Do you ever have that feeling of tiredness after a days work? Or maybe you wake up still feeling fatigued. Perhaps its the lower back pain that you've come to accept as normal. Or the itchy skin, extra weight, IBS... and the list goes on.

In todays society we have started to normalise dis-ease. Taking pills and medication is the norm. But when we step back and take a look at things, medication is not a long term fix without side effects. The best medicine in the world is prevention, and it comes in the form of plant-based foods and whole foods which are nutrient dense. But I get it.Sometimes we get to a certain age or stage of life, and we create a narrative that it's normal to have discomfoet, lack of mobility and dis-ease. But it's really not "normal" - yes, a ton of society suffers from these issues, but it doesn't make it normal.

Our bodies are meant to thrive and to move freely. But in order to so, I believe there are some basic principles that provide us with a great foundation. It really doesnt matter if you're 15 or 55, the same principles apply throughout your life. 

This week I sat down with Batman actor and Health guru, Clark Bartram who shared his amazing lifestyle principles to live by. Clark truly walks the walk and is a picture of strength and vitality. His mission is to empower others, particularly men over the age of 50, to embrace maximum health.

If you care about a long and healthy life, I urge you to listen to this weeks episode. 

 Clark's 5 Lifestyle Principles are:

1. Mindset
2. Meals
3. Movement
4. Community
5. Supplementation

Not to be missed...

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Full Transcript

The following is the full transcript of this weeks episode of the Life On Purpose Podcast with James Laughlin. For weekly motivation please subscribe to the Apple Podcast, Spotify or YouTube Channel.

 

SPEAKERS 

Clark Bartram, actor on The Batman Movie and American Health and Fitness Host

James Laughlin, former seven-time world champion, life coach and leadership coach from Christchurch, New Zealand

 

James Laughlin 00:01 

Welcome to Life on Purpose. My name is James Laughlin, former seven-time world champion musician and now a success coach to leaders and high performers. Each week, I bring you an inspiring leader or expert to help you live your life on purpose. Thanks for taking the time to connect today and investing in yourself. Enjoy the show!    Before we jump into today's episode, I want to tell you about the purpose club. I started the purpose club quite some time ago, so that I could coach people of all backgrounds. Not everybody has access to coaching. And certainly, it can be at all people's price range. So, I wanted to create a community where I coach my members each month and it's incredibly affordable. And I do a deep dive monthly live session and deliver my best techniques, strategies and habits. And I impart great lessons on leadership, motivation, mindset, abundance, habit installation, and you're creating a lasting legacy. There's free replays in there from all the previous live casts, there's high impact worksheets for you to take home and actually work through throughout the month, you'll receive weekly planning emails with actual planners to fill out your week, you'll get a weekly self-evaluation email, where you can evaluate yourself on all different levels, relationship, life, business, wealth, career, everything that you want, you'll get weekly journal prompts to really get your mind tuned into that higher level thinking. And also on a monthly basis, you'll get planning worksheets and reflections for your month. So, if you would like to learn about it, please get in touch with me or someone in my team, you know, jump on Instagram jameslaughlinofficial, drop me a DM or you can email me James at jjlaughlin.com or just go to the website jjlaughlin.com and check it out. Enjoy the show and I hope to see some of you guys over in the purpose club. 

 

James Laughlin 

Clark, a massive Welcome to the life on purpose podcast. 

 

Clark Bartram 02:32 

Thank you, James. It's great to be here, brother, I am excited to get this going. I mean, just the pre-conversation we had was interesting to me. So, I cannot even imagine what we're going to get into. So, let's go. 

 

HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR BUSINESS WHILE STILL BEING A DAD? 

James Laughlin 02:44 

Let's have some fun. So, I'm really intrigued by your career, your life. One thing that really stands out on your online presence is your connection with your kids. You're there as a dad, you've got children, you're proud to be a dad. So, talk to me a little bit just about, you know, building your business and your career while still being a present Dad, how did you manage that? 

 

Clark Bartram 03:08 

You know what I'm going to take you from today and go backwards because something happened today that was so meaningful to me. My son said, hey, man, I want to start lifting weights, I want to get bigger, and we have a great gym here at the house. But I like to get out and go to the gym, be around the people because I love people and I have a really good connection when I get around people. That's how I built my business is really loving people. And it's funny because as your kids age, and you're going to experience this yourself, James, you'll see that they go through the phases of acceptance, we'll call it you know, dad, his dad, at first, he's a superhero, that dad is someone you don't want to talk to, because you're a teenager, and it's not cool. And then dad becomes a guy that's just you know, constantly bugging you about, hey, this is what you should do. This is what I learned. And if you just do this, you know, we become that guy. But then dad becomes what I witnessed today. And it was so beautiful to me. And I might even end up crying because that's the kind of guy I am. But we went into the gym. And when I walked in there, I introduced my son to the person at the front desk, hey, this is my boy, oh my gosh, look at him. And you know, your dad is a really good guy. And you know, your chest kind of gets a little bit puffier and your head stands up taller when you hear that because that's just validation of the fact that other people see what you're doing to pour in your kids who you're a steward over. So, then we go do a workout. I introduced him to a few people and everyone kind of has the same sentiment. We come back to the front desk, and a young kid there who had just nappies like, wow, man, man, if I could look like you when I get to be your age, and the other kid says they're around my son's age. He's like shit, I would love to look like him right now. You know, and they're making a big deal about me and they're talking about the magazines, and this is all in front of my son who I grew up with this, who's kind of used to that lifestyle, but we get in the car, and I just looked at him and laughed. I said, do you ever get tired of being my son? And he didn't have any comment at all? And I knew the answer was no, I don't, because he's really seeing who I am. And he might have overlooked that before. But now he's appreciating that he's seeing the impact that I have on people because the tagline, or actually, the mission statement, more importantly, that I created for myself 25 years ago, is to positively and powerfully affect everyone I come into contact with. And the fact that he witnesses that on a daily basis. Another thing, I have my taglines on my jeep get busy living, we were driving to the Jeep, guy pulls up next to me on the on ramp where you have the red lights, you know, letting you get on the freeway, and he says, Hey, man, I love what it says on the back your Jeep, good things he live in, let's go, I love that. And I'm just sitting there, knowing my son is right there witnessing this encounter with another person that I impacted in a positive way, just from the messaging on my jeep. And then one more on the way home, there's a homeless lady standing there who I know from encountering her on the off ramp, talking to her giving her money hearing her story, interviewing her for a documentary I'm doing about homelessness. So that is what happened today, like in one day with my son, and you're going to experience this man, and anyone who's out there impacting people, if you hang around with your son or daughter, they're going to see that just by ignoring our organic view of our life. 

