Overcoming Challenges: Navigating Adversity - A Conversation with Derick Johnson #163"

Right. How's it going, Derek? How are you doing today?

Doing good. I'm doing good. How are you doing, James?

Doing well. So can we kind of begin by talking a bit about your sort of who you are, what you're about and what sort of the message that you are bringing here today, whatever it may be?

Yeah for sure. So yeah, so my name is Derek Johnson. I'm a US Army veteran turn life coach. So essentially what I do now is I help people break old patterns so they can thrive, not just survive. So if they have food addictions, traumas, alcoholism, drugs, dating the same person with a different face, things like that, whatever their situation is, I help them get over that. So we pinpoint what their pattern is. But growing up, I grew up with my father and my mother. My father was US Army for 20 plus years and my mother was a kindergarten teacher most of her life. So they were both very structured, very focused, disciplined, super tough parents. So it definitely helped me in regards to professionalism, work ethic. But on the flip side, living in that beautiful home in Florida, there's a lot of drinking involved at night and so a lot of my upbringing was a lot of screaming, yelling, violence, physical, verbal abuse and all that. So that is what kick started my personal development journey, which started with fitness. So in middle school I really got into training, learning the body, learning the mind, and I was getting bullied at home, bullied at school. I was a skinny mixed kid I'm half German, half African American, so like hearing all the wild stuff. And so I dealt with a lot at home and at school. So I said enough is enough. So I had to change my body and change my mentality and then within two years I did a total shift and then I became a personal trainer. So then I started training my teachers and all that, and then the journey began from there. But it all stemmed from the at home traumas, violence and all that. And then what was happening at school, where I just had to stand up for myself, Because if not I would have held in that anger and would have resorted to something else. And I knew that addiction runs on both sides of my family. So I chose fitness as my outlet, a positive addiction, rather than the bottle or anything else.

So you mentioned having a positive. So any kind of go more into how you began to develop this positive? What was your first introduction to exercise? Did you have any, maybe any particular person that really interested you, someone that really motivated you to get into this, or did you just get into your own?

Yeah, great question. So it was more so. As a teenager, I got obsessed with comeback stories. So people's biographies, autobiographies, interviews, movies, music, anything where somebody went through a traumatic situation, overcame it and became successful. I was just super inspired by learning these stories. So as a teenager, I love sports, so I would learn pro athletes backstory on how they became who they were, and so I related a lot to people that had drugs and alcohol in their family, violence and all the other stuff. So it really got me excited because I said you know what? This is part of my journey, this is part of my comeback story. So I would just repeat this story in my head and I always kept things to myself. I never told my friends, never told my neighbors or teachers, because I knew plenty of people that went through things worse. I had both parents. We had a beautiful home in Florida with the screened in pool and all that. So from the outside it was beautiful, but behind closed doors once the guests left and all that once that last bottle was drank. That's when all hell broke loose. But it was more so me learning other people's stories to not undermine my own, but more so say hey, it could be worse. I had friends that grew up in foster care and we're in and out of homes is like I have my parents, I can't complain. So somebody's going to something worse. So let me take this pain, flip it into fuel, work on myself and then try to give back to others. So always try to change that energy.

And as we go deeper into this, what was your first introduction to being sort of in this alcoholic environment? Like I don't think everyone might know here what it's like to live in alcoholic family or deal with family members that might have negative addictions? Like what's your opinion on all this? Do you think this is how did you sort of begin to learn about this and begin to understand how this all like you talked about the last ball Was there always a certain time of the day where things would always get rough and rocky? Was there almost a shift in personality throughout? You know the time of day one day it's like this and another day it's a very different situation. So, yeah, kind of get more into that.

So all that bad dark energy would skyrocket at night. So after 9pm, from like 9pm to midnight or 9pm to 1am this was after they were on the phone with family and friends After cookouts. Our house was like the house that people came to, had their little parties and get togethers. But once the last guest left, once that last phone call was made, the last bottle was put down, then something would just take them over. So it all started when I was 11. And then, by the age of 12, I realized that you know what? Something happened in their past. I'm not the problem. I was making good grades. I didn't get in trouble. I was. I was like there's zero reason for them to act like this. I was like, yeah, I did stupid stuff as a teenager, but nothing to that extreme that would involve them being that aggressive and everything. So I started seeing that my parents were looking through me when they were screaming and yelling and what I mean? They would see somebody else. So whatever happened in their past, whoever use abuse, whatever happened to both of them because they went through traumatic things, they both grew up very poor. So while they're drinking after the positive energy to get togethers and all that, something would shift and I guess they would have flashbacks. And so that inspired me to learn about psychology and traumas and how people store traumas and try to cope with them. So by age 14, from 12 to 14, I learned so much about psychology because I was like I have to do something Because if not I'm just going to be that angry teenager that's going to fight, that's going to do all the typical stuff. And I was like I can't have this path because I knew I have a extreme personality as in an addiction is running in my family. So I chose personal development and faith. So it was much higher at night. And then the very next morning it'd be like hey, where do you want to have breakfast at? Would you like to meet for lunch, for sushi? And in my head the first couple of times I'm like the hell are you talking about? Like do you not remember last night I had to clean up all this glass? Like you're just going to pretend nothing happened. But it happened so many times that I said you know what this is a pattern. It's not my job to change them, I can just pray for them. But I said that this is all going to serve me and keep getting better.

