Live better and longer with the fitness show hosted by fitness expert author and tv personality Fitz Kohler she'll tell you why diets are dumb supplements are snake oil and the truth about how you can earn a lean hard pain-free and athletic body now for our favorite bossy blonde Fitz Kohler, Hi team, I am Fitz Kohler, your very bossy fitness expert from Fitzness.com and welcome to the Fitzness show. Today I am pumped because I have one of my favorite people on earth as a guest.
He's not only such a decent human being, but he's my poster boy, right? This is a guy who I met, I don't know how many years ago, he probably remembers, but met him at a bakery at Disney. That's right. At a run Disney event, met him at a meetup at a bakery, which is hilarious that a fitness relationship started there. But I got to know Michael Jones and he was so sweet. And he was asking me about some weight loss tips.
And I introduced him to the exact formula for weight loss. And he just, he just ran with it and he's dropped almost a hundred pounds and he's kept it off for so many years. And not only is he, has he taken a stand for himself, but he's taken a stand for everybody else. This is a man who so genuinely cares. And I I'm so glad he's prioritized his own health and not only his physical health, but his mental health. He's a much more confident guy.
He's he's vice president of better health group of Alabama and Georgia, which is a big deal. I don't know if the guy I met at the bakery could be vice president of a big deal company, but Michael has just soared. He's taking care of himself. And he's turned that on everybody else. He takes care of the world with his actions and then his words. He's always guiding people.
He's on social media all the time on LinkedIn and Facebook, and he's sharing these words of wisdom and they're always very motivating. And so finally I said, Hey, Mike, you want to come on my show and share some of these golden nuggets? And he said, yeah. So I'm thrilled about that. And before I bring him on the show, So I would like you to follow The Fitness Show. If you haven't done that, what you're waiting for, right?
And then you should leave a review and that would be nice. And if we're not connected on Instagram, you silly person, let's do that. Let's do that right now. And here he comes. Mr. Michael Jones. Hello. Hey, Fitz, the hottie group and fitness.
That's where all the cool kids hang out. So if you want to go there and just be surrounded by people who care about you and learn things for you from you, and you haven't ever asked people for a dime for all the things that you do as far as fitness and health and weight loss. And it's just, it's a blessing to be a part of this. Well, not only are you a part, but I consider you a leader in the group.
You're, you know, I call you a co-captain. Sometimes you're, you're just so full throttle on sharing your wisdom and your encouragement. And it means so much to so many, so many people are better off because you, because you have chosen to take your success and amplify it to others and encourage them to do the same. It's really impressive. I'm so grateful for you.
Well, thank you. And the feeling is mutual fits. And you asked, you said something earlier on about would I be able to be the vice president that I am today? And the answer to that is absolutely no. I don't know if you remember, I used to say, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry about all the different things when I would ask you questions or ask other people questions.
And the one benefit that I got after losing all the weight, you know, of course, you've got the health and the looking a lot better, but the confidence and the mindset just completely changed in me. And so that's where I learned a lot of the things that I've learned about leadership and the things that really make me who I am. I really learned from you. And I unlocked it by losing the weight because I have more confidence.
So I'm in a much better place professionally and mentally because of what I learned from you. Wow. It's, it's been exciting to watch you excel. And I do remember you saying, Hey, I'm sorry. I have a question. I'm so sorry for your time. I mean, it was constant apologizing. I kept thinking, dude, I like you want people to ask me questions. This is what I do. I want to talk fitness and other things.
And, and of course you've become a dear friend along the way, but you, you did apologize for yourself and you let people walk all over you and you're not the the same man anymore and you've got this really. Dirty spinal column that I admire and respect. And it's funny, that's what I tell people with my keynotes. We talk a lot about fitness and people just think about their physical health, which is utmost important.
But if you do what I tell you to do with the formula and exercise and so forth, your body not only gets better, but your mind gets better. And then your relationships improve and your professional success is enhanced because you just become a better person that of people are drawn to and your capabilities multiply exponentially when you take care of yourself. Absolutely. And I remember one time we were at the Savannah Half Marathon that you were doing there and you were at an expo there.
And one of the things that I've also learned is barriers that I had for myself, they're all in my head. And specifically, you asked me to come up on stage and do an angry up. And that's one of the exercises that you share freely on YouTube and And make sure you go to Fitz's YouTube channel as well and follow her there. But an angry up is a pretty difficult exercise. And I always would try it supporting myself or either not do it.
And you said, you're going to do this. You're going to give it a go. And you realize. Pause for a second. For folks who don't know what an angry up is, you lie down flat on your back with your arms above your head. And then without using your hands, you lift yourself up. The whole thing is lifting yourself up, which is so hard it can make you angry. So go on. It is.
And for many of the exercises that you prescribed in the YouTube channel and on the things that you share, I was afraid to do it because it was intimidating. But you got to just push yourself through it and you'll discover about yourself that you're capable of so much more. And that's something that's another huge benefit of being connected to you is you realize that your limits are self-imposed a lot of times.
So I did, I brought you up on the stage and I asked you to do an angry up and I think you said, I can't. I literally said, I can't do it. And you said, erase that word from your vocabulary. You're going to try it. And you did. Yeah, I did. Incredible. Incredible. We've got a lot of good memories, right? Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay. So let's move on to the 10 golden nuggets you've brought me today that you've brought us because I mean, you just, you have so much good stuff to share.