 

WHERE DOES YOUR INTRINSIC DRIVE TO HELP COME FROM? 

James Laughlin 06:39 

That is so powerful, like truly powerful. And, you know, I always look at modeling, like we're modeling for our kids. And I love to see that that doesn't stop that continues throughout the generations. That's so powerful. So, it sounds like you've got a real strong affinity for connection, and also to contribute. So where does this come from? Where does this intrinsic drive to help others into impact others come from? 

 

Clark Bartram 07:03 

You know, and again, I see that my kids, my kids both have this desire that's deep within them to connect with people who are, we'll call them underdogs, if you will. Maybe the kid at school, who is dealing with some type of physical disability. My kids have always had this desire to really be the person to help them maybe push him in a wheelchair, during PE. So, I think it's born in us, it was definitely born in me, it was something that I've always had, I've always cared about people on a level that I didn't quite understand when I was younger. But now I truly get it. It's burned into my DNA. When I was created, there was a piece of the puzzle that was put into me that said, you will care for people, you will have a connection with people. Just two days ago, my son and I were riding our electric bikes, and we went down by this liquor store. And there is a blind homeless woman who I know by the name of Donna and her boyfriend is Brent. And I pulled up to her and said, Donna, it's Clark, I want to introduce you to my son. He's as good looking as I am. And he laughed. And it's just in me, I can't pass by someone like Donna or Brent or butcher guy ran into the other day and not acknowledged the fact that these are humans, who are in need of love, who are in need of connection, who are in need of edification and a word of encouragement no differently than you were on. They just you know, I just I love people who feel like the world has kind of left them by that. 

 

CLARK BARTRAM ON HEALTH AND PHYSICAL HEALTH 

James Laughlin 08:41 

That's stunning. And honestly, we need more humans like you out there doing the work on the daily. And sometimes it's not the big action just the small little actions that nobody sees happen. You know, nobody's watching you, right? They're doing it. It's amazing. And, you know, I look at your role as a dad and how important that is to ship our kids and our grandkids. But all too often dads will get so focused on trying to be the best dad they forget to fulfill their own dreams, they forget to look after their own physical health, mental health. So, looking at you, you know, when I'm your age, hey, I'm another one of those guys that said, I want to look like you. In fact, right now, I do want to look like you. So, tell me about health and physical health. What Where did that drive to be the most physically healthy you could be? Where does that come from? 

 

Clark Bartram 09:27 

Yeah. So, with respect to those guys, that you're referring to the dedicate themselves to take care of their family. I deal with those guys every single day of my life. And I give them permission, based upon my experience to move into a place that some might consider selfish, where you're taking care of yourself where you're being what I refer to as a maximize man. So, for me with that physical ability has always been a part of my life. I was very gifted as an athlete, I could do things very easily, it's things still come very easily to me. So, athleticism, and being a highly functioning human is also something that's been burned into my DNA. And realizing that we have one life, we have one body, and we're a steward of that body. And it's a gift to us. In our why, like Funk Robert says, our why make us cry. The reality is our why is the fact that we live in a human body. And being that I'm 57 years old, now, I understand that better than I've ever understood it. Because if we buy into the age deal, you know, functionality will slip away. being someone who could do something that I do, all the time without thinking about it is something that we've relegated to our 23-year-old self, not our 53 year old self, well, that's a lie. And we all need to shift that lie into a truth that we can accomplish things that we never thought we could if we just start doing things that we never thought we could. For example, the other day, I do lives all the time, I have a group of 11,000 men from all around the world that I coach, not all of them are active, unfortunately. But I'll do random stuff, like I have my phone in the backyard. And we have a small fence, it's about waist high. And you know, when you can use the pop over and go to the other side, I said, Guys, look, you know, being safe. If you can't do this don't. But if you haven't done it, because you thought you couldn't, try. You know, put a pillow on the other side, if you have to pop over five times on the right, pop over five times on the left. And the amount of guys that I had say, Clark, I haven't done that since I was a teenager running from the cops or, you know, playing hide and seek or whatever you call it New Zealand, you know? I said do it, do it, it's fun. And guys will report back like, wow, I did it. So, these are the type of functional behaviors that I have guys do. It's not about just lifting weights and getting abs and getting ripped. It's about being a human that is capable. I mean, what if you had to get in the fight? I mean, what then you don't I mean, it's not beyond the scope of what is possible in this world that we live in. So be prepared, man. I mean, hit a heavy bag to stuff that you thought you couldn't do, and wake your body up. You get me fired up now brother I'm gonna- 

 

THE PURPOSE BEHIND CLARK’S MENTORSHIP 

James Laughlin 12:17 

We're just getting started. I love it. And so, tell me more about this group. You're mentoring 11,000 men worldwide. So, tell me more about that, how you got started and what the whole purpose is behind it. 

 

