THE INTERVIEW THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE - Chris Ruden on The Motiversity Show

I've come to learn that there's a huge difference between failing and failure. Failing is like stubbing your toe. You know, it happens. It's a verb, you know? It's just something you do. But failure is a noun, it's an identity. It's a place of where you stay. And I failed a lot, a lot, a lot along the way. But I was never a failure because I kept trying, I kept doing, and I understood over time that my value wasn't representative of the things that worked or didn't work. It was so frustrating because I was chasing an idea of value, not understanding that I was value to begin with. Hey everyone, welcome to the Motiversity Show. Our goal with this show is to share with you powerful lessons learned from people who can help you actually achieve whatever it is that you're striving for. Welcome to our guest today, Chris Rudin. Chris is the author of the book, The Upper Hand. He's a motivational speaker, bodybuilder, and power lifter. He competed in the Titan Games with The Rock. He deadlifted 640 pounds in front of over 15,000 people and was the only disabled athlete at the Arnold Sports Festival. His mission is to impact the world by creating a world without limits. Chris, we're the hosts. I'm Joel. And I'm Krithika. We've listened to and read a lot of things, amazing things about the man with the bionic arm. And we're truly excited to have you on the show today. So welcome. I appreciate you guys having me. Thank you so much for doing what you do in general, but I'm really excited. So Chris, tell us about the struggles and the challenges growing up with a disability and how you overcame those struggles. So I was born with a physical disability. I was born with two fingers on my left hand and a shorter left arm. And now I have a super cool bionic arm, but the majority of my life, I hid my disability. For 17 years, I hid my hand. I was bullied. I was so depressed and mental health just wasn't a thing for me because I was just a one-handed guy living in a two-handed world. When everyone stares at you, when everyone makes fun of you, when you're kind of segregated and shown to be the monster, it takes a toll. And unfortunately, there are so many labels that get put on people, especially people with disabilities. When you think about synonyms for disability, you think of weak or broken or useless or helpless or less than. And I don't know if you can imagine being a kid living a life they didn't ask for being labeled weak or broken. So that really hurt me. And for 17 years, I hid my disability up until a few years ago. So I had to build this persona of fake confidence and I kind of became that person that everyone's like, oh yeah, that's just the guy who hides his hand. But I had this fake sense of confidence about my disability and pretended like it didn't exist. And I did that for almost 20 years. So right around that time, I think it was, I believe 17 or 18 years old, right? I think there was a bit of dabbling in substances and then you got diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. So tell us about how that felt at that time. Honestly, I could define it with one word and it's numb. I was numb to everything and I tried to do everything to numb out the pain of being different, the pain of feeling like I wasn't enough. And I know a lot of people can probably sympathize with that. We go through so much and it's so much to deal with at once that we wanna run from it, we wanna hide from it. And that's what I did. I hid my hand, I hid my feelings, I hid my emotions. I tried to numb out the world. And more specifically, I tried to numb out my world by running from something that one, I didn't ask for and two, I didn't deal with. So I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which is an autoimmune disease at 19 years old. And that was a massive wake up call. I was in a hospital and I didn't understand I had to inject myself with insulin to stay alive now, like multiple times a day. And I couldn't eat as many donuts as I wanted. And I'm like, what is going on? What does this even mean? And I almost laughed because I was like, I'm that disabled guy who now has diabetes. Like, is this a joke? But that was the wake up call I needed. That was a catalyst for asking the most important question I've ever asked myself in my life. What can I do with where I'm at right now to make this suck a little bit less? And that question just constantly went on in my mind. You're like, how can I become more than what's happened to me? How can I become more than the circumstance that I hate? But how can I not let that hate towards the circumstance I can't control, control me? And I just started asking myself that question over and over and my decisions, my behaviors, my actions, my thoughts started to replicate that question. And I really feel like that question was the catalyst to get to where I'm at now. Yeah, that's powerful. And so do you think, did you read that question or hear someone say it? Or how did that come across your mind? I think I've heard a version of it before, but I just remember being in the hospital bed, staring at that gross yellowish ceiling and just being like, what can I do? And I kind of built on that. I'm like, what can I do right now? Well, right now in the hospital, I