Inner Design Podcast: So welcome back to the Inner Design Podcast. Today our guest is Chad C. Betts, an author, executive coach, and seasoned financial services executive who helps people rethink what success really means, especially during career transitions and new chapters of life. He's the author of several books, including An Authentic Success and Late Bloomer. Where he encourages readers to embrace resilience, continuous growth, and the idea that it's never too late to reinvent yourself. Over the course of his career, Chad has led high-performing teams, advised executives, and mentored professionals looking to rediscover purpose and confidence. His work combines practical leadership experience with a genuine passion for helping people grow, both personally and professionally. Today we're talking about authentic success from the inside out. We will explore how we redefine d success through different seasons of life, what it takes to reinvent ourselves with purpose, and how resilience, self-awareness, and intentional growth can help us create a life and career that truly reflects who we are. Chad, welcome to the Inner Design Podcast. And today we will start with a little process with our guest here. Welcome, Chad.
Chad Betz: Great. with Okadam bratty there's a movement called Sanchin and the breathing that goes with it is in through the nose and out through the mouth and exhaling more than you inhale to clear out the lungs. So we'll start with the breathing in and the exhale. That last I get it out.
Inner Design Podcast: push it all out.
Chad Betz: One more. And it's almost energizing rather than relaxing, getting the oxygen in down to deep parts of your lungs that don't necessarily get it all the time.
Inner Design Podcast: Great, thank you for sharing that. It's great to have you here.
Chad Betz: Thank you very much for having me and I'm glad we did the the breathing exercise. I'm energized. I'm ready to go.
Inner Design Podcast: Great. You know, I was reading about all of your books and they seem to challenge one cultural belief that there's an expiration date on becoming who you're meant to become. how has your definition of success changed over the course of your career?
Chad Betz: That's yeah, that's two things. One, I mean, society and our families and other influencers, they give us these ideas of what success should be. A lot of times it's surrounded about money or business, but there's so much more to life than just your career and how much money you make. Although it's a big piece of it, there are other things. So we really, really need to dig down to determine what success means to us. If it was all about you know, money and business. Then Ebenezer Scrooge would be a hero rather than a tragic character. So it's important for us, it's it's important for us to really reflect to find out what success means to us. And to your point about you know, kind of how we evolve over time, what we wanted this 20 is not necessarily what we want today. So if we're following the same model, we might be climbing the wrong mountain because we've evolved and we've outgrown that path.
Inner Design Podcast: That's so true. Right. So I think you're talking about maybe the comparison of the external achievement and versus maybe the internal fulfillment.
Chad Betz: That's right. There's the the two pieces. One, there's just us and how we grow as a person, but also there's that external influence, whether it's society, whether it's social media, you know, whether it's our family and friends, that put upon us the idea of what success is. And if that doesn't really jive with what we internally believe, even subconsciously, what success is, there could be a conflict, and that conflict can cause real frustration in our lives.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. When people are chasing success, I think, without some self awareness, which usually happens, what do you think happens to them in that process or what can happen?
Chad Betz: Well, we can end up climbing the wrong mountain. So we are working hard towards a goal that isn't necessarily our own. and sometimes, especially with certain companies, they'll take advantage of that and they'll have you work towards their goals at the expense of your own. and with that, you know, you're doing all these achievements, but doesn't feel like an achievement. you don't feel fulfilled, and that can be very tiring. And you can get to a point where.
Inner Design Podcast: Right.
Chad Betz: It's even isolating where you're wondering, you know, why don't I feel successful? I mean, am I going crazy? Am I just ungrateful? You know, what is it? especially if other people are telling you that you're successful and you just don't feel it, you can start shutting down, you know, even talking about it, feeling more isolated, kind of getting into yourself and in falling into a rut.
Inner Design Podcast: It's so relatable. Has your personal definition of success changed over the course of your career?
Chad Betz: It has. you know, when I was younger, when I first got out of school, there are the the movie Wall Street was out and the book Liars Poker and those things influence everybody in business school. You know, and they're supposed to be cautionary tales, but it they turn more into like an anthem for the generation where it's all about the money and you're gonna go and you're gonna be an investment banker and you're gonna go do this and you're gonna go do that. And there's very few of those positions open, but there's a lot of positions that are similar to that.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: that you know you can get taken advantage of and you get into the the rat race and you just don't get fulfillment because you're chasing these nebulous ideas of success that were you know put upon you from you know media or from in these case stories that were really not supposed to be examples but caution. So that for me that's where I started off, you know, going down a path I was just wrong. and it took me a while to realize that was why I was getting frustrated in order to make changes to myself so I could move forward to a path that was more my style, if you will.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. Yeah, I think this is exactly what we explore here at Inner Design. Many people are incredibly successful externally, but they've never designed themselves internally is what I call it. And I'm wondering for you, do you you know, what what is it or why is it that so many accomplished people still feel like they are behind?
Chad Betz: If you've invested a lot of time and effort into a process, whether it's career, relationship, whatever, you could feel at a point where that it's like, if I change, I've wasted all this time. So, you know, and and they're afraid to make that change, to make that jump because of that investment. So they actually sacrifice a good future just to pay honor to the investments of the past.
Inner Design Podcast: Right, yeah. Mm-hmm.
Chad Betz: So that's where a lot of people get stuck, that fear of letting go, the fear of loss, even though there's not necessarily a loss, it's just a change.
Inner Design Podcast: And what do you think gives them permission to begin again?
Chad Betz: Sometimes it it takes a third party, whether that's a trusted advisor, a coach, or a mentor, to kind of guide them out. Because you don't want again, because you don't want to just go from one piece of success put upon you to another. you need someone to help draw it out of you. so if you're really, really stuck, having that guide to kind of pull out of you what success is and then kind of g help you build your own path forward. Because it has to be your success. It has to be your plan. It has to be your goal for it to be a sincere, authentic success. So sometimes you need that third party. even it it's just a you know a friend. but a lot of times you wanna keep people who are very close to you away from it, because their emotions involved in that. And it's not bad to them. They want to help you, they love they love you, but that's too big of a risk. Don't do that. You know, and it's you
Inner Design Podcast: Yes, yes.
Chad Betz: they they put upon their fears on you without the knowledge, whereas the trusted advisor or coach or mentor would have that information to help you, to again, to guide you by facts, not necessarily by emotions and fear.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah, yeah, I hear you. You're saying kind of like it's not too late and that we have stories often inside of us that come from, you know, maybe our the people that care for us that are close by. They don't want to see us fail or or lose, like you mentioned, losing time, losing finances, maybe losing direction. How do you help people guide themselves as like, you know, from within? Is it something, is it intuition, is it You know, trajectories at small steps.
Chad Betz: You know, I I have again it all starts with reflection. the first reflection is to see that you do have the ability to achieve. So you may not have achieved for yourself, but look at your past, what you've done, you've had achievements. So that is proof, you know, the proof you need that you can get things done. So now that helps build your confidence a little bit. Because a lot of times when you're feeling stuck, that confidence has gone out the window. So having that bit of confidence and then
Inner Design Podcast: Right, yeah. True.
Chad Betz: What direction do I go? and you may have done this too, like you're feeling stuck and you just start jotting down ideas, start jotting down goals, things you want to accomplish, crazy stuff, mundane stuff, all these ideas. I did that when I was kind of going through a crisis of my own, and I found a pattern. I found a pattern that I wanted to help people succeed through writing books, through writing articles, through doing presentations, through you know, teaching classes. And all of those things kind of pointed in the same direction. So I recommend that people do that for themselves. Write down those goals. You know, I I usually say about twenty of them, to figure out what the patterns are. Then the most important thing is is to act on those patterns. i if if you just end up planning, nothing ever happens. And the great news is you don't have to give up your life. You can do it on the side through a hobby, through volunteering, through a side business. So you're not doing this whole disruption.
Inner Design Podcast: Yes. Mm-hmm.
Chad Betz: You just testing things out and seeing what works for you.
