IAM055 – Trainer Uses Health & Fitness as a Catalyst for Mindset Shift

Zack Blakeney is the owner of Sol Force Training. He chooses love and he chooses to be happy. Both feelings are centered around his passion for helping his clients transform their lives. He uses health and fitness as the catalyst for a complete mindset shift, creating a new thought process and a positive outlook on life.  His teachings are centered around the power of self-belief, overcoming limiting beliefs, goal setting, nutrition and workout programming.

• CEO Hack: Morning routine including meditation, cardio, gratitude practice and “Future 4”
• CEO Nugget: Don't be afraid to learn from others
• CEO Defined: Personal accountability & awareness

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/solforcetraining/
Personal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zack.blakeney
Business Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/solforcetraining/
Personal Instagram: http://instagram.com/zackblakeney
Business Instagram: http://instagram.com/solforcetraining

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Transcription:

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Intro 0:02

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview?

If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of.

This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

Gresham Harkless 0:27

Hello, hello, hello, this is Gresh from the I AM CEO Podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Zachary Blakeney of Sol Force Training. Zachary it's awesome to have you on the show. What I want to do is read a little bit more about Zachary so you can get a better idea of everything that he's been able to accomplish and all the awesome things that he's doing.

Zachary is the owner of Sol Force Training, he chooses to love and he chooses to be happy. Both feelings are centered around his passion for helping his clients transform their lives. He uses health and fitness as the catalyst for a complete mind shift, creating a new thought process and a positive outlook on life. His teachings are centered around the power of self-belief, overcoming limiting beliefs, goal setting, nutrition, and workout programming.

Zachary, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

Zachary Blakeney 1:14

Absolutely.

Gresham Harkless 1:15

Awesome. Well, what I wanted to do was just kind of pass you the mic to hear a little bit more about your CEO story and what led you to start your business.

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Zachary Blakeney 1:22

Man, absolutely. It's been an interesting ride throughout my 20s. I'm about to be 32. To tell the story, I guess, because my business is focused on health and fitness, I feel like you should tell the health and fitness story and then how it turned into a business. So I was always an active person in sports, a three-sport athlete and then I ended up playing college baseball and ended up hurting my arm. And you know, if you would have known me before, who I am now, I was a bratty kid. I felt entitled to what was mine and I worked for it.

Obviously, I had some results that made me think that way. But once I got injured, it was a completely different story. I lost all my confidence, I started gaining weight in the middle of college. So I was around all my friends that were going out and drinking at night and eating Taco Bell at 2 in the morning. Then in six months, I didn't want to put in the work to rehab my arm. Six months, I gained up to 35 pounds. I remember the moment, you know, I was looking at a picture. It's always something like this for most of my clients as well. But it was a picture that somebody had taken of me and then they posted on Facebook, and I just looked so terribly miserable.

I remember thinking what I was thinking at the time, which was you know, I was sad about myself, I kind of had no direction on what I wanted to do. Even my grades started to slip. I had always been a pretty good student as well. Really after that moment, I decided to reach out to my baseball strength conditioning coach who had tried to assist me before but with kind of a different mindset. Once you kind of hit rock bottom for your mental game, you just gotta find somebody out there that can help you because really, once you're inside your mind, that's a dangerous place to be. So he set me up with a meal plan and some workout programming. And over the next six to eight weeks, I changed my mindset. I was waking up at five o'clock in the morning. and as a college student, that's pretty much unheard of my weight training and my cardio and over that, you know, eight weeks I had lost the 30 pounds I gained.

But what else I gained really it was the confidence and the self-awareness to know that one I wasn't as good as I thought I was. I wasn't on this pedestal, where I'm better than everybody else. I actually needed help just like everyone else. And also just starting to really project a more positive image. I felt great about myself, I was conquering goals, daily goals, you know, watching the weight go down, and all those things translated to me becoming a new and different person with like a different outlook on life. I knew at that point, you know, I was going to school for education. I was going to be an educator, I actually got my master's in education. But I knew at that point that my passion was to provide a service to somebody specifically in health and fitness.

So I ended up finishing my degrees, which I value very much. They've taught me a lot about how to teach and how to coach and I started my own business. So I was going to do personal training and I actually did like in-home personal training, I would travel to my client's houses so they wouldn't have to go to a gym. The unfortunate part about that is I had no idea how to run a business. Forte so it's taking in this cash and you know, I was, I was serving at the time too.

So I was supplementing my income was serving but it scared me to want to know about taxes and you know, profits and when I could write off for my business, I had no idea so serving at the time turned into an offer to be a manager at a restaurant, A Longhorn Steakhouse. And as a 23-24-year-old, I decided to take that offer because I wanted benefits, the health benefits and Oh, I get a set salary. And  when somebody throws 40k out at you, you're making barely anything you're like, Yeah, this is great.

