Episode 44-Iron Sharpens Iron: Lessons on Growth from Johnathan Owens

Ladies and gentlemen, mostly gentlemen, welcome to the War on Dad Bods podcast.Today, we have the honor, the honor of hanging out with Johnathan Owens.Everybody cheer for Johna- oh wait, hold on, I gotta do this first.Um, can we get a round of applause for Johnathan?That work?It works.All right, guys.Johnathan is a good buddy of mine, he works out with us in the morning.He's a guy I find myself calling when I have, um, difficult conversations or problems, or I want a good perspective from a solid dude.Um, I always call Johnathan to get his feedback, so hopefully he'll have some great tips for us today, Johnathan.Welcome to the podcast.Thanks.Thanks for having me.Um, I generally start most workout classes and podcasts with a joke.Um, today I will not start with a joke.I will, however, tell you about my grandmother who was a walker, and I want to express the importance of walking.And 5 years ago, my grandmother started walking 5 miles every single day.5 years later now, we have no idea where she is.All right, that's our joke.Let's get into this.Johnathan, tell us a bit about you, what you do, your health, your profession, what you do every day.What's your story?All right.Well, I'm a sales manager for a, uh, a global company.Uh, I'm a national sales manager, so every week I find myself in different cities.As far as who I am as a person, 'cause I think that's, uh, a little more important than what I do, um, I'm a driven individual.Uh, I'm driven by curiosity more than anything, and that's what keeps me ticking to the next thing.Uh, I surround myself with as many good-hearted, kind people as I can, 'cause, you know, who you're around affects who you become.There you go.Um, eh, is there a story or a, a frustrating situation that you broke through and eventually found success?I think when it comes down to it, if you really look at, if you look at my life and everyone's lives, there's always something that somebody goes through that is troublesome, that creates drive, and you have to find a solution or a way through.Now, as a product of how my childhood went, there are many situations for that.Instead of looking at a specific example, I think the best thing for me to do to answer this question is to be more broad.When it comes down to it, when I have a situation that's troubling, I have found the best thing that I can do is, 1, make sure that I am well-slept, but most importantly, look at it without emotions.Look at it as far as, what are the outcomes?'Cause as, as I've, uh, as I've come to discover, there are only 3 outcomes to any situation.It either stays the same, it gets better, or it gets worse.Hm.And if you think about that, there's only a 33% chance that something's gonna get worse.There's a 66% chance that, hey, what I'm living with is fine, and it can be better.Those are great odds.How can I make those, and which choices puts me on those avenues?And what effort can I put in to make those the possibilities?And that's how I look at things, and what, what steers me as far as what decisions and what steps I should and need to take.Well, that's, that's really simple.Um, but yeah, I guess so.But I don't know if those odds are always gonna be like that, but, eh, when you break it up like that, it makes it seem like you could s- search for options inside of all 3 of those categories, and there's just options.Absolutely.I've not found a situation yet where 3 options did not present themselves.You just have to be open to it.Yeah.W- one question that I really like to ask people that I work with, or people that are in difficult situations is, um, what are the possible outcomes of this situation?Like, say I've got a- Mm-hmm.like I had a back injury for many years, and I was like, "What are the possible outcomes?"Well, I guess it could fall into those 3 categories.Yeah.And you can ask yourself, if I do nothing, what's, what's gonna happen?If I make a step and I act, uh, make one choice in a positive direction, what could happen?If I make a choice and it's negative, what could happen?And those can steer your, your decision-making properties.I like that.Um, with your specific life experience, you've had a unique life that no one else has had, as we all have.Um, I think you're a great leader.Um, with, given your experience, the experience no one else has, what's something that someone with only your experience would know?I think we live in a world now where having a singular unique idea is rare.You have authors, you have media, media, you have Google.You have everything at your fingertips now, where everything exists.And I think more importantly than, than looking at what's something that I would know, it, I think the real question would be, what's something that I think I value more than the average person?And for me, that was figuring out what do I add into any situation that I'm a part of.What is the unique thing that makes me, Johnathan Owens, the God-given gift, the, the, the thing that, that drives me, the things that make me who I am?And when I really started figuring out that answer, it was through, uh, efforts of a, a really great friend of mine and a coach, and what I found wasI'm a glue.When you put me in a situation, I act like a binder.Hmm.And when I look at that, the thing that, that drives me to be that binder, to hold things together is to build people up and to make them shine.And when you look at it, no matter where you are in life, no matter what you're doing, to take a minute and realize what that is that makes you