Callum Walker | Figuring It Out

As a fitness entrepreneur, do you face emotional difficulties and find it hard to stand up for yourself and push through tough situations?

It's incredibly frustrating to know what you need to do but feel paralyzed by procrastination and negative thoughts. This constant internal battle not only drains your energy but also hampers your productivity and overall well-being. The feeling of being stuck and unable to push through tough moments can be overwhelming, affecting both your personal and professional life. The emotional challenges and pressures of being a fitness entrepreneur can feel insurmountable at times, leaving you questioning your abilities and resilience.

But what if there was a simple yet powerful hack to enhance your mental strength, allowing you to stand up for yourself and tackle the emotional challenges head-on? In this episode, we explore the transformative effects of cold water therapy. Discover how this practice can help you build unbreakable mental toughness, deal with emotional difficulties, and achieve your goals. Learn from my personal experiences and find out why this cold water hack might be the key to unlocking your full potential and standing strong as a fitness entrepreneur.

What is Callum Walker | Figuring It Out?

Welcome to The Figuring It Out Podcast. 

At 22, I took the plunge to go on the entrepreneurial journey and start a fitness business, 7 years later I’d been the nutritionist for 2 elite sports clubs and private coach to some of the worlds best sportsmen and women. 

Now it’s my mission to show fitness coaches how you can put yourself in a league of their own, become the go to coach, and finally eliminate the self-doubt and imposter syndrome that's holding you back from building the business of your dreams. 

This podcast will help you figure out how to thrive and conquer the fear that comes with the lonely entrepreneurial journey.

Speaker 1:

If fear is the only thing stopping us from achieving our dreams and we only fear what we don't understand, then the antidote to fear is knowledge. All we have to do is find out who has the knowledge that we need to conquer our fears and achieve our entrepreneurial dreams. My name is Callum Walker, and welcome to the podcast that will help you figure it out and conquer this lonely entrepreneurial journey. Hello everyone and welcome to the podcast. I have such an exciting thing that I am doing today.

Speaker 1:

And it starts with the fact that I'm driving two hours up north to go and collect my golf shoes. Yes, I am driving two hours up north to collect some golf shoes and then driving two hours back. So obviously that is pretty ridiculous thing to do. So I thought, hey I'm going up north. What can I do?

Speaker 1:

It's a Saturday. What can I do to really make the most of my day? So I'm sure you have been if you've been listening to this for quite some time, you know that I'm a big proponent of cold water therapy. I can honestly say that over the last eighteen months of incorporating cold water therapy in my life, it has just changed everything for me. And I'll go into detail in the way in which it has changed so much of my life and my ability to really kind of perform not just in business but through life in a second.

Speaker 1:

But yeah. What's what am I doing from a cold water therapy perspective? Well, I thought I'm gonna make the most of my day and what would I do is just have a look around and see what's going on. And near where I need to go pick up my golf shoes, there is a little health club. And today they've got a seminar all on breath work and cold water therapy.

Speaker 1:

But specifically, the cold water therapy is in a lake which is perfect, which is so good. Because I've been in very cold ice baths before, and I've also been in a lake of the same temperature. So my my best friend's got a lake right around the corner from him, and in January I jumped in when it was frozen over. And oh my god. I mean, I've been in like, you know, zero to three degree ice baths before.

Speaker 1:

But being in a zero to three degree lake that was frozen over, there was just something different and something unique and something special about being in natural water. So I yeah. I saw that this health club that they've got a like a cold water dip, but it's in a natural lake which is awesome. So yeah. I've got that today which is really really exciting.

Speaker 1:

Because I've really been searching for because Mimi I have got a lake but it's contaminated which sucks. Which really really sucks because I would love to jump in. But one thing I really really wanna share is the biggest impact that cold water therapy has had on me. But specifically not just cold water therapy, just exercise, nutrition, sleep optimization, mindfulness. What I really think is the real benefit that we get from all of these things as fitness entrepreneurs.