So went through that process of being a manager and kind of moved up in the ranks of Restaurant Management, which again, I so much value now, because it taught me how to run a business. You know, if I went into this process, I wouldn't know what I know today to be able to make myself or bring the success that I have so far. So I ended up meeting my wife, who was actually my partner, and Sol Force Training. Solinda, in a bow, there was 2011, and I was still in restaurant management. And we got together and man, she is the epitome of just this positive bright energy, anybody that comes in contact with her, she's just magnetic.

And I saw this in her and she also had a passion for fitness. And then she started her own personal training business. And I kind of helped her launch her personal training business. And it started off as team Sol, which again, Solinda which is still a soul, and the Sol Force comes from. And I was assisting her on the side, but I was just watching her, you know, becoming so passionate about what she was doing and transforming lives. And like, I'm sitting here serving food, and although you know, it's nice to see like, oh, you cook a steak right and you know, your, your guest is happy. And there's fulfillment in that, but only so deep.

So I decided to leave my job. And the moment I decided was a time in which I was just kind of sitting in my in the restaurant. And I was just a blank face not thinking about anything, almost very similar to the moment in my fitness journey in which like, I felt really low about myself. And I was feeling the same way, regardless of what it looked like. So I can't leave my job. And I wanted to have the courage to join my wife in creating our own business. But unfortunately, as I was deciding to leave my job, another company, which was a startup supplement company on a Swooped in, offered me the position of what would be a CEO of a growing company. And I chose to go that route again. And I think again, fear kind of came into play of doing something for myself, or actually maybe even being in business with my wife, which was a whole nother story.

So I didn't supplement the company, unfortunately, the same thing I wasn't passionate about it, I liked running the business, but it didn't bring me any fulfillment, the ownership was difficult to deal with. And after about a year, the company was pretty much bankrupt, we had done a pretty good job selling products, and we had probably increased our accounts from about 10 to 150. And that year, there was just mismanagement of funds.

And I learned a lot during that time about actually managing funds and then also targeted social media marketing. So after that failed, I finally bit the dust and my wife was already a little bit irritated with me for not joining her, a year prior. And I joined. And man ever since that has happened. It is like we step in gold every single day we've been going for this is our second year of operations at Sol Force. And it's just been an amazing ride since.

Gresham Harkless 7:43

Awesome. And I imagine that it probably helps you out from a client standpoint too, and, and being able to have this story and be able to kind of make that connection with them if they're going through difficult times. So I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper to figure out and hear about the services and way that you serve the clients that you work with.

Zachary Blakeney 7:57

Absolutely. So we have two different main I guess you could say clientele one we do bodybuilding shows. So my wife and, I compete in bodybuilding, and my wife, she pro status and bodybuilding a couple of years ago. So we have this passion for bodybuilding. And kind of for the same reason that we have a passion for transforming the lives of a regular joy, just a regular gym goer because over that time again, you see the transformation of their mind and body they go from thinking that they can't or they never will to believing in themselves.

And by believing in themselves to maybe stay stepping on stage for a bodybuilding show and which is can be nerve-wracking in its own right, you're about to step on stage. And in a swimsuit, essentially, in front of hundreds of people overcoming those types of challenges inside of contest preparation translates to what they do with their personal life and their relationships and how they interact with people and even their business.

A lot of our clients report making more money during their contest preparation, because they're so motivated, especially if they're entrepreneurs or if they're in sales. And the other market that we serve is you know, men and women, businessmen and women who have done very well for themselves. But again, a lot of times when we do well for ourselves, they put their health and their fitness on the back burner. And eventually, it comes to a point where they need to feel good about themselves. I think we all come to a point actually in our business or even in your work if you have a job where you hit a wall and you need something, someone you know, whether it's a business coach or even, we believe fitness to kind of get you over the hump and get you to the next level of your life.

And that's where we come in and we kind of make them understand that, you know, by putting themselves first they're able to service people way better, they're able to protect themselves better, they are better communicating, you know, all these things come into play and which results in them being able to basically level up to the next transition of their life.

Gresham Harkless 9:52

Yeah, that makes me. I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. What do you feel makes Sol Force Training unique?

Zachary Blakeney 9:59

I think that we focus on the mind first, that's where we come in, this, this mindset shift of being strong mentally understanding that, you know, taking your goals day by day. And as you conquer these small goals, you know, eating your good meals, you know, your whole foods, doing your cardio Junior weight training, it builds momentum, like a snowball, and then after a while, it does become a little bit easier. But that's really how we get our clients to get such great results, just by focusing on the mind first.

