From Sobriety to Success: Lessons on Transformation and Leadership
From Sobriety to Success: Lessons on Transformation and Leadership
Transformation is a journey that requires courage, clarity, and commitment. Few stories illustrate this better than Chris Weitzel’s inspiring path from overcoming addiction to becoming a thriving entrepreneur and coach. On the latest episode of The Amanda Kaufman Show, Chris shared his experiences and lessons learned in his journey toward sobriety, leadership, and professional success.
Chris’s story is a powerful testament to the impact of personal transformation on business growth, the value of coaching, and the importance of knowing your limits. Here are some key takeaways from our conversation.
1. Embracing Sobriety as a Catalyst for Success
Four years ago, Chris faced a pivotal moment in his life. After struggling with addiction, he made the life-changing decision to enter rehab, embrace sobriety, and start anew. This transformation didn’t just change his personal life—it also sparked the growth of his business and reshaped his vision for the future.
“I knew I was capable of so much more,” Chris shared. “When I finally decided to quit drinking, it was like a weight lifted. My physical health, mental health, and business all started improving at the same time.”
Chris’s journey highlights how personal growth can serve as a foundation for professional success. By confronting his struggles head-on, he unlocked the capacity to take on new challenges and opportunities, including launching his seafood retail business and eventually exploring the world of coaching.
2. The Power of Capacity and Knowing Your Limits
One of the standout themes from Chris’s story is the importance of understanding and respecting your own capacity. As the owner of a growing seafood business and media company, Chris knows firsthand how easy it is to overcommit.
“In our business, 20% of our revenue comes in a six-week period during the holidays,” he explained. “It’s a full-time gig with seven employees, and I knew I couldn’t launch a coaching program in the middle of that chaos.”
Instead of pushing through and risking burnout, Chris made the strategic decision to delay the launch of his coaching program until January. This choice allowed him to focus on building capacity within his business by hiring the right people and implementing systems to free up his time.
“Building capacity isn’t just about working harder—it’s about working smarter,” Chris said. “When you create space in your business, you can focus on what truly fires you up and delivers the most value.”
3. Why Coaching Is Essential for Growth
Chris admitted that he was initially skeptical about coaching. Like many entrepreneurs, he believed he could handle everything on his own. But after joining a high-performance coaching program, he realized the profound impact that coaching can have on personal and professional growth.
“Coaching gave me a new perspective,” Chris explained. “It’s like having an extra set of eyes on your game. Sometimes you need someone to tell you to pump the brakes and help you figure out your next move.”
Amanda echoed this sentiment, highlighting the role of coaches as leaders who provide guidance, accountability, and a safe space for introspection.
“Coaching isn’t just about giving advice,” Amanda said. “It’s about creating a relationship where clients feel empowered to make better decisions and achieve better outcomes.”
4. The Importance of Starting, Even When It’s Imperfect
One of Chris’s core beliefs is that success begins with action. He encourages aspiring coaches and entrepreneurs to start, even if they don’t have everything figured out.
“You don’t need to have all the answers,” he said. “You just need to take that first step. Too often, we get stuck in procrastination, waiting for the perfect moment. But nothing happens until you start.”
This mindset applies not only to business but also to personal growth. Chris shared how a chance moment of hearing Gary Vaynerchuk speak pushed him to take action and turn his life around.
“You might hear the same message 16 times, but it’s that 16th time when it finally clicks,” Chris said. “That’s what happened for me, and it changed everything.”
5. Leading with Humility and Curiosity
Another lesson Chris shared is the value of humility and curiosity in leadership. He emphasized the importance of listening, learning, and staying open to new perspectives.
“I used to think I didn’t need help,” Chris admitted. “But once I put my ego aside, I realized how much I could learn from others—whether it’s a coach, a customer, or a fellow business owner.”
This approach has served Chris well, not only in his business but also in his interactions with others. As a coach, he believes that you don’t need to be an expert in everything to make an impact.
“You just need to be one chapter ahead of your clients,” he said. “That’s enough to guide them and help them grow.”
6. Transforming Challenges into Opportunities
Chris’s story is a powerful reminder that even the toughest challenges can be opportunities for growth. Whether it’s overcoming addiction, managing capacity, or navigating the complexities of business, Chris approaches each obstacle with a problem-solving mindset.