Inner Design Podcast: That's exactly you said it. I I did have that same kind of experience where it's the brainstorming and it's starting it up on the side and you know, life life changes, all this stuff midlife. Do you think that people are able to have you seen a lot of people t completely transform in their forties and fifties or even later?
Chad Betz: They have, and it's through gentle pivots. You know, it it's you bit we build up inertia as we're moving forward in our careers. And that's what sometimes, especially older workers, can get kind of set in their ways, you know, that the experience is a two-edged sword, you know, the experience is that knowledge base that we could use, but it's also we've always done it that way. So if we could open up, become
Inner Design Podcast: Right.
Chad Betz: more vulnerable, become adaptable, especially in a dynamic environment we live now, and able just to aim that asset of experience from the direction we're in to another direction. And again, it's not a hard right or left turn. It's small pivots as we go. It's kind of like a tractor trailer switching lanes to get off an exit. You know, they don't just go. I mean we do small pivots to get there. And that way it's not a shock to your system because it is scary. I mean there's uncertainty. it's not a shock to those around you because you're easing into it.
Inner Design Podcast: Yes.
Chad Betz: and i it's it's more achievable that way, especially if you've never done it before.
Inner Design Podcast: I love that and I think the focus on action, taking action can be really hard, right? how do you know whether someone's being patient or they're actually staying stuck?
Chad Betz: Yeah, that that is the question. and it's it really again that goes back to that the reflection. So you know, why do you feel stuck? is it that we use careers as an example? Is it that you know the values of your company kind of don't mesh with your values, but you like what you do? So that might be indicative of you need to switch jobs. are you getting bored with what you're doing?
Inner Design Podcast: Yes.
Chad Betz: And you and you need to have more. That might be indicative that you need more growth, that you need to try something new. So these it's looking at it in such a way where it's if like or on the flip side of it, if you're having a bad day and you know things just aren't going your way, but you still enjoy what you're doing. It might be time just to stay with it and get over that hump to the next piece, but it's always evaluating where you are. I mean, I do it naturally now. where I just see where I am, see where I wanna go and make decisions based on that. and then may take actions. And sometime that action is to stay where I am.
Inner Design Podcast: Mm. Yeah. I think a lot of times it seems like people don't just lose a job, they're losing an identity. So whether they're losing it by chance that someone else made the decision or they're making the decision, they they feel in conflict. How do you help somebody rebuild confidence after something like that?
Chad Betz: That that is a great question. I went through a prolonged job loss during the right actually right the the the early parts of the pandemic. And it was very difficult for me to find something new at that particular time. And as I was researching things, I came across this suit of armor, a picture of it from the Napoleonic era. And it was this poor guy got hit by a cannonball and it showed the big holes in it. It's like, and that's kind of like what a job loss is. It's
Inner Design Podcast: Mm-hmm. Wow. Yeah.
Chad Betz: You know, your confidence is pierced, your ego is pierced, like a big piece of you is just taken out. You know, we get so attached to our jobs. When we introduce ourselves, what do we say? I'm Chad Betts. I am a whatever I'm doing for my living. And that's and it it becomes such a part of us, that when we do lose that job, it it could be devastating. And when I'm talking to people, I tell them take a little while to mourn the loss. You know, not a long time because we have to get to work.
Inner Design Podcast: Mm-hmm.
Chad Betz: But mourn the law just so you can put it behind you, because otherwise it can fester and you get a little bit bitter. And that shows when you're doing interviews and networking and such. So mourn it and put it behind you. and then try to disassociate your identity from your title. You're not a vice president or a banker or a utility person or whatever you do.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Chad Betz: You are someone who offers value, no matter what you do. So if if you see look at yourself as your skills and the value you add, not the chair you sat in, you know, not the title you had. And it's it can be hard to do again because it's so ingrained into us, but if you can kind of divorce yourself from that job title and s on really on who you are as a person, you know, your your skills, your personality, your
Inner Design Podcast: Yes.
Chad Betz: wants, your you know, your your needs, all of those things combined and then you're able to move forward.
Inner Design Podcast: I love that. It sounds like you're helping them to find their own inner design to reconnect to who they are innately, right? Authentically.
Chad Betz: And that's very true. I mean, and the thing, especially with a job loss, a a unforeseen job loss, it's a shock to the system. So all of a sudden you're you you know, who am I? You know, I was Chad Betts salesperson. Now I'm Chad Betts unemployed, I am Chad Betts looking for a job. Who am I? You know, where so you really do have to rediscover that inner self so that you'll portray that because that's who people are employing. I mean, no one gives jobs.
Inner Design Podcast: Mm. Right. Yeah. Right.
Chad Betz: You trade services for a fee in an employee employer relationship. So your person, your who you are and what you offer is what they're looking at, not you not what chair you used to sit in.
Inner Design Podcast: I love that. I think you said like really reminding them you have this value and it is innate. I love that. What role do you think that mindset plays versus practical strategy or you can you compare them a little bit, share a little bit of both sides?
Chad Betz: Sure, I mean the strategy is very, very important, but without the right mindset, it's not effective. If you're going into a a a great strategy with a failure mindset, you're not gonna get the achievement that you would otherwise. using employ unemployment actually as continue that example. I was speaking to a networking group and that network one of the people was there is like, yeah, I have a a a third interview with the company, then I'm not gonna get the job. It's like what's the disconnect? Exactly. It's like that discouragement. You know, again, it's just that you feel, you know, it's the past failures kind of bleed into the current one. and that is the my that's where mindset failed him. he had the failure mindset. Yeah, whereas, you know, if you understand that the strategies it's all
Inner Design Podcast: gosh. Yeah. Yeah. Mm. Right.
Chad Betz: You know, not getting a job sometimes is part of the process. It it gets you to the next step. It's one step closer to your next job. So that's the strategy and the process. But if you having that mindset of achievement, and that's built on a foundation of habits. You know, a learning habit, an attitude adjustment habit. You know, being setting setting a calendar item to be mindful first thing in the morning and at the night.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: I do that kind of as a I do a reflection. What do I expect out of my day? And I do this every day. And then at the end of the day, how did it work out? Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. But it it it show it it gives me a chance to get that that deep reflection again to see where I am and where I need to go. And that helps me build a mindset because of those habits, you know, and it it strengthens it and builds a strong foundation.
Inner Design Podcast: I love that because I think it the all the inner design programs, we have the methodology, but then we have the practice and you have to put them together. It one cannot live without the other. And so sometimes people just get stuck in the method. I think right now we're in such information overload and people think, if I'm just having only the mindset, I don't have to implement it, right? Or maybe they're implementing something, but it's not according like you mentioned for this person who had this failure mindset. It sounds like also a piece of like self sabota self sabotage was in there as well. What do we do? Yeah.
Chad Betz: It can be. That's again it's it's again it's just you know building it building it. So and you mentioned a couple of things that are interesting that I'd like to touch on. before we started the program where I was ta telling you that I do, you know, martial arts, and one of the things we do in martial arts are kata. they are the forms that show the moves. Now there's you really need deep understanding to understand kata, but in the beginning, you just go through the motions.
Inner Design Podcast: Mm-hmm. Yes.
Chad Betz: You learn the moves. And that's kind of what we have to do too. That you know, we can't expect to be experts at mindfulness, at mindset, at strategy right up front. We have to have the courage to be bad at it before we're good at it. And the way to do it is just to have, you know, to build the the habit of going through the motions and going through the motions, and all of a sudden, boom. I understand a piece of this. So now I could. you know, expand on that and you do go through do it again and again and b another epiphany. And all of a sudden you start to understand why you're going through the motions and it becomes more meaningful and you become more effective. So I would say, you know, start off going through the motions is okay. As long as you have that open mind and are willing to learn and are willing to grow, and then you can grow into understanding.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think what you're talking about is what I would say is our nervous system is kind of protecting our identity long after the identity has stopped serving us. So we need time to have that adjustment and kind of trust in ourselves and, you know, go through go through the motion, but also, you know, keep practicing not letting go. And then eventually the results also come through with it, right? So you're creating a safe space for yourself.
