January 20, 2025 • 35 mins
Join me, Coach Mo, as I sit down with the inspiring Robert B. Foster, host of the Shut Up and Grind podcast, to uncover his journey of personal growth and resilience. 💪✨
As the youngest of seven athletic siblings, Robert's competitive spirit was forged in the fires of sibling rivalry 🔥🏀—but his path was not without challenges. Facing early physical limitations and a coach who doubted his high-jumping potential, Robert transformed these hurdles into stepping stones, eventually catching the attention of colleges. 🎓💡 A defining moment came in 2009 when a severe knee injury threatened his future, but Robert’s story is a testament to the power of determination and refusing to let others dictate his capabilities. 🏋️♂️💥
🔑 Listen as we explore the power of action and storytelling in overcoming life's obstacles.
I share my own journey of defying medical odds through sheer willpower and proactive recovery, emphasizing the importance of self-belief and discipline. 💭🩺 Together, Robert and I bring a wealth of stories about sports injuries, career transitions, and more, highlighting the importance of revisiting core values and passions to unlock internal motivation. 🌟🎯
Emphasizing the transformative power of reframing personal narratives, we dive into how unblocking energy can lead to newfound productivity and confidence. ⚡📈 Our conversation is packed with insights and strategies to help you navigate challenges and seize opportunities, leaving you inspired to take control of your own story. 🚀📖
💬 #LetsThinkAboutIt
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to the let's Think About it podcast, where we
embark on a journey ofthoughtfulness and personal
growth.
I'm your host, coach Mo, andI'm here to guide you through
thought-promoting discussionsthat will inspire you to unlock
your full potential.
In each episode, we'll explorea wide range of topics, from
self-discovery and mindfulnessto goal-setting and achieving
(00:33):
success.
Together, we'll challengeconventional thinking and dive
deep into the realms ofpossibility.
Whether you're looking to findclarity in your personal or
professional life, or seekingstrategies to overcome obstacles
, this podcast is your go-tosource for insightful
conversations and practicaladvice.
So find a comfortable spot,chill and let's embark on this
(00:57):
journey of self-improvementtogether.
Remember, the power oftransformation lies within you,
and together we'll uncover thetools and insights you need to
make it happen.
So let's dive in.
Welcome to another episode ofthe let's Think About it podcast
(01:20):
.
I'm your host, coach Mo, andI'm here with another amazing
guest, my man, robert B Foster.
What's up?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
bro, not much.
Glad to see you again, man.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Mr Shut Up and Grind podcast host.
He's here.
What's up, man?
First and foremost, where areyou checking in from?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I am in Charlestown, rhode Island, small town with a
big town, feel Wow, born andraised.
I was born in the city in NewYork but I was raised up here.
I think we moved out of thecity.
I was two and a half, maybethree.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Nice, what's the weather like up there right now?
You guys got a lot of snow.
Is it rainy or?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
We didn't get a lot of snow.
I mean it's mostly gone outthere now, but it's like high
30s today for the high.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Oh, ok.
So what's up, man?
Tell me, tell us, tell myaudience, like who you are, what
you do, and even take usthrough what your podcast is
about.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Okay.
Well, there's a lot ofdifferent ways to answer that
question, so I'll start with whoI am.
At my core, I'm a competitor,right, and I get that
competitive edge.
I'm the youngest of sevensiblings and we were all
athletes Like my parents wereactive, but being the baby.
And I was the youngest of sevensiblings and we were all
athletes like my parents wereactive, but being the baby.
And I was also a late bloomer,meaning as a freshman in high
(02:51):
school.
I was five foot four, 88 pounds, and my brother was big and
muscly.
My other brother was big andmuscly, my sister was tall and
strong and they're all gettingheadlines in the newspapers and
winning trophies and medals.
And here I am, the skinnyduckling of the group, but that
drove me because I wanted thoseaccolades, like I wanted to see
(03:14):
my picture in the newspaper and,just to my core, I just went to
work and then, finally, mybiology caught up.
It was.
It wasn't until my junior yearwhere I finally got over six
feet tall.
I was still skinny, I think Iwas 135, 137 when I graduated
high school, but but at least Ihad some muscle on me now.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
And I was what sport, what sport.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
So my main sport was track and field, but I also did
volleyball and basketball.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
OK, ok yeah track was .
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Track was my main thing, like my sister.
What was a high jumper?
You know, she was statechampion her senior year and and
I wanted that it looked.
It just looked so fun, you know, and I was like I want to do
that too.
And then finally it was,although in there, as a freshman
when I was 5'4, 88 pounds.
I remember asking my high jumpcoach well, my track coach for
(04:05):
the record book and he did oneof these, looked me up and down
and he said why do you want therecord book?
And I was like because I'mgonna break the high jump record
.
And again he looked at me.
It was like you don't have whatit takes to be a high jumper.
Wow, wow, yep.
Said that right to my face.
(04:25):
You don't have what it takes tobe a high jumper.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
So when he told you that you was what?
15, 14?
.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yes, yes, somewhere around there, wow, 88.
Yes, I was 14.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Wow.
So that became the internaldrive that you just kind of
carried from that point movingforward.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Absolutely, and then it just never left.
It never left me.
So, but, but like, even as afreshman, even when I was small,
I was working on thefundamentals, like I wasn't
really good at the high jump yet, like I wasn't a freshman
phenom or anything, but I waslearning the fundamentals,
learning the approach, you know,learning the takeoff.
So by the time my body caughtup to the knowledge, then I rose
(05:09):
to that, to that level where Ihad colleges, you know, coming
from all over and looking at meand this was before the internet
, right, right.
So back then, you know, for,like, stanford in California,
like how did they hear about me?
But I got myself to that levelto where other eyes were
starting to notice.
But it started from himplanting that seed, because what
(05:32):
if I listened to him?
What if I didn't pursue it?
Right, and that's what I sharewith my podcast.
To answer the other part of yourquestions is shut up and grind.
To answer the other part ofyour question is shut up and
grind because very similar, butnow as an adult, in 2009, I had
a bad knee injury, stillcompeting in track and field at
the right 34, and I had a badknee injury and the doctor, the
(05:57):
er doctor.
He takes off the brace that theemt is put on and, without even
touching me, he just opens itup and says you'll never run or
jump again, like whoa, wow,because at the I have five kids
and at the time you know theywere little.
I think my oldest was 10 and Ihad twin boys, who were four
(06:18):
months old at the time, and twodaughters in between.
I'm like you're trying to tellme I'm not going to be able to
run around with my kids and playbasketball.
You know, go walking on therocks at the beach.
Like you're trying to tell meI'm not going to be able to do
any of this stuff.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
At that point?
How old were you at that point?
Speaker 2 (06:35):
34.
Oh okay, yep, 34.
And I actually started tearingup a little, you know, because I
immediately started going toall the negative, started
tearing up a little, you know,because I I immediately started
going to all the negative, butthen it hit me.
I was like, dude, you're acompetitor, you know.
That's why I want, I wanted tostart with that.
Like at my core, I'm acompetitor.
So I was like you know what?
Game on, game on, I said itsaid it's it's up to you to put
(07:00):
my knee back in place, right,because my kneecap was about
four inches up my quad right.
So I said it's your job to putmy knee back in place, right,
because my kneecap was aboutfour inches up my quad right.
So I said it's your job to putmy knee back into place.