And not only do we want people to do better physically, but just better overall. So hit us with number one, Michael Jones. Sure, I'll do it. And if you want to follow me on TikTok, my handle there is encouragingleader. I typically spend less than 60 seconds. That's one thing that I learned from you is to not do long videos because people have a short attention span, but usually less than 60 seconds. And it's just a host of things. So I'll start with number one.
And we will be right back. Are you looking for the perfect gift for a loved one battling cancer? The Cancer Comeback Series by Fitz Kohler offers hope, inspiration, and practical guidance. With Your Healthy Cancer Comeback, My Noisy Cancer Comeback, and The Healthy Cancer Comeback Journal. These books are a lifeline for all patients and survivors. Right now, you can order autographed copies at a special discount. Show your support and help a loved one go from sickness strong.
Visit Fitzness.com today. day. That's F-I-T-Z-N-E-S-S.com. Fitsness.com. We're back. I'll start with number one. It's a quote that I read and I can't remember who it's attributed to, but it says, people wait all week for Friday, all year for summer and all their lives for happiness. And the thing that I kind of expounded on that is you really don't need to chase happiness. You need to be open to receiving happiness.
And when you're in something that you love to do, you can get up every morning and you can have that joy and happiness in your life. So if you're not in that in your career, in your life, really evaluate what you're doing personally, professionally, and ask yourself, what am I doing here? And you'll be able to get that joy and happiness in your life. Wow, I love that. And they do say, if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.
And I feel like I'm that girl. I mean, on taxes, maybe I'm working on tax day. But for the most part, I'm giddy with enthusiasm on getting to you and everybody else to talk fitness. I also talk to university students about creating a career of your dreams. And it's interesting how many, so specifically, I talked to a lot in the College of Health and Human Performance at the College of Health and, sorry, at the University of Florida.
And those kids have gotten into a degree that's a heck of a lot of fun. It's event management and sports management and. Hospitality. They've chosen a career that seems pretty delightful. And then they graduate. And then instead of pursuing it with a vengeance, starting as a low-level ticket taker in your favorite organization or for your favorite sport or just working hard to penetrate that market, their uncle offers them a job selling used cars or helping clean the carpet.
And then they take it because it's easy. And I just beg them, please don't sell out on you. Stay the course because when you do what you love, you know, work takes up what is 40 hours a week times 52. That's a lot of time being spent doing something you're not excited about. Right, Michael? It is. And you spend so much time and there's a book I know that you read a lot, just like I do. There's a book that had a huge impact on me. It's called Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill.
And the dime store version of this is a lot of times you go through life as a drifter and you drift through life, kind of like you said, those college graduates. And I was one of those who was a drifter. I didn't have a true sense of purpose of what I wanted to do, who I wanted to be, or what I wanted to be. And when you live life on your own terms, then you have that definitiveness of purpose and you don't drift through life. And life is so much more joyful when you love what you do.
Now, not every day is going to be sunshine and unicorns and rainbows. Like you said, taxes, that's no fun. Sometimes you're going to have to do things that, you know, your boss asks you to do something that you're not thrilled about doing, but you can do it with a positive attitude and it makes all the difference. Yeah. And the other thing is you were talking about people waiting for the weekend. Man, Wednesday can be so much fun.
If you have chosen some hobby or someone special to be with, or even time with your dogs, you can have a damn good time on Wednesday and Thursday and Monday. And the weekend isn't really the only time we should be having joy. Absolutely. Yeah. If you dread, you know, coming into work on Monday and you live for the weekends, that's not a life. All right, Michael, hit us with number two. So number two is something that's attributed to Thomas Edison.
And in an interview, somebody asked Thomas Edison, how did he feel about failing to invent the light bulb 10,000 times and some versions say 1,000 times. And Thomas Edison said he didn't fail at anything. thing. He found a thousand or 10,000, however many you want to look at it, ways to do something that got him to his ultimate goal. And the end point is statistically, most people don't even try something one time before they give up.
So when you have a goal, put all your effort into doing it and you might not succeed with that goal, but you're going to learn things from it. So that's, that's an important one for number two is you don't, you don't ever fail. You learn lessons. That's brilliant. That's brilliant. So when I was fighting, I also was teaching people kickboxing as a form of exercise.
And men, women alike, they would come in and I would teach them first their fighting stance, which is shoulder width apart, elbows in, hands high, chin down, and then the first punch jab. So just your fighting stance alone is completely foreign to everything a normal person does because normally we're standing up straight, we're chin up high. Here I'm saying get horrible posture, crouch, do all this weird stuff and now punch.
And then people would get instantly so embarrassed over not being able to punch like I was. oh my God, I'm so embarrassed. I'm so bad at this. And I would ask, why would you be good at this? What the world would you be, or why would you be good at boxing if you've never done boxing before? But people have these incredible demands on themselves. They expect certain things. And one of the things I love most about ballroom dancing is how hard it is.
And so I struggle, struggle, get it wrong, get it wrong. And then when I get something right, not only am I so excited. But then I get that feedback from my instructor, Michael, who's like, whoa, you did it. And then it was worth something. So you're right. When people are doing things that's hard and they're failing, then those are the things I think that are worthy of putting in the effort in, because if everybody could do it, who cares?
