Breaking the Cycle of Alcohol Addiction #alcholoism #military

Speaker 1: 0:00

But welcome everybody to the Words for Chains podcast. I am your host, lionel, and I am super excited about the guests we have coming on the show today. Derrick Johnson is going to come through in a minute and talk with us about a very, very important topic, but before we talk about that topic, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to grab your favorite cup of coffee, get yourself settled in, grab a notebook, even because this podcast is going to be good for you, and I really would suggest it to anyone who is dealing with a veteran, anyone in the military or anyone who is dealing with substance abuse, in particular, alcoholism Definitely recommend this podcast episode for them, and it can be more than just about alcoholism. It can be any substance abuse issues that you're having. This episode will be beneficial to you, even if you're struggling with trauma from your past. I think you will benefit. I know you will benefit from, I guess, what he has to share and you will benefit from the topic that we will discuss today. So, for those of you who do not know me, hey, welcome to the Words for Chains podcast. I am Lionel. Who am I? Who is Lionel? Well, lionel, I am a chaplain or coach. I am a friend two-minute and a confidant to a very few. I help people through spirit and growth personal growth leading to social change and I'm here to help you to get through the transitory stages of your life. So, thank you for joining the Words for Chains podcast. Go ahead and like. If you're watching this on YouTube, go ahead on and subscribe so you continue to get wonderful conversations from the Words for Chains podcast and we can become part of a family. You can learn from us and we can learn from you. So, hey, grab your favorite cup of coffee. When we come back on the other side, we will be with our special guest, derek Johnson, and we will hop right into the conversation. Let's make it happy. Well, derek, how are you today? My brother?

Speaker 2: 2:09

Doing great, Lionel. How are you doing today?

Speaker 1: 2:12

Man, I'm doing wonderful. Hey, I'm excited that you are here. Well, the Words for Chains podcast, and hey, I think I guess they're excited to hear from you as well. Where are you from, man? Tell us who are you and where are you from, derek?

Speaker 2: 2:26

Great question. So I'm actually originally from Pensacola, florida, in the Panhandle. So I was actually born in Fort Steward Georgia Army Base, about an hour outside of Savannah, georgia. I was only there for a couple of months as a baby. Then from there we moved to Germany for a few years until elementary school In elementary school. So from elementary all the way through college I was throughout the state of Florida.

Speaker 1: 2:51

So hey, so Derek, so you are from Florida. Did you play sports, Do you do anything like that while you were in high school?

Speaker 2: 3:01

Yes, I ran track. I was also into martial arts. I did Tang Sudo, which is a form of Taekwondo and kickboxing. So I played basketball as well. But I really fell in love with the individual sport because I got tired of losing if my butt just the game went a shot. So I was like, alright, solo track star and solo martial artist, Right.

Speaker 1: 3:19

So you'd be messing people up out there. You'd be kicking people and stuff, man. So tell us about you. You are also I think you're an Army vet or you were active duty. Tell us a little bit about that. How was that experience for you?

Speaker 2: 3:39

Yes, I was in the US Army for 10 years. Five years was active and five in the Army National Guard. So if people aren't familiar with the guard, essentially you work for your state and federal and I was in Florida at the time. If there's a hurricane that came, if a school potentially had an active shooter, we would get mobilized and help the local get their water protection, safety and all that. And then in the Army my job was satellite communications. So I was always the tech nerd. I was on all the devices laptops, radios and I always liked the tech space of everything. So having a top security clearance was very interesting Giving my team, giving the platoon and the battalion and everyone the internet, radios and so forth, and we were the guys behind the scenes. But without us the mission would never exist or be fully completed or effective.

Speaker 1: 4:30

So, were you in Intel or were you in Coms? I was in Coms. Coms, yeah, yeah, cool. So that's one thing we have in common I'm a chaplain in the military, okay, so, yeah, so I know a lot about all of that. That's why I knew exactly what. So, yeah, man, so doing five years, 10 years, and that hey, by the way, if you guys don't know, that's just a part of what Derek does, but Derek is also a fitness coach and we'll talk a little bit about his business ventures and what he does out in the world as a fitness coach. But specifically, derek, what was your experience like in the Army, man, hannah? Did you like it? What was it like for you to do what you did in the Army? Yeah, talk about that.