Speaker 1:

And effectively, I'm really gonna kind of go in to detail about something that has always kind of stuck from me ever since I started my business up. You know, I've been running this business for eight years and I can honestly say that when I first picked up Napoleon Hill's book, Think and Grow Rich, my overall energy just changed. It almost kind of opened up a new world to me from an energetic point of view and really kind of instilled the mindset of I truly can create my life to order. I truly I truly can create the path that I truly want to go down within my own life. And it really almost kind of like he summed it up beautifully by quoting the the the lines from w c Henley where he said, I am the master of my fate and I am the captain of my soul.

Speaker 1:

So really being that we can, you know, that we truly can build the life that we want to and I truly believe that. And the you'll hear from a lot of people that like, you know, you can do whatever you want in life. You can manifest whatever. No one really truly tells you how and why you can. And I think that, you know, I've I've studied Think and Grow Rich pretty much every single day for the past eight years.

Speaker 1:

Now what's this gonna do with cold water therapy? You'll you'll you'll you'll understand in a second. But I've studied Think and Grow Rich ever since I read it, pretty much every single day. And the the common theme that he's effectively saying is that the reason why we can do whatever we want in life, we can create whatever we want in life is because we have the ability to control our thoughts. That I'm gonna repeat that.

Speaker 1:

We have the ability to control our thoughts. And effectively our thoughts become our beliefs and our beliefs then drive our actions and our actions then determine our results. So it's that simple that whatever we think about we then begin to believe and then whatever we believe then drives us to go and take action and then the actions then determine the results that we get within our life. So effectively, let's say that you you might now have the the dream, the desire of going like, right. I wanna create I want to earn a £100,000 in this next twelve month period.

Speaker 1:

So you've got to think and ruminate on that. And I think that and again, you'll understand where cold water therapy comes in in a second. This really really is you will understand why I'm kind of talking about this. But let's say that I wanna earn a £100,000. When I first think about the idea of earning a £100 in a year, I probably don't believe it.

Speaker 1:

Like I didn't believe that I could do that. I was like I don't believe that I could do it. However, by consistently thinking about that, not just thinking, I oh wanna earn a $100. I wanna earn a $100. I wanna earn a $100.

Speaker 1:

Just by doing that in itself will not manifest the desired result. And that's where the self help world has gone wrong in my opinion that they just say, yeah, just think about $100, think about $100, think about $100. But now what I what you need to do is think about it. So what do I mean by that? Think about how I could earn £100,000.

Speaker 1:

That's where the whole law of attraction training and whatever it is goes wrong because they just say just stick a $100 in your mind and you'll you'll attract it into your life. Like no. Stick a $100 into your mind and think about how could I achieve that. And then what you believe in is not necessarily earning a $100. You believe in your plan by which you're going to achieve that.

Speaker 1:

Does that make sense? See what do I mean by this? I mean that we have the ability to set whatever target and whatever goal that we want to achieve in life. And then we have the ability to truly think about how we can go and achieve that. And then if we create a plan of action that makes sense, if we figure out a path, a destination sorry a path, a vehicle to be able to get to that destination that we then truly believe in, then we will take action on that plan and then we manifest the reality.

Speaker 1:

Does that make sense? So what's cold water therapy got to do with any of this stuff? Well, effectively, you know, we I kinda come back to like what Napoleon Hill was talking about in think and grow rich where he's saying we have the ability to control our thoughts. So effectively, in line with what we've I've just kind of spoken about being that I have the ability to direct my thoughts in the direction of whatever it is that I want to achieve in life. I can control that, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we exercise our ability to control our thoughts.

Speaker 1:

And this is what I believe cold water therapy, exercise, sleep optimization, mindfulness, all of these things allow us to do. They allow us to take control of our thoughts and direct them in the in the direction of the destination that I am trying to move towards. They allow me to consistently think about how can I achieve this goal? How can I take action to move forward towards the destination that I am trying to do that? Does this make sense?

