Unfazed Under Fire Podcast

Foundations to Self-Care: Understanding the Body’s Self-Healing Power and Value of Metabolic Health

David Craig Utts, Leadership Alchemist Season 3 Episode 2

Meet Felix Rector, a trailblazer whose journey from naval architect to health advocate and affiliate marketer provides a wealth of insight into the significance of self-mastery and maintaining a vigorous lifestyle. This episode is a treasure trove for executives who navigate the chaos of the corporate world, likening them to athletes who must prioritize their health to perform optimally. Felix's experiences, though not from a medical perspective, offer enlightening guidance on adopting a mindset that champions well-being and vitality.

We explore the delicate balance between time and health as invaluable assets, sharing personal stories about overcoming chronic pain and learning from past poor health choices. Our discussion emphasizes the power of small lifestyle adjustments, like swapping sugary drinks for water and adopting better posture through physiotherapy. These seemingly minor tweaks can lead to significant improvements in energy and productivity. Felix reflects on how growing up in a health-conscious home shaped his dietary views, particularly concerning meat consumption and its broader impact.

In our conversation, we touch on the community's role in a holistic approach to health, reflecting on the challenges posed by modern sedentary lifestyles and the stress of isolation during the COVID lockdowns. We discuss health trends, from hydrogen water to muscle building, underscoring the importance of personal responsibility in health education. Felix shares his vision of creating online communities for sharing health insights and future projects that blend modern research with traditional knowledge, all while fostering a connection with nature for sustainable living. Join us for this thought-provoking episode on how health fundamentally intertwines with effective leadership.

To connect with Felix, go here:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/felix-r-10735b99/
- https://www.facebook.com/eraofhealth/
- https://www.instagram.com/eraofhealth/

Unfazed Under Fire Podcast - Host: David Craig Utts, Leadership Alchemist

Access to all our platforms:
https://www.unfazedunderfirepodcast.online

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Unfazed Under Fire, a podcast designed to elevate your leadership and amplify your impact. Each episode offers valuable insights to help you transform your vision into reality, cultivate high-performing cultures that attract top talents, and navigate the complexities of today's uncertain, chaotic world with confidence and clarity. Now tuning into your needs, here's your host and moderator, seasoned executive coach and leadership alchemist, david Craig Utz.

Speaker 2:

Welcome back to Unfphased Under Fire. I'm David Craig Utz, a leadership alchemist, your host and moderator for this show. Now, this show is dedicated to helping executives amplify their leadership impact, gain fresh insights and build the resilience needed to thrive in today's unpredictable, crazy world. And we feature two types of guests on the show First, thought leaders in leadership development, organizational culture and team dynamics who can share strategies tailored to meet your challenges as an executive. And we also feature seasoned executives who have embraced their own leadership development journey fully and who recognize that people and culture are the keys to maximizing organizational value, because they are At its core. This show is about pioneering breakthroughs in leadership and culture, ensuring you provide rewarding work experiences while also inspiring excellence in others towards the greater good and fulfilling your vision. And culture is created and sustained through leadership. Thus, leadership is the core of your success, and we believe that effective leadership begins from within. The true impact comes from first igniting the human spirit that lies in weight in each of us and then following a path of self-mastery, which is the foundation for leading others with clarity and confidence. And in these disruptive times, self-mastery isn't just beneficial. It has become essential to your success when executives harness their inner resourceness and lead from the inside out, they unlock the full potential of collaboration, the most powerful unifying force any organization can wield.

Speaker 2:

Now, today, I have the pleasure of welcoming a true pioneer to the show, felix Rector, whose career has spanned all the way from being a design engineer for a shipbuilding company to now focusing on affiliate and digital marketing. And I connected to Felix you because I began to follow your Facebook group, era of Health, which provides powerful tips and research and helping develop healthy lifestyles and promoting metabolic health, and I send sharing. You know Felix's exploration on the show and health and vitality could add value to executives who listen to the show and care about taking care of themselves. So I reached out and you were gracious enough to join me. So welcome to the show, felix. Great to have you. Thank you so much, david. Great to be here, yeah, great, awesome. Now I'm going to share a little bit about your background, the audience, so they see a little bit more about you, and then we'll get started.

Speaker 2:

As I said, felix is a creator of Ear of Health Facebook community, a platform dedicated to supporting health enthusiasts and their journey to live longer, happier, healthier lives, which I think we all want, and Felix's background is as diverse as it is impressive, with a bachelor's in naval architecture and ocean engineering from Germany and a master's in technology and management. Felix he got that in Norway, and Felix has combined technical expertise with a passion for leadership and innovation in his work. He's lived in five countries, visited over 33, and has undertaken incredible adventures, from hiking the Alps to sailing 5,000 nautical miles in a small boat, which I don't know if I could do. So it's pretty impressive. Growing up in a health conscious household, with parents who worked as a general practitioner and a physiotherapist, right Felix developed a lifelong interest in health and well-being and in 2022, after the mess we went through, he channeled his passion into his own business, focusing on health conscious living and high-ticket affiliate marketing. Today, he's here to share his insights in achieving vitality, the principles, healthy lifestyle and the mindset we all need to thrive, which is really important to executives that are really corporate athletes. You can call them corporate athletes. They have to take care of themselves or they don't get to do their job very well.

Speaker 2:

Now, before I dive into today's conversation, I just want to clarify that neither Felix and I are medical professionals or doctors. The insights and ideas we discuss are based on our personal experiences, research and perspectives. They should not be considered as medical advice. If you're considering changing your health and lifestyle, please consult a doctor or qualified health professional first. Your health is personal and it's essential that you ensure that this approach is for you, but I also believe there's research out there and things we can talk about that are pretty straightforward and helpful. So, Felician, great to have you. I just want to dive straight in and, as with all my guests, you know you've had, as we all do, we have our own fascinating journeys in life. You studied naval architecture, you've been exploring leadership. Now you're launching your own business in affiliate marketing, and can you share a little bit about your journey in your own words? How did it end up leading you to where you're at today, focusing on health and vitality as a central part of your mission?

