Episode 515: Blessed is He Who Has His Own with Lee Haney

Welcome to this edition of the Million Dollar Mastermind podcast. This is where we pick the brains of high achievers from all walks of life and get their hard earned real world insights on winning. I'm your host, Larry Wydell.

I'm here with Lee Haney and we're having a ball talking about winning and excelling in a lot of different areas of life. Thanks, Lee, for taking the time.

Thank you.

Eight time talking to an eight time Mr. Olympia this afternoon. You know, I'm so glad we got to do this because, you know, I've seen you a couple times at shows over the years in Atlanta and everything because of Adam and, and always felt like we hit it off and we just, you're running back and forth, you know, that's one of the privileges of this podcast is get a chance to get with people like yourself that I kind of know, but haven't had a chance to sit down and talk. And you know, the thing is, Lee, what I find is a lot of the guys that come on here, ladies and guys that come on here, their own inner circle around them, their own kids, the people we work with, we cover a lot of things on this podcast about winning. The people around them don't even know, never even heard, you know, because, because we're always working, you know, we're always in projects and fixing this and someone's coming with that. And you never like, sit down with a cup of coffee or a protein drink or something and talk about, you know, winning. You know, it just, you know, it just doesn't come up in the conversation. But these are important things and by having this podcast, even your grandkids are going to be able to plug in down the road as they get older. And of course you're going to change and evolve and all that and hopefully, you know, we'll do this again down the road. But they're, they're getting a chance to hear from you at this stage of your life, which is really priceless. And so I appreciate you sharing it. But talk about, run through that thing about how you. One thing I talk about, I got a book called Serial Winner Winning. And one of the thing is that you, when you go through, you know how you win and when you go through that finish line, you go with your eyes up rather than eyes down and your eyes up looking for the next opportunity. Because every time you win something, like when you won Mr. Limpy, the first time, that opened up doors that had never been available to you before. And every time you've had a success like, you've written three books, right? And those books, right, open up doors, you know, because people read it and then they correspond back to you and you, you know, conversations start. And so the thing is that if you had. When we're competing, you know, like you're going for Mr. Olympia the first time, or you're going the super bowl the first time, you're not thinking about anything other than winning. You know, let's get it done. But what it's good to hear that that's, you know, and be aware of it. You got to have that focus. But one thing that can keep you locked in and keep you energized is knowing that that's not the end. Because when you win, that's going to open up things you can't even imagine right now. It's like climbing to the top of the mountain. You're going to be able to see views that you could not even imagine until you get up there. And so on the way, it's tough, but, you know, it's not as tough as if you quit, go back down and have to start all over again. If you just stay with it and break through. All kind of opportunities open up. When you got at 31 now, what was the first thing that you did? You went on to an opportunity that came to you?

Well, the first thing I did was open my fitness center. I have a fitness center called the World Class Fitness Center Center. And that was. Excuse me, Larry.

Yeah, that was down by that all Sears complex down there, wasn't it?

Yes. Yeah, yeah. That served as the wellness center, not just to the general public, but the wellness center for the city of Atlanta employees. Yeah, I remember through Mayor Maynard Jackson.

Right.

He wanted a facility there. And of course, I had received a lot of notoriety there in Atlanta. Having trained Evander, he became world champ. And here I am in Atlanta, world champ. And Merrimaida Jackson was a fan of both myself and Evander. So, as you were saying, you know, people love winners, city love winners, you know, the community love winners. So that facility was made possible by the state of Atlanta City Council. And so that was a big. A big deal for me. And beyond that, next thing you know, there came another opportunity. Coca Cola wanted to recognize people within the community who had done great things. And I was on a portrait of one of the buildings since the Olympics were coming there, along with Mayor Maida Jackson, President Jimmy Carter, also Ms. King, you know, Dr. Martin Luther King's wife, along with a whole host of other dignitaries. So these opportunities continue to grow and come along because of the level of success and professionalism I had shown during my reign as Mr. Olympia. So that was just one of many of our opportunities. I signed a shoe contract.