So, as we talk more about a bit interesting here to me is kind of yeah, sorry, my mic was, my camera was. So when we kind of talk a bit more about this, seeing who in a way, do you sort of know who they were trying to talk to, who they may have been speaking to? You mentioned like one of your family members was also in the military as well. Do you think that might have been sort of PTSD in a way? Or I'm not too familiar with that.

Yes. So it definitely could have been PTSD on my dad's side, but the more aggression was from my mom. So if people are familiar with the German culture, it's very similar to Korean and Hispanic. Like women in those culture when they're angry or drunk they will scream until they pass out, like they will not stop being aggressive until they literally just pass Out of, go to sleep like there's no. There's no in between, it's zero or a hundred like there's no between some people. I think that's sounds crazy, but it's very true. I'm not saying all of them, but the majority of those cultures. It's just one of those things when the fire goes they don't stop until they literally just pass out or they just get tired. I get sick and then they go to sleep. So it's not like a ten minute argument, it'll turn into like four hours. So you can just imagine somebody like like extreme stuff. But on the flip side, the good side was that prepared me for the US Army. So when I was like 17, 18 and I had drill sergeants in my face almost bust out laughing Because I was like my five foot four German mom would destroy all of you. So looking at it in a Playground as in a playground in the mind. I always, always prepared for said stressful situations. So when my soldiers were stressed out, crying and breaking down and all that, I was just very calm in those extreme situations and I was like, huh, that's a gift and everything clicked and I was like you know what? They prepared me for this and so I did really well in the army. We're also just, in general, as a friend. I was always the dad of the group because I was always just really calm, like we would be out in college or in high school and I would always just look around not to, hey, watch out, that guy in the red shirt is gonna get in a fight or this person is gonna do that. They're like what do you talk about? Ten minutes later, something will happen, but you can just read the room. So, on the positive side of the journey, I truly believe that everybody was given a gift from their trauma and it's our job to figure out what that gift is. So my gift as a child was discernment. I could read somebody's energy or a room. I can meet them where they're at and slowly build them up, or I could see a Threat, like I could spot a threat, just in terms of energy, even if nothing was happening. But that's just because that little kid was hyper aware, thinking he's gonna get hit or something's gonna be thrown out. I'm so. He was always on edge and proactive. So long term I realized that those things helped me a lot with my career, sports and just in general as a man and you mentioned sports very quickly.

What did you sort of do as a sport on the side? Maybe Rhyal and military and it'll be a side was going on with your athletic yeah, and Fitness, yes, into basketball and martial arts, basketball and martial arts.

And then I got tired of team sports. I'm great team player but I got tired of losing, because if you missed a shot I lose too and that would annoy me. So I got into single sports, as in martial arts I was like if I lose this on me? And then also track and field. I did the 400 meters, so I love just the individual sport. I was a team player but I just got more out of it from my mentality doing it alone. But I learned so much in martial arts so that was one of the best things that helped my mentality Was to be calm, learning the forms and all that. If somebody doesn't have experience in martial arts, to outside they might just think fighting or MMA or like this typical UFC mentality tap-out shirts and all that's like. It's nothing like that. Real martial artists are very calm, controlled, they don't talk about fighting. And so, as a teenager going through a lot, my sensei could see and feel something was going on me, but he never asked a question. He probably figured out what was going on Even though I never said anything, but he would force me to go train the kids classes when he could tell I was angry, he could tell I wanted to come in and punch the punching bag. And he was like, hey, I see you, I see you got great energy today, go teach the class. And I was like, oh god, you got me kidding me. Can I go hit the bag? And I'm like 16, 17. He's like no, go teach the class. So I would have to harness my energy and help these kids learn forms and everything else. So it helped me a ton in regards to self-control and really manage that stress management and that energy.