“When you embrace challenges as puzzles to solve, you unlock new levels of growth,” he said. “It’s about finding the lesson in every situation and using it to move forward.”
Final Thoughts
Chris Weitzel’s journey from sobriety to success is a testament to the power of transformation, leadership, and coaching. His story illustrates that growth isn’t about perfection—it’s about taking action, building capacity, and staying committed to your vision.
If you’re ready to embrace your own transformation, take a page from Chris’s playbook:
Start where you are, even if it’s not perfect.
Build capacity by working smarter, not harder.
Seek guidance from coaches and mentors who can help you grow.
And most importantly, remember that every challenge is an opportunity in disguise.
Connect with Chris and Amanda
Want to learn more from Chris Weitzel? Connect with him here:
Stay tuned for more episodes and resources from Amanda Kaufman:
What’s your biggest takeaway from Chris’s story? Share your thoughts in the comments or send this article to someone who could use a little inspiration today!
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Chris Weitzel and His Journey
04:35 Transformative Experiences and Overcoming Addiction
07:23 The Role of Coaching in Business Success
10:11 Capacity and Strategic Planning for Growth
13:10 Key Insights for Coaches to Succeed
15:45 The Importance of Listening and Engaging with Clients
18:43 Final Thoughts and How to Connect with Chris
Full Transcript
Amanda Kaufman (00:00)
What role has coaching played in your success over the past few years?
Chris Weitzel (00:05)
One is that I need it. I need that constant, need, Garrett's sitting over here smiling. I need that person to like, fuck Chris, pump the brakes here, let's sit down and we'll figure out where we're gonna go. But coaching is something that I always balked at because I was, when,
when you have an inflated ego, and this goes back to my drinking days, is you don't need anybody's help. You're, I am the best. I am great at everything I do. A coach? I don't need a coach. Like, it wasn't until I served up a big piece of humble pie and it's, yeah, I think, I think, I think everybody should have a coach of some type. Whether it's a coach to grow personally, whether it's a coach to grow your business, whether it's a coach.
Amanda Kaufman (00:32)
Hmm.
Chris Weitzel (00:52)
I mean, I grew up playing organized sports, hockey, baseball, soccer. Then I played some competitive squash. And if you don't have a coach, in my opinion, you're screwed and you're behind the eight ball. If you don't have that extra set of eyes on the game when you're playing to coach you and get you that next point next time where you're able to, it comes back to the capacity where sometimes I think you have to take one step back to go.
two steps forward again,
Amanda Kaufman (01:40)
Well, hello and welcome back to the Amanda Kaufman show. I am so delighted to have my friend Chris Weitzel here for the Coaches That Don't Suck series. So Chris, welcome to the show.
Chris Weitzel (01:55)
Thanks, thank you for having me, Amanda.
Amanda Kaufman (01:58)
my pleasure. You know, so Chris is just awesome. We're both in a coaching program together and it's a high performing coaching program. And that's where we met. And Chris is a formal financial advisor and he turned organic vegetable farmer marketer. And now he's the owner of a fish and seafood retail store and media company. And, you know, I'm so impressed. You know, he's in his fourth year of business with
the seafood company. And what led us into conversation together is we were talking about coaching and Chris was just about to launch his coaching program, but then something happened. And I thought like that would be such a great episode for you dear listener to hear how to make really high quality business decisions so that you can become, you can be the highest quality coach ever. So Chris, I'm so excited that you're here.
Chris Weitzel (02:55)
Me too.
Amanda Kaufman (02:56)
Yeah, it's so good. So Chris, like catch me up a little bit on, you've been launching this coaching business, you had this coaching idea. Tell us a little bit about what the idea was and kind of like give us the backdrop of what was leading to wanting to launch.
Chris Weitzel (03:12)
I would say the main reason would be I've always wanted to be able to help people. just going back about why the store that I'm in opened four years ago is four years ago, I got sober and I opened up a store after coming out of rehab that I put myself in to get better and
Amanda Kaufman (03:27)
Mmm.