can't really do anything aside from control my thoughts. What can I do right now to make it not suck as bad? Sometimes we get addicted to this, like making everything beautiful, making everything amazing. And sometimes we have to be real. Some situations do suck, they do. And we have to allow them to suck and not invalidate the fact that it does suck. Now, there's a difference between dwelling on something and acknowledging the reality of something. For me, I was like, okay, I'm gonna acknowledge that I don't like this, but I'm also gonna acknowledge that I don't wanna stay in this feeling because if I already have to go through this diabetes, I already have to go through being different. I already have to go through feeling like a monster. I don't have to beat myself up in my own head. If you get a flat tire on the side of the road, you don't set your car on fire, you deal with the flat tire. But that's what I felt like I was doing and a lot of people do. A lot of people set the car on fire instead of addressing the main issue, they build upon it and make it worse. So that question really built and built and built. Now, a good question doesn't lead to an amazing outcome immediately. It still took me five plus years, six plus years to get the most comfortable and confident with who I was and figuring out that question, but that was a catalyst for sure. And so, you used to hide your disability, right? Up until, was it until, was diabetes the big change for you or what, do you think it was becoming more confidence just over the years? What made you change your mind about it? Yeah, diabetes was the catalyst for me to start doing something different, to stop doing substances, stop running with the wrong crowds. It was, there's a book called The Power of Moments and it talks about certain moments that create change and it's not always one Disney type moment where it's like, well, everything's amazing. For me, that was one of the changes and it got me to start pursuing a different career into fitness and from fitness into speaking and now speaking is like the passion I wanna do for the rest of my life, but to stop hiding my disability, it, that didn't happen until I was 26 or 27 and that took, that was probably the hardest battle for me is to accept that I look the way I look and that it doesn't change the value of who I am. I was actually holding myself back from being my true authentic self by trying to fabricate and control and manipulate the way people saw me. I was so worried about the way people saw me or the way I thought they saw me that I changed my whole life around that idea, around a premise that doesn't even exist. So it wasn't until I got this prosthetic arm that I really like took my glove off. The, how I was hiding my hand was a glove. Once I got this, I took the glove off and that's when life kind of exploded for me. And was that, cause I found it, I read this article where it said that you announced, well, you showed your arm in a 2017 YouTube video. Was that actually how it happened? And what led to that decision? That YouTube video was literally the first time I took my glove off and showed anyone, including at the time my girlfriend of three and a half, four years. That was the first time she saw my hand. That was the first time the world saw my hand. And for anyone watching who doesn't happen to know like me, when I say I hid my hand, I can't say that enough. I can't stress that enough. I almost got arrested at the Washington Monument when I was in middle school, because I refused to take my hand out of my pocket for the security guards. I would put my backpack on and go to school. And if I put my hand in my pocket, which is how I hid my hand before I got the glove, I would have to ask to go to the bathroom just to take my backpack off, or I would leave it dangling on my left side the entire day. I would skip school if I couldn't find the glove, and my parents knew how attached I was to it, and it wasn't a problem. It was so bad that everything involved hiding my hand. My entire life revolved around hiding my hand. So that moment of being able to post on YouTube and just kind of show the world was for me. It was for me to be open, me to accept that this is me. And it happened to go extremely viral and go all over the place from like Washington Post to like YouTube front page or front page of Reddit. And so many people reached out to me saying like, I share your struggle. I know what it's like to hide. I know what it's like to feel deemed by society as broken. And I have your back. And that was a really big moment for me. That's incredible. And that video, is that the video with 4 million views or is that a different one now? There's a YouTube video on your channel. Yeah, that's the video that has 4 million views. And then, yeah, that one blew up. And then the following one where I did my first prosthetic arm, that one also blew up, get like five or 6 million views too. And those two videos just showed the evolution from a person who hid something he was born with to a person that was embracing it. And now it's, you know, what held me back is what pushes me forward so far. That saying, the obstacle in the way becomes the way really epitomizes like what I went through and what I'm currently doing with my life now. And you've reached so many people, which is just so