I recently interviewed Janine Delaney on my podcast, Thirty Minute Mentors. Here is a transcript of our interview:

Adam: Our guest today is a fitness guru who took the world of social media by storm in her late 40’s. Now at 51, with more than 2.4 million followers on Instagram, Janine Delaney is inspiring people of all ages. Janine, thank you for joining us.

Janine: My pleasure, Adam, thank you for having me as your guest.

Adam: Something that I tell audiences that I speak to is that it's never too early or too late to get started on the journey of self discovery, and I often meet college students who, believe it or not, are worried about getting old. And I love that you entered your first fitness competition when you were in your 40’s and became a social media influencer when you were in your late 40’s, not long after you first learned how to use Facebook. How did you become a mega fitness influencer? And can you share with listeners your best advice on how they can best navigate their career journeys?

Janine: Absolutely. I love that question because it was definitely something that I did not anticipate ever doing. And I was always a very private person. Like you said, I was not familiar with any social media, I didn't have a personal Facebook page. And I really became interested in that because I'm a mom of teenage daughters. And we all know that teenagers are always on their phones on Instagram. And as an athlete from when I was a young girl, I did professional ballet, getting older, I realized that a lot of what was being displayed on social media was not necessarily good as far as self image or lifestyle. And I really felt it was important for me, as an older woman, that I help women of all ages to understand that being fit is not necessarily just what you look like, it's about feeling good. And having the health and energy you need to live your best life. So that was why I decided to take this leap of faith. And I did not anticipate that it would end up where it has. But it's been amazing. And I think that the reason I was very successful in that I did approach that, as I have approached many other things in my life. So what most people may not know about me is aside from being a social media influencer, I am actually an entrepreneur and I have started and sold multiple businesses throughout my life. And it's very important that if you do have something that is a passion of yours; and your work can definitely be a passion, you don't need to be tied into something just to make the paycheck. When you have a passion, you're going to be great at it. And it's the smartest thing to turn that passion into a livelihood. Because not only is it personally fulfilling, you can obviously make money that way, but it's something you're going to be really good at. And that's really how I approached building my social media brand. I approached it as a business, I educated myself, I learned about my audience, I shared myself, I was vulnerable, I became relatable. And little by little, I started to develop a brand, for which I now have over 3 million followers, which is crazy.

Adam: Janine, that's amazing. And off the air, you were telling me just how important pivoting has been to your journey, personally, and I wanted to know if you could share with listeners, your best advice on how they can navigate the changes that they're going to be experiencing along the way and how they can best adjust to the winds of change in their personal and professional edge.

Janine: Sure. So I have changed my career multiple times. And in all some way they have been kind of indirectly related. But I find that three decades of my life I like to learn different things. I like to take advantage of different opportunities. And that's not always easy for people. I think a lot of people get stuck into a mindset and they're told that you know, the way to go is you do the nine to five, you do the grind. That doesn't necessarily mean that you need to like what you're doing. But I am a big believer in listening to your intuition and to find opportunity. So one of my favorite things is that success when preparation meets opportunity. So you really need to have both of those things. You know, we hear people say, oh, he was lucky, he was lucky. And that's not necessarily true. The people that come to think we are lucky, are the people who have had that opportunity. They put themselves in the right place. They put themselves with the right people, but they were prepared. So what I have done throughout my journey is I started out actually, I have a PhD in industrial psychology. And I was trained to be a corporate professional. I worked in corporate America for about 15 years. And I learned a lot during that time. And then I decided to exercise my entrepreneurial spirit. And I took over a transportation company, which was completely unfamiliar to me. I really did not have much knowledge in that area. But that was probably one of the best decisions I could have ever made because I put myself out there and I had to learn all aspects of running a business, everything from having employees, to marketing, to understanding how to manage a sales team, and transportation, of course. here's this whole other bucket of vehicles and how to, you know, be able to navigate that whole area. But that was a huge life lesson for me. And I was extremely successful at it. And that was kind of what put the bug underneath to be an entrepreneur. From there that started my whole other different, you know, things I've been doing and different businesses, we can talk a little bit more about that. But tying into your question, I think the most important thing that people need to do is to really listen to what drives them, what speaks to them, to learn that and to take that leap of faith and to trust in your instinct. And if you do that you will ultimately be successful.

Adam: I couldn't agree with you more and very clearly your instinct helped you become a huge social media influencer. You didn't know anything about Instagram and here you are just a few years later, with almost two and a half million followers. What tips do you have for listeners on how they can grow and ultimately monetize large social followings?

