Skip to content
Amberly LagoAmberly Lago
All Episodes

Season 6, Episode 260

Turning Pain into Power: Overcoming Adversity with Sean Crane

A conversation with Sean Crane

38:49

About This Episode

In this episode of The Amberly Lago Show: Stories of True Grit and Grace, host Amberly Lago sits down with the inspiring Sean Crane to delve into his remarkable journey of transformation from prison inmate to motivational speaker and best-selling author. Sean shares his candid story of resilience, discussing the trials of growing up amidst addiction and crime, the pivotal moments of self-realization during his incarceration, and the creation of Unstoppable 365. Together, they tackle profound topics such as the importance of discipline, the power of daily routines, and finding gratitude in the darkest times. Join Amberly and Sean as they discuss overcoming adversity, fostering personal growth, and achieving true success in this emotionally compelling and motivational episode.

If you are ready to leave your mark by discovering your message and sharing it with the world, you've come to the right place!! Let's work together to build your influence, your impact, and your income! Join the tribe you have been waiting for to activate your highest potential and live the life you deserve! Join the "Unstoppable Life Mastermind!" and let us know you are ready for greatness! Read the "True Grit and Grace" book here and learn how you can turn tragedy into triumph! Thank you for joining us on The Amberly Lago Show: Stories of True Grit and Grace! If you find value in today's episode, don't forget to share the show with your friends and tap that subscribe button so you don't miss an episode! You can also head over to amberlylago.com to join my newsletter and access free downloadable resources that can help you elevate your life, business, and relationships! Want to see the behind-the-scenes and keep the conversation going? Head over to Instagram @amberlylagomotivation! Audible @True-Grit-and-Grace-Audiobook Website @amberlylago.com Instagram @amberlylagomotivation Facebook @AmberlyLagoSpeaker

Full Transcript

0:02
Amberly Lago

Welcome to the Amberly Lago Show. Stories of true grit and grace. Thank you so much for tuning in to the Amberly Lago show, and I am so excited you're here, especially if you've ever felt stuck or if you've ever felt like your limiting beliefs are holding you in prison. Because I have somebody today who's actually been in prison. He has gone from basically jailhouse to the penthouse. He is thriving in life. And today we're going to talk about mindset, how to get unstuck, as well as how he's become a speaker and speaking all over the world now. So I have Sean Crane with us today. He is the founder of Unstoppable365. He's a motivational speaker. He's a bestselling author, among many other things. So, Sean, thank you for being here, and welcome to the show.

0:58
Sean Crane

Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm excited.

1:00
Amberly Lago

Oh, my goodness. Thank you for flying in. And it's been a while since I've seen you, and you walked in and I was like, oh, my gosh, you're huge. Like, you were always muscular, but I'm like, how much muscle did you put on? Like, you have just, like, buffed out, and you've got so much going on, especially with your unstoppable365. But there are so many people out there that are going to see this, whether they're looking on YouTube or they're listening, and they're going to be like, oh, well, he's just always been that way, and everything's easy. And it's like, you've got quite the story to tell. And actually, we met in this studio, I think was maybe four years. Three years ago. Three years.

1:42
Sean Crane

Right after Covid or during COVID Yeah, three years ago.

1:45
Amberly Lago

Yeah. And I was. I heard your story, and you were talking about your book. I think your book had just come out. And I was like, oh, my goodness. First of all, we have a lot in common. And then I was like, I've got to know. That guy felt a connection with you. And you had a couple of your friends in the audience, too, and they were awesome. But just so the audience understands, like, you haven't always had it easy. You were in prison, and for something that wasn't even your fault. And so a lot of people would make excuses and. And be in prison still. Tell us what. First of all, why did you go to prison?

2:26
Sean Crane

Yeah, I mean, I went to prison for attempted murder. My mug shot was on the front page of the Santa Barbara News Press. And, like, when your pictures on the front page of the news press and you're in a jumpsuit, immediately people think, this guy's guilty, you know? But before that, my whole life, like, I had a small bit of my childhood that was really good. I had a lot of loving family members. I grew up in Santa Barbara, California, and I just wanted to be a professional athlete. I love baseball, football, and basketball, and that's what I obsessed over. Every day at school, me and my friends would play on the playground. After school, we'd play in the street, and that's all I cared about. But then, as I got older and started to become more aware of, like, my parents and what they were struggling with, I realized my life wasn't as picture perfect as I thought. My mom and dad were both drug addicts. They were battling addiction to drugs and alcohol and.

3:15
Amberly Lago

In Santa Barbara.

