February 5, 2025 • 41 mins
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Michael McLean, a dynamic multi-millionaire entrepreneur, shares his inspiring journey from professional hockey to the business world, offering a treasure trove of insights for those aspiring to blend success with a meaningful life. Listen as Michael recounts how he tripled his father's insurance agency's size and profits in just 36 months, demonstrating the impact of a no-nonsense approach. With half his time spent in Canada and Florida, Michael emphasizes striking a balance between business achievements and personal commitments, proving that true success is about more than just the bottom line.
Learn how a childhood dream of running a video store with home delivery led Michael to discover the importance of personal sovereignty, guided by his father's wisdom. At 19, a volunteer position as a hockey coach ignited a passion that eventually steered him away from the instability of professional sports and into entrepreneurship. Michael's story illustrates the power of seizing opportunities and embracing change, all while fostering a deep commitment to family and community well-being.
Explore Michael's transformative strategies for owning the first hour of the day, where intentional actions set the tone for success. Discover how prioritizing health, love, and mission can boost productivity, as Michael shares personal experiences, like altering his diet and saying no to distractions. With lessons from mentors and a focus on self-preservation, Michael provides practical advice for entrepreneurs eager to excel in both their personal and professional spheres, all while maintaining what truly matters.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Thank you, breaking boundaries of your mind, body
and business with integrativehealth, and when you do that,
your possibilities are limitless.
I'm grateful you're here.
Ah, yes, always grateful foryou joining me here today on the
Breaking Boundaries forEntrepreneurs podcast.
I appreciate you listening inand, since you find value in our
(00:43):
episodes, it would be amazingif you could just leave a few
kind words in the form of afive-star review on your
favorite podcast platform.
And that'll do two things One,it'll let me know that you found
value in these episodes and,number two, it will help us to
help more people.
And that is my personal goal,my professional goal goal,
(01:05):
especially the way we want toleverage the Breaking Boundaries
podcast and podcasting has beensuch a wonderful experience.
I've been doing podcastingsince 2019, not always here on
the Breaking Boundaries podcast,but I was in a different space
and industry when I did startpodcasting and if that's
something that you're interestedin learning, reach out to me
(01:25):
and I can share an amazingresource with you to help you to
fast track that podcastingexperience.
And it's a great way to honeyour speaking skills and to meet
some amazing people.
And that leads me to today'sepisode in our conversational
series, where you know, I getthe opportunity to meet some
amazing people in this industry,in different industries that
(01:48):
reach out to me, and not allguests that reach out to me
become guests on the podcast.
A lot of times that there Ijust don't see the synergy, but
that's not the case today.
Today we have an amazing guestcoming your way and I'll give
you a brief introduction here ontoday's guest.
Michael McLean is amulti-millionaire business owner
(02:11):
, author, speaker and businesscoach who has taught thousands
of highly successful men how toget it all done in today's
business world and still enjoyan incredible life, and that's
why I felt that Michael wouldreally bring some value here,
and you're going to love thevalue bombs that he brings to us
(02:32):
here in the Breaking Boundariespodcast.
Michael is widely known for hisnoble kick butt take no
prisoners approach to businessand as the celebrated merchant
of truth of the coaching andconsulting industry.
Opinionated, ruthless butwildly generous.
He fundraisers for children'sliteracy programs, fundraisers
(02:55):
for the homeless, fundraisersfor local animal shelters,
rotary, the Food Bank andmultiple other local and
national charities.
Michael is a formerprofessional hockey coach and
team owner.
Michael became famous forjoining his father's small town
insurance agency, which we'regoing to talk about in this
interview.
In 2002, with zero insuranceexperience and tripling the size
(03:21):
and profits in his first 36months, michael won the
2009-2010 GKIC Marketer of theYear Award.
And Michael currently liveshalf of the year in the
beautiful heritage town of Perth, ontario, canada, and the other
half in sunny Naples, florida,with his wife Krista, his
(03:42):
daughter Emery and their blacklab Clifford.
So, without further ado, here'smy conversation with Michael
McLean.
You're going to love the valuebombs he brings, michael.
Welcome to the BreakingBoundaries for Entrepreneurs
podcast.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Thank you, jeffrey, it's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Excellent, excellent.
So tell our listening audienceaudience who the hell is Michael
McLean.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Who the hell is Michael McLean?
Believe it or not, I'm actuallyan ex-professional hockey coach
turned eight-figureentrepreneur.
But, admittedly, the mostimportant job I have right now
is as a husband, as a father, sowe spend half our time in
Canada, canada on the lake, andwe spend the other six months in
(04:27):
beautiful Naples, florida.
I've been an entrepreneur sinceI was 12 years old.
I have the dreamers disease,just like you, jeffrey.
I remember my dad turning to mewhen I was 12 years old and this
is going back in the day and Isaid, dad, I said you know what
we need to do.
We need to start a video store.
And this is back before evenBlockbuster.
(04:47):
And I said we got to start amovie store with videos and all
this kind of stuff, and we'regoing to do home delivery, we're
going to combine the videostore with the Domino's pizza.
And my dad turned to me he'sbeen an entrepreneur since he
was 15, pizza.
And my dad turned to me he'sbeen a entrepreneur since he was
(05:08):
15, 71 years in the trenches.
And he said oh, my goodness,you have the dreamers disease.
So that's, that's my story.
I've been an entrepreneur sinceI was a little kid and now it's
the freedom lifestyle as ahusband and father.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
That's amazing, and so let's go a little bit deeper
into going from a pro, a formerpro hockey coach, into an eight
figure entrepreneur.
Can you dive a little bit intothat story, because it's kind of
an unusual transition.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
I was like, I have no idea what I'm going to do, and
my mom and dad were like, what'sthis guy going to do?
And I'll never forget it.
We were in phys ed class, gymclass, and one of the things we
had to do is we had to volunteer.
In other words, we had to coacha t-ball team or a volleyball
team or a baseball team,whatever.
And I'll never forget.
I went to the arena.
I said, okay, I'm going to putin the minimum amount of hours
here.
And I'll never forget.
I went to the arena.
I said, okay, I'm going to putin the minimum amount of hours
(06:05):
here and I'm going to coach thislittle team of 12-year-olds.
Maybe, you know, push somepucks around and help out a
little bit.
I'll never forget.
That absolutely changed my life.
That day I went from a drifterto a person who was driven at
age 19.
And I'll never forget cominghome and I'm sitting at the
(06:25):
kitchen table with my mom anddad and my dad's an entrepreneur
.
And I sat there and I said Isaid I know exactly what I want
to do with my life.
And they were just stunned.
They're like what?
We don't know what you're doingday to day.
I said I'm going to coachhockey for a living.
I'm going to make a difference,I'm going to help people.
This is my calling.
And I remember my dad kind oflaughing and my mom kind of
(06:49):
laughing like you've only beento the rink one time.
But that's where it all started.
It was.
I wasn't passionate about it, Iwas obsessed.
And ever since that time,volunteering with that young
team, I said to myself I want tomake this my job, this is my
calling, this is my purpose,this is what I'm here to do.
(07:10):
So I coached hockey, jeffrey,all the way through college.
So when my friends were workingat the pub or they're working
at Subway, I was literallycoaching high level hockey where
I was paid.
And when I graduated after fiveyears with my yes, with my
degree, I had a backup plan.
I said, okay, if this hockeything doesn't work out, I'm
(07:32):
going to be a phys ed teacher,I'm going to be a gym teacher,
I'm going to, I'm going to coachhigh school.
So that was what I went touniversity and college for.
But when I graduated, at age 24, I had my very first minor pro
job waiting for me as anassistant coach.
So my cup runneth over and fromthere.
I coached minor pro hockey thewild wild west for three years
(07:59):
and then the strangest thinghappened in pro sports.
I got fired and my dad looksback and he laughs at he said
what do you expect to happenwhen you're in pro sports?
I got fired and my dad looksback and he laughs at.
He said what do you expect tohappen when you're in pro sports
?
But I'll never forget it.
I got fired after three yearsof being a pro coach.
I wasn't married, jeffrey, Ididn't have children and I went
home to lick my wounds after Iwas terminated and my dad and my
(08:23):
mom were sitting at the kitchentable one night and I was
getting ready to apply for mynext coaching job.
I mean, that's what pro coachesdo we get hired, we get fired
and we go back.
And my dad said to me he saiddo you mind if we speak about
something?
And I said sure.
He said okay.
