Interviewer: Light that spark, Fire Nation! JLD here with an audio masterclass on outwitting the ego, transforming fear into power. To drop these value bombs, I have brought Ryan Clarkin on the mic. He’s a 24-year-old mindset coach and transformational trainer who shows entrepreneurs, influencers, and leaders how to unlock their potential and unleash their world-changing impact.

And Fire Nation, today we’ll be talking about how the ego stops entrepreneurs from succeeding, the tricks the ego uses to sabotage our success. Let’s talk about bypassing that ego and outwitting our ego and so much more, Fire Nation, when we get back from thanking our sponsors.

Ryan, say what’s up to Fire Nation and share something interesting about yourself that most people don’t know.

Interviewee: What’s going on, Fire Nation? I’m Ryan, and something interesting about me that most people don’t know is I am highly sensitive to energy and it’s kind of a gift. It’s a blessing and a curse, but more of a blessing in the work that I do. And I’m very sensitive to energy, to the point where sometimes when I’m in a workshop or a training, I can feel somebody’s emotion from across the room. And sometimes I even ask myself, is this really happening right now? And then, I talk to them and ask them how they’re feeling, and it’s confirmed.

So, I’ve been really sensitive to energy from a really young age. Some people call it empathic. And most people don’t know it about me, but it’s definitely something that I found interesting, and I think people would probably find interesting.

Interviewer: Now, obviously, we don’t have to use any names or specific circumstances, but can you kind of give us a more specific example of a time where that happened to you and you were like wow, this is kind of interesting?

Interviewee: The biggest way that it’s interesting is when I have a client calling in, a coaching client, sometimes I just know immediately when they’re calling, what tone or what mood they’re gonna be in. It’s very strange, and I think it’s because I’ve just been in this work for quite a while in terms of just immersing myself in making a difference with people. And I’m just tuned in. Sometimes I can feel, I just tune into my clients, and I feel that they’re off this week.

And you might have experienced something similar yourself, or many people might relate where maybe they have a feeling or a hunch where someone that they know, something’s off with them, and then they call and they find out that it’s true. And I’ve just honed this ability, and it’s been a natural gift.

Interviewer: Now, have you ever answered the phone with something along the lines of, what’s the problem today, kind of getting in front of that? Or do you just kind of let it unfold naturally?

Interviewee: I just kind of let it unfold naturally because I’m always open to being wrong about it. I’m not intoxicated with the idea of oh, I have this energy super power. I’m like okay, this is what I’m picking up on, and let’s see if it’s actually true.

Interviewer: Well, that actually fits our topic perfectly today, because we’re talking about outwitting the ego, Fire Nation, transforming fear into power. And obviously, Ryan’s found a lot of ways to outwit his ego. But before we dive into the specifics, what is the ego, Ryan?

Interviewee: Yeah, so, the ego is our full self. And it’s really the part of us that’s programmed for survival. And I like to say it’s a mixture between our inner caveman or cavewoman and our inner child. It’s like a mixture between our wounded inner child and that inner caveman or cavewoman that just wants to survive.

Interviewer: Ego stops entrepreneurs from succeeding before they even start, at times. So, break it down for us. How does that ego actually stop, Fire Nation, our listeners, entrepreneurs, from succeeding at both business and life?

Interviewee: Yeah. So, our ego’s main mission is to keep us safe. And its motto is, life as usual. It wants us to live life as usual, and my good friend, Joe Henderson, he says, our ego really wants us under the bed, eating a Snickers bar, in the dark, not venturing out, because it just wants to keep us safe. And that’s the reality. Not all entrepreneurs are into Snickers. It might be Reese’s, whatever it is.

Interviewer: I love Snickers.

Interviewee: Yeah, they are so good. But it wants to keep us safe, and there is this myth that only people who are arrogant or egotistical have an ego. We all have an ego, just the inner part of us that, especially entrepreneurs, especially game changers, come up against. And it uses fear and resistance and procrastination, and also negative self-talk as a force to push us back into our comfort zone and to keep us stuck, if we let it.

