SPEAKER_02: 0:00

Welcome to the Cut the Tide Podcast. Hi, I'm your host, Thomas Helper, and I'm on that mission to help you cut the title, whatever it is holding you back from success. You better define that success yourself because otherwise you're chasing someone else's dream. And today I'm joined by John A. Brink. John, how are you?

SPEAKER_01: 0:16

I'm doing well. How about you? I'm delicious.

SPEAKER_02: 0:20

Thank you for asking. I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01: 0:22

Um take a moment, introduce yourself. Where you're from, what it is you do. I didn't quite get that, Thomas.

SPEAKER_02: 0:30

Oh, to bring up. I said take a moment to introduce yourself, where you're from, and what it is you do. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 0:35

Okay. Uh so my name is John Brink, uh, and I'm living in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. And uh, you know, the other part that you may want to know about me, I'm birthday is about a month and a half, and I'm 85 years young. And so I'm an entrepreneur, have a number of businesses. Uh my foundation is attitude, passion, work ethic, and I work harder than anybody, even now. Uh, I wrote, uh I'm working on my sixth book. I'm a very active podcaster, uh, Global 1% or better. And uh, you know, so and then my foundation is attitude. I avoid negative, don't even come close to me, and passion. Whatever I do, we give it 125% and work ethic and what will follow is success.

SPEAKER_02: 1:26

That's crazy. Well, that's awesome. I'm excited to have you on here. I'm I'm gonna learn something. Um but you you're here today. What do you what do you do? So like what's your uh what what's the uh what's the thing you want to talk about today is part of your journey as we get into you a little bit?

SPEAKER_00: 1:40

Anything that you want to talk about is uh I'm I'm very open. Uh, you know, the obviously I'm an author, I'm a business person, uh, an entrepreneur. Uh the other part that you may like is that I'm also have ADHD and and uh so uh I call it a superpower, and uh I do a lot of stuff at about 10 different companies and uh been in Canada for 60 years, was born during the Second World War in 1940, blah blah blah. Still know a lot about that, and uh you know, so in uh in the new media is obviously podcasting, and I do a lot of that. Uh I've done about uh close to 500 uh podcasts where I'm hosting, I think 455 or so, and then about 200 where I'm guesting, and uh uh that's the new media, and I love it.

SPEAKER_02: 2:38

That's fantastic. Um well, let's talk about your journey a little bit. But before we dive into, I mean, you got a you got you got a lot of stories, I'm sure. How do you define success at age 85?

SPEAKER_00: 2:49

Success for me is more than anything that during the your journey, John, all the way that you've lived, what has been the most important is probably giving back to the community and then giving back from my experience to others as to going through challenging times all the way. And I wrote a book about that, Against All Oz. Uh, you know, going through all the ups and downs along the way. And then uh obviously ADHD and dyslexia uh, you know, has been a challenge for me. And then starting from the bottom up is that uh attitude, passion, work ethic, and to stay positive at all times. And then uh and a lot of people ask me, how do I become successful? I say success will try to find you, just be ready for it.

SPEAKER_02: 3:40

I love that. And as somebody, so you know, I live the cup to tie principles, and mine this year was adult ADHD. So I just started uh the three legs of the stool, which is uh, you know, therapy environment, which is you know, just making sure you got things right, and and uh medication. So I'm I'm uh you know 49, almost 50, and I'm like you know, sorting out what 49.7 years was like, and like looking back on it, you know, with a little medication going, oh god, I gotta unravel some shit. Uh sorry, honey, my wife, I'm like, ooh. Oh, she's still here. So I feel you. Um it is a superpower, but it is uh it's a significantly a double-edged sword you can cut yourself with and often do uh along the way. Uh, would you would you agree or disagree with that statement as it relates to ADHD?