Speaker 2: 5:20

Great question. So the first few years I actually really enjoyed it the comradery aspect, the competitive aspect, going to all the training schools, air assault, airborne, doing all that but I didn't notice that there was a shit. My last few years in, and it went from a comradery and a cohesive unit to a lot of groups started splitting up as in hey, are they this, are they part of this political group, are they part of this? And it got really separated. So my first few years I loved it because everybody was really close with each other. They were essentially like family. But then my last couple of years it got really conflicted and it's got really dramatic.

Speaker 1: 5:59

Wait, what do you mean, man? What happened? I mean, come on, you got to spill the beans. Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure. I know my side, derek. I know what happened to me yeah, even as a chaplain doing that time. But I want to hear what your experience is. What do you mean when you say that you noticed some differences there?

Speaker 2: 6:16

So the differences would be that people started showing their true colors. So we went from supporting each other having each other's back to then. I noticed that it got very common for soldiers males and females on paper that would qualify for new promotions, qualify for new awards or anything of that nature. They were not getting picked as frequently because they weren't quote unquote hanging out with the high rank and all that. So basically, if you weren't drinking beers with the guys in my unit, then they thought, oh well, you're not part of the clique. So it started happening to a lot of soldiers that more so did their job, showed up for their soldiers and then would leave, work Right and they really wouldn't hang out with coworkers which there's nothing wrong with that, and I was one of them. I would just show up, take care of everyone, leave and keep my personal life personal. And I noticed that that was becoming very common, especially in the state of Florida. A lot of units where some of my buddies were also different branches and they noticed it as well where it was interesting, dynamic and shift, but it went more so from a family unit to then separated into all these clicks and subcategories, where at first I didn't mind because I said, hey, I'm still going to show up and take care of everyone. But then I noticed there was a lot of paper pushing or I would need this paper signed, I would do my part and bring it to the admin guy and then there'd be a two or three week delay. Then I couldn't go to this school and it just seems like I was jumping through unnecessary groups along with me, jumping through them for my soldiers to make sure that they were set. So it got really political when it came to admin. And then also, if you weren't part of the quote unquote buddy system, you would miss out on opportunities or you would be overlooked, even though on paper you had PT test scores, volunteer hours, you had all the numbers, your stats were there, but you somehow fall through the cracks and your your packet would start falling lower. So that's one thing that I got really irritated with.

Speaker 1: 8:13

Yeah, so did you. Did you feel Okay so? So again, we're talking about your, your, your experience in military. So did you feel that you were being I hate to use the word targeted, because I hate that word, I do too but did you feel like you were being sort of, you know, like on subconsciously, kind of like ostracized? And the reason I asked that question, derek, because, doing that time period when people were, you know, people were expressing their opinions, like I said that way Exactly, and the conversations became very, very tough, like meaning, you know, because I talk to people and what I do, I talk to people from the highest rank all the way down to the E1, right, yes, I'm all up and down a chain of command. So when I'd go to have conversations behind closed doors, people were afraid to say some things, or that we'd be in a staff meeting and people would say, hey, I remember one time I don't know if I should say this because I'm still active- you got it.

Speaker 2: 9:29

You just don't have to name drop.

Speaker 1: 11:25

But no, I'm not gonna name drop, but there was a comment around Black History Month, yes, and the person in charge was turned around and looked at me and was like what do we do with that? And everybody, some of my friends who like supply officers and logistics officers, looked across the table at me like did that just happen? Like they didn't say anything. But they were like whoa, and I was like bro, this is out of control. So the conversations the reason I bring that story up is because their conversations got very, very tight-lipped and people were again making comments like oh well, we can't do that now because of this Kind of like oh, this is an inconvenience. Oh, you know, people think this. Did you have that?