amazing too, right? With that story, and I'm sure you've inspired just countless numbers of people, including ourselves. When I saw that video, it was incredible. So let's talk a bit about weightlifting. So you became a powerlifter, a bodybuilder, weightlifter with a bionic arm. Did you start, was it the bionic arm that was the trigger for weightlifting or did you start earlier than that? So I started lifting before I got my prosthetic arm. I wore my glove for a majority of my movements and I built and kind of worked with a company to build an attachment that's a lifting hook. And it just went around my residual limb and I found a way to lift weights, you know, before finding that hook, I would just use my residual limb to lift. And it was to the point where when I was doing pull-ups, like my body was sideways and it created some imbalances, which is very common in the amputee or limb different community when they exercise. You know, my degree is in exercise science and I tried to find a way to adapt exercise to all types of people. And that included myself, I was kind of the Guinea pig. So once I built that lifting hook, I was able to deadlift, you know, 135 pounds. And then I had that limiting question that we all face, you know, there's no way I could do any more. You know, I reached that pinnacle, there's no way I could do any more. There's a thing that I like to talk about, healthy doubt. And sometimes healthy doubt is extremely good. You know, instead of saying, there's no way I could do any more, I said, but what if I could? Healthy doubt is when you doubt those negative narratives that we get in our head. And for me, I constantly got them. It wasn't about removing the negative narratives, it was about processing them effectively so that you could make the right decision. And that's what I did. I said, okay, 135, no way, but maybe went to 225. No way I could go any higher than that, but maybe. 315, 405, 495, 585. And I just kept building years and years and years and building to the point where I got to an extremely heavy deadlift and breaking a technical world record for people with disabilities, lifting 640 pounds, but then also going past that and getting up to 675 pounds. Yeah, that's incredible. I mean, so many people just really kind of give up, right? And they just don't do anything, but it's just so amazing to see what you've been able to do with one arm. It's inspiring. I gotta go hit the gym after this and get my weights up. I appreciate that. I do appreciate that. And it's one of those things when people see this level, like getting to this level of fitness or business, or if you want to deem it success or whatever you want to call it, I always tell people I have the most unsexy form of success ever, like the most unsexy. It's not like I was the best or I was the fastest or the strongest. I just kept going. I won by default because everyone else who started when I started quit, you know? And sometimes winning or succeeding or personal accomplishments, it's not about being the best. It's about being the only one left standing because you have the resilience to keep going. So that skill or that ability to adopt into your own life goes so much farther than just relying on an innate skill that you may or may not have been born with, you know? So what does your everyday training look like? Because it must be, to be able to deadlift 675 pounds, training must be surreal. So when I was powerlifting, I powerlifted for about six years. I did probably seven to eight competitions. I took first in most of my competitions against abled body competitors. So I was the only disabled competitor in most of my powerlifting meets. I would train about two, two and a half hours a day, four to six days a week. And it was really focused on staying healthy, which I had some amazing therapists and people who worked with me because having a disability creates an asymmetry and asymmetry under load or force, like exercising, creates a lot of problems if you don't address them. Think of a Coke can or something like that. And if you put force down into a Coke can, it's not a problem. But if you dent one of the sides, then put force down into it, it crumbles. And that was kind of like my body in a sense where I had an asymmetry and putting force into that, I had to work around a lot more issues than the average person. Now, I'm not special. I'm not someone who deserves pity or anything like that. It was just my specific circumstance and it didn't benefit me to compare apples to oranges. I had to work on me and that's what I had to do. So my training was a lot more intense then. I switched last year or two years ago to bodybuilding and I've always wanted to bodybuild. Since I was 16 years old, I wanted to bodybuild. But the big thing with bodybuilding is you need to be symmetrical. That I'm already ruled out technically. So I thought there's no way I could ever do that. Over the years of powerlifting, I built muscle and then I finally committed to it. And I said, hey, screw the standard of what society deems as good being symmetrical. I wanna present what I've earned, what I've worked for. And I was fortunate to build muscle and build a physique that earned me first place among no other disabled people and just normal people that I wanna say. And we just wanna redefine that term normal because I'm as