July 10, 2025 • 36 mins
In this uplifting episode of The Optimal Aging Podcast, host Jay Croft reconnects with longtime friend and positivity expert Jay Clark, principal of JC Charity Services and a John Gordon-certified trainer. Jay shares how a positive mindset is not just feel-good fluff — it’s a practical, powerful tool for overcoming adversity, improving your health, and growing your business.
You’ll hear:
- How positivity fuels resilience and deeper client connections
- The difference between “kumbaya” optimism and action-based faith
- Why core values and knowing your “why” help prevent burnout
- Real-world ways small business owners can implement positive leadership
- How storytelling creates magic in leadership and marketing
Jay also hosts the podcast Making Our World Better, where he highlights unsung heroes in the nonprofit sector. Don’t miss this inspiring conversation packed with actionable insights for fitness and wellness professionals over 50.
Guest Name:
Jay Clark
Bio:
Jay Clark is a John Gordon-certified Power of Positive Leadership trainer and the founder of JC Charity Services. He draws from a rich background in professional sports and nonprofit leadership to help individuals and organizations develop positive, resilient mindsets through workshops, coaching, and storytelling.
Links:
- Website: https://jccharityservices.com/
- Podcast: Making Our World Better
🎤 Host: Jay Croft
Jay helps fitness professionals grow their businesses by serving people over 50 with clarity, purpose, and effective storytelling.
🌐 Podcast Website: https://primefitcontent.com
📬 Contact: jay@primefitcontent.com
📱 Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/primefitcontent
📥 Join the newsletter: https://primefitcontent.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Fear believes in a negative future.
Faith believes in a positivefuture.
So we want to drive peopletowards having faith that they
can get through the hard times.
I think it's just this ideathat positivity really will give
you the energy to keep goingwhen things are difficult.
What leads to burnout is whenpeople do forget their why and
(00:22):
why they're doing that stuff.
There's nothing that you can'tmake better with a good story
and no point you can't getacross better with a good story.
Leadership starts with servingothers, and one of the things I
always really have leaned intoin any leadership position I've
had is you know, invert that orgchart.
(00:42):
I mean, if you're the leader,you should be at the bottom,
lifting everybody else up.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Did you know that having a positive outlook can
improve your health and extendyour longevity?
It's also good for business,according to my guest this week
on Optimal Aging, the show forfitness, health and well-being
professionals trying to growwith more people over 50.
And before we get to thatinterview, let me share some
facts.
A Yale University study foundthat people with positive
(01:21):
attitudes about aging live sevenand a half years longer.
Over the last 70 years or so,more than 24 million copies have
been sold of the Power ofPositive Thinking.
And in business, having apositive attitude fosters a more
productive and engaging workenvironment, helps solve
problems and enhances a positiveenvironment.
Now a lot of listeners to thisshow own small businesses and
(01:47):
they encourage their clients toimprove their health.
So when I discovered that anold friend of mine is now
professionally promotingpositivity, I knew I had to get
him on the show.
Jay Clark and I went to collegetogether at Colorado State
University back in the 80s.
We both worked at the DailyStudent newspaper, the Rocky
Mountain Collegian.
Jay was a snappy writer and asports fiend probably the
(02:11):
all-around nicest guy I knew atschool.
Since then he's worked in PRfor the Denver Nuggets and at a
series of nonprofits.
His current mission is asprincipal in JC Charity Services
.
He's a John Gordon certifiedpower of positive trainer and he
hosts a podcast called MakingOur World Better.
Now let me be clear Jay is nowet noodle and we're not talking
(02:36):
about holding hands aroundcampfires singing folk songs.
Positivity is real and it'spowerful.
Positivity is real and it'spowerful, and it was a pure
delight catching up with Jay ashe explained how it can help
businesses, health and so muchmore.
So enjoy our conversation andgive his show a listen too.
Jay Clark, hello, nice to seeyou.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Oh, what a gift it is to be here with you, my friend.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
It's incredible, isn't it?
It's almost 40 years sincewe've seen each other 40 years
and we look the same we do.
Well, you're even more handsomethan you were, and go ahead.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
I wake up in the mornings and I go.
When exactly did I turn intocaptain jack, like so many
wrinkles?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
oh man, I know, I know.
But well, here's the thing.
I always say I'm just glad tobe here, and I mean it because,
look, I agreed wrinkles, grayhair, whatever.
But you know, I never thoughtI'd make it this long, so I'm
just happy to agree to bekicking agree.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Everybody who told me every day on the right side of
the grass is worth celebrating.
That's right.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I like that we've been talking here a little bit
about what you've been doing andand that's why I wanted to have
you come on the right side ofthe grass is worth celebrating.
That's right.
I like that.
We've been talking here alittle bit about what you've
been doing and that's why Iwanted to have you come on the
show, because you are livingyour life focusing on positivity
and not in a silly way, but ina way that approach that applies
to business and to doing goodin the world and to being a
better leader, being a betterservant and trying to make the
(04:05):
world a little bit better inways that have value and
application in real life, right.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Correct.
Yeah, you know, I think in thisworld that we live in, we need
as much positivity as we can,and when you think about
positivity, I think a lot ofpeople think of it as, oh, it's
this kind of soft kumbaya thing,and the kind of positivity that
I'm really a disciple of is thepositivity that you need to get
(04:35):
through difficult and toughsituations so when those
confront us which they confrontus all you're prepared to go
through those confront us, whichthey confront us all.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
you're prepared to get go through those?
Yeah, well, I want, I'm reallyexcited to dive into all of that
.
but before we get into the nittygritty of of what you're doing
and how, it can relate to peoplelistening to this, whether
they're running businesses orwhether they're just trying to
take better care of themselvesand others.
How did you get to do this?
I remember, you know, rightafter college, I heard you got
(05:07):
that job at the Denver Nuggetsand I thought, oh, wow, that's
so exciting.
Right, you were like the firstone of us to get a job at a
really cool organization and,yeah, I was lucky.
Yeah, you weren't lucky.
And then so so tell me, catchus up.
You know, in a fairly condensedversion, sure, how you got to
(05:27):
what you're doing.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
I was lucky enough to start my career in professional
sports.
I wanted to be the next greatsports writer.
Yeah, because you and I workedtogether at the school newspaper
and realized that you know toget to the major league level.
I was going to have to kickaround and probably didn't have
the talent on the writing andreporting talent to get to that
level.
But on the service side and therelational side I felt like my
(05:51):
skills were a little bit bettersuited to that.
So ended up in professionalsports, which was just a great
experience, and through that,with one of our players, I
actually started to help start ayouth nonprofit and ran that
for about 15 years that wasfocused on youth sports and
education.
Went out on my own to do somemarketing a little marketing
communications firm I'm not toodissimilar to what you're doing
(06:14):
now Got back into nonprofits andthen decided to go back out on
my own again in pursuit of thispositivity.
Because I found myself inpursuit of this positivity?
Because I found myself, I think, probably like some of your
listeners, you know, in a darkplace and not really sure what I
was doing and not reallyconfident in what I was doing,
(06:35):
and became somebody I reallydidn't like and then slowly
discovered some positiveteachings and some positive
mentors that really helped mefocus more on the things that I
did have and to be grateful forthe life that I did have.
Instead of, you know, alwayswanting something different and
(06:56):
just fell so in love with it.
I wanted to pursue it more on afull-time basis.
That's great.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
I don't want to get too busy, too deep into your
business, but can you tell me alittle bit about what that
moment was, or what thosementors were, or what started to
turn it around for you?
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Yeah, you know, it was just very unhappy with kind
of where I was professionallybecause I didn't really.
