Aaron: Hello,
welcome to the Truly Amazing Live Show.
I am your host Aaron Kennard.
And today IÕm going to be discussing the topic of fitness and health and
how that relates to living a truly amazing life with a man named Brandon
Epstein from entrepreneurfitness.com.
I just want to let you know right up front here that he actually just
launched a podcast today. The day
that weÕre releasing this actually.
So, you can go over to entrepreneurfitness.com and find that or type in entrepreneurfitness.com
into iTunes to search for that. IÕd
highly recommend you checking out his podcast and I think youÕll understand why
after this conversation today. So,
anyway with that, IÕm just going to jump right in today to this discussion with
Brandon Epstein. So, here we
go. Today IÕve got Brandon Epstein
on the phone from entrepreneurfitness.com.
How are you doing today Brandon?
Brandon: IÕm doing
well, Aaron. Thank you so much for
having me.
Aaron: Yeah,
absolutely. And everybody there I
just want to do a quick intro to Brandon.
IÕm really excited to have him on the phone today because his focus is
on helping people, you know, create a more healthy, fitter lifestyle. But the background to that is really
focus on the mindset and the overall holistic way you live. From what IÕve gathered from talking to
him, I really resonated with the way he approaches health and fitness. And so, IÕm excited to get him on the
show today and discuss what it means to live a truly amazing life. So, with that, Brandon tell us anything more
about yourself before we jump into it that you think people should know. Any quicker intro, where youÕre from
anything else like that, and then weÕll jump into it.
Brandon: Thanks Aaron. IÕm living down in Austin, Texas right
now. I came here just because of
the great community for entrepreneurs.
And people are really inspiring in looking to pursue their dreams. And, honestly, down here IÕm doing the exact
same thing. IÕm pursing my dream of
creating this company, entrepreneurfitness.com where I help entrepreneurs
achieve key performance. I think
thatÕs what itÕs all about. Life is
all about getting into the flow, getting into your zone and really enjoying the
process of what you were put on this earth to do. And thatÕs what I help people do.
Aaron: Awesome,
so it totally resonates kind of the mission of a truly amazing life and itÕs
just a different angle to take, like really focus on getting into your flow and
your zone through your health and through your body, right?
Brandon: Absolutely. To live a truly amazing life and to be
able to have the ability to perform at high levelsÉreally our baseline is our health. And our health is everything. Even if you havenÕt been chronically
ill, if youÕve just had, you know, the flu or a cold, like you just canÕt perform
as well. Right? YouÕre clouded.
Aaron: Absolutely.
Brandon: And that is
clear. You canÕt perform as youÕd
like to. Very important.
Aaron: Yeah. ItÕs totally huge. And IÕveÉI mean, my audience wouldnÕt
know that IÕve been through like a chronic illness. And a lot of people that I interact with
have been though that. And anyone
of us can say, yes, absolutely. If
you donÕt have your health, if youÕre in pain, it just makes your ability to
enjoy life and to feel like life is amazing, it makes that a much greater
challenge. ItÕs not impossible because
really under any circumstances, you can choose the way you think. And you can choose to view life as
amazing and live to your fullest that day. But it just makes it so much harder. ItÕs such a greater challenge when you
donÕt have your health. And so I
think itÕs huge what youÕre doing.
And itÕs definitely a baseline.
ItÕs one of the main pillars of a truly amazing life that I teach is
that health and fitness side of things. So, tell me what is your opinion, what
is your view of what it means to live a truly amazing life? Or I guess I should say, what makes your
life truly amazing to you would be even a more appropriate question?
Brandon: Yeah. IÕll kind of answer both of them. IÕll start with say in general what I
believe makes a truly amazing life.
I think that is living a life in flow. So, for your listeners who arenÕt
familiar with flow, flow is that, you know, that experience you have where time
seems to flow up or down, heat up at the exact same time. So, like an hour goes by and it feel
like seconds, right?
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: And you lose
yourself in time. And weÕve all
been there. Whether youÕve been an
athlete, or youÕve been an artist, or maybe be in business, or maybe, you know,
teaching, or as a parent. Whatever
it may be, weÕve all had those moments where weÕre in flow and we just felt
locked in. And we were performing
well. WeÕre enjoying the
process. And for me, my goal every
single day is to spend as much time in this flow as possible. And so, I think itÕs very important to
find out what are the activities that put you in this flow mind state. And so for me, the activities are
studying and helping others improve their performance. So, essentially, helping other people
get into flow. And really mastering
it myself. And so, and studying everything
from nutrition, and exercise, and neuroscience, and psychology, and understanding
how all these things work together to give us this flow state and really allow
us to live this inspiring and amazing life.