Interviewer: So, Fire Nation, I did just share that I love Snickers. And I do, but please don’t send me any, because I’m trying to outwit my ego here. I’m not trying to feed my ego under my bed at night. And that is the thing, too, Ryan, that I really wanted to dive into, is that the ego, I mean, man, it really stops entrepreneurs from succeeding and a lot of times, there are some tricks the ego uses to actually sabotage us. So, let’s dive into that specifically. And then, I’d love an example or two.

Interviewee: One of the tricks is subtle limiting beliefs. So, those are those obvious limiting beliefs that our ego will put up in the air, which is like, I’m not good enough. And a lot of times, this is actually the ego’s biggest trick. I’m gonna backtrack a little bit. It tricks you into thinking that it’s you, meaning a lot of people struggle with ego identification, which they’re like, I’m afraid. I’m not confident. I’m not good enough. And the last time I checked, when you were born, it doesn’t say, “I’m not good enough” on your birth certificate. Your name is there.

So, the first shift that we need to make is recognize you are not your ego. You are the witness. You are the observer. You are the experiencer of your ego, and be very careful, because our egos are very sneaky. And don’t be afraid of your ego, but just be aware. And my intention is that we share some tools on this podcast that will really support you in really gaining your awareness around your ego and how it works.

Interviewer: Yeah, I want to do that for sure because I look back to 2012. My ego was telling me I wasn’t good enough at interviewing to become a podcast host when the reality is that my ego was trying to protect me in a way because I really wasn’t good enough. I had never done it before, so of course I wasn’t good. And my ego knew that I was going to potentially get talked down to, or I was gonna get slammed online, or this or that was gonna happen. Somebody was gonna tell me they didn’t enjoy it, or it was gonna hurt me. And the ego wants to protect you from that.

So, I really want to keep moving forward because we have some real cool specific things, Fire Nation, in store for you around all of this. The next thing that I want to move into is the actual outwitting part, the actual bypassing of your ego. What does that look like, Ryan?

Interviewee: So, a lot of people dive into personal development work and working on themselves, and that’s an incredible venture to go about doing it. What I’ve really found is an effective way to bypass your ego no matter how many negative conversations that you have going on, they live in a certain frequency, and they live in a certain state of mind. And I’ve found through coaching many people and working with a lot of people, and also studying and researching myself that our negative thoughts live when we’re in a low energy state of mind.

So, low energy state of mind equals low quality thoughts. And when we elevate our emotional state, and when we empower ourselves, and when we motivate ourselves, then our ego gets quieter and quieter and quieter. And so, one of the ways that you can outwit your ego is by taking responsibility over your state of mind and really taking your power back over your mindset and saying, you know what, this voice in my head isn’t going to call the shots. I’m gonna call the shots. And I’m going to do the things, do the rituals on a daily basis that will empower me and that will get me in an empowered state of mind.

And one of the things that I do that’s tangible is I mix high intensity swimming with visualization. And so, mixing those factors of getting my energy up, moving my body, and then focusing from a place of complete belief. And it takes practice to go here, but focusing on my vision, on my outcomes from a place of complete belief. That’s where the energy and the empowerment unlocks for me. And I’ve noticed it unlocks for many people. And if you’re not visual, you could do a similar thing as well with affirmation runs or even journaling to get your energy up high so that your ego can’t touch you from that place.

Interviewer: What does an affirmation run look like?

Interviewee: It looks like being a crazy person. So, basically, you’re running and I think it would be awesome to see videos of people doing this, but it’s you’re running and you’re screaming affirmations about yourself. You’re saying, I’m confident. I’m powerful. I’m destined for success. And Entrepreneur on Fire was my affirmation. So, I would actually listen to Entrepreneur on Fire and do affirmation runs at the same time at the beginning of my journey.

Interviewer: That’s so awesome.
Interviewee: Yeah. And go louder when people are walking past you, because it’s a breakthrough in fear of judgment. It’s a bonus point.

