Right About Now - Legendary Business Advice - Mike Bayer - Transformational Life Coach, New York Times Best-Selling Author, Founder-CEO at CAST Centers and Podcast Host

Episode Date: October 12, 2021

Welcome to another episode on The Radcast! In this episode on The Radcast, host Ryan Alford talks with Transformational Life Coach, New York Times Best-Selling Author, Founder-CEO at CAST Centers, and Podcast Host, Coach Mike Bayer.Mike discusses the characteristics that shaped who he is now and how he came to the decision to help others with their mental health and personal growth. He also talks about the obstacles he faced while constructing the CAST Centers and those he faces now that it is a well-established institution. Mike also shares how he manages his own mental health and what he does when he feels burned out, among other topics...Tyler also has a quick take on RAD or FAD trending topics;Online CoachingFlaming Hot Mtn DewInstagram ReelsTiktokKanyeLearn more about Mike Bayer: https://coachmikebayer.com/. Follow Coach Mike on Instagram and twitter: @coachmikebayer.If you enjoyed this episode of The Radcast, let us know by visiting our website www.theradcast.com or leave us a review on Apple Podcast. Be sure to keep up with all that’s radical from @ryanalford @radical_results @the.rad.cast If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, join Ryan’s newsletter https://ryanalford.com/newsletter/ to get Ferrari level advice daily for FREE.  Learn how to build a 7 figure business from your personal brand by signing up for a FREE introduction to personal branding https://ryanalford.com/personalbranding.  Learn more by visiting our website at www.ryanisright.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel  www.youtube.com/@RightAboutNowwithRyanAlford. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It is really confusing in our childhood years, you know, dictate how we operate in our later years, whether it's in business, whether it's having deep beliefs that get in the way of us thriving in our life. And I couldn't get anyone on board. And then I had a moment, well, what if I became the vehicle? Like you're saying, what if I became the currency? Somehow, that's how Dr. Phil ended up in my life. I would never have thought that's how.

I didn't want to be a speaker. I thought, I thought. You know, this is what we do often when we feel like we're not very good at something, as we look at other people, and we compare ourselves. Sometimes I was looking at speakers, and I was like, God, they're so cheesy. You're Kanye fan? Yeah, I think you need some help. You might use to come to Coke Mike.

No, I don't do that anymore. I know. You would make an exception for Kanye? No. Absolutely not. You're listening to the Radcast. If it's radical, we cover it. Here's your host, Ryan Alford.

Hey guys, what's up? Welcome to the latest edition of the Radcast. I hope everyone's out there is doing well. We appreciate all of our audience and be ready to be transformed, my friends. We've got Mike Bayer on the show today. Two-time, New York Times best-selling author, Transformational Coach, founder of cast centers. What's up, brother? Welcome to the show.

Hey, man, feeling pretty rad today. Hey, you got to. or adcast. Yeah. So what's been going on, Mike? How are things going? Things are good, you know. It's always a matter of how we look at life day to day

and how we practice different things that keep our head on straight and hopefully not let it roll down the hill, you know? No kidding. I've had a few celebrity of the, you know, celebrity life coaches and things like that had Tim Sturion. I don't know if your friends are no Tim very well, but anyway, I know you've got an extensive background. I want to get into that. I want to talk about a couple of the books, but maybe let's just start for, you know,

you're on TV a fair amount. I know people probably familiar with the name and your likeness and all that, but let's give everybody a little bit of your background and, you know, building to today, man. Sure, yeah. And it's, I kind of avoided for, and I still avoid the title of a, you know, celebrity life coach, life coach. I've been trying to call myself everything under the sun. And then when you try too hard, you end up with these titles that don't even make sense anyways. But we'll get into that.

But I grew up in Orange County, California. I'm the youngest of three. You know, grew up in a family where basketball was a. big sport. I'm six foot five today and I'm the shortest male in the family. And so I was very driven towards basketball. I never did well in school. I got held back twice, kindergarten, which I don't recall thinking I was dumb when I got held back, but in eighth grade I got held back. And they said it was for sports. But I didn't do well in school. And I went to this high school called modern day high school, which is a big powerhouse football and basketball school.

And I had dreams that I was going to play, you know, college basketball and I don't know, one day get married and I guess have kids and go to Disney World and Orlando. This is the American dream. Yeah, I take that trip to Hawaii once a year. But the problem for me, was I couldn't get turned on by girls. And I didn't know why. And I thought, well, I haven't hit puberty yet.

So once I hit puberty, I was like, okay, cool. Like, I'm growing hair on my arm. I remember, like, when we first grow our first hair on our chest or face, we're like, yeah, man, I'm becoming a man. But for me, I, for whatever reason, just wasn't that into women. and I thought that eventually, as we get older, we suddenly get really attracted to the opposite sex. But I found that I was like not into it.

