(these are auto generated, so may be 80% accurate)

[00:00:00] Chris Furlong: Yo, yo yo, welcome back to the Further, your lifestyle podcast, conversations on lifestyle passions and hustles. My name's Chris. I am your host, and I'm super excited to be back here, having the conversation with you. And in this episode, episode 61, super thrilled to introduce you to Trang Nguyen. And who's my guest for this week.

[00:00:17] Chris Furlong: Now I've known Trang for probably about five or six years or so. More so from Instagram. Uh, we haven't actually been able to meet in person just yet, but Trang brings a whole bunch of different talents and skills, I guess, ranging from physio-therapy from strength conditioning, and also in a background of running an Ethan doing triathlon.

[00:00:34] Chris Furlong: Uh, now Trang, now she combines, I guess, mindset, life and all this performance together in helping people achieve their fullest potential and helping people transform their lives. In this episode, essentially, that's what we chat about. We chat about the ability to perform at our peak and to, to thrive with excellence in all that we're trying to achieve in life and actually finding what that I guess, north star or what it is that we want in life and how we can work towards it.

[00:01:00] Chris Furlong: We dive into the reality of, I guess, the challenge of discovering. What that looks like, but also the challenge that progress brings, but also the rewards that it brings in the longer term, too, we discuss through the breakdown of what does it actually mean to have alignment. And what does it actually take to reach this potential?

[00:01:17] Chris Furlong: And what are the steps that you can start today or take today in order to move forward in the right direction? Absolutely awesome episode. Really enjoyed having this conversation with Trang. Let's dive into it. Welcome trying to the further your lifestyle podcast, how you doing this. 

[00:01:32] Trang Nguyen: I'm doing great, Chris, thank you for having me on the podcast.

[00:01:36] Trang Nguyen: I'm really looking forward to having this chat with you. Yeah. 

[00:01:38] Chris Furlong: I'm, I'm excited and, you know, full transparency to those listening. It's like we've known each other, like we've kind of stoked each other on, on Instagram and social for like, oh, like four or five. It could even be longer, but, uh, quite a while.

[00:01:50] Chris Furlong: And, um, it's great to be finally having more, having to actually meet you just the other week when we first, um, had a meetup and then here we are never doing it. So I am so grateful because watching your journey, or as I said, you know, following on Instagram and whatnot has been really encouraging for me.

[00:02:06] Chris Furlong: Um, and I know you inspire and have been probably a big inspiration to so many, you know, across different realms of, you know, running and just performance. And I guess probably life in general. So kudos. You're doing a good job. 

[00:02:19] Trang Nguyen: Oh, thanks Chris. Yeah, but what you said before is so true. That's pretty much how we met on Instagram.

[00:02:25] Trang Nguyen: We've known of each other for a long time, and I keep joking about how social media, especially Instagram is like the dating app for friends these days, because quite a few of my new friends who I've met and they're all beautiful. They're so grateful to meet these friends. Like later in life. And it's been through social media.

[00:02:45] Trang Nguyen: We've we've gotten to know each other, like, and then we've met each other in person. 

[00:02:50] Chris Furlong: Yeah. I think, I think you said it, it's kind of like, you know, you date each other first on Instagram and you actually go out and catch up cook, but it's true. Like, you know, you don't know who's out there and it's always weird when people slide into your DMS anyway.

[00:03:02] Chris Furlong: Cause you're like, oh, who's, who's reaching out to me or whatever. But that aside look, I'm so grateful to have you in my circles and let let's, let's talk about you. And I've already done a bit of an introduction, but who are you and what are you all about? 

[00:03:15] Trang Nguyen: Um, so the, the best way to start is introduce myself, which I know you already have.

[00:03:21] Trang Nguyen: So for anyone who doesn't already know me, I'm trying to describe what I do at a very high level. I say that I am a high performance and mindset coach. So that's quite broad, um, because ultimately. My mission. And my vision is to help people achieve their greatest potential with purpose in their career and in their life.

[00:03:46] Trang Nguyen: And that is really broad, but ultimately why that's so important to me is because when people can achieve their potential with purpose, then they can thrive. In their lives. And ultimately that's what everyone seeks in their life. They, they, they seek to thrive and when individuals are thriving, then humanity can thrive.

[00:04:05] Trang Nguyen: And when he, it, he thrives, then the whole world can thrive. And that's, that's ultimately, my vision is to contribute to that thriving world during my lifetime. So then I work with individuals to help them achieve that. So I do have a diverse backgrounds. I'm trained as a physiotherapist running coach strength and conditioning coach.

[00:04:25] Trang Nguyen: Uh, and then I also do mindset in life coaching as well. So a broad way to, to work with people, but really it hits all the different pillars required for someone through to achieve high performance and to thrive in their. 

[00:04:40] Chris Furlong: Yeah. And you'd, you'd probably find that a lot of people will have different elements in their life where if they're thriving in that it helps them thrive, you know, across the rest of their life.

[00:04:49] Chris Furlong: You know, if we think about running, cause you've obviously got a running background, you know, for me, like if I, if I wasn't running, you know, my day would feel a bit low because that's, that's, you know, one of the highlights that I love and that helps me just get into the group helps me win the day.

[00:05:02] Chris Furlong: Especially when you do it in the morning, you've gone for your run, your back before breakfast, you've done your run. It's like, well, worst case, you've still got to have a good day because you know, you've won the morning. Um, but thank you for that intro. Like, and that is, there's a lot there. And I think there's probably people think of Gaia.

[00:05:16] Chris Furlong: That makes sense. I think that that's a bit fluffy or there's, there's so much there, but I think if we step back a little bit. You know, how did it even come to this? Because, you know, you alluded to that you have done quite a few different professions and started a few different things, and you've got quite a broad background yourself.

[00:05:32] Chris Furlong: But to, to go from, you know, you know, high school to then studying to then, you know, whether it's working full time to actually then starting your own business, and now actually doing this as a coaching and helping people become their full potential like that, that that's a quite an aggressive journey and change.

[00:05:48] Chris Furlong: And I know it hasn't been over a long, long period of time. Like it's probably only been over six, seven years, if I'm correct. Um, 

[00:05:57] yeah, 

[00:05:57] Trang Nguyen: just over that. So I graduated from, from school when I was 18 years old, as most people do. And that's where I went and jumped straight into uni and like coaching. So I went straight into studying physiotherapy at uni, and then I did my first personal training course and, and finished that when I was 19 years old.

[00:06:19] Trang Nguyen: So I jumped straight into it. I was in that world of sport. I was in that world of fitness and that health allied health. So while I was studying for four years, I was doing personal training. Um, I then started to niche down into strength and conditioning coaching for runners because that's what I would like to do.

[00:06:38] Trang Nguyen: I love to run. Um, and that was my evolution in my own personal journey that I then translated into a job. I was doing what I love to do, work with runners, for their strength and conditioning. Got my running coach certification as well. So I was doing that for quite some time. Um, almost like, yeah, six, seven years or so, but then over the journey, what I found and, you know, I know that this is something that we'll go into more later on as well.

[00:07:07] Trang Nguyen: I really started to grow on my own journey of development and through observation of my clients, I started to notice a few things. So what I noticed at the site you're smiling because I know you've gone through stuff as well. Yeah. Yeah. So what I noticed was in my work, when I was working with clients at the site, it was all about telling them what to do, right.

[00:07:31] Trang Nguyen: So I was telling them physically what to do in personal training, in the running and strength coaching. And that worked well because sometimes people simply need the tools and the knowledge and the resources. Right. But what I found out at a certain point was I could give to clients the exact same tools, the exact same program, And they could get different results.

[00:07:56] Trang Nguyen: One person could get really great results and the other might not actually get the optimal results. Okay. So then from there, I started to notice that that was where the mindset aspect came in, or you give them the tools and the resources Google, and the internet can be available to everyone. But if someone is in an unresourceful mindset, if someone is feeling.

[00:08:20] Trang Nguyen: And the disempowered, then they're not going to actually utilize those resources to their best ability. So then that's when I started to incorporate more mindset unofficially into my coaching. So just during personal training sessions, um, even on online coaching, I'd be talking to clients about how you can optimize your state of mind to get the best of results.