He said before you go back tothe sport of hockey, he said how
(08:45):
many cities have you lived inthe last four years?
I said three.
He said how many people haveyou worked for different owners?
I said four and he said OK.
He said if you continue on thispath as a young man.
You're not married, you don'thave any kids.
He said you can expect yourchildren to attend how many
(09:06):
schools?
I said well, a lot, I said.
And he said how many ownerswill you work for?
And I said probably a lot.
And he goes how many times doyou think you'll be fired?
Every three, four years?
And that was the definingmoment for me where I went from
a mindset Jeffrey of moment forme where I went from a mindset
(09:27):
Jeffrey of I just want to coachhockey to personal sovereignty.
And my dad said I have been inbusiness.
He's been in business for 71years.
He worked to age 85.
He said never once have Iworked for somebody else since
the age of 16.
He goes it didn't matter what Iwas doing, I did it myself and
I grew up in the back of ageneral store.
Then my dad was in the insurancebusiness.
(09:48):
He said I answer to myself andmy clients.
He said I'm.
He said this is what I'mthinking.
He says what about you joiningthe insurance business, the
family business, for one year?
And I was sitting at the tableand I'm like, ah, the insurance
business that's so stale andboring and dull.
I'm a hockey coach and he saidgive me one year.
(10:11):
He said I'll teach you thebusiness from the front door to
the back door.
And after one year, michael, ifyou don't love it, if it's not
something you're obsessed with,you know you can always go back
to pro sports.
But he says, if you do love itand you want to make it your
calling your life, your mission,he said we'll work out an
(10:32):
agreement where you can buy thebusiness and go from there.
So I was sitting there.
I said you know what?
I'm going to take him up onthis offer.
And it's so interesting becauseI walked in that door 17 years
and I worked with my dad, toe totoe, elbow to elbow, for 17
glorious years and we took thatbusiness was already a
(10:54):
successful business and overthose 17 years I got to work
with my dad every day and webuilt that insurance agency into
the number one agency in theentire country.
Built that insurance agencyinto the number one agency in
the entire country.
And it was so interestingbecause my dad gave me the best
piece of advice.
He said, michael, when you comeinto this business, I don't
want you to adjust to theinsurance business, I want you
(11:16):
to bring your passion and yourobsession for coaching and
serving other people.
I want you to bring yourmarketing passion and obsession
and make the business adjust toyou.
In other words, run it like ateam.
And that's what we did.
That's what we did, jeffrey,for 17 years, and that's how we
got to number one.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
I've always admired the entrepreneurs and the
business model where theyoperate as a team, rather than
that hierarchy waterfallapproach to who's more important
than the other one.
So there's great admiration forbringing your experience as a
hockey coach and a team coachinto entrepreneurship and
(12:00):
business and a few key points Iwant to touch on that you had
mentioned.
You went from a drifter to agiver.
Let's talk a little bit moreabout giving in entrepreneurship
and business, because there'ssomething that ties in to
success with living a generouslife.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
When I was broke and I'm talking financially, I'm
talking physically, I'm talkingemotionally, I'm talking
spiritually broke when I wasbroke in my 20s and 30s, I was a
taker.
There's two types of people inthis world there's takers and
there's givers.
So when I was broke as a humanbeing, I was a taker.
(12:43):
How can this work for me?
How can I get rich?
How can I use this to myadvantage?
And that's pretty normalbehavior in young people my life
transformed in business and mypersonal life.
I mean all levels.
When all of a sudden, I saidhow can I serve other people?
(13:03):
And when I became a person ofservice whether it was coaching
hockey, whether it was workingwith the Rotary Club or raising
funds for the library or thefood bank everything transpired.
And it was amazing because Inever made any money.
I never made any real moneyuntil I became a man of service.
And the light bulb really wentoff in the insurance business,
(13:26):
where I would be doing somemarketing for Thanksgiving or
Christmas, whatever it was.
And I stopped myself one timeand I said you know what?
I'm not going to do any of thisstuff without connecting it to
something in the community.
And you know, I'm mailing theflyers, I'm mailing the
newsletters, I'm on television,I'm on radio.
I stopped myself one day and Isaid how can I raise all kinds
(13:50):
of money and awareness for thesecharities in our community?
So I kind of it's like thedreamers disease.
I kind of caught fire withhelping other people and we just
started doing everythingconnected to charity.
So, as an example, we would doa food drive in December for the
food bank, I would raise moneyfor the Rotary Club in November.
(14:13):
But everything we did with theinsurance agency was connected
to serving other people and itliterally, literally transformed
our business.
It transformed the type ofemployees we attracted and all
of a sudden, our business in asmall community of 6,000 people
started to be viewed differently.
(14:34):
It was like these people areabout more than just themselves,
and that's very difficult to doin the insurance business.
When people think of insurance,jeffrey, they're like oh, it's
something we have to do.
We became almost like anorganization that was about the
community first and if you hadto buy your insurance, this is
(14:57):
an option for you.
But when I changed from a takerto a giver, everything in my
life transformed.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
I know that our listening community are great
note takers and I know theywrote down.
How can I serve?
That is such an importantquestion to ask ourselves,
especially when we're trying tobuild our business or elevate
our business to learn more about.
And that is how you transformedthe, the barbershop in Canada,
(15:34):
and elevated that beyond likethe average barbershop.
Can you share a little bitabout that?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
It all goes back to my entire principle, which my
dad taught me, which is theNapoleon Hill.
If you don't have any examples,if you don't know what to do,
if a person is born into afamily where there's no role
models, whatever it is, justlook around at what everybody
else is doing and do the exactopposite.
(16:02):
That's Napoleon Hill Think andGrow Rich 101.
If you don't have any rolemodels, if you don't know what
to do with your life or yourmarketing or whatever, just do
what everybody else isn't doing,because the herd is always
wrong when it comes to health,wealth, family, whatever.
So I kept driving around ourcommunity.
(16:24):
We have two main streets and Ihave my five-year-old daughter
with me and I pick her up atschool and I drive her home and
we always roll by this abandonedbuilding on the corner and we
have this beautiful heritagetown of 6000 people.
And every time we would stop atthe red light my daughter was
five at the time She'd say,daddy, that that's an ugly
(16:45):
building.
It's an ugly building in ourcommunity.
And one day, jeffrey, the lightbulb went off.
I said I'm not going to talkabout this, I'm not going to
whine, I'm not going to complain, I'm not going to, you know,
make excuses or cut things down.
I said I'm going to dosomething with that corner.
So the next day, with my, withmy daughter's inspiration, I
(17:05):
said you know, barbering wasstarting to come back at the
time this is like seven, eightyears ago and barbering was cool
again.
It was a trade that was comingback.
Not everything was super clipsanymore.
And I said what about an oldschool husband, father, whatever
on that corner?
And I put out the black awningsand I clean up the corner and
(17:26):
it'd be a place that ourcommunity was proud of and we
would serve people.
So that's exactly what we did.
I called the landlord the nextday.
I said how much do you know forthis?
And a member of theconstruction guys in there.
He said Michael, I'm going togive you 90 days of free rent.
You got 90 days to get thisthing going.
It took us, jeffrey, 60.
(17:46):
We made the place lookimmaculate, which was great for
the community, and everythingwas about, you know, the
barbershop experience.
I had fun creating that placebecause I went on online and I
lived in the past.
I was like, ok, here's what Iyou know nostalgia in the 80s
and 90s and we had the jukeboxand we had the old stadium seats
(18:09):
and we had everything you couldimagine.
And we built that business intothe top barber shop in the
entire country.
People said to me at the timethey said, michael, the only
problem with barbering right nowthere's no more barber colleges
, so you're not going to be ableto find any more barbers.
So, living that Napoleon Hillwhere do the opposite?
(18:31):
I didn't listen.
I did not listen to that advice.
I said I'm going to find greatpeople and I'm going to train
them in the trade of barberingand I never had scissors in my
hand in my life.
But we went about it that waywhere we said, listen, we don't
want anybody that does haveexperience, we want people that
have the right attitude, thatare coachable and want to have a
(18:55):
trade.
And I'll never forget hiringthe top barber in America and I
flew him in from New York Cityto our little community and he
spent two weeks with the fivebarbers.
They weren't even barbers atthe time and I said teach these
people to be the best at whatthey do.
And that's how we started.
(19:16):
We never had an employeeshortage.
That barber shop was.
Every day there was a promotionto serve the community.
