164. Freedom over Fear
FEAR!
It's a powerful emotion often to blame for why people don't show up, speak their truth and share their voice.
In this episode I chat to an American Ninja Warrior and host of a show called The Fear Hunter - Justin Maina.
You'll learn -
- Incredible tips to overcome a fear of speaking.
- How to tell the difference between fear keeping you safe and fear holding you back.
- The wild way Justin tackled his fear of sharks.
- The biggest lesson Justin learned about fear - and it's not what you might think!
Follow Justin on Instagram @justinmainaofficial
Transcript
Welcome back to That Voice Podcast. We are talking today about fear. I would say this is the number one emotion holding people back from showing up online, speaking their truth, sharing their voice. And maybe you're like, Yes, I am shit scared of public speaking. This is why I'm here. I'm afraid of what people will think if I post a video online. I fear getting out of my comfort zone. If this is you, well get my program, Fear to Fierce, and I'll walk you through the 12 exercises you need to start moving and not let that fear hold you back. And remember, as a listener of That Voice Podcast, you can get it for less than a hundred US dollars. The link is in the show notes. And if you're afraid of making that investment in yourself, that's all the more reason to do it.
In this episode, I chat to the amazing Justin Maina. He's an American Ninja Warrior who is host of a show called The Fear Hunter, and he helps people feel loved and valued while living a life of purpose and freedom. You can see why I love this guy. Justin shares incredible tips to overcome fear. He identifies better than anyone I've heard. How to tell the difference between the fear that keeps you safe and the fear that holds you back. Wait till you hear the story of his swim in dark shark-infested waters like, oh my gosh. And he also has an incredibly generous offer for three listeners. Believe me, you're gonna wanna hear and take Justin up on this offer. Okay, are you ready to feel freedom over fear? Strap yourself in. This is one entertaining micdrop-packed episode of that voice podcast.
Sally:
Justin Maina, welcome to That Voice Podcast. So great to have you on the show.
Justin:
Oh, it's great to be here. I'm looking forward to anybody who has an interest in overcoming fear. Definitely stay tuned because I've learned some things about it. After all, I've got a show called The Fear Hunter.
Sally:
Knowing your content, there is so many great tips that you can share. My first question is, what is the scariest thing that you've ever done?
Justin:
The scariest thing I've ever done, I would say would be conquering my worst fear which was the fear of sharks. I was tempted by sharks my whole life cuz my dad grew up with the movie Jaws. And I just, I would always hear the, the music, the theme from that song whenever I would. Exactly. And I would hear that every time I would go in the water. And then eventually I met people who did not have that fear and I would just ask them what, you know, why they weren't afraid? And I learned that it was something that I eventually needed to overcome because I wanted to be as free as they were. I saw people swimming the water without hesitation. They'd be in The Bahamas and they're swimming out to an island. And I'm like, oh my goodness, that's, that's shark territory. But eventually I went through this process of just saying, God, I don't wanna fear this anymore.
Justin:
What do I do? And I really had a peace that if I trusted him, I would be okay. And I was honestly willing to put my life on the line and it involved me doing something that I wouldn't recommend anybody do. But this was for me. I knew that if I did this one challenge and survived, I would've unlocked whole new potential. And that involved me jumping off my dock at midnight and swimming across the canal and back by myself. And this is in Florida, the like your sharks, bull sharks and the Boca Sega Bay. And it involved going there and back and it was, it was a really crazy experience.
Sally:
So what was going through your mind when you are on that dock in the dark, about to dive in? What came over you to enable you to get over that fear and dive in?
Justin:
Well, I'll tell you what the first part of my brain was thinking, do I dive in or do I slowly get in because I don't wanna jump on a shark? But then I also thought is that fear in and of itself just starting to slowly get in. And I realized it was, and I thought, if I'm gonna overcome this, I might as well go diving first and I'm probably gonna get to the other side a lot faster. And I honestly swam like Michael Phelps as fast as I could. So if anybody did anything, did try to hit me, I would, it would bounce right off. So I swam with such adrenaline to get to the other side. But that was only half the battle. But it, it's like in the moment, all the, all these fears and thoughts just speak to your mind. Like on the other side, I'll just share this part. On the other side, I realized how far I swam.