normal as they come. That's incredible. Are you competing at all or is it mostly just let yourself bodybuilding? So right now, I did the bodybuilding show last year and I got first place and I qualified for nationals. I'm tempted to compete again, but it's kind of crazy to get to the point where you say, wow, I accomplished all of those goals that I set out to accomplish and I never actually thought I would get there. So when you accomplish a 10-year, 15-year goal, you're like, what do I do now? I have the right to enjoy my life. I have the right to be like, okay, I'm gonna chill a little bit. I enjoy, I train four to six times a week still. I love it, but I've accomplished those things. And now I'm focused on helping other people. I'm focusing on my career. I'm focusing on putting out content that helps people get through their day-to-day struggles. I've kind of shifted from my goals to my goals now being other people's goals and I'm very proud of that and I love it. Do you have any advice for anyone who might be in a similar situation to you, thinking about doing bodybuilding, powerlifting, even just getting fit? Is there anything particular that you'd tell them just to start off with? I like to use this kind of situation. Let's say you were going to try and date someone, okay? You're going on your first date. The first thing you should do is immediately buy them two dozen roses and a ring and propose to them immediately. Intense, right? No, that's a terrible idea. That's what a lot of people do is they try and attack a big goal with intensity instead of consistency. They try and just go. They're like, okay, Monday I'm going to go get fit. I'm going to do two hours of cardio. I'm going to eat only chicken, brown rice and broccoli six times a day. I'm going to do... You've never done that before, one. And two, you know that's not sustainable. You can't outdo the need for time and consistency. Intensity still has its place, don't get me wrong, but misplaced intensity, I feel, is the number one reason why people fail their goals and that's not just fitness. That's with business. That's with personal relationships. That's with everything. Instead of just adding intensity, you have to be consistent over time. Not consistent for two days. Not consistent for two weeks over time. You know, if you do the work, you will more than likely get there. Hopefully, you know, but if you don't do the work, you definitely won't get there. So if I'm in between a possibility or likelihood and a definitely not, I'm going to go with the possibility and likelihood. And that's by doing simple work. You don't have to go crazy. You know, start tracking your food on free apps. Just seeing what you're eating, like you would your bank account to make sure your money is good. Make sure your food is good. You know, when you go to the gym, do the work. Just because you're in a library doesn't mean you're studying. And I can promise you going into a bank doesn't make you a millionaire, you know? So being present at the gym and just hashtagging beast mode doesn't work. You have to do the work. You have to put in the time and you have to give yourself the energy. Did I attack you a little bit? Yeah, a little bit. It's okay, it's okay. I'm trying my best. That's all you can, honestly. And that's a perfect point. Are you trying your best? Only you can answer that. Because on days I can only give 60% and I give 60%, I gave 100. I respect those people so much more that can only give a little and give it their all than a person who has endless potential but chooses to only give 60%. Effort is everything. And you can decide are you putting in the most amount of effort that you can. So then on the days that you feel that 60% or like even there's some days you wake up and you're just like, I don't want to do this. Like I don't want to do anything, right? And I can imagine like, especially like growing up as a kid, right? How did you stay motivated? Ooh, I love that you asked that. Yeah. I love that you asked that. So motivation plays a huge role but I'm a big believer that motivation comes after action. Okay. So stick with me. Motivation comes after action. The question is not how do you develop the motivation to keep going? The real question is how do you develop the discipline to do the stuff you need to do even when you don't feel like doing it? Floss one tooth. Go to the gym and lift one weight one time. Then you can stop. Then you can go home. Then you can stop. More than likely because you already got there because you already started, you're going to finish. Getting there is the majority of the issue. The discipline to start, that's what you need. The motivation to keep going comes after the action to start. So on those days, you don't feel like it. If you know you need to, you have to. It's the same thing with a job. I can promise you almost anyone who works a job, they bet those days were like, I don't want to go to work today. On their way to the work, they're still going because they tell themselves they need to. And I could ask both of you, do you need to work? And more than likely, you would probably say yes. I could ask anyone watching, do you need to work? And more than likely, everyone would probably say yes. And I will say, no, you don't. That's a lie. That's a lie that you're telling yourself. You don't need to