I'll decide how I heal.
And I just went to work.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
What was the internal shift, though?
What made you like shift fromthat victim mentality, why me or
you know, being angry with whatthe doctor has told you you'll
never walk?
What was the shift for you toreally move you out of that
state of being, into this, moreback to your competitive self?
(07:35):
What was that?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Well, it goes back to that's who I am at my core.
You know, so like, when I do myshow.
Show, that's the only questionI prepare people for.
Because, because a lot ofpeople they take on their career
as their identity and I'm like,no, your career is what you do.
You know that's not, that's notnecessarily who you are.
(07:58):
You know, so like, whether I'mspeaking with you on your
platform, whether people arecoming on my platform, my
attitude doesn't shift.
It's like my core, that's who Iam.
So for a minute there I came outof pocket when I went to the
negative.
It's like that's not who I am.
It's like my house can burndown and I'll be like you know
(08:18):
what.
Knock on wood and I'll be likeyou know what.
We have insurance, everybody'ssafe, everybody's healthy.
We can rebuild the house.
You know, so like, I don't lettrivial things that I can't
control bother me.
So like, but what hit me?
I was like you know what I cancontrol, how I heal, like I can
control how much I stretch, howmuch I follow the physical
(08:39):
therapist's advice and how I cango above and beyond.
It's like I can believe inmyself to find my own threshold
and defy these odds Right.
So like it wasn't aboutaccepting this person's
diagnosis, because when andagain I always say this on my
show, say it on yours as well.
I'm not telling people not tolisten to your doctor, it's not
(09:01):
what I'm saying.
I'm just saying I know me, Iknow my body, I know what my
body feels like and I know whatI'm capable of.
So I kind of took matters intomy own hands, like after the
first couple of appointments,because this was my first
surgery and I ended up havingseven, and when I tell you, I
killed the rehab in the othersix.
So that first one was thelearning curve.
(09:24):
But coming back from that, Iwas like this is going to be a
great story Because, know,because, like being told, like,
like you'll never be able to dosomething, and then you come out
and you do it.
I was like now I can use thatas a stepping stone to motivate
others.
Like it was, it was never aboutproving the doctor wrong to me,
I just took it as a challengeand challenge accepted,
(09:47):
challenge crushed.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
And when I coach clients and one of the things
that I share with them is yourvalues, revisiting and tapping
back into the values, right?
I remember, you know sincewe're talking about sports and
injuries and things like that Iremember I had broke my
collarbones and we was at afamily picnic and I went up, I
(10:10):
jumped for the ball and I justand I landed on my shoulder and
I broke my collarbone, right.
I remember the doctor told meyou will never play football
again.
You know, if you, if it healswrong, you'll never play again.
And just like you, that stuckin my mind.
What the hell, you mean, I'mnot going to play football again
, right?
So I just had that drive goingto play football again, right?
(10:35):
So I just had that drive, thatpassion, because football for me
at that age was all I had,that's what all I knew, right,
and that was my ticket to go tocollege.
That's what I wanted to do,that's what I wanted to evolve
into.
Is this professional footballplayer is what my goal was.
But I made it to college and Iplayed, you know, my college
ball at UC Davis.
(10:57):
But the driver was mydetermination for myself not to
give up on something that I loveand at that moment in my life
it was ball, it was football,and no doctor was going to tell
me that I couldn't fulfill myjoy and my passion.
I managed to to really navigatethat Fast forward to now
(11:21):
working with clients that I help, like when you're feeling stuck
.
How do you get back to thatvalue?
How do you get back to thatpassion?
Because that's what theinternal motivator could be and
you defining whatever thosevalues are.
As I say that, what'sregistering with you in your
(11:43):
scenario and how things wentback to your values answer that
with one word action.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Like I took action every single day, every day,
whether it's something as simpleas just stretching.
I had this machine it's calledthe cpm machine which had used
to bend my leg, and I wassupposed to do it minimum three
hours a day.
They didn't give me a maximum.
Yeah right, they didn't give mea maximum.
I stayed on that thing all daylong, laying on the couch
watching tv, doing my abcrunches, because I was
overweight one time in my lifeand this happened maybe this was
(12:18):
like a year and a half beforethis incident.
Because, like, my goal was,like you know what, I'm going to
shed the weight, I'm going toget back to track and field
fitness.
And I knew actually how thebody worked because I had a gym
quality leg extension machineand I was hitting it every
(12:38):
single day, not realizing howawful that is, and I wasn't
compensating with hamstringstrength or glute strength, so
that's what led to my kneecappulling away.
The surgeon said that my quadmuscles were too strong for the
joint, so it was.
It was dominating in in theknee and that's what ended up
pulling my kneecap off.
But again, going back to yourquestion, it's, it's about
(13:02):
action.
So, like when I bought thispodcast stuff, I got the lights,
I got the microphone, you know,I got the green screen behind
me and I had it and it was justsitting in my spare room just
sitting there and it's like, oh,you know, I don't, I don't have
time to do this podcast.
Oh, my father was sick duringthis time so we were spending a
lot of time at the hospital andI just kept putting on the back
(13:22):
burner.
And then one day I was like youjust have to do it, dude.
It's like, what are you doing?
It's like you know, you boughtthe stuff, you have the stuff.
Just, even if I get on for 15minutes and just talk about
something like you just have tostart, right, you just have to
start.
And like with pod match, mysister told me about pod match
just two weeks ago.
I have 33 bookings alreadythrough that right, like it's
(13:45):
insane and it was just fromgetting started.
you know taking that action,because I tell people, when you
focus on the struggles, when you, when you're making excuses,
you're missing the opportunitiesthat are waving right in your
face.
Yeah, so I went from notknowing how to get guests to
having to turn guests away.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Right, Because I have too many.
Well, let's go here real quickbecause there's a lot of
listeners who may not haveplayed sports and had that
internal drive like athleteshave.
You have professionals that'smaybe even been on your guests
or working with peopleindividually?
What is it that really keepsthem motivated and going if
(14:39):
they're not an athlete or havethat experience of being an
athlete?
What do you find that to bethrough your experience?
Speaker 2 (14:46):
You have to make it bigger than you.
You know, like when I'm doingthat, like whether it's my own
podcast, speaking on otherpeople's podcast, like I'm not
here to just talk about me, youknow, I'm hoping that the
audience takes away from myexperiences and my advice.
So I think a lot of people gointo things not for the right
reasons, say, oh, if I go onthis show, I'm going to gain
(15:08):
this many social media followersand I'm going to get this many
YouTube subscriptions and thoseare good after effects of the
main mission.
The main mission is to give thesociety in your audience that
needs to hear it the way that Isay it, and vice versa.
When you come on my show, it'sgoing to be people who listen to
me all the time and then you'regoing to come on with maybe a
(15:30):
slightly different perspectivethat just hits somebody
differently.
You know, like I always say Ialways say there's different,
there's different levels,different levels, different
experiences.
There's different, differentoutcomes.
You know, and like on my showtoo, I do panels and we pick one
theme and it's like it'susually myself and up to six
(15:52):
other guests and we take thatone theme and we all round,
roundtable it.
You know, because not one voiceis 100 percent right for
everyone, like Gary Vee.
Gary Vee's pretty brash, youknow, and for some people they
need that, but other people it'sa turnoff.