Speaker 3:

Yes, for sure. Thank you first of all for this lovely introduction Before I'm going to answer your question. It feels really awkward, but I just need to quickly plug in my cable.

Speaker 2:

No worries please, otherwise I'll leave you in a second Part of life. We need electricity to thrive.

Speaker 3:

No worries, yeah, isn't that right? Yes, yeah.

Speaker 2:

That's what I like about podcasts or natural conversation. We probably won't even cut that out, so just part of being human is oh, we really need that cord plugged in, right? I'm glad you saw that, yes.

Speaker 3:

So yeah, well, where do I start? You already mentioned some of my background, but in the past for me it was not too easy to find my way. I've been hopping in between the idea of doing naval architecture or something with ships, the idea of doing naval architecture or something with ships, and, on the other hand, doing something maybe regarding flying aircraft, becoming a pilot, and so it was always kind of back and forth. I did in Germany the test for Lufthansa, the German airline, to become a pilot, and then things happened, and then my mindset shifted again. I was like okay, then I'm going to do something that has to do with the ocean. And so it was back and forth and I've always been trying to kind of figure out what do I really want?

Speaker 3:

And while in the past, I was really in the mindset that you know you get a job, you know you go to university maybe first, if you can, then you get a job and then that's what you're going to do until the rest of your life. Maybe you change it a couple of times, but it's basically this very traditional approach. You know, I grew up in a very traditional household and I noticed when, like looking at it now, when I decided not to pursue a career in flying, looking at it now, when I decided not to pursue a career in flying, I basically also gave a part of my passion or gave a part of my heart away for something that was more secure, which was shipbuilding. And, looking at this now, the development I've had since then really really showed me that this is not what I want. I don't need safety. I don't need safety. You know, I don't want safety. I want something more unexpected in my life, something more adventurous, and that was, in the end, also the reason why I started this business.

Speaker 3:

I saw the opportunity to start a business that aligns with my core values, such as, you know, being of service, helping others with the most valuable thing that we own, which is our health. In my opinion, and hence also, you know, the other most valuable thing we have is our time. So to improve the quality of our time that we spend on this planet. So, yeah, it was. I don't know, I'm still. I'm still not where I want to be. You know, it's a process, obviously, but at least I figured out what I don't want in the past, does that?

Speaker 2:

answer your question. Yeah, I think I think. I think it's really beautiful what you said, because I think there's a lot of that struggling that goes on, and especially these days, when we're getting, uh, some of our illusions shattered in various ways in the world today, like why I thought that was true. It's not true anymore, things like that and you realize that you know, uh, we're this whole thing of safety and security, which is fundamental to being in our survival instinct. Yes, we want to be safe and secure. We don't, you know, but we're also in a world where we're not being attacked by Saber 2, tigers or animals. We're in an environment that's fairly safe and secure. The fundamental needs being able to get food and so forth right now, at this time are available to us.

Speaker 2:

Yes, the question is how much do we engage the survival instinct? How far can that take us before it begins diminishing the possibilities of life? Like why are we really here? And I think that's something I work with with leaders is why are you really? I mean, many times and I shared this before in the podcast, but many times I'll ask a leader so why do you show up every day to work? And the answer is, well, I've got to run a company, or I've got to run this part of the company, or well, I'm a CFO, or I'm a marketing person, or I'm a salesperson and I'm here to sell. But many times it goes about it that far and it's because they've kind of followed, and it's great.

Speaker 2:

Senior executives are some of the smartest people and some of the best leaders I've met. But the question is why are you doing what you're doing? And a lot of times, connecting that to what you're doing energizes you more. Right, it's as you're saying, and you're actually challenging that, which I think is a beautiful thing. And you've done that in adventurous ways too, like 5,000 nautical miles in a small boat. I wonder what was that like? We'll get there in a second, but I think I just want to acknowledge that this is part of. It's a beautiful thing to kind of embrace what you're passionate about, you know, and the things that support us for our health. If we don't have our health, we can't do any of that, we can't go on in those adventures, and if we're not looking at how we're using our time, we can spend a lot of time off in direction that doesn't allow us to experience what we want to most experience in life. So I think that's very true.

Speaker 2:

That's very well said so what had you go on that Sorry? Did you want to say something?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, maybe two comments, because, first one, I think what is also really important to acknowledge is that in this time that we're living now, there are so many opportunities, and especially for young people like me, you know, when you have all these options, it can be very difficult to figure out, like what it is that you want right.

Speaker 3:

In the past, it was more like maybe you would do something that your mom does, or your dad or some other family member, or you would have a special talent, you know, and you would go immediately into that direction. But today, because of this overwhelming amount of opportunities, really figuring that out, I think that's that's an issue, that, um, that my generation has to deal with, and it's a luxury problem. Definitely, you know, when we talk about that fear and all that kind of stuff, we don't have that anymore, as you said. So, yeah, so we have this luxury just to to be able to decide what we want to do and at the same time, it's kind of not allowing you to really focus right. So the easiest is when you have something where you're like, okay, wow, I'm, this is my talent, this is, this is what I want to do and this is how I'm going to help people, but if you don't have that, then getting there to figure that out is is is a rocky path.

Speaker 2:

Yeah and it is. It is a rocky path. Yeah, that's just what else, I'm sorry, go ahead yeah, no, no worries.

Speaker 3:

The second thing I wanted to mention is, um, yeah, if, if we, if we don't treat our time and our health as the most valuable assets that we have, then we won't enjoy our lives as much as we wish for right. So I mean very simple example If we neglect our health, what happens? We become sick, for example. We become sick and it takes its toll on our energy, our happiness and the time that we all know better uses for right. And it doesn't even have to be a sickness. It could be like any kind of ailment that reduces the quality of life. So it could be developing chronic pain, back pain from office work, because you're maybe not strengthening your back, for example, and the outcome is the same. It's less quality time that you have, which produces less enjoyment, and this leads again to less productivity and reduces how you perform in your chosen profession.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's so true, because I mean, it's like when you have good health and when you are being and your time is so structured that I have to show up at work. I got to do this, I got to do that, I got to do this. You got to go to sleep a little bit and go into lack of consciousness around the appreciation for good health. I'm at 67, probably as an example of could have taken care of my back better, probably as an example of could have taken care of my back better. You know, many things are starting to work less effectively and I'm having to spend more time taking care of it. So I'm an example of somebody that could have probably used your advice 20 years, 25 years ago and followed it. But it's always, it's never too late and you have to just attend to yourself Now. Okay, the writing's on the wall here. This is going to likely get worse, so you got to do something about it now so that you can stretch some time out there. But I know I appreciate it. Also. You're just pointing to things that are really important for everybody to stop, take stock in and what am I doing to take care of myself and for the executives that listen to this show. This is why I talk about personal care, well-being so much with my clients. I'm not a doctor. I mean, obviously I'm asking them to see people that can help them.