You know, this is just something that's coming out of the top my head, but what I find interesting or a bit paradoxical is that you do. You preferred sports. There were a bit more individual things, but a lot of times I think, when the common person thinks about the army, they sort of think about sort of that teamwork and that collaboration and sort of that deep unit, those almost like on one end you're very individualistic and on another end you're also very unity-based. So do you be sort of known as that contrast? Did you have Difficulty kind of working with other people like that, because you don't sound like that but you just seem like you just say you're very diverse in that way?

Yeah, so it was more so when it came to exercise, I would love to be by myself and just be in this headspace. Like I've never really liked working out with people. If I'm training somebody, it's different. As a personal trainer, I love it, that's a passion. But if I'm doing my workout, I don't really like to train with people because, like, they'll ask you many questions or they'll talk about what's what's Drake doing? What's what's Drake doing? What's Tony Robbins doing? What are all these people doing? I'm like I don't care. I'm like shut up, work out. So I'd rather train alone. But when it comes to a group setting, I do like group building, and so in the army what really helped was working with different cultures and ethnicities and different personalities. Like One person grew up without parents, grew up poor, didn't know anybody, they become one of the best soldiers. This person that grew up coddled, rich, home, never had any sense of stress, and they like panic in the military or in real life situations because they're always coddled and babied so they can't function in real society. So that person actually needs more help than the person that's been through a lot. So it's sad on both ends, but as a good leader and team member, you could help this person because they just have not experienced everything. They were just gifted and blessed, which is good. I don't wish bad on anyone, but a lot of society nowadays I notice is just they were coddled so much and that's why they struggled so much. And then, on the flip side, the ones that have actually been through things and did this self work, they thrive in the areas and they usually become better leaders and they're usually quicker to take actions and make decisions where, like the other person, would be frozen, overthink, think, overanalyze, have analysis, paralysis, things like that. But if they have a good leader on their team, a good support system, then they can help push them as well. So it was always interesting. So in a team standpoint it was more so leadership, but in a personal standpoint personal development, fitness or mindset I would always enjoy doing it by myself.

Absolutely. And what do you get out of training? You know, because I know with training yourself we talked about sort of creating positive habits, you know, getting respect from other people, sort of dealing with other things like that, mostly just to grow yourself as a person. But I don't think we've gotten into what you get out of training, because how did you begin to get into this interest of sort of being this personal trainer?

Yeah, so I became a personal trainer at age of 15 because people knew me as a skinny kid. I was that skinny kid that was quite shy, fearful. I was getting beat up. People didn't know what I was. They were like is he Mexican, is he Spanish, is he white, whatever. And so I grew up in Pensacola, florida, so it's in the South. So there's a lot of racism, closed-minded mentalities and all that. So I dealt with a lot of stuff from my own people, like I would get jumped by black people once I moved from Germany to the states and like I never had anything against anybody but it just was what it was. The mixed kids had to prove themselves. So we had the fight to show I'm not soft, like your life's getting as well. So you probably dealt with it to an extent. So people assume certain things in some parts of the nation. So it was always interesting because before moving from Germany to the states I was told all this stuff they're like oh, you got to watch out for racism, you got to watch out for the bullies and all this. And before moving to America I was always watching American high school movies and all Europeans are like is it really like that in American schools Cheerleader, jock, bully and once I came over I was like yep, it's just like the movies. I was getting thrown in the locker room pushing the toilet, like all the movie. Stuff happened to me as a teen and I just got tired of that because I was skinny, I didn't know what to do and all that. So that's what harnessed me into working on myself. But because I know what that feels like to be embarrassed at home in public, all the stuff is I wanted to help build people up. So what I get out of training people whether that's life coaching with their mentality or helping them with their body and nutrition and health it's the fulfillment to see them stronger and confident. So I like to call it. You can see the light back in their eye because maybe they have some level of trauma or stress and they feel insecure. And sometimes it's not even just like body related. It might just be public speaking or it might be they're qualified on paper for a raise or promotion, but they have a fear of speaking to management or whoever's higher. So working on their physique and their mentality can make them feel more empowered and they're like you know what? I'm going to knock on that door. I'm going to send that email, make that call. So I really get a rise out of seeing people just get out of their comfort zone and they make themselves proud, like those text messages. Those emails are like, hey, I got a promotion, I went on my first first date in three years, I gave my first speech to a group of 10 at work, like all those small things, and they keep building. I'm like, yes, because I remember their version one where they were like they couldn't even speak their body languages, all stiff and everything, and it's. It's awesome to see somebody grow and evolve and the best part about it is the positive ripple effect for them. So anybody they come into contact with, they sense that that, male or female, they're just focused and in the zone and people are like I don't know what you do, but I want this kind of person around me or on my team Because they're just focused, trying to help people just have a different level of energy. So I love seeing people where they're at, no matter if they're really low. I could see like their version 10.0. And the only reason is cause I can relate to an extent and so building them up and guiding them. So it's not like I'm giving them everything, but you're guiding them and then they figure out some things alone. But having that support system is everything. And going back to childhood, teenage years, I really think that a lot of people get into careers and they give others what they didn't receive. So I didn't receive the support, like in our home we never said I love you. Like nobody said that in our house or like suck it up, let's keep going, drive on. Like it was just military German mentality. It's like go, go, go. We got to get up at four, get up at five, workout, go work. That was just the mentality. You got to study hard and it was all like success driven, which helped a lot. But on the flip side, the emotional, the communication, that was just not at home. So I had to learn that with sports, with my teachers and all that. So what that being said, is that the gift from the trauma was discernment. And then the other gift was being able to actually listen to people, because some people's family members, you speak about your passion, they don't listen or they just do this. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm listening and you're just like why am I even talking? Might as well, talk to my dog and I'd get better reaction than that. So a lot of people feel that way. That's why they hold things in, because a lot of people don't care to listen. So, knowing how that feels, I just try to be actively present and actively listen to that person and then I just feedback what they said and I get them to go deeper and like, oh, you're into cooking, we'll got you into that. And they're like somebody's asking me what got me into that? Because most of you are like oh, you like cooking. And I really like the people that I'm talking to and I really like to peel back the layers and you start seeing their excitement come to like, wow, somebody's actually asking me questions about my passion and just learning about people. So it's powerful because it helps both people. You could learn and then also you seize them just feeling in a good space to actually talk about what they're passionate about.

