Leadership Strategies That Fit Your Brain: Autistic Workplace Wellness with Andrea Johnson

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[00:01:45] Get ready to unleash your inner awesomeness with the Crazy Fitness Guy Show. Hosted by Jimmy Claire, renowned professional keynote speaker, podcaster and autism advocate. This show is all about embracing what makes us unique. Join Jimmy as he shares inspiring stories, experiences and expertise to motivate and educate.

[00:02:12] Make sure you follow our show so you never miss a brand new episode. Now let's dive into the show. ...at least 300 times. So, I promise you there will be no math today. Well, I hope. My guest promised me that there's no math.

[00:02:40] I don't know what the probability of that is, but we shall find out. And before we get started, I'm just going to get started. I'm going to skip my regular spew. And just because I feel like that. So today, my guest, she has many different hats. And she's very passionate about mental and physical wellness.

[00:03:08] So let's just welcome her out today. Hello. How are you? I am good. So, before we get started, can you tell us a little bit about who you are, what you do, how you got started, and why you got started? Sure. My name is Andrea Johnson, and I am the intentional optimist. And I work with other people to... Actually, I work with leaders. I like to help leaders go from what I call disempowered,

[00:03:36] where they have like responsibility with no authority, and they may have gotten degrees in things that didn't really get them a better job. And I help them become what I call impactful or magnetic leaders by uncovering who they are at their core. I am a John Maxwell team speaker, trainer, and coach. So he's an international leadership guru, and I'm a disc consultant. So I like working with people on behavioral... communication, behavioral analysis, so that we communicate better.

[00:04:07] So I work with people on all different levels, both in person and online. And I kind of specialize in communication and team building. Wow, that's a lot. So what made you want to get into all of this? Did you decide like, hey, I want to help leaders grow,

[00:04:32] or did you want to just be a very impactful person from day one? You know, I think we all want to leave an impact, don't we, Jimmy? I mean, that's what you do here, right? And I love how you talk about how you do healthy living through a specific lens. And many times we don't consider seeing anything through another lens. We only want to see through our own lens, right?

[00:04:58] And as I worked for over 25 years in the university medical system, I was sharing with you before we started recording that I didn't know I was going to... I got a business degree, and I didn't know I was going to be working for these university medical schools where I was working with clinical trials and research administration and getting grants and funding and doing budgets and that kind of thing. But I figured out pretty quickly when I started managing people that I don't like that. I don't like keeping the status quo.

[00:05:26] I like to throw the pot a little bit, you know? I like to make things better. I like to take something from a 5 and go to a 10 or an 11. I like to find somebody's strengths and help them realize their goals and their dreams. And so as I continued to work in that system, which is a great system, I worked for two wonderful universities that still do fabulous things today, I just realized that's not where I wanted to be. And a friend of mine, I told my husband, I said, I just want to help people.

[00:05:56] And that's not really a job description. And so my friend introduced me to John Maxwell and to the leadership principles that I had kind of already been studying. I just didn't realize that I could actually be a consultant or a coach or a teacher, if you will, of adults in order to help them do that. And so for me, it was just looking for fulfillment for me in order to help other people. And usually that's how it works. We help others and we find that it also helps ourselves.

[00:06:27] That's amazing. I kind of want to be, I want to kind of do the same thing. Like I want to, I'll say I want to help people, but then I'm one of those people who are always looking for how to improve things. I'll give you an example. So I just spoke on a recent summit, a virtual summit.

[00:06:54] I talked about how the healthcare system is dangerous to people with extra challenges. And I'm not going to go into all details about it, but, and I was like, you know, if I could get somebody to start talking about changing this garbage system because, you know, not being political or anything, because I don't like any of the parties whatsoever.

[00:07:21] Because I just make that whole disclaimer, because I don't like any of them. They don't do anything for me. They don't help me in any single which way. So I just, but, you know, I think pretty much every single candidate is like, I'm going to improve this. I'm going to improve that. And it's like, it's been on the same hamster wheel over and over and over again. And I was like, if one more person tries to run on it,

[00:07:50] I have this BS button at home. And I mean, it really says BS on it. I'll take it to some kind of rally and blow it. Like literally, because it's like, BS, this is not working. And it's like, and so I'm always looking for ways to how it's like, can we make the system better? And it's because like, here's like, I'll give you the, I'll list two examples here.

[00:08:17] One, there's too many of those portals. So I was on the same page. And two, this, and then there's too many denials of, from insurance, like on the statistics. Oh my goodness, there's that word. Girl promised that you didn't promise.

[00:08:44] And so, so on this numbers, I found that 60% of people with extra challenges get turned down by their health insurance. And it's like, they don't understand the specialty care that we need. And it's like, and there's no average person. And there's no average number. How do you measure that? So I'm like you, I want to change something. And I want to be able to, I was like, yes, that's going to be a long, big goal.

[00:09:12] But if I can get somebody higher up than where I am to start talking about this, yeah, maybe he'll start going to the right direction. Because, well, let's just say the bar is so gosh darn low. It is. We, you know, we really don't have, we don't have much to overcome as far as getting, you know, we, it wouldn't take much to do better, would it? But fortunately, I will say I wasn't in the healthcare industry. I was in the university side. So I was like research.