Speaker 2:

But there are certain basic things like how much water are you drinking today? And things like that that I've. You know, I had one executive that I that said I have I lose energy by my noon and one o'clock and then I get irritable. I said, well, how are you starting your day? And he said I'm drinking. You know, I'm trying to get the energy. I'm drinking five Diet Cokes by the time 10 o'clock in the morning comes for. And I just said, well, would you like to try an experiment? And this was just nothing like rocket science here or anything that is crazy. I said why don't you replace that with and he was surprised by the result. It was very paradoxical the caffeine. He still had his cup of coffee and he still had his, I mean, one Diet Coke in the morning. But he just replaced the rest of the water and he said I had more energy to get through my day. So you know, are we 80% water right? Is that what we are?

Speaker 3:

I think so, something between 70% and 80%.

Speaker 2:

So anyway. So you grew up in a health conscious household, right, you had a general practitioner doctor in your household and the I was a physiotherapist was the other one.

Speaker 3:

I was a physiotherapist.

Speaker 2:

What is that? What is it? By the way?

Speaker 3:

a physiotherapist basically helps you um with any kind of muscle issues that you have. You know, it could also be that you have a torn ligament or something in that regard, Everything that is. It's basically how do I say that. You know like, bear with me, English is still not my first language.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I understand, I appreciate it. So if I need some time to, describe certain things understand.

Speaker 3:

So if I need some time to to describe certain things, um, it's basically your overall, like your, your body working with the muscles, the bones, the ligaments right, and that's where physiotherapy, kind of um, has its approach. So it's a lot of yeah, when you go to a physiotherapist with some ailment, it's going to be a lot about movement. You know can be about loosening tension in certain muscles, for example, but mainly, I think the main part is the movement, how you move your body.

Speaker 1:

Right.

Speaker 2:

So you know, talk about stretching and talk about flexibility and strength and all that, and making sure you're leveraging your structure as it's meant to be used and not over emphasizing certain things or whatever well, you know it could be like it couldn't even be the way you sit.

Speaker 3:

You know it couldn't even be the way you walk. It's very, very simple things in the end, yeah yes, very good.

Speaker 2:

Well, you had these health care professionals that you grew up with, so how did that shape your views on health and how have those views evolved over time? If you could extrapolate on that yeah, very good question.

Speaker 3:

So to be honest, when I was a child or a teenager, I didn't really think much about health. Not about eating healthy, not about drinking plenty of water or going outside.

Speaker 1:

Who does Exactly?

Speaker 3:

I mean, yeah, there's one example that kind of is kind of like a thread that you know runs through my life a little bit. I'm going to talk a little bit more about that. Maybe it's about eating meat, for example. You know, I demanded from my mom to cook more meat and I would eat meat daily, not knowing, for example, about the antibiotics that the animals would consume and not to mention the conditions that animals for mass meat production would live in.

Speaker 3:

You know, and what I notice now in retrospective is that, even though my parents have both been working in the health industry, their approach to health didn't seem very holistic. I mean, don't get me wrong, you know, they always made sure that I didn't eat too much sugar or that I brushed my teeth, took care of my hygiene, moved my body. You know, like they sent me outside to play three hours in the rain, you know, but I thought that was normal. You know, I thought that was normal and maybe it wasn't. So what I took away from them was mainly like if we talk more about how they consciously influenced me, is that all the ailments or the sicknesses that people had, what, what people would do to themselves to end up with all this stuff like organ failure, cancer, worn out joints, for example, arthritis, you know all that kind of stuff.

Speaker 3:

Then, um, that was, for example, uh, the consumption of alcohol that played a role, smoking, not having an active lifestyle, you know, eating fast food, a lot, all that kind of stuff. So that really, that really was something that consciously influenced me and my views on health changed or developed when I finished high school and went on a trip to New Zealand with a friend. We didn't have much money and what I mentioned before. You know, if we get back to the example of meat, we ate a lot less meat there and more vegetables, just because it was cheaper and at that moment I also realized that I didn't need that much meat to be happy and healthy, and before then I used to play actually american football.

Speaker 3:

It's not that typical in germany, I mean in the us it's a lot more, yeah, um a lot more. How would you say? It's um popular yes and um, so.

Speaker 3:

So I thought, you know, in order to to build muscle, in order to to play um and not sit on the bench, I would need to eat more meat. And then I noticed, with the change of my diet, which was kind of like forced, I was able to recognize okay, I can eat different things and still build muscle and still be, you know, full of energy and that kind of like. I'm not saying that meat is bad, not at all, you know, um, just to say that at this point. But, um, that continued when I started studying. I questioned the upbringing of animals for meat production. Um, it's, you know, it's a choice everybody has.

Speaker 3:

And, uh, while I was earning some money, uh, during my apprenticeship, which was combined to studying, so it's, it's kind of it's a different story, but while you do the apprenticeship, you also get an income because you're basically already working for the company, and so I was able to to afford meat and I was also able to afford good, organic meat, and yet it was very expensive. Um, but at that time I noticed, okay, I really want to eat the more qualitative meat because of the antibiotics, because of the way some some, you know animals would grow up. You know, animals would grow up and I started to look at meat like something more precious. And after some consideration, I found for myself a personal solution to not miss out on good meat. I mean, I really, actually really like meat. So instead of buying expensive meat, I lived as a vegetarian for a while and in that time I saved some money to invest into a hunting license. It's quite the costly course in Germany it's about 2000 euros and took nine months to do that.