Speaker 2: 12:13

kind of experience. Oh, yes, 100%. I saw that, and whether it was happening directly to me or my soldiers, that's when it would really irritate me, cause personally I could handle most of anything, but it was whenever it would happen to my soldiers, male and females, that it was almost like the last straw, where I didn't just initially dip out and say, hey, teach their own, but it was more so a strategic move where I would calculate okay, her paperwork was not signed, and then she had to pay for her medical bills even though she shouldn't have, cause something happened during training. He wasn't able to go into a school because somebody forgot to sign his paperwork. Even though we took it to them and handed it to them, they never sent it off somehow. So we would keep notes, we would keep a paper trail of everything, and so I would show my chain of command. I'm like, hey, I have nothing against them personally, but here's what the admin and other individuals were not doing. They were just not taking care of their soldiers. So I would do everything from my part, but hoping that they would do theirs and always following up, but for some reason, a packet, a paperwork, a signature, something that was always missed, forgotten up in the air, and it would happen so frequently that it started to affect my soldier's pay. So once that started happening, that's when basically red-eye mode was coming out nothing violent, but more so really direct, and it was like, hey, here's my paper trail. Why is this repeatedly happening to my people and myself? So it was more so that, and the common tread was that a lot of the individuals were biracial, mixed from different countries, cultures and all that, or on paper, they were just overqualified for the position that they were in, but they just didn't necessarily hang out with anyone outside of work. So if they didn't fit in this category, they fit in that one. And I noticed that the chain of command really didn't like that. But it all stemmed from the top. So my first few years in love, my chain of command, the commander, battalion commander, like everyone, everything was ran in a leadership style, the way it should be. And then, once you have a change of command, it could be totally different. And that's what happened multiple times, where it was a culture shock, but it was more so. The morale of everyone in the unit was dropping week by week and I've never been one to bring home work stress, but I did start to do that about six years ago. That's when I got out and I noticed that I was just ranting about work to my girlfriend and I've never been that type and I was like, oh, red flag, I'm coming home ranting and I'm not about to turn into the guy that's coming home and just gonna sit on the porch and just complain all day. So I was like all right, so I did my part to make some suggestions and all that. But one of the last straws, personally, that I noticed was, as you're familiar with sharp training, which is a sexual harassment training the individual at the time that was giving the lecture. Afterwards, about an hour or two after that lecture, he ended up touching one of my female soldiers, and I'm not violent at all, but I had to hold myself back where I was just Whoa, whoa, whoa whoa, whoa, whoa.

Speaker 1: 15:18

Derek, Did I just hear you say that? You said the guy who did the training?

Speaker 2: 15:21

Yes, and there was multiple cases where he would sexually and physically harass the female soldiers, whether that was in the locker room, whether that was in the supply, just like in random areas, and everything was on hush-hush. And I didn't realize it until my soldier spoke up to me about it. And so then we pulled female soldiers into the hall, we asked everybody, and then a lot of them wanted to put in some paperwork anonymously, and then a few months later that sergeant was no longer at our unit. So to this day I don't know what all happened. I bet he was just shipped off to another unit and repeat the process, a little slap on the hand. But that was another final straw where I was like so these soldiers are not getting their paperwork signed. I'm somehow overly qualified on paper but I still aren't able to get into this school, even though the papers and the numbers show that I'm qualified for all these schools. And then the last straw was this the sexual harassment coming from the individual. Number one. It shouldn't happen at all in the military because we should be a cohesive unit. But the most important part and the mind-blowing part was this was the individual teaching the class on sexual harassment. But come to find out he was drinking at work and other stuff. Not saying that's an excuse at all, but there was a lot of. It was a slippery slope in that regard and so I could just tell that I'm a very calm, positive person. But I could tell that once you're crossing the line that way with individuals, then I didn't want anything to turn violent. So I was like you know what? We're gonna create a paper trail, submit it and then do our part.