Clark Bartram 12:31 

So, I've been a spokesperson for companies for years, people have taken my brand made millions of dollars off of it. And I've been sitting in the background as a face and a set of ABS, in all honesty, with a lot of really good ideas. Mainly, you mentioned it, how to connect with humans. I think what is happening in business today is we've lost the connection with humans. And I'm sitting there telling these companies like listen, if you just ask them what they want, or if you just talk to them, like they matter, it changes the way business is done. And people have been too smart to listen to me. So, I told myself, if I ever when I finally do, that's probably a better way to put it. When I finally bet on myself. I'm going to do it my way. And I know that my way is going to resonate. And I'll go back to my father son relationship as a young man, and I remember my dad telling me he was a salesman, he sells cash registers. So, we went to convenience stores and little bars that American legions and all of these drinking establishments, and my dad installed them cash registers, and he would come out in the car. And I can remember today the smell of it, it smelled like this. This paper that was a copy paper that came out of a cash register had a really distinct smell to it gave me a headache. And I can remember sitting in that car with that smell. My dad said you know what, it doesn't matter what I think about that person on the other side of that door, if he gave me $50 for service, I give him 100 back in that service, and that is stuck with me. And that's the way I treat these men, they get more in value than they'll ever pay me for a service. That is a fact. No one ever, ever will outperform me. When it comes to if you give me 50, you're getting 150 back, guaranteed. So, I coach these men, it's free. So, I'm guaranteed that I'm getting more back. So, they come into the group. I never asked for a penny from anyone. I don't want anything from anyone but their commitment. So, these guys are engaged. They're really connected because they see the value. And more importantly than that they see the authenticity of who I am as a man. And if I asked them to do something they can guarantee and know that I've already done it. Whether that is being a better husband, getting on the treadmill at 4:30 in the morning, fasting for an entire day, doing a workout that I think is hard, but cost. But I've done it already. And they can look at me. I mean, I have 50–60-year-old men changing their lifestyle, because they believe what I'm telling them is true because they see evidence of it in me. That's a powerful place to be. And I take that very seriously. This is not something that I never stopped thinking about. It's constantly on my mind. 

 

James Laughlin 15:22 

It's unbelievable. So is this something that so I'm 35, my dad turned 60 in a couple of weeks, is this something that my dad and I could join and be a part of and learn. 

 

Clark Bartram 15:32 

I would absolutely love it. If your dad you join it, because that goes back to what you're doing. You know, you're all about family, you're all about connection, you're all about fathering, to see fathers and sons doing stuff together is the best possible place I could ever be in life for you to come in. And you'd be an encouragement to your dad, your dad be encouragement to you. And you get to be an encouragement to the community saying, Hey, we're a father and son team, we're here together. And we're doing this because we saw the value in what this community brings. Because I don't take any credit for any of this. I was simply given this vision in this idea of creating the best online community for men. And I just say men over 50, because it gives me a very specific, you know, target audience. But it's any man, honestly, who is suffering in? Yeah, men are suffering at 16 to 90, you know, I mean, everybody needs what we're teaching here, and I teach five lifestyle principles. And we get into that one. 

 

NANOTEST PERFORMANCE 

James Laughlin 16:39 

Yeah, definitely. The whole idea of this group, I think, is amazing. My Dad’s in Ireland, I'm in New Zealand, we're 12,000 miles apart. But actually, this is something we can connect on. And I want him to look after his health equally as much as I want to look after my own. So, for anybody that's listening, or watching, how do we find the group. 

 

CLARK BARTRAM 16:56 

So, if you go on to Facebook, and you type in NanoTest Performance, it'll pop up. It's a private, closed, community, whatever they call it, you have to request permission to join, we do get some information, because we do email people we have offers, I have a product that I sell, I'm going to put that right out there. But I don't require that anybody buy anything from me. So, it's NanoTest Performance, type that in it, will I do the approvals, I'll approve you right away. And then I have a very specific way that I asked people to enter the community, and that is vitally important to the success of the person entering the community. A mentor of mine years ago, a great man of God by the name of Ed Cole. He told me Clark; you're only committed to what you confess. So, when men come into my group, I asked them to shoot a video. Writing, hello, I'm here is one thing, but shooting a video saying, hi, my name is James. I live in New Zealand. My fathers in Ireland. We are here together because we want to get closer together as a father and son. I want to get stronger. My dad wants to lose weight. We are committed to each other. And we're committed to this group, where I struggle is sometimes, I fall off at these things because I get so busy. please reach out to me, if I disappear. That's it. Oh, now you're committed to that confession of what it is that you've asked for when you come here. And I know that I can feel the energy. I see the commitment, writing that is one thing, but saying it on a video is another. And then I asked people like a guy who was negative today. I said, Listen, bro, don't get it twisted, I will refund your purchase of my product and kick you out of this group so fast. And I love the fact that he manned up he private messaged me and said I'm sorry, that was wrong. I shouldn't have done that. Done. Over with. My community is positive. It's uplifting, men encouraging men. I get it in huddles smaller groups. So, they have even higher connectivity. They trade emails and text messages and, and even meet up for hikes at times. So, it's really a very active community. 

 

THE 5 PRINCIPLES 

James Laughlin 19:02 

That's amazing. I love it. And you talked about these five principles. So please share what that's all about. 

 

Clark Bartram19:10 

You know, over the years in the fitness industry, people have always asked me what's the single most important factor for someone to get in shape. And I think most people in the industry will just blatantly yell out nutrition. But I could disagree with that more. My five lifestyle principles are in specific order for a reason. The first one is mindset, meals, movement, community, and supplementation. So, if your mind is not set, I don't care if you get on keto, intermittent fasting, low carb or low carb, high protein, paleo, whatever, if your mind is not set to follow that, you're only going to be on it for a temporary period, you're going to lose 12 pounds gain 24 back and you're going to be this cycle that humans getting. So, I teach ways to have the mindset and it's simple. Everybody teaches the same thing you get up 15 minutes earlier. It's a no brainer. It's easy, right? It's simple, but it ain't easy. Let's put it that way. It's simple to get up 15 minutes earlier. But listen, if you want to change your life, 15 minutes, go to bed 15 minutes earlier get the same amount of sleep. You're just being what are referred to as a bitch ass dude, you're not, you're not really putting in the work. Do you want it? Then get up, bro. I mean, it's not that hard. So then instead of watching the news, and posting on Instagram, and all this sort of stuff, affirmations, read a book, watch a YouTube video, like 15 minutes, man, come on, we all got 168 hours a week, 1440 minutes in a day, what's 15 of those minutes to invest in yourself to be a better dad to be a better husband, to be a better leader to be a better employee. You know, to be a better talker and your own brain. For goodness sakes, if you're all alone, and you got nothing but yourself, have a better conversation.  

 

James Laughlin 

So powerful  

 

Mindset deals movement, community, and supplementation. And when I say supplementation, what I'm trying to say here is, be an educated consumer, man, don't even buy my products until you research it and understand what you're putting in your body. I don't let people buy my product unless they live by my lifestyle principles. I don't want anyone buying my product. If they're not committed to joining my community and saying, yes, Clark, I'll get my mindset. I'll get my meals, I'll get movement. And I'll get into community. Because any supplement that anyone takes is only good as the lifestyle that supports it. I always want to be on record saying that. 

