The emergency advisors - Kate Jaramillo & Ken Andrukow

Hey everybody, welcome to the Future of Fitness, where we talk with entrepreneurs, researchers, and practitioners in fitness, wellness, and the health sciences. I'd like to give a big thanks to our sponsors, Level 5 Mentors, helping entrepreneurs achieve the highest levels of freedom in time, money, relationships, health, and purpose. Also, Certified Course Creation, helping entrepreneurs create accredited online certifications that are not only lucrative but highly scalable. Go to level5mentors.com or certifiedcoursecreation.com and learn more. I am your host, Eric Malzone. And once again, welcome to the future of fitness.

All right, and we're live. Hey, Ken, welcome back.

Good morning.

So let's cut straight to it. I think we're in pretty interesting, unusual times. I mean, today is uh as the day of this recording is the 17th of March in 2020. And you know, over the past 48 hours, I feel like things have really accelerated with the news cycles and the actualities of the coronavirus. I mean, even up here in northwest Montana, we've got ski resorts closing, health clubs closing, theaters, schools, you name it, basically any public gathering, things are shutting down pretty fast. And you see cities like San Francisco, which are going on complete 24-hour lockdown. It's hard not to have a little anxiety about what's going on, right? And I think, you know, with times like these, I think we all agree that there's opportunities to step up and be a leader and help. You create a lot of value for your fellow man and woman. And that's the topic that we're gonna chat about today. So give us some ideas, like Ken, up in Calgary, what's what's going on up in your your neck of the woods?

Uh, same as everywhere. Uh our city is slowly systematically distancing themselves from each other and shutting down. We officially shut down our gym at the end of day yesterday until further notice. You know, we want to be optimistic and think it'll be, you know, a couple weeks, but probably not. It'll probably be longer. Maybe I'm just way too much of an optimist. But yeah, this is you know, there's a lot of stuff that's going on that's gonna be really difficult. Um, obviously those who contract the virus and hopefully never, but it's obviously happening and pass away because of it. I mean, that's really terrible. What we're dealing with is meh, it's kind of like it's an inconvenience, it will be difficult. There's a lot of people that are wondering, you know, what they're gonna do for money now that they're sitting at home. They're wondering, you know, if I have to close my business down or I temporarily get laid off, where's it all coming from? But the bottom line is this this is where the optimism comes in for me anyway. We're all in the same boat. There isn't one of us right now in the world, it seems, that isn't. And we all have to sort of be positive. And this thing's gonna clear, and our governments and our friends and our family, everyone's gonna band together, minimize as best as possible the financial impact. Because I think that's what most people are really worried about. I think I just saw something about in the US, they're going for $850 billion in aid to the people. So it's a lot of money. And I think in the end, we're all in the same boat. It takes positivity to get out of this thing. We all got to do the right things, stay home for a little while. It's not the worst case scenario. So that's kind of how I think about it.

Yeah. Kate, what's going on in your neck of the woods? You're having a different experience as well.

Yeah, I mean, we're anticipating lockdown. There's a curfew that's from like 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. A lot of things, you know, my husband's home working from home. Everyone's kind of been told to work from home. My stepdaughter is really upset that her school, like they're doing Zoom school, but she's really upset because she's like a preteen girl and looks forward to going to school and seeing her friends.

Right.

So she's having she's having a tough time, but I work from home, my kids are homeschooled. There really hasn't been a huge, there's not really been a change in my schedule very much at all. But you know, we're just trying to be careful. My kids' activities are either postponed or the really smart ones are doing online classes. Our gymnastics teacher is doing an online class for them on Thursday night. So, really, like what I'm focused on is just serving my community, kind of mitigating their their fear and their worry and their anxiety, and just letting other people know that like we're cool, like we're gonna get through this together. Things may get a little bit worse, but ultimately they'll get better. And we just kind of need to to navigate and figure it out and try and just stay calm.

Yeah, yeah, I agree. I look at times like these, and you know, I'm both a realist and an optimist. And some people say that realists are just uh another name for a pessimist. But uh, you know, I look at it from both sides and I think there's a ton of opportunity for people to step up, especially in local communities. I think that's where where leadership is really needed. And I don't want to say this in a way where it sounds, I guess opportunistic is the only word I could see of, but whenever there's a big problem, there's always opportunity for innovation and leadership to change hands. And I think that's one of the key things now. I mean, I'm already seeing, you know, bright lights with bright spots with what's going on. I mean, they just uh released a possible vaccine in Australia, right? You know, good for the Australians. They're they're stepping up and doing some really cool things. But I think in the local communities and in our business communities, that's where leadership, especially people who listen to the show, that that's where they can really step up. And how how does one do that? How does one become a leader in their community and within their business?