3:16
Sean Crane

Yeah, I mean. I mean, Santa Barbara is one of the most affluent places in the country and most beautiful. It's gorgeous, you know, and so I got to grow up going to the beaches and being around all these amazing, nice people. And my aunts and uncles were doing really well. I had great friends, and their parents were doing well. But I noticed a stark difference between them and my parents really became very obvious.

3:35
Amberly Lago

You can start to tell at age

3:36
Sean Crane

10, I saw my mom overdose. Yeah, in front of me and my siblings, and I was terrified. It's one of those moments that you'll never forget, you know, because she was lifeless on the ground, and we didn't know what. What the heck was going on. And that happened two or three more times between then and the age of 12. So, like, around 10, 11, my whole life started changing, and I wasn't changing. I was still kind of holding on to, like, hope or that picture perfect life that I thought we had. Kind of in denial or just too young to understand what's taking place. And then at 14, I came home. This is my first month as a freshman in school. So I'm a young adolescent. Like, I'm trying to figure out who I am as a young man and what my direction in life is. And my dad was drunk in his bedroom, and he had a gun.

4:20
Amberly Lago

Oh, my God.

4:21
Sean Crane

And he was, like, blacked out drunk. You could tell that he just didn't even know what was going on. And that's scary because he could do something that could kill somebody or take his own life. Who knows what he was gonna do? And the cops ended up coming, and they had a standoff, and he surrendered. So luckily, he didn't do anything with the weapon, but they took him away and he ended up going to prison. And so during those couple months, did

4:42
Amberly Lago

he have prior any arrest, outstanding warrants or anything, or is this like just a California thing where you don't have a gun and they take you to prison?

4:54
Sean Crane

Yeah, no. My family was pretty notorious. My dad was one in nine siblings. Seven, bro. And they were originally from Boston, from back east. So there was rumors that, like, my grandfather had ties to the Irish mob, and he was an alcoholic. He was. They had the mentality. So growing up, like, I saw this with my uncles and my dad. They were good men, but they had their demons and they were involved in, like, crime.

5:20
Amberly Lago

Yeah.

5:21
Sean Crane

So, you know, as I started getting older, I started realizing this. I'd see my uncle come back from prison. Two of my uncles were doing life in prison that I'd never see. They'd call home and we'd talk to them on the phone and never have met them in my life. So it's just kind of a normal thing. And my dad had had priors in the past, but he wasn't a bad person. He wasn't. He wasn't like a bad person, but he had his own demons. His stuff from childhood that happened to him that he never got over. And that's why he turned to drugs and alcohol, like a lot of people do.

5:50
Amberly Lago

That's what my brother did. I mean, my brother's in prison. He's on death row here in Texas.

5:56
Sean Crane

Yeah, I remember you told me that.

5:58
Amberly Lago

Yeah. And he was a good. He's a good guy, but had demons that got the best of him and. Yeah. Went to drugs and alcohol and. Yeah, yeah.

6:08
Sean Crane

And that's why now, like, I'm so passionate about helping people because, you know, we all have good and evil inside of us, and some people can overcome those things. They. Whether it's trauma, adversity, like, we go through stuff in life, and you can either learn and grow from it, or you become a victim of circumstance. And good people end up addicted to drugs or making mistakes or doing bad things because they didn't deal with those situations properly. You know, it's like it lingers their whole life, and it just corrupts who they could have been. And I saw that happen to my dad. I saw that happen to all my uncles. Like, they were smart, good human beings that never even came close to reaching their potential because they lost that battle.

6:47
Amberly Lago

Yeah.

6:47
Sean Crane

You know, and so it's personal to me, like, how do. That's how I stay motivated and Passionate. Every day to get up and still serve is like, I remember.

6:55
Amberly Lago

How did you do that in prison, though?

6:57
Sean Crane

Well, so, you know, after when all that stuff happened at home for 10 years, I was just lost, you know, I lost my dad to prison. My mom found a new boyfriend, was strung out on drugs, stopped coming home. And that was the hardest thing, you know, like, my dad going to prison broke my heart. But my mom, who's supposed to be there, like the woman who gave birth to me, when she left us, it really affected me. And I started drinking, taking pills, and smoking marijuana to numb out that pain. So I stopped playing sports, stopped going to school, and found a group of kids I could hang out with who had similar situations because I could identify with them. I didn't want to hang out with my old friends or even see my cousins anymore because I didn't want them to ask about my parents or, hey, what happened? We heard all this stuff going on. So I completely changed during that time, and I really lost myself. And fast forward all throughout my adolescence to a party I was at at 23, where a huge fight broke out. And I'm there watching, and I'm drunk, and I'm too close to the fight, and I end up getting tackled from behind, and I'm wrestling with these guys thinking they're trying to jump me. And I'm wrestling with this guy on the ground. Turns out he was stabbed multiple times, and his friend was stabbed. And because everyone at the party saw me on the ground wrestling with this guy, and they didn't see the initial attack, they told the cops, yeah, we saw Sean on the ground fighting with this guy. And I stood up and I was covered in blood.