Gresham Harkless 10:28

That makes perfect sense. Now I wanted to switch gears a little bit and ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this might just be like one thing that you feel is a good resource, an app or book that you can kind of lean on that makes you more effective and efficient?

Zachary Blakeney 10:40

Sure, you know, I'm gonna go a little bit off base, I'm just gonna talk about my morning routine as being probably the most influential practice that I do today. So meditation has been huge for me, and I absolutely love it and I do it every morning for about 20 minutes currently, I also do a little bit of cardio, probably about 20 minutes as well, whether it's just walking on a treadmill, and an incline, or something to get my heart moving.

After I've done this meditation, I always have a gratitude practice. So I want to think about five things that I'm grateful for in my life. Then the last thing that I do is what I call the future. So I think about what I've done for today, and I think about how I want to interact with people. Today, I think about how I want to tackle challenges today. I think about who maybe needs a message today out of my clients and what message that might be. And then I like to think about where I want to be five years from now.

Again, when I think about the five-year thing I try and think about not necessarily where I am, or how much money I'm making, or what house I'm living in, I am actually more focused on the feeling of what I want to feel five years from now. And that's how I started off my morning. And as long as I started with my morning, and I'll be honest, you know, I'm about let's say I'm about 90% There are days where I definitely feel like doing my morning routine, I can definitely feel the difference in my interactions with people in my productivity, even in my mindset. So that's just been a huge thing for me. And something that I would recommend anybody practice?

Gresham Harkless 12:04

Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Now I wanted to ask you, I know we're getting a little bit closer on time, but I want to ask you for what I would call a CEO nugget. This might be a word of wisdom or a piece of advice that you might have for entrepreneurs and business owners.

Zachary Blakeney 12:16

Yeah, I would say, don't be afraid to learn from somebody else. My biggest thing I guess we would say is that you don't have to do this alone. Besides the fact there are so many free resources out there with these people like Gary Vee, you can go to his social media to learn so much. But actually like reaching out, investing in yourself, and investing in your business so that you can continue to grow.

Gresham Harkless 12:37

Makes perfect sense. Well, what I want to ask you, which is what my favorite question is, is, what does and how would you define being a CEO?

Zachary Blakeney 12:44

To me, men, especially in today's world CEO, I think is personal accountability and awareness, you have to have both of those to actually have a CEO mindset. Because if you're on top, or you run your own business, you have to have standards for yourself. And then the thing that you have to do next is up, hold yourself to the standards. And if you can't do that fundamental thing, then you're going to be inconsistent. And your consistency is going to drive your business downward. And then awareness.

As you continue on the journey of your business or being an entrepreneur, you have to become aware of the way that you are and maybe the things the traits that you have that are detrimental to your growth, the traits that you can leverage that you do really well that you leverage to continue to grow your business. But if you're not self-aware, then again, your ability to grow and learn is going to be hindered.

Gresham Harkless 13:36

I would definitely agree with that. So that was a great kind of word of wisdom and piece of advice. Zachary, I truly appreciate you for taking some time out of your schedule to kind of speak with us about your business and your story. And what kind led you to get started, I wanted to pass you to Mike to see if there's anything additional, you want to let our readers and our listeners know, and then how best people can kind of get a hold of you.

Zachary Blakeney 13:54

I would say to the readers and listeners that there is a large amount of I would say negativity in this world. The negativity is created by your environment. So if your environment is a negative environment, you need to remove yourself immediately. Even if it's your family, it's friends that have been friends for a long time. There are a lot of great things in this world and it's all about how you think it's controlling your thoughts. It's understanding that you're creating your own reality.

As long as again, we go back to awareness as long as you're aware that you know you can shift your mindset at any time you can change your environment anytime, and you need to. If it's something that's holding you back from being the person that you want to be, you can get in touch with me. We are currently under construction for our website, but for right now on Instagram @solforcetraining is our business. My wife, you can contact her @solindablakeney and myself @zackblakeney.

Then we also have a Facebook URL for solforcetraining and our personal pages which again, you can just search the pages that would be the best way to get in touch with us now, and man, I can't tell you enough. I had a few chills earlier just being on the podcast because this has been something that I've always wanted to do. So Gresh I really appreciate you reaching out to me and letting me be on the show today.

Gresham Harkless 15:13

No problem. I appreciate you and all the awesome things that you're doing. And we'll definitely make sure to have the links in the show notes so that anybody can follow you and your wife. But again,  you're doing some awesome work and some awesome things. And it's great to hear about your story and your process to get to where you are now. So I just hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Zachary Blakeney 15:29

All right, thank you. Gresh

Outro 15:31

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Thank you for listening

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