work. You could be homeless. You could give up everything you own and you could live on the streets. You could. So it's not a need, it's a want. It's a desire to not be homeless. It's a desire to maintain the life that you have. And if we have an ability to turn a desire into a necessity like we do with our job, you have the same ability to turn a desire of fitness goals into a necessity to do it regardless of how you feel. Well said. And I use that too when I work out. Sometimes I'll just be like, when I go to the gym for 15 minutes, just do some like light workout. And then once you're there, once you're in it, you already do it. You're good. You're good for an hour, right? Even if you're tired. And sometimes those are the best days. Those can be the best days when you're like, oh, today's going to be a crappy day. And then you prove yourself wrong, you know? I think it's so awesome to prove yourself wrong or prove that negative narrative wrong. That's a skill and a pleasure of mine is saying, I see how you feel and I'm going to raise that and I'm going to do something about it. Now, don't get me wrong. I still have my bad days. I'll be like, I hate this. This sucks. This is terrible, but I'm still doing it. You know, that's the problem. If you're going to complain, I'm not saying to not complain. I'm saying to complain and do it. That's all I care about. What is your, what does your day look like? Your daily maybe habits, rituals, morning routine? So for me, my lifestyle is a little hectic. You know, I'm a speaker by trade. So the majority of my business is traveling or speaking, whether it's virtually or in person. So those events I can do anywhere from 20 to 40 plus events a year. I also am a co-owner of a protein bar company. So that's a whole nother venture. And then I have my own content production that backs up what I do in speaking. And I consult for different companies about adaptive technology or adaptive fashion. Work with brands. So I'm constantly investing in the idea of overcoming adversity, diversity and inclusion, and in general change management when I speak. So my days can be extremely busy or extremely relaxed. And that's the benefit of creating the lifestyle that I've created. But overall, my day involves content production, editing, speaking, and some sort of work on a company or consulting. And then the gym, of course. What advice would you give the 20-year-old version of yourself? Would I have to take that advice? That's the question. Would the 20-year-old version of me take that advice? I think the biggest advice I could give myself is you have a right to what you're feeling, but just because you feel it doesn't mean it's real. Feelings are not facts. And I would try to get myself to question those negative thoughts and really try and understand that just because you feel a certain way, just because you feel people are staring at you, just because you feel less than, doesn't mean you have to invest in that thought. If we all invested in every thought we had, we'd probably be crazy, you know? We get some negative random thoughts that come across our mind sometimes. And I'm not a crazy positivity hippie, so to speak. You know, I wouldn't be standing in a burning building chanting positive affirmations. I would get the hell out, you know? My job is to not let my mind take over. And that's when I win and when I lose and everything in between. So in talking to that 20-year-old version of myself, you're valid for what you feel, but at the same time, it's not a necessity to act out those feelings. You have a choice between what you think and what you do. And that choice is everything. What have been your greatest failures and what did you learn from them? How much time do you have? So there's that cliche saying like, a master has failed more times than a student has ever tried. I've definitely had a lot of failures, you know? I invested way too much money into a fitness dating app that I thought was going to succeed. And the editor of the app ended up leaving the country with my money. So that was a pretty big blow. That was a pretty big blow. I worked sales and personal training for a large gym. And I left that job and moved to California for another job, potentially a gym, and that failed. And I had to move back with my tail between my legs, you know? I've tried to become, when I was addicted to becoming, like I wanted to be something because I didn't believe I was something already. I would try and put out content. Every piece of content I would put out, if it didn't do well, I would like beat myself up for it. And it was just, it was so frustrating because I was chasing an idea of value, not understanding that I was value to begin with. You know, a crumpled up $20 bill is still $20. It doesn't lose its value when it's beaten up. Unfortunately for me, if I didn't succeed in that specific venture, I thought I failed. And I've come to learn that there's a huge difference between failing and failure. Failing is like stubbing your toe. You know, it happens. It's a verb, you know? It's just something you do. But failure is a noun. It's an identity. It's a place of where you stay. And I failed a lot, a lot, a lot along the way. But I was never a failure because I kept trying. I kept doing it. I understood over time that my value wasn't representative of the things that worked