Interviewer: Oh man, I love that. There’s so many cool things about this. It kind of brings me back. This is semi-related, but back in the day, I had Noah Kagan on the show. And he challenged people in Fire Nation to walk into a Starbucks and to ask for 10% off, for no reason, just to ask for 10% off, because you just seem to kind of get over the fact that people might look at you weird, that people might question what you’re doing because it’s like why do we want to live in that world? We want to live in a world where we’re high energy. Because I love how you put that, Ryan. Low energy equals low quality thoughts.

So, when we’re living in a low energy world, we’re living in a low quality of thoughts world. And Fire Nation, you’re not gonna get to where you want to be – financial freedom, location freedom, lifestyle freedom – with low quality thoughts. So, don’t live in that world. And Ryan, where can Fire Nation email you a video of themselves doing an affirmation run? I want at least one person to take you up on this challenge, and have somebody take a video of them doing an affirmation run and send it to you. Where do they send it?

Interviewee: Gosh, that would be epic. Yeah, you can tag me on Instagram or on Facebook.

Interviewer: That would be cool.

Interviewee: So, Instagram, @Ryan Clarkin or even Facebook. And here’s the thing. If you do that, I want to give you a gift because it takes courage to do that.

Interviewer: Courage?

Interviewee: Yeah. If you do that and you dive in, I’ll gift you one of my courses. Just tag me, and I’ll gift you one of my courses to support you in your journey.

Interviewer: Fire Nation, go have some fun. Go grab one of your friends and go do an affirmation run. Have them record it. Tag Ryan Clarkin on either Facebook or Instagram. That’s Clarkin, C-L-A-R-K-I-N. Tag him on Instagram; tag him on Facebook. Get one of his free courses just for doing something that you should honestly do for no reason because it’s gonna get you in that high energy to get you high quality thoughts. So, I challenge you, Fire Nation, make me proud. Make yourself proud.

Let’s talk about transforming negative thoughts into positive thoughts because, let’s be honest, we’re not gonna always be in this world where everything’s positive and happy and exciting. I mean, we’re gonna have negative thoughts from time to time. How do we transform those into positivity?

Interviewee: Yeah. So, the first thing that you’ve got to be willing to do, because that’s a really great point, John, is you’ve got to give yourself grace. There is going to be times where you’re feeling great, and you’re feeling on top of the world. And then, there’s gonna be times where it’s tough. You’re not getting the results that you want and you might feel stuck. And the downward spiral a lot of people fall into when they go into that state is, they have those negative thoughts. And then they start judging themselves.

And I always tell the leadership groups that I train, you cannot beat yourself up. Nobody has ever been successful at beating themselves up, but they’ve been really successful at beating themselves down. And so, you’ve got to give yourself grace and allow yourself – we have ups and downs throughout the journey. And it doesn’t serve you to resist in that state.

So, No. 1.) Give yourself grace. No. 2 is ask yourself what you need. When I notice that I’m feeling a little bit disempowered, sometimes I need a nap. Sometimes I just need food and a nap. I’m getting angry.

Interviewer: Or a Snickers bar.

Interviewee: Or a Snickers bar, yeah. My blood sugar might be low. And so, just ask yourself what you need. And that first thought that comes up might be, I don't know what I need. And that’s a great place to start. That’s not a place to end. It’s a great place to start. Well, what do you need? Maybe I need to go for a workout. Maybe I need to call a friend. Or maybe I need to just rest. There’s a lot of this pressure that entrepreneurs put on themselves to be grinding and rocking it 24/7. And that is an unfair perspective and expectation to put on yourself, if you’re most people.

Interviewer: Give yourself grace, Fire Nation. And then ask yourself what you need. Believe me, you deserve it. So, Fire Nation, if you think we’re even close to being done with these value bombs, you’ve got more thinks coming because we’re gonna be talking about the No. 1 mindset challenge that entrepreneurs face, the most effective way to move beyond fear – and fear is within us all, Fire Nation – and so much more when we get back from thanking our sponsors.

