like for him when he started accepting insurance, and how that was a game changer for his business. And honestly, we also go deep on the energetics of being a good leader and what it's like to step into that role and lead by example and to remember just how important it is to be a well rounded human and how that can be so enriching both in your life and also in your business. He shares a little bit too, about his love of music and how he still practices guitar, how that played an integral role in his life and in his business. So without further ado, let's go ahead and roll that interview. What's up, Dan? Thank you so much for joining me in the show today. How are you?

I'm doing very well. How are you?

I'm doing so good. I'm really excited to dive in today. So for those of us who have not had the pleasure of your work, I'd love for you to share with us a little bit about who you are, who you serve and how you got there.

Sure. So I am a registered dietitian and a personal trainer. I've got a master's degree in human nutrition. I am located in the United States in the New York, New Jersey area. And I have a private practice that's kind of what the bulk of my time is spent doing. That's my career. I have clients that mostly see me via telehealth online over zoom, and most of my clients actually use their health insurance. So most of my clients don't pay anything out of pocket to see me. I build our health insurance companies and health insurance companies pay me which is very, very cool. So that's kind of my main gig. I also do some part time work for a website called examine.com a nutrition in a health based research company. You know, I assist with the examine.com you know, monthly study, summaries, research review. So. So that's pretty fun as well. I have a pretty active social media following on Instagram where I post, you know, a lot of evidence based nutrition and fitness stuff when I'm not doing that. I'm also a competitive powerlifter, so I compete in usapl. So I'm fairly decent at that and that's kind of my general background, I suppose.

So is that all? No, I'm just kidding. Okay, so there are a couple of things that you touched on that I'm curious that I'd love to dig deeper on now examine that soul's company. Right. Cookies.

Yeah. Solarwell and Kamal Patel are the two heads of the company. Yeah.

Yes, that's right. I met him a couple. Oh my gosh. I want to say in 2018. Awesome dude. Awesome dude. Really kind. It was fun. Okay, so you said that you had your master's in human nutrition. So can you talk a little bit about what the, the differences between human nutrition and being a registered dietitian?

Well, it's two separate things. So human nutrition is just the name of the degree that got my master's in. It focused a lot on reading and interpreting nutrition research, how to do that, yada yada. Registered dietitian is something that's separate. So at least in the United States, in order to become a registered dietitian, it's a very specific title. You have to do a very specific undergraduate program in dietetics and an approved program. Then you have to apply for and complete a 1200 hour dietetic internship. Upon completion of that, you're eligible to sit for the registered dietitian exam. Again, this is just all in the United States. If you pass that, you become registered, you become a registered dietitian. You have that title. You can legally practice medical nutrition therapy, which is basically just providing nutritional support, nutritional guidance for people with various diseases. Right. That's that specific title. That makes sense.

Yeah, it does. So how did you get down this path? What brought you and which came first? Was it personal strength and conditioning, personal training, or was it nutrition and then training?

Well, I became a registered diet. Well, I got the master's degree in, in human nutrition and the registered dietitian and then the personal trainer certification in that order. But as far as sort of where my interests kind of aligned without getting into too, too much of a rabbit hole. Originally, you know, in my teenage years I actually did not really have an interest much in fitness. I actually wanted to be a professional guitarist. I was very, very, very into playing guitar. Piano to a lesser extent. I still do. I wanted to go to a conservatory when to do all of that, got really obsessed with playing guitar. I was practicing like eight hours a day in high school and you know, then kind of towards the tail end there, I kind of wore myself out. It stopped being fun. So I, you know, got when. When going into college at the University of Delaw, wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Now I did have some struggles with my body image when I was much younger. My weight and disordered eating and stuff like that when I was younger. Something I kind of battled throughout adolescence. And then along with that, you know, right in my freshman year of college, I started to get into lifting weights. So you know, those, that kind of history and that interest, along with the fact that I didn't really know what I wanted to do that led me down the route of becoming a registered dietitian. You know, I met with my academic advisor. She said, oh, you could do this or you could become a registered dietitian. I thought, oh, that sounds really official. So I might as well do that because it's an area in which I'm interested in. And you know, it's, it's, it's something there's a lot of demand for. So did that four year program, you know, after that, you know, to, to be registered dietitian in the United States, like I mentioned, you have to do a 1200 hour internship. And it's a. You, you not only do not get paid for that time, you have to pay. It's kind of like a medical residency in that way. You have to pay thousands of dollars to do it. And I wasn't sure if I wanted to do that yet. So I said, you know what, let me get my master's. Because there was a position open at my university. They offered a pretty decent stipend. So I figured I would do that. Did that, then got the rd, you know, and then that's, that's kind of how things happen. And then I just got the personal training. Just cause I actually for a company I was working for at the time, it was required and I figured it you know, I have an interest, you know, in it. I do some online training programming for a few clients. Might as well have it.