[00:09:42] But it just takes so long for research to get to the patient. It takes so long for policies to change inside big institutions. And there's great things that they can do. But at the same time, I just realized I can make a difference someplace else. And plus, you know, we always, well, we just recently learned that research is not always accurate either. Shocker. I know.

[00:10:12] I just said, I just said shocking evidence. Whoops. You mean the weather is not 100% accurate? Yeah, just look outside a minute. Yeah. That's always fun. Right. Like you look at your app and you say, oh, it's going to be raining here. It's supposed to be raining here. And you look out and the sun is shining. It's like, there's no clouds in the sky. Yeah. You know, fun fact before I ask you the next question.

[00:10:40] You know, I had this one weather app that says like, we're super accurate. Well, one day I was in my dad's office at home and it's just like, it's going to snow. It was perfectly sunny. And I was like. Nice. I was like, do you show you? Have my right location? And he was like, yes, I'm not in Canada. And it's like, do I have to set up my time zone? I'm not sure.

[00:11:10] But I think a satellite is broke from outer space. Suddenly you just go back up to fix it. There you go. So my next question for you is, when you help people, what are some of their, what do they want to change to make a difference? What kind of stuff do they struggle with? That's a really, you know, for y'all listening?

[00:11:38] If you haven't already given me five stars? You should just pause here and go back and scroll down and give him five stars because on whatever podcast app you're on, of course, I'm speaking Apple language. Sorry. But that is a very good question because, of course, every client is different. But most people in general want to do well if they know how. And they don't always know how. Right?

[00:11:59] And we think that if we get a specific type of education or if we get a certification, like a master's in business, an MBA, or if we get like in some, you know, like a project management certification, or if we work longer hours, maybe they'll recognize our hard work. And they never do. Right? Working longer hours makes us bitter. Getting extra certifications makes us poor.

[00:12:28] Sometimes it gives us an education. But a lot of times it just makes us frustrated. And so my, what I do is I take, when people feel that way and they come to me, my goal is to help them look inside and say, so what are my, who am I really? And so I start with them in three major areas. And I look first at their core values. And that's something that we all have. We may not always recognize what they are. We may not always, they're not usually honored.

[00:12:56] There are some people who can honor their core values. And those people live very, what we call authentically. And it's amazing when I get a unicorn who already knows their core values and can live with them. But most of the time people really are trying to conform with society or with whatever their job or their education says they have to do in order to get where they want to go. And so they think they can't be themselves. And so what they do is they compromise on their own core values.

[00:13:24] Things like, for me, it's like freedom of thought. Like, don't tell me how to think, right? It's just don't even start. Or belonging. I want to belong, right? I want to feel like I belong in every conversation and I want everyone to feel like they belong in a conversation with me. But I also want to be authentic. So those are my core values.

[00:13:43] So I start with people in that area because that's usually the one place that people have kind of given the world or themselves permission to not be themselves. So I think that's an important piece to start with. And that's kind of what – and the other piece too, Jimmy, is that some people – I don't know if you've heard this, but we do this a lot in business. We do it in universities. We do it in government.

[00:14:10] But we promote people because they've done a good job at a lower level. So we promote them to a higher level, but we don't always train them. And so that's the other type of client I get is somebody who's been promoted to a higher level but doesn't really have any leadership skills or training. And so they kind of need to understand what are the principles of leadership? How do I engage my staff? How do I make sure that I have – that I'm doing things that's going to produce a really good culture in my team?

[00:14:36] Because the last thing you want is a really bad atmosphere where people are unhappy and then they just leave or they do a poor job, right? So those are my two basic things. Well, I have to comment on one thing on the – I mean a few things on that. One, I met so many – I'm not going to name any specific companies or I'm going to try not to.

[00:15:01] I met so many companies, some people – I mean obviously on the customer service side. There's some managers or some other people that I was like, how did you get this job? Right. And then they argue with you and say, my manager would say no to – well, not well. He would say the same exact thing as I am. He's like, well, there's a reason why you're not the manager.

[00:15:30] And I mean I'm not doing – being a tool or anything. But it's like there's a reason why that person is not in the manager position because one, he's not thinking, hey, how can I help this customer? I'm just thinking, hey, what's the quickest way I can get off the phone with this person? Yeah. And those are pretty basic skills, right?

[00:15:52] I mean so there are times I do communication workshops with organizations to make sure – like I did one with a veterinary hospital. Like I did some work with a veterinary hospital and one of them was a team leader who was consistently working with her team that was all customer facing. It was – imagine people bringing their sick animals in and having somebody not give you good customer service. I mean you want your animal, you want your pet to be – your family member basically to be taken care of. But you also want to make sure that you're taken care of.

[00:16:20] So those skills are important at any level. And if we don't teach them, people may not know them. Yeah. And I also agree with you about if you work longer and harder and whatnot, you get burnt out and then also just irritated. Because, you know, I've been seeing a pattern these last couple of months in my semester.