Chad Betz: That's a great way of putting it, that safe space, because sometimes when we go through a crisis or some strategy, we we lose trust in ourselves. You know, just like it takes time to build trust with between people, it could take time to build, you know, rebuild trust of ourselves. And doing those things can help build those, that trust. And it it really takes action, you know, to you really need motion. If you just sit there and plan, you start it doesn't give you that impetus for. confidence. You know, action builds confidence. It's not the other way around. You're not, hey, I'm ready. Let's go. It's let's go and you get ready.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah, that's so true. I think a lot of times people feel really paralyzed, they feel out of sorts, and we've become such a sedentary, you know, community lifestyle. And it feels maybe safer to just sit there and wait and or numb ourselves or get distracted with our, you know, devices and things that we have instead of actually putting things into effect. And you know, it reminds me of just like if you think of more ancient civilizations we all came from, right? People were out there, they were doing things, they were active and they didn't have to stop and say, I'm gonna go exercise now. Like we actually have to carve out that time because we are maybe working against our nature, right?
Chad Betz: Right. Right. Yeah. And you touched on a bunch of things there. It's like one, you know, complacency. Yeah, I'm doing okay. And we get stuck in okay. And okay is mediocrity. We get we could do so much more, but we're okay. So I'll I'm gonna stay in this comfortable warm bath of being okay. And then to your other point, you know, these this distractions. It's impossible to be bored these days.
Inner Design Podcast: Right. Yeah.
Chad Betz: We could watch all kinds of videos and this and that and you know clips and memes and everything on our phones, that we could just drown our ambition in distraction. and sometimes, you know, distractions can actually even appear productive. So we feel like we're being productive, but really it's just another form of distraction. So that complacency and those distractions can really keep us off base. And again, it th we start, you know.
Inner Design Podcast: Yes.
Chad Betz: time goes by and we're start feeling, why haven't I achieved anything? And and that's where we start getting frustrated again.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. Yes, I love that you said about boredom. We don't allow that. You know, I grew up in a time where we just lay on the, you know, grass out in the yard and look up at the clouds and watch them pass and you know, it engaged so much in our activity of our brain and y I think there is so much growth there and creativity is really born from that and we all are creative people innately. We're creating our lives, we're creating our patterns and habits, whether we'd like to or not. So I think that's where the design aspect of inner design comes in really Putting form and function into the purpose of creativity into our life in a way that feels aligned. So I really love that you shared that part of boredom. It's important for us to take that break. And I think people think take a break means let me just scroll my social media, it's giving me a mental break, but it's not. It's kind of actually robbing you of the the possibility of a good break.
Chad Betz: Right. Mm. It's giving your mind space. We're too crowded in. You know, with all these things I just keep putting on us, you know, you know, phone and TV and internet and whatever and emails and texts. You know, whereas going for a walk in the park, all of a sudden, you know, new ideas come. and that's well, one thing with the I do at the phone, ev even when I'm at the park, is I do have my note taking app, so that when I do get ideas, I I jot them down to make sure I remember them. But that's
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: That's the thing that the creativity needs space to grow. So, you know, turning off the ringer of the phone, not responding to emails, not going through and the reels and such, but getting out, opening your mind to whether it's sunshine or some kind of exercise or whatever it is, and give your mind space to to kind of breathe so you can get that creative space and those ideas start to flow. and your next life changing idea might be this close.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: So it's just you have to really give that space for it to grow.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah, I think you're talking a little bit about beginner mindset also when you kinda just empty and leave everything behind. And I love that you use your notes app. I also have my notes app because sometimes my journal is too far away for me to take down notes, but the phone is with me. So yeah, what can what what about beginner mindset has surprised you the most?
Chad Betz: Yeah. We I I have something similar in in martial arts. We call it the the white belt mindset. it's the white belt is the first belt. And it's always being open to new things. that I think is very important. to be a lifelong learner, to be vulnerable to ideas. When I when I wrote my first book, I gave it out to beta readers for feedback. And when I asked for the feedback, I wanted it. when I got the feedback.
Inner Design Podcast: Okay.
Chad Betz: Yeah, not so much. It was like they're calling my baby ugly. But it really they but they were but they were trying to help me. So when I did open my mind and put the got the defensiveness and threw that away, I found, you know, great insight. and that's the thing, being open for you know and vulnerable to let people in to help you, and to learn new things and to experiment and to play.
Inner Design Podcast: Sorry, yes, yes. Right.
Chad Betz: You know, whether it's you know, playing with technology, playing outside, w getting the juices flowing, all those things, but you know, being open to change and being open to learning.
Inner Design Podcast: I love hearing your creative experience and I'd love to know more about martial arts. Tell us, you know, what is it that you're studying and how did you go through the process?
Chad Betz: Sure. I actually I was very overweight when my kids were younger. And I had done taekwondo as a kid, and I they were starting to take a different type of martial arts. I said, know what? Let me try it. And yeah, I got back into it and I got a black belt in that style. I I tried another style and I got a black belt in there, but I really found that I wanted to dig deeper. Again, that white belt mentality. What does this all come from? so I started
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: studying and Okinawan style that's very traditional. and it's called Gojo Ru, the art of hard and soft. And you know, learning through that and understanding the intricacies of the martial art has really it it it combin it combines you know the the mind and the body, which I really like. You have to think and you have to have your body move with your thoughts. And y and it's it's not necessarily instinctual either. So it's it's really challenging, which I I enjoy.
Inner Design Podcast: That's fascinating. I'd love to hear about, you know, how do you think discipline creates freedom, if that's a thing to you I feel i discipline can create creativity or opportunities for creativity. Let's talk about that a little bit. What does discipline bring you?
Chad Betz: It's you know, discipline is very important. You know, motivation is overrated. You know, motivation it's like you had it you woke up on the right side of the bed, you're ready to go, and you're motivated. what happens if you're not? You know, you had a bad night and you didn't sleep very well and you're a little bit tired. That discipline gets you to the gym. And that discipline o again opens you up so that you feel that that endorphin rush of the gym, but also for creativity.
Inner Design Podcast: Right. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Chad Betz: When I write, I say every day at early in the morning, I am gonna sit in front of my computer for fifteen minutes. And if nothing comes, nothing comes. But I have to sit there at least 15 minutes to try to write. And most days it does come. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time for the juices to flow, but it comes. But that's it's that discipline to if you if you don't have the discipline to put yourself in a position to be creative.
Inner Design Podcast: Mm-hmm.
Chad Betz: It's not gonna happen. 'cause as you were mentioning earlier, there's so many distractions, so many things put upon us. We don't have the space for creativity. So we have to create that space, and that takes discipline.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. Yes, absolutely. Has what has martial arts taught you that business couldn't?
Chad Betz: That's an interesting question. So it's Certain things have to happen before other things. There's a pattern to life. There's a pattern to process. and it's not necessarily something that you see right away. it's something that you have to really and again, we talked about we talked about it earlier, kind of going through the motions versus true understanding. it's the same with martial arts and the kata, as I mentioned, but it's also the same with our careers.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: We start going through the motions. We have, you know, certain things where we do it because we're told to, and then we finally start understanding it. And another thing in martial arts is the last part of learning is teaching. when you start teaching, you get a bigger understanding, a just deep, deep understanding of what you're teaching, versus just learning about it. it's the same with business. If you start training people, mentoring people.
Inner Design Podcast: Yes. Mm-hmm.
Chad Betz: You can get a deep understanding of, you know, what it takes to succeed for yourself, for your business, for others, that you just can't without helping that other person.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah, and I I understand that you've led teams and trained them for years. What do you think separates maybe a respected leader from simply an effective manager?
Chad Betz: I would say coaching, you know, being able to coach again, it's not telling somebody what to do. It's drawing out of them their potential. You know, using you know what are you understanding what their goals are and helping them match their goals to the company's goals. What are their growth plans and helping them design a plan for them to grow? You know, not to covet them because you're such a h a a good team player.