I was working in nonprofits butwasn't sure of the mission that
I was.
You know, was am I, am I doingthe right thing?
And and didn't really feel likeI had good direction and it was
starting to impact personalrelationships with my wife and
(07:31):
my children, with my friends andand I really thought, you know,
if I don't turn this around,I'm going to lose some things
that are the most valuablethings in my world.
So discovered, you know,started off with Norman Vincent
Peale, power of PositiveThinking and found John Gordon's
work and really became kind ofa disciple of his.
(07:54):
So John has written the EnergyBus and the Carpenter and the
Seed and all these wonderfulbusiness parables about the
power of positivity.
That really resonated and gotdeeper into that and actually
became a John Gordon certifiedtrainer.
So that's kind of my journey ina short amount of time but it's
(08:15):
really I credit it for, youknow, turning my personal and
professional life completelyaround.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
And now you are a certified trainer, is that it?
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Yeah, trainer, so I can.
I can run workshops on thepower of positive leadership,
team or mindset.
And you know, if you stop andthink about any organization,
regardless of the size or thesector, you know who couldn't
benefit from improving theirleadership, culture or or
mindsets.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
So it's it's, it's really great.
So we run workshops andkeynotes and coaching to really
help people again build up thoseskills that, when the tough
times come, you're prepared todeal with them.
You know, we say it's faithversus fear.
Faith and fear have one thingin common, that's that they both
believe in a future that hasn'thappened yet.
(09:03):
Fear believes in a negativefuture.
Fear believes in a negativefuture.
Faith believes in a positivefuture.
So we want to drive peopletowards having faith that they
can get through the hard times.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
And then I want you to tell me also about JC Charity
Services and your podcast andhow it all goes together Well
same thing.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
I think there's so many people similar to yourself
and a lot of your clients thatare out there doing such great
work to make the world better,that are unsung, that can
inspire other people.
So I really started to thinkyou know how do I start telling
these stories?
And the podcast was a great way.
I know you know, and I'mfocused mainly on the nonprofit
(09:43):
sector with the podcast, becausethere's so many great small
nonprofits that are doing suchgood work, that elevate so many
people and are such an importantpart of their communities.
These stories are justwonderfully inspiring that I get
to tell.
And what's great now is I'vebeen at it for a minute, like
(10:03):
you have, and you know it'sexpanding and I'm starting to
get talk to more people allaround the country and these
stories are really amazing about, you know, people just doing
every day.
They're not changing the world,but where they are they're
definitely making the worldbetter, and so it's really a lot
of fun.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
That's what I love about this podcast and the that
I I'm doing, and also the, thework that I'm doing with, with
prime fit content in gyms aroundthe countries, because the gym
owners and trainers and othersin health and wellbeing they're
really changing people's lives.
You know, totally, you know,not everybody I rage hits their
sixties in in good condition,correct, you know, and maybe
they're retiring and they wantto make some positive changes
(10:49):
and have a better life or feelbetter about themselves or enjoy
their activities more.
How do you do that?
It's hard, it's scary, it'slonely.
So here are these people tohelp them.
I think it's really wonderfuland you know, as a storyteller,
that's what I want.
I'm looking for somethingthat's got some emotional
connection.
Yeah, yeah, so good for you.
(11:09):
So you talk about howpositivity can be a
differentiator in your business,that just being good at your
job isn't enough.
You've got to be.
You need something else, right?
You need some competitiveadvantage.
You need something else, right?
You need some competitiveadvantage.
So tell me how positivity fitsinto that for a small business
(11:29):
owner or someone who's trying tohelp others.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Right.
Well, and again, I think youknow the people that you work
with, the people I work with andanybody.
If you look at the environment,we're in being good at what you
do.
That's the entry fee, right.
I mean, everybody's good atwhat they do.
So how do you stand out in thatcrowd?
And we like to think thatpositivity is a big one because,
(11:56):
again, it gives you thestrength and the perseverance to
get through when things arehard.
The strength and theperseverance to get through when
things are hard, and it alsohelps you, I think, make deeper
connections with with people,whether that be your team or
your clients and customers.
Just having that kind of thatpositive mindset, I think it is
(12:17):
just, it's a differentiatorbecause it leads to those deeper
connections and it also leadsto you to you know being able to
make better decisions and youknow be more compassionate and
be more empathetic.
All those things that again,are benefits to the people that
you're working with and yourcustomers.
So I think, I think it's a huge, a huge advantage.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
You told me a few minutes ago that it's not being
kumbaya.
What is the definition ofpositivity in this context?
Speaker 1 (12:50):
I did for me, the biggest one is that is it gives
you faith in a positive, thatyou can create a positive future
, instead of fear that thefuture is going to be negative.
So, even when you're in thosetough times where it's like how
am I going to get out of this,or how are we going to solve
this, or how are we going tofind those next customers and
how are we going to keep thebusiness going for next month,
rather than being afraid of that, you're going to be confident
(13:12):
that you're going to be able tocreate a solution.
Rather than being afraid ofthat, you're going to be
confident that you're going tobe able to create a solution.
And again, I think that goesback to if you have that
positive mindset, you're goingto be able to grind a little
harder, you're going to be ableto keep going and you're going
to keep looking for a differentway to get your message out that
might resonate with that extracustomer who's going to put your
(13:33):
business over the top, mightresonate with that extra
customer who's going to put yourbusiness over the top.
And so I think it's just thisidea that the positivity really
will give you the energy to keepgoing when things are difficult
.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Can you teach this positivity?
Are there steps, training,methods that you help people to
acquire this mindset?
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Absolutely With mindset, leadership and culture
and team.
What's great about the programsthat we do is we do workshops
and keynotes that basically giveyou we walk you through a
proven program that teams likethe LA Rams and the LA Dodgers
and the Miami Heat and Nike andSouthwest Airlines that have
(14:11):
used these principles to createa plan that's very much tailored
to them.
So we walk through, we walkthrough.
We have a whole series that wewalk through and you come out of
this with a plan of you knowwhat am I going to commit to do
differently that's going toelevate the business through
this kind of positive outlookand it's really it just great
(14:35):
stuff.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I love it without giving away the, you know the,
the, the proprietary stuff oranything.
Give us an example or two, like, let's just say.
Let me give you a scenario.
Well, first of all, you know,you and I come from a background
in news where everything's verycynical and skeptical and I'm
in a hurry and I'm in a bad moodand get out of my way.
(14:56):
And it's not about touchy feely, it's not about positivity,
it's about get the job doneRight, yep.
And now we're in this otherstage of life and in this, doing
these other things in a career,and I'm meeting gym owners who
are sometimes in the same way.
You know.
They've got a hundred things ontheir mind, they're trying to
do everything on their own.
They've got a staff that maybethey haven't had time to train,
(15:20):
or they want to put systems intheir business, but they just
haven't had the time yet, or youname it.
So how can you help, like thatgym owner who's you know just
already working 12 hours a dayand can't seem to get anywhere
and things aren't going well?
What can you do for him?
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Right.
I think the first thing wealways try and tell people is
sit down and breathe, okay,breathe and realize.
I think the step one is to takestock of everything that's
going well.
You know, I think as humans,you know, if we get a 99 out of
(16:01):
100 on a test, what's theresponse?
Oh my God, I missed one.
You know, let's go back andlook at everything that's going
well and take stock of that andhave confidence that you know,
geez, we're doing 99% of thisthing right.
So for a small business ownerand I go through this all the
time and it's not like I haveall the answers and I can
(16:24):
implement all these practicesmyself all the time, because
it's hard.
Being a business owner is hard,it's a lonely thing, but you
have to stop and go.