Eric, I think that it's interesting because a lot of people are scared to step up because they feel like they're being opportunistic. But in fact, in times like this, as you said, innovation kind of comes to the top. And so long as it's identifying a problem and going out there and using what you're able to create to help others, how is that opportunistic? I get it. Like if someone's out there trying to sell hand sanitizer at the moment at a profit, yeah, probably opportunistic. If someone is out there, hey, I got a great new course about how you do this at home, less so, but it's still opportunistic. I think if if you're really out there leading, helping people feel better, see the positives, and in doing so, an opportunity arises. There's nothing opportunistic about that. I think it's the way the world works.

I agree. I totally agree. And and one of the best ways to to calm your own anxieties is to go out and help other people too. It's self-serving within itself, but it's a good it's a good way to look at things, right?

You guys hear me say this all the time, and I encourage people all the time to do this, but give away your influence. Like wherever you have expertise, knowledge, relationship, etc., give it all away right now. Forget about selling something and focus on creating value. And the only way we really create value is through our influence and expertise. I've been going out a lot and offering time to speak on in other people's networks and help them see where there's opportunity. We have one client in the group that he's given away almost two million dollars worth of education. Through the through the fall and winter, they took what used to be an in-person workshop and they took it online. And the idea was in the spring, they were gonna start selling it for a thousand bucks. And it's it's an education process for coaches. And instead of launching it, they decided to give it away. And to this point, they've got two thousand people already registered. So if you look at that, like that's a huge amount of revenue to give up, but they're giving away their influence, and eventually what's gonna happen is that people will come back because they saw the value, and they're gonna remember that company as someone that stood out in the wind and the rain and the snow and all the nasty bits and said, I'm here to help. So, you know, that's them giving away their their influence. When things are like this, when they're uncertain or scary, people just kind of turn off and they face inward. And we've got to kind of help them see what's on the outside, and and it's not that bad, and we're all in the same boat. And you know, that's kind of what giving away your influence really does.

I agree, and that doesn't have to be done, you know, necessarily at that scale. And I think, you know, one of the great examples we can use right now, because we all know it well, is the local gym owner, right? Who, you know, is now basically being asked to close their doors for a while, and that that time is uncertain, you know, the length of time. Many can simply close the doors, sit in fear and expect and the worst and hope for the best. Or, you know, you can take the other approach, which I really like, is use your community, keep the communication wide open, almost triple your communication with your community and and your your membership, and start using that as a power to go help people and being a leader there because people won't forget that and people will rally behind that. And that's that's one of the things where, you know, I think you're talking about taking it from external into or internal into external. It's just a prime example. And I mean, my sister had a she's a head of her local community through her church organization. And some of the stuff that she's been saying, I love like, hey, here's now is the time to go support a local business, right? Um, she's she's getting her people to rally behind and go buy a gift certificate to their favorite small business in the in the area. Maybe they may they may not be able to use it now, next month or ever, but they're helping that that business get through the short term. And there's a lot of different ways to do that. Or if your company is in a situation where you can handle a month's loss is, you know, giving back a membership for a month and just letting the people have that and know that you got their back. It all comes down to really, like you guys said, is not focusing internally, but looking, okay, where's my opportunity to help here? And uh and how do I do that?

Yeah, again, we're all in the same boat. So, you know, if we close the gym, it's because we have to. And every city that I know of right now is actually mandating people distance themselves from one another, closing restaurants, reducing access. So now everyone's at home. So whether we close the gym or not, everyone's at home anyway. They can't come to the gym. So what we have to do is realize there's a barrier put in between us. How do we overcome the barrier? How do we help them? How do we still hold them accountable? So we're doing virtual classes three times a day. One of them will be recorded so they can use it anytime. We're doing a gear loan out, we're gonna do a nutrition challenge, we're gonna text and communicate often with our clients. One of our level five clients has a SaaS company called Nomly, and they're essentially a communication tool, and they're gonna give it away for free for a period of time just so gyms can better communicate with their members. And then the last thing that we're gonna try to do is on an appointment basis, we will put a lockbox at the gym. And in if you live in the same household, which means you're around each other anyway, up to four people can book a 45-minute session at the gym, go in, do a workout, clean up, walk out, then 15 minutes later, another person, maybe two people, if you don't live in the same household, two people can come in. They've got to adhere to certain stipulations about how far apart they stay and all that stuff. They'll be able to come in and work out and use the gym that way without, you know, we have 12,000 square feet, little more than 12, you know, three or four people in there feels like you're the only person there. And they'll be able to keep a lot of distance and clean and all the rest of that stuff. So yeah, we're trying all sorts of different innovative ways to keep people together.

