Play to Your Strengths with Chris Woods

Playing to your strengths beats fixing your weaknesses every time, and Chris Woods has the framework to prove it. In Part 2 of this Reignite Resilience conversation, hosts Natalie Davis and Pamela Cass continue their talk with Chris Woods, certified professional coach and author of Balls and Brains, this time digging into how he built his coaching framework long before he wrote the book, and why he coaches clients to spend their energy on what they are already good at.

Chris opens by contrasting his own writing process with the discipline he saw in a Jerry Seinfeld interview about joke writing. Chris did not lock himself away and grind. He built the book slowly, around referrals and client conversations he had been having for years. He explains how the phrase Balls and Brains came to him, how he checked that the URL was open and grabbed it, and how the material practically assembled itself once he sat down to write, because the ideas were already tested on real clients.

The heart of this episode is Chris's core teaching: play offense on your strengths, not defense on your weaknesses. He traces this back to how school and performance reviews train people to fixate on deficiencies, and he lays out his 80/20 rule for where to spend your effort instead. He uses Michael Jordan's failed baseball career and the movie Rudy to show the difference between talent multiplied by effort and effort alone. He also shares what he calls his biggest discovery from years of coaching corporate clients: the return on investment always outgrows the job title and bleeds into every part of a person's life.

Chris closes with what is next for him, including plans for his own podcast under the Balls and Brains name, how listeners can reach him directly, and the two minute gratitude practice he recommends to everyone, morning and night.

In This Episode:

• Why Chris Woods built his coaching framework for years before writing the book
• How the name Balls and Brains came together and why the URL was still available
• The difference between playing offense on strengths and defense on weaknesses
• Why Chris uses Michael Jordan and the movie Rudy to explain talent versus effort
• The biggest return on investment Chris sees in his corporate coaching work
• The two minute gratitude practice Chris recommends every morning and night

Chris Woods proves that strengths compound faster than weaknesses ever will. Spend your effort where your talent already lives, and the results follow.

The Quiet Gift: A Journey of Self Worth and Resilience is now available for download as an audible.  Check it out!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

All of us reach a point in time where we are depleted and need to somehow find a way to reignite the fire within. But how do we spark that flame? Welcome to Reignite Resilience, where we will venture into the heart of the human spirit. We'll discuss the art of reigniting our passion and strategies to stoke our enthusiasm. And now here are your hosts, Natalie Davis and Pamela Cassidy.

SPEAKER_03 0:45

For sure. I saw an interview with Jerry Seinfeld recently, and he said about like joke writing that he would have to just essentially lock himself in and commit like he was in prison. He was like, There's all sorts of things that I want to be doing now, but I'm not leaving. I'm gonna stay here and I'm not letting myself leave this room. And like that's really good discipline. I I didn't have that. Yeah, I think it's maybe it's different for joke writing. It could be.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

I feel like it's more intense.

SPEAKER_03 1:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

Maybe not if you're funny, if you're just yeah, it's a commitment though. I think it's a commitment. Yeah, I that sounds terrible. Like I wouldn't, and he was so disciplined. And isn't he like like what the highest one of the highest paid comedians? Oh, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 1:32

So it definitely worked, right? And it's like you could use that as an example, but I still can't do it.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

No, no, no, no, no, two years to write the book. Um, take us back prior to that the start of the two years. Uh, when did you realize that the book needed to be uh created? Like it you needed to have this intangible form for others.

SPEAKER_03 1:53

So all of my clients up until recently were always just referrals. So I work with people and then they're out to dinner with others and they talk and they're like, you know what? I should introduce you to this guy, Chris Woods. And so then I've got corporate clients too, and then they just, you know, they they send me people. And so I decided that I should be more proactive in sharing, you know, how I work with people. And I was like, how could I put that out so that it's digestible for people? And it's like an invitation to that, even if they don't end up working with me, I'm delivering value to them. So first they'll remember the name. But then hopefully after 104 pages, they're like, this was actually really helpful. And if they then end up reaching out to me and working with me, that's great. But even if they don't, I've reached and impacted thousands of more people than I would otherwise. So that's where it started. And then I forget where the phrase, the term balls and brains came from. Um, I don't know. I don't I don't remember I actually where it came from. But I was like, that's a great name. And I remember like looking it up online and no one was really using it. So I grabbed the URL and did all the things that I could. Um, and then eventually just filled in the book around those two parts.

