Ep. 102 - From Surviving Hitler to Becoming a Millionaire w/ John Brink

Ever met an 84-year-old bodybuilder who's still doubling his business empire? Buckle up, because John Brink is about to blow your mind and shatter every excuse you've ever made.

From surviving Nazi-occupied Holland to building a lumber empire from scratch, John's story isn't just inspiring - it's a kick in the ass to anyone who thinks they're "too old" or "too late" to chase their dreams.

Picture this: A kid who failed grade 3, couldn't speak English, and landed in Canada with nothing but a suitcase and a dream. Fast forward to today, and he's running 10 companies, competing in bodybuilding competitions, and planning to triple his business in the next five years. Oh, and did I mention he's pushing 84?

But here's the kicker - it's not about the money. It never was. John's dropping truth bombs about the real keys to success: health, attitude, and giving a damn about your community. He's living proof that age is just a number and that it's never too late to reinvent yourself.

We're talking real talk here. No BS excuses, no "I'm too old/young/busy" cop-outs. John's laying out the blueprint for success at any age, and trust me, you don't want to miss it.

Whether you're an entrepreneur struggling to find your footing, a mid-life professional wondering if it's too late for a change, or just someone looking for a swift kick of motivation, this episode's got you covered.

Ready for a dose of no-nonsense wisdom from a guy who's seen it all and is still crushing it? Check out John's socials:

Website: https://johnabrink.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnabrinkceo YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JohnABrink Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john.a.brink/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnabrink/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@john.a.brink

Don't just listen - engage. Hit us up with your thoughts, your goals, your excuses (so we can help you crush them). Let's build a community of badasses who refuse to let age, circumstances, or fear hold them back. Now get off your ass and start building your empire - John's watching, and he's not taking any excuses.

Follow our Host, Stoy Hall:
Twitter, FaceBook, Instagram, Tiktok, Linkedin

Chapters

• 0:45 John Brink's Early Life and War Memories
• 3:45 Journey to Canada and Early Career
• 6:47 Building a Lumber Empire
• 8:52 Discovering ADHD and Personal Growth
• 14:01 Bodybuilding and Health Transformation
• 17:04 Advice for Entrepreneurs and Life Lessons
• 25:20 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Transcript

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 0:08

As we're back for another episode of No BS Wealth, I am very grateful to have John Brink on, not only because he's going to be our oldest guest, and that's not a knock on him for being old at any point in time. It is because he is. It's true. It is what it is. There you go. Love it. A man who is not only about well, about his health, lives the definition of what I say is true wealth, But ultimately has experiences throughout his time that we abide to. So without further ado, John, thanks for coming on. Won't you give us a brief background of how you got to where you're at today?