It became almost like amovement in our community where
you know that's where you go andyou get your hair cut.
You take your son, you takeyour daughter, you get the bit
the thing a big league chew, youget the old Coca-Cola and you
(19:38):
help other people.
So that's that's.
That all started, with mydaughter and I driving by and
she goes daddy, that's aneyesore.
You could do something aboutthat.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
That's amazing and most people would just let that.
You know.
Water run over the bridge andthen that was it.
But you're obviously an actiontaker and applying some of your.
It's admirable that you set anyego aside and realize that
you're not going to be thesmartest person in the room.
You bring in the expert, youtrain the people in your
(20:09):
community and you revitalize anentire corner in that community
for a thriving business thatserves.
Going back to that, that isabsolutely amazing.
So how, with all of this thatyou're doing, being a high
achiever and an entrepreneur andan athlete how do you balance
high performance in businesswith being present and connected
(20:33):
as a husband and a father?
Speaker 2 (20:36):
I own the first hour of my day.
So when I was working for mydad 20 years ago, I could not
have been more busy, I could nothave been more distracted.
I was a receptionist, I was aservice worker, I was the whole
thing.
But I was also not married withno kids.
And my dad said to me he goes,you know, I watch you operate.
(20:57):
And he said you're busy butyou're not productive.
He said if I acted and behavedlike you, he said, I would have
been divorced from your mother40 years ago and you kids would
have never seen me.
I would have been divorced fromyour mother 40 years ago and
you kids would have never seenme.
I never, ever, ever can rememberone time in 45 years that my
dad was not at the dinner table,not one, not a seminar, not
(21:24):
sick, not away, not playing golf.
My dad was home every singleday of his life at 6 pm and my
mom had a rule.
She said I don't care what timeyou leave in the morning to go
to work, because my dad had thedreamers disease.
She said I don't care if you goat five, if you go at seven, I
don't care if you drive the kids, but business is over at 6 pm
(21:45):
and I remember my like for 40years.
It didn't matter what age wewere my sister, my brother, my
dad was at the dinner table andthen after dinner there was no.
There was no like, ok, we're onour phone, or anything like
that.
My dad was both feet in today.
So when he said that to me,Jeffrey, when I was working, he
said you better get your acttogether, because if you ever
(22:07):
want to be married and staymarried and you want to be a
present father, he said youbetter get your act together,
because if you ever want to bemarried and stay married and you
want to be a present father, hesaid you need to own the first
hour of the day.
And I was like own the firsthour of the day.
He said listen.
He said what time do you get upat?
I said well, I get up at seveno'clock and he said yeah, and
you drag your ass here to workfor eight 30.
He said what you need to startdoing is reverse engineer it,
(22:30):
where you start going to bed atthe same time every single night
.
And for me I was like could be12 midnight, it could be one in
the morning.
I didn't care.
And he said and then you get upat the same time every day, but
the first 60 minutes is foryour number one task.
So he said to me he goes, whatwould be your number one task If
(22:54):
I gave you an hour today?
What would it be?
And I said I think it would befitness and exercise.
I said you know, I put on someweight sitting at a desk.
For the first time in my lifeI've never, ever worked in an
office.
And he said well, what aboutthis?
What about you start walkingtomorrow for one hour?
No technology, no podcast, justput your shoes on and walk
(23:16):
outside in nature?
And I said well, and I triedthat.
And here I am, 22 years laterand I can count on two hands.
The number of days that Ihaven't put on my shoes at now
6am and walked outside in natureand that just transformed my
life in terms of balance is Ialways get that first win from
(23:39):
six to seven and then, jeffrey,the rest of my day seems to
really.
You know, it's about stackingthe W's after that and I've used
that first hour during the overthe last couple decades.
Sometimes it was for writing,sometimes it was for prayer,
sometimes it was for, you know,reading.
But most of the time I get upand I put on my shoes and that's
(24:03):
my time with my creator andpeople.
You know, they laugh at me,they say you know you don't walk
with music, you don't take yourphone, and I'm like, from six
to seven, that's my time tounclutter my mind, to talk to my
personal God and just to think.
And when I get back to thehouse at seven o'clock and I see
(24:24):
my wife there, my daughter, I'mnow in second gear and that has
been the secret.
It's not been more difficult.
It's not working more or doingless of this.
It's the first hour of the daymust belong to an entrepreneur
and if you win that first 60minutes, you win the day.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Own your first hour.
That is powerful advice andsomething else.
Another takeaway that I gotfrom that, with the story about
your dad is leading by example,and that's something that I
chose to start doing for mychildren when I realized that I
wasn't present for them or theirmom at the time back then.
And so that is fantastic advice.
(25:06):
And own your first hour wassomething that I heard, maybe in
a different phrase, but backyears ago.
That made a huge difference inmy life as well, when I decided
to take control of my future,take control of my life, take
control of my health, givingmyself that opportunity first
thing in the morning.
And when I was.
You know I've bounced back andforth between entrepreneur and
(25:27):
employee for a few cycles in mylife, but when I was an employee
for a while, it was reallydifficult when I had to be
somewhere an hour away at 6 am.
I still own that first hour.
I was still getting up at 4.30in the morning to get my fitness
routine done, to get myexercise done, and when I would
show up to be a leader in thatindustry, all the other people
(25:47):
would be dragging themselves towork sipping on a large coffee
full of sugar and milk, and theywould ask me like, where are
you getting all this energy?
And I would explain to themthat it was the hour that I
spent before I got in thevehicle and drove there to work.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
It's amazing because 99% of entrepreneurs lose
control of their day in thefirst 10 minutes.
How do you lose control of yourday?
You play defense.
So I use the sports analogywith my students.
Like most people, they wake upand they check their phone.
Well, when you wake up and youcheck your phone, that's
(26:22):
somebody else's agenda, that'ssomebody else's values, that's
somebody else's principles.
I've never had a cell phone inmy bedroom, I've never had a pad
, I've never had a computer.
When I get up, I play offense.
For the first 60 minutes I pushmy agenda.
My agenda is to put on mywalking clothes, to drink two
(26:44):
glasses of water, to pray, tobrush my teeth and to put my
shoes on.
My agenda is to push that dooropen and get out into nature and
talk to my creator.
So I don't touch a phone till11 am, never, ever, ever.
I have a lockbox, but that'sthe difference between winning
and losing is, most people getup and play defense, and they
(27:07):
play not to lose and they checktheir phone and consequently,
you lose control of your day inthe first 10 minutes.
Oh, can you believe this?
Or politics, or sports.
And I'm just like get up andplay offense.
How do you get up and playoffense.
You put out your clothes thenight before, you put out the
two glasses of water and you getup and you stack the W's and I
(27:31):
call it violent consistency.
Violent consistency, like Idon't have any special talent, I
don't have any special gifts,but I don't miss.
Everybody else misses but Idon't miss.
I put on the shoes 365.
I talk to my creator 365.
I drink the two glasses ofwater I put out the night before
(27:52):
, and that's a coaching tip thatcomes from sports.
That's so important is thattomorrow starts today.
So when I get up at 5.59 in themorning, I don't need an alarm.
I get up and I know exactlywhat time it is.
My shorts and my t-shirt and mysweatshirt and my shoes are all
there.
The two glasses of water arethere.
(28:14):
Tomorrow starts today.
So the night before is when youset up your winning for the
next day.
That way you're not staggeringaround at six in the morning
looking for this or looking forthat.
When I get up, it's just win,win, win, win.
These little tiny wins, becauseI put all my stuff out the
(28:34):
night before and that really,jeffrey, gets you through those
days where I don't want to walk.
I mean, I'm walking in thefreezing rain, I'm walking in
the bugs, I don't want to drinkthe water, but my environment
makes it almost impossible forme to misbehave.
I don't trust myself, I don'ttrust myself, so I build an
(28:55):
environment the day before thatmakes it next to impossible for
me to fail.
But the secret is to get up andto play offense and play to win
.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Don't play defense to somebody else's agenda.
I love it and having thatconsistency, that violent
consistency, and making tomorrowstart.
Today I started living thatlife and I know the outcome that
it brings for us.
And when I very seldom slipfrom that, you know when I, when
I don't make my breakfastsmoothie in the night before and
(29:26):
I can just grab and go to thegym first thing in the morning,
my morning is is off and thenthat cascades into my entire day
being off.