And I'm assuming right now it came to from Roger and sort of connecting with fellow soldiers and that idea of you getting to know them, listening to them, building connections with their backgrounds very important, because you were sort of your lives were in a way, in each other's hands. If you think about it, you were watching their backs yes, you were telling me that but they also have to watch your back too and look out for you. So again, something doesn't happen there. I mean, that's the really interesting part of it, because I think we talked a lot about sort of that idea of you being a fitness, but now that I really look at you, you're coming across more of, as let's just say I don't know if you like this term, but would you consider yourself more of a life coach? Because what I see you doing is you are sort of giving people the whole package. You're doing more than just fitness, if that makes sense, yeah, 100%.

And that's why I start first with mentality. And so here's an example. Somebody could already be in pretty good shape. They just need new workouts to push past thresholds and get a little bit more endurance or strength. Maybe they don't have a physical, but we pinpoint what they want to get rid of, and usually it's negative thoughts, intrusive thoughts, overthinking procrastination. We're now in February. Some people haven't done a damn thing about their goals and Christmas they're like New Year, new me. So if that's them, we get them out of that average mentality. But whatever their thing is that they need to eliminate. One of the first things that I do with people is we create an eliminate sheet. Sorry, the sun shining. We create an eliminate sheet where we ask the question what could you get rid of that will help you make more progress? What could you get rid of that will help you make more progress? And usually it's something very small. For some people it's sugar. They eat or drink too much sugar and they're like man, my sugar is spiking and it's not Spiking and dropping my energy. Then I'm. They're craving carbs. So for that person it might not be trauma, it might just be sugar, and somebody else it might be alcohol. For this other person it might be they overthink and they freeze. They're like I need a better plan, I need to prepare more, I need to study more. And then if you look at their life, they've been kind of like this they have tons of knowledge and skills, but they're like very hesitant. So we really pinpoint what their thing is and then once we're slowly able to get rid of the small things, they tend to get their power back and then they really get their results, because everything just starts mental. But it's interesting because once their their cortisol level is lower, their stress hormone their body just follows, cause some people they train hard, they eat healthy and they're like man. Why am I always bloated? Why do I feel so sluggish? I'm eating healthy, I'm drinking water, I'm doing all the stuff, and then you really peel back the layers and you realize that they're living in fight or flight. So the cortisol is up here all day long and so their body is just like trying to hold on to everything they get, cause it's confused, their hormones are all out of whack, and so once we start to work on their mentality, the body relaxes and then, like literally everything starts changing their skin, their appearance, their eyes, their energy and like I noticed those things and they're just like yo what did you do? I feel like I look like a different person. I'm like yo day one. I just sense that your body language, you're just like had so much in here that we had to get some of that stuff out or whatever trauma was in his or her chest, and you could usually tell by somebody's body language. But those are honestly my favorite things, because I know that once they can get rid of those things or take their power over that thing, that's when they can start to thrive in life. So they never feel like whatever mom did to them, what they're exited to them, their ex-wife, whatever somebody did to them, they're no longer carrying it with them. They see it and say you know what it did happen. This was part of my journey. I learned something from it. Something from it. Angry or sad about it anymore, it's more so like, hey, it is what it is. We can't change the past. Now we're gonna see what do we get from this thing. And then, once they shift that mentality, it's like they get loose their body languages, like this when day one they were like tense and just holding a lot in so, and A huge thing we also do is, as a man, especially with men, is always recommend that guys release, release. So what I mean by that is allowing yourself to be human. So I asked some guys I'm like one was last time you cried for like one minute straight and I first are like what I was. I don't mean sad, but if you just feel like you worked out, you drink water, you made some money, you closed the business deal, you got a promotion, you're just like man. Something is just not there. I'm like one was last time you grabbed the steering wheel in the car and