Inner Design Podcast: Okay. Yeah.
Chad Betz: and you know they're a strong member of your team sometimes the leaders will do that somebody's great but they'll you know keep them there because they want that that work rather than helping them grow when what I found is that when you do help people grow and they start getting promoted and they get off your team, the highest performers want to be on your team because you're helping them grow and they'll they say hey you know so and so and so and so got promoted off that team. I want to be on that team. So a lot of times you get the
Inner Design Podcast: Right. Yeah. Yes. Yeah.
Chad Betz: best choices, but also the satisfaction of watching people grow, achieving their goals along with your goals. so it's really that's really the team, and that's where coaching can come in.
Inner Design Podcast: How has leadership changed over this past decade?
Chad Betz: It's been more challenging, especially with the pandemic. I mean, it's used to be we're all in the office. it went from, you know, closed offices to open office space where we're everybody's in the middle of everything, to everything being shut down. And now it's kind of hybrid. You know, we have people who are off-site, we have people who are in the office, sometimes they're in, sometimes they're out. and to be able to keep everybody in play, to keep everybody motivated, to understand what each person needs.
Inner Design Podcast: Yes, yeah.
Chad Betz: is much more challenging and you have to do it with intention. Whereas before, I don't want to say you can go through the motions, but having everybody there, you can see what's happening. with everybody all over the place, it's a lot harder. So you have to really intentionally reach out and find out what's happening.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah, I think that created a lot of stress. Do you think that organizations perform, you know, how do they perform when employees are chronically stressed, like the pandemic times?
Chad Betz: it's the it it destroys productivity. you know, s stress is not an ideal way to to work. Now again, now those there's pressure, which is not bad. I mean, so you can have a goal that's you have to have a quota by the end of the month. That pressure can be motivating. But if it's something where it's extremely stressful and it's pulling that energy out, you know, that's I think that's like pressure with a Purpose can add to your energy. You know, stress outside of the purpose can drain that energy. And that's where people can get burnt out. so I think you know managing that stress, understanding where they're coming from, trying to alleviate that stress, but adding in that productive pressure can get people more motivated to work harder.
Inner Design Podcast: I love that you said pressure with purpose. Do you have techniques that you help people, you know, guide them in these methods?
Chad Betz: Yeah, it's you know f finding what that purpose is. Cause a lot of times people get lost. Like I was talking to some attorneys and you know they went to law school, enjoyed the law, but now they're just feeling burnt out. so you know, digging is it the law? Do you did do you not like going to trial? No, no, no, no, I like that. And you know, digging and digging and digging, and we found out that it was too much of the business side. They didn't like managing the business.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: They like doing the law. So by switching over and getting some virtual assistants and then some other part-time assistants and one full time manager, they were able to offload the stuff they didn't like to keep the stuff they did like. So being able to do that. and if you know, sometimes in a job, you can't just offload your work. But finding different processes that makes it less
Inner Design Podcast: Mm.
Chad Betz: onerous, that you could do it quicker so you can get back to the things you really like.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah, we call it presence over performance. So coming back to that not just mindset but mindfulness technique so you can become present and have access to your own vitality if it's creative or whatever that expression might be, so that you can, you know, perform better. And how do you think trust and maybe psychological safety might be influencers f for performance?
Chad Betz: Well and and and unfortunately we can't always rely on that that from an employer. so it's it's sometimes we have to take that responsibility on ourselves. So whether that's even you know, taking a lunch away from the desk. You know, I was notorious for that. I still am, unfortunately. You know, it's like working through lunch and eating as I'm working, but it doesn't give me a chance to recharge. You know, going outside for a walk, even if it's five minutes, you know, something where
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. That's right. Yes. Yeah mmm no
Chad Betz: You take responsibility for your mindfulness. You take responsibility for again opening up. whether it's a a break and it's just walking around the building with your phone on your left on your desk, or you know, it's you know, getting something where you're outside for a minute, or you know, somewhere where you can do a quick meditative technique, whatever it is that helps you, but to get away and take the responsibility yourself. Because ideally, we'd love to have work for a company.
Inner Design Podcast: Yes.
Chad Betz: that you know met our needs that way. I've not. So I've had to you know develop I've had to develop it myself.
Inner Design Podcast: Yes. Yes, yes. so many great things that you said in here. So being I think well I'll put it in the inner design terms again, regulated, regulating yourself, taking responsibility to regulate yourself before you go and try to manage everything that you have on your plate. And I think I would love to know a little bit more about what you think the role of purpose plays once somebody has already achieved maybe the conventional success and w you know, they're they're having kind of both or maybe they've lost that one or the other. You know, what are the roles there?
Chad Betz: it's interesting. I know an older couple. They they retired relatively early. and they found that you know it's there's only so much you can do with hobbies and gardening and things like that. And they kinda lost purpose. then the grandkids came and they went over indulged on the grandkids and that was their new purpose and that was everything was about the grandkids. But then the grandkids grew up and they started doing other things. So again
Inner Design Podcast: Yes, as they do.
Chad Betz: They lost that purpose. And that's right. And they lost their purpose. They started getting bored again. And you could actually see how they would, you know, with the purpose, how they would expand and then without it, they would deflate. and that's you know, that was that's an example that really, really hit home for me. And I started looking and reflecting on my life too. when I had when I was working with purpose, I found that I could work twelve, fourteen hours in a day.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: And be energized, you know, versus working without purpose, you know, find you know something where I'm working for towards someone else's goal and really not satisfying my own. A regular day can just be so tiring and you just feel burnt out. it's amazing. It's just that that addition of purpose is energizing, is fulfilling, and you know, makes something that could be, you know, very difficult, exciting.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. Yes, yes. I love it that so if someone listening is feeling they're standing at the edge of a new chapter but maybe fear keeps pulling them back, what's the first step they can take today towards designing a life that feels more authentic with purpose?
Chad Betz: You know, I found that you know people who kind of feel stuck or they think, I need to make that next step. I'm really I'm too nervous about it. they lack a little bit of that confidence. So identifying that they have had achievements in the past, you know, they may not have been for their goals, but they've achieved things and kind of reflecting on how much they've already achieved can build that confidence, you know, to help them kind of set that foundation to move forward. and then to identify where they want to go. the way I do it, and I don't know you may have done this too, is that you kind of write down goals, you know, write a list of goals. and you know, through those goals, you know, you find those patterns and through the patterns you act. Yeah. And that's you know the the steps I have them take, you know, to I you know set that confidence, find the direction, and then take action. it's really, really important to take the action. A lot of times we sit back in planning. 'Cause planning is like a warm bath. You know, it's just we we we we it seems like we're productive, you know, we're doing stuff, we're planning, but we're not. it's t sometimes it's you have to take that stake in the ground and make a decision to take action.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. Put yourself out there really. Sometimes it is scary, you know. It feels safer to be pen in hand on writing on the paper all your list and then so I think you're just you're saying make those lists, make those goals, but then maybe start to slowly take this, you know, one step at a time, maybe making a list of what are the small steps that you can take bravely. I think the small steps help you build confidence also, right?
Chad Betz: Yeah, the you can A hundred percent. You know, and the thing is is you will never ever have all the information. that's it that's uncertainty. Yeah, the f who knows what the future is gonna bring. But to your point, you know, taking those baby steps, you know, there's no reason to change your whole life. you could, you know, change one bit at a time, and kind of pivot over one section at a time, to you're at the place you you want to be. That way it's not a shock to your system, it's not a shock to those around you. It's you it's a nice smooth progression, especially if you're feeling a little bit insecure about it. You know, it gives you like you said, those baby steps. Okay, one achievement. That's a milestone. Boom. Next one, next one. And each time you do it, you get more and more confident. And it's like a snowball going downhill where it's just you you build that momentum.
Inner Design Podcast: Great. It's been so valuable hearing all of the different parts of this conversation. Your mindful technique was really lovely. Thank you for sharing that here with our listeners. Where can everyone connect with you and learn more about your books and your work?