Aaron: Very
cool. So, I really like how you put
that so succinctly that to you, itÕs living in a state of flow. And I really resonate with that just
because for me I kind of state that as living in a state of connection. Connection to myself, connection to my source. That for me is like living in flow but
all the ways that you just described that as just performing well, enjoying the
process, just locked in. I kind of
describe it as living the life of joy. And like, if youÕre in that state of flow,
youÕre just living joyfully. Would
you agree with that?
Brandon: Yeah. I definitely agree. I mean itÕs impossible to like be in flow
and not enjoy the process.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: I mean,
because when we talk about like when people mediate, like youÕre really not thinking
about anything, right?
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: Like time just
becomes irrelevant and you just experience the joy, endorphins rush to your
entire body. You know, when youÕre
exercising, your mind is clear completely.
You get into this flow and endorphins rush. So, youÕre going to feel joy. Like the two are just correlate too
strongly not to.
Aaron: Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And I like how you brought up the meditation
thing because thatÕs one of the practices weÕre actually working on this month
as we record this. But itÕs one of
the 12 habits that we practice kind of as the fundamental pillars of a truly
amazing life. But itÕs that state
ofÉI mean, what youÕre talking about that state of flow, can really be no
different than just simply the state of living wholly in the present moment.
Brandon: Yeah. ThatÕs so true. I mean, thatÕs what itÕs all about,
right?
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: Being able to get present and thatÕs such
a difficult thing for so many of us.
I think itÕs something that a lot of people, you know, battle with their
whole life, just like being present.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: And worrying
about the past, weÕre not future pacing.
Just embracing the present moment.
But like you just mentioned, when youÕre in those flow state, you canÕt
be anywhere but the present.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: Because your
mind requires you to be present.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: YouÕre so
engaged in whatever youÕre doing.
Aaron: And
the interesting thing is that when you are fully present, that is when youÕre
fully alive. That is when you feel
a fullness of joy because youÕre notÉand itÕs like all those moments when youÕre
living in the past, or like you said future pacing, those are the moments when
you donÕt feel well. And if anybody
were to look at the life, I guarantee thatÕs exactly what theyÕd find. The moments when youÕre living
presently, is when you feel good.
And when youÕre living outside of that is when you donÕt. Would you agree with that?
Brandon: Yeah. Well, you see, I believe it definite,
like when youÕre present, youÕre going to be in a good state of mind. Like no matter what.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: Like sometimes
I notice, you know, with some clients that I work with personally, they have a
hard time being able to even just live in the present. And one of the best ways to recreate that
present state of mind, is actually bring yourself to a past memory where you
were present. So, this may sound
kind of strange but IÕll explain what IÕm talking about.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: So, for like example,
when you mediate, well, if you think about a time in your life where you were
in flow. Maybe, you know, playing a
sport or you were performing in anything, in business. Whatever it may be, and you
experience tremendous success. And so during those moments, youÕre so engrossed
in that moment. If you can bring
yourself back there just by closing your eyes, and just kind of taking yourself
through all your feelings kinesthetically, what it feels like, what it sounds
like, what it tastes like, what it smells like, bring yourself there, youÕre
present in that memory and it makes it so much more easier for you to like open
your eyes, come back to reality, and live presently. Because you remind yourself like,
OK, thatÕs it. ThatÕs what I need,
you know?
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: ThatÕs
where I want to be.
Aaron: Yes. ThatÕs a really good point. And I think that goes along the same
lines as dreaming and visioning a future, or the desires that you want and you
can feel really good in that. ItÕs
not that youÕre like living in the future meaning youÕre unsatisfied with now,
but youÕre actuallyÉthereÕs a huge value in visioning in your mind, spending that
time. Whether itÕs, you know,
recollecting that flow from the past as you talked about or bringing up this,
in your mind of future vision of what you desire, and living, and feeling
really good about it because you believe and stuff, right?
Brandon: Yeah. Of course. I mean, not to get too woo, woo, but I
mean, I really do believe and IÕve heard otherÉI forgot who said this quote,
but I heard someone say, you know, your thoughts and your emotions are just
coming attractions to like what your life is going to be, etc.
Aaron: Yeah. Yeah. And so if you spend all your time worrying
about the future, what are you creating, right? ItÕs like worrying is planning for
things you donÕt want according to some people.