Speaker 1:

Because there's there's two minds that are at play consistently in the way in which we are functioning. We have our conscious mind, but then we also have our subconscious mind. Now you know how like, you know, I'm sure you've probably heard of the subconscious mind, but specifically if we look at the subconscious mind, it's effectively almost kind of like our autopilot. So you know how like, you know, we look at like habit for example. You know how you just kind of do things habitually?

Speaker 1:

You know how you just do things without ever thinking about them? Like they just kind of like happen. That's effectively us being driven by the internal program that has been kind of running our behavior off the back of all of our past experiences in life. So everything that we have experienced previously in life then comes together to kind of formulate what our subconscious mind actually is and then that drives our behavior. Now the whole point of kind of like, you know, if you if you haven't read Think and Grow Rich, some of this may sound a little bit abstract to you or if you haven't really kind of been around the the personal development world for quite some time.

Speaker 1:

What I'm what I'm talking about could sound kind of Chinese here. But effectively, the whole goal of us to really really be able to have success is really to be able to put in whatever we want into our subconscious mind. So effectively to make actions that are favorable towards us moving forward towards our goal to become habit so that we just naturally move towards the target that we are moving towards habitually. And we're effectively changing our autopilot from being destructive actions towards being constructive actions. Now how do we do that?

Speaker 1:

By becoming conscious, by operating in the conscious mind. So for example, if I it's like the the whole pink elephant thing. If I say to you, don't think about a pink elephant. You then start thinking about a pink elephant. Now what do I mean by that is that you can effectively start thinking consciously about that pink elephant.

Speaker 1:

And what we really really need to do to kinda like build our life to order and to really really build the life that we truly want and achieve the goals that we truly want to achieve, what we wanna do is become conscious and start thinking about the things we want to think about, not the shit we don't want to think about. Because we've all experienced negative thoughts, but we don't want to think about negative thoughts. We don't want those negative thoughts. They're in our head because they're coming from this shitty little program I e the subconscious mind of all of our past experiences. But we have the ability to start going, do you know what?

Speaker 1:

I don't want to think those things anymore. I don't want those thoughts to be the dominating thoughts of my mind. I don't want to do that anymore. We have the ability to be in control. How do we do that?

Speaker 1:

By becoming conscious. So that's what mindfulness really kind of allows you to do, to take a step back from the to take a step back from the subconscious mind, to take a step back from the program that is running your mind and be able to go, right. I have these thoughts currently in my mind but that doesn't need necessarily mean that I need to take action on them. So now I can go, okay right I've got this shitty little thought but it doesn't necessarily mean I have to listen to it and allow it to actually overcome me and drive my behavior. So I'm going to take a step back and go, no I'm going to drive my behavior and my thoughts in a different direction.

Speaker 1:

And that's what mindfulness has done for me. That is what exercise has done for me. That is what cold water therapy has done for me. Because let's say that I have a belief in my subconscious mind, in my autopilot, in this shitty little voice in my head that is saying, I'm never gonna make money. I'm never gonna make money.

Speaker 1:

I'm never gonna make money. That is really really being driven by all of the circumstances that have happened in my time running a business that have proven to me as evidence that are you're never gonna make money. You're never gonna make money. So in terms of like your your mind is really kind of like operating from the place of all of the clients that have turned you down, all of the content posts that you've put out there and no one's ever bit on. That's what it's running on.

Speaker 1:

So it's basically saying that your past experience is going to equal your future. But the beauty is that's not true because just because something's happened before doesn't mean it's always going to happen in the future. We have the ability to change that and that's what becoming conscious actually allows us to do by going, okay, right. My mind is telling me, oh I'm never gonna make money, I'm never gonna make money, I'm never gonna make money. But we have the ability to go, actually how can I change this?

Speaker 1:

How can I make money? And your conscious mind can start to come in and I can start to think like, right. Okay. I failed with this previously. How can I potentially change this?

Speaker 1:

What is it that I missed? What is it about the way in which I sold, the way in which I marketed, the way in which I was delivering my program, the way in which I was conducting myself that was causing me to fail? And I can consciously start thinking about these things. However, if we don't have the ability to become conscious, then we're just going to be ran by this autopilot. Does this make sense?