Speaker 3:

But the result of that was that I was able to eat meat from healthy animals. You know, that had a great life. I sometimes had observed them for weeks, uh, because I mean, it's maybe a bit different with hunting in germany than in the us. We have obviously a lot, uh, less space, so you usually have some, um, yeah, uh, some areas, that where you are allowed to hunt. You know it's usually private property. That way, because you permanently hunt there, you get to know the animals as well, and so you decide weeks or even months beforehand okay, this animal actually, you know, is old, this animal is sick, needs to be taken, and so that there was something where I was like, okay, this is really good for my consciousness and I can still eat very healthy meat, and I know that's not an option for everybody, but that was, for me personally, the luxury that you know I was able to, um, to do that.

Speaker 3:

So, interestingly enough, today I would say I'm a lot more health conscious than my parents, you know, telling them to build muscle, to not eat sweets before going to bed, or to actually reduce the overall amount of sugar and low quality carbs in their diet. So, yeah, so that's basically what I've been seeing over the years and, uh, it's very interesting yeah, it's just the one that was advised and now becoming an advisor, do they?

Speaker 2:

do they listen to you? Do they take into what you say, being medical professionals? Do they appreciate some of listen to you? Do they take into what you say, being medical professionals? Do they appreciate some of your feedback?

Speaker 3:

I think, I think, they know, I think they know, Um, but they often, they often um, they often treated like okay, this is just like your, your, you know, you just want to optimize everything. I just want to have my sweets, you know? Yeah, exactly, exactly. I mean it's fair enough you know I like to have a sweet now and then.

Speaker 2:

I think it's about balance. Moderation right, Everything is moderation right Moderation, you know.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, maybe not eating that piece of cake with you know a thousand calories right before bed, but maybe do it in the morning or in the afternoon or something you know.

Speaker 2:

Exactly that bad, but maybe do it in the morning or in the afternoon. Exactly that already makes a difference. Yeah, well, I mean, you're, you're pointing. First of all, I love your, your explanation of of the choice of meat and what we are putting into our body when we're not, when we're consuming without consciousness, and you know I, you know I am a believer in the free markets. That's what, to me, it's a you know this, being an entrepreneur, and the ability to choose to just start a podcast because I wanted to and be able to continue to learn and develop that into something that could actually be monetized and over time, and that's great, you know. We also have, though, in that same free market system, people that get very kind of greedy, if you will, and look to the products they're selling to people and don't take into account the ones that are consuming it, but consider how can I make more money on selling this product? Um, whether it's big ag, big farm, big, big ag, big farm, etc.

Speaker 2:

You know, farm and that kind of thing have gone that direction where some of what they're producing is actually causing harm to people, and you know, and so it's it's the idea of being more conscious and selecting organic foods if you have the ability to afford those and we have a society that doesn't always have pocket society that can't afford that, which we have to look at but certainly executives have the ability to choose what they consume and what they eat, and their struggle is what's convenient now because I haven't thought it through and I'm hungry versus how can I think ahead and make sure that I'm cooking something that's nutritious and good for me and I'm choosing organics, right?

Speaker 2:

That's the key there. You know, and we've had this, but one of the things we've had in our society that I've seen, especially over the last 20 years, because it was going back to what we said we're not in survival mode anymore. Right, said we're not in survival mode anymore. Right, we're not in survival mode anymore. So therefore, we can, we can go. It's easy to go unconscious because of that. So the other side of being in a non-survival mode situation is we, we can go to the grocery store and not look at the ingredients and pull stuff off the shelf and just cook it and eat it. Right? We also tend to be more sedentary than we have in the past.

Speaker 1:

We're not farmers.

Speaker 2:

We don't have to get up at four in the morning and feed the chickens and the cows and go out to. You know we have, we get. You know we may complain. We have to get up at seven o'clock in the morning so we can make the bus right. And we're making the bus and we're not having time to really work out. So we have these, we're sedentary lifestyles and processed foods are available to us. From your research and personal experience, what do you believe are the foundational habits that people need to be more conscious of, that, if they were, would make the biggest impact on our, on our life? This is from the research that you've done. You know through your community, online community and your own self. What do you think of the core habits that if people just attended to these things, they would exponentially increase their health and vitality?

Speaker 3:

yes, very good question. I think the first one is to minimize stress, because stress actually has an effect on everything in our body and the only way that, as far as I know I mean I'm not a health professional, but as far as I know the only way how you can get rid of stress is through movement working out, going for a walk, doing some yoga, for example. And the other thing is that you should care as much about your body as your mind. Having stress basically implies that already, because it's so interconnected, um, so how, how can you make that a habit, right? Uh, how can you make that a habit? I mean, it starts with. It starts with drinking water instead of soda, right? Yeah, this starts with actually saying, okay, I'm going to take, even if it's, you know, like 20 minutes and not an hour to prepare like a meal from scratch. So to say, you know, from the single ingredients and not just, you know, use like the frozen uh mixture of like sauce and stuff and then you know, put everything together, um it.

Speaker 3:

It's really what I've been noticing, like this trend with food is it's uh, it's very processed, right nowadays, ultra processed foods.

Speaker 3:

I also noticed that when I was, uh, I I lived the.

Speaker 3:

The past two years I lived in norway, and when you think about norwegians, you always, or like a lot of people, mention that they are so beautiful people. You know, um, and they are, and when I got there, I was so shocked about the food that they had because it was so processed, but at the same time, they were still fit, they were healthy, they look good and for me, like the, the realization was that, even with ultra processed foods and imported produce, for example, um, and the alcohol consumption is huge you in Norway, and they also use a lot of snus, which is a kind of tobacco that you place behind your lips in like small bags, you know. So they don't smoke, but it's still nicotine, and so what I noticed is that being in good health is more than only just nutrition, you know. It's also like the environment, being in nature, that shapes it. It's your lifestyle. Norwegians are very active. They work out daily, you know. They go skiing, running any kind of exercise outdoors really, and then also a sense of community. So while they have like food where I would say, oh my god, this is bad all the other, all the other stuff, kind of like balances that you know.