or didn't work. You know, there was a point where I wanted to give up on my speaking career. And I'll never forget this. I wanted to give up on my speaking career because I had done 30 plus talks and I wasn't getting paid. And I was like, how is this ever going to work? And I said, screw this, I'm done. I made a resume which had ridiculous gaps in it because of all the stuff I've done. And I went to a local supplement store that is very popular. And I applied for a job that was like $13, $14 an hour. I showed him my resume. I talked to him for about 20 minutes and he denied me the job. I was definitely qualified. I had a degree in exercise science, you know? I was like, why are you not giving me this job? And he said, I'll never forget this. If I gave you this job, this would be doing you a disservice to what you can accomplish in your life. And I walked out of that job and I got back to work. And now I'm a highly sought after keynote speaker. It's the majority of my career. My speaking fees are up there with some of the, you know, higher up people who are speaking. And I am living the lifestyle that I dreamed of or couldn't even dream of. And I'm thankful for that moment, for sure. What would you say are the most, are the two most valuable lessons you've learned throughout your whole life so far? One, for sure, for sure. One was from a teacher in eighth grade, ninth grade in high school. I don't know why she said this, but I don't even remember the context. But she said, you teach best what you need to learn most. That has stuck with me for so long. And I've kind of built on that concept of the answers, the answers you need are in the problems you haven't solved yet. You teach best what you need to learn most. For me, I needed to learn how to validate myself. I needed to learn how to see value in myself when I saw myself as broken. I needed to learn how to, you know, lift weights thinking that I couldn't. And now I teach people that stuff. That's my job. What I teach now is what I needed to learn most back then. And it's so crazy how the problem becomes the solution. And one of my talks, I said how I turn my health issues into wealth issues, and not just money, but in terms of what held you back is what can push you forward. And that's conceptually, I feel like a lot of people could benefit if they really looked at the problems they're facing right now. There are massive solutions within those problems that can take you to a new level of life if you look at them from a different perspective. The second lesson for me would, for me, would be focus on what you can control. That concept has reduced my stress, has reduced my anxiety, has reduced so much unnecessary worry in my life. You know, so many people are like, oh, Chris, it's easier said than done. Absolutely, that's true. But it's better done than said. So that topic, that is a moot topic right there. If you focus on what you can control, you reduce the energy investment into things you can't. What if, what if, what if? What if I get fired? What happens if my partner leaves me? What happens if my business fails? What if, what if, what if? Okay, you can't control the what ifs. You can't control external circumstances. What I can control is my thoughts, my behaviors, my actions. I can create a plan. I can create an action set. I can do those things. That's what I can control. So when I stop focusing on living life in the backseat and take the driver's wheel of responsibility, and not just responsibility, but response ability, the ability to respond to anything that happens to me, my life got a lot better. So now I choose to focus on what I can control and not what I can't. Tell us about competing in the Rocks, Titan Games. So that was, that was pretty crazy to compete in Titan Games with the Rocks season one. They reached out to me. So hundreds of thousands of people applied to be on the show. I did not apply to be on the show. They reached out to me and I thought it was fake. I almost didn't respond. You know, I ended up getting on a video call with them. I'm really glad I responded. I got on a video call with them and we talked and it sounded like a cool idea. They were just building it out, but I was like, okay, whatever, you know, I've been hit up for different things. And I just thought it was one of those things where people talk and nothing really happens. They're like, okay, we want to fly you out to LA and you're going to compete against like 200 other people to potentially get a spot on the show. I'm like, I can lift heavyweight one time. That's my skill. You know, so I'm like, these athletes are crazy. I went out to LA and competed. It was like a three day. Oh, it was so crazy. Like just so many different events, like 10 to 12 hours in a day, obstacle courses, strength tests, camera interview tests. It was, it was pretty brutal. I'm not going to lie. And some of these athletes were incredible. That was such a cool experience, but that's not, there's no way that's going to happen. I got a call later and they were like, Hey, out of those 200 people, we picked 30 guys and you're one of them. I was like, what? So I ended up getting on the show and they're like, by the way, we pick two or three of those guys to be on all the billboards. You're one of them. So I was on all the billboards. I did that show. I got to meet the rock