unique and how can you apply it to the situation, to the engagement you have with somebody else.I think that's an individual answer that everybody can look at and find out, "Hey, this is what makes me unique, and this is what I can only know."I think I might have just to, justI have to change this question for the podcast moving forward.What do you value more than the average person?I like that a lot.Um, I actually hadI mentioned this to my wife this morning.I said to her, I s- I said to her, I said, "Sweetie, I've learned a lot about myself.And one thing I've noticed about me-" Mm-hmm." is that I really value efficiency."Yeah.Like, ef- I mean, like, on every level, everywhere.Um, you know, we do these half hour workouts in the morning, and they're made to be extremely efficient.Okay.That's one of the things that I value.I gu- I guessI guess that makes sense.I mean, it'sit's kind of like a watch, right?So you have people that'll value its intrinsic value.You have people that'll value how it was designed.You have people that will value how the inside and all the cogs work together, and I think that's you.And then you have people that value how it changes or makesuh, affects their life.Yeah.Because itit's, it's, it's functional.Efficiency is functional, right?Yeah.Not status.It's not reputation.It's not art.It's efficiency.It's functional.Yeah.Um, all right.Strictly based off of your experience, have you observed anything that might not be common knowledge?Like, something that people wouldn't learn in school that maybe you learned through life?When you look at things and you think, "Hey, what's common knowledge, and what's something that I learned through life?"That separates a lot of people.What separates them is how they deal with it, how they motivate themselves to get through it, and what drives them.At the core of this question is, what makes a person tick, and what makes that person unique?And being able to define that, that, that's the thing most people don't realize, is, hey, what do I have that I can put in this world that can help me get through this?What can I doIn my case, as I said, what binds me to other people, and what can I do to uplift these people?That's what separates me.When somebody can define that one thing- Mm-hmm.that's the uncommon knowledge.It's about yourself.people listening, what's your one thing?Take, take a moment to think about that.Um, a lot of us are here to, uh, improve our health, believe it or not.what the war on dadbod is all about.Get rid of that dad bod and doing a lot more with it.Um, you've come a long way with your health, with your ability to prioritize it and, um-build some incredible guns.Um, in your opinion, wha- what are, like, the one or 2 simplest things that can make someone's healthWhat's the lowest hanging fruit?Acknowledgment.The lowest hanging fruit when you look at what can be the change in average or poor health to great and better health is acknowledgment.Acknowledge where you currently are, and, "Hey, I can make small, incremental steps to create and make a change in my life."For me, that was understanding more about the habits that I have, how that affects my sleep, um, what things am I putting in my body, and how can I be a little more structured and efficient in the workouts that I have?For example, uh, when I was younger, I'd go to the gym 6 days a week, and I loved it.I wouldn't leave until sw- uh, my c- whole shirt was covered with sweat.could handle it then, but now as I've grown, I have more responsibilities.I have more things on my plate, more obligations that take my time.And to go into a gym for an hour and a half, 2 hours 6 days a week, that's unrealistic for me.Yeah.And what I found is acknowledging those things that I just said, and also finding somebody that can help me prioritize the exercises, the strategy that's needed so that I can get everything in in 30 minutes a morning, and then start my day with a better attitude, a win attitude, and knowing, "Hey, I'm putting my health first," that's a great thing.So awareness about where they are.Some of that might be belief that, like, they can make a change, awareness about where they are, and then specifically, what, what strategy?Like, what, what's your goal?Where are you?What tools, what resources do you have?And given the outcome that you want, how can you get there?The acknowledgment, the awareness of that.Right.Um, let's talk about relationships for a second.Um, you, you're a- Okay.very happily married man, from what I understand.I am.Hope, hope, hope your wife would say that.Um, any, any relationship tips?Or is there, is there anything, umWell, let's say something unique.Is there anything about your relationship that might deviate from the norm or seem unusual?A matter of fact, there is.Once a year, usually around our anniversary time, sometimes periodically through the year, uh, we may decide to do it.Anyways, we check in with each other, "Hey, how are you doing?Are we okay?What could be better?"And I've shared this with friends of mine in the past.They look at me like I'm a lunatic.Really?Yeah.It, it's important.ThereWhen you're in a relationship, you have 2 people, 2 opinions, 2 thought processes.They're not one.And that's okay, and that's the way it should be.But if you don't constantly check in with the other person, and from time to time, at least, and find out what they're thinking, where their heart is, where their mind is, where their desires and needs are, you might be off base.And that allows you to get realigned with what matters in that relationship, which is