031 Questions YOU Should Be Asking Yourself with Ian Ryan

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Welcome to the Earn your happy podcast. I'm Lori Harder, founder of The Bliss Project, 3 Time Fitness World champion, fitness expert and cover model, turned self love junkie, lifestyle entrepreneur and author.

Each week I'll bring you a guest.

Or a thought that will help you bust through your fears, connect to your soul, and get focused and clear so you can elevate your life, business and relationships. We don't wait until we're ready for someone to tell us we're good enough. We take what we want and we anoint ourselves. Get ready to earn, own, and unapologetically rock your happiness every single day. Are you with me? Here we go. Welcome back to the earn your happy podcast and today I'm excited to have Ian Ryan on the show. He's the founder of fearlessandhealthy.com and he's also the host of the Fearless and healthy podcast. So he has over 9 years experience as a highly sought after health coach. Ian believes in a holistic approach to wellness and putting a large emphasis on mastering mindset. So he believes that wellness can spark the change necessary to change lives both inside and out. And I just loved my conversation with him. So let's get started. Ian, I'm so incredibly excited to have you on and I have something to tell you.

And what would that be?

Lauren, you are my first male to ever be on the show ever.

Really? I'm honored.

So I'm really excited, you guys. I had a. I got to be on Ian's podcast, Fearless and healthy podcast earlier, and I just really, really loved our connection and just how amazing you are and how real you are. So I really would love to share you with my audience. So if you could just tell me about your story and share a bit about you, we would love to get to know you.

Absolutely. Lori. Well, thank you for having me on and I can't wait to share my story here with your listeners. So I've been a fitness professional for about a decade now. You know, it all started when I was back in college. You know, I was a skinny kid growing up. And then I went went away to college my freshman year and put on about £20. And, you know, I just remember coming back and everyone was like, wow, what happened to Ian? And I just knew I was like, you know, I never really had to do anything back in high school. You know, I was always able to keep the weight off. So that was kind of the start of my fitness journey for myself, you know, and I just fell in love. Like, after a couple months, I started to get results. And after I graduated from West Virginia University, I, you know, ran about every single position you could possibly imagine in the fitness industry, from managing clubs to personal training. And, you know, eventually I started my own business in D.C. i did some corporate fitness, a lot of group training, and, you know, I just love fitness. It's just there's so much more. And I'm sure we'll dive into the whole mindset component of fitness, too, because I'm super passionate about that. But, you know, I always wanted to do something online. I wanted to share my voice. I felt like I had more to offer. But I had these little voices in my head, Lori, that were saying, you know, know, that's not you. Like, you don't know how to build a website. You don't know how to do this. And I was scared to put myself out there on video, and I just figured it was never going to happen for me. But finally, you know, I had a. An event happen in January 2015 that really changed everything for me. You know, I had a successful offline brick and mortar fitness business in D.C. but, you know, something was missing and my brother passed away tragically at the age of 25 from a heroin overdose. And, you know, it just. I started asking myself, Lori, those, those big questions, like, what are you going to be remembered for? And it really. When you lose someone close to you, you have a lot of things that go through your head, but you start thinking about, you know, what type of impact you want to leave and when, you know, when you're faced with death, those things like putting yourself out there, they don't seem that big in the grand scheme of things, you know, so a lot of the things that I was sc and I just pushed those aside and you know what I said, I'm going to follow my passion, my intuition, packed my bags, moved out to sunny San Diego. I've been here now about 6 months. Started my podcast in December. That's been going really well. Have started my online coaching business, and things have really been picking up. But it's just been like one thing after the next, really, since my brother passed away. And I guess in turmoil, you have one or two choices. You can either let that define you, or you can choose to move forward and try to inspire someone with your message. And that's what I've tried to do. Not to say it's been easy, but I've tried to do my best with it, and I'm really excited about some of the things I have coming down the pipeline here.

