Byron Morrison: Eating Healthy To Really Love Life

Byron Morrison Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Podcast


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Introducing Byron Morrison

Byron Morrison is our guest today on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots podcast interview.

He is a man who seems is really hitting his stride and finding his thing in life.

He is on a mission to show us all how we can create a better us by being aware of what we are putting into our bodies, and what actions we are taking on a daily basis.

Now e have seen these fitness guys time and time again, bring to the world some new diet or fad which for many is very hard to maintain after the initial buzz of tacking something new.

But our guest believes that we should do it a different way.

And instead of forcing these principles in to our life and hope that they fit, we should look to tailor our life and go about it a very different way.

How The Dots Joined Up For Byron

As he says ” Back in the day I was in a pretty bad shape. The truth is I never realised how bad I felt until I finally started to feel better and this is the unfortunate reality that so many people don’t even realise they are living in everyday.

Show Highlights

During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Byron Morrison such as:

How we all have the perception that taking care to eat well is a real hassle and takes too much time but actually the truth is anything but.

Why bulking tasks is such an amazing way to speed things up in your life, whether when building a business or preparing meals for a whole week.

Why it is so important to build trust with people before you ever start to try to sell them anything online.

and lastly….

Byron shares the steps he took to start finding his clients in his business and growing his online income from the very start.

Byron Morrison Books

How To Connect With Byron Morrison

Website

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If you enjoyed this episode with Byron Morrison then why not listen to some of our favourite podcast episodes such as Ted Yoder,  Sean Swarner Adele McLay or the amazing Alfie Best
 Or if you prefer just pop over to our podcast archive for thousands of amazing episodes to choose from

Full Transcription Of Byron Morrison Interview

Intro [0:09]
When we’re young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling. Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here’s your host live from the back of his garden in the UK David Ralph.

David Ralph [0:32]
Yes. are the first words, I’ve said on the microphone for nearly three weeks, yes, it’s been Christmas. So I took a I took a load off. I have sat on the sofa, watching Netflix and eating chocolates just because this empire, why do you do that? Why do you suddenly just because it’s sitting by the side you have to eat Twix and bounty by a mountain load. Well, I know Today’s guest is going to have an opposing view to why I’m doing that and he upon Probably slap my wrist because he is a man who’s, he’s a healthy guy. He’s a healthy guy, and he’s a man who it seems he’s really hitting his stride and finding his footing in life. He’s on a mission to show us all how we can create a better of us by being aware of what we’re putting into our bodies and what actions we’re taking on a daily basis. Now, we’ve seen these fitness guys time and time again, bring to the world some new diet or fad, which for many, it’s very hard to maintain after the initial buzz of tackling something new. But our guest believes that we should do it in a different way. And instead of forcing these principles into our life and hope that they fit, we should look to tailor our life and go about it in a very different way. As he says, back in the day, I was in a pretty bad shape. The truth is I never realised how bad I felt until I finally started to feel better. And this is the unfortunate reality that so many people don’t even realise they’re living in every day. It wasn’t until I nearly lost my dad to cancer and sort of pain and suffering. He went through June a treatment, including 25 days in ICU having most of these bowel surgically removed being placed on line support and kept alive through the use of breathing machines on two separate occasions, as well as having a tracky ostomy. I think I said that, but it dawned on me how much of an influence his lifestyle choices had on causing the disease from a diet high in sugar and processed foods to being a pack a day smoker who didn’t know exercise, all combined with having an overwhelmingly stressful career, working 14 hour days with a minimal amount of sleep. It’s no surprise it took a toll on his health. And that’s why I made it my mission to help as many people as possible avoid going through what happened to my dad. And now with he’s become a better you book flying off the shelves at Amazon. And he’s brand new seven day challenge now filling up nicely. There’s never a better time to have him on the show to join up some dots. So was there a moment when he realised that physically he was improving at a rate of knots or was it just a gradual process over a period of time? And what can we all do today to start getting into the mindset of making 2017 our greatest year ever? Well, let’s find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr. Byron Morrison good morning, Byron. And how are you, sir?

Byron Morrison [3:05]
Good morning. I’m good. How are you?

David Ralph [3:07]
I’m always good. I am always good because I don’t really work for a living anymore. This isn’t this is this kind of a fun thing I do, but I’ll be honest, I’ve taken three weeks off. And as I was pressing the buttons, I was a bit nervous. I was a bit nervous. I thought, can I do this? Do you think I’m gonna be able to pull through by when? Do I have the strength? Or have I eaten too much crap over Christmas? Am I gonna sort of fall to pieces halfway through the show? What do you think?

Byron Morrison [3:32]
To be honest, I’m feeling exactly the same way definitely overindulge. Like it was Christmas. Like you said in your introduction, too much chocolate and temptation around but for me, I think we need that at the end of the day. There’s no point trying to be strict and stick to everything all the time. Like life’s short, we need to enjoy the time that we have, and just have a balanced healthy lifestyle.

David Ralph [3:53]
That’s interesting. So you you actually say because I don’t actually like chocolate. I The whole year I don’t go near it. But you know, those little boxes of celebrations, we have celebrations in the United Kingdom. And I only come out at Christmas as far as I’m aware. And they’re like little versions of chocolate bars. So you get little twigs and a little mph and a little bounty and stuff. And I will just consume those just because I’m walking past it. I’ve got no desire to eat, it just kind of caused to me. So you actually say, yeah, let it go. Let it go and let it go. And so bleaching every now and again, you think that’s a good thing instead of being really strict?

Byron Morrison [4:30]
Yeah, exactly what the problem is, so many of us go from one diet to another. But if you look at properly dieting simply doesn’t work. And from a psychology point of view, the reason why is it’s all about restriction, that at the end of the day, if you keep telling yourself that you can’t have something, it just makes you wanted more, and it causes you to crave and obsess and fixate over it until eventually you can’t take anymore and you just snap and that’s why people just have a brief period where they stick to their diet and then they go on a huge binge and just undo any person Breath. And mentally it’s hugely draining. Because if we have a lifestyle where we have a bit of everything and it’s all balanced, we take a huge amount of pressure off of ourselves.