making it function and flourish.So checking in and actually, like, having a serious conversation.Now, there's, like, levels which you could do this.Like, you could say, "On the calendar every 3 months, every 6 months, we're gonna schedule this.We're gonna sit down with complete focus and do it."Or- Absolutely.or it could be like in the morning with an extra 5 minutes, "How you doing?"Are you- Yeah.yourself in between there?Yeah, it's, it's great.And, and you can take it to different levels.One thing my wife did with me quite some time ago is we had a little exercise where I had to write down how I see myself, and then she wrote down how she saw me and vice versa.And if you wanna do something interesting, sit down and do that with your wife.Do that with your signific- significant other and see what aligns and what doesn't align.And I promise you there's gonna be some conversation there.Yeah, that's really interesting.So sit down with each other and say, "What do you find interesting about me?What do I think s- is interesting about me?"Say, "How do you see me?"Open-ended question.They can write it however you want.You write down on, on one paper how you see yourself, and they write down how they see you, and then you do it, uh, uh, uhYou'll write down how she sees herself, and you write down how you see her, and then you share together.Yeah.Yeah, that's really fun.And also, I think the exercise of, like, me, me, me and my wife, we, we haven't done this lately, but this really, uh, got us to a, a great point in our relationship where we go for a walk.And on the walk, we would, we would have to give each other 3 compliments.And, of course, they have to come from a, from a real place, and they could be simple, they could be deeper, but, um, but that practice of like, what do you appreciate about the other person, you know?You can- Mm-hmm.receive a compliment.And, like, that's a lot of fun, you know?To get, to get your spouse to remind you why they love you-why they appreciate you.Um, and it, and it really, it, it would put us in a much better spot mentally in regards to, you know, feeling good towards each other.Um, I learned that one from, from Derek and Amanda.That's a good one.Um, I really like yours.So how do you see me, and how do I see myself, and then you flip-flop it.Mm-hmm.But don't share results until you both have filled out that.Oh, wow.That way, there'sYeah, you both fill it out, and then you share results all at once.All right.And everyone listening, that's a challenge.Might have to, uh, might have to get the guys in the morning so I do this.Yeah, and that's courtesy from my wife.Thank you, Carey.We appreciate it.Hope you're listening.Um, all right.Is there anything that you have changed your mind about in the last year, 2 years?Anything that, that comes to your mind when I say, "What have you changed your mind about?"The last 2 years have offered a lot of challenges and changes in my life.Though it's put me in a p- place of introspection, it's put me in a place ofthinking, "Where do I wanna go?Where am I at?"And as far as things that I have decided, "Hey, I need to look at this differently."How I view family.How I view the afterlife, and that's a topic for another day.Um, those have changed, but I guess most importantly, what I'm capable of has changed a lot.And in the last 2 years, if you would have asked me, "Jonathan, what do you think you c- are capable of?What do you think you are, are, or hold the potential for?"I would have gave you an answer that's lesser than what I could give you now.I think now, where I'm at in life, I hold an ability to effect positive change in people's lives.I hold an ability to make a difference in my day-to-day activities, and that has changed a lot about how I go about my day, how I wake up, how I lay my head down, and how I feel at the end of the day.So, you, so you, you've changed your mind about yourself quite a bit, recently.Well, that's an exciting place to be in life.Um, well, and this kind of segues into the next one.People, um, do you ever, like, see people and you say, like, "Wow," like, "You're smart.You can do anything.You just don't believe you can," and it's just, it's just, if you can just change their belief.W- what do you think are the common limiting beliefs that hold people back?What do you see a lot?That's a great question.When, when you meet somebody, you know, there, there is truth in the idea of, hey, you have this many seconds to make a first appearance, right?To make that initial, just this is who I am.And when I meet people and I start trying to figure out what makes them tick, who are they as a person, the things that I have started to figure out that, that limits a person in their, in their capabilities and their beliefs breaks down to what they believe is possible, what they believe they are capable of, and whether or not they have the ability to accept, forgive, and move past things.It's those 3 things that I believe hold somebody back, whether it's, "I wanna make a change in my physical life and accept where I am, I can forgive myself for not giving it the attention, and I can move past it."Whether it's in their emotional life, "I've made mistakes.I can understand that, I can accept it, I can forgive myself and move past it," those things, no matter how you look at it, are the limiting factors, I believe, hold someone back from making changes and becoming their best version of themselves.I see that.You s- s- you seem like a guy that's been given a lot of great advice at some point in your life.You've got one, uh, one