The Pat Flynn Show

Dorie Clark, author of Entrepreneurial You, joins me to discuss generalism, branding, and building multiple income streams.

Som's back, and in this episode we talk about the importance of studying philosophy, for both pragmatic and existential reasons. We also give a bit of background on each other's personal schools of thought. Interesting episode, if I do say!

Rain Bennett, two time Emmy-nominated filmmaker, joins me to discuss the power of fitness culture, and the positive impact he's seen fitness make on so many people's lives.

In this episode I talk about the skill of fitness, and why daily practice can offer better/quicker results, but also why you don't HAVE to train everyday to get results. This is an important conversation and will give you further insight into my approach to programming for general physical preparedness.

Dr Tim Jennings, psychiatrist and master-pharmacologist, joins me to discuss an interesting theory: Were our brains shaped by God in such a way that having a spiritual practice is just as essential to our health as exercise and proper eating? Dr. Tim says yes, and makes the case from the perspective of neuroscience, and how science confirms the merit of Scripture.

Aleks Salkin joins me again as we discuss a few of our favorite books in fitness, business, philosophy, writing, spirituality, and more.

Tom Woods, Harvard educated historian, joins me to discuss how he went from teacher to business owner, by mastering the channel of email marketing.

Aleks Salkin joins me again to talk program design. Our mission: To discuss creativity and style within exercise and variable selection. In other words, to make an exercise routine altogether practical, effective, and FUN.

Jon Reed is a professional communicator with 20 years of writing and video experience. In this episode, we discuss video marketing - in particular, what to keep in mind when conceiving and shooting your video, and how to make sure you're producing an effective, engaging video for your social media audience.

Aleks Salkin joins me again to discuss the creative process. Aleks is like me in the sense he used his background in writing as a foundation for his fitness career. So we thought it'd be fruitful to discuss the nature of creativity--where it comes from, how to cultivate it. Because whether you're writing or designing workouts, creativity is a skill that can be developed, so long as you come at it with the right frame of mind.

In my episode with John Bair on depression and anxiety, I mentioned a meditation practice that made all the difference for me, and ultimately led to my full emotional recovery. That mention led to a flood of emails asking what exactly this meditation practice is. So I'll do the best I can to describe this form meditation (which is a literal meditation on the mind itself) in this episode, and walk you through some steps for getting started. I hope this helps.

I often say a good generalist is just a short term specialist. But what does that mean? Such is the topic for today's episode, as I lay out the generalist approach for getting more things done and increasing efficiency in everything from exercising to building a business. The secret, I would say, is in short term specialization, or learning to surge in one (maybe two) directions at a time, while maintaining everything else, and then switch. Don't try to do everything at once. You'll get worse results that way and you'll also run out of discipline. Instead, surge and maintain. Here's how.

"Standards," says Dan John, "help clarify the conversation. They expose gaps." Dan John is back again, this time to discuss why we need standards, in everything from lifting to reading, and more. We have a fun with this episode, going at the topic of standards through Dan John's lists of favorite books, movies, and albums--why these works meant to him, what he got out of them, and how they shaped his philosophy on lifting and life. In other words, how they helped him to develop standards. He also has a special assignment for YOU, listener. Be sure to hear what that is.

In this episode, I play back an interview where I was asked about generalism--what it is, and how to develop it. In this talk with Dr. T, I unpack this philosophy of mine, while giving examples of how it applies to fitness, business, creativity, and life. I also make the case of why generalist (being better than most people, at most things) > specialist (being the best at only one) in almost every regard, and how people are gravely mislead when focusing too much (or for too long) in one direction. This is perhaps the my greatest exposition of generalism yet. That's why I wanted to share.

As much as I have loved all my podcast episodes, this one may be the most important. John Bair, strength coach, and business owner, joins me to discuss subjects that aren't talked about--or at least not talked about enough: Depression, anxiety, and so on. This episode starts out on somber ground, as John and I open up about our struggles with (him) depression and (me) anxiety, but soon turns into an optimistic and hopeful discussion, as we outline the methods we've used for turning these disorders around. One of them, of course, being strength training. But we dive into meditation and a few other strategies, as well. If you've ever struggled with depression or anxiety, our hope is this episode beams a ray of optimism, shows there is a way out of this, and that you can take control (and eventually overcome) these disorders with the right practice and approach, and the right community. Or, even if you've never struggle depression or anxiety, it's likely you know someone who has, so we do our best to take that into account, and give a perspective for people in support roles, as well. Please share this episode. It couldn't be more important.