8:19
Amberly Lago

Oh, gosh.

8:20
Sean Crane

So it's like a college party. And everyone sees me stand up, I'm dripping blood on my face, on my arms, all over my shirt. And everyone ran. And the one friend I went to the party with is running up the street, and he's going, sean, let's go. Let's go. And I followed him. And I wish I would have stayed, but in the moment, I didn't know what to do. I panicked. And later that night or the next day, I Googled, like, fight on the Mesa, because that's where it was, the Mesa in Santa Barbara. And it said two men were stabbed, one's in critical condition, he's on life support, and no one thought he was going to live. So that's like when my whole life changed, you know? And it was a long journey from that point to where I'm at today. You know, I was 23. Now I'm 36.

9:02
Amberly Lago

Wow.

9:03
Sean Crane

Wow.

9:03
Amberly Lago

And you've been helping people in the prison. Was there a turning point where you thought, okay, I've got to make the best of this situation? Do you think that being in prison and. Well, I don't know. I guess in prison you can still get drugs and alcohol, from what I understand.

9:20
Sean Crane

Well, I was the first month. So the first month, guys were coming in, and anytime someone knows they're going to have to do a little time in jail, they'll bring drugs in with them. So everyone gets all excited when someone they know is coming in because they're like, oh, this guy has something.

9:33
Amberly Lago

Yeah.

9:33
Sean Crane

And in there, you know, one of my, like, one of my co defendants came in and one of the guys that was arrested for the crime and he brought in some stuff, and we were getting high in there. I was like, wow, this is cool. Like, I don't even. I wasn't even thinking about what was happening to me.

9:48
Amberly Lago

Yeah.

9:48
Sean Crane

I was like, if I. I remember having this thought, this is how sick the. The addiction to drugs and alcohol is. I remember thinking, if I could just stay high this whole time, like, everything's going to be okay. Yeah, but that's such denial. That's such escapism, you know? And then I got. We got in a fight in that area of the jail. A bunch of guys got in a fight that I was involved in, because in there you start having to be involved in things that you don't necessarily want to do. And then I got put back into a part of the jail where you're in isolation. And I was coming off of all these drugs and feeling like shit, and I wasn't eating. And I remember just waking day or like, I don't know if I woke up or if I just got up to look in the mirror. And in there, the mirror's all scratched out. You could barely see, but I just saw, like, my reflection in the mirror and I could just see. I was like, man, who is that guy? How did you get to this point, Sean? This isn't who you're supposed to be. And you're doing the same stuff in here as you were doing out there. Yeah, Like, I wasn't out robbing people. I didn't stab that guy. But I wasn't a great person. I wasn't being my best self. I wasn't sober. I would get in fights. I was just a waste of space, Honestly, like, I had so much potential. The kid that I knew I At heart, who wanted to be a professional athlete. Like, I knew I could go out and achieve that. And I lost that person. I lost that person for 10 years. And so it's this moment of awakening for me where I realized this is not who I want to be. This is not the person I'm supposed to be. And I made a commitment right there. I told myself, no matter how long I end up being in the cell or being in prison, I'm going to change for the better. I'm going to be sober for the rest of my life, and I'm going to be my best and my truest self. Like, I had been a. I had become a character. I'd worn masks. I had done things to try to appease other people, but it was never my true self.

11:28
Amberly Lago

Yeah.

11:28
Sean Crane

You know, and in that moment, I committed to being my true self and giving my all to life from there on out. And that was the beginning of my transformation. It was. It was an internal transformation. I had to see myself in a different light, you know, before I could change my behavior or my self talk or all the stuff we talk about now as coaches or when we speak on stage, it was this internal transformation, like, at the deepest level.

11:49
Amberly Lago

And.

11:49
Sean Crane

And from that moment forward, I started to change.

11:52
Amberly Lago

Well, I think that's so, like, everything that you just said, the first part was you really had to look yourself in the mirror, like, and see yourself. And I think a lot of people don't want to see themselves. They don't want to look in the mirror. They don't want to accept things that they're not doing that maybe aren't the best for them. And that takes courage to do that. But you were kind of forced to, like, see yourself and. But then you made a commitment. Do you know who Damon west is?

12:22
Sean Crane

Yeah.

12:22
Amberly Lago

Yeah.