Absolutely. Yeah. And this is a great natural segue fits in the topic number three. And this is from the show Ted Lasso. I remember at my prior company. I was dubbed the Ted Lasso of my company because of the leader and the person that I am. And if you haven't seen Ted Lasso, it's a brilliant show. I've heard they've just started filming season four, but there's a scene where Ted is walking with a person that he's mentoring and coaching and the guy's name is Nate.
And Ted says, Nate, are you the kind of person that would like it if somebody told you there's food in your teeth? And Nate says, yeah. And he proceeds to give him some feedback. He says, Nate, that suit is just not working for you. You've got to get a real grown up suit and you've got to really look professional. So he took the time to give him feedback. And as you said about your dancing, sometimes it's hard to give feedback and sometimes it's really hard to receive feedback.
And I think that's one of the things that has defined a lot of the things that I do right now in my career is I receive feedback. It's all an opportunity, especially if somebody is giving it to you from a place of positivity and growth for you to adjust your sales and to do things better that will have better outcomes. But sometimes it's super hard to give feedback, especially if it's somebody that you don't want to offend them. But just know you're doing that from a place of caring about them.
Well, I think there's a really clever way to broach the subject. Would you want to know if there was food in your teeth? And then if that person says, yes, you can say, okay, here's a topic I'd like to discuss with you. It may not be easy to hear, but you'll be better for it in the long run. How do you accept negative feedback or criticism, Michael? Yeah, and that's one of the things that it's all part of the growth process.
It's something that I really do hear it. It's an opportunity for me to grow. And the old Michael would have would have just kind of clammed up and thought that the person was attacking me personally. But it's not about me. It's about the person sharing something in me that will let me grow. So it's an opportunity to let me grow. And you do have an opportunity to say five little words.
I do not receive that if somebody is saying it from a negative space or if somebody has given you feedback to try to tear you down. You don't have to you don't have to listen or apply to that. So the choice is yours. But I listen and I apply when somebody gives me feedback to help me grow. That's brilliant. So one of the things that I've started doing, especially since I've become a self-published author, is I get beta readers.
So I write my books to a point where I feel like they're almost done. You know, is a book ever done? Trust me, it's never done. But it's almost done. And then I go outside of the professional. So I do have professional copywriters or copy editors and editors and book designers and so forth. But I'll send them to my friends, my manuscripts and say, and I believe I've asked you to do this. Please read my book, tear it apart.
Tell me what you hate. And so upfront, I tell people, if you find a flaw, if I sound stupid, if you disagree, or it's just uninteresting, let me know. And then that frees people up to tell me the truth. Because if I don't hear about these mistakes or errors or whatever it is, then I publish a terrible product and that's no good for me. And so whatever you're doing, I think when you have someone's whose opinion you really respect, start with that.
Tear me apart. Tell me what I should change. Tell me the worst thing about what I did. And if you're lucky, they may come back and say, well, gosh, you really like I like what you did. But I did see this word was spelled wrong or I didn't really understand that. And so giving permission, giving people permission to... Critique you, I think is so valuable. It just makes us all better.
Absolutely. And it's funny that you mentioned that because as I said, I read all the time and I just finished reading a book where it was a work of fiction. And the author, I actually sent him a piece of feedback because in the book, I'm a Navy veteran and I know that you've got a lot of veterans that listen to you. I know you're super patriotic. And there was a piece in the book where he said that the main character, the protagonist, somebody looked at a picture that he had on his laptop.
And it was of him the day he left for Army basic training with his proud family beside him in his uniform. And now that's a great thing. And most veterans have a picture with their family, but you don't get the uniform until after you finish basic training. You don't earn that. And especially like if you're a Marine, you've got to earn the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor. So that was a flaw that he had in his book. The sentiment was great, but just the specifics about it was a little bit off.
And it's just a point for him to maybe edit that in a future edition and make his book even better. Yeah. And, you know, with all professions, Scott, I think about, I'm trying to bring him on the show. So I'm actually not going to target this and I'm not going to tell you his name, but he's an old, he's an actor from yesteryear that was very popular as an actor. And now he's on tour as a musician and it's a little cringy. It's a little cringy.
And I, and I hear that from a lot of people, a lot of people, even bands he's touring with say negative things about him. And I wonder if anybody's ever just sat him down and said, maybe this isn't your, you know, I don't know. I don't know. Would he benefit from that? Would he receive it? Yes.
Now I'm trying to think of who that person is. I know you won't share and I know you'll keep it a secret, but folks, y'all have a super secret guest coming up who may be pretty cool if Fitz can arrange that. Yeah, yeah, I think there's a good shot he'll come on the show and I actually give him all the respect for the courage to go doing what he's doing and so forth. But, But maybe somebody could just help him with his moves or singing lessons or, you know, what I'm saying.
I mean, there's there's there's ways where if he was open to feedback, he could improve the show. So anyways. All right. Next, next golden nugget, Michael Jones. Yeah. And this one is just the concept. I think I learned this from a Navy, an admiral who gave a speech at UT Austin. But it's just the concept called embrace the suck.
Sometimes things are not going to go well. else. Sometimes, you know, in your job, in your fitness journeys, things are just going to suck and you just have to, to, to just buck up and deal with it. And one of the things that just annoys me is, is people have this lofty goal. I'm going to lose a hundred pounds. I'm going to run a marathon.