David Ralph [5:10]
Now, my wife was sitting on the sofa next to me last night and I said to her, what was you? What was it over you? She’s above. And she sort of mounted under a breath. And I said to you, I, you know, you’ve been really moody all week. And then I got into bed last night, and I suddenly realised she’s been on the diet since Monday. And she goes moody when she’s on a diet because she just doesn’t like the food that she is she’s having to eat. So she’s got all those kinds of symptoms that you you talk about. Is there a way before we really get into the show, but you can save my marriage? Byron, can you can you give her some tips so that she’s not a miserable cow sitting on the sofa every night just because she’s starving to death?

Byron Morrison [5:51]
Yeah, for me, what I found really works is moving completely away from dieting and instead trying to find healthy versions of all of your favourite foods. I found ways to make everything from pizzas to burgers pastors that are highly nutritious but also delicious. And if you have a died way you have 80% of your intake coming from healthy, nutritious sources, then you still have room for 20% to be made up of whatever you want. That way you can make sure you don’t miss any nutrient deficiencies and you’re fueling your body with what it needs. And mentally, that takes a huge amount of pressure off because you’re not going every day thinking I can’t have this. And if I want to lose weight, I can never eat chocolate again. And it’s just the approaches people take are very much a short term fix towards essentially a long term problem. So we need to start enjoying the journey for it it is and enjoying our food at the same time. Because for me, at the end of the day, there is no good or bad food. Food is just food. And as soon as we see something in a negative light, we have a mental perception that we shouldn’t be having it and when you can move away from that, then it’s a very freeing experience. This is obviously some food to bear for than others, but we need to stop seeing them in different light.

David Ralph [7:04]
Now, a lot of the listeners out there and my wife if she was sitting here now she would she would leap on you by we’re not in a kind of sexy way, I promise you, she would leap on you to say, I haven’t got time in my life to make healthy versions of pizzas, I can barely got time to take it out the freezer, throw it in the grill and sort of go with it. How long does it take to do this? Because that that would be an issue, wouldn’t it that people would go to you? Yeah, I agree with you totally. I would love to be able to make healthy versions. So I’m feeling better about myself. I’m eating the right stuff. But I just haven’t got the time I’m dealing with the kids. I’ve got the job. I’ve got a commute. I’m whizzing here, I’m whizzing out of there. It just takes too much time or does it not? Is it something that seems like it’s going to be problematic, but actually you’ve got a solution

Byron Morrison [7:50]
from the things that we perceive it as as gruelling, difficult task, but you can easily throw together healthy meals in 510 or 15 minutes and hello People have the perception that cooking has to be all about gourmet meals and big complicated tasks. And you can strip it back and simplified massively, and it can still be delicious. Again, as well, it’s all about developing healthier habits. Because a lot of us have this negative perception that cooking is all about ingredients we don’t enjoy and meals we don’t like. Whereas it’s actually a really relaxing activity that personally I look forward to in the evenings was a few years ago, I had the same perception. I was like, I’m busy, I don’t have time I don’t want to cook. Whereas now, after a long, stressful day, it’s an activity that I actually enjoy. So it’s all about changing our mindset and our routines, and just find a way to ways to streamline processes, because it can be a bit of a hassle. So with a few people I’ve worked with what I’ve gotten to do is maybe bulk cook on a Sunday. If you can set aside an hour you can cut up and prepare vegetables in advance. You can always roast a chicken, which takes no effort and then just cut off the meat of the bones in the fridge ready for use and you can Do it with any other meat or protein. And you can have everything pretty much ready to go. So all you have to do is throw it in the oven or throw it in a frying pan quickly and cook it and make some potatoes or rice or pasta on the side. And depending on your schedule, you can make the entire process far quicker.

David Ralph [9:19]
Now, I think that is brilliant because that’s what we talk about in entrepreneurial land bulking tasks, so do it all in one go while you’re in that mindset, and certainly when the kids were younger, by now sort of had school dinners, but at the time they were having packed lunches I used to make them all on a Sunday and then freeze them and people go Oh, you can’t three sandwiches. Yes you can. And they came out perfectly all right, and they came out frozen. And by the time they get them saw three hours later they were fine. And it does save a lot of time doesn’t it instead of doing it every single day and even though it might feel like an hour of your life. You’ve been freed yourself up for the whole week. Did you do obviously we’re talking about cooking here but do you do that kind of bulking as you’re growing your own business?

Byron Morrison [10:01]
Yeah, pretty much anything. I can simplify tasks and try and save time, I think would you self employed and you’re running a business by yourself, you need to get proper time management skills. So I’ve set outside time to try and do all my social media and chunks and responding to emails and found if you bounce one thing to another throughout the day, you can quickly feel like you’ve got nothing done, because you haven’t really got your focus or your attention on any one individual task. So like, in all aspects of our life, it’s quite important that we change our mindset in a way that we just try and focus on one thing at a time, rather than being overwhelmed by like a huge amount of tasks. And that can be applied to everything from business to our health and even our personal life.

David Ralph [10:45]
Now, in your sort of introduction, we was talking about that, as you said, the truth is, I never realised how bad I felt until I finally started to build better. And this is the unfortunate reality that so many people don’t even realise they’re living in every day. long did it take you before you started to feel better? Was it sort of almost instant? Or was it over a period of weeks a period of months? How long would somebody need to sort of go through the process that we’re going to talk about become a better you before they start to feel the benefits.

