Meet Ian MacLeod

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ian MacLeod. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ian below.

Ian, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

Finding purpose or one’s guiding principles and highest priorities can be a difficult task. It is much easier said than done and the specifics of which can change over time. For me the practices of journaling to prepare for each day and reflect, physical training with specific goals, reading (A LOT), finding mentors (from books or in person), and having real conversations with others has helped shape my journey and clarify my purpose. Everyone is shaped by their experiences, environment and culture, influencing the things we are aware of and our perspectives. I reached a point where I understood that these limitations significantly reduce the way I thought and behaved.

Like most when young and inexperienced, I tended to focus mainly on the superficial nature of things and overcomplicating situations. However, by not addressing the root issues and building a strong foundation of strong values and principles in which to build upon, the decisions I would make would not be consistent. There are so many things that pull at us, things that we think to be important (busy work) that do not add any real value to our personal journeys. I was fixed on incorporating good habits and behaviors, not realizing that I also needed to rid myself of the things that distracted me and took away from the goals that I truly wanted for myself. For some things it was easier than others. The most difficult part was ridding myself of people around me that did not facilitate my growth and expansion.

It is and always will be a constant struggle to strive for better. To be constant in our path, being aware when we stray, and getting back on track as quickly as possible when we do. Reading, traveling, and meeting people from all over the world helped me tremendously in expanding beyond the small part of the world I was from and the experiences I had. They shaped my physical training, which in itself is a great practice of self-discipline, goals (setting and achieving), and constant self-reflection. I have been teaching for a long time and it has always been something that I enjoyed, but did not specifically know what would bring me the most fulfillment. Eventually through time, I was able to focus on the core of my fulfillment which has been to positively impact those around me in shifting perspectives around health and wellness and anti-aging and longevity.

There were many paths to this and so it required me to look closely at my own strengths and weaknesses and determine which path would allow me to have the most impact. There is a foundation of practices that relate to everyone no matter their place and situation in life. These practices are at the core of purpose finding and continue to shape my choices and decisions in the present and into the future.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

After graduating university, I got a job in sales, eventually deciding that the office experience wasn’t for me. It kept making me feel like I was in the movie Office Space, constantly under the pressure of working on something that I had no real connection with. I decided to leave the US and teach English in South Korea. Starting with children, then to adult professionals and then spending eight years at a South Korean University. I was able to travel, interact with people from all over the world, experience new things and spend more time on the areas of life that interested me the most.

I was always big into playing sports from early ages through university, primarily focused on Football. My interests in sport and fitness continued after university leading me to become a personal trainer and coach to varying degrees. I kept this up as a side project to my university teaching duties. Eventually, I had the fortunate opportunity to train and manage a small personal training studio that introduced me to practitioners who thought very differently than the masses of the world of fitness and it led me to the path I am today. This combined with continued studies beyond the typical CE courses and programs promoted and produced by big industry, I came to understand the short falls of the fitness, health and medical industries as they applied to proactive and preventative measures.

I found my time teaching at the university coming to an end, which led me to create a new type of training facility in Bali called Nirvana Strength, now known as Nirvana Life. As the founder of Nirvana Strength (Nirvana Life), the center focused primarily on Integrative Performance Mobility, Flexibility and strength that allowed people to not only train for performance in their respective disciplines but also brought a proactive approach to injury prevention and longevity. Combining this with a strong community of highly talented individuals, it is incredibly important to have a group of like minded individuals around you to help better shape your habits and behaviors. You become what you surround yourself with.

I was at Nirvana Life for 7 years, at which point I decided to part ways with new investors that my original business partner and I had brought on board. Having highly different opinions as to the direction of the center, I believed it best to separate and allow myself to focus on my main purpose of Educating and building something that truly focused on the health and wellbeing of the people around me. The primary focus of anyone in the health industry, no matter their capacity, should be to facilitate the growth and wellbeing of the people they interact with. Even to the point in which your client or customer is in a position in which they no longer need your service.

I am currently conducting workshops and educational opportunities in Integrative performance Mobility, Flexibility and Strength training in a variety of countries and look forward to continuing this process as I find that it gives me the greatest sense of purpose and fulfillment. Those in the fitness industry are on the front lines of health and wellness and without the proper tools in place, we will continue to have large organizations (whose interests are profit driven) determine how people live.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

– Have a beginner’s/student mindset, always.
– Develop a foundation of practices that help you make the best decisions and choices.
– Build a strong community of like minded people.

Read as much as physically possible and do so while developing your ability to critically think. Not everything you read is the end all be all and you have to decide for yourself what are the things you will take and use to fit in line with your goals and purpose.

Journal daily to prepare for the day and reflect on your life. Don’t live mindlessly and become easily distracted by the environment you are in.

Find mentors, whether in life or in books/media (present day or history) that help you become the person you want to be.

Study philosophy, which will help you cultivate your ability to critically think, develop your identity and serve as the foundation of the processes you will use to make better choices.

Test your ideas, opinions and beliefs through real discussions without attaching your personal identity to them. We are all students of life and through the study of philosophy and history you will understand that many of the problems and issues you are dealing with today are the same as those of old.

At the end of the day it is not about finding a “perfect” solution or idea and not to be in a constant state of theorizing. Understand what are the things that will make a practical difference in your life. Some things may sound great in theory, but if there is no real possibility of applying it to real life and making it work then it is nothing more than just a theory.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

The idea of “success” is very personal and goes beyond just what is in your bank account. The people around me, history and philosophy (Stoics and Buddhism), and the mentors and greats of our time in whatever capacity I find have all shaped my life and facilitated my development. At the end of the day, it all comes down to my personal ability to actively seek out challenges that help me grow. My own fortitude and resiliency that dictates whether or not I will be successful. There are so many people and things that have been helpful, so it would be a disservice to name just one. There are even times that an individual may have seemed to have done wrong by me at the present moment, but in time and reflection I understand that it was the best thing that could have happened to me. We do not always understand the present and there are always factors outside of our purview that impact the situations we find ourselves in.

Two ideas that I find helpful is the idea of taking a bird’s eye view and having a reverse clause. Take a moment to step back and take a broader perspective of the situation, doing your best to understand as much of the working parts. Understand that everything in life is a learning moment and no matter how dire the situation there are positives to be found. You will come back better.

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