So good. So now how are you? How did you get into powerlifting competitively?

I mean, I kind of was drawn to the Sport in like 2017, 2018. I like picking up heavy shit and putting it down, hopefully. I concur course on this podcast. But I was gonna say if not. But yeah, so I was kind of drawn to it and then I saw people competing and I don't know, it just seemed kind of fun. So I did my first competition in, in late 2018. It was fun. So we've done, I think, three more since then. Just, you know, just kind of a nice way to test my strength. I'm not like a super, super good powerlifter. Like, I'm decent. I don't, you know, I'm not super elite or anything, but it's. It's a nice. It's a nice kind of little fun hobby to have, you know, and something to train towards, which is always nice.

A goal. I. High achievers need to have goals.

Yeah, yeah, it's just something. Exactly. It's kind of something to direct my efforts towards in the gym. And it's fun. Yeah, exactly. It's fun.

So what are some of the hardest cases or clients and different projects, things that you've had that you've come across in your career that has caused you to really think outside the box?

So I guess one thing that I've been kind of thinking about currently, which I think a lot of people can relate to, is kind of a more of a bigger picture issue, and that's of time and energy management because I, you know, and maybe you can relate to this. I'm the kind of person, like, I like to just do a lot of things, you know, I'm very. I get very engaged in what I do. Like, I get an interest and I get hooked on it. You know what I mean? Like, with developing a private practice, you know, it's easy to just take on more and more clients. Right. Or with. With research, you can just go down a research hole for hours and hours and hours. Right? Or with learning and continuing my education, there is an endless amount to learn. I could spend all my time just doing that. You know what I mean? Or with lifting and, you know, in my other hobbies, like, I'm currently trying to learn French and Chinese while keeping up my Spanish and trying to continue to hone piano and guitar skills, you know, and the powerlifting and all of that so kind of choosing, I guess, what goals and what interests and how to spend my time in a way that is most appropriate for me, not necessarily getting distracted by things that don't matter as much. You know, I was mentioning to you right before we started recording, you know, one thing I've had to kind of deal with is, you know, I'm a very busy guy. Limited time, limited energy as well, you know, I can't do everything. And one thing I've had to kind of come to terms with is I may have to spend less time and energy on growing my social media. You know, I've got 25,000 or whatever followers on Instagram and it's been helpful to some extent with business. And for a long time over the past couple years, I've spent so much fucking time creating posts that I hope will get a lot of likes, or scrolling Instagram or worrying about how many likes I'm getting or how much engagement or how much I'm growing my following. And I started to realize that doesn't matter. I mean, it's a nice way to connect with other people and to help with other people and to maybe get some clients, but it's a big time and energy suck, you know, social media and it can be pretty toxic. And, you know, kind of thinking about what I'm going to prioritize, where I'm going to put my time and energy so that it best serves me, you know, so my private practice, which is, you know, relatively lucrative, probably makes more sense to focus on that, that I can earn the income that I would like to live the life that I want as opposed to meaningless metrics on social media, you know, so. So yeah, prioritizing where I want to put my efforts and my energy so that it's best for me in the long run. I think that's something a lot of people, probably most people can relate to to some extent, which I know is maybe a little bit of an outside the box answer from your question, but hopefully that makes some semblance of sense.

It does for sure. I think that there are three main resources that we all have that lives that are just together and post. And most people, this is people, not just coaches. I think most people miss it in terms of the relationship to our relationship to time, our relationship to money, and our relationship to energy in terms of our mental energy and our effort. And we tend to undervalue energy and time. We think we have plenty of it and we just don't. We're. They're actually finite resources and the ones that I feel that people spend so much time focusing on is one that is, is more accessible depending on your circumstances, even, even depending on any circumstance, especially if you're listening to this podcast. It means that you are creative, you automatically have a skill like you, you are a coach or a dietitian or a personal trainer and those you can monetize. We can't invent more time, we can't invent more energy. And it' it is what it is and that's all there is.

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And you know, thinking about what your priorities are, and I'm not trying to say like, oh, social media is useless, you know, for some people, they're really trying to build their brand, really trying to market, really need more clients, etc. May pay to, to or they have a particular product that they want to sell to their social media audience, then it may pay to focus more of your energy on that, you know, but at least not, not necessarily chasing it just because you feel like you should, you know, because you don't want to focus all your time on that and at the expense of, you know, your current clients, you know, or, you know, what's going to be most lucrative for you? Not that everything's about money, but, but, you know, it's an important aspect for a lot of people.