John Brink: 0:43

Okay. Thank you for being on your show. Look forward to it. Just to give you a background as you asked is that I was born in 1940, November the 1st, actually 1940. In North Eastern Holland. And so I'm gonna be 84 at on November the 1st this year, so the the, I showed you a picture of my book, Living Young, Dying Old, I'll show it to you again. I'm also the oldest competitive bodybuilder in North America so I stay active. Going back to where I came from, so born November the 1st, 1940, my mom and dad fell in love and and The late 1930s and 1938 they got married. They quickly had a boy and a girl and they lived in paradise. They were happy, looking forward to a career and happiness. And then what happened is Adolf Hitler decided to invade all of Europe and Eastern and Southern Europe. And the world changed. My dad was called into the Dutch army. And April of 1940 last they heard from him was when he was in Rotterdam, the city that was bombed by the Germans. And thousands of people were killed, and they didn't know for five years if he lived or he died. For my mom, now with two little child children, a boy and a girl. And then I came along in November, so that was her world and it became a struggle for the next five years. What I remember about that is that, that still in my memories even today, is in 1943 1945, thousands of Allied bombers overhead, and again, think about Northeastern Holland, we lived about 15 minutes from the border with Germany. And my mom, in particular, day and night, I'm bombing hundreds of bombers. The sound of it, Joey I still remember today. I will never hear it again. Unbelievable sound. So my mom would take us out and, at night, not to look at things, but she felt safer outside than inside. In the distance we could see the cities, the lights in the skies, burning cities, Hammock, Bremen, all of those cities along the North Sea of Germany, the eastern part of Germany, and where the infrastructure was of building the weapon system for the Germans. That's the first thing that I remember. The second one is that, We were liberated by the Canadian army as part of the allied forces that landed in Normandy in June of 1944 and pushed their way through the Americans and the other parts of the allied forces, the Canadians, pushed their way to Holland, France, Belgium, Holland, and then ended up in the northeastern part where we lived. And push the Germans back into Germany. Things were rough, so far too much that we should not have seen. And then we were liberated by the Canadian Army, April the 12th, 1945. It made such an impression on me, the Canadians, that I always knew from that point forward, I would go to the land of my heroes, Canada. I was gonna go when I was 17, but then my parents wouldn't let me. I was then drafted into the Dutch Air Force for two and a half years. And then I finally went, when I was 23. And but I was not a successful story then academically. I failed grade three. I failed grade seven three times and they said what we're going to do with this guy So some people said send him to the mentally disturbed school and my parents said no we're not going to do that We'll train him into a profession so that he becomes professional, doing something with his hands So my grandfather was a master carver. My dad works in the lumber industry. I loved lumber. So at 13 I became an employee of a furniture factory, and so now kids are hard on each other, so all the friends that I used to have at school that went on to the college and university, and I became a laborer. I'm proud of that today, but then, I was looked down on, but I was always a happy go lucky guy. And so that's what I did, I became a furniture maker, and then, worked in the industry, did quite well actually already even at a young age, and then from there on and became a furniture maker. But still, my dream was then twofold. The one was to go to the land of my heroes, Canada, and the other part was to build my own lumber mill. And I wanted to start with nothing to prove to me that I was just as smart, not better than, but just as smart as the other guys that went on to college, university, and all the other places. So I left in July of 1965 with one suitcase, three books, two sets of clothes, and with very little money. And because I wanted to start with nothing, couldn't speak the language, didn't have a job, didn't know so. And so I went on a plane to Montreal, Canada. Came off the train, but then went on the train. I knew that the timber was in British Columbia. And then, I took the train across Canada. My God, that is a long way. Four days, five nights. Came off the train in Vancouver, British Columbia, and went to the immigration office. And fortunately, there was a German fellow working there, and I could speak some German. And I told him what I wanted to do. I wanted to build a lumber mill. And he said, go to Prince George. That's where, that's the boomtown. Now for our guests watching us from around the world, they say, Okay, we know where Canada is. We have heard of British Columbia. And there's a big city in British Columbia, it's called Vancouver. Where is Prince George? It's 500 miles north, or 800 kilometers for our friends in Europe, north of that. So I went on the bus, the Greyhound bus for 12, 13 hours. Came off the bus here in Penn George, that's 60 years ago, heh, and this is my suitcase, my three books, and two sets of clothes, and I counted my money at least three times, I had 25. 47, and I was going to build a mill, so I got a job, clean up man, lumber pilot, and gradually, slowly, I started to learn to speak the language, and in a year and a half I was the superintendent of one of the largest sawmills here, In Northern British Columbia, but that didn't go fast enough for me, so then I decided after a year and a half I would go try to buy part of a sawmill, and I had an ability to buy a little piece of a sawmill, and if I would manage it, they would give me after five years one third ownership, so I did that. So John, where was the sawmill? Oh my that was of all places in the Yukon Territory, Watson Lake. And again, where is Watson Lake? So I already said Vancouver Prince George is 500 miles north, 800 500 miles further north, or 800 kilometers, that's where is the boundary of BC, British Columbia, in the Yukon Territory. It's a place Stowe. In the wintertime, I've seen 62 below. And for a guy coming from Holland, that's Very cool. Hold. Namely. Oh. And so that's where I run a sawmill for nearly five years and ended up buying a lot of stuff and lots of but then I decided to give it all away. That's what I did and start all over again. And Ben shorts from the ground up. And then in 1975, I started a company called Brink. Forced products part of now the Brink group of companies. And that was the start of my limber mill. I couldn't find any partners, so I started on my own with three employees, worked as long as I could stay physically awake, work 24 hours a day and build that into one of the largest value added manufacturers. And we are still growing today as I speak, I still intend to double it in capacity. I have 10 different companies, it's not about hurrah, John, how successful, I'm not talking about that. It's not about money. I had my dream. I did that. And then the other part about it is that. It took me till 1997, until I walked in, I was already here for 32 years, I was ex Everybody said, oh you're so successful, blah blah, I didn't feel that way. I, I still didn't feel that way. And I walked into a book here to a bookstore here in Prince George. Picked up a book, and the title of the book was Driven to Distraction. Written by Dr. Halliwell and I looked at the book, it was about ADHD, I never even heard of it. And I said, Oh my God, that's me. And so I wrote in the book, I bought the book and I wrote in the book now in Dutch because I was ashamed of it because it implied that it was a mental disorder of some description that I now I finally know who I am. So the longer I looked at the book and the more I found out about it, I knew. It's a superpower. Oh, it's not. And even now people say to me, how do you do all this stuff that you do? I'm an author. I'm a in demand speaker. I'm, I I've written about four books. I'm working on two other ones. I'm running two, 10 companies. And then I felt I had to be more public about it. And so I started podcasting, doing all this other things. And I wrote a book about it, ADHD Unlocked, very successful actually. And so it I became aware of who am I, and so that became very important for me. And then from there on I've grown the business being very active and Publicly speaking, speak to young people in particular about things that are important to me. And other two months from now, this November the 11th, Remembrance Day, I always, because I was there, and I remember the time that I was there, if the time that the winter of 1944 45 were very difficult, they called it the hunger strike. Winter, in particular and they, the Germans had cut off all the food, to Holland to put pressure on them and the Allied forces. And I can still feel, now, even nearly eight years later, the feeling of hunger. Every morning we would go, my sister, my brother, and myself, as gunny sacks into the railroad yard, pick up anything edible and burnable. And that's what we did. And then the hunger winter was the coldest one on record in Holland. A lot of vulnerable people, in particular young kids and older people died. Thousands of them during that, that that winter. I share some of that with you. The students that I go to at least four schools the week of November the 11th to remember why do we have two minutes of silence and I feel I have an obligation to share that with them and I do that and then the other part that looking back and from my experience is that giving back to the community has always been important to me, still is today. And being active and proactive, that's why I do a lot of podcasting, and writing books, and so that,