Now, then there's other peoplewho might be too mild, someone,
(16:23):
someone like me.
That doesn't work for me.
I just need someone to be.
All right, bro, if you wantsuccess, here's the path, and
I'm showing up because somebodyout there needs the inspiration.
So when you make it bigger thanyourself, it makes it easier.
When my alarm goes off at 4.30in the morning five days a week
and then 6.50 in the morning onthe weekends, like, yes, I work
seven days a week because thisisn't about me, like everything
(16:46):
I do helps other people.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Yeah, so where did the concept of shut up and grind
come from?
Why podcasting?
Speaker 2 (16:55):
All right, so it's a multifold answer.
So originally it was my dad.
So my dad was an engineer andhe was constantly building
something and he was the type ifhe wanted something, he was
going to figure out a way to doit.
For a quick example he camehome with this busted up station
wagon.
(17:15):
When I tell you, the passengerside was all the way pushed into
the center of the car.
I remember him coming up thedriveway.
It was myself, my mom and mysister.
We're in the window like whatis that?
And I drove it six months later.
I was driving that car sixmonths later.
(17:36):
It's like whatever he set outto do, he figured out a way to
get it done.
So he may have never said thewords, but his actions is
definitely where Shut Up andGrind originated.
So for me it started out as shutup and exercise.
But I started realizing thatthe principles that I use in
(17:57):
fitness to help people loseweight run faster, jump higher,
right whatever they're trying toaccomplish you can use those
same principles in life.
You know like, if you want tolose 20 pounds right, we got to
get your beginning stats right,okay, okay.
If you want to start start apodcast, you know, we got to get
your beginning stats right.
It's like, okay, if you want tostart a podcast, we got to get
what's your main message.
You know, do you have the rightlighting?
(18:17):
You know.
So, like you got to find thatsame starting point.
So I shifted from shut up andgrind to well, this was after
the injury and the first time Iran again.
Then I switched it to shut upand grind because I wanted to
help people overcome whatever itis like, not not just fitness
related, not just sports related.
I tailored my show to thestorytelling.
(18:40):
Like I don't really interviewpeople, because it's in those
messes where people resonate,you know, like like I hadn't, I
hadn't just guessed.
Come on now she has a sevenfigure business and she was kind
of leading with that and I waslike I was like all, all right,
look, let's, let's go back.
Let's go back, cause if someoneis broken, hanging on by a
thread, they don't want to hearyour million dollar BS, they
(19:02):
don't want to hear that.
You know, they want to hear howyou got there, right, yeah, so
my show morphed from just beingabout fitness and exercise into
Well, so, since you've created,you Shut Up and Grind.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
What do you feel has been your evolution as a
podcaster?
What growth has happened foryou since you've launched and
been on this journey?
Speaker 2 (19:31):
The biggest thing I've learned and guests learn it
in real time on my show thatpain is pain, right on my show.
That pain is pain, right, painis pain.
And where that's where that'shuge is because people are
afraid to tell the stories,because they think their stories
aren't big enough, like theythink, oh, I had never beaten
stage four cancer, so like Idon't deserve to get up and
(19:52):
share my story.
I was like, okay, but you wentthrough a divorce after being
married for 25 years, thinkingthat you were going to be with
this person for the rest of yourlife.
Like that's life changing aswell.
It said so you had to wake upevery day and adjust to being
single, adjust to having yourkids split.
You know, I was like thatthat's huge.
(20:14):
And someone going through stagefour cancer they have to wake up
every day and face death.
Right, it's like pain is pain.
They're interchangeable.
So the more I startedinterviewing people, I started
piecing that together.
It doesn't really matter whathappened to you, and when people
tell stories, they tend tofocus on the what happened, the
(20:35):
fact that I had a major kneesurgery.
This happens every day.
Right, it happens every day.
Nothing, nothing specialhappened to me, I decided to be
a rebel and created my ownoutcome.
Like the power is in thatjourney, so understanding that
made me a better interviewer,which has given me a better
product for my audience.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Right, and it's interesting that you say you run
your show based off of stories,right?
Part of my coaching experienceis helping people get out of
their own way, because peoplehave their own story and
interpretation of how they thinkthings should be Right, and a
(21:18):
lot of times that story isflawed and so you bring up pain.
Whatever you're going through,whatever that hurdle is, it's
harmful to you internally.
Maybe your ego is shattered,maybe something happened that
creates an emotion that makesyou feel frustrated.
(21:39):
Through that emotion offrustration, an interpretation
happens, a story that you tellyourself, to why you're
frustrated, and you typicallycarry that story and then that's
how you show up in the world,right, and so I'm an energy
coach, and so what that means is, when you're carrying this
(22:00):
story and you're frustrated, itblocks your energy because of
this limiting belief,interpretation that's in your
mind that you believe to be true, and you carry it and you're
not sharing it with anyonebecause that's your story and
you're in this rut and you'rejust stuck and you're stagnant
(22:22):
and you have this pity, but then, like you said, something
shifts and then you start togain a confidence.
Think, the value of what I do ishelp people realize that the
(22:44):
story that you're tellingyourself in that moment is not
true.
It's flawed, yeah, and when yourealize that, courage, action,
however you want to describe ityour energy shifts and you
naturally become productive.
Yes, love that, you know what Imean.
And so when you have yourguests come on and this is what
(23:07):
I'm hearing from you when youhave your guests come on,
they're sharing their story,right, the story of the pain,
and whatever that pain was, theyhad a viewpoint of it, and then
there was a shift.
Yes, there was a shift, andthat shift was maybe a
perspective that changed acertain thought, that changed a
(23:28):
certain action, and then you gota different result.
And that's powerful, man, forwhat you're doing and bringing
guests on to share their stories.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Yeah, speaking of sharing stories, I want to share
one quick to illustrate whatyou just said.
So I had a guest on.
She started a business forpeople to put all of their
end-of-life documents into oneplace, like one online kind of
filing cabinet, and so, as she'sgiving me the breakdown of the
(24:00):
story, right, so the gist of thestory was her sister suddenly
passed away at 36 years old andso, and that moved her to start
this, this company.
So, as she's talking to meabout the company and the
process and everything else, soI said, well, what happened with
your sister?
Right, and I could tell shekind of got a little
(24:23):
uncomfortable with her bodylanguage and I was like, like,
if you don't want to go there, Imean you don't have to.
I said, but if you started thiscompany based off of what
happened, I think it's importantfor people to know what
happened.
And so she goes into it.
I guess they were supposed togo out with their husbands.
She felt weird.
She felt off for a minute,stepped out onto the deck and
collapsed right.
So now when I heard that andsee the look on your face, right
(24:46):
, it's like that's a lean-inmoment.
Yeah, I was like now I'mlistening because, as I said
earlier, I have six siblings.
So now I started thinking, wow,what would we do if that
happened to me or one of mysiblings?
Right?
So now, going back to what Iwas saying earlier, it's not
about you, it's about theaudience.
Right?
Because, because both of uswere like whoa, you know it's
(25:08):
like that intensifies the story.
I was like you're, you'reholding on, you're holding on to
the grief that she's gone,right, and she has, instead of
leaning into the 36 years thatyou had with her.
No, I know, I know it's toughto do when you're grieving, but,
like people, people ask me allthe time because, like I watched
(25:29):
my father pass away and that'sa sight that I'll never unsee
but I've also interviewed peoplewho never met their father, who
never had a father figure intheir life.