Janine: Sure, I get asked that a lot because people want to know, how did you do that, Janine in such a short time, how did you get 3 million followers? And so that would tie back into how I approached it as a business. You need to spend time on it. I did have a public relations firm that I work with. And I write a lot of articles for health and wellness publications. But I think the most important thing for people who are new to starting a social media following or maybe they've been doing social media for years, and they're just not getting where they wanted to be, you need to take a look at how you're approaching that. And the best advice is to just really be yourself. And I know people say that all the time. But it's very, very true. And the reason it's true, is that over the long term, if you're not yourself in anything in life, it's not a sustainable model. You need to talk about your beliefs, you need to talk about what drives you. And that was what I did really for the first year. So when I went into social media, I was myself and I didn't really look for business opportunities. I just said, I'm going to be myself. I'm going to post what I believe in and send messaging to the people I want to, and I had sponsors approach me and I said, nope, right now, we're going to hold off on all that we're going to build the brand, and we're going to build the values behind the brand. And so if you can do that, and not be tempted into having others sway you into straying from who you are, you're setting a really solid foundation for yourself. And then once that comes, you will start to see opportunities that come your way that are very much in alignment to how you build yourself. So I would say to anyone who's thinking of doing that or wants to continue just that, think about who you are, be very clear in your messaging, and have faith that if you're doing the right thing by yourself, that you will be successful.

Adam: Oh, really, really good advice. Were there any moments along the way that were a game changers for you that really helped significantly boost your following and help you grow your audience?

Janine: There were and if you don't mind, I would like to actually answer that question, but I want to flip it and say there were times where I wanted to give up or I was tweeting. And the reason that I say that first it is a career that so often, from so many people, and not just the social media, but just in general, you know, I started this new job. I don't know if I'm happy with it. I get cyber bullied, it's just not getting me where I want to get. I think people fail more often, not because they're afraid to take the step because many people take the step. But they fail. Because once they've taken a step, if they're not seeing the progress they want, they fall short of patience. And that's very normal. And that happens to me every day all the time with every new business venture. One of my good friends said something to me when I was a young woman in my 20’s. Now I’m a young woman in my 50’s. But what they said was, he said, the most successful people have failed before. And I just loved that. That gave me such confidence because we all look at successful people, sometimes that knocks their self esteem, we think, how can I ever get there? How is it I will never do that? But they've had to go through the same thing as you're going through. So if you're in a position where you're starting to doubt yourself or feel like it's not working, that's the time to push through, not give up. You might want to do something a little bit different, you might want to change your approach, but don't give up. That happened to me many times in many different careers. And I always persevere. And then to move back into your question, where's that light at the end of the rainbow, right? And where's the moment where you're say, aha, I did it. To me, this was not a tangible moment where I can say, you know, I was completed when I had X amount of dollars in the bank or X amount of followers. It all depends on what you consider and what your definition of success is. To me, I love all those things. But nice successes always have been personal fulfillment. That's why I like to be successful in different businesses. I like to conquer the challenge. I like to succeed. My biggest moment of success, social media, I was doing an event for one of my sponsors. And I walked up the stairs at this hotel that I was facilitating a class at, and this woman just ran up to me, she hugged me. I've never seen her in my life. And she said, Janine, I've been following you for two years now you don't know me, but I know you. And I just lost 100 pounds in the last year completely naturally. And you have been one of my biggest role models. And you know, I talk about it now. And I still get tears in my eyes. Because at that moment, that's when I know what I'm making a difference in whatever way I am. I'm making a difference.

Adam: Janine, I love that. I think that's awesome. And I love the advice that you shared with listeners around failure. And anyone who's listened to this podcast, is probably nodding their head in agreement, because just about every guest I've had on has said something very similar to what you just shared. Because any leader will tell you, any successful leader will tell you that failure is an integral component to succeeding in whatever it is you're trying to do. I had Brad Feld, one of the most successful venture capitalists in the country on this podcast. And one of the things he said is that he specifically looks for entrepreneurs who have failed and who have experienced failure intimately when he looks for entrepreneurs to invest in. I've had leader after leader in some different shape, form or fashion, explain why failure is such a huge component to growing and thriving on the journey to success. And you just did it in a way that I think encapsulates what listeners who are familiar with 30 Minute Mentors have heard. So I appreciate you sharing that. And you just touched on this a little bit, but I want to expand upon it a bit more. And you were talking about the tough days, the days that you feel down. And this goes beyond social media. You're doing difficult things. Anyone who follows you on social media knows that you're pushing your body to the max. You're also on a tight lifestyle regimen, which we're going to talk about a little bit later on in this podcast. What do you do to motivate yourself on the days that you don't feel motivated and through your years as an instructor, which we haven't really talked about, but you've been a fitness instructor. You've learned quite a bit about motivating others. So I would love to get your thoughts on the topic of motivation.