[00:16:47] I mean I've been getting very irritated because I'm working with this annoying online program. And before somebody says to me – and I know somebody probably will – is there's always that one peanut gallery person out there. It's like, well, why didn't you just take this in person? Just because I take it in person doesn't mean I'm going to get a helpful professor. It does not mean it's going to be any easier. Me and numbers do not work together.

[00:17:17] I can understand numbers and I can understand positive and negative and whatnot. But word problems and whatnot and doing this in the calculator, there's a reason why I'm never going to be an accountant. Me either. Yeah. So anyway, and I just want to piggyback off one other thing, going backwards real quick.

[00:17:41] Is that – you know how I said I'm always looking for some way to improve these things? Like one of the problems I had to do was enter into a spreadsheet. And it's like – and my brother's an accountant. And it's like if this is what my brother has to do all day, I really feel so sorry for him. Because it's like this is the most tedious crap I ever did.

[00:18:06] And these numbers weren't just like three numbers, like three on one side and three on the other. They gave me the longest list as possible. It's like 20 numbers on each side. It's like this is tedious. It's like if I could only make this thing right now, I would. But so, yeah. I know I'm a little off topic, but I just wanted to go back real quick.

[00:18:32] But so it's time for my train of thought, but that's where all my thoughts are going today. Backwards, forwards, up and down. Welcome to my brain. There you go. So my next question for you is what are some ways people can find their true purpose and leadership ways in life

[00:18:59] or want to create a bigger impact than just doing the nine to five or do what everyone else is doing? Well, Jimmy, I like to talk about it in not a word problem, I promise, but a little bit of a story of being able to go from, you know, if you have somebody that says, like, if you're raised in a certain way that says you have to do things this way. And then you realize that doesn't work for me. And then you turn around and say, you know, what if I do them?

[00:19:28] And you said, I like to find a better way to do things. So you turn around and do it a different way. That's like moving from imitating other people's principles and priorities to defining your own priorities and your own principles for what I call sustainable, impactful leadership. When you can actually do it over and over and over again, and you can do the actions associated with it, the thoughts associated with it, the energy that it requires.

[00:19:54] When you can do all of that over and over, then you've got what I call sustainable leadership. And when you enjoy your work, it's amazing, right? When you have the authority to act according to your convictions, the things that you really believe in and they're passionate about, that's when you can do the work that makes a bigger impact. And so what I do is I help people figure out what their core values are so that they don't stay stuck in those myths of working harder or getting an extra degree.

[00:20:25] Or even just, you know, we get in this growth mindset. We say, oh, I have a growth mindset. I'm going to learn forever. But if you don't ever apply that learning, then it doesn't really do anything for you. So that's what I do is I help people figure out who they really are. And I do that with their core values.

[00:20:41] I do that with their disk communication style, whether or not you're a storyteller or a bottom line person or a detail person or like a steady person that likes to just like keep the peace, the peaceful person. I help you figure those things out. And that combined with your core values kind of gives you a direction because, you know, there's probably any number of things that I could do for a living that would fulfill me as long as I could stay true to my core values.

[00:21:12] I was my son and I, he's 15. We watch F1 races together and I love racing. I like to drive fast. I drive a BMW. I like to drive fast on curvy roads. I really like the way it hugs the side, you know, it hugs the road. I love all of that. And I was watching that the other day and I thought I could work for an F1 team. And then I realized that would mean I would be away from home a lot. Like, well, that's true. But at the same time, there's things that I would love about it and things that I would hate about it.

[00:21:40] But there's probably five or six different careers that I could have with my core values that I could stay true to me and probably still enjoy my life. And I think that's really more of what it's about rather than worrying about finding my true life's purpose because our life's purpose is to live out who we are. To me, it's that simple.

[00:22:01] It's to just be the most Andrea or the most Jimmy that we possibly can and therefore bring everything that we were created to bring to our environment and our surroundings and our family and our friends and anybody who else will listen. I agree with that, especially and also about the part where you said if you never apply that knowledge, then you're never going to go get anywhere or where you want to be.

[00:22:31] And I actually took a few. I went to some webinars in the last couple of months and I haven't applied everything yet to it. But I decided I'm going to wait to apply everything once I finish a semester, which is like, I mean, it's like next Monday I'm finished.

[00:22:57] So it's like, yeah, you know, it's way this long and I have everything I'm recording. So it's not like I can go back, listen to it, reapply my knowledge and whatnot. So it's like, I'll do it. But it just right now I just like it's crunch time and everything else. Yeah. So I'm definitely going to look into it.

[00:23:25] And I've been beating myself up lately because on the ratio of, let's say, I may not use the word ratio, but I've been spending my probably 90 plus hours on math and like 10% on my business.

[00:23:40] I hate this so much, especially because if I, well, I can't say this out loud, but let's just say if I'm trying to put it in words that I don't make it too obvious. But let's just say if this, if it was like an even 50, 50, 50, this, 50, that, even 60 and 40, I would have been like, great. But I feel like I'm spending all my time on math. And I'm like, hi.

[00:24:11] You know, there's no wonder why I absolutely hate math even more. Yeah. Well, I mean, you're not getting to do what you love. Right. And so, but going back to that idea of applying what we've learned, many of us take webinars all the time. And I have a shelf over here full of books. But if I just read and I never apply anything that I've learned or I take these webinars and I never go back to them.