So I kept trying to force myself to hook up with women who were very attractive. And it just didn't feel good. And I didn't even know what being gay was or anything like that. I literally knew of the village people and the TV. show or at the time there was RuPaul and I was both of those two existences I wasn't that bonded with and so I just thought I was weird I thought it was very weird and you know so I overcompensated with you know going with the homecoming queen to the high school dance and captain of the basketball team and vice president of the school and then when I wasn't doing that

I was doing drugs and I was doing a lot of drugs and I love drugs. And I don't necessarily think because I hated myself for being gay is why I did drugs. I just loved getting high. And I started doing that at a young age. And so I would go straight from, you know, playing in a basketball game to going to a rave. And eventually I went to play college basketball at Fordham in the Bronx. and I went back in the closet. Like I graduated from high school.

I had a fake girlfriend who basically I would have. Her name was Heather. And back then, MySpace started to develop. And Heather ended up meeting a guy on our football team. And suddenly Heather, he's like, hey, I thought Mike was your boyfriend.

And she's like, no, Mike's gay. And so I was outed then. I went to New York. I did not go out and play basketball because I felt like I wanted to be free. And I did not do well in school. And I eventually found myself for several years doing crystal meth, stay up for a week at a time, found myself about 90 pounds less than I am now,

picking up my skin, believing I was possessed by the devil. And I kind of had these moments of desperation. And I thought, oh, I'm a lot of people do this. Like, we all know people like this that are like, I'm getting sober. That's the last time I'm going to drink like that. And then you see them a month later. And they're like, no, I'm just doing wine.

I'm not doing the hard stuff. Or I'm just, I just quit out weed or whatever it is. And so I didn't know how to stop. and eventually at 22 years old, I went to treatment for the final and last time, and I've been sober over 19 years. And I started working in this profession of mental health. I've owned a treatment center for over 15 years. And it went from me working in crises with addicts and alcoholics to eventually coaching and helping artists, entertainers. And it's just, it's just, keeps unfolding. And I know it's a really long, short version, but that's kind of funny story.

It is fun. And I mean, a lot to unpack there. Do you think, you know, I have friends that are gay and, like, I'm not, but I can relate to just discomfort in my life and uncomfortability. And I can only imagine the times a thousand, whatever that that might be. I mean, was it, it sounds like you had a different experience and some people I've heard like, like you thought the switch was just going to come on. It didn't sound like you were necessarily running from something you were aware of as much as you just thought, okay, I'm going to eventually be like everybody else. Yeah, like I thought this is like part of the progression of like growing up. That's interesting. I've never heard it. I mean, it makes a hundred percent sense because

it's it seems like everyone, whether I assume it's their journey or their truth, it's like they just, I don't know, they say they. Well, I was like, why the hell am I gay? Yeah. Like, if I don't want to be, can't I just like, and the girls were so attractive that I got together with, but it would be like you making out with an attractive dude. You probably would hate it. Yeah, I wouldn't enjoy it.

I'm attracted to women. You had to. Imagine. But you know what? I'm smart enough and open-minded enough to know, like, the reverse of that and knowing that how you would, you know what I mean, that you must have felt, you know, how awkward or like, okay, like, I'm not like, again, I'm a very open-minded person, but I'm like, wow, that would be so terrible. Wow, now I can relate to what you with her, you know, it's like, but unfortunately,

we've grown up in a world that's just starting to wrap their head around, you know, being open-minded to how other people are. In some ways we're getting better, in some ways we're getting worse, right? Yeah, and I'm different in the way too where like I could be friends with someone who's anti-gay marriage. Yeah. Like I just think like opinions are like noses. We all have them, right? And it's just being gay is like one description of me in terms of 10,000 descriptions that we all have.

It's just that was a very painful, awful part of my life. and I share that just because I, it's just a part of my story, you know, it's, but I'm friends with all sorts, as I was telling you before the pocket, all sorts of different types of people. And, but it is, it is really confusing. In our childhood years, you know, dictate how we operate in our later years, whether it's in business, whether it's having deep beliefs that get in the way of us thriving in our life, unless we really go back and look at kind of what happened and connect some dots, we end up just creating that same fabric,

but with different characters as we get older. Yeah. Do you think that you're obviously starting the cast centers and the treatment centers? And, I mean, was that it had to have been fueled by your own? experiences, right? I mean, you... Yeah, so I... For sure.

Like, I got sober. I was a counselor. Then I did interventions for many years. And then I wanted to create a place where in the psychiatric or psychological world, there's something called the D. I think it's a DSM-5 now. And everything is a diagnosis. Well, a big reason why there's diagnoses is two-part.

One is so that people can have a roadmap potentially. So if you're labeled as, let's... let's say, chemically dependent, that they can look at the different criteria and go, you are a drug addict or you're an alcoholic.

And the same thing applies for so many different types of issues, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and so forth. The other is so that insurance, you fill out on the form and you say,

this is their diagnosis so that insurance will pay. Because if there's no diagnoses, insurance won't pay for it. And so, you know, What I kind of realized was we were getting dictated by the insurance world. They were dictating like length of stay and how people could get help.

