GARY: Next on Start Up, we head to Harrison Township, Michigan to meet up with Brian LeFeve, a life coach focused on human optimization and helping individuals live their best life.

All of this and more is next on Start Up.

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♪ GARY: My name is Gary Bredow.

I'm a documentary filmmaker and an entrepreneur.

As the country continues to recover from extraordinary challenges, small business owners are showing us why they are the backbone of the American economy.

We've set out for our 11th consecutive season, talking with a wide range of diverse business owners to better understand how they've learned to adapt, innovate, and even completely reinvent themselves.

♪ This is Start Up.

♪ Life coaching is the process of helping people achieve their goals and improve their lives by providing guidance, support, and accountability, while human optimization is the practice of involving one's physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing through various methods such as exercise, nutrition, meditation, and therapy.

Both can be useful in helping individuals reach their full potential and live fulfilling lives.

Today I'm heading to Harrison Township, Michigan to meet up with life coach Brian LeFeve.

From what I know, Brian has always been an entrepreneur, with years of owning a successful retail business.

But after several challenging experiences forced him to rebuild his own life, he decided that he wanted to share the things that he's learned and help people optimize their own lives.

This is an incredibly relevant topic, and I can't wait to meet up with Brian and learn more.

♪ What is a life coach and why would someone need one?

BRIAN: Really somebody that's looking to make a significant lifestyle change.

You know, the typical lifestyle, and no judgment on this, but you know, we're eating the worst foods.

Our thoughts are creating unnecessary suffering.

We miss out on so much of this life because we're inundated with so much work and we constantly have constant stress coming into us all the time.

And this will- you know, what I like to do is I like to see people transform from that, you know, struggle in their lives to openness and freedom.

What I wanna do is I want to optimize people's mental, physical, and spiritual health.

GARY: How often do those people actually recognize they need help and ask for help?

BRIAN: I think it takes somebody to hit rock bottom, and you'll hear a term called post-traumatic growth, where they're just tired of the same everyday experiences.

The traumas keep coming up and everything else, and they want to make a significant change in their life.

And that's usually when people start.

But it does take, for most people, that tragic event in their lives to do that.

GARY: Tell me about the most traumatic time period and experience in your life.

BRIAN: Mmm.

So it was about nine years ago, and I got divorced, and my wife was doing the bookkeeping at my business and she stole a lot of money.

And that put me into a downward spiral.

I had a lot of resentment, anger, bitterness.

And after about seven months of that, 'cause nothing could fulfill me, I said, "I need a significant change."

And it was actually, this was really crazy.

It was a guy named David Wolfe on Facebook.

And I saw this little picture and I printed it out.

I put it on my shop and it said, "Get rid of resentment, "bitterness, anger, and jealousy, and watch your life transform."

And that was it.

So from there I said, "Alright, I'm diving deep."

And I went down the rabbit hole and just started finding out the modalities that would help me, you know, kind of overcome those obstacles.

But the biggest thing, Gary, was forgiveness.

GARY: That level of deception, I mean, it must have just completely sucked the wind outta you.

BRIAN: Ugh.

GARY: I mean, not only is it on the personal end, this person that you're married to, but then on the business end to cripple your business as well?

BRIAN: It did.

GARY: How did that feel?

BRIAN: It was shocking because I've had people in my life, and it's the people that we love the most are the ones that hurt us the most, right?

And I had so many people in my life that have hurt me.

And then that was like the last straw.

It was a pivotal point in my life though because it, you know, and I wouldn't change it for the world, Gary, because the things that happen in our lives are what really transform us and help us move forward in life.

GARY: After you got the wind knocked outta you, talk me through the steps of rebuilding and how you came to the idea of doing this, of doing life coaching, of doing motivational speaking.

BRIAN: The biggest thing was just to overcome and to release and let go of what happened.

Just going through my own research, so I got really deep into philosophy, different forms of religion, psychology, neuroscience, and just studied and really realized the reality was, it was knowing myself, know thyself, it's the Socrates, you know?

My thoughts are what's causing most of the struggles in my life.

And knowing that once I can let that go and really legitimately let it go, that's when everything changed for me.

It felt lighter.

I mean, I had this bag of heaviness that I was dragging with me.

It was like a 50 pound weight, and then it dropped and it was amazing.

And then I forgive one other person in my life, and my life just extremely got better.

GARY: It was the resentment that was really weighing you down.

BRIAN: It's what holds most people down.

It's not letting go of things.

Holding onto bitterness, resentment, and anger is like drinking poison, expecting the other person to die, right?

