Origin Story: Josh Trent | Wellness Force | Speak Your Truth

All right.

I'm very excited about our next speaker, Mr. Josh Trent. Josh and I have known each other for quite a while. 2008, back when we were. We closed down Whole Foods that night.

It was like a two hour conversation.

Two hour conversation. He sent me an email and saw what I was doing on YouTube and just, like, wanted to be a part of it. And so we met up, talked for two hours, and he just kind of became like the underground wellness sidekick, kind of. He made a lot of stuff on. If you look at the old YouTube stuff, like the old TRX videos, the Kangoo jumps, the kangaroo jumps, we did some really creative, fun stuff, and I had a good time, and then we kind of went our separate ways for a while, and then we're kind of sort of back together in a way, you know what I'm saying? He's doing his thing and he's got a fantastic story that I think is going to resonate with a lot of you here. And, you know, I'm very proud of you for everything that you're doing, what you've overcome, some of the stuff we talked about. And I think, again, you guys are really going to enjoy this story. So, Josh, wellnessforce.com do your thing.

Thanks, Sean.

Thank you, Josh.

All right. Hi, B school. Hello, B School. I met some of you last night and I wanted to just start by saying the second half of my talk is going to be a lot of podcasting, but the first half is a lot more vulnerable. And with that said, I want to ask a few questions. How many people in the room are interested in turning down the volume on some of those negative voices that come up from time to time? Raise your hands. Awesome. Awesome. How many people in the room are interested in transformation, physically gain muscle, lose body fat, something like that? Project. Okay, me too. Me too. And lastly, how many people are interested and with the specific purpose of being here to transform your career in some way, make more money, do something that you really care about? I feel like I'm in the right place. The reason that I'm here is to share my story. And that story is all about understanding one thing. Because what if I told you that you could do all of those things that I just talked about by understanding just one simple thing? And today I'm going to share that one simple thing. I want to pull back the curtain into my life and my story so you can understand what I've had to face and what beliefs I've had to let go of and fears in order to take action and get Some results. But before I do that, I want to share with you a little bit about the guy who's standing in front of you. So my name is Josh Trent. I'm a podcast host and digital health coach. My background stems from 10 years where I got to train 10,000 fitness training sessions and help hundreds of people lose weight. But my path to get here was not a smooth one. I had to face fear, crippling fear, and deeply ingrained self limiting beliefs. And those beliefs started when I was in childhood. Growing up, I was raised on Section 8 housing and fed by the welfare program. So for those of you who don't know, the welfare program means boxes of Wheaties and government cheese. I was raised by a single mom, A single mom who struggled with a manic bipolar disease. And every week at my house was full meltdowns and total chaos. So I learned at an early age to hate being at home. My dad left before I was 10. So for the first 18 plus years of my life, my memories of him were emotionally and physically absent. And when he was around, he was consumed with work, either at his job or in his own little bubble of self absorption. So incapable of being fully present for me, he never gave tools on how I could be a man. Now, I learned later on in life that my mom and dad did the absolute best they could to raise me and my older brother. But growing up in that kind of an environment yielded a really big fear file in my brain. And I would access that fear file at pivotal times in my life. So when I was angry or sad or frustrated, that file would tell me a certain kind of story. And that story went just like People can't be trusted, expect the worst to happen. And money causes pain. That is a ton of pressure, right? I mean for any kid or teenager to ever feel. So I did at that age, the best I possibly could to deal. And I found this drug of choice where when I would medicate with it, I could forget about these rough feelings in my chest that I didn't want to feel. And that drug was food. So when I was stressed, I ate. When I was sad, I ate angry carne asada burritos. But food became my friend. And to no surprise, by the time I'm 22, I had ballooned up to 275 pounds working a job I hated, being with a woman I did not want to be with. And then 2003, life hit. I can remember I was at a party, I was drinking again to try to forget about how much my life sucked. And I hated it outside of the buzz in that little red party cup. But something about this night was different. And I felt this spark of hope. I put down the little red party cup, I walked outside the party, and I began to run drunk. And I ran drunk for miles until I got home, pulled out the computer, and started researching how to change my body. That spark that I felt, that spark of hope, I hadn't felt that for years. And it was as if that spark was leading me to the information I needed to actually change. And I'd feel that spark again in other points in my life as this, like, little guide from the universe that was directing me on the right path. So in this moment of truth, I decided to make a change. And the next 12 months were trial by fire. I lost and gained over 90 pounds, up and down on three different basic starvation diets. To become so disgusted and angry with how I felt in my own body, so upset about my mom's illness and my family's drama, that I needed a break. And so I left and I went to the island of Oahu in 2004. There, away from my problems, I transformed myself. But I realized that changing my outside environment didn't take my problems away. Because wherever you go, there you are. And I took my beliefs and my stories along with me. So while I'm in Hawaii, I'm studying fitness nutrition, I'm at a gym. A manager convinces me, you should be a trainer. I was so stoked. A path I'm already on myself, figuring out how to change my body, help other people. I was in. So I got certified. For the next eight years, that was my calling, my purpose. While fitness and the practice of exercise became a solace. And that solace allowed me to forget about those three negatively anchored childhood beliefs. You guys remember the gnarly, nasty beliefs, right? People can't be trusted. Money causes pain. They're not funny. But those temporarily would go away when I would work out or when I was after a workout. And for those moments, I was at peace. But it was not the long term peace that I was craving because I wasn't dealing with my root cause. So fitness and coaching turned into this perfect role for me. What better way for me to not look at all the dark parts of