The Burn Podcast by Ben Newman
Join Ben Newman, highly regarded Performance Coach, International Keynote Speaker and 2x WSJ Best-Seller, as he takes you into the minds of some of the highest performers in sports and business to tell their full story. The "Burn" is something we all have, but rarely do people uncover and connect to it. Ben helps people from all walks of life reach their true maximum potential.
Ben has worked with coaches and players from the last 6 Super Bowl Champion teams and currently serves as the Performance Coach for the Big 12 Champion Kansas State football team in his 9th season (3 National Championships at North Dakota State) with Head Coach Chris Klieman. Ben served 5 years as the Mental Conditioning Coach for the 18x National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide football team. Lastly, Ben also has served at his alma mater as a Performance Coach for Michigan State University’s football and basketball programs.
For the last two decades, Ben has been serving as the Peak Performance Coach for the top 1% of financial advisors globally and for Fortune 500 business executives.
Ben’s clients have included: Microsoft, United States Army, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Quicken Loans, MARS Snackfoods, AstraZeneca, Northwestern Mutual, AFA Singapore, Mass Financial Group, Frontier Companies, Wells Fargo Advisors, Great West Life Canada, Boston Medical Center, Boys & Girls Club of America, New York Life as well as thousands of executives, entrepreneurs, athletes and sales teams from around the globe.
Millions of people and some of the top performers in the world have been empowered by Ben through his books, educational content, coaching programs, podcast, and live events.
The Burn Podcast by Ben Newman
Living One Hand at a Time with Chris Welton
This week's episode on 'The Burn' we chat with the energetic and charismatic, Chris Welton. Chris takes us deeper into his life's toughest battles, and how he rose above them by literally 'staying in the game'. Be it baseball, football, wrestling, or basketball, Chris is the living embodiment of the saying, 'where there's a will, there's a way'. His heart-wrenching encounter with personal loss serves as a testament to his indomitable spirit, manifesting in an awe-inspiring transformation. We also delve into his philosophy on the power of coaching, shedding light on the immense influence a coach can have on one's life.
Follow Chris on Instagram: @onehandatatime
https://www.bennewmancoaching.com
************************************
Learn about our Upcoming events and programs:
https://www.workwithbnc.com
Let’s work TOGETHER https://www.bennewmancoaching.com
Let's work together to write YOUR next book- BNC Publishing
Send us a message
Order my latest book The STANDARD: Winning at YOUR Highest Level: https://amzn.to/3DE1clY
1st Phorm | The Foundation of High Performance Nutrition
1stPhorm.com/bnewman
Connect with me everywhere else:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/continuedfight
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Continuedfight/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ContinuedFight
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-newman-b0b693
75 hard with one hand, physically doing what you do help us understand how you've embraced this part of your life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I was born this way, right. So God did this to me to help, so I can help other people who are in the same boat ["The Burn"].
Speaker 1:Welcome back to another episode of the Burn. I am Ben Newman and you know how we do this. Every single week, we're bringing to you the story of an athlete, a celebrity, an entertainer, somebody who's performing at their highest possible level, who's recognized that there's an underlying burn that ignites why and purpose, because why and purpose is not enough. And igniting that why and purpose with the Burn is what causes you to show up when you don't feel like it. Standard over feelings, but especially after you win. Today's guest is an amazing story of how we got connected, how we're even recording right now, and I couldn't be any more excited for you to hear a story that is going to blow your mind. This is a story of courage, this is a story of taking action and this is a story with a gentleman who decides, regardless of excuses that he could make, that I am going to attack life one day at a time, one hand at a time, one Jordan at a time. So, with no further ado, my friend Chris Welton, welcome to the Burn.
Speaker 2:And thank you so much. I was listening to the intro. I'm like man, I really want to listen to this episode. This guy must be really cool. So thank you, that was really cool.
Speaker 1:Well, chris, you are really cool and I cannot wait to dive into this. Since we connected, there's just been a great energy, authenticity and we're going to dive right into it. So when I got in touch with the Alabama football program, it was because I had the courage to send a street sign to Nick Saban to get his attention based off a quote that he said in a press conference after they won the national championship in 2012. A lot of people don't know that story. Like that's how I got to Alabama. I literally had a street sign made at hung in his office, so I was blown away when a similar technique was used with me when you sent me a box.
