“The thing that lights me up the most is leaving people with more energy after conversation than when they came in.” – Marc Champagne

Marc Champagne (@marcchampagne) is author of Personal Socrates: Questions That Will Upgrade Your Life from Legends & World-Class Performers. A self-proclaimed Mental Fitness Strategist, Marc is a speaker and corporate trainer and hosts the top 50 podcast, Behind the Human. Marc previously co-founded the journaling app (KYO) which reached 86.9 million people.

To hear Marc’s full interview, including his writing process, click here.

Chapters

  • 00:00:00 – Introduction
  • 00:00:45 – The current dialogue around mental health
  • 00:01:27 – Being a source of energy for others
  • 00:03:26 – Trusting the journey
  • 00:05:05 – Breathwork and questioning medications
  • 00:14:22 – The Notion Life Wiki
  • 00:16:22 – Success is waking up happy and motivated

Marc Champagne's Favorite Books

Transcript

Daniel Scrivner:

Marc. Thank you so much for coming on the show. It's wonderful to have you.

Marc Champagne:

I can't wait. The energy is always lit up with you, so let's do this.

Daniel Scrivner:

This should be a lot of fun. We try to keep this conversation to around 20 minutes. So it'd be a little bit faster pace and we'll ask you the same 12 questions we ask every guest. Are you ready?

Marc Champagne:

12 questions. Okay. Go for it.

Daniel Scrivner:

The first one. What have you been excited or fascinated about recently? Big question.

Marc Champagne:

There's so much. The thing that comes to mind the most to be honest is just the willingness and all the dialogue around people actually taking their mental health and mental fitness seriously. That not being the strange, what are you talking about meditating or journaling? People are open to speaking about this stuff which to me I just see, "Wow. Now there's a lot of possibility here." If we can really rock our internal empire, then everything exterior wise benefits from that.

Daniel Scrivner:

I think the openness around mental health, it feels like that's changed dramatically over the last couple of years, which has been a wonderful thing.

Marc Champagne:

Yeah. 100%.

Daniel Scrivner:

Next question. I'm really excited to hear this. What are your superpowers and how have you harnessed those strengths?

Marc Champagne:

I love it. Super power. Well. I'm looking, I'm just looking through the class here. I've got my five-year-old drew this little Superman image and he colored the Superman's hair gray.

Daniel Scrivner:

Okay. There we go. It's you.

Marc Champagne:

I love it. Superman for me though, the thing that lights me up the most is leaving people with more energy after conversation than when they came in. And I get the same thing in return from a lot of people and there's nothing better than that at least for me, because then you can't put a price on that feeling good.

Marc Champagne:

So I try to do that as much as possible so that no matter what I'm talking about, whether it's mental fitness or if it's some sort of practice or something in between, that hopefully at least the other person's listening or they're engaged because the energy is infectious. And that's something that even before getting into this work, even in the corporate world of things in delivering presentations, I might not always be right on strategies and figures and this and that but I'll hopefully at least grab your attention to think.

Daniel Scrivner:

I love the bar of your goal at the end of each meeting is to leave just everybody in the room in a better place as opposed to kind of energy drained. Because I'm very similar. And I feel like whenever I have one of those meetings, it's like a gift. I typically see that-

Marc Champagne:

For sure. For sure. And part of that strategy, the opening prompt of my podcast, which every guest gets is who are you? And there's a double meaning behind that or double objective, I should say. The first one is just to avoid job titles and give people a sense of who that person is.

Marc Champagne:

But the bigger one for me is if that person's never thought of a question like that, I hope that at the end of our conversation there's some thought process there, or there's some reflection. And nothing would make me smile more than the guest or that person's getting a little bit more post conversation Just from one question.

Daniel Scrivner:

On the flip side, what have you struggled with and how have you improved or worked around those things?

Marc Champagne:

I struggled with trusting the journey at the very beginning of leaving a very, what I didn't know at the time, very secure life in a space where my job was pretty secured, even though companies were going through layoffs and stuff like that. So at times it didn't feel like that, but in retrospect now being on my own and it's entrepreneurial world, it's a hell of a lot more secure, let's just say.

Marc Champagne:

Then I started to really realize that, wow, I've really been conditioned to be on this program path essentially, which is totally fine. I'm not saying that that is wrong. But when I came out of it and then into another world where that didn't exist but I still tried to replicate that feeling, that's where I think there's a bit of a problem, at least for me.