Chris Weitzel (03:36)
I work what's called AA. I work the program and so I started helping people get sober and my business started to just escalate at the same time. So did my physical health, my mental health and that is why I thought if I can help people get sober and I see what sobriety did for my business, I knew that I can now and then you go into the elite coaching program that we're in.
and you couple that with my ability to help people, it just kind of went hand in hand that that's what I want to do.
Amanda Kaufman (04:10)
I love it. know, just like I can see. So the program that he's referencing, just I hate gatekeeping on information. I'm always like telling people, you know, here's who I work with. Here's what I use for tech. Here's here's what I'm like big open book. And I know you are too, Chris. So we're both in Dan Martell's coaching program, and it's for established entrepreneurs who are scaling. And so, you know.
Chris, that's actually so impressive, you know, to have started a business just four years ago on the heels of such a big life transformation. Like that's a lot of responsibility to take on after, you know, that decision, that transformation that you went through. So I'm really curious, like, what would you say is really, really important for somebody who is wanting that transformative experience? they're done with a season of their life.
Chris Weitzel (04:51)
Mm-hmm.
Amanda Kaufman (05:03)
You know, I actually was chatting with another coach a few months ago. And he also went through program to achieve sobriety. He said something that really shook me. And he said, everyone is addicted to something.
And it might be like a traditional substance, but maybe there's something else that you're doing that is to cope or to avoid, but everybody has that story in some way. So what would your advice be to someone who is wanting to leave that behavior behind? They wanna conquer that and they want to pursue...
Chris Weitzel (05:19)
Yeah.
Amanda Kaufman (05:45)
at the same time, because I think that's what's really remarkable here too, is like, you're not just like getting to this coping place, you went into a pursuit, you know? So can you talk to us a little bit about that? Like what would you recommend to somebody who's kind of feeling that need to change?
Chris Weitzel (06:02)
Well, you have your wife leave you. That's the what needs to change part. And it was, yeah, it was bad, but it's a good news story. She left, but we had a three year old daughter and she never knew a single thing happened because we still seen each other every night. We went to the park, but she knew the one thing to make me clean my shit up was to leave. Leave. That was the last draw. And so
Amanda Kaufman (06:06)
Mm-hmm like it gets bad
Hmm.
Chris Weitzel (06:30)
But the whole thing is that you're right about addicted to, everybody's addicted to something. A lot of people, when it comes to addiction, people pleasing is a huge part of it. I mean, we can go down the list of addictions. We can start with the physical substances, alcohol being my DOC, my drug of choice. But I mean, there's food. There's, we can get in, there's porn. There's so many different levels of addiction.
Amanda Kaufman (06:50)
Mm-hmm.
Sure.
Chris Weitzel (06:55)
The one
rehab center I went to dealt with all of them. So I got to get to know a lot of different people with a lot of different addictions. But I like how you put, do look at it as a season of my life. I was ready even for years before that. The seed was planted years ago for me to quit because I always knew there was something more. I knew I was capable of so much more. And when you have a seed planted by certain people and then you start going like, man.
Amanda Kaufman (07:03)
Mmm.
Mmm.
Chris Weitzel (07:23)
You just know you want to get that monkey off your back and I knew what I had to do finally and I did it but it's that striving and that need Not a need so much, but you just know that I could be doing so much more people have come to you and say Chris like come on I mean like pull your head out of the sand and just do what you need do what you know you need to do and I'm gonna tell you And this is people don't really believe this part sometimes, but I was watching
my wife had left me and so what do you do when your wife that nagging wife leaves you in the middle of the summer you sit and you finally you drink you drink you drink you drink and one day I'm sitting and I'm watching Gary Vannerchuck give a keynote in Australia and he likes this one saying is that you could hear the same message time after time after time and it's not until you might hear that 16th time where it actually resonates in your head where
Amanda Kaufman (08:16)
So good.
Chris Weitzel (08:17)
get over
your shit, whatever you're going through in life, get over your shit and on to the next. And that hit me. And that's when I picked up the phone, called my doctor and got into a rehab center. my whole, I've now met Gary Vannerchuk a couple times and because I was, yeah, I took that upon myself to meet him and I thanked him. Like I got to actually stand there, shake his hand, hug him and say, thanks Gary.
Amanda Kaufman (08:22)
Mm-hmm.
wow.
