The Truth About Confidence, Fear, and Taking the Leap | Devan Gonzalez | 172

What if confidence isn’t something you’re born with but something you earn by taking action before you feel ready?

 What if fear isn’t a sign to stop, but an invitation to step forward anyway?

In this episode of Manders Mindset, host Amanda Russo sits down with Devin Gonzalez for a grounded and empowering conversation about mindset, self-belief, and what it truly means to bet on yourself. From teaching martial arts as a teenager to building a six-figure personal training business and eventually launching a fitness franchise, Devin shares the pivotal moments that shaped his approach to growth, leadership, and success.

Together, Amanda and Devin explore why imposter syndrome is rooted in perception rather than reality, how fear often disguises itself as logic, and why seeing someone else succeed is proof, not pressure. The conversation weaves through fitness, business, and life, revealing how progress is built through small, intentional steps and why mindset is both the beginning and the end of every transformation.

💡 In this episode, listeners will discover:

🔥 Why confidence is built after action... not before
🧠 How fear shows up as hesitation, overthinking, and “being realistic”
🚫 Why saying no without explanation is one of the most freeing skills
💭 How to reframe imposter syndrome as a self-limiting belief
🏋️ Why fitness, business, and personal growth follow the same progression model
📈 The difference between wanting success and committing to it
⏳ Why time is the most valuable currency and how to protect it
🌱 How small, consistent wins create lasting momentum
🧩 Why mindset shapes both what’s possible and what feels unreachable

⏰ Timeline Summary

[2:10] Devin shares his core values and the importance of creating impact
 [6:45] Why learning to say no is essential for protecting time and energy
 [11:30] Childhood experiences, trying every sport, and early confidence lessons
 [18:20] The mindset shift that changed everything: facing fear head on
 [24:50] Teaching martial arts at 13 and discovering leadership early
 [32:40] Choosing passion over the “safe” career path
 [40:10] Imposter syndrome, masterminds, and realizing your voice still matters
 [48:30] “Common sense is only common to the person who knows it”
 [55:20] Why mindset determines what feels possible
 [1:03:45] Fitness advice that applies to life and business: start small
 [1:21:40] Legacy, impact, and why giving 100% matters

If someone in your life is standing at the edge of a leap, this episode might be exactly what they need. 💛

To Connect with Amanda:

Schedule a 1:1 Virtual Breathwork Session HERE

📸 Instagram: @thebreathinggoddess

Follow & Support the Podcast:
📱Instagram: @MandersMindset
👥 Join the Manders Mindset Facebook Community HERE!

To Connect with Devan: 

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/devan.gonzalez/

Tune into the Mindset Cafe Podcast

Check out Amanda's Guest Appearance on The Mindset Cafe HERE

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Guest Setup
• 1:03 Core Values And Saying No
• 3:28 Childhood, Sports Experiments, First Mindset Shift
• 7:48 From Disliking Martial Arts To Teaching
• 11:12 College, Kinesiology, And Choosing Training
• 15:10 Leaving Firefighting Path To Bet On Self
• 18:45 Building A Six-Figure Training Business
• 22:08 Team Sports, Competition, And Ownership
• 25:00 Leadership, No Excuses, And Culture
• 28:10 Curating Friends, Masterminds, And Time
• 32:22 Beating Imposter Syndrome With Service
• 36:50 Plans, Pivots, And Learning By Doing
• 40:05 Mindset As First And Final Chapter
• 43:20 Practical Fitness Advice: Start Small
• 46:05 Business Milestones And Hiring

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to the Manders and Mindset podcasts. So you'll find both monologues and interviews of entrepreneurs and hosts of field artists and a variety of other people. When your host Amanda is hopeful, we'll discuss our own mindset and perspective. Mandos and podcasts will help explain to you how shifting your mindset is your life.

SPEAKER_01: 0:25

Welcome to Mandarin's Mindset, where we explore the power of shifting your mindset to shift your life. I'm your host, Amanda Rose. I am here today with Devin, and he has been in the fitness industry for over 15 years. He is also the host of the Mindset Cafe podcast, which I have been a guest on, and I'm so excited to delve down his journey. Thanks for joining me.

SPEAKER_02: 0:51

Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to run him back. And it's always nice being on the other side of the table to get different perspectives. I mean, I loved our conversation the first time, so I'm excited to see where this one goes.

SPEAKER_01: 1:01

Me too. Me too. So who would you say Devin is at the core?

SPEAKER_02: 1:08

Oh, that's a right off the bat question. Okay. I would say honestly, someone that wants to add value. And that goes into, you know, my daughter's life, my wife's life. But then anyone that you really come in contact with, my goal is essentially to have a positive impact on as many lives as I can while I can. And that's my number one core value. So I would say that's who I am at the core, is just trying to create an impact.

SPEAKER_01: 1:35

I love that. Have you always been trying to create an impact?

SPEAKER_02: 1:40

Yeah. I mean, I think that's what's kind of steered my career trajectory as well as just decisions that I make in life, you know, whether it was starting my first business, helping launch another company with one of my friends, you know, to saying no to things. And that's, I think, a tough thing for people to do. But if it doesn't align with that, I mean, I think we only have a limited amount of time in the day. And even time is the one thing we don't get back. So if it doesn't line up with you, I just don't feel that you should be spending that most valuable thing on it.