SPEAKER_00: 4:28

So for me, Thomas, that uh it was by pure coincidence that I had no idea uh about ADHD or dyslexia, no idea, until I was here in Canada already for 32 years. When uh, you know, so and at the time that I was virtually in 1997, January 1997, I was here for 32 years. And so uh walked into a bookstore and I found a book Driven to Distraction. And I picked up the book. Amazingly, it's in my studio. I'm in the boardroom of one of my companies here that uh I'm I'm getting interviewed, so I don't have it here. But the actual book I still have. And then the first page I wrote in Dutch, now I finally know who I am. And and the reason that I wrote it in Dutch, because it was suggested that maybe ADHD is a mental uh issue, uh, and uh I was building companies and and lending millions of dollars to build companies. And if I said I uh here's my proposal and blah, blah, blah, oh, by the way, I also have a mental issue, and they would say, have a nice day. So then by the time that I was uh you know already 57 years old, I found out about ADHD. Then it took me another five years before I would go to my doc. I looked at books, I looked at Google and found out about ADHD and dyslexia, but it's all about, blah, blah, blah. And then I went to my doc when I was 62 years older. And my dog was a personal friend, delivered our two dollars. And I and my doc said, hey John, why are you here? I said, I think I've got an ADHD. And and so we checked it out, and I do. And and so, and then from that point forward, uh, I realized that it is a superpower. And uh, you know, so but can you imagine? I was not very successful academically in Holland. I failed grade three, I failed grade seven three times, and then they said to my parents, what are you gonna do with this guy? Because they took me out of school at 12 and a half years old. My parents were beautiful people, and they suggested send them to the mentally challenged school. They said, No, we're not gonna do that. And so they got me a job in the furniture factory at 12 and a half years old, and then I loved it, and then my dream was to build a sawmill, go to Canada, be liberated by the Canadian Army, uh, in 1945 at five years old. It made such an impression on me that I always knew I would go to the land of my heroes, and I did, Canada, and I wanted to start with nothing, and I did that, and then subsequently built sawmills and a number of other companies, and uh, you know, so uh, you know, and then can you imagine you can because you were late in being diagnosed, but I was diagnosed at 62. I started working in a factory when I was 12 for 50 years. I was wondering, who am I? Why am I different? And so uh so that was part of my life. And then once I understood and I started to deal with the issues, uh uh, then all my life changed. I started to write books, I became a presenter, and I started to build companies, and but uh I didn't use medication. At one point, the docs uh I went to the doctor and I said, after I read some people did, I said, should I use medication? And he said, Oh, we can try. But I said, like what? He said, Adrol is maybe good. So he gave me a container of Adherol, 100 pills, and I had about three of them in 2003. And so, and they didn't do nothing for me. So the same container with his Adherol pills, 97 in it, is still sitting in my desk draw. I never use it again. So the uh uh and so I do this is the way I am, and and so since that time, obviously uh I've become successful in the businesses, I've been so successful as an author, and then as a podcaster, and uh and then dealing more with the who am I? And uh kids can be hard on each other. When I left school in grade seven, uh, you know, it was suggested, well, John is not too bright and obviously he will not amount to much in life. So if he finds a casual job someplace, that's probably good enough. But I always felt I was just as good as the others, not better than, but just as good. And for me to challenge myself to do that, I followed my dream of going to the land of my heroes, Canada, in particular British Columbia, and then the dream of building a lumber mill. And I did, and and a lot of other places, and so uh I'm still very, very active, uh, obviously in podcasting. I wrote a book about uh ADHD, uh, you know, uh very popular, and some number of other books, and so uh so life is good, and it's good, you know.

SPEAKER_02: 9:49

Yeah, I mean listen, I I I'm happy that I, you know, I think I've known I've definitely known my whole life about ADHD. I just never it was one of those things your parents go, oh well we're not gonna medicate, that's just who you are. I don't like the stigmatism that we're the ones broken, because I point out to all those people who aren't ADHD who get things done that you are doing the things that the ADHD years created. They created it, you figured out a way to operationalize it. You need both. One's not broken, one just does shit differently, and then the other. So we won't go down that path. I I do want to know if you could go back in time at any point in your your your you know timeline, would you go back anywhere and do anything different?

SPEAKER_00: 10:33

No, not really. Uh and some of the things were challenging along the way, there's no question about that. And if I could do it again, I would do it probably slightly different. But do I regret any of the periods that I've been in? No, I don't.

SPEAKER_02: 10:47

That's great. That's a good life, right there. You look incredibly healthy, 85. I would have guessed you're like 62, like you just got diagnosed. See, this is what happens in Europe when they put you to work in 1952 as a 12-year-old, right?