[00:08:43] Trang Nguyen: So this was where it was going for quite a while. Um, for quite a few years, it was a combination of physical coaching and physical focus. So focusing on taking action, focusing on doing the work and mindset as well, and this was the same for my own, uh, my own development, my own journey. I was focusing on doing the work and then all the positive thinking or the motivational thinking.

[00:09:07] Trang Nguyen: But then it got to a point where, and I know you've experienced this as well, Chris, where I've got to what people might call. A quarter life crisis. 

[00:09:16] Chris Furlong: They're real. Yeah, 

[00:09:18] Trang Nguyen: they are real. And it's funny because I hadn't actually heard of that as much as a midlife crisis. I didn't know what it was at the time. I didn't recognize it.

[00:09:26] Trang Nguyen: But what I have now realized in hindsight was I had always been a high achiever. I'd always achieved success, which is what generally happens when you have the, when you have action combines with, with the mindset, you'll get success, but I'll still missing something else. I'll still miss it. This greater connection to what is this all for?

[00:09:49] Trang Nguyen: And that was the, that was a deep like hole that I went down. You know, what's the meaning of all this. What's the purpose of all this? Like, what's the point of all this. Right. Um, and I went down that deep hole and then I started to notice the same in clients. You know, they would talk about the same thing, successful clients who were like, I still don't feel completely fulfilled.

[00:10:08] Trang Nguyen: I still feel like something's missing. And also looking at the larger scale of, of celebrities, of extremely successful individuals who were still unhappy, who was so miserable. Like I know, you know, there's so many celebrities are so many successful people out there who we could all look at, who began, who are great examples or examples of have all the money in the world, have all the success in the world.

[00:10:38] Trang Nguyen: Uh, driven individuals, but they're still unhappy. And they're still missing that, that third thing, which is where I started to realize it. Wasn't just about the mind. It wasn't just about the body, like taking action and, and, um, physical work. It was also about the heart as well. It was also. Connecting the emotion and the spirit.

[00:11:01] Trang Nguyen: If you want to look at it in that way, into the hot and then aligning all of that. So the body, the mind and the heart became the three pillars of how I coach people, what I personally focus on. And that's why I decided I couldn't just focus on the body anymore. I couldn't just focus on sport and health.

[00:11:19] Trang Nguyen: If I wanted to create a true impact on the world and have, uh, in contribute to thriving individuals and a thriving humanity in a thriving planet, then I had to also incorporate the mindset and the heart. And that's why I then expanded. I've rebranded my business to what's now aligned performance. And now that's what I'm primarily focused on.

[00:11:41] Chris Furlong: Love it, love it. And that this there's so much, and that's what we're going to dive into. But one thing just to replay all that, that really stuck out to me is how you. You know, going, you gave, you know, the same tools and resources to two different people and you, you know, you got different outcomes and it's so true, I guess it really does come down to that mindset and willpower because you think about it.

[00:12:01] Chris Furlong: There's so many diets, there's so many ways of people can make a difference or change your life. And it's just, it is it's on the internet, people everyone's talking about it, right. And know you and main some elements. And then everyone's giving their way of, if you just do this, this is how you'll get it.

[00:12:14] Chris Furlong: But if the person isn't switched on to the mindset of like, this is what they wanted to be able to achieve, where they want to be, then it's not going to happen. Right. And it's, it's crazy how it does take that clicking moment for people to actually then take that action and make that difference. And usually we'll have that hindsight.

[00:12:33] Chris Furlong: It's like, oh, wish we started this, you know, two years ago, five years ago. But going through that journey, which obviously you have now gone through and you, you mentioned it yourself with the hindsight, you think it all makes more sense now, but it's, it's a beautiful. I guess it's a beautiful experience to go through that, to understand now holistically, what's your all about what do you want and now to be able to help others achieve that.

[00:12:54] Chris Furlong: Right. And I think regardless if you know, people are wanting to coach or not, when you go for that experience, you don't have to then go coach people to do it, but everything you do should then represent what you're doing and other people will see that difference. And I think that that's what shines through people that have gone.

[00:13:11] Chris Furlong: I mean, that's what shines for you, definitely. Which is one of the main reasons why following your journey and reaching out to you now to have these conversations, it's so important because it just makes so much sense and it resonates and it, you know, it shines and reflects from you. So. It's an awesome, genuine, and that's what we're going to jump into.

[00:13:26] Chris Furlong: Right. So, um, 

[00:13:28] Trang Nguyen: yeah. And that's why as well, like that's why I actually now a reframe quarter-life crisis as quarter life awakening. Cause that's what it is like, yes, you go through the storm and you go through the confusion and the, oh my gosh, I don't know where I'm at and what I'm doing and where to go next.

[00:13:46] Trang Nguyen: But on the other side of that is always an awakening. It's, there's always that realization, the integration of everything that you have, all the information and all the knowledge and who you've become all that, that you've accumulated over the years. And then be like, this is actually where I want to go.

[00:14:04] Trang Nguyen: And I've spent my whole life climbing this mountain because it's always been a fast paced world. And it's always about getting to the next place. I'll spend my whole life climbing this mountain, but yeah. I need to actually climb a different mountain. Yeah. And that, and that's the awakening, that's the freedom.

[00:14:20] Trang Nguyen: So despite it being painful at times, and despite it being, you know, a bit challenging of a quarter-life crisis, it leads to the freedom on the other side, the fulfillment on the other side to actually climb the mountain and finish your life on the right 

[00:14:36] Chris Furlong: mountain. And it's there. And the PD Baptist is like, you know, whether you're young or old, it's not too late either because you know, whether you're having a life crisis or midlife crisis or, or whatever, it's kinda like, I, the only way I can play this back is, you know, it took me, it took me longer than, um, you know, eight, seven years to figure it out.

[00:14:56] Chris Furlong: But it was after working full time for about seven years, eight years, knowing that I had all these other ideas. That's how long it took me to finally make the click, you know, I had the ideas, but to actually make the click and then go all in, it took me that time. Right. But now it's kind of like, okay, now I get to start from zero again and get to remake, I guess, to now create where I want to be, what I want and what that looks like.

[00:15:19] Chris Furlong: Whether it takes me one year, five year, seven years for 10 years, it's irrelevant because it's, it's actually still such a small amount of time compared to the broader picture of, you know, our lives. Um, you know, from an average lifespan perspective. And I think we get scared that, oh, it's too late to make a change or it's too late to do anything because whether you're 25 or 30, I mean, that is a bit scary.

[00:15:41] Chris Furlong: But you look back now and you think, oh, where's the last 10 years gone, but you know, it takes a while to get there. But once you're there, you're like, oh, I wish I had started it because if I had just done that over that long period of time managing what the results would be and it's now I love it. I love it.

[00:15:56] Chris Furlong: So the question I have to ask you then, and it's more so probably for the audience too, What does it actually mean to, to thrive with aligned performance? And I'm not talking about your brand, but like when you're talking about, you know, having that alignment, um, you know, w what does that really mean? And I guess in short, how, how can we discover it?

[00:16:15] Chris Furlong: And I know you probably took hours and hours on this said, we'll have to keep it simple, stupid, but just so people can get some sense of, uh, I guess, Yeah, 

[00:16:24] Trang Nguyen: for sure. So aligns performance thriving with aligned performance is showing up in a way, performing in your life in a way that is in alignment to multiple different things.

[00:16:38] Trang Nguyen: So at the highest level, what I mentioned before, making sure that you're climbing the right mountain, right? So that you don't spend your whole life climbing the mountain and get to the top that's wrong. So aligning your actions in your job and the way that you show up to your deepest. Truest, Y you'll your purpose.

[00:16:59] Trang Nguyen: Um, and this, this, some people can, are clear off and they are simply not actioning that. And that's where there's that clash. And that's where there is that misalignment and that causes more problems for them then than anything else. And some people aren't actually aware of their purpose yet. Uh, and in a way as well, I've got to say, it's kind of like trying to find the perfect soulmate.

[00:17:22] Trang Nguyen: It's not like there's just one purpose out there for you. You've got to find that purpose, but deep inside of you there. There is something that your, your heart cause for 

[00:17:34] Chris Furlong: someone that you are 

[00:17:35] Trang Nguyen: yeah. Something that is meaningful to you, that maybe you you've buried it and you haven't become you. Haven't connected to it because your life is just go, go, go all the time.