SPEAKER_01: 2:14

That's so true. Not enough people do that, you know, like saying yes to everything. But like you said, we all only have so much time.

SPEAKER_02: 2:24

I think that's the hard part is saying no to things because let's say it's in business or even in friendships or whatever the case, like you want to say yes because you want to be, you don't know exactly where you need to be or how you're gonna get there yet. And so you're saying yes to everything to kind of figure yourself out. But if you really just take a second and take a beat, it's like you know what you want, or at least the direction of where you want to go. Does hanging out with this person or going on this podcast or this business partnership does that align with what I'm trying to achieve? Or am I just saying yes because we hear we have to, you know, have seven levels, seven different incomes, or we need to be this to have a personal brand? It's like you can just say no. It's honestly one of the most freeing things to say no and not have to give an explanation why.

SPEAKER_01: 3:15

I love that second part, and not have to give an explanation why that is key. Can you take us down memory lane a little bit? Tell us about your childhood up on young family.

SPEAKER_02: 3:27

Yeah, definitely. I mean, I'm the oldest of three boys, and my dad was an LEPD officer, he's retired now, and my mom was a pharmacist, and so I think ever since a young age, I always played that big brother role, and some of it was because of family dynamics and so forth of protecting my brothers. But I think that it was just one of those things where as the oldest child you strive to be great or set yourself on this pedestal so that your younger brothers can kind of try to live up because you want the best for them. But I was the oldest of three boys, getting into fitness for me wasn't necessarily something that I wanted to do, right? And going kind of time back to sports. My parents experimented with me essentially and put me into every single sport. And I'm talking every single sport, like I even did fencing. My parents' one rule was that I had to try it, and if I didn't like it after, not like a game or a practice, like I had to do a whole season, and if I didn't like it after that, then I didn't have to do it again. I remember I got first place in the little fencing tournament. You're great at this. I was like, I hate this, this is miserable.

SPEAKER_01: 4:39

How old were you when you were fencing?

SPEAKER_02: 4:41

I was about I must have been like I think 11 or 12, and it was cool. I mean, don't get me wrong, anyone that's a fencer, no, you know, no diss to you, but it just wasn't for me. And so it, I mean, that it kind of goes in anything in life. Like you could be good at something, but it just doesn't fill your cup, and that's okay. Just because you have a talent doesn't mean you need to be continue to try to explore that talent. And so that was my one thing for my parents was like I had to try things, and so I did martial arts when I was probably five or six, wasn't a huge fan of it, but then my middle brother needed some like self-confidence and all that kind of stuff. So they put him in martial arts and they guilt tripped me into well, you're the older brother, you got to kind of show him. And I was like, I don't think that's how that works, but okay, fine. And so I did martial arts, and then I actually started to grow to love it only after my first real dive into mindset through one of my coaches, because I at that time I was, you know, probably 10, and I was one of the bigger 10-year-olds, so I was too big to be with the little kids, but I was too little to be with the bigger kids. So every time we would spar or fight, I was I was fighting the older kids and just getting my butt kicked. But then it came down to me getting one-on-ones with my coach and him being like, Look, you're getting you're getting beat up either way, right? Instead of just cowering down and taking the punches, why don't you just try to punch back? What's the worst gonna happen? You're gonna get beat up still, like you're getting that already. And so it came to uh one of my belt testings, and he looked at me and he was like, What's the worst that's gonna happen? And I was like, All right, fine, you're right. And so I just went out and swung for the fences and actually held my own. And then that was the first light like that, like kind of clicked. And it was like, sometimes if you just try, you never know what is on the other side of that. But we get scared and we get held by back by fear, and then it's well, you're not gonna grow or anything in that darkness, so why not just try to do it right? Give it a little bit of effort and see what happens, right? It could turn out better than you ever even imagined. And so I think that's you know, really my upbringing. And then going into college, or I once I got my black belt, I became a martial arts instructor, loved it. I was working under the table.

SPEAKER_01: 6:58

You became a martial arts instructor, yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 7:01

So I went from not liking it to liking it to getting my black belt to teaching at the age of 13 and getting paid under the table, and then I did that from 13 to 18, and then went to college and the martial arts schedule didn't really.

SPEAKER_01: 7:15

I'm curious, did something shift like inside of you? Because you did not seem to like martial arts, and then you started doing it with your younger brother, and then you were teaching it and being paid to do it at 13.

SPEAKER_02: 7:28

Yeah, I think the shift was realizing that almost like the self-confidence that gets built through success, right? Because sometimes they say you fake it until you make it, right? And sometimes you do have to just fake that you're brave or fake that you know know how to do something or that you can do something until all of a sudden you prove to yourself, not to anyone else but yourself that you actually can do it, right? And then all of a sudden it you never know what that flower is gonna bloom to. For me, it was realizing that I could actually spar and fight with the older kids and hold my own. And then I was like, Oh, well, I liked every other aspect, I just hated the fighting part because I always got my butt kicked. And now I was like, now I'm not getting my butt kicked, so this is actually pretty fun. And people would ask that, so you like fighting? Well, when you put it that way, it sounds bad. But the way I view sparring, right, or fighting in martial arts and training, it's like chess essentially, right? You see them make a move, you have to counter and try to make a move just as fast so you don't get hit, but you can, you know, counter them with a different series of combinations, just like in chess. I was like, there is a physical aspect to it of getting hit and hitting, but it's not viewed as like a street brawl when you're actually training. But for me, once that light bulb clicked, it was like, wow, I could be that moment for someone else and give hopefully another kid that same light bulb moment and giving them that self-confidence. And I think that's where like the initial phase of having a positive impact kind of came from was that light bulb happening for me and wanting to contribute to other people's light bulbs.