12:23
Sean Crane

He wrote Coffee Coffee Bean. Yeah. And I've actually spoke to him before.

12:28
Amberly Lago

Yeah, his. His story is similar. He's an amazing person, amazing speaker. And so we were just in an event, at an event together, and same thing. He decided that he was changing his life in prison. And so me being sober as well, we. We were at this event. We didn't have a recovery meeting anywhere, so we just did our own recovery meeting together when Starbucks had a recovery meeting in the car. You know what I mean? It was awesome. And so my question to you is, like, do you still have moments where you have. You feel that demon coming up? Like, you have, like, a little devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, and you feel a demon coming Up. And if so, how do you battle that?

13:16
Sean Crane

Yeah, that's a good question. Because I truly believe we do have those two versions of ourselves. I've invested so many hours and through so much action and so many decisions to become the good version of myself, the best version. I don't hear that other voice anymore. I mean, it's been 12 years. And literally that's that line every moment, every day since. And I knew I had no room for error. Like, I couldn't make one wrong decision. Not just because I want to change my life, but because now I had three strikes and they didn't strike me out. In California, if you get three strikes, you could do life in prison. They changed that law. But I knew that, like in jail or prison, if I got in a fight and I hit someone and they fell wrong or I was accused of like, an assault or whatever, I might never get out. So I wanted to come home and see my family. I wanted to come home and seek redemption. And that just kept me in line. But no.

14:09
Amberly Lago

How long did you spend in prison?

14:10
Sean Crane

5 and a half years. So I ended up being sentenced to seven. I was supposed to do six. I got out six months because I got college degrees in prison. So when I finally got to prison, I had about a year of personal development, sobriety, working out every day, reading books in jail. So I was already building these new habits. And then I just continued to build upon that in prison. And you have more freedom in there. You can get more books, you can go to different vocational classes they have. You can move about a little more and interact with people. And that's when I started mentoring other guys in jail, too, or in prison. And they saw how regimented and disciplined I was. I mean, I'd be up in the morning and it was still dark out before breakfast, doing push ups and squats in the corner while everyone slept. And I had a routine. I do a thousand push ups and a thousand squats in under an hour before breakfast. And that would, like, start my day, you know, And I would do that all the time. Or they'd see me on my rack reading a book, and they were intrigued by me because my behavior was different than most of the guys. So I'd have these youngsters come up and be like, hey, can we work out with you today? Or what book you reading, man, I want to start changing. Or I see you taking calls, college courses. Why are you doing that? You know, some guys would say, man, why are you doing that? You know, when you get out, that's not going to help you or, you know, when you get out, you're going to go back to that old lifestyle. But I didn't even care what they said. I was so tunnel vision and convicted on, on this new path in life that nothing was going to deter me.

15:33
Amberly Lago

Yeah, it's. I'm smiling because I would, I give my. I was in the fitness industry for 26 years and I would give my brother these hardcore exercises because he was in isolation too. I would give him these hardcore exercises that he could do in the small room that he had, the amount of room that he had in the cell. And he's transformed his life as well, you know, and so at least I know that he has. You know, he's sober, he's found God, and so that's a good thing. But a lot of people don't ever make it out and do something as amazing as you like. You're doing with your life now, speaking and coaching and helping so many other people. When you have people that come to you, what is the biggest question that they have? Is it more business coaching? Is it more mindset coaching or. Or is it more physical?

16:35
Sean Crane

Yeah, a combination. More business stuff now that they see my business growing. But in the beginning, it would be questions about my time in prison and how I was able to stay positive or focused that long or. A lot of it is around discipline. A lot of guys just lack discipline, and it shows in their physique, in their attitude. So there's all these symptoms, like they gain weight, they're not as happy in life, whatever it is. So they want to be able to do the work consistently to help them to become the person they want to be. And so that's where most of the questions stem from. Yeah.

17:07
Amberly Lago

And, you know, I think when I see somebody who's super successful, but they look like they are so unhealthy, I'm like, oh. And then I see somebody that is super successful in their business, but they look super healthy. I'm going to go with that person.

17:26
Sean Crane

Yeah, I mean, here's the truth, too. If you have a lot of money or cars and stuff, but you're not healthy and you're overweight, you're not successful at all, in my opinion.

17:34
Amberly Lago

Yeah, I was going to ask you what is successful.