[00:17:45] Trang Nguyen: And you're responding to everyone else's needs your boss's needs, your family's needs, and you, and you've buried that, but it's inside of you somewhere. So you've got to connect to that. It's also like showing up and performing in your life and your career in a way that's aligned to your values. Once again, being aware of your values and, and being in alignment with those values.

[00:18:07] Trang Nguyen: I think a lot of the time people, people. Don't show up in alignment to their values. So they might value one thing. For example, they might value discipline. They want to be disciplined. They want to be healthy. Maybe they want to stop eating junk food, the stop they want to stop smoking. But due to habit, they are smoothing the alarm in the morning.

[00:18:32] Trang Nguyen: They're not going to the gym. They're still smoking or eating junk food every day. And that's what eats them from the inside out. It's not slowly at the start. It's just like, yep, I'm going to just brush this off and then I'd do it again for another day and then for another week. But then it starts to eat you from the inside out.

[00:18:50] Trang Nguyen: It's that's eat you out slowly. And that's where people's unfulfillment. Like that feeling grows over time until it gets to a point where you. How did I even get here? Yeah. So, you know, alignment to purpose, alignment, to values, and then ultimately alignments between the body, mind and heart. So body, you know, taking action and putting in the work, actually doing things in life.

[00:19:15] Trang Nguyen: That's, that's the only way to get results in life, through something, put in the work. You've got to have that discipline, having the mind, the, the, the mental state, the mindset that supports and aligns to that, the action that you want to take as well. Uh, and then when you have those two pillars, then you're going to, you're going to achieve success, which is generally the first step for someone to, uh, to be able to have, uh, have access to what they want in their life.

[00:19:45] Trang Nguyen: You know, the financial abundance, the. The meaning in their life when that achieves success, but then also align that to their purpose as well, aligning that to their values and what is meaningful them meaningful for them in this world. And then only once is three pillars achieved, then they can truly thrive, achieve a live performance and thrive.

[00:20:11] Trang Nguyen: And as soon as one pill is missing and there'll be just one sec short, okay. Out 

[00:20:15] Chris Furlong: of balance as well. And I'm picturing in my head like a three circle Venn diagram. And in that middle is kind of like a, you know, that sweet spot. And the way I like to look at this is, and you probably heard the term is like your north star, like where you're heading towards.

[00:20:30] Chris Furlong: Right. And, um, I want to ask from that. And so like there's a lot there, right? And like, I know obviously this is what you do for a living and help people get through those. But is there, is it like a question we can ask ourselves of like how to kind of figure out. Well, you know, if someone's listening to this right now and I think, yeah, that that's great.

[00:20:48] Chris Furlong: Like, how do I, how do I deal through all this? Right. And my camera's going out, but how do I deal through all this? And where can I even ask? You know, for me, like, you know, sometimes if I lose track of what I'm trying to do, it's kinda like, well, what can I control? Can I control this versus am I happy?

[00:21:04] Chris Furlong: Right? And then from that, I can work out, do I need to be doing more? And then it comes back on, the onus comes back on me, but you know, if I can be doing more, but I'm happy with where I am. Maybe I don't have to be doing more. Right. Because then you start to play like, you know, not just trying to prove that, you know, you have to be the biggest and the greatest, but I'm just being the best for myself.

[00:21:23] Chris Furlong: So from your perspective, is there something that we can ask ourselves to kind of pulse check or maybe help us trigger? Maybe we do need to make a change. 

[00:21:32] Trang Nguyen: Um, yeah, I think if there's one question that you can ask yourself is what you mentioned, Chris, check in with where you're at at the moment. Am I happy with where I'm at?

[00:21:42] Trang Nguyen: Like, how am I feeling? Day-to-day um, there's a process that I used with my clients. It's quite a deep, expansive process that I build my clients up to for them to get this clarity. And that is actually working backwards because sometimes it's actually challenging to sit here and be like, all right, where do I see myself in the next 10, 20, 30 years?

[00:22:03] Trang Nguyen: But working backwards can be a huge eye opener can lead to a huge awakening for people. So actually going through a process of asking yourself and going deeper into like visualization and meditating on this on the last day, All of my life or the last day when I know that, you know, I'm about to leave this planet and I've only got so many breaths left for this day.

[00:22:32] Trang Nguyen: If I look back over my life, what is it in order for me to feel at peace to leave the earth? What is it that I need to achieve? What is it that I need to become? What impacts do I need to have on this? And it sounds morbid and everything, but the reality is it's going to happen, right? Like, you know, that's one of the inevitable for all living beings.

[00:22:57] Trang Nguyen: So working backwards and starting from there. And that's what actually gave me that awareness. That's actually what gave me a huge eye opening moment with. I have no other option, but to pursue this right now, I'm not going to wait 10 years. Cause that's 10 years loss. I want to do that now. So I actually went through that process myself then, you know, changed everything within weeks because I was like, nothing else matters now.

[00:23:21] Trang Nguyen: Um, but that's quite big, right? Uh, for most people, for most people, maybe a good place to start is even creating a little bit of space. Every single. Yeah. To listen to yourself, to hear yourself, to hear your heart, what it actually is calling for, because it's really hard to hear that. And to connect to that, when as soon as you wake up, you're scrolling through social media, then you're, you've got the radio on.

[00:23:47] Trang Nguyen: Then you go to work where your boss is telling you what for X, Y, and Z, or, you know, your colleagues are asking you to do things and then you come home and it's Netflix. And it's just more messaging. It's just really hard to disconnect. It's challenging to do this next. So you've got to create that space.

[00:24:03] Trang Nguyen: There's a little bit of time every single day to talk to yourself. 

[00:24:07] Chris Furlong: Yeah, no, I love that. And I think the one thing I want to make clear to very, to everyone is, you know, like we, we do talk about this to do this, do that. And it, it is easier said than done, but you know, it has to be a compromise, right? If, if you want.

[00:24:22] Chris Furlong: You have to be able to make time for that change, right? Whether it is, as you said, whether it's that small amount of time, whether it's the 30 minutes or maybe you just want to read more, it's like, well, you have to dedicate 30 minutes. You know, you can't say I don't have time for it. Well, you have to make time.

[00:24:34] Chris Furlong: If you want the change, you need to be willing to make that compromise. And I think the good part about this is once you get some sense of, I guess it's like a snowball effect, right? Once you get that moving of a routine, you start to pick up and you gain traction and that's when you become more motivated.

[00:24:50] Chris Furlong: Cause you start to see, it's like when you start running, you know, the first time you've run it, it's like, oh, this is horrible. But then once you start to build some momentum, some confidence and you didn't actually have to walk during a run, you just realize, huh, maybe I could do it faster next time.

[00:25:03] Chris Furlong: Right. And you know, and that's, that's the natural, you know, ease into, into running. And then we tend to become competitive with ourselves and stuff, which is a great way to get into it because then you're building out, I guess, a healthy routine to see where you can take it. And obviously then you have to, you know, work through that, to, to the goals and to where you want to take it to.

[00:25:18] Chris Furlong: But I think the other part of it is, yeah, And it's a journey. It's not an overnight success. You've literally just said, think about where you want to be. You know, you were talking about death bed, but you can take it, I think, where do you want to be in five years? Right. And I know a lot of people think about this going into the careers.

[00:25:33] Chris Furlong: That's what I did at, you know, I'm like, you know, I want to be a manager by this time and you know, how long has that on average going to take and what do I need to do to get there? Um, and you get there and you're like, that's great. But then in that kind of comes back to that mid-life quarter-life crisis of like, you achieve all that and then you don't know where to go.

[00:25:50] Chris Furlong: So understanding what are the steps to get to your first goal to your next goal? And that, that north star I think is very important. Yeah. I think it was when we, when we chatted the other day, maybe it wasn't maybe someone else, but you know, it's that, that quote from bill gates, it's like we, um, we overestimate what we can achieve in a year, but we underestimate what we can achieve in 10 years.

[00:26:11] Chris Furlong: And I've loved that I've been resonating with that so much over the last week and a half or even two weeks, because it is so true because we want everything now, but that's not reality. Like it's not going to happen now. The only thing you can do now is start to work towards that, that big change. And, um, you know, as, as we said, you know, this has taken for you, a journey of changing things up, you know, having to pivot your businesses that you've touched on.