Janine: Absolutely. Everybody wants motivation, right? We all need it. I have a very long history, as you know a little bit about me, in the area of athletics. I started as a young girl doing professional ballet. And then when I went into college, I gave that up and started teaching a little bit of classes back in the 80’s. Yeah, that was fun. Jane Fonda, leg warmers, but I then went into, I actually joined a soccer team, when I was 14, for the first time. I had never played a team sport. And I joined an all female soccer team, because I just wanted to try. I wasn't very good at it, but I could run really fast. So they used me to run the ball off the field. But then I started my bodybuilding competitions. And again, I guess, first time I'm thinking of this, but as we're having this conversation, I'm realizing wow, my interest in athletics has kind of morphed just like my professionalism and my various businesses, because I like the new challenge. And fitness has just been something that has been a constant throughout my life, because it is such a huge source of feeling good and mental relaxation and stress relief. And that is how I have been able to get that out and to that, there are people who have hobbies that are not necessarily fitness related. And that's wonderful, too. The reason that fitness has been a great hobby for me is that it has helped me to stay healthy, and to have energy. And so I suggest anybody, whatever shape or form condition you're in, to incorporate fitness. And it doesn't have to be anything radical. So like we were talking about earlier, don't compare yourself to others, Don't think just because you can't run a marathon that you shouldn't be exercising. Everybody should be moving. And the biggest motivation tip that I can give folks is to find something that you like to do when it comes to exercise, because you're not going to be motivated if you don't enjoy it. And that's really why I started to jump rope. I knew that I had to do cardio as I was getting into my 40’s. I never struggled with my weight. I was extremely fortunate. But I was getting older. And cardiovascular health is so important. I did not like to run. All of my girlfriends were marathon runners. I tried, I hated it. That's what happens to people, they try to do things because they think it's expected of them. And then they don't want to do it. So for all you folks out there who lack motivation, when it comes to exercise, find something you like to do, it could be walking with your friend, it could be going on a hike, it could be swimming, whatever it is, find something you like you will be 100% more excited and successful at it.

Adam: What do you do to stay in the kind of shape that you're in? I mean, you're in unbelievable physical condition. How did you get into this kind of shape and how do you maintain it?

Janine: Well, I've been fortunate because I do have the background of fitness. And it's hard when people get to be 40 and they've never exercised. So that's something that people really need to just go slowly with. But I haven't been. Thankfully, I've been active since I was little. But there have been times where I was pulled into other priorities. I raised two teenage daughters, my oldest one is in college now, which is really difficult to believe. Being a mom takes away a lot of time, obviously, from yourself. So fitting in time to exercise is very often difficult. I just tried to be consistent throughout my life. And I suggest to everybody that sounds crazy, but you should try to schedule when you're going to work out. And the reason is that if you don't, there's so many other priorities, you'll just never get to do it. So it could be I'm going to workout every morning or I'm going to go every day for a long walk. You know, it could be just random times throughout the day, but put it in your calendar, make it a priority. And there's a big difference between motivation and discipline, because people could be motivated but then they could not have the discipline to execute on the motivation. So discipline is really key and consistency, and forcing yourself to kind of step away from what you're doing and take care of your body is really important. I like to also tell people, you know, people look at me and they think, gosh, I can't even tell you how many times I've been at a social gathering and had a few slices of pizza, and I get these dirty looks. We're eating pizza, you know, I eat pizza all the time. I just don't do it sustainably. So it's totally fine. It's totally fine to skip a gym day. But, you know, try to stay on track and be as consistent as possible. That's the key. No one likes the word diet. We just want to eat clean, have a good, healthy exercise lifestyle. And then every once in a while, go to the party, have a glass of wine, have a couple of slices of pizza. And then when Monday comes, you get back on track. That's what I have done. And it worked out really well.

Adam: What advice do you have for listeners? You've shared a few really good tips, but if you could share some more around nutrition, wellness, fitness rests, anything that listeners tuning in who are interested in these topics can apply to their lives so we can ultimately live healthier lives, more physically fit lives. A lot of our listeners are interested in these topics, what advice do you have?