So that consistency is superimportant and I did that out of
necessity when I was an employee, getting up at 4.30 am, I
didn't have time to prepare formy day in the morning before I
had to leave for work at 5 am.
(29:46):
So I would prepare the nightbefore because I was devoted to
my health, I was committed tothe outcome that I wanted to,
and now I get to live the lifethat I was planning back then
and it came to fruition, and Ihave that now every single day.
Was planning back then and itcame to fruition, and I have
that now every single day.
So tell me, michael, when youare so busy well, I shouldn't
(30:06):
say busy when you are soproductive, what are some
unconventional strategies thatyou use to help entrepreneurs
get it all done.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Well, I disciplined myself for the last 22 years.
The only thing that matters arethree things in my life and
this is a quote that rules mylife, it rules my marriage, it
rules my behavior as a husband,as a father.
Number one is health.
Love and mission are the onlythings that matter in my life.
(30:41):
Everything else is noise.
Everything else is playingdefense.
So, if I break those down foryou, jeffrey, number one and I
had to learn this recently inthe last three years is I can't
serve anybody as an unhealthypeople pleaser.
So I used to be a guy like I'mgoing to be the greatest father,
(31:02):
I'm going to be the greatesthusband, but really, when it
comes down to physical andmental health, I can't help
anybody Unless I'm showing up asthe best version of myself.
This is the reason I changed mydiet three years ago.
This is the reason I broke upwith alcohol three years ago.
This is the reason I don'tparticipate in politics or
(31:25):
anti-social media.
I don't watch the news.
These are the.
So health for me became anumber one priority and I
started living it Me me spendingtime with my creator every
morning.
Walking is mental, emotionaland spiritual health.
So that's my priority and ithappens in that first hour.
(31:46):
The second priority is love andfamily.
So everything I do is aboutgetting back home to my wife and
my daughter.
I do all of this to be able tospend time with those two people
.
And then the third thing, andI've always said this with my
students a man or woman withouta mission, it's.
(32:10):
You can feel it.
Everybody in this world needs amission, and my mission is
always serving other people.
So I've had multiple missionsin my life.
I wanted to win a hockeychampionship.
I did that.
That was a mission.
I wanted to have the number onebarber shop in the country.
That was a mission.
I wanted to have the number oneinsurance agency in the world.
(32:32):
That was a mission.
But I have a mission every like.
My life right now is my latestbusiness mission is to serve one
million entrepreneurs.
I want to help men and womenlive life and do business on
their own terms.
That's my mission and it'sgoing to take me 10 years, it's
going to take a decade, butthose are the three things that
(32:54):
I focus on and I literally sayno vitamin N to everything else
and I literally say no vitamin Nto everything else.
So if it doesn't fit into healthor into family or into my
mission to serve other people.
It's vitamin N and people sayto me Warren Buffett taught me
that.
He said you know the differencebetween happy and unhappy,
(33:15):
between fat and thin, betweensuccessful and unsuccessful, he
says, is high performance.
People like you, jeffrey, sayno to almost everything.
And vitamin N like in 2025, Italked to my guys on my
mastermind this year to me isabout subtraction Do less better
(33:36):
.
So it's so funny.
If you followed, if you and Iwere here today in my house,
you'd be like you'd be stunnedat how little I do Like I'm like
I say yes to a podcast becausethat's my mission.
I say yes to going to the gymbecause that's part of my life.
I say yes to driving mydaughter to school, but anything
(33:57):
outside of that is vitamin.
It's no, and it was my dad thattaught me.
He said Michael.
He said you know this peoplepleasing has to end.
He said because as a husbandand father, he said every time
you say yes, it's a no to apriority, it's a no to a
(34:17):
priority of yours.
It's like checking your phonewhen you get up in the morning.
That's not your priority,that's not your principles,
those are not your values.
So it all goes back to that,that three-prong approach.
Where is it my mission, is itmy health and is it my family?
Speaker 1 (34:34):
and if it's not, it's a hard no knowing your values
health, love and mission super,super important values right
there.
And I at one point was notliving those values and my
health was in peril.
I probably wouldn't be alivetoday if I didn't say yes to
(34:54):
myself before, and that tooksaying no to so many other
people.
Not that I had to cut peopleout of my life, but I did have
to say no.
A lot of those people did nottake that well.
Uh, they held that against me.
They got angry with me.
Some still don't talk to me tothis day.
But I said yes to myselfbecause I was people pleasing
and I had to make that decision.
(35:15):
And when it comes to love,that's something that a lot of
people, especially you men,entrepreneurs don't talk about.
That.
This is one of the reasons whylove is so important.
There's only two ways to be.
You can either be in love modeor you can be in fear mode, and
that's one of the reasons why Inamed my private wellness
practice Love Energy WellnessBecause that love is shifting
(35:38):
into that giving mode, shiftinginto that self-preservation mode
and focusing on your health,and the mission is super
important for me.
That mission was to serve morepeople, help more people.
I went and learned from the bestof the best for health
education for high performancehealth, integrative health and I
(35:58):
did that with the sole purposeto help more people, because
those modalities helped me toturn my life around, turn my
health around, and I probablywouldn't be here to this day if
I didn't make those decisionsback then.
So, vitamin N, I absolutelylove that.
That's going to be in anyrecommendations I make to my
clients as well.
And you know, when I'm coachingclients and they say, well, I
(36:19):
don't have time for X, y, z, itgoes back to what you said what
are priorities in your life?
Because everybody has the sameamount of time in their day or
in their week, but it's justthat they're not prioritizing
whatever it is that they say isimportant for them, but then
they're not taking action onthat.
So, speaking of taking action,michael, where can people find
(36:40):
you?
Speaker 2 (36:42):
I shoot a video every single day.
Your members can join my emailnewsletter, which is a daily
newsletter for free atbrassballsvideoscom.
That's brassballsvideoscom, andI send an email every day with
something that I'm thinkingabout or something that came to
(37:04):
me on my walk.
Sometimes it's money, sometimesit's marriage, sometimes it's
marketing, sometimes it's, youknow, like community service,
and and basically I also shoot avideo every day.
It's interesting because Idon't care how many people like
I'm not.
I never started shooting videosevery day to build a following.
(37:26):
I just, you know, I was out onthese walks and after I talked
to my creator, I'm sitting theregoing.
I got some stuff that'spercolating in my mind that I'd
love to share with the world,and that's how 700 videos
consecutively it started.
And on YouTube it's MichaelMcLean, badass CEO, and I've got
(37:48):
a couple of channels there.
But the best place for yourfollowers to sign up for the
free newsletter and also get acopy of my book for free is
brassballsvideoscom, and it's mesharing basically my personal
life and professional life withyou every single day.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
Amazing Brassballsvideoscom Michael
McLean badass CEO, on YouTube.
I will link those up in theshow notes.
Michael, it's been a pleasuretalking with you and learning
from your experience and sharingthat with our audience.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
Thank you so much for being with us today, jeffrey, a
tip of the hat to you, theentrepreneurs.
I always tell my people guyslike you and gals they don't
hear it enough.
You're the hero in this story.
I mean, america is the greatestcountry in the world, canada is
the second greatest country inthe world because of
entrepreneurs.
And the world Canada is thesecond greatest country in the
(38:42):
world because of entrepreneurs.
And my dad has told me that forthe last 50 years and without
guys like you risking buildingand all this other stuff that we
do with a very little creditsometimes, and podcasts and
everything else, all this goesaway.
This is the land of opportunity.
2025 is the greatest time inhistory to be alive.
My dad said that to me theother day.
(39:03):
He's 91 years old.
We're sitting out on the boatand he says you know?
He says, son, I've been anentrepreneur for 75 years, but
he says I got to tell you I'm alittle jealous.
He says that I'm retired now,at 91.
He says, with the Internet,with eight billion people, with
the trillions of dollars, witheverything that's going on, he
(39:23):
said, man, oh man, the best isyet to come.
He said make sure you're a bigpart of that and serving people
over the next handful of years.
So I tip my hat to you andthank you for everything you do
to make all this happen.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
I appreciate that, michael, and likewise right back
at you, you're doing greatthings for the world and the
world needs you.
My friend, thank you for beinghere.
Well, there you have it, myfriends.
I know that you really enjoyedall the value bombs that Michael
brought to our listeningaudience.
I hope you took some notes.
(39:59):
Hope you, if you need hisservices, you reach out to him,
check out his videos that hedoes every single day.