And that's really... GARY: Wow.

BRIAN: And that's really what it is.

And when you can let go of those things and just understand that life's gonna happen, man, you know?

GARY: Yeah.

BRIAN: If you can accept life before it happens, your life is much easier.

GARY: So you were reading books, you were studying religion, BRIAN: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

GARY: Doing philosophy, was there any physical actions or things that you were taking to get yourself out of that head space?

BRIAN: I mean, absolutely.

I mean, I've always been a strong component of exercise.

Exercise I believe is the best antidepressant, it really is.

So yeah, definitely exercising more.

I really was adamant about my sleep.

That's the number one thing I work with clients on, with mindset and sleep.

Meaningful connections, which is amazing, which I didn't know, and having very strong and meaningful connections with your friends, not just the superficial football, everything like that... GARY: Mm-hmm.

BRIAN: But having those deep conversations.

Purpose was another one.

So having a strong purpose in my life of why I want to do this.

And when I started making the transformation, I felt so great, I wanted to tell all my other friends.

GARY: Uh-huh.

BRIAN: And that's what I started doing.

And then I start helping people on the side, you know, and then it snowballed into what I'm doing now.

GARY: Let's break down this business, okay?

So when did you- what was the aha moment that you decided, "I am going to be a life coach and motivational speaker?"

What was that moment that you made that decision?

BRIAN: Four years into my own transformation, just started feeling better, started working with friends.

You know, I owned a surf shop at the time.

So people would come in and I'd become friends with these people.

And then we're talking about personal development.

I would talk about anything in the shop, I mean, I would spend an hour with somebody just talking about, you know, how sleep is so important, how changing your diet is so important.

And I really just started just giving 'cause I wanted to help people, you know, and then I start coaching on the side, you know, on the side 'cause I had my full-time business.

And then after that I'm like, alright, I don't feel fulfilled anymore.

There's something missing.

And I knew, I just wanted to totally immerse myself into this.

I know the only way to move forward with going full on with this business was to let go of what I had.

I did burn the boat to take the island.

So I did completely.

GARY: Viking mentality.

BRIAN: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I had to... GARY: Yeah.

BRIAN: I really had to.

'Cause I did not wanna have anything to go back to.

GARY: So you got rid of the business.

BRIAN: Closed it.

GARY: The surf shop.

BRIAN: Yeah, yeah.

Still made money, it was still a thriving business.

So, but I knew that it just was not fulfilling my need, and I felt I was here on this planet to serve in a much deeper level.

GARY: You were kind of coaching on the side.

How were you acquiring customers?

How does this turn into a business?

BRIAN: Through the shop.

GARY: Really?

BRIAN: A lot of 'em were my shop customers, yeah, yeah.

GARY: So how do you transition from, I'm a friend giving you advice to, now I'm gonna charge you.

BRIAN: Yeah.

A lot of 'em understood that, okay?

Because I was, I was taking a lot of time just to serve people, just to help other people.

And I got to the point where I'm like, okay, well I'm gonna charge a little bit.

People know you have to make a living, right?

And I even told my friends, listen, I am gonna transition outta the shop and I'm gonna do this full time.

I do still need to make an income.

GARY: We are at the beginning stages of this.

BRIAN: Somewhat the beginning, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

GARY: Were you scared?

BRIAN: You know what, at times.

But very, very little because I feel in my heart this is what I was put on this earth to do, I really do.

There's no inkling in my mind that this is not gonna work.

I will do whatever I have to do to make this work.

♪ ♪ ♪ DAMIAN: Woohoo!

♪ GARY: You met him in the retail surf shop, the Great Lakes Surf Shop when he owned that, is that where you initially met him?

DAMIAN: That's where we initially met.

It became apparent that he was on top of his game.

GARY: You wanted what he had.

DAMIAN: Yes, after the death of my father, I was seeking to transform my life.

I was feeling depressed.

And then our talks that we had were very motivational in regards to me thinking positive thoughts and ridding myself of all the negativity.

So he was instrumental in my transformation physically.

I went from 240 pounds to 200 pounds in just a matter of six months.

GARY: Wow.

DAMIAN: And was eating a better diet.

I've got such a better outlook on life after having involved myself in Brian's coaching.

GARY: Well, you have such a youthful energy.

It's actually really contagious, man.

DAMIAN: I'm 62 years old and I feel... GARY: Wait!

DAMIAN: Like I'm 30, you know?

GARY: 62, okay, so for any viewers at home that are over, I'm gonna even say over 50 and using that as an excuse to not go out and live life to the absolute fullest, what do you got?