[00:26:36] Chris Furlong: And, and now you're at a spot where you kind of, you've been doing a line performance for, I think you said it's a year and a half or almost two years, is it? No, not even one year. That's right. And which, you know, it's only early days, but like imagine from five years, 10 years, and I'm sure you've got a bit of a goal and plan and roadmap to where you want to take that, but it's exciting because now it's really, you are climbing that right mountain and you get to build it the way you want.

[00:27:02] Chris Furlong: So it's really, I think these conversations can be quite overwhelming, but at the same time, really eye opening for a lot of people. Um, I don't want to scare people, but maybe we'll take it to the next to the next level. And it's kind of the next point I wanted to discuss with you, which is. Nope. What does it actually require or what does it require for us to actually reach our potential?

[00:27:24] Chris Furlong: And, you know, one thing that I think resonates with me the most is I think obviously mindset, but we have to, we have to leave a lot of things at the door. Like I'll just quickly share a story. It's like when I went on my weight loss journey, I was doing a little workouts with my best mate. He was my PT at the time.

[00:27:40] Chris Furlong: And, you know, we were, we're doing the, I think we were doing it twice a week. No good hour and a half, like full on hit workouts and losing weight. It was good, but like, it just wasn't enough kind of thing. Nothing was really getting me over that edge and you know, it kinda, we continued having conversations and it kind of came down to the conversation around, well, what am I eating?

[00:28:00] Chris Furlong: You know, what's your diet, you know, and you know, you kind of brush it off and then eventually it got to the point, cause he was getting frustrated because I'm not seeing the results that he knew I was possible of having. And um, he said, dude, the reason why you're still fat, like that's what he said. And obviously being my best mate is some level of love there.

[00:28:20] Chris Furlong: But um, he's like this because you haven't changed your diet. And then, you know, I obviously took that quite blatantly, but at the same time, it's like crap he's right. You know, and it was at that time I had to then. Well, I'm going to say, leave the ego at the door. Um, but at the same time I wanted to then go prove to him and to myself that no, I can do this and I have to change the mindset I had to change.

[00:28:41] Chris Furlong: Okay, I'm going to do this. This is why I'm doing it. And, you know, changing that whole perspective. But that, aside from your perspective, you know, what, what does it take us to do? Like, you know, where do we even start with that? Because, you know, you said you had to go through this whole process of actually having this realization of all the things that you aren't aligned with all these things that you know, aren't working out.

[00:29:03] Chris Furlong: And then you actually now have two. Start again, or you have to rediscover it. So, you know, w what, what does it require? 

[00:29:11] Trang Nguyen: Um, I love the story that you just shared Chris. Cause that's, that's exactly the line of thinking that I have, um, a lot of it has to do with the ego. Um, and, and yeah, you can, we can talk about, you gotta have courage and all of that to, to be able to, to be able to create this life that you desire the craziest life that you'd know you deserve, but ultimately that, that even the courage aspect of that comes down to the ego.

[00:29:36] Trang Nguyen: So the ego can, can actually show up in multiple different ways. So I think the most common understanding of the ego is like that person who. Has this unhealthy sense of importance that they think that they're the shit other different Mr. Smith on here. That's all right. That's the thing that they, you know, the best and they have this need to be superior and better and more.

[00:30:01] Trang Nguyen: Right. And yeah, that can be a problem. And for most people it's not actually necessarily so obvious like that, but even the little things like people who might have that, that underlying sense of, oh, I already know this attitude or reading things or learning things, or even getting advice. And it's like, yeah, Oh, I already know this.

[00:30:26] Trang Nguyen: So then, you know, walls go up and, and shuts that off the possibility for growth. There's small things like that, right? Like, you know, the, the sense of not being a student anymore and being like, yep. I'm um, where I am now. So I'm not, I don't need to continue to be a student, so it can be very subtle like that, you know, 

[00:30:44] Chris Furlong: just slightly ways of thinking almost right.

[00:30:47] Chris Furlong: And I think sometimes yeah, sometimes it's things that we don't even realize, you know, because, and not blaming anyone, but sometimes on how you're brought up. Right. You know, your background, your cultural things, you know, the things that you weren't allowed to do at home and things like that. Right. You know, you you've been conditioned in these ways and you know, everyone, everyone's just trying to do their best in terms of teaching their kids or whatever, but it will be different for everyone, you know?

[00:31:11] Chris Furlong: And I think for me, I've had to really open my eyes to realize, well, I don't know what, I don't know. Right. And for who am I to say that I know at all, and that that's been a struggle, especially being, you know, a solopreneur now and, you know, taking a chance and doing everything myself. You think, I know I've got this, I've got this, but then learning, you have to ask for help.

[00:31:30] Chris Furlong: You have to be able to get a fresh perspective, zoom out and have someone else tell it to you in, in a different perspective or tell it to you real because we do, we get stuck in our head. And if our head is a box and that's all we know, there's another big whole world wide world out there. Right. Um, and yeah, now that's, it's, especially with money.

[00:31:48] Chris Furlong: I think money is a good example that might resonate with people. This is like, you know, when you get to being an adult, you know, all your ideas around money, majority of that has come from, you know, either your, your family, you know, at school, which there's a lack of it taught at school. And then, you know, your circles, you know, who you've surrounded yourself with, and that's how you, then you do your money, whether it's budgeting or lack of budgeting, your perception of, you know, debt or your perception of investing your perception of buying real estate, or just the way you spend credit cards.

[00:32:19] Chris Furlong: And it's really interesting because. We get so hooked on that. And then when you hear from someone else, you think, no, that's wrong, but, and then you get frustrated when they're being most successful, because like how they most successful look, they're not doing what I'm doing and I know the right way.

[00:32:34] Chris Furlong: Right. And it really does come down to the ego in that pod, but yeah. Okay. Okay. So, 

[00:32:39] Trang Nguyen: yeah. And there's also like, that's one way that the IGA can shop, like, you know, a little bit of that arrogance, but also the opposite as well. So like how, how I see the ego is it's also your sense of self it's also your identity.

[00:32:53] Trang Nguyen: So even the person who is shy, who was quiet, who is not necessarily putting themselves out there due to fear of failure, fear of judgment. They're also being run by the ego. So real deep attachment to their identity and how they look right. And that can hold people back as well. You know, that, that fear of failure, um, not, not wanting to put themselves out there and do something that.

[00:33:18] Trang Nguyen: The different relative to how they've always been known. And that's also the eager aspects that needs to be left at the door, I believe. 

[00:33:26] Chris Furlong: And you don't ask, you don't know either, like, or if you don't try, how can you, you know, if you've already made the decision that you're going to fail, but you haven't actually executed anything to see if it will fail.

[00:33:37] Chris Furlong: You know, who are you to say, oh, you already know the answer because you don't, unless you've done it before. Right. So yeah, that that's, I could resonate with that. Yeah. 

[00:33:45] Trang Nguyen: Yeah. So, so that, that's, that's a big one. And I'm going to say that's probably more common even than the arrogant ego that would walk people back.

[00:33:54] Trang Nguyen: I mean, both, both would be, this is my I've observed. Um, even people placing, cause that's, that's actually. It seems like someone's so selfless by people-pleasing and, and doing things for other people, but it's actually also coming from the ego because they want to please other people, they want to be validated.

[00:34:12] Trang Nguyen: They want to be accepted. That's part of the ego as well. You know, the sense of self needs that validation needs that acceptance. And then obviously, you know, when you're always, people-pleasing, you're going to then do things that aren't actually true to you. You're going to do things that you don't actually want to be doing or need to be doing.

[00:34:30] Trang Nguyen: And then that holds people back. So I think the, the other part that people need to leave at the door is. That part of the ego, essentially who you are now, your identity, your sense of self. You got to leave that, let that die metaphorically. You actually need to allow yourself to continue to die again and again, in your lifetime to allow new parts of you to be born, especially if you are leaving a career that you've been in for 10 years, started a business, which has changed career paths.

[00:35:00] Trang Nguyen: Like Chris you'd know this. You've got. Make peace with the part of you that's dying. Yeah. 