Brandon: Yeah. ItÕs interesting, Aaron. IÕll even admit like, personally like, like
once you understand this and you grasp it on a deep level, and you understand
like your ability to create whatever mental state you want, it is incredibly
empowering. But IÕve noticed even
myself sometimes, like I can catch myself being lazy and just being like, OK,
well, IÕm justÉIÕm not going to take myself to that mental state. But I think something thatÕs really big
for your listeners is the grasp. Is
that like, once you have that knowledge that you can create whatever mindset
you want, and you can bring yourself present, and, you know, use the tools that
maybe youÕre going to give them for meditation, itÕs really your duty. And I feel like you really owe it to
yourself and the people around you to be that person who, you know, isnÕt
lazy. The person who uses these
tools and lives presently. Because,
you know, the saying goes, the author Stephen Cutler(?), whoÕs really been studying
the state of flow, and these positive feelings, and living a good life, and
live presentlyÉI mean, the more flow you have, the more flow you have. So, if you can spend more time in these
mind states recreating them, even if itÕs at first seems artificial, if we can
create them, then weÕre going to have more of them in the future.
Aaron: ThatÕs
a very good point. Very
interesting. So, tell me then, what
got you into this. Like what was
your story that got you into this interesting flow, or your past experience
where you maybe werenÕt living it?
Did you come from a place where you struggled with this and had some
realizations? Or, whatÕs your story
regarding this?
Brandon: Absolutely. So, I was never the most talented
athlete, or student, or anything like that. So, IÕve always kind of being looking
for like that edge to know, how can I compete with people who are faster, or
stronger, or more intelligent than me?
And my freshman year after college, I just got done playing my freshman
year of college football, and I just rode the bench. DidnÕt get any playing time and, you
know, I was like, alright, what is it? What can I do to get an edge? And I started actually studying a lot of
Chinese medicine, believe it or not.
And using energy training. And
learning about shock waves and meridians, and how can I manipulate my own to
get into these flow states, and learn about brainwave training. And all of these different modales[?] together taught me how to
really train my mind to be able to live in these present states. To be able to create these, you know,
wonderful coming attractions for what I want. To be able to be more powerful when I
get out there on the football field.
And my real, ha, ha, moment was when I started playing that year. You know, instantly, I was the starting
defensive end for our football team after riding the bench the whole last
year. You know, I went from being
like a two or three student my first year in college to a 4.0 student after I
studied all this. And so, I really
tell everyone, I was like, once I started studying Chinese medicine, it really
just turned me into like super human.
And then once I got interested in it, it was, you know, it was
addicting. It was like, wow. Alright, if I could do that, then what
else is possible? So, from there I
just kept going, you know. I kept
going deeper, and deeper down the bunny hole.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: And learning,
OK, well, you know, researching and understanding, well, if I spent more time
in alpha brain waves, what would that do to my intelligence, my
creativity. And actually when I was
in college, I got this fellowship to actually do my own research on the effects
of meditational brainwave training on strength performance and stress
levels. And strength hadnÕt really
been tested before and I got different results. It showed that people were actually able
to bench press more by just going down into these alpha brainwaves, going
through this coming attraction, or this imagery and then going and doing the
physical practice in real life. And
there also was decrease your stress levels.
Aaron: So,
you did the whole research study on that?
Brandon: I did, I did,
and soÉ
Aaron: With
like different people at your school or different subjects?
Brandon: Yeah.
It was my study and so I just took aÉI couldnÕt do a huge study because I was
one practitioner but I just took six students. I had three in my control group, three
in my experimental group. And just
did my magic on them essentially.
And got some pretty cool results.
Aaron: ThatÕs
really cool. So, you did that while
you were in college?
Brandon: I
did, yeah.
Aaron: Very
cool.
Brandon: So, from there, yeah, I donÕt know how
they let me do that because you should have seen like the other grants people
were getting. It was just like really
scientific like studying microbiology.
And I was just like, well, IÕm pretty sure if I can like make these
people meditate, IÕll make them stronger and IÕll get them less stressed
out. You know, like no professor in
my school like had even studied this kind of thing. And theyÕre just like, alright, you can
try it. Like, I wrote up my study
and it got accepted. So, it was a
lot of fun.
Aaron: ThatÕs
amazing.
Brandon: Yeah. So, since then IÕve had this obsession
with, how can I make things better?
