Coaches Council Podcast Episode 32: Driving Profits While Leading With Empathy

I'm doing it again a second time to bring awareness of the importance of empathy for those that do struggle with their weight.

It's all about relatability. It's all about the relationships with the people that you're building.

Along the way. You can spend time finding unique ways to connect with your audience that get you outside of your, you know, your little bubble.

This is the Coaches Council, made up of six elite coaches dedicated to serving and ending personal struggle for high performers in business, health and relationships. As a collective, we have built and helped build six, seven and eight figure businesses, dominate in multiple industries, coached and played in professional sports leagues, and developed some of the strongest and most intimate relationships, both professional and personal. This isn't your average podcast. It's for the hungry, the dedicated, the doers, for those that have a dream and truly want that dream to become reality. People who want to take action, leave their ego at the door and own every level of their life. If that's you, then step into the Coach's Council as we rewrite the truths to living that high performance life. Welcome back to another week of the Coaches cancel. We've got Drew Manning coming back. He's a little bit heavier than he was last time he was on here, I think. What is it, Drew? £24 in a month?

Actually, £30 in a month.

£30 in a month, yeah. So he's. If you've been following him on his fit to fat to 40 journey, he's now made another kind of evolution from fit to fat to fit and really taking people on an entirely new journey within his business. And it's a great guide to follow if you're wanting to see what that evolution can truly look like. Where you might start your business one way, but it leads further and other opportunities and why things need to evolve and how they evolve. And there's a specific word, Drew, that you've been talking about a lot during this whole journey. And it's empathy. And I'm really curious as to what, what that does in building a business, in building this company that you're doing. But also for our listeners, why is empathy so important? Is what is it something that you're focusing on?

Yeah, that's a great question. It's a loaded question. Let me try and simplify this as much as possible because it's been an evolution journey for me to get to this place where here I am gaining weight on purpose, but yet my message is one of empathy. How does that work and how does that fit into my business model? That's A great question. So let me kind of start from the beginning of Fit to Fat fit. Back in 2011 when I first did this, one of the biggest lessons I learned was empathy, because I realized going through this experiment, just how hard it was for someone to transform. Because my mindset before was, you guys, it's so easy. It's like when I had always been in shape my entire life, I'd always been fit and never once been overweight. So in my mind, I'm like, you guys, it's so easy. And this is how it is for people who have been rich for a long period of time. Probably I make an assumption there, but I think it's a safe assumption that people that have always been wealthy, it's probably a hard time or successful, it's probably hard for them to relate to your average person who struggles to get to that point, or maybe someone who's been successful for a long period of time, they forget what that struggle is like. And so for me, having always been in shape, finally coming down off that mountain a little bit, if you will, and becoming overweight and unhealthy myself and making that journey back up gave me a whole new perspective. It humbled me in a way that nothing else really could. I could kind of try and understand my brain, what it's like for someone else and try and empathize with them, but not having had those experiences, it's way harder to do that. And so for me, I stepped out of my shoes, stepped into the shoes of my clients and, and that helped me develop empathy so that then I could then understand their struggles so much better and I could empathize with them. And they also trusted me so much more having done that versus just your average trainer with six pack abs and muscles, telling people, look, it's so easy, you just do this diet, you just take these supplements, you just do this workout and then you'll look like me. And people, that's what people want, they go for that. But in my opinion, doing what I did was so different than what most people in the fitness industry are willing to do. It made me more relatable to the masses. And I could also relate to them now having done this experiment. And so that's why this time around, doing it a second time, I'm not doing this again to really learn what it's like to be overweight. I've already done that experiment, I'm doing it again a second time to bring awareness to the importance of empathy for those that do struggle with their weight. Because now in 2020, we need empathy more than any time ever in the, in the history of humanity. Probably because all the stuff that's going on, because the way social media works nowadays, empathy is being able to listen to someone and understand them where they're coming from versus listening to judge, listening to respond, listening to critique. That's the problem with our society is in a way, social media has conditioned us to judge someone based off of one post or just someone based off their profile picture or their political party or their religion or whatever it is. We judge people so quickly, we have thrown empathy out the window. And so that's why I'm doing this second time is to bring awareness to the fitness industry of the importance of empathy for those that struggle. Because it's not as simple as just eating less and working out. Sometimes we try and simplify as coaches or trainers in this industry, but if you apply that to entrepreneurs, someone that's super successful and has it all figured out in their mind, they think, look, just do this morning routine, just read these books and then apply these principles and then you'll be successful. And when there's no empathy there, there's not a true relatability factor. That's what I call it is that relatability factor. How relatable are you? For me, when I'm 5% body fat and I'm shredded for maybe 1% of the population, they're like, yeah, that's awesome. I want to be that. The other 99% is like, that's not relatable. Like, I probably will never look that way. And therefore, why am I going to listen to you when you have no idea what my struggles really are? And so that is kind of this, you know, hopefully answers your question. That is kind of this journey in a nutshell, is to bring empathy to this industry and to bring more understanding so that people who are do struggle with weight and their body image and transformation feel more understood. Because no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care first. And that's so true in this industry. In my opinion, you can have all the accolades, all the certifications, all the scientific knowledge of how to fix someone's body and help them lose weight. But if that person can't relate to you and you can't relate to them, then there's gonna be a huge disconnect on your audience where there's not. They don't have that trust for you as a leader. Does that make sense?