 

James Laughlin 21:39 

That's amazing, because supplementation is something I have very, very little knowledge around. But I see it's getting thrown at me all the time. So, someone who's plant based, you know, what supplements should I be looking at? So, I'm a pretty lean guy. I'm not incredibly muscular, because I'm not putting in the work that I should be. But what should I be looking at for supplementation for a long, healthy life with strength, strength being my best? 

 

22:04 

Yeah, well, I won't even talk about supplementation until we talk about what are your daily nutritional habits. So, you said you're plant based, both my kids are vegan. So, I'm used to that. I've been used to that for a decade now both my kids have been vegan for the longest time. And I went vegan for I think, for three or four months. And then I did vegetarian. And I've cycled through the isms, if you will, and understand that my body needs certain nutrients. So that's really what it comes down to. Is your human body James getting the nutrients that it needs to facilitate the activities that you're requiring to have the nutrients for? So, if you're very active, and you don't feel it, you know, the most stupid thing I ever hear people say is, oh, how do you get your protein? I you? You've heard that so many times, that your head is probably spinning like oh my god, I got to answer this question again. My son is in the next room, he's probably shaking his head like yeah, I've, if I ever hear that, again, I'll smack somebody in the face. And I'm not saying that to demean anybody. I'm just saying it's ignorance, like we're ignorant to the fact that you can get as much protein as I get. Sometimes it even betters sources, like spirulina, for example, is one of the most protein rich sources that a human can take in. So as long as you're getting the nutrients that you need, so I would ask how much you're eating what you're eating. And, you know, what are some of the things that you're eating that are void of the nutrients that your body needs, and then if you don't need anything, supplementation is not a requirement based upon your lifestyle. Now, if you say, Clark, I want to compete in a bodybuilding contest, this is a different conversation. You know, so it's all individual. I was talking to a young kid the other day, and there was this very smart person listening. And I could tell he was just assessing every word that came out of my mouth. And I talked about carbohydrates how you should not be afraid of carbohydrates. This guy came back to me a couple hours later said, Clark, I agree with everything you said. But there are a lot of people who are. And he started filling in all of these different things. I said, Shawn, that wasn't a conversation for the masses. That conversation was between me and this 23-year-old kid who's trying to get bigger muscles. If I was having this with a 53-year-old insulin sensitive, type two diabetic, that's a different conversation. You know what I mean? 

 

 

 

HEALTH IS THE WAY YOU NEES TO BE GOING ANF NEED TO BE FOCUSING. 

James Laughlin 24:29 

That's amazing. Those five principles like they're really, they make sense, their common sense. But often we don't use that commonsense approach. We get so complex and complicated in our approach. So, for somebody who needs this, this new transformation of life they they're not healthy inside or outside. They're procrastinating. They're indecisive. How do you help if them they came into your grip, how would you help them to get motivated and get clear, actually, health is the way I need to be going and I need to be focusing on that? 

 

Clark Bartram 24:58 

Yeah, I give them permission to be in here man. And realize that you're not here to be perfect. So, with those five lifestyle principles, I give them a way to gauge their success. I say on a scale of one to 10, how did you do today? Just today and go down mindset, meals, movement, community, supplementation. On a scale of one to 10. How did you do today on mindset, if you're on a seven or above, we're golden. Seven is not like, if you were in school, least here in the States, if you get to 70%. It's okay. I mean, you're not a genius. No one's writing all about you, but you're not getting in trouble. It's, it's okay. That's how I feel about mindset. Because I realize most people, when they enter this program, there are the two maybe three at best, because they do these default ways of living their life, they get up, they watch the news, they get on Instagram, and they get their messages and they engage in negative, unknowingly, right negative information download, just by nature of being a human who is stuck in this pattern of living, that until we break it, it's going to be what we live by. So, if I can take someone for three to a seven, man, I know their life is going to change, and you go right down the line. So, if there are seven and everything in a three in community, and they're struggling, I'm like, okay, let's get the three to a six, and then six to a seven. What does that mean? That means shooting your video because you probably didn't do that. That means getting into a huddle, smaller group, because you really need that connection with the smaller group, because maybe you're intimidated by the big group atmosphere, that's fine. I wasn't always this guy. So, we evolve into a different version of themselves. So, I treat each person with a very bold kind of approach, but also an understanding that this is new territory for a lot of people. So, I'm really good at being like this aggressive guy that you're seeing right now. But in a very loving way where people go, he's not being an asshole, he's being a guy that cares. But he has to be aggressive, because he's got to manage 11,000 people, you know? 

 

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR MICRO HABITS? 

James Laughlin 27:07 

That's right, and to push through some of the masculine energy, you do have to have that sense of aggression to get there. For a lot of men, I get that 100%. And if we were to take a deep dive into your, like your life, your daily life, what does it look like for you? What are some of your habits like micro habits that make such a difference in give you structure? 

 

Clark Bartram 27:26 

So, the micro-micro habits are the conversations that I have in my brain on a minute-to-minute basis, I almost feel like I would tiger woods, for example, lining up over a 25 foot putt to win the US Open. I have this conversation in my brain constantly, every time a situation arises. For example, if my wife and I were having a negative encounter, prior to her going to the store, when I hear her car pull up, I started having this conversation of I need to act better. I need to control whatever it was that I contributed to that last encounter that we had together. That wasn't one that either one of us wanted. Or if I'm doing a workout, I want to I want to be a little bit better than this guy in doing this just to push myself a little bit more. Or when I'm challenging myself to do something that I've never done like I don't know, these trick shots the other day with a football. I'm just out there having this conversation like okay, watch it, let it go. It's okay. Everybody misses. So that's what my life looks like. It's micro conversations with myself that turned into macro behaviors that are you know, much like what other people do. You know, I don't journal a lot. I'd be lying if I said I did. But I take a mental accounting of all of my blessings in my life. And if that takes me calling a mentor, because I'm so like, out of it at the moment. And I'm certainly capable of that. I'll call one of my mentors and say, listen, talk me up. And that happened today. And we ended our conversation with Clark, listen, Brother, you are so blessed. And he bla bla bla bla bla, bla, hung the phone. I'm not beyond being coached. I'm not beyond learning. I'm not beyond understanding that I can improve. And that's what I tell myself every day. 