And it's, it's so easy to say that it's hard when you're at a work function and there's a buffet with chicken strips and all these desserts and free beer and all this stuff. It's, it's tough have to make a decision to stay strong. It's tough when you're training for an October marathon and it's July in the middle of the summer and you've got to get up at four o'clock to run 18 miles. That's the suck. And the thing is in your hottie group, there are so many people who have embraced the suck.
And I think about a lot of hottie legends. Recently you had Patrick Bass. He's not just talking the talk. He's walking the walk. You've got people like Paul Fox, who it's not not about how many times you get knocked down. It's about how many times you get back up. Paul Fox, he's got the eye of the tiger. If you see pictures of him, he's going to succeed because he's embracing the suck.
And so many others, Laura Rice, Laura Wright, Elise Donabedium, Tammy Millican, Jennifer Riaz, and so many of your hotties, it's not all about the just, hey, I'm going to run a marathon. Hey, I'm going to lose all this weight. It's about the journey. And when you embrace the suck, it becomes pretty special. I completely agree. And I look back on my days bouncing back from cancer where I had lost all the weight and stuff and all the things I couldn't do.
I could have focused on that. I could have focused on who I wasn't anymore, the girl I used to be. But instead, I would say, OK, today I can do this. And this is way better than the worst version of me. And so, you know, those hard days when I ran Boston, you know, that training wasn't fun, especially out in the Florida heat before I moved it to the treadmill. But I took great pleasure in conquering, overcoming the hardship, because, again, if it's easy, it's not worth it.
And where I think all the hotties are doing things. Laura Wright has had two hip replacements, not one, but two. She is doing the hippie, hippie shake. And the thing, you know, the fact that she gets out of surgery, she's like, OK, I'm going to start walking again. I'm going to do it again. She keeps, she keeps going and Tammy with breast cancer. And now she's got something with her arm and she is so proud of herself.
That's actually the thing. It's not only the accomplishment, the thing you're trying to overcome. But the pride you feel, because you don't get a lot of pride when things are easy. It's when things are hard and you do it anyways. That's where pride becomes one of those overwhelming feelings in your life. And it's just it's important to have. Right. Absolutely. And you attract so many people to be part of your hotties who have that mindset.
Those are just a few of the kind of hottie hall of fame. But so many hotties are embracing the suck. And that's that's where the wins are. I mean, it's it's sometimes it sucks, but you got to stick with it. Yeah. And golly, the place you go because you embrace the suck is pretty, pretty spectacular. Okay, next up, Michael Jones. Next one is don't give the wrong people power over you. I was in a job that was just the wrong fit for me, and I gave the wrong people power over me.
You get to choose. You may have a boss that you don't like. You may have a manager that's overbearing or whatever. Those people are in places of authority, so you've got to respect that. That's something I learned in the military, but you do have a choice in how you can give that person power over you. So don't give the wrong people power over you. Brilliant. And I love the detail of you saying you learned in the military, those people actually do have legitimate authority over you. Yeah.
There's a, so, so what are your options? If you're in a position, you're at a job where the people with a legitimate authority are horrible to you. What are your options? Well, you can stick it out or you can stay there and be miserable, or you can move on unless you're locked into a contract. If you're in something like the military area or you're contractually obligated to be somewhere, you can walk away, you can find something better.
And there's no shame in pursuing something that's going to make you better. Absolutely. And then one of the pillars of fitness is, you know, it's four pillars of fitness, exercise, watch what you put in your mouth, get quality sleep and remove the cranky people. Folks, especially once you're a grown up, your parents do not have legitimate authority over you anymore. Your spouse never had legitimate authority over you.
Your girlfriend, boyfriend, best friend never had legitimate authority over you. And let me be clear, they never had legitimate authority. So if you're in a bad relationship, no matter how personal or close relation that person is, your sibling, your spouse, if they're horrible to you and they make you nothing but sad or scared or stressed, remove them. I'm, I think I believe in the block button, even if it's blood relatives, Michael. Yes.
Absolutely. And the longer you wait to do that, the worse you're going to be. I mean, you, you got to make that choice at some point, or you're going to either continue to be dumped on. So you've got to make the decision for yourself and, and, and you're right. Nobody has that power over you. So absolutely. Yeah. And you and I have both had that in our personal relationships and we've stood up for ourselves. And interestingly enough, the other people have kind of fallen in line and said,
okay, I understand. I can't treat you like that anymore. I'm going to do better. Yep. Absolutely. Yeah, we have rules. And I do have that sign over my front door still. It says, be nice or leave. Yep. And I mean it. Yeah. You don't have to tolerate that. Absolutely. No, that's wonderful. Okay, next step. Okay, so the next one is funny. This is a story that I shared on TikTok. And it's an experience that I had with my amazing wife, Christine.
We love going to movies. That's one of the things that I love to do. Again, I love to read. I love to go to movies. The first time I went to a theater that had the nice leather reclining seats and the heated seats, I acted like a complete hillbilly in that theater. I would recline the seat and I would go all the way back and I'd say, wow, this is awesome. Wow, this is amazing.