SPEAKER_00: 11:02

I wrote another book, Living Young, Dying Old, and life is just a number. That's a picture of me, actually. Uh, I'm very active. I'm a bodybuilder. Uh, you know, the I'm the oldest competitive bodybuilder in North America. And I qualified in 2018 for the nationals here in Canada and for the Arnolds. And now again, I'm training for bodybuilding. And so the reason that I do that is simply in order for me to have quality of life and long levity, I have to watch out for my diet for one. My wife is vegetarian. I always was not as listened to her as good as I could have. I do now. I'm probably 80, 20, maybe 90, 10. And I do all the shopping. And if I go to the store, I don't shop in the aisles. I go to the inside of the store, and because inside the aisles is all the uh processed food, and I don't know what is in it. If the letters are very small, it's probably not good for me. And and so, and then the other thing that I do is I go to the gym uh four times a week and I work hard and uh and stay fit.

SPEAKER_02: 12:13

You know, I found with uh with me back to your ADHD piece is that uh I'm not one who likes routines, but I find the benefit when they're positive. But what I'm also noticing is if I break a routine anytime, it's really hard for me to get started again. So I go every day at 8 a.m. Um I'll occasionally take a Sunday or a day off on the weekend just to just because I I want to and I might not worry about it. But if I take two days off, then Mondays is it's a little slower start, but I I made it so it's like integrated in life that it's like eating or breathing. I'm there from eight to nine or so every morning. Not every day is the best. Some days are better than the others, but I have no non-zero days. There's always a positive gain of some sort.

SPEAKER_00: 12:53

I agree with you, Thomas. So, what I do is that I knew uh taking me back to 2008, I had a case uh where I nearly died because I had a case of diabetic colitis that ruptured. And for those people that I'm not a doc, obviously, but usually if you have pain on your right side, it could be the appendix. And if you're on the left side, then it maybe is your uh uh colon. And in my case, uh that's what it was. They took 20 centimeters out of my colon and I waited too long, and the doc said the following morning to me, you came discuss. And that changed me in terms of I knew that I had to change my diet, follow my wife more, and uh in terms of diet, and then uh the other thing was that uh exercise. I had to hire a trainer because my life is appointments, and and so I will go out of my way to make sure I meet my appointments, and I like that. So I've been doing that for the last 16 years.

SPEAKER_02: 13:59

Yeah, it and it helps you because it helps you just kind of keep the routine of I need to show up. Yeah, I love and listen.

SPEAKER_00: 14:06

I work hard, I don't take a tackle, I'm not there for social, I don't take my phone as some people do, and no, I'm there to work.

SPEAKER_02: 14:14

Yeah, the uh I I'm guilty of phone, but it's it's my entertainment for two minutes in between sets. But the uh I will tell you that I think the uh the the first thing I did for cutting the tie was uh for me personally was uh stopped drinking. And so two years ago, almost two years, two years, seven days actually, I I quit. And so uh and I was only because the last 10 years of my life, I actually said I want my last 10 years of my life to be as healthy as possible, which is probably aligned to your one of your books, which is you know, live old, die young kind of or exactly living young, dying old. What uh what's the biggest lesson you'd give to to I'm gonna say to the ADHD entrepreneur?

SPEAKER_00: 14:52

Understand it, it's not a liability. You will have certain qualities that other people don't have. And I believe ADHD is an asset, it's not uh a liability. And so, and for younger people in particular, the sooner we understand them and and working with them, uh I don't make comments about should you or should you not use uh uh chemicals or medicine. Uh each each one has to make their own choices. I don't, and then at the same time, understand it and work with them, but give them confidence that they are normal and that uh you know that they are just different in the way they approach things. And then the other thing that is important for me, expose them to other people that have been very, very successful. And I did that in my other book, uh uh Billion Dollar Uh the Communication Skills. I that came out July 31st. It's already the bestseller on Amazon, and it's about communication skills. It's not about how to become a billionaire, but what is important is that the billionaires that I focus in here have are all excellent in communication skills. That is what made them successful. And so, and then building confidence and and and who am I is very important. It took me 50 years to get there, and and for others, I say the sooner we can say and learn that the young people in particular, that they are not special, but they are different, maybe, and and then teach them as to what to do to become successful in different ways. And then the other part that is very important is that likely between 25 and 30 percent of the population worldwide, male and female have ADHD, uh, although females usually portray it differently than males. Yeah, and that's not just my comments, those are comments from individuals.