Well, you know, when you also say the word lucrative and for me, I'm always thinking of just a wealthy, well, rich life like that looks different for every person. And it's necessarily about money. It's sometimes about, you know, how much time, freedom you have. Are you available to go pick your kids up from the bus or, you know, can you go to the plays or whatever? I have kids, so they're in my context all the time.

Sure.

But, you know, but. And that looks different for people, lots of people. Can you travel the world and work? Can you do other things like play guitar? Sometimes it's not all about work. And I think for high achievers, that can be hard to really just separate ourselves from. We set this goal and then we either move the goalpost.

Yeah.

Keep going, you know, and oftentimes at the expense of forgetting where we came from, you know, how much, how far we've grown.

Yeah.

And, and the other thing too that you said that I think is important to note and reiterate is the subconscious. You said it kind of. But the subconscious impact we have. Chasing metrics that don't really matter.

Yeah, yeah.

Most people think, oh, I don't care about likes, but actually they do.

Yeah. And And I mean, it's not to get philosophical, but like, we all care about what other people think about us. Like, it's, it's, I think, just a human tendency. And a lot of social media apps, like I'm active on Instagram, they take advantage of that. Even if you tell yourself you don't care, like, it's incredibly hard to not care at all about the likes that you're getting or follows because it's validation on some level of like our quote unquote success, you know, more followers, we're more successful, more people like us, whatever. But it's very easy to subconsciously get very attached to that and let that sort of dictate our actions or what we're going to do. And it, I mean, social media can very easily be such a time and energy suck, you know, so, and as you said, time and energy are very, very valuable and very finite resources, especially energy, especially mental energy. I think a lot of us underestimate that, you know, so the more we can kind of conserve that and put social media in a box to the best of our ability, the more freedom we'll have, the more mental freedom that we'll have. And that's really, really important, you know, mental freedom to focus on what you need to focus on, you know, and while enjoying your life.

Absolutely. And I think that, I think it really ultimately comes down to what you were talking about earlier, which is the energy management and the time management components and being able to prioritize and know and draw your boundaries and lines in the sand of what is acceptable to you and be honest about it. I think most people aren't.

Yeah.

And I also think that, that, you know, I also go back to the law of polarity in the sense that you cannot have one without the other. So for all the crap that's out there on social media, it's also been an excellent resource for people to connect during the pandemic or to learn more, especially new coaches. Like, I remember when I first started, I swore I would never say this, and Now I turn 40 and I'm like always saying it, I'm like, oh, back in the day, yeah, we had to wait, you know, what felt like forever before we could get hands on certifications and education and learning. But again, that also is a double edged sword.

Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly.

So what are some of the, you know, one of the things too you were talking about was just doubling down on your practice and doubling down on your client base. What are some of the ways that you continue to stay Motivated, stay inspired. Despite doing all, you know, despite doing this for long periods of time.