Wow, that is amazing. And, yes, it's insane how in one split second, your entire perspective can shift everything, like you said that you thought was scary or things that were stopping you all of a sudden. When something like that is taken out of your life and you just realize how incredibly precious it is, it's just this moment of clarity. So what did that really feel like for you, that moment of wow, just massive impact in asking those questions, how long did that take you to process and figure out what you wanted to do as far as with what happened? And sometimes we give people. We feel that we can give people's life even more meaning by things that we're doing.

Yeah, I mean, well, the biggest thing, Lori, is I realized that life can be snatched away from you at any moment. I mean, it's really something to think about because none of us are promised another day on this earth. And I know that can seem kind of bold to say, but it's really true when you think about it. So after, you know, I mourned the death of my brother, and, you know, I still have, obviously, moments where I think about that all the time, I just realized, you know, life is really short and we don't have an unlimited amount of time here on this earth. So I was just. I wanted to go down swinging, you know. No, what I did, I wanted to follow through on the things that I knew deep inside of me that I wanted to do. And if I failed, that was okay. Right. Because it's all in the process. The journey. I always say the juice is in the in the process. Right. And, yes, I mean, you know, there's still limiting beliefs in times when, you know, I don't know if everything's going to work out and all that stuff, but it's just one foot in front of the other. And, you know, after my brother's death, I was just. I looked at life a little bit differently. And I'm sure a lot of people that have gone through something similar, they might feel the same way. You know, they just have something that comes over them and they realize that, you know, like, life is short, so we really got to step up and make it happen.

Thank you so much for sharing that. And I know on your website, you know, you were talking about that you did personal training, and you had said even now you felt like something was missing. And sometimes that gap can feel even bigger when obviously something traumatic like that happens to us. But what did that feel like? What did that call feel like? Because I think a lot of people are getting the call, but they're not quite realizing it. Like, they're maybe, you know, numbing it out or ignoring it. What are some things that maybe you do to really tune in so that you could get inspired and motivated and really move forward on that call? What did it feel like?

That's a great question. And, you know, I think that one of the things that really helped me was my love for personal development. So, you know, fitness, it's great. It's a. If I. If I didn't work out four or five times a week, I wouldn't. I wouldn't feel right. Right. It's something that is just ingrained in my daily behavior. But personal development is the same thing, and I felt like I owed it to share some of the knowledge that I had acquired to not only help people and ingrained it in my fitness programs, but to also share it, because I know a lot of times when people are going through turmoil in their life, some of the things that I've learned can really help you in those times. So, you know, some of the things that really helped me during that. That time period, Lori, were things like, you know, just clearing my head, you know, going outside when things were really tough and going for a walk and just getting lost in nature. Right. And just thinking to myself, taking a lot of time for me and just really coming to terms with, you know, what was I doing with my life. Right. And things like meditation really helped. Working on my breathing, you know, connecting with family, trying to meet. Be more present in conversations. I really TR to level up a lot of the things I was doing, not only in fitness, but with the whole mindset component. And I feel like it's so critical and so key to teach some of these personal development practices when you were putting people through, for example, an exercise program. And I felt like if I was able to create an online program where I could really just share my heart, my authenticity, and put together something special that meant something to me, that would really, really mean something going forward in my life.

Oh, amazing. So you just spurred so many different thoughts in my head about what even a clear head can do, because, oh, my God. Yeah, it's amazing what can come from that. And especially having all of the different things that you could cling to in your mind that could really take you down. Right. You just went through trauma. I'm sure it's just on top of all of the daily things that we all deal with, and you can really go down a spiral. So all that, you know, I know that we have so much in common with, like, the mindset space and also fitness being kind of that foundation. And I love that you said, you know, without doing your workouts each week, it's kind of like you wouldn't even get to that place of understanding that you want to clear your mind as well, because it just turns into, like, chaos when you're not doing any of those things. Like, I know I can very well go back there quickly. That's why I make sure they're in place. But a clear headspace, because I think what people don't realize, you know, even when people are like, I hate working out, or I don't know how you do this or how do you keep your motivation? And it's because my number one thing is peace of mind. Like, okay, what gives me peace of mind? Okay, exercise. Okay, getting in nature. Okay. Everything that you had talked about. Because when you have a clue, when you have clear headspace, you have more energy, you feel like you have more time, you're more present. You can really build on that. So what are some of your things that you must do on top of that? So I know you said, you know, walking in nature, and that one is huge. That's actually been one key thing that's come up with every single person that I've interviewed is getting in nature exercise. And do you have any other great tips that you do?