Justin:
I have a perspective of not being on my dock anymore. I'm in the water chest level by somebody else's dock. And I was tempted to walk out, you know, because I was on and then walk back home. But then I saw my faint dock light in the distance. And I thought that is, that represented freedom for me. And between me and that freedom, there was an option for me to be able to step outside and, and have the faith that I could make it. And honestly, I didn't know if I could, I honestly felt like I could possibly die. And while I was thinking of all these things, I stepped on an oyster bed and cut my foot and now I'm bleeding. And I realized after I swam every shark in the world, probably heard all the ruckus that I was swimming so fast and they're all just waiting for me. But eventually I started swimming back and realized I put myself in a situation that I, I've never put myself in. I've never put myself in a situation where my life was on the line and nobody could save me. It was just me, the elements. And God, if you're there to protect me, you're, you're the only person that could possibly help me. Cuz that was it. And I just had to swim and realize that's all I can do.
Sally:
Wow. So at what point are you, where's the line between overcoming fear and tempting fate stupidity?
Justin:
Yes, exactly. For me it comes down to conviction. And there's, there's a big difference between caution and fear. Some people may blur the two phrases, the two words, but for me, I believe that God's given us dominion on this earth to be able to have freedom to do things, try different things, look at the Olympians, trying things that could possibly allow them to become quadriplegics. You know, where's the line? I think if you have a desire in your heart to do something, you've been given that freedom to do it. Talk to people. Well, that's what I did. I talked to people who are experts at fear experts with sharks and they're like, well, sharks don't like you. It's very rare, you know? And you know, they didn't necessarily tell me to jump and swim at night, but I know people do that.
Justin:
Navy Seals, they'll be two miles shore and have to swim by themselves back to shore. They do it. And I think we're just very complacent in life. And at least I felt like I was, and I wanted to challenge myself to do something. And, you know, I experienced freedom. And the biggest lesson I learned from that was, I personally thought that once I did that I would be fearless. That was my goal, to no longer fear sharks. Now here's what I learned through that, I learned that you don't need to feel fearless. I just needed to know that if I had a conviction, I'm gonna do it.
Sally:
Yeah, that's really interesting. It answers another question I had around when do you know that fear is keeping you safe or holding you back? And it sounds like it is in that word conviction.
Justin:
Yeah. Cuz you know, one of the greatest regrets in life is somebody being on their deathbed and feeling like they were living a life more for other people than for themselves. And I truly wanna live a life knowing I went for it. Yeah. I had, I have ups and downs, but some of the greatest breakthroughs in people's lives, you know, some of the greatest storytellers are the ones who took that big leap of faith and moved across country, moved to a different country, they let their job on the line, their relationship was on the line, their life. And I wanna be willing to do that if I have a conviction. So I think it's just surrounding myself with people who are bold like that and it can kind of rub off on me.
Sally:
So with the Fear Hunter, this show that you're doing, I also, on your Instagram, you speak to a lot of different people about a lot of different fears. What are the key things that you've learned about fear?
Justin:
First of all, it's a liar. A lot of times people think to themselves that fear is something that'll protect them. And in a way it does. But then it also robs you of a lot of freedom. So that's the second thing I've learned about fear. Fear is not only a liar, but it's a thief. It steals your joy. It lies to you because a lot of people think about this, like, think about a fear that you have. It hasn't even happened yet. You don't even know if that thing will even come to fruition. And, you know, yet a lot of people's lives revolve around it. If think about somebody who's like, Oh, I'm so worried about this or that, well, you know, you're, as long as you've done everything you can, I personally would suggest pray about it and leave it. Leave it at that, you know, there's a lot of things we can't control, and you're gonna have a lot more peace in your life if you let that fear go and then seek help.