What's the message to them?

DAMIAN: Oh, it doesn't matter what age you are.

You can start your journey at any moment, at any time.

It's a beautiful life if you just go out and live it to the best of your ability and be positive.

GARY: Tell me about your other business, because you're no stranger to entrepreneurship, right?

You owned a small business, I'm assuming for several years or something.

BRIAN: 20 Years.

GARY: Wow, okay.

BRIAN: Yeah, I taught extreme water sports for 30 years.

So most of my life has been in engulfed into this.

GARY: What are the main things, lessons, growth, that you took away from owning the surf shop for 20 years?

BRIAN: Just knowing that I could do it.

I always went above and beyond, you know, to keep that business thriving, and I created raving fans.

And you know, I was very proud of myself for doing that because it- it was something that kept my business going.

I mean, it's a surf shop in Michigan, it's seasonal, right?

So when people come into the shop, they're like, what is a surf shop doing here?

GARY: As a prospective customer... BRIAN: Mm-hmm.

GARY: What are your products?

What can I buy from you?

BRIAN: Sure, so you'll have one-on-one coaching with me.

I have a course that I just launched as well, and that course will come with one-on-one coaching as well.

I'll be doing workshops, retreats in beautiful destinations, and also motivational speaking.

That really hits home with me.

It's something that I really wanna aspire to do because I can reach a much larger audience that way too.

GARY: So if I live on the other side of the world, I discover your website, could I just do the online motivational... BRIAN: Absolutely.

GARY: The course you call it?

BRIAN: The course, absolutely.

And we can do our one-on-one coaching via Zoom, via phone call.

If you're local, we can do stuff outside here too.

GARY: If I go to your website, I wanna sign up for your course, what can I expect?

BRIAN: So having more clarity, having more focus, losing weight, being the best version of yourself.

And those are the biggest, biggest things in the transformation that I implemented in my life.

And then I'm gonna be there along the journey with you, and I'm gonna be there too every step of the way to answer any questions and obviously be that accountability partner as well.

GARY: Is it mainly counseling and talking and coaching?

Or are there other elements that pull people outta their comfort zone?

BRIAN: I wanna actually work with people when, if we can do a one- on-one, personally.

I love to be outside, a walk in the woods.

It's amazing what that can do and how we can open up.

I'm also gonna do standup paddle boarding 'cause that's something I've been doing for most of my life as well.

Or if they want to even go even further and kind of incorporate a kite boarding lesson, foil lesson, surf lesson, we can actually incorporate that into it too.

So I wanna interject a lot of fun too, because, you know, all the things I've been doing was my source of exercise really, it really is.

GARY: Yep.

BRIAN: And it's way more fun to be doing stuff outside, something that you enjoy then getting exercise outta that as well.

GARY: How does that play into the overall big picture?

BRIAN: So you're challenging yourself.

You're trying something new, you're getting outta your comfort zone, and being in discomfort is the only way to grow.

GARY: I love that.

BRIAN: It really is.

Trying something new, experiencing something new.

I just did it recently.

I told myself I didn't dance, and I did not dance.

I went to a retreat in Detroit about a week ago, and I saw in the itinerary, I'm like, "Oh no, they're gonna have ecstatic dancing."

GARY: Oh no.

BRIAN: I'm like, what am I gonna do?

I'm like, just do it, Brian, just do it.

I gotta tell you, it was exhilarating.

I was missing out on dancing for most of my life.

GARY: We're gonna get this on camera, reenact it.

(Brian laughs) BRIAN: I actually have a video.

Somebody took a video, they're like, "Brian doesn't dance, look at this!"

And everyone saw it, they're like, "You felt so much joy.

You look like you're joyous."

I'm like, I opened up.

I was like, this was exhilarating.

GARY: You let go.

BRIAN: I let go of a narrative in my head that I said I did not do.

But yeah, I was in my head, "Oh, I'm not a dancer."

And I never was until last week, so- and then I came home and I'm dancing in my house, dude.

I had music on, I'm dancing.

I'm like, oh my God, I'm hooked.

♪ GARY: What is this that we're doing?

BRIAN: Surfing behind the boat, essentially.

GARY: Okay, so wake surfing.

BRIAN: Wake surfing, yep.

So obviously, on Lake Saint Clair, we don't get waves.

Just starting your own personal development is getting outta your comfort zone in it's raw form.

GARY: Okay.

BRIAN: If you really think about it, right?

So like, trying the new things and trying meditation or trying breath work or changing the diet.

Those are things that it really will push you outta your comfort zone.