mentor I'm, I'm f- I'm pretty fond of.If I ask you what is the best advice you've ever received, let's say specifically from him, does anything come to mind?He actually helped change the t- trajectory of my life.And I remember, I sat down with him and it was at a, it was at a barbecue restaurant outside of Nashville, Tennessee, and, uh, we were sitting there and we were just discussing.And that's just his style.He's open.We talk almost every day.He's one of the best human beings I've ever met on this planet.I'm very blessed to have met him.He taught me what it means, not as a lesson, but as a byproduct of knowing him, he taught me what it means to believe in myself and how to move fearlessly and understand that, hey, it's okay to do a good thing, it's okay to do a right thing because it's good and because it's right.And that, in itself, has changed my whole trajectory.It's that one lesson that has led me to realize I am capable of a lot more than I ever thought I could be.It's okay to do a good thing, it's okay to do a right thing.Well, like, where was that before?So, like, what, what shifts there?The shift comes from a society that looks down upon sometimes people trying to build up or help another person.Hm.A lot of people tear other people down.Like, we know that.Like crabs in a bucket, man.You ever heard that?Yeah.You put a wholeYou put, you put 10 crabs in a bucket.As soon as one starts crawling out the edge, the others pull it down.J- I think Jay-Z actually had a line about that.Um, he was talking about 50 Cent, actually.Because he's like- He's always battle rapping people.Yeah, yeah.I think the, uh, the best way to be a crab to get out of the bucket is just knock the bucket over.Now you're all free.There you go.Um, all right, that's great advice.All right.What's the worst advice you've ever received?The worst advice I've ever received is also, in some parts of the world, I think, a, a lifestyle or a chosen lifestyle of you must follow in the footsteps of someone else.Man.And for a lot of my life, I looked up to someone, and I thought my job and my role was to follow in their footsteps, to stay in their shadow, and walk exactly the same, and build myself up the same way.And it wasn't until I realized what I am, who I am, and what I have to offer, and the things that make me uniquely me, and embraced those things, that I started to forge my own path.And it's when I started to do that, I found more happiness, I found more motivation, and that's when I started affecting positive changes in people's lives.And I think that's when the magical doors really start to open up in life.Absolutely.Absolutely.Doors where you wouldn't think there'd be a door, doors where, where for someone else there, there wouldn't be a door, but for you, there is, you know?Mm-hmm.And I, I think, I think a lot of people get stuck in that, get stuck in, umThey can't transgress out of, of, you know, their parents' expectations for who they should be.Yeah.And it's that one thing right there that prevents them from living the life and doing the things and being the person that they wanna become.Yeah.And, you know, sometimes you kind of have to, I don't know, disrespect your parents on that or check your parents on that.But I think people have a problem stepping outside of that 'cause you'll get criticized, you'll get ridiculed, you'll be insulted.I mean, I can imagine some fathers ridiculing people for not doing what they need you to do.But, um, once you get the courage to get out of that, like, that's where your happiness is, in, in be- being yourself.That's a, definitely a, um, that's bad advice, you know?Do as you're told.Do what the guy before you did.Don't ask questions.Don't be yourself.We've all, um, we've all made big mistakes in life, Jonathan.Some more than others.Um, what's the biggest mistake you ever made, and what did you learn from it?Well, it ties into the last question.The biggest mistake I ever made was listening to that terrible advice and trying to follow someone else's footsteps, and not realizing I am me and I am meant for other things.When, when I could see past that and see, hey, there's something else for me, that's when, as you said, these other doors that were specifically meant for me started opening and new paths started showing themselves.And that's when opportunity presented itself.Well, you seem like you've thought a lot about your life.Is there a, uh, particular dream that you have one day that, that, that you can share with us wh- where you're going, some- som- something that you're gonna do?I think in life we go through stages, and there are stages of being, there are stagings of action, and then there are stage- stages of, um, looking back.Right now, I'm in a stage of change, which is very exciting, and possibility.And I think if you asked me in another year or 2 that exact question, I'll be able to give you a more solid, better answer.But for now, where I'm at in life, it's still growing, it's still becoming and seeing what's there.You're more action right now?Being, action, and reflecting-Man, it's nice to get to reflecting all the time.That sounds like a great time.Although the, the, the, the fun's probably in the action though, that's where all the, you know, purpose is.The feeling- Yeah.like you're doing something.I guess the wisdom's in the reflection though.Yeah.yeah, that is the wisdom, huh?Um, you know, I just added this question to the podcast, it's a brand new one.Yeah.What is, what is your perspective on alcohol and on the impact it has for our health and our culture, our social