17:36
Sean Crane

That's why these guys will actually come to me because I'll call them out and they need accountability. They need that, that truth and honesty. They have all these yes men around them, like, kissing their ass, like, because they built this business. But, man, you're £300. Like you're going to die early and leave your family and you think you're successful right now and I just tell them the truth because I care. If you're not healthy, if you're not present at home and spending time with your loved ones, if you're like, if you're not in integrity with who you know you should be, you're not going to ever feel, feel successful. The craziest thing that happened to me is when I was in jail, even before I knew how much time I was going to do, I was in a 6 by 8 cell. Like, like you said, your brother's so tiny you have enough room to do push ups and you're living with another person in there. And I started every day getting up early. I'd pray, I'd just close my eyes and think of all my family members faces and I'd picture all this good in the world. And it started changing my whole energy. I started feeling grateful in that cell with nothing. And then I'd get up and I'd work out and I'd work out until I was so exhausted that I had no negative thoughts, no negativity in my body at all. It was nothing but feeling good and proud of myself for those thousand push ups or all those burpees or that five minute plank, whatever it was. And then I'd get on my bunk and I'd read books and I'd look up words in the dictionary all day long and memorize them. And I did that every day for eight months straight. And before I even went to prison I would wake up or I just had these moments in my cell where I felt, felt so much gratitude and joy in my heart. I was like, God is working a miracle in my life. How can I feel this way and hear. It's not even fair, I shouldn't be able to feel this way and hear what's going on. And so it redefined my whole definition of success. Because the emotions and the internal state I experienced in there was the, the highest form of like human experience and enlightenment you can have. And I know people out here with everything we think we need that have never felt that way ever. And most people will never feel that way. And it comes in the face of struggle, it comes in the face of becoming a believer. It comes for me like when you have nothing and you're at rock bottom, you start to realize how good we have it. Even when we think we have nothing. Like legs that work, eyes that could see colors, another breath, another day. Another opportunity, like, it just changed my whole perspective on life. So from that moment forward, like, that's why I'm so consistent in my health and my routines, because they gave me salvation in a time where I needed it the most. And so other people, they struggle to be consistent because they don't see the value in that stuff. Yeah, they see the value in the money in their account or the car they can get or the home or whatever. And that stuff's important too, but they don't see the value in their health or their routines until it's too late.

20:14
Amberly Lago

Oh, I mean, I. I see it a lot because in the past year, I have really struck. I had a procedure for complex regional pain syndrome that did not go well at all. And this past year, health wise, has been really, really challenging. And it was to the point where I would do a zoom and have to go lay down on the couch. Like, I haven't even done an episode. I should probably do an episode about this because a lot of people don't see behind the scenes, like, how much I was actually strugg struggling health wise. And I'd just be laying on the couch thinking, I can't get up. And I mean, I literally would. And my husband was like, you got to go back to the doctor. Something's not right. You've slept for two days straight. Like, I was having to cancel meetings, cancel interviews. It was horrible. And it really makes me appreciate, like, my health so much that I can walk, that I can drive, that I get to be here with you, that. We have a studio audience today, and I want to take a question later from the studio audience. It just makes me so grateful. And I actually, every morning I get on my knees, physically get on my knees, because it reminds me of how small I am and how big God is. And I'm like, just so grateful. But I think when you haven't gone through the struggles or the challenges and maybe people take things for granted or like, you have people that are like, well, yeah, it's easy for you. You're disciplined. I don't know how to be disciplined. How do you teach somebody discipline? Where do you start for somebody who's even listening saying, well, good for him, he's disciplined and good for you, Amberly, you're disciplined and you keep getting back up with grit. What do you tell somebody?

22:11
Sean Crane

Yeah, I mean, most people suffer in silence. You know, like, they hope. They hope that they wake up tomorrow feeling happ. Happy. And it's just a roll of the dice. I live in a Way where I have routines that guarantee I'm going to feel the way I want to feel every day. For me, the way I feel is the most important and valuable thing in this world. More than time. Because you could have somebody who has 24 hours, and I have the same 24 hours. But if I'm here and they're here, whose time is more valuable? Mine. Right. I don't want to be around my kids and be irritable and be thinking about, oh, I should have went to the gym, or worrying about money or stressing over life. A lot of people live that way.

22:46
Amberly Lago

Yeah.

22:47
Sean Crane

So it's like, why are you living that way? It could be so much better, you know, and the way humans are, we're stubborn. We wait until we're diabetic and the doctor says, you have to stop eating that food or you might get your leg amputated or you might have complications, you know, or we have a heart attack or something happens that really gets our attention to change our habits. So most people are motivated by pain more so than what they can gain from change, because the brain doesn't recognize the stuff that hasn't happened. The brain can only recognize real life experience, typically, you know. So when I work with people, I try to help them to understand what's at stake, paint a picture for the future. Like, if you don't change, this is probably going to happen. Like, it's pretty safe to assume this is what's going to happen in your health or your marriage or your business and all the people you care about at work if you don't change these habits now. And it's hard for people to kind of rewire the brain, you know, I mean, there's three ways people can change. Number one is traumatic experience. We know about that. That'll reprogram your brain instantly. Number two is novel experience. And that's why it's so important to go see speakers at events, get out of your comfort zone, try new things. And lastly is repetition. And repetition is the hard work that people don't want to do. Yeah, because it's not pleasant some of the time, most of the time. But that's how you really change over an extended period of time.