Speaker 1:Now, for those of you that know, I always joke with my wife Amy, I say honey, and when I grew up in a house. So, for those of you that have grabbed a copy of the book the Standard, I go a little bit deeper into my relationship with my father and some of the pain that I had to go through and endure. And my dad went through a lot in his life with addiction and things of that nature, and so I always joke with my wife honey, if I'm addicted to working out and buying Air Jordans. That's a good thing. I could be addicted to a lot of other things. So if everybody listening could picture this, I get this Jordan box. It's got the gold Jordan symbol on it. I'm like who sent this to me? You got this letter and I open it up and there's one Jordan in this box. I'm like what the? So then you're reading this letter and the letters from Chris Welton and it says some really kind things which I appreciated. It was very intentional the things that were written on that note. And it said I'm requesting a 15 minute Zoom call with you and if you give me 15 minutes, I'll send you the other Jordan. I'm like this guy is brilliant. I mean, it literally took me back to me sending that street sign to Nick Saban.
Speaker 1:And so, chris, wherever you want to start with this story, you had me at the one Jordan. Obviously you and I connected. We've obviously done some fun things together and it's been fun to continue and to build our relationship. But where did you come up with that idea? How did it start? And tell us the one Jordan which I'm just going to plant a seed here. Everybody's got to hear this. It started with one Jordan as the nature of our relationship, but it's also listen to the brilliance of this, because I'm not the only one who got that one Jordan, there are some others. The title of Chris's upcoming book is it started with one Jordan. Fricking awesome, chris Welton, how did you get going with this idea?
Speaker 2:All right, so I call myself the self-proclaimed king of R&D, which is ripoff and duplicate. So if I see somebody had an idea that worked and I'm going to jump in and try the same thing. But Bradley had made a post on Instagram about hey, connect with people by sending a shoe or do this or that or whatever. I was like OK, that's a great idea. I'm a big Jordan fan, so I have the same addiction with Jordans. If I could turn the camera around right now, you go. I can't even believe you can fit in the room with all the shoeboxes that are in there. And it had a personal thing for me, because Jordans have been the shoe that I always wanted. As a kid couldn't afford, but later in life, when I knew that I could get there, it meant a lot to me to have as many pairs of Jordans as possible. So then I had to come up with a list of who I wanted to send the Jordans to, and I've been a follower of you, ben, since I heard you on MFCO project a long time ago. Like you resonated with me the voice, just the way you talked about football and everything else, and I was like I really need to connect with Ben. I know we had some similar friends, but I've got to figure out a way to do it.
Speaker 2:I got the Jordan and I did some research to get your shoe size, which is always a weird question. A lot of people don't want to answer that question or they think we're. Damon West had a really crazy response. It's not clean so I'll put that on the air right now. But when I sent Damon his shoe but so I found out your size, I sent you the shoe and then I crossed my fingers and hoped it worked and, amazingly enough, all of a sudden I get this text message from a number I don't recognize and it says you've got my attention and it was from Ben Newman.
Speaker 2:I'm like this is unbelievable. And we set up a call December 26th, day after Christmas, in this office I'm sitting in right now my home studio and we got on here and the rest is history and it's been a life changing relationship for me in such a short period of time. It gives me inspiration every day to put my standards over feelings, which is something I focus on every single day. And then I had to come up with my burn. Like you inspired me to figure out what my burn was gonna be and it took me some time and effort, but I was on a run one morning and I shot a video to you on what my burn was.
Speaker 1:And so let's continue there, cause the you know, the Jordan is the amazing story. The Jordan, I think, for everybody listening, is, you know what caught my attention, which opened the door for the relationship. So for those of you who are thinking, gosh, if I reached out to so-and-so, if I reached out to her, if I reached out to him, like would this work? Like, just take the action. You know, one of the things I've loved is now it's a book, because there's some amazing stories that you will share in the book. But there's also people who have said no or people who didn't respond. But you kept going right, you didn't stop, and so I think for so many people, we have to choose to be courageous. So it leads us to you and I having a conversation about your burn and talking about CJ. So if you could I know this is emotional, but this is what people come to expect I think it's what caused us to really build a great relationship together and a real relationship together Tell us about CJ and tell us about your burn, chris.