Chris Weitzel (08:44)
So that was a huge deal. That's the Coles Note version of what I did and why.
Amanda Kaufman (08:49)
I'm getting...
I'm getting like literal chills about this, you know, because if there's one thing that I hear a lot from from the coach community is I just want to coach and that is a translation of I don't want to have to market and I don't want to have to produce content and I don't want to have to, you know, do all of these things. But I'm like getting chills up and down my body because, you know, here's Gary Vee doing doing a speech in Australia. What are the odds? Like literally, what are the
odds that you would just he would say the thing the way you needed to hear it at that exact moment that it compelled you to you know then even travel to go track him down and I'm like that that's the power of content right never mind like the coaching piece of it of getting to work with somebody in a deeper way but like my view is that your your content is an extension of the coaching
And you never know who you're actually touching and in what way. And it's kind of like that Wayne Gretzky quote. You lose 100 % of the shots that you don't take. It's kind of like that when you're not present in social media. It's like, you're losing out on 100 % of the possibilities of having authentic impact on someone.
I love it. So, Chris, I mean, you are you are clearly incredibly motivated. You know, we were chatting on Instagram before we scheduled this podcast, and it was just really clear to me that this was this was on your heart that you really, really wanted to do this. But we almost canceled the podcast, right? And it was because you sent me an email and you said, hey, well, you know what? I'm going to let you tell the story. What happened and why are you still here?
Chris Weitzel (10:37)
Well, I wanted to, I thought I would roll it all out. I've got content built and so I'm, I'm in a business where I've sell fish and seafood and it's, it's a full-time gig. mean, we have seven employees. We, revenue is at a, it's, it's scaling. we're, we're growing about a hundred percent year over year for three years in a row now. And the next, yeah, thanks. it's.
Amanda Kaufman (11:01)
Congratulations!
Chris Weitzel (11:05)
It's going well, but we actually generate about 20 % of our revenue in about a six week period starting mid November until New Year's Eve is really the climax. And so I know what I'm in for. I mean, this is four years that we've had a store. I've been selling fish and seafood for a total of nine years, but not, not as a professional. four year is from having a brick and mortar store. So.
Amanda Kaufman (11:15)
Mm-hmm.
bright.
Chris Weitzel (11:32)
I know what I want to do, but I also know myself enough that everybody knows you can bite off more than you can chew. And when you're ambitious and you have a plan, sometimes you want to go just now, 100 miles an hour fast and run, see who can keep up with you. And I'm the epitome of that person, Amanda. And I know that about myself. I have this...
this lady here who reminds me of that all the time. So I just finally said I'm going to do it and I'm just gonna do it in January.
Amanda Kaufman (12:05)
So good, yeah. And I mean, you were so thoughtful, because you sent me a note and you were like, hey, I know I'm gonna be doing this a little later. It's okay if you wanna give up this spot for the podcast. And I was like, well, are you still gonna do it? And you were like, well, yeah. And you kind of explained what was going on, that the capacity wasn't gonna be there. And I was like, we should talk about that.
You know, because I started my business. I don't think I've told you this, but I started my business while I was pregnant with my youngest son. And so I had like this little window of the maternity leave and I was like, we're going to go for it. And it was again, like kind of that that juggernaut run towards the thing. But that was me. And I know for a fact that there's a lot of women that would never do that. Right. And this is not so.
I've really thought about sharing this story a little more often. The fact I was able to start a coaching business while pregnant should tell you that it's easy to start a coaching business, not that I'm superwoman, right?
But that being said, I also had the benefit of some capacity, right? And I was very strategic in using that capacity that I decided that that was gonna be my moment and that's when I did it. The capacity of like going really fast through a maternity leave as compared to a job where I had to travel 46 weeks a year.
Chris Weitzel (13:11)
Yeah.
Amanda Kaufman (13:34)
It was like that was the window of capacity that I was like, know, for my context, for what I wanna do, this intuitively feels like the moment. And so can you talk to us a little bit, Chris, about like how did you decide to push it off a few months? Like versus just grit your teeth and drive through it.