SPEAKER_01: 9:02

Okay. So how long did you coach or teach motional?

SPEAKER_02: 9:06

For roughly five years. So basically all throughout high school, and I think I was in eighth grade when I got my black blood, so like half of eighth grade and then throughout high school until I went to college, and then the schedule didn't really line up. I went from just like kind of doing like a class here, a class there, to actually running like majority of the classes and being one of the head coaches for a number of years, and then that's what led me down into you know getting my college job as a personal trainer because I was like still in the fitness space. I like you know, teaching and realizing that as a personal trainer, you get to make your own schedule. So I was like, man, this is the best college job, but I'm getting paid above minimum wage at this corporate gym, and I don't need to come in at eight or nine and stay till five. Like I make my own schedule. This is pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01: 9:54

Okay, so you started working as a personal trainer when you went to college.

SPEAKER_02: 9:58

And I mean, my major was business management because to be honest, it was like I didn't know what I wanted to do, and I was like, this I didn't want to do undeclared. So I was like, this is kind of like the next best thing from undeclared, right? In my opinion, I was like, I could probably do anything with this degree. And then I learned about kinesiology, which is the study of human movement in college, and switched my major from business management to kinesiology because I was like, I'm loving personal training, not that I want to be a personal trainer the rest of my life. Little did I know that was going to be my life, you know, kind of in a nutshell, but I was like, this is way more fun to learn about. I'm actually interested in it, and this beats doing accounting classes, right? So switched my major and then, you know, went down that rabbit hole personal training the whole time, even though I was telling myself it was the best college job. I was slowly kind of finding my true passion and my almost what I feel like was my calling. And then it came to the end of college, and my parents were saying, Okay, what job are you actually gonna get? What are you gonna do? And so I started going the firefighter route, you know, because I was like, This is a steady career, a cool career. My dad didn't want me to go police, he was like anything else but what I did. So I was like, Well, no police, okay. Well, firefighter, right? And then did EMT, did all that stuff, and I was like, man, I'm gonna have to become an EMT and quit personal training to do this. And I was like, I don't want to do that. So I ended up stopping going the firefighter route, dove more into personal training, and I was like, I'm just gonna bet on myself. I know people are making it work. There's a way to make it work, I'll just figure it out. And so, but even though my parents were super happy about that, it ended up working out for me in the long run. Dove more into personal training, went from corporate gym to private gym, became a manager at the private gym, and then ended up opening up my own personal training company and then transitioned from there. I helped launch a prep school for basketball athletes and then opened up my own gym and now launched the franchise aspect of that gym.

SPEAKER_01: 11:51

When did you do the prep school for the athletes? When was that?

SPEAKER_02: 11:55

That one was while I was personal training. I had a friend or acquaintance that was trying to launch this prep school for basketball athletes. Now he's like a known basketball trainer, like skills trainer in the area, but he didn't have anyone on the strength and conditioning side. So I was like, Look, no problem. Like, I'll run the strength conditioning aspect of it. I'll help you launch this. And we grew it that first year. These kids were dominating the travel ball league, and these are all middle school kids. Then that company started growing, and that's when I was like, Look, I see what you're trying to make of this. Like, by all means, this is your thing. I wanted to open my own gym and I helped you out. I got to step away, right? So and I left, and then that's when I went my gym route because that's what I wanted to do from the beginning. So that was that it was probably like a year, maybe year and a half like time period that I was helping with that basketball school.

SPEAKER_01: 12:48

Now, you were going down the firefighter route, but you didn't want to have to quit personal training. You had been doing personal training for a while, but did you have any imposter syndrome about doing this full time and just fully betting on yourself?

SPEAKER_02: 13:02

At the time that I would have gone had to leave personal training, I was already working full-time as a personal trainer. And so I would basically have to leave almost six figures. I didn't have a personal training company at the time. And so, or I think I just had started my personal training company. So I was almost at six figures in at that time where it was like, okay, if you're gonna do firefighting, you need to dive in and start doing that. Meanwhile, I've watched three or four of my friends go down the firefighter route and not get a job for four years, five years, you know, because it is a competitive market. And meanwhile, they're making a little above minimum wage just building the resume. And I was like, I don't want to do that. That's not that doesn't seem desirable. And I never really wanted to be a firefighter. I was just doing it because it seemed like a good, stable career, but it wasn't like my calling or anything. So I just decided to dive more into personal training and stop spending time on, you know, getting certified in this and that and all those things, and just was like, how else can I improve myself? You know, what certifications, what kind of classes, what kind of clients do I need to have to essentially build out my personal training company? But I mean, I grew that company to six figure above six figures, and it was one of those things where not a lot of personal trainers can say that, and none of my clients were online. It was an all-in-person six figures, which is you know, a lot different than a lot of the online coaches for personal training that you see nowadays.