Talk about commitment, that is,commitment to helping others
thrive and be successful, andthat's what it's all about here
on the Breaking Boundaries forEntrepreneurs podcast, and next
week we'll be back with ourregular shorter episodes in our
(40:22):
series going through this year,talking about high performance,
health and longevity and how wecan break boundaries in that
space.
So if you have any questions orcomments, you can click on the
send us a message feature in theshow notes as, as always, leave
a way for me to respond ifyou're leaving a question that
(40:44):
you want an answer to and I canget back to you directly.
And I appreciate you listeningand we will see you next time.
Remember, stay healthy, staymotivated and keep breaking
those boundaries.
Bye-bye, everybody.
Thank you, breaking boundaries of your mind, body
and business with integrativehealth, and when you do that,
your possibilities are limitless.
I'm grateful you're here.
Ah, yes, always grateful foryou joining me here today on the
Breaking Boundaries forEntrepreneurs podcast.
I appreciate you listening inand, since you find value in our
(00:43):
episodes, it would be amazingif you could just leave a few
kind words in the form of afive-star review on your
favorite podcast platform.
And that'll do two things One,it'll let me know that you found
value in these episodes and,number two, it will help us to
help more people.
And that is my personal goal,my professional goal goal,
(01:05):
especially the way we want toleverage the Breaking Boundaries
podcast and podcasting has beensuch a wonderful experience.
I've been doing podcastingsince 2019, not always here on
the Breaking Boundaries podcast,but I was in a different space
and industry when I did startpodcasting and if that's
something that you're interestedin learning, reach out to me
(01:25):
and I can share an amazingresource with you to help you to
fast track that podcastingexperience.
And it's a great way to honeyour speaking skills and to meet
some amazing people.
And that leads me to today'sepisode in our conversational
series, where you know, I getthe opportunity to meet some
amazing people in this industry,in different industries that
(01:48):
reach out to me, and not allguests that reach out to me
become guests on the podcast.
A lot of times that there Ijust don't see the synergy, but
that's not the case today.
Today we have an amazing guestcoming your way and I'll give
you a brief introduction here ontoday's guest.
Michael McLean is amulti-millionaire business owner
(02:11):
, author, speaker and businesscoach who has taught thousands
of highly successful men how toget it all done in today's
business world and still enjoyan incredible life, and that's
why I felt that Michael wouldreally bring some value here,
and you're going to love thevalue bombs that he brings to us
(02:32):
here in the Breaking Boundariespodcast.
Michael is widely known for hisnoble kick butt take no
prisoners approach to businessand as the celebrated merchant
of truth of the coaching andconsulting industry.
Opinionated, ruthless butwildly generous.
He fundraisers for children'sliteracy programs, fundraisers
(02:55):
for the homeless, fundraisersfor local animal shelters,
rotary, the Food Bank andmultiple other local and
national charities.
Michael is a formerprofessional hockey coach and
team owner.
Michael became famous forjoining his father's small town
insurance agency, which we'regoing to talk about in this
interview.
In 2002, with zero insuranceexperience and tripling the size
(03:21):
and profits in his first 36months, michael won the
2009-2010 GKIC Marketer of theYear Award.
And Michael currently liveshalf of the year in the
beautiful heritage town of Perth, ontario, canada, and the other
half in sunny Naples, florida,with his wife Krista, his
(03:42):
daughter Emery and their blacklab Clifford.
So, without further ado, here'smy conversation with Michael
McLean.
You're going to love the valuebombs he brings, michael.
Welcome to the BreakingBoundaries for Entrepreneurs
podcast.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Thank you, jeffrey, it's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Excellent, excellent.
So tell our listening audienceaudience who the hell is Michael
McLean.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Who the hell is Michael McLean?
Believe it or not, I'm actuallyan ex-professional hockey coach
turned eight-figureentrepreneur.
But, admittedly, the mostimportant job I have right now
is as a husband, as a father, sowe spend half our time in
Canada, canada on the lake, andwe spend the other six months in
(04:27):
beautiful Naples, florida.
I've been an entrepreneur sinceI was 12 years old.
I have the dreamers disease,just like you, jeffrey.
I remember my dad turning to mewhen I was 12 years old and this
is going back in the day and Isaid, dad, I said you know what
we need to do.
We need to start a video store.
And this is back before evenBlockbuster.
(04:47):
And I said we got to start amovie store with videos and all
this kind of stuff, and we'regoing to do home delivery, we're
going to combine the videostore with the Domino's pizza.
And my dad turned to me he'sbeen an entrepreneur since he
was 15, pizza.
And my dad turned to me he'sbeen a entrepreneur since he was
(05:08):
15, 71 years in the trenches.
And he said oh, my goodness,you have the dreamers disease.
So that's, that's my story.
I've been an entrepreneur sinceI was a little kid and now it's
the freedom lifestyle as ahusband and father.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
That's amazing, and so let's go a little bit deeper
into going from a pro, a formerpro hockey coach, into an eight
figure entrepreneur.
Can you dive a little bit intothat story, because it's kind of
an unusual transition.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
I was like, I have no idea what I'm going to do, and
my mom and dad were like, what'sthis guy going to do?
And I'll never forget it.
We were in phys ed class, gymclass, and one of the things we
had to do is we had to volunteer.
In other words, we had to coacha t-ball team or a volleyball
team or a baseball team,whatever.
And I'll never forget.
I went to the arena.
I said, okay, I'm going to putin the minimum amount of hours
here.
And I'll never forget.
I went to the arena.
I said, okay, I'm going to putin the minimum amount of hours
(06:05):
here and I'm going to coach thislittle team of 12-year-olds.
Maybe, you know, push somepucks around and help out a
little bit.
I'll never forget.
That absolutely changed my life.
That day I went from a drifterto a person who was driven at
age 19.
And I'll never forget cominghome and I'm sitting at the
(06:25):
kitchen table with my mom anddad and my dad's an entrepreneur
.
And I sat there and I said Isaid I know exactly what I want
to do with my life.
And they were just stunned.
They're like what?
We don't know what you're doingday to day.
I said I'm going to coachhockey for a living.
I'm going to make a difference,I'm going to help people.
This is my calling.
And I remember my dad kind oflaughing and my mom kind of
(06:49):
laughing like you've only beento the rink one time.
But that's where it all started.
It was.
I wasn't passionate about it, Iwas obsessed.
And ever since that time,volunteering with that young
team, I said to myself I want tomake this my job, this is my
calling, this is my purpose,this is what I'm here to do.
(07:10):
So I coached hockey, jeffrey,all the way through college.
So when my friends were workingat the pub or they're working
at Subway, I was literallycoaching high level hockey where
I was paid.
And when I graduated after fiveyears with my yes, with my
degree, I had a backup plan.
I said, okay, if this hockeything doesn't work out, I'm
(07:32):
going to be a phys ed teacher,I'm going to be a gym teacher,
I'm going to, I'm going to coachhigh school.
So that was what I went touniversity and college for.
But when I graduated, at age 24, I had my very first minor pro
job waiting for me as anassistant coach.
So my cup runneth over and fromthere.
I coached minor pro hockey thewild wild west for three years
(07:59):
and then the strangest thinghappened in pro sports.
I got fired and my dad looksback and he laughs at he said
what do you expect to happenwhen you're in pro sports?
I got fired and my dad looksback and he laughs at.
He said what do you expect tohappen when you're in pro sports
?
But I'll never forget it.
I got fired after three yearsof being a pro coach.
I wasn't married, jeffrey, Ididn't have children and I went
home to lick my wounds after Iwas terminated and my dad and my
(08:23):
mom were sitting at the kitchentable one night and I was
getting ready to apply for mynext coaching job.
I mean, that's what pro coachesdo we get hired, we get fired
and we go back.
And my dad said to me he saiddo you mind if we speak about
something?
And I said sure.
He said okay.
He said before you go back tothe sport of hockey, he said how
(08:45):
many cities have you lived inthe last four years?
I said three.
He said how many people haveyou worked for different owners?
I said four and he said OK.
He said if you continue on thispath as a young man.
You're not married, you don'thave any kids.
He said you can expect yourchildren to attend how many
(09:06):
schools?
I said well, a lot, I said.
And he said how many ownerswill you work for?
And I said probably a lot.
And he goes how many times doyou think you'll be fired?
Every three, four years?
And that was the definingmoment for me where I went from
a mindset Jeffrey of moment forme where I went from a mindset
(09:27):
Jeffrey of I just want to coachhockey to personal sovereignty.