Speaker 2:So CJ is my son. He was born in 2020, july 2nd, right in the middle of COVID. Cj was born at seven months. We had some. He had some heart issues but we thought he was gonna be okay. When he was born at seven months he weighed over seven pounds and had a full head of hair. I mean the kid was gonna be 11 or 12 pounds. I mean he was just gonna be a big kid. And he came out and had some heart issues and we thought we'd be able to navigate it and get through it.
Speaker 2:And I'd been at the hospital all day with my wife she needed to rest and they were taking care of him and I decided to come home and go to sleep. So three o'clock in the morning I get a phone call from my wife and she says you need to get to the hospital. Cj's in cardiac arrest. That's a call nobody wants to get. So I jumped in my truck and anybody knows Orlando. I live in Lake Mary, north Orlando. I get on I-4 and I'm heading three o'clock in the morning as fast as I can. The interstates closed down due to construction. I've got to get off and cut through neighborhoods and go through back doors and do everything I can to get to the hospital.
Speaker 2:I get to the hospital, I run inside, get a new badge, get upstairs my wife calls me on the way and the other she goes. He's stable right now. I come in there and the NICU and there's people everywhere. My wife can't even stand because she had had a C-section, so she's in a wheelchair and they're talking to her son. He's fully ventilated on a ventilator and something had happened right before I left the hospital.
Speaker 2:I want to go back to real quick. And when he was in there and he was stable, I reached in and I told him that I loved him and he grabbed my finger and shook his feet and he opened his eyes. So he knew who I was like. He knew who I was and that gave me that glimmer of hope then. But here we are now in the NICU still, and then numbers are starting to roll, they're starting to fade, blood pressure's going down, things are happening. He kept getting fluid on him and then they resuscitate him again and finally, after the third time I was resuscitating him, I asked him to please stop, because we weren't getting anywhere and I knew at that point that we were going to lose CJ.
Speaker 1:It just stopped. It just stops me in my tracks every time I hear you say this but go ahead.
Speaker 2:It was in the middle of COVID. No one could come see him, it was just myself and my wife. No one could come visit us at the hospital. No one could really come see you. Nothing prepares you for the loss of a child. And my wife and I were talking about this last night in the living room and Preparing for this conversation, because she knew this would come up, and I said I want you to understand something. We had a decision to make after CJ passed. We both could have gone separate directions, which most people do in relationships like that. What happened to Nikki and I is we got incredibly stronger. We're stronger, our relationships better.
Speaker 2:And when I just try to figure out what my burn was going to be, the reason CJ's my burn is because people can see what I do, they hear what I say, they see what I post on social, but they don't see everything. Cj sees everything that I do. So my burn is to make sure I don't do anything I'm not supposed to do. I Do everything I am supposed to do. Hmm, this morning, when I woke up at 5 am and I didn't want to get my cold plunge for five minutes at 45 degrees, I always think about him saying hey, daddy, you need to get this done, you need to make those extra calls. Hey daddy, you need to get this done, you need to call. Call my siblings. Hey daddy, like that's where my burn is and that resonated with me so much. I just I was on that run and I was listening to one of your episodes. I'm like that's it. I'm sending Ben a video right now, like this is my burn, this is what it is. I want to put it out there and so many good things have happened in my life Since then. And I know it's him. I Know it's him.
Speaker 2:We have the weirdest thing that happens every day at 5 52 pm. I can't explain it. Alexa comes on and plays music at our house every day at 5 52 pm. It's not set, it's nothing else there. And when I turn my TV off on my master bedroom, every now and then it'll turn back on and I'm like CJ's messing with us. I just feel his presence with me. Nothing like I've ever felt before. And the way I looked at it was is God needed him more than me, more than I needed them? He was a superman. He was soup, like to be that big and that strong. That early on he was needed somewhere else and it took me a long time to grasp that I had a tough relationship with God, or after that happened, because I couldn't you couldn't explain to me, I couldn't understand why, like I just could not for the life of me understand how this baby couldn't make it when so many others mistreat their kids and and things don't happen the right way.