Byron Morrison [11:16]
Definitely, if you start making small, gradual changes, within a few days, you can feel a huge difference in how you feel. For instance, a lot of people don’t drink enough water. And just by upping their intake to two litres a day, within a couple of days, they’ll feel their energies levels are higher and improve their mood, their focus that can help improve sleep, and just the general outlook on life. So if I go back a few years ago, I was stuck in a career where I was absolutely miserable. And every day was an internal struggle of just trying to deal with the ups and downs in daily life. And they put me in a huge right mentally and emotionally. And I kind of that’s why I paid no attention to my help, because it was just an internal battle that was fighting and when it did stop focusing on my diet and gain more exercise, I found that directly spilled over into every other aspect of my life. And I started to feel more positive. And I wanted to make actual steps to change my situation and get out of the rut that I was in.

David Ralph [12:13]
So what sort of other things? Did it change? Ben? So did it was it a career change wasn’t a lifestyle change? Well, what positives came into your life? It was obviously everything

Byron Morrison [12:24]
to be honest. I was always one of those people who didn’t really know what they wanted to do. Like I knew I wanted to help people, and I want to do something in a creative environment. But I didn’t know how to apply that to everyday life. So I think I kind of fell to the rut that so many other people do, where you go to university, get a degree and then get out and get a job. We’ve kind of stuck in a situation where we don’t know what we want to do. And then we just go through every single day go through the motions, and before we blink 10 years ago, we’re still in the same situation. So when I actually actually started making changes in my health, it made me think about my situation. What I wanted to do and what I wanted to change, and I kind of turned my passion that I developed into a career and a business and made active steps forward. I’m not saying that everything got better overnight, I was still in a job that I hated when I started doing this and still working long hours, but and what was the job I when I was working in marketing, so it was very much a situation I didn’t want to be in spending every day staring at a clock in a depressing office working nine to five. But I bet you’ve taken that knowledge and you bought it quite seamlessly into your own business. Having a marketing background is is kind of the perfect segue into an online business, I would have thought, yeah, I’m really lucky because I come from a digital marketing background. So all the skills I’ve developed now apply to my business. The difference is I actually enjoy doing them now. Whereas back then I absolutely hated it. But I think that’s one of the biggest strengths of my book in my business because a lot of personal trainers and people who do diet and stuff Understand how your everyday person can’t just eat less and move more, and how difficult change actually is. So I’m lucky that I come from a background where I know exactly how difficult it is. And I’ve been there myself. So when I encountered speak to people, I know what it feels like to be in their shoes. Because a few years ago, that was me. So why

David Ralph [14:23]
were you so fatty? Were you overweight? Or were you somebody that looked perfectly normal, but was just sort of unfit.

Byron Morrison [14:30]
A few years ago, I was close to 50 pounds heavier than I am right. So I was always one of those guys who was too embarrassed to take my shirt off at the beach and self conscious about my weight and died, jumped from different diets and weight would fluctuate, I could never make lasting changes.

David Ralph [14:47]
And so what was the sort of change for you then because I am one of those people that is kind of fat skinny. I don’t do a lot of exercise, but I’m just naturally skinny. I just sort of never really put on weight. Although I do drink a tonne of water. When I’m recording, I will drink five litres in a day and it just goes through me quite, quite perfectly, that’s fine. at weekends I find it’s a bit of a struggle because you sort of living your life and you don’t get a chance to drink as much, you know, but um, what was the change in you when you suddenly realised that actually, I can’t go on with bass? What was it as simple as seeing your dad? Or was there other sort of situations that came together at the same time?

Byron Morrison [15:26]
To be honest, it was just the shock of seeing what my dad went through. like seeing him in that hospital bed, feeling absolutely helpless, I kind of got a glimpse of my own future. Because I was working 14 hour days, I was paying no attention to my health doing no exercise. I needed to start clean eating. I was eating tonnes of sugar. I kind of saw a glimpse of my future if I didn’t change my own health. So I was kind of thrown into a situation where the shock value just pushed me over the edge and I was like, I need to do something and I need to do something about this now, which I think for a lot of people they Don’t get that shock, which is great. Like, I wouldn’t want anyone to go through that situation. But because of that they don’t really have that motivation to change, which is why I work with a lot of people trying to get them to find out why? Because we all think we need to change for external reasons. And it’s because what other people think we should do better the back of our minds, we don’t really want to do it. So you need to find your internal driving force of why you want to do something. And I think that applies to everything from your career to business and personal life, because that’s what’s going to keep you motivated, accountable and get to keep pushing forward.

David Ralph [16:35]
And have you found it now Do you know this is your thing? Or is this just as sort of a step towards the real thing?

Byron Morrison [16:43]
This is completely my thing. Now, this is what I walked away from. I spent when I decide I want to do this. I spent about a year and a half still in a job I didn’t like but I was developing my business writing my book and about a year and a bit ago, I walked away from all of that and started Doing this all full time. So my is my daily job, where I aim to help as many people as possible, have healthier, happier lives and help them get started on the journey that I went through

David Ralph [17:10]
before. So let’s explain it for the people out there listening to be so they’re sitting in a cubicle and they’ve got this podcast in their ears and they’re hanging on every word and they’re thinking, I’d like to do this, I’d like to help people become better. I’m interested in fitness, nutrition. Now the world is full of people with dreams and aspirations. But as we said to you, you came with a marketing background, which is very, very useful. How did you apply that information to start finding your clients because you know, the world is full of websites that nobody goes to how did you start finding people that were willing to trust you and believe that you were the answer to their problems?

Byron Morrison [17:50]
For me, it was just getting out there and sharing my story. Because I found whenever I count anyone and tell them why I’m doing what I’m doing, they can see that not only am I But I’m also passionate. And I’ve also got a level of empathy that I understand what they’re going through. So I think if it’s something that you’re trying to do, you need to show people, your reasons why and that you’re not just there trying to sell them something and not just look after a quick buck or trying to rip them off. Because anyone I work with knows I genuinely care. And I think that’s a really like strong value that you need to have in anything that you’re doing. Rather than just pursuing money and change, do it for the right reasons. And all of that will come along with it.

David Ralph [18:30]
So So you were very focused on providing value before anything. It was, you know, here’s, here’s me, you can take me But you knew it was going to come back to you in the long run.