multiple times and got to hug him after I lost my episode and they shared my message after which went viral all over the internet. And, uh, just understanding that just because you're different, doesn't mean you're less abled, you're differently abled and that's completely okay. So the fact that the rock allowed me to share that and be on that show, that was a game changer for me. Okay. So I want to switch gears a bit and I want to, um, ask you about, uh, what led you to write your book, the upper hand. I feel like that book, I had been writing that book in my head for 10 plus years, you know, one, I love making dad jokes. So like the upper hand, I was like, this is perfect. Uh, two, I was like, I've always wanted to gain the upper hand of situations. And it wasn't until I matured to understand that the only upper hand that matters is having the upper hand over yourself. And I was like, how do I, how do I gain the upper hand over myself? How do I gain the upper hand over a situation I have no control of? Well, you go back to that concept that I discussed, focusing on what you can control. From there, I built five other concepts and I built this book to help people simply navigate the struggles of life by internalizing things instead of blaming the outside world, giving you concepts that can help you do something about it. Focus on what you can control that. And you learn how to navigate the true emotions and feelings so that you can have the upper hand always over a situation, even, even if it's unfavorable, where can people find the book? So the book is on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and most people go through there. And, um, it's a very easy read, you know, should take not too much time, maybe one day, most people have said, and it's something you can flip to any page and get value in. I've even created it in a way that you could only read the bold parts and get something from it. I know everyone is busy, but there is nothing more important than making sure mentally that your mental health is good and making sure you're living your life on your terms and not just falling in line with what you think should be done. What's, uh, yeah, what's next for you? So I, I love, and almost, I love answering this question. I should say, I love what I'm doing right now. I absolutely love it. I want to speak for the rest of my life. I love speaking. I eventually want to help people become speakers, especially in minority groups and specific populations so that we can create more leaders internally from the underserved communities, whether it's disability, race, gender, sex, anything like that. I would love to do that. That's, that's my next goal is to create that program. I am growing my protein bar business and we're expanding that. But in general, I'm doing exactly what I want to do. So I just want to keep doing it. That's awesome. What's the name of the protein bar? It's called NRG bite. And, uh, we're going to be launching other products coming out soon, but we can't really discuss yet, but super exciting stuff. And we've grown 3000% since, uh, 2019. So that's a really exciting endeavor that I'm doing with another type one diabetic, who's a chef. And we made a natural product that our goal is to replace the decision to get a candy bar with one of our bars. They're delicious. And, uh, we just want to do our part. We never got into what led you to, uh, go into powerlifting and what led you to become a speaker. What led me into powerlifting? I wanted to be a bodybuilder when I was like 15, 16, I saw the magazines and I was like, I want to be that. I didn't realize that it takes a long time to be that. So as I was trying to bodybuild, I noticed I was getting stronger. And a buddy of mine who had come down here from Ohio, he was like, man, do this powerlifting meet with me. And I was like, I don't even know what that is. You know, he's like, well, you just squat and bench and deadlift. I was like, okay, I can do those three things. You know, when I bench, I just balance the bar on my residual limb. So everyone kind of freaks out. But, uh, I ended up doing my first powerlifting meet and I won first place and overall best lifter and I caught the bug. So I spent that time, you know, building from, I think I hit a 500 pound squat at that meet. And then I got to a 610 pound squat. I got to a 385 pound bench press and I got to a 675 pound deadlift, uh, all under 200 pounds. Yeah. And in terms of speaking, have you ever had those secret questions? Like what's your dream job? And everyone puts like whatever they put for me, I put speaker. I didn't really know what that meant. You know, I just saw people like Tony Robbins and I was like, I would love to help people like that. But I never thought that was going to be a real thing. So I went to school for exercise science. Um, I wanted to help people build better bodies. I thought I wanted to help people get abs and get muscles. And what I really wanted to do was help people develop confidence. I wanted people to feel good about themselves. And I thought that was through muscles alone, but it's not. It's mental health. It's a decision. It's a choice. And I wanted to help companies create environments that made their employees happy. So one day I got invited to speak at a nonprofit event that my buddy was throwing for type one diabetes. That