Chad Davis – Living Healthy in the Outsourcing Industry

Derek:  Welcome back to another episode of the Outsource Accelerator Podcast.  My name is Derek Gallimore and I’m joined today by Chad Davis.  We were previously joined by Chad Davis on episode 59, so if you want to go and hear his full back story then I suggest or encourage you to go and listen to that.

Chad is a fitness and lifestyle guru, and he is on a mission to change the health status of the Philippines.  In outsourcing, there’s a lot of downside in that there’s quite a few unhealthy people in the zone.  The shift work, the sedentary lifestyle all count against people really living to their fullest.

Chad is on a mission to change this and he works with individuals and corporates alike, so really interesting conversation and relevant if you have a team here or looking to build a team or even want to improve the health of yourself or your team, wherever you are.

Enjoy this.  If you want the show notes or to get in touch with Chad, go to outsourceaccelerator.com/74.

Derek:  Okay, really excited to be joined again by Chad Davis.  He is a health expert and he has been living in the Philippines now for 17 years and is taking on the Philippines and making them a healthier, happier people.  Hi, Chad.

Chad:  Hi there, great to be here.

Derek:  Thank you and really, I would like to connect the dots now.  A lot of this podcast is about outsourcing.  Now, I see a huge amount of benefit in bringing outsourcing to the Philippines.  It generates middle class.  It generates better education, but there are also downsides to spending a lot of time in front of monitors and very sedentary lifestyle.  There’s also shift work, so there’s a few downsides to it and you’re trying to change all that now.

Chad:  Yup.  Yeah.

Derek:  So paint me a picture.  In our last podcast, we outlined how you are trying to change things.  What have you seen approaching outsourcing and what do you see is the major hurdles and problems first?

Chad:  Great.  Well, I guess, I think we all know that the Filipino has a great heart.  You’ve seen it as well.  Their English is good and they are hard workers, but again if you look at a challenge, it might be you can only work so hard if you’re healthy.  If you’re not healthy, then you might call in sick or maybe you have to call in sick because your mom had to go to the hospital.

I really think that’s one of the crises in the world actually, in Australia, in the US, and in the Philippines.  I really believe in outsourcing exactly like you do, but wouldn’t we like to optimize our own health and that of our employees because then you’ve got an employee that has a bit of mood.  They can strategize and create, solve problems in a better way.  They aren’t calling sick because they are healthy; so therefore, they don’t need to be sick.

So then there’s many different ways that we can help that environment and make it what might appear to be an unhealthy environment but we can make it a healthier environment.  I think that’s the obligation of the employer is to create that environment.  Like you said last time, it’s that knowledge is the key because if we didn’t know better, well, we can’t change anything.

Derek:  Having had a lot of staff and employees in the Philippines, there is a higher sick leave rate, isn’t it, and as you say, it’s their own health, it’s the health of their children.  It’s the health of their parents and also their extended family. But when all that combines, there is quite a lot of sick leaves.  It’s probably something that should be more closely attended to by outsourcing.

Chad:  It has to be.  Even 17 years ago, I was an F&B Director InterContinental Manila, which isn’t here anymore, but even then, hypertension, diabetes, obesity was very big.  Now, we haven’t improved at all despite advances in technology and everything else.  So many resources being put into these areas, we’re sicker than we’ve ever been.

So really, and then earning more money is great, but health is wealth.  I think if you can really help people to be healthier, you’re helping their body, you’re helping their brain, you help their mood, but once they’ve helped themselves, they can help their family and again, that’s the beauty.

Derek:  How do you rate their insight into what is healthy and the motivation to be healthy in an outsourcing setting versus a corporate setting in Australia or the US.

Chad:  Well, I think their motivation is huge.  Everyone at the core wants to be healthy, but the knowledge unfortunately in Australia and here, it’s very low because of mixed messages – telling us to go to the gym, saying that eat healthy whole grains, drink Gatorade.  Do all of these mixed messages.

I have some clients that I say to them, “Whatever you’ve done, it’s clearly wrong because you’re sick.  Do opposite,” and that means eat high fat, don’t exercise, go into the sun, maybe he uses standing up desk like you mentioned, go to bed a little bit earlier.

But at the end of the day, it’s really not rocket science.  People want to know the right way, but there are so many vested interests to keep us a bit blinded.

Derek:  And there are so many conflicting messages, that really is, it’s difficult to pick what is the right way.

Chad:  It is.  Yeah.

Derek:  And then there’s also so many luring, it’s nice to have a pizza and beer at the end of the week, but it’s not good for you.

Chad:  It is and that’s why, so I’m so optimistic about what’s happening because if somebody does set up a business here and if you educate your work force properly, they will follow.  I’ve seen it so many times.  And of course maybe somebody follows it 50%, but there are some who will be 100%, but the 50%, you can gradually improve.

Everybody wants to be healthy and they want their family to be healthy because the Filipinos are very big on family.  There’s always a lure or a way.  It’s just a matter of presenting it in the right way and the Filipino, absolutely they get it once it’s explained.