So I wanted to create a program that helped people with everything from depression, anxiety, addiction, or they could all be on their own islands. And so that's kind of what my vision was when I got sober. Because the place I went, you just basically were like, yes, I'm a drug addict and my life has become unmanageable. But like all the other underlying issues. were kind of just, we're going to deal with that later. And years later, I just had to go to years of therapy.

So you're trying to treat the whole problem and not just the top line. No one's addressing the underlying. It's just the top line. Yeah, and people suffer a lot and families spend a lot of money trying to figure out how to help someone. And it's tough. Is it, you know, and I don't want to talk more. more about the positive stuff that you're doing now.

But I think it's important because I've always been curious. Like, for addiction like that, like someone's a date, what's alcohol or crystal meth or whatever it is, like, is it just an all or nothing thing? Like, is that why, like, you truly have to be, I don't know if you, do you even drink? I haven't, no. So, but, but, you know.

Is that a trigger? Like, is that the problem? It's like there's just no, it's all or nothing? No, I think, um, I also don't like cauliflower. And I haven't had cauliflower in a long time. Now, cauliflower is not going to lead me to potentially a situation that is very dangerous.

You might eat broccoli with it. Oh, green beans are coming next. Right. People are like, you haven't had that flash fried cauliflower. I'm like, that thing looks like a funky-ass root in, you know, that I don't want to eat it. It doesn't taste good.

It has no flavor. Yeah. I don't care all you cauliflower lovers out there, you know. But anyways, for me, like, recovery is a loose garment and everyone has to find their fit. And I'm very much a believer in people figuring out authentically for themselves what makes sense. Some people, they went through a tough period. Other people, it's like they got that personality where it's all or nothing. For me, it's just not worth it.

Like, like having a glass of Merlot, like the reality is to me, even though I'm an addict and alcohol, I never really love the taste of alcohol. Like, I am always amazed that people are like, oh, it tastes so good when they swirl around their wine. I'm like, eh, it's a little bitter. They kind of like, I guess it looks fabulous, but it's just some fabulous way to say you're getting effed up, kind of like or buzzed. But I know people who do really love it. I love wine. Yes, I'm one of those.

I'm a wine and kind of, like, not connoisseur, but, you know, I have probably 700 bottles in my house. Well, and probably for you, there's a whole ritual to the bottle of one, right? Yes. Yes. It's like you probably have certain glasses. You're not drinking out of the red cups with that one bottle. Not unless I'm at a tailgate, but I'm not a snob, but when I'm at home, I'm drinking out of my favorite glass. Yes.

Right. You have your favorite glass and you probably have a spot where you want to enjoy it and an activity, right? Like, it's a thing. It's a ritual. And I think that for a lot of people, it can be a phase. but the challenge is a lot of people think it's a phase, and then they completely lose it. And so I think it's really understanding for oneself what is that line. And they say in Sandy is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

And a lot of people who should not be drinking at all keep doing it over and over again. The typical alcoholic, like I'll use these labels, doesn't get sober for about 25 years. So by the time they start drinking till about 25, maybe 30 years later, they don't really reach that point where they have to do much because maybe of health issues, you know, consequences. Now, some end up in trouble a lot sooner. But when you do some of these other drugs, like, I'm grateful I did crystal meth because if I drank, it would have taken a long time to get sober. With meth, you're such a disaster that I'm like, oh, God, it got me sober at 22.

You know? Yeah, went downhill. Downo quick. So a snowball building, it's like an anvil dropping off the mountain. Exactly. I love it. Well, let's talk about, you know, what you've been doing. I know I'm not the celebrity horror or anything.

But I do think it's interesting that it just led you there. I mean, you did all of this. It had nothing to do with who or why you did. did it for it was more the greater good. You're, you know, your influence, you've gone through it. You want to help others. You want to treat the whole problem, not part of the problem. But what, what got you into, call it the celebrity circuit, entertainment circuit?

Yeah. Well, I, you know, the first few entertain, living in LA, you're just bound to work with different entertainers. And I think the first kind of big family I worked with was the Osbournes. This is like over 10 years. ago. I did Kelly Osborne's intervention. I went on our podcast. That's why I can talk so freely, whereas a lot of people I can't. And, you know, I worked with that family. And that was kind of my first taste. And I was young. And then what would happen is I started working with different

people who were in crises, like bad crises. They wouldn't go on stage on a tour. And the consequence for them personally was huge financially if they did not deliver and perform. And so I would go out and people through word and mouth would start saying, oh, you got to call Mike Bear. And then over time, it went from like working with crises to working with bands that were breaking up or kind of reinventing. And then after that, it kind of went towards people who had public breakups. And then it started getting into record labels calling me to help figure out how to help someone live in their art, like what mattered.

