Do It For Yourself Podcast

You're Going To Learn A Lot More By Doing with Marc Andre

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. My guest this week is Marc Andre.  Marc has been blogging and running a website since 2008.  He was an early adopter of this business and he has certainly benefitted from it.  Marc went on to see his websites for well over six figures.     Vital Dollar Website Do It For Yourself Instagram

Making Radical Changes to Give People Something to Talk About with Aamir Madadali

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing.   This week my guest is Aamir Madadali otherwise known as Captainaamirica on Instagram.  Aamir has an amazing weight loss story to share with us and I am really pleased to share that with everyone here this week.   Aamir started to struggle with his weight around high school and post high school because he was working in the phone industry and found himself eating at mall food courts often and drinking tons and tons of soda.  As things progressed Aamir was definitely pushing his weight higher and higher even though playing sports and staying somewhat active.     One particular situation that Aamir can remember was when he was at a summer camp and he didn't feel well.  He went to see the nurse and she took one look at him and immediately said "You definitely have diabetes".  These conversations became the norm when Aamir had conversations with health professionals.  One particular situation that Aamir can remember that hit him was when his doctor told him that he was going to eat himself to death if he didn't make any changes.     Although Aamir was having tons of conversations with people and they were telling him he NEEDED to change, it was falling on deaf ears.  He wasn't ready to make a change and so he didn't hear things clearly that people were trying to tell him.  The first time when Aamir really knew he needed to make a change was when he saw pictures from a wedding.  He was very excited because of the nice clothes and professional pictures but when the pictures came back he was horrified.  Aamir began to realize he needed to make a change and so he did.  He went on a journey and lost forty pounds and was on a great track.     Still Working for AT&T Aamir applied to work in a store in Chicago that was a very top-level store.  He didn't think it would work out but it did and when he moved to Chicago Aamir went right back into his old eating habits.  Not only did Aamir put the forty pounds back on, but he ended up putting on sixty pounds while he was living in Chicago. Aamire believes that because he was so restrictive with his diet the first time around, this made him go off the rails even harder while living in Chicago.  After living in Chicago for a few months Aamir got promoted again and returned home heavier than when he left.     December came and during a gag gift exchange with his friends, Aamir was given a weight scale.  He knew that it was a joke but at the time he didn't take it that way.  He felt so uncomfortable knowing that these guys were laughing and talking about him.  One of his friends confronted him after this exchange and said to him, "If this is making you this upset, you need to DO SOMETHING".  This conversation was what ultimately lit the fire under Aamir's ass.  Aamir locked himself up for two weeks and began learning and watching every single piece of content that he could find about a weight loss journey.   At the same time Aamir decided that if he was going to go through this journey, he was going to take all of these people who were talking about him through this journey.  He started to document the entire thing on Instagram.  Instagram and YouTube became the place where Aamir found both his information to continue on this journey but also his motivation.  He continued to watch videos all along his journey to keep himself motivated and pushing forward.     The biggest step that pushed Aamir forward was downloading the MyFitnessPal app and he began tracking his calories according to what the app told him today.  On top of this, setting up a routine in his calendar and setting up his day.  Aamir knew if he has this structure, he was going to be successful and he absolutely was.     Through many of the challenges Aamir has faced, building a routine has been the one common theme that has helped him stay on track through anything that has come up.  Even through job changes and the pandemic, Aamir has remained on track because of the routines he has had in place.     Aamir has an amazing story and I was so honored to share it on the podcast.  I hope you enjoy!   Aamir's Instagram   Do It For Yourself Instagram

You Didn't Get Where You Are Overnight and You Won't Get Out Of There Overnight Either with George Bryant