Okay, what's working here?
And then I think the other oneis is you really need to lean
into those relationships?
I mean, you know it's the old,the old line everybody's going
through something.
(16:45):
So, whether it's yourself oryour customers, you can never
really.
You always have to kind of keepthat in mind that everybody's
got something that they'redealing with.
So how can I be compassionateand empathetic with somebody
else or with myself.
I think that's really where itstarts.
You know I'm working 12 hourdays.
I can't get anything going.
(17:05):
So let's let you know what'swhat is working here, let's
let's be confident that that'sgoing right.
And then, maybe what's onething you know, if I look at
these 100 things I need to do,how do I prioritize one and make
sure I get that one done, andthen I can feel really good
about that and maybe tackle two,and then it just kind of
(17:25):
snowballs Again.
I think it's.
You know, we have to be alittle kinder to ourselves and
really just keep grinding,knowing that, okay, if I can get
this one thing done today,maybe you can get that other one
done tomorrow, and just keepgoing with the faith that it's
going to work out.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
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Back to the show.
And what about this idea ofremembering your why?
Why am I doing this?
Why am I working so hard?
It's like, oh yeah, you want toprovide for your family and you
need to make a living, etc.
(18:55):
But you can.
You can do that in a number ofways.
So why am I running a gym?
Why am I?
Why do I care?
If so, and so gets a goodworkout today, how helpful is it
to remember why you're doing it?
Speaker 1 (19:08):
it's huge, and I think one of the the big things
that that some of the researchwe've seen has shown is that
people don't get burned outbecause they're working too hard
.
I mean, you know as well as Ithat was one of the great parts
of newspapering back in theStone Ages was that adrenaline
rush.
When you're at the, you knowyou're crushing to meet a
(19:31):
deadline, you've been at it for10 hours, but you're not burned
out, you're energized by that,and so I think you know what.
What leads to burnout is whenpeople do forget their why and
why they're doing that stuff, sowhy they're doing what they're
doing.
So the why is is hugelyimportant, and I think you know
for clients like yours, when, ifyou're in a gym and you're
(19:53):
seeing somebody of who's moreexperienced, let's say, or
advanced fans like us, ifthey're coming in, you're
changing their life, you're,you're, you're extending their
you know how, how, theirvitality and and you know I can
I can understand how that wouldeasily get lost in the
(20:14):
day-to-day.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Oh, my God, I got.
You know, we got to make surethat the guys come to clean,
right, or you know theequipment's broken or whatever.
But you know you need to stepback sometimes and goes what is
my business doing?
My business is extending thevitality of these people that
are coming in here and trustingme to help them, and I'm helping
them.
These people that are coming inhere and trusting me to help
(20:38):
them, and I'm helping them.
So the why is huge, because ifyou, once you start forgetting
that, or or it starts becomingoff in the distance, that's when
you get burned out.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Yeah, a couple other things.
Gym owners often want to andthis is probably throughout any
industry, just the ones I talkto every day small businesses,
throughout any industry, justthe ones I talk to every day
small businesses, entrepreneurs.
They want to do everythingthemselves.
Do you find that a lot and howdo you help them?
See, the positive choice can beto delegate or to hire someone,
(21:06):
or to recognize that you don'thave to do your taxes because
that's why you have accountants,you know that kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
And you know, guilty as charged.
I'm a huge do-it-yourself guyand that's been a big battle for
me and I don't know if thatcomes just from you know that's
how our family always did things.
We fix stuff, but you're 100%correct and that can have a huge
.
If you can let go of some ofthese things, that can have a
huge impact on you know, yourvitality and how and your
(21:39):
leadership and everything elseand I think that is a giant part
of leadership is to be able tolet go and trust in people to do
this.
And I think, again, that goesback to how you can connect with
people.
I mean, if you can connect withpeople and find out, you know,
what is this guy's or thisperson's North Star or what is
(22:03):
their passion or what do theycare about, and then tailor
stuff that you can give them todo, where they can flourish and
really take this on, I meanthat's where you create human
magic.
I love that term.
I stole that term from the guythat used to run Best Buy.
But when you can trust, whenyou can empower people and trust
people, which starts withmaking that connection it
(22:26):
creates human magic.
I go back to you know it was oneof the best lessons I learned
when I just started inprofessional sports.
I was the low man on the totempole and every day when I just
started in professional sports,I was the low man on the totem
pole and every day when the teamwas in town, our head coach
would stop by our office.
Doug Moe would stop by myoffice and spend 15 minutes
giving me a hard time about mydating life or talking about
(22:50):
baseball or, you know, talkingabout everything other than
basketball.
And and I just remember thatwas the best 15 minutes of my
day.
And here's the guy that'sprobably the most in demand guy
in our organization just stop byto say hey and check in and if
that, if that guy called metoday and said, will you run
through a wall for me, I'd askhim which one and start running,
(23:10):
because it was such a greatconnection that that was such a
good lesson to me, that thatjust a little bit of time to
connect with somebody on aconsistent basis, you build that
connection.
And when you build thoseconnections, then you have that
trust where, okay, I know I cangive it to this, to this person,
then they'll get it done.
(23:31):
Yeah, that that only, not onlybuoys that person.
It takes that off your.
It just creates a better teamand and it's so beneficial.
So you're a hundred percentcorrect.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
There are those people you know.
Every once in a while you meetsomeone and maybe the coach at
the nuggets had that wherethey're.
Very oftentimes they're peoplein an elevated position, in a
leadership role or CEO orcelebrity or something like that
.
Politicians are really good atthis, except there's something
kind of oily about a lot of themand I don't mean that.
(24:05):
I mean I.
I mean these special people whoare undeniably special.
Some have that thing they makeyou feel special when they're
talking to you.
You feel this light shining onyou and you think, oh my gosh,
this, I'm the, I'm the mostimportant person in this guy's
awareness and you are for that.
(24:25):
10 minutes or 15 minutes.
Is that what you're talkingabout?
Or does that's exactly what I'mtalking about?
Speaker 1 (24:32):
that what you're talking about, or does?
That's exactly what I'm talkingabout.
I mean, if you're a gym ownerand somebody comes in and
they're trying to improve theirphysical state and they get 10
minutes with the gym owner whodoes this all day, every day,
who really knows what he's doing, I mean you're, if you can make
that connection, you'll have acustomer for life right and you
know.
Same thing, if you're the gymowner and you've got somebody
(24:53):
who's a trainer who comes in andyou start learning what they're
, they're all about, why theygot into training, and then you
start telling them you reallylike how they do this, or you
know asking them.
You know I've got anotherclient who's trying to do to try
, and you know, improve this,how would you do it?
And you start building thatconnection.
That trainer is going to workharder for you and make your
(25:15):
life easier.
I mean it's just.
It's just a great cycle.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
As a writer, do you rely on storytelling at your
work, at your at JC CharityServices, or in your positive
presentations or your podcast?
How do you apply the principlesof storytelling to what we're
doing, what you're doing?
Speaker 1 (25:34):
A hundred percent.
I mean, you know it was betterthan me.
You've been at it longer andhave done more of it than I have
but storytelling is absolutelythe best way that people learn
and the best, the best way thatpeople connect and what
resonates.
So it's, you know, there'snothing that you can't make
better with a good story.
At no point you can't getacross better with a good story.
(25:56):
So it's critical it's.
You know, as a lifelong learner, it's something I'm always
trying to get better at.
And you know, again, we weretalking earlier about how we
grew up in kind of this goldenage of journalism where, you
know, just always the best partabout that today is that it just
it inspired a love of readingand a love of storytelling.