And my dad said I have been inbusiness.
He's been in business for 71years.
He worked to age 85.
He said never once have Iworked for somebody else since
the age of 16.
He goes it didn't matter what Iwas doing, I did it myself and
I grew up in the back of ageneral store.
Then my dad was in the insurancebusiness.
(09:48):
He said I answer to myself andmy clients.
He said I'm.
He said this is what I'mthinking.
He says what about you joiningthe insurance business, the
family business, for one year?
And I was sitting at the tableand I'm like, ah, the insurance
business that's so stale andboring and dull.
I'm a hockey coach and he saidgive me one year.
(10:11):
He said I'll teach you thebusiness from the front door to
the back door.
And after one year, michael, ifyou don't love it, if it's not
something you're obsessed with,you know you can always go back
to pro sports.
But he says, if you do love itand you want to make it your
calling your life, your mission,he said we'll work out an
(10:32):
agreement where you can buy thebusiness and go from there.
So I was sitting there.
I said you know what?
I'm going to take him up onthis offer.
And it's so interesting becauseI walked in that door 17 years
and I worked with my dad, toe totoe, elbow to elbow, for 17
glorious years and we took thatbusiness was already a
(10:54):
successful business and overthose 17 years I got to work
with my dad every day and webuilt that insurance agency into
the number one agency in theentire country.
Built that insurance agencyinto the number one agency in
the entire country.
And it was so interestingbecause my dad gave me the best
piece of advice.
He said, michael, when you comeinto this business, I don't
want you to adjust to theinsurance business, I want you
(11:16):
to bring your passion and yourobsession for coaching and
serving other people.
I want you to bring yourmarketing passion and obsession
and make the business adjust toyou.
In other words, run it like ateam.
And that's what we did.
That's what we did, jeffrey,for 17 years, and that's how we
got to number one.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
I've always admired the entrepreneurs and the
business model where theyoperate as a team, rather than
that hierarchy waterfallapproach to who's more important
than the other one.
So there's great admiration forbringing your experience as a
hockey coach and a team coachinto entrepreneurship and
(12:00):
business and a few key points Iwant to touch on that you had
mentioned.
You went from a drifter to agiver.
Let's talk a little bit moreabout giving in entrepreneurship
and business, because there'ssomething that ties in to
success with living a generouslife.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
When I was broke and I'm talking financially, I'm
talking physically, I'm talkingemotionally, I'm talking
spiritually broke when I wasbroke in my 20s and 30s, I was a
taker.
There's two types of people inthis world there's takers and
there's givers.
So when I was broke as a humanbeing, I was a taker.
(12:43):
How can this work for me?
How can I get rich?
How can I use this to myadvantage?
And that's pretty normalbehavior in young people my life
transformed in business and mypersonal life.
I mean all levels.
When all of a sudden, I saidhow can I serve other people?
(13:03):
And when I became a person ofservice whether it was coaching
hockey, whether it was workingwith the Rotary Club or raising
funds for the library or thefood bank everything transpired.
And it was amazing because Inever made any money.
I never made any real moneyuntil I became a man of service.
And the light bulb really wentoff in the insurance business,
(13:26):
where I would be doing somemarketing for Thanksgiving or
Christmas, whatever it was.
And I stopped myself one timeand I said you know what?
I'm not going to do any of thisstuff without connecting it to
something in the community.
And you know, I'm mailing theflyers, I'm mailing the
newsletters, I'm on television,I'm on radio.
I stopped myself one day and Isaid how can I raise all kinds
(13:50):
of money and awareness for thesecharities in our community?
So I kind of it's like thedreamers disease.
I kind of caught fire withhelping other people and we just
started doing everythingconnected to charity.
So, as an example, we would doa food drive in December for the
food bank, I would raise moneyfor the Rotary Club in November.
(14:13):
But everything we did with theinsurance agency was connected
to serving other people and itliterally, literally transformed
our business.
It transformed the type ofemployees we attracted and all
of a sudden, our business in asmall community of 6,000 people
started to be viewed differently.
(14:34):
It was like these people areabout more than just themselves,
and that's very difficult to doin the insurance business.
When people think of insurance,jeffrey, they're like oh, it's
something we have to do.
We became almost like anorganization that was about the
community first and if you hadto buy your insurance, this is
(14:57):
an option for you.
But when I changed from a takerto a giver, everything in my
life transformed.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
I know that our listening community are great
note takers and I know theywrote down.
How can I serve?
That is such an importantquestion to ask ourselves,
especially when we're trying tobuild our business or elevate
our business to learn more about.
And that is how you transformedthe, the barbershop in Canada,
(15:34):
and elevated that beyond likethe average barbershop.
Can you share a little bitabout that?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
It all goes back to my entire principle, which my
dad taught me, which is theNapoleon Hill.
If you don't have any examples,if you don't know what to do,
if a person is born into afamily where there's no role
models, whatever it is, justlook around at what everybody
else is doing and do the exactopposite.
(16:02):
That's Napoleon Hill Think andGrow Rich 101.
If you don't have any rolemodels, if you don't know what
to do with your life or yourmarketing or whatever, just do
what everybody else isn't doing,because the herd is always
wrong when it comes to health,wealth, family, whatever.
So I kept driving around ourcommunity.
(16:24):
We have two main streets and Ihave my five-year-old daughter
with me and I pick her up atschool and I drive her home and
we always roll by this abandonedbuilding on the corner and we
have this beautiful heritagetown of 6000 people.
And every time we would stop atthe red light my daughter was
five at the time She'd say,daddy, that that's an ugly
(16:45):
building.
It's an ugly building in ourcommunity.
And one day, jeffrey, the lightbulb went off.
I said I'm not going to talkabout this, I'm not going to
whine, I'm not going to complain, I'm not going to, you know,
make excuses or cut things down.
I said I'm going to dosomething with that corner.
So the next day, with my, withmy daughter's inspiration, I
(17:05):
said you know, barbering wasstarting to come back at the
time this is like seven, eightyears ago and barbering was cool
again.
It was a trade that was comingback.
Not everything was super clipsanymore.
And I said what about an oldschool husband, father, whatever
on that corner?
And I put out the black awningsand I clean up the corner and
(17:26):
it'd be a place that ourcommunity was proud of and we
would serve people.
So that's exactly what we did.
I called the landlord the nextday.
I said how much do you know forthis?
And a member of theconstruction guys in there.
He said Michael, I'm going togive you 90 days of free rent.
You got 90 days to get thisthing going.
It took us, jeffrey, 60.
(17:46):
We made the place lookimmaculate, which was great for
the community, and everythingwas about, you know, the
barbershop experience.
I had fun creating that placebecause I went on online and I
lived in the past.
I was like, ok, here's what Iyou know nostalgia in the 80s
and 90s and we had the jukeboxand we had the old stadium seats
(18:09):
and we had everything you couldimagine.
And we built that business intothe top barber shop in the
entire country.
People said to me at the timethey said, michael, the only
problem with barbering right nowthere's no more barber colleges
, so you're not going to be ableto find any more barbers.
So, living that Napoleon Hillwhere do the opposite?
(18:31):
I didn't listen.
I did not listen to that advice.
I said I'm going to find greatpeople and I'm going to train
them in the trade of barberingand I never had scissors in my
hand in my life.
But we went about it that waywhere we said, listen, we don't
want anybody that does haveexperience, we want people that
have the right attitude, thatare coachable and want to have a
(18:55):
trade.
And I'll never forget hiringthe top barber in America and I
flew him in from New York Cityto our little community and he
spent two weeks with the fivebarbers.
They weren't even barbers atthe time and I said teach these
people to be the best at whatthey do.
And that's how we started.
(19:16):
We never had an employeeshortage.
That barber shop was.
Every day there was a promotionto serve the community.
It became almost like amovement in our community where
you know that's where you go andyou get your hair cut.
You take your son, you takeyour daughter, you get the bit
the thing a big league chew, youget the old Coca-Cola and you
(19:38):
help other people.
So that's that's.
That all started, with mydaughter and I driving by and
she goes daddy, that's aneyesore.
You could do something aboutthat.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
That's amazing and most people would just let that.
You know.
Water run over the bridge andthen that was it.
But you're obviously an actiontaker and applying some of your.
It's admirable that you set anyego aside and realize that
you're not going to be thesmartest person in the room.
You bring in the expert, youtrain the people in your
(20:09):
community and you revitalize anentire corner in that community
for a thriving business thatserves.