SPEAKER_01: 14:30

Well, that makes a lot of sense. Now, previously you mentioned that you weren't really into fitness, even though when you got into fitness growing up, it was just kind of something you did as the oldest boy. Did that ever shift? Like, how did that shift for you?

SPEAKER_02: 14:46

So I I guess I mean I was into fitness, but I liked fitness on my own terms, right? So it's gonna sound bad, it's not meant bad, but like I'm very competitive, right? And I don't like losing in anything, right? Even in school, like I got good grades just because I didn't like losing, right? And that's just always been kind of my that's not how my brother, my youngest brother, similar very similar, but it wasn't something like my parents instilled in me. That was just something I had on a personal thing. I can care less what my parents said about my grades. It was like I didn't like having a C's, so I was A's and B's on everything. But fitness for me, I remember like the age of 12, I was able to get a gym membership, and my dad had. If you if any listeners you know know what this is, kudos. If not, you know, look it up. It's probably in museums now, but he had a VHS tapes, right? And he had VHS tapes of bodybuilders going like that were lifting and doing almost like demo videos of different muscle groups. So I literally had this is all before iPhones. I had a notepad and I would write down the muscle, you know, the exercise. Then I would take my, you know, my dad or my grandpa would drop me off at the gym, and I would literally be there. And I was one of those 12-year-olds, 13-year-olds walking around the gym, trying stuff out and going up to the big guys in the gym or even the big girls in the gym. Hey, what is that work? Hey, what you know, and at first they would kind of brush me off, or some people would help me. And then once they would stop doing it and they'd walk away, I would sit there, be trying it, and they would realize I was kind of serious in my question. I wasn't just messing around. And so that was one of the cool things about like the fitness community that I liked was people are willing to help and give you advice if you just ask, no matter your age or anything. And so at the age of 12, I dove into fitness and I wanted to build muscle and all that stuff. So that I did like the team sports, not as much of a fan because I didn't like when kids showed up and didn't participate, right? And they would just kind of give half their effort and stuff. And I was like, then what are you doing here? Go sit down, get off the field or get off the court, you know. So that I think that's why I also liked martial arts, was because in a fight in tournaments, like it is you versus the other person. You don't do good, it is on you. If you win, it is also on you, right? And I think the only other team sport that I liked was rugby, and that was because even though you're on a team, with be of the ball, no one could really help you out, right? They can run behind you, but they can't block for you and all that kind of stuff, like in football. So it was still was one of those things where your performance is dictated by your effort.

SPEAKER_01: 17:22

I get that. Now, you don't like losing, and that kind of has intertwined, it seems like, in like the group in the group activities because they could influence that you're gonna lose. Exactly. So, how have you been able to shift that to do more group work of any sort?

SPEAKER_02: 17:45

Yeah, I mean, well, being a business owner, like you have to build a team, right? And it's not that I don't like group work, right? I like being a part of groups that also want to win. And so being a business owner, you also have the ability to create your team, right? And so that's one of the things where with my team, I don't accept excuses, right? Because excuses are just a result of you not accepting responsibility. I can accept mistakes all day long, right? Like I make tons of mistakes, but if you are making an excuse for that mistake, you haven't accepted responsibility for that mistake, right? So I will say that there's no way to build a business in a scalable business without a team and being a part of a team. So I've definitely changed my mindset on that part and realized that you could be the best you, but to be an even better, you have to be able to uh have others want to be better also, right? Just by seeing the effort that you give. So essentially being that permission for some people to strive for more and be better, right? And so by you leveling up and you doing those extra things, naturally you have a ripple effect on your group who naturally want to do better also because they don't want to get left behind.

SPEAKER_01: 19:02

No, that makes sense. So do you feel like the people, whether it's in business or in general now that you are surrounding yourself with are also trying to win?

SPEAKER_02: 19:17

Yes. I mean, on my team specifically throughout the interview process, if I can kind of get the feel, or my manager or the assistant manager that do interviews to if we get the feel that you're just kind of here to be here and collect a paycheck, I get it. Collecting a paycheck is all part of it. But if you don't have the desire to truly want to help people, this is not the team for you. Like it you will get weeded out fairly quick because the rest of the team will be wanting to let you go because you're holding them down. Now, in terms of who I surround myself with nowadays, I am not by nature a social person outside of the professional setting. Like, obviously, being a trainer and all that kind of stuff, you have to be. Social, but I like working, I like business, I like all those things. If it wasn't for my wife and stuff, I probably wouldn't be going out and hanging out with a bunch of friends and doing those things just because that's just not one of my things that fills my cup as much. But I will say that the friends that I do hang around with and that I've had, you know, since college, and even now in the professional setting, I'm a part of a mastermind that is of business owners. And I realize that just because you hung around or were friends with someone at some point doesn't necessarily mean that you need to continue to give that much attention to that same person. And so it's like who do you want to surround yourself with? Who fills your cup? Who gets you? And for me, other business owners made it feel that, you know, when you talk about your wins or you talk about the big things that you're doing, it didn't feel like bragging because they're doing it also. And it when you heard someone else winning and doing big things, it gave me more motivation to keep pushing through it. But also you surround yourself with people that understand the struggles that you're going through. Because as a business owner, you can kind of feel like you're alone at a lot of times, and you feel like this is only happening to you, and you know, it might not be working because it's not meant to work, and then you realize everyone's going through the same exact thing in a different way, and you're like, Oh, okay, cool. This is my tribe.