Alwyn Cosgrove, co-author of The New Rules of Lifting, fought stage-four cancer twice, and won. He's also created one of the world's most successful gyms and fitness communities, Results Fitness. (Oh, and he's a Tae Kwon Do guy, like me. So, that's cool.) I brought Alywn on to ask him how he did it. From launching a successful (and, at the time, controversial) book franchise that made people think twice about "conventional cardio" to creating systems for a thriving fitness business, and more.

Steph Gaudreau, strength coach, owner of Stupid Easy Paleo, joins me to discuss all the ways she's made herself impervious to life's onslaught. From weight lifting, meditation, Jiu Jitsu, and entrepreneurship, Steph is a yet another fine example of an expert-generalist. She's great at everything she does, because she's committed herself to being in process. From high school chemistry teacher to online strength-empowerment phenom, Steph shares many of the steps (and stumbles) she's had along the way, and lessons learned therefrom. Definitely listen to this episode.

Andy Morgan, owner of RippedBody.com, loves living in Japan. He's also fortunate enough to have established a successful online coaching business to fund his adventures. I brought Andy on to talk about the success he's had, and lessons learned, in building a business based around virtual coaching for people interested in getting in shape. We also talk a lot about the amazing weirdness that is life in Japan, for someone born in England. The other day, for example, he dined at a hedgehog cafe. Imagine that! You're going to love this episode. Lot of good actionable tidbits, with plenty of fun anecdotes along the way.

This episode argues the core of my philosophy of generalism--the theme of the podcast itself, and the thesis of my upcoming book. That argument is this: Forget being the best in the world. Instead, focus on getting good to great--or at least fairly competent--at a variety of different skills, then learn to combine those skills to form a competitive advantage and creative spirit. In this episode, Jordan and I discuss how to become an expert-generalist, ironically enough, by being an effective "short-term specialist", or learning to rotate your learning emphasis. We tie all this in to building strength, businesses, relationships, and more. Promise you're going to love it.

Gary Lachman, former bassist of the band Blondie, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, joins me for an eclectic conversation on the history and mystery of consciousness. Part of what I love about podcasting is getting to talk to people like Gary on topics that we ultimately have no true understanding of--consciousness being one of them. There are, of course, theories. There have always been theories of what creates this mysterious sense of "being you." Having explored and continuing to explore many of these theories, is what lead me to Gary's work, which takes an unconventional, but not entirely unusual view on how consciousness came to be, and where it's heading. What a fun and thought-provoking episode. A little different than anything so far, but isn't that what this show is about? Generalism.

Being authentic is hard work. Most of us live in a state of defensiveness, putting our guard up to shield ourselves from criticism or judgement. While this seems like the safe place to be, being inauthentic leads to unhealthy--sometimes even downright paranoid--behavior. Opening up, becoming vulnerable, and letting people in is one of the most challenging, yet ultimately rewarding aspects of life. Authenticity is particularly strenuous in the business world and on such spheres as social media. But it's immediately important, and the closer you get to finding and unleashing your authentic self, the more meaning your life will have. Authenticity leads to trust. Trust leads to better outcomes, healthier relationships, and happier customers. Here are my thoughts on how to open up.

Jacqueline Carly of GetPlanty.com joins me to discuss the not-so-subtle intricacies of nutrition and how the job of every coach is to play the role of detective. Nutrition problems, in other words, are not just nutrition related. So if this episode has anything to teach, it's that everything is connected, and everything matters. Said another way: Just because you have poor eating habits, doesn't mean poor eating is your problem. Maybe your job sucks, or maybe your relationship is a mess. Poor eating is as often a symptom as it is a cause, and taking an overly reductionist view on the subject not only ineffective--it's lazy.

Chris Lopez, owner of fitandbusydad.com and kettlebellworkouts.com, joins me to discuss why he sold everything and moved from Toronto to the jungles of Costa Rica. Chris and his wife homeschool their children and have been living out of a shipping container. As you might suspect, I had a few questions about this, and our conversation, to no surprise, was incredibly entertaining. Chris, like myself, considers himself a minimalist/optimalist. So we tie these themes in as well, from training to business and more. This was a truly fun episode. Hope you enjoy.