How do I stay motivated and inspired? I mean, honestly, I, I, it's just something that I do, you know what I mean? It's, it's, it's not really, I don't really seek motivation from somewhere. I mean, I think I, I, you know, try to keep my why, my kind of personal why in the forefront of my mind, you know, which is I, I want to have a positive impact on other people and I want to have a good living while doing it, you know what I mean? And sort of continuing that. I think another point that I try to keep in mind is the general idea of delayed gratification, which I know is something we probably hear of a lot, but just kind of reminding myself that oftentimes great things are on the other side of discomfort, right? So if I find myself uncomfortable, oftentimes it's overwhelmed just with a lot to do, you know, anxiety, stress, things like that. You know, I do remind myself that it's temporary and that some discomfort is necessary in order to be successful. There was a really good quote that actually, you know, it's funny. When I first started getting into guitar, playing guitar, I was 14 years old. And even though I decided not to pursue it as a career, I think that pursuing guitar and pursuing it at a very high level really taught me a lot about how to apply myself and how to overcome obstacles. I started to really get into guitar probably the summer of 2008 or May, June 2008. I just kind of got obsessed with it. And I remember early on in that process, so I believe it was September of 2008. I went on to Google one day and it just had like a, it said someone's name, it said Randy Pausch, whatever year to 2008, like someone who had just died just randomly on Google. So I, and there was a link on his name and I clicked on it and it linked to YouTube video called the Last Lecture. I'm not sure if you're familiar with this. Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon who died in 2008. And this link that this, this YouTube Google page sent me to was a lecture that he did in 2007. It was his last lecture. It's called the Last Lecture. And in it he said, you know, that he was dying of pancreatic cancer. He had like three to six months of good life left to live or something like that. And the lecture was on achieving your childhood dreams. And there was one part of it that from that day in 2008 has stuck with me. And it's one of the things that I focused on for every lofty goal I've ever set for myself. And he said, in the context of achieving your childhood dreams. He said, but remember, brick walls are there for a reason. They're not there to keep you out. They're there to let you prove how badly you want things. And they're there to keep out those who don't want things badly enough. They're there to keep out the others. That has stuck with me for the past 14 years with guitar. Like I. Whenever I feel like I don't want to practice or like there's this song that seems absolutely impossible, I'd say, no, this is a chance to let me prove how badly I want this. And it keeps out those who don't want this badly enough. Exactly. And then I did the, you know, the same thing for achieving some moderate degree of success in powerlifting. Again, I'm not trying to seem super strong or anything, but to get at a decent level there or academically. Completing the, the dietetic program, master's program, not an easy thing to do. Becoming a registered dietitian, not an easy thing to do. It is a relatively arduous process. You know, building a business, you know, private practice is not an easy thing to do. To become credentialed with health insurance companies and set things up such that I'm doing all of my own billing, you know, and that I figured out how to build so that many of my clients don't have to pay anything out of pocket and I'm able to make a really substantial income based like with most of my clients not paying anything, you know, building a social media following, becoming close to fluent in Spanish and now I'm working on like Chinese and French, you know, getting good at reading and interpreting research, everything. You know what I mean? Everything. It's. There's just lots and lots of brick walls. But. But whenever we encounter that sort of friction and this is like anything in life that's a, That's a goal that's worth that you. That's hard, but that you really want to do. Just imagining it as that brick wall and it's like, okay, it's supposed to be hard because that's why not everyone has this, you know, not everyone can be successful at whatever X goal is, but if it's. You just reframe it as a chance to let you prove how badly you want it and as an inevitable and important part of the process, then the motivation kind of springs from that, because rather than, you know, if I get some insurance denials, like if insurance company just denies claims for no reason or this or that, it's. It's not, you know, other people might just quit and they say, yeah, screw it. Private practice isn't for me, not me, because it's the brick wall. It's the same. The same thing, you know, in different contexts of life. And it's actually. I find it to be very motivating that I can kind of reframe those obstacles, those barriers, as a chance to let me prove how badly I want something and a chance for me to separate myself from others.

So. Good. Now, in your private practice, are you working in a specific niche or treating a specific pain point, or is it generally specific?

Yeah. So most of my clients are either looking for weight management or building strength, building muscle. That's the vast majority of my clients. You know, I do have some people who have, you know, come to me for more specific health concerns, be it, you know, ibs, be it Crohn's, be it, you know, digested other digestive issues, what have you. But the vast majority, weight management or, like I said, building muscle, building strength.

That's good. And I guess I, you know, sometimes I was just curious in how you. Because it's clear that you have so many different interests, and I love that. I think it's awesome. So does it ever get, you know, boring when it's just the same, where it almost feels like you're having the same conversation over and over again?

I mean, sometimes, I guess. I mean, sometimes things can feel sort of, like, repetitive, but at the same time, it's more than just me kind of reciting stuff and reciting calories and whatnot. And a lot of the challenge, more so comes down to working with the person and working with the person's motivations. And it's not necessarily telling them what to do, but it's how we can work our way towards behavior change. And everyone's kind of like a puzzle, and everyone works a bit differently. So I think that that always does keep it fresh. The fact that I'm always dealing with a different person, learning their kind of ins and outs in how someone responds does. Every person is unique. So, I mean, there are days when. When things feel a bit laborious, but I think that's with any job or any. Anything. Like nothing is going to be completely sunshine and unicorns and rainbows every single day.

Yeah, absolutely. And I think that. I think that it's a Nuanced conversation in terms of where we draw the line between breaking through the brick wall and, you know, being disciplined and remembering that, you know, to move through as opposed to trying to push the, you know, the boulder up the hill and being like, no, this isn't for me. And, you know, going to the. I like to say, you know, don't go to the gym with the flu.