SPEAKER_01: 21:27

Just because you hung around with somebody, or you have history with somebody, doesn't mean you always need to, or you need to forever, you know, even if it's not socializing in person, like we've talked about before, like time is limited, time is money, you know. Like we you can't buy time, so you gotta use that wisely, you know.

SPEAKER_02: 21:48

No, definitely. And like that, I will say, even to give an example, what I mean is like I have friends that I've had for years, and I still hang out with them and spend time with them during given you know situations or time, but I don't do bachelor parties anymore. Like I I just don't, right? I don't care what level of closeness we are, like the the bachelor party scene for me has gone and went. I don't like partying like that. I don't, so it's I love you. If you get mad that I don't want to go, that's a personal problem. I can't change how you feel, but I'm just sorry, I'm just not going.

SPEAKER_01: 22:23

Do you have advice for someone looking to start their own business but they're struggling? They're facing imposter syndrome.

SPEAKER_02: 22:33

No, I definitely do, because every business owner has this. Even though they say they may say that they don't, right? And that's the first thing is like you have to also realize imposter syndrome is a self-belief, right? Because what are you feeling that you're imposter of being a business owner? Like you have a business, so by definition, you're a business owner, but I do get it because for example, I was when I first moved up to the higher level group of the mastermind, where you know the lower level group had you know 200 members, higher group, 20 members, and it was like, oh, okay. And so it was a little bit more intimate, but also I was the youngest, not only was I the youngest, but my business was the youngest business in the group. And so I'm sitting at the table talking to people that have seven figure, eight-figure companies, and my company's six figures, right? And so I'm like, man, like I do I even belong here, right? And so it was this weird moment where it's like, do I try to give advice? Like we're going doing a round table thing, and it's like everyone is supposed to be giving advice on you know everyone's problems and so forth. And it's like, what do I tell them? They're making more than me, right? And then it hit me as what if I have a piece of advice that could have helped them solve their problem that they didn't know. And that was also the realization that common sense is only common to the person that knows it. So something that might be common sense to me to solve their problem might not be common sense to them because they haven't learned that, they haven't seen that, they haven't heard that throughout their life experience because everyone experiences different things at different points of their life. So it was like, what's the worst that's gonna happen? They give me a pat on the head and tell me, yeah, I know we tried that. Doesn't do me any bad just to give my two cents. And at the end of it, you know, because I gave advice for each person. At the end of it, I had three people come up to me out of the 10 that showed up to that event and were like, dude, you like you're really smart, you know. And then we connected after that, and it was like, wow, like that just kind of solved my self, you know, limiting belief of you know, imposter syndrome, thinking that just because I'm young or my business is young, that I don't have the knowledge that they do.

SPEAKER_01: 24:48

I love that. No, that's so true, and I like how you mentioned about common sense. I've never heard that before, but it makes a lot of sense. It's only common to whoever knows it. That shifted, like my mind, literally. No, that makes so much sense, but like we all have our own different life experiences. But I even myself have often I'm like, it's common sense, but maybe it's common sense to me, and it's not like common sense to somebody else because of what they've gone through in life.

SPEAKER_02: 25:20

Exactly. And that's the crazy thing is, and I don't know if I heard that quote or if I made that quote up because uh you know it hit me like then, and then it hit me again when my former business partner was taking over the gym so I could launch the franchise aspect of it. And he had never been an entrepreneur, I had been a solopreneur beforehand, and so when I stepped away and he was taking over the gym, there were certain things I was doing that I didn't realize I didn't put a system in place, and I was doing them just because it was common sense to me. And then all of a sudden I looked at the numbers after a month and I was like, yo, what is going on? And then he was like, I've been trying to figure it out. I don't know what's happening, I don't know why this is you know, doing this or how to solve this. And I was like, dude, you do this and you do that, and you know, that's it's simple. And he was like, like, I don't understand how you got to that, and then it like clicked, the light bulb went off, and it was like it's common sense. And then I realized right before I told him it via text, like it's common sense, it was like it's common sense to me because I read books about this, I watched videos, I did YouTube university for hours on creating my solopreneur company that he never did, right? So, you know, from lead to lead nurturing to all these things, if that's common sense to me now, but it wasn't common sense to me before I knew it. And so then that's when that light bulb came off that you know, common sense is only common to the person that knows.

SPEAKER_01: 26:47

You might have made up that quote because I'm really big on quotes, and I've never heard that in my life, but it makes a lot of sense, you know? And I had somebody tell me once to a friend of mine, and I think this was just a quote he made up about I was facing some imposter syndrome, about putting yourself in the arena and figuring it out when you get there. Like you don't have to know all the answers, what you're gonna say, you know. We think we have to have A, B, C, everything figured out before we take the step.

