How High Performers Can Fuel Energy Without Burning Out w/ Rob Tracz
Welcome to Journey to the Sunny Side, the podcast where we have thoughtful conversations to explore the science of habits, uncover the secrets to mindful living, and of course, your own mindful drinking journey. In part two of my chat with performance coach Rob Tracks, we go from personal story to practical tools. Rob walks us through his Jeep framework, how to fuel your body, clean up your inputs, and create an environment that actually supports your goals. We get into energy, resilience, alcohol, and why trying to power through usually backfires. If you're done with the all or nothing approach and want to feel better while still performing at a high level, this one's for you.
Speaker 1:Alright. We're gonna shift gears a little bit now, and we're gonna talk we're gonna continue talking about habits. We're gonna get into how you work with your clients, energy, lasting change. And you have something called the intentional consumption wheel. So can you explain what that is and how it helps people recognize their patterns more clearly?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So the intentional consumption wheel was a tool that I had used when I first kind of launched into my coaching and and was building it up to kind of bring awareness to what gives us solopreneurs or early stage entrepreneurs our energy and motivation to show up each day to tackle the different projects and different seasons that we go through. The tool itself was basically to shine the light on exactly what we're fueling ourselves with and the environment that we create around ourselves. And since then, the intentional consumption wheel really has actually evolved into the Jeep framework that I'm using now. So, like, the JEP.
Speaker 1:Tell us about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I'm a big Jeep fan. I've always driven in Jeeps my whole life and Jeep Jeep Wrangler specifically. And I've always loved it.
Speaker 1:I had one. I had one, but it was a four cylinder when I was in my twenties. It was the only one I could afford. And it had so little power that when I probably got on the freeway, I could barely get it to 70. And if I hit any kind of, like, slight incline, I had to drop that manual transmission into fourth gear.
Speaker 1:But they were fun to ride around in.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. And that's what I love about them. Right? It's they're fun.
Speaker 2:You can take them off roading, pop the doors off, the roof off, and it's just kinda like a fun vehicle.
Speaker 1:Totally.
Speaker 2:And I really see myself as, like, a Jeep myself. So I'm like, okay. I'll try to have fun. I like to I could be rough and tough if I need to out in the rugby pitch or running around with friends or whatever I'm doing. So I really embodied the Jeep Wrangler brand almost.
Speaker 2:So I use that as a great tool. Jeep framework is an acronym. So whenever I'm working with an individual and we're talking about energy and motivation, we start with the What is the journey of the project that you're looking to build or what is the business that you're trying to scale or work on? And understanding the journey first. So J for Jeep is the journey.
Speaker 2:What are the deadlines? What are the milestones you're looking to get to, and where are you at currently? And being able to do a GPS analysis on it. So what is the goal? What's the purpose behind it?
Speaker 2:And what's your strategy that you currently have? That really allows us to kinda dig in and set the boundaries for the project. Then we move to the second letter, which is e, the first e, and that is the engine. So what is the engine of your Jeep? What is what are you fueling yourself with?
Speaker 2:And we kinda dive into looking at the nutritional standpoint. So what kinda proteins are you using and teaching how the proteins build are the building blocks for your body, and having good quality proteins are gonna help you have strong bones and strong muscles. The carbohydrates that you're consuming are kinda like the gasoline or the fuel that you're putting in that's gonna give you the energy so you can go. And and then the healthy fats and that you're consuming. That's kinda like the oil, the oil changes and making sure that the machine runs efficiently and smoothly.
Speaker 2:And then looking at all that is in a whole and looking at your diet and what you typically have and then be making small adjustments because maybe it's a time or a season where you are gonna need to be working really hard and working late nights, it might be important to plan ahead so you don't default to, like, the late night pizzas and such like I was when I was in robot mode. So you can plan ahead and be proactive on that. And then that wraps up that first e. We move to the second e, which is the environment. And I put a lot of emphasis on dietary nutrition because that's where my background is really strong with strength and conditioning.
Speaker 2:But there's another side too that I feel like we often forget about, which is the digital nutrition and the type of environment, like the types of content that you're consuming, the place that you surround yourself with. Are you doom scrolling on social media or you binge watching Netflix, or are you listening to great podcasts like this that all inspire and motivate and educate you so that you can fuel yourself up and have that motivation to keep showing up day after day. And then we move into the final, which is the P or the performance of yourself. So then this is where you kind of bring awareness to the how much and how often are you consuming the things that you need to. And going back to the Jeep, like we've talked about the journey, we talked about the engine that fuels us, and then also the environment too.