 

James Laughlin 29:06 

That's so great to see an amazing coach who has a very successful life be opened to being coached and being mentored. So, for all the guys out there that are listening, how important is it that they find someone that they can go to?   

 

29:31 

It's the most important thing anyone could ever do. I love being coached. You know what's really weird about me? I love being called out on my BS. I love when someone says no, bro, no, no, nah nah. That was wrong. And that happened to me the other day. I was doing like guy you know, trying to be like, this person this that now the thing and the guy's like, I don't agree with that. I was like, oh really why? Me here? And I am so quick to say, you know what? You're right. I get that. And I'm going to go and do my best to correct it my best friend back in Ohio where I grew up said Clark, you're probably one of the most willing guys to look at yourself. And I'm not trying to put myself on a pedestal. I don't want anyone to think that what I'm telling you is an answer to the question. Like, this is where I'm at in my life right now, today. I love looking at me going. That's bullshit right there that that wasn't right. And it's someone calling me out, man. And I have those men in my life. And I call certain words and certain situations. And I call that based upon how long is there going to be with me. 

 

James Laughlin 30:41 

Hmm. And not every guy wants to get the honest feedback. So, I think there has to be a sense of reality, and vulnerability for you to be open to being told, hey, you're being incongruent with who you say you've been. 

 

Clark Bartram 30:53 

Yeah, and vulnerability is probably the best word that describes me with my bed. They love how vulnerable I am. I mean, I'll cry instantly, I'll tell stories that people were like, Whoa, dude. Okay. I wouldn't be that honest. But I've got nothing to hide, I really don't care. You know, I, and I tell this to my guys all the time. I don't give a F what you think about me, because I actually really give and F on what you think about me. You understand what that means. You know, it's, I don't care because I care so much, you know? 

 

James Laughlin 31:28 

The beautiful place to come from. 

 

Clark Bartram 31:30 

It's so frayed for me, honestly. And when a man can get to that place, I'm going to tell you what it takes so much pressure off of you to be I mean, imagine being in my position right on this guy that just because this is the way we are in our culture, we put people on pedestals, okay, I'm on magazines, TV, movies, I've done a lot of cool stuff. I don't think I'm special. I'm no better, you're no worse. But because of our culture and the way it's been set up, we put people up there and act like they're untouchable and they don't have problems. And the more honest I am, the more it puts me on the same playing field with everybody else. It's a lot of pressure on me to be somebody that I'm not, you know what I mean? 

 

HAVE YOU REALLY FOCUSED ON THE FINANCIAL SIDE? 

James Laughlin 32:14 

It's a hell of a lot of pressure. And you look at actors and you look at people who are in the limelight, there's so much self-imposed pressure, but also media-imposed pressure so that that in itself is something difficult to navigate. Now, I also look at you from a dad's point of view, and freedom. You mentioned the word freedom. So, freedom is really important. I feel for dads in that we want to create financial freedom and independence for our families, so that we can have security we can have opportunities. So how have you went about your life? You know, being a dad showing up looking after your body having a great partnership, but have you really focused on the financial side so that you can actually have more freedom and more opportunities? 

 

Clark Bartram 32:58 

You know, I was talking about this today with somebody who is coming after me for an opportunity. I've never chased money. I've never chased money in my career money is that byproduct of what I naturally do as being Clark Bartram chasing money actually disgusts me, it grossed me out. I almost walked away from an opportunity today because something just didn't feel right about it. And I've had situations where I've walked away from six figure deals, when I needed money, because it wasn't in alignment with my messaging, or who I am as a man. So, the money part has always been taken care of. And in the way I see it, it's almost like manna from heaven. There's a story in the Bible where you know, just enough food drops down for the day. That's how I approach my life, you know, surplus, and abundance and all of that. It's there, it takes care of itself. But it's not what drives me. I did a post the other day on my Instagram. And I said, what, what was it? Money doesn't motivate me being a person of value does. That is the answer to question, meaning a proof of value is what drives me. And then the money follows that. I want to show you something real time right now. To show you how coachable I am. Anita! Anita! She's not there. So, my wife comes in. I'll show you something. So, the other day she came to me she said, Honey, you know what you need to do? And she always thinks the minute she says this is going to blow her off. She said, when you're doing a podcast, you need to sit more left of your, your painting bathroom. You're going to sit right there. Yeah. And I purposely aligned myself right here because I remember my wife saying, honey, it looks so much better. When you see the whole thing. I just jumped in, and I started going like this and if she right? 

 

James Laughlin 34:52 

100% right, I'm going to tag her in this when I repost it, I'll be tagging her. 

 

Clark Bartram 34:57 

Yeah, and this is me listening to my wife and being coached. When before I'd be like I, you know, whatever, not blow her off and I'm like bomb that, you know, but she's right. In another thing. We, my son moved out. And I wanted to turn that into a business room talking about making money. Like my daughter moved out, I turned this into a money-making room. I bought a T shirt printer, I was just in here print t shirts making money selling, you know, I hold up a T shirt. I'm like, what is this? Like? t shirt? I'm like, no, $25 bill, I fold it up and send it out, you know? And then I moved out. And we had an argument. She's like, I want a guest room. I'm like, Anita, how many guests have stayed here? In 33 years, we've been married. None. But you know what? My son sleeps there all the time. And I'm happy. My wife's friend didn't want to drive an hour and a half home. She slept here two weekends. It's great. She was right. And I told her. So that's, that's where I'm at my life. Man. I'm okay with that. 

 

James Laughlin 36:00 

That's brilliant. You're not that kind of macho guy that has to be right about everything. You can open up you can listen; you can adapt and adjust.  

 

Clark Bartram 

I'm trying.  

 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR CLARK BARTRAM? 

James Laughlin 

So good. Now the one thing I have to say that it's a really inspiring is that you're continually wanting to level up. You know what, when I look through what you've done, you're on Batman the movie, you this show that you're the host of American health and fitness 110 million homes that gets cast into that's huge. But to me, it's not like you're sitting on your hands going, okay, I've done everything you can continually wanting to level up. So, what's next for you? 