Speaker 2:Cj has been a Catalyst in my life. He's with me every day. He pushes me to get on calls and be uncomfortable. He pushes me to send out one Jordan. He pushes me to be a better husband. He pushes me to take care of myself, to complete my 75 hard, to do the things I need to do, to take action. And he's also pushed us to have another baby and we are currently pregnant right now. So now I'm getting choked up with CJ's little brother, leo Christopher, and he will. He's due January. So God is shining on us right now and everything's perfect and everything's on track and and yeah, I'm 50 years old, I'll be 51 when he's born but, man, I got a long way to go, a long way to go.
Speaker 1:Well, chris, you know how emotional of a guy I am and you, you, you've got me pretty deep right now. Let's, let's give the listeners because I don't think they anticipate we were gonna go here let's give him something to smile about. What did you post on Instagram yesterday for Leo?
Speaker 2:Oh well, so, being the big Jordan fan that I am, I bought Joe, bought Leo his first pair of Jordans. I got him some Jordan ones and and I and I posted out there and we announced to the world through social that we are expecting and everything's going great, and put a nice little video out there of his little J's and I've got a matching pair, of course, and this kid is gonna be something special. You know they did testing on the embryos and stuff and he was what's called a 5a, a plus plus, which is less than 5% of all embryos. So we are taking NIL offers already and we can have conversations. I'm 6, 5 and his mom's.
Speaker 1:Saying. So I was hoping you weren't gonna mention the 6 5, because I wanted to do it. So I had no idea for everybody listening. Look how Chris sits in his damn chair here Like so when I'm interviewing him or the. But actually, would you know he's really interviewing me for this first 15 minute call. I mean, you really have no idea. Like I'm six foot two and some people think you know that I'm a shorter guy and then they Meet me in person or see me on a stage like oh my gosh, like you're really tall, chris. I kind of thought the same of you. I had no idea I'm like you know, I don't five, eight, five, nine, it's like I'm six, five, like bro, why do you sit down? But it's just like the camera angle and then I can't fit under my desk.
Speaker 2:If I don't, my legs are so big I've got to sit the chair down. I can't fit into the desk.
Speaker 1:So I've seen pictures of you and even, like you know, when you're working out you can't really tell, but Like he's being serious, like he is six foot five and Chris is a great athlete. So I want to get into another part of your story because some people would say well, well, great athlete. Like you know, I saw Chris raise his arms here in the middle of the you know interview, ben, and what do you mean? He's an athlete that now I understand, behind his head at the name of his podcast, one hand at a time. I, chris has one hand.
Speaker 1:So what I love about Chris no excuses in anything. You know there were no excuses in his personal life. You know to part ways when CJ really has become a burn and a light in his life rather than a tragedy that's held him and his wife back. You know the thoughts of how cool would it be when I hear on Bradley's show to send to Jordan. He's done it, so he's a man of action. And so now I want you to take us back to really such a powerful part of your story that you don't use as an excuse, you don't allow it to hold you back. You actually use it as a light in your life to show people what's possible, one hand at a time, is because you have one hand One hand, yeah, and you've done 75 hard. You've done things that people are unwilling to do with one hand. You have got to go.
Speaker 1:Obviously, we're going to link so that you guys have opportunities to buy the book and to keep in touch with Chris and to follow him on social media. You've got to see videos of Chris working out, like Chris is coming to Las Vegas boot camp. Like I can't wait to do the unrequired with Chris. He does our unrequired workout, which, for those of you that have done it, I'm talking push-ups, I'm talking planking. You're talking about these exercises where you say, well, how can Chris do it? So, chris, let me shut up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's 75 hard with one hand, physically doing what you do. Help us understand how you've embraced this part of your life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I was born this way. So, son of a drug addict, my mother decided to do drugs when she's pregnant and that's the reason I was born missing my left arm and I never let it hold me back. Throughout life I was a really good baseball player. I played football and I also wrestled and I'm a great basketball player as well. But as I got older in life I'm like I'm not going to let this slow me down either. But when I saw something like a 75 hard and I'm a big follower of Andy and Ed and the whole first form and just everything I'm like I can do that and I needed it I didn't realize how much I needed it. But I go out there and I go in the gym and I bring it every day and my goal is for everybody else to see me to get some inspiration, whether they have one hand or two, and it's amazing that I love it when people come to me hey, you're so inspiring. I appreciate that. Like. Well, that keeps me going. It keeps me motivated. Now your workout, Ben, is a different level. I'm working there, brother, I'm trying to get there, but I know you didn't start the plank at four minutes and 44 seconds like that, Like, unless you're just an alien I don't know about. But so I'm working on that to get there. I'm training now to get to that point so I can be competitive with it when we get. To get there. I won't let my arm hold me back. I just did the Merse over Memorial Day weekend, right, and I look at it as a huge advantage. It's not a disadvantage.