Yeah, absolutely. So I call them my non negotiables. Right. First off, you hit on a point. It's like some of your most creative ideas come when you're not sitting in front of the computer, right? So that's another thing for people to think about is like, getting lost and just having time to think is so important. But I have what I call my non negotiables. Right. Every single day, I try to start my day from a positive state because I truly feel you either react to the world around you, you, or you have an opportunity to take control. And if you don't take control, you can't be your best for everyone around you. Right. So the first thing that I do is I have a gratitude journal, and I express gratitude. I try to send out three texts to people that I know in my circle that I'm close with and just let them know, you know, that I'm thinking about them. But also, I might write down and jot down a couple things that, you know, I'm just grateful for in my life because it flips the switch and it puts things into perspective. Right? So after I do that, I like to move every morning. So depending on my schedule, I might not get in a full workout. But what I've realized, Lori, is that sometimes it's just about moving, right? It can be as simple as going for a five to ten minute walk outside, doing an active stretch, just doing something to get those endorphins going. And then I do what's called my morning power shake. I try to put the right nutrients in my body. I'm a big brain food guy, so I don't start my day with a bunch of carbohydrates. I actually throw a bunch of good stuff like coconut oil, almond butter, protein powder, a little bit of fruit, veggies, chopped ice and I put it in my nutribullet. I slug that down and then I do what's called my daily review. So I really, I can be a scatterbrain sometimes. You know, I have a lot of things I'm trying to get done. So I try to organize my day and so I'm less chaotic and less stressed, you know, and I just sit down, I'm like, what do I have to get done today that is super important? So I don't just start, you know, scrolling through social media and doing things that really don'. Matter. So I find that just incorporating those simple habits in my daily routine every single morning really start. It helps me start my day with positive energy.

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I love that. And it's so crazy that you said three texts to people, you know, that maybe you want to appreciate or whatever the texts are because I literally just listened to another podcast and was like, okay, I want to do this text message thing to people in the morning. So you were just my voice of confirmation. I was like, oh, I'm supposed to. He said it too. Okay, I got it.

It's powerful. You know, especially now that I, I moved to the other side of the country. You know, I love it out here, but I miss, you know, I miss my. I'm a Mama's boy at heart. So it's nice to just be able to send her a. And let her know that, you know, I miss her, I'm thinking about her and just other people in my life. It really puts me in a. In a good state of mind.

Totally. I'm far away from a lot of my favorite people, too. So tell me more about these texts real quick so that other people, if they want to start this habit as well, because it's something, you know, easy. And I know on your website too, you say quick and actionable, and that's an example of it. Quick and actionable. It's something that makes you feel better immediately makes you feel connected.

Right?

So when you text them, is it like appreciation? Is it just high, or what do those three texts a day look like?

Like, you know, if it's for my mom, I just let her know how much I'm thinking about her. I mean, I'll literally tell. I'll literally text her. I'll say, mom, I just want to let you know that I love you. I'm thinking about you, and you're such an amazing woman. Have an amazing day. Or I'll text my good friend, right? I have basically, like, my brother, you know, I moved out here. I can sit now. He is pretty much, you know, the closest thing I do have to a brother, but I'll just let him know, man, you know, I hope business is good. You know, I can't wait for you to get out here. Have a great day. Something so simple or it does not have to be be this thought out thing, but just let people know, you know, you're thinking about them and they appreciate it and that just helps you. You start every day from a positive state too, you know.