That's great. I love it. Kate, you're you're very networked in the health and wellness community. That's a population that's susceptible due to the amount of contact they have with people who may not be at the highest levels of health. But what what what's the trends that you're seeing in the health and wellness community?

Everyone's a little bit scared because the especially people that are running online, you know, boot camps right now for fitness and nutrition, they're like, oh, well, my clients want to sit and watch Fox News and eat eat Oreos, you know, like they're stress eating right now. And so they're like, well, what's what's gonna happen with this package? Am I gonna have to refund money? Like, what's gonna be what's going to happen to my business? And you know, I think that fortunately, like online entrepreneurs, we're gonna be okay. We have very little overhead. I think that right now, what we've been talking about is just be there for your clients, just be there for them, empathize with them, let them know that you you can understand like where they're at right now. But wouldn't this be a great time to practice mindfulness, mindfulness around eating, journaling, going in and doing like live, a lot more Facebook lives or Zoom meetings where everyone can be face to face. Where they're like, they're like walking around each other's like kitchens and pantries and talking about food that they're going to prep. And they're doing like live workouts together again, like just to foster community. And and we're talking about too, like just pouring into them, like giving them a little bit more love. Maybe they have a little bit more access to you at this time. Maybe they have some, you know, some extra voxer access to you, or you're scheduling more one-on-one calls. But just this is not a time to say, to throw up your hands and just be like, oh, well, they're gonna stress eat. So I I don't know how to control that. It's not really about controlling, just pouring love into them and showing that you're there for them. That's what we're focusing on.

And and ultimately we can't control any of this. And I think that's one of the biggest lessons from this in a society where we always assume we have control of shit. We don't. And this is the perfect example. Like, we can't control any of this. Um, we just gotta roll the wave.

And I feel like this is the perfect time for us to innovate, for us to be creative, for us to like pour back into our businesses, take the classes or listen, like watch the webinars that we've kind of been putting off. Or like if you're like me and you have an online course graveyard, maybe go back to that. There could be some golden nuggets in there. But create, see what the needs of people are right now. Maybe you can do some sort of a 14, 30-day challenge where you're just bringing people together, but and just listen to the needs of people and then be the entrepreneur than the leader that you are and create what's what's missing in the marketplace.

I think the the company Zoom, which obviously we're all big fans of Zoom because we use it every day, almost every hour, but I know they gave away their you know highest tier of service to anything grades K through 12, so they could do their digital class, and it's awesome. You know, that's that's entrepreneurship at its highest level, I think, is is really using that that leverage and influence to help. One of the interesting things that, you know, from a macro level is you look at, okay, well, what's there's obviously going to be a lot of discomfort and pain through however this virus rolls itself out, but you look at the other end and you know, what if what if we get a lot of good things that change from this, right? I mean, I I saw a photo of the 405 freeway in LA. There's almost no one on it because now everyone's realizing that they can work remotely. And what does that change? You know, it changes a lot of things. People start to see bright spots in all of this, and and perhaps there's big solutions to be had as well. So I think yeah, it's it comes down to how you look at it, the lens at which you look at the things and and the actions you take. Yeah, it's just it's it's really interesting. None of us have been through this, right? I look at your kids, Kate, and wonder like, what are they gonna think 20 years from now? Kind of like when I was growing up and we had a duck under the desk because uh if the nuclear you know alarm went off, it was just imprinted in your mind of what could happen. Yeah, it's just interesting thoughts. That's just me rambling on what could happen.

Yeah, I think it's important to again, we there's nothing we can do, can't control these current events. So the best thing to do is for is to forget about them and just focus on how you respond. And you said something earlier about control, Eric. And it's like when things go really well, we often think that we can control events and that we are actually in control and we're not. Like we do something well, we're like, oh, that's awesome. We got you know five new clients, and and you feel like it's something you control. Um I'm not sure that you did, but I mean things lined up well and and it all came together. But when things go bad, and if you're one of these people who believe you do control things, what happens to you then? Now you're out of control, you no longer control things, and you now become potentially upset, sad, depressed as sort of a worst case. So, you know, it's it's like forget about the events, there's nothing you can do about them. Focus on the response. How do you reach out? How do you present in the world? It's a really good time to focus your attention and energies on being responsive to others, and there's nothing else you you can't predict what's about to come. So, you know, just focus on how you respond to things that are are real and in front of you.