[00:24:38] You know, John Maxwell says, experience is not the best teacher. Evaluated experience is the best teacher. And it sounds like that's what you're doing. And you're being smart, too, by setting aside. It's like, you know, obviously, that the statistics class is taking, it's like eating your lunch. Right. So you just let it just like I'm almost done. And then you'll get back to it and build your business the way you should.

[00:25:00] But, you know, Jimmy, if we, if we never, if we never try those harder things, then we never know whether or not that's the direction we need to go. We never know what we are capable of. Right. I mean, it's like, obviously, this is developing persistence in you. And so keep going. I'm like, never again. My tutor said to me, it's like, I wish I kept on chart.

[00:25:30] How many times you said I hate math? And it's like, it would have been a very impressive number. Yeah. And it's like, I'm at like a billion now. It's like, I should have a nice clicker. Click, click, click, click, click. Yeah.

[00:25:47] So my next question for you is, why do you think people don't try something out of the norm to go to live the life that they want to live? Because, you know, there was a time. And I'll admit this. I saw some of my other colleagues and some of my other friends. They have their jobs and whatnot.

[00:26:14] And I was like, maybe I should go follow what they are. I mean, not like particularly what they're doing, like in whatever field that they're in. But I was like, should I just go get a job and just get a paycheck? And here I have some money. But then I said, I've been working at this for many, many, many years already. And if to throw that all away, it would be just terrible. Yeah.

[00:26:45] Well, I think that the biggest, the word that I would use is that we're conditioned to think certain things. Right? We're conditioned to go to school, get out of high school, go to college. You know, like the normal path is to go to school, go to college, get a job, have a family, whatever. You know, it's like the whole American dream of the 2.2 kids and the white picket fence, that kind of thing. And the reality is that doesn't work for anybody. And you mentioned earlier, you used the phrase, there is no average patient.

[00:27:14] There is no average human. There is no, I mean, an average is this conglomeration of everybody on all the extremes. And without the extremes, you would have no average, right? I mean, I promised I wouldn't talk statistics. I'm sorry. But it shows you that we can use it, right? In ways that you don't expect. But I think the reason why people don't try new things is because we've been taught that it's number one, it's not okay to fail.

[00:27:39] And number two, that we're supposed to do things in a certain way and anything outside of that is different or weird. And, you know, breaking down that conditioning in our brains, let alone in society, is hard. And you're on the front lines of that kind of thing. My son has ADHD. And so, you know, we're constantly advocating at the school for things. And I just interviewed a gentleman earlier today who's 84 years old.

[00:28:08] And he discovered he had ADHD at 57. And part of what he discovered was the reason why he was so successful doing certain things is because of his not normal brain, right? And so being willing to say, all right, am I okay with going against what I've been conditioned to believe? And sometimes that's hard. I've done that in several areas. I've done it in my religious understanding of the world.

[00:28:36] I've done it in, like you said, there's no politician and there's no political party that meets your needs. I'm like, I'm right there with you, brother. I don't agree with any of them. My husband will say something like, well, they're a politician, you know, and my sister thinks I'm cynical. But the reality is I've decided I don't buy into that system anymore. It's a conditioning piece that I don't want to have.

[00:28:59] And so I think taking it back to your original question of how do you help people or encourage them to do that is to empower them and give them the kind of knowledge base that they need to have the courage and the confidence to break out of that conditioning because that's actually the harder work. Breaking out of the conditioning is the harder work. I love it that you said that because there's no average brain.

[00:29:28] There's no average person, especially because, you know what, I have a weird brain that makes it me, the crazy fitness guy says it all right here. And then, too, you know what, I think, I don't think there's, there's no such thing as normal except for the setting on the washing machine and the dishwasher.

[00:29:55] But other than that, I haven't met any normal people. I mean, what does normal look like? Can you describe normal for me? No. And then I also wanted to piggyback off of the fact that, you know, everybody has different uniqueness.

[00:30:16] And, you know, like you were saying and I was saying, you know, there's, you know, the political parties don't do it for me. I'm, my parents are more political than I am. I'm, I'm, I was like, eh.

[00:30:36] And it's like, since, since I had to, since they're not making anything easy for me with the healthcare and whatnot, getting the tests that I need to, to keep watch on my neck issue. I'm like, eh, they can go, eh, go away, go to hell, whatever they want me to. And so I was like, we can make this so much easier.

[00:31:01] And then I also want to say that, you know, everybody has their own gifts and whatnot. And it's like, and you, it's the people that who stand by your side are the ones that are more important to me these days, especially for those. It was like, yeah, Jimmy, go while you're in college, go try something different, et cetera. Yeah.

[00:31:30] And even if I have to do something down the road just to make ends meet, I'm, I would still keep, keep my business because I wouldn't want to give it up for, for, for anybody, for, or anything. Cause I love my, what I do. Yeah. Good for you. And it took me too many years to get to where I am today. So as I throw that all away for a nine to five now.

[00:31:55] And even if I'm working nine to five myself, I'd rather be my own boss than listen to someone else and say, Jimmy, you gotta do it this way. Yeah. Well, and how many of us live within somebody else's vision, right? It's like, I worked for two big, really nice schools of medicine universities and they had great vision and great mission and really good values. And they do great work, but it's not my mission and my vision.