Yeah, yeah, no. And it's important. And that's not to say you just push through everything. You know, we. We can't because, like, kind of going back to what we said earlier, we have finite energy, you know, so we can't always push through everything. Sometimes we have to take a step back, and it's. It's. It's a different kind of effort where it's sort of more of a discipline that. That. That sometimes rather than just pushing through everything, we have to know where to hold back and where to kind of be kind of patient and take a breath and see. Okay. With, you know, private practice or like, maybe you look back and you look at the big picture, and it's like, maybe this isn't for me. You know, maybe the time and energy and the lack of a formal structure and the uncertainty is not for me and is not in line with what I truly want, you know, and it takes. It takes discipline to be able to see that as well. So, yeah, like you said, we don't want to. We always want to. We always want to kind of be aware of what we're doing and not just push through and make things harder than they have to be just because, you know, yes, there's going to be challenges and obstacles no matter what we do. But at the same time, we want to make sure that by pushing through those obstacles, we are serving what we truly want as opposed to just making our lives more difficult than they have to be.

Yes. That's such a powerful point. And I know, for me, I've done a lot of work on this myself, to recognize and realize that sometimes there is an addiction sense or a safety sense to. To struggle if all, you know, is struggle and all. And you're used to knowing that pain of discomfort that there is. There's comfort in. In what we are used to.

Exactly. Exactly. I totally agree.

And that's hard. That can be A, hard, A, hard to realize, B, hard to recognize, and then hard to change it. Our brains wired to stay the same.

Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, it is one of those things where we do always want to, you know, at least occasionally kind of check in with ourselves and take stock and be like, okay, is this, is this really what I want right now? Is what I'm putting my effort towards, really what I want? You know, and suppose there's letting ourselves kind of get on autopilot in that regard.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I. And to your point, too, is that getting honest with yourself about, what do you want? Yeah, most people think, oh, this is what I should want, or, oh, I went to school for this, I need to do this. Oh, I did. You know, whatever the reasons that they give themselves to think that they should want it.

Yeah, it's. It's hard to know what we really want. You know, it can. If we really stop, it can be. It can be tough, you know, because I think we're oftentimes told what we should want. To your point. We should have this particular title, we should have this particular status. We should have this number of followers. We should, you know, want this kind of, this type of body. You know, we should be able to do this in the gym. We should have this amount of money. But, you know, I don't know, we're all just kind of figuring out, and it can be tough to really, you know, kind of sit and, and think, what do I want my life to truly look like? You know, or what do I want my life to look like in, in one year, five years, 10 years? What am I doing now? Is that bringing me closer to that or farther away from that? It's tough. It's tough. You know, it can be tough to know what we truly, truly, really want.

Yeah. And, and, and keep our feet on the ground in terms of being present in what's happening now. Because to your point, you know, especially, especially high achievers who are always thinking about the goal and high performers to people who are, you know, have performance goals, it's sometimes at the cost of. Of not being present right now to what is happening. And that's also hard to assess. You know, is this moving the dial? Maybe. But I mean, I just operate from everything I know. Everything is always going in my favor, even if it's not what I want.

Yeah, yeah, just, just like you said, because we also have to. Well, we don't have to, but it's important to enjoy life now because we never know. It's. And then kind of get very morbid. We never know when it's all going to go. You know what I mean? We never know what can happen. So at the same time, we want to live in the present moment, but also take steps towards, you know, Building what we want. It's this weird kind of like, how do you do all of that? And that's something I've always struggled with. You know, it's, it's, you know, being someone that's very goal oriented, being someone that, you know, is really disciplined and, you know, driven, but also learning to live in the moment, have acceptance of the present moment as it is.

It's a paradox because it's both.

Exactly.

My mentor calls it, you know, the living on the razor's edge where we give a damn about nothing and everything at the same time.

Yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's tough, you know, it's. And, and kind of finding that balance where I think it comes down to having an enjoyment of the overall process. Like, like something with me is that I genuinely like applying myself towards doing challenging things and achieving new things, you know, and really enjoying that process for what it is. So being in the moment with that process, if that makes sense. And the other, the other thing, which is, again, this is all stuff I'm working on. I'm not trying to act like, oh, I do all of this all the time because this is stuff I'm continuing to try to implement in my practice, in my business, but having those long term goals as to what I want my life to look like with these sorts of goals and knowing what I need to do then and being comfortable with discomfort and at the same time practicing mindfulness and being in the present moment, that might mean for me I'm trying to implement a daily meditation practice and become more better with that and accepting the present moment as it is. And ironically, in some ways that kind of mindfulness can help, you know, in that, you know, for example, you know, I, I have certain goals with regards to, you know, finances and career and, and certain number of clients and achieving things for my business to live the life that I want. And you know, that necessitates some discomfort, that necessitates hard work, and that does necessitate planning for the future. But at the same time, by practicing mindfulness, you know, being in the moment, I can enjoy what I'm doing today. You know, today I have my goals of what I want to do with, you know, clients or, you know, with, with, you know, what I want to get done today and really enjoy each step of that, you know, enjoy the activity that I'm doing in the present moment and when we're actually engaged in the present moment or when I'm seeing clients rather than thinking about, oh, I want to make this much money or, oh, all this stuff I have to do when I'm with the client, just being with that client, just being there with them, tuning everything else out. That ironically makes you a better practitioner if you're there mindfully with your clients or, you know, if I want to do some research stuff. And that's kind of my goal for the day, really. Being mindful and not thinking about the million other things I have to do or want to do with my life. And just focusing on that one task makes it makes us more efficient and it makes us more efficient with our time, it makes us more efficient with our energy, and it makes everyday tasks more fulfilling. You know, so it's a tough balance there. And like I said, this is something I'm. These are all things that I am continuing to work on. This is not. These are, these are things that I tell myself on a daily basis to try and kind of, you know, live a life that's, that's. That I like that, that, that is, you know, where I'm able to achieve the goals that I live while also being happier. Happier, you know, and it's, it's, it's always, it's. It. There's no kind of like perfect there, but, but we do our best every day.