Speaker 2:If you think about the digital nutrition as the environment, Think about driving the Jeep down the road. Sometimes you get some bugs splattered or some dirt kicked up on your windshield. And you could think of that as like the binging of the Netflix and the social media kind of doom scrolling, which is okay. But too much of that is gonna clog up your vision, and that'll slow down your journey. So what you do is you hit the wipers, you hit the washer fluid, wipes it off, and now you've got a clear vision, and you can go ahead.
Speaker 2:So you could think about that wiper fluids in the washers or washer fluid in the wipers like the motivational stuff, like the Sunnyside podcast or listening to great books or taking a new coaching course or whatever. And that'll clear it away and get you back on track. But at the same time, too much of a good thing can also slow down and hinder your performance as well, just like getting caught in a thunderstorm where it's raining so hard that your wipers are going as fast as they can, but you still have to put on the hazardous lights and slow down a little bit. And that's where that final letter p, performance, comes into play is you wanna make sure that you're checking in. Okay.
Speaker 2:Am I fueling myself and setting my environment up so that it adequately helps me get to that goal? Or am I kind of overloading where now I'm just taking in too too much information that it slows me down? Like, when I made that shift out of strength and conditioning, I was consuming as many podcasts as I could, as many books as I could, And it was slowing me down because I was not taking action on creating the new coaching that I wanted to. I was just too busy consuming all the information. And I was kind of in a thunderstorm where I needed to slow down, and I never really got to launching the business until I pumped the brakes and redialed in.
Speaker 2:Like, okay. I need some time to breathe, and I need some time to take action on all these things that I'm learning. Put it all together, and there you go. You've got the Jeep framework.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. Okay. I wanna make sure I got it right. Journey, engine, environment, performance. Exactly.
Speaker 1:I love it, man. That's awesome. And, you know, what you just said at the end there, it's so funny. And, like, I think that I'm always gonna be a lifelong learner, but I think you go through these seasons in your entrepreneurial or career or wherever you whatever we're talking about where you just over consume information. And then you get to a point and you're like, yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't I don't do that. I don't read a 100 books a year anymore, and I don't do all like, you realize that you have to protect what you consume as well even when it's positive things. Like, you don't wanna over consume negative things, of course, but it it also goes both ways. It can you can over consume too much of a good thing.
Speaker 2:You know that new guy or not new guy, but the I think his name is Brian Johnson, the guy who doesn't wanna die. So he's going to the extreme with everything that he's doing, and he's talking about living forever and and all those things. But I have to ask, like, okay. Are you actually living though? Like, if you can't just enjoy some ice cream or if you just go out and have something because it's like an anniversary or something, are you really living or are you just kind of staying alive?
Speaker 2:And that's where I think exactly what you're saying. Like, too much of a good thing can also be, like, hazardous. Yeah. That that's
Speaker 1:a whole weird thing going on over there that I don't really get, and I I am kinda like everything you said clicks the same way because I I mean, I saw a clip. If anybody doesn't know, it's like this guy that takes tons of supplements and does crazy blood work and all these crazy extremes saying that he's gonna live forever or whatever hundred years or something. I don't even know the whole story. I just it doesn't it doesn't appeal to me, but I saw something that he said, I don't my last meal is at 11AM. I'm like, that sounds horrible.
Speaker 1:So alright. Let's get back into into some of your strategies here because managing energy, which actually today I could use. Last night, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep, and I've stumbled over a couple of my words today. But what does effective energy management look like to you in everyday life?
Speaker 2:Yeah. I think it it everyday life, that's a tough one because I feel like everyday life goes back to different seasons that you're in. So for me, I'm coming off of a little bit of a relaxed season. Just got back from vacation last week, and now I'm gearing up to shift into another sprint season in another week or two. So I'm kind of enjoying some of the downtime, little bit more relaxed schedule at the moment.
Speaker 2:A lot of my clients are also away, so my client calls are down for right now. But it's like, okay, yeah, I can enjoy some downtime, I can do some more fun things, can prep and plan for ahead. And as I get into that sprint season where a lot of people are back and I'm taking calls and teaching workshops and such, it's gearing those things up and understanding how long I'm gonna be going for. So making sure that I do get my workouts in, I'm getting good adequate sleep, and eating well to to supplement myself for those sprint seasons. But right now, like, I'm a big fan of peanut butter.