just yelled for like a minute and just released, or walked into nature, went on a walk, sprinted or just just let everything out, and at first you're like I don't know. I think I've done that before. But if they start to do that, like once a month or something, they realize how calm they are. Because many people, especially men, we hold so much in and that's why we mask things alcohol, drugs, porn, people, women sleeping, whatever the case may be. Everybody has advice. But if that person can release that energy, as in their emotions or anger, then he or she just feels so much calmer. So we focus a lot on releasing. But yeah, going back to what you were saying is definitely all headspace. That's what I'm most passionate about. The fitness part is easy. Anybody can follow a workout plan or nutrition. But once they can get the right headspace and, most importantly, get rid of their vices or Control of the traumas, then that's when they start to really do well in a lot of areas.

When it comes to sort of getting rid of the bikes. What are some of the most common typical vices that you know I commonly See when you work with? You know, like I think you mentioned sugar before you mentioned again, you've experienced the alcohol, those types of things in the corners, all not believe the letter some Very typical things you tend to notice with your clients and maybe to we could talk a bit about some of the big success stories as well yeah for sure.

So so, definitely the most common thing would be alcohol and overthinking alcohol and overthinking and overthinking to the point where the person is frozen, as then they don't take action on their passion, their business, their career, reaching out to that guy or girl that they want to speak to, whatever that thing is they're like, they're just close to taking action and they talk themselves out of it, or they think they're not ready or they say it's not the right time. There's so many people. They have tons of gifts wisdom, knowledge, skills but they Settle for a career or a path that just doesn't bring them passion and doesn't fulfill them, and so everybody's on their own journey. But Seeing how common that is is sad, because many people are just kind of just going through the motions. They're like living to work and pay bills and waiting for Friday to drink, sleep Monday oh, I hate Mondays and it's a vicious cycle. So it's very common to see. So getting people out of that headspace where you're just like Yo, you are here for more, and just reminding them of that, and then they can really pinpoint and say I didn't realize that I was overthinking for so long or scared to take that risk, to take that action or make an investment in themselves, whatever their thing is. But I definitely noticed that overthinking is a huge thing and the reason that is so common now is because Now humans, more than ever in history, we have a lower attention span than ever. So people can't like focus Don't one thing more than 10 minutes because the notification goes off. Instagram tick, tock their best friend, their memes or group chat, celebrity Spotify, just all this stuff. Amazon cart deliveries, like everything is so quick and in your face that many people are just like every five minutes they're just looking at something. And so the people that can control their attention longer, they tend to usually get the best results because they're not allowing themselves to get distracted by those things like. These devices are awesome, they can create opportunities, we can get connected with good people, but for most of society it's just total distraction because, like nothing they do on there is like helping in their life, really it's just keeping them from their goals. So definitely working on their attention span, and that goes back to the, the overthinking and feeling stuck. And and then the other common one would be alcohol, and alcohol more so, as in Feeling like they need to do that. As in liquid courage. So like he or she has social anxiety and they're like I need to take a shot at home or in the car before I walk in there, and it's become such a pattern that they literally can't go anywhere without having something. And if they really zoom out and say maybe they don't have a drink a problem, but maybe they feel like they need to get the edge off before they go into a social setting or a sales call or something, and so if that person Got very serious about their physicality and their mindset, they'd notice that they don't have to rely on an outside source, whether that's smoking, drinking, whether that's like taking unnecessary naps, but those are some very common ones. The overthinking and the alcohol so not so much as in like saying that Everybody's alcoholic, but more so people mainly struggle with the social aspect. So like they want to take the edge off and once they get a couple drinks, a couple shots, then they kind of get out of their shell. But if they really zoom out, say do you really need that thing? Do you know how to get to that level of confidence without having that thing? Or, quote-unquote, get the edge off.