24:06
Amberly Lago

Do you think being an athlete helped you with that? Yeah, ment helped you, because I feel like it helped me.

24:13
Sean Crane

The biggest regret I had in jail was not pursuing my dream of being a professional athlete. I didn't even play sports in high school, and I felt so ashamed and embarrassed when I was sitting there in my cell and I Actually had time to think and reflect on my life. It just hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm like, wait, you didn't even play sports in high school? Like, I'm an athlete. That's how I identified with myself my whole life. I love sports. And so fitness for me allowed me to tap back into that version of myself. And I didn't have to go play in a major league team or in a league. I could be an athlete through my workouts, through the way I cared for my body, through my mentality. That was like a core component of how I identified myself. But, yeah, being an athlete is really good for a number of reasons. Like, for example, my kids are growing up in a really beautiful life. I'm giving them everything I can because I want them to have an amazing life. But what happens when people grow up? Easy, kind of soft environments, they get weak and the cycle continues. Right. I heard Bradley talk about this. He goes. He's talking about himself. He goes, I had to go through the school hard knocks to learn my lessons, so I became a stronger individual. Therefore, that allowed me to create this life. Right. So this beautiful life that I'm giving my kids now is actually going to make them soft. And then, you know, they make mistakes and they then have kids and the cycle continues. Right. So I think sports is good because it teaches kids grit, discipline, how to get along with other people, how to develop a winner's mentality without having to go through the adversity that we don't want them to experience.

25:48
Amberly Lago

Yeah. And it's. It's funny you're saying that because, like, my oldest daughter, who's in medical school at Yale, which is a big deal because I never went to college and neither did my husband, but she is at Yale in medical school, and she was telling me, yeah, mom, you know, when you had your motorcycle accident and you were going through all those surgeries, she goes, it was so traumatic. And I just started studying a lot. That was my outlet. And I said, well, good for you. Like, that's good because look at you. You're going to be a doctor.

26:18
Sean Crane

That's incredible.

26:19
Amberly Lago

Good for you. You know, and, you know, my youngest daughter, she's a horseback rider, and she just got thrown off yesterday. And she's. So she goes, oh, mom, the back of my arms are sore and this and that. And I'm like. But she keeps getting up, she's got grit. She keeps getting back on that horse. And these are not. These are not just like little riding through the pasture horses. These Are like, they're jumping really high jumpers, you know, equestrian. So I like that because it does teach her grit and discipline and trust and resilience and all those things. And so I know you have a new baby on the way. Going to be a Pisces baby.

27:03
Sean Crane

Yeah, like doing March, right?

27:05
Amberly Lago

Yeah. And so you're such an amazing dad, you're such an amazing role model, and you're such an amazing speaker. I've had the privilege of sharing the stage with you at an event, and I was, like, so proud videoing you, like, oh, my God. Yeah. And now since I've seen you, I mean, we were talking about, like, when, you know, we don't see each other for a while, but when we get together, it's like. Like nothing's ever. Like, we haven't missed a beat. We just pick right back up where we left off. But, like, you have really grown this unstoppable365, which, you know, I'm all about the unstoppable because of my unstoppable success summit and all that. And so tell me about exactly what unstoppable365 is.

27:55
Sean Crane

Yeah. So it's a mindset fitness and nutrition program started off for men. Now we coach men and women, essentially, personal development, like, what are all the things we should do in our daily life to help us improve who we are? You know? So we coach them on reading books on how to journal, the right foods to eat, how to work out, lose weight, build your physique, whatever it is that you want to change about yourself for the better. So it started off with just me literally sharing my message online. And then guys would reach out and I'd coach them one on one. And then I got enough clients where I created a group because it wasn't feasible to coach everybody one on one. And that's really the time I met you. I had just created my company at the time, unstoppable 365.

28:36
Amberly Lago

I remember you had some of your clients here the very first time.

28:40
Sean Crane

Yeah, I had about probably 50 clients at the time, maybe 100. And it was just me just on social media, sharing my message and slowly building the business, you know, And I always had a vision of where I want to take it. I knew that I couldn't go as far as I wanted to go alone. I had to build a team and surround myself with. With intelligent, brilliant, amazing people that, you know, good team members, they should compliment you, but also, you want them to have strengths that you don't possess.