I had this man for 45 years, soI leaned into that.
I leaned into the teachings andthe butt whoopings and the deep
talks and the sports coaching,like there was so much stuff
(25:53):
that he left behind, right?
So this isn't about me feelingsad, me feeling sad, and now I
can tell his story to help otherpeople who are grieving,
because it's tough for people togo to that place because
they're stuck on the whathappened, right?
So I know I kind of went off ona tangent there.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
And you know what's powerful about that is you bring
a variety onto your show andthat's similar to what I try to
do.
And your approach is a littlebit different.
Because those stories helppeople grind better, because if
they're stuck, and maybe it is acertain experience that a
person comes on and shares theirstory that may resonate with
(26:34):
Paul Sam Jill, whoever right,and that's the purpose is to
bring value on differentviewpoints and resonates with
whoever listens to the show.
Right, and that's similar towhat I try to do.
Like, people are stuck or theyget stuck, and the more tools
(26:59):
you have on your belt that youcan rely on, even if it's just
listening to certain podcasts orcertain message, whatever that
is, if it resonates with you andsomething happens and you can
tap into that experience of whatyou've heard, that's powerful.
And, like you, my friend, I tryto bring that value to this
show.
Right, I try to just bringcoaches, entrepreneurs, podcast
(27:23):
hosts it doesn't matter to me,right, because I believe this
world is filled with wealthright, and it's not about me
competing against the next coachor I got to make all of this
money and things like that.
My approach is I have a value Ithink I'm really good at what I
do.
Yes, I love what I do and Ihelp people get out of their own
(27:48):
damn way, and I think I'mreally damn good at it.
Right, because we're into thisautopilot, that we feel we have
no choice and we have to acceptthe emotion in the story that
we're telling ourselves in thatmoment.
We have to accept it until itgoes away.
And my approach to that is no,you don't, no, you don't.
(28:11):
If you change your viewpoint,change the narrative, you have
power of choice and then, withthat power of choice, you
naturally take action.
Love it, do.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
You do, right.
So if I can piggyback on that,so I turned, you can't really
see I turned, shut up and grindinto a book.
Right Now, this isn't just abook to say, hey, I wrote a book
, right, this is a literal,step-by-step guide to do what
you just said.
People take those stories.
It's information.
(28:44):
Those stories are information.
So what are you going to dowith the information?
So there are people like I'vetested this.
I've tested this for probablythe last, going on five years
now.
I've worked with people.
I worked with a guy in Ireland,I worked with a woman in Africa
, worked with the guy in Ireland, I worked with a woman in
Africa, like all over the world,and went through these
(29:04):
principles and I turned it intoa book.
So within this book, there's 13workshops, right, I mean
worksheets.
I should say, and I'm going toturn each one of those
worksheets into a workshop thatI'm going to do live, right, but
it's to take.
I mean, okay, again, let's takemy knee, my knee story.
Actually, you know what?
(29:25):
Let's do the grief one.
Let's take that.
So I'll go through the firstchapter is there's nothing wrong
with you.
That's the first chapter andthat's all about self-acceptance
.
What's happened in your life.
If you've wronged someone,accept it.
If you cheated on your wife orhusband, accept it.
(29:46):
You know, if you stole fromsomeone, accept it.
If you assaulted someone,accept it.
Like you get the point, justaccept whatever happened in your
life.
And now what are the lessonslearned from each one?
You know, because everythingleaves teachable moments and you
can say how can cheating onsomeone's spouse leave teachable
moments?
Because there were things thathappened that led to it, and
(30:08):
these are things that you canlearn from right.
So you find yourself, you know,you just walk into your car in
a parking garage and you end upgetting jumped.
You know, is it your fault yougot jumped?
No, but what can we learn fromthat experience?
So this guide, it takes youthrough every inch of your
stories and as people are goingthrough this, things that are
(30:32):
long buried in your subconsciousmind are going to surface.
Because when I was writing thebook, I was like, oh, I forgot
about this, like, ooh, I canthrow this into the next speech,
right.
And then by the end of it, bythe time you're done, you're
going to have enough ammo to dowhatever you want to do with
your life If you want to becomea coach, if you want to write
(30:52):
your own book.
You want to become a blogger,if you want to tell your stories
on on podcasts or like on TVshows and stuff, and it gives
you the outline for a keynotepresentation If that's, if
that's what you want to do.
But it takes all of themessiest parts of your life.
We attract the teachablemoments and then I teach you how
I teach people, how to use thatas something inspirational,
(31:14):
moving forward.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Well, listening to you, know your basic description
of the book.
I want to say this real talkthat first principle that you
said of acceptance.
That's powerful in itselfbecause when we're looking back
at the past, whatever's going onin our lives and I'm assuming a
(31:36):
situation that's reallydiscomforting to you and you
carry that acceptance of it, iswhat really helps you move
forward.
Right, and then I'll talk aboutthis energy.
If you're not accepting it,you're carrying some sort of
guilt, and the guilt, the, thehurt, the um, disappointment,
(31:58):
right, all of that it blocksyour energy and in those moments
of feeling that guilt,disappointment, you're stagnant,
you're really not productive oryou have one foot in and one
foot out, but with acceptanceand validation, because it's
(32:21):
okay that the situation you wentthrough was hard, it was bad
Any person in that situationwould probably feel the same way
and you accept that Now there'smore possibilities of action
happening in that moment.
That's why that one principlethat you just shared is so
powerful.
What's the name of your book?
Speaker 2 (32:40):
again, principle that you just shared is so powerful.
Yes, what's the name of yourbook?
Again, shut Up and Grind, sameas the podcast.
Yeah, it's available on AmazonKindle and paperback.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Okay, where can they find your show?
Speaker 2 (32:54):
They can find my show on really any place that I cast
Amazon, google, spotify, apple,all of those If they want to
catch it live, because Ibroadcast it live Tuesdays and
Thursdays at 12 Eastern and youcan catch it on Facebook or
LinkedIn.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Okay, I have a lot of professionals that are
listeners as well too.
If they want to possibly get onthe show, how do they find you
to do that?
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Yeah, so they can check out my profile on Podmatch
, or they can just shoot me anemail.
Rob at robertbfostercom.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Okay, that's great.
That's great as we get ready tosign out.
What lasting thoughts ornuggets would you like to leave
the audience?
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Do not by any means let anybody clip your wings.
It drives me insane and, as youknow, this show we started with
a doctor trying to clip mine,telling me I was never going to
run or jump again.
That's one of the biggestthings that I help people with
and, like the subtitle of thebook, is overcoming self-doubt
and the fear of public speaking,because people, you have a
(33:55):
story to tell, right, you have agift to give, but society likes
to cloud our gifts and thenpeople end up feeling like
they're not worthy or they havethe imposter syndrome.
But whatever it is that youwant to accomplish, just start
taking the steps to making ithappen and you're going to see a
world of doors that are goingto open up right at your
fingertips.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
There it is my man there, it is my man, Robert B
Foster, the great host of ShutUp and Grind podcast.
Thank you, sir.
I appreciate your presence heretoday.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
My pleasure.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Thank you for the opportunity.
Thank you for joining me inthis episode of let's Think
About it.
Your time and attention aregreatly appreciated.