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: And
I just havenÕt solved it, and thatÕs kind of been the manifestation of
Entrepreneur Fitness. And now I
really focus on, how can I work with, you know, entrepreneurs or top
performers. The people who really
want to, like you say, live this inspiring, amazing life. And because, you know, most people live
this kind of baseline life that like theyÕre not unhappy, but theyÕre not like
thrilled with life. And thatÕs
actually like the scariest place to be because you become very comfortable
there.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: And
I really like working with people and getting them out of their comfort zone,
and getting them to really perform at their peak levels. Because I think thatÕs where the beauty
in life really lies, and the magic of life.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: I
totally agree with that. ThatÕs
like the whole message of the truly amazing life is to stop settling and just
start living wholly. Just start
living a truly amazing life rather thanÉitÕs just so easy to settle into
comfort, into our comfort zones. I
mean, all of us have done it.
IÕve been there and that what kind of gets me into gear as far as
realizing that one day and feeling that.
Going back to your story of where you were, so like, you were playing
football and you were benched. Was
it just like over the summer that you studied and then came back the next
season having like retrained your brain and stuff? Was it just over the summer that you had
that transformation? Or what wasÉ
Aaron: Really,
it wasÉI think I went home that winter and I studied a little bit for maybe
like a month or so. And then I just
took my whole summer, I dedicated it fully to learning about brainwave
training. So, train your brain to
activate alpha, beta, and delta brain waves.
Brandon: Which
is what you tend to do in that practice of medication, right? When youÕre goingÉ
Aaron: Exactly.
Brandon: Égoing
into that leaving the flight, or flight response and going into those slower
brain waves, right?
Aaron: Exactly.
Exactly. Yeah. So, that and then learning about the
energy system. So, energy is kind
of like my go-to thing. ItÕs the
thing that I feel like IÕm very good at helping people and myself increase. And itÕs because, you know, through
using our breath or chia. And chia
meansÉ
Brandon: Energy.
Aaron: Chia
means breath and energy.
Brandon: Yeah.
And so breath is everything. And so,
I really learned how to use breath to create more energy. And so like I was only about, not evenÉI
was like 240 pounds and I was just throwing guys around who were like 300 plus
just because I was using like this chia that I was able to generateÉ
Aaron: YouÕre
talking when you were playing football as a defensive tight end?
Brandon: Defensive
end, yeah. I was going against like
offensive tackles [inaudible 17:43]
bases.
Aaron: So
just using, like understanding how to use your breath to create energy, is that
what youÕre saying?
Brandon: Exactly. ThatÕs it man. And itÕs sounds kind of abstract when I
explain this. I donÕt think anyone
has ever applied it to football.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: Based
on what IÕve heard, I donÕt know. The
Sea Hawks last year did some cool stuff I think with meditation.
Aaron: Yeah. I saw that. DidnÕt you post an article on that?
Brandon: I
did. Yeah. The article is actually like over a year
old. So, I thought it was cool to
just bring it up because they showedÉI think they studied how to get these
players into flow and look what happens, they won the Super Bowl, so.
Aaron: Yeah. ThatÕs awesome. ThatÕs just really cool. So, then youÕve just been taking that
fascination with what you were able to accomplish and it just spring boarded
you intoÉever since then, youÕve just kind of continually been studying and
studying. So, when you say what
makes life truly amazing to you right now, if I were to recall from the
beginning, itÕs like the things you do are really this passion to study and
grow, and to share, and to give, and to teach. Is thatÉ
Brandon: Exactly. Yeah. I mean, growth and contribution, right?
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: ThatÕs
where itÕs at. I mean, those are
the things that I experience the most joy and fulfilment doing.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: Just being
able to grow, learn more, being able to expand my abilities, and then once I
have these I get to contribute them.
What more wonderful thing is there in the world than to be able to share
your gifts with other people?
Aaron: Yeah. ThatÕs awesome. I knew we would have a lot of good to
talk about because, I mean, just your energy level, the way you talk about
stuff when we first met was really resonating with all of the 12 pillars. But
the bottom three pillars of a truly amazing life that are like listed on the
Truly Amazing Life poster are grow, give, and empower. And it sounds like thatÕs what youÕre
all about, as far as, on a daily basis.
Brandon: Aaron,
I think you really hit the nail on the head with the hammer there with those
three. I mean, if you can do those
three everyday right, if you can experience that. IÕve never met anyone whoÕs been living
that kind of life who wasnÕt fulfilled, who wasnÕt joyous. I mean, why do we do any of it,
right? Some people would think itÕs
a little controversial when I say this, but I donÕt think anyone necessarily
does anything purely altruistically.
