Fitness and Iteration in Business & Life Transcript-Hally Brooke

[00:00:00] Miriam: Hello, whether you are a high performer and entrepreneur or someone who prioritizes growth in their life. This episode has something for you.

[00:00:09] Today. We will hear from Hally Brooke, a personal trainer, nutritionist, and a warm enthusiastic entrepreneur who I interviewed with a co-host and friend, Alexander Toth, CEO of ClearBrand.com, which is a marketing agency dedicated to helping you clarify your offering and increase your revenue.

Co-hosted excerpt

[00:00:25] Alexander. And I did several of these co-hosted interviews when we were experimenting with starting our own podcast in early 2021. The following has some excellent excerpts on mindset, business, iteration, and giving back.

[00:00:38] If you would like to hear the full version of this podcast, go to clear brand academy, podcast.com.

[00:00:44] Hally: Thank you for having me! It’s fun to be here. 

Hally’s Business

[00:00:46] So my first is called playful fitness. It’s a personal training and mindset coaching business, designed around the idea that, somehow when we’re kids, we don’t ever think about our traps or our lats and most kids, [00:01:00] childhood obesity aside are actually really fit people.

[00:01:02] Girls are doing monkey bars and boys are running sprints. Kids are generally really fit. And then somehow we hit our twenties, thirties, forties, and moving our bodies because something that has to be on the checklist and it usually ends up getting pushed down and pushed down and pushed down and pushed out until it just doesn’t happen for 10 years.

Unhealthy people

[00:01:18] And then we’re super unhealthy people. So the idea of playful fitness is how do we bring that joy of movement back in to fitness for adults in a way that moves moving your body up higher on the priority list? Because we do things that aren’t fun. You know, even if there’s not time in the day to, you know, do the laundry, we’ll still find time to sit on the back porch and drink margaritas and eat chips and salsa because it’s fun.

[00:01:43] So how do we move fitness up into that same, like, I don’t have time for anything else in my life, but this is fun. I’m going to do it. So that’s what playful fitness. 

[00:01:52] Personal training is kind of the foundation of what I do. So they come to the gym and they work out with me and then I have an app, and in [00:02:00] the app I build custom workouts for people based on their lives.

Where do you want to work out?

[00:02:03] So, if they have a gym that they like going to I’ll build workouts at the gym, if they would prefer going to the park and playing with their kids while they move their body, I’ll build workouts, designed around a playground. If they have, you know, like weights and bands at home, we’ll design workouts around that.

[00:02:16] And that’s great because that has some level of accountability. So as people learn this process of moving for joy, you know, there’s also an accountability piece of going like, Hey, you didn’t move today. Your personal trainer saw that what happened? And then I also have a four month mindset course curriculum that’s online that all of my clients are subscribed to, and it has four parts.

[00:02:35] Learning to Move for Joy

[00:02:35] So the first part. Learning to move for joy. So why, why don’t you use that language instead of working out? What does that mean and how do we implement that in our lives? And then find your fuel, which is, we’re going to throw out the idea of diets and we’re going to figure out what actually fuels you and fuels your body best so that you know how to eat, to feel your best so that you do have energy to engage in your life.

[00:02:56] the, the head college of rhinoplasty. So nose jobs [00:03:00] did this incredible study that had, double blind placebo controlled, but the two experiment groups, one group got a nose job and that’s it. And one group got kind of like internal self-worth and value coaching.

Did the ‘nose job’ work?

[00:03:14] And then at the end, They compared to see who thought of themselves more highly. And what’s fascinating is the people who got the nose job. Self-worth actually decreased in the studies and the group that got that coaching increased. So I’ve taken that and said, okay, most of my clients are coming to me for weight loss or looking better.

[00:03:33] That’s typically why people hire a personal trainer, but we know that you can lose 10 pounds. And if you don’t have that internal. Worth and value. You’re still going to feel really terrible about yourself. So adding that piece in is super important. And then the fourth module is just, I call them happy habits.

Getting through Christmas

[00:03:49] So how do you put these habits in your life in a way that will sustain them through Christmas holidays and crazy times of family? Just wanted to comment on how much I [00:04:00] appreciate your enthusiasm and the way you’re processing this from, a space of what is really going to help your clients, not what’s going to make you the most money.

[00:04:10] Miriam: And I think that’s what makes entrepreneurs successful when they are saying, how can I best serve my clients? And I love that you’re able to quote this study. Hey mindset is every bit as important as movement and movements super important. But as someone who’s both a therapist and a coach, I think mindset is like the bee’s knees.