me than by always shining light on other people? But I felt responsible to be that light because as a professional trainer, there's no room for anything other than motivation and inspiration. But after a while, it was like this lead weight. This not dealing was like this lead weight that I was carrying. Around. And some mornings would come around and I couldn't get up. How was I supposed to motivate and inspire other people when I couldn't do that for myself? So now I became cynical and bitter, straight up judgmental. And I allowed self sabotage, burned relationships, addictions. I even allowed this fear to convince me to leave coaching and training completely. And that's when I ended up in a cube in corporate America where it was easier and lighter. So I thought, Because when the weight got lighter, what came up was my dreams that I'd ignored. My dreams that I'd always had around, sharing my story, inspiring people, reminding people that wellness has the power to transform lives. So after two years of sitting in this cubicle committing spiritual suicide, but making financial wealth, I was overwhelmed. And I reached this ultimate breaking point where I left with no plan at all. No plan. And what I did have, though, was my spark. And that spark directed me to this path of total and complete surrender. Because at that moment, I knew very much that I had a problem. And I got to seek help on where I could solve it. This led me to intensive therapy sessions. I joined a men's group, and I sought out to do the real healing from my childhood. Because it was clear once I started on this healing path, any job that I chose was going to be miserable with these beliefs. And it was time to rewrite my story. And when that happened, I gave myself the permission to dream again. I closed my eyes. I envisioned this podcast and a coaching practice where I got to use my story and wellness technology to transform lives and to make a life for myself. So while I'm on this path, I end up at a workshop in LA, the most powerful 10 days of personal transformation of my life. And in this workshop, I got to actually look at these beliefs, acknowledge that I have limiting beliefs, and go through them. Because ironically, everywhere I had gone in my life, these beliefs had followed me. But I was the one who was holding them tight. It was a gift of clarity. The old story, the one I'd been telling myself about how money was bad and people are out to get me, were a lie. A lie that I put there to be safe and to be a victim. Because as a victim, we have the perfect excuse not to move forward, to stay stuck. It's easier to stay still. And I had a lot of healing to do with my broken relationships. I connected with my dad again. After two years of not speaking. I apologized to mentors, to friends, and to people in my community that I judged and completely pushed away. And when I Did this. What happened was more than I could ever have imagined. Because beyond just the money issue that I had, part of the fact that I got to get over with my dad was having a real conversation with him and letting him know that I apologize for making the decision that when I was a kid, you chose money over me. And that meant that people that make money are bad. People that make money don't care about other people. I apologized for that. Because money is not evil. Money is energy. And energy flows just like energy flows anywhere, depending on the source. So now I started to believe a way better story. A story that I got to write where I was enough and where I knew exactly where the road of having a quote, safe job would lead me. And most importantly, when I followed my truth that I trusted, doors would open for me. And once I believed that, that's when I got to do the real entrepreneur's work. And this is what that work looked like in five steps. First, I created this new story where I asked myself, what do I love and who do I want to serve? Next, I committed to my dream. I burned all the boats as a personal trainer or any other job to commit to a lifestyle business. Third, I invested in myself. Courses, webinars, specific business coaching, masterminds, everything I possibly could to create a better version of me. And last, I shared my story through my podcast and other amazing people's stories to inspire all listeners everywhere that they can realize their truth. Most importantly, I stopped believing lies that I had been telling myself, and I opened my heart to something that was truth. Because my truth is that I get to trust people. You can't have a business if you don't trust. And on top of that trust, I get to believe that my community wants me to succeed just like I want them to. And my truth is that we're all in this work together. And part of having personal responsibility is reaching out when you need help. I get to reach out. We all get to reach out. So here are the results of my transformation. I faced my fear. Now I have a greater sense of groundedness and genuineness in myself and in my business. I accept that fear just like I'm scared right now. Talking to the room comes, but I get to turn. I get to face it. I pursued my passion. Now I have my site, wellnessforce.com where I get to use my story and wellness technology to transform lives. I get to help busy moms, especially because busy moms, if they're healthy, that's exactly what kids learn. That's what I wanted to learn when I was a kid. Last month in August, my podcast, Wellness Force Radio hit the number one spot in iTunes. New and noteworthy in all three categories. Health, Fitness and nutrition, and self help. I got to interview amazing people. I've been on Paleo Hacks, Amazing show. I've been on GSD Mode. I've been on different shows that inspire me and I've had them on my show. I've been published in health and wellness sites like the National Academy of Sports medicine and also WellnessFX, which WellnessFX is now one of my sponsors for a coaching project. And as a total honor, I was voted one of the top 50 digital health influencers for all of 2015. But what really makes me happy and what makes me want to do like a happy cry is being in the room and getting to share this with you guys. Because as you can see by now, change is not an event. It's a process. And I don't share the slides to boast or to say, look how cool I am. I share them with you to remind you and inspire you that no matter what story you've been clinging onto in the past or what kind of mistakes that you've made that are a reason you're justifying not moving forward, they're a lie. And you get to write a new story. I promised in the very beginning I would share that one thing, that thing that transformed my life and would transform yours. And that one thing that I want you to remember from meeting me today is to speak your truth. Tell your story. Use that story as your inspiration. Because vulnerability is not weakness. Vulnerability is strength. So your passion and your story become your value. And your value is your gift to the world. So speak your truth. Thank you, Sa.