life?And over the years, how have your personal thoughts about alcohol evolved?Alcohol is a unique thing in this world.People can have various different types of relationships with it.Some, some relationships can hinge on hey, just every now and then, some I just don't touch it, some is I have to have it and I need it in my life.And when it comes down to anything that you can't control, that comes into your life, that takes a hold out of you and holds you down and pins you into a corner, it's bad.My personal relationship with alcohol is I have a steadfast rule, I will not have a drink unless things in my life are positive, period.If things are negative, if things are down, if I'm anxious, if, if, if things are on my mind, I will not touch it, because that leads down a path I don't wanna be.Well, that, that would fall to the 33% of situations that could get worse if you add alcohol to them.Yeah, exactly.Maybe that ties into some of the biggest mistakes we've ever made in our life related to alcohol.I got- Maybe for some.I've been fortunate so far.I've got an older client, he's, he's, he's pretty wise.And he, um, he's like, "Matt, think about the biggest mistakes you ever made in your life.How many times was alcohol involved?"I think for a lot of people, you know, that's, uh, ingredient in mistake-making pretty often.Yeah, right?And, um, you know, I think as we get older, I think our, as, as our culture matures, I think you're seeing less drinking, which is interesting.There's a lot more alternatives out there now than, than I think ever before.I remember when I was younger, the idea of a non-alcoholic beer was just taboo.Now, you can walk into, uh, almost any restaurant or bar, and there's plenty of actually reasonable options.Then you have other drinks that may have other ingredients that are non-alcoholic and non-addictive that can still mellow you out.Um, it's just a different time.There are other options out there versus something that may hurt your health, hurt your sleep, hurt your mentality, and set you on a bad path.Um, so you seem like you've got some drive, you've got some, um, consistent action.Uh, you show up every day with energy and inspiration.What motivates you?What inspires you?What is your personal fuel?The thing that fuels me is curiosity.I wanna know if I can.Can I be better?Can I do more?What, what would it look like if I did do more?What would it look like if I could?What will it look like when I do?All those things keep me curious, and those are the things that I ask myself that make me get up and try and continue.'Cause every day you're waking up saying, "Man, well, what if I did more?What would happen?Well, what if I did?What would happen?"But before you know it- Yeah.you're living a life that is totally different and new and exciting.Well, what's the worst can happen?I mean, think about it.Whether I wake up and I put a little effort into some physical activity, what's the worst that can happen?Maybe worst case I'll pop a muscle.Guess what?That's fine, it'll heal.I can move on and be stronger afterwards.Maybe, maybe, uh, I put a lot of effort in and, you know, I sleep really great that night.Maybe, maybe I put a lot of effort in and I have more energy.Maybe, maybe I grab a new book, and I read it, and I learn new ideas.Or, or maybe I take a little extra time for myself and I feel refreshed.Why is that bad?Um, I think about high performers and the weird stuff they do, the weird habits that they have.Like, um, one thing I would do is like I would, I would track like 20 things every day, it'd be like yes or no, tw- 20 questions every day.Did I do this thing?Did I do that thing?Um, maybe you've seen this, maybe you've done it yourself, but are there any unique habits or routines or, you know, things that, uh, high performers do that other people might find surprising?Absolutely.I actually learned a habit from a good friend of both yours, or, and mine.Um, he acts as a coach and just a great person in my life.And the habit that he taught me that I have adopted is taking time each day for yourself.And that could be a various different, various different things.It might be, I'll wake up in the morning, I'll lay in the bed, and I just think about what's coming.I take a, uh, I take a few minutes to just really put the thoughts out of my mind, think about what I wanna do, what it's gonna be like carrying these things out.It, it might be, hey, uh, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, let me go out and just breathe for a minute.What it really breaks down to is being cognizant and present in your own life and in your own head and realizing, it's okay to take a minute, settle back down, and come back to whatever's in front of you.'Cause, you know, I think there's like, you and me see levels of high performers, and I see a level- Absolutely.I see like almost like 3 rungs.It's like, it's, it's average people that, uh- Mm-hmm.kinda just go through the motions and don't step out too much.Then there's people that, like, work really, really hard, and like are massively driven and they kinda s- keep on this I'm gonna work as hard as possible wavelength- Mm-hmm.almost their whole life.Yeah.And sometimes they, they might lack balance.The- the- might be missing a whole category of their life 'cause they're just working so hard in one direction.And I think in that second rung, that's where you see people that might not take time to sit back and reflect and see where they are- Mm-hmm.to take that time.And then I think there's this kind of higher level where people get to where