How would their brand be put out in the world that was authentic? How do they express themselves? How do they express themselves creatively on a music tour? And it just is like evolved. I'm one of those guys that like I love new passions in self-help after I feel like I feel like I. I've kind of reached my own measure of mastery in a certain arena. So I haven't, you know, I don't personally work. I wouldn't be the guy today that you're going to get,

if I got a call for someone who need to get sober in the middle of music tour, I don't want to, I'm not flying out anymore. I did that for years. I'm much more geared now these days. You know, I, so I had no intention of ever doing television. And I met Dr. Phil three years ago, and he asked me at a lunch if I wanted to go on an episode. And I never realized that I would have the ability to help more people by going on a big platform. I always was kind of like, well, why would someone want to go on television?

Even though I worked with these people. Like, I understood it for music. I understood it for actors. but I kind of just didn't want to be seen. And I didn't want to speak at events. I didn't want attention. And then he asked me to go on his show. And then fast forward, you know, I've been on maybe 40 or 50 episodes.

You know, he's like, you need to write a book. And then suddenly he flew with me to Dallas and he's like, this is your agent. And you need to deliver it informative. months. He's been my mentor. And that was never on my vision board or in my like thinking of like, oh, this is that next phase. But I feel like when you keep doing great stuff and you're really passionate about what you do, the better circumstances come into the mix when you're not trying to control it or force it. And that's just been my experience. It's like, you know, help someone as much as I can, out of that just comes other opportunity.

Hey, you know, you want to fix yourself. You fix others. Firmly believe that, you know? Yeah. Well, I mean, it's true. I mean, you got to fix yourself to some degree first. But, but, yeah, it's the golden rule. Treat others as you'd have them treat you.

But, you know, I say, I hear you say that, you know, like it's funny. I preach attention is currency, you know, like with brands. And I preach attention is currency like that. I have like a T-shirt that's literally like, you know, not because I'm, I want attention, but with attention becomes power because you have awareness and more people. And if you're wanting to do good and you do good in life and you're leaving a life like you're living and helping others, it can be amplified by that attention. And it sounds like you started to embrace that.

Yeah, you know, and how this all came about is I started going to Iraq, because I was going to open up mental health clinics with the government over there in Kurdistan. And I went out there alone the last time. And I thought that I would get all these like entertainers and celebrities to like rally behind me to do a really great cause and open up like the first ever mental health therapy center in a refugee camp in DeHook. And I came back and I couldn't get anyone on board.

The publicists were not into it because. Americans don't care about Kurdistan for, you know, like if it's a fireman, sure, police or some other things in the U.S., but like they don't realize, like, and what goes on out there is like horrifying, like horrifying, what I saw out there, you know, women whose husbands were lined up and just massacred in front of them and daughters sent off to Syria as sex slave sons forced to join ISIS. And it's real. And there's millions of them.

And it's the craziest thing. And there's no therapy. And in that culture, you don't talk about it. So, like, this is my calling. I'm done working with these entertainers. I'm going to go do this in Kurdistan. Then I went out there. I was funding it myself and starting to launch it.

And I couldn't get anyone on board. And then I had a moment in this about three and a half years ago. I was like, well, what if I became the vehicle? Like you're saying, what if I became the currency? What if I? And that's somehow, that's how Dr. Dr. Phil ended up in my life. I would never have thought that's how, but, you know, he is the number one daytime television show

and he's taking me under his wing. And my reach is so much bigger where I'm hoping that I'm able to do some really cool projects. And it doesn't have to be in Kurdistan, but it kind of forced me to realize, like, no, Mike, you got to, if you want to do this stuff that you're really passionate about, you have to have a little bit of currency, like you say. Yep. And, you know, and growth is always starts with discomfort, you know. Yeah.

And you're, you didn't want the attention. You didn't want all of that. You wanted to do good. You want to do all that. But then you said, okay, well, attention brings opportunity, brings more awareness. What growth has come out at discomfort for you? Me personally. I mean, I've started two businesses.

The first one was fairly a colossal failure. You know, I, uh, and, you know, like both were, in both are, it's not comfortable being an entrepreneur, you know, and, but the second one's been a bigger hit, you know, the first one didn't even hit the charts. It, uh, fizzled fast. And then, uh, here, I, you know, my agency radical, uh, we're, we're one of the fastest growing digital agencies in the Southeast. So, we're three years old. So it's been, uh, but it was, it's been uncomfortable pushing, you know, to grow and to make decisions and do everything that takes to be an entrepreneur. And what's the biggest realization you've had about yourself in this? Probably that I had what it takes to do it. You have a lot of, I mean, I'm a confident guy, but you have self-doubt, you know, when you start something like this. And I had grand ambitions and, you know, we're just getting started.

We've got a lot of green pasture ahead. And but, you know, you just, after the first kind of failure, you're like, can I really do this? Do I have what it takes to lead people to, you know, I know how to sell, you know, like I know how to do marketing. I've done it for 20 years for some of the largest brands in the world. But starting your own company and everything that it takes to do that logistically, you know, it's taking time. It's tough. You know, I still struggle with, you know, I have a psychologist working for me. a team, you know, a bunch of people and like, even yesterday, you know, like, I start beating

myself up that like, I'm not being a good enough boss. You know, I'm not, or I'm avoiding conversations that are tough or I'm projecting my own stuff on other people and like, it's uncomfortable because you can feel really alone in it. You know, you can talk to the people who work with you, but that's really not appropriate. And, um, And that's why I've, you know, I have a call with someone on Sundays who's a friend of mine where we just check in every Sunday about life and what's going on in our brains. Because sometimes we think as a leader, we have to figure it out or have all the answers. Yeah. And we don't know what we're doing.