SPEAKER_02 3:07

Did anything surprise you during that process of writing it?

SPEAKER_03 3:11

Um it what surprised me was um how many things as I was going back through notes and things that I had accumulated over the years fit so cleanly into each of those categories. It was almost like it was being set up for me and I didn't know it. And so um there's so many, like each of the chapters starts essentially with like a quote. And all of those quotes were just ones I had picked up over like four or five years that just resonated with me. So it literally, that's what they say, like the book kind of writes itself over two years, but it was like, but as I was putting it together, that's what surprised me. I was like, ah, this is kind of fitting together like a puzzle.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Oh, that's awesome. Wow, that's awesome. I I am kind of surprised that the URL was available that you were able to take that domain down. So that's that's interesting.

SPEAKER_02 4:02

I agree. I figured that would have definitely been taken.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

Yes. I but you know what? Whatever traffic comes to the site, that's great. To have them buy a book and um and check out some of your information there.

unknown 4:14

For sure.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

I love that. Well, and what's interesting, Chris, and what you created is that you went through creating the framework for many years before actually putting it into the book, um, where we see a lot of people do it the other way around, right? Like and extracting the framework the other way. Um, so you've created this framework that has proven results, you've seen it time after time, referral clients, uh, and then bringing that into the form of a book so you can continue to spread the message and the tools everywhere. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Is there anything in the book that you that really stands out to you, maybe a lesson or um a chapter or focus area that you think our listeners would really resonate with today?

SPEAKER_03 4:58

Yeah, so there's a part of it that um there's a couple of them, but one of them it's a quote by uh Wayne Dyer, and he says something to the effect of like, you know, our our purpose here is not to, you know, um uh grow ourselves into some form of ideal that we think we should be. It's to find out who we are and become it. And I love that because at least for me, when I was kind of figuring things out in my 20s and 30s, that I was just doing like, oh, I gotta work on this thing that I'm not good at, or you know, this is what other people say is success. So this is what I need to do. And I love the idea of the fact that we're not here to create ourselves in the form of something that we think we should be or looks like somebody else. We're here to actually remember who we are and become it. And so that's the two steps that I talk about, right? On the balls part of it is to get in touch with the limiting fears that you have that hold you back from being all in on you, right? And you know, you could even say this is what God put each of us on earth for, right? Is that you were originally brought in here without the fears and without the shame or without the other things that would hold you back. And you were also given all these gifts, right? You were given talents that not other not everybody else has. And the idea of then giving you permission to reconnect with what you're originally here to do and what makes you unique without the fear and to know what you're really good at. And when I tell people, I want you to play offense on your strengths as opposed to defense on your weaknesses, that that's the stuff that can get people to really feel alive and be the authentic version of themselves.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

I love that Chris, dive into that. I I think that's such a powerful thing. Like create being playing offense on your strengths versus defense on your weaknesses. Break that down for us. Like, how does that truly show up in a person's life? And you can give us just whatever examples. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:01

So if you think about it, like when we all went through school and the way schools work, right? It's all about getting you to work on your weaknesses and they give you tests and then the stuff that you're seemingly deficient on. That's what you need to work harder on, right? And it's not then, unless you go to, you know, some kind of progressive schools that just let you do whatever you want, the structure is generally around you got to work on your weaknesses, on your deficiencies. And then when you get into the professional setting, it's the same thing. It's that you get your performance reviews, and it's like these are all the things that you need to be doing better. Uh, as well as like, even when I worked at Google, they in for your like level, different levels, you'd be compared against everybody else on your level. And so it would be like you'd be graded against you know the top people and all this, and like the top people have this, and this is what you need to work on. And it's just the nature, right? And then ends up becoming the way that we think. And we think about, oh, I'm not as good at this. This is what I need to get better at, and you focus on them. And so, what I then say is that people then oftentimes you know put all their time and effort just to get to average, whereas their gifts, if they spent their time on that, they can be extraordinary, as well as you'll feel more in the flow, you'll feel better because you're like, wow, I'm actually good at this, and you'll be rewarded for it, right? Because the world rewards performance and people that are with talent. And so we end up getting making ourselves smaller and try to work and spend all our time on deficiencies. So, what I then say to people is I don't want you to just ignore any kind of deficiencies you have, particularly if you're like in a work environment and then listen, I need you to be a better communicator or whatever. It's like you should work on those things, but like spend 80% of your time going from good to great on the things that you're really good at, and the other 20% on you know, working on the deficiencies that are actually most impactful for you. So that's the way that I try to get people to think about it. Because there's a another quote, it's um by uh Saint Francis de Salle, and I have it around here somewhere. And he said something to the effect he's like, um, I always remember the first part of it, but I didn't remember the second. It says, be who you are and be that well, so that you may bring honor to the master craftsman whose handiwork you are. And I love that idea is that if it's like this is what you were put here to do, it's like be you.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