Okay, I have a 2.5 part question to what you're saying.

Okay.

Because I'm curious, because I, because it's powerful. Because then. And I live my way, like my life like this too. But what I've this is that not everyone is, is conscious or aware of, you know, to living life in this way. Right. So I'm curious for you, is this the type of work, you know, bringing, you know, especially when it comes to behavior change and bringing mindfulness, are you bringing this into your practice? How are you doing that with, with potential clients that are, you know, maybe they're not, you know, they have, they're like, oh, meditation, double tap, I can't do it, blah, blah, blah. Right. So how are you incorporating it into your practice if you are. And then the second thing I'm curious about is, is for you, how did it. How were you introduced to the work and what caused you to feel like this is important to continue to do?

Yeah. So for the first part, I mean, it's not something like I just give a blanket recommendation to every client. Oh, meditate. But sometimes, you know, if I do kind of notice that particular client is anxious or overwhelmed, you know, because, you know, we know that stress and managing stress and managing difficult emotions is a really important part of, you know, behavior change or of changing eating habits. It is something I'll sometimes bring up. You know, I'll say, like, hey, you know, incorporating mindfulness into our daily life. Like, I found it to be very helpful and something that you may found to find helpful, even if it is, you know, taking a few breaths here or there during the day just to notice. Just to kind of notice how you're feeling. And I will sometimes, you know, mention to clients, like, hey, this is something you might find useful. And it may be something that also helps, you know, in reducing the noise of our emotions that can make it difficult to, you know, eat and eat to accomplish our goals with regards to nutrition or fitness or what have you. So it's something that I bring up. I don't put. I try not to push it on people because I think that that motivation has to be. Come from like, has to be internal. But I do mention it sometimes, you know, without trying to be too pushy. And as far as how I came about it, you know, my dad's a really spiritual guy. He's actually an interfaith minister. But he introduced me to meditation when I was around 13 or 14. He gave me a book called, I believe it was Eight Minute Meditation by Victor Davis, if I'm remembering that correctly. And it was an introduction to meditation and mindfulness. And I remember, you know, for a few weeks. And again, I was like 13, 14, I think 14. And I did it for like a few weeks. And I noticed every now and then while I was doing that, I would just experience a few moments, just randomly during the day of profound peace and contentment. I couldn't really explain it. I just remember they were like a few times that it happened while I was doing that consistently, where it was like everything. I was in the moment and just like everything was okay, you know, despite whatever problems that I had. I just kind of had this sort of like internal. This. This kind of internal knowing that all there is is. Is the present moment, you know, and since then, I'd kind of be very kind of on and off with meditation. But I'd find that like, inevitably when I was doing it consistently or on a day in which I did it in the morning, they would be more peace of mind, you know, the. The noise on my emotions. Because, you know, one thing, at least for me, you know, I'm. I'm genetically prone to anxiety, which has actually been. Helped me be successful in a lot of ways. It's helped kind of motivate me to get shit done to kind of overly worry about like taxes and money, but like to kind of get it to the point that I'm able to get my shit together. I would not have been able to start my own business and start a private practice if it wasn't for my tendency towards anxiety. But the ability to kind of step back from those emotions a little bit, you know, I find really helped me just achieving a little bit more of that peace of mind while still having that drive. Because that's the trick, you know, being able to be present and being able to have peace while still having that drive to do what you want to do. And one analogy that I, I think it was from that book eight Minute Meditation that he, the author discusses is, you know, normally our thoughts and emotions all day. It's like a waterfall where we're drenched in the waterfall. Imagine a waterfall and we're right under it. It's just drenching us in all of this just water, this case, it's thoughts and emotions bringing us in this place, in that place. We're thinking about what we did yesterday, we're thinking about, you know, our taxes or what we have to do next year or our kids college and how we're going to pay for that or a mortgage or the shit we did in the past or likes on Instagram and blah, blah, blah. And what meditation and mindfulness can do is it doesn't stop thinking, it doesn't stop, it doesn't, it doesn't make anxiety go away, at least not directly. But it's sort of like if we imagine that waterfall, it's like taking two steps back. So it's still there, the emotions are still there, the thoughts are still there, but the, we can kind of see the waterfall in front of us as opposed to being drenched in it, you know, so I can see my goals and sort of see what I want, but still being kind of mindful, mindfully aware of that, you know, so kind of just, just, just observing it a bit more is a little bit of a apart from ourselves. And you know, it's something that I can kind of. There are certain things that we do that we, maybe we don't always do them, but we know deep in ourselves that it's something that's good, you know, and meditation is one of those things for me. Like whenever I'm doing it, I'm like, I should do this more. So, so, yeah, so good.