Byron Morrison [18:40]
Yeah, I still do that today. Like I’m about to launch another free online seven day challenge, which I get people involved and throughout the week, I post videos and tutorials on how they can change different aspects of their life and I do offer a free coaching call to help put together a plan to get them started and For me, it’s all about giving back. And then if people want to work one on one with me, that’s something we can discuss and take from there, that when I got into this, it was all about helping people. And I think that going forward, that’s the value I want in my business. And that’s the driving force. It’s all about helping others.

David Ralph [19:18]
So you were in your marketing job, and this was a side hustle. You was doing this before work lunch times in the evening, I assume? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker [19:26]
Yeah, I was pretty much. It’s not what I would advise to people I was getting up about half for every morning, researching, writing down as much as I could then go into work, getting home, and then carrying on. So it was a very much a big grind, that I kind of got stuck in that everyday routine where you’re trying to get experience that you can move up in jobs. And for me, I just kept telling myself, I need to do this for a couple of years, and then I’ll be able to revert to a big marketing agency and I’ll have all the clients and the cases and I’ll be happy And then I finally got to that point. And I actually remember the moment I went to an interview at a top marketing agency. And I actually realised in the interview, it wasn’t my job that I hated. It was my entire career. And kind of it all became clear to me in that moment, and I went home that night cancelled my move to a new city, turned down the job offer, I’d sat down and planned out exactly what I wanted to do. And that evening, I signed up wanted to go and study nutrition and decided I wanted to write a book about my journey and help people. It was very much a slow burn, of changing my lifestyle that built up to a complete overhaul of my entire life.

David Ralph [20:38]
Now I’ve got a lady in my coaching group, we’ve got a coaching group called dream starters Academy that shows people you know, the the early steps of building a business called Megan, Megan, this is you and she’s in San Diego and she’s really interested in fitness and nutrition and she is thinking of going back and getting getting a degree a master’s in nutrition. Do you need fat Do you need a qualification? Is it more about the action? Or is it more about the knowledge for you?

Byron Morrison [21:05]
I think it’s a bit of both. For me, the first couple of years after my dad got ill, I spent time researching about health and nutrition and learning as much as I could. And when I decided that I wanted to do this as a career, I just thought I need to get qualified in this. Because if I got talks like this, or if I’m going to write a book or do anything else, if I’m coming into it with no qualifications, people are always going to question what you say. And as you that you actually know your stuff. So I found when I did my nutrition qualification, there was stuff I’d already learned there was just to try and get a piece of paper to back it up. That was the same when I qualified as a personal trainer, and also a lot of the other qualifications I’ve done. So I think it’s a bit of both. But at the same time for a lot of industries, people got the qualifications that they don’t know how to apply it. So you’ve got to really think about what it is you want to do as a person and what can benefit you

David Ralph [22:01]
Well, I was talking to my daughter who’s 11. And she’s got an open day. So we’ve got to go in and speak to her teachers. And she said, I don’t know which ones I should get you to go and see. And I said, Well, it doesn’t matter, really, you know, just just find one who loves you, one who thinks you’re rubbish, and one who just doesn’t even know who you are. And we go in, and we and then we get into sort of the appraisal. And she said, Well, I’d like you to see my Spanish teacher. And I’d like you to see my drama teacher, but but they’re not gonna be any good in the future, are they? I said, I don’t know, you might become an actress in Madrid, who knows, you just don’t know. But she’s got a passion for the subjects. So I’m kind of encouraging her, I’m saying to just do them because at the end of the day, those passions will lead to something you don’t know what they are, and it’s too early to sort of decide, but if you’ve got a enthusiasm for a subject, go for it, even if it’s not leading towards a normal part where people would say, Oh, you need English and you need maths and you need all that in case you ever work. In a bank, that when you look back at yourself, did you have the early passions leading to nutrition and fitness? Was it something that the the young 11 year old Byron would have gone? Yep, this is for me, but you kind of lost your way somehow?

Byron Morrison [23:13]
No, absolutely not. You took me back 10 years and said that I’d have an interest in going to the gym or eating healthy, I would have laughed at you. I honestly couldn’t think of anything worse. It was just for me, it was a lifestyle that couldn’t relate to like, the problem is you see all these people on Instagram and social media with all of these like huge build guys and stupidly thin girls. And we just look at these people, and we can’t relate to them. And that forces like a whole this association with the entire concept of what being healthy is all about. And that’s why I’ve tried to work with people to change their perception of what it is. Because a few years ago, I just felt like I couldn’t relate to these people. I wouldn’t fit in with them. An effort wasn’t something for me. Like I even remember a few times of going into the gym feeling so uncommon. Because I was busy and just going home, and just mentally telling myself I’m not gonna be able to do my workout. There’s too many people. I’ll come back later when it’s quieter. But looking back now it’s because I was so self conscious about what I was doing that I didn’t even want to try. Yeah,

David Ralph [24:14]
that was a few years ago when you were an adult. What about this? The little BB and that’s the one that I’m interested in the one where you more active were you out playing football with your mates running around getting on your bike while you’re sort of in a normal active kid? Or were you sort of coming straight back and playing Xbox on the sofa?

Byron Morrison [24:32]
I was pretty much addicted to video games, right PE lessons absolutely hated. I used to make excuses to get out p just so say I need to hide a bad knee and couldn’t run. And it was just I actually hated anything to do with Sport and Exercise. And at the same time, yeah, I ate so much sugar and junk food, didn’t eat vegetables. And yeah, it was just very much a lifestyle for me that I was used to

David Ralph [25:00]
Let’s play some words now. And that will take us seamlessly to the next stage of the conversation. These are perfect for this conversation. So let’s hear them again. Jim Carrey.

Jim Carrey [25:09]
My father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that that was possible for him. And so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant. And when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job. And our family had to do whatever we could to survive. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want. So you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.