Speaker 3:

So that's something very interesting and that's something where people can build habits from. You know, going for a walk every day, having a water first thing in the morning, you know, taking a little bit more time for the food, Because, in the end, what you're going to gain from all that is you're going to have more energy, you're going to feel better. The end, what you're going to gain from all that is you're going to have more energy, you're going to feel better. So what matters if you, you know, use 20 minutes more to prepare your food when you're going to get your work done in half the time, for example?

Speaker 2:

you know, uh, yeah, well, again you you come from. It's interesting to have a lot so much processed food. It doesn't. I don't know if it compares to the united states, because I think there's a lot of ingredients that are allowed in the food here that Europe would say like no, not allowed, it's illegal to put that in food because they know it hurts people.

Speaker 2:

Sure, to something else that you know we think about what we consume, which is important water versus soda, uh, single ingredient, foods that are put together to make a dish, rather than processed foods put together to make a dish. Those are consumed, um, whether it's vitamins, and you take vitamins and minerals or whatever you do to help your body. But what you're pointing to is a holistic view of being in nature, which is a healing force. You know, I watch a documentary on, you know, forest bathing in Japan, for example. There's a big thing there that they want to go out and be in the forest and allow the botanicals to kind of fall on their bodies and to breathe it in, and there's a natural healing that comes from that process of just going out and walking through the forest like some trees, you know it's not gonna hurt.

Speaker 2:

It's certainly not gonna hurt. Fresh air is not gonna hurt you and you know, no, you know it's gonna be much better than standing in line in the car and exhaust fumes hitting you right. Um, and and and and also community and connection. I think that the other thing is in our world and I think this happened really lockdowns and COVID have now been shown to be not based at all in science, and not only that, they were a detriment to child development and our own health, because we were cut off from each other and we weren't allowed to be together. I mean, liquor stores were it's crazy. Liquor stores were praised to stay open but you couldn't go to church. I mean, it seemed as crazy things that we did during COVID that were really unhealthy for us.

Speaker 2:

And you're pointing to the connection, and that is really important. I'm curious. One of the things that I want to that are going to follow up on this question is the, the, the word araf health. Can you tell me what? What had you picked that name for your community? What's behind that name? Um, and, before I ask any more questions, I'm just curious I'm sure it was consciously created.

Speaker 2:

I mean, I know it also could be german, german related to, related to more german. Uh speaking, I don't know, but let me know what that's about.

Speaker 3:

I mean, I do like the like. The meaning of the word era is obviously the same um, but I don't know. I like the in german era stands for something different than like in it.

Speaker 3:

Just, it's like a personal thing, you know then maybe if I say error in english and well to be honest, health it's obvious, right, I wanted to like needed to be a keyword, that is obvious health, and the error is about the development that we have been seeing.

Speaker 3:

I mean consciously, I've only been occupied with this kind of stuff for the past two years or maybe a little longer, but we can really notice that in the past 10 or even 20 years, there has been like a shift towards a more healthy lifestyle, towards self-optimization in the way that you look at your health, you know, and, yes, also medicine is developing, but I think, um, the medicine you know, at least in the western world, is more to treat the symptoms instead of, uh, actually treat, like you know, looking at your holistic health and uh. Therefore, I thought error as as a key word that describes how, how we have this shift going on and hopefully also for longer. And I can see that, you know, I can see that it's going to be more important in the future and people are going to be more conscious about their health. So that's that's how that came together.

Speaker 2:

Got it Great and what is the primary thing you're trying to do with the mission in that community? I know, on one hand, it's a business orientation for you and it's aligned with your passion, so that takes care of hopefully generating revenue for you. But from a point of view of what had that be your focus? What are you trying to accomplish in the community, the online community and I'll make sure there's a link in the below in the podcast how to find that community on facebook. But what was the emphasis for what you, why you created this?

Speaker 3:

yes, um. So first of all, when you share the link, also make sure to share the link to the instagram community, because it's, in fact, both on instagram and facebook and um. So originally I intended to spread the word about canyon water, which is basically hydrogen water, and I made some personal experiences with that and I also saw it as a business opportunity and that's why I was like I want want to spread this, the word, to more people. And while this is still part of the plan, I actually haven't really talked about it much or, you know, post much about it. It's this page in this community has become a lot more than that.

Speaker 3:

You know, I can really see the demand or like the need for, for for health education and while at this point, I would say, you know I'm I'm not researching the content, you know, and doing hours of research making sure that everything is completely right, I'm not able to do that, you know. So so my main aim is to share different trends within the health industry for people to look at, so they, so they get like a first, first kind of um touch, you know, with that topic, because in the end, I always, I always, I'm convinced that you should do your own research. You know you should not just believe, uh is, that is spread on the internet and um, I mean, it's difficult because sometimes you post something and it's controversial and a lot of people are starting to hate, you know, and I'm like, well, that's not my intention, you know. I I don't want to convince you to do this or I don't want, you know, to influence you.

Speaker 2:

Like, yeah, I mean, this is where this whole disinformation, misinformation thing has gotten out of hand. Yes, ultimately, what we have to teach people is you are responsible for the information you take in and if something upsets you don't pay any attention to it. And if something is concerning you, you know you should do your own research. Or if you're looking for, if you see something, don't just take oh, that's interesting. We'll talk about hydrogen water in a little bit, but here, as I've you know, actually interestingly enough ran into somebody and I'm now a big fan of it.

Speaker 2:

But at the same time, we have to take responsibility. The biggest point is for educating ourselves and finding streams of information like yours, that can break into the conditioning that our brain has gotten, believing that something is true. Believing that something is true and it may be something that may out there, that may enlighten us and makes us more healthy, more vital things that we didn't realize because we were also fed by other information that was fed to us for a particular reason, because it wanted to keep us kind of imprisoned in that perspective, because that perspective supported people to make money. Let's just put it that way.

Speaker 1:

That's the way I would put it right and I'm not.