Janine: So being healthy, right? There's there's so many different components. And really, when I started doing my competitions is when I really learned. I did my first one when I was 43. And I really learned so much about the body. I thought I knew a lot of things, but I was surprised. And I think it's great. You don't have to be in a figure or bodybuilding competitions to learn about your body, right? You can talk to others, you can read up. And so if you're very into fitness, and you really want to maximize your efforts, and what you're doing there, it's important to understand the way that the body reacts to food, how it’s converted to energy, the timing of when you should be eating. So with one of the things, for example, is I knew that to build muscle, I had to eat protein. But I didn't know that the body can only digest a certain amount of protein at the same time. So when I missed a meal, during my first competition, I would just double up on the protein and I wasn't seeing results. So it's little things like that, you should be having some sort of carb before you work out so that you have energy. After you train, you should have protein or you know, supplements are huge, just natural supplements like branched chain amino acids, things that will help to assist your body. And also just remember when you learn and when you educate yourself through reading and talking to people, that everyone's different. So a lot of people are very prescriptive. And they will say to me, what should I eat? Give me your diet, I want to do exactly what you're doing. And I will not share that because their body is not my body. And when I've been provided training programs from other girls during fitness competitions, and tried them, it did not work for me. So what you need to do is you need to educate yourself, but then play around and see what makes you feel good. You will eventually find a balance that's perfect for you.

Adam: Janine, I want to dive into another topic that ties into your background, except it’s your background as a psychologist, what advice do you have for listeners on how they can optimize their mental health and develop a winning mindset?

Janine: So it's very important to know the mind/body connection. And again, tying back to what I said earlier; the main reason that I've always been into fitness is really for mental clarity. I can't even tell you how many times I've had such a stressful day and I jumped rope, gone to the gym, went on a walk, and my head is completely cleared. So I think being able to find things, and it's very difficult. today's world is super busy. Everyone's doing a million things. I'm from New York, which is even worse, right? We're all over the place all the time. But remember how important your mental health is. Everything in your life is stemming from your emotions, your brain and all of the things associated with what's going on internally. So take time for yourself. Lots of people love meditation. There's a reason for that. It clears your head, you meditate, and then you have energy to go on into focus. I don't do that necessarily, but I have a lot of friends who are into it. What I like to do is I like to take some self care moments throughout my life. So every day, pick something that you like to do, even if it's 15, 30 minutes, but step back, reconnect, focus, and you're gonna have a lot more energy. I personally am a big bath girl. I want to take a bath that relaxes me, and I love to play with my puppies. I will take 15 minutes out of my day and play with them. And anything you can do to free your mind will help you ultimately be more productive the rest of the day.

Adam: I think that's great advice. And Janine, can you share with listeners all the different things that you've been working on, that you are working on. You obviously have a ton going on between your life as an influencer, your life running a social media business, your dedication to health, wellness, and fitness. You also are the mom to daughters, which is a job. And I wanted to ask you how you balance family, in addition to balancing all of your other priorities, and what advice you have for listeners on how to live as optimal as possible for a successful work/life balance.

Janine: That is one of my favorite questions, because I will tell you, it is not easy. I have an 18 year old and a 16 year old. My life has become a little bit simpler now because obviously they're independent. But I've always been a career mom. And my children are extremely important to me. So I call it segmentation. I think that's the right word, which is, you know, we go about our day, and we're not always in the here and now. So I learned that when my kids were really young, and I was trying to run a business from home, they would come into my office and I would have listened to them with my right ear and the left ear was you know, listening to a conference call. And one day I said this, this isn't working. I can't attend, I can't focus on anything. I can't be good at all these things at the same time. So what I always tried to do was I tried to compartmentalize, that's the word, compartmentalize the different components in my life. So I can give full attention to what I was doing in the here and now. And that's very mentally challenging practice, but if you can accomplish that, you just, you'll be happier, your family will be happier, you'll be more successful at your job. So step out of the office. Your kids will know the boundaries. Mommy's working right now. I'll be done at a certain time, and then I'm all yours, and I'm not going to pick up the phone, I'm not going to answer that email, then you get to give your undivided attention to whatever you're doing. At that moment, it doesn't always work out perfectly. Obviously, sometimes you get a call when you're at the movies with your kids. But to the extent that you can really focus and do that, it's definitely helpful. And just to add on to that, you know, it drives me crazy nowadays, everyone's on their phone, right? So you're out to dinner with your family. Don't be on your phone. That's a perfect example of how I try to focus on the here and now.

Adam: Where can listeners interested in following you find you?

Janine: You can always reach me on my Instagram at Janine_Delaney. And you can also go on my website and you can see all of my workouts anybody who wants to follow along on a YouTube workout. I have terrific jump rope tutorials. I'll give you some tips. For all these guys who think you can't jump rope; trust me, you can. You just have to watch my YouTube videos. And then I put my email right on my website. So if you have any specific questions, again, part of what I do is I enjoy communicating and meeting new people. And so feel free to email me.

Adam: Thank you so much for joining us. And thanks for all the great advice.

Janine: You're very welcome. It was such a pleasure.


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

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