David Ralph [25:35]
Now that speech is perfect because it leads us to that moment when you’re starting to get that inkling of what you want to do. But you you’re earning an income, you’ve got a steady job, you’ve got people around you is probably saying, Byron What the hell are you doing? Stay here for a couple more years. You have your own office, you have that lovely pa that might sit on your lap at Christmas parties. You’ve got it sorted, sir, you’ve got it sorted. Was he a scary time for you to actually make that transition? Or did you know 100% in your heart that he was going to be right for you?

Byron Morrison [26:08]
I knew 100% my heart there was going to be right. But that doesn’t make it any less scary. like one of those things, it’s hugely terrifying when you try and decide that you want to chase your dreams. Because we get so comfortable, we look for safety and our feelings. We don’t like to push our comfort zones, because it’s just scary and daunting. And when you’re trying to move career in SAP Business, you’ve always got in the back of your mind can I do this am I gonna fail isn’t gonna work. And that can often just force us to accept the way things are because we don’t want to take that chance.

David Ralph [26:41]
And so, how did you do that? How did you break through that comfort zone? How did you shake it all three because he’s, it’s one of those things when I look back, it’s quite easy. It seems easy. Now when I created this show, I really know about it was quite easy until I actually launched and Ben It was really scary time because Cuz proper people could hear it friends family, they could hear it. It wasn’t just me doing it secretly in my studio. So how did you actually sort of break through from that? Ah, it’s gonna fail. Oh, you’ll be back here in two years. I know you’re gonna be back here. How did you get through but

Byron Morrison [27:20]
for me, it was all about having a plan. And I think this applies to anything in your life. If you can work out your end goal of where you want to be, you can then backtrack the exact steps that you need to take to get there. So you can turn what’s a hugely daunting and overwhelming thought into easy, simple to follow steps. And then it becomes far less scary, because at the end of the day, every step that you take is progress to where you want to be. Which for me, like if I use my situation a few years ago thinking, ah, I’m going to release a book and launch a one to one coaching business and then move forward helping educate and change people’s lives. Like they tie thought that cost SAP is terrifying, because it’s such a huge change. But instead breaking it down and thinking, Okay, step one is I need to get these qualifications, I need to improve my writing skills, my coaching skills, and then work out exactly what I need to do to advance in those areas. And if you think that that way, you can kind of plan the whole process. And then at times when you do fall off the waggon, and you do go backwards, it’s far easier to get back on track.

David Ralph [28:29]
So you always start from the goal and then join up your dots backwards. Do you find that easier than actually just projecting forward and thinking, like, what the hell do I do next? You You know what you’re aiming for a menu job, the steps that lead towards that?

Byron Morrison [28:44]
Yeah, I think it’s absolutely essential in everything we do. Whether you’re at for weight loss, training for a marathon, trying to start your own business or get your next promotion. If you could think of the end goal, you can work out the exact steps that you need to take

David Ralph [29:00]
So our lovely lady Megan in San Diego, she’s running around San Diego at the moment, trying to get this fitness business going. And a lot of it mentally I can see is herself sort of holding herself back in certain ways. What would be our advice for her is it to just reach out to clients and start doing stuff for free is it to create, you know, seven day challenges online, which you’re doing and give value out what would be a good way for her to actually get the ball rolling.

Byron Morrison [29:33]
With any business, you need to have a level of trust first before people are going to buy from you. So I think that’s especially important in health and fitness, because people don’t know who you are. So if you can provide value and show that you can get the results of friend, they’re far more likely to come to you for the rest of the journey. So with what I try and do in my business is help people for free get from point A to point B and then give them a plan to get from Point B to point C, and let them know that I’m there to help guide and support them. And I think that’s an essential way to approach it. Because then you build that connection and that commitment. And that feeling of trust with her depends if she’s trying to do it online, or she’s trying to do it in person. Because there’s loads of different things you could do from boot camps to personal training, you could run nutrition seminars, so it comes down again to having a plan, if she can think about what her end goal is, and then all the little steps that she needs to take to get there. So that might be approaching local councils, schools or doing free talks at gyms or anything like that to try and just build that feeling of trust.

David Ralph [30:43]
I’ve got a guy called Danny Danny versus you and every time I go out for a pint with him, he basically talks about how loves, he gets on his bike and he loves cycling around and being fit. And we live right by the Olympic mountain bike course of 2000. And 12 when he was in, in London, the Olympics, so we’ve actually got the Olympic course, two minutes from my house. And I keep on saying to him, why don’t you get some people out there and build a sort of, you know, a fitness group around that and just start doing it for fun, and then the word will build up and other people will join and then you can start looking at ways of monetizing it, but you know, just get get it going. You don’t actually have to pay for any sort of, um, result. You don’t have to pay for a conference room. You don’t have to pay for anything. It’s just the cost that’s already there, and your enthusiasm to get going. And for some reason, he come in, he won’t start he won’t sort of get it going. But that’s a great way isn’t it to actually sort of brand yourself as you know, the Olympic mountain challenge group of assets or of your state of your county because people will start looking at it and people like community don’t like

Byron Morrison [31:50]
people love community. But in my work, it’s a huge thing. I try and push because I’ve actually turned my book into an eight week course where people Come on, and they do weekly seminars and they do coaching with me. But one of the biggest selling points of it is the community part of it, because everyone’s going through the journey at the same time. So they’re there to share stories and successes and keep each other accountable when, say what they’re struggling with what they found easy. And I think that really, really helps. Because we kind of go through life thinking that we’re on our own, and that we’re the only one struggling with this and no one else feels like we do. And once you realise that there’s other people in the same situation with the same feelings, doubts, and we become far more comfortable, willing to open up and push ourselves.

David Ralph [32:39]
So who’s your community? Byron, obviously, we all have to be in groups in communities to help us develop to push us forward to where we want to be and you are leading your group but who, whose group are you in that actually helps you take the next step in your business?