Speaker 2:

Again, I'm not denouncing anything here. I'm just saying take personal responsibility for your health and go to professionals that you believe can give you the information you need. Or you hear something from RAREF Health. Go to your doctor or your healthcare provider and say, hey, I learned this. What do you think about that? Then counsel, use it to counsel. Use it to open your mind to new possibilities, because a lot of what's out there is well research, like around hydrogen water, for example. There's really strong research on that. So, yeah, I think that's really important. What are some of the things that you have learned or came to value, that that has been researched that people seem to be most interested in? In the trends that you see people getting hits on or or or reading because I'm sure you can track that stuff what particular posts are people most value? What do you see people most interested in, as you're putting these trends out on Facebook and to this community?

Speaker 3:

Well, one huge topic is building muscle right as a way to as kind of like an insurance as well, health insurance for becoming older, because the more muscle you have, uh, the better your health is going to be when you grow old, because it's not only, you know, helping your metabolism, uh, when you have more muscle, but it also keeps keeps you warm. Right it is. It's like a cushion as well. It protects you from falling protects you and uh all that kind of stuff.

Speaker 3:

So that's that's a huge topic, and especially, um, especially in the, in women's health, you know, uh, talking about menopause, for example, that that's a huge topic, that, um, yeah, I can see that good.

Speaker 2:

It helps with the health of in the in the processing of that change in life absolutely, absolutely.

Speaker 3:

So that's a huge thing. And another another one is obviously, uh, water, yes, um, I mean, especially in, in countries like the us, the water quality is not in a way that you would like to drink it from the tap. Uh, and then, on the other hand, on the other hand, you know, like buying bottled water from you know bottles that you don't know if they've been lying in the sun half a year ago, you know, and where some of that plastic leached into the water, you know and, on the other hand, it's it contributes.

Speaker 3:

It contributes to the amount of waste, right? Single-use plastic bottles is a huge, huge part of that, and a lot of that ends up in the oceans, right? So people get more and more conscious about the water that they drink, and I think this is only going to increase in the next couple of years. Because of this increase in the next couple of years, because, um, because of this increase in consciousness and, you know, avoiding chlorine fluorides, all kind of hormones, heavy metals and so on, um, yeah, and then, last but not least, I mean nutrition course, right, what food do you want to put into your mouth? And there's a lot of.

Speaker 3:

I remember I recently had a video uploaded about corn, you know and it went viral and the topic was that for how long have you known that corn contains, I think, 20 something different types of afloat toxins, you know? And people were like you know. One part was like like I didn't know that, you know what can I eat instead, maybe? And other people were like but we've been consuming corn for such a long amount of time? This is all lies, you know, and me, mexico, for example, has been living off corn for centuries, kind of that's. You know the topic and then. But the truth is kind of like in between right, I mean, there is corn that is yeah, Right well, is it also?

Speaker 2:

is it part of the corn that we're now producing, versus the corn that they may have produced back then?

Speaker 2:

Like we have now we've like, for example, the book Wheat Belly. I can't remember the author or the name of the author of the book. I don't know if you know the author of Wheat Belly, but I'll make sure that's out there. But talking about that, we have one kind of wheat now that's produced and this wheat is actually what's causing a lot of the gluten intolerance and it is actually toxic to the body over time if you consume it and to the point where we've basically every once in a while. I still will admit that I enjoy a good piece of bread and I dabble from time to time and we cut it out because of what we've learned about the impact of this singular grain that now you can't find. At the time of my grandmother you could eat as much bread as you wanted. It would not cause the same problems that the current bread is causing, for example.

Speaker 1:

And maybe that's true.

Speaker 2:

I don't know if that's the same with corn, If corn has become more singular in its crop formation, whereas maize was a very diverse crop at one point would imagine more diverse.

Speaker 3:

I mean interesting. You know, like um, when I hear about corn in the us, I'm always thinking about gmo, you know, and we don't have that in europe, for example.

Speaker 2:

Right, yeah, you're not gmo is not allowed in the food supply in europe. Is that correct? That is correct.

Speaker 3:

Yes, yeah. So. So that is why you know, like that's what I'm thinking. I'm thinking of like the first thing that I hear. You know. It's like, oh, maybe it's also because of because of that, you know, because you changed the corn in a way that you know, just the treatment is, different toxins has more toxins.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, one of the things, one of the things I wanted to talk to you about is this this this hydrogen water. They're growing in popularity and actually I I was actually out with a friend in Chicago a week ago uh, introduced me to Kagan water and, um, I had an experience of literally I was, I had a cold and I had some congestion and I drank like five glasses and I was having problems sleeping because of it. It because the congestion was causing me to snore more, etc. I had five glasses of Kegan water that day of this high hydrogen content water. The congestion completely cleared up and I don't know. I mean I'm using it. This is not an experiment, it was not a double-blind study, but I noticed that my congestion completely cleared out of my body within that end of that day.

Speaker 2:

To the point is where we can't quite afford the machines yet. They're pretty impressive, but we are. There are other ways to produce it in water bottles and other things that you can get, at least to get you through it as you get the machine. So tell me about the growing popularity of hydrogen water. You know, I understand it has a powerful antioxidant ability, it's anti-inflammatory, it supports the immune system. Tell us what the value of hydrogen water is and how it helps people.

Speaker 3:

Yes, good question. So I think what is important to mention is that, um, also, I mean, I'm not allowed, for example, to make any health claims right, but, as you said, like there are a lot of stories where this, where this water helped people, a lot of miracle stories, you know, you could say, where people went to a doctor after being diagnosed with very, very bad diseases and then suddenly it was all gone after they had been drinking this water for a couple of weeks. You know, and I think this is I mean these machines that produce, that are from Japan, and Japan has a very holistic approach to health, and they're not saying drink this water to cure things, they're saying drink this water to improve your body's capacities of fighting potential disease, fighting all this disease, yeah.

Speaker 3:

Yes, correct, and yeah, the hydrogen, as you already mentioned, it's an antioxidant, right. I mean, there's still a lot of research that has to be done, for sure. There are also, you know, a lot of rumors around what it actually does, and I don't want to add to that, because I think it's important to research that as well.