SPEAKER_02: 17:01

That's uh that's a medical position as well, and uh it it and no question about it. Uh it's very obvious to boys. And I will tell you the apple does not fall far from the tree. It is, you know, I can see it in my son. It's like I look at it this way. I wish, you know, if I asked myself my question when I could go back in time, whatever else. Uh I don't think I would have gone back to age 13 and done the medication and stuff and the treatment, um, because I would have missed my life that I have. Um but I would have done it the moment after my maybe my uh my uh youngest daughter was conceived. So so so they're so I had them all here and then I could have done something a little bit differently there. But I look at it as because I've learned something I can give my son and daughter, you know, whoever else, a better advantage in life by understanding what they probably do. Well, one does for sure have and the other likely has. And that that to me is the gift back. It's like I'm that that's where the venue is. I learned it at the right moment to give it to them in their teenage years to say listen. Um what what is you know, 85, what's the metaphoric tie that you're struggling with today?

SPEAKER_00: 18:04

Uh I don't know. Uh, you know, the there's uh I have many, many companies that we are dealing with, and uh, you know, the personally, uh I don't have really any other than uh, you know, I'm I I spend a lot of time, I'm busy, busy, busy. I get up at 5:30, uh, and then I'm usually the first one at my main office and the last one to leave here. And we have lots of challenges along the way, uh, especially now these days with uh tariffs and duties and all of those kind of things. Uh those are challenges. And then the other one is uh, you know, saying uh, you know, stay fit, healthy, communicate with others, uh, help communities, and and help uh people that are challenged. And uh that to me, uh giving back to me is very, very important and working with communities.

SPEAKER_02: 18:59

Now, when's your next competition for bodybuilding?

SPEAKER_00: 19:02

By me?

SPEAKER_02: 19:03

When's the next competition for bodybuilding?

SPEAKER_00: 19:05

Probably sometimes early next year.

unknown: 19:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 19:08

I've never been to a bodybuilding competition. I've never been to one of the competitions, but how what what's your uh like is it the same thing you go on stage? Do you like do you highlight one area your body you're most proud of, or you just kind of have to show the whole thing off and let the judges?

SPEAKER_00: 19:23

Yeah, so the uh it is very structured uh bodybuilding, both for males and females. Not maybe uh males, uh females in in another way, they have categories of bikini and then a number of other ones. But contrary to showing off your body in particular, it's not about that. It is that most of the people that I've been meeting in competition, every single one of them belongs there. It is hard, hard work, and first and foremost. And then so what you do then in a very structured way and How I'm posing here is one of the ones that you do in a structured way, and then from different sides of your body, you show your developments in a flowing manner, and that is presenting, uh, you know, in posing. And so the category that I'm usually involved in is the oldest or the seniors that is 55 and older. And most of them could be my kids, really. But usually I came in uh second for bodybuilding and third for physique. And uh, you know, so and even now uh going to the gym is that I work hard, and this is how I look. If you would go with me to the gym tomorrow, that's how I look, maybe even a little bigger than that. And so uh that's what I do, and the whole idea is that it brings you to the gym, but at the same time, it is hard, hard, hard work, and that applies to males as well as as females.

SPEAKER_02: 21:08

Do you feel uh my philosophy in lifting, specifically in the last year, was I focused on uh it's it was to keep it simple. It was to focus on two body parts, the same two, twice a week, which gave equal rest in between and just repeat it. Nothing complicated. I see people doing some crazy ass exercises in the gym. I'm like, can you just do push-ups and do the same shit? And like, do you do you have more of a simplistic thing, or are you doing some crazy and twists and I don't know?