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 12:01

is my story. I love it. It's a story of grit, right? And overcoming adversity from, literally, the war, to even language barriers, new country, new culture, new things. Business owners and entrepreneurs alike have to overcome a lot of issues, right? Specifically, when you first start out, whether it's grassroots or you bought into something, what have you learned specifically early on when you're creating a new business? Has it had been the biggest hurdle for you to be like, you know what, I'm gonna do this, but like now I've actually achieved the guy, it's actually working. What was that biggest hurdle for you when you started your business?

John Brink: 12:43

Let me say it this way, Story, is that if I look back, the foundation of who am I'd show you this again. That's what I started with then, but that's not what I want to mention to you. It says underneath it, it says attitude. That no matter what happens, I will always look at it from the positive. No matter what anybody says, I avoid them. If today is a tough day, I know tomorrow is going to be a better day. passion. Whatever I do, I give it 150%. I do that. And then work ethic, the harder you work, success will follow. And I'm one of the hardest working individuals that I know, is I get up every morning at 5 30. I always think I'm late. I always make my bed. And then every day It's to me a day of opportunity and I will give it everything that I got. And I still do that today. So the challenges that you refer to is that have confidence in what you believe in, know yourself and say not saying that I'm smarter than, but that everything is possible.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 13:51

I don't

John Brink: 13:52

accept anybody that says to me I'm to this, to that, and I can't do this because of that, that in the, I said, no, I You can do anything you want to do. That has to be the approach and that's another reason that even at my age You know that maybe just want to find out why am I this bodybuilder here on this picture is at I had a close call to dying in 2008 when I was 68 And I had a case of diverticulitis and, a rupture of the colon, actually, so they had to you have about 48 hours before the toxins attack all your organs and so I waited too long, got to the hospital, and the doc said you can't disclose. And then I knew, now my wife is a vegetarian, I didn't listen as well to her as I could have, should have, but I was okay, but not quite. Ready. So then I knew I was gonna do what everybody does people do. At the end of the year, they make a commitment, what it is that, and the other thing, and I'm gonna buy a membership to the gym, and I'm gonna go to the gym. And then two weeks later, they can find a hundred reasons why they're too busy to do that. I didn't do that. I went to the gym, I got a trainer, because my whole life is meeting. May, once I make a commitment, I follow the equipment. So I did that in earnest and six years later, so that, that was 2008, I was already 68 and then I was 74. And somebody said to me, when I was training in the gym, he said, Hey, Johnny, have you ever thought about competing? I said, me? Yeah. I said, why not? So I did. I trained even harder, worked on my diet, and then from then on competed in North and West Columbia in the master category of bodybuilding and physique. Category 55 years and older, they could be my kids actually that competed against, came in 2nd in bodybuilding, 3rd in physique, that qualified me for the provincials, came in 3rd in physique, 2nd in bodybuilding, that qualified me for the nationals, and Canada, and the Arnolds. And then COVID came, so now then, now I'm again, training, this is what I look like nearly 84 because I wanna again go to the Arnold's in when I'm 85. And I will look good and I believe I will be successful. But the whole idea is that staying physically healthy, mentally healthy, diet, there are no particular secrets about it, but it is critical at any time in life and that's why I make the point I started late, but it obviously has served me well. But, until then, life is not about age, it's about quality of life and longevity, and to understand that is important. So that, to me, became an issue that I've been very vocal about it. I wrote a book about it Living Young, Dying Old, and that's what I did. If you do, I think the initial question must, what is the key? Determination, and believing that everything is possible. Love

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 17:03

it.