That's amazing. Okay, confirmed. All right, so stepping into your fears, what's your best advice around? I have this massive goal in mind and it's freaking me out, and basically every time I think about it, I can't even move. What is something that you would tell somebody who's. Who's really got something they want to move forward on?

You know, the first step is always the hardest. I mean, it really is, but it doesn't take. You know, someone just asked me, like, well, Ian, does it take a catastrophic event to step into your fears? Right? I said, absolutely not. I mean, I can see why someone might ask me that, because I made a lot of change after that, you know, after that incident in my life. But the reality is, is confidence, you know, you're going to build it over time. It's. A lot of people aren't born naturally with all these skills. You have to beat on your craft, have to take the time to become better, and you have to get uncomfortable. You have to realize that the beauty is usually on the other side of that comfort zone. Right? So maybe you start small. Maybe you do something, for example, I'll bring it back to my own life. I always like to share personal examples, you know, of some how something really impacted me. But I, you know, I love podcasting. I'm on video a lot now. I do a ton of content online. But I was terrified of public speaking at. At one point in my life. I mean, I could tell you a story. I was in college and I remember giving a presentation in my entrepreneurship class and I was teamed up with someone else. You know, the whole presentation started unraveling right from the start. I started breaking out and breaking out into a sweat, and, you know, I was terrified. I said, man, maybe I'm just not good at that. But I knew that what I wanted to do, I was going to have to get better at doing it. So I joined a Toastmasters group. And this is something for someone to think about if they're having a tough time stepping into their fear. Start small. Joined a Toastmasters group. I sat in the back and I just kind of checked things out for a little while, right? But I was there. I made that first step, and then I was like, okay, well, now I'm going to sign up for a presentation, right? And I did it in front of a small group first, and then I kind of get. Got past that level, right? And I was like, okay, this isn't too bad. And it just kept building because my confidence was. Was higher after I started doing it a little bit. So don't feel like you have to go for the home run initially, but just take those steps in the right direction, Right. Make forward progress and positive momentum each and every day, and things will seem a lot more easy and a lot more manageable.

Awesome. So I'm convinced we're part twins, because everything that you've said, I'm like, okay, I had like crazy panic attacks around public speaking, and now I'm obsessed with it. It doesn't mean I don't still get really nervous, but I just know that fear's like my co pilot, and I know how to make it be quiet after a while.

But.

But absolutely. I actually looked at a Toastmasters for a while, but I had a bunch of little events where I was speaking in front of Three people, five people, eight people. And I kept on creating little events like that so that I could practice speaking. And I have to tell you, it took me like, oh my gosh, probably five or six years to the point where I didn't feel like I wanted to. Literally just like I was not going to make it through. But I also knew there was a reward involved in that. So every time I would do it, even if I was nervous, you know, the outcome was so good for me just as far as realizing what we are capable of doing. So is there something like that for you now that you're working on right now that is maybe right smack dab in the middle of scaring the crap out of you or you're working through something?