Derek:  I’m an absolute fan of the work you do and you are having a huge reach and a huge impact here and you’ve got a big social media following.  I’ve seen a lot of your successes on social media and in the show notes as well, we will provide all of your contact details, but how do you work with people?  You work with the poor, with the wealthy, with the CEOs, with the workers, and you also work with teams as well, outsourcing teams.  How do you do that?

Chad:  I’ll give you maybe a quick example of a six employee company near Roxas Blvd.  They are hospitality management experts.  Between the six of them, they’ve already lost in four months 150 lbs.  Their work performance is elevated, their confidence, which of course is then translated to their own colleagues plus the people they work with, their clients.  They see that this person is more dynamic.  They see this person looks better.

But what happened was it was a simple matter of education and our next seminar will actually incorporate their families.  It’s always a matter of just continual education.  What I do is I go in and I make sure that they understand the roadmap.  This is how to live better, just simply make some changes and then it’s a matter of motivation.

Once they feel it themselves, they almost get addicted to this natural high, to the right way.  So, it’s a positive feedback loop because people are really tired of being tired, and we’ve been lied to.  Big corporations lie to us about their breakfast cereal being healthy or the gym saying, “You have to work out longer and then drink Gatorade,” or the doctor saying, “Please take this prescription for hypertension.”

Well, I can fix hypertension in two weeks, disappeared. Anxiety depression, psoriasis, type 2 diabetes.  We’ve had cancer treatments become smaller.  Doctors come off their eye prescription.  So all of these conditions are really reversible, but we have to understand that we created it ourselves through our lifestyle and environment.

Derek:  And it’s no surprise that people get demotivated because they try some things and then it doesn’t work, and they try other things and they go on medications and they spend on doctors and still nothing really works.

Chad:  I love that you say that because what we do is we are always told then, I said, “Thank God we met because now, you know the right way. Don’t worry about the mistakes in the past.”  We’re big on gratitude and positivity because the mistake you made helped make you the person you are.  I’ve made all the mistakes, but in the end, it took me until I was 45 before I started to really improve myself.  I still make mistakes today, but I learned faster from those.

I think people just need to keep trying.  Maybe engage a coach but you really need the right one because again what happens what I save people is time because if you’re wasting time in a gym, you can never get that back.  We save money because I don’t sell supplements.  I don’t sell medicines.  You get off those.  You can do it naturally.

So, yeah, I love my job and if somebody is out there who has got some form of illness, it’s really, your body knows what to do and there is a natural way.  So, yeah.

Derek:  Wow.  So you do have corporate clients and you would dive into a team.  What are some successes you’ve had and have you had any failures?

Chad:  Of course, yeah.  An example is on the outsourcing taskus, I think there’s maybe 7,000-employee company here in the Philippines.  I went in and educated their managers and some of them have lost 30 lbs in two months, but it’s not really about weight because they gained mental clarity.  They gained energy.  They sleep better.  Their child is now smarter.

Again, it’s not just you.  It’s your team.  It’s about setting an example to your family.  I’ve had 600-employee company that lost 1,500 kgs.  One lady just who was sick always two days a month due to her monthly cycle, now, she’s never sick and she’s actually saving herself 1 million pesos in her lifetime or I guess maybe $30,000 because she doesn’t need the medication she was on before.

It really works and I think the beautiful part what you said then is if it’s a team, will you grow and help each other as a team?  So, that’s really a beautiful way.

Derek:  Especially here because they are very community based.

Chad:  Oh, fantastic and people, sometimes, it’s crab mentality, but most of the time, it’s building each other up.  I have groups of four families that go prime together.  We do commonly treat it as a company and they thrive.  It’s really a lot of success stories.  Companies, pharmaceutical, I’ve got doctors, nurses, but even in Australia, Norway, Denmark, Singapore, Hongkong, it works because it’s the basic principles.  Like you and I know, it’s really not rocket science.  It’s trying to learn not do the wrong thing, but do more of the right thing.

Derek:  Fantastic.  If people do want to see some of your successes and follow what you’re doing, how do they get in touch?

Chad:  Sure.  Well, my blog is www.primedforyourlife.com and I have maybe 100+success stories there, but I actually can’t keep up with writing them all because there’s thousands and I’m very proud of that.  Again, it doesn’t matter about somebody else’s success.  It’s your success, so just make a change because if you’re not healthy now or you want to be more healthy, we have to change.  You have to do something different.

That’s where a coach or somebody can help you and guide you, give you a different idea because like you said before, I have clients who are 280 lbs and she just told me on Saturday that she has lost 32 lbs in two months.  Equally, I’ve got the professional athletes.  I’ve got the business owners who are very successful and they are healthy, but they elevated their game and then they helped their staff.  That ultimately, I believe, is where true happiness comes from.  Help yourself then you must help other people.

Derek:  Pay it back.

Chad:  Pay it back.  Send the elevator back down.

Derek:  Hope you enjoyed that, really interesting conversation with Chad Davis about changing the outsourcing workplace and bettering the health of the Filipinos.  If you want to get in touch with Chad or want any of the show notes, please go to www.outsourceaccelerator.com/74 and if you want to ask us anything, please do so at [email protected].