Marc Champagne:

Then it wasn't until essentially following one of practicing and preaching when it comes to mental fitness to get to the point of, you know what? I know I'm on the right path, I've set a really smart plan, the best plan I can. I just need to trust the journey, I need to treat my mental fitness and mental health as a priority and then I'll see the right path forward. Because then you become comfortable. Or I would say I'm excited for the uncertainty that lies ahead because it's opportunity. Whereas not long ago, I feared that uncertainty.

Daniel Scrivner:

I love that. Something I've reflected on similarly is that every accomplishment starts with this leap into the unknown one. It requires a leap. There's no easy path down, you just need to take that leap and bet on yourself. It's interesting to reflect on that. What habits have you experimented with that have had a positive impact on your life and performance? So this could be things that you do today, things you just try to do that maybe you're occasionally good at.

Marc Champagne:

Yeah. Of course. I would say the biggest one has been implementing a breath work practice within my routine. And just because you can feel the immediate physical effects specifically, I'm just following Wim Hoff's sequence of breaths, essentially three rounds of in and out breaths, 30 breaths each, some breath holds and stuff like that. Now I'm getting to the point where I did it this morning, which I'm stacking in other practices. On the breath holds, I'm looping in a visualization of either how I want the day to go or a big presentation or event or just goals in general.

Marc Champagne:

But just taking that time where at one point you probably get up to two, three minutes, if not more in terms of a breath hold and while I'm sitting there, my mind is putting together the puzzle pieces. And then when I'm done that practice, I'm really primed, physically prime. My body's oxygenated and my mind is also rolling in the right direction. So that's been a big one for me.

Daniel Scrivner:

Is there an app that you work with or I guess how'd you learn about that? I know of Wim Hoff, I guess just haven't gone down that particular rabbit hole yet.

Marc Champagne:

Yeah. Well, you're about to, I just knowing you now I feel like you're going to be on this for sure. I started with Kevin Rose's app Oak meditation because he's got a section in there that has breath work and it's really short stuff, which is awesome. I think the longest you can do one of those sessions is five minutes and 30 seconds or something. I started with that and started to really realize just in between meetings or podcasts, just to reset essentially. I'd wow, that's powerful stuff.

Marc Champagne:

And then Wim feel like maybe about two years ago or so he was really on a podcast circuit. And I downloaded his app, which is good but he also just has a YouTube channel where that's what I've been using now. There's I think there's one of the videos has something like 33 million views so clearly kind of everyone's doing the same thing. You just put it on, there's no ads running and he's guiding you through and you can also pause the video if you want to extend your breath, hold for example, then just restart it. So I've been doing that.

Marc Champagne:

But I would challenge people because I always laugh at myself when you're doing it by yourself, you're essentially supposed to do about 30 big breaths in and out. And I'm always amazed at how distracted our minds are. This mind is sometimes almost nearly impossible to actually count 30 times or 30 breaths.

Marc Champagne:

Every now and then I share that because I skip using the YouTube video just to check in with myself, to see it's a bit of a sanity check on how much is floating around in my mind because if I can't count to 30, I'm probably maxed out somewhere. So it's just a nice temperature check.

Daniel Scrivner:

No, that's really smart. And we will link to the YouTube channel as well as that YouTube video. I'll go and dig that up. I'll put that in the show notes. That sounds incredible. On the health side, what is your approach to diet, exercise and sleep and how have those things evolved over time? And you can just focus on one, you can share just any broad views but just curious for your thoughts and some of your practices around health.

Marc Champagne:

Yeah. The last 12 months have been probably the biggest shifts in health that I've ever had in my life. And I'm happy to say it's because of questions, essentially. Just questioning whether what I'm doing and I'll share a specific example, the medication that I was on. Is there something? Does this feel right? Is this really the right path? And asking those questions and then linking up with the people that can help.

Marc Champagne:

In my case, straight out of university, I was put on these PPIs, these heartburn medications. Basically for over 15 years, been on this medication and not because of my diet, it's not that out of control that I'm eating Popeyes chicken every night and type thing. But it was to the point, if I didn't take this pill every day, even just water or milk or something would fire up this reflex and chest pains as if I was having a heart attack. And for literally over a decade, I moved a lot so that means we changed family physicians several times as well.