So that's a huge thing that that we focus on that's a really good because Even now, people are still trying to do things. People silicone value, micro-dome from Mushrooms and LSD, you know, and and that's that's the interesting part because they're they're actually taking these things to maximize their performance. How I see it? Well, that seems to be risky, but my thing is this what are some of your top client success? Well, what are some of the most reputable client who heard of maybe some stories about the success that they've achieved and kind of go into a bit of you know, how did that success they achieve Make you as a person?

great question. So I have one of my clients, tyler. He lost over a hundred pounds last year. He lost over a hundred pounds and he grew up being bullied as well. So he was always the chunky kid. That's what he, that's what he says. I'm not calling him chunky, but it is what it is. He was a big boy back then so he was made fun of. People are poking his cheeks, poking his stomach, poking his chest, flicking his chest, like doing all the typical stuff in high school, and so this was always in his mind and he had a lot of pent up anger. But he would have dreams just beating the shit out of his bullies and he was like I need to get rid of this anger before one day I snap. And so it was a real thing. Many men like just had this Unnecessary anger. We got embarrassed, whether it's from a woman or a man, and we hold in this like resentment. We can flip it into fuel and work on our goals. But a lot of men like that's why they snap in public. But long story short, we pinpointed why he wanted the results. So once we can pinpoint why somebody actually wants it, it's not just a physique, it's not just the abs. It's not just the promotion of the money. There's something that happened in their past that made them not want to go backwards. And so for him it was the bullying and how he felt. So he realized that in a social setting, no matter how in shape he was or how good he was as his job or sales, that narrative in the back of his head was like I'm still that little fat kid that's insecure and people are looking at me, judging me. So that narrative was in its subconscious. He wasn't purposely trying to put himself in that state, but it would just be there he's like. So let's just say he closed a big deal. He looks at his account, say this is awesome, but I don't deserve this. Who am I? I'm just that fat 12 year old who's made fun of blah blah. Like would run this story and I realized how much it was affecting him. So we slowly started to change his narrative and then found more Holistic and natural releases. So got off the drugs, got off the drinking and all that, and then I really started to see him come back To it. So now, just seeing his transformation, you can literally see in his skin that he just looks like a different person. It's night and day. But Outside of just the body transformation of a hundred pounds is the confidence and just the pride in himself that he's like man. I'm happy. I'm happy and proud of the man I am and he just shows up better for others. People like man. My co-workers are asking me like hey, how do you do this? His family is like hey, you're just like doing everything. So he's just inspiring people now and he loves that people are coming to him Because he's not used to that, because he used to be really closed in, because that narrative from the past was always running in his mind. So it's just awesome to see now he's doing better in his career, in his friendships from relationships and just overall social setting because of the confidence, not just the physique, but that story. That little voice is very quiet now. It never fully goes away, but it's very quiet. So I call it the boss voice and the bitch voice. Which one is louder, your boss voice or your bitch voice? So the bitch voice is telling you to hit snooze five times and that person hits snooze. They didn't get up. They said they're gonna work out. I'll do it next Monday, I'll do it tomorrow. That person's been doing that for years, which is why they feel stuck. But if somebody quiet that down and gets more disciplined, then their boss voice is in control. They're like you know what? I don't feel like doing this, but let me stop being selfish. People depend on me, so let me show up the right way. So that's like the narrative that they have in their head.

And as we kind of go a bit deeper into this whole narrative that goes on. What's the narrative sort of goes on in your and kind of. Can you explain how that narrative slowly shifted as you became the man that you are?