Yeah, I love that. I love it. I mean, ultimately, like we have a small circle of influence, right? We can control our reactions to things, and that's about it. And as you go through this, if there's one big takeaway, realize that all you can really control is is how you react to it, and and that's well within your power, but that's a very that that soul thing is actually extremely powerful because you can react to it in a way that serves others, which in turn serves yourself. And that's what we need people. I mean, it's a weird world, right? I mean, even up here in Montana, you're seeing stores emptied, you know, with toilet paper. Toilet paper of all things, right? The water is still full, canned goods are still full, but everyone's taking toilet paper. And you just look at what how people are reacting and you start to realize that wow, someone really needs to, people who are leaders really need to step up now and say, why are you doing this? And ask those questions because that's that's ultimately what's gonna, you know, keep us on course through tougher times.

Yeah. When times get tough, we all have to make a fundamental decision. Are we gonna complain or are we gonna be grateful? I'm pretty grateful right now, you know. I have really great support amongst our members, my friends, my family, my colleagues. People are reaching out to me constantly. Even as we're on this call, people are reaching out right now that I haven't heard from in a while. Just checking in, making sure like if everything's okay. It's awesome. And I'm super grateful for it. So you can see the difference when you go out there and and there's people complaining and they're agitated and like they they're rolling their eyes because they made the effort to go to the grocery store and there's no toilet paper. Come on. There's a classic thing that happened the other day, and it's about like realizing what's available now, right? And I was driving through Starbucks to get a coffee and and a couple others for some staff members, and the clerk said, Did you want some napkins with your stuff today? And I'm like, No, I'm good. He said, You know, this can be used for toilet paper. I was like, That's right. Yeah, so it's like focus on what's available when things change for the worse. Many desirable things are missing.

Yeah.

Including information, knowledge, tools, systems, all these things, right?

And time, yeah. Just being able to slow the freak down.

Yeah, you know, we're gonna look back at this thing, guys, and ever and the world will too, and go, wow, that was amazing. I got to spend more time with my friends and family. And in nine to ten months from now, there's gonna be more babies in this world that uh are gonna fill the world up with great people. So coronians. Yeah, the coronials.

I love it. Oh, that's awesome. Well, that's great messaging, you guys. I think that's a nice, nice cap to this, unless anybody else has any other kind of final thoughts and points on leadership through crisis.

Yeah, just calm down, guys. We're all in the same boat. If you're feeling a little bit anxious, get on Zoom and teach a friend how to upload it or jump on FaceTime and just connect, don't complain. Just call them up and say, hey man, thanks for being my friend, and I really appreciate you. That's a good way to start every day.

Yeah, right.

I I try to do that all the time. I mean, I I didn't get to finish our conversation yet uh from yesterday, Eric, but like I I you know, in the afternoon it was like, hey man, I I'm just thinking about you and want to make sure you're okay. Yeah, as much for me is for for anyone on the other end, right? That does.

Yeah, Kate, any any final thoughts on you?

No, just to echo what Ken said, like it's gonna be all right. Just be the leader that you are, lead your community, lead your clients, you know, like just take the time to to step back and I like we've talked about on our podcast before, like time and having buffer days and things like that. Like, this is a freaking amazing buffer opportunity. Yeah, you know, to like slow down to maybe just like take a full day off to maybe catch up on some sleep or or hang out with your kids and watch something funny, like not dark or the news. Just watch like mindless comedy or the office from all the seasons, and then just like get back at it. See what you come up with, see how you can serve. I think that that's gonna be what really sets are the businesses that come out way ahead after all this, is they're gonna see how they can serve and they're gonna be incredibly innovative about how they go about serving. And I'm excited to see it, and I can't wait to buy from you.

I love it. It's it's pretty cool. Like we shut the gym down, and the messages that I'm getting, like, how do we help? Don't worry, we're gonna keep our memberships alive. We know you it needs to be there. You guys are awesome. We love you. Like, these are the messages, right? And we're gonna find ways. I have coaches coming to the staff members coming to the house today. I'm gonna make them steak and eggs, we're gonna have a really nice visit, probably drink too much coffee together, and we're gonna work out all of our plans on how to deploy the most value we possibly can. And I'm really excited about it, to be honest.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, it's an opportunity to to do things differently. And uh, you know, I think everybody on this call, on this this recording loves to innovate. So, you know, it's it's an opportunity, and not everyone thinks that way, but everyone can, and hopefully that's a message that people get from this today. So, yeah, you guys, thank you for for a great conversation. And uh, you know, we'll get this out there as soon as possible so people can benefit and get some feedback on it too. Hey, it's your host, Eric Malzone. Thank you so much for listening to another episode of the Future of Fitness. If you enjoyed it, please do me a huge favor by going to the website and signing up for our newsletter.

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