was my first ever talk in front of people. And I did that and people like, wow, that was incredible. Like, did you like, are you a, do you do this? And I was like, no, that was my first time. So I practiced, I went to classes like at Toastmasters and I just got addicted to trying to become a better speaker, a better storyteller so that it wasn't just my story that I was telling, but it was the message from my story that people could identify with. And I did, I grinded hard, you know, the first few years doing every free talk that I could just to get in front of, you know, stages in front of people and speak. And I did so many for free. And I, I really taxed the people in my life because I was trying to make this something. I was trying to become this speaker who would get paid. And I got my first ever speaking, you know, honorarium or keynote fee. And I was so excited because they asked, oh, what do you charge? And I'm like, I don't, I was like, oh, I charge whatever the last speaker charged. Like, okay, a $2,000. I'm like, you're going to pay me. I was like, this is wild. I'm going to be able to eat. This is crazy. But now it's to the point where I don't have to negotiate my fees anymore because I charge what I charge and that's just what it is. So it's taken a long time, you know, like anything of value takes time and consistency and overall intensity, you know, but now I've created this life of, I am a professional keynote speaker. I get hired by companies, huge companies, whether it's Facebook or Zappos or so many different companies to speak to their employees about overcoming adversity or diversity and inclusion or change management. And that is my full-time thing. And I love it so much. Okay. So first thing you think of. All right. You want to start? Sure. Yes. The first question is when you think of the word successful, who is the first person that comes to mind and why? First person immediately would probably be Andy Frisella. I've always looked up to him. He owns First Forum and just his story of success, how he built his company is incredible and how he stood up for his friends involving like derogatory remarks. He's done a lot in the community for the community. And I really deem him as a successful person. Okay. So what is the book that you recommend the most? Right now, I would think it is The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday. That was a huge perspective shift for me on stoicism and taking back control of your life and learning to domesticate your emotions. What is something that you believe that other people think is insane? I don't think anything has a reason. You know that phrase, everything happens for a reason. I completely don't believe that. I believe things happen and we give it reason. And I get a little pushback from that. But when I explain my philosophy, they identify with it more. What are some common misconceptions about you? I think people look at me, muscles, tattoo, hair, arm. One, they think military. I'm not in the military. I was never in the military. Two, they think I'm a jock who drinks beer and yells at TVs about sports. Hate sports. Can't stand beer. I used to decorate cakes. I played drums. I was definitely not the guy you think I am. And when people meet me, they try and say in a nice way like, wow, you're not a douchebag. That's crazy. That's pretty much what I get all the time. Do you have a quote that you live your life by or think about often? Yes. So I'm looking at my wall right now. We suffer more in an imagination than we do reality by Seneca. So I keep that there. And I look at it every day because the majority of our suffering comes from the way we imagine things and not the way things actually are. That is very true. What is the worst advice you've seen or heard being dispensed in the world? Oh, my God. So just in general, like the hustle, kill mentality. Like you got to hustle. Emotions aren't real. Suck it up. All of that is disgusting to me. One, we have identified with being like hustlers, which when you get hustled, you're getting screwed over. I think it's just a terrible concept of hustling. And two, we have emotions. Guys, girls, all of us, everyone, we have emotions. Stop pretending like they don't exist. That does more damage than good. You're allowed to feel. You're allowed to process them effectively. So let's stop numbing things out and start dealing with them. Last question. What do you believe is true, even though you can't prove it? I believe that the concept of you got to be born with it isn't real. I believe everyone is born with the ability to apply effort. I can't prove that. I know I was not destined to be a basketball player. Some people were born with that specific skill. But I do believe that we can build potential by using effort and making the choice to commit to something. So I can't really prove that you're supposed to be something, like you should be something. But I can say that with choice and effort, you can go really damn far. So where can people find you? So you can follow me on Instagram at Chris Rudin. Same thing with TikTok. My website is chrisrudin.com if you're interested in having me speak at an event. And anything from YouTube. Everything is just my name. All right. Great. Well, thanks a lot, Chris. This was a solid interview. Thank you guys so much. I had a great time.