Yeah, I mean, there's a couple things, but one, so I'm actually going to sign up for my first triathlon, so I'm super excited about it. But let's go back to that fear component because so before, if I was scared to do something and it was like, you know, I just couldn't do it. Right. And after you do it a couple times with the public speaking now, I mean, I love public speaking now, too, but it's like, now if there's something that I'm a little bit scared of, for some reason, I actually get excited about it, you know, because I'm like, man, there's going to be so much growth in this process. So with the triathlon, the reason I'm scared is because I'm not a strong swimmer. I actually don't know how to dive. So I'm just announcing that to your audience now. Something that I've always, you know, kind of been embarrassed about. But, you know, I'm excited about it because I know, you know, with the fitness stuff, I'm pretty consistent with my workouts and all that stuff. And I know that sometimes it's good to switch things up. Right? The strength training and the stuff that I do on a consistent basis, it doesn't challenge me quite as much anymore. So with the triathlon, I'm just so excited to jump and I'm going to join a group that's going to hold me accountable and help me with the swimming portion of it. And I'll probably be the worst one. I'll probably practice down at La Jolla my buddy was talking about, which is in San Diego, by the way, if everyone doesn't where that is. But, you know, just practicing that, you know, it's not a skill of mine. I'm actually a weak swimmer, but Little scared, but I know it's going to be a good thing for me. And another thing was when I moved out to San Diego, where I didn't know that many people. I knew some people, but I was like, you know, how can I meet more people? Let's really step out of my comfort zone. So for 30 days, I have a coffee shop right down the street. And I said, you know what? I'm just going to approach a random stranger at a coffee shop every day and engage in a conversation. I challenge myself. I'm big on 21 and 30 day challenges. I really feel like they can do a lot for you, you know, if you really attack the right thing. So I met amazing people from all over the world just because I said, all right, well, I don't know that many people out here. Why not just go up to people and meet people and have amazing conversation? And it was an amazing experience. But once again, I knew it was going to be uncomfortable, but I knew on the back end of that I was going to grow a lot and the experience was going to be very fulfilling for me.

So awesome. And yet again, that's kind of what I'm doing right now, too, at coffee shops. So that's crazy. It is. People who listen to my podcast are probably like, who is this clone? This is insane. I love that because I was, you know, I haven't been in Santa Monica very long, but I love your 30 day challenge. So literally, that just inspired me and you guys, if you listen to what he just said, it's not just about, like, like, you know, ramping up these, like, challenges for your body. I know we do challenges around fitness all the time. Maybe challenges, you know, different challenges in our life, but never do we think to do them around the things that maybe we feel empty towards. Like, maybe we're feeling lonely. Maybe you're not new somewhere, but you feel lonely, or you need to widen that circle of people, you know, because you want better influences in your life. That is the most amazing way to do it. And sometimes I have to even remember, Ian, that it's not always about, like, okay, anything to progress and be in a, you know, a circle that's smarter than me. And learning, learning. Because Even just the 30 days of meeting different people and realizing that every single person carries a beautiful lesson, no matter what walk of life they're from or no matter, you know, a lot of times we have expectations of different people, and you can, you can be so focused on, you know, thinking you need to learn something instead of just Actually hearing, you know, about this person's experience or being really present, you get delivered these awesome messages that if you're just present and you just do what you said for 30 days, you can change your life. Not only, you know, take away loneliness, but change your life. I love that you are doing that. Okay, so I would love to hear what is the best advice that you've ever gotten?

The best advice I've ever gotten? Well, let's. I mean, you know, there's so many mentors that I have and so many things I've acquired from over the years, but really, you know, the best advice I've ever got, Lori, is just to be you, right? Be authentic. Don't be someone else, right? And at the end of the day, you know, there was a quote I heard. Now I'm blanking on it a little bit. But what it really comes down to is the fact that the people that are supposed to be in your life, I truly feel like if you're yourself, if you're vulnerable, authentic, the people that are supposed to be there are still gonna be around, right? And they're gonna appreciate the fact that you're not trying to pretend to be someone else. And it can be really hard, right? The fact that you might not be accepted initially, that you might put an idea out there and someone might think it's funny, or you might get negative feedback, but at the end of the day, you can sleep at night knowing that you were authentic, that you were real, and that you weren't trying to be. Be someone that you weren't. So I really try to live by that, you know, I know that some of the things I do might seem crazy or someone might not connect with me or whatever, but I'm okay with that because I know that I'm just being me, you know? And I think that's super important for people to think about.

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Yeah. Where you're a creative. So it's like constantly putting different content out there. Of course, course can open you up to people who can somewhat be critical. So when some, if somebody says something, what is, what do you do in order to let that go?

You know, I mean I really. Someone. When someone says something to me that might like offend me or something.

Yeah, sorry, someone says something to you that's negative.

