The MindShift Podcast

Overcoming Limiting Beliefs with John Davis

1/19/23 3:03 PM

4 Minutes Read

Episode 66

John Davis has lived the life of an action hero and overcoming limiting beliefs. At the age of 22, his spine broke in half, and doctors told him he might never walk again. Using what John refers to as the “Five F Formula,” and overcame the limiting beliefs others had and learned to walk again. He has been a professional Fight Director and stuntman for stage and screen; An Artistic Director of three regional theme parks; A sword-fighting comedian, a motivational speaker, author, and coach.

Additionally, after 9/11, John brought his inspirational message to the front lines of both Iraq and Afghanistan on six USO tours.

During today’s show, you will learn how John developed the five F’s and what they are, how one book brought about his breakdown to breakthrough. If you are ready to be encouraged to set and reach your highest potential and awaken your inner action hero – don’t miss this episode!

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full Episode:

How did John become the corporate action hero?
How did John overcome his limiting beliefs?
The Five F Formula

Episode Highlights

Corporate action hero

- John differentiates between a superhero and an action hero.
- He talks about how throughout his life, he developed the five F’s process.
- Wanting to keep the whips and the nunchucks from his show and his want to help people, he created the corporate action hero.

Peak performance as it relates to after the pandemic

- Corporations have come to a place where they had to rebuild their models.
- Keywords from the past year that John has been hearing are agility and flexibility.
- Another key point is people’s peak performance level drops during a time of adversity, but the reality is that those moments are where people can grow the most.

Whips and nunchucks metaphor

- Teaching fearlessness with a target and a whip.
- People want to be involved in something positive.
- Also, leadership has to make sure that they create an environment of positivity because people who are positive work better.

Neurolinguistic Programming

- John uses neurolinguistics to awaken people’s interaction.
- Rather than looking at it as manipulation, he looks at it more so as empathy.
- Be a leader from their point of view and lead them, not drag them to where you want them to be.

The breakdown

- John was helping a friend move boxes of clay, and while moving an 80 lb box, his spine split.
- The doctor told him that they didn’t know if he would ever walk again or feel mobility in any part of his lower body again.
- Then they said that even if he got his legs back, he would never have a physical career.

The breakthrough that altered his life

- A friend came to visit John and gave him a book written by Bruce Lee.
- What seemed like a cruel joke turned out to be the greatest thing anyone could have done at that moment.
- In the book, Bruce Lee talks about mental flexibility and leveraging your present moment.
- John realized that his moment is his own.
- He could give away his moment to a doctor’s belief, or he could grab his moment and choose his own belief.
- Overcoming limiting beliefs.

Not giving negative talk our reality

- John took words out of his vocabulary because they are not the present moment.
- In other words, don’t say, “I am wanting.” Say things such as, “I am creating, and I am meeting, or I am enjoying.”
- Your past is just a collection of memories of present moment experiences.

The Five F’s

- The Five F’s of achievement, based on hacking, the fight or flight response.
- John says that our biggest hindrance in life is our fears.
- Fearlessness, Faith, Follow Through, and Flexibility.

Fearlessness

- Fear is an emotional reaction to some future event that may or may not happen, focusing on a negative outcome.
- He says that fear is just negatively focused uncertainty.
- With this in mind, he says, fear is not rooted in the present moment, and the present is the only moment you can do something, then fear is a waste of time.

Focus

- John says that if you consciously focus on the negative, the subconscious mind will show you negative things.
- The same about positive focus.
- From negative to positive, you will have to stay very present and create positive moments to change your perspective consciously.

Faith

- It doesn’t matter where you get your belief or faith.
- John says that self-belief is something that you choose, no matter the past.
- For example, you choose a different path, and not only choose it but believe it.

Follow Through

- You have to do something.
- John says that our present moments allow us to do three things: thought, word, and deed.
- He says that thought and word without deed are just daydreaming.

Flexibility

- John says that no achievement has ever become without some obstacles to overcome.
- These moments challenge our inner action hero.
- Remaining flexible keeps the energy moving.

How does John want to be remembered?

- He would want to be known for being a true action hero.
- Action meaning creating momentum, starting in motion, or doing something.
- To be of service and create extraordinary results in the service of others.

3 Powerful Quotes from this Episode

Overcoming limiting beliefs

27:31 – “He talks about mental flexibility and leveraging your present moment. And the more I read that, I realized my moment is my own, I can give my moment away to a doctor’s belief, or I grabbed my moment and chose my own belief. And so, by leveraging my present moment, what I started doing was I started saying, okay, I am going to be a stunt man. I’m going to come through this, and I’m going to go all the way.”

Growth During Unexpected Times

9:11 – “Once you go through a significant change or through a time of adversity, people’s peak performance levels drop because they are in an uncertain time. But the reality of it is that those moments are when people can grow the most because they find out what they’re capable of.”

Creating positive environments

13:01 – “By using those two factors of clear communication and positive work environment, positive work culture, anybody would have gotten up, anybody that I chose would have gotten up because people want to be involved in something positive. So the leadership, you have to make sure that you create an environment of positivity because the people who are positive work better. It’s really that simple.”

About John Davis

John Davis has lived the life of an action hero. He has been a professional Fight Director and stuntman for stage and screen; An Artistic Director of three regional theme parks; A sword-fighting comedian, and a motivational speaker, author, and coach.

At the age of 22, he had his dreams dashed by a life-altering accident. Using what he now calls the “Five Fs,” John overcame the accident, the limiting beliefs of others, and brought himself back.

As an international entertainer, John has traveled extensively throughout the world, speaking to audiences of all ages and backgrounds in 30 countries and over four thousand live performances.

John will encourage you to set and reach your highest potential, awaken your inner action heroes, and overcoming limiting beliefs!