Byron Morrison [32:59]
For me, I’m ready. lucky to have really close relationships with my parents and friends and support girlfriend, you kind of all help push me forward. And they kind of see my vision of what I’m trying to do. So they help keep me accountable. And I know that if I’ve got doubts, I can go and speak to them and during good times and bad times, and it’s very much a supportive environment, there’s no judgement and I’ve got friends at the same time who are embarking on setting up their own businesses. So like any business you’re doing, you’re gonna have good times bad times, and it’s just knowing that there’s other people going through the same things you

David Ralph [33:37]
should you not be aiming to get people that are ahead of you, the people that have been there for the last few years, they’ve got the the online presence, you know, we we are the average of the five that we surround ourselves with. You got sort of full word mentors and coaches that will support you.

Byron Morrison [33:55]
No, definitely. Because if I’m selling a coaching business, so I get Coaching myself. And I’ve got a network online of other online traders who very much help and support and guide each other. And I also got a couple of friends who have started business is built them up to a good sustainable level. So I can kind of look at what they did what worked well and quite lucky my network people come from various different backgrounds. So I can kind of see how the success has grown, what they’ve done wrong, and what I can apply to my own business. So what you said is absolutely essential we kind of need people to look up to, and that kind of pushes us forward. So we don’t get stuck in the same everyday routine.

David Ralph [34:41]
Yeah, absolutely. Now, for the listeners out there. If you are starting a business right at the very beginning, the quickest way without a doubt is hiring a coach because they’ve been through that journey already, and that they can fast track you they can tell you the things that will work and things won’t, but I can understand if you don’t Want to pay the money because you’re bootstrapping it you haven’t got a lot of money to play with because it’s a new thing. So there are, you know, Facebook groups a great evening classes are great. There’s communities all the way around. You can go on Craigslist and you can find people in similar sort of groups and communities that can help you so you don’t have to pay a lot of money. But you do have to look at surrounding yourself with the right people because it is so vitally important. Yes, listen to these podcasts. Yes, listen to these blogs. But get away from the virtual land if you can and actually meet people face to face even if you say to him Look, can I have a couple of hours with you or buy you a couple of pints in the evening or or just something just as sort of a gift? Because that is the fastest way to success when you say barman? Exactly, I couldn’t have said that myself. Like that’s a great point. Right there you go. You see that? That’s coaching. I’m giving you coaching Byron and I will send the fee through to you. This is what I do Join Up Dots. I make money hand over Based it’s brilliant. So when when you are actually launching a book and actually getting it onto Amazon there, there’s so much more to it then than they used to be. And it’s in some ways it’s a lot easier than it used to be as well. Did you hire a publishing company? Did you do it all? off your own back? How did you get become a better you straight onto the shelves of Amazon as you had them.

Byron Morrison [36:23]
I did it all myself, to be honest, I kind of researched the process and coming from a marketing background. I had some knowledge on how to launch a product, how to do love, copywriting editing, design work. So I always managed to manage to create and edit the whole document myself and submit at the same time if you’re in that situation, and you don’t have that background, there’s so many services out there that you can get people involved. And you really need a professional looking product. So if you don’t want to spend the time that like I did, you can get someone else to do it for you. But I just thought it’s something I enjoy doing. And I’d rather Do it myself.

David Ralph [37:02]
And did you learn from the process? Now you’ve been through it? Do you actually think to yourself, actually, I think the next one I do, I’m going to outsource it or do now think No, actually, I’m going to do the same again and again and again. Because once you get that, that personal belief in the process, it’s actually quite easy to do most things. You know, the hardest thing I ever did was record the first podcast episode, Episode 1000 is going to be a breeze because I’ve done it 1000 times. How did you you know, what did you learn from the process? Is it outsourcing all the way? Or is it to actually do it?

Byron Morrison [37:34]
For me, I would do it again myself. Now, looking back, I did make various different mistakes along the way, but I learned from them, and I’m able to apply what I learned to different parts of my business, and it’s now for the next book. I know exactly how to do it, and I could probably do it in a quarter of the time. So I’d rather keep it in house and get done myself.

David Ralph [37:56]
And what mistakes did you make by and share them so in a week Learn from your failures.

Byron Morrison [38:02]
It was just different issues with formatting. The challenge, the worst mistake was it took me about 18 hours to edit layout, the book, and the file format that I used. Print wasn’t the same with Amazon for their Kindle edition. So I had a bit of a mad panic, I was gonna have to redo everything. And this was about two days before it had to be submitted. So it was many, many hours trying to convert it learning how to different file formats and conversion tools. And yeah, gave that all right.

David Ralph [38:35]
I’m always interested in the competence process, because actually putting your name on the ball bat is you saying to the world well, actually, I know what I’m talking about here, people, you know, but that is a journey in itself, isn’t it to actually get to that point, we all start, like sort of a secret pornography addicts doing all these secrets so that nobody knows that we’re doing it. Was that sort of cathartic? Will you was that liberating to actually get it out there? Did you feel like you were actually flying higher because you’d actually published that work

Byron Morrison [39:10]
yet? Very nerve wracking. I think it’s even worse for my book because my pictures on the front cover. Yeah, one of those things if this isn’t good, I’m gonna look like a complete idiot. But I was confident in what I produced. Because the book I’ve written is based on the knowledge, information and support I wish I had when I was struggling with my journey. And because I put so much time and effort into it, I genuinely believe in the work that’s come out, confident in showing it to people and and to say to them that this will help you in all areas of your life, from your nutrition to exercise to changing your mindset and how you view and approach food and managing stress. So it is a very liberating feeling, seeing something that you would so much effort into going out there and actually making a difference in people’s lives.

David Ralph [39:59]
So, so honest Sort of simple way. Let’s let’s talk about stress. And I’m talking about that because I realised this year that I was heavily stressed. And I didn’t realise it was just that my body started doing some weird things. So I went to the doctors. And he said, you’re dealing with extreme stress. And I’m really, really I don’t think you’re right, but but he was a doctor. I also like clues so that people can pick up on when they’re starting to fall to pieces, because we are constantly as you say, you don’t realise that you feel rubbish until you start to feel better. And we’re constantly on that conveyor belt of life going forward, going forward. And it’s not until something dramatic happens that you go, Oh, actually, yeah, I should have seen this six months ago. And I sort of clues that we can sort of point in the direction that the listeners so if they’re sitting there, they think, Oh, hang on, hang on. Yeah, this ticks off this ticks off mystics off. I’ve got to do something about it.