Going back to that, that isabsolutely amazing.
So how, with all of this thatyou're doing, being a high
achiever and an entrepreneur andan athlete how do you balance
high performance in businesswith being present and connected
(20:33):
as a husband and a father?
Speaker 2 (20:36):
I own the first hour of my day.
So when I was working for mydad 20 years ago, I could not
have been more busy, I could nothave been more distracted.
I was a receptionist, I was aservice worker, I was the whole
thing.
But I was also not married withno kids.
And my dad said to me he goes,you know, I watch you operate.
(20:57):
And he said you're busy butyou're not productive.
He said if I acted and behavedlike you, he said, I would have
been divorced from your mother40 years ago and you kids would
have never seen me.
I would have been divorced fromyour mother 40 years ago and
you kids would have never seenme.
I never, ever, ever can rememberone time in 45 years that my
dad was not at the dinner table,not one, not a seminar, not
(21:24):
sick, not away, not playing golf.
My dad was home every singleday of his life at 6 pm and my
mom had a rule.
She said I don't care what timeyou leave in the morning to go
to work, because my dad had thedreamers disease.
She said I don't care if you goat five, if you go at seven, I
don't care if you drive the kids, but business is over at 6 pm
(21:45):
and I remember my like for 40years.
It didn't matter what age wewere my sister, my brother, my
dad was at the dinner table andthen after dinner there was no.
There was no like, ok, we're onour phone, or anything like
that.
My dad was both feet in today.
So when he said that to me,Jeffrey, when I was working, he
said you better get your acttogether, because if you ever
(22:07):
want to be married and staymarried and you want to be a
present father, he said youbetter get your act together,
because if you ever want to bemarried and stay married and you
want to be a present father, hesaid you need to own the first
hour of the day.
And I was like own the firsthour of the day.
He said listen.
He said what time do you get upat?
I said well, I get up at seveno'clock and he said yeah, and
you drag your ass here to workfor eight 30.
He said what you need to startdoing is reverse engineer it,
(22:30):
where you start going to bed atthe same time every single night
.
And for me I was like could be12 midnight, it could be one in
the morning.
I didn't care.
And he said and then you get upat the same time every day, but
the first 60 minutes is foryour number one task.
So he said to me he goes, whatwould be your number one task If
(22:54):
I gave you an hour today?
What would it be?
And I said I think it would befitness and exercise.
I said you know, I put on someweight sitting at a desk.
For the first time in my lifeI've never, ever worked in an
office.
And he said well, what aboutthis?
What about you start walkingtomorrow for one hour?
No technology, no podcast, justput your shoes on and walk
(23:16):
outside in nature?
And I said well, and I triedthat.
And here I am, 22 years laterand I can count on two hands.
The number of days that Ihaven't put on my shoes at now
6am and walked outside in natureand that just transformed my
life in terms of balance is Ialways get that first win from
(23:39):
six to seven and then, jeffrey,the rest of my day seems to
really.
You know, it's about stackingthe W's after that and I've used
that first hour during the overthe last couple decades.
Sometimes it was for writing,sometimes it was for prayer,
sometimes it was for, you know,reading.
But most of the time I get upand I put on my shoes and that's
(24:03):
my time with my creator andpeople.
You know, they laugh at me,they say you know you don't walk
with music, you don't take yourphone, and I'm like, from six
to seven, that's my time tounclutter my mind, to talk to my
personal God and just to think.
And when I get back to thehouse at seven o'clock and I see
(24:24):
my wife there, my daughter, I'mnow in second gear and that has
been the secret.
It's not been more difficult.
It's not working more or doingless of this.
It's the first hour of the daymust belong to an entrepreneur
and if you win that first 60minutes, you win the day.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
Own your first hour.
That is powerful advice andsomething else.
Another takeaway that I gotfrom that, with the story about
your dad is leading by example,and that's something that I
chose to start doing for mychildren when I realized that I
wasn't present for them or theirmom at the time back then.
And so that is fantastic advice.
(25:06):
And own your first hour wassomething that I heard, maybe in
a different phrase, but backyears ago.
That made a huge difference inmy life as well, when I decided
to take control of my future,take control of my life, take
control of my health, givingmyself that opportunity first
thing in the morning.
And when I was.
You know I've bounced back andforth between entrepreneur and
(25:27):
employee for a few cycles in mylife, but when I was an employee
for a while, it was reallydifficult when I had to be
somewhere an hour away at 6 am.
I still own that first hour.
I was still getting up at 4.30in the morning to get my fitness
routine done, to get myexercise done, and when I would
show up to be a leader in thatindustry, all the other people
(25:47):
would be dragging themselves towork sipping on a large coffee
full of sugar and milk, and theywould ask me like, where are
you getting all this energy?
And I would explain to themthat it was the hour that I
spent before I got in thevehicle and drove there to work.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
It's amazing because 99% of entrepreneurs lose
control of their day in thefirst 10 minutes.
How do you lose control of yourday?
You play defense.
So I use the sports analogywith my students.
Like most people, they wake upand they check their phone.
Well, when you wake up and youcheck your phone, that's
(26:22):
somebody else's agenda, that'ssomebody else's values, that's
somebody else's principles.
I've never had a cell phone inmy bedroom, I've never had a pad
, I've never had a computer.
When I get up, I play offense.
For the first 60 minutes I pushmy agenda.
My agenda is to put on mywalking clothes, to drink two
(26:44):
glasses of water, to pray, tobrush my teeth and to put my
shoes on.
My agenda is to push that dooropen and get out into nature and
talk to my creator.
So I don't touch a phone till11 am, never, ever, ever.
I have a lockbox, but that'sthe difference between winning
and losing is, most people getup and play defense, and they
(27:07):
play not to lose and they checktheir phone and consequently,
you lose control of your day inthe first 10 minutes.
Oh, can you believe this?
Or politics, or sports.
And I'm just like get up andplay offense.
How do you get up and playoffense.
You put out your clothes thenight before, you put out the
two glasses of water and you getup and you stack the W's and I
(27:31):
call it violent consistency.
Violent consistency, like Idon't have any special talent, I
don't have any special gifts,but I don't miss.
Everybody else misses but Idon't miss.
I put on the shoes 365.
I talk to my creator 365.
I drink the two glasses ofwater I put out the night before
(27:52):
, and that's a coaching tip thatcomes from sports.
That's so important is thattomorrow starts today.
So when I get up at 5.59 in themorning, I don't need an alarm.
I get up and I know exactlywhat time it is.
My shorts and my t-shirt and mysweatshirt and my shoes are all
there.
The two glasses of water arethere.
(28:14):
Tomorrow starts today.
So the night before is when youset up your winning for the
next day.
That way you're not staggeringaround at six in the morning
looking for this or looking forthat.
When I get up, it's just win,win, win, win.
These little tiny wins, becauseI put all my stuff out the
(28:34):
night before and that really,jeffrey, gets you through those
days where I don't want to walk.
I mean, I'm walking in thefreezing rain, I'm walking in
the bugs, I don't want to drinkthe water, but my environment
makes it almost impossible forme to misbehave.
I don't trust myself, I don'ttrust myself, so I build an
(28:55):
environment the day before thatmakes it next to impossible for
me to fail.
But the secret is to get up andto play offense and play to win
.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
Don't play defense to somebody else's agenda.
I love it and having thatconsistency, that violent
consistency, and making tomorrowstart.
Today I started living thatlife and I know the outcome that
it brings for us.
And when I very seldom slipfrom that, you know when I, when
I don't make my breakfastsmoothie in the night before and
(29:26):
I can just grab and go to thegym first thing in the morning,
my morning is is off and thenthat cascades into my entire day
being off.
So that consistency is superimportant and I did that out of
necessity when I was an employee, getting up at 4.30 am, I
didn't have time to prepare formy day in the morning before I
had to leave for work at 5 am.
(29:46):
So I would prepare the nightbefore because I was devoted to
my health, I was committed tothe outcome that I wanted to,
and now I get to live the lifethat I was planning back then
and it came to fruition, and Ihave that now every single day.
Was planning back then and itcame to fruition, and I have
that now every single day.
So tell me, michael, when youare so busy well, I shouldn't
(30:06):
say busy when you are soproductive, what are some
unconventional strategies thatyou use to help entrepreneurs
get it all done.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Well, I disciplined myself for the last 22 years.