Marc Champagne:

Not one person ever said, you know what? "Should we try to get you off these things? You're pretty young guy. I mean, maybe it's not the right approach." Until I finally started working with these two physicians out in Houston, Texas. Two MDs that are anesthesiologist by training, Thrive Performance Medicine, it's called. And they got into integrative medicine because they were just tired of the bandaid solution to a lot of the healthcare that's out there right now and started asking questions.

Marc Champagne:

Within six months of adjusting diet, really looking at gluten, really looking at processed carbs and then some supplementation while I transitioned off those medications, zero symptoms, nothing. It is incredible because it's shocking and there's so many diseases out there, chronic disease that I really think are A, reversible and preventable and I've seen it with working with those docs. But if we don't ask the questions and again, coming back to our longer form interview, we're on the autopilot and just keep going, change doesn't happen. So anyway, I feel great because of that.

Daniel Scrivner:

I'm glad we live in a time where integrative medicine is starting to become more and more common. The number of people that I know that I've talked to about that, that have resolved similar things. I remember talking with someone last year who had found out just crazy stuff. He basically went to more of a holistic integrative doctor and found out that he had yeast in his body and mold in his body.

Daniel Scrivner:

And the mold came because he used to work in construction and used to do demolition work and just like one the amazing stuff that gets in your body and can stay there. And then two, that all that stuff is reversible or fixable or improvable. And it's just with the less easy stuff. Like you have to put in more effort with diet, exercise and sleep. But then I said it's good.

Marc Champagne:

Yeah. That becomes part of your habit. One last thing, I just on the health side just because I feel like everyone in the world, if they have access to do this, at least for one month, they should. Is to pop on a continuous glucose monitor for at least a month and just see how different. And it was just eye-opening to me to see the response and glucose for what I was eating but the way I was eating in terms of combination, how exercise, how meditation even just doing the 10 minute meditation would drop my glucose response to foods. It was eye-opening. And I say, everyone try it because we're all individual whereas a banana could fire up my glucose in someone else that has the reverse effect

Daniel Scrivner:

Levels, which we did an interview with as an incredible company in that vein that I know we both have some experience with. On the idea side, what books and podcasts have had a striking impact on the way you think.

Marc Champagne:

For sure, Tim Ferriss podcast, is Tim Ferriss Show. That one I'm always intrigued with the people that have come on and the way he interviews people. Rich Roll is another one that is a legend in my mind in terms of his story and how he interviews people and the mix of people. A lot of the health questions have come up because of that show for me.

Marc Champagne:

And then books, I'd say probably the one that's influenced me the most from a mindset and mental fitness standpoint and the one that I gravitate towards, if I have any time to even just read one page and know that the value of that on one page is going to be top level, and it's Robin Sharma. And his work, The 5 AM Club, he talks a lot about that. I just got his new book. It's the Hero Manifesto. Can't see, it's the books backwards.

Daniel Scrivner:

Will find that on LinkedIn.

Marc Champagne:

But yeah, it's good because the way he writes, they're very digestible chunks of knowledge and content that even if you read one paragraph there's stuff in there that you can apply right now.

Daniel Scrivner:

Yeah. That's amazing. Agreed on a Tim Ferriss on ritual rituals is something I discovered last year and went down a little bit of that rabbit hole and yeah, his style. And it's so interesting to me too that the same guests can go on. For the best host, they can all talk to the same guest and they all have very different equally awesome conversations. And I feel like that's such an interesting skill.

Marc Champagne:

Well, another one that comes to mind actually, and this just happened last week. So Cal Fussman his show, and I think we talked about him because he's in the book. But here's a perfect example. I think anyone that's listened to any podcast in the last six to 12 months has probably heard Matthew McConaughey on a show. Sure enough, Cal Fussman has latest episode drops, it's Matthew McConaughey.

Marc Champagne:

You know what? I've already heard a few of those interviews. His stuff is awesome, his book is stunning as well but it was Cal Fussman. I haven't heard a Cal Fussman interview yet. And to your point, I put it on and I left there feeling really, really jazzed up and learned some stuff. And it's just you're right, a good host can really bring it to their own essentially.

Daniel Scrivner:

Well, I'm going to download that as soon as we wrap this interview. On the tool side, what tools do you use? And these can be things to manage your work, your tasks, your time but just tools. And these can be physical or digital but just things that you use that you've grown attached to.

Marc Champagne:

Well, ironically, we were talking about this before we hit record, but Notion. I basically set up a page it's called a LifeWiki. And on the top of that page, I have my objective, I have some affirmations in terms of the way I want to prime my mind in the morning. So I literally read that one little section every single morning.