Speaker 1: 17:05

And go from there. Well, you know, and there you know that you should have happened in ford who, oh, yeah, that your girl was, was Was being sexually assaulted and she actually, I think she ended up killing herself or something like that, committing suicide or something like that. And so, for you know, that's man, that's, that's unfortunate, because it is a wide issue, big issue in the military and in these are things that we're taught. I'm not as a, as a, as a as a person of active service right, and you, as a vet who serve honorably, you know these conversations need to be had and and this is no way disparaging what we do, how, how we do it, because this is not everyone exactly, but there is an issue with it. That's the reason why the current administration and I'm not going political, but the current administration took that. I don't know what they did. They did it for the Marine Corps, but I don't know what they did for the army. They took that, um, they took that, that, that job, we call it sapper. They took that job away as a collateral duty, yes, and now made it a GS employee gig. So there's no conflict of interest there, because it's such a huge problem. And so, yeah, man, that's that's unfortunate that that we had that. So, hey, derek, let's take a quick break, for commercial will come right back. Well, man, what a spirited conversation we're having with our guest today, derek Johnson, who's coming on and sharing some wonderful Information with us so far, telling us his story as an army vet and as a fitness coach. We're gonna talk about his life coach business in a minute. But, hey, what if you are watching this episode, if you listen to this episode? Hey, this is made possible by buzz sprout. Buzz sprout is the platform that we use the words for change Podcasts to push our message and our podcast out into the world. So if you're looking for Podcasts platform that can help you develop show nose blog posts, that can get your Podcasts to all the major podcast platforms, I would encourage you to check out buzz sprout. The link is in the show note description and you can mention the words for change podcasts so we can get our little affiliation kick back there. Why? Because all of this stuff is not for free. It costs Something, and so help us to continue to help you to bring great content by checking out buzz sprout Right down below in the show notes. All right, thank you so much. All right, derek. So One of the other issues that that we know, that that you talk about in your story is Growing up in the military and some of the struggles you had as a military. We call it military brass. Yes, right, growing up in the military with some of the struggles you dealt with, particularly as it relates around a top golf of alcohol. You know, and I know that it is a huge issue Because at least in the Navy Marine Corps it's even in our fight song, right, marine Corps started in Tuntavern at the bar. The Navy's fight song says, part of it says you know, drink to the phone, which means basically drink till you can't drink anymore, like Exactly. So what was your? Did you have some Experiences, if I understand your story correctly, with this issue Coming up in the military family?

Speaker 2: 20:52

Yes for sure. So I would say, at the age of 11. That's when things shifted. So my parents my dad is African-American, he was 25 plus years in the US Army officer. My mother is German, so I actually met in Germany when my dad was stationed there. But long story short, she was a kindergarten teacher, 40 plus years. They both grew up the oldest of multiple siblings, so they were the parental guardian for their siblings while their mothers were working multiple jobs. They also grew up poor and then later on in life became successful. So they had to grow up quick. So there's a lot of trauma in regards to violence, drug addiction that runs on both sides of the family. Also, alcoholism ran on both sides of the family. So by them seeing the violence, being the oldest having to grow up quick, they honestly just didn't have time to get the help that they needed. So they went into the career field, excelled. Nothing ever affected their career or their professional life, even their personal life with friends. But then I would notice that when I turned 11 things started to shift. Where they're past or Traumas would start to spill in, and I noticed it was only at night, so between the hours of 9 pm To 1 am. That's when they would drink more. But the crazy thing is they would still be up at 4 or 5 every single day working out. So it never affected career morning routine, anything of that nature. It was just like a window of rage 390 a year. And then the next morning, hey, where do you want to have breakfast? Where do you want to do this? And I'm like, you realize, I'm still cleaning up this glass, you realize, but they would basically black out. But I noticed when I was 11, that's when it started. So after a year of that, I noticed that while they were yelling, screaming, everything that was going on, they were looking through Me, not at me, through me, as in they could see someone else, a past experience, a past trauma, whatever was happening, it almost felt like the energy in a spiritual level would shift, and it would only happen when the guests would leave. So at that time we had a beautiful house from the outside in Pensacola, florida, multiple bedrooms, screened in pool, beautiful family and all that. But once everyone left, the cookout and the last drink was finished, that's when they would just release on their son. So I was the youngest, but those first two years it happened. It was a reality check, but after a while I realized that this is all happening for me, not to me. So with that experience I feel like everyone that has a level of trauma. To an extent we're given a gift and I feel that my gift as a teenager was the gift of discernment, being able to read an individual, a room and meet people where they're at. So I was always the calm, quiet kid Because, like one, I was half asleep dealing with a crazy night, but two, I would give what I was lacking at home, which was support and love, to others to build them up. So, like we had the discipline, we had the structure at home. Everything professional were waking up early, also work hard, take care of people, but the family dynamic, the love, affection, all that just wasn't there. So I made sure to not go the violent route or to continue the cycle. So fitness became my outlet, and it was more so from my mentality. So by being bullied at home as the skinny, light-skinned mixed kid and all that, and I was bullied in school, living in the south. One day I woke up in middle school and I said enough is enough. I need to learn how to harness the body, how to harness the mind and improve my faith.