[00:04:32] It’s it’s huge. 

Mindset is the base of the pyramid

[00:04:34] Hally: So really mindset is the base of that pyramid. It should come first and then nutrition is next because that’s when you were, you’re going to get the most traction and then movement. And then have it. But what we do instead is we go movement first. Cause movement actually creates momentum.

[00:04:50] Once you’re moving, now we have some traction and then we go into nutrition. Cause then people actually start seeing results. Once they start changing the way they eat and then you can talk to them [00:05:00] about, okay, now you’ve lost some weight and you still feel really bad about yourself. So let’s talk about what you need to do in here.

[00:05:06] Miriam: I want to go back for just a second to what you were explaining about your pyramid. And I want to know. Was that something you came into your business with these ideas about, this is how I want to have this structured. And then over time you learned, okay, we got to do this a little bit differently. Or did you come in with one idea and over time it morphed, give us a little timeline of how it was when you began and then what it’s become.

[00:05:35] Research and Psychology and Self Image

[00:05:35] Hally: The way I structured my business and how I work with clients is based in research and psychology because I’m a nerd and I read stuff a lot. It’s also based in my own story and in just so in my own story personally, and then also in my own story as a business owner, as I grew and kind of realized, oh, there’s these other things.

[00:05:55] my own personal story is I was a college app. Super [00:06:00] fit, super healthy, could eat whatever I wanted got out of college and wasn’t working out six hours a day. And so I started gaining weight and couldn’t figure it out. So I had my answer to that was just to stop eating. I sort of went like the eating disorder route, which is not good.

Hally’s own process

[00:06:13] And then just my own process of figuring out how to go to the gym and how to start moving my own body. I didn’t have a coach yelling at me, and working through the process of learning how to move for joy and then figuring out food is something that my body needs because food is fuel that’s I call it, find your fuel.

[00:06:31] I can’t do the things that I want to do unless I’m feeding my body. So it was never a diagnosed eating disorder, but if I’m honest with myself, that’s what it was. And so a lot of that is rooted in. Rooted in that for me. And then also realizing, you know, a ton of my identity was in being a national level college athlete, and now I’m just nobody.

Once you graduate …

[00:06:52] Cause the national level college athlete is great until you graduate your senior year and then it’s like, well now what am I? So that kind of identity piece, my own journey [00:07:00] of walking through and working on, you know, like how to. How to navigate that. And then my journey as a business owner, starting as a Barre Pilates instructor, and then realizing my clients needed more because coming to a bar class once a week is not going to get them to where they need to be.

[00:07:17] So then going and doing national academy of sports medicine and becoming a personal trainer and then same thing. Now they’re working out with me three times a week, but that’s still not going to get them where they need to go. And so then adding in nutrition, because that’s so important and then realize that.

I’m not the only one

[00:07:31] Oh, I’m not the only one who deals with self-image issues. That’s actually the root of this whole thing. And if I don’t add that in, I’m just going to create people with six packs who hate themselves. That’s not good. So adding that in so people can figure out, you know, how to work through their trauma and love themselves and grow.

[00:07:50] So all of the above. 

[00:07:52] Miriam: How long would you say it took for you to be convinced that these insights you’re having are? “Yes. This is the way [00:08:00] to go,”

[00:08:00] because I think initially people have an idea and then you have to sort of test on it and see what kind of feedback do you get. So how long did it take you to become convinced, but then how long does it take your clients who probably come in with,” look, the answer is just getting in shape 

[00:08:16] don’t give me all this other stuff. “

Keeping them in the loop

[00:08:18] And so you have to kind of keep them in the loop long enough for them to grab onto, “ah, she’s onto something.”

[00:08:26] Hally: So just probably my personality is I’m just like, I got an idea and I’m going the outside of that is I don’t spend a lot of time, like stuck in my own head thinking of if it’s going to work or not.

[00:08:39] The downside of that is I end up spending a lot of time building something and then like tweaking it as I go. So I make a recording. And then it’s good. And then I use it for a while and then I have to like remake it because I learned new things in the process. Versus if I had pulled back for, you know, a day and like written it out, it might’ve gone a little bit smoother the first time, but [00:09:00] I also think that’s just part of entrepreneurship.