[00:32:20] And I wanted to live my life with my own rules and my own vision. And, you know, you're going to have at best limited impact, impact on your world based on what somebody else tells you is possible. I mean, Jimmy, you know this, if you only did what other people said was possible, you probably wouldn't do much, would you? No. No. No. And you've worked hard to get where you are.

[00:32:44] So that's part of the work that I do is help other people understand that they don't have to take what society or they say or their teachers or their boss or whatever says is what's possible for them. I help them see what's really possible for them because a lot of times we just we get in this like little blinder rut place and we just can't see because we're just trying to get the paycheck or we're just trying to get the grade or we're just trying to fit in. And it's just it's more important.

[00:33:13] It's harder and it's scarier to stand out, but it's more important to do that. I know what you mean by it's hard. It's hard to be the one to stand out because I used to actually hype me. Well, not really high, but I used to just have everything as my brand, never posted as myself.

[00:33:34] And then one day where I took the leap of faith, lack of better word, I just I I posted a milestone from Crazy Fitness Guys page. No one cared when I posted for my page. People say, oh, congratulations. And like. Right. And like two and two. Well, I know.

[00:34:03] God, I hate this math. It's everywhere. You got there. I know. So my next question for you is why do you. What are some easy tips for people to start applying to to either stuff on the path that they want or just changing something, whether or being a better version of themselves?

[00:34:33] Yeah, I think that the very first piece you need is awareness. So you need to want to know. And a lot of times we don't want to know. That's the first step is we need to want to know who we are and how we tick. And so the easiest way to do that from my perspective is to find out those principles and priorities, which I call your core values. I have a free download. It's like an easy button that you click right above an easy button and like your BS button. But it's an easy button right above my head on my website. It just is a free download and you can get started on that kind of an exercise.

[00:35:02] But the other piece is to in order to grow, you also have to know you who you are. So understanding your core values and your your disk. But once you can do that, then you can give yourself the authority to lead. You can lead with the authority that comes from knowing who you are. So the first piece is to be willing to know. And when I teach workshops on this, a lot of times I ask people, why have we not done this work? And invariably people say, because I'm scared to know what I'm what's in there.

[00:35:31] I'm like, but there's nothing in there that's bad. It's like the things that are in there are the things that you were created to show. And because like you've said this over and over, we're all unique. We've been we've been created uniquely. And if I don't bring what I am to the table, then what if nobody else brings that? And then we're all missing out. So I just want to encourage your listeners to be willing to say, well, what what unique pieces do I have to offer? And then how can I offer them?

[00:36:00] And when we do that, then that can kind of unleash these authentic results that we might not have had before and gives us the ability to make an impact. Just just being willing to talk to another person and see it from their perspective. That's also another good place to start. Yeah. Anyway, like when I was actually changing five different majors in college, I was thinking, well, OK, maybe I should go in person training. Well, I'm not good at math or science.

[00:36:29] So toss that out the window. Then I try game design. Fun fact, my my my web design teacher had a friend in at this at this company and one of the big companies, EA. And they all he does all day long is make grass and games.

[00:36:55] And I'm like, if I want to make grass grow, I could go outside and watch the grass grow. And it's like, that sounds absolutely boring. And it's like, I would thought it would be like, hey, Warriors, Jimmy Claire here. Tired of mainstream fitness BS. Unlock Crazy Fitness Guys Elite Podcasts. You'll get exclusive merch, exclusive episodes and bonus motivation or divergent wellness hacks. Low up your game now.

[00:37:20] Go to crazyfitnessguer.com and click on the mall link or click on the link in the show notes to view pricing and more information. And here I am getting paid. Well, I'm not getting paid on your show, but I now get paid to share my opinion.

[00:37:43] And so a lot of times the things that other people see that are not our strengths, that are like something that makes us stand out in a way that they're like, oh, you should tone that down. Those are the things that are our strengths. And so capitalizing on the things that you do well is the smartest way to move forward. Bravo. Bravo. And you know what?

[00:38:06] I posted a tweet later that's scheduled out later today about, I'm not going to name any names until later. But so I just found that one of my, as a gift that somebody gave to me, these headphones, the leather on it was actually fake. And how you can tell, everything's peeling off.

[00:38:35] I mean, it's not peeling. It's never been sunlight. I have never sweat with it on. I mean, maybe I just send yoga in it, but I don't sweat darn with yoga. I just do it to stretch out my tight hamstrings and everything else. But I was like, maybe I get a very low sweaty, but it's not as, I mean, it's not drenched or anything. So I was like, this is like my fake leather jacket that I had years ago.

[00:39:04] And it was, it was like 80 bucks. So I'm like, this company costs like 300 something dollars for these headphones. It's like, oh, they're so toast. And I was like, I'm, I'm, I'm a very fed up consumer. And so I said to my mom jokingly today, you know, as an invisible mission, not going to list it anywhere.