[00:35:06] Chris Furlong: It is hard because sometimes your identity is stuck to that because that's, that's all you've known. Right. Especially in the last 10 years, I think if it was like one year and I've always admired people that, you know, you see them jump around jobs one, you know, they one year to the next thing and you know, and everyone has their ways of how they do things, but I've always looked and think, well, that's crazy because for me, I like, you know, I like the structure, the security, the routine, and the, you know, the consistency, whereas jumping around it would drive me nuts.

[00:35:34] Chris Furlong: Right. But, you know, and it works in different people's favorites, you know, going each each way. But yeah, I, I think it's crazy because if you, if you haven't invested so long in a, in a long period of time, and I, I know this because I did it myself that, you know, to then make that change. It's very, very hard to do it.

[00:35:49] Chris Furlong: But I think to your point, if we know if we already have a taste or a view or conceived. You know, the grass on the other side, which is actually greener, um, in this sense. And I know sometimes the grass isn't always greener, but I knew I had to take that risk because if I didn't, even, if the grass wasn't greener, I'm thinking, well, what's the worst case I fail.

[00:36:11] Chris Furlong: I've learned a lot. I won't be, you know, I won't be regretting it anymore and I can just get another job, like, like really that that's the worst case of it. Right. Um, but it can be, it can be scary to then think, oh, you know, I spent so much time building this up and, um, and let me tell people this, you know, you think you're going to ruin, you know, your career or people say, oh, you know, you're going to shoot yourself in the foot or you're going to lose your reputation.

[00:36:35] Chris Furlong: Uh, it was about four months off two months ago actually might even be one. But, you know, having been out of working full-time for almost a year and a half, you know, I haven't thought about going back to work and things like that. You know, that that's not really my priority. It was nice to then have I had a previous client reach out they've moved on to a different place and they reached out and they said, they said, well, you know, Chris, I'm looking for someone that can, you know, do this.

[00:36:59] Chris Furlong: Some of that I can trust and, you know, be short-term I know you're doing your own thing, but you know, are you interested? I just need someone to come in and just take over. And I said, one I'm like flattered. I'm like, I feel like I've made it because you know, you stepping away from what you've been doing.

[00:37:12] Chris Furlong: And yet someone still comes back to you because they know that you have what it takes to get that done. And, you know, I had to obviously politely decline and say really appreciate it, really honored to, you know, feel that love. But, you know, I'm, I'm on my own path to do my own thing. And that, that really helps you then say not I've made the right decision and then to be able to then when people make that.

[00:37:32] Chris Furlong: Stand with conviction and say, no, thank you. But no know this is where I'm going, but it does take that huge journey to get there. And, yeah, it's just nice talking about all this because I, it makes so much more sense and, but it really does come down to that hard choice of like, well, if you want that, then you know, you have to make a change somewhere and leave those certain things at the door.

[00:37:56] Chris Furlong: And, um, yeah, that's, that's deep, that's deep. I'm just I'm of you haven't really thought it out. Like, I mean, everything that you've just explained is everything that I've done, but it's kind of like, when you think about it, it's like, oh, you know, it sounds quite, um, yeah. And it would you find that it doesn't always be.

[00:38:14] Chris Furlong: Intense. Like, I mean, you've probably worked through quite a few people where is for some it's really hard to let go or really hard to make that transition. Whereas others, they probably click a lot quicker and they're like this. Yeah. Makes sense. And they just go all in because maybe, you know, they're more comfortable with the risk or the more comfortable with the change.

[00:38:32] Chris Furlong: Do you find that it's different for people? 

[00:38:35] Trang Nguyen: Hmm. Yeah, definitely. You know, your, how, how large your eager is, or your attachment to your sense of self has to do with it. But it's also a habit as well. Like everything in our life it's habitual, right? So there's a, there's a trigger or there's a cue, and then there's a response.

[00:38:51] Trang Nguyen: So someone's ability to actually change their themselves up and change. Their identity is actually a habit as well. So if someone has been in the same job for 20 years, if someone has had the same hair for 20 years, if someone has, um, you know, had the same friendship circles and they've really becoming grained and they're, they've trained themselves to not change up their identity often, then that's going to be more challenging for them.

[00:39:21] Trang Nguyen: And that's actually why I make it, uh, make it a conscious thing. Myself to change myself up pretty regularly. So even like hair even here so early this year, I got bangs. I've, haven't had bangs since I was a kid. Uh, and that's a pretty drastic change in terms of appearance. And I was like, no, I'm going to do it because I'm not attached to like how I look like if I can't even get a haircut, then where else am I holding myself back in my life from stepping into what my highest self deserves and what my highest self course 

[00:39:55] Chris Furlong: fall is actually a really funny.

[00:39:58] Chris Furlong: And I can't believe we're talking about here on my podcast. Um, so, you know, before COVID obviously, cause you know, we weren't working from home and things, you know, my hair was very clean, slipped back, you know, really don't work in corporate. Right. You know, you need to look good, wear the suit and tie or whatever.

[00:40:14] Chris Furlong: Um, maybe not at the time, but more just, you know, dress well in the corporate. And now my hair is long like this, you know, I haven't had a haircut literally for two years and one month I'm rocking it, Chris. And now I've got to the point, cause people are like, oh, it's getting pretty low. Like what are you doing with it?

[00:40:29] Chris Furlong: And it's become part of the reflection of what I'm doing because I feel free and that's the representation of it. And now I'm kind of stuck with it. Like I don't want to see it go because I feel like, you know, I've never had this chance to let it grow that far because you know, I wouldn't be able to do that working.

[00:40:45] Chris Furlong: And you know, you probably could, but times have changed now, but you know, it's kind of a reflection of me of like from me making that change, it's kind of gone with the flow and you know, it's grown up. But then at the same time of what you said, it's like making that change, you know, it helps you then spice it up and keep you fresh and keep you honest because you know, I'm attached to it now because it's resonating.

[00:41:04] Chris Furlong: It's kind of like when we see, you know, the nostalgia ads or, you know, things from our childhood and we just, we just light up and we're, we're, we're happy to spend mega dollars on something that reminds us of our childhood, because that was when we were the most happy, you know, like it was simple time.

[00:41:21] Chris Furlong: Right. Um, and it's, it's just crazy how we do become so habitual, as you said, or so attached to those things. But at the same time, habit, routine is, is key. Like that's what helps us get to where we want to be. Right. But, you know, coming back to once again is making sure we're doing it with the right mindset, mindset and doing it in the right way, because if you're doing it for someone else, um, not, not cutting out at anyone, that's doing nine to five.

[00:41:46] Chris Furlong: What I'm saying is if you're doing it, that's not getting to where you want to go then. Yeah. You're literally building this. I guess this mindset is routine and something that's going to be hard to break, which is an identity, uh, towards something you're not. And you're, you know, your little dream, which is this little circle.

[00:42:04] Chris Furlong: If anyone's watching, um, is, is going to be diminished. And then to build that back out, it's going to take a long time, but this is, this is really cool. And I'm full circle with it. I love it. Yeah, 

[00:42:16] Trang Nguyen: totally. You know, the hair thing. It's such as you say, it is a symbolic representation of how you are internally.

[00:42:25] Trang Nguyen: Um, and that's where, you know, even those three pillars, body, mind, and heart people do often focus on the bodies and not just physical body, but like physical action, right? Like taking action in your life. And people really focus on that pillar. Or if I want to lose weight, I need to go on this diet. If I want to, uh, if I want to step up my career, I need to be focusing on doing X, Y, and Z work.

[00:42:47] Trang Nguyen: But ultimately that is often short lived because everything external, even here, as you were talking about is actually symbolic of what shifts and where your internal world is at. And that's why, um, yeah, that is it's important. And it, you've got to focus on that as well, but it doesn't exist alone. It comes with all those internal shifts of that internal work 

[00:43:13] Chris Furlong: part of the puzzle.

[00:43:14] Chris Furlong: Right. You know, in reflection, you know, it changes over time about, you know, not to say that my hair is my identity, but it was a symbolic representation of a point in time. And, um, yeah. Okay. It's sorry. I'm, I'm kinda like playing it over my head at the moment of like the last, you know, couple of years and, and it's just, it's cool.