SPEAKER_02: 27:21

And I think that's what holds a lot of people back is whether it's fitness, whether it's business, whether it's life in general, like you think you need to have this whole game plan written out. And I guarantee you, whatever plan you write out is not going to be the actual plan. I mean, I wrote a business plan to show an investor for the first gym, and I mean, everything in the business plan essentially is theory, right? You know, you're guessing on numbers, you're guessing on strategies. You don't know until you actually implement it. And so that was when I realized that plans are meant to be adjustable, and you have to be able to adjust and pivot and be flexible because if not, you're going to be let down that the plan didn't work according to your first initial idea. That's why even apps on your phone, how often do your apps get updated? Right? It's every day I feel like there's an app update, a software update. It's because they didn't figure out everything the first time and they didn't know what was going to happen until they launched, until bugs started getting into the software. You don't know what you don't know, and you can't know what you don't know until you're in the weeds of it and in the thick of it.

SPEAKER_01: 28:28

I say that all the time. You don't know what you don't know.

SPEAKER_02: 28:31

Yep.

SPEAKER_01: 28:32

So I'm curious. I'm obviously very big on mindset, but why do you think mindset is essential for achieving success?

SPEAKER_02: 28:42

I'm, I mean, as both of our podcasts, you know, kind of are tailored to mindset too. You know, I'm huge on mindset as well. And I mean, even with the book that I did write, it was the first that and I'm big on symbolism and like analogies, if you haven't kind of you know caught that yet.

SPEAKER_01: 28:56

I love that. I love the analogies, keep them coming.

SPEAKER_02: 28:59

So so the book, it's more for gym owners and stuff, but the symbolism in it was that the first chapter and the last chapter are on mindset, right? And the reason that the first and last chapter are on mindset is because I believe everything begins and ends with your mind, right? So the moment you believe something is achievable and is a goal and you can make it a reality, the possibilities are endless for that to happen. But the moment that you stop believing that you can achieve it is the moment it becomes impossible for you. Right. So that's goes into mindset with anything. It's like you have to realize just because it's not a reality right this second for you, you know. For example, I was driving with my former business partner and we were driving down the street and we saw a house, and I had a zillo it because I was like curious, you know, and it was like a 14 million dollar house, right? It looked like a block long, it was this huge mansion, and he was like, dude, that's crazy, you know, like that someone lives there. And I was like, Yeah, it's awesome. That's so cool. And he was like, I just don't see how that's a real thing. And I didn't I didn't say anything for a minute, and I was like, You realize just because of our current situation, and that's not a current reality of us right now, that's someone else's reality every day, right? So you have to realize that your realities are shifted on your lens as well. For me, I look at that house and I'm not like that's not a reality for me. I'm like, look, there's living proof, and that's a testimonial to that is a possibility, right? So in fitness, you see someone at the six-pack, that is your walking testimonial, that is your walking proof that it's achievable. What I tell people is you're not that special, right? You're not that special for it to work out for everyone else on earth and it not work out for you.

SPEAKER_01: 30:52

I want to transition down the fitness route a little bit about any advice you have for people looking to get into fitness.

SPEAKER_02: 31:03

Yes. I will say that if you any area of fitness, right, you don't need to start off. If you've never ran before, you don't need to sign up to do a marathon, right? Just like in fitness, you've never worked out before, you don't need to start by going seven days a week. You don't need to go out and do an hour workout every single day because that's what your favorite Instagram influencer tells you that they do, right? That's what they do because they've built up to that. But what can you start off with right now? Right? What is the first thing that you can change? You've never ran before? Cool. Can you walk? Perfect. Go on a walk, you know, a couple times a week, right? And if that the first time you walk, it you know, tires out your legs, you're sore for a couple days, that's fine. Try to do it once a week for a couple of weeks, then do twice a week for a couple weeks, then three times, and then start to let me do a jog, a jog walk, right? You know, job as much as I can, then walk and so forth. And you build up to it, just like anything in life, it's all about progressions and realizing that life essentially, if life was a marathon, right? Or your goal or your dream body or your business, all those things are the end destination, right? There's milestones to that. And it's because a marathon is made up of 24 milestones, just like anything in life, you get to that milestone, you need to be appreciated of, you need to be have gratitude towards it, but also give yourself the recognition for achieving that first milestone, right? And that's what starts to tell your subconscious, you want more of that, you want more praise, you want more self, you know, belief. And so you strive to milestone number two and so forth. But anything from fitness and all that kind of stuff, realize that you don't need to come out the gates swinging, like you can feel it out a little bit, dip your toes in the water and then put your foot in, then put your whole leg in, right? And it's that's how it goes in anything life, just like in fitness.

SPEAKER_01: 32:56

Would you give that same advice in business?

SPEAKER_02: 33:00

Yeah, I mean, you have to think you've never started a business before. I mean, when we started the gym, we didn't have any employees, right? And then we hired our first employee, and that was a huge milestone because now you have to figure out okay, well, how do you do payroll? And oh man, there's a payroll tax, and now I have to, you know, there's unemployment wages and all like again, well, you don't know what you don't know. And then you hire a second employee, and then all of a sudden now you're like, okay, I can start to buy some of my time back if I hire a third employee. And so it's like you hire a third employee, and then you need to hit that milestone, making sure that you're teaching them so that you can step away. And then you can factor in milestones of you've never made a dollar, you make your first dollar, then you make a hundred dollars, and then you make a thousand dollars. And so you can make your milestones whatever you want them to be, but every goal, every aspect of life is a series of essentially milesters or milestones.

