We were lucky to catch up with Brett Klika recently and have shared our conversation below.
Brett, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
My career as a fitness professional began in the year 2000. Immediately after college I was selected for the opportunity to become a live-in strength and conditioning intern at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in San Diego. I went on to find success in the personal training industry, getting the opportunity to speak around the world at industry events.
It was at an industry event that a representative from an international corporate consulting group saw me speak and asked to have coffee with me. Their organization had been acquired by a large Fortune 500 company, and they were looking for speakers and facilitators. They offered me a tryout.
After 4 months of sending video, phone interviews, and other qualification screens, I was invited to fly across the country for the in-person tryout. I was to present their content, very different from what I had done in the fitness industry, to a board room full of their leadership and sales team.
I rehearsed relentlessly. I had never been that nervous for any sort of event. I knew the career-changing ramifications of success or failure. When it came time for my tryout, about 10 minutes in to my presentation, I was hired on the spot.
That moment changed the trajectory of my life, my career, and my ability to fully help others.
Brett, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I began my career as a fitness professional and had quite a bit of success. I had the opportunity to live with Olympic Athletes as they trained for the Sydney Olympics, as well as helping grow Fitness Quest 10, voted one of the top 10 training facilities in America by Men’s Health. While I loved what I did, I always felt there was a more “all-encompassing” way I could help people. In 2011, I got the opportunity to begin speaking in the corporate space with the Human Performance Institute, helping leaders, teams, and entire organizations improve employee engagement through improved, health, cognitive capacity, and emotional resilience.
For over a decade, the role took me around the world and provided me the opportunity to help inspire some of the worlds most influential organizations and leaders. In 2014 I started my own consulting firm, BK Bestlife and begin to develop my own content and curriculum.
Through my organization and my energy100 program, we now help leaders, teams, and organizations create the energy and focus necessary to become elite. This program is unique in that it addresses the entire paradigm of engagement, including physical and mental health, emotional intelligence, and spiritual purpose and clarity. Through books, courses, facilitations, keynotes, individual coaching offerings, and free resources through brettklika.com. we help individuals address their personal factors of engagement and create sustainable strategies to continually drive improvement.
The greatest source of pride I have experienced through my organization is in changing the culture of thought and action within organizations, homes, and even individual mindsets. The “life against work” trope that is often embraced is a proven failed model. When my clients realize their opportunity to create meaning in the relationship between their work and their life, it’s like a re-birth of energy, motivation, and excitement. It’s such a reward to be able to see this sustain over many years.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Similar to so many others, the pandemic created various challenges for my business, Most of my offerings were live courses, keynotes, and facilitations. Coming out of the pandemic in 2022, organizations were losing interest in virtual training, yet were struggling to get people to show up for live events. As I was challenged with ways to pivot my offerings, my wife passed suddenly and unexpectedly,
I now was a single father of an 11-year-old daughter, struggling with a rapidly declining business, and sunken in grief.
As I was hitting a personal rock bottom, I realized that my career had been based on helping people rise from the lows of burnout and exhaustion in their lives and careers. I had the tools I needed. I just needed to take action.
I started to write down what I would tell a client in my situation. I considered how I would help them begin to take small steps to build momentum. I committed to this daily. Fast forward to now and my business is thriving once again. I have used my pain to create insight, developing scalable content that is relevant for those both in and out of the corporate space. My new book, energy100 will be released in August and I feel it has the opportunity to create a dramatically positive impact.
I once again have developed a passion and excitement for my career and my life.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
The most important aspect of the human development/performance field is listening. All too often we as coaches and mentors come to the table with all of our facts, content, and perspective. We’re hired to share it, so it can easily become a one-way conversation. I’ve found the more questions I ask, the more I listen and the less I talk, the more relevant insight I develop that can help people at a deeper level.
When I listen to individuals, or to the collective of teams and organizations, it helps inform how I’m able to help.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brettklika.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bklika/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/energy100
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettklika/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@klikab
- Other: Subscribe to my weekly newsletter! https://www.brettklika.com/sign-up-to-brett-klika-newsletter