Speaker 2:I was speaking to a group of kids the other day at a foster home. There was about 40 kids in their ages 13 to 17. And I was talking to them about the loss of my limb, but also that God did this to me to help. So I can help other people who are in the same boat, right? So it's my job, my responsibility, to help other people with limb differences understand what they're capable of doing. Not just limb difference people, but people who don't have a limb and are making excuses. We talk about this all the time when we're on the phone, Ben. It's like these people are making all these excuses but I can't get to the gym and they can't do this and they can't do that. That's all in their head, right? If I can get out there and do it, if I can tie my shoe with one hand, if I can cross over dribble you with one hand, if I can outplay you in golf. I mean, if I can do all those things, then why can't you?
Speaker 1:Chris, you know, one of the things that I love and admire about you is perseverance in every area of your life, and we've just covered it and there's so much more. But one of the things that I really love and it's where we really connect is you're not a motivational speaker, you're not an inspirational speaker, you're a coach Like. You want to coach people, you want to make a long-term difference in people's lives and there's nothing wrong with somebody going and doing just a motivational keynote or inspiration. Those things change people's lives. You know Inky Johnson, who I love. His messages Inky's very clear, like he doesn't even want to coach, like he just wants to speak and he blows people away with just speaking. But you want to be a coach Like. That's a big difference for you. And I think that's where we really connected.
Speaker 1:Because you know me doing this for 18 years, you know I've now realized that, yeah, sometimes I get thrown into the category motivational speaker. I'm brought into keynote, a big event, and it's one hour and that's all I get with the audience. And you know you fight to make a difference. But I want to coach, I want to drive long-term growth and sustainability. Why is that also a difference for you rather than just being a speaker, because with what you just shared today, you could go give a keynote, blow people away and have a crazy busy schedule. And I recommend, like you need to bring Chris Welton to your events, you need to book him to speak, you need to bring him into do speaking and coaching with your organization. But why is the difference for you, chris, coaching, not just being a speaker?
Speaker 2:You know, it goes back to when I was a kid. Coaches changed my life in sports, right, when someone took an interest in me personally and they poured into me and they believed in me and then they gave me the tools to be successful. Here we are now and we're corporate athletes these days. Right, we've outgrown kind of our physical athletes where we're not. I'm not going to get paid at 50 to be an athlete. Maybe, I don't know, maybe Jordan signs me now because of the book.
Speaker 1:But you know it's hey, that may just happen with what you're doing.
Speaker 2:I'm okay, jordan brand, I'm available. But you know, for me it's how can I have a massive impact on people? I love to speak, I love to tell my story because it resonates with a lot of people. Everybody's been through challenges in life, but then I love that one on one and I love that group. I like to track growth. I'm a king of accountability. I love accountability. I love the text messaging back and forth with my coaching clients. This is what we're doing, this is where we're going, and my job is a coachman and a lot of coaches don't like to hear this, but for me, I want to coach you so well that I can't coach at your level anymore. But you've outgrown me. But but let me tell you this good luck with that, because I bring it every day. I'm like you. I'm coached by multiple coaches. I read every day, I do everything I'm supposed to do. But if I give you all the tools necessary and you outgrown me, I'm okay with that. Okay with that. And we talk about legacy right, for me, legacy is I want to touch as many lives as possible.