I think we do everything, more or less, for a feeling. WeÕre looking for a feeling, right?
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: And
we get those wonderful feelings from helping other people. So, yes, itÕs a great thing. And this is a great way to experience
these feelings. But I think the
fastest way to do it is just like you said, through those three pillars. Just through empowerment, through giving,
through growing.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: ThatÕs
where itÕs at.
Aaron: Yeah. Well, itÕs clear that thatÕsÉI mean,
your focus on that is why youÕre able to help people. And why youÕve gotten these great
testimonials, and why youÕve been able to have an impact into peopleÕs
lives. And also why you continue to
do it because it is fulfilling, and it is bringing you joy. So, itÕs really a pleasure to be able to
hear about these things and see somebody thatÕs putting it into practice and
helping people, you know, grow in them.
Why donÕt weÉas weÕre wrapping up here, why donÕt you tell us any other
particular advice on how people can implement those pillars in the lives? Or what people could do, from your
perspective today, to more fully live a truly amazing life?
Brandon: Yeah. So, IÕm glad you asked that, Aaron,
because something that you mentioned before really resonated with me, when you
talked about getting people out of their comfort zone.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: I
think that is like the number one most powerful thing you could do, is start to
get comfortable being uncomfortable.
ThatÕs what I tell everyone, right?
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: Because the first time we do anything,
itÕs not comfortable. ItÕs
hard. ItÕs scary. You know, we experience these feelings
of fear and uncertainty. And if we
donÕt take ourselves there on a consistent basis, we cannot grow.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: If
we canÕt stretch ourselves, we canÕt be the person we want to be. So, my biggest advice would be, start to
do things that really push you no matter who you are. You know, maybe youÕre a single man or
woman, and you see someone that youÕd like to introduce yourself to. Maybe youÕre at the grocery store, maybe
youÕre at a yoga class, whatever it may be. Get yourself out of your comfort
zone. Go introduce yourself. Go say, hi. Smile at people as you walk by them. Make eye contact. Make uncomfortable eye contact until
maybe the other person looks away. You
know, do these things that stretch yourself on a daily basis. Make small talk with like waiters, and
cashiers when you talk to them, when usually youÕd just go through the
motion. You know, do things like,
find out likeÉIÕm sure youÕd speak to your audience about this a lot, find out
what really gets you excited and then do those things that seem like theyÕre so
hard, or so uncomfortable and just start taking steps forward. Because the more steps you take going forward
in this uncomfortable state, the more comfortable, and the more normal it
becomes. And you can just go
higher, and higher, and higher.
Aaron: Yeah.
Brandon: I think thatÕs
the most powerful thing you can do.
Aaron: Very
cool. You start getting comfortable
being uncomfortable.
Brandon: Exactly.
Aaron: And
to do that, start today by just doing one thing thatÕs uncomfortable to
you.
Brandon: Exactly.
Aaron: ThatÕs
outside your comfort zone?
Brandon: Right. I mean, I donÕt know about you, Aaron,
can you think of a time recently where like maybe you had a voice in your head
that said, oh, maybe I could do that.
And then you just didnÕt do it?
I have these things all the time.
Aaron: Yeah.
I mean, I think itÕs just a common
practice. Like, that sounds a
little hard. ThatÕs sounds a little
uncomfortable. IÕm not going to do
that. But actually just then doing
that thing rather than just letting it passÉbecause I mean probably all of us
get 20 of those every day or more.
We see things we could do and we just brush them off because theyÕre not
within our comfort zone, right?
Brandon: Exactly.
Aaron: Yeah. Very cool. ItÕs been such a pleasure to discuss
some of these things with you, Brandon.
And hope this has been a value to the people listening and to hear of some
of these ideas about living more fully, getting out of your comfort zone,
getting into that state of flow.
And if people want to learn more about Brandon, or hear about his
coaching, what heÕs doing. I know
heÕs starting a podcast here, right away, that you could get on. So, I believe, you just go to entrepreneurfitness.com,
right Brandon?
Brandon: ThatÕs
right. And the podcast is
Entrepreneur Fitness as well.
Aaron: Yeah. If you want to learn more about Brandon,
hear more about what heÕs doing, or how he might be able to get you into flow,
go over to entrepreneurfitness.com.
IÕll put a link to that on the show notes over at Truly Amazing Life.com
slash podcast on this this episode.
And with that, IÕll let you all go.
Have fantastic week and weÕll catch you on the next episode. Thank you Brandon.
Brandon: Thank
you so much for having me.