Yeah, you know, I mean I used to be very defensive. So that's, I mean, just being honest, I used to have a problem with this and I think, think that is one of the reasons that I work so hard to not be that way anymore. Because I use, I'm telling you, back a couple years ago I was so worried about what people would say and if they gave me negative feedback, my first, the first thing I would do is snap at em or you know, get defensive. And I realized that now, I mean, it's just, it serves no purpose. Right. Arg. I, I hate arguments. Like I hate drama, I hate all of that stuff. So if someone doesn't agree with me, you know, the first thing I do is I take a step back. I really try to listen to what they say because half the time that someone is what you might consider negative feedback. You can actually learn a lot about that. Right. If you look at it differently. So sometimes I'll get that feedback and I'll use it as constructive criticism and I'll see. Okay, well, how can I maybe grow from this or become better instead of getting defensive and snapping at someone for not agreeing what I have to say. And then there's other people, you know, that just want to disagree with you and you know, they're never gonna, they're never gonna be on the same page as you. And you, you gotta just let it, let it go. Right? At the end of the day, those people aren't supposed to be in your life. You shouldn't be exerting all your energy trying to please everyone. Right? Just put your ideas out there, be authentic, be real and the right people will stay connected with you.

For sure. There's two quotes that came to mind when you said that, and I think that is. I think that's a really. That's probably the most common natural reaction is to be defensive, to, you know, throw up your side. And. And it takes so much energy. And it's. I. I read in your defenselessness, your safety lies. And also a defense is an attack back. And I was like, wow, it really. Even if it's not an attack, it definitely spurs that and the other person to attack yet again. So it's kind of really thinking, if peace is really what I want at the end of this, you know, if I really just want to learn from this or have peace, how would I respond? And I love that it's taking that step back and of course, having boundaries when we need them, but for the most part, that's exactly what I do. Now I'm like, you know what? Let me learn. Let me see where they're at, but then let me just let this go. So as far as boundaries, have you had to. In order to move forward, have you had to create some boundaries in your life? And what did they like?

I mean, absolutely, 100%. I really feel like that you're the average of the five people that you spend the most time with. Now, I don't take that. You know, some people are like, well, I'm just not going to hang out with anyone from my past if they're not bringing me up and taking me to the next level. But we just talked about this briefly. I don't buy into that necessarily. Right. I mean, there's amazing people from my childhood. I just grew up in this amazing neighborhood, and I still connect with so many people from back home, and I have great friends. But there are relationships that I had in my life that didn't serve me right, that I found that when I was spending time with some people that, you know, I was making decisions that I shouldn't be doing. Right? So I really, I really had to create boundaries around some of the relationships that I had in my life. And it's not necessarily about cutting them out completely, Right. But it's about really not giving those people all your energy and all your time, right? Making new connections that are gonna bring you up and really just thinking about who are you spending the time with and the people that you're with, are they energy vampires? You know what I mean? Are they sucking your energy out? Or when you're around them, do you feel inspired? Right? Do you feel like you are growing when you're around those people. So the boundaries that I connect, it's not that I necessarily cut people out of my life, but what I will do is I'll minimize the time that I spend with them. Right. And I'll really try to make sure that the majority of the time I spend is around people that have my best interest in mind. Right. And trying to do some of the same things that I'm doing, you know, and the other thing is, you know, I'm constantly about making new relationships in my life and connecting with people that are interesting to me, you know, so sometimes when you meet new people that are bringing you up, you can't. You don't have time for everyone anymore. So you really have to just consciously think about the people in your life and who's really bringing you up and challenging you, and who are the people that maybe you don't want to spend as much time with anyone anymore.

Yes. Have you had to have any honest conversations with some people? The only reason I say that is because I've definitely had people who are like, oh, you don't have time for me anymore, or you think you're too good for me now. You know, when you're leaving your past life. Maybe those were happy hour people, or maybe those were people that you went out with on Fridays or whatever that looked like. But I really think all of us who are making a change to be the person that we know we truly are authentically inside, that's hard to bust through. So. So what do you say to those people? Because it hurts when it's the people who are closest to you.