If you found value in today'sdiscussion, I encourage you to
subscribe on your favoritepodcast platform.
Remember, the journey ofself-improvement is ongoing and
I'm here to support you everystep of the way.
(34:52):
Connect with me on social mediafor updates and insights.
You can find me on Instagramand Facebook at Coach Mo
Coaching, or LinkedIn at MauriceMabry, or visit my website at
Maurice Mabry dot com forexclusive content.
Until next time, keepreflecting, keep growing and,
(35:15):
most importantly, keep believingin yourself.
Remember, the most effectiveway to do it is to do it
Together.
We're making incredible stridestoward a better and more
empowered you.
So thank you, and I'll see youin our next episode.
Welcome to the let's Think About it podcast, where we
embark on a journey ofthoughtfulness and personal
growth.
I'm your host, coach Mo, andI'm here to guide you through
thought-promoting discussionsthat will inspire you to unlock
your full potential.
In each episode, we'll explorea wide range of topics, from
self-discovery and mindfulnessto goal-setting and achieving
(00:33):
success.
Together, we'll challengeconventional thinking and dive
deep into the realms ofpossibility.
Whether you're looking to findclarity in your personal or
professional life, or seekingstrategies to overcome obstacles
, this podcast is your go-tosource for insightful
conversations and practicaladvice.
So find a comfortable spot,chill and let's embark on this
(00:57):
journey of self-improvementtogether.
Remember, the power oftransformation lies within you,
and together we'll uncover thetools and insights you need to
make it happen.
So let's dive in.
Welcome to another episode ofthe let's Think About it podcast
(01:20):
.
I'm your host, coach Mo, andI'm here with another amazing
guest, my man, robert B Foster.
What's up?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
bro, not much.
Glad to see you again, man.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Mr Shut Up and Grind podcast host.
He's here.
What's up, man?
First and foremost, where areyou checking in from?
Speaker 2 (01:47):
I am in Charlestown, rhode Island, small town with a
big town, feel Wow, born andraised.
I was born in the city in NewYork but I was raised up here.
I think we moved out of thecity.
I was two and a half, maybethree.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Nice, what's the weather like up there right now?
You guys got a lot of snow.
Is it rainy or?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
We didn't get a lot of snow.
I mean it's mostly gone outthere now, but it's like high
30s today for the high.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Oh, ok.
So what's up, man?
Tell me, tell us, tell myaudience, like who you are, what
you do, and even take usthrough what your podcast is
about.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Okay.
Well, there's a lot ofdifferent ways to answer that
question, so I'll start with whoI am.
At my core, I'm a competitor,right, and I get that
competitive edge.
I'm the youngest of sevensiblings and we were all
athletes Like my parents wereactive, but being the baby.
And I was the youngest of sevensiblings and we were all
athletes like my parents wereactive, but being the baby.
And I was also a late bloomer,meaning as a freshman in high
(02:51):
school.
I was five foot four, 88 pounds, and my brother was big and
muscly.
My other brother was big andmuscly, my sister was tall and
strong and they're all gettingheadlines in the newspapers and
winning trophies and medals.
And here I am, the skinnyduckling of the group, but that
drove me because I wanted thoseaccolades, like I wanted to see
(03:14):
my picture in the newspaper and,just to my core, I just went to
work and then, finally, mybiology caught up.
It was.
It wasn't until my junior yearwhere I finally got over six
feet tall.
I was still skinny, I think Iwas 135, 137 when I graduated
high school, but but at least Ihad some muscle on me now.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
And I was what sport, what sport.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
So my main sport was track and field, but I also did
volleyball and basketball.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
OK, ok yeah track was .
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Track was my main thing, like my sister.
What was a high jumper?
You know, she was statechampion her senior year and and
I wanted that it looked.
It just looked so fun, you know, and I was like I want to do
that too.
And then finally it was,although in there, as a freshman
when I was 5'4, 88 pounds.
I remember asking my high jumpcoach well, my track coach for
(04:05):
the record book and he did oneof these, looked me up and down
and he said why do you want therecord book?
And I was like because I'mgonna break the high jump record
.
And again he looked at me.
It was like you don't have whatit takes to be a high jumper.
Wow, wow, yep.
Said that right to my face.
(04:25):
You don't have what it takes tobe a high jumper.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
So when he told you that you was what?
15, 14?
.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yes, yes, somewhere around there, wow, 88.
Yes, I was 14.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Wow.
So that became the internaldrive that you just kind of
carried from that point movingforward.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Absolutely, and then it just never left.
It never left me.
So, but, but like, even as afreshman, even when I was small,
I was working on thefundamentals, like I wasn't
really good at the high jump yet, like I wasn't a freshman
phenom or anything, but I waslearning the fundamentals,
learning the approach, you know,learning the takeoff.
So by the time my body caughtup to the knowledge, then I rose
(05:09):
to that, to that level where Ihad colleges, you know, coming
from all over and looking at meand this was before the internet
, right, right.
So back then, you know, for,like, stanford in California,
like how did they hear about me?
But I got myself to that levelto where other eyes were
starting to notice.
But it started from himplanting that seed, because what
(05:32):
if I listened to him?
What if I didn't pursue it?
Right, and that's what I sharewith my podcast.
To answer the other part of yourquestions is shut up and grind.
To answer the other part ofyour question is shut up and
grind because very similar, butnow as an adult, in 2009, I had
a bad knee injury, stillcompeting in track and field at
the right 34, and I had a badknee injury and the doctor, the
(05:57):
er doctor.
He takes off the brace that theemt is put on and, without even
touching me, he just opens itup and says you'll never run or
jump again, like whoa, wow,because at the I have five kids
and at the time you know theywere little.
I think my oldest was 10 and Ihad twin boys, who were four
(06:18):
months old at the time, and twodaughters in between.
I'm like you're trying to tellme I'm not going to be able to
run around with my kids and playbasketball.
You know, go walking on therocks at the beach.
Like you're trying to tell meI'm not going to be able to do
any of this stuff.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
At that point?
How old were you at that point?
Speaker 2 (06:35):
34.
Oh okay, yep, 34.
And I actually started tearingup a little, you know, because I
immediately started going toall the negative, started
tearing up a little, you know,because I I immediately started
going to all the negative, butthen it hit me.
I was like, dude, you're acompetitor, you know.
That's why I want, I wanted tostart with that.
Like at my core, I'm acompetitor.
So I was like you know what?
Game on, game on, I said itsaid it's it's up to you to put
(07:00):
my knee back in place, right,because my kneecap was about
four inches up my quad right.
So I said it's your job to putmy knee back in place, right,
because my kneecap was aboutfour inches up my quad right.
So I said it's your job to putmy knee back into place.
I'll decide how I heal.
And I just went to work.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
What was the internal shift, though?
What made you like shift fromthat victim mentality, why me or
you know, being angry with whatthe doctor has told you you'll
never walk?
What was the shift for you toreally move you out of that
state of being, into this, moreback to your competitive self?
(07:35):
What was that?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Well, it goes back to that's who I am at my core.
You know, so like, when I do myshow.
Show, that's the only questionI prepare people for.
Because, because a lot ofpeople they take on their career
as their identity and I'm like,no, your career is what you do.
You know that's not, that's notnecessarily who you are.
(07:58):
You know, so like, whether I'mspeaking with you on your
platform, whether people arecoming on my platform, my
attitude doesn't shift.
