This week on The WarriorU Podcast, Trent and Bram are joined by Mindset Coach and business owner, Glenn Azar, to discuss leadership, masculinity and becoming a better human. Unafraid of ruffling some feathers in the pursuit of achieving ‘impact’, Glenn takes WarriorU listeners on a journey – from his difficult childhood and the care of his autistic son, to leading his Adventure Professionals business through COVID-19 and founding his Bro Camp projects designed to help young boys become better men. By the end of the episode, you will not only be inspired by Glenn’s entrepreneurial and altruistic outlook and positivity in the face of adversity, you will also understand how to critically self-assess your own life, mindset and leadership skills for the good of yourself, family and team.
A Glimpse of the Guest
Name: Glenn Azar
What he does: Glenn Azar is a former soldier turned Mindset Coach and business owner. With a long list of entrepreneurial projects to his name, Glenn is the host of The Building Better Humans Project podcast, Founder of Project 180 gym based in Brisbane and the owner of Australian adventure company, Adventure Professionals. A man who spends his life living out his passion, exploring the world, and helping people to reach their full potential, Glenn’s team of highly skilled former soldiers facilitate professional adventure experiences in some of the most amazing parts of the world, including Everest Base Camp and Kilimanjaro. More recently, Glenn has established Bro Camps, designed to make boys into better men for both themselves and the women in their lives. Able to tackle any crisis with his strong leadership and positive outlook, he’s now on a mission to help others – including the next generation of Australians – to do the same.
Glenn online:
Building Better Humans Project Podcast | Project 180 gym | Glenn on Instagram | Adventure Professionals
Food for Thought
[20:16] ‘I see these strong women and I go: ‘there’s not a problem for women in today’s society, it’s way better for them than it was years ago’. But since running these Camps, I’ve also experienced young girls who have been through sexual assault. Most men listening would be shocked if they asked the women in their lives how many have experienced sexual assault or have had some sort of sexual misconduct happen to them.’
Top Tips from this episode
- Glenn’s definition of success: [51:08] “To be considered successful personally and professionally, for me, you understand what makes you happy, what are you good at, and how you make an impact on other people.”
- Having impact: While success was once measured by the amount of money in his bank account, Glenn now views success as how many people he can impact for the long term.
- Living to your values: Understand, express and then consciously live your values – don’t just talk about them. Don’t take shortcuts and do everything you do well and with integrity.
- Self-critique: Brutally self-assess and be willing to take on feedback from the right sources. Own your mistakes and shortcomings.
- Personal and professional: For Glenn, your personal and professional lives are always going to overlap. To be successful in one, you need to be successful in the other.
- Build resilience through perspective: Understand that other people have it worse than you do. At [6:41], Glenn talks about the challenges of raising his autistic son and how he easily could have slipped into a ‘victim mentality’. This mindset backflipped when he saw carers from lower socio-economic groups struggling to pay for even basic necessities, such as shoes.
- Honour those without the same opportunities: Glenn’s ‘doing it because I’m not dead yet’ philosophy is based on honouring those who did not have the luxury or privilege of living a long life. Do whatever you do to the best of your ability because you owe it to people who couldn’t.
Episode Highlights
Leading through COVID-19: When COVID-19 hit, Glenn’s Adventure Professionals business lost 93 per cent of its revenue. At [15:50], he explains that – rather than admitting defeat – he took the opportunity to expand The Building Better Humans Project podcast into a website and associated youth camps. A prime example of strong, resilient and, above all else, calm leadership. [16:10] “This was my opportunity to be resilient and lead my team – or to be full of it. And I didn’t want to be full of it. Because we can’t just talk about this stuff when things are golden. When we get challenged, we need to step up.”
Masculinity and turning boys into men: At [25:52], Glenn explains his view on the controversial topic of ‘toxic masculinity’ – it’s definition, impacts and solutions. Using success stories from within his Bro Camps as a springboard for discussion, he says that men need to be given a ‘healthy outlet’ for their masculinity and permission to display vulnerability. [26:12] “What I try to teach people, particularly young men, is that you can be tough and still have emotional conversations.”
Top quotes
[38:29] “Sometimes training isn’t just about the science. Some people know how to do everything by their heart rate, but you get them outside of the gym or a 45-minute session, and they don’t have the ability to dig in.”
[43:49] “Teaching is one of the best and the most underrated but one of the most effective forms of impact in the world because they are dealing with our future generations.”
[1:03:30] “I’ve never had negative feedback from a successful person…they will never come in and just bomb you with how shit you were. That’s not how successful people operate.”