It does. You know, it really does. And I think a lot of people struggle with that, you know, I really do. I had someone reach out to me today, you know, a listener from my show, and they said, ian, I know, you know, you talk so much about not associating with negative people, but that easier said than done. You know, what happens if those people in your close circle and, you know, when it comes to some people, I've just had to let those relationships go. And I've realized that when I did that they really weren't. That they must have not been that important, because those people, people, they really didn't even try to connect with me anymore when I stopped going to. To, you know, out binge drinking and all that stuff that I used to do earlier in my life. But now, you know, I still like to enjoy a cocktail and go out with friends every now and then. But I really, you know, I try to pick and choose, you know when I'm gonna do things, and it's more on the occasion, you know, and at first, I got a lot of resistance from people. Ian, why aren't you coming out to, you know, the party on Friday night or this or that, that. But after a while, you know, people accept it, you know, and then they see you on this new. And it's like, I don't necessarily cut them out, but at the. At the beginning, it's a lot harder. After a while, I think they kind of accept the fact that you're on a different path. And I have had to have conversations and just let people know, you know, hey, you know, it's nothing against you. I think you're a great person. But this. This isn't just serving me. I'm trying to get my life. Life in a new direction, and I just can't live that lifestyle anymore, you know, so it's hard initially, but when it comes to, like, things like happy hour and all and all those things, I just pick and choose my battles, you know, And I really try to structure my days in ways where I really have a lot of positive energy. And if I'm gonna do something like go to happy hour and all these things, you know, I try to do it maybe, you know, once every other week. And I know everyone's different, but that's just what works for me.

That's awesome. Awesome. And, yes, sometimes the most loving thing we can do for ourselves is to walk away from people, because, you know, we're not always going to. And I love that you just communicate, because at the end of the day, if we just communicate people, communicate with people and tell them, hey, this is because I can't live this way or I can't feel this way anymore. I hope that you understand if you want to do something, maybe we go take a class together or go do something, you know, if you in, you know, that that makes us feel better, us feel healthier. And a lot of times they kind of weed themselves out out of that. And you're like, well, I offered, but you don't want to go do this. So. So that can be something that is really clearing as well. So awesome. I want to hear about your podcast.

Well, I'm so excited about my podcast. You know, it was really something. It's funny, you know, I was going to launch a podcast a while ago, but I was, you know, I just didn't do it because I was. I was scared, whatever. But it's going really well. It's called the Fearless and Healthy PO Podcast. And I've got to just interview some amazing people, you know, some of the people that I've always wanted to have conversations with. I got a chance to chat with you, and I loved our interview, Laurie, but it's all about, you know, living a fearless and healthy life, right? Stepping into your fears, some of the things that, you know you want to do, right? And getting over those little voices in your head and making it happen. And then also, I truly feel like you can't really be your best unless you are taking care of your health. So I bring on a ton of health and fitness experts, nutrition experts, inspiring entrepreneurs, transformation stories, people that have really decided to level up their life, right? Maybe leave some of those relationships in the past that weren't serving them and step in and follow their intuition. So it's been incredible. You know, I think we're about 75 episodes in, and, you know, I'm super excited about the future with the show. We built quite a community now with it, and, yeah, it's just an awesome experience. And the best thing about it is connecting with people. Right? I'm sure you feel the same way. I've got a chance to just talk to so many incredible people along the way.

Totally, totally. That's exactly why I started, too. I was like, I just want to. I just feel the urge to talk to these amazing people and share them. I want, you know, I want people to learn all the different tips that I'm learning from these incredible people. So it's so much fun. So really quick, though, was it that hard to start a podcast? Because I know so many people think it's like this big, audacious, crazy, scary thing, and. And I just want to hear what you think.