It's like my core, that's who Iam.
So for a minute there I came outof pocket when I went to the
negative.
It's like that's not who I am.
It's like my house can burndown and I'll be like you know
(08:18):
what.
Knock on wood and I'll be likeyou know what.
We have insurance, everybody'ssafe, everybody's healthy.
We can rebuild the house.
You know, so like, I don't lettrivial things that I can't
control bother me.
So like, but what hit me?
I was like you know what I cancontrol, how I heal, like I can
control how much I stretch, howmuch I follow the physical
(08:39):
therapist's advice and how I cango above and beyond.
It's like I can believe inmyself to find my own threshold
and defy these odds Right.
So like it wasn't aboutaccepting this person's
diagnosis, because when andagain I always say this on my
show, say it on yours as well.
I'm not telling people not tolisten to your doctor, it's not
(09:01):
what I'm saying.
I'm just saying I know me, Iknow my body, I know what my
body feels like and I know whatI'm capable of.
So I kind of took matters intomy own hands, like after the
first couple of appointments,because this was my first
surgery and I ended up havingseven, and when I tell you, I
killed the rehab in the othersix.
So that first one was thelearning curve.
(09:24):
But coming back from that, Iwas like this is going to be a
great story Because, know,because, like being told, like,
like you'll never be able to dosomething, and then you come out
and you do it.
I was like now I can use thatas a stepping stone to motivate
others.
Like it was, it was never aboutproving the doctor wrong to me,
I just took it as a challengeand challenge accepted,
(09:47):
challenge crushed.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
And when I coach clients and one of the things
that I share with them is yourvalues, revisiting and tapping
back into the values, right?
I remember, you know sincewe're talking about sports and
injuries and things like that Iremember I had broke my
collarbones and we was at afamily picnic and I went up, I
(10:10):
jumped for the ball and I justand I landed on my shoulder and
I broke my collarbone, right.
I remember the doctor told meyou will never play football
again.
You know, if you, if it healswrong, you'll never play again.
And just like you, that stuckin my mind.
What the hell, you mean, I'mnot going to play football again
, right?
So I just had that drive goingto play football again, right?
(10:35):
So I just had that drive, thatpassion, because football for me
at that age was all I had,that's what all I knew, right,
and that was my ticket to go tocollege.
That's what I wanted to do,that's what I wanted to evolve
into.
Is this professional footballplayer is what my goal was.
But I made it to college and Iplayed, you know, my college
ball at UC Davis.
(10:57):
But the driver was mydetermination for myself not to
give up on something that I loveand at that moment in my life
it was ball, it was football,and no doctor was going to tell
me that I couldn't fulfill myjoy and my passion.
I managed to to really navigatethat Fast forward to now
(11:21):
working with clients that I help, like when you're feeling stuck
.
How do you get back to thatvalue?
How do you get back to thatpassion?
Because that's what theinternal motivator could be and
you defining whatever thosevalues are.
As I say that, what'sregistering with you in your
(11:43):
scenario and how things wentback to your values answer that
with one word action.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Like I took action every single day, every day,
whether it's something as simpleas just stretching.
I had this machine it's calledthe cpm machine which had used
to bend my leg, and I wassupposed to do it minimum three
hours a day.
They didn't give me a maximum.
Yeah right, they didn't give mea maximum.
I stayed on that thing all daylong, laying on the couch
watching tv, doing my abcrunches, because I was
overweight one time in my lifeand this happened maybe this was
(12:18):
like a year and a half beforethis incident.
Because, like, my goal was,like you know what, I'm going to
shed the weight, I'm going toget back to track and field
fitness.
And I knew actually how thebody worked because I had a gym
quality leg extension machineand I was hitting it every
(12:38):
single day, not realizing howawful that is, and I wasn't
compensating with hamstringstrength or glute strength, so
that's what led to my kneecappulling away.
The surgeon said that my quadmuscles were too strong for the
joint, so it was.
It was dominating in in theknee and that's what ended up
pulling my kneecap off.
But again, going back to yourquestion, it's, it's about
(13:02):
action.
So, like when I bought thispodcast stuff, I got the lights,
I got the microphone, you know,I got the green screen behind
me and I had it and it was justsitting in my spare room just
sitting there and it's like, oh,you know, I don't, I don't have
time to do this podcast.
Oh, my father was sick duringthis time so we were spending a
lot of time at the hospital andI just kept putting on the back
(13:22):
burner.
And then one day I was like youjust have to do it, dude.
It's like, what are you doing?
It's like you know, you boughtthe stuff, you have the stuff.
Just, even if I get on for 15minutes and just talk about
something like you just have tostart, right, you just have to
start.
And like with pod match, mysister told me about pod match
just two weeks ago.
I have 33 bookings alreadythrough that right, like it's
(13:45):
insane and it was just fromgetting started.
you know taking that action,because I tell people, when you
focus on the struggles, when you, when you're making excuses,
you're missing the opportunitiesthat are waving right in your
face.
Yeah, so I went from notknowing how to get guests to
having to turn guests away.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Right, Because I have too many.
Well, let's go here real quickbecause there's a lot of
listeners who may not haveplayed sports and had that
internal drive like athleteshave.
You have professionals that'smaybe even been on your guests
or working with peopleindividually?
What is it that really keepsthem motivated and going if
(14:39):
they're not an athlete or havethat experience of being an
athlete?
What do you find that to bethrough your experience?
Speaker 2 (14:46):
You have to make it bigger than you.
You know, like when I'm doingthat, like whether it's my own
podcast, speaking on otherpeople's podcast, like I'm not
here to just talk about me, youknow, I'm hoping that the
audience takes away from myexperiences and my advice.
So I think a lot of people gointo things not for the right
reasons, say, oh, if I go onthis show, I'm going to gain
(15:08):
this many social media followersand I'm going to get this many
YouTube subscriptions and thoseare good after effects of the
main mission.
The main mission is to give thesociety in your audience that
needs to hear it the way that Isay it, and vice versa.
When you come on my show, it'sgoing to be people who listen to
me all the time and then you'regoing to come on with maybe a
(15:30):
slightly different perspectivethat just hits somebody
differently.
You know, like I always say Ialways say there's different,
there's different levels,different levels, different
experiences.
There's different, differentoutcomes.
You know, and like on my showtoo, I do panels and we pick one
theme and it's like it'susually myself and up to six
(15:52):
other guests and we take thatone theme and we all round,
roundtable it.
You know, because not one voiceis 100 percent right for
everyone, like Gary Vee.
Gary Vee's pretty brash, youknow, and for some people they
need that, but other people it'sa turnoff.
Now, then there's other peoplewho might be too mild, someone,
(16:23):
someone like me.
That doesn't work for me.
I just need someone to be.
All right, bro, if you wantsuccess, here's the path, and
I'm showing up because somebodyout there needs the inspiration.
So when you make it bigger thanyourself, it makes it easier.
When my alarm goes off at 4.30in the morning five days a week
and then 6.50 in the morning onthe weekends, like, yes, I work
seven days a week because thisisn't about me, like everything
(16:46):
I do helps other people.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Yeah, so where did the concept of shut up and grind
come from?
Why podcasting?
Speaker 2 (16:55):
All right, so it's a multifold answer.
So originally it was my dad.