Justin:
You know another thing that I believe, I believe there's a spirit realm. I believe that we're we're made of body, mind, and spirit. And I believe that fear is a spirit. There's, there's good and evil in the world. And this is my perspective. One of my favorite verses that's that's ground into who I am is God has not given us that spirit of fear. It's a spirit but of power, love, and of a sound mind. And if you're feeling lack of love or feeling insecure, you know, or don't have peace at night, there could be fear, you know, as a part of what's pulling you away from that peace, that love and of a sound mind figuring out, Hey, what kinda life do you wanna live? And if you were to have good and evil fight, who would win? I personally believe the one that you feed the most, the one you focus your attention on is going to win. And if you're focusing on a lot of fear, a lot of negativity, you're gonna find it
Sally:
Justin, dropping the gold. I absolutely love everything you just said. You mentioned that one of the, the number one human regret, which is from a book actually called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, is, I wish I'd lived a life true to me, not what others expected of me. Number two is I wish I hadn't worked so hard. And number three is what I really work with, which is I wish I'd had the courage to express myself. That's the third top regret. And that feeds into one of the biggest fears in the world, which is public speaking. Do you have any advice, I know you've done television presenting and a bit of speaking yourself. Do you have any advice of people who are many of my listeners who have that fear around public speaking?
Justin:
So I would say the biggest thing is knowing who you are. When you know who you are, you don't have to seek validation from other people. First of all, the, I like to look at it as, I'm not the speaker, I'm the teacher. They are having me there for a reason. I'm there to share something that'll give them value. They're not there to really see me. They're there to help better themselves. So if you have something to share, realize that hey, you're just sharing something that has been true to you. It's your own personal story. I also believe that when you know who you are and you don't have to worry about the validation of other people, there's so much freedom in that it's easier said than done. But I've had experiences where I've spoken in front of thousands of people and I was very nervous prior to it.
Justin:
And then eventually I just had a real conversation, heart to heart with God. And I'm like, God, just, I really felt like I needed to just speak from the heart, even though it was 13 minutes. We had to, we were expected to make over $10,000 just to raise for another non-profit. I walked up there and I realized that there was a story that was unfolding and it would've never unfolded if I was so rigid. And what I did was, I, I actually got an injury just prior to walking up there and I was limping and told them, Hey guys, look, I may not look like an American ninja warrior athlete. You know, that was a platform that they wanted me to speak on. But the fact is, I'm here. I'm speaking from the heart. And I believe that there's opportunities in life where you're gonna have every excuse in the world not to do something.
Justin:
But if you have a conviction in your heart, which is what we were talking about earlier, I think you need to follow that conviction. Even if everyone around you disagrees with you, some of the most successful people have had everybody against them give yourself permission. I, my dad actually just sent me a video from years ago of us performing on stage. I used to be a musician and my dad and my sister are, as well. And I remember watching it thinking, wow, this is a great memory. But I, deep down aside, I was kind of thinking, Oh, I hope I mess up. That'd be very funny. Like, it would've been more exciting to have me mess up. I just, I feel like maybe there's a human element there, but give yourself permission to be who you are, which is not perfect. And you can actually use that to your advantage on stage with public speaking, something happens, address it and realize, Wow, it gives other people permission.
Justin:
It's your stage. You know, if you can let go of that fear of being a perfectionist, maybe you're gonna have any even better time up there. Not only for yourself, but maybe people will resonate with you even more and be like, Wow, that person's just so cool. The lights went out and they just went along with it and they didn't seem like it bothered them. That gives me courage to maybe be more myself. So that's where it comes from. I wanna inspire people and the public platform is a great way to do it.
Sally:
Oh, such great advice. Knowing yourself, trusting yourself, and giving yourself permission to not be quote unquote, perfect.