SPEAKER_01: 33:58

Now, you mentioned when you hired your first employee, loaning the paywall and all that. So I'm curious, what was the biggest leap of faith, biggest uh outreach that you took in the business?

SPEAKER_02: 34:11

One uh I would say the biggest uh the uh scariest one would be uh going from six-figure solopreneur to uh having to, you know, pretty much drop that business to start the gym and essentially uh burn the boats to to a degree because I couldn't give I couldn't be half in, half out for the business because we didn't have employees, right? And so that was probably the scariest one because it was like if it doesn't work out, you know, you spend two years on it, I can't just go back to personal training, my client list isn't going to be there anymore. So it was like either you commit or you don't do it, one of the two. But then the next step was essentially launching the franchise aspect of it because now you're going to a full different role where the investment for launching a franchise was actually more expensive than opening a second location for our gym, and there was no guaranteed return on it, right? Like you open a gym, you can make some of your money back by selling, you know, memberships and so forth, but you launch a franchise and you hire advisors and do all this stuff, not guaranteed that you're gonna sell a single franchise. I mean, it took me 13 months to close my first franchise deal. And throughout that whole time, there was a handful of self-limiting beliefs and waves of did I make the right decision? Because I convinced my business partner that this was the decision to make. And so it's like if this doesn't work out, this is both of our money that kind of got lost, right? And that was six figures invested that it would have sucked to be like, well, I made a mistake.

SPEAKER_01: 35:47

How did that work for you?

SPEAKER_02: 35:49

I mean, now we have a franchise location opening up in Florida, we have one opening up in Texas, and we have a couple more that we should know within the next month because our franchise agreement has to get renewed every year. So I have three more that are on the fence. They still need to still have one more step in their process. If everything goes well, my goal essentially is to have five by the end of the year. So everything's going well now, but there was a long time period, you know, even though 13 months doesn't sound long, each day felt long for 13 months. And then it's like now, even though we hit that milestone of having our first franchisee, having our second franchisee, it's okay. Now we feel like an actual franchise company, there's still unforeseen things that happen along that. I mean, we went to get registered in Washington and didn't know that it would take 11 months to get approved in the state of Washington. And so I lost a franchisee in that process, but it was like, oh, didn't know that one, right? Every day is a new lesson learned. But overcoming each of those obstacles only makes you better and continue to grow. And that's where I think my view of personal development, like the horizon, when you see like the sun setting, right? You can kind of see the end, but that's not really the end, right? And just like in personal development, like it keeps going, it isn't endless, it's it is an infinite journey. You can always get better in one area of life, right? In in most areas of life. But my whole thing is you should try to be one percent better each and every day. At the end of the day, you're 365 times better than you were before.

SPEAKER_01: 37:24

I love that. No, it's so true. I'm now I'm curious, just personally curious. Did you years back, did you ever see yourself owning fitness franchises? Like when you were a personal trainer, did you ever think this was gonna be in the thing? Like say 10 years ago?

SPEAKER_02: 37:42

10 years ago, not so much. I would say, oh man, we actually we've been open for four years. 10 years ago, I would say that's probably the idea where I wanted to open my own gym. Didn't really know what it was gonna look like, what kind of gym or anything of that nature yet. But once I had committed to opening a gym, that was when I also realized it was like, okay, how many personal trainers say they're gonna open a gym? Right? Actually, opening a gym and making successful, you're already part of that one percent of personal trainers that say they're gonna do it. Then it was like, okay, well, how do I become the one percent of one percent? When you hear about these other gyms that are national franchises with thousands of locations, if not hundreds of locations, and it was like, I want to be one of those. The day we opened the gym, or the business plan of opening the gym was also created the franchise model of it. At what point we were gonna launch a franchise, that was kind of undetermined. Whether we were gonna open one unit, 10 units before franchising, that was kind of a on-the-fly thing. But then I had the realization, like, you know, with my former business partner being able to take over the gym, I would rather give more of my attention to the initial franchisees and then focus on opening more corporate locations with our team in place. We went that route. We had one, we have one location and then launched the franchise. Now we have two franchisees. After we hit the five mark, then I'm gonna put a stop on the franchisees until all of them are open and you know growing, and then I'll open it back up to 15 and then I'll close it again. So, you know, as weird as that sounds as a business owner, it's one of those things where my thing is building a strong foundation. Because if you try to scale on a cracked foundation, you're gonna end up crumbling. So five and then 15, and then basically open the floodgates. But in that time, once we hit five, where we'll be opening up our second location, or within that time, we'll be opening up our second corporate location as well. Because now that we have a team in place and I have managers in place that can take over the second location, you know, that's now a huge possibility.

SPEAKER_01: 39:46

Wow. So what a journey that has been for you. Like 10 years ago, you weren't necessarily definitively that you were gonna be here now, but you just believed in yourself and you kept showing up, and here you are.

SPEAKER_02: 40:00

Yeah. I mean, our gym has only been open. We're having our four-year anniversary on in June, so in two months. So we haven't even been open, you know, a full four years yet.

SPEAKER_01: 40:10

That's amazing. And you just kept showing up. I love that. Have you heard of a man named Jay Shetty?

SPEAKER_02: 40:17

Yep.