Speaker 2:When I'm gone, people can say Chris Walton changed my life in a positive way because he did this with me. He did that with me. He showed me how to be a better father, a better parent. He showed me how to be better with my money. He helped me change my life. Those things are so invaluable Like I can't even put a dollar amount on that. For me, it's just about understanding the importance of helping other people get from A to B, and I don't think there's enough people out there doing that, and the leaders, unfortunately in corporate America today and a lot of companies they're not there. They need people like myself to step in and help. They need people like Numen to do the same. So I'm inspired by what you do and other people in our field, but you're my guy. You know that, like I mean, that's who I'm modeling my stuff after, and that's why I want to spend as much time on you as possible.
Speaker 1:Chris, I just I admire how you show up. You know how I feel about you and I just I want people to spend time getting to know Chris Welton more, because it's special how you show up, the level of intention, the level of discipline. When you could have all the excuses in the world why you would choose not to, and you choose to take action every day. I want to leave everybody with something that I think is so unique about you. So I was a financial advisor, as many people know, so I still I don't even know why, chris I keep all of my custom made suits. I mean, you could go into my closet. I literally wear black every day. Now. It's a black t-shirt, it's a black golf shirt, it's a pair of Jordan's black pants, black shirt, everything's black, but I still keep all these suits. I hardly ever speak in suits anymore, but I keep these suits. You have custom suits made and I'm going to have you talk about these custom suits and you even so, I lost Vegas boot camp, the opening reception, so Chris and I are texting back and forth.
Speaker 1:The opening was that you know when do I need to fly in? And so, while it's a James Bond casino Royale, the Palms is allowing us to rent out their entire ghost bar. We're turning it into a casino. Ed Milet and I are going to kick it off black tie event. And what was your response to me about what you were going to have done for that opening black tie event? And I want you to go in the detail of it because I think it's awesome.
Speaker 2:So I have a custom made tux. That's been made. It's black satin paisley. Now my left arm's tailored so it looks just like everybody else's arm would be. When you open the tux up, the whole inside is blue butterflies because that's a symbol of my son, cj. On the right hand side it says standards over feelings and the left hand side it says iron sharpens iron. So that's, that's my, that's my tuxedo, and I have a fresh pair of a black 11 J's to wear with that night. So I'm going to be on point. Yeah, it was funny because I met Ed the other day and I had on this powder blue sport code in these powder blue Jordans and Ed's like man, chris, you look like a million bucks, and so that was like okay, now I gotta keep representing. If Ed noticed it, I gotta keep bringing it.
Speaker 1:So I love it. I love it. Well, we can't wait to see you in Vegas and it's hard to believe, as close as our relationship is becoming, that we still haven't met in person. So I absolutely cannot wait. I hope, for everybody listening, that you make the choice right Look at all the choices that Chris has made to take action.
Speaker 1:I want you to take the action step of following Chris Welkin. I want you to take the action step of realizing what you can do when you break down your barriers and your obstacles and you just go for it. Whether it's doing something courageous from a branding and marketing perspective, like he's done, to make this happen, to go build your business. Whether it's tackling head on the adversity and challenge in your life so that you allow CJ, the loss of his son, to be the burn that allows him to keep going in order to give more, to now have the beautiful birth of Leo, which will be in January, all the way down to having your custom made suits, to be proud that you're going to have that thing tailored with one arm, because one hand has never held him back from anything.
Speaker 1:We've got to stop living to our excuses. We've got to stop living to our feelings. Chris, I don't know if you have any final thoughts, but I just want to say thank you for living a life where you choose standard over feelings. That's not something you say, it's a manner in which you choose it. So thank you for coming on the burn. I'm going to turn it over to you to drop the mic.
Speaker 2:I just want to say thank you for letting me. I mean, the fact that I'm on the show right now is just surreal for me. I have goosebumps, but, man, thank you for being so receptive to the shoe and connecting with me and I just my life has changed so much with you in it and I can't wait to see where we go moving forward.
Speaker 1:Well, chris, thank you. Thank you to each and every single one of you. Let's all move forward together. Share this episode with somebody who needs to hear it. Subscribe so that you can get this fire and this burn every single week and, until next week, stay connected to your burn, because why and purpose is not enough. It's the burn that ignites the why and the purpose that causes you to show up when you don't feel like it, but especially after you win. Look out for me and don't miss out on really exciting shows from anyone you seed.