Justin:
Yeah, it's a hard thing to do, especially if you grow up being a musician where everything has to be right and perfect, but that's not the way you live life. That's not real life. That's, that's fake life. That's performance life. I grew up an actor. And you have to do, actually, lemme tell you this, this is good for public speaking. This is a nugget that a mentor once told me. I believe if you wanna get better in life, you need to be vulnerable. And I remember being vulnerable with a mentor and saying, Hey, I got asked to do a video for someone. I did, and it was really good, but I was open with him. He said, Man, this is incredible. And I said, look, can I be honest with you? It took me 72 takes to do this. And and he said, Wow, really?
Justin:
And I said, Yeah. And what, what advice can you give me? Because I don't wanna be a 72-take man. That is not the type of life I wanna live. I know. It's, I was like, oh, I can do this better and this better. That's not real life for me. And, and he said, Here, here's what I'll give you. He said, Pretend like you're going live and you've got one or two takes to do it. That's about all you're giving yourself. And he also said, this was the best one for me. He said, It may not be your best, but it's good enough. That was one of the best bits of advice he told me, may not be your best, but it's good enough. And the last thing he said is, Ask yourself why You're there. You're there. You've been asked to do it for a reason.
Justin:
Be yourself. There's, there's probably more nuggets of wisdom that you're adding from that little segment. Even if you messed up, let's say it was 60% of what you wanted it to be and you wanted it to be a hundred percent, that 60% is probably way better than what most people know, and what most people are gonna be listening to. So that in and of itself is worth it. Fumble forward and just get the reps in and eventually you'll be better. And then the last thing I'll say is, a lot of people will tell me, Wow, Justin, you're natural at speaking and doing all these things. I said, I would tell them, If you realized how much I practiced behind the scenes and how many reps I've done, how many times I've messed up, you wouldn't think it's that impressive because the behind the scenes work is where a lot of the training has come from.
Sally:
Yeah, absolutely. And it's a similar thing. I was a television reporter for many years and you know, you couldn't be a 72-take kind of person. Like often, often you're live and you've got one take. Or even if you're recording in the booth, if you're recording that many times you'd never get your story in for deadline because you know, other reporters need to use the the booth or you need to write your story. So it was similar advice that was given to me. It's never the best you can do. It's always the best by deadline and that is good enough. And that mentality really helps you keep moving forward and not get paralyzed or stuck on things.
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Sally:
Justin, you have so many interesting parts of your life that I'd love to explore more. One thing I will ask about though is the Ninja Warrior. So we have Ninja Warrior in Australia as well. And looking at those obstacles, it's just beyond belief, how people have the strength to be able to do that. And also the courage because I mean, I guess you're falling into water if you fall, it's still quite scary to jump up on those massive obstacles. Tell us about your Ninja Warrior experience and how you got yourself in the right physical and mental zone to be able to go so well.
Justin:
Yeah, what's interesting, I didn't even know I was training for Ninja Warrior pretty much my whole life. Had no idea. So that's where it's just like, if things are meant to be, it's gonna be. So the way it started was I was always a monkey. I always loved climbing things. Eventually I became a licensed massage therapist where I was working on people. I was a deep tissue specialist. It wouldn't be uncommon for me to have 20 to 25 clients in a week, think of the amount of hours I'm working with my hands. Imagine the Ninja Grip. Most people do not work 30, 40 hours a week with their hands. That's what I was doing on a weekly basis.
Sally:
Wow, trying to be a ninja, be a massage therapist. Cuz you're right, it exercises all of those fingers.
Justin:
Hundred percent. So that's where I was training to be a ninja and didn't even know it. And then I loved doing things outside the box, being very creative with my workouts and the gym and, you know, so I would do that. And then one day somebody asked me to audition for Ninja Warrior and then another year went by and they kept on asking me year after year, I've never watched an episode. And then finally I decided to audition just because somebody said, Hey, you've got only about a week left. And I thought, all right, look, I've heard this for a few years. I'll finally audition, put a tape together. And I got on and I was honored cuz it's not based on the applications. You have over a hundred thousand people competing to be on the show. They take less than a half percent.