Speaker 2:So every night, I've been crushing these, like, mega smoothies with, like, three, like, three jars of peanut butter basically in each smoothie, and it's, like, definitely not gonna help me because it, like, knocks me right out, and it's, like, way too heavy, like, 3,000 calories, but I'm enjoying it right now.
Speaker 1:I mean, I love me some peanut butter, but I I gotta be careful how much I eat of it. Actually, what's interesting is, like, you see a lot of health people saying that, you know, that peanuts aren't good and all this. And I just read an article yesterday that said, it's not this it doesn't apply to peanut butter, even natural peanut butter. But if you eat peanuts in from the shell with the brown coating on it, that it is, like, a huge to some production. I obviously, nobody quote me here, but some production in your body for longevity, which was kinda interesting.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I remember seeing something about that as well. But, yeah, I'm a huge fan of it too. I just like it, and I don't I'm not doing it. I'm not having those smoothies every single day for the year, but I know I gotta have a little bit of time to enjoy myself now, so I'm leaning into it.
Speaker 2:Yeah. You definitely have
Speaker 1:to enjoy it. I mean, if you're gonna go overboard on some things, it's like, pick the things that you really in that you really like and that aren't gonna impact you that much, especially for the long term. But when we're talking about this, we we don't have to get into, like, even though you're a health expert, alcohol drains energy, affects recovery. I think people understand that. But what I really wanna know is, like, from the high achievers that and high performers that you work with, how do you make them recognize that impact in their daily lives if they don't, like, already voluntarily say, yeah.
Speaker 1:I see it.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I think it's just kind of reflecting on it a little bit more and making sure that when we do check-in, okay. How did we do this week with the things that we said we wanted to shoot out and try to achieve? Did we how do we feel if we didn't hit them? How do we feel if we did hit them?
Speaker 2:What maybe could have been better? Or how do you think like, what could have changed or etcetera, just going through those different kind of questions. And, typically, if someone is eating unhealthy or they're consuming too much or alcohol is playing a negative effect, like, role in their situation, eventually, kinda comes out. And then it's a conversation of, like, okay. Is this beneficial to what we're doing right now?
Speaker 2:And then, like, is there a way that we can kinda work things around? Can we cut out certain things or cut back on certain strategies? And one way or another, when you kind of plan out to see, like, where the highest priority is, that's where it can kinda come into play that, okay, maybe we need to change something in our diet or maybe we are spending too much time doomscrolling so we're distracted and not getting our outbound reach out or whatever it may be. But I think it comes it all starts from the awareness and being able to reflect consciously on what's been going on short term and then looking at the longer term picture as well.
Speaker 1:Was there anything that you got in when you got into this style of coaching with these clients around alcohol that surprised you?
Speaker 2:I don't wanna say surprised because I felt like a lot of the high achievers were going out for different, like, sales meetings and etcetera. So I wasn't necessarily surprised, but it definitely is a major factor for going out for dinners, late night dinners. It affects then the early morning workouts and productivity on a lot of different things. And I do see a lot of people nowadays kinda cutting back and having more mocktails and and trying their best at least to kind of pump the brakes when they are kind of it does play a negative role in their day to day.
Speaker 1:That was actually one of the other questions in my mind that I wanted to ask because if you're seeing from when you started to where we are today, any change in sort of the attitude or motivations around it when it comes to to people wanting to make change and better their lives. Maybe they didn't start, you know, with alcohol in mind, but as they're working with you and improving in other ways, are you seeing any sort of trend between, you know, your starting point and today?
Speaker 2:I would. Yeah. I I work with a decent amount of younger guys, younger than me. So, like, in the mid twenties and early thirties, and a lot of them are kind of starting it off by, like, cutting out alcohol or cutting back on alcohol. And it's interesting to see.
Speaker 2:I feel like you would know better than I would, but it seems like younger generations now are kind of shying away from drinking as much as maybe older generations.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean, it's definitely that's what's being reported. I always look at those, and and it's promising, and it's great to see. I always sort of, like I don't know if I'm being a cynic or what, but I'm like, well, people are people. And so, like, if we used alcohol socially in one way or to cope, that's not just gonna be, like, swiped away and go away.