 

Clark Bartram 36:36 

So, I'm hitting my stride right now, all of what I've done in the past has really been a catalyst. It's like, you know, you're winding up one of those, those toy robots, man, I'm getting ready to go and absolutely take off. I feel like right now what is in store for me with the future is this group of men growing. My goal is a million men in this group. My goal is to create a pathway to maximize manhood, somebody might come to me because my hook is my body, or my ability to communicate. But when I enter into my ecosphere, they suddenly get confronted with this idea of becoming a maximized man. Yeah, you came here to lose 10 pounds. But what about all the other areas of your life that could use an equal amount of work? Are you really being a good husband? Are you being a present Father? You'd mentioned that earlier. Are you somebody who is willing to really look at other people and see what you can do for them with this is I think we're all on some level, really wanting to do this. But we get so caught up, and we get so busy that we miss that. So, I slow these guys down. So, I want a million men in this group. I want to impact guys in a way that maybe someone who is out there with this being the forefront of what they do, like, hey, come here, be maximized man. I want to kind of slide in on them as they come into this world and understand that there's more like it's easier to get in shape. If you stop hiding from some of the stuff that you've been lying about. I'm going to tell you that right now. Not having, you know, hidden things in your life makes getting in shape a whole lot easier, because you're not carrying that stress around. 

 

James Laughlin 38:28 

That makes sense. And too many of us do carry those, whether it's childhood issues or relationship issues and brushing things under the carpet, hence the reason we can't share the weight or get into our best selves. 

 

Clark Bartram 38:40 

Yeah, I mean, my guys are open. We talk about it. I do a zoom call every Saturday and you never know who I want to bring on. It could be some marriage counselor, it could be NFL, Super Bowl champion quarterback. It could be anyone in between. But the bottom line is you're going to get poured into. I had speak last Saturday absolutely rock these guys world man. And they didn't expect it. And it just happened. He happened to be at this mastermind event I was at I'm like, Tom, will you speak to my guys? He said absolutely. I put him in front of my guys. And he poured into them. And I'm sitting back like a proud father. Like, let's go. And I'm taking notes. I have so many notes in my garage because that's where I set up my zoom calls from guest speakers that I've had come on where I'm like, wow, I'm glad I had this guy to speak. Because I'm going to use this. The other day I was here. Two Saturdays ago, I had a football quarterback by the name of Brad Johnson. He won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And he did a great you know, speech, we'll call it he talked to my guys, but he said one thing that really jumped out at me. He said we won the Super Bowl. And you know what I did guys. He said I slept at my jersey that night. And he said you want to know why? He said I wanted to wake up smelling like a champ on my bed. Everyone you guys didn’t write that down; I'm kicking you out of the group. So now I want to go around like, what? I woke up smelling like a champ. Let's go. 

 

James Laughlin 40:10 

That's epic. I love it. That's legendary. So, this is all part of your free group, the guys get access to all these zoom calls, and it's all part of it. 

 

Clark Bartram 40:19 

This is me every single day, what you're witnessing right now is me every day going live in that group, the zoom calls, this is what they get. And here's the problem, though. familiarity breeds contempt, right? These guys are so familiar with me coming in, they're getting this, then some guys don't get on this zoom calls. And that pisses me off. It's because it's like, come on, man. Just because I'm not charging you a premium to get access to what I can give you access to. Doesn't mean that you should blow it off. Because you had something else to do that was better. There is nothing better than investing into yourself. And that sometimes includes doing business things, or maybe even family things sometimes. Because if you're not whole, and you're doing a family thing as half of who you are, you're not fully there. So, take a break, get home and come back in and be a badass dad and husband. 

 

 

 

James Laughlin 41:18 

I agree. I was talking to one of the world's best ever cricketers, he's an amazing he was the captain of New Zealand cricket team. And he had a saying, which was beautiful. He said, look, James, I had my 18-month-old baby girl in my arms in the kitchen. And I was looking down into her eyes. And all I could think about was the next cricket match. The next big international cricket test match is so I talked to my mentor about it. And my mentor said, look, be where your feet are. And he said, just look down wherever your feet are up there. So, if you're there holding your child, just psychologically be there. If you're on the cricket, pitch be there. 

 

Clark Bartram 41:54 

I'm going to steal with that. Be where your feet are. I love that. It's true, right? We are never I talked to these brilliant, brilliant men. Someone asked me the other day, hey, what was it like when you talk to someone? So, I said he was never present. He was never in the conversation. He was always dreaming of the next big wind. And I just didn't like being around him because I didn't feel like I mattered. I felt like oh, this guy's not even. I'm not even worthy enough of him paying attention to me, when that might not even have been the case. But unfortunately, now I mean, these guys are yeah, it's not a good situation. 

 

James Laughlin 42:33 

That's really interesting about that focus. I was interviewing about three weeks ago, the former prime minister of New Zealand. And he said, look, I was in America, sitting down with former President Bill Clinton. And he said I'd heard about this thing that Bill had in terms of making you feel like, you know, you're the only person in the room. And he said, whatever it is he does. It's true. It’s like, he’s really fully engaged. So, I've been going back and looking at some footage and videos to see what it is he does. But I truly think it's an energetic thing and eye contact thing, but actually being present and not being somewhere else while you're supposed to be here. 

 

Clark Bartram 43:09 

I believe he listens. I've watched him a lot. And he's captivated me through a television, talking to somebody else. So, if you can have that ancillary connectivity with a human, that you're not directing, specifically, that's magical. And that's part of what it is with him. I think it's just one of those things, like I refer to its burned into my DNA, you know, you can perfect those things. But if you, have it and you already, it's like, the thing is like, well, you know, he's not that good looking. But there's something about him. You know what I mean? That's, that's the thing you want. Yeah, no, He's not that he or she's not that good. Looking at what, what? I don't know what it is. That's the magic stuff right there man. 

 

James Laughlin 43:55 

Yes, the magic sauce you right. And you know, there's only a few people that you can think of that have that. But what they do is they double down on their strengths, I guess, rather than focusing on their weaknesses, like, hey, this is my strength, I'm going to roll with it. And it's such a talent. 