[00:43:33] Chris Furlong: Right. And I really hope, you know, this is resonating with those that are listening because when we get into those situations where we start to see things more clearly, or we've lived through it and then you click and you think, oh, this makes so much more sense and helps us just then re navigate or I guess, accept things better or appreciate things better as well.

[00:43:52] Chris Furlong: So I'm just trying to absorb it all, but continue on, on what we're trying to chat about. So that's, that's really good. So I think, I think we've kind of really dive in there and I'm, I'm anxious of time. Cause we're going to otherwise we're going to go down a big rabbit hole, but I think, is there anything else when it, I guess, comes into trying to reach a potential, um, that we should be avoiding or distracting, but I mean, I know we can get into a lot here.

[00:44:15] Chris Furlong: Off the top of your head. Is there anything like really high level in terms of we should be aware of this or avoid that, or, or maybe it's, you know, you just need to have a good self, you know, a good self check of, you know, what your ego is saying? 

[00:44:28] Trang Nguyen: Um, yeah. In terms of things to avoid. Going off what I said earlier, I think noise in your life.

[00:44:36] Trang Nguyen: So not just literal noise, but all types of noise. So, uh, being when being on social media all day, or always constantly tuning into the news, constantly checking emails, that is a distraction. Um, and that distracts you from what your, your mind really wants to tell you. Um, because you're constantly responding and reacting and, uh, serving the world around you.

[00:45:04] Trang Nguyen: You're constantly in a way letting. Outside contaminate what's inside. Yeah. I actually think that, you know, and you know, there's a lot of talk about reducing social media time and things like that, but really that's, that's what's happening and all that noise is distracting and it's diluting what you, you heart really calls for what really, uh, your highest self, how they show up and how they think.

[00:45:32] Trang Nguyen: Um, so I think that's, that's one and that includes not even just social media and news and email, but even people around you, people around you who might be attached yeah. Who might be attached to an older version of you. And that's what happens. I have good intentions, like friends, family, they have good intentions, but they still know you as their mates who goes out to the pub on Friday nights.

[00:45:54] Trang Nguyen: That's still, that's how they've known you. That's who they still want you to be so that you can do that with them. But if that's holding you back. Remove yourself or at least limit that noise. 

[00:46:05] Chris Furlong: Yeah. It's yeah. I'm giggling about it. Cause I is, um, I read Gary V's latest book and he talks about, you know, who you surround yourself with.

[00:46:14] Chris Furlong: Right. Um, and it's kind of like, you know, if you realize that, you know, in, in one of those people that you surround yourself with is your mom and she's really negative or she's toxic, but you know, she's your mom, you love it. But you know, if you're talking to it 10 times a day and she's just only putting negativity because you know, that's just the way she is, then maybe don't talk to her 10 times a day.

[00:46:34] Chris Furlong: Talk to him one time today. Right. And because that starts to become, and I'm not talking about anyone's mom in particular, what I'm just trying to say is if there's people in your life that are putting this negativity or things that are not of who you want to be, then you need to change that. Right.

[00:46:49] Chris Furlong: Because it's kind of like, what you put in is what you put out. And it's the same with social media. And I think, especially reflecting in the last two years, especially here in Melbourne for those listening, if you, I think most people would know by now, cause I've mentioned it so many times that we were in lockdown for so long and you know, the hot, not necessarily the highlight, but other than work is like, naturally we go to the news, oh, what's the cases today, what's this.

[00:47:11] Chris Furlong: And then, you know, there's all the anxiety. And then you think, oh, maybe there's a sense of hope or is it bad news, good news. And all of a sudden that's now dictating our day, you know? And you know, it's either high or low and you know, it really has to come back to what, like, can you control any. No. Right.

[00:47:27] Chris Furlong: And I think that's, that's such an important part of all that is because the social media, you look at that and usually it's slur, you know, reflecting on, oh, that person looks like they got this. I look at that success. Or you just go down the rabbit hole of just watching useless things. Look, there's plenty of stuff that's really educational and really can be beneficial from it.

[00:47:46] Chris Furlong: But at the same time, if it's not helping you get to where you want to be, and then you get to the end of the day and you're making excuses, you're feeling down and feeling fluffy. Well, the only person we can blame is ourselves. Right. Um, and to, to that in mind, and we've already started to talk about it, but I guess from that perspective, What are, what are other things?

[00:48:09] Chris Furlong: Cause we've kind of already touched on like, how can we pulse check ourselves? We kind of dive into that already. But the next thing I wanted to kind of validate was things that we can literally do today that can help us move forward in the right direction. And of course, you know, someone can come and, um, you know, speak to you.

[00:48:25] Chris Furlong: They can go get coach and go get help. But I think if anyone's listening right now and they're curious of like, is there something they can do today? And kind of like, you know, whether it's writing something down to help us kind of say, okay, what can I do today to start me for a better tomorrow? Would you have any recommendations?

[00:48:43] Trang Nguyen: Um, yeah, so the, the specific recommendations, uh, based off some of the conversations we've already had, so the first one creating space in your day. So that, that kind of sounds a bit broad, but what I specifically mean by that is to how does time in your day, where you're not doing something yeah. Have so many day where you can actually sit in a bit of stillness, bring out a journal in many people might not have even had a journal since I was 15 years old, but maybe go get one.

[00:49:14] Trang Nguyen: And then you can, what you can even ask yourself. If I were to continue doing what I have for the last month, then where would my life be? In six months? In three years. In 10 years. That's a pretty eyeopening question because even though I was, um, yeah, I was in a place where I was doing well, but when I asked myself that question, I was like, oh shit, I don't like where it looks like in 10 years, time, even six months.

[00:49:42] Trang Nguyen: I'm not, I'm not settling for this. I want more. So that's even a good question to start with journaling. Um, another question you can ask yourself in journaling, as well as like, uh, who are the top five people who are in my world at the moment. Yep. So as we talked about before, uh, different people. You know, might share their and project, their opinions onto you as might not help you because it's a more of a reflection of their beliefs and their experiences.

[00:50:08] Trang Nguyen: So who are the top five people in my world right now that could be people in your real life could be people in social media as well. Because if you're not talking to people in your life every day, but you're following someone and you're reading their posts every day, then they are influencing you. Yeah.

[00:50:28] Trang Nguyen: So who are the top five people? Are they, are they a good model of who I want to become? Or are they at the level that I wanted to get to? Yes or no, but if not, then who can I bring into my top five who will lift me up and just pull me to become the person to achieve the things that I have been striving for?

[00:50:51] Trang Nguyen: Yeah. So a couple of those questions that you can ask yourself in journaling. I think having, yeah, I love those questions and they're not even just one-off questions. Ask yourself that. And then in a month's time, ask yourself that exact same question again, check in 

[00:51:05] Chris Furlong: with that's true, because you'll see the result.

[00:51:07] Chris Furlong: I mean, I love, I love seeing progress and I love seeing like, I'm really, data-driven like, like I love numbers and stuff and you know, at the same time, That can work in both, you know, a really good way in a bad way, because I get so stuck on the numbers and I'm like, oh, I'm not hitting this tiger and I'm not hitting this number or whatever, but then when you zoom out and you look at the numbers from a different perspective, and I kind of actually posted about this last night and you reflect, and you, you, you take that perspective view and you're like, it's not actually really that bad and look how much you've done.

[00:51:35] Chris Furlong: And I think the one that resonates the most with me is, yeah, writing down. If I continue to do this for the next 30 days, the next six months, the next year to five, whatever, what does my life look like? Because I think when people actually dedicate some time to it, and it's probably not like a two minute thing, right.

[00:51:52] Chris Furlong: You kind of have to dig a little deeper, but I think if you do do that, you probably have quite an awakening and realize you either loving what you're doing, or there's some things there that you need to change. And yeah, it's the reason why I say it so much is because I think about, you know, I've spoken about this on another episode, as well as if it's not leading towards where you want to be.

[00:52:16] Chris Furlong: You've only got really one, one option is either you have to suck it up and keep doing it and that, and then you continue to be sad or you have to make a change. That's the only thing, no one else is going to do it for you and as tough and raw and you know, aggressive or blunt, that is that that's the reality because you know, anyone can come to you.

[00:52:35] Chris Furlong: So try and I need some help. You know, this is what I'm doing, but if they're not willing to take the action, take the change, you know, do whatever they need to do to make that change. Then you're not going to change it. You're just going to give them, this is what you need to think about. This is, you know, the, the different pillars you need to focus on.