29:05
Amberly Lago

Exactly.

29:06
Sean Crane

You know what I mean? So about a year and a half ago, two years ago, I started looking into who I should start to bring into my team and collaborate with. And the first person I hired was. His name's Josh. He's my coo, so he's the chief operating officer. He does all the tech, all the integrations, like all the stuff that I don't want to do that you need to run a business.

29:26
Amberly Lago

Oh, I definitely have my guys. Malik and I could. He is amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

29:33
Sean Crane

So just getting him on the team alone, like, we hit a little surge of growth, clients, revenue that year and that was the tail end of 2022 and then 2023, I brought on my first actual coach who I could start to delegate clients to and teach him, teach him sales, how to create content, how to fulfill the client's needs and what they, what we had to do for them. So I just started putting these pieces together and then the beginning of this year, I had an opportunity to team up with a handful of people, which was a really great opportunity. And just like anytime in business, there's always risks involved, right? Like, what if it doesn't work out? What if you. Like, I gave a percentage of ownership in the business to bring on these team members. Like, what if it doesn't work out? Well, there's always risk, but I'm. I don't think that way. I don't think about what if. I just know where I want to go. And I always picture it working out and if it doesn't, you pivot anyway and make it work, you know. And so I brought on Whitney Jones, she's a three time Ms. Olympia, to coach all the women and start a women's division. And then so we have another female coach under her. And then I was able to partner up with Joe Polish, if you know who that is. Joe's actually a business partner of mine now and he's the creator of Genius Network, which is some of the most amazing, brilliant entrepreneurs and business owners in the world are in his network, you know, so teaming up with him was the bigger picture vision of what we can accomplish as a company. He has amazing connections, amazing insight, and a handful of others. You know, we got VAs. We got all these different team members, about 12 to 15 people now who help us run the whole operation, which is amazing. It's amazing. And it's one of those things that you're preparing for. You're reading all the books, you're getting insight from mentors, and then it kind of just Happens and all of a sudden going from April to me and Josh and Matt, it was just us three. So now having 15 team members, it's just crazy the amount of growth we've had in the last year.

31:25
Amberly Lago

Yeah, it's unbelievable for me too. I mean, I was a one woman show for a long time and people would ask me all the time, like, how are you getting these speaking gigs? I'm like, oh, that'd be me. Well, who negotiates your speaker's fee? That'd be me. Who does your contracts? That would be me. I mean, I was doing everything. And now it's wild that on Sundays I'm typing up a list to my team members of what needs to be done, you know, and we have team meetings every week and everybody has their part. It's just like, wow, it's amazing. I mean, I did that in the fitness industry, but I hadn't done that in my coaching and speaking event industry. So it's. I mean, I love it. I absolutely love it.

32:14
Sean Crane

It's one of those things, you're like, oh, eventually one day it'll be this way, right?

32:17
Amberly Lago

Yeah.

32:17
Sean Crane

And then part of you is like, is it gonna get to that point, like, am I gonna be able to find the right people and put them all together?

32:24
Amberly Lago

And sometimes people burn you. Have you been burned?

32:27
Sean Crane

Yeah, I've had. I. Not, not recently. But I learned through a couple different relationships and collaborations. For me, it's all about integrity and like, we have to have the same values. And being a good person and doing the right thing is always the most important thing because you could have a really talented person, but if they have ulterior motives or they have bad character. I've seen a lot of bad things happen in business and I've. I've had stuff happen to me, you know, where it was like, man, I trusted that person. I thought they were a good human being and they turned out to that backstab.

32:57
Amberly Lago

You just happened to me. Thousands of dollars. I was like, I have not been this conned since my ex husband. Like, seriously? Yeah. And so I'm like, okay, it happened. Time to move on, just keep moving forward. But yeah, I've. You know, actually, my friend Jeff Crilly always says, you can teach skill, you can't teach attitude. So I hire on attitude. And then I think, well, I can teach skills, I can teach them how to do stuff, but they have to have good attitude. You know what I mean? So let's take a break and take a question from the studio audience. Any questions from the Audience.

33:38
Sean Crane

Well, okay, I was thinking earlier, if you're coaching people, everybody hears so many different pieces of advice. Like, you gotta be at 5am you gotta cold punch. You gotta do all these things. But where should somebody really start? Yeah, that's a good question.

33:51
Amberly Lago

Okay, so I don't know if the. If you couldn't hear, where should someone really start? Like, there's all these different things out there. Cold, plunging, like meditation, prayer, like all the gratitude, journal, whatever it is. Where should somebody really start?