Speaker 1: 24:18

So I went all in well, you know, yeah, yeah so. So just for people listening, give them context here, derek. I got some stats here that I just want to share with people who who need to understand that that military alcoholism in the military is a big deal and it's a big problem. The army did some research I think it's back in 2023, margin 2023. They said over 20 22 percent of our army soldiers reported a heavy drinking, and that heavy drinking was described as more than check this out y'all four drinks a day of more than 14 Drinks between men and women. Think about that. Individuals were significantly more likely to report sleeping problems and dissatisfaction because of this and 2021 and one. The health force said that the substance abuse disorder is diagnosed among soldiers, or the highest, among those less than 25 years old. So, in other words, if they, the younger they were, the more they were abusing alcohol. Okay, and a big another stat show that that alcoholism is one of the ways that military personnel deal with mental health issues. So if you have mental health issues and you don't know how to deal with it, guess what? Alcohol became your drug of choice. Here's another thing that I just want to bring to everybody's attention here the NIA D, the NIA D reported that the members are more likely to abuse alcohol military members than civilians and that interesting, particularly the levels of binge drinking. Active duty service members See drinking as part of their culture. But also Drinking alcohol may serve as a means to connect with, you know, conformity, getting into the culture. So in other words, alcoholism is a gateway to be being part of the culture. But guess, watch this over 15 to 20 percent of incidents that happen with sexual abuse, sexual assault, duis, right there, all focused around alcoholism. And then I can tell you from my, my experience, that any of the situations that I encountered whether it was like a sailor marine out in town causing problems, a Sexual assault, someone, it was all. Alcohol is every time is a part of the equation, right, and so what? What? What we're saying here is that it has a traumatic effect, not only on the individuals sort of getting into the culture and conforming into the culture and then becoming part of it, but it also has it's has a crippling and ripple effect on persons, mental health, how to deal with mental health and Causing criminal behavior, right. So I don't want to get too deep into it, but it's kind of what you're talking about that. So here you have your family, who were Upstanding citizens doing the right thing right, great people, great community, all of that stuff you're surrounded by. But there were some demons deep down inside and so, luckily Because probably because your military Training and military home environment you was like well, you know how do I turn this into something good? Exactly, I know a lot of people out there want to hear how'd you do that man?

Speaker 2: 28:03

Yeah for sure. Great question. So one. I got tired of being bullied at home and at school, so I said you know what? I have to change my body. I was always this skinny kid, slight skin, so automatically you're, I guess, apparently soft. So I made sure to learn about the body, learn about the mind. So I picked up every book in regards to bodybuilding magazines, books. I started consuming content of speakers like Tony Robbins, les Brown, and I just wanted to harness my body by building it and then, most importantly, control my mind. And the more that I did that within about two years my classmates, my teachers, my Neighbors, my parents, friends, they were asking me like hey, what did you do? And then from there, slowly, I started training people. So at the age of 15 I became a personal trainer and Throughout high school, throughout college, I was training people, also in the military. But what really shifted to guide me towards becoming a life coach was I Was around 25, and that's when I've trained hundreds of clients males, females, soldiers and athletes. But I realized that some people would start to go backwards months or years after we trained together and at first once out of me was like oh here, she just got lazy. But then the other side, the mature side, said no, I did not give them the mental tools to change this, to change those patterns. So nowadays what I really focus on, besides the fitness, is helping people identify patterns that are not serving them so they can thrive and not just barely survive. So an example is the individual that does really well in one or two things, but they neglect the rest, to kind of push it into the closet slide or under the rug, say I'm gonna get to it January 1st, yeah, after the holidays I'm gonna get to that thing. But that is the exact thing, yeah, that is affecting their friendships, their relationships, their mental health, physical health, whatever Specifically is. So that's what we identify the most. What is that thing? Where did it begin? Where did it start? And then slowly walking through the process to get rid of limiting beliefs, traumas, things of that nature, so they feel like they can finally breathe again and they have control of their situation and control their outcome. So that's the main thing that I focus on now. But it was all from the path of Harnessing my own energy. So, as that kid, as that teenager, I knew that I had a lot of pent up anger and aggression and I didn't want to be violent. So I was like, alright, martial arts is helping me be calm, fitness is helping me be calm. And After an intense workout, my mind was open and that's when I would work on my faith, because I wasn't thinking, I was just in flow state and amazing things would happen on a spiritual level and I really got. I was excited about it and obsessed with that in a good way, because I wanted others to experience that. So I always knew that there was a correlation between physical and mental and I wanted to give people that, so to give them that energy that they had control and they could work on their faith after an excruciating workout. Because they're calm, there's no self judgment, they're flowing. So it was very interesting. So, with that being said, so got sick and tired of being bullied at home in school and then just went all in to work on myself to then help others as well throughout the process.