 

Clark Bartram 44:08 

And listening is a big one too, right? So many people are anxious to if they're not present, because they're already thinking about the next thing, they want to say waiting for you to stop saying what you want to say or more often than not cutting you off with. They're so anxious. So, I've tried to be very aware of listening and it's like shooting a video. One of the things I noticed if I asked somebody to shoot a video, hey, I need you to shoot this video for me if they're not familiar with how to shoot a video, the minute I stopped talking, they cut it off. So, there's no pause at the end to edit from. You need a bit of a pause. And I even think that in a conversation. When you finish something. You let it marinate for a second, and then you come back. That's a good ebb and flow with the conversation. Because it's like, okay, but that settling, oh, and then you come back. But it's, it's, it's too often man, it's just he, it gets, my wife comes in all the time, all of my gosh, every time I try and talk, she just cuts me off. I said, you’re being taught a lesson, there's something, you attract these people for some reason, whatever it is learned from it. 

 

James Laughlin 45:23 

The power is in the pause. That's what I'm hearing. They're just pausing and reflecting. And honestly Clark, I think the pausing can be awkward for a lot of people. And you know, people just can't sit in silence. So yeah, I really believe you're right, like be around more people who are okay with a little bit of stillness after a sentence has been spoken. 

 

Clark Bartram 45:46 

That's why people use pause words. I don't even like saying the word that most people use as a pause word, because it drives me nuts. But we add these words in there, because we're so fearful of doing what I just did. It's okay to think about the next thing you want to say, you know, as long as there's a pacing in what you're doing, and you know what the hell you're talking about, nobody's going to worry if you pause for a second. But if you're constantly saying these pause words, you seem so ignorant, I coach people on how to speak. I listened to them, I used to have a company called FMI, Fitness Model International. And I would put people in front of a camera, and they would absolutely lose their mind. And then I would ask them, just talk about yourself, you know a lot about yourself, don't you? So just tell me who you are, where you grew up at whatever. And I would just sit in the back of the room like this. Counting the number of times they said, uhm. Listen, don't please cut it out. It sounds ignorant. And now people who are watching this are going to start being aware of the fact that maybe that's something they use when they're talking because they're uncomfortable pausing for a second, it's not a big deal, right? 

 

James Laughlin 47:06 

You're totally right. I had a previous boss, who was notoriously known for. Uhm, yeah, but you know what I mean? Like, going on and on with these uhms. And we kind of sometimes there's 100 uhms and like a four- or five-minute period, and quite hilarious, but you're right, that's not being afraid of silence, not being afraid of space. 

 

Clark Bartram 47:30 

It's a powerful place to be just a nice silence. And that's another thing that I do is one of my micro habits, if you will, I'll stand alone, right here in this chair. And I just taken all the ambient sound, I hear my pool pump, come on, I hear squirrels running around in the front yard. And I allow that to be what gives me just that consciousness to the fact that I am here and capable of constructing my day, however, I want to construct my day. And people wake up saying the silliest things that start the construction of their day on the wrong foot. And that's why I say just get up a little bit earlier, I wrote a book called magical mornings. And there's their quote, quote by Remy? Remy, I believe it is. The morning breeze has secrets to tell you don't go back to sleep. That's beautiful. Silence their secrets in that silence. 

 

James Laughlin 48:29 

I need to get a copy of the book. And the other thing I want to do is ask you, how can we help you get that group of yours to millions? Like, what can we do myself included? anybody listening? How can we get more men in there? 

 

Clark Bartram 48:42 

Just make people aware of the fact that it's there because I believe that because so many marketers are out there trying to get people's money. And they're not really truly being a person of value or being honest about the offer that they're putting out there. I'm not saying I'm the only one doing this the right thing. But it's unfortunate, in my opinion that there are so many people who are just great marketers. So, when they get someone into their ecosphere, it's not being represented the way it was in the ad copy. So, I think people are fearful of joining groups. Especially if it's like, hey, I'm not going to charge you anything instantly they’re going to think, well, there's got to be something I know he's going to sell me something or there's got to be a, you know, there's a hook somewhere I know it. There's not, there's not I can promise you that. So just making people aware of the fact that it's available. And there's a coach that really does care and is in there every day pouring into you, and you will get value from it. The more people that hear this, the better. I'm talking to a business potential business partner today. And I said Mike, man, listen, all you got to do is get me in front of people. Just get me in front of people, whether it's 20 people at the YMCA, we want to hear about how to boost their testosterone naturally, or if it's 100,000 people on a zoom call, or me speaking at Rupp Arena, just get me in front of people. That is how we get this out there, get the message in front of men, because every single man out there should be understanding of the importance of improving not just physically, but emotionally, spiritually relationally, financially and every other part of it there being. 

 

James Laughlin 50:31 

So, I'm so fired up like, literally after our conversation, I'm going to apply to the group, I'll be sending my dad a message to I think it's amazing. And we need to surround ourselves with more people like you, you know, I'm a coach, but I'm constantly looking for great coaches and mentors, and I think I'm looking at one right now. 

 

Clark Bartram 50:49 

Well, I appreciate that brother. And as coaches, we understand the value of investing, I spend a lot of money on coaches, I'm not afraid to pay somebody, and you know why I'm not afraid to pay somebody because I know, I'm going to do the work that people ask me to do. I'm not there to just justify the fact that, hey, I get coaches. No, I put in the work. So, if I got to pay a coach $15,000, or paying Coach $15,000, if I got to go and sit with somebody and carry bags for them to their events, I'm carrying bags to their events, I did that for years, man, when I was a model, I still am I guest. But when I was young, in the business, I would help photographers set up lights and, and do whatever they needed me to do just to be around it, to see what other models were doing. And then suddenly, I became the go to guy, like I wrote a book called YouTube can be a fitness model. Don't have ever done that before. 

 

James Laughlin 51:46 

That's so cool. Proximity is so powerful. 

 

Clark Bartram 51:49 

Oh, it's everything. Proximity is key. I was just talking to my buddy the other day, I went to a men's event, four-day deep dive into my soul, we were talking about proximity. And he told me, there's a book that he just read about it, and I forgot the name of it. But proximity is key. It's vital. 

 

James Laughlin 52:07 

It really is and I' the same as you. I mean, in the last six months, I've probably invested $25-30,000 in coaching. And sometimes I have to get up at 4am to get that coaching call with one of my North American coaches. That's the price that I pay. And I'm happy to do it. Because I'm doing the work in the background. 