SPEAKER_01: 40:19

So he's got a podcast called On Purpose, and he ends his podcast with two segments, and I've stolen them. And I end my podcast with those two segments as well. First segment is the many size to us. There's five questions, and they need to be answered in one word each. What is one word someone who was meeting you for the first time would use to describe you?

SPEAKER_02: 40:43

Purposeful.

SPEAKER_01: 40:45

What is one word someone who knows you extremely well would use to describe you?

SPEAKER_02: 40:50

Intentional.

SPEAKER_01: 40:52

What is one word you'd use to describe yourself?

SPEAKER_02: 40:57

Driven.

SPEAKER_01: 40:59

What is one word that if someone didn't like you or agree with your mindset would use to describe you?

SPEAKER_02: 41:05

Aggressive.

SPEAKER_01: 41:08

What is one word you're trying to embody right now?

SPEAKER_02: 41:12

Impact.

SPEAKER_01: 41:14

Second segment is the final five, and these can be answered in up to a sentence. What is the best advice you've heard or received?

SPEAKER_02: 41:24

You don't know what you don't know.

SPEAKER_01: 41:27

Why have the best?

SPEAKER_02: 41:29

Because I mean, you think you have everything figured out, and especially being a younger entrepreneur or younger in fitness or any anything of that nature, you feel like you have the game figured out, right? And you feel everything's going well, right? Everything's growing. You're like, nothing can stop this growth until someone above you is like, stay humble, like you don't know what you don't know. I can I can foreshadow what's going to end up happening, and you're going to have to figure it out. I can tell you the answer right now, but you won't take it in and it won't resonate until it happens. Some lessons you need to learn by yourself.

SPEAKER_01: 42:04

Well, and the worst advice you've heard or received be humble. Why is that the worst?

SPEAKER_02: 42:12

Because uh humble, I guess it comes down to the actual definition of humble, right? Essentially, if you look up the definition, it is basically putting yourself down to not allow other people to feel intimidated or you know uncomfortable by your presence, right? And so I don't think that you need to humble yourself in that nature. Now, understanding that you should be grounded and you should be grateful and appreciative of everything and at every level is a different story. But the connotation people give humbleness is almost like cocky, right? People a lot of people would classify me as cocky, and I'm not cocky by any means. I don't think I'm the best, I know I'm not the best, right? But some people that view confidence as cocky will classify you that it's just like some people will say you're not humble, even though you are, but just your presence makes them uncomfortable. That's their problem, not yours.

SPEAKER_01: 43:18

What is something that you used to value that you no longer value?

SPEAKER_02: 43:25

Quality time. Wait, hold on, say the question again.

SPEAKER_01: 43:30

What is something that you used to value that you no longer value?

SPEAKER_02: 43:35

I'll take the answer back. I thought it was worded the other way. And then once I answered it, I was like, wait. I would say the opposite of that. You know, I guess time timing at work, meaning that I used to value the time spent on the business thinking that I had to be 24-7 and I didn't put as much value on quality time with you know loved ones or with family and stuff like that because I thought I needed to be 24-7 in the business, and now I value that quality time more so because time is limited.

SPEAKER_01: 44:14

If you could describe what you would want your legacy to be, as if someone was reading it, what would you want it to say?

SPEAKER_02: 44:23

Impacted as many lives as he could while he could.

SPEAKER_01: 44:28

If you could create one law in the world that everyone had to follow, what would it be? And I want to know why.

SPEAKER_02: 44:37

You have to give 100% to everything that you do, right? And that goes to that kind of that competitive nature, but also because going into the limited time thing, if you're gonna show up and give half your effort, you're wasting your time. You're also wasting the time of the other people that you're giving a service to, spending time with, and you that's not fair to them because you're taking the one time one thing that they'll never give back is their time, right? So you're wasting yours, but you're kind of stealing theirs. So I think that if you're gonna do something, you need to give every all effort to it.

SPEAKER_01: 45:13

I like that, and I really like your explanation. Well, thank you so much for speaking with me. I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02: 45:20

Of course, it was my pleasure. Great questions.

SPEAKER_01: 45:23

Thank you. And where can listeners connect with you?

SPEAKER_02: 45:27

If you want to learn anything about like the business, it's at striveelevenfitness.com. But all my connection points, I just made a landing hub to make it easy. But the my my website essentially is Devon D-E-V-A-N. Gonzalez is g-o-n-z-a-l-e-z dot com. All my social media hubs are pretty much on there.

SPEAKER_01: 45:45

Awesome. And I will link that in the show notes. And I do just like to give it back to the guest. Any final words of wisdom you want to share?

SPEAKER_02: 45:55

I will the final words, I'll resay something that I mentioned earlier. And that is if you have a goal, if you have a dream, and you're not striving to achieve it because you're scared, remember, you're not special, right? You're not special for it to work for other people and not be able to work for you. If you see someone else achieving what you want to achieve, that is your proof, that is your permission that it could be your reality too.

SPEAKER_01: 46:22

Well, you heard it from Devin. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02: 46:25

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01: 46:26

And thank you guys for tuning in to another episode of Mandarin's Mindset. In case no one told you today, I'm proud of you. I'm voting for you, and you got this. As always, if you enjoyed the show, I would really appreciate it if you would leave me a five-star rating, leave a review, and share it with anyone you think would benefit from that. And don't forget, you are only one nine step shift away from shifting your lights. Thanks guys, until next time.