No, it's not. And, you know, it's crazy. You think you overthink it so much, and then finally one day I just said, you know what? Screw this. I'm going to do it. And I scheduled. I literally went through. I scheduled, like, 15 interviews in one day, and, you know, I booked them out, and then the following week, I had, like, 12 podcast episodes recorded. Right? And obviously, you know, I got better as I. As I went along. And the first couple interviews never turn out quite the way you want them to, but it's not that hard. You know, I think people. They overcomplicate things. You know, they're scared to get going. And just like anything like we discussed on the show, you get better as you go along. So anyone that's thinking about podcasting, you know, it's an Amazing experience. And it's really not that hard to get started. You just got to make the commitment and decide to take action and do it. It.

Oh, I love that. And seriously, that's what your friends are for. Like, take out the weirdness on them. I remember when I first started training, I was like, okay, I'm gonna train you. This is gonna be weird and wonky, and you're just gonna have to deal with it, friend. Because that's what you do.

And it's so fun, you know, I just love it. So it's great.

Yeah, we do all get in our heads. Like, what questions do I ask? Oh, my God, I need to sound so smart. And what if I sound stupid? It's like, it's not even about you. Just focus on that person and ask them questions that you want to know. And when I took that pressure off of myself, like, yeah, you know what? You're human. You're gonna screw up. Maybe you're not gonna sound so smart. And it's gonna be recorded. That's okay. Cause everyone else has those moments too. So, you know, just showing the human moments to me is totally cool. I don't edit them out because I know that everybody else is human too. So I hope that it inspires people. And, see, Ian says it's easy. So if you think it's hard, make sure you go to and ask him questions. All right, so I want to know where we can find you, where we can follow you, all that good stuff.

Absolutely. Well, you can go to my website, fearlessandhealthy.com, get a lot of information about all the past interviews I'm doing. You can join my Facebook community, the fearless and healthy community. You can find that right on Facebook. And connect with me on Facebook. Seriously, Send me a friend request. I love connecting with people. And if you're into fitness, I also have a guide. I'll send that over to you. Lori. I really try to break down just, you know, there's so much fluff in the fitness industry. I'm sure you feel the same way. I try to break it down into very actionable stuff. If people want to get a lean physique, I'll send that guide over free for your audience. So, yeah, come connect with me and say hello. And, you know, I'd love to connect.

Awesome. And ladies, you guys, you ask me all the time where your husbands can go or where your boyfriends can go. Who's a guy that I know there? I gave you. I gave you a man, so.

That's right. I Am the only guy here. I forgot about that.

All right, so last question that I pretty much ask everybody.

Sure.

So If I have 30 seconds in an elevator and someone asks you, what can I do to make myself happy, Please just tell me one thing quick that I can do to make myself happy. What would that be?

Love yourself. You know, really love yourself. Realize that you are a capable, special person with the gift that you need to share with this world. And the only way that you're going to be able to do that is to get over those fears and get started. Started. But really, I think it comes down to you can't love other people until you love yourself and really realize that, you know, we. We all have that gift. So anyone that's struggling with self confidence, beliefs, all that stuff, you know, take the time to realize, you know, how special you are and how precious life is and go out and make it happen.

That's awesome. All right, you guys, thank you so much for being on. Ian, I so appreciate your time today.

Today. Absolutely. I had a. I had a blast doing it. Lori, thanks for having me on for sure.

You guys, if you love this episode as much as I did, make sure you share it with your friends. And until next time, earn your happy. Bye, everyone. Thank you guys so much for spending this time with me on the earn your happy podcast. I am so glad that you stopped by. If you could take one second second to share this episode with someone you think would love it, that would be absolutely amazing and we would be forever grateful. Also, please leave us a review. If you feel so moved by going to itunes and leaving us an honest thought, an honest comment, tell us what you think, tell us what you want to hear more of. It would really help us out on our journey to helping thousands and thousands of people. Until then, and don't forget to earn your happy. Thanks again, guys. Bye. Bye.