Christiane [00:00:00]:
Well, hello, then. Welcome to another episode of the happy, healthy Hustle. In today's episode, I'm talking to Ben Keech, and he's going to share his superpower, how he got through some personal struggles and what got him through us. Thank you so much for being here, Ben. Why don't you introduce yourself, please.

Ben [00:00:18]:
My name is Ben Keech. I do have a podcast, the Ben Keach show, and I do a number of things. I run a business here in Kansas City, a lawn and landscaping company. I am a speaker. I also am a coach. And my passion is helping men. And so being a man and knowing all the help I've needed throughout the years is trying to return the favor to other guys going through a variety of things. So, yeah, that's why I'm here.

Ben [00:00:48]:
That's why I'm doing all this.

Christiane [00:00:50]:
Awesome. So, what do you say is your superpower, Ben?

Ben [00:00:54]:
Oh, my superpower. I know the superpower I wanted as a kid would be able to be a fly and be invisible. That never actually worked out for me yet, so. But I would say my superpower is being intentional with what I do. I. If there's something that I feel like needs to be done, I can really zero in on taking the necessary steps to do whatever that is. And I don't. I don't get derailed very easily.

Ben [00:01:22]:
And so even. Even through a variety of setbacks, that can happen. So just. Just being intentional with all of my actions or trying to do the best I can at that. I'll give that as my answer.

Christiane [00:01:34]:
Yeah, that's amazing. I actually just created a workbook where I'm helping get things done, and one of the steps is setting intentions. Very important thing, because you're kind of aligning your mind with your body, but also with your soul, your intentions, and taking action step right there. But it sounds, like, super inspiring. And I want to hear now a little bit about your struggles and how you overcame that particular struggle.

Ben [00:02:09]:
Well, I had a. I always had a mindset, even as a young person, of, you know, I couldn't get way to get married. I wanted to have kids. My goal was family. That was. I was. I was always kind of driven to that, even. Even in the early years before maybe some guys are.

Ben [00:02:23]:
And so I, you know, I got married and I started having kids, and I was a high school teacher, and I felt like I was, you know, changing the world for those kids and all of these things. My world was, I felt, like, in line, and I was doing all the things that I wanted to do. And it's amazing what happens when you're, when your marriage falls apart. It's like, like, I think about it, like, there's four, five plates, okay? So, like, a glass plate. There's. There's my finances and there's my kids, and there's, like, just my love life, if you will, whatever that is. There's myself personally, and I just forgot the. There's too many plates in here.

Ben [00:03:08]:
I just forgot. And when, when your marriage falls apart, they all shatter. They're broken. And that's. And I found myself in that situation and even still trying to figure out what I wanted to do for a career in my life. And so everything was in disarray. One, at one point, it was clear crystal. All my goals, everything's panning out, and then it's done.

Ben [00:03:31]:
And how do you do that? How do you put all that stuff back together? How do you. All the stuff you've worked for, how your kids being impacted. I mean, there's just a lot of things. It's a lot. It's a lot for, for my brain to process. So that was my kind of, I guess you would say, fall apart moment where I had to, like, okay, well, what's. I feel like I'm like, you know, I. How a high school kid going into college, like a whole new world, you know, they're leaving the parents nest, and they're gonna go be a big, tough adult.

Ben [00:04:01]:
I kind of felt like that, like, and I. And. But everything is broken around me at the same time, so I gotta fix and move forward. It was tough. Most definitely. It was very tough.

Christiane [00:04:12]:
Yeah. Transition times are always challenging, and I love your comparison with the plates. I always have that image in my mind as well. There are these people in the circus, and they have these long sticks, and on top of the stick, they are having this plate, these artists, right? And they keep on adding more sticks and more plates. And sometimes in our lives, we feel like those artists, it's like, hold on. How are they holding all these sticks? They have two hands, 2ft, but they were like, you know, putting one in their mouth and then one under their arm. And I love that you actually said that. It was very crystal clear what your life was.

Christiane [00:04:53]:
But then all of a sudden, the plates started tumbling one by one, and it really seemed like starting from scratch, picking up the sticks, getting new plates, and maybe really creating a completely new life. What got you through this? What was an influence or who was an influencer that got you through this time, Ben?