Speaker 1:So I always wonder, like, are they doing something else? But then I also heard a really interesting report that says you would think that the decreased rates in younger people around alcohol is a good thing, but they also worry that that means that they're being less social and not going out, which impacts your health as you would probably know as well. So it's I don't know. It's really interesting. But I will say, give those guys credit in their twenties because I guarantee you, if you ask me my mid twenties, even late twenties, like, are you thinking about cutting back?
Speaker 1:I'd be like, hell no.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm a party guy. I go out. You know?
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah. That was me too. That was me as well. And going back to what you were saying, I think you're right, though. I think people are not going out quite as much, and I think they are turning to social media because they're getting, like, crazy dopamine hits just from scrolling on social media.
Speaker 2:And then there's that false sense of connection because you can communicate with others, but you're not really connecting with a lot like other individuals, but you have that idea. So I think that's kind of where people are getting or alcohol might be getting replaced. I think it's people are now turning towards social media for the dopamine, the the turning off, and kinda just scrolling at the end of the day, and you still get that sense of connection where you can communicate with other people. So I think that's where people are kinda turning to.
Speaker 1:Yeah. You know, that's a good point because if I think back to my twenties, texting was sort of new. But, really, it was like, if you wanted to have a personal correction connection, you wanted to you either needed to get on the phone, which I wasn't gonna sit on the phone with my buddy for an hour. Or it's like, hey. You know, wanna pop out for a drink?
Speaker 1:Let's go. You know? And, yeah, a lot of that has been replaced. You can chat with your friends on text, and you feel like you're being social. And to an extent, it is.
Speaker 1:But it's just nothing replaces that the same way that it used to. Now I wanna talk real quick about, your view on emotional re resilience. So what does that mean to you, and how can somebody build it?
Speaker 2:Yeah. I think emotional resilience really is your ability to, to regulate your emotions and being able to withstand a lot of the negative things that come into play, but also a lot of the positive stuff that does come into play too. Making sure that you're kind of keeping your emotions within the boundary aligned. A lot of individuals that I see who are kind of starting out in their side hustle journey or made a decision to jump into starting a business, sometimes they lack that stability emotionally where one person might say something or a client might cancel on them or somebody might ask for a refund and that just throws their whole day off. Then on the flip side, they might get five orders in one day or they might have two new people sign on as clients or something about that.
Speaker 2:Then all of a sudden they're so excited that they skip working for the next three days, and and then all of a sudden, they gotta, like like, quickly hustle to get back on track with things. And I think the emotional resilience, you can hold you accountable for both the good and the bad. And I think that's what's gonna carry over in the long term and keep you more consistent throughout the day to day. And I think it really comes from awareness. And if you or somebody who's listening who's like, yeah.
Speaker 2:I might kind of let something kind of affect me longer than maybe I wanted to, or I am jumping with too much joy where I can't get back on track the next day or whatever. I think the easiest way to kind of build some of that stuff is challenging yourself with small, little manageable challenges. Whether it's going to the gym with different things or pushing yourself in your comfort zone where you are experiencing different struggles or new experiences and new habits and learning new things. And I think through that teaches you that it's okay to kinda struggle to work through it and be aware of the different emotions that come with it, like frustration and joy for hitting new milestones and things like that. And and and trying new things too is is always an exciting and beneficial experience to go through.
Speaker 2:So I think that resilience plays a huge role in that.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Resilience is it's like one of those words that gets tossed out, but not it's not the the the most sexy of the words. You know? You wanna be strong and like, there's a lot of different attributes that we go after, but resilience is one I feel like pushes you through to all the other ones that are, like, maybe perceived at a higher level. But let's let's bring it back to where we started, and that was in some words that your dad said to you in his final days that then went on to be sort of a foundation for what you're doing today.
Speaker 1:Can you talk about what that was, what that conversation was, and what it turned into?
Speaker 2:Yeah. Of course. That was it was essentially the last conversation that I didn't have with my dad. When he was really sick and he had made the move to hospice center, I was still grinding super hard. I was working about three and a half hours away up in Connecticut and my dad was down in Philadelphia and I would essentially work all day from like 6AM to about 8PM, and then I would drive down to Philly, be by his bedside through the night, and then just run back up in the morning.
Speaker 2:And I did that for a couple of days straight running on sunflower seeds and monster energy drinks. And just praying that he wouldn't pass away while I wasn't around. And, thankfully, I was by his side, and it was it was very peaceful. It was very movie esque. It was a Tuesday morning, and the night before it had poured, it was like a crazy storm, and it was just it was just a lot of noise, a lot of thunder, and everything.