Speaker 3:

Don't want to add to that, uh, because I think it's important to to research that as well. But what I always suggest to people is, when they have a chance to try it, you know, like, why don't you try it for a couple of weeks and see if it helps you? You know then, that's what's, that's what's most important, right? It's not really. I think I know about the science.

Speaker 2:

There's no, there's no harmful effects that can come that has been noted coming from it. There's various degrees of pH acidity to alkaline in water right.

Speaker 2:

So this makes the water more alkaline which the body seems to do better with versus highly acidic things. We would agree we don't want to drink highly acidic things a lot, but it can't harm you. So I think, yes, we can't make direct health claims about this. However, as you point to the fact, try it and notice what's the difference. I try to notice the difference and say, you know, I don't know if these health claims are true, but I had an experience drinking this that was pretty interesting. So I should, I should try to drink more of it and see if there's more interesting things that happen in my experience that's, or that feel supportive to my energy, in my vitality.

Speaker 3:

that's what's, you know, that's yeah, that's, and that's actually very impressive. You know, usually you don't see such sudden changes in people. Usually it takes a bit longer.

Speaker 2:

I mean I could have made it up, but it's enough for me. You know, I'm not saying that. I did that. Maybe my cold just got better.

Speaker 1:

Maybe that just happened.

Speaker 2:

I'm not saying I can't say, as I said, I didn't do a double blind study.

Speaker 3:

I can't say for sure that caused it, but that's why I'm mentioning that's why I mentioned it again that you know, like when people listen to this podcast, that they're not like, oh, I want to try this. And then you know they maybe drink a glass or two, and then it's like oh nothing happened.

Speaker 2:

You know it's it's not magic it's not magic you know, it's kind of like with everything good.

Speaker 3:

Example is going to the gym. Right, you're not going to see a change after going to the gym for like a couple of weeks, two or three months, yeah, yeah. But then you know, suddenly you start okay, I'm improving my fitness, I'm gaining muscle and so on and that's the same with this, really, yeah yeah.

Speaker 2:

so if, if, if, if the machines are could be in you know thousands of dollars, right, these king machines which you know is worthwhile the investment when you think about it. But what's the interim step people could take? There are these hydrogen water bottles. You have to do your research and you have to know what you're getting. There are apparently good ones out there that actually work well and ones out there that don't. So you have to do your research. What would you say is an interim step for people if they want to try this water out? Is there a way? And, of course, you don't know the distribution in the United States, so we have to figure that out.

Speaker 3:

But are there other?

Speaker 2:

ways you do Okay. So, you could actually buy the water pre-hydrogenized or whatever, and I think Whole Foods grocery store has one where you can. I don't know if reducing the ph or increasing the ph to a more alkaline ph is the same, but to help us with that, how how can people try this out?

Speaker 3:

so.

Speaker 3:

So, first of all, what you just said, I just want to quickly mention that it's the, the, the high ph is just a side product of the ionization process so the main focus should be on the hydrogen right and while I would say that, even even though there's a cost related to these machines, it's also it's it's actually an investment right.

Speaker 3:

These machines actually save you money because they don't only um save you if you if you've been buying bottled water, for example, they don't save you the cost for just the plastic bottles, but they also, you know, with these machines you can produce different kind of water. You can produce water to to clean your kitchen. You know you can actually produce a disinfectant that you can use to clean all kind of surfaces, even the toilet. You know you have water that you can produce with that machine that eliminates stains, for example. You can add it to your laundry and that kind of stuff. So there's a lot of different uses actually that replace other kinds of products. And if we talk about how much this actually costs in the end, if you calculate how much you spend on other things over the year you know, like detergents, water, um other kind of things, then it's actually not that much and these machines have like a lifetime of 20 plus years, right and they're well the machines themselves.

Speaker 2:

You have to replace a filter, but other than that's a once a year usually once a year thing. It's not like you're right a filter, I thought no, I don't know much about those, but then you don't replace it every 30 days or whatever you're replacing it once a year. There's some maintenance. There's some maintenance, but it's very minimal right on the machine. That's true.

Speaker 3:

That's true and I do want to say like, even, you know, like, the company even offers in-house financing. So even if you have like a bad credit or something, you can still, you know, usually be able to finance that, and even if that is too much you know, like 50, 60 dollars a month, with maybe a down payment then what you can do is, for example, get hydrogen tablets. I mean, that's only the focus on hydrogen, right, but these tablets are also not very cheap. So I think I don't remember exactly, but I think it was about two dollars or something for like one tablet. So you know, if you do the maths and if you want to drink that every day kind of adds up quickly.

Speaker 3:

But I have actually great offer for the people that are listening to this I have access access to a map in the US where distributors can register. So what most of these people do or actually everybody who registers for this map is open to do water shares and without any costs related. So what people can do, they can reach out to me and I'll find out for them who's living the closest and who would be willing to share their water with them, and that's absolutely a possibility. We've been doing this for a while.

Speaker 2:

You could get a couple of jugs of water that they've generated and produced that they're willing to share.

Speaker 2:

And you can then maybe try this for a couple weeks or whatever. That way, if you could work out an arrangement that would be working for the people that are willing to share it. And I know there are distributors that have stores too. There's one in Chicago that I went to that was a friend of mine who will provide a certain amount of water for a period of time for you to try it without a lot of investment, and they actually have jugs that are branded for that store and they'll produce that. So there are people out there that you could try it.

Speaker 2:

I think it's certainly something that, when you think about the consumption of a product or an element into our bodies which we should be drinking a lot each day, water is a pretty essential nutritional element and it's something that people ought to try out again, letting their own experience, not any claims, be the reason for trying it. And, as they say, the water actually tastes good too. It's very clean, it has a great taste. There's not much of a taste to it, which is good, but it doesn't have any bad ingredients in it that are going to cause you any harm, so it's worth trying. So I'll make sure that your contact is. We'll make sure that the right contact information for you is below in the podcast, so if people are interested, they can share that. Well, I appreciate. I would love to you know, know what kind of you know what kind is next for you as we kind of wrap up today, what are new projects and goals and things that you're excited about, that you're up to next, Felix, in your career, in your life in your life.