 

Clark Bartram 52:24 

That's the key, and in most people, unfortunately, are not action takers. The difference between me and anybody else is not only do I take action, but I take immediate action. And you just said that I can't wait to get off this. So, I go join that group right away. And I'm getting a hold of my dad, I hear this stuff that stuff registers in my brain. And I hold it back there. Yeah, I could go into a whole different thing here now. But that is the key to success in life. Everybody wants to do something; everybody thinks about doing something. But the difference between the guy that gets it done, and the guy that doesn't, is the one that gets up and gets going. I told my guys this morning, I said step up and step in. If you want to make change in your life, step up and step in. That's the only way to make it happen. Well, but you're done. That's it, you're done. Yep. The minute you walk well, what you're done, step up and step in. That's amazing. 

 

WHAT WOULD YOUR LEGACY STATEMENT BE? 

James Laughlin 53:30 

That's amazing. The one life, I have to ask a question. So about two more questions just before we wrap up, but one life is in the background. It's an amazing painting. So, I want to ask you about your one life. So, let's think about a legacy statement. So, something that will be said about you by the people who hold you dearly. At the end of your life, what would that legacy statement be? 

 

Clark Bartram 53:54 

So, if I, if I put it in the context of what we started off with today, and you would ask my son, he would say my dad loved people. And I want that to be what my legacy statement is quite hard to love people. Because I do. It's almost like, my statement where I said, I don't give an F because I get an F. I love people. But people pissed me off. You know what I mean? It's because I love them so much. They pissed me off because I want the best for everyone, I encounter my mission statement to positively and powerfully affect everyone I come into contact with. And it's unfortunate that my family and the people closest to me are the ones that are constantly getting that version of me that because familiarity breeds contempt. They see it as something that it isn't. So, if I say something to my wife, it comes off as oh Clark's being controlling Clark's being this. That's never the case. With me, and it's never the case with anyone who gets around me, it's if I see something that I know, someone could do differently. And I suggest it and they don't take advantage of it, that just bothers me, man. Because I know that it's going to stop them from beating their head and a wall. Eventually, they're going to come around and say, damn, you know, what, the amount of people that I've had come up to me who've lost 40 pounds that I talked to three years earlier. And they come up to me, and I'm like, what did you do differently James? Right, right. And exercise. I'm like, we've been saved three years. If you just want to apply that simple knowledge, then instead of now, because we eventually I'll come around, because we all evolve, we all grow, and the scales come off our eyes.  

 

WHAT DOES LIVING LIFE ON PURPOSE MEAN TO YOU? 

James Laughlin 55:52 

100%. And the last question, want to ask and ask everyone has to finish up is, what does living life on purpose mean to you? 

 

Clark Bartram 56:02 

For me, it is this constant desire to be doing what I've been called to do. You know, the old saying, of if you love what you do, you never go to work a day in your life. It's cliche, because it's true. Like, I literally, never get up and think I'm going to work today. If I have an opportunity to do a podcast, I'm running, I can't like I said, I'm here for five minutes deciding what shirt I was going to wear to the look the best on your podcast. 

 

 I love it.  

 

You know, and I do I wear one cut off so they can see my arms now. That'd be too hard. And I go through this process. And I thought about this today. And I was thoughtful, and I was grateful. That's me being on purpose. Like this is not something that I take for granted. Because I think I'm a big shot. You know what I mean? And then if I'm at the gym, the purposes, guys look at me to be in shape, I'm going to go for it. My son said, Dude, your workouts are too easy. I want to train by myself, Oh, workouts too easy. Okay, let's go. It's still too easy? He's like, nope. While lying on the ground. You know, that's purpose. And then meeting with my team today and giving them an opportunity to speak into a decision I was making, because I value their input and the work that they put on something that I might change, because I saw a better opportunity. That's purpose, you know? Seeing people have value in my life. So, for me, all of these micro conversations I have with myself, related to what I'm doing on a minute-to-minute basis in my life, those are all forming this this day that I had today, because this one life is made up of those 1440 minutes that we have today. So, I'm constantly thinking about what is on purpose, does this make sense? Or does that make sense. And I'm doing it I feel like in this stage of my life, you've seen those lazy rivers that you jump in and enter to like, go to Las Vegas or something. I feel like I was standing there one day, and one of those inner tubes came in front of me and I heard this voice. That's your, that's your inner tube to get in. And I sat in it, and it's taking me on this, this cruise through my life. And I'm not fighting it. I'm not trying too hard. I'm allowing these opportunities to come as I pass them on this little lazy river. And it's not lazy at all. It's just a beautiful journey that I feel like I've entered into because I stopped trying so hard to find a purpose, I entered into it. And here I am. 

 

James Laughlin 58:48 

That's incredible. Like there's been so many things I've taken away from this, I'm going to go back and take notes on what we were actually talking about. It's powerful. I can't wait for people to actually get a hold of this podcast and listen to it because you have so much to offer. And I hope that every man that listens to this goes and joins your group, I'll put the link in all of the podcast, YouTube, all the mini clips. And also, if there's a lady listening to this, please pass that group on to your brother, your partner, your dad, your uncle, get them all to be a part of this group. We need a million guys in there. 

 

Clark Bartram 59:20 

I have another program for women too, that I failed to mention it because we got so excited about this. It's called one step body. So, women want to join in it's a men and women group and my wife is in that one with me. And we share the same content. It's the five lifestyle principles, nothing changes. But my delivery. I'm a little bit softer in there a little bit gentler. Because I understand the room, I'm a good judge of how to speak to people and when to be aggressive and when not to be aggressive. So, 1 Step Body if someone just goes https://www.1stepbody.com/join/ , they can join that group for free. Same thing. 

 

James Laughlin 1:00:00 

Brilliant. I'll put all those links in so everybody can get access. All right, Man, thank you so much. It's been an absolute pleasure and I'm pretty confident this is not the last time that we'll speak I think we've got work to do in the future, that's for sure. 

 

Clark Bartram 1:00:13 

Right on my brother, I appreciate you having me on here. And I promise I will do my best to be your best podcast ever. Man. Hopefully  

 

James Laughlin 1:00:21 

You’re absolutely badass. I loved it.  

 

Clark Bartram 

Right on my brother. Thank you.  

 

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