(26:20):
So, yeah, that that that'sabsolutely a pillar and a
foundation for what I do and forwhat you do too.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
And also for what I think a small business owner
needs to do, because you are inthe spotlight, whatever role
you're in or whatever industryyou're in If it's a gym owner or
the head of a bakery orwhatever, everyone's looking to
you within that organization andthey want something from you.
And if all you have is salesfigures or how disappointed you
(26:50):
are because something didn'twork out last week, that's not
really going to connect or moveas much.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Right, and if you've got a client that's come in, who
, in six months, you know, thinkof how you've transformed them
in your gym.
I mean, what better story isthat?
Right, internally and for yourteam?
We look what we did for thisperson.
We just we transform them insix months.
Their vitality is much better.
(27:19):
Their life is going to be muchbetter.
Yeah, I mean, now your teamfeels great.
Now other people are going well, wait, I want to be that guy
too.
So, yeah, storytelling is thebaseline.
And you know, tell me that allof your clients don't have those
great stories.
They all do they all do.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
They all do.
Something I'm working on rightnow is getting them to stop
talking about themselves, whichmaybe is this might be a side
topic from what we're talkingabout.
But I'll say well, you know, doa, do a profile of the member
who you just helped and when youwere just describing, and
they'll, they'll have the personsay how much they love the gym.
(27:58):
Oh, I'm Susie Jones and I lovethis gym because this gym is
full of nice people and this gymmakes me feel good and I love
this gym and you should try thisgym.
You're like not what I meant,right?
Yeah, I'm not sure if that hasto do with positivity or not or
it's just with editorialdecisions.
Stop talking about yourself andlet's hear what you did for her.
(28:19):
The beginning, the middle ofthe end Right.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Yeah, and you're 100 percent right.
When we talk about positiveleadership, one of the keys of
that is how do you elevate thosearound you?
I mean, that's really to me,leadership starts with serving
others, and one of the things Ialways really have leaned into
in any leadership position I'vehad is, you know, invert that
(28:45):
org chart.
I mean, if you're the leader,you should be at the bottom,
lifting everybody else up.
So I think if once you can getpeople in that kind of mindset,
I think that leads to okay.
How do I put these storiesfront and center that aren't
about me but about the greatthings that are going on around
here?
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Yep, I like that you also talk about core values.
How can I, as a small businessowner, also talk about core
values?
How can I, as a small businessowner, bake positivity into my
core values?
Or should I even bother withcore values?
Who has time for that?
I'm a small business who cares.
Tell me about that.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
I think to me, core values are again another base
that you have to have, becauseeverything you do has to be
aligned with those core values.
And to me, the alignment that'sreally when you start falling
out of alignment with your corevalues.
That's when things like burnoutstart happening, because you do
(29:45):
forget your why then?
And you're just going throughthe motions and you lose that
connection.
You know what am I trying toaccomplish here and what's my
mission?
And again going back not againnot to talk about me, but this
is where I found myself.
You know I was out of alignmentwith core values, and those core
(30:06):
values, you know, live joyfully.
Am I living joyfully?
How can I live joyfully throughmy work if what I'm doing
doesn't align with that?
So core values are huge.
I would urge everybody to spendsome time really thinking about
what those are, and they don'thave to be super complicated and
they don't have to be superaspirational.
(30:28):
They just have to be kind ofyour North Star and you have to
have that so you can stay inalignment with those again,
because otherwise you're goingto, you're going to lead to
burnout and breakdown ofrelationships and connections,
and so that it's, you're 100percent, it's that that's a
that's a serious foundation thatI think everybody needs to have
.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
I I've seen in between newspapers and what I'm
doing now.
I worked at some hugemulti-billion dollar
corporations where you know theydid have core values and
whether they really followedthem or not, you know to debate
but but there was a lot of talkabout them and the idea that
this is what we're about.
And they were broad.
They intended to be broadenough that they could adapt
with the times, but not so broadthat they were meaningless.
(31:16):
It's it's.
It's tough to do, but what whatI've found?
I haven't done a personal corevalues for myself, but I have
found myself out of alignment afew times and it would be
helpful, you know, because itgives it, would give me the
definition like hey, something'snot right here.
I don't like what I'm doing.
Why not?
Oh, because I work for peoplewho are doing work that I don't
(31:39):
believe in, or because I don'tlike being in traffic for three
hours a day, or because I don'tget to see my kids enough.
Whatever it is, if you justsort of stop and think for a
minute and then find a solution,it's so easy to complain right
or get lost in that right.
Oh, my back hurts.
I'm just getting old.
I guess this is the end of itfor me right or what's the
(32:03):
solution right.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
How can I, how can what, why, how can I move?
That's going to loosen up myback and make my life better or
what?
What treatment can I find?
And the other part of the corevalue equation that I really
love about some of the work thatwe do is it's almost like the
New Year's resolutions you makethe New Year's resolution, but
(32:24):
what's the commitment behindthat?
So, if you've got core values,what commitments are you going
to make to uphold those?
If you've got core values, whatcommitments are you going to
make to uphold those?
And I think that's a step thatgets overlooked.
A lot is okay.
I've got these core values.
I've got a mission statement.
You know what am I going tocommit.
How am I going to commit tocarrying those out day to day?
(32:50):
So you know, I think that'salmost as, if not more important
is, if you know what you wantto do, what are you going to
commit to doing that?
And again, you know, in yoursector, this is a huge thing.
If I'm going to come to a gym,that's a commitment I'm making,
right how am I going to keepthat commitment?
Am I going to go three times aweek?
Am I going to go twice a week.
I got to figure out acommitment and figure out a way
(33:13):
I can keep that commitment.
Otherwise, my goal of gettingin better shape.
You know, same thing.
If I'm a business owner, samething how am I going to serve my
customers in the best waypossible?
What am I going to commit totoday to make that happen?
So that's always a question Ialways like to ask is okay, I
want to.
I would love to give positiveleadership workshops to some of
(33:38):
the big organizations in Denver.
Okay, what's the commitmentthat I need to make to make that
happen?
Still wrestling with that, butthat's where it starts.
If I have a goal, that's great.
You hear people talk aboutgoals all the time.
What's your commitment tomaking that goal happen?
So that's another key big thingfor me.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
The way I interpreted a lot of what you're saying is
the idea that we have to berealistic in our goals or we
will fail, and then we will getfrustrated and then we won't get
anywhere.
And people our age will oftensay, oh, I got to get back to
the gym Cause like when I was incollege, and I say no, no,
you're not 20 years old anymoreand you are unlikely to ever be
(34:19):
20 years old again.
Don't chase something impossible.
You cannot travel back in time.
Who are you now?
Where are you now?
What can you do now?
That's where we're startingwith.
And then you know, start slow,start easy.
Don't say you're going to gofive days a week for two hours a
day.
Cause guess what You'reprobably not going to do.
(34:40):
That Right, and I think there'sa pragmatism to being positive
as well, absolutely, and it'sand it's it is being realistic.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
And again, that's that's where I think there's a
little misperception and is oh,positive, you can do whatever
you put your mind to.
I think it's it's more likelet's, what can I?
You know, let's be realistichere.
Can I commit, if I want to getin better shape, can I commit to
going to the gym twice a weekfor 40 minutes?
I could probably do that.
(35:10):
Yeah, and you know what, if Ican keep that commitment, I'm
going to get results.
I'm going to feel pretty goodabout it.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
That's right.
Well, jay, this is great and Ifeel like we could.
We could talk about this allday and I want you to tell
people where they can go tolearn more about you and your
podcast and your, your power ofpositive philosophy, that kind
of thing, whatever you want todirect them to.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
That's great and I'm grateful for the opportunity you
can just.