today? Yeah for sure. So, as that quiet, insecure, shy kid, I knew that I didn't want to feel this way. So I would watch a lot of movies, read a lot of books about people that overcame traumas, and I realized the common thread was their discipline, focused and confident. Discipline, focus and confident and I knew I wanted those things not just to feel better or holier than thou, but more so to prepare myself for life and just to be able to have that calm energy to lead others in a good way and just lead by example. So a lot of the shift happened like after I got in shape and was able to help a lot of people physically and mentally. It was just knowing that you're not letting yourself down. So the narrative in the moments where you don't feel like doing anything has always been people depend on me. I don't have kids, but I have friends, clients, an online community, and so they look out for my posts or whether it's in person, whatever it is, but I just think of others and I just try to show it better. So that's why I wake up early, I focus on my body and mind and then I'm just proactive and calm and confident throughout the day, because if I didn't, I'll just feel like everybody else, just hitting snooze, stressed anxiety and just like reacting to the whole day, and so that's why I'll harness the morning routine. So the narrative is always how can I become the best man that I could be and how can I give back to others? Because I feel like that's what we're all here for. So, like person, one could become highly successful. They have the money, they have the house, they have the family, they have the cars and all this stuff, but they're miserable. The reason why they're not passionate and fulfilled? Because they're not giving back to others in a certain way, and that can be in any way. That could be financially, that could be time volunteering, whatever. And then this person they have fulfillment because they help a lot of people. They can still get success, but they are more fulfilled because they're actually healing their inner child and they're able to help heal others, even if it's not their career. They could just give back to charities, help animal shelters, whatever the thing is, but it's always a full circle thing. So I truly believe that once we learn more, we can teach more and help others instead of just hoarding information. Like everybody knows somebody in their family or that lives near them. That's just, they have all this knowledge, wisdom and wealth and finances, but they just hold it in. They're just like no, I don't wanna tell James, I don't want him to do better to me and I don't wanna tell her. And they just have this energy that they're just hoarding information and they're miserable. And you can always sense it in somebody's body language and, seeing those type of people, I feel bad for them because I'm like you'd feel so much better if you were able to teach that stuff to people and not think of it as a competitive standpoint like, oh, here she's gonna try to steal my stuff or whatever it's like. That is what it is. But, yeah, definitely being able to see how you can get fulfillment by helping others. So the mentality is thinking of others, but it all starts with ourselves. So, as a cliche saying goes, when you're on an airplane you have to don your own oxygen mask on first before you help anybody else. So that's what I keep in my head in the morning I gotta take care of me, put on my mask, then I can show up better for others because I already got my oxygen Excellent.

And I think you know, competitiveness is definitely a big thing. I personally experienced it a lot in academia, even now, but I would say on a bigger, more grandiose scale. We live in a capitalist society as a whole and again sort of built on competition. But how I see it, you know, there's healthy competition and then there's unhealthy competition. I think we're talking about the unhealthy side. How do you focus on improving yourself, maybe in a way that's focused more on healthy competition?

Great question. So the shift happened when I was in college. I was in my 20s, so up until like 20 or 21, I ran off anger. I wasn't an angry person. I was always positive, always helping other people, trying to make people smile, listen to them. But in my head I was just like, ah, just pissed off because I was just thinking about the past. And so it helps during the workout Sometimes I put yourself in a headspace but I realized that I would just be annoyed a lot and I was wasting energy. So one of the biggest things was making sure that I could get rid of that anger, still having a little bit to use to your advantage, because you can use the dark side, you can use your pain to your advantage, but making sure that that's not the only driving force, because after a while that person starts to live in that state. If they're only using that trauma to guide and push them, it can work. That's why a lot of people succeed. They run off the pain, the heartbreak, et cetera. A guy got his heart shattered Makes. You know, in one year he makes a total body transformation, become successful and you're like whoa, he needed this to happen to him. But if he runs off that anger and says I hate women and just has this aggression. He's gonna be miserable long-term. So he has to realize, like yo, I work on myself Now, let me get rid of some of this anger and continue to level up. So it's just the endless journey of realizing that is my pride and ego in the way. And if somebody can actually say that and say yes or no, then they can like evolve in any area of their life and they can say is my pride or ego in the way? If it is, what can they do to get it out of the way slowly? So me as a teen, I was like I'm not listening to anybody. I didn't think I knew everything, but I would just ask people. I'm like if I listened to you, will I end up like you? And teachers would like look at me like where's this coming from? And I was just being blunt. I wasn't trying to be mean, but I was that teen. I was like I'm not listening to you, like you drink at work and the teacher's like what? I'm like, yeah, I see you pour that thing. I'm not gonna tell on you, but I'm not taking your advice and I would just be very blunt with people and I was like I can see through the stuff, not judging, but I would just tell them that, especially with family. But once I started meeting people that we're doing things that I wanted to do and I realized they didn't have to drink, do drugs and like using abuse people I was like, wow, this person's like a unicorn. These people exist Because growing up, you're told like rich people are all pricks, they're selfish and all this. And once you meet rich, rich people that have faith, that are humble, that are confident, that are making an impact, you're like, wait a minute, what they taught me was complete BS. I see proof of what you can do, because you can do it all and have it all, and so I got really excited about that. So that really helped me as well. So, number one, making sure that I Wasn't just running off anger as that teen, shifting it to help more people, tapping into it when needed, but then also being surrounded by people that are way above me just to learn from them and really see how they carried themselves. So it was always interesting, but again, it all starts with pushing pride and ego aside as a teen. They were in the way and that's why I was in the way. I was like hitting my head against the wall basically, but now it's just like alright, it's out of the way. I'm open to listen to whoever has a lot of knowledge and I'll absorb like a sponge. So that's definitely the journey of that is once a man, a woman, can Identify their pride and ego has it has been in the way for a while Then they can actually shift because they're open for change. Not everybody's open for change.