Justin:
So I was very honored to share my story and have the ability to to be on the show. And it was great. And you know, what's interesting about that is I got on the show without him ever watching the show. But then once I got on, I was like, Alright, I better watch the show and kind of figure it out. But then I started going to just a couple of Ninja gyms, that's all I had time for before competing. And there's no water there. I just, it was, I was just in my element. I looked at the world like my jungle gym and thought, well, maybe I can try this. And then a lot of times people come up with a challenge of an obstacle to perform, you know, something to do. And then it takes a while but once somebody does it, it boosts your confidence and realize. Well, if they did it, I can do it soon after everyone else is doing the same thing that was so difficult before. It's very symbolic of life. Like, you never know, the scariest thing with Ninja Warrior is never knowing what the obstacle is gonna be. But as long as you can just embrace it and realize I'm just gonna do what I've been practicing and trust in my own ability, not in somebody else's, you know, you're, you're gonna be okay. And I, you know, if you mess up, that's fine. It's not real life.
Sally:
And with Ninja Warrior, each year they add new ones, you know, so there's always new obstacles coming in your way. And I love what you said about the confidence that you get from seeing somebody else complete an obstacle because it's unlocking that possibility in your mind, which is the strongest thing, you know, if you see somebody else doing something, then that, you know, that's the pioneer to show that others can follow.
Justin:
It's been an incredible platform, but I'll tell you one thing that many people do not know is I was one of the rare Ninja Warriors who's made it to city finals, had hit the buzzer, was one of the fastest times as being a, being a rookie. But yet I was never aired on tv. They, they never aired it. And I always thought, man, me being in the public eye, being an actor, being doing some TV hosting this would be perfect to as for a demo reel. And it, it never happened. And I thought, you know what? I have to be okay with knowing that for me, it was a beautiful platform and you know, it's gonna be highlighted in the right time. And people to this day, they'll interview me about that. That a lot of Ninja Warriors that are more qualified.
Justin:
I was asked to speak in front of a crowd of 20,000 people to share, you know, that story I was telling you about earlier where I had to share something and I had a, a knee injury, and I thought, man, I'm the greatest imposter, can't even walk. And I'm winging the speech. I'm speaking from my heart and I'm gonna let everybody down, but I knew the conviction in my heart was to truly speak from the heart and I made it. So a lot of times, God will work these things for good. You just may not know how it's gonna unfold yet but I wanna encourage you that whatever platform you have, like it's always gonna be with you. It's gonna be a story that you have, that you can resonate with. And don't worry about other people highlighting it in order for you to feel secure with yourself.
Justin:
It might not happen, but trust that God's got a plan with it and that it's a part of you. And that story will always stay with you. Nobody can take that away and make more memories. Don't be so living in the past that you can't miss out what's in front of you right now. That I always tell my friends, I never wanna be too busy that I can't make time to help somebody in need. I can't help everybody. I'm not their savior, but what I can do is, you know, have a conviction in my heart, Hey, you know what, can I go above and beyond and and give this person my time? And, and I just feel like that's, that's the way to have a win everyday.
Sally:
Oh, so well said. So what's next for you? What's the next big project on the horizon? Or what's your next focus?
Justin:
For me to be totally honest, I would say this Fear Hunter documentary film is a big passion project of mine. I have a dream of traveling the world and, and, and figuring out what fear looks like for other people. Are there similar threads in my own life? And, and what does freedom look like for them? What does fun look like? And then finding out how people live differently in different parts of the country and even other countries, different tribes. I wanna let people know that I love them enough to be willing to walk in their own shoes or lack thereof, and then find out what makes them tick, what makes them enjoy life. And I would love to highlight that through a Fear Hunter show where we dive through. The whole reason I call it the Fear Hunter is I think fear holds us back from true freedom. And if you're, if you feel loved and valued, that's the whole purpose of life, feeling loved and valued, and know that there's, there's purpose, there's, there's a, there's a reason why you're here. And fear can be that that liar, that thief and that spirit trying to keep you from that.