Speaker 1:

I understand this is kinda like pretty heavy and pretty deep, but like this is like a huge revelation for me. It's really really changed the direction of my life. Because for example, when I, you know, I I I think I mentioned this previously on a podcast. I was procrastinating quite a lot. K?

Speaker 1:

I was going through a period in my business where I was like I I I just couldn't kinda get myself to do the things that I needed to do. Like I knew what I needed to do, but I just couldn't get these things done. Like I would find any excuse, any reason, for some reason to just put that off and put it off and put it off. So what happened was that I was I'd been doing cold wards therapy for like while and I kind of had realized that I'd actually been cheating. So I'd realized that I'd actually kind of been cheating.

Speaker 1:

Where effectively like I'd get in the shower, I'd have a nice hot toasty shower, I'd clean myself up, I'd make myself feeling grey and then I go right time to go cold. Now I was still doing cold water therapy but was I really getting the benefit from it that I was truly trying to actually get? Like no. Like I feel good but it wasn't I wasn't really kinda getting what I really needed because it was kinda too easy for me to do it. So what I decided to do was I go, right.

Speaker 1:

Instead of stepping into the shower and having a nice hot shower first thing in the morning, I'm gonna go straight away into a Baltic freezing cold shower. First thing. First thing. And my God, was my house the tidiest it had ever been. I found every conceivable reason to not get into that shower.

Speaker 1:

I was folding my laundry, doing the ironing, doing everything at 06:00 in the morning just to avoid getting in that shower. And that's where I then was like, right this is an opportunity to take control of my mind and go, no. This is something that I know will benefit me. It is going to cause me pain in the short term and I don't want to do it. And my subconscious mind, my autopilot is telling me, don't do it.

Speaker 1:

Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. That little voice was manifesting itself as, hey, just be nice and toasty this morning. Like you don't need to do this.

Speaker 1:

Just take your foot off the gas for once. Like relax, chill out, you know, really be kind to yourself. Maybe not today. And the minute that I decided to go and take that step into the shower, I am saying to myself, no. I am in charge.

Speaker 1:

I am in charge of my mind. I am conscious. I am not being driven by the autopilot because I am the pilot of my life. If ever you watch the Disney Channel and you used to watch the Suite Life of Zach and Cody, if you remember, you are the pilot of your own life. Life.

Speaker 1:

That's it. You are. And you are because you can become conscious and you can consciously direct your behavior in the direction that you want to do it. Does this make sense? So exercise, nutrition, cold water therapy, mindfulness, they are all activities that allow you to become the driver of your mind, that allow you to get behind the wheel of where you're going to go.

Speaker 1:

So me going into a cold water like, I'm gonna be honest like, yeah, I'm really really excited to go and, you know, jump in this lake today. But there's gonna be a part of me. Well, there is a part of me going, what the fuck are you doing? What are you doing? Why are you driving two hours up north just to jump in a lake?

Speaker 1:

And there's a point of me before I get into every single shower like today. I there is going to be a part of my mind going, what are you doing? Why are you doing this? Because it's painful, like it is. But I know that every single time I go and go like, right.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to take a step into into this cold water. I'm going to take a step into this cold shower. I am effectively taking control of my mind. So it's the same as when I'm doing an exercise session. So for example, when I'm doing intervals.

Speaker 1:

So let's say that like, you know, I'm I I typically do like an interval session which is four minutes on, two minutes off, four minutes on, two minutes off, four on, two minutes off. So I do it it's a four bouts of four minutes with a two minute recovery. And I'll typically do 15 kilometers an hour while running. But the minute I'm I'm running it and I'm looking at my heart rate and I'm like, oh you know, I'm probably around like you know 7080% here and I'm kind of coasting. And my mind is saying, yeah, this is actually it's not too bad.