So I'm curious, you know, you, you talked about how, you know, you've had to navigate the differences between or not the differences, but you've had to navigate having a human experience because we don't graduate until we graduate and staying positive or, and you know, keeping a, keeping peace. Right. How have you reframed and how do you process like stressful situations and change and getting to that next level and staying, you know, goal driven without sacrificing now?

So I don't always do it well, you know, let me say that I oftentimes don't do it well and I oftentimes get overwhelmed, you know, but what I would like to do and what I try to do is remind myself that I've been through worse, you know, or I've. There have been other times in which I have felt so anxious and so overwhelmed that I couldn't, that I was just, was paralyzed, metaphorically speaking. And yet I'm here now, you know, like I, I, whatever. There have been way too many times to count that I've been excruciatingly overwhelmed and anxious and stressed. But right now, I'm here right now it's, it's, you know, 1:45pm Eastern on September 19th. I don't know when you're post posting this, but, and I'm here and I'm relatively okay. So if I could have gone through all of that many, many, many, many times that I thought things were going to be really bad or whatever situations, whatever I'm going through currently, whatever situation I'm going through, it's gonna pass. It's gonna pass, you know, like everything else, you know, and, and you know, it may feel really, really uncomfortable and that's okay, you know, but at least reminding myself of that, that I've been through worse of everything that I've been through, you know, and I'm sure a lot of people listening to this have been through way, way more than I have, you know, I'm 28. You know, I'm so, so remembering everything that you've been through in the past, remembering all the other times that you've been really anxious or overwhelmed and chances are you're probably okay now. Again, it's not something I necessarily successfully implement, but something I try to and something that I, I do find to be helpful, generally speaking, so.

Good. So looking back, speaking of looking back, what are some of the things that you would tell yourself when you started, when you opened up your own practice for the first time? What are looking back now? What are some of the things you wish you told you could tell yourself?

That's a good question because I think a lot of you know, mistakes that I made or experiences that I had were for the better. So, you know, I would probably tell myself to, you know, put more of an emphasis right now on meditation and on practicing that awareness, because I do think it's a skill that builds over time. So I would tell myself that. I would tell myself, you know, that. And I would remind myself, like, hey, this is just like everything else that you've accomplished and that you've gone through. It's going to take time to build, but you're going to do it. You know, just. Just stay the course. You know, when obstacles come up, when the brick walls come up, they're supposed to be there. Take it one day at a time, you know, and you've got this. And like I said, the one thing I would say is, hey, let's start a meditation practice. It's only, you know, five minutes a day, 10 minutes a day, but it's. It's worth your time, it's worth your energy. Because like I said, I do think that that mindfulness muscle, figuratively speaking, is something that is improved over time. But other than that, I wouldn't say myself like, oh, I should have done that, or should have done this, because all of life is experience and, and, you know, it shapes us into who we are now. And a lot of the difficult times that I've gone through, I've. I've learned from.

It's powerful. I live like that, too. That's. It's. It's helpful when I. And it's helpful in the moment when, for me, when I'm. When I know that I need to reframe it. And that's not meaning bypassing it. I'm acknowledging it, knowing that it's happening. But reframe it.

Yeah.

So I'm curious, you know, for you and your business and, and building a practice, what are some of the hardest challenges that were unexpected that you had to face?