You can find me atmakingourworldbettercom.
That's where you can find mypodcast and my positive work and
learn more about my bizarrobackground.
But it's, it's.
It is just such a pleasure andhonor to reconnect with you.
Yeah Well, same to you.
It's been a real.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
it is just such a pleasure and honor to reconnect
with you.
Yeah Well, same to you.
It's been a real, it's been areal pleasure.
I love what you're doing.
Obviously, I reached out to youafter all these years cause I
wanted to share it.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Grateful for that.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
Yeah, and it's delightful to see you thriving
in it.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Likewise and keep it going down there in the ATL.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
Absolutely All right.
Thanks, Jay Cheers.
Fear believes in a negative future.
Faith believes in a positivefuture.
So we want to drive peopletowards having faith that they
can get through the hard times.
I think it's just this ideathat positivity really will give
you the energy to keep goingwhen things are difficult.
What leads to burnout is whenpeople do forget their why and
(00:22):
why they're doing that stuff.
There's nothing that you can'tmake better with a good story
and no point you can't getacross better with a good story.
Leadership starts with servingothers, and one of the things I
always really have leaned intoin any leadership position I've
had is you know, invert that orgchart.
(00:42):
I mean, if you're the leader,you should be at the bottom,
lifting everybody else up.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Did you know that having a positive outlook can
improve your health and extendyour longevity?
It's also good for business,according to my guest this week
on Optimal Aging, the show forfitness, health and well-being
professionals trying to growwith more people over 50.
And before we get to thatinterview, let me share some
facts.
A Yale University study foundthat people with positive
(01:21):
attitudes about aging live sevenand a half years longer.
Over the last 70 years or so,more than 24 million copies have
been sold of the Power ofPositive Thinking.
And in business, having apositive attitude fosters a more
productive and engaging workenvironment, helps solve
problems and enhances a positiveenvironment.
Now a lot of listeners to thisshow own small businesses and
(01:47):
they encourage their clients toimprove their health.
So when I discovered that anold friend of mine is now
professionally promotingpositivity, I knew I had to get
him on the show.
Jay Clark and I went to collegetogether at Colorado State
University back in the 80s.
We both worked at the DailyStudent newspaper, the Rocky
Mountain Collegian.
Jay was a snappy writer and asports fiend probably the
(02:11):
all-around nicest guy I knew atschool.
Since then he's worked in PRfor the Denver Nuggets and at a
series of nonprofits.
His current mission is asprincipal in JC Charity Services
.
He's a John Gordon certifiedpower of positive trainer and he
hosts a podcast called MakingOur World Better.
Now let me be clear Jay is nowet noodle and we're not talking
(02:36):
about holding hands aroundcampfires singing folk songs.
Positivity is real and it'spowerful.
Positivity is real and it'spowerful, and it was a pure
delight catching up with Jay ashe explained how it can help
businesses, health and so muchmore.
So enjoy our conversation andgive his show a listen too.
Jay Clark, hello, nice to seeyou.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Oh, what a gift it is to be here with you, my friend.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
It's incredible, isn't it?
It's almost 40 years sincewe've seen each other 40 years
and we look the same we do.
Well, you're even more handsomethan you were, and go ahead.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
I wake up in the mornings and I go.
When exactly did I turn intocaptain jack, like so many
wrinkles?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
oh man, I know, I know.
But well, here's the thing.
I always say I'm just glad tobe here, and I mean it because,
look, I agreed wrinkles, grayhair, whatever.
But you know, I never thoughtI'd make it this long, so I'm
just happy to agree to bekicking agree.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Everybody who told me every day on the right side of
the grass is worth celebrating.
That's right.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I like that we've been talking here a little bit
about what you've been doing andand that's why I wanted to have
you come on the right side ofthe grass is worth celebrating.
That's right.
I like that.
We've been talking here alittle bit about what you've
been doing and that's why Iwanted to have you come on the
show, because you are livingyour life focusing on positivity
and not in a silly way, but ina way that approach that applies
to business and to doing goodin the world and to being a
better leader, being a betterservant and trying to make the
(04:05):
world a little bit better inways that have value and
application in real life, right.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Correct.
Yeah, you know, I think in thisworld that we live in, we need
as much positivity as we can,and when you think about
positivity, I think a lot ofpeople think of it as, oh, it's
this kind of soft kumbaya thing,and the kind of positivity that
I'm really a disciple of is thepositivity that you need to get
(04:35):
through difficult and toughsituations so when those
confront us which they confrontus all you're prepared to go
through those confront us, whichthey confront us all.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
you're prepared to get go through those?
Yeah, well, I want, I'm reallyexcited to dive into all of that
.
but before we get into the nittygritty of of what you're doing
and how, it can relate to peoplelistening to this, whether
they're running businesses orwhether they're just trying to
take better care of themselvesand others.
How did you get to do this?
I remember, you know, rightafter college, I heard you got
(05:07):
that job at the Denver Nuggetsand I thought, oh, wow, that's
so exciting.
Right, you were like the firstone of us to get a job at a
really cool organization and,yeah, I was lucky.
Yeah, you weren't lucky.
And then so so tell me, catchus up.
You know, in a fairly condensedversion, sure, how you got to
(05:27):
what you're doing.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
I was lucky enough to start my career in professional
sports.
I wanted to be the next greatsports writer.
Yeah, because you and I workedtogether at the school newspaper
and realized that you know toget to the major league level.
I was going to have to kickaround and probably didn't have
the talent on the writing andreporting talent to get to that
level.
But on the service side and therelational side I felt like my
(05:51):
skills were a little bit bettersuited to that.
So ended up in professionalsports, which was just a great
experience, and through that,with one of our players, I
actually started to help start ayouth nonprofit and ran that
for about 15 years that wasfocused on youth sports and
education.
Went out on my own to do somemarketing a little marketing
communications firm I'm not toodissimilar to what you're doing
(06:14):
now Got back into nonprofits andthen decided to go back out on
my own again in pursuit of thispositivity.
Because I found myself inpursuit of this positivity?
Because I found myself, I think, probably like some of your
listeners, you know, in a darkplace and not really sure what I
was doing and not reallyconfident in what I was doing,
(06:35):
and became somebody I reallydidn't like and then slowly
discovered some positiveteachings and some positive
mentors that really helped mefocus more on the things that I
did have and to be grateful forthe life that I did have.
Instead of, you know, alwayswanting something different and
(06:56):
just fell so in love with it.
I wanted to pursue it more on afull-time basis.
That's great.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
I don't want to get too busy, too deep into your
business, but can you tell me alittle bit about what that
moment was, or what thosementors were, or what started to
turn it around for you?
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Yeah, you know, it was just very unhappy with kind
of where I was professionallybecause I didn't really.
I was working in nonprofits butwasn't sure of the mission that
I was.
You know, was am I, am I doingthe right thing?
And and didn't really feel likeI had good direction and it was
starting to impact personalrelationships with my wife and
(07:31):
my children, with my friends andand I really thought, you know,
if I don't turn this around,I'm going to lose some things
that are the most valuablethings in my world.
So discovered, you know,started off with Norman Vincent
Peale, power of PositiveThinking and found John Gordon's
work and really became kind ofa disciple of his.
(07:54):
So John has written the EnergyBus and the Carpenter and the
Seed and all these wonderfulbusiness parables about the
power of positivity.
That really resonated and gotdeeper into that and actually
became a John Gordon certifiedtrainer.