Ryan, we’re back. And I want to start with talking about transforming a belief. What does that look like?

Interviewee: Let’s dive deep, and really why would you want to transform a belief? Well, you want to transform a belief that might be getting in your way or a belief that might be stopping you. And I want to actually support anyone on here right now that has a belief that’s stopping them around fear. And we’re gonna dive, of course, a little bit deeper into fear. But a lot of people are afraid of failure because – they’re not afraid of failure, but they’re afraid that they will be a failure. There’s actually a limiting belief under that fear that says, if I fail, then I am a failure. And nobody wants to become a failure.

So, the first thing you have to do is identify the beliefs that are getting in your way. And so, the first belief that we’re gonna use as an example is, I will be a failure if I fail. And a lot of people fear that. And then, the second key after you’ve identified that belief that you want to shift and transform is you’ve got to unpack the belief, meaning you have to ask yourself, where did this start? Where does this come from? Where does this originate? And you think back to how did I learn this?

Because when you were born, and you came out of the womb, you weren’t like, I’m afraid of being a failure. You didn’t even know what failure was. You didn’t even know it existed. But we learn, maybe it was from a parent that said, you’re gonna be a failure one day, or a teacher, or maybe it was even from the school system. You saw a kid who got an F, and he was tormented by all his classmates, you were like, that’s never gonna be me.

And so, you look back at those events, and then the next step is you need to invalidate the belief or really collapse the belief. And something that I learned from studying Tony Robbins is that beliefs are built on evidence. And if you could think of them – he has this in his book – you can think about them as there’s a table. And then, there’s legs coming down from the table. And each leg is a piece of evidence. And in order to collapse a belief, you’ve got to swipe the legs out from under the table.

And how do you do that? Well, you ask yourself, is this really true. Is it really true that if I fail, I will be a failure? And you start actually thinking and reflecting. And journaling can be great for going deeper in this. And you might discover well, actually, who has the power to say I’m a failure? Failure is actually a lesson, and that’s where you replace the belief. So, you choose a new empowering perspective. And you might decide, you know what? I’m gonna let go of failure and replace it with lesson or replace it with feedback. Failure is feedback or failure is a lesson, because you can only fail for so long until you figure it out.

And so then, after you replace the belief, this is the most important part. You’ve got to reinforce that belief and really build that belief up by looking at people who are modeling that belief, who are owning that, who are sharing about feedback and failure being a lesson, and reinforce and gain more evidence to support that belief. And then also, test it out and be willing to fail so that you can see how much you can learn and that you can actually see that failure isn’t this big, scary thing that you were afraid of. In fact, it’s a really amazing resource, if you have an empowered perspective around it.

So, No. 1.) Identify the belief. No. 2.) Unpack the belief. No. 3.) Invalidate the belief or collapse the belief. No. 4.) Replace the belief. And No. 5.) Reinforce the belief.

Interviewer: Fire Nation, do you think I’m a failure? Because I failed. Does that make me a failure? Does it make Tony Robbins a failure? Who’s failed? Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, every single human being who you look at and admire and who has achieved greatness, they have all failed. So, how is you failing making you a failure? It makes no sense. It’s just the wrong correlation. We face a lot of mindset challenges, Ryan. But what do you say is the No. 1 mindset challenge entrepreneurs face?

Interviewee: Yeah. I think the No. 1 mindset challenge that entrepreneurs face is the sheer resistance of getting from where they are to where they want to be. And for some reason, a lot of entrepreneurs, when they first start off, they don’t see it. There’s this natural resistance that exists when it comes from getting from where you are to where you want to be and growing. And a lot of entrepreneurs, they feel that resistance, and for some reason, they turn it on them. And then, they decide either I’m not good enough or I’m not cut out for this, when it’s just the resistance.

And you cannot grow if there’s not resistance there. It’s supposed to be there. And so, I see such a huge opportunity for so many entrepreneurs to embrace the resistance, to embrace the challenge on the journey of creating whatever you believe success to be because that’s the path. That’s the path to growth.