Speaker 1:

It's really nice. You don't need to kind of push yourself. And the minute that my mind is starting to say, oh yeah, this is really nice. This is easy. And then I go, do you know what I'm gonna do?

Speaker 1:

I'm gonna crank up the heat. I'm gonna go to 17 kilometers an hour. My mind then starts to scream, no no no no. What are you doing? You don't need to do that today.

Speaker 1:

You're gonna burn yourself out. You're gonna you know like you know you're gonna be tired. You already work hard enough. You don't need to do it. And the minute that I then go and press that button to crank up the heat, what am I saying?

Speaker 1:

I am in charge. I am in charge. It's the same with you know, it's the same with after a game of golf for example. After a game of golf, habitually in my mind, I had always had a cold beer after a game of golf and potentially a bag of crisps. Okay?

Speaker 1:

And after that game of golf, as soon as that desire starts to bring itself to the surface of the habit that says, I'm gonna have a, you know, a a pint of lager and a bag of crisps. As soon as I then go, no, not today. I am saying that I am in control. I am fighting against the program by saying, no. You don't control me.

Speaker 1:

I control you. And the beauty is the more and more and more you direct your conscious thoughts in a way that is favorable to you, then you start to really kind of like exercise this muscle where then the autopilot starts to change. The autopilot starts to change from what it always used to do to what it always does now. So for example, I look at procrastination. I haven't been procrastinating anywhere near as much.

Speaker 1:

Like I've got so much more done and I've moved forward with things because I've overcome that procrastination by becoming conscious. And what I've done is by consistently consciously saying, I'm not procrastinating today. I'm not procrastinating today. I'm not procrastinating today. Eventually, that has seeped into my subconscious mind where I am now someone who doesn't procrastinate.

Speaker 1:

I don't procrastinate. Does this make sense? So really like, you know, and that was really really deep. Like really really deep. But the beauty is that what you have as a fitness coach, as a personal trainer, as whatever you like to kind of determine yourself as.

Speaker 1:

You understand how to optimize your your physical performance. You understand how to use these tools, how to exercise, how to how to sleep well, how to, you know, how to do cold water therapy, it's easy. You just jump in, which means you have all of the tools available to you to become conscious and really direct your mind in a way that you want to do it. And remember, this translates into so many other things because what you're doing is you're allowing yourself to be in charge of where you actually want to take your life. Does this make sense?

Speaker 1:

So yeah. Because now I can direct my thoughts in a way that I want to direct them, and I can just constantly keep working on the plan that is going to be favorable to me in life and achieve the goal that I want. So yeah. There we go. That was really really really deep.

Speaker 1:

But hopefully you understand this. And really what I want you to do is not that I want you to do because again like you know, it's not up to me to tell you what you want to do and what you need to do, but start going on the journey of becoming conscious of becoming conscious. So even if it's something as simple as just consciously taking a deep breath, consciously going by me consciously taking a deep breath, what I'm doing is I'm becoming conscious. I'm stepping into the shoes of the person who's in charge by going, right. I am currently breathing.

Speaker 1:

And the more and more I do that, the more and more I then become conscious. And what happens is that then the more and more I'm becoming in charge as opposed to being driven and controlled by the body or my mind. So there we go. Now we're jumping in this lake and it was supposed to be really sunny today. And I'm not sure if you can hear, but it's absolutely hammering it down.

Speaker 1:

It is hammering it down. Now that's not gonna make a difference obviously. Like it's obviously not gonna make a difference because I'm gonna be soaking wet anyway while being in a lake. But it's just gonna make that a little bit colder with because it's a little bit windy, it's supposed to be sunny and hey, there we go. Anyway, that was really deep.

Speaker 1:

Really deep. Long story short, you are in control of the direction in which your life is going to go. And the reason for that is because you can control your thoughts. So what we need to do is practice exercises that allow you to take take control of your thoughts. Do me one favor.

Speaker 1:

Don't try and control the mind with the mind. Control the mind with the body. K? But don't forget, if every single one of your clients gave you one new client, you've doubled your business.