So that's kind of my journey ina short amount of time but it's
(08:15):
really I credit it for, youknow, turning my personal and
professional life completelyaround.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
And now you are a certified trainer, is that it?
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Yeah, trainer, so I can.
I can run workshops on thepower of positive leadership,
team or mindset.
And you know, if you stop andthink about any organization,
regardless of the size or thesector, you know who couldn't
benefit from improving theirleadership, culture or or
mindsets.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
So it's it's, it's really great.
So we run workshops andkeynotes and coaching to really
help people again build up thoseskills that, when the tough
times come, you're prepared todeal with them.
You know, we say it's faithversus fear.
Faith and fear have one thingin common, that's that they both
believe in a future that hasn'thappened yet.
(09:03):
Fear believes in a negativefuture.
Fear believes in a negativefuture.
Faith believes in a positivefuture.
So we want to drive peopletowards having faith that they
can get through the hard times.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
And then I want you to tell me also about JC Charity
Services and your podcast andhow it all goes together Well
same thing.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
I think there's so many people similar to yourself
and a lot of your clients thatare out there doing such great
work to make the world better,that are unsung, that can
inspire other people.
So I really started to thinkyou know how do I start telling
these stories?
And the podcast was a great way.
I know you know, and I'mfocused mainly on the nonprofit
(09:43):
sector with the podcast, becausethere's so many great small
nonprofits that are doing suchgood work, that elevate so many
people and are such an importantpart of their communities.
These stories are justwonderfully inspiring that I get
to tell.
And what's great now is I'vebeen at it for a minute, like
(10:03):
you have, and you know it'sexpanding and I'm starting to
get talk to more people allaround the country and these
stories are really amazing about, you know, people just doing
every day.
They're not changing the world,but where they are they're
definitely making the worldbetter, and so it's really a lot
of fun.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
That's what I love about this podcast and the that
I I'm doing, and also the, thework that I'm doing with, with
prime fit content in gyms aroundthe countries, because the gym
owners and trainers and othersin health and wellbeing they're
really changing people's lives.
You know, totally, you know,not everybody I rage hits their
sixties in in good condition,correct, you know, and maybe
they're retiring and they wantto make some positive changes
(10:49):
and have a better life or feelbetter about themselves or enjoy
their activities more.
How do you do that?
It's hard, it's scary, it'slonely.
So here are these people tohelp them.
I think it's really wonderfuland you know, as a storyteller,
that's what I want.
I'm looking for somethingthat's got some emotional
connection.
Yeah, yeah, so good for you.
(11:09):
So you talk about howpositivity can be a
differentiator in your business,that just being good at your
job isn't enough.
You've got to be.
You need something else, right?
You need some competitiveadvantage.
You need something else, right?
You need some competitiveadvantage.
So tell me how positivity fitsinto that for a small business
(11:29):
owner or someone who's trying tohelp others.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Right.
Well, and again, I think youknow the people that you work
with, the people I work with andanybody.
If you look at the environment,we're in being good at what you
do.
That's the entry fee, right.
I mean, everybody's good atwhat they do.
So how do you stand out in thatcrowd?
And we like to think thatpositivity is a big one because,
(11:56):
again, it gives you thestrength and the perseverance to
get through when things arehard.
The strength and theperseverance to get through when
things are hard, and it alsohelps you, I think, make deeper
connections with with people,whether that be your team or
your clients and customers.
Just having that kind of thatpositive mindset, I think it is
(12:17):
just, it's a differentiatorbecause it leads to those deeper
connections and it also leadsto you to you know being able to
make better decisions and youknow be more compassionate and
be more empathetic.
All those things that again,are benefits to the people that
you're working with and yourcustomers.
So I think, I think it's a huge, a huge advantage.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
You told me a few minutes ago that it's not being
kumbaya.
What is the definition ofpositivity in this context?
Speaker 1 (12:50):
I did for me, the biggest one is that is it gives
you faith in a positive, thatyou can create a positive future
, instead of fear that thefuture is going to be negative.
So, even when you're in thosetough times where it's like how
am I going to get out of this,or how are we going to solve
this, or how are we going tofind those next customers and
how are we going to keep thebusiness going for next month,
rather than being afraid of that, you're going to be confident
(13:12):
that you're going to be able tocreate a solution.
Rather than being afraid ofthat, you're going to be
confident that you're going tobe able to create a solution.
And again, I think that goesback to if you have that
positive mindset, you're goingto be able to grind a little
harder, you're going to be ableto keep going and you're going
to keep looking for a differentway to get your message out that
might resonate with that extracustomer who's going to put your
(13:33):
business over the top, mightresonate with that extra
customer who's going to put yourbusiness over the top.
And so I think it's just thisidea that the positivity really
will give you the energy to keepgoing when things are difficult
.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Can you teach this positivity?
Are there steps, training,methods that you help people to
acquire this mindset?
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Absolutely With mindset, leadership and culture
and team.
What's great about the programsthat we do is we do workshops
and keynotes that basically giveyou we walk you through a
proven program that teams likethe LA Rams and the LA Dodgers
and the Miami Heat and Nike andSouthwest Airlines that have
(14:11):
used these principles to createa plan that's very much tailored
to them.
So we walk through, we walkthrough.
We have a whole series that wewalk through and you come out of
this with a plan of you knowwhat am I going to commit to do
differently that's going toelevate the business through
this kind of positive outlookand it's really it just great
(14:35):
stuff.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I love it without giving away the, you know the,
the, the proprietary stuff oranything.
Give us an example or two, like, let's just say.
Let me give you a scenario.
Well, first of all, you know,you and I come from a background
in news where everything's verycynical and skeptical and I'm
in a hurry and I'm in a bad moodand get out of my way.
(14:56):
And it's not about touchy feely, it's not about positivity,
it's about get the job doneRight, yep.
And now we're in this otherstage of life and in this, doing
these other things in a career,and I'm meeting gym owners who
are sometimes in the same way.
You know.
They've got a hundred things ontheir mind, they're trying to
do everything on their own.
They've got a staff that maybethey haven't had time to train,
(15:20):
or they want to put systems intheir business, but they just
haven't had the time yet, or youname it.
So how can you help, like thatgym owner who's you know just
already working 12 hours a dayand can't seem to get anywhere
and things aren't going well?
What can you do for him?
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Right.
I think the first thing wealways try and tell people is
sit down and breathe, okay,breathe and realize.
I think the step one is to takestock of everything that's
going well.
You know, I think as humans,you know, if we get a 99 out of
(16:01):
100 on a test, what's theresponse?
Oh my God, I missed one.
You know, let's go back andlook at everything that's going
well and take stock of that andhave confidence that you know,
geez, we're doing 99% of thisthing right.
So for a small business ownerand I go through this all the
time and it's not like I haveall the answers and I can
(16:24):
implement all these practicesmyself all the time, because
it's hard.
Being a business owner is hard,it's a lonely thing, but you
have to stop and go.
Okay, what's working here?
And then I think the other oneis is you really need to lean
into those relationships?
I mean, you know it's the old,the old line everybody's going
through something.
(16:45):
So, whether it's yourself oryour customers, you can never
really.
You always have to kind of keepthat in mind that everybody's
got something that they'redealing with.
So how can I be compassionateand empathetic with somebody
else or with myself.
I think that's really where itstarts.
You know I'm working 12 hourdays.
I can't get anything going.
(17:05):
So let's let you know what'swhat is working here, let's
let's be confident that that'sgoing right.
And then, maybe what's onething you know, if I look at
these 100 things I need to do,how do I prioritize one and make
sure I get that one done, andthen I can feel really good
about that and maybe tackle two,and then it just kind of
(17:25):
snowballs Again.