"Knowing you suck is a great thing. It excites me to know I can improve." Jordan Syatt, strength coach, world record holding powerlifter, personal trainer to Gary Vaynerchuk, and my co-host of the seasonal Online Fitness Business Podcast, joins me to talk about sucking, or in some cases stumbling, your way to success. On this eclectic and sarcastic episode, Jordan and I press each other with a series of uncomfortable questions. We also dig into how success/achievement can be a snare, and how embracing the suck and remaining "in process" is the way ahead. We also talk about business mistakes we've made, social media strategy, and all that sort of thing. This was a great episode, and I know you're going to get a ton out of it. Enjoy!

Aleks "The Hebrew Hammer" Salkin is a strength coach and world-traveler living in Jerusalem. He journeys the globe delivering sermons on how not to suck. It's a pretty sweet gig. In this episode we solve all the usual world problems, such as: The ultimate post workout meal that nobody seems to be eating, what surprising lessons Aleks has learned moving from Nebraska to Jerusalem, and how crawling like a baby can unlock hidden strength. This is a wild one folks. Hope you enjoy!

Lou Schuler is an award winning journalist, co-author of The New Rules of Lifting series, fiction writer, and history buff. I wanted to bring Lou onto the show because I've long admired his abilities behind a keyboard, and how he's been able to find success in unconventional ways, by combining skills that, from a view, appear unrelated. He's a great example of a generalist. Our discussion was as eclectic as I hoped it to be. First, we talked about whether someone can lead a happy/productive/meaningful life in a state of delusion--what Lou calls Magical Thinking. (Short answer: Yes.). But we also discussed how such gullibility presents grave danger if ever it attaches itself to something like believing your diet should be based on the length of your big toe. We also talked on writing a bit, as well, and how Lou handles such impediments as writer's block. His response is as straightforward and as effective as it gets--classic Lou. Lou also trotted out his Rule of 80%, which so far stands as the opening statement of my upcoming book: If you want to be happy in life, know what you want, and get 80% of it. Listen in and we'll explain!

Dr. Spencer Nadolsky (aka The Doc Who Lifts) is a specialist in obesity medicine, and renowned weight loss coach. He's also one of my business partners and close friends. I brought Dr. Spencer on to discuss evidence based approaches to eating and exercise, the benefits, as well as the drawbacks, and to help us dissect an interesting new study that came out around the idea of "nutritional periodization", which we've both been advocates of for some time. We also talk a bit about fasting, and give some real, practical ways that people can start losing weight. A short but powerful episode. Hope you enjoy.

Michael Malice, author of Dear Reader, is an authority on North Korea, full time writer (also celebrity ghost writer), radio show host, columnist for The Observer, and political commentator. He's also one of my online clients. Michael Malice encapsulates what it means to be a generalist. He's developed skills in many areas to create a successful, thriving career around what he loves--running his mouth. (Who wouldn't love that?) On this episode, Michael and I discuss everything from how to effectively self-publish through a Kickstarter campaign, outsource decision making around working out, and cure writer's block, all the while getting an off-the-cuff history lesson on North Korea. We even dip our toes into philosophy and networking as well. You're going to love this episode.

You can't be successful in life without a proper proportion and understanding of what's important: Work, rest, play, and pray/meditation. This episode discusses how to approach balance without losing productivity. In fact, the strategy I give of "rotational specialization" increases productivity AND balance. They're not mutually exclusive. One ultimately enhances the other. Generalism is about balance. You can't be better than most people, at most things, if you aren't well-balanced. But you don't, paradoxically enough, achieve balance by trying to do all things at once. Hence the need for pockets of specialization. How you get there may surprise you. Hope you enjoy this discussion.

Dan John, strength coach, author, professor of theology, discus thrower--sounds like a generalist to me! Dan John, as many of you know, is one of the greatest minds in strength and conditioning today. He even invented the goblet squat, for heaven's sake. But more impressive, is Dan John's generalist attitude, of wanting to enjoy "the buffet of life", as he calls it. In this episode we cover it all. Dan John tells us why what you measure matters, how to best approach strength training, how to become a better, more productive writer, and more. I love everything about this episode.