Interviewer: Fire Nation, we have resistance getting from where we are to where we want to be. And that’s especially the case when you’re under the bed with a Snickers bar, because again, that’s going back to the ego. The ego’s like hey, I’m comfortable. It’s cold; it’s dark. I’ve got a Snickers bar. Life is good. I probably have an iPad. I’m probably watching Game of Thrones for the fourth time right now. Life is good down here. Why would you want to go anywhere else? Let’s resist going anywhere because here is good. But we need to move beyond that mindset. We need to move beyond this fear that’s holding us back.

So, what’s the most effective way that you found, Ryan, to move beyond fear?

Interviewee: Four steps. No. 1.) You’ve got to feel it. You’ve got to feel the fear, and don’t just feel the fear. Wear it as a badge of honor because few people are willing to step through the fear. And you’re one of those few. So, people who are creating amazing things in the world, they stand in the fire. They love fear. Of course, I know that’s not comfortable, but they thrive in it. So, don’t be ashamed of the fear that you’re feeling. Wear the fear as a badge of honor.

And then, second, embrace the fear, meaning receive it and be like wow, okay. I’m afraid of this. Don’t resist it, which we just talked about, which is like oh no, fear. I’m gonna back up. Embrace it. Yeah, I’m afraid. I’m afraid; I’m nervous. Accept it and embrace it.

And then 3.) Respond to it. I remember when I first had this dream of becoming self-employed. I had all this fear. What if you fail? What if you fail? What if you fail? And I actually took a moment to respond to that question. Well, what if I do fail? Well, I’m only going to fail for so long until I get the hang of it. And I would rather look back on my life and know that I had the courage to go after my dreams. And I thought about it. I was like, I’m willing to fail for my entire life and look back on my life and say, I went for it than to fail by default by not going for it at all.

And so, that response was enough for me to take step No. 4, which is step through it and just step into it. It takes courage. It takes strength, and every time you step through fear, you’re building up your willpower. You’re building up your confidence. You’re building up your credibility with yourself, and you’re one step closer to the life of your dreams. So, feel it, embrace it, respond to it, and step through it.

Interviewer: Fire Nation, feel it. Feel the fear. And then No. 2.) Embrace that fear. Give it a big old bear hug. And sometimes, I literally like to just feel my fear and then embrace it with a bear hug. And just kind of like say thank you. Because I’m like, this is exactly what’s holding all of my competition back because they can’t embrace this fear. And so, because I am, I’m rising above.

And then, when you respond to it and you go for it, guess what? You’re never gonna regret that. In fact, if you’ve never read the book The Biggest Regrets of the Dying, you need to, Fire Nation, because that’s the No. 1 regret, is that people didn’t go for it. And they regret it on their deathbed. And it’s so sad. Don’t be that person. And then, of course, step through it.

Ryan, let’s talk about transforming our mindset to live in an empowered mindset not just once in a while, but every day. How do we do that?

Interviewee: It really starts with a lifelong commitment. That’s where it starts. I don’t really see another way of going about it. You have to have a commitment, a deep, strong commitment, a promise with yourself that I am going to become my best. And it’s not about necessarily becoming the best, although, if that’s what you crave, awesome. It’s about becoming your best. And a great place to start is saying, you know what? What do I want my mindset to be like, and to start creating a vision for the mindset that you want to live in.

And I invite every single person listening to this to just pick three words that could describe an absolutely empowered mindset that you would love to have. And start there with that commitment. And then, start seeking out resources. Do the best you can with what you have.

I remember when I was 16 years old and I was mowing lawns. And I knew I had a dream of being an entrepreneur, but I didn’t have very much money. So, what I did was I just literally flooded my consciousness with podcasts, with YouTube videos, and learned as much as I could until I got to that point where I could invest in coaches, go to seminars, and most importantly, start taking action. And taking action also despite the evidence, because one of the most powerful ways to transform your mindset is to create the results that you felt that you could never create.