Sally:
Oh, amazing. I can't wait to watch it. Justin, you're so articulate, you're so encouraging and inspirational. How can people find you or work with you or hear more about your life philosophy and thoughts on fear?
Justin:
The best way for somebody to get ahold of me is to reach out to me on Instagram. And I would actually extend this offer to anybody listening, if you are crippled by a fear or limiting belief in your life, I'm gonna take three people just just remind me that you, you heard about this offer on your podcast, and let me know what that looks like and I will be willing to hop on a call with you to kind of unpack that a little bit and see if I can offer you some tips. But just Instagram, sending me a dm would be the best method right now. And through that I also like coming up with activities and group activities. Like just over a week ago, we had a half-mile swim helping people step outside their comfort zone to do a half-mile swim in the cold water, open water, and it's a long swim, but there's breakthrough when you do things together with other people. So, I don't know, I like doing hard things and Instagram is the best platform that I use to inspire people and also connect with people.
Sally:
Oh, Justin, what a generous offer!
Justin:
Yep, I'll do that. And I'm a man of integrity, so yeah, three people that reach out to me from this podcast, the first three people that do just mentioning that you heard it here, I will be happy to do that.
Sally:
Yeah, I can absolutely vouch for that. And that's one of the reasons I really wanted to get you on the podcast because you are such a good human and you can really feel that.
Justin:
Oh, thank you so much.
Sally:
Was there anything else you wanted to add?
Justin:
Don't be afraid to think of what you really want to get from life. Give yourself permission to be a little selfish about what is it that you really wanna do? What are you passionate about? And I feel like a lot of people that I come across, they settle for things. They settle for a career because they feel like this is what they have to do in order to get by. I wanna challenge you to give yourself permission to be a little creative that if you did not have to worry about money, what is it that you would truly love doing? And here's the thing that you have to make sure is, is a part of this. How can it, how help somebody else out? You know, to some capacity, even if it's just a small demographic, it's gotta be able to help somebody's life be enhanced or, you know a way of encouraging more people.
Justin:
So if you can think of what that is, just start doing it now. You don't have to create a program or wait for a non-profit. Do a small version of that now. And you might find that your life is more fulfilled. You're doing an act of service that you might find out, may open up some doors for you, not only for business, but just maybe a more fulfilled life because we're not guaranteed tomorrow. There are people I've had on my podcast where they, they worked their whole life. Their dad or uncle worked their whole life and they died literally right before retirement. And it's like, is that your goal to do all the things you wanna do at retirement? It shouldn't be. It's the journey. And every single day, if you can live it and not worrying about tomorrow, it's got enough cares of its own worry about today. Have plans, have dreams, but don't be so overwhelmed because I'll share this last quick thing.
Justin:
Somebody shared this, it wasn't me who came up with this, but if I offered somebody a million dollars and they realized that, you know, they can get a million dollars, they, they'd be pretty happy. They'd be stoked. And if somebody stepped on their shoe, they'd, they'd probably say, Hey, no big deal. Hey, I got a million dollars, you know, I'm not gonna let anything steal my joy today. What if that person said, Hey, I'll give you $10 million, and the only you know, you'd be pretty happy, but the only trade-off would be you can't wake up tomorrow. Nobody would ever do that because they value their life, they value that day so much more than any monetary value. But why are we living our lives that you're saying that you value your life, your day, more than $10 million? Let's start acting like that. And I think it's because we allow ourselves to feel the burden, the burdens of the world and fears, strip all that away. Breathe. Just be still realize that you are so loved and valued and we forget that because there's, there's fear, it's a liar, there's a spirit, there's, there's, there's the, it's trying to steal your joy. But if you can, if you realize a lot of it is just in your mind, you can flip that script and literally have a much better life.
Sally:
Oh, what a fantastic way to end the episode. Justin Maina, thank you so much for coming on That Voice Podcast.
Justin:
Oh, this has been amazing. I know we went over time, but it's such an honor to be here. Thank you so much.