they can create a lot of space in their life.They can make big adjustments.They- Yeah.they can bring balance into their relationships, their health, and their career, um, where they can get that perspective.But, um, taking time every day for yourself, I like to reflect with that time personally.Yeah.They take time to be present.Instead of worrying about the future and what's to come, they're right now.They're, they're, they're being.Mm-hmm.Um, ooh, I'm curious what you'll say on this one.Do you have an all-time favorite quote?do, actually.Um, it's from the Bible, and it kind of breaks down to a lot of who I am and why, why I interact with people the way I do.And as iron sharpens iron, so shall man sharpen man.We are there to help each other out and to build each other up.That's what that means to me, and that is my favorite quote.Iron sharpens iron.This is something my coach says all the time.That's umSo as we're talking about health, okay, 'cause I wanna give people health ideas and health info, do you use any health tracking tools or apps or anything, um, any technology?We're gonna get into AI later, but any tracking tools specifically?Absolutely.Uh, my coach, uh, I th- I think you know him pretty well.He got me onto the Oura Ring-and that's given me a lot of information.If you're looking to make change in your life, the first thing you need to know is data.You can start making changes, but until you know how that change affects you and what difference it's going to make, how do you know if it's something you should continue or not?That ring has given me the ability to figure out, hey, this is a good thing for me to do.These times work best for me to do this, this, or that.This is how it will affect me.And then also having somebody to help me figure out exactly how to interpret that data has made a huge difference for me.Yeah.It's, it's been a lot of fun looking at Oura Ring data over the years.Um, ha- now having seen the data collected, I think the one that we looked a lot, a lot with you was the, was the stress data, the, the HRV, right?Mm-hmm.Um, or any of them.But what, you know, what jumped out at you?What did, what did, what did you learn from reviewing the, the data where that like you did kinda make a change that made sense?There were a couple of things.1, I, uh, I got a better sleeping schedule.Now, I travel for my job often, so each week, I could be in a different time zone, and that's something that offers its own challenges.But understanding how much sleep I need, how to create a better sleeping sched- schedule has helped me get past that, so I can keep a higher HRV.Um, knowing that, hey, after 8:00 PM is a bad time to eat.Um, red meats, alcohol, um, anything that's heavy on my, my, my stomach is a- just going to ruin my sleep and also affect my HRV negatively.And the, the biggest surprise is how consistent exercise can make a difference.And you would think it would lower the HRV over time, but in reality, it actually increases it and levels it out.Yeah.So, so what you're saying is your body will be under less stress if you work out all the time, where you, you, you would think you'd be under more stress if you trained all the time.Yeah.'Cause high HRV means you are not stressed out.It's like opposite of heart rate.I think people get confused with that.S- s- s- so you want a high HRV, it means you're able to relax more into your nervous system.Um, so you, you're pretty meticulous with the way you look at things, the way you think about things, the awareness about things.Anyone that's got a job where they travel a lot, now you've done this for about 8 months now, um, do you have one piece of advice that you could give to somebody that has a travel job for their health?If you're traveling a lot and you are focused on your health, the number one thing is consistency.Whether that's your diet, whether that's your exercise regimen, whether that's your sleep schedule, consistency reigns supreme here.'Cause day after day, these little steps, this 1% better today than I was yesterday, it adds up over time and makes positive changes in people's lives.So, whether you wake up and you're ready to go hit the gym and, uh, give it all you've got, or you wake up and say, "You know, it's gonna be a rough morning, but, you know, IInstead of giving 100%, I can, I feel like I've got 80% of my energy here," and you go put that there, you will continue to see results.point is, don't give up and keep the effort in.You know, whereI really look at the numbers here.Like, let's say, you know, we've got 5 workouts a week that we do in the morning, and let's say, you know, one morning a week I just don't feel up for it.Well, now you're gonna do 4 workouts a week, which isn't bad, but 5, five's better, 'cause we're only doing half an hour, it's just a better dosage and you get more health outSo, that's one workout a week.And you got 52 weeks a year.So, at the end of the year, you get an extra 52 workouts when you show up on that day you don't want to.Mm-hmm.Over 10 years, that's 500 workouts.Like, what is your body composition?What is your longevity?What is your happiness, your focus, your sleep?Where's all that gonna be when you show up for the ones you don't want to do?And those are the difference makers.Those are the ones that really, um, separate at the end there.Like, people that just do well, the people that do really well is, is getting those last ones, um, habitually, consistently, like you were saying.Absolutely.So, I do martial arts and the period for growth, the most period for growth that I have