This is so cool. Wow. And Christine finally had to shush me because I was probably to the point of annoying people around me. But it was just such a cool experience. And the point is, when you're aware of other options out there, your eyes and your mind can be opened up to so many possibilities. It's just like you said with your new college graduates, your path to success doesn't have to be the same as your father's or your mother's or whoever, somebody that tells you.
There's a whole world of opportunity out there, and it's waiting for you. It's waiting for you to grab it. It's waiting for you to do that. So once you're aware of other options, it's going to be pretty incredible. Yeah, and you only do get those Those wow moments when you're trying something new, whether it's a new dish, a new dessert, a new activity, a new style of clothes, right? A new place to travel. You only get those wow moments when you're open to something new.
Yes, spaghetti squash was a wow moment that I was open to. Christine actually got a spaghetti squash. And it's so cool because you go your whole life thinking you've got to have pasta spaghetti with how you prepare spaghetti. And there's this whole new world of who knew there was this cool vegetable out there. And you've shared a lot of fruits and vegetables that are just like, wow, this is incredible. That's very funny. I do love. And I also agree.
When I learned of spaghetti squash, it was a big wow for me. And the fact that you can get a nice Italian meal for a fifth of the calories, it's incredible. Yeah, it's a game changer. It's a game changer. That's right. The spaghetti squash. Remember when I put this spaghetti squash in my microwave and I forgot to poke holes in it and then it blew up and blew the door off my microwave? I think you should. You shared that on one of your on one of your earlier fits in this podcast.
You should go back and listen to the archives, everybody. There's some cool gems in earlier episodes. And you may even hear a hottie named Michael Jones early in my weight loss journey. So listen to those back episodes when you have nothing to do. Fitz shares a lot of wisdom. Thanks, Michael. You know, I'm almost at 200 episodes. That's impressive. Yes. Statistically, most people, again, don't give up before they start. Statistically, most podcasts don't make it past 10. So that's impressive.
And you're top 5% of podcasts worldwide. I mean, that's awesome. Yeah, I appreciate that. I appreciate it. It helps because I have great listeners and fantastic guests. Yes. Okay, Michael Jones, next up. Number seven, this is a little bit general, and it's kind of along the same lines that we talked about, but don't quit on yourself. A lot of people get to a point where it gets hard, and this is kind of the embrace the suck kind of concept, but don't quit on yourself.
When you're pursuing something that's worthwhile, stick to it, and you have to develop that perseverance. And when it gets hard, don't quit on yourself. Don't give up because a lot of times when you're so close to your goal, that's when it becomes the hardest. And that's when you have to push through those barriers. So number seven is just don't quit on yourself. So you, I know you don't mind talking about it because you've been very public. You were just diagnosed with Parkinson's.
And after all of your efforts for all of these years to be fit, now you have this obstacle. And I could see a lot of people saying, ah, phooey, it doesn't matter. I'm giving up. Why have you decided not to quit on yourself? Because life still, I still have so much life to live and I have people that I need to impact and I have things that I need to do. There's still a mission that I have to accomplish. And I've had to adjust a lot of the things that I do for exercise.
And I used to love one of the things that you helped to unleash with me was running the marathons with the flag for fallen soldiers and Marines. And I can't do that anymore because of my foot and the things that it does. And there are a lot of exercises I can't do. But I've learned to embrace other exercises. I've discovered I love to swim. Swimming is just a legit calorie burn. Like it doesn't come close right now to anything else I do, which my wife, Christine, always tells me.
I'm all about the numbers. I'm kind of an analytical guy, but it's super fun. I mean, I go to the pool a lot of times at my gym and there's this group of 12 or 15, 80-year-old ladies doing water aerobics and I love talking to them. There's sometimes legit swimmers who I share a lane with and it's just, you know, giving up is not an option to me. I still have a mission that I want to accomplish.
So I love that your answer was all about looking forward. I have to to keep going because I have things to do. And the other side of thing, if you had given up, you would regress so rapidly. Everything would become worse in your life, your physical health, your mental health, your professional success. It would all diminish in a heartbeat if you decided to give up, right?
Absolutely. And, you know, speaking of removing people who, you know, don't bring joy into your life, I've joined a lot of Parkinson's groups and done a lot of research on Parkinson's. And there's a lot of well-intentioned groups that do well that they're just so negative and people give up. And with Parkinson's, you know, there's no cure for Parkinson's and the life expectancy of someone with Parkinson's is the same as someone without it.
But what you've got to do is you've got to adapt what you do. And when you get to give up on yourself and you just sit around all day and do nothing, that's when life just implodes on you. So you just have to really focus on what more you have to give and suck it up and just do what you can. Well said. Well said. And I'll go into the next one. And it's kind of a theme. I've got three more in the next ones. And this kind of is a good segue from Parkinson's. Is this the beginning or the end?
When you go through things like when you went through your breast cancer scare and you were open about that and your book, My Noisy Cancer Comeback is just so amazing. And I read it and you shared something that so many books don't share. And that's the raw, what you went through, what your family went through. And it is just amazing to do for you. Cancer wasn't an end.
And for Tammy, you know what she went through, it wasn't an end for so many people in the hotties and people who, you know, you go through setbacks and a lot of people can give up. To me, that's a beginning and it's a new beginning because it's a new chapter of my life. And then, you know, so many people listen and you might be going through a divorce. You might be going through, you know, whatever that's difficult to lay off or getting fired from your job.