34:08
Sean Crane

Yeah, I mean, everyone's a little different. There's a lot of different tools that we can use to improve the quality of our life. Like, not everyone's going to meditate. Not everyone's going to journal. Not everyone likes to read books. Some like audiobooks. But there's also an element of, like, getting uncomfortable. And like, the person you are today is not the person that's going to achieve those future results if you haven't gotten them yet. So you have to recognize that and be willing to maybe sacrifice a little or commit to certain things that you don't want to do. I think getting up early is a big change for people because you can build so much momentum in the first couple hours of the day by getting up earlier and having a plan like, okay, I'm going to get up. I'm going to have 15 minutes of just reflection. Then I'm going to go to the gym and work out. I'm going to drink my 30 ounces of water and take my supplements. Like, there. You just did two or three things that built momentum in that day that started you, you know, moving towards that ideal, best self you want to be. So. And if guys say, I don't want to get up early, I'm like, dude, like, I find reasons why their rebuttals are, like, irrelevant. So if you have young kids or you want to grow this business, or you're sick and tired of looking in the mirror because you don't like the way your body looks like, that's what I'm reminding them of. I'm like, you can't even get up early, but you say you want to be the best dad. Like, for me, it's just, I don't tolerate any excuses because I've gone through all of the stuff and everything was stacked up against me. I mean, I was facing life in prison at 23. Like, drug addict, loser kid, didn't fulfill any of his visions. And I rebuilt my life and shape change. And I did that by never making excuses and just whatever it takes, you know, and so that's my attitude. But you got to find what motivates people. Like, what's that pain point? Or what's that deeper? Why? That's what I work to uncover. Because then the work becomes a lot easier when people know why they're doing it. If you're just in the cold plunge and you're up early and you're hating it, you're having that negative self talk, you're. You're gonna stop doing it eventually. But if you could change your self talk and make the connection to that moment to like. Like, the better dad that you're becoming or the business that you're growing, or the marriage that's just so connected in the future because you change for the better. Like, that's the stuff that keeps people going.

36:12
Amberly Lago

Yeah. And, I mean, there have been times where I haven't felt like I'll get to the. Like, I'll get to the end of the mountain, and I'll be like, I really don't want to climb this mountain today. And I'm like, you know what? I get to climb this mountain. Because I was in a wheelchair for a long time. I get. Get to do this. And I think about. There are times when I get to the gym and I start scrolling through Instagram in the parking lot, and I'm like, I got to get my butt in there, because I know how I'm going to feel after I work out. You know what I mean?

36:41
Sean Crane

Yeah. And that's the crazy thing. It's like, look what you've been through. And you even have moments like that where you're. You're not feeling it, you know?

36:48
Amberly Lago

Yeah, but I've learned to talk to myself.

36:50
Sean Crane

You got to be your. You got to be your own coach. And having those little, you know, little mantras, like, I get to. That could shift your energy and perspective instantly.

36:58
Amberly Lago

Yeah.

36:59
Sean Crane

You know, and you have to have that. You have to develop a part of yourself that's going to always coach you and push you to do the work, because if you don't keep doing it, you know, I tell people it's hard to develop good habits, but it's so easy to break them. Like, you can break them in a week of just not going, you know, seriously. So it's like this, you know, this. This ball that you're. This, you know, the fable of Sisyphus pushing up the. The boulder, up the mountain. It's like that. You got to keep pushing, otherwise that thing's going to crush you.

37:28
Amberly Lago

Yeah. Yeah. I could talk to you for hours and we're out of time. And we didn't even get to your book. I didn't get to one question off the two pages of questions. I mean, but you're, you're Sean, you're amazing. You're changing lives for the better. It's always so good to see you. Tell people where they can be a part of your unstoppable. 365. Where they can see you speak or just anything about. You've got your podcast where they can order your book. Tell them where best place to find you.

38:00
Sean Crane

Yeah. So I mean, the easiest way on Instagram at seancrane underscore official. Reach out to me there. I'm Sean Michael Crane on Facebook or go to www.unstoppable365.com reach out to me and the team if you're interested in coaching around health, fitness, mindset, all of the above.

38:18
Amberly Lago

Sean, you're amazing. Thank you so much for being on the show. Thank y' all for tuning in. And if you found value in this episode, tag Sean and I. And on Instagram, when I see that, it always just makes me so makes my heart happy and I share it on my Instagram as well. So thank you for tuning in and we will see you next week.

Pain to purpose to joy.

Never Miss a Conversation

New episodes drop regularly. Subscribe on your favorite platform and never miss a conversation.