Chad Betz: the best place would be my website, an an authentic success.com. And there's links to all my social media so can get my free content and the information on me, my books, and all that other stuff.
Inner Design Podcast: Perfect. We'll put those links as well in our show notes below. Thank you again, Chad, for being here with me on the Inner Design Podcast, sharing all of your valuable knowledge and experience. And we look forward to seeing you again soon.
Chad Betz: Thank you very much. It was a fantastic conversation.
Chad Betz: Great. with Okadam bratty there's a movement called Sanchin and the breathing that goes with it is in through the nose and out through the mouth and exhaling more than you inhale to clear out the lungs. So we'll start with the breathing in and the exhale. That last I get it out.
Inner Design Podcast: push it all out.
Chad Betz: One more. And it's almost energizing rather than relaxing, getting the oxygen in down to deep parts of your lungs that don't necessarily get it all the time.
Inner Design Podcast: Great, thank you for sharing that. It's great to have you here.
Chad Betz: Thank you very much for having me and I'm glad we did the the breathing exercise. I'm energized. I'm ready to go.
Inner Design Podcast: Great. You know, I was reading about all of your books and they seem to challenge one cultural belief that there's an expiration date on becoming who you're meant to become. how has your definition of success changed over the course of your career?
Chad Betz: That's yeah, that's two things. One, I mean, society and our families and other influencers, they give us these ideas of what success should be. A lot of times it's surrounded about money or business, but there's so much more to life than just your career and how much money you make. Although it's a big piece of it, there are other things. So we really, really need to dig down to determine what success means to us. If it was all about you know, money and business. Then Ebenezer Scrooge would be a hero rather than a tragic character. So it's important for us, it's it's important for us to really reflect to find out what success means to us. And to your point about you know, kind of how we evolve over time, what we wanted this 20 is not necessarily what we want today. So if we're following the same model, we might be climbing the wrong mountain because we've evolved and we've outgrown that path.
Inner Design Podcast: That's so true. Right. So I think you're talking about maybe the comparison of the external achievement and versus maybe the internal fulfillment.
Chad Betz: That's right. There's the the two pieces. One, there's just us and how we grow as a person, but also there's that external influence, whether it's society, whether it's social media, you know, whether it's our family and friends, that put upon us the idea of what success is. And if that doesn't really jive with what we internally believe, even subconsciously, what success is, there could be a conflict, and that conflict can cause real frustration in our lives.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. When people are chasing success, I think, without some self awareness, which usually happens, what do you think happens to them in that process or what can happen?
Chad Betz: Well, we can end up climbing the wrong mountain. So we are working hard towards a goal that isn't necessarily our own. and sometimes, especially with certain companies, they'll take advantage of that and they'll have you work towards their goals at the expense of your own. and with that, you know, you're doing all these achievements, but doesn't feel like an achievement. you don't feel fulfilled, and that can be very tiring. And you can get to a point where.
Inner Design Podcast: Right.
Chad Betz: It's even isolating where you're wondering, you know, why don't I feel successful? I mean, am I going crazy? Am I just ungrateful? You know, what is it? especially if other people are telling you that you're successful and you just don't feel it, you can start shutting down, you know, even talking about it, feeling more isolated, kind of getting into yourself and in falling into a rut.
Inner Design Podcast: It's so relatable. Has your personal definition of success changed over the course of your career?
Chad Betz: It has. you know, when I was younger, when I first got out of school, there are the the movie Wall Street was out and the book Liars Poker and those things influence everybody in business school. You know, and they're supposed to be cautionary tales, but it they turn more into like an anthem for the generation where it's all about the money and you're gonna go and you're gonna be an investment banker and you're gonna go do this and you're gonna go do that. And there's very few of those positions open, but there's a lot of positions that are similar to that.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: that you know you can get taken advantage of and you get into the the rat race and you just don't get fulfillment because you're chasing these nebulous ideas of success that were you know put upon you from you know media or from in these case stories that were really not supposed to be examples but caution. So that for me that's where I started off, you know, going down a path I was just wrong. and it took me a while to realize that was why I was getting frustrated in order to make changes to myself so I could move forward to a path that was more my style, if you will.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. Yeah, I think this is exactly what we explore here at Inner Design. Many people are incredibly successful externally, but they've never designed themselves internally is what I call it. And I'm wondering for you, do you you know, what what is it or why is it that so many accomplished people still feel like they are behind?
Chad Betz: If you've invested a lot of time and effort into a process, whether it's career, relationship, whatever, you could feel at a point where that it's like, if I change, I've wasted all this time. So, you know, and and they're afraid to make that change, to make that jump because of that investment. So they actually sacrifice a good future just to pay honor to the investments of the past.
Inner Design Podcast: Right, yeah. Mm-hmm.
Chad Betz: So that's where a lot of people get stuck, that fear of letting go, the fear of loss, even though there's not necessarily a loss, it's just a change.
Inner Design Podcast: And what do you think gives them permission to begin again?
Chad Betz: Sometimes it it takes a third party, whether that's a trusted advisor, a coach, or a mentor, to kind of guide them out. Because you don't want again, because you don't want to just go from one piece of success put upon you to another. you need someone to help draw it out of you. so if you're really, really stuck, having that guide to kind of pull out of you what success is and then kind of g help you build your own path forward. Because it has to be your success. It has to be your plan. It has to be your goal for it to be a sincere, authentic success. So sometimes you need that third party. even it it's just a you know a friend. but a lot of times you wanna keep people who are very close to you away from it, because their emotions involved in that. And it's not bad to them. They want to help you, they love they love you, but that's too big of a risk. Don't do that. You know, and it's you
Inner Design Podcast: Yes, yes.
Chad Betz: they they put upon their fears on you without the knowledge, whereas the trusted advisor or coach or mentor would have that information to help you, to again, to guide you by facts, not necessarily by emotions and fear.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah, yeah, I hear you. You're saying kind of like it's not too late and that we have stories often inside of us that come from, you know, maybe our the people that care for us that are close by. They don't want to see us fail or or lose, like you mentioned, losing time, losing finances, maybe losing direction. How do you help people guide themselves as like, you know, from within? Is it something, is it intuition, is it You know, trajectories at small steps.
Chad Betz: You know, I I have again it all starts with reflection. the first reflection is to see that you do have the ability to achieve. So you may not have achieved for yourself, but look at your past, what you've done, you've had achievements. So that is proof, you know, the proof you need that you can get things done. So now that helps build your confidence a little bit. Because a lot of times when you're feeling stuck, that confidence has gone out the window. So having that bit of confidence and then
Inner Design Podcast: Right, yeah. True.
Chad Betz: What direction do I go? and you may have done this too, like you're feeling stuck and you just start jotting down ideas, start jotting down goals, things you want to accomplish, crazy stuff, mundane stuff, all these ideas. I did that when I was kind of going through a crisis of my own, and I found a pattern. I found a pattern that I wanted to help people succeed through writing books, through writing articles, through doing presentations, through you know, teaching classes. And all of those things kind of pointed in the same direction. So I recommend that people do that for themselves. Write down those goals. You know, I I usually say about twenty of them, to figure out what the patterns are. Then the most important thing is is to act on those patterns. i if if you just end up planning, nothing ever happens. And the great news is you don't have to give up your life. You can do it on the side through a hobby, through volunteering, through a side business. So you're not doing this whole disruption.
Inner Design Podcast: Yes. Mm-hmm.
Chad Betz: You just testing things out and seeing what works for you.
Inner Design Podcast: That's exactly you said it. I I did have that same kind of experience where it's the brainstorming and it's starting it up on the side and you know, life life changes, all this stuff midlife. Do you think that people are able to have you seen a lot of people t completely transform in their forties and fifties or even later?
Chad Betz: They have, and it's through gentle pivots. You know, it it's you bit we build up inertia as we're moving forward in our careers. And that's what sometimes, especially older workers, can get kind of set in their ways, you know, that the experience is a two-edged sword, you know, the experience is that knowledge base that we could use, but it's also we've always done it that way. So if we could open up, become
Inner Design Podcast: Right.
