Personal life guide shares strategies for breaking through self-doubt

Rich Campbell is a personal life guide who recently opened his high-performance mental fitness practice, Living  Well - Leading Well, at 607 Heritage Court in Holland. Campbell works with clients to break through their self-doubt and reach their true goals. In this Q&A, Campbell talks about how his military career led him to a career working with people on strategies to replace or refine habits to help them reach their potential. 
 
 
The Lakeshore: Tell us about yourself and the journey that led to becoming a personal life guide.
 
Rich Campbell: Leading Well teaches people to understand how their thoughts and actions are the same. You can’t separate the two. I navigated some of the harshest natural environments growing up in Minnesota. I learned the struggles of life and the reality of death at an early age on the family farm. My training and post-graduate studies taught me to prepare mentally, physically, and spiritually for life. Serving as an Air Force intelligence officer got me thinking about the thoughts behind the actions of leaders. Which beliefs guide their decisions? Are their thoughts different from mine? People connect “mental health” with depression, anxiety, suicide, drugs and other words that — outside of treatment and recovery — have nothing to do with living a mentally healthy lifestyle. Mental health professionals are trained to recognize and diagnose mental illness. Standardized treatments and medications move you from illness or dysfunction to the line of functionality. Isn’t crossing the line the most important part? Is it a starting line? Cross it. Get started. Is it a finish line? Cross it. Move on to your next goal. Keep crossing the line. Grow. Get better. Leading Well — Living Well pushes you beyond your self-doubt and limiting beliefs. You discover the freedom of crossing the line into a life of high-performance mental fitness.
 
TL: What is your connection to the Lakeshore? Why did you select Holland to open your business?
 
RC: I needed to develop more spiritually after leaving the Air Force. I lived in West Texas for several years and was ready to return to the snow. A position as the director of spiritual formation for a start-up church in Holland became available. I moved here in 1998. I worked with two other Holland nonprofits to build upon my work, which led me to offer Living Well — Leading Well to West Michigan.
 
TL: Tell us about the clientele you serve. Are your services geared only toward business owners and high-level executives?
 
RC: Every person I see pushes themselves beyond their level of good enough. They want to create an exceptional life for themselves and their families. They want to build an exceptional culture for their businesses and the people they employ. They all feature diverse career backgrounds and life situations. I get to work with entrepreneurs, engineers, musicians, artists, moms, dads, and students. They want to become the best versions of themselves. They want to live better lives with purpose.
 
TL: What's your advice for people trying to break past their self-sabotaging behavior?
 
RC: Learn to own your thoughts by sorting through your beliefs. You formed 80% to 90% of your beliefs in early grade school. You hold those beliefs in your subconscious mind throughout your life. They create blind spots when trying to understand yourself. We all experience it. You need a guide, someone who’s been there, to make the journey with you.  A renowned surgeon once said to me, “I’m an expert surgeon, one of the best in the nation, but I can’t operate on myself. I would need someone else.” Everyone needs help along the way. Humans are social creatures. Find someone you trust to guide you to where you want to go.
 
TL: What resources would you suggest for people who want to make big changes in their lives?

RC: You can find us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. You will find our blog, videos, and a reading list to build your knowledge on our website, LivingWellLeadingWell.com, as well as my new book, “The Addiction Monologues”. You can review mastermind groups, one-on-one coaching, and corporate opportunities to pull your new knowledge into a daily practice of high-performance mental fitness.