Ben [00:05:12]:
Well, I definitely had to rely on a couple of key friends and a lot of hours and hours of conversation because, you know, I'm. I'm feeling and looking at a reality, but my reality wasn't always what was real. My perspective was off. And, um, my dad was a big influence on helping me just kind of stay grounded. He's a very simple man, but a very, like, he's going to say a handful of words, but it's the exact words you need to hear. And so I had to rely on other people, and I had to even rekindle some. Some friendships of people who I, you know, sometimes, you know, when you're married, a lot of it is just the two of you. And so when you don't have that anymore, you may, you may find yourself needing to rely on people that, you know, you haven't had before.

Ben [00:06:03]:
And I had some, some great folks around me that did that. I started reading more, and honestly, I just tried to do the little. When you don't know what to do, I just needed to do something little. Right. And sometimes, like, say, with my kids, it's like, you have to be a little vulnerable. You have to say, like, I don't. I don't know. Here's what I'm trying to do.

Ben [00:06:25]:
And you have to almost vocalize all the chaos in your mind, and then sometimes it's a little clear, and sometimes your kids are like, it's okay. Like, I understand. Like, it's not as. It's not as bad sometimes, but, you know, it's still tough. It's still tough. But I, you know, I would say just people in my life, for sure. And a lot of reading, too. I've read some really good books.

Christiane [00:06:46]:
Well, I so appreciate that because we sometimes look at people and we just see their external image, and we think, oh, my gosh, they have this perfect life. And then you all of a sudden realizing, never mind, they're actually carrying a lot of luggage, too. And maybe that luggage is actually opening up and all this stuff is spilling out. And I would always call that spilling out as making yourself vulnerable, because the more vulnerable you are, the more authentic you are. And the more authentic you are, the more we tend to connect with you, because we realize that person is just like me.

Ben [00:07:25]:
Yeah, and that's a great example you gave, because I think my life before, it looked like everything was together. I mean, I was coaching all of the teams. I was talking to students all the time about the importance of relationships and marriage, and I was saying all the things, believing all the things, and then I still fell apart for me. And so it's just this, like, it's like, oh, my gosh. And like, you know, am I. Am I being a hypocrite? Am I just this failure? Like. And then you have to, like, answer your own of self doubt and kind of walk through some of those things. And I actually got an interesting conversation with someone last night about the word vulnerable versus just sharing everything.

Ben [00:08:08]:
And for vulnerability, it's like you're showing your weakness. You're showing something that you may be judged for saying, you know, and that's. That's. That's a. That's a. That's a iffy place. You know, that's. Can be a scary place, but.

Ben [00:08:23]:
But if you have a few people that you can be real with, you know, it can help as you try to rebuild your life back to, you know, back. And really even starting this podcast was all an extension of that. I wouldn't have done this right off the bat. And of course I had, like, you're going to talk about relationships on your podcast. You're talking about what your relationship failed. Who, what gives? And I'm like, well, yeah, I'm going to, you know, and. But it. That's not easy because you have, you know, like, you question yourself, so.

Ben [00:08:53]:
But, you know, that's just all part of it. And that's. I get to write my own script. I'm in charge of. Of my life, and, you know, that's. That's how I'm moving forward through my own circumstances, if you will. 

Christiane [00:09:07]:
Yeah, yeah. And I actually think that if you put yourself out there and you're sharing your story, you're going to realize how many other people really think that that's exactly what they should be doing, too. I always say if you don't share your story, you're really stealing from others because you're not letting your true self come through. And that's usually our superpower, that intention that you talked about. Now we know more who Ben is because you put yourself on the podcast. And even though I might be traveling to Kansas City and meet you in person sometimes, I can listen to your podcast all the time. So.

Ben [00:09:46]:
Yeah, yeah.

Christiane [00:09:48]:
How can we get in touch with you, Ben? How can listeners find you? Tune in and find out a little bit more about Ben.

Ben [00:09:55]:
Yeah, so I just. My name the Ben Keith show. So it's on Apple, Spotify and all. It's on Instagram, it's on all the social media. So it's really just kind of searching that and something should. Something should pull up if technology is doing what it's supposed to do. Yeah. I'd love to.

Ben [00:10:13]:
Love for you to follow. I'm on a journey, so this is my journey. And whoever wants to come along with it and we can help each other out, that's that's the whole idea of this, so. Yeah.

Christiane [00:10:23]:
Awesome. Well, thank you so much, listeners, for tuning in today. And I would love for you to check out Ben's show. I would also love for you to check out the freebie that I'm offering. I mentioned it at the beginning of the episode, which is the wellness guide. You can click on it in the show notes and grab it. And I'm really looking forward to listening again to any questions you might have and seeing on the next show of the happy, healthy hustle. Make sure you subscribe to the YouTube channel and see you soon.