I love that. I yeah, there's so many layers of that because I just I think about how many of us think we have to be the, you know, the master of all trades. Like I have to I have to be the master of everything, especially when you're an entrepreneur. You think that I should just be doing and know how to do everything. And if we let that go and let somebody else do it that loves doing it and is good at it, and just focus on our unique genius, what we do well, man, we'd be unstoppable.

SPEAKER_03 10:01

For sure, right? And you would in not only would you be unstoppable, but it would be like this flywheel because you're doing the things that you like to do because you're good at them, and you can see the results, and you're like, oh, this is good, this feels in the flow, this is where I go, and you'll be spending more time on it. So, an example I give in the book is about Michael Jordan. And so, Michael Jordan, by you know, a lot of people, including me, uh, I think he's the best of all time. So, no offense to the LeBron fans, but Jordan is my guy. And so, if you think about him on a talent standpoint from one to 10, his talent in basketball was a 10. And if you also then think about his work ethic, how much he worked at it on a scale of one to 10, he was a 10, right? So 10 times 10, he was 100. So he took that break after winning three championships, went and played minor league baseball. And he's still a great athlete, right? He played in high school, played in college, he's this amazing thing, played minor league. And so still applied that 10 out of 10 work ethic to baseball, right? But never got out of the minor leagues and he wasn't going to because as good as he was, his talent level was probably a five, maybe a six out of 10 on that, right? So 10 times six is 60, but 10 times 10 is 100. He turned around, he went back to basketball, won three more championships. He was the Michael Jordan of basketball, he wasn't the Michael Jordan of baseball. Yeah, so I say that is that like he could have kept putting his 10 out of 10 effort against baseball, but that's not where his talent was. Yeah, so the second example I give in this in the book is there's a uh old movie called Rudy. Do you guys know this football in there? Absolutely. So Nelly, so it's this it's this movie from like the 90s, and it's based on an actual story about a guy who uh played at went to Notre Dame and he like worked on the team. He was like, you know, he just essentially helped out with the team, but he always wanted to play. And he worked and worked and worked and worked on it, and he finally got in on a last play of his senior year. They let him go in and like he tackled the quarterback, and then they put him on the shoulders and they brought him out like Rudy, Rudy. And it's like the greatest success story of all time. And what I argue is that it's not a success story, is that it's like Rudy put in all that time and effort and visualization and everything he wanted to be into being a football player that he wasn't that good at. And the best thing he ever did was get in on one play and do that. Whereas if he had put in that passion and that effort against something that he was actually good at, he could have been great.

SPEAKER_02 12:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:29

So I use that as a good example, but it's also meant to get people sometimes they get upset with me. They're like, that's not actually true. I'm like, good, but at least you're thinking this through because you know what are the things that you're really good at? Because if you can combine that with your passion and your work ethic, yeah, you can be the best.

SPEAKER_02 12:45

Yeah. And it's so much easier to do things that you're good at. Right. It takes so much less friction, so much easier. Right. Less energy is expelled. So that's right. Yeah, I love it.

SPEAKER_01 12:57

And I think it drives home a big point of like you can do things and still see success in your life. It's not that like you're doing these things and you're not successful. Like you said, some of your clients have tremendous success, but they kind of hit this spot where they can't go any further or they're afraid to take another step because they'll lose it all or what have you. Um, recognizing that that that the success and the alignment may not necessarily be the same thing, but they can operate and exist together. For sure. Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 13:27

No, and that's exactly what I say is that you know, oftentimes when they're afraid of making a change on that, they're like, But if I if I lose this fear, I'm gonna lose my edge. I'm like, no, you you actually won't. That that helped get you here, but it's you don't need it going forward. And life can be better, and you can be even more successful when we are, you know, get you to be able to let go of that fear, to be able to lean in from passion and faith as opposed to fear, and spend more time in you know, your genius zone and the stuff that you're really good at. So as good as you think this is, it can be so much better.