This is fun pushing outta your comfort zone, right?

GARY: Right, you gotta have fun!

That's the thing about growth, right?

It's not just all work.

BRIAN: No, no, and people look at it, it's like, you gotta be this, you gotta be this.

You do, but have fun with it, enjoy it.

♪ GARY: Well, the time has come for me to get outta my comfort zone and give wake surfing the old college try.

Although I grew up water skiing as a child, I've only been up on skis once in the last 20 years.

And from what I understand, this is much more difficult than water skiing.

But I'm always up for a challenge.

So I threw on my bathing suit, jumped in the water.

Here goes nothing.

♪ ♪ ♪ Do you have any client success stories, you know, transformations that you can share with us?

BRIAN: He started working with me because he was very stressed.

A lot of it was road rage, unfortunately.

Which, you know, again.

GARY: It's a thing.

BRIAN: It is a thing, yeah.

So I just had him kind of, you know, change the narrative of the story of that person that would be cutting him off, for example, and then showed him a proper way to eat, okay?

And he lost a lot of weight too.

And he just is happier and feels incredibly- he feels so much better in his life than what he did because he was stressed and he was overweight.

GARY: These are things that, incredibly valuable tools, but they're not items, they're not things you can see, touch, taste, or feel.

How do you create value in something that essentially doesn't exist... BRIAN: Mm-hmm.

GARY: But it is the only thing that exists?

(laughs) BRIAN: Well, I mean, it's really leading by example, right?

You know, and the transformation, I'm 52 years old and I feel the best I ever had.

So when people see that, people are attracted to that, they want that, they're like, "Okay, why do you feel so, why are you so happy all the time?

You know, why do you feel so good all the time?

And I see you exercising."

So a lot of the times when people see somebody like that, they do, they wanna strive to be that person as well.

GARY: Do you work with a marketing agency or something?

BRIAN: I do, Edwards Marketing.

And he's actually a good, dear friend of mine as well.

And he really helped me with the liquidation of my shop and marketing it... GARY: Wow.

BRIAN: And getting it out there on social media.

I'd never had a big presence on social media.

I was fairly against it, you know?

I was fortunate to have a business that I had no competition, so I didn't really have to market it as well... GARY: Mm-hmm.

BRIAN: As much.

But Tim was a huge component of helping me with that, and then especially now into the new business as well.

GARY: How did you first come to work with Brian?

TIM: Brian and I became acquainted in the water sports world back when he was with, when he owned Great Lakes Surf Shop.

GARY: Okay.

TIM: From there he came to me with this new idea and a new venture.

In fact, it's funny, there's so many iterations of this.

One common thing remained throughout every iteration of the development of this business, and that was his desire to serve and help people, and more so to help them along the path that he had discovered himself.

GARY: Self-help, self-improvement, all of these things.

You know, this category has gained a lot of momentum in recent years.

How can you make somebody like Brian stand out in that field, in that market?

TIM: Well, the benefit to my job of doing this is Brian already stands out in the market.

He comes at it from a different perspective.

He comes at it from a different world that he's bringing into it, that water sports world that migrated into this new thing.

GARY: Yep.

TIM: But he's also done the work, he's genuine.

There is a core piece to what he's doing that allows me to communicate it.

So what he is able to give me as far as information goes, I'm able to translate it to what the reader's gonna see.

GARY: How profitable can a business like this be?

And what are your sort of fixed expenses associated with it?

BRIAN: So, I mean, fortunately all it is is really the marketing and the website.

GARY: And your time.

BRIAN: And my time, of course, thank you.

GARY: Yeah.

BRIAN: Other than that, there's really no overhead.

So I feel very fortunate with that as well.

And then especially too, because, you know, my clients I'm talking to via Zoom, you know, phone call, so I don't have to travel as much as well, which is really nice.

GARY: Mm-hmm.

BRIAN: But I have been traveling for some speaking gigs as well.

So that's been, you know, that's been great.

GARY: Where are we gonna be in five years?

BRIAN: Serving at a higher level.

So I want to be doing more motivational speaking as I said, I'm gonna be doing a lot more retreats 'cause I love Central America, I love surfing.

GARY: Mm-hmm.

BRIAN: So I wanna be able to incorporate that surfing aspect, the yoga aspect, being in nature, being in a community where everybody's more like-minded and getting that community together.

So bigger workshops, bigger retreats, and hopefully bring in more coaches to help with this.

GARY: Why do you do this?

BRIAN: I hate to see suffering.

I suffered needlessly for so long, Gary, and I've watched friends, I've watched family members, and I still have family members that are struggling.