Speaker 1: 31:18

So when you say faith, are you saying religious faith or spiritual faith, or faith in themselves, just facing them faith in themselves? How do you define that?

Speaker 2: 31:27

Yeah, great question. So faith in God, in whatever an individual believed in, so for me it was God, jesus, and worked on my faith from there. So that's what I believed because of seeing so much darkness, and I do believe that. And to each their own. But alcohol is a gateway to open up spirits, which is why it's called spirits if you look at the liquor store. So I do believe that at times, I do believe that at times when the madness was happening that something would take them over and some people might think that's crazy, but people that have experienced it, they can see that a person's eyes would change color, and I saw that that happened to a lot of my family members when they were on something. And so the spirit of battle was what affected me the most. It wasn't like the violence and the yelling. I was calm, that really didn't affect me much, but it was like the dark, demonic energy that was in the home or in the family that I could feel would only pop up sometimes when something was being consumed. And so, like as a teen, also in the army, I had very severe sleep paralysis, not from me drinking at all in the military, but it was more so from experiences and I felt that spiritually I was like being attacked on a deep level. So I defied through that by improving my faith. But I realized that that was because of my surroundings. It wasn't that I was consuming anything, it was just being surrounded by that so much I literally felt that somewhere in the family there was demonic possession that would like hop from person to person.

Speaker 1: 32:51

And again so, so, so. So how do you couch that conversation to spiritually? Because there's people who are listening and going okay, man, now you're going, woo, woo on me, you lost me, man. So so how do you? How do you say no, man, this is just a psychological. I can hear some people anticipate that this is just a psychological issue you were having. I had nothing to do with you. Know some spiritual? How do you, how do you? I don't want to say combat that, but this is your experience. So how did you get to that level where you say you know what I feel like this is a demonic attack and it's at the gateway to this demonic attack is through the consumption of some kind of psych I don't know, I should say psychedelic alcoholism drug would have you. So yeah, yes.

Speaker 2: 33:41

So that is a great question. So I always saw it as a challenge. I was always zooming out of myself. So when the situation was happening with family, or it was a nightmare, it was sleep, paralysis, whatever it was I would zoom out and I would look at my current self from a version 10.0. So, like the individual that I want to become, I would look at myself and say what is the best action set he should take in this moment? And then I would perspective, hop to my younger self and look at the current self and say, look at everything he's been through. He should be proud. How can he get to that higher version? And I would perspective pop a lot. So in the moment I wasn't necessarily affected by what was happening. I was more so trying to figure out, all right, what is the best outcome, and then from there I would make a strategic decision, opposed to making a decision based on emotions or whatever energy was happening. So I would first pause, breathe, assess the situation and then make the best decision for myself and for others. And it was usually always the calmer out and not giving people what they expected. So, going back to the question was also that the more that I harness myself, as in my energy, my response to situations. I realized that my faith was elevated so much because I realized that I wasn't just doing this by myself. The fitness wasn't just about the body or the mind. I realized that that level of calmness elevated my trust in God and I knew that somebody was with me throughout the process. So it wasn't just me reading, learning, training. I knew something was guiding me. So the deeper I went, I realized that my conscience. I just trusted it 100%. Even to this day, whatever I'm guided to, I don't even question it it says, hey, go do this thing, something good always happens and there's literally no second thought. There's no self doubt. It's insane, but again, I do truly believe that only happens when somebody has been through trauma and goes all in on working on themselves and their faith. So to the individual that might think that sounds crazy, I challenge them to look at a friend, look at a family member that has had drinking issues and think back on a memory where you saw somebody just yelling, just very violent. That was not them. Something took them over. To some they could say you know what demonic possession. To others they could say that's childhood trauma that came out via rage or anger. Some could say maybe it's a combination of both, but either way is to see that people are just opening up a doorway to something that they haven't worked on or faced and they don't know how to control it. So that's why I always challenge people to really harness their own energy, realize the power that they do have, work on their faith in whatever they particularly believe in. But from there is to realize that we have the power to control our reactions to things, situations and people. So one of the huge components that I focus on is I teach people how to get rid of their vices, and it's without judgment. So if it is alcohol for this individual, if it's drinking, if it's porn for this individual, if it's just anger, some people are just angry 24 seven, whatever their advice is. We identify where this came from and then we slowly start to get rid of that thing.