[00:52:52] Chris Furlong: And how do we start to fix this one? How do we fix this one? But it really does coming full circle. Come back to that whole mindset shift, really, because you can go fill out all these things of how you can be a better person tomorrow and what you can do today. But you can write down that, all these things, but if you don't do anything about it, You know, nothing's going to change.

[00:53:12] Chris Furlong: It comes back to the whole thing of luck and opportunity people think, oh, that person's just so lucky. They've had the super platter handed to them. It's like, no, they're out there doing the work. You know, like they've put themselves in a situation where maybe they do get handed something, but that's because they had put themselves out for that opportunity.

[00:53:29] Chris Furlong: Right. And I think we all have the ability to be able to perform at our best, which is what you're all about, but it really does come to actually tapping into understanding. What does that look like and how do you make it happen? Because I'm sorry. No, one's going to do it for you. 

[00:53:46] Trang Nguyen: Yeah, no, absolutely. Okay.

[00:53:48] Chris Furlong: Now this is really, really good. I want to kind of change course, and we've discussed on so much here and, you know, if anyone just quick little call out, if anyone wants to ask, train any questions, please go reach over to her site and stuff. And she'll talk on where you can reach out to her shortly. But I want to finish up with some rapid fire questions, you know, just to get to know you a bit and kind of make it a bit more lighthearted.

[00:54:10] Chris Furlong: Cause we have touched on some quite deepness here and it can be quite overwhelming, but there are very important conversations to have. So with these, um, rapid fire questions, I mean, if you think there's some, you know, extra meat or something that you want to add value with, you can dive into a bit, otherwise just try and keep them short and sharp.

[00:54:27] Chris Furlong: Um, cause I think that that's just what makes it fun. So we'll dive into that. And the first one being, which I think you'll probably find it pretty easy is favorite travel destination. 

[00:54:38] Trang Nguyen: Hm. So anywhere hot or new is generally is I love, but if I had to choose one place, probably Vietnam, um, well I'm, I, my parents are Vietnamese and, and, uh, like I have a Vietnamese backgrounds.

[00:54:54] Trang Nguyen: That's not the reason why though. I think I have good memories. I've only been there like once as an adult and I went there. It was my first overseas holiday with my partner, James. So, um, yeah. Good memories. I 

[00:55:05] Chris Furlong: love it. Love it. I have been to be at now. Um, yeah, I have, it's a bit of a blur now, but yeah, I have been there.

[00:55:11] Chris Furlong: Um, favorite book or audio book that you've read or listened to. 

[00:55:16] Trang Nguyen: I would say the leader who had no title by Robin Sharma. Um, so by the way, like love a lot of different books, but that one, I really loved it. I, I do go back and reread that. Um, 

[00:55:30] Chris Furlong: yeah. I love that. I love that. And it's the thing I love about asking his question is, do you get people that come out with some, you know, different, weird, wonderful things.

[00:55:38] Chris Furlong: And you know, sometimes it's not like, you know, most people think, oh, it's going to be some, you know, how to level up and you know, self-assessment book or something. And then sometimes people just throw out, oh no, I just like to read, you know, really, you know, they just say novels, right. And that's what I love about it.

[00:55:51] Chris Furlong: Cause we all, you know, take in our information and learning and the things from different way. I haven't, I haven't heard the book, but I'm definitely going to suss it out. And for anyone that wants to listen to it or read it, I'll put a link in the description below. The next one is, which is always a fun.

[00:56:05] Chris Furlong: One to ask is you win $10,000, no strings attached. What are you doing? 

[00:56:12] Trang Nguyen: Oh, my gosh, so many different options. I think my actual response is going to be a little bit boring. I think I would actually put it towards the house that James and I are building at the moment. But yeah, that's probably where at this point in my life, that's where it 

[00:56:30] Chris Furlong: would go to.

[00:56:31] Chris Furlong: No, it's good. And that's why I love to answer it because obviously it will be different for everyone in different situations or whatnot, but there that's a good priority. And in this day and age, you know, that extra 10,000 would make a big difference in the, in the longer run. So kudos. That's that's exciting.

[00:56:46] Chris Furlong: Um, This is, this one can be quite broad, but you know, how do you like to spend your free time? And you've touched on that. You like to do a lot of sports stuff I I've seen on Instagram, things that you like to do, but for the audience. Yeah. W what do you like to spend in your, how, how do you like to spend your free time?

[00:57:01] Trang Nguyen: Um, so when I'm not like chilling out and sitting on the couch, cuddling my dogs. Well, I do like to do, um, my, my theme for this year. You know, how you start the year and you have a theme for the year, how you want to evolve into it has been an adventure. So, uh, that's been my big thing at the moment, like hiking, camping, scuba diving got my certification last month.

[00:57:24] Trang Nguyen: Uh, and yeah, getting outdoors and doing things that are a bit uncomfortable. Um, but at the same time, a beautiful, because you're in nature and you're, you're literally removing yourself from noise. It's just birds and just rustling of leaves out there. So, yeah. 

[00:57:42] Chris Furlong: W do you have any hobbies? Like, you know, if I always love asking this question is because outside of what we show and what we say, and, you know, I've seen, you know, you've been venturing quite a lot.

[00:57:52] Chris Furlong: That's been pretty cool, but do you have any weird and wonderful hobbies that you do on the side and you don't have to share if it's weird. 

[00:57:58] Trang Nguyen: Yeah. So I, I do have hobbies. Um, it's funny when you ask that Chris, the first thing that came to mind was going to EDM music festivals. 

[00:58:07] Chris Furlong: Fair enough. 

[00:58:09] Trang Nguyen: That's something that people would not expect because like, you know, I share all the, all the conscious, like reflective, like, you know, coaching parts of myself, but then I also just love to go to a good rave and that's something that I think I will continue to do for a long time when they do come around.

[00:58:26] Chris Furlong: That's what I wanted to hear that weird. And one of the things that people don't expect to that that's great. Um, if you could have coffee with anyone from the past or present who. 

[00:58:37] Trang Nguyen: Oh, such a good question. This one, it's actually a really tough one. The first person who comes to mind though, would actually be my grandpa because he passed 10 years ago.

[00:58:50] Trang Nguyen: And over the last 10 years, so much has happened that I would just love to share with them and, and, um, yeah, like talk about no, 

[00:58:59] Chris Furlong: that's really sweet. And once again, I love this because I've had, I've had answers from Jesus to like, you know, some of the big celebs to then family members as well. Right. And that's what I love about it is because it would be very hard to do.

[00:59:12] Chris Furlong: And every time I asked the question, I'm still thinking, oh, who I would be, because there's probably too many, but not, I really appreciate the honesty on that one. Um, and the last one, which is kind of a tough one, it might not be, but it can speak. Volumes is advice you would give your younger self or maybe teenagers.

[00:59:31] Chris Furlong: Um, 

[00:59:33] Trang Nguyen: I would say, and this sounds super cliche, but what I think I really needed to hear when I was a teenager was do what you want to do, like follow, follow your heart. But the thing is, I, it's not like anyone told me what I needed to do at that stage. Um, it was just still, always within, was still within a glass ceiling.

[00:59:52] Trang Nguyen: Like I still chose what I wanted to do, but with limits with strings attached all this, but then I. That I had known like what I'm doing now. It's just like, not open that up, like open that glass ceiling and that box up to anything and everything. It's your life. You can, you can choose whatever 

[01:00:10] Chris Furlong: you, it's one of those cliche kind of things.

[01:00:13] Chris Furlong: It's like, you know, if I knew what I knew now, you know, kind of thing. Um, but you know, at the same time I always resonate with this because, you know, yeah. If you had asked me five years ago that this is what I'd be doing, you know, reselling and doing a podcast, it's not what I would've thought. Right? Let alone 5, 10, 15 years ago.

[01:00:31] Chris Furlong: And, but at the same time, I've always known that I wanted to, you know, do my own thing, you know, work for myself and help other people further their life. Maybe at the time, it wasn't for the, your life, but help others achieve their own life. Right. And, but you don't know what that looks like. And it's, it's one of those catch 20 twos, right.