It's all good, too, though. That's right. No, I can relate. I don't have, people look to me, you know, we have about 20 people, you know, about 10 to 12 here in this office and then tum spread around the country, around the world even. We're pretty fairly international as far as our help and some of our clients. But, you know, I mean, you're the ball. So you have all the answers, right?

Well, yeah, I mean, I'm opinionated, but, you know, I don't have all the answers. Yeah, it's it's nonstop. You know, I found even with public speaking, I didn't want to be a speaker. I thought, you know, this is what we do often when we feel like we're not very good at something as we look at other people and we compare ourselves. And it's not that we compare ourselves necessarily and go, God, they're so good. Sometimes I was looking at speakers and I was like, God, they're so cheesy. You know, like, I don't want what they have.

I just don't want what I have. You know what I mean? And it's like, but that's a way of trying to diminish ourselves or not feel like we're good enough and then suddenly you start speaking enough and then you're like well I actually kind of do like it because we're afraid when we think we're not good at something we shut down and the reality is like sometimes like you're saying the discomfort is when we grow and that that's really that resonates with me because I it's a good reminder of well I tell people like if it's not hurting a little bit you're not going anywhere great.

Like, you know, it's kind of like a trip, like if I was going to get in the car, you're in L.A., I'm in Greenville, South Carolina. If I was going to come there and I didn't have a plane or something like that. You would have to wear a mask. A mask immediately. At the border, they'd stop me and put a mask on. But, you know, I'd have to drive all the way there,

a long way to go. But, you know, what do you, the value that you gain from the, you know, all of that, because I know how much you would teach me. We'd get together in your beautiful studio. and, you know, have a wonderful experience. But it takes me, you know, three days to get there in a car, you know. It takes time. And the same thing with building brand and building companies.

Like, everybody wants everything yesterday, you know. We live in such an immediate gratification world. Yeah. And I think the scariest thing for an entrepreneur is if they don't reflect and look at themselves. and, you know, because I do think some people just aren't cut to go lead. Like they're not because they don't have self-awareness. But at the same time, I think that you're right, like part of the growth and part of the pain of it all, even if it's a little bit as expected.

Let's talk about your books. I mean, how's that been? I mean, you know, writing. I mean, writing. I mean, that's different talking and all that. Like, how was that journey for you? Painful. It's hard to write.

Very difficult, especially when you have learning disabilities and dyslexia. And you've also never had a vision for it. You know, like, and the thing is I got a really big advance for my first book, which is pretty rare, you know, I've. That's rare these days. Yeah, it's already in 18 languages and made New York Times a bunch of times my first book. And it's also because of the platform. I mean, it's very hard.

What I think a lot of people don't realize when they write a book is I want to say something like it's like over 95, is a 95% of books never sell more than a few thousand in its lifetime. and sometimes people don't realize how challenging it is to have, there's so many moving parts and pieces. It's not just about writing an exceptional book. It's also about your distribution. It's also about like who's on your team. How are you going to presale it? Social media.

There's so many factors. But the process of writing the book, you know, the first book, I'm glad I have a body of work where I can help someone for 17. And it's the same thing I was doing with people that were paying me tens of thousands of dollars. If someone's driven to work on themselves, it is the work of my past, you know, 18 years that I was able to put into my first book, which was called Best Self. And in that book, it's really geared around helping someone realize who they authentically are.

and a lot of my stuff has creative exercises. So in that book, you're really about finding out who your best self is. Like my best self's a wizard. There's like a wizard behind me. There's a wizard on my arm. You know, like, that's who I bring into the mix when I really want to be authentic. And we also help people figure out their anti-self and what area needs to be worked on today. And it was really, I don't, I should say, I'm beyond grateful to write books.

I have written two books now, and the other is called One Decision. That's the most recent books. It's all about how one decision can change your life and helping you sort today. What is that one decision and what you need to do? But I'm also like writing the script with showrunners, this show, The Show, The Show, The Show, They did King of the Hill. that's a comedy that's kind of in the mental health space. I'm trying to create.

I'm always, I love creating. I think that the book process, it's a, it's a grueling process. It is a, have you written a book? I'm writing one. Oh, you are where are you at in it? Chapter two. Like, I guess. Do you have a team helping you?