Speaker 1: 36:55

Yeah, well, you know, derek, you make you break up a good point that that we have. Everybody has what we call generational curses. Yes, what I mean by generational curses? We can, if I was to use scientific jargon, to explain that we all have genetic predispositions for things, and some of those things are not positive. And one of the greatest pieces of advice that I've ever gotten was everything from your external life is a result of your internal world, and so if you're not paying attention to your spirit, the things that are the thoughts that you're having, the way that you respond to the realities that you're facing, if you're not paying attention to that, you'll spend all your time on the external, not understanding that. What's really driving all of that, it's what's going on inside of you, and some of that can be the result of some spiritual paralysis that you may have gone through. Maybe you've a person that you've never even worked on and even thought about working on your spiritual life, and that's a big deal for me. As part of what I do, I help people to work on their spiritual life. Right, I started there first, and then you kind of branch out from there, because I believe it affects you and so many different ways. And so, to the listener, think this thing through what Derek is telling us right, that you need to be open to the fact that there are things from your past behaviors and predispositions to things that's affecting your life and you need to maybe turn around and focus on what those things are instead of just working on the external. What about the internal resources? Right? My view, I remember Derek is, brought brought me to mind of a young lady that this was many, many years ago and I'd be quick here, but she, I was working at a high school and this one girl came into my office and she was, she was 18 years old, she was in the 10th grade, she was had, was had two, two kids by two different guys, and she was pregnant by a third kid by another guy. And I remember looking at her second and she was lost in that situation. The reason why she came to my office is because she didn't have money to pay and I said well, where are the? Where the fathers? It's the, none of Mara involved, and she's 18, trying to get through high school, and she's pregnant with two kids. And I looked at her and said your life is done before you even begin. Your life is done before you even begin. Come to find out that, as I talk with her more, I was a counselor she had. Not only was she in that position, her mom and her grandma had a very similar experience. So her present reality was the result of an ancestral, almost right a way of being and working and living in the world. There was resulting in the same actions. What am I saying? I'm saying that sometimes what we are experiencing has so much to do with our upbringing and our past and people who influence us more than our current reality. So I think that's what you're getting at. Yeah, 100%, and this is what you help people with in life coaching too.

Speaker 2: 40:32

Yeah, Exactly because people have to accept that they're a product of their environment. But if they can be aware of that, it's all about awareness to zoom out. So my awareness was extremism and addiction runs on both sides of the family. I chose fitness and I went all out and my parents and their friends were like, oh, he's addicted to this. And I'm like I'm not even pushing anything onto you. I'm like, yes, I just went run 10 miles like a gym for two hours.

Speaker 1: 40:56

Like why is that a bad thing? I'm like you gotta go have a drink and make sure you come Right right.