experienced isn't at the beginning of class when I am just ready and full of energy.The best growth is when you're tired, when your muscles are sore, when your arms are hard to lift, and you're still forcing yourself to maintain proper form and go through things with intention.It's just like that in your workout regimen.The growth happens on those hardest days.It's intentional.You really gotta make that decision to keep going, stay focused.Mm-hmm.Um, all right.So, now to AI.HowYou could say business, you could say personal life, but how are you u- d-How are you playing with AI?Are you playing with AI at all?The only time I utilize AI is when I am trolling my personal trainer.Otherwise-when it comes to AI, my opinion is I don't want it.And the reason why is simple.I understand that it can offer a lot of benefits, it can give you quick answers, but if you really distill it down, what we are, what we do, how we act every day is a product of the energy and effort we put in.For example, you being a personal trainer, when it comes down to your clients, if you have somebody that never ever does curls, how do their arms progress?They don't, do they?Not very well at all.It's a muscle.In my brain, I look at that in the same way.I want to keep it active.I want to keep it working.My worry is that as you use AI, you start to become more skilled in asking questions, which is great, great benefits of asking questions when you can also find the answers.And if you start relying on A- AI too much to find your answers, all you do is build the muscles of asking questions, and I don't want to do that to myself.What?I mean, I have to kind ofI'm such an AI guy.It's like-I need the muscles to ride a horse.I don't want to lose those horse riding muscles, and now I'm gonna go learn how to ask questions.I'm gonna go learn how to drive a car, and I don't want to lose my horse riding muscles.But in the future, what's gonna be the useful set of muscles that you're gonna need?. Mm-hmm.finding answers and asking questions.I feel like we've had this conversation before.Uh, all right.Well, we, we appreciate your opinion on AI, and, umUm, all right, I want to, uh, give, give a, a top 3 favorite supplements that you take for your health.Uh, I take magnesium from time to time.That makes a big difference.Vitamin D is a huge thing.And whether you want to consider it a supplement or not, it is vital, adequate water intake.Wow.With travel the way that I do, I spend a lot of times in airplanes which will dehydrate you.It is a, uh, it is a more conscious effort now to stay hydrated than I ever have before.Um, and good electrolytes.Yeah.Um, I, I think, I think that's another answer to that question I asked earlier about traveling people.Mm-hmm.Um, I think people might not realize how much travelingIs it the compression of the plane or just traveling in general that something is very dehydrated about traveling?Absolutely.Absolutely.And if you're traveling each week, you may leave early in the week, get somewhere for a few days, and just as the time you recuperate, you get back on the plane again for a couple, uh, land, get back in shape, and you're just constantly stressing your body out.So, if you can get that water intake where it needs to be to offset that, but understand that as you take in more water, it's going to dilute your electrolytes.You have to supplement that as well.That makes a big difference in arriving somewhere, having more energy, feeling better, and for me, not having headaches.There you go.how you gonna work when you, when you have a headache?Not very well.Um, do you thinkIs it just me or do other people think about, like, if I'm gonna be traveling all day and there's no access to a bathroom, like, does anyone else think like, "I'm gonna drink less water," or is that just me?Might just be me.That is not a thought I have.One of the perks of, uh, of being a male is we can find restrooms when we need them.It's definitely a perk that I appreciate for sure.I don't think that one's gonna make the final cut.I use the old, uh, cell phone trick.Like, if you put your hand, just your hand, by your ear, like you're on the phone, and no one's looking at you, you know, they have no idea what you're doing.I'll, uh, I'll send you a video of probably the best hack I've ever seen.Send me that.Um, I want it.I will.You're gonna get a kick out of it.Is it something you want to share or just save for later?No, no, I don't think this, this question is gonna make the, uh, the cut.SoAll right, uh, this next question is about random skills that you have that people don't know about.Um, you do have your, uh, weekend stuff.Um, I've got one where growing up, I would polish my dad's shoes, and I did this every weekend for like a decade.So, like, I can polish shoes.You would never guess that I'd be a great shoe polisher, but I've got that skill.Do you have any random skills like that?Uh, yeah, surprisingly enough, um, I'm a pretty decent writer.Oh, yeah?LikeYeah, yeah.So, that's one of the sort of skills that I think often surprise some people.With me being from the South and having words like "y'all" and "ain't" in my vocabulary, when I sit down and, and write something and hand it in, people go, "Wow, you wrote this?"I can be intelligent sometimes.Wow.Um, that's funny.It's funny how people from Nashville think they're from the South.I'm just kidding.Most of the people that, that hear this are likely New Orleanians, so I just said that for them.Oh, okay.Okay.Um, all right, now we're gonna go to the, to the rapid fire questions.Um- Okay.re- relatively