No, it makes perfect sense. And because at the end of the day, you're not buying a coach, you're buying the person. You're buying the relationship. You're buying this right here, which is the face to face or the content that they're putting out. You're buying so much more. And that, I think is, at the end of the day, what often is even overlooked in what you're doing. People are like, oh, he's getting. He's blowing up again. To basically lose it again. And just kind of going through the journey of what it is and not actually listening to the words you're saying. It's all about empathy. It's all about relatability. It's all about the relationships with the people that you're building along the way and understanding that you're pulling people with you, that you're drawing a community and a crowd.

It's so true, man. And so that's the thing is, like, you. You don't have to do what I'm doing, which is kind of extreme. Extreme and crazy and risky. You don't necessarily have to do what I'm doing to build empathy for people. But you can spend time finding unique ways to connect with your audience that get you outside of your, you know, your little bubble, right? Gives you a new perspective, a new perception of what it might be like for someone else. That's your target demographic. Like, find unique ways to connect with them. You don't have, like I said, you don't have to do anything extreme. Like I'm doing. What I'm doing is very extreme. And that's why you've probably never seen a personal trainer intentionally do. What I'm doing is because it is risky and scary and most people wouldn't want to sacrifice that. But there are other ways, in my opinion, to get outside of your bubble and really connect with your audience and your demographic to understand what their struggles are. And then from there, you can build services and products based off of what problems they're having, because now you understand their problems because you've kind of, in a sense, been in their shoes. And then it gives you a whole new business model. And I think it's way more successful because you're really being able to tap into your clients or, you know, your demographics, emotions, and then that's where that relatability and that trust is built.

We'd be remiss to if we didn't take this time to thank our sponsors that allow us to reach you each and every week. The Coaches council is powered by cannibrands. A lab tested all natural, pure hemp CBD company without the presence of thc. They encompass our passion for health, wellness and fitness that we have on the coaches council. Visit cannibrands.com and at checkout, use the promo code coaches20 to enhance your wellness journey. You brought up something really interesting, is that what ends up happening through this is because you have a entrepreneurial mind, because you understand your business, because you know what your goals are, your vision is. You're clear on it, you're not foggy, you're not trying to say, I'm trying to create something, I'll figure it out on the way there. You're very clear on what you want to do. You're very cool on who you want to help, how you want to help them. Yeah, you have that mindset of abundance, of wanting to create, of wanting to be in a space. Now what you're doing is you're spending time with and in your target audience's shoes, you are spending time in that space because now, even though you're gaining weight and to us on the outside, you're looking different, you're seemingly different, you're going through different things on the inside. Your mind, your identity, still a business person is still that fit to fat, to fit. It's still Drew Manning inside. And your smarts, your intelligence, your business savvy, the everything that you have in terms of pushing your business forward, all you're doing right now is you're gaining information. And I think that, as listeners, is so key to understand that in the entrepreneurial space, you don't need to. Like Drew said, you don't need to go and gain £50 if you're in a personal training space. But go and spend time around those people, ask them questions, create relationships, have empathy for what they are, and don't look down or judge or in any space, whether it's clothing industry, tech industry, whatever industry you're in, there's a way to show up with a handout as a servant, wanting to help the people genuinely and create those relationships in doing so.

Yeah, it's so true, man. And that's. You brought up a good point as well. That I'll mention here is you mentioned how I have, or I'm doing the process. Like, I have this idea of what I want to do. And right now I'm just gathering information, I'm gathering data, I'm finding what my audience is liking, what they're not liking. And this is, I think, what stops a lot of entrepreneurs from moving forward is they have the idea, they want the idea of abundance and. And a great business model make a ton of money, but they don't know how. So they're like, well, I don't have the how figured out, so I'm just not even going to get started because I need to know the how. But it's almost like a leap of faith, and it's almost the opposite where if you have an idea and you are in love with that idea, you think it could change the world, but you don't know how yet. I promise you, if you have the drive, if you have the persistence and the courage to make that leap of faith, to jump into that even without knowing the how. I promise you the how will be figured out at some point if you are determined to be successful at that one idea. Look at Elon Musk, for example. Did he come from the car industry? No. He didn't know how to build a car. Did he know how to build a rocket ship? No. But he had these amazing ideas, and he was so dedicated to them that he was willing to do whatever it took to figure out the how by surrounding yourself with the right people, with some of the most brilliant minds. But he doesn't know how to do it right. He didn't know the how. So for him and for people like us, we not knowing the how stops us from even making that first step. Like, well, I don't know how I'm going to acquire money. I don't know how I'm going to start my website. I don't know how I'm going to which platform to use and which software to use and how to market this and how to brand this, like, all the how. And it's a lot of work, it really is, to figure that out. But if you are dedicated and you stay consistent, you truly believe in what you're doing, I promise you, you will figure out the how. That's kind of what I've been able to do as well. I didn't know how this was gonna become a thing. I had this idea. I had no marketing strategy, had no media connections back in 2011 when I first did this. And I just kind of ran with it. I'm like, okay, I'll figure out how to run it or create a YouTube channel, figure out how to edit videos. I'll figure out how to start my own website. And it was very basic. It was so basic. Just like, look back at the first Apple computer or the first Apple iPhone. Compared to now, it's evolved so much. So it wasn't this great thing. When I launched It. But it became great as it went on and as I stayed true to my authentic self. And that's the biggest thing, is finding your purpose and your mess. The stuff you go through needs to become your message. And that's how you build an authentic relationship with your audience, is because you are authentic. You're not wearing a mask. You're not pretending to be someone you're not. And that's where your audience really starts to trust you, is because that relatability factor, where you are, in a way being able to connect with your audience by being authentic. And people can see that. People can see in authenticity. You can still make money being inauthentic 100%. You can, right? We've seen a bunch of scammy business models and Facebook ads, and you can make money doing that. But is it fulfilling? Is it your purpose? Probably not. If you're just here to make money, you'll very soon find that that's not very fulfilling. So that's kind of my two cents.