When it works, it works

[00:09:01] Like we just try stuff. And when it works, it works and when it doesn’t, we tweak it. So the answer to, how do I do this is once I have an insight, I’m like, great. Let’s do it. Also results in my life being really full and a little overwhelming because I have 14 ideas at the same time and I’m like running with all of them.

[00:09:18] So that’s me. 

[00:09:20] And then my clients, it’s funny. I still to this day, because I started my business as pure personal training. I still have clients who are just personal training. then I have clients who are personal training and nutrition. then I have clients who are personal training, nutrition, and mindset, because I’ve grown it as I’ve learned.

Process Learning

[00:09:39] And so. As I’ve learned, I’ve just added these pieces to my program and that’s what people get. So there’s not really a whole lot of convincing. It’s just like, this is what I am. This is what I do. And they say, great. That’s awesome. So whatever level I’m at in my own. Process of learning. What’s going to be best for them is what they’re getting.

[00:09:59] [00:10:00] And then I have a handful of clients. Like I have one client who started with me as personal training, did that for a really long time, then stopped because she moved and then actually just called me again last week for nutrition stuff. And so now she’s working with me for nutrition stuff and she’s back in the app and we’re doing mindset.

Not everyone is sold on the same thing

[00:10:15] So part of that answer. You know, I feel bad for my clients that started working with me right out of the gate because they’re not sold on nutrition and mindset. And I talked to them about it all the time, but, they didn’t get that from the beginning. So they’re still on this personal training track.

[00:10:31] Whereas my clients who got that as I added it in, that’s all integrated and that’s all that, you know, 

[00:10:37] one of the things that I’m learning is that. Whatever that first iteration was there still value in it. There’s value for me, and there is value for my clients. And so, you know, if that’s what they’re seeing instead of the one that’s quote unquote, perfect, which the reality is nothing will be perfect ever.

There’s still value there

[00:10:54] If they’re still, if they’re seeing the old iteration, there’s still value there. If there was something that was [00:11:00] legitimately wrong, like I quoted a study wrong, or, I didn’t have my facts. Right. Now that’s something that I’ll go, you know, take down because it’s not accurate. And I want to make sure that my clients and the people who are following me, watching me, whatever, have accurate information, that’s important to me.

[00:11:17] And science changes too. So, you know, like this study was really good. 2016, but now we have the 2021 study and it’s changed. So as I’ve progressed, I used to take everything down and then only have the quote perfect one up now, for the most part, I just leave it. And I know that people who are really watching me and watching my journey, watch that progression and the people who, you know, stumble into version 1 0 1, there is still value in version 1 0 1

[00:11:44] and it’s not bad that they’re watching that. It’s totally fine. So, I, now I just make the next one and then leave it be.

Clarity

[00:11:53] Miriam: I just love your sense of clarity about who you are [00:12:00] and what you offer. And I think each entrepreneur is in the process as they continue to develop of. I mean, I see it in my own life.

[00:12:09] Where we get a little bit clearer and then our offerings change a little bit you know, what we charge goes up a little bit and you know, the smile as we engage with our clients goes up. I mean, it’s just this whole process. I really want to understand the beliefs, that have made the biggest impact on you as an entrepreneur.

[00:12:30] And then maybe this ties into a mentoring relationship. Someone has showed you how to live well and do business. Well, I don’t know, but I want to throw it out there and we’re just going to see where it goes.

Letting go of perfection

[00:12:42] Hally: in terms of my own beliefs there’s been three that have really shifted the way I roll. One of them has been letting go of perfection and, action taken in the right direction.

[00:12:55] Even if it’s not a hundred percent on point, you know, I might not go [00:13:00] beeline from point A to point Z. I might zigzag a little bit. But zigzagging from point A to point B is going to get me there a lot faster than sitting at point A, trying to figure out how to get to point D perfectly. So that’s been a huge one for me is just being okay with not getting it right.

Ideologies surrounding money

[00:13:14] I think another one for me has been around money and finances. I grew up in a one income household. We never were lacking. I had food and clothes and a roof over my head. but there was never more than enough. There is enough, but there is never more than enough. And so getting over some of my guilt and shame around.

[00:13:35] You know, having an income that actually supports myself, and being able to ask, ask for that and say like, my value is 2,500. And, and having the backup, like I’m not just picking a number out of thin air, I’ve done the math, I’ve backed it up. And it’s a really fair offer. It’s a ton of value, but that’s been huge for me and has taken a long time.