Speaker 3:

Well, right now it's all centered around, you know, this page, this theme page, and also, um, the the canyon water. But I want to move in a direction where, basically, the content is more thoroughly researched. You know, especially following along with ongoing research, and current topics focus on new insights. Um, that's obviously only possible, um, if I can pay more to someone who actually takes the time to do the research you know, and I mean, at the same time, I want to focus on transparency, like who financed studies or research.

Speaker 3:

If we actually get there at one point, you know who will benefit from that and I want to balance on this page, modern research and science with knowledge about, like, natural remedies and, uh, yeah, long known knowledge of past generations, because I think there's a lot of value in that.

Speaker 3:

And, um, yeah, this, as I mentioned, requires a certain revenue from running the page as well.

Speaker 3:

So, um, I'm going to look into more, um, yeah, sharing, for example, the canyon water, for example, with people and also other kind of health related products.

Speaker 3:

But, uh, moreover, I want to shift the attention from people you know it's not just about healthy drinking water and the reality of you know that you're waking up to that water we are using is bad or something like that um, but I want to shift also the focus a little bit on on nature. You know, I think health and nature is very closely related, and what is important to me is that, yeah, maybe I like what I'm aiming for midterm is to create something such as a retreat for decision makers, for, you know, stress managers that actually want to to kind of de-stress do it in nature, maybe learn something on the side that's a beautiful vision you know, yeah, such as you know natural ways of like you know hunting, hunting, fishing, growing some crops on your own, maybe planting some trees, like stuff that connects you again with nature, because I see there's a huge disconnect, which is also part of the health issues we experience.

Speaker 3:

And, um, yeah, why this kind of group of people? I mean, I would love to also offer that to other people, but that'll be something for later um, but it's important. Yeah, good, yeah, it's important that they you know, like that the decision makers make a start right, that they decide okay, this decision is gonna um eventually affect nature in a way, and how can I maybe model this um decision so that it's? It's not um? Yeah, how would you say that? I think you know what I mean, but it's not.

Speaker 2:

It's like adding value to our planet and to people yes, he's still providing a good product, but it's not in. It's also negatively impacting, but even positively impacting, yes the environment and people. I do think that, uh, you know, I don't know if you track the robert f kennedy appointment in the united states to the Health and Human Services and one of the first things they want to do is take fluoride out of the water. Might think he's a, he's a crackpot or whatever, but I actually believe that he is not.

Speaker 2:

He's a well researched, a very smart guy and if you look at how he takes care of himself he's pretty buff, by the way, I mean for his age he's, very he is, and his whole thing is bringing us back to taking care of our metabolic health and stop seeing the the, you know, just allowing the consumption of certain things into our body and then healthcare's responsibility is to mask or remove those symptoms that were caused because of what we ingested into our body and because we didn't exercise at all the things that you're talking about. So I see what Air of Health is doing is reinforcing that side of taking personal responsibility for our health. Stop just consuming unconsciously. Think about what you're putting in your body. Understand the value of taking time off to be in nature, to connect with other people and community outside of work, where you can just enjoy yourself. Yes, have a glass of red wine with a friend.

Speaker 2:

That will counter any negative effects of the wine, because you're really connecting with somebody and you're feeling that appreciation and that connection. So I appreciate everything you said today on the show and we might have you back again. Any final words for you as we close out today Anything you wanted to share, just to feel complete in today's conversation.

Speaker 3:

Yes, maybe. I think it's important to say that I noticed that a lot of people just want to be told what to do, you know, but they don't want to do any thinking themselves, yes, and that can lead to unmet expectations and frustration and also feeling of helplessness, you know, and that in turn, leads to anger, maybe, and uh, yeah. So so what I really want to to get at is that, um, people also implement right, that they're not just consume information, but when they hear certain things, that they first of all, um, first of all try to, you know, like, okay, someone said, like I'm going, like you have to do this, but instead, um, maybe think about how are you personally like, like to kind of just question this, you know, that's all I'm saying critical thinking, be a critical thinker and because that will in the end like reduce frustration, you know, unmet expectations and so on, and I think that will, you know, add to your well-being yeah, I mean, that's just.

Speaker 2:

That is a great way to bring it all together. Felix, I really appreciate you saying that. I'm going to say that, being in the comfort zone, which is kind of what it's almost like we've been lured to sleep, and almost on purpose I don't want to get into conspiracy theories here, but it's almost on purpose that, because being asleep serves those that want you asleep and it's about waking up, and waking up has to do with this is my body, this is my life, this is my freedom, this is my opportunity want to live my life so that the foundation of my life is health and vitality and that I'm honoring and valuing the time that I have, so that I can decide what my big why is, what I want to do with my life, how I want to experience life, what do I want to contribute to life. And if we all begin to ask those questions, the world would change for the better 100% Right, absolutely agree.

Speaker 2:

And that's all we're asking is think for yourself, really consider what you really want to create in your life. And as for an executive, it's really essential. Their energy, their focus, their vitality is essential to your success. So those people are listening. It's essential to your success and you know as much as, as you say, coaches will preach to them all the time you got to take care of yourself. Self-care is so important. Yeah, yeah, yeah, when I have time, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then when they retire and they can't move anymore and they then they wish they would have listened.

Speaker 2:

So I want to thank you so much, felix, for being on the show, sharing your story, your insights. I know listeners will take away a lot of gems that will support them in living a full, more healthier, integrated life. So thanks again for being on the show today. Appreciate it. Thank you so much for having me Great and to all you tuning in, thank you for being part of this journey with us. Your time and attention mean the world to me. If you found today's discussion valuable, please help us by spreading the word, by letting your colleagues know, friends and family or anyone that may benefit from listening to Unfazed and on Fire. Remember, you can catch this and all episodes and video on YouTube and on audio on 18 platforms, including Apple Podcasts, spotify, amazon Music. Until next time, keep leading with purpose, take good care of yourself, take some of this to heart and have a great rest of your day. This is David Kiergatz, a leadership alchemist, signing off. Thanks again.