Speaker 2:And but that morning, it was quiet. It was peaceful. The sun was kinda shining in through the window, and that piece was broke from the heart rate monitor just kind of stalling out. And in that second, I remember looking up at my dad and just kinda looking in his eyes, he looked to towards me with essentially what would be his last breath. No words were actually exchanged, but looking in his eyes, I could just hear him telling me to take care of yourself and not work so hard and and to be good to your sister.
Speaker 2:And those words I I could just envision him saying, it really dug deep into me, but it it didn't really hit me until a year or two later when I really decided I was gonna shift out of strength and conditioning. And those three things that he told me to do eventually led into the three phases of my coaching program, which are look good, feel good, and do great things. Those kind of are like the three phases of my coaching essentially. It's just building resilience and managing your energy. That's where I find is like looking good or taking care of yourself.
Speaker 2:You feel good when you know where you're at and where you're going. So the clarity aspect of things and moving smoothly and efficiently through where you're at to where you wanna go, so that's the optimization or the feeling good or not working so hard as what my dad said. And then finally is the final two principles of my coaching of social support and influence, and then opportunity creation, which is really the doing great things. You're doing great things with great people and achieving new opportunities, and which for me came from my dad of being good for your sister. So being there for her and helping her also in any ways possible.
Speaker 2:Conversation that didn't happen but did happen dawned on me about two years later, and that's what stemmed the whole prime performance coaching that I've gotten out today.
Speaker 1:It's it's such a beautiful story from your last moments with your dad and and what you carried on that he taught you and that you're here sharing with everybody today. So what was your dad's name?
Speaker 2:His name was who is Bob? I was I a junior. Yeah. Rob junior.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay. Let's dedicate this episode to your dad.
Speaker 2:Oh, appreciate it.
Speaker 1:I I think that we're seeing, you know, everything leading up to that moment and that you're honoring him by carrying all this on. So so not to get too somber, but, you know, I love my dad, and I know you love your dad, so I think it's important to recognize dads. Alright. So tell me let's get into some exciting stuff. What are you focused on right now that you're most excited about?
Speaker 1:And tell people that are listening if they wanna connect with you or or learn more about what you do, where they can go.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I got a lot of things that I'm excited about are a lot of different workshops that I'm working with other organizations and facilitating. I'm doing a lot of public speaking workshops. I'm working with this organization called Art of Coaching, teaching conflict resolution, one on one communication skills, and navigating power dynamics. So those are always exciting. And then for me personally, on my side, outside of my one on one coaching, just launching a mastermind group call where we get together on Monday nights to kind of talk about personal development and creating a small safe space for people to really reflect and ask the difficult questions on ourselves and the different projects that we're working on to ultimately create momentum and generate movement forward for our projects.
Speaker 2:So I'm really excited about that mastermind group, and it's really fun. And and also my podcast too, I've just knocked over a 100 episodes recently, so I'm excited about that. And it's always great to connect with other entrepreneurs and hear about their stories, their struggles, and their secrets to high performance. So that's surviving the side hustle, if anybody's interested in checking that guy out. The easiest place to connect with me is social media.
Speaker 2:Always hanging out on Instagram and LinkedIn, and it's just simply searching my name or touching base with me on the website at robtracey.com.
Speaker 1:Alright. Everybody heard it. So Rob, thanks so much for coming, sharing. I enjoyed this conversation And, yeah, thanks a lot.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Of course. Thank you so much. This is my pleasure.
Speaker 1:This podcast is brought to you by Sunnyside, the number one alcohol moderation platform, having helped hundreds of thousands people cut out more than 13,000,000 drinks since 2020. And in fact, an independent study showed that Sunnyside reduced alcohol consumption by an average of 30% in ninety days. And as one of our members shared, Sunnyside helps me stay mindful of my drinking habits. It's not super restrictive, so if I'm craving a glass of wine with dinner, I just track it and I move on with my week. If you could benefit from drinking a bit less and being more mindful of when and how much you drink, head on over to sunnyside.co to get a free fifteen day trial.
Speaker 1:You'll get access to everything that we offer, including tracking and planning tools, coaching from our experts, a vibrant community of people just like you, and the motivation and advice to stay on track with your health goals, all with no pressure to quit. That's sunnyside.co.
Creators and Guests