[01:00:52] Chris Furlong: Because if we didn't go through the journey that we've gone through, we wouldn't be able to be here. You know, if we actually knew what we knew that, you know, we probably actually wouldn't be doing our, we would be doing what we're probably doing in another 10, 20 years. You know what I mean? Like, because we wouldn't be ahead.

[01:01:06] Chris Furlong: So it's, it's kinda, it's a weird thing because progress is so, so good and so important, but you can only appreciate it until you get. Got some behind her. Right. You know, you can look ahead and you see all these people and I get frustrated with it. You see the greats, you see the successful people and we're all successful regardless, you know?

[01:01:26] Chris Furlong: But the cliches of success that we see, these people have no big businesses or, you know, they're the top YouTube is, or people, you know, top coaches, you know, to speak into your relevance. And we look and think, oh, they've made it look so easy. Right. Or, you know, they did this in 10 years, but usually when we're looking at this, you know, we're in the one year, in two years, in three years in, you know, you can't compare.

[01:01:49] Chris Furlong: But when you get to that point, it's like, even now you being one year in, there's probably people looking at you think, nah, you know, how do you, how did you do all this? How do you do everything? How, how did you make that happen? Right. And you look back and you compare that to just take a moment and think, huh?

[01:02:05] Chris Furlong: You know, like you have that. You've made it, even though you haven't been like you have, right. In that sense, in that small top small timeframe. And it really comes down to putting in that work, but that progress, you learn to appreciate it so much. Right. And it's, I mean, that's probably been the big takeaway that I've taken from all this is, you know, if you want something, you have to do something about it, but you know, how having you actually help us understand that, you know, there are certain things in our life, you know, I guess that holistic model that we need to put things into place.

[01:02:36] Chris Furlong: We need to have the hard conversations with ourselves and be willing to, you know, find out what we have to leave at the door. Right. If we want to make that change. And it's, it's been a very deep conversation and it might actually be the same answer. Then I'm about to ask you, but if you could leave anything with the audience that of listening, you know, one thing from this podcast, what would that be?

[01:02:59] Trang Nguyen: I would say a similar, similar along those, those wavelengths, but you know, the final thing to, to ponder on or to sit on is think of your dreams and reality, not as separate things, but as the same thing, because you know how people say things like, yeah, Uh, gone on holiday now I'm back at work. So I'm back at reel back into reality now.

[01:03:23] Trang Nguyen: And it's like, oh, you know, I want to do this as a job, or now you gotta be realistic, but it's like, what is reality? But the reality is only ever the meaning and the way that we choose to perceive things. Yeah. As humans, everything in our entire reality is first processed by us. So, so whatever you think is reality, you can set the bar really low and just settle for that.

[01:03:47] Trang Nguyen: Or you can make your reality the same as your dreams. So 

[01:03:52] Chris Furlong: podcasts 

[01:03:53] Trang Nguyen: on this, I know that it's a huge thing. So go get out there and do it. You know, like certain things that need to be. Follow your dreams, that's it. 

[01:04:02] Chris Furlong: And that's it. I love it. I could speak about that for ages. Um, thank you so much. Uh, where, where can people find you if they want to know about you on a daily basis or, or your business where where's the best place to find things, all thing Trang, 

[01:04:15] Trang Nguyen: um, the best place to find me would be on Instagram.

[01:04:17] Trang Nguyen: That's where I'm most active. So at transcend Newman. Now the spelling of that, I'm sure Chris, you put that in the podcast description and I also do have our own podcast as well, which is simply called the aligned performance 

[01:04:30] Chris Furlong: podcast. Love it. It's so good. And yeah, go, go check out and see what she's doing.

[01:04:34] Chris Furlong: Cause you know, of course, yes, she's doing some things. Then you can work with her if that's what you need, but just your posts, the way you share your life, it's just encouraging. It's uplifting, it's positive. And you know, I think the ones that I love the most is yeah. Seeing those little adventures that you do and how that resonates with different people in different ways.

[01:04:50] Chris Furlong: But I think it was you, you posted one the other day, you were trying to do, um, you tried to do. Yeah. Yeah. And what I loved about it was that, you know, you're, you're doing things that you're, you're not at the top in your field, that you're not, you're not the pro at, you're not the best at, and it means you have to start at the, at the bottom.

[01:05:07] Chris Furlong: And what that, that really resonates with me is that, you know, because in other elements, you know, if you look onto your page, you are very successful. You've got so many things that are going for you. You've got so many things where you're at the top of your game. And obviously there's always people ahead of you.

[01:05:21] Chris Furlong: But what I'm saying is you're doing really, really good. But then for you to then go back down into a place where no one knows who you are, what you're about or what you're capable of doing, but you're basically just at zero with them and you put them on the same playing field. And I kind of love it.

[01:05:35] Chris Furlong: It's kind of like that undercover boss kind of situation, you know, like, you know, they'd go in and they don't know who their boss is. And then, you know, but it's, it's a really cool thing to do. And I think it's, it's quite encouraging to say. A lot of the time, we are always trying to, you know, build out our current situations that are current levels, but maybe to do that, we have to start back down somewhere else and just learn that new skill or take a different understanding of something because that will help us see what we do on a daily basis and a whole different realm.

[01:06:01] Chris Furlong: And yeah, that, that, that resonated for me. Anyway, I get off topic say thank you. Thank you so much. Um, it's been an absolute honor and privilege to have the conversation with you and the hour has flown by. Um, yeah, so people go, go check out, try and go. See what she's doing and yeah, I really appreciate it.

[01:06:17] Chris Furlong: Thank you so much. 

[01:06:19] Trang Nguyen: Thanks Chris. Thanks for having me on the podcast. I've had a blast. I can't believe that stayed an hour. It felt like 20 minutes. Um, so yeah, thank you for having me and thank you for what you do as well. Like love what you're doing and the inspiration that you are spreading out there 

[01:06:35] Chris Furlong: as well.

[01:06:36] Chris Furlong: Well, thank you very much. Well, awesome. You have a wonderful day. And for those listening, I'll, I'll wrap it up in a, in a quick summary. Cheers. So there you go. Another super exciting episode. And what I love about this episode so much, and I've kind of already discussed it as we wrapped up there with Trang, but essentially that if you want something, it really comes down to what are you willing to do about it?

[01:06:56] Chris Furlong: And, you know, you can go through getting help from someone like tranq and going through some coaching and getting some, some transformation help. But at the same time, I think. What was really, really encouraging to me from Trang was, you know, asking yourself some of the tough questions, especially the one around, you know, sitting down and actually thinking what I've been doing for the last 30 days.

[01:07:15] Chris Furlong: If I continue to do this for the next 30 days, if I continue to do this for the next six months, if I continue to do this for the next year, two years, five years, what does my life look like? And I think that's the really important takeaway for myself is to helping you keep rooted to where you want to be.

[01:07:31] Chris Furlong: And if you do struggle with knowing you don't know what you want, or you don't know where you want to be, or you have ideas of where you want to be, and you do need that help, then do reach out. Do have the conversation with Trane. You can hit her up on her social. Otherwise, you can reach out to myself and more than happy to continue that conversation.

[01:07:46] Chris Furlong: But at the end of the day, if you do need help do ask otherwise, go through some of these exercises that we've discussed today and see if they can help you get closer to where you want to be. And see if that can help you start that transformation process. I'm really, really, um, thankful and grateful to have trained on this episode.

[01:08:02] Chris Furlong: And I'm looking forward to having more conversations with her in the future as well. Anyway, if you enjoyed this episode, do go reach out and send a message to try and say hi, and you know, if you are new to her audience as well, otherwise you have a wonderful day. Cheers. Now, if you didn't know, we do have the podcast merge and this is with a key focus.

[01:08:20] Chris Furlong: And Namel pins. Now, if you haven't checked these out, make sure you do because the intent of these are really just to be a small token and a reminder for you to charge on, to push on and to further your lifestyle, whether it is a gift for someone else to encourage them, or maybe to inspire them, or maybe it's a way to motivate yourself, or you can simply just make a purchase to simply support the podcast, which would be greatly appreciated.

[01:08:42] Chris Furlong: We do also have some sweaters and some long tastes. So make sure you check it out. Lincoln, the description and in the show notes, really to appreciate it. Jeez.