Marc Champagne:

Then right under there, I have pages within that, that main Wiki that are related to either my podcast, the book, the work and it's just quick references. So I live right in there. Then I organize essentially my top three items for the day right there and check them off. And everything is in one spot, it's organized, works for me.

Daniel Scrivner:

It's amazing that it's all in one tool. That's a unique answer. But it is amazing if you're interested, that is a fascinating rabbit hole to go down and we can try to find some resources and link them in the show notes. But the number of people I've come across that have just done some insane landing page or webpage and Notion is there's some really cool examples.

Marc Champagne:

Like I said, I've been using it. And then I was on Mindvalley podcast last night and the host there, he's like, "You've got to see my Notion." I've got my whole podcast set up through here so we use screen-sharing. And first thing I did this morning was because I have my podcasts in there as well, but there's just so much you can do that to your point.

Marc Champagne:

I think if you can find some templates of what not just to see what's possible, it's unbelievable. Because now literally within 15, 20 minutes of just reorganizing that podcast page for me, I feel like I've just upped my organizational game and freed up an incredible amount of time in terms of the efficiencies from recording to post-production, stuff like that.

Daniel Scrivner:

And kudos to Notion for building a tool that can do that. Because there are many tools that meet that bar of like you put in 15 minutes and you feel like a dramatic step function changed to [crosstalk 00:57:06]-

Marc Champagne:

Big time, big time.

Daniel Scrivner:

I'm really excited to hear your answer to these next three questions. And these are so my favorite. The first is super simple. What is your definition of success?

Marc Champagne:

I love that. This is evolved over the years for me. What feels right as we speak now is, success to me is waking up feeling happy, motivated and excited for the day. I don't want to make it any more complicated than that. There's so many different things that can happen throughout the day and throughout your life and whatnot. But for me, at least if I can feel like that every day probably means I'm doing the right type of things, the right type of people are in my life. I'm going to stick with that.

Daniel Scrivner:

I think that's a great, simple litmus test. This one, I might know what your answer's going to be. I'll be curious. So we asked this question of every guest and this is one of my all time favorite questions. And it's just, what is one of your favorite failures? And we're trying to get at is something that didn't work. And typically, obviously when something doesn't go the way that we think it will, it's a failure. But what I love about this question is it's trying to uncover, what's something valuable that you took away from that experience and how would that maybe propel you in a better direction?

Marc Champagne:

Yeah. You're probably going to guess what I'm going to say. No doubt, the biggest and my favorite failure is creating an app that reached 86 million people then having to delete that business and app from the store. The most pain, obviously the most amount of development, self-development and growth. But the perfect example in the situation I've already mentioned. I am pumped to be behind the camera here with you and energize and having these conversations and that's all because of that scenario.

Daniel Scrivner:

And you've had a particularly interesting example there where I can't think of anyone that's had that same, it's not a failure-

Marc Champagne:

No one has had that [crosstalk 00:58:59]-

Daniel Scrivner:

... that happens to many people. No. It's a notable. And then the last question is just about gratitude. And the question is what are you most grateful for in this phase of your life?

Marc Champagne:

Just to have an incredible support system and people around me that throughout what we just talked about, essentially, we're there 100% the whole way. I think of the acknowledgements in my book. And I've re-read those a few times. Those are the people that were there and they have been there for a decade plus and includes my family and everyone. But yeah, it's that close circle.

Marc Champagne:

My five-year-old too and I've got another one on the way, but my five-year-old, there was a dedication in there to him that I hope once he's old enough and his mind is ready to consume the type of work in that book, that he knows that man, he had such influence in the words, in that book. You know this with your kids. They're so optimistic. They're not jaded with-

Daniel Scrivner:

They're amazing little humans.

Marc Champagne:

It's stunning. It's inspiring to me to see kids grow and just have such fresh perspective. So surround yourself with awesome kids, surround yourself with good friends, good coworkers, family and the rest takes care of itself.

Daniel Scrivner:

It's a good way to meet that litmus test of being excited to get up in the morning, every single day-

Marc Champagne:

Exactly.

Daniel Scrivner:

Well, thank you so much Marc. This has been wonderful to be able to connect with you. I've loved getting to chat in the two conversations we've had. So I just really appreciate the time.

Marc Champagne:

Oh, right back at you.