Chad Betz: more vulnerable, become adaptable, especially in a dynamic environment we live now, and able just to aim that asset of experience from the direction we're in to another direction. And again, it's not a hard right or left turn. It's small pivots as we go. It's kind of like a tractor trailer switching lanes to get off an exit. You know, they don't just go. I mean we do small pivots to get there. And that way it's not a shock to your system because it is scary. I mean there's uncertainty. it's not a shock to those around you because you're easing into it.
Inner Design Podcast: Yes.
Chad Betz: and i it's it's more achievable that way, especially if you've never done it before.
Inner Design Podcast: I love that and I think the focus on action, taking action can be really hard, right? how do you know whether someone's being patient or they're actually staying stuck?
Chad Betz: Yeah, that that is the question. and it's it really again that goes back to that the reflection. So you know, why do you feel stuck? is it that we use careers as an example? Is it that you know the values of your company kind of don't mesh with your values, but you like what you do? So that might be indicative of you need to switch jobs. are you getting bored with what you're doing?
Inner Design Podcast: Yes.
Chad Betz: And you and you need to have more. That might be indicative that you need more growth, that you need to try something new. So these it's looking at it in such a way where it's if like or on the flip side of it, if you're having a bad day and you know things just aren't going your way, but you still enjoy what you're doing. It might be time just to stay with it and get over that hump to the next piece, but it's always evaluating where you are. I mean, I do it naturally now. where I just see where I am, see where I wanna go and make decisions based on that. and then may take actions. And sometime that action is to stay where I am.
Inner Design Podcast: Mm. Yeah. I think a lot of times it seems like people don't just lose a job, they're losing an identity. So whether they're losing it by chance that someone else made the decision or they're making the decision, they they feel in conflict. How do you help somebody rebuild confidence after something like that?
Chad Betz: That that is a great question. I went through a prolonged job loss during the right actually right the the the early parts of the pandemic. And it was very difficult for me to find something new at that particular time. And as I was researching things, I came across this suit of armor, a picture of it from the Napoleonic era. And it was this poor guy got hit by a cannonball and it showed the big holes in it. It's like, and that's kind of like what a job loss is. It's
Inner Design Podcast: Mm-hmm. Wow. Yeah.
Chad Betz: You know, your confidence is pierced, your ego is pierced, like a big piece of you is just taken out. You know, we get so attached to our jobs. When we introduce ourselves, what do we say? I'm Chad Betts. I am a whatever I'm doing for my living. And that's and it it becomes such a part of us, that when we do lose that job, it it could be devastating. And when I'm talking to people, I tell them take a little while to mourn the loss. You know, not a long time because we have to get to work.
Inner Design Podcast: Mm-hmm.
Chad Betz: But mourn the law just so you can put it behind you, because otherwise it can fester and you get a little bit bitter. And that shows when you're doing interviews and networking and such. So mourn it and put it behind you. and then try to disassociate your identity from your title. You're not a vice president or a banker or a utility person or whatever you do.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Chad Betz: You are someone who offers value, no matter what you do. So if if you see look at yourself as your skills and the value you add, not the chair you sat in, you know, not the title you had. And it's it can be hard to do again because it's so ingrained into us, but if you can kind of divorce yourself from that job title and s on really on who you are as a person, you know, your your skills, your personality, your
Inner Design Podcast: Yes.
Chad Betz: wants, your you know, your your needs, all of those things combined and then you're able to move forward.
Inner Design Podcast: I love that. It sounds like you're helping them to find their own inner design to reconnect to who they are innately, right? Authentically.
Chad Betz: And that's very true. I mean, and the thing, especially with a job loss, a a unforeseen job loss, it's a shock to the system. So all of a sudden you're you you know, who am I? You know, I was Chad Betts salesperson. Now I'm Chad Betts unemployed, I am Chad Betts looking for a job. Who am I? You know, where so you really do have to rediscover that inner self so that you'll portray that because that's who people are employing. I mean, no one gives jobs.
Inner Design Podcast: Mm. Right. Yeah. Right.
Chad Betz: You trade services for a fee in an employee employer relationship. So your person, your who you are and what you offer is what they're looking at, not you not what chair you used to sit in.
Inner Design Podcast: I love that. I think you said like really reminding them you have this value and it is innate. I love that. What role do you think that mindset plays versus practical strategy or you can you compare them a little bit, share a little bit of both sides?
Chad Betz: Sure, I mean the strategy is very, very important, but without the right mindset, it's not effective. If you're going into a a a great strategy with a failure mindset, you're not gonna get the achievement that you would otherwise. using employ unemployment actually as continue that example. I was speaking to a networking group and that network one of the people was there is like, yeah, I have a a a third interview with the company, then I'm not gonna get the job. It's like what's the disconnect? Exactly. It's like that discouragement. You know, again, it's just that you feel, you know, it's the past failures kind of bleed into the current one. and that is the my that's where mindset failed him. he had the failure mindset. Yeah, whereas, you know, if you understand that the strategies it's all
Inner Design Podcast: gosh. Yeah. Yeah. Mm. Right.
Chad Betz: You know, not getting a job sometimes is part of the process. It it gets you to the next step. It's one step closer to your next job. So that's the strategy and the process. But if you having that mindset of achievement, and that's built on a foundation of habits. You know, a learning habit, an attitude adjustment habit. You know, being setting setting a calendar item to be mindful first thing in the morning and at the night.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: I do that kind of as a I do a reflection. What do I expect out of my day? And I do this every day. And then at the end of the day, how did it work out? Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. But it it it show it it gives me a chance to get that that deep reflection again to see where I am and where I need to go. And that helps me build a mindset because of those habits, you know, and it it strengthens it and builds a strong foundation.
Inner Design Podcast: I love that because I think it the all the inner design programs, we have the methodology, but then we have the practice and you have to put them together. It one cannot live without the other. And so sometimes people just get stuck in the method. I think right now we're in such information overload and people think, if I'm just having only the mindset, I don't have to implement it, right? Or maybe they're implementing something, but it's not according like you mentioned for this person who had this failure mindset. It sounds like also a piece of like self sabota self sabotage was in there as well. What do we do? Yeah.
Chad Betz: It can be. That's again it's it's again it's just you know building it building it. So and you mentioned a couple of things that are interesting that I'd like to touch on. before we started the program where I was ta telling you that I do, you know, martial arts, and one of the things we do in martial arts are kata. they are the forms that show the moves. Now there's you really need deep understanding to understand kata, but in the beginning, you just go through the motions.
Inner Design Podcast: Mm-hmm. Yes.
Chad Betz: You learn the moves. And that's kind of what we have to do too. That you know, we can't expect to be experts at mindfulness, at mindset, at strategy right up front. We have to have the courage to be bad at it before we're good at it. And the way to do it is just to have, you know, to build the the habit of going through the motions and going through the motions, and all of a sudden, boom. I understand a piece of this. So now I could. you know, expand on that and you do go through do it again and again and b another epiphany. And all of a sudden you start to understand why you're going through the motions and it becomes more meaningful and you become more effective. So I would say, you know, start off going through the motions is okay. As long as you have that open mind and are willing to learn and are willing to grow, and then you can grow into understanding.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think what you're talking about is what I would say is our nervous system is kind of protecting our identity long after the identity has stopped serving us. So we need time to have that adjustment and kind of trust in ourselves and, you know, go through go through the motion, but also, you know, keep practicing not letting go. And then eventually the results also come through with it, right? So you're creating a safe space for yourself.