Chris Brogan, CEO of Owner Media Group, NYT Bestseller, is is a master communicator. I've been following and learning from Chris for years--he's one of my top "business guys." I was excited to have Chris on to ask him all the meaty questions. What does his writing process look like? How in the heck has he written ten books and lived to promote them? What are his favorite lifts in the gym? What is the essential stack of skills needed to succeed in the online business world? We cover a lot in a short amount time, which is no surprise. Chris is one of the most helpful people I've ever met.

Arjuna Aishaya, a bright path Ishaya monk and meditation teacher, joins me to discuss the many, countless benefits of meditation, and some simple ways of getting started. From calming an anxious mind, to pursuing the meaning of life, meditation is means through which we can connect with a deeper sense of reality and purpose in life.

If you're looking for immediate steps you can take to start growing your business, this episode is for you. I had the pleasure to sit down with New York Times bestselling author Yuri Elkaim as we discussed "scaling the unscalable" or how Yuri makes small, personal, grassroots efforts to build his high end consulting business--from personal messages on Facecbook, to building reciprocity among his already established network. These are tactics anyone can use and get started with. I think you're going to love this one.

What are the first steps toward starting an online business? I thought it would be helpful to talk you through what I believe are essential components you need to have in place for building your online empire. As with anything, this is about basics. Because those who are successful at business are like those who are successful at fitness: They own and understand the basics. The basics of building an online business? I'll give you a hint: It starts with your email list. More in the episode. Hope you enjoy! - Pat

I'm often asked, "Are kettlebells the only thing you use?" The answer, simply, is no. There is a tool for every job, and your job, is to figure out what that tool is, and how best to use it for your goal. In this episode I discuss what I feel the best piece of exercise equipment is for every goal, from lower body strength, to conditioning, and mobility. Hope you enjoy!

David Dellanave joins me to discuss four (or five? It might have been five.) skills for succeeding at life. It's some number of skills. And all of them are important. Perhaps not important enough to remember how many skills we talked about, but certainly important enough to talk about and then forget. Enjoy.

When we think of creativity, we often think in terms of art – a painting or sculpture, for instance. But creativity is a valuable trait that goes beyond just artistic expression. Professionals need to find creative solutions to increase productivity or reduce costs. Entrepreneurs use creativity to find solutions to problems customers are experiencing. Marketers need to think of ways their companies can stand out from the competition. Even fitness pros need to be creative if they want to discover new ways of gaining strength. So what is the essence of creativity, and how can it be nurtured even in someone who doesn't think he/she is creative at all? We discuss in today's episode!

If you're a fitness pro trying to grow an online audience, this is your episode. Vince Delmonte joins me to discuss Youtube strategy for fitness pros. We cover everything: How to gain more subscribers, how to come with content ideas, how to structure your videos to appeal to the right people.

Kettlebell complexes are my go-to for time-efficient, hard-hitting, fat-stripping workouts. So I figured I would discuss both the benefits and versatility of training with complexes for faster fat loss, along with more efficient muscle gain. Specific examples and workouts provided. Enjoy!

Som's back and today we talk about how much you should be able to deadlift from the perspective of a generalist. From there, Som gives a simple, 2x/week, 15-rep program for getting your numbers up. If you like deadlifting, you're going to love this.

In this episode, Som is back, and we discuss how to get better at anything that interests you, by using the same principles you would in the weight room: Repetition and Resistance. This is a fun one, and focuses a lot on skill development. We talk fitness, martial arts, music, and writing.

Our first guess is Som Sikdar--who would have known?! The dude is a ninja though. He's a 6th blackbelt, successful business owner, and can design microchips. Also, deadlifts over 400lbs. Sounds like someone who might be an expert-generalist. In this episode, Som and I make the argument for why generalist > specialist, particularly in business, but also in fitness. This episode sets the groundwork for things to come.

The point of The Pat Flynn Show is to teach you to evolve into an expert generalist, or someone who is better than most people, at most things. We're going to cover a wide array of interesting subjects and talk to a lot of interesting people. So there will be conversations about fitness and also conversations about business, and maybe even something on learning how to play the kazoo. We'll see how it goes. Either way, I'm glad you're here.