So I think when I first started, you know, I was very sort of Instagram driven. And I thought that, oh, by just getting a certain amount of followers on Instagram, I'd instantly get a lot of clients. You know, getting 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 5,000, 10,000, really didn't happen like that. You know, I mean, I have gotten some. Some clients on Instagram. But, you know, I think that until I really, you know, got good at the insurance stuff, you know, I was always sort of pushing really hard for clients. So I think that that early on, you know, kind of figuring out the marketing and how to do that In a way that's effective was pretty difficult, you know, and just because you have a certain number of followers, you get a certain number of likes on social media doesn't really mean anything in terms of how you're going to sell your services and how you're going to sell your products. Because a lot that really more comes down to people knowing and trusting you and people feeling that you can solve their problems. You know, I can post about research and stuff all day, and maybe I get lots of likes and lots of shares, but if people who are following me don't, you know, a, have that kind of trust in me, in me and feel like they know me on a personal level and, and B, don't feel like I can solve their problems, you know, in terms of selling whatever I'm going to sell or selling my programs or whatever. Again, now it's kind of insurance. So it's a lot easier. It's not really going to matter, you know, so. So really thinking more about that, you know, and thinking about how I can solve people's problems and then, I mean, getting credentialed with insurance was very difficult in a lot of ways and presented a lot of obstacles. And then beyond that, figuring out, like, how to bill appropriately and, you know, ICD10 and CPT codes and whatnot, that can get someone, can get someone covered and that obviously are applicable for that individual. And, you know, and, and all that stuff is also, also is an understandable obstacle there. But again, I just kind of had that, that mindset of, you know, it's supposed to be hard. This is why most dietitians don't take insurance. And it's a lot of what sets me apart is, you know, I took the time to, to learn how to do it. So now, you know, you know, how many dietitians take insurance? Not that many. It's a lot of people kind of see that and they're like, oh, I want to work with him. And that's why I'm, you know, it's like my schedule is like, pretty much always full with clients, you know, so in terms of.

And I want to be mindful of your time, so I'll, I'll let this be the last question. But, you know, as someone, you know, and you're working with exam, so I'm just curious, you know, how much are you, you know, how much of your time is dedicated to research in terms of researching new things, do you want to conduct your own research? What is the research that, that, you know, you're excited to Learn about?

Yeah, it's real. I, I can't put a number on it. It's, it's really, it really depends on the week in terms of hours. But I have no interest in conducting my own research, like in terms of like having a lab or PhD or anything like that. Just not. But I am always interested in learning more and really getting down to the truth, specifically with regard to what, you know, what my clients struggle with or maybe what people in who follow me struggle with so that I can improve people's lives and have a bigger impact on people in a positive way. You know, and there's always just kind of topics that there's a lot of confusion about, like organic versus non organic foods and GMOs and fructose and artificial sweeteners in the gut, microbiome and bajillion. Other different things that are always interesting because there's a lot of misinformation surrounding them. But yeah, I would say, you know, topics that, you know, are of great interest to my clients, you know, sustainable fat loss, you know, gaining muscle and gaining strength, you know, and, and diet patterns that minimize the risk of cardiovascular disease and early death, which I know is very general. But some of those are some of the things that are most applicable.

So good. Okay, Dan, thank you so much for pouring into us, sharing your insight, sharing your journey. I really appreciate it. So for those of us who want to learn more about your journey, learn from you. Where are some of the best places I can send them?

Yeah, well, well, thank you so much for having me on. And probably the best place is my Instagram, which is at Powerlifter Dietitian. I do also have it like a TikTok and all that stuff, but I'm not super active on there. So I would say my Instagram. And if you want to get a hold of me directly, you can also email me@danfeldmanrd.com okay, great.

We'll make sure we'll link all of that up in the show. And I know I said it was last question, but I just got one more curious thing that I need to ask. Are you still playing guitar? Practicing guitar actively?

Yeah, I try and practice at least a little bit every day. Some days I'm not able to just because as much as I love it, it's not as high on my priorities as, you know, other things. But yeah, I'm currently, you know, what I'm trying to do with both piano and guitar is focus on one musical piece to focus on. So right now that's a song called Keys to the Hover car by Andy McKee. So if you go to YouTube, type in keys to the Hover Car. It's a an acoustic piece by a really fantastic guitarist named Andy McKee. I actually did record a version of it nine years ago. So if you go to YouTube, if you type in Dan Feldman Guitar or Dan Feldman Keys to the Hover Card, you'll see that as well as other decade old videos of me playing guitar and piano. But yeah, trying to here and there. You know, it's still a part of my life.

So cool. I love it. Thank you Dan.

Thank you.

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