Chris Weitzel (13:55)
I would, the capacity is just, I feel I have to know my limits. And for me it was, if I'm gonna do something, and this, I know my limits, but then it was the coaching that I received is that I was able to institute what we both know now as the replacement ladder. And that I knew needed to take some time. And that for me was,
I needed the time to make the strategic hires that gave me the time to buy back and work more out of the production quadrant. And so that I knew would give me the capacity to focus on. Like I'm sitting here with my producer and editor. so this is just going to, we can now expend more time on the marketing side of things, which is, it fits both businesses actually, the business of coaching and the business of us.
creating content for fish and seafood and for our media company as well. So we literally took a marketing department and turned it into a media company. So to be able to make content for two different businesses and now a third for coaching. And it's all actually pretty intertwined because at the end of the day, we build the capacity in the business to do what fires us up to really, you know, get you pumped up and get out of bed in the morning. And that is
love making content. had no idea that if you had asked me a year ago, if I'd be going down this road now to making time in the full time business to focus strictly on marketing, which then to me marketing and sales, but marketing first leading to the sales. Cause at the end of the day, I'm, I am, I'm a merchant. I'm the second, I'm the second, oldest, profession in, you know, in the world and that.
is I'm a salesman, I've embraced that, but having the capacity, you have to build the capacity into your business to be able to focus on what fires you up. And that's how I went about it, and that's why when January comes, I'll be able to hit the road running, because I know exactly, I know what my goals are, I know what we need to do, and then it's just taking, you know, how to eat an elephant, and it's one bite at a time, so.
Amanda Kaufman (16:11)
That's exactly it. And so in your journey, like as you transitioned and you started building your business and growing, like it really is very remarkable growth. Like that's incredible. What role has coaching played in your success over the past few years?
Chris Weitzel (16:30)
One is that I need it. I need that constant, need, Garrett's sitting over here smiling. I need that person to like, fuck Chris, pump the brakes here, let's sit down and we'll figure out where we're gonna go. But coaching is something that I always balked at because I was, when,
when you have an inflated ego, and this goes back to my drinking days, is you don't need anybody's help. You're, I am the best. I am great at everything I do. A coach? I don't need a coach. Like, it wasn't until I served up a big piece of humble pie and it's, yeah, I think, I think, I think everybody should have a coach of some type. Whether it's a coach to grow personally, whether it's a coach to grow your business, whether it's a coach.
Amanda Kaufman (16:57)
Hmm.
Chris Weitzel (17:17)
I mean, I grew up playing organized sports, hockey, baseball, soccer. Then I played some competitive squash. And if you don't have a coach, in my opinion, you're screwed and you're behind the eight ball. If you don't have that extra set of eyes on the game when you're playing to coach you and get you that next point next time where you're able to, it comes back to the capacity where sometimes I think you have to take one step back to go.
two steps forward again,
so.
Amanda Kaufman (17:47)
Totally, you know, I really love this because I think one of the things people do is because especially if you're coming from like an employment perspective where you were an employee, you fulfilled a particular role, you had your SOPs, you had like, you know, the task list or the inbox or whatever that basically ruled your day. When you go to become an entrepreneur, the joy is in the freedom and the terror is in the freedom, right?
You know, and right. And so
Chris Weitzel (18:17)
That's a great way to put it. Yeah.
Amanda Kaufman (18:21)
I was like, goodness, you know, the role of coach is as much social as it is anything else. Like some people like to have a coach to help them with like, here's the the one, two, three, four steps. But I think I think at the end of the day, coaching is like a leader. It's a leadership role where.
the relationship allows for real introspection and perspective shifting that the client can make much more empowered decisions which tend to yield better results. Like it doesn't matter if we're talking about wealth, relationships, health, just in general, if your client is in this like position where they can make a decision with a witness, like already they're outperforming a whole bunch of other people in that realm just simply because they're not
Chris Weitzel (19:06)
Mm-hmm.
Amanda Kaufman (19:13)
They're not crushed by the ego. I love that. Okay, so Chris, in your opinion, what are three things that help a coach not to suck?
Chris Weitzel (19:21)
Three things that help a coach not to suck.
I would think that, the one thing I would think to always let people know is that I believe you only have to be one chapter ahead of people and to, I like that analogy in that I think we can help anybody if you just accept the fact that you're only a chapter or two ahead of most of the people. It may be the one thing, damn, that's a good question Amanda. Helping.