I think it's.
You know, we have to be alittle kinder to ourselves and
really just keep grinding,knowing that, okay, if I can get
this one thing done today,maybe you can get that other one
done tomorrow, and just keepgoing with the faith that it's
going to work out.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
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(18:34):
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Back to the show.
And what about this idea ofremembering your why?
Why am I doing this?
Why am I working so hard?
It's like, oh yeah, you want toprovide for your family and you
need to make a living, etc.
(18:55):
But you can.
You can do that in a number ofways.
So why am I running a gym?
Why am I?
Why do I care?
If so, and so gets a goodworkout today, how helpful is it
to remember why you're doing it?
Speaker 1 (19:08):
it's huge, and I think one of the the big things
that that some of the researchwe've seen has shown is that
people don't get burned outbecause they're working too hard
.
I mean, you know as well as Ithat was one of the great parts
of newspapering back in theStone Ages was that adrenaline
rush.
When you're at the, you knowyou're crushing to meet a
(19:31):
deadline, you've been at it for10 hours, but you're not burned
out, you're energized by that,and so I think you know what.
What leads to burnout is whenpeople do forget their why and
why they're doing that stuff, sowhy they're doing what they're
doing.
So the why is is hugelyimportant, and I think you know
for clients like yours, when, ifyou're in a gym and you're
(19:53):
seeing somebody of who's moreexperienced, let's say, or
advanced fans like us, ifthey're coming in, you're
changing their life, you're,you're, you're extending their
you know how, how, theirvitality and and you know I can
I can understand how that wouldeasily get lost in the
(20:14):
day-to-day.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Oh, my God, I got.
You know, we got to make surethat the guys come to clean,
right, or you know theequipment's broken or whatever.
But you know you need to stepback sometimes and goes what is
my business doing?
My business is extending thevitality of these people that
are coming in here and trustingme to help them, and I'm helping
them.
These people that are coming inhere and trusting me to help
(20:38):
them, and I'm helping them.
So the why is huge, because ifyou, once you start forgetting
that, or or it starts becomingoff in the distance, that's when
you get burned out.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Yeah, a couple other things.
Gym owners often want to andthis is probably throughout any
industry, just the ones I talkto every day small businesses,
throughout any industry, justthe ones I talk to every day
small businesses, entrepreneurs.
They want to do everythingthemselves.
Do you find that a lot and howdo you help them?
See, the positive choice can beto delegate or to hire someone,
(21:06):
or to recognize that you don'thave to do your taxes because
that's why you have accountants,you know that kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
And you know, guilty as charged.
I'm a huge do-it-yourself guyand that's been a big battle for
me and I don't know if thatcomes just from you know that's
how our family always did things.
We fix stuff, but you're 100%correct and that can have a huge
.
If you can let go of some ofthese things, that can have a
huge impact on you know, yourvitality and how and your
(21:39):
leadership and everything elseand I think that is a giant part
of leadership is to be able tolet go and trust in people to do
this.
And I think, again, that goesback to how you can connect with
people.
I mean, if you can connect withpeople and find out, you know,
what is this guy's or thisperson's North Star or what is
(22:03):
their passion or what do theycare about, and then tailor
stuff that you can give them todo, where they can flourish and
really take this on, I meanthat's where you create human
magic.
I love that term.
I stole that term from the guythat used to run Best Buy.
But when you can trust, whenyou can empower people and trust
people, which starts withmaking that connection it
(22:26):
creates human magic.
I go back to you know it was oneof the best lessons I learned
when I just started inprofessional sports.
I was the low man on the totempole and every day when I just
started in professional sports,I was the low man on the totem
pole and every day when the teamwas in town, our head coach
would stop by our office.
Doug Moe would stop by myoffice and spend 15 minutes
giving me a hard time about mydating life or talking about
(22:50):
baseball or, you know, talkingabout everything other than
basketball.
And and I just remember thatwas the best 15 minutes of my
day.
And here's the guy that'sprobably the most in demand guy
in our organization just stop byto say hey and check in and if
that, if that guy called metoday and said, will you run
through a wall for me, I'd askhim which one and start running,
(23:10):
because it was such a greatconnection that that was such a
good lesson to me, that thatjust a little bit of time to
connect with somebody on aconsistent basis, you build that
connection.
And when you build thoseconnections, then you have that
trust where, okay, I know I cangive it to this, to this person,
then they'll get it done.
(23:31):
Yeah, that that only, not onlybuoys that person.
It takes that off your.
It just creates a better teamand and it's so beneficial.
So you're a hundred percentcorrect.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
There are those people you know.
Every once in a while you meetsomeone and maybe the coach at
the nuggets had that wherethey're.
Very oftentimes they're peoplein an elevated position, in a
leadership role or CEO orcelebrity or something like that
.
Politicians are really good atthis, except there's something
kind of oily about a lot of themand I don't mean that.
(24:05):
I mean I.
I mean these special people whoare undeniably special.
Some have that thing they makeyou feel special when they're
talking to you.
You feel this light shining onyou and you think, oh my gosh,
this, I'm the, I'm the mostimportant person in this guy's
awareness and you are for that.
(24:25):
10 minutes or 15 minutes.
Is that what you're talkingabout?
Or does that's exactly what I'mtalking about?
Speaker 1 (24:32):
that what you're talking about, or does?
That's exactly what I'm talkingabout.
I mean, if you're a gym ownerand somebody comes in and
they're trying to improve theirphysical state and they get 10
minutes with the gym owner whodoes this all day, every day,
who really knows what he's doing, I mean you're, if you can make
that connection, you'll have acustomer for life right and you
know.
Same thing, if you're the gymowner and you've got somebody
(24:53):
who's a trainer who comes in andyou start learning what they're
, they're all about, why theygot into training, and then you
start telling them you reallylike how they do this, or you
know asking them.
You know I've got anotherclient who's trying to do to try
, and you know, improve this,how would you do it?
And you start building thatconnection.
That trainer is going to workharder for you and make your
(25:15):
life easier.
I mean it's just.
It's just a great cycle.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
As a writer, do you rely on storytelling at your
work, at your at JC CharityServices, or in your positive
presentations or your podcast?
How do you apply the principlesof storytelling to what we're
doing, what you're doing?
Speaker 1 (25:34):
A hundred percent.
I mean, you know it was betterthan me.
You've been at it longer andhave done more of it than I have
but storytelling is absolutelythe best way that people learn
and the best, the best way thatpeople connect and what
resonates.
So it's, you know, there'snothing that you can't make
better with a good story.
At no point you can't getacross better with a good story.
(25:56):
So it's critical it's.
You know, as a lifelong learner, it's something I'm always
trying to get better at.
And you know, again, we weretalking earlier about how we
grew up in kind of this goldenage of journalism where, you
know, just always the best partabout that today is that it just
it inspired a love of readingand a love of storytelling.
(26:20):
So, yeah, that that that'sabsolutely a pillar and a
foundation for what I do and forwhat you do too.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
And also for what I think a small business owner
needs to do, because you are inthe spotlight, whatever role
you're in or whatever industryyou're in If it's a gym owner or
the head of a bakery orwhatever, everyone's looking to
you within that organization andthey want something from you.
And if all you have is salesfigures or how disappointed you
(26:50):
are because something didn'twork out last week, that's not
really going to connect or moveas much.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Right, and if you've got a client that's come in, who
, in six months, you know, thinkof how you've transformed them
in your gym.
I mean, what better story isthat?
Right, internally and for yourteam?
We look what we did for thisperson.
We just we transform them insix months.
Their vitality is much better.
(27:19):
Their life is going to be muchbetter.