SPEAKER_00: 21:39

Sorry, Thomas. What I do is I work with the qualified trainer, and I work with them all the time. And so their objective is to work my whole body and do it in a systematic way and then keep track of what we are doing. So I go four times a week now and for an hour with the trainer that has been training me for the last two, three years, four years. And so that's what I do and in a very skilled way because I, as you can see on my body, uh, you know, I don't tidle tattle around. I do some very serious weights and so very serious things, but it's not about big weights, but it's more doing it in a structured way so that it involves diet, it involves uh understanding your body, and then from there on in monitoring it and do it structural, that you know follow this, follow that, follow that. So that's what my trainer does. And and I would recommend to the people that want to get involved in some form or fashion, then every so often, if you don't use one full-time, use one just to guide you through the different simple ways of doing it. Uh, you know, like you nobody has to become a bodybuilder necessarily or an Olympian as I did. It was coincidental that I got there. And uh, you know, so after I've been training for about six months or six years, somebody came up to us and said, Hey John, have you ever thought about competing? I said, Me, really? And I was already 78 years old. And I said, Why not? And I did. But so the key is to understand your body and then do it systematically. But I advise to the people, and that's why I wrote a book, Living Young, Dying Old, stay active and and so uh and structured, and then walk and start with doing a half an hour, and then do a little bit more, and do a little bit more, and then get some advice on what to do, bits body parts, how do we do that? And you know what will happen? They will say, Hey Thomas or John, what are you doing? You look great, you know. So, and and so, and that is rewarding. And then the same applies to diet, extremely important. And so uh, you know, what I do first and foremost, I sleep between seven and nine hours a day. Very important to me. I when I get up, I drink 10 ounces of water right away, and then from there on in I've usually three or four eggs, boiled eggs, and avocado. If it is a big one, I take a half on. And then from there on in, if I go to the gym, usually around 11 o'clock, then I have a double protein drink, that's my lunch, and then in the evening I have some more substance in terms of protein, and and so, and then again I repeat that. So, and I'm very busy keeping my body, I probably walk about, I would say around 5,000 steps a day, maybe 35,000 a week or 30 to 35. And as part of what I do, and then I go at least four times a week to the gym. And uh, and then the other part that is very important, keeping your brain active in particular. And so I uh you know my uh I did this morning my podcast number was 456, I think, where I'm hosting, and then I'm guesting probably another 200 or so. I'm very active there, and then on YouTube, I think I'm close to a million subscribers, so I'm active on that part mentally, and so and then I'm writing books, and uh I've done five and I'm working on the six one.

SPEAKER_02: 25:42

I love it. You're an inspiration. I grew up, I want to be like you.

unknown: 25:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 25:48

So look I final question just here is there if there was a question I should have asked you and I didn't, what was the question? And how would you answer it?

SPEAKER_00: 25:57

Are you asking me to ask me the question?

SPEAKER_02: 25:59

If there was a question I should have asked you and I didn't.

SPEAKER_00: 26:05

Tell me when you discovered, what were you doing? Why but how did you feel about when you decided to go to Canada, went to the other side of the world? How did you feel then and why? And the reason is the reason why is that we were liberated, as I said earlier, by the Canadian army and April the uh 12th, 1945, in northern Holland, after the war, that was extremely difficult. We solved far too much that we shouldn't have at PTSD and still have today, and a child, all of those kind of things. But the Canadians made such an impression on me that I knew once I grew up, I would go to the land of my heroes. And then I wanted to start with nothing. And and the reason for that is because I didn't know that I had ADHD, but I was not very successful academically. I failed grade two, as I said earlier, in grade seven three times. I wanted to prove to me that I could do it on my own and build a lumber mill starting with nothing. So I went, I I put, I had a suitcase, three books, two sets of clothes, very little money, and went to British Columbia, Canada. When I came off the bus, this somebody told me to go to Prince George, that's where they're building sawmills. And I came off the bus here. I had my suitcase, three books, two sets of clothes, and I counted my money at least three times. I had$25.47. Didn't have a job, didn't have a uh didn't know a soul. And and so that's proved to me I knew either I would come back successful or in the box. A little bit radical, but I worked very, very, very hard. But the biggest discoveries to me were when I walked into that bookstore and I found a book, Driven to Distraction, on ADHD, and I wrote in it as I said earlier in Dutch. Now I finally know who I am, and that was that changed my life.

SPEAKER_02: 28:06

I love that. John, thank you so much for coming on today. I I'm so honored to have you on the show. And it's I mean, it's it's awesome. I wish I had more time too with you, but thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_01: 28:15

Thanks, Thomas. It was a pleasure.

SPEAKER_02: 28:18

I love it. And listen, anybody made it as part of the show, you rock, I hope you go check out John on YouTube and everywhere else he is and all his books. Uh get out there, go cut a tie to something holding you back. Thanks for watching.

SPEAKER_01: 28:27

John A. Brain.