Look at it as a beginning and not an end. And it'll completely change your perspective. Well, you are so right. You are so right. And it's interesting, you know, with cancer, if you're fortunate enough to survive it, right? If it can be a new beginning. But you got to learn, you know, life is hard. And we read stories about people like to pick up a book about someone who climbed Everest after losing both legs or, you know, the man who was run over by a bus and broke every bone in his body.
And then he goes on to complete an Ironman triathlon. There's nobody writes books about people just sitting on their butt doing nothing. Right. Nobody writes books about people who gave up. And I think nobody reads books about people who gave up because they're uninteresting and uninspiring. And I think the human nature is to want to hear those stories of success and maybe try to emulate them.
And so, yeah, if you are going through hard times, whether it's divorce or your house burns down or whatever, how do you move forward in a way where people would want to write about you and tell others the tale of how you dug yourself out from the ashes and rose to become this, you know, very successful version of yourself. And. Yeah. I mean, it's just, you've got two choices. You've got two choices. I could have let cancer wreak havoc on me and I could have stayed there.
I could still be sickly and weak and pathetic like I was. And you could have already let Parkinson's wreak havoc on you. Instead, you're still a total jock and you're, you're a VP and you've got it all going on and I'm doing my best over here and life is pretty darn good. So yeah, we have choices. We have choices. Get, get through what you're going through and then make the next chapter even better than the first. Make the next chapter worthy of somebody writing about you.
Absolutely. Yes. And it's funny how these topics that we talk about, it's kind of a natural segue into the next thing. So the next one, this is number nine out of 10. Fitz, have you heard the song Live Like You Were Dying? I can't remember. Yeah, of course. Tim McGraw, right? Yeah, I think that's who it is. And your listeners are kind of just, I couldn't remember who it was, Tim McGraw. So there's a concept that a guy named Ogmandino, he's really, really famous.
He's been dead many years, but he wrote one of the books called The Greatest Salesman in the World, just a host of books that he's got. He took that and flipped it. And this was way before the song came out. But what if you flip that and you live like everybody that you meet is dying and they would be dead by midnight that night? How would that change the interactions that you have with people?
Would you invest a little bit more time in that conversation, would you say those things that are hateful or ugly that you're saying in just a heat? And, you know, I say things sometimes that I regret saying, and I'm working on that too. But what if you live like everybody else you interact with is dying? And how would that change what you say to them, how you treat them, and how you make them feel? And that's something that's just, it can change your perspective there too.
Oh, it's such a kind pointer. You know, You know, one of the things that helps me be even nicer, I try to be nice to everybody. It's who I am. But when I see older folks, I will superimpose my mom on that person. Or if it's a teenager, maybe it's a teenager at a restaurant who's getting the whole order wrong. Think about my kids being that server and good kids.
Can they screw up an order? Sure they could. It would break my heart if some other person ripped my kid apart while he or she was making a minimum wage job for human error. So I also try to impose people I love on others and it allows me to take a deep breath and, you know, just just be kind anyways. Yes. And that's one of the things that I absolutely love about my job.
I really don't meet a stranger these days. And I'm sure that the prior version of Michael, who is so much more timid, was just so much more shy and reserved, would not have done this. but I talk to people all the time. And especially in my job, I oversee primary care clinics across Alabama and Georgia. We own clinics and we also work with, we call them affiliates, but primary care partners. And I visit our clinics a lot. And I always have conversations with our patients.
And a lot of times, Fitz, those patients, when they go to the doctor, that's the only conversation with a live person they're going to have in a day. And when you invest a few minutes to sit down and sit down with that person and say, hey, Ms. Kohler, thank you for coming here. What's on your mind today? How's your experience been? And just engage in a conversation. You're going to be blessed probably more than you help that person. And it's just going to be an amazing thing. And I love that.
I always make eye contact with people, smile, nod, try to bring a little bit of joy into their day. And it's just, it's a blessing for me as much as it is for them. So it's so funny, as you're talking, I was thinking, so Parker, my son, He hates going shopping with me. He's like, sometimes we get to the store and he'll say, don't talk to anybody. Don't talk. Cause I'm not, it's, I'm friendly. I talk about whatever. I always say hello to people and it really drives him nuts.
And I feel like you're the same as well for people that are painful introverts that don't want to go above and beyond. It's fine. It's fine. Give a smile. Most importantly, yeah. Don't be mean, right? So if you're, if it doesn't, if you're not inspired to have a conversation with everybody, that's fine, but use restraint and understand that people could be going through something horrible or just be stressed or feel sick or, you know what, even if they're just a jerk, they're not your problem.
Maybe they're only a temporary problem for you and you could move on. But yeah, if for the introverts out there, if you don't want to have wonderful conversations with strangers like Michael and I have, just try to restrain yourself and take those deep breaths and la, la, la, think of something you love, right? Right. And one thing I want to add here too, this is something that's actually changed me a lot. And it's from a different book from Ogmandino, but I rarely carry cash.
And before I read this book, I rarely carry cash. I mean, I always use a credit card and pay it off always at the end of the month. I don't carry a balance. That's a free financial tip for everybody. But I do try to carry cash. A lot of times when you carry cash, whether it's a five or a 10 or a 20, you can use it for things, of course, but you can find opportunities to be a light to somebody else.