And I mean, it's a great message because at the end of the day, going back to what you were speaking about, of showing up consistently not knowing how to do things or not knowing the how, is the moment that you have that idea, you're in love with that idea. You know it's your mission. You know what you're calling. The questions that you ask yourself, the positions you put yourself in, if you're asking yourself the right questions, who do I need to surround myself with? Who can help me? Who has the answers? Who can I connect with? Who can I truly bring value to so I can get the information I need from them. Lo and behold, you start to notice that these people are within your network and within your grasp every single day of the week. And it's just the fact of being present enough, aware enough and willing to show up, not knowing all the answers and willing to be willing to show up saying, hey, I don't know how to do this, but here's my idea. And I'm coming as a. As someone who knows that I don't know. And I want to learn. I want to understand. And the moment we're okay not having all the answers, but okay, showing up, willing to learn, willing to step in, whether that's politically, whether that's business wise, whether that's wellness wise, whether that's nutrition, physical exercise, whatever it is, relationship wise, you are going to learn and become a better person for it along the way and be able to put out a better product, impact more people, and do so in a much more authentic way.

Yeah, that's a good point, Justin. And one last thing I'll say really quick because we got to run here a little bit, is, you know, surrounding yourself with the right people. People are afraid to ask for other people's help. You know, we're afraid to ask for mentors. We're afraid to ask for, you know, people to give us some direction or connected with someone that might know or, you know, if you don't know how to create a website, you don't know how to, you know, get funding. There's so many ways, like nowadays with social media, there's so many ways to reach out to people that you aspire to be like or to get information from. There's so many ways, you know, to connect with someone. Like now to be able to connect with a celebrity isn't as big of a deal as it used to be 30, 40 years ago, because there's a way to comment on their stuff or reach out to them on social media. And we're way more connected than we ever used to be. So now there's way more opportunities to pick people's brains or ask for help than there used to be. It's a lot easier than it used to be. I think that's another hurdle to overcome for people that keeps people from asking for help is, what if I get rejected? What if they say no? What if they don't respond? What if they don't like me? What if they don't like my idea and just not being afraid and just, you know, that's what I'm saying. You gotta be. You believe in what you're doing.

So nadru. It's so key. And to all the listeners out there, as you're going through, as you're trying to build things, you gotta go back to those three things. You gotta lead with empathy. You gotta lead with your true, authentic self. And dropping that judgment, knowing that you're there for a specific purpose, which is to serve, it's going to be fulfilling at the end of the day. It's going to help drive profits and it's ultimately is going to make you a better person along the way as well. Two is surround yourself with the people that can help you get there. And three, if you don't know the how, do not let that stop you from taking action. Start with reaching out to those people who can again, lead with empathy on yourself as much as you show it on others. Show it upon yourself to help grow and, and to help drive that business and that vision forward. So again, Drew, thank you so much for joining us.

I know you're back to eating.

I was just about to say we're cutting into your feeding hour here, but again, thank you so much. And the next time that we see you, you might be a couple more pounds heavier, but we'll check back in with you in a month. So again, for everybody, stay hungry, stay humble, and we will see you guys next week. Thank you so much for joining us for another week of the coaches council. If it wasn't for you viewers and listeners, we wouldn't have a platform. So again, it's all about you guys and we want to give you a reward just for listening. We want to give you access to each one of our coaches for a little bit deeper, intimate experience. So if you go to coaches-counsel.com coaches-counsel.com subscribe and like to whatever platform you're viewing on, you're going to be entered to have that one on one experience. So be sure to go coaches-counsel.com and really interact with us because we would love to interact with you. Until then, stay safe, stay hungry, stay humble, and thanks for listening.