And it just, it really hurts me.

It does, from the bottom of my heart, I hate to see people struggle.

I really do, it's one of the biggest things.

And it's because I've been through then I was there.

When I made my, you know, transformation, everything opened up for me.

GARY: You want to share it?

BRIAN: I did, I wanted to share it 'cause I'm like, I feel great.

I gotta help people, man.

I gotta tell people about this.

This is like a new drug man, GARY: Your intentions are pure.

BRIAN: Absolutely.

Yeah.

GARY: That's why I believe this will work, 'cause your intentions are pure... BRIAN: Thank you.

GARY: And I think if there's someone else out there that's watching this that says, "I also went through a transformation.

"I feel like I wanna share what I've learned and do what Brian does."

What are the most important personality traits, characteristics of a person to become a life coach?

BRIAN: So it has to come from your heart.

You gotta be doing it for the reasons, GARY: Gotta be real.

BRIAN: It really is.

You know, if you're gonna be doing it for monetary reasons, you're doing it for the wrong way, so.

GARY: It's gonna fail.

BRIAN: Yeah, it will fail.

Yeah, it has to be so instilled in you, and it's gotta be just that giving nature that you have.

But if you had a transformation in your life, you typically wanna share it with people.

You wanna tell the world, right?

GARY: Mm-hmm.

BRIAN: And that's all you gotta do.

That's how we start a ripple effect, isn't it?

We get one person to change, and that person's gonna tell the next person and the next person.

That's how we make the change we wanna see in the world, isn't it?

♪ GARY: Everyone faces challenges throughout their lives, but it's how we choose to internalize and deal with those challenges that determine our level of happiness or self-actualization.

Major life events such as losing someone close to you, having to close down a business or getting a divorce can be devastating, but it does not mean that you've been sentenced to a life of misery and despair.

Ryan reminded me that we are all capable of so much more than we believe, and our age, income, life circumstance, and even our health condition does not determine our destiny.

It's never too late to make a truly significant change in life, but you have to really want it, and you have to go all in.

It takes true dedication, vision, daily action, and most importantly, consistency.

On the days that you're feeling down, do the work.

When you're feeling impatient and don't think anything matters, do the work.

If you're feeling exhausted or overwhelmed and you just want to give up, do the work.

And remember, that change doesn't happen overnight, but it does happen.

And since time is truly the most valuable resource that we have in this life, don't waste another second because your best life is right around the corner.

The universe works in mysterious ways, and meeting Brian at the time that I did was truly remarkable.

I feel incredibly honored to be able to share his story.

For more information, visit our website and search episodes for Brian LeFeve.

Next time on Start Up, we head to Orlando, Florida to meet up with John Wright, the founder of East End Market, a food hall and neighborhood market that's creating a small business ecosystem in the Orlando area.

Be sure to join us next time on Start Up.

♪ Would you like to learn more about the show or maybe nominate a business?

Visit our website at startup-usa.com and connect with us on social media.

GARY: (gasps) What happened?

PASCAL: I put the bird strikes on.

GARY: Oh!

WOMAN: Yay.

(laughs) GARY: Thank you so much.

WOMAN 2: You're welcome.

WOMAN 3: Next on Start Up.

(laughs) WOMAN 4: Gary Bredow, superstar.

Okay.

GARY: With no nose.

ANNOUNCER: Spectrum Business is a proud supporter of Start Up.

Providing connectivity for small businesses with internet, phone and mobile solutions available.

Information available at Spectrum dot com slash business.

ANNOUNCER: Small businesses are at the heart of Michigan's downtowns and neighborhood business districts.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation offers programs to both new and existing businesses.

With an abundant workforce and access to statewide resources, Michigan welcomes businesses from around the world.

ADRIENNE: There is a challenge every day when you've got a small business.

It's a little nerve wrecking, but it's also fun.

ANNOUNCER: More than 60% of sales in Amazon's store come from independent sellers like Adrienne at Blue Henry.

Amazon, a proud supporter of Start Up.

ANNOUNCER: Wearing a lot of hats can bog you down.

Thryv, the all-in-one small business management software can help you manage every aspect of your business, from a single screen with one log in and one dashboard.

Thryv is a proud supporter of Start Up.

ANNOUNCER: The first time you made a sale online with GoDaddy was also the first time you heard of a town named Dinosaur, Colorado.

MAN: We just got an order from Dinosaur, Colorado.

ANNOUNCER: Build a website to help reach more customers.

WOMAN: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, one more.

ANNOUNCER: Learn more at GoDaddy dot com.