Nope. And do you? Yeah, I'm going to take one on. Like, but I'm, I'm trying to. write enough to then get help with it maybe i don't know if that's the right approach but i don't well i find it's really helpful to kind of start off my process um and especially if it's your first book is start off with the chapters and kind of like the the first like you said the first chapter uh the publishers are wanting a lot of the work to be done um and in the

And it's really, you know, there's like five big publishers. I mean, what is your motivation for writing a book? It's marketing. I mean, I've been marketing and advertising for 20 years and I've seen, you know, everybody's a YouTube expert now. But it's, you know, my experience with the brands that I've worked with and then my own theories on marketing, branding, and all of that. So I've got a couple of working titles. one's forever date and another one's lifetime value but it's so the goal of the book is to help people understand how to market better yes um in a world where uh we're now being dominated by performance marketing people that are trying to make us a book today and the value of building brand and how to do that properly so a few other anecdotes but uh and it's in the other work of titles like You've probably heard of lifetime value, like for, if you've ever heard it. That's a common term in marketing for, like, you want a customer to stay with you for a long time.

And they calculate that, the lifetime value of a customer. Like, an easy way to do is like if you're a cell phone company and you pay, and Ryan Alford's been with Verizon for 18 years and the lifetime value that I am, they can add that up, right? And they can estimate what a lifetime is. And the working title is lifetime. I've got value with a strike through lifetime loss, which is what you look, what the other side of that coin of not taking care of your customer, but more the depth of that because they tell 10 other people. Right.

And the exponential impact of not taking care of customers combined with, you know, how to. So really it's for business owners, people in marketing. sales, entrepreneurs. Yep. That's cool. Yeah. So probably a year away. I'm being realistic.

I might get a wild hair. I mean, I'm writing. I have my little note app on my phone, so I start typing in it, you know, like thoughts. I think I have the chapters all done, like the names of what the sections are and all that. But we'll see. So first time I've talked about it on the podcast. Hey, it took, it took Mike Bear to bring it out on the podcast.

I don't think I've even talked about it. Well, I think a lot of people have thought about it or just starting. And, you know, I think it's a great. It's great to just have expectations. You know, I find it's the most helpful to think about how am I helping someone the most with what I'm delivering and have little to no expectation of how it sells. Yes. You know, that feels better.

And I'm doing it for me. I think there's a lot of value in it. I, you know, not that age has it. You know, everybody's writing a book, like 24-year-old's trying to teach me how to be, you know, the best version of me. And maybe he can be. We can all learn something from someone. But I don't know.

I felt like I needed more credible. I've done it for 20 years. And I feel like I needed more experience. And now I feel more credible to, you know, document like what should happen. And I'm doing it for me more than if it's, sells 20 copies. I don't care. You know, like... Cool.

See that now. Yeah. Well, we'll see. I was out to put it right. You're like, yeah, right. So how you talked about it a little bit, you know, with the calls you do, but I was always curious. I'm always curious with someone like yourself who's, you're a transformational coach.

You've got these centers. You're doing for others. You took care of yourself, you know, that, that anvil back in 22 that dropped on your head or whatever or dropped quickly. But now, how does someone like you take care of your own mental health? Yeah, that's, I think that's a good, because the desperation often creates, you know, a fury of, oh, I need to do this and this. You know, I do jihitsu four to five times a week.

I'm entering actually my first jih Tennis tournament next weekend. Nice. And I started at 40 years old. and I'm 41 now and I love martial arts and like and I just it's a way I found I find that like really intense exercise where I'm in the moment helps me a lot with my mental health. Like I mentioned, I also have a weekly call with a peer mine where we talk about life and talk about what's going on. If I'm really struggling, I'll call and get a therapist for like a few weeks.

you know, if I'm really in a dark spot, which that hasn't happened in a while. And I'm always trying to learn, you know, and I'm always trying to evolve. You know, a woman told me her name's Diane Poole when I was just starting off working in this industry. She goes, Michael, it's grow or go? And that kind of is life is always growing and you either have to evolve and get with it or you. you don't. And so I try the best I can. You know, I try to meditate when I can. I try to get a good night's sleep. I try to eat healthy. And I, and I ask for help, you know, I think asking for help from others helps a lot with our own mental health. And I also am committed to not being a

victim. Like the last thing I want to do is to feel sorry for myself or think for one second that I don't have something good enough. And you look at, and this is part of the thing, I've traveled all over the world, it really helps your mental health when you realize how lousy it is for some people on this planet. And when you start to go to refugee camps and you start to see what's really going on and how much freedom we have in this country, how much opportunity we have in this country, how much greatness we have in this country, that seems to help pull myself out a little bit when I'm feeling sorry for myself. Makes a lot of sense.

Hey. And I love the grow or go. It's kind of like use it or lose it. Yeah, exactly. Same type of mindset. What are some of the, you know, techniques? Like, all your videos are out there. We're going to tag all that.