So my dad was an engineer andhe was constantly building
something and he was the type ifhe wanted something, he was
going to figure out a way to doit.
For a quick example he camehome with this busted up station
wagon.
(17:15):
When I tell you, the passengerside was all the way pushed into
the center of the car.
I remember him coming up thedriveway.
It was myself, my mom and mysister.
We're in the window like whatis that?
And I drove it six months later.
I was driving that car sixmonths later.
(17:36):
It's like whatever he set outto do, he figured out a way to
get it done.
So he may have never said thewords, but his actions is
definitely where Shut Up andGrind originated.
So for me it started out as shutup and exercise.
But I started realizing thatthe principles that I use in
(17:57):
fitness to help people loseweight run faster, jump higher,
right whatever they're trying toaccomplish you can use those
same principles in life.
You know like, if you want tolose 20 pounds right, we got to
get your beginning stats right,okay, okay.
If you want to start start apodcast, you know, we got to get
your beginning stats right.
It's like, okay, if you want tostart a podcast, we got to get
what's your main message.
You know, do you have the rightlighting?
(18:17):
You know.
So, like you got to find thatsame starting point.
So I shifted from shut up andgrind to well, this was after
the injury and the first time Iran again.
Then I switched it to shut upand grind because I wanted to
help people overcome whatever itis like, not not just fitness
related, not just sports related.
I tailored my show to thestorytelling.
(18:40):
Like I don't really interviewpeople, because it's in those
messes where people resonate,you know, like like I hadn't, I
hadn't just guessed.
Come on now she has a sevenfigure business and she was kind
of leading with that and I waslike I was like all, all right,
look, let's, let's go back.
Let's go back, cause if someoneis broken, hanging on by a
thread, they don't want to hearyour million dollar BS, they
(19:02):
don't want to hear that.
You know, they want to hear howyou got there, right, yeah, so
my show morphed from just beingabout fitness and exercise into
Well, so, since you've created,you Shut Up and Grind.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
What do you feel has been your evolution as a
podcaster?
What growth has happened foryou since you've launched and
been on this journey?
Speaker 2 (19:31):
The biggest thing I've learned and guests learn it
in real time on my show thatpain is pain, right on my show.
That pain is pain, right, painis pain.
And where that's where that'shuge is because people are
afraid to tell the stories,because they think their stories
aren't big enough, like theythink, oh, I had never beaten
stage four cancer, so like Idon't deserve to get up and
(19:52):
share my story.
I was like, okay, but you wentthrough a divorce after being
married for 25 years, thinkingthat you were going to be with
this person for the rest of yourlife.
Like that's life changing aswell.
It said so you had to wake upevery day and adjust to being
single, adjust to having yourkids split.
You know, I was like thatthat's huge.
(20:14):
And someone going through stagefour cancer they have to wake up
every day and face death.
Right, it's like pain is pain.
They're interchangeable.
So the more I startedinterviewing people, I started
piecing that together.
It doesn't really matter whathappened to you, and when people
tell stories, they tend tofocus on the what happened, the
(20:35):
fact that I had a major kneesurgery.
This happens every day.
Right, it happens every day.
Nothing, nothing specialhappened to me, I decided to be
a rebel and created my ownoutcome.
Like the power is in thatjourney, so understanding that
made me a better interviewer,which has given me a better
product for my audience.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Right, and it's interesting that you say you run
your show based off of stories,right?
Part of my coaching experienceis helping people get out of
their own way, because peoplehave their own story and
interpretation of how they thinkthings should be Right, and a
(21:18):
lot of times that story isflawed and so you bring up pain.
Whatever you're going through,whatever that hurdle is, it's
harmful to you internally.
Maybe your ego is shattered,maybe something happened that
creates an emotion that makesyou feel frustrated.
(21:39):
Through that emotion offrustration, an interpretation
happens, a story that you tellyourself, to why you're
frustrated, and you typicallycarry that story and then that's
how you show up in the world,right, and so I'm an energy
coach, and so what that means is, when you're carrying this
(22:00):
story and you're frustrated, itblocks your energy because of
this limiting belief,interpretation that's in your
mind that you believe to be true, and you carry it and you're
not sharing it with anyonebecause that's your story and
you're in this rut and you'rejust stuck and you're stagnant
(22:22):
and you have this pity, but then, like you said, something
shifts and then you start togain a confidence.
Think, the value of what I do ishelp people realize that the
(22:44):
story that you're tellingyourself in that moment is not
true.
It's flawed, yeah, and when yourealize that, courage, action,
however you want to describe ityour energy shifts and you
naturally become productive.
Yes, love that, you know what Imean.
And so when you have yourguests come on and this is what
(23:07):
I'm hearing from you when youhave your guests come on,
they're sharing their story,right, the story of the pain,
and whatever that pain was, theyhad a viewpoint of it, and then
there was a shift.
Yes, there was a shift, andthat shift was maybe a
perspective that changed acertain thought, that changed a
(23:28):
certain action, and then you gota different result.
And that's powerful, man, forwhat you're doing and bringing
guests on to share their stories.
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Yeah, speaking of sharing stories, I want to share
one quick to illustrate whatyou just said.
So I had a guest on.
She started a business forpeople to put all of their
end-of-life documents into oneplace, like one online kind of
filing cabinet, and so, as she'sgiving me the breakdown of the
(24:00):
story, right, so the gist of thestory was her sister suddenly
passed away at 36 years old andso, and that moved her to start
this, this company.
So, as she's talking to meabout the company and the
process and everything else, soI said, well, what happened with
your sister?
Right, and I could tell shekind of got a little
(24:23):
uncomfortable with her bodylanguage and I was like, like,
if you don't want to go there, Imean you don't have to.
I said, but if you started thiscompany based off of what
happened, I think it's importantfor people to know what
happened.
And so she goes into it.
I guess they were supposed togo out with their husbands.
She felt weird.
She felt off for a minute,stepped out onto the deck and
collapsed right.
So now when I heard that andsee the look on your face, right
(24:46):
, it's like that's a lean-inmoment.
Yeah, I was like now I'mlistening because, as I said
earlier, I have six siblings.
So now I started thinking, wow,what would we do if that
happened to me or one of mysiblings?
Right?
So now, going back to what Iwas saying earlier, it's not
about you, it's about theaudience.
Right?
Because, because both of uswere like whoa, you know it's
(25:08):
like that intensifies the story.
I was like you're, you'reholding on, you're holding on to
the grief that she's gone,right, and she has, instead of
leaning into the 36 years thatyou had with her.
No, I know, I know it's toughto do when you're grieving, but,
like people, people ask me allthe time because, like I watched
(25:29):
my father pass away and that'sa sight that I'll never unsee
but I've also interviewed peoplewho never met their father, who
never had a father figure intheir life.
I had this man for 45 years, soI leaned into that.
I leaned into the teachings andthe butt whoopings and the deep
talks and the sports coaching,like there was so much stuff
(25:53):
that he left behind, right?
So this isn't about me feelingsad, me feeling sad, and now I
can tell his story to help otherpeople who are grieving,
because it's tough for people togo to that place because
they're stuck on the whathappened, right?
So I know I kind of went off ona tangent there.
Speaker 1 (26:09):
And you know what's powerful about that is you bring
a variety onto your show andthat's similar to what I try to
do.
And your approach is a littlebit different.