[00:13:56] When I first started as a personal trainer, I was charging $20 an hour. [00:14:00] I’m okay. Really charging what I’m worth. It’s not even worth saying charging more. It’s just charging what I’m actually worth. And then realizing that as I make more money’s, money’s not the goal. 

[00:14:10] My Mission

[00:14:10] Hally: My goal is to help people love their lives and live them.

[00:14:12] Well, that’s my mission. My mission is on my whiteboard is love God, love people, serve others. That’s what I’m doing in my everyday basis. And, and money is a tool in order to do that. So even it’s funny, like one of the things I wrestled with was as I grew my business, my house was a train wreck because I was an entrepreneur and like running around and doing all these things.

[00:14:32] And I didn’t have time to clean my house, but I wasn’t gonna hire a house cleaner because like that’s what snobby rich people do. And I’m not a snobby rich person. And then I was sitting in my back porch one day and just thinking about. I just need someone to vacuum. And had this realization, actually, if I hire a house cleaner, I am allowing someone else to feed their family.

Investing in someone else’s business

[00:14:53] Like I am investing in someone else’s business. And I’m, I’m developing another relationship with another [00:15:00] human on this planet. 

[00:15:02] Oh. 

[00:15:03] And so I have a house cleaner now who I love and is a friend, has become a friend and she’s amazing. And she owns her own house cleaning business. So it means my business is now supporting another woman led business, locally.

[00:15:15] And that’s, that’s a big deal to me. 

[00:15:17] And then just my ability to give back more and to give more my church and give more to local. Like it’s not bad to have income. Money’s a tool not to end goal. 

Work and rest

[00:15:27] So the third one is work and rest are equally revered. That, is one that I am still in the process of working on. My personal medicator is work.

[00:15:38] My life starts falling apart. I started business that’s like other people drink or do drugs. I just start more businesses. Learning that my worth doesn’t come from my business, my worth doesn’t come from the success of my clients, even though that’s something that’s really important to me. My worth doesn’t come from being busy.

The lie

[00:15:57] I think entrepreneurs, [00:16:00] especially, but also women, the busier we are the more worth we think we have. And that is just a total lie. And so learning that I’m allowed to take a nap and that’s a really good thing. Friday at sundown phone does off and phone is off until Saturday morning or sorry, Saturday at sundown, period. End of discussion. Like that is a 24 hours where I am not working under any circumstances, even if it’s like a five alarm fire. It’s like, well, figure that out later. Those have been huge for me. And I think for me, that’s, what’s made running my business sustainable. 

[00:16:35] Miriam: My company is called leave better coaching and therapy. And the idea is that you come and get some help and you leave better, but also that everything you touch in life is left better.

Making the world better

[00:16:48] And so our final question is really what is your best tip for making the world a better place? 

[00:16:56] Hally: Oh, I love that. Leave better.[00:17:00] Honestly my, my best tip is enter into stuff with a servant heart. , if you’ve served well, your business is going to grow. If you serve well at your relationships are going to be healthy.

[00:17:11] If you serve well, your neighborhood is going to be healthy. If you serve well, you’re going to be healthy because you serve yourself too. And I think that’s a huge shift, same thing I’ve made in my business. I think I started my business. Like most entrepreneurs do, like I have an idea and it’s going to absolutely change the world and, I’m going to do it and it’s going to be awesome.

Love God, love people, serve others

[00:17:32] But it’s actually all about me. There’s a lot of eyes on that last sentence I just said. And the truth is, so my mission love God, love people, serve others. If I can do that every single day. My business is going to grow, but I’m also going to go to bed satisfied. Whether I got a new client, whether I didn’t get a new client, whether my client lost 15 pounds or five pounds, did I love them?

[00:17:57] Did I love God? Did I serve them well? [00:18:00] And if the answer is yes, then I have had a successful day. And I think that’s where, you know, it’s from the overflow. Of the heart that things happen. And if the overflow of our heart is greed, then that’s, what’s going to be around us. And if the overflow of our harvest service, then we’re going to make the world a better place, no matter what, whether we’re talking with the grocery store clerk or a client or a friend or anything like that, 

[00:18:24] Miriam: you couldn’t end on a better note.

That just feels profound and weighty.

[00:18:31] How to Connect

[00:18:31] Hally: Playfulfitness.org, or livenourishcoaching.com and then Instagram I’m at Hallybrook. So just like you spell my name, H a L L Y B R O O K E. And then it’s underscored, nourished. 

[00:18:42] Thank you guys. This is fun.

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Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

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Music by Tom Sherlock.