People will be able to, you know, they can go check you out. They've probably heard of you, probably seen you. But are there a couple you talked about it, like common techniques that you use, you know, with people and trying to get them in the right mindset? I know you've got a lot of different acronyms and all those kind of things. But is there any of your favorites? Well, I do think, I find it's really helpful. to help someone figure out who their best self is. I say that because our parents give us names and then kind of the world tells us who we are

on this planet and we don't take a lot of time to really take a step back and be like, all right, well, let's just say I didn't have this name Ryan. And I'm just feeling this vibe. Like I got this vibe and this energy of who I am authentically. And I like to help people create it. Sometimes they draw it. they sketch it, they have something. But that's being able to bring that part of themselves into every business meeting,

bring that into when they're performing. I find is a really helpful tool. I also like to help people figure out their anti-self, that part that gets in the way, the part that we can't stand about ourselves. Like mine's a male witch named Angelo's. And because I think male witches don't have a lot of friends. I've never seen them in movies with friends.

The male witch is always the loser. So you add a little bit of humor to that part of you that normally you hate. And I find that when you can do that, it alleviates some of that stress and pain. And so I like to create with people. I like people to kind of know for themselves that they're capable if they bring this part of themselves into the meeting. And I find that it can help people conceptualize, you know, if someone is going to have a difficult conversation. And they're like, I'm really worried about what they're, I would say, well, what is,

what would your best self do? And nine times out of ten, they're like, well, my best self would say A, B, C, and D. And I'm like, there's your answer. So I mean, I, it seems overly simple, but it works. And I think it's important to get centered. And, and I think it's like when I say centered, it's important to like, regulate the body and get your nervous system to chill and to take time just to be in the moment. And again, it's simple and breathing.

But we have to be reminded to do the most simple thing that literally allows us to just get back into the moment. And so a lot of what I try to do is help. someone get in the moment and figure out like how to show up authentically as themselves. I mean, the way I write, I teach people how to do that, that's authentic for them. But it's, you know, I'm an exercise guy. Like I've had clients I've worked with for a few years where every day I'm creating a new exercise for them. And so, uh, it really just depends on what is going on for that person, you know? I love it.

Is, uh, Is the, are you, did you, did you say that you're retiring from working with celebrities and entertainers or is it just, I mean, is it? Yeah, I'm just not that interested. Um, I think like it's, it's, I either think that I'm, uh, I don't feel good working with celebrities and also growing my public brand. like I don't know there feels like there's a conflict for me a little bit um what I mean by that is like when you're growing your own brand I make when I work with someone I sacrifice almost everything of my own life and that's why I've been successful as I'm not thinking about myself in it at all um I also don't want to be in another dressing room like I don't want to be around

another space where people are awkward around other humans because they have this perceived power. Now, that does happen still in television or whatever. But I just like, I don't, I'm not attracted to working with famous people because I did that for so long. and I don't see what value there is in my life. Hey, something to be said for that. What is the Mike Bayer brand then? You know, we're a marketing podcast. Yeah, so they call me Coach Mike.

Coach Mike. I mean, Coach Mike. Yeah. But what, but what's the underneath the name, you know, what's the brand? What do you want people to know, like, what's the, if there's like, You can have a couple sentences. I won't leave you. I won't make you.

Yeah, no. You tell me. Yeah, no. But like, what's mine? Yeah. I think my brand is straightforward, um, creative, fun, serious, what I need to be. And, uh, authentically myself, like not copying.

Like, someone goes to my social media, half the time you wouldn't even know that I'm like a coach. You know? Like, I just posted a photo of me in a freaking Speedo in Rio. Like, I don't care. And I used to get a lot of people being like, that's not professional. People can't take you seriously. And I'm like, I'm not looking for people to take me a certain type of way. Like, kind of put yourself out there.

And I want to give other people permission to just like, you can have a kick ass rock in life by not conforming. to what people think. Amen. If I had a, we have a soundboard on our news episodes. And I think I need to bring it back for when guests are on because I'd have,

I have this amen clapping sound. Like, that would have won at least a few dings. Yeah. I love it. Look, I got memes on my, I don't take anything too serious.

You know, like, I'm like, whatever, you know? Yeah. Like, I think,

like, people, um, I think there's like the online personality, right? And then there's who we are when we're on stage or who we are when I'm on TV. Now, on Dr. Phil, the difference is it's just a matter of how you're helping someone and who you're helping. You know, like I help someone on Dr. Phil on Tuesday, who I don't think has smiled in years. And I was just smiling, you know, my whole mouth was smiling because I was looking forward to

making her eventually smile and maybe doing a follow-up show where I got this woman where you feel a different vibe on her. And, and so it gets exciting for me to figure out, like, how am I going to transform this woman's life? How am I going to over-deliver? And, you know, I get confused, though. I mean, you're a marketing guy and this is your, your, your ex-executive. expertise, you know, I find that when I've had publicists that I've worked with, they're like, Mike, give me five tips to help someone with their depression. And I'm like, five tips. Like, first of all, like, are people really following these tips?

Second of all, like, there's a huge disconnect. When people are really depressed, they're not going, where can I find those five tips? That person's like, do I want to kill myself? Do I like, like it's not even, the disconnect is so big between media and the reality of struggle. And, and I think that like, I, I sometimes struggle because I'm like, God, media and culture really has this belief. Like, no one cares about these celebrities talking about mental health. Like, what I mean by that is it does. doesn't translate because someone who's struggling, really struggling.