And I can't count the number of times I was in a Walmart parking lot and there's a little family sitting there with a cardboard sign that says, help me, whatever, homeless. There's people who are on the side of the interstate. And I know this could be a controversial topic, but that person, you never know what they're going through. They could be a veteran that's going through mental health issues.
They could, maybe they're a scammer. I don't know, but that person they've, they've, they've taken it upon themselves to put their pride aside. Sometimes they're with, they're there with their family and that might be how they eat that day. So I've made it a point to carry cash, to give to people and not only just give it to them out of obligation, but to have a conversation with them and let them know you matter, you really do. And what you're doing is temporary.
And so, you know, that's something that I learned. It's just, again, it's blessed me more than it's blessed other people, but it's just another tip for you, for your listeners. Help other people around you. You're a decent human being, Michael Jones. Well, thank you. I receive it. Yeah. Okay. All right. Next up. Now, our last one is a fun tip. And this is something that when I joined your hottie group, I was all in. And in so many other hotties, we've talked about a lot of different names.
You know, you go all in and you commit. And when you adopt the exact formula for weight loss full force, yeah, you've got to count your calories every day. You've got to count everything you put in your mouth. And it may take a while to get used to, but it's something that you've just got to do. Now, sometimes if you've been doing it for as long as you have, or, you know, five years, 10 years, you start to know what, what calories things have, but it's important to count those calories.
And, and I made a, a bold statement to the hotties at one time. I said, when I lose 50 pounds, because I think my goal was 90. I said, when I lose 50 pounds, I'm going to do the thriller dance because I was, you know, I'm a child of the eighties. I was born in the seventies. I wanted to be Michael Jackson. I didn't just love Michael Jackson. I wanted to be Michael Jackson. And you see my old bald head. I would try to get a permanent like Michael Jackson. Is that true?
No, I wanted to, but my mom wouldn't let me. And this goes into part of the tip here. But I said, when I get to 50 pounds, I'm going to do the Thriller Dance. Now, I worked and worked and worked and worked and worked at that thing. And I looked at YouTube videos. There were two ladies that would teach you how to do the Thriller Dance, how to break it down. And I worked on that stupid dance forever.
I don't have rhythm. them. I see you doing your, your dancing with the stars and you're so graceful and elegant. And I'm sure it took a lot of work going into it, but you're just, you're just, you're just so beautiful when you're on the floor, moving in the ways that it's just natural. To me, it was goofy and it looked like a robot and it looked awful. And my wife, Christine, and my daughter, Olivia said, Michael, daddy, you cannot do that dance in public. You're banned from dancing in public.
You're just, I know the emotion is there, but you can't do it. And this goes back to the receiving even feedback because that would have been an embarrassing moment for me as much as the emotion was there, but I can still, and I did celebrate getting to that milestone, but let people give you feedback and receive that feedback when you get it.
I have to tell you, I love all your bullets. This one makes me sad because I think everybody's life would have been enhanced dramatically by video of you doing the thriller dance. I don't know. You can ask Christine and Olivia, they would beg to differ on that one. It was pretty bad. I know we had breakdancing in the Olympics this year. I used to try to breakdance when I was a teenager, and I was pretty bad at it then. I'm worse at it now.
Now, one of the things that Christine and I want to do is take like a ballroom dancing type of thing to learn how things like waltz and, you know, to use the word intimate is, you know, might be a misnomer, but it's more of a couples type thing. I'd be all about that. That's a little bit better for me and my speed, but yeah. That would have been pretty awful if I had shared that with the world. I'll share my videos with the world, me dancing, just, I don't know. I think it could have been great.
I do think it could have been great. You know what? With the ballroom dancing thing, that's another point. When I did that competition in March in front of the live audience of 600 people and online, the host came over and he asked me after we performed and it went over pretty well. He said, what are you most proud of? And so he didn't really give me the question the way it was supposed to be. I'm sure he was meaning, what about this experience makes you most proud?
But what I said is, I was staring at my kids. I said, well, I've got two words, Ginger and Parker. That's what I'm most proud of. That's it, right? But the thing that really I was most proud of about that experience was the fact that I stepped outside my box. I have no dancing background. Now, do I have rhythm? Sure. Do I have a fit body and a willingness to learn? Yeah, but I never took one dance class. And so I showed up and I struggled and I struggled.
And there was a point where I thought, OK, I'm certainly risking public humiliation, but I want this. And it's not just for me. It's for a really good cause. And so be it. If I get up and dance and people think I'm no good. OK, fine, whatever. But but yeah, it was it was the fact that I was bad that made it very exciting. So, yeah.
Oh, and then and then here's the other thing. So I wish I would have I wish I would have said that because I think that could have been very impactful to the rooms of especially the live audience who was hearing us, who might have considered taking on a similar challenge. You know, I failed them by not giving a great answer. For you, ballroom dancing, it is intimate.
One of my favorite parts of dancing, and I don't have an intimate relationship with my dance instructor or my dance partner, but we always hold hands. And it's such a wonderful thing to do is connect with someone so physically. And it's nothing inappropriate, right? But I love that when I was learning for the competition, I was either dancing with Michael, my instructor, or I was dancing with Tucker, but we were always holding hands. It just made me so happy.