Byron Morrison [40:51]
Yeah, if I use myself as an example, back when I was in a career that I hated, I was massively stressed and looking back I wasn’t sleeping like i’d huge issues with insomnia so I’d prefer to lie in bed taking a couple of hours to fall asleep every night and then I’d wake up every hour throughout the night. And that was hugely growing by stress and I’d low energy levels problem keeping my attention and focus and loss of motivation for various different tasks and my stress as well so spilled over into my relationships, because I found I was moody and irritable all the time and have a negative outlook on life and it affected everything from weight gain to all aspects of my health. So I would say stress in many ways can be linked to feeling like you’re stuck in a rut and you’re not moving forward.

David Ralph [41:43]
Oh, I thought you were gonna keep on going. I was hanging on every word I was joining Oh down there. So you just think it’s that feeling of going round and round and round D that if you kind of lose your mojo and Monday, Tuesday when you’ve got to start with Thinking about it and think why am I feeling so flat? Is that is what

Byron Morrison [42:03]
yeah. So if you just stop enjoying life and if everything just feels like an endless struggle where you just can’t get through the day, and everything just feels like it’s dragging on and you no longer look forward to work or eating or, and you start looking for things as comfort, because a lot of us when we’re really stressed will start turning to food and look, because the problem is in life, we don’t really have control over anything that we do. And that’s why a lot of people turn to food, because they’re seeking that feeling of control and comfort. And that’s what people overeat now over in gold and turned to high sugar processed foods, looking for that quick fix, because sugary products and chocolate make us feel better. But it’s only a temporary fix. And we’re just looking for ways to try and relieve that stress. And I think that’s hugely problematic because that in turn, spills over into more negative side effects for our health.

David Ralph [43:00]
I stepped on the way yesterday, my wife’s got the way out. And I went in there and it was all sort of set up. And if I step on there, and it said, David, it’s been 186 days since you last stepped on it, I thought we use it as it really done that, and no difference. I’m exactly the same as I was 186 days ago, which, which is remarkable. It’s either 40 or I am just destined to have this body like Chris Hemsworth that’s, that’s what I’m gonna have. I will be four I will be leading the way of these muscley guys, but I looked at it and I thought, I really should be doing something because I can feel myself stiffening up. I don’t feel I’m fit at all, but in my my socks has become an effort. And so have I now been down looking for things that I can hold on to so that I can get back up again. So I’m going to be a different man Byron, but I’m going to start to try to get some flexibility into my life as people say to me, are you flexible when I say yeah, but I can’t do next Tuesday. That’s always the joke but my kids hate You always say that joke that you’ve always say that joke, it’s a good one, it’s a good one. So that’s what I’m gonna do, I’m going to start getting a little bit more sort of bendy on air. Just before we send you back in time with the Steve Jobs speech and the Sermon on the mic, are some personal tips you can give me to be able to get some flexibility into my life.

Byron Morrison [44:19]
Thank you start small. The biggest problem is people rush into all these latest workout trends and thinking they have to overhaul in their entire life. And we’ve kind of sold on the concept that if you can still stand at the end of a workout or you haven’t thrown up after if you haven’t worked hard enough, and a lot of people go into thinking they need to go 120% just keep pushing themselves. Whereas what you would need to do is just start with some light stretching, maybe some at home yoga, and do something that’s relaxing as well, because if you already stressed them, yoga is a great practice. It’s going to help with your flexibility it burns prising amount of calories, and it will help with your mindset and managing stress. It’s just all about Changing your perceptions on what you enjoy in life. Because a few years ago, I thought yoga was just for hippies and just people hugging trees and dancing around I couldn’t think of anything worse was after giving it a go, I actually found it helped my recovery from exercise, it helped improve my sleep and relaxation. It was actually quite enjoyable practice all the way to start small.

David Ralph [45:23]
Yeah, on the way you you get solid, these trainers you can choose a male and a woman so I went to a man yesterday and I did a bit of yoga and I did the first two. And I’ll be honest, I fell into the camp that you just spoke about. It was just me stretching and breathing have a really, really it’s gonna be hard of in this. And then I went to the second one. And I thought, okay, that’s a little bit tougher. I got to the third one. I could move me on for three days afterwards. It was using muscles I’ve never used before. So I think it’s a good thing. It’s a good thing and it means as a podcaster. I can use those muscles to reach over and press buttons that need to be pressed I’m going to press one now. And these are the words from the late Steve Jobs. Here he is,

Steve Jobs [46:04]
of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path and that will make all the difference.

David Ralph [46:39]
All I words that resonate with you Mr. Morrison,

Byron Morrison [46:43]
it perfectly I think he said it perfectly that again, that goes back to what I said earlier about having a plan and work out the exact steps and dots that you need to follow to get there.

David Ralph [46:56]
And do you have big dots in your life when you look back on it and use it laying in your bed quite contentedly, do you think to yourself, yeah, because of that. This is where I’ve got to now. And because of that, are there situations or conversations or actions you’ve taken that you would class as big dots on your timeline?

Byron Morrison [47:14]
Yeah, everything from right to fine to write my book to actually starting it. And then from there saying of my coaching company and moving forward to where I am today, it was all small steps that looking back there were huge, like, leaps of faith, because and putting that belief in myself that I could actually do it. So I think getting started with anything’s always the hardest part. Because we always have that little voice that I had of self doubt thinking, can we do this? Is it actually possible when we just kind of need to push ourselves to do it?

David Ralph [47:45]
And do you now feel that you can do anything could you tackle anything or as long as it’s within the fitness environment? You You could give it a good go.