I mean, maybe it happens every now and then is it doesn't, it doesn't, no one has ever come to my center because they saw some promo on television or because of, you know, Oprah's special on mental health with Prince Harry. that people today that are struggling and that are suffering are like they're so disconnected from entertainment and right now there's this huge trend to talk about mental health and like entertainment and I just I'm on a tangent right now I know no I get where you're going no it's disconnect and I don't know how to connect it yeah like media and what drives clicks and what drives perceived attention isn't always what truly is helping those in need.

Right. I think that's what, you know, it's like, and I can see the internal struggle that that would bring with, you know, being on TV, doing things to raise your attention, but wanting to do it real authentically. and is you, but the struggle of pulling you to, well, can you talk about this? Can you do that? Because that's all the rage right now, right? Yeah, it's all the rage. And what I realized, though, for myself is, like, not to do it feels better to me and to do it in my own way.

Because, like I preach, when you do it your own way, eventually someone sees you, like, you reached out to me. I don't know if you would have reached out to me if I was just delivering tips and tricks. And you know what I mean? Like, so like it attracts the people you actually want to work with and get to know and develop a relationship with. And it can become tricky because sometimes we look at others and go, well, if I do it that way,

then I'm going to get it. But I don't think that works, you know. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. You're only the true. You are the true original. Copying someone else doesn't make it, I don't know, work.

Yeah. Takes people a long time to do that. but Mike, I know we've gone a little bit longer than plan, but this has been really interesting to me. I hope that was okay and I really appreciate all the insights. You got like two minutes for me. We do a little section called rad or fad. I give you one keyword and you tell me rad or fad. And what does fad mean?

It's kind of like good or bad, but kind of like or rad or maybe truly a fad, you know, like. Okay. Do you just say rat or fad? That's it. Yeah, you could add context. We've, we've, uh, everyone seems to like to do it. So we're, we're now allowing it. This is really exciting.

This is very exciting. First, online coaching. Rad or fad? Fat. Oh, God. What kind of online coaching? Everybody's an online coach, Mike. Oh.

Oh. Oh. But online. I really stumped you on the first one. The only reason you. stump me is I think there's value. Yeah. But I think, um, there's a lot of posers. Don't let don't. Okay. It's rad, except it's a fad if they try to upsell you. All right. No upsells. No upsells. I'll think about that. I'll put out some marketing training. So, uh, I'll keep that in mind.

No upsells. All right. This was on our new, we recorded our, we do a Friday, very topical new marketing and advertising news. We do them every Friday. And this was, this one hit kid on. You know, I've heard of flaming hot, like chips and everything. Yeah, Cheetos and all that. Yeah, Cheetos. Flaming hot Mountain Dew. Rad or fad? That's a fad.

Yeah. Drinking heat. Like, eating is like, oh my God. I was like, who comes up with this stuff? Instagram Reels, rad or fad? Oh, Lord. Sad. Oh.

Yes. What about TikTok? It's a little rad. Okay. All right. Now we're getting there. Only because that's like worked for me. But if it didn't, I didn't.

Yay. Kanye changed his name back to yay. Rad or fad. That's another one? Yeah. Rad or fad? Oh. You con you conya fan?

Yeah. He changed his name back and forth. I don't know. Okay. That's a fad. I think you need some help. He might use to come to come to come. coach Mike. No, I don't do that anymore. I know. You would make an exception for Kanye?

No, absolutely not. All right. Now, I would rather help the guy next door. Cool. Honestly, like, I was on the phone last night for two hours with people and I'm helping them for free and it's so exciting. Now, unless, no, I don't care. Yeah. Well, you're going to, I'm coming to L.A. I'm on a, I'm on the Wolf of Wall Street's podcast next. Oh, cool. Next month, Jordan Belford going on in his guest. Yeah, let me know when you're out here. I'd love to grab lunch. And then I'm Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag from the hills. I don't know if you remember that. Seeing them, we do all their marketing website stuff.

Oh, cool. Yeah, so I'd love to catch up with you when I'm out there. Yeah, let's do it. Let's do it. I really appreciate you coming on, Coach Mike, Mike Bear. Tell everybody where they can find you, Mike. Yeah, it's just Coach Mike Bear, like Aspirin on all social media is. Coach Mike Bear.com.

and then yeah, that's it. They can buy, my books are on Amazon. It's my voice for the audio book. But I suggest getting the hard cover and doing the exercises. Love it, love it. Well, he just told you where to find you. Amazon for the books, Coach Mike Bear. Just Google Mike Bear.

You're going to find this guy. I know you're there. You've got to be in the search. If you're not at the top of the list, we'll get you there. We'll talk more about that. Okay. We really appreciate Coach Mike coming on. I'm Ryan Offord. You know where to find me at Ryan Offord on all the platforms.

We're at the Radcast.com. Search for Mike Berry. You'll find all the highlight clips from this episode and many more. We'll see you next time on the Radcast.