SPEAKER_01 14:04

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. What is the biggest discovery that you've had in working with either your your corporate clients or your clients that you've coached uh using this framework?

SPEAKER_03 14:15

Is that it can impact their entire lives, that it's meant to be, you know, related to career. And so, like, particularly when when corporations hire me and have me work with people, the the return on investment that they get, the corporation, is one thing from you know the employee. But the return on investment that the individual gets, you know, is exponential because it ends up, I see it in them because they saw it in me, is that it like kind of lowers their shoulders, it lets them breathe more, and it gets them into more of a flow that oftentimes they didn't think they were capable of. And so it ends up showing up in you know, performance being better, um, they're hitting their goals, but also having clarity on really where they want to go on these things. And then so many times I hear that it's now bled over into other parts of their lives. Oftentimes it also happens that among the the top five and the top 10 talents that they have, if they aren't able to map that into either their current job or a future job, they'll start doing that outside of work and start leveraging some of the talents that they have. And it makes them feel like they're coming back to life. And so the the return on investment that they get is also the return on investment that I get, is that sure they pay me for it. But it's like the whole idea is that like I can see that this has made a real impact on people that is going to echo on into the future.

SPEAKER_01 15:46

Oh, yeah, like this holistic approach, right? Yeah, you come in and we talk career, but realistically it's gonna touch every key area of your life.

SPEAKER_03 15:53

For sure.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

Yeah, that's amazing. And I'm sure they're surprised by that as well.

SPEAKER_03 15:59

Well, they are, but the other thing that's sometimes comes is that if they come in through a referral from somebody else who introduces them, sometimes they they sell it for me. So they're like, they're like, dude, not only did this help me at work, but like my personal life is so much better. So, you know, sometimes they come in even with that expectation and it still delivers, and it just makes me feel so happy. Oh, that's incredible.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

That is awesome. When they're they look for new spaces to express those strengths that may not present themselves in their professional life. Um, is this like the creation of a side hustle? Is this hobbies? Is it a combination?

SPEAKER_03 16:38

It's a combination. Uh a couple of them of them have started in the side hustles, and one of them ended up moving over and making that as a permanent hustle. Another one has just kept it as a side hustle. Yeah. Which is great. As long as they're happy and it's working for them, then whatever works.

SPEAKER_01 16:56

Yeah, you still get that satisfaction and free. Yeah, that's great. That's great. I love that. Oh my gosh. So what's next, Chris? We'd love to hear. You're out here fixing everyone. I should say aligning. You're aligning everything.

SPEAKER_03 17:11

I'm so glad you use that thing. And that's what I always say oftentimes to people is like, I want to help you go from grinding to aligning. Or what I always say is like, right now it feels like you're in a rowboat, right? So you're making progress, but it's a lot of work and it's all on you. And when you stop, the boat's essentially going to stop, it's just gonna roll. But if you could convert this into a sailboat, right, you'll be moving a lot faster, freer. You're still in charge, but it's like you're you're you're um harnessing natural resources and things that are around you. Um, so let's think of it that way. So um I the the next thing for me is I uh am thinking about doing a podcast like you guys are, and I would love to invite you on if you would come on. Um and I I think I'm gonna keep the the term balls and brains. And the idea then around bringing in people and having them share their experiences about how you know they overcame, say, limiting beliefs and limiting fears that held them back, that now have you know um allowed them to now, you know, reach new heights. And then, you know, how they discovered what they were really good at and you know, what was the process like? Because oftentimes people start off on one thing and end up in something else. So I think that those stories oftentimes um will resonate with others who might be thinking about it, or is like, I don't know if that's for me, I don't know if I can do that. If you know, if sharing those, if other people sharing those stories on the podcast could create kind of a critical mass that people are like, if they could do that, then I can do that, you know? Yep, definitely will.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

Oh, that's exciting. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

I love that. Yeah, you'll have to let us know when you launch it, and we will absolutely come on. We would love that. Fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 18:54

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

That's truly the space that we've worked to create here with this podcast is we know that there are hundreds of adversities out there that people will face in their lives. And so bringing on guests that have faced their own adversities and how they've overcome them so that we can give uh create this space to give people hope or an understanding of what it could look like for them to maneuver through, around, or over the adversity that they're currently facing or that they've faced in the past that they haven't addressed yet. So yeah, there is a need. So we're excited to see how you bring that all together.