[00:39:30] But I said, as an invisible mission in my own brain, I'm going to be the most transparent brand and other brands. And it's like, I'm not happy with this person's product. And it's like, because you want, I have a, I want to be one of those reasons alongside those resources with people. It's like, you know, I'm a consumer too. This company is not good for this. This company is not good for that. And I was like, it's not going to all be negative.

[00:39:59] Of course, it's going to be about still healthy living and everything else. But I want to be transparent because as I'm capable, it's like, hey, I should keep going for this guy for them because he hasn't steered me wrong yet. I wouldn't. Tell me the truth. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. I'm a very brutally honest person. That's not terrible. It's not. She's like, I don't think you should list that anywhere.

[00:40:28] It's like, I didn't say I was going to list it. That's why I said invisible. Invisible mom. Yes. I wouldn't line up the mission statement on crazy fitness guy. Right. It's like, why would I put that there? Does not make any sense. My goodness. And she thought I was crazy. And she wanted to wear it again, where I get from.

[00:40:55] So my next question for you is, what are some good resources for people to start looking for being the best versions of themselves and being a leader? And what is your definition of leadership? Well, John Maxwell uses the definition. It's very simple. It says leadership is influence, pure and simple.

[00:41:23] And it's being able to influence others in a good way. Not like to persuade them to do things they don't want to do, but to influence others to get together and do the work that they need to do or to follow along and learn or something like that. I also like to say that we get to lead beyond basic decisions and vision and employee satisfaction or team satisfaction, maximizing our effectiveness when we are the most, like you said, transparent, authentic.

[00:41:53] When we are the most pure to ourselves and the most real. As far as resources are concerned, I have, again, I have core values course. I have core values coaching. I have disk assessments. These kind of things, like I said, well, I don't know if I actually said it this way. My business is first knowing yourself, which is your core values. And then we move on to understanding how you communicate all of that, which is your disk assessment.

[00:42:19] And it's how you, like, it's almost like a special language that we all, everybody has a pattern of speech that they use. And then the third piece is what I call intentional optimism. And these are attitudes and mindsets that help us do well what we want to do, that help us live out our goals with ease and excellence. So as far as my resources are concerned, those are the resources that I present, as well as, like, I do masterminds where groups of us will get together and walk through a John Maxwell book.

[00:42:48] There are several that are phenomenal if you want to develop good habits. I always recommend James Clear's Atomic Habits. And with John Maxwell, Developing the Leader Within You 2.0, he's got a workbook. I walk people through that in a mastermind setting. And I can do it one-on-one with executive leadership coaching. But podcasts are a great way, too, Jimmy. I mean, this is a good podcast. I have a podcast called Stand Tall and Own It.

[00:43:13] It's for people who just want to own the differences that they have and kind of literally just stand up and say, all right, this is who I am. And it's been kind of geared towards women. But I still have some men who listen. But those are some resources that I would suggest off the bat. Yeah. My definition of leadership is if you can't follow your own advice, don't give people advice as well. I like that.

[00:43:43] I think I said it in a different way before. But I think this is something. I forget the other way I said it. Just because my brain is just drawing blank today. Gee, I wonder why. I'm not going to have that one-on-one quiz. So that was my definition of leadership.

[00:44:05] And I think my core values would be, well, I'm not even thinking, my core values would be transparency for everything. Because there's a lot of brands that are not transparent. Verizon, Comcast. Yeah, sorry. I like to call it brands out sometimes. But I've been in a beef with Verizon lately, too.

[00:44:33] Somehow, magically, my internet speeds fluctuate so much these days. And I'm like, hmm, that sounds suspicious. And then there's eight. On the bills, they're changing it to $2 per month for paper bills. I'm like, yeah, that's not extortion.

[00:44:59] And then later, somehow, I reached 190 people with one of my posts against two boys. And I think 30 people have commented on it so far and say they are totally trash. Really? And I was like, hey, at least I'm not the only one. I knew I was on something. Well, I like that transparency as a core value.

[00:45:25] I think that if that's something that you live on a regular basis and people can trust you to be transparent about the things that you promote and to be transparent about how you feel, then they know that they can trust you in all areas, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because, you know, I get tired of being a consumer where I was like, great, this brain was not transparent with me. Like, I even had this scammer from last year.

[00:45:52] Like, for instance, yes, I admit that I pay the money to see if somebody could help me out with something. I mean, it's a very long story, so I'm trying to make it as simple as short as sweet as possible. And so basically, I just, like, pretty much like five minutes after I gave payment, one of my colleagues said that this was not legitimate at all. So I just like, okay, I'm just going to open a dispute with my credit card and just get my money back.

[00:46:23] Well, she had then said and made up a lot of lies that she gave me services and was like, no, you didn't. I had, like, five. I was like, there was, like, the thing that she was doing was, like, two weeks later. So I was like, there's no transaction that occurred, so I should get my money back. And so basically, we went on back and forth and finally got the attorney general involved. And then she's like, here's your money.

[00:46:52] I'm like, oh, gee, I should have just went there with that first. And it's like, and then ironically, when this was happening, I was in Ireland. And so I was like, I should have, and I was like, and I was being truthful, but I said to my credit card company, it's like, you know, I should have just, I was like, I could have just said that I lost my credit card. Somebody did this in Ireland.