This has been an excellent, but to kind of close off with some more questions here, what is sort of the future of your brain? What's the future of Derek Johnson right now? It's brand mission, his purpose right now. Well, what is going to happen with this flat in the future?

Great question. So my biggest Goal is to do retreats, slash masterminds. So three days we meet. On a Friday, everybody flies in, and on that day we all go hiking. So there's like 50 to 100 people, not thousands, just 50 to 100 people. We all go hiking up a mountain and not like actually rock climbing and mountain climbing, but just hiking up it on a trail, and so some people have never done that. So we would go very high, all the way to the peaks, or pushing each other. Everybody's sweating, camaraderie. You're hiking with complete strangers and everybody's laughing drink of water, or somebody got injured. You help them carry them up, so all those different things that people need, that group building. We get to the top, we're hydrating and then we just start to release. So we do a lot of natural release exercises. So no MDMA, no ayahuasca is just breathing, breath, work, release, and so what's gonna happen is some people will get super hype, some will probably break down and release a lot of emotions, release a lot of emotions. But the whole intent is just to let that out up top. We just had a workout. We move the body, so now the mind is open at the top, we release and after that we walk down. An interesting thing that happens when you're walking down People start to have the most amazing conversations Because everybody's neutral. We just worked out and we just released, so everybody's actually present, and in that moment it's the equivalent as if everybody in the room just drank five shots and they're like, oh hey. And then they start opening up. It's the equivalent, but in a positive way. So they're walking down. So that's day one. Day two is a deep in-person workshop in like a hotel banquet, but there's no pitch fest, as in you're not selling tickets to the next event or to the gold package and all the other stuff. Everybody's been to an event where they're just selling you something else. You went there to learn something and they're just like well, I won't teach you that till you buy the next ticket. So none of that crap. So in that day we work individually myself and my team on who needs help with what. So we do a lot around. Robin have breakthrough sessions and everything, whether that's finances, personal development. So I have a lot of friends that are experts in different things, so they'll be in the house helping those. And then day three is more of us breaking bread. So just people having to cook out, swimming, whatever, just having fun, really getting to know each other. But everybody goes home with action steps that they can take on their specific goals. So after they leave they have a, a workbook. They have tons of things that they could take action on. So it's not just a motivational event where you're like, awesome, he gave me chills and made me want to work out, and now the next morning it's like now what? So that's why I don't consider myself a motivational speaker. I'd rather give somebody proven action steps that they could take rather than just hype them up. But I've always had that vision of that and Doing the three days of that Friday to Sunday. Sunday people fly home, but once they get back home into work, monday, they just show up a different person because they have things at their disposal that can use and, most importantly, they have Friendships, camaraderie's, probably new clients, people in their phone that they're like wow, these people are open for change and Getting that camaraderie as well.

So that strong community is amazing and Are there any Last board, like the audience there, before I let you all yeah for sure.

So I Would challenge people to ask themselves how can I become the man or woman that I always needed and how could I give them to the world? How can I become the man or woman that I always needed and how could I give them to the world? That could be career, it could be product or service, it could just be Spiritual, it could be whatever you choose doesn't have to be your career, but I think that's why we're all here. We all have a level of stress, pain and trauma. It's our job to find the gifts, work on ourselves and then give back to others, because then it all makes sense and we're like we weren't just here for the pain and seeing others building them up. It's just so fulfilling to everybody. So that's my favorite thing. But what can somebody do to become that man or woman they needed and how can you give that, that that person, back to the world?

Thank you again, eric. You know the being on the show. This has really been an amazing interview. I definitely learned a lot. Hopefully the audience has learned a lot, and I would also like to thank everyone you have for watching this show. I will see you all next.