Because those stories helppeople grind better, because if
they're stuck, and maybe it is acertain experience that a
person comes on and shares theirstory that may resonate with
(26:34):
Paul Sam Jill, whoever right,and that's the purpose is to
bring value on differentviewpoints and resonates with
whoever listens to the show.
Right, and that's similar towhat I try to do.
Like, people are stuck or theyget stuck, and the more tools
(26:59):
you have on your belt that youcan rely on, even if it's just
listening to certain podcasts orcertain message, whatever that
is, if it resonates with you andsomething happens and you can
tap into that experience of whatyou've heard, that's powerful.
And, like you, my friend, I tryto bring that value to this
show.
Right, I try to just bringcoaches, entrepreneurs, podcast
(27:23):
hosts it doesn't matter to me,right, because I believe this
world is filled with wealthright, and it's not about me
competing against the next coachor I got to make all of this
money and things like that.
My approach is I have a value Ithink I'm really good at what I
do.
Yes, I love what I do and Ihelp people get out of their own
(27:48):
damn way, and I think I'mreally damn good at it.
Right, because we're into thisautopilot, that we feel we have
no choice and we have to acceptthe emotion in the story that
we're telling ourselves in thatmoment.
We have to accept it until itgoes away.
And my approach to that is no,you don't, no, you don't.
(28:11):
If you change your viewpoint,change the narrative, you have
power of choice and then, withthat power of choice, you
naturally take action.
Love it, do.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
You do, right.
So if I can piggyback on that,so I turned, you can't really
see I turned, shut up and grindinto a book.
Right Now, this isn't just abook to say, hey, I wrote a book
, right, this is a literal,step-by-step guide to do what
you just said.
People take those stories.
It's information.
(28:44):
Those stories are information.
So what are you going to dowith the information?
So there are people like I'vetested this.
I've tested this for probablythe last, going on five years
now.
I've worked with people.
I worked with a guy in Ireland,I worked with a woman in Africa
, worked with the guy in Ireland, I worked with a woman in
Africa, like all over the world,and went through these
(29:04):
principles and I turned it intoa book.
So within this book, there's 13workshops, right, I mean
worksheets.
I should say, and I'm going toturn each one of those
worksheets into a workshop thatI'm going to do live, right, but
it's to take.
I mean, okay, again, let's takemy knee, my knee story.
Actually, you know what?
(29:25):
Let's do the grief one.
Let's take that.
So I'll go through the firstchapter is there's nothing wrong
with you.
That's the first chapter andthat's all about self-acceptance
.
What's happened in your life.
If you've wronged someone,accept it.
If you cheated on your wife orhusband, accept it.
(29:46):
You know, if you stole fromsomeone, accept it.
If you assaulted someone,accept it.
Like you get the point, justaccept whatever happened in your
life.
And now what are the lessonslearned from each one?
You know, because everythingleaves teachable moments and you
can say how can cheating onsomeone's spouse leave teachable
moments?
Because there were things thathappened that led to it, and
(30:08):
these are things that you canlearn from right.
So you find yourself, you know,you just walk into your car in
a parking garage and you end upgetting jumped.
You know, is it your fault yougot jumped?
No, but what can we learn fromthat experience?
So this guide, it takes youthrough every inch of your
stories and as people are goingthrough this, things that are
(30:32):
long buried in your subconsciousmind are going to surface.
Because when I was writing thebook, I was like, oh, I forgot
about this, like, ooh, I canthrow this into the next speech,
right.
And then by the end of it, bythe time you're done, you're
going to have enough ammo to dowhatever you want to do with
your life If you want to becomea coach, if you want to write
(30:52):
your own book.
You want to become a blogger,if you want to tell your stories
on on podcasts or like on TVshows and stuff, and it gives
you the outline for a keynotepresentation If that's, if
that's what you want to do.
But it takes all of themessiest parts of your life.
We attract the teachablemoments and then I teach you how
I teach people, how to use thatas something inspirational,
(31:14):
moving forward.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
Well, listening to you, know your basic description
of the book.
I want to say this real talkthat first principle that you
said of acceptance.
That's powerful in itselfbecause when we're looking back
at the past, whatever's going onin our lives and I'm assuming a
(31:36):
situation that's reallydiscomforting to you and you
carry that acceptance of it, iswhat really helps you move
forward.
Right, and then I'll talk aboutthis energy.
If you're not accepting it,you're carrying some sort of
guilt, and the guilt, the, thehurt, the um, disappointment,
(31:58):
right, all of that it blocksyour energy and in those moments
of feeling that guilt,disappointment, you're stagnant,
you're really not productive oryou have one foot in and one
foot out, but with acceptanceand validation, because it's
(32:21):
okay that the situation you wentthrough was hard, it was bad
Any person in that situationwould probably feel the same way
and you accept that Now there'smore possibilities of action
happening in that moment.
That's why that one principlethat you just shared is so
powerful.
What's the name of your book?
Speaker 2 (32:40):
again, principle that you just shared is so powerful.
Yes, what's the name of yourbook?
Again, shut Up and Grind, sameas the podcast.
Yeah, it's available on AmazonKindle and paperback.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Okay, where can they find your show?
Speaker 2 (32:54):
They can find my show on really any place that I cast
Amazon, google, spotify, apple,all of those If they want to
catch it live, because Ibroadcast it live Tuesdays and
Thursdays at 12 Eastern and youcan catch it on Facebook or
LinkedIn.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Okay, I have a lot of professionals that are
listeners as well too.
If they want to possibly get onthe show, how do they find you
to do that?
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Yeah, so they can check out my profile on Podmatch
, or they can just shoot me anemail.
Rob at robertbfostercom.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Okay, that's great.
That's great as we get ready tosign out.
What lasting thoughts ornuggets would you like to leave
the audience?
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Do not by any means let anybody clip your wings.
It drives me insane and, as youknow, this show we started with
a doctor trying to clip mine,telling me I was never going to
run or jump again.
That's one of the biggestthings that I help people with
and, like the subtitle of thebook, is overcoming self-doubt
and the fear of public speaking,because people, you have a
(33:55):
story to tell, right, you have agift to give, but society likes
to cloud our gifts and thenpeople end up feeling like
they're not worthy or they havethe imposter syndrome.
But whatever it is that youwant to accomplish, just start
taking the steps to making ithappen and you're going to see a
world of doors that are goingto open up right at your
fingertips.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
There it is my man there, it is my man, Robert B
Foster, the great host of ShutUp and Grind podcast.
Thank you, sir.
I appreciate your presence heretoday.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
My pleasure.
Speaker 1 (34:31):
Thank you for the opportunity.
Thank you for joining me inthis episode of let's Think
About it.
Your time and attention aregreatly appreciated.
If you found value in today'sdiscussion, I encourage you to
subscribe on your favoritepodcast platform.
Remember, the journey ofself-improvement is ongoing and
I'm here to support you everystep of the way.
(34:52):
Connect with me on social mediafor updates and insights.
You can find me on Instagramand Facebook at Coach Mo
Coaching, or LinkedIn at MauriceMabry, or visit my website at
Maurice Mabry dot com forexclusive content.
Until next time, keepreflecting, keep growing and,
(35:15):
most importantly, keep believingin yourself.
Remember, the most effectiveway to do it is to do it
Together.
We're making incredible stridestoward a better and more
empowered you.
So thank you, and I'll see youin our next episode.
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