[00:47:18] But, I mean, I was transparent anyway, but, gee, I should have just took the lie up. It's not always easy to do that, is it? No. Yeah. But I was like, gee, I got myself into this pick all day. And it's like, I'm trying to get myself out of this one. It's like, should I be truthful or not truthful? It's like, just be truthful. And it's like, I don't have to memorize any lies then. There you go. Exactly.

[00:47:44] Because if you lie, you have to remember this, this, this, this. And it's like. My memory's not that good. No. I mean, it's one thing if it's like, like a very teensy, teensy little white lie that wouldn't hurt anything or anybody. But, but something along with money and something else. And it's like, this could hurt my reputation. So, no. It's like, even if I had to struggle for six months and back and forth.

[00:48:14] It's like, I have all the time in the world. I mean, I know, not really. But, but, but after a few back and forth with this person, you could tell she was getting very clumsy with her wording. Because she kept on, then she started calling me some really nasty stuff, which my credit card company could not tell me. So, I was like, cool. So, it's like, and I just sat there quietly, like. And I was like, so she just keeps on pointing fingers at me, like.

[00:48:44] And I was like, I'm just going to take this all in stride. There you go. Made her look like a bad person. There you go. Because I'm not. So, my last few questions for you is. Who's your favorite podcaster and why? And feel free not to say me. I mean, the suspense. Okay, this is going to be a weird one. I have been binging this pod.

[00:49:13] Because I am, I'm a pastor's wife. My, I met my husband in grad school as a theology student. And I just love it, right? It's just like, to me, it's like some, you'd have a topic that you just eat up. Well, there is a podcast that sits over 400 episodes now. I am 200 and some odd in. And it's called Bema, B-E-M-A. And it is literally this guy walking through, from the Jewish perspective, the Bible and church history. And it was, it's just so refreshing to me.

[00:49:43] And literally, everybody around me is like, what a nerd you are. And I'm like, I know, but I love it. So, right now, my favorite podcast is Bema Podcast. And Marty Solomon is the podcaster that does that. He's just kind of a teacher. I thought we were going to say, I'm kidding. That's good. That's good. That's good. That's good. I don't know where he said that. I hear you, that person over there. I'm kidding.

[00:50:09] But I think my favorite podcast at the moment, I'm going to get a little nerdy. So, I'm a fan of Avatar The Last Airbender. I'll see it on my shirt. Oh, yeah. It was great. Yeah. Well, they have a podcast called Braving the Elements. And I binge watch, I binge listen. And they're also on YouTube now. So, sometimes I binge watch it. I have a TV right next to me.

[00:50:38] So, I watch it sometimes on YouTube. Not the show itself, but I mean, the podcast itself. So, it's not like I'm watching TV all day. Right? My podcast is also on YouTube. Your podcast is on YouTube. So, you're watching our podcast on YouTube. Exactly. So, but I just don't like to always watch it on my computer because, like, I'm doing six other tasks and, like, so many windows open.

[00:51:06] I was like, I can't really watch this on my computer at the same time. Can I? No. It was like having it split screen. It's like, it's one thing to have a split screen if I'm just doing one task and that's it. But having six different browser windows open, it's like, what's going on? Who's talking? Is this an advertisement? It's like, where is this? I don't know. I don't know. And so, I've been watching that.

[00:51:34] And then, I'm also a fan of Lewis Howes, who's at School of Greatness. And I actually interacted with him a few times on social media. I said, it's like, you know, and so I said, one day I'm going to be on this show. And he's like, I look forward to it. And I was like, that's a challenge. Yeah, Jimmy. And let me tell you something. As a podcast guest, one of, and a business owner. I don't do a lot of social media.

[00:52:03] I just, I'm not very consistent. That's not a strength of mine. But a strength of mine is talking, right? Just like you, right? Talking is a strength. And so, I decided that I was going to, my goal is 200 podcast interviews this year. And what's interesting is that you will be surprised who will say yes if you ask. Right? So, ask. Yeah. You know, that's what I did in one of my last, I mean, one of my guests from last year.

[00:52:35] If you've ever seen the show Legend of Korra, I had, her name is Janet Varney, and she voiced Korra. I had her on my show. And she's literally the nicest person I ever, well, I mean, one of the nicest person I ever met. I mean, especially, there's an actress and a voice actress. And I was like, she's so gosh darn nice.

[00:52:59] And I'm like, and it's like, and during that interview, I had like, I was just getting over 100.4 degree fever. And she's like, do you want to reschedule? I was like, no, no, I'll show up. And so, it's like, and so like, wow, I'm sick. It's like, I'm enjoying every second of this. Yeah, I've been surprised who has said yes to be on my podcast. And I've been surprised who said yes to having me on there.

[00:53:28] So, you know, it's just when, when you are yourself, people will say yes. Right? Yeah. Especially because like, how I, I'm not going to say how I pitched it, but I should, I should air over there a lot of details of like, as like, as like, I really love the Legend of Korra, Avatar The Last Airbender. I've been binge watching the, uh, listening to the show. I was like, I'm such a huge fan.