Amanda Kaufman (19:50)
Yeah, well, and it's good,
right? Because you're going into January. So if you have these things in mind, you're going to. Sorry to coach you right here on a podcast, but yeah, like when you know those things, that's going to really help.
Chris Weitzel (20:01)
I think the next thing to know about not to suck would be actually you got to start. mean, and this is coming from the guy that waited to know that I needed the time to get through my busiest part of the season, but you have to start. mean, we can get, can, anybody can get caught up in the procrastination of starting something, but nothing, I guess to not suck means
Amanda Kaufman (20:09)
Yes.
Chris Weitzel (20:27)
You want to start and I just don't think that everybody thinks they have to have it figured out. And I don't think that's the case. So I think that's even when attracting clients, clients gotta, they just have to start and admit that they actually need the help. The third thing of not sucking would be putting your ego, again, I mentioned the ego, because I believe that we're all made up of a half.
Amanda Kaufman (20:51)
Mm-hmm.
Chris Weitzel (20:54)
half ego and half self. And if you can keep everything in line, that's the ultimate goal. But you have to give up your ego and accept the fact that, like I actually love learning. Anytime that I have a customer come in here and we cater to a lot of business owners, I keep business owners in front of me for as long as I can keep them there. Like I will talk and ask questions and listen because I can extract so much information.
Amanda Kaufman (20:56)
Hmm.
Chris Weitzel (21:22)
that, just to give you a quick, how did I get to this point was that for about 12 years before I got into, well, kind of both into fish and seafood, I grew vegetables. I was organic vegetable farmer and I stood on the side of a busy highway for a dozen years selling fruits and vegetables to a lot of tourists. And if you, there would be walls in the day where you would have nobody at your stand, but it was just.
an unwritten rule, if there was a vehicle in your stand, it attracted more vehicles. Don't ask me why, don't ask me how, this must be one of the unwritten 13th law of the universe, but it happened. So when I would have one person stop, I would just listen and talk, listen and talk. This is why at one point, I think the seed was planted years ago, why I wanted to get into podcasting and creating content was that I had this
Amanda Kaufman (21:53)
So good.
Chris Weitzel (22:15)
gift, I guess you could call it, I hate the term gift of gab, but I was able to keep people engaged in a conversation until they actually looked at their watch and 20 minutes later, and a line up now, it's like, okay, thank you, now I gotta go, but thank you for taking the time. And so that, yeah, so that is why I knew at some point that I was gonna get into some type of like,
Amanda Kaufman (22:31)
I love that. Yeah, that's such a gorgeous skill, you know?
Chris Weitzel (22:44)
Talking, I think there's an art to talking.
Amanda Kaufman (22:47)
I agree with you completely. Chris, we could do a three hour episode. I'm like so confident of that. But I didn't book you for that long. So what's the best way for people to follow you and catch up with you and find out what's going on?
Chris Weitzel (23:02)
Yeah, so like follow me on Instagram at chriswhitsell.ca and DM me Ignite. So I'm a salesman. I will send you my Ignite sales system which applies to any type of industry so you can help ramp up your best salespeople and hit the numbers that you knew you were always worthy of. So again, chris, C-H-R-I-S, W-E-I-T-Z-E-L, .ca DM me Ignite and I will send you the Ignite sales system. Help you out.
Amanda Kaufman (23:30)
Amazing, amazing. And don't forget to tell Chris that you heard him on the Amanda Kaufman show, so then he will want to come back and we can do that three hour episode.
Chris Weitzel (23:41)
Anytime, Amanda.
Amanda Kaufman (23:42)
Love it. Well, hey, listener, thanks for joining us. And don't forget to hit the subscribe button and do us a favor. Leave a five star review. Chris just did a great job on the podcast. He deserves all your praise. But seriously, that really does help people find the episode and to spread more ideas about how you can be successful in all the different ways. Although I'm sure you've got a few friends who are kind of thinking about maybe they need to take a break. Maybe they need to do the do
do something about their capacity. Or maybe they need to improve like their sales, the gift of gab and they're going through this transition. Go ahead and send this episode to them. You'll be their hero. So send it to three friends and we will see you on a future episode.
Chris Weitzel (24:23)
You