Byron Morrison [47:55]
I definitely feel a lot more comfortable. Like I think all of us go through life where we We have times where we doubt ourselves. But on the journey I’ve been on, it’s improved my confidence in all areas of my life. And not just in fitness. I feel like I could apply what I’ve learned to a whole different range of fields and experiences and situations where in the past, I would have been too uncomfortable to kind of push myself or even try.

David Ralph [48:19]
Is that confidence, isn’t it that comes through, I can feel it in myself now. And I’ve been doing this well for two and a half years now. And in the last maybe four or five months, I feel like I’ve hit my thing. You know, I know what I’m bringing to the world. I know what I can deliver. I know where my income is coming from. It’s, it feels like I’m in control of everything, which the first maybe year I was just making up as I go along. Second year, I was clinging to what I made in the first year, but in the third year, that’s when it all sort of really has come very comfortable and I can now quite confidently say to people I have got a podcasting business. It’s not me just making it up. It’s not me budging my way for a day, it is a business. And if somebody wants to come to me, I can train them in whatever they need to create a podcast, or they’re the business coaching. But I couldn’t have done that at the beginning. You’ve got to go through that journey. And then when that competence hits, and you suddenly go, Yeah, I know what I’m talking about here. That’s when people actually start buying into you don’t they?

Byron Morrison [49:27]
Know exactly. I think we go through our life, so scared of failing that we don’t even want to try. And that just holds us back in so many different areas. But if you look at property, the only way you’re going to learn and develop is through failures. Because we view failure as something to be ashamed of. Whereas that’s the only way that you’re going to work out what worked, what didn’t work and what you need to do in the future. And again, that can be applied to absolutely anything that you try to do. And it’s all about just continuously pushing yourself to try new things and not just accepting that you’re in So situation and being comfortable.

David Ralph [50:03]
It is don’t exist is all learning. Everything you do in life is all learning and you learn what works and what doesn’t work and you just get better at it until you look back and say, What was I doing? What was I doing? Why? Why was it doing it like that? I must have been an idiot, because you’ve moved to Peru. Now we are at the end of the show, sir. And this is the part where we called a sermon on the mic when we send you back in time to have a one on one with your younger self. And if you could go back in time and speak to the environment, what age would you choose and what advice would you give? Well, we’re gonna find out because I’m gonna play the theme. And when it fades, you’re up. This is the Sermon on the mic.

Unknown Speaker [50:46]
We go with the best bit of the show.

Byron Morrison [51:03]
I’d love to be able to go back to when I was about 22. And just tell myself to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Because I very much fell into a situation where I just had a feeling of comfort in everything I did. I had a job, I’d come out of university, I had my group of friends, I wasn’t really moving forward, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. So I just kind of accepted the way things were. Because we kind of seek that feeling of safety. But what we don’t realise is that within our comfort zones, every step that we take out of them that makes that our new comfort zone. So regardless of how small that step is, at all continued growth. So if I look back at who I was, it was many years of just not moving forward, just keeping things exactly the same. Because like I said, I felt safe. And I think if you’re going to grow, develop as a person, you need to just push yourself, go out and meet people, try new things. things, whether that’s trying new foods, going to networking events, meeting other people trying new experiences. And for me, I said at the start of this said, when I was young got absolutely no interest in health and nutrition. And it was only when I started doing it, I realised that’s actually where my passion was. Whereas if I didn’t try new things and push my comfort zones, I’d still be back where I was a few years ago. And it’s a hugely freeing experience when you go through life thinking, Oh, what can I try next? And what am I going to enjoy?

David Ralph [52:32]
Every step we take, if we move, I just feel that that is should be the song of your life, because that’s all about it, isn’t it? It’s about movement. It’s about going into the future. Not having the answers but still willing to do it. You should be paying royalties to sting.

Byron Morrison [52:50]
I think I might set that as my new theme song. I think it’d be perfect. I think

David Ralph [52:55]
it’d be perfect for us

Byron Morrison [52:57]
to change my phone ringtone as soon as we’re done. Have you do

David Ralph [53:00]
that and you will feel inspired every time you hear it by man, what is the number one best way that our audience can connect with you?

Byron Morrison [53:08]
The easiest way is to go to tailored lifestyles.co.uk. And through there, you’ve got access to all my programmes my free online challenge, and you can find out more about my book. And for anyone who’s apprehensive about starting their journey, I actually offer a free take back your help breakthrough session, where I can sit down with you over Skype, and we can look at the challenges that you’re facing what you want to achieve, where you want to get to. And I’ll help you put together a step by step plan of exactly how to achieve what you’re looking for. Whether that’s weight loss, improving your health, getting out of a rut and changing your career. And that’s very much my way of giving back and also helping people and finding new clients. So I think it works well for everyone.

David Ralph [53:53]
Yeah, brilliant stuff that’s really really generous and I hope you get a big take up on that well, but Ivan, thank you so much for spending time with us today joining up those dots. And please come back again when you have more dots to join up, because I do believe, but but joining up the dots and connecting our paths is the best way to build our futures. Byron Morrison, thank you so much.

Byron Morrison [54:13]
Thanks for your time. It was great speaking to you.

David Ralph [54:17]
Byron Morrison. So he was in a marketing job, and he just realised that he hated it. And it was his whole lifestyle. And so he took bold, brilliant action. He’s created a life that he loves. And the more that he loves something, the more that other people will love it. It’s a it’s a win win, the more enthusiasm you have, and I think the world is crying out for enthusiastic people. I think people are looking around at what’s going on. And there’s an awful lot of negativity in the world. And so if you can really put your best foot forward and feel passionate and enthusiastic about something, it’s going to pay you back it really well. It may not be overnight, but little by little you will start being no And that builds about a business that builds income and that builds a life that you love. Thank you so much for being with us on Join Up Dots. Please connect with us over at the show on iTunes, or check out some of our coaching because we are doing some remarkable stuff very affordable coaching as well it is so it’s a good way to get yourself going and start shaking off that that routine that you found yourself. It’s the first step to the dream. See again, Cheers. Bye bye.

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