Chad Betz: That's a great way of putting it, that safe space, because sometimes when we go through a crisis or some strategy, we we lose trust in ourselves. You know, just like it takes time to build trust with between people, it could take time to build, you know, rebuild trust of ourselves. And doing those things can help build those, that trust. And it it really takes action, you know, to you really need motion. If you just sit there and plan, you start it doesn't give you that impetus for. confidence. You know, action builds confidence. It's not the other way around. You're not, hey, I'm ready. Let's go. It's let's go and you get ready.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah, that's so true. I think a lot of times people feel really paralyzed, they feel out of sorts, and we've become such a sedentary, you know, community lifestyle. And it feels maybe safer to just sit there and wait and or numb ourselves or get distracted with our, you know, devices and things that we have instead of actually putting things into effect. And you know, it reminds me of just like if you think of more ancient civilizations we all came from, right? People were out there, they were doing things, they were active and they didn't have to stop and say, I'm gonna go exercise now. Like we actually have to carve out that time because we are maybe working against our nature, right?
Chad Betz: Right. Right. Yeah. And you touched on a bunch of things there. It's like one, you know, complacency. Yeah, I'm doing okay. And we get stuck in okay. And okay is mediocrity. We get we could do so much more, but we're okay. So I'll I'm gonna stay in this comfortable warm bath of being okay. And then to your other point, you know, these this distractions. It's impossible to be bored these days.
Inner Design Podcast: Right. Yeah.
Chad Betz: We could watch all kinds of videos and this and that and you know clips and memes and everything on our phones, that we could just drown our ambition in distraction. and sometimes, you know, distractions can actually even appear productive. So we feel like we're being productive, but really it's just another form of distraction. So that complacency and those distractions can really keep us off base. And again, it th we start, you know.
Inner Design Podcast: Yes.
Chad Betz: time goes by and we're start feeling, why haven't I achieved anything? And and that's where we start getting frustrated again.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. Yes, I love that you said about boredom. We don't allow that. You know, I grew up in a time where we just lay on the, you know, grass out in the yard and look up at the clouds and watch them pass and you know, it engaged so much in our activity of our brain and y I think there is so much growth there and creativity is really born from that and we all are creative people innately. We're creating our lives, we're creating our patterns and habits, whether we'd like to or not. So I think that's where the design aspect of inner design comes in really Putting form and function into the purpose of creativity into our life in a way that feels aligned. So I really love that you shared that part of boredom. It's important for us to take that break. And I think people think take a break means let me just scroll my social media, it's giving me a mental break, but it's not. It's kind of actually robbing you of the the possibility of a good break.
Chad Betz: Right. Mm. It's giving your mind space. We're too crowded in. You know, with all these things I just keep putting on us, you know, you know, phone and TV and internet and whatever and emails and texts. You know, whereas going for a walk in the park, all of a sudden, you know, new ideas come. and that's well, one thing with the I do at the phone, ev even when I'm at the park, is I do have my note taking app, so that when I do get ideas, I I jot them down to make sure I remember them. But that's
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: That's the thing that the creativity needs space to grow. So, you know, turning off the ringer of the phone, not responding to emails, not going through and the reels and such, but getting out, opening your mind to whether it's sunshine or some kind of exercise or whatever it is, and give your mind space to to kind of breathe so you can get that creative space and those ideas start to flow. and your next life changing idea might be this close.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: So it's just you have to really give that space for it to grow.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah, I think you're talking a little bit about beginner mindset also when you kinda just empty and leave everything behind. And I love that you use your notes app. I also have my notes app because sometimes my journal is too far away for me to take down notes, but the phone is with me. So yeah, what can what what about beginner mindset has surprised you the most?
Chad Betz: Yeah. We I I have something similar in in martial arts. We call it the the white belt mindset. it's the white belt is the first belt. And it's always being open to new things. that I think is very important. to be a lifelong learner, to be vulnerable to ideas. When I when I wrote my first book, I gave it out to beta readers for feedback. And when I asked for the feedback, I wanted it. when I got the feedback.
Inner Design Podcast: Okay.
Chad Betz: Yeah, not so much. It was like they're calling my baby ugly. But it really they but they were but they were trying to help me. So when I did open my mind and put the got the defensiveness and threw that away, I found, you know, great insight. and that's the thing, being open for you know and vulnerable to let people in to help you, and to learn new things and to experiment and to play.
Inner Design Podcast: Sorry, yes, yes. Right.
Chad Betz: You know, whether it's you know, playing with technology, playing outside, w getting the juices flowing, all those things, but you know, being open to change and being open to learning.
Inner Design Podcast: I love hearing your creative experience and I'd love to know more about martial arts. Tell us, you know, what is it that you're studying and how did you go through the process?
Chad Betz: Sure. I actually I was very overweight when my kids were younger. And I had done taekwondo as a kid, and I they were starting to take a different type of martial arts. I said, know what? Let me try it. And yeah, I got back into it and I got a black belt in that style. I I tried another style and I got a black belt in there, but I really found that I wanted to dig deeper. Again, that white belt mentality. What does this all come from? so I started
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: studying and Okinawan style that's very traditional. and it's called Gojo Ru, the art of hard and soft. And you know, learning through that and understanding the intricacies of the martial art has really it it it combin it combines you know the the mind and the body, which I really like. You have to think and you have to have your body move with your thoughts. And y and it's it's not necessarily instinctual either. So it's it's really challenging, which I I enjoy.
Inner Design Podcast: That's fascinating. I'd love to hear about, you know, how do you think discipline creates freedom, if that's a thing to you I feel i discipline can create creativity or opportunities for creativity. Let's talk about that a little bit. What does discipline bring you?
Chad Betz: It's you know, discipline is very important. You know, motivation is overrated. You know, motivation it's like you had it you woke up on the right side of the bed, you're ready to go, and you're motivated. what happens if you're not? You know, you had a bad night and you didn't sleep very well and you're a little bit tired. That discipline gets you to the gym. And that discipline o again opens you up so that you feel that that endorphin rush of the gym, but also for creativity.
Inner Design Podcast: Right. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Chad Betz: When I write, I say every day at early in the morning, I am gonna sit in front of my computer for fifteen minutes. And if nothing comes, nothing comes. But I have to sit there at least 15 minutes to try to write. And most days it does come. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time for the juices to flow, but it comes. But that's it's that discipline to if you if you don't have the discipline to put yourself in a position to be creative.
Inner Design Podcast: Mm-hmm.
Chad Betz: It's not gonna happen. 'cause as you were mentioning earlier, there's so many distractions, so many things put upon us. We don't have the space for creativity. So we have to create that space, and that takes discipline.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. Yes, absolutely. Has what has martial arts taught you that business couldn't?
Chad Betz: That's an interesting question. So it's Certain things have to happen before other things. There's a pattern to life. There's a pattern to process. and it's not necessarily something that you see right away. it's something that you have to really and again, we talked about we talked about it earlier, kind of going through the motions versus true understanding. it's the same with martial arts and the kata, as I mentioned, but it's also the same with our careers.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: We start going through the motions. We have, you know, certain things where we do it because we're told to, and then we finally start understanding it. And another thing in martial arts is the last part of learning is teaching. when you start teaching, you get a bigger understanding, a just deep, deep understanding of what you're teaching, versus just learning about it. it's the same with business. If you start training people, mentoring people.
Inner Design Podcast: Yes. Mm-hmm.
Chad Betz: You can get a deep understanding of, you know, what it takes to succeed for yourself, for your business, for others, that you just can't without helping that other person.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah, and I I understand that you've led teams and trained them for years. What do you think separates maybe a respected leader from simply an effective manager?
Chad Betz: I would say coaching, you know, being able to coach again, it's not telling somebody what to do. It's drawing out of them their potential. You know, using you know what are you understanding what their goals are and helping them match their goals to the company's goals. What are their growth plans and helping them design a plan for them to grow? You know, not to covet them because you're such a h a a good team player.
Inner Design Podcast: Okay. Yeah.
Chad Betz: and you know they're a strong member of your team sometimes the leaders will do that somebody's great but they'll you know keep them there because they want that that work rather than helping them grow when what I found is that when you do help people grow and they start getting promoted and they get off your team, the highest performers want to be on your team because you're helping them grow and they'll they say hey you know so and so and so and so got promoted off that team. I want to be on that team. So a lot of times you get the
Inner Design Podcast: Right. Yeah. Yes. Yeah.