Speaker 2: 41:02

Push my body and mind. But just identifying does extremism run in our family? If it does, are you choosing a positive outlet to control that thing and are you seeing the positive in it? So an example they were professional, they were always up, they were always doing well and excelling in their careers. Okay, I got those traits. The extremism is there. We have to identify that. Okay, I'm gonna choose a positive outlet for when said emotions hit. That's fitness, that's faith and building up others. And then from there I was just hyper aware hey, do not try any of these things. So to this day I've never once tried a drug, never once smoked anything of that nature, because I knew that our mentality, something in the chromosomes, is gonna just go all in. So I said I'm going all in on my career and to help people and that's it, and that's what I chose, made that decision and, just to this day, just proud of myself choosing that rather than another route, not knowing what would have happened. But if I just said, oh yeah, you know the dabble in this, dibble in that and that could turn into something extreme. But again, that takes the individual that can have the ability to push pride and ego aside, to zoom out and assess their family. Not judging at all and just seeing all right. This one ramp it on both sides. It can be used for good. So I need to get obsessed with my goals and helping improve other people and myself and then go from there and see what happens along this journey.

Speaker 1: 42:30

Well, derek, speaking of your goals, let's talk about you as a fitness coach man. So what do you tell everybody? What you do as a fitness coach, and we'd love to introduce how you're helping people to. We talked about the internal. Now how we're helping people to work on the external. So help us understand what you do, man, and how you impact people that way.

Speaker 2: 42:50

Definitely so. Number one I have a training app, so every client has access to the training app. So essentially, on there they have their calendar, they know what day they're doing, what workout, what days are rest day. So in the training app I have tutorial videos of the exercises and they watch those for 30 to 60 seconds and then they follow the sets and reps. So, week by week, we also get on Zoom calls or, if it's in person, and then we dive deep into their goals. If it's performance for some, as physique, for some they're like I've had a bad relationship with food from past bullying from my family upbringing. I just wanna change the trajectory. I don't now wanna be like the rest of my family or to break this trend. So we pinpoint first what exactly their clear goal is that would make him or her happy and powerful and prideful in themselves. Cause sometimes people they place happiness on the end goal of a weight, what the scale says, how their body looks, measurements, if they can bench 315 on flat bench, like whatever it is is. I teach them how to fall in love with the person along the journey to their goal and they always gain clarity and say, wow, I didn't realize that it was gonna be so much deeper than just fitness. Their career starts to elevate their personal relationships, their public speaking. So that's always my favorite part of that, because I can always tell them the beginning oh, she's shy, she wants to train at home. By month two she can be like, hey, can I go to the gym? And actually you know she's gonna be out here just doing all this and it's amazing to see the light bulbs go off when an individual harnesses their morning routine, their daily habits, and they feel like they have control. It's just another way of living cause many people. They see athletes as inspiring and some see them as obsessed. But they don't realize that what they harness at their core is their standards and they live up to those standards each and every day and they have that discipline. That's good. That's good. If somebody doesn't have that, they can control the other areas of their life. I just challenge everyone to become the man or woman that you'd be proud of and see how you can give him or her to the world. Become the man or woman that you'd be proud of and see how you can give him or her to the world. So I truly feel that's what we're all here, for we can heal ourselves. We can help impact others, even if it's not your career. But everything comes full circle and everything that you learn and the wisdom, don't hoard it. Give it to others. See how you can empower other people that you come across in life.

Speaker 1: 45:14

Awesome. Well, derek, thank you so much for coming by and sharing with the Words for Change podcast. I really, really appreciate it, brother, and you helped us to understand how we can move through life and we can take care of the internal, even though we have some trauma from the past, even though we have things that we're not really proud about, but these things can serve as fuel to motivate us and move us toward our life journeys and purpose, which is definitely what it has done for you. So, once again, thank you for coming by, brother.

Speaker 2: 45:45

I appreciate it.

Speaker 1: 45:45

I appreciate you man, thank you for having me. Yes, yes, sir. Well, words for Change podcast. We've done another great episode with Derek Johnson. His information is down in the show notes for you to go ahead on and connect with him. If you want coaching, if you want to get into a fitness routine, he can be there with you to help walk you through that process. Even if you want to talk about some of the traumas in your life that's keeping you from living your best life, derek is there to help you. So, once again, thank you for listening to the Words for Change podcast, looking forward to talking with you soon and introducing you to the possibility of change, cause, remember, nothing will change in life till you change first. Be the change you want to see in the world. Talk to you soon. Peace Wise-up podcast.