[00:53:56] And I was like, and I was like, not a weird fan, but it was like, just such a huge fan. Well, I didn't want her to think, I was like, she, she stalked me? I was like, I'm all the way in Pennsylvania. And I was like, I don't have to literally have any time to stalk anybody. And it was like, and it was like, and after seeing so many, uh, police shows where people stalking, it's like, get a life. Literally, get a life.

[00:54:24] And my last question for you is where can people follow you and find you and learn more about who you are and what you do? Well, Jimmy, I am the intentional optimist. So you can find me at theintentionaloptimist.com. You can find me, especially on LinkedIn or Instagram at the intentional optimist or Andrea Johnson, but Andrea Johnson's a very common name. So if you just search that, you're going to have a hard time. But if you put in the intentional optimist, you'll find me. And if you want to reach out to me, I am happy to chat with you.

[00:54:52] I do so on, um, I respond to DMs on both LinkedIn and Instagram. I also have a podcast called Stand Tall and Own It. And that's also on YouTube. So you could put it up on your big screen. And I also, um, and I come and I do, I will do workshops and stuff for you. So you can just email me at Andrea at theintentionaloptimist.com. So reach out. Yeah. I hope we can stay in touch because, uh, I definitely will, uh, here's a hint. I would like to be on your podcast. Uh-huh.

[00:55:22] Okay. Right. You said ask, so I'm going to ask. That's right. So I'll tell you what, we'll, we'll, let's stay in touch afterwards and we'll work on it. I do about one guest a month. Uh, well, well, that's less than me, but, uh, I've literally been, uh, I've been, uh, yeah, I do a lot of, uh, interviews a month and, um, but I do one show. I mean, do one episode a month for my podcast. That's why there's only 16.

[00:55:53] Well, I'm not going to name the number, but however many shows that's, um, uh, currently out there at the moment. And because I, that's my school, that's my school schedule. And I just like, if I'm going to do this longterm, I got to be realistic with my time. I'm only in one person. If you, if I didn't have the screen behind, behind me, you'll just see my bed. I don't, there's my basement.

[00:56:19] Uh, I promise you, I don't have any robots working for me and I don't have any clones of myself. That'd be really awesome. They didn't even have to talk. I just like, go do this. Just point. That would be nice. Uh, Hey, uh, Apple and Google, uh, and Amazon, uh, feel free to start making clones of me, please. Not voiceover ones. Just, I mean, usefulness ones.

[00:56:44] Or just let me have like eight different arms just attached to my body or hold them. Or get me more done. Get some more stuff done. So anyway, uh, I would look like an octopus. That'd be kind of. Yeah. Well, thanks for being a guest and, uh, I hope let's definitely stay in touch and, uh, I look forward to, uh, collaborating with you in the future. Sounds great. It's been my pleasure, Jimmy. Thank you. Definitely.

[00:57:15] I'll see you in a little bit. So that's all the time we have for today. And, uh, feel free to follow me on social media at Jimmy Claire Speaker on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Jimmy Claire Speaker on Facebook, Instagram, and Jimmy Claire Speaker on Twitter. That is so wordy. And, uh, yeah, you can blame me on Twitter, uh, Elon Musk. I only 15 characters. Give me, give me 17. Gosh, darn it.

[00:57:43] Uh, so, uh, you can follow Crazy Fitness Guy at Crazy Fitness Guy on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at Crazy Fitness Guy. Make sure you tune in to Weekly Motivation with Crazy Fitness Guy on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, the Wisdom app, and Blast Radio. Uh, by the way, sorry for the Blast Radio and Wisdom app users. I was a little late today, so, uh, I cannot get everything set up, and I'm using my Chromebook.

[00:58:11] So, uh, I didn't have the other apps that I need to go live. Oh, man, I could get something else to go live. But, uh, but anyway, so, uh, I'll do that next time. Promise. And once this episode goes live, you can listen to an Apple, Google, Spotify, a speaker, and wherever you get your podcasts. And if you want to help support the show and keep our lights on, subscribe to the Crazy Fitness Guy Premium Podcast to get behind-the-scenes access,

[00:58:40] listen, ad-free, and more. Subscribe for $3.99 a month or $30 a year. And make sure you go check out Crazy Fitness Guy's mall, because if you want this, this amazing swag with the podcast or just the Musclebound logo guy, make sure you go get your Crazy Fitness Guy swag today. And I'm hoping to expand. Should I say this now?

[00:59:09] Nah, I'm not going to say it now. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm just going to drop, leave a mic drop right now. I'm hoping to expand to some, uh, online shops. Not going to name any names, but we shall see. All coming soon. To maybe a store online near you? Uh, that's if, uh, the IRS, the IRS gets the stuff in their database.

[00:59:40] So about like five years later down the road. And yep, that's all we have for today. And, uh, uh, yeah, let me hide this. So in the meantime, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay motivated. I'll be back for another brand new episode. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Crazy Fitness Guy show. If you enjoyed this episode, this leave us a review so more people can find us.

[01:00:06] In the meantime, use the links in the show notes to subscribe to our monthly newsletter, shop for swag, read blog posts, watch videos, and listen to the latest episodes. In the meantime, visit crazyfitnessguy.com to see what we are up to in between episodes. In the meantime, stay healthy, stay safe, and stay motivated. See you again.