The only thing that matters arethree things in my life and
this is a quote that rules mylife, it rules my marriage, it
rules my behavior as a husband,as a father.
Number one is health.
Love and mission are the onlythings that matter in my life.
(30:41):
Everything else is noise.
Everything else is playingdefense.
So, if I break those down foryou, jeffrey, number one and I
had to learn this recently inthe last three years is I can't
serve anybody as an unhealthypeople pleaser.
So I used to be a guy like I'mgoing to be the greatest father,
(31:02):
I'm going to be the greatesthusband, but really, when it
comes down to physical andmental health, I can't help
anybody Unless I'm showing up asthe best version of myself.
This is the reason I changed mydiet three years ago.
This is the reason I broke upwith alcohol three years ago.
This is the reason I don'tparticipate in politics or
(31:25):
anti-social media.
I don't watch the news.
These are the.
So health for me became anumber one priority and I
started living it Me me spendingtime with my creator every
morning.
Walking is mental, emotionaland spiritual health.
So that's my priority and ithappens in that first hour.
(31:46):
The second priority is love andfamily.
So everything I do is aboutgetting back home to my wife and
my daughter.
I do all of this to be able tospend time with those two people
.
And then the third thing, andI've always said this with my
students a man or woman withouta mission, it's.
(32:10):
You can feel it.
Everybody in this world needs amission, and my mission is
always serving other people.
So I've had multiple missionsin my life.
I wanted to win a hockeychampionship.
I did that.
That was a mission.
I wanted to have the number onebarber shop in the country.
That was a mission.
I wanted to have the number oneinsurance agency in the world.
(32:32):
That was a mission.
But I have a mission every like.
My life right now is my latestbusiness mission is to serve one
million entrepreneurs.
I want to help men and womenlive life and do business on
their own terms.
That's my mission and it'sgoing to take me 10 years, it's
going to take a decade, butthose are the three things that
(32:54):
I focus on and I literally sayno vitamin N to everything else
and I literally say no vitamin Nto everything else.
So if it doesn't fit into healthor into family or into my
mission to serve other people.
It's vitamin N and people sayto me Warren Buffett taught me
that.
He said you know the differencebetween happy and unhappy,
(33:15):
between fat and thin, betweensuccessful and unsuccessful, he
says, is high performance.
People like you, jeffrey, sayno to almost everything.
And vitamin N like in 2025, Italked to my guys on my
mastermind this year to me isabout subtraction Do less better
(33:36):
.
So it's so funny.
If you followed, if you and Iwere here today in my house,
you'd be like you'd be stunnedat how little I do Like I'm like
I say yes to a podcast becausethat's my mission.
I say yes to going to the gymbecause that's part of my life.
I say yes to driving mydaughter to school, but anything
(33:57):
outside of that is vitamin.
It's no, and it was my dad thattaught me.
He said Michael.
He said you know this peoplepleasing has to end.
He said because as a husbandand father, he said every time
you say yes, it's a no to apriority, it's a no to a
(34:17):
priority of yours.
It's like checking your phonewhen you get up in the morning.
That's not your priority,that's not your principles,
those are not your values.
So it all goes back to that,that three-prong approach.
Where is it my mission, is itmy health and is it my family?
Speaker 1 (34:34):
and if it's not, it's a hard no knowing your values
health, love and mission super,super important values right
there.
And I at one point was notliving those values and my
health was in peril.
I probably wouldn't be alivetoday if I didn't say yes to
(34:54):
myself before, and that tooksaying no to so many other
people.
Not that I had to cut peopleout of my life, but I did have
to say no.
A lot of those people did nottake that well.
Uh, they held that against me.
They got angry with me.
Some still don't talk to me tothis day.
But I said yes to myselfbecause I was people pleasing
and I had to make that decision.
(35:15):
And when it comes to love,that's something that a lot of
people, especially you men,entrepreneurs don't talk about.
That.
This is one of the reasons whylove is so important.
There's only two ways to be.
You can either be in love modeor you can be in fear mode, and
that's one of the reasons why Inamed my private wellness
practice Love Energy WellnessBecause that love is shifting
(35:38):
into that giving mode, shiftinginto that self-preservation mode
and focusing on your health,and the mission is super
important for me.
That mission was to serve morepeople, help more people.
I went and learned from the bestof the best for health
education for high performancehealth, integrative health and I
(35:58):
did that with the sole purposeto help more people, because
those modalities helped me toturn my life around, turn my
health around, and I probablywouldn't be here to this day if
I didn't make those decisionsback then.
So, vitamin N, I absolutelylove that.
That's going to be in anyrecommendations I make to my
clients as well.
And you know, when I'm coachingclients and they say, well, I
(36:19):
don't have time for X, y, z, itgoes back to what you said what
are priorities in your life?
Because everybody has the sameamount of time in their day or
in their week, but it's justthat they're not prioritizing
whatever it is that they say isimportant for them, but then
they're not taking action onthat.
So, speaking of taking action,michael, where can people find
(36:40):
you?
Speaker 2 (36:42):
I shoot a video every single day.
Your members can join my emailnewsletter, which is a daily
newsletter for free atbrassballsvideoscom.
That's brassballsvideoscom, andI send an email every day with
something that I'm thinkingabout or something that came to
(37:04):
me on my walk.
Sometimes it's money, sometimesit's marriage, sometimes it's
marketing, sometimes it's, youknow, like community service,
and and basically I also shoot avideo every day.
It's interesting because Idon't care how many people like
I'm not.
I never started shooting videosevery day to build a following.
(37:26):
I just, you know, I was out onthese walks and after I talked
to my creator, I'm sitting theregoing.
I got some stuff that'spercolating in my mind that I'd
love to share with the world,and that's how 700 videos
consecutively it started.
And on YouTube it's MichaelMcLean, badass CEO, and I've got
(37:48):
a couple of channels there.
But the best place for yourfollowers to sign up for the
free newsletter and also get acopy of my book for free is
brassballsvideoscom, and it's mesharing basically my personal
life and professional life withyou every single day.
Speaker 1 (38:09):
Amazing Brassballsvideoscom Michael
McLean badass CEO, on YouTube.
I will link those up in theshow notes.
Michael, it's been a pleasuretalking with you and learning
from your experience and sharingthat with our audience.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
Thank you so much for being with us today, jeffrey, a
tip of the hat to you, theentrepreneurs.
I always tell my people guyslike you and gals they don't
hear it enough.
You're the hero in this story.
I mean, america is the greatestcountry in the world, canada is
the second greatest country inthe world because of
entrepreneurs.
And the world Canada is thesecond greatest country in the
(38:42):
world because of entrepreneurs.
And my dad has told me that forthe last 50 years and without
guys like you risking buildingand all this other stuff that we
do with a very little creditsometimes, and podcasts and
everything else, all this goesaway.
This is the land of opportunity.
2025 is the greatest time inhistory to be alive.
My dad said that to me theother day.
(39:03):
He's 91 years old.
We're sitting out on the boatand he says you know?
He says, son, I've been anentrepreneur for 75 years, but
he says I got to tell you I'm alittle jealous.
He says that I'm retired now,at 91.
He says, with the Internet,with eight billion people, with
the trillions of dollars, witheverything that's going on, he
(39:23):
said, man, oh man, the best isyet to come.
He said make sure you're a bigpart of that and serving people
over the next handful of years.
So I tip my hat to you andthank you for everything you do
to make all this happen.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
I appreciate that, michael, and likewise right back
at you, you're doing greatthings for the world and the
world needs you.
My friend, thank you for beinghere.
Well, there you have it, myfriends.
I know that you really enjoyedall the value bombs that Michael
brought to our listeningaudience.
I hope you took some notes.
(39:59):
Hope you, if you need hisservices, you reach out to him,
check out his videos that hedoes every single day.
Talk about commitment, that is,commitment to helping others
thrive and be successful, andthat's what it's all about here
on the Breaking Boundaries forEntrepreneurs podcast, and next
week we'll be back with ourregular shorter episodes in our
(40:22):
series going through this year,talking about high performance,
health and longevity and how wecan break boundaries in that
space.
So if you have any questions orcomments, you can click on the
send us a message feature in theshow notes as, as always, leave
a way for me to respond ifyou're leaving a question that
(40:44):
you want an answer to and I canget back to you directly.
And I appreciate you listeningand we will see you next time.
Remember, stay healthy, staymotivated and keep breaking
those boundaries.
Bye-bye, everybody.
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