But what an. What an honor to see yourself on the billboard for the Olympics and this and the other. And so what are. What were the next things that came along? But, you know, one thing you said, people love winners, but they also, like companies, love when it comes to partnering up with people. They like winners that are quality, that they can feel like they're not gonna ruin their reputation by associating with somebody. You know, they don't want to stain on their reputation.

Exactly, exactly.

You know?

Yeah. So one of the other opportunities that was unique is that I signed a contract with Coors, the brewery, Coors company. They had a program for a literacy program. And I was signed there along with Jeffrey Osborne, the singer, and also Danny Glover. So we visited various schools to promote the importance of getting a good education. So that was another opportunity that was granted me. So things like that just continued to happen along the way for me. And of course, the opportunity to create the Lee Hanish Championship Workout on ESPN was there, and that was a. That was a big success with that particular show. So it just continued to happen. And then, you know, I started to create my own entities beyond just endorsing for others. Right. You know, blessed is he that has his own.

Right.

You know? Cause listen, you're a commodity as long as you're hot, but, you know, coming to always look for the next hot person that comes along, and then you sort of become. Become older fixture, so you gotta set things up beyond that. And one of the other things I started doing, too, I created a company called Mana Properties Holdings. So I. I started investing into real estate and. And that sort of thing, too, and did very well with that. I made my first million in dealing with real estate properties.

Really? And when in this year did you write the three books?

I wrote totally awesome after winning the first Mr. Olympia.

Okay.

And I, since then, redid that book two other additional times because of the younger athletes need to know how to train correctly, how to eat properly, you know, how to. How to do those bodybuilding things. Safe. And then after that, I did a book called Ultimate Bodybuilding, which a gentleman named Jim Rosenthal, he was one of the writers who partners with me in doing that book. It was incredible. Matter of fact, it's being sold on ebay for over a hundred. I think over 100. No, it's. I think it's over a hundred dollars. Over a hundred dollars. There were several hundred dollars on ebay. And then the next book I did was called beyond the Pump. Beyond the Pump was sort of like a testimonial book where I talk about, you know, once you've been blessed with a gift. And my gift was that of bodybuilding. Well, what, what are you to do with that gift? Right. Is it to just for your own self satisfaction or will you use the gift to impact the world for good? And so that's what beyond the Pump was about. Trying to get people to start thinking about, okay, what am I to do beyond just my profession? How did those gift benefit to people around me? So that's what that book was about.

Well, why people should. People on the way up don't think that's important, but the reason why it's important to think about giving back and things like that is because it's, it adds longevity to your career, it adds energy to your thinking. Also it opens up doors where you meet new people because you talked about some of the celebrities you worked with over the years and the energy from those transactions. There's a certain amount of energy that will only come when you get on the giving back and start involving other people. The thing. But I just want to, the first book, you know, you, you kind of solidified your place in the marketplace with that book after you won once, you know, because you didn't know you were going to go on and win seven more. And when you wrote that book, you know, and when people write books or whatever, you create something, those things don't go away and like they'll open doors down the road that you can't imagine because you know, it's out there. And like for example, I don't know how many, like today I got something in an email like from China, wants to license my book.

Oh, that's great.

It's like, yes, please, that's awesome. But you don't, you know, you can't make things like that happen, you know, and, but you can when you build companies or you start companies or you said, blessed is he who has his own. When you create your own, if it's your own book, your own company, your own product, it takes, it's like a child, I mean, takes on a life of its own. And if you keep it up and keep giving it a chance to grow that book, that course, you know, you've had courses, you've had programs. And so, you know, I really like. It was good to hear about you writing that book early on because I think that was you starting to get your own brand out of it.

Yes, exactly right.

People could read the book. They might be able to chase you down, but they could read the book and find out about Lee Haney, you know, and so let's go. And you did the kind of your own Olympics. You're kind of like, Arnold's got his program going up there in Columbus, but you started your Lee Haney. What's the name of that?

Yeah, Lee Haney Games.