And once a week I go in there and I dance with Michael and we hold hands the whole time. And it's just one of the coolest things. So if you're doing it with your wife, even if you're not doing with great pizzazz or grace or any of those things, it's, it is, it's really intimate and fun. And it's a wonderful way to connect. So I highly recommend it. Absolutely. And there's another tip for your fitness show listeners. If you've got a partner, dance with them.
Do that. Do that connection because there is something special about holding hands and that physical touch. And that's something I'll do that any day of the week is to dance with my beautiful, amazing wife, Christine. So that'll absolutely do. Have you ever seen the like America's Got Talent, those kind of shows when somebody comes on and sings and they're just, they're horrible. And it's something that like their family should have told them.
Yeah, you're got a lot of gifts. Singing ain't one of them. That's me doing the Thriller dance. So I spared the world from the embarrassment of having an America's Got Talent moment with me there. But I will dance with my wife. Absolutely. Well, I'm hoping you and I end up at a wedding together. Maybe Hadi will get married and invite us both to the wedding and then they can play Thriller and you can do it on the dance floor and we won't record it.
There you go. As long as no video is there, I'll do it. No video. Is there anything else on your list, Michael? That's it. We went through 10. and hopefully this was meaningful to you and your Fitz in the show audience. This has been just a joy for me. Well, you're not done yet. So first of all, I knew you would bring some brilliance here and you just, every day you get on TikTok and LinkedIn, you share some really quality content. And I know anyone who was listening was benefited from that.
So thank you so much. I will have you on my show to do it again. So start collecting another top 10 list, please. And thank you. And then I have questions for you. So song of the week. This is for people to listen to while they're exercising in any way, shape or form they choose to exercise. What should they be listening to? Okay. So there's a backstory behind this one. And the song is Eminem and then the song is by Eminem and the song is called Lose Yourself.
And it's a cool song, upbeat song. The song itself is pretty awesome. I don't think it's got any bad words in it. It might. I don't know. But great song, great beat. But why it's special to me. Now you can use this on repeat to run or do your workout, whatever. You're going to be energized by it. But this song was playing the first time I ran the Marine Corps Marathon. And this was 2017. And you were a big, you were very impactful on me doing that,
Fitz. And this is one of the things that one of these days you're going to be that announcer. Maybe we'll get Rudy in and do a team noisy, take the Marine Corps Marathon. Maybe it'll just be Fitz. But the announcer, the hype, that marathon is just super special. The hype before it, around it, they start the marathon with howitzers from the Marines.
Marines and the thing about that song is they play a lot of songs on a loop but there was a moment when some veterans did a parachute drop in carrying a giant giant American flag and that song was playing while they were dropping and they popped the smoke so you could see them coming in and it was just such a surreal as an American as somebody who's patriotic that was a moment that just almost took my breath away it was so amazing and whenever I hear lose yourself I think about that moment
when it was just, and I know we're in the middle of an election, people are so divided, but what unites us is our love for our country and the things we want better for ourselves and our children. And that's what that song makes me think of. I love that. I can tell you, you know, I love me some America and I love me some Eminem. I did not correlate lose yourself with America, but from now on, I will, Michael, I will always correlate it with you. Thank you.
That's great. Great. That's great. And then finally, we have our grammar or like, you know, tip of the week. So tell us how to talk better, Michael. Sure. So the thing that I want to share is overuse of the word literally. A lot of people use the word literally when they don't really mean it. Like when they say I was literally on fire or I literally died when I heard that. Well, you're not actually dead. So just look up how to use that word and you can pepper it in if you want to,
but just don't overuse the word literally. Look up the words that you're using. That's classic. That's great. Isn't it interesting how we come up with these little peeves? Little issues where I thought, gosh, I wish people would do that less often. Yes, yes, yes, yes. And you're sharing some gems. I really have enjoyed you doing that. It's fun to hear, to see how you can better yourself as a speaker. And there's just so much, you know, how you present yourself.
A lot of times that first impression you make, they say you don't get a second chance to make that first impression. And the words you use and how you speak is important. So I love how you're sharing that. Well, thank you. Thank you. It's a soapbox of mine. And I declared imperfection, right? I'm not perfect either, but I'm working on it always.
We're all a work in progress. Absolutely. Yeah. And if people are going to listen to me yammer on for 30 to 60 minutes once a week, they might as well take away some good stuff to make them better for it. Right? You betcha. All right, Mr. Michael, I adore you. Where, once again, where can people find you? Find me, the first place to go is to your Hottie Body Fitness fitness challenge page on Facebook. I try to frequent there a lot, but find me on TikTok at Encouraging Leader.
Again, I share less than 60 second videos every day or most every day. And it's just, hopefully I can bring a little bit of wisdom and joy and fun into your life. Spectacular. You're one of my favorites, Michael. My poster boy, folks, Michael Jones. Thanks to everybody for listening. If you haven't done so yet, do the click, do the follow, Hello, reach out if you have a question. My gosh, share it with me. I would love to answer your questions.
That makes me happy to be able to do it. And I love you. Now, Michael, you have to tell them to get to work. Get to work. Bye team. Bye team. Hi, this is Rudy Novotny, the voice of America's marathons. We all love how much running has benefited every aspect of our lives. So much so that most of us only wish we'd started sooner. Wouldn't it be wonderful to gift the opportunity to children of today? Well, you can.
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