rapid, right?Um, are there any, uh, myths about health and fitness that, uh, drive you crazy or bother you?Not particularly.Uh, you do you, and I'm gonna do me.Um, if there was one exercise that you had to do every day for the rest of your life, which exercise would that be?Squats.I haven't put a lot of effort into it in my life and, uh, as I age, I do not want to lose mobility.I want my joints to work and get me around.Functional legs, that's a good idea.Um, most hated exercise, all-time most hated exercise?Squats.Every day you're gonna wake up and do the one thing you don't wanna do.The benefit outweighs it.If you can, uh, if, if you can do that your whole life, you know, you're gonna get somewhere.Um, oh, this is a good one.What is your go-to healthy meal when you're short on time?Rotisserie chicken and salad.Yeah, that's great.Real clean prot-It's almost like a protein shake, but it's real food.It's a great travel meal.There's grocery stores in every city.Um, all right, I got 2 book questions.Okay.Uh, first one is, have you ever read a health book or any health books that, um, inspired you or that you remem- remembered and liked?None that stuck with me.I feel like as you look at health books, there is a different health book to validate whatever you want to believe is true.true.And when it comes down to it, the real truth is where did you see results and what made you feel better?There you go.Personal experience.I, um, I, I, I do wanna drop one health book on here.I got a buddy that I started working out with here, an older guy, and he's doing like one day a week fasting.Sometimes it's like 40, 45 hours.Anyway, if you're gonna do like a one day a week fast and- Mm-hmm.make that flow through a week, there's a book called Keto Fast that kind of outlines, you do keto for 2 days, then you go into a fast, then you rebuild.So, it's kind of like you're fasting and breaking things down and then you're rebuilding for a few days.It's called Keto Fast.It's a short book.I liked it a lot.Okay.Um, I suspect you have read other books.So, all-time book that has influenced you the most or the, just your favorite that you want to share.You don't have to say one.When it comes down to books, there is not one book that has left a big impression on me.When it comes down to it, there's types of stories that make impressions on me.And when you look at it, there's really 7 different archetypes of story types, whether it's for, uh, uh, rags to riches, uh, overcoming something, uh, rise and fall, develop or fighting some type of personal monster.All those things are types of stories.The one that rings and resonates with me the most is always when it has to do with personal sacrifice, because I believe that's a real story of love and understanding, and for whatever reason, they typically make the biggest difference in my life.What, what, which character has made a lot of sacrifice that would inspire people?I mean, how far back do you want to do?Do you want to go get religious?Do you want to just look at a casual book?I mean, we can even look at some that's been adapted into movies.This is a common theme.know.I'm, I'm trying, trying to get you to pick one.Uh, well, what I'm gonna do instead is get this squeaky toy out of this dog's mouth before you hear a bunch of squeaks.I was thinking that.Uh- Odysseus was the one that came to me.Um, all right, any, uh, all-time favorite hype song to work out to?I am a weirdo as far as what songs I like to work out with.I like sad songs.Some might even say depressing and slow songs.some might even say depressing, and slow songs- And that's what I prefer to work out to.When I was, when I was in my 20s and I spent a lot of time in the gym, luckily, headsets existed, not the wireless.I had a wired one, and it was just sad song after sad song, and that's just what I enjoyed working out to.Like, um, Heart, Alone.Or uh, I like, uh, Baby Come Back.That's a great one.I Ain't Missing You At All, that's a good one too.go.Um, I mean there's tons of them, man.Nice.Um, all right.Um, that's a lot of stuff I wanted to talk about today.Thanks for coming.Um, let's see.People that would want to get in touch with Jonathan Owens.Let's see.Um, if you're traveling, hotel stuff, he's got great feedback on that.Uh, one time I was buying a car and he gave me a great process to do that.I thought that was epic.Um, in general, I guess you're not necessarily trying to attract a whole lot of people, but if people do want to find you, where can they find you?The best way to reach me would be to reach out to an email address.You can reach me at Owens, Jon, J-O-N, B as in boy, @gmail.com.The best way to get in touch with me is to reach out to Love It Fitness-and he can put you in touch with me and give you some tips on how to enhance your physical well-being and life.Awesome.Um, all right.Before we wrap it up, do you have any last messages you'd like to leave the listeners with?I am okay, man.The, the biggest thing I would say, if you feel that you can make a positive change in your life, and there is one thing that you could do, and you're not sure what to do, reach out to this man right here, 'cause he can have a positive influence on your life, a positive change that not just affects you mentally, but physically.Why not take the step today?Everybody, did y'all have a great time listening to Jonathan today?We did awesome.All right, guys.Time for the final rep.Arms up, I'm the man.That's how we end every class.Jonathan, it was an honor to have you here.Truly an honor.Thank you so much for your time and wisdom.