The Lee Haney Games. And how many years has that been going?

This will be the eighth year, been a huge successful event. We get athletes from all over the United States. We have the bodybuilding, the figure, the physique, the bikini, the wellness, the classic physique. Name it, we got it. We also have the Teenage Challenge, where teenagers flip tires and feet against each other. And we also have the Fit Kid challenge, too, for youngsters who are like under the age of teenagers who might, eight years old, own up. They actually get a chance to get out there, compete against each other and promote, you know, healthy exercise and workout skills at an early age.

Now, with all things. When we started, people say, well, nice idea. You're not going to be able to pull that off. How many in, you know, when you started, how many people participated in the Lee Haney Games? The first one, man.

Probably one hundred and sixty athletes in the first month.

One hundred and sixty athletes, yes.

That, that didn't include. It did not include the. The teenagers or the kids.

Wow. So how many would you say in the first one? Guess how many contestants.

In what, what layer?

The first one.

In the first one and again, around a hundred. 160. 170 in the first one. Now successful right out of the bank.

How did it, how many did you have? This last one.

This last one, we had about 260. 270.

Yeah. And how about your crowds, you know, and.

Oh, we had over 2000 people attended the event.

Yeah, tremendous.

Very successful.

Yeah. And that's. Is that in Atlanta? You do that in Atlanta?

Yeah, in Atlanta. The Georgia International Convention center located in College Park, Georgia.

What has surprised you from doing that that you didn't expect?

Well, you know what, generally in these competitions you have a 2 to 1 ratio of females to males.

Yeah.

Normally the number doubles with females when it comes to males. And our competition, we've had double male to female, which is pretty much opposite as it relates to our, our business.

Yeah.

And well, in competitions like this, but I really feel that has a lot to do with, you know, men. We like to follow the strength of other men. I mean, that's how we made. When we see a guy that's excited, successful, we want a piece of, we want to know what it is that makes him tick. And I think over the years I've been able to sort of be, as I'm older now, be sort of an uncle to a lot of these young men. They respect what I have to say, they respect the lifestyle that I presented to them. And for that reason I've been able to draw men. Matter of fact, this weekend I have a men's conference that I'll be headlining in, in Spartanburg, S.C. really, you know, you know, being a man with a plan is my subject, you know, and all men gotta have a plan. If you don't, you just, just, you know, just going to and fro aimlessly with, with no idea what's happening out here where you're supposed to be or what you're supposed to be doing.

Now talk about the, your award. International Sports hall of Fame. That had to be, that had to be.

Oh yeah, that was a big deal for me. You know, that went beyond just the United States, it went around the world. And being a company of some of the other awesome people who received that award was fantastic. And then being given that award by Dr. Robert Goldman who founded the organization and then Arnold being right there by his side to give the awards was, I mean man, that was really something very special.

So Arnold was there as a presenter?

Yes, yes he was.

Wow. Congratulations. Yeah, that had to be rewarding. And so, you know, the thing is that you also have, you know, just real quick, your, your training program, like if people want to be, get in to this business. You do have a certification program for trainers, right?

Yes, the International association of Fitness Science. And we pride ourselves on being a hands on organization with real substance. We have what is called, been there, done that. If anybody can tell you how to put together a training system, that's Lee Haney. Yeah, anybody can tell you how to carbohydrate, load or carbohydrate deplete, how to prep for a show or how to manipulate nutrition, then I've been there, done that. So there's no organization that can boast with those kind of credentials and having trained some of the best athletes in the world, was also appointed chairman to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and all the other things that I've done in my life. So I make that information, that knowledge readily available to anybody wanting to become a part of our certification program. Nobody else carried those type of been there, done that credentials. So we're very proud of that.

That's a great phrase, been there, done that credentials.

And that's really not bragging, Larry.

I'm just telling the truth.

Well, I guess I am bragging, Larry.

No, no, you're just, you know, you're highlighting. You're highlighting.

There you go. Hey, Larry. I remember little lady said a mighty poor dog when he don't wag his own tail. There you go.

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