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week my guest is George Bryant.  George is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, father, and much more.  I am really excited to bring you this week's episode as I have been a follower of George's for a long time now. When George was a child, he struggled with abuse.  George was bullied as a child in school and this followed him throughout his life.  By the time George got to high school, he could see the writing on the wall.  He knew he needed to make a change, he knew if he stayed where he was, he wasn't going to go anywhere.  The thought of running away popped into his head, but he realized quickly that he would need money to do that.  Option two would be the military.  He could "run away" but get paid while doing it. George made up his mind to enlist in the military, went to the recruiter's office ready to join but was turned away.  The reason....he was told he was "too fat" and would never make it.  George left the office that day, returned six months later, no longer "too fat" and he enlisted in the military.  Just days after graduating from high school George was on a plane to begin his new journey.  George didn't join the military because it was something he was really passionate about, it was more that he could get out of the situation that he was in, AND get paid for it. George lost the weight to get into the military but this was not the first instance he had an issue with eating.  George had an experience when he was 15 when he went to rent a suit for a dance.  Due to George's size, he needed a different size jacket and pants and he was ok with that, but what George couldn't handle was the comments from his mother.  This made him so upset, that he got sick to his stomach and in some way this made him feel better.  George began to realize that when he was upset, mad, didn't matter if he made himself sick, he felt better.  This began a VERY long journey with bulimia.  George went on to struggle with these habits through the military and it compounded with the working out. While George was in the military he realized that he didn't have the privacy to purge that he had before enlisting in the military and it put him into a cold-turkey stop.  That was up until he began to find himself in extremely stressful situations.  George had a situation that forced him into emergency surgery and put him into a wheelchair for 12 months.  This brought back all of his bad habits with eating a purging.  While going through his recovery, George attempted suicide one night and he realized that he needed to make a change, if he didn't get things together he wasn't going to be able to go back into the military, he didn't save any money and he had no skills.  George made a full recovery and returned to the military from 2006 until 2013. In 2013 George had suffered from over seven concussions and had brain injuries.  It was going to take six months for recovery but George had used all of his allotted time already.  George was so worried to leave the military because he didn't know what he was going to transition to but the doctor who he was seeing had to recommend he be medically discharged.   Prior to being discharged, George discovered Tim Ferris's book the 4 Hour Body, and also found the paleo diet.  In the original book, Tim Ferris says to eat clean for one week, and then you were allowed to binge.  As hard as he tried, George couldn't binge and this helped him control something that was controlling him for so long.  Through this process, George began to cook and post these things on Facebook.  George had no idea what he was doing but he knew that people were looking and so he just kept going.  Because George was gaining some traction on Facebook someone suggests that he start posting things on a blog instead of a website.  After months of posting on his blog, someone suggested he take these recipes and put them in an ebook.  George had no idea what he was doing  Even though he was so clueless about what he was doing, George just kept moving forward, posting, selling ebooks and it was working.  There were some hard lessons that George had to learn, such as paying taxes, but it all worked out.  George began building relationships, his website, and his business.  He was all consumed in this and he was loving it.  Given George’s personality, as you maybe can imagine, this relationship with Civilized Caveman and the internet became very unhealthy.  George was living his life for other people and he was now addicted to social media and this company.  It became too much and he knew that it was time to move on.  George felt wrong selling this because he felt like he would be selling an addiction.  George found a friend and told him that he was giving him to the company and that was it.  After deleting his social media for over a year George went through a long period of healing.  George listened to the people around him in order to improve who he was.  He really took a lot of time to work on himself which has in turn helped him build a successful business of helping others.  George has an amazing story and I am so happy to have the opportunity to share it here on the podcast.   George on Facebook George's Website George's Instagram   Do It For Yourself Instagram

Throw Yourself Out There Until You Find Something You Love with Nick Keller

This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. This week I have the chance to sit down with Nick Keller.  Nick is from Texas, where football is everything and it was just that for him.  From a young age, everything that Nick did had to do with football.  He ate, slept, and breathed football day in and day out.  Nick discovered from a young age also that if you put in the work, you can get the results that you want.  One particular instance of this was when Nick wanted to be the quarterback for his team but he was not selected.  He began working every day to achieve this dream, hitting the weights, throwing, and constantly working to become that quarterback. As you can imagine, not playing football was not an option for Nick, that is until it was his only option.  Nick had taken some hits, some pretty hard ones at that.  He had multiple concussions and after speaking with doctors and his parents, Nick made the extremely difficult decision to walk away from football.  This was a very hard decision for Nick but one that he knew he needed to make. In an effort to stay connected to the game, Nick began training younger athletes to help them reach their goals.  Nick was no longer able to play but this helped him stay in the game in some way and also provided him with a little extra money.  When you are Doing It For Yourself though, it isn't about the money and Nick has said that time and time again.  Nick could very easily take this opportunity and transform it into a very successful business, but he has decided to keep it as a side hustle and pursue his degree in engineering.   Nick has the opportunity to taste different things and try different jobs to see what he likes right now.  He is Doing It For Himself by staying connected to the game of football but exploring other options as well.  This was a great conversation and I am looking forward to sharing it with you.   Nick's Instagram Do It For Yourself Instagram

Doing It For Yourself Is a Very Empowering Thing with Nick Mattia

Doing It For Yourself Is a Very Empowering Thing with Nick Mattia This is The Do It For Yourself Podcast.  Each week I sit down with someone who is doing it for themselves and chasing a dream they just couldn’t suppress.  This is often speakers, entrepreneurs, or athletes.  They all share one thing in common, they are overcoming challenges and never giving up.  Someone who is Doing It For Themselves is not selfish in their pursuit, they are simply chasing a dream or working towards a goal because it is something THEY want to do.  They are not forging down a path because society or someone is telling them it’s what they should be doing. My guest this week is Nick Mattia, the founder of Ready Strong Meals.  Nick started his journey when he was working in a job that was not fulfilling him.  He decided to start working in the restaurant industry for FREE after he had spent some time prepping his meals for the week.  This began a journey for Nick of starting from the bottom and having to work his way through the ranks.  Nick went into this humble and that is something that served him very well in the long run.  Nick now owns Ready Strong Meals which is a meal prep company that serves the New York and New Jersey area. I hope you enjoy this episode.   Ready Strong Meals Instagram Ready Strong Meals Website Nick's Personal Instagram   Do It For Yourself Instagram