Chad Betz: best choices, but also the satisfaction of watching people grow, achieving their goals along with your goals. so it's really that's really the team, and that's where coaching can come in.
Inner Design Podcast: How has leadership changed over this past decade?
Chad Betz: It's been more challenging, especially with the pandemic. I mean, it's used to be we're all in the office. it went from, you know, closed offices to open office space where we're everybody's in the middle of everything, to everything being shut down. And now it's kind of hybrid. You know, we have people who are off-site, we have people who are in the office, sometimes they're in, sometimes they're out. and to be able to keep everybody in play, to keep everybody motivated, to understand what each person needs.
Inner Design Podcast: Yes, yeah.
Chad Betz: is much more challenging and you have to do it with intention. Whereas before, I don't want to say you can go through the motions, but having everybody there, you can see what's happening. with everybody all over the place, it's a lot harder. So you have to really intentionally reach out and find out what's happening.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah, I think that created a lot of stress. Do you think that organizations perform, you know, how do they perform when employees are chronically stressed, like the pandemic times?
Chad Betz: it's the it it destroys productivity. you know, s stress is not an ideal way to to work. Now again, now those there's pressure, which is not bad. I mean, so you can have a goal that's you have to have a quota by the end of the month. That pressure can be motivating. But if it's something where it's extremely stressful and it's pulling that energy out, you know, that's I think that's like pressure with a Purpose can add to your energy. You know, stress outside of the purpose can drain that energy. And that's where people can get burnt out. so I think you know managing that stress, understanding where they're coming from, trying to alleviate that stress, but adding in that productive pressure can get people more motivated to work harder.
Inner Design Podcast: I love that you said pressure with purpose. Do you have techniques that you help people, you know, guide them in these methods?
Chad Betz: Yeah, it's you know f finding what that purpose is. Cause a lot of times people get lost. Like I was talking to some attorneys and you know they went to law school, enjoyed the law, but now they're just feeling burnt out. so you know, digging is it the law? Do you did do you not like going to trial? No, no, no, no, I like that. And you know, digging and digging and digging, and we found out that it was too much of the business side. They didn't like managing the business.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: They like doing the law. So by switching over and getting some virtual assistants and then some other part-time assistants and one full time manager, they were able to offload the stuff they didn't like to keep the stuff they did like. So being able to do that. and if you know, sometimes in a job, you can't just offload your work. But finding different processes that makes it less
Inner Design Podcast: Mm.
Chad Betz: onerous, that you could do it quicker so you can get back to the things you really like.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah, we call it presence over performance. So coming back to that not just mindset but mindfulness technique so you can become present and have access to your own vitality if it's creative or whatever that expression might be, so that you can, you know, perform better. And how do you think trust and maybe psychological safety might be influencers f for performance?
Chad Betz: Well and and and unfortunately we can't always rely on that that from an employer. so it's it's sometimes we have to take that responsibility on ourselves. So whether that's even you know, taking a lunch away from the desk. You know, I was notorious for that. I still am, unfortunately. You know, it's like working through lunch and eating as I'm working, but it doesn't give me a chance to recharge. You know, going outside for a walk, even if it's five minutes, you know, something where
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. That's right. Yes. Yeah mmm no
Chad Betz: You take responsibility for your mindfulness. You take responsibility for again opening up. whether it's a a break and it's just walking around the building with your phone on your left on your desk, or you know, it's you know, getting something where you're outside for a minute, or you know, somewhere where you can do a quick meditative technique, whatever it is that helps you, but to get away and take the responsibility yourself. Because ideally, we'd love to have work for a company.
Inner Design Podcast: Yes.
Chad Betz: that you know met our needs that way. I've not. So I've had to you know develop I've had to develop it myself.
Inner Design Podcast: Yes. Yes, yes. so many great things that you said in here. So being I think well I'll put it in the inner design terms again, regulated, regulating yourself, taking responsibility to regulate yourself before you go and try to manage everything that you have on your plate. And I think I would love to know a little bit more about what you think the role of purpose plays once somebody has already achieved maybe the conventional success and w you know, they're they're having kind of both or maybe they've lost that one or the other. You know, what are the roles there?
Chad Betz: it's interesting. I know an older couple. They they retired relatively early. and they found that you know it's there's only so much you can do with hobbies and gardening and things like that. And they kinda lost purpose. then the grandkids came and they went over indulged on the grandkids and that was their new purpose and that was everything was about the grandkids. But then the grandkids grew up and they started doing other things. So again
Inner Design Podcast: Yes, as they do.
Chad Betz: They lost that purpose. And that's right. And they lost their purpose. They started getting bored again. And you could actually see how they would, you know, with the purpose, how they would expand and then without it, they would deflate. and that's you know, that was that's an example that really, really hit home for me. And I started looking and reflecting on my life too. when I had when I was working with purpose, I found that I could work twelve, fourteen hours in a day.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah.
Chad Betz: And be energized, you know, versus working without purpose, you know, find you know something where I'm working for towards someone else's goal and really not satisfying my own. A regular day can just be so tiring and you just feel burnt out. it's amazing. It's just that that addition of purpose is energizing, is fulfilling, and you know, makes something that could be, you know, very difficult, exciting.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. Yes, yes. I love it that so if someone listening is feeling they're standing at the edge of a new chapter but maybe fear keeps pulling them back, what's the first step they can take today towards designing a life that feels more authentic with purpose?
Chad Betz: You know, I found that you know people who kind of feel stuck or they think, I need to make that next step. I'm really I'm too nervous about it. they lack a little bit of that confidence. So identifying that they have had achievements in the past, you know, they may not have been for their goals, but they've achieved things and kind of reflecting on how much they've already achieved can build that confidence, you know, to help them kind of set that foundation to move forward. and then to identify where they want to go. the way I do it, and I don't know you may have done this too, is that you kind of write down goals, you know, write a list of goals. and you know, through those goals, you know, you find those patterns and through the patterns you act. Yeah. And that's you know the the steps I have them take, you know, to I you know set that confidence, find the direction, and then take action. it's really, really important to take the action. A lot of times we sit back in planning. 'Cause planning is like a warm bath. You know, it's just we we we we it seems like we're productive, you know, we're doing stuff, we're planning, but we're not. it's t sometimes it's you have to take that stake in the ground and make a decision to take action.
Inner Design Podcast: Yeah. Put yourself out there really. Sometimes it is scary, you know. It feels safer to be pen in hand on writing on the paper all your list and then so I think you're just you're saying make those lists, make those goals, but then maybe start to slowly take this, you know, one step at a time, maybe making a list of what are the small steps that you can take bravely. I think the small steps help you build confidence also, right?
Chad Betz: Yeah, the you can A hundred percent. You know, and the thing is is you will never ever have all the information. that's it that's uncertainty. Yeah, the f who knows what the future is gonna bring. But to your point, you know, taking those baby steps, you know, there's no reason to change your whole life. you could, you know, change one bit at a time, and kind of pivot over one section at a time, to you're at the place you you want to be. That way it's not a shock to your system, it's not a shock to those around you. It's you it's a nice smooth progression, especially if you're feeling a little bit insecure about it. You know, it gives you like you said, those baby steps. Okay, one achievement. That's a milestone. Boom. Next one, next one. And each time you do it, you get more and more confident. And it's like a snowball going downhill where it's just you you build that momentum.
Inner Design Podcast: Great. It's been so valuable hearing all of the different parts of this conversation. Your mindful technique was really lovely. Thank you for sharing that here with our listeners. Where can everyone connect with you and learn more about your books and your work?
Chad Betz: the best place would be my website, an an authentic success.com. And there's links to all my social media so can get my free content and the information on me, my books, and all that other stuff.
Inner Design Podcast: Perfect. We'll put those links as well in our show notes below. Thank you again, Chad, for being here with me on the Inner Design Podcast, sharing all of your valuable knowledge and experience. And we look forward to seeing you again soon.
Chad Betz: Thank you very much. It was a fantastic conversation.