Yeah, I mean, now your teamfeels great.
Now other people are going well, wait, I want to be that guy
too.
So, yeah, storytelling is thebaseline.
And you know, tell me that allof your clients don't have those
great stories.
They all do they all do.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
They all do.
Something I'm working on rightnow is getting them to stop
talking about themselves, whichmaybe is this might be a side
topic from what we're talkingabout.
But I'll say well, you know, doa, do a profile of the member
who you just helped and when youwere just describing, and
they'll, they'll have the personsay how much they love the gym.
(27:58):
Oh, I'm Susie Jones and I lovethis gym because this gym is
full of nice people and this gymmakes me feel good and I love
this gym and you should try thisgym.
You're like not what I meant,right?
Yeah, I'm not sure if that hasto do with positivity or not or
it's just with editorialdecisions.
Stop talking about yourself andlet's hear what you did for her.
(28:19):
The beginning, the middle ofthe end Right.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Yeah, and you're 100 percent right.
When we talk about positiveleadership, one of the keys of
that is how do you elevate thosearound you?
I mean, that's really to me,leadership starts with serving
others, and one of the things Ialways really have leaned into
in any leadership position I'vehad is, you know, invert that
(28:45):
org chart.
I mean, if you're the leader,you should be at the bottom,
lifting everybody else up.
So I think if once you can getpeople in that kind of mindset,
I think that leads to okay.
How do I put these storiesfront and center that aren't
about me but about the greatthings that are going on around
here?
Speaker 2 (29:04):
Yep, I like that you also talk about core values.
How can I, as a small businessowner, also talk about core
values?
How can I, as a small businessowner, bake positivity into my
core values?
Or should I even bother withcore values?
Who has time for that?
I'm a small business who cares.
Tell me about that.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
I think to me, core values are again another base
that you have to have, becauseeverything you do has to be
aligned with those core values.
And to me, the alignment that'sreally when you start falling
out of alignment with your corevalues.
That's when things like burnoutstart happening, because you do
(29:45):
forget your why then?
And you're just going throughthe motions and you lose that
connection.
You know what am I trying toaccomplish here and what's my
mission?
And again going back not againnot to talk about me, but this
is where I found myself.
You know I was out of alignmentwith core values, and those core
(30:06):
values, you know, live joyfully.
Am I living joyfully?
How can I live joyfully throughmy work if what I'm doing
doesn't align with that?
So core values are huge.
I would urge everybody to spendsome time really thinking about
what those are, and they don'thave to be super complicated and
they don't have to be superaspirational.
(30:28):
They just have to be kind ofyour North Star and you have to
have that so you can stay inalignment with those again,
because otherwise you're goingto, you're going to lead to
burnout and breakdown ofrelationships and connections,
and so that it's, you're 100percent, it's that that's a
that's a serious foundation thatI think everybody needs to have
.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
I I've seen in between newspapers and what I'm
doing now.
I worked at some hugemulti-billion dollar
corporations where you know theydid have core values and
whether they really followedthem or not, you know to debate
but but there was a lot of talkabout them and the idea that
this is what we're about.
And they were broad.
They intended to be broadenough that they could adapt
with the times, but not so broadthat they were meaningless.
(31:16):
It's it's.
It's tough to do, but what whatI've found?
I haven't done a personal corevalues for myself, but I have
found myself out of alignment afew times and it would be
helpful, you know, because itgives it, would give me the
definition like hey, something'snot right here.
I don't like what I'm doing.
Why not?
Oh, because I work for peoplewho are doing work that I don't
(31:39):
believe in, or because I don'tlike being in traffic for three
hours a day, or because I don'tget to see my kids enough.
Whatever it is, if you justsort of stop and think for a
minute and then find a solution,it's so easy to complain right
or get lost in that right.
Oh, my back hurts.
I'm just getting old.
I guess this is the end of itfor me right or what's the
(32:03):
solution right.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
How can I, how can what, why, how can I move?
That's going to loosen up myback and make my life better or
what?
What treatment can I find?
And the other part of the corevalue equation that I really
love about some of the work thatwe do is it's almost like the
New Year's resolutions you makethe New Year's resolution, but
(32:24):
what's the commitment behindthat?
So, if you've got core values,what commitments are you going
to make to uphold those?
If you've got core values, whatcommitments are you going to
make to uphold those?
And I think that's a step thatgets overlooked.
A lot is okay.
I've got these core values.
I've got a mission statement.
You know what am I going tocommit.
How am I going to commit tocarrying those out day to day?
(32:50):
So you know, I think that'salmost as, if not more important
is, if you know what you wantto do, what are you going to
commit to doing that?
And again, you know, in yoursector, this is a huge thing.
If I'm going to come to a gym,that's a commitment I'm making,
right how am I going to keepthat commitment?
Am I going to go three times aweek?
Am I going to go twice a week.
I got to figure out acommitment and figure out a way
(33:13):
I can keep that commitment.
Otherwise, my goal of gettingin better shape.
You know, same thing.
If I'm a business owner, samething how am I going to serve my
customers in the best waypossible?
What am I going to commit totoday to make that happen?
So that's always a question Ialways like to ask is okay, I
want to.
I would love to give positiveleadership workshops to some of
(33:38):
the big organizations in Denver.
Okay, what's the commitmentthat I need to make to make that
happen?
Still wrestling with that, butthat's where it starts.
If I have a goal, that's great.
You hear people talk aboutgoals all the time.
What's your commitment tomaking that goal happen?
So that's another key big thingfor me.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
The way I interpreted a lot of what you're saying is
the idea that we have to berealistic in our goals or we
will fail, and then we will getfrustrated and then we won't get
anywhere.
And people our age will oftensay, oh, I got to get back to
the gym Cause like when I was incollege, and I say no, no,
you're not 20 years old anymoreand you are unlikely to ever be
(34:19):
20 years old again.
Don't chase something impossible.
You cannot travel back in time.
Who are you now?
Where are you now?
What can you do now?
That's where we're startingwith.
And then you know, start slow,start easy.
Don't say you're going to gofive days a week for two hours a
day.
Cause guess what You'reprobably not going to do.
(34:40):
That Right, and I think there'sa pragmatism to being positive
as well, absolutely, and it'sand it's it is being realistic.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
And again, that's that's where I think there's a
little misperception and is oh,positive, you can do whatever
you put your mind to.
I think it's it's more likelet's, what can I?
You know, let's be realistichere.
Can I commit, if I want to getin better shape, can I commit to
going to the gym twice a weekfor 40 minutes?
I could probably do that.
(35:10):
Yeah, and you know what, if Ican keep that commitment, I'm
going to get results.
I'm going to feel pretty goodabout it.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
That's right.
Well, jay, this is great and Ifeel like we could.
We could talk about this allday and I want you to tell
people where they can go tolearn more about you and your
podcast and your, your power ofpositive philosophy, that kind
of thing, whatever you want todirect them to.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
That's great and I'm grateful for the opportunity you
can just.
You can find me atmakingourworldbettercom.
That's where you can find mypodcast and my positive work and
learn more about my bizarrobackground.
But it's, it's.
It is just such a pleasure andhonor to reconnect with you.
Yeah Well, same to you.
It's been a real.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
it is just such a pleasure and honor to reconnect
with you.
Yeah Well, same to you.
It's been a real, it's been areal pleasure.
I love what you're doing.
Obviously, I reached out to youafter all these years cause I
wanted to share it.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Grateful for that.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
Yeah, and it's delightful to see you thriving
in it.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
Likewise and keep it going down there in the ATL.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
Absolutely All right.
Thanks, Jay Cheers.
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