And if you are just willing to take action on your dreams, despite the evidence, if you’re willing to take that leap of faith, the evidence that will show up will blow you away. And it might not happen right away, but if you keep taking that action despite the evidence, I promise you, it will show up at some point, and it will absolutely knock you off your feet.

Interviewer: I love that because back when I was a teenager, Fire Nation, I’m gonna age myself a little bit here, there were no podcasts. So, I remember having the exact same cassette tape, and I would just listen to the same 12 songs on that cassette tape when I was mowing the lawns. And I look back on it now, and I’m just like, oh man, there was so much opportunity.

I could have been listening to Tony Robbins’ cassette tapes back then, but I wasn’t even doing that. And there’s just so much opportunity there and nowadays, with all the great content that’s out there. And you have something for us, Ryan. You have a game-changing ritual that we can use to elevate our mindsets. Give that to us.

Interviewee: This ritual is about using the power of focus. And there’s something that I heard from Oprah Winfrey, watching her share this speech. And it was really amazing. And she shared about this idea called your peak moment in destiny. And what would you imagine if you could just let yourself go there, what would be your peak moment in destiny where the highest version of yourself meant the highest opportunity that life gave you and that, that actualized in the expression of a single moment in your life.

And for me, I really look up to Tony Robbins as a role model and as an inspiration and someone who has really shown what’s possible in the personal development and transformation space in terms of events. And so, my peak moment is I see myself leading a training with 10,000-plus people and that’s gonna be an affirmation of my impact. And so, I let myself admit to myself what my peak moment is and whatever yours is, is perfect for you.
Your peak moment in destiny could be having a family and providing for your family. Or it could be making $10 million in a day. It’s up to you.
So, admit to yourself what your peak moment in destiny is. And then give yourself the gift of connecting with that every single day, just closing your eyes, or writing it down, whichever you prefer, and connecting with that sacred moment, which I truly believe if you could dream something up, if there’s a dream in your heart, if there’s a desire in your heart, it’s there for a reason.

And that’s because you’re worthy of having it, and it’s in the future waiting for you, if you’re willing to work for it and dive in and do the work. And so, give yourself the gift of believing. Even believing that you could live a moment in your life that is above and beyond what you even feel like you can imagine, and connect with it every day.

And I promise you, it will empower you and it’s really easy to navigate your actions from that point because you just ask what’s one action that I could take today that will even get me one step closer towards that peak moment in destiny. And when you allow yourself to connect with that, it will empower you beyond measure.

Interviewer: Ryan, so many value bombs. Give us the one takeaway that you want to make sure Fire Nation really walks away with from everything we chatted about today. Give us your call to action, and then we’ll say goodbye.

Interviewee: The big takeaway that I want you to gain from this is that your dream is in your heart for a reason. Like I just shared, your dream is in your heart for a reason. And keep going after it and do not quit, no matter how tough or how challenging things get, there are people who are walking the path with you. Be resourceful. Have an undying commitment to become your best self. And that alone is enough to support you in making amazing progress and living an extraordinary life.

The call to action that I want to share with you all today is a framework. It’s a free training called The Unstoppable Mindset Framework. And if you go to ryanclarkin.com/fire, you can gain that for free. And it’s just an extra tool that I want to give you to give you an edge and really leverage over your day, each and every single day.

Interviewer: Fire Nation, you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with. And you’ve been hanging out with RC and JLD today. So, keep up that heat. And if you head over to eofire.com and type Ryan in our search bar, the show notes page will pop up with everything we’ve been talking about today, best show notes in the biz. But of course, your direct call to action, visit ryanclarkin.com/fire. Get that great gift that he is providing to you, Fire Nation, to elevate your mindset.

And then, go to that next level. And please don’t forget about that affirmation run that we talked about earlier because man, that is gonna be some great footage and Fire Nation, you will not regret it.

So, Ryan, thank you for sharing your truth with Fire Nation today. For that, we salute you, brother, and we’ll catch you on the flip side.

Interviewee: Thank you so much, John.