SPEAKER_03 19:26

Well, thank you guys for doing what you do because obviously you reach and help, you know, lots of people. And that's what we oftentimes find, right? It's like we're social beings. And oftentimes, if you spend too much time in your own head, you're thinking you're the only one going through these things. And if you can see more examples of people and hear from them, you know that you're not alone and you're like, you know, there actually is a way out of this. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 19:52

If our listeners want to get a hold of you or get in touch with you to work with you, what does that look like?

SPEAKER_03 19:59

So I have a very simple name. It's Chris Woods with an S. They used to always say, like when I was in high school, they're like, is that a fake name? That sounds like a fake name, like it's a real name. So it's Chris Woods with an S, and I'm a coach. So my website is just Chriswoodscoach.com. And so there's more details about how I work with people, there's testimonials from happy clients, there's a link uh over to Amazon if you wanted to get the book, as well as there's a way to message me directly and I respond to every message. So if any of this has resonated with anyone and they're interested in just reaching out, I will definitely get back to you. I love that. Perfect.

SPEAKER_01 20:35

Oh my gosh. We've touched on so much, Chris. Is there anything that you would like to share with our listeners that we haven't had a chance to touch on yet?

SPEAKER_03 20:44

So the only thing I say, like when I have like, you know, unsolicited advice to give to anybody is if you're not already doing it, practice gratitude. And what I've seen is that I kind of used to do it, but since I've started it as a real practice over the last few years, it is magical. And they've been saying it for thousands of years. But if you still are a disbeliever, I'm telling you, just give yourself two minutes in the morning and two minutes when you're in bed, you know, before you pick up your phone in the morning and after you put your phone down at night, and just give yourself two minutes to think about and be grateful and say, you know, in your head, I'm grateful for. And the more things you're grateful for, the more things you will then see to be grateful for. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:30

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

Perfect way to start incorporating the evening gratitude. If I do morning gratitudes, those are gratitude journals that um it's just blank lines, just finding three things that I'm grateful for to start the day out. And that's how I typically kick start my day. But to wrap up my day, um, I think it's Benjamin Franklin that uh kind of put you in that space too. If you look at his sketch his calendar that he set for himself, he would start each day with asking himself, like, what good will I do today? And then ends the day with what good have I done today. And so it's kind of like, what are the what are the amazing things that have happened in life that I can celebrate and be grateful for? So I love that. I'm gonna show you.

SPEAKER_03 22:10

I think it also then when you do it at night before you go to bed, I feel like it gets into your subconscious too. Because it's the last things that you're actually thinking before you go to sleep. Yeah. So yes, strongly recommend.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

I love that. And for our listeners, it's so much better than like mindless television. Let the last thing you think about be something that you're grateful for versus whatever's out there.

SPEAKER_02 22:35

Doom scrolling. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:37

Don't do scroll. Don't let that be your last thought before you go to sleep. That's not the best thing. We'll have the research to support it in 10 years. Just give us a minute. Chris, this has been wonderful. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We will make sure that we put your website and contact information in the show notes so our listeners can get in touch with you. But thank you for sharing your personal story and your insight and knowledge with us today. This has been great.

SPEAKER_03 23:04

Thank you very much for having me. I've really enjoyed the conversation. I really enjoy your guys' energy. And again, uh, it's great what you're doing for your uh audience because uh I'm sure you're delivering a lot of value for them and it shows. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

Thank you. Absolutely. For our listeners, uh, you all know the deal. If you have not uh gone over to find us on Facebook and Instagram, go ahead and do so that you can learn more about what's happening in the world of Reagnite Resilience, or you can find us at RegniteResilience.com. Until next time, we will see you all soon.

SPEAKER_02 23:37

Bye everyone.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

All right, let's see.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

Thank you for joining us today on the Reignite Resilience podcast. We hope you had some aha moments and learned a few new real life ideas to fuel the flames of passion. Please subscribe on your favorite streaming platform, like or download your favorite episodes, and of course, share with your friends and family. We look forward to seeing you again next time on Reignite Resilience.