John Brink: 17:04

You talked

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 17:04

about bodybuilding you started late, health started late, a lot of entrepreneurs, either those the ones that take the step or don't take the step, feel as if they're too late in their life to be successful. Whether they're 30s, doesn't matter. What do you say to people that are sitting here right now listening going he's had a great backstory, he's gone through grit, obviously successful, but I'm not there. I can't get there, right? Because it's too late in my journey. What do you say to people that I believe it's too late in their life to do what they want to do. Okay, let me say

John Brink: 17:38

this. I'm 84 years old. You know what it is that I have four silos of companies that I'm involved in. Very successful. The one is lumber. The other one is Warehousing, Distribution and Logistics. The other one is Real Estate, Residential, Commercial and Industrial. And the other one is Media. And I'm very I do writing books I do speaking, I do podcasting, obviously, and, I will start a platform in the next two months here as well. All four are very successful. Every single one of them will double or triple in size in the next five to six years. That's what I'm saying. There's no question in my mind about it. That's where I'm going. So the question is, I'm too old or I'm whatever is respectfully an excuse. If you want it and you make a plan and it has to be viable and feasible, then everything is possible. Do you want to make the commitment is a whole different issue. Because for me, as I said earlier. The first 20, 25 years, I couldn't find anybody that believed in what I was doing, my lumber company. So I couldn't find any partners. Then after a year and a half, I was successful. Then I had all kinds of people that wanted to get involved, but I didn't need them then. And today that is still the case. We still have a big company. I'm still the sole shareholder and I still double or triple in size in the next five years.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 19:14

Would you say that knowing who you are and having the most confidence in yourself is really the key to success or longevity production

John Brink: 19:23

health and fitness and understanding it and then keep your body Active because without help You have nothing. Health is is the most critically important. So that sunshine. Keep your body active. Mentally, physically, go to the gym. Don't have to do what I did at least walk. Keep your body active. Your body extremely forgiving. But it will only take abuse for so long. Age. I really started when I read the book of Dr. Halliwell. When I picked it up in the store in 1997. I was then already 57 years old. And now at 80, nearly 84. I'm still, every day when I go to work, I enjoy going to work. But at the same time I take care of my body. I go to the gym, in my case, but. At least you have to stay. I'm very careful about diet, and I stay mentally active. Podcasting is a good challenge I think we are globally in the top 1%, and I love podcasting both as a host and a guest on the Brink is a very popular podcast and not only in in Canada, but around the world, and I love to do it for all the reasons that you do.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 20:39

So time, right? Time is key to this. Everyone's like a work life balance. Business owners usually run themselves ragged, and they don't believe that they have time. You get up at 530, I get up at 5. Can you talk to and attest to the fact that there is enough time to get these things done? And what happens if you don't take the time to focus both on your mental health and your physical health when it comes to being a successful business?

John Brink: 21:09

The likelihood is then you will not be successful because if you're not mentally, physically, healthy, and diet, and you abuse yourself with drugs and booze, and smoke, and all of those other no brainers, then you will be very quickly falling into the category, what people say the last decade of somebody's life is usually when they suffer from all the classic illnesses, whatever those may be. I'm not saying that. I have the a I'm not a doc or a I simply give as an example of that, but keeps me healthy and fit. It's that I enjoy every single day of that I'm there. I built a void. Do not talk to me if you're gonna be negative. Don't waste my time. And I as I said, I ended I started working in the workforce when I was 13. I'm nearly 84 now. That's more than 70 years. Okay, John do you still enjoy your life? I sure do. Every single day.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 22:05

We talked about this theme comes up a lot, and I'm gonna let you know what the theme is with all my guests. We rarely if ever bring money into the conversation and everything you've done in your life Yes It took money as a tool to get someone but has nothing to do with who you are how you operate day to day I see a lot of specifically young people but people in general by their emotions tie You know their joyfulness their health and everything to having X amount of dollars What can you tell everyone about you in general, but a whole your whole life about the fact that this whole episode you have not said I made a million dollars or my goal was ten million dollars No, we're talking about just double and tripling stuff without the dollar figure So also the importance of not focusing on

John Brink: 22:53

money specifically It should never be about money if that is the objective, I don't believe, in most cases, people will be successful, and certainly not happy and consented. I like to give back to the community, always, that to me has been, grew up that way, but you do is give back. I stay, as I said, every, Remembrance Day that weekend, I talk to younger people about my experience because I say be a soul. Fortunate in North America I do a lot of business in the United States, I do a lot of business in Canada, I fly a lot, I'm also a pilot, but I'm talking about commercially, I always sit by the window, because as I look outside, I say, if I fly in the United States and the Southern, Eastern United States or Western United States, I look in Canada, in British Columbia, I look out of the window and I say, we're in paradise. We are in paradise. And I compare that to the people that live in the Ukraine, and all the wars going the Middle East, and all the other places, the dictatorships all around the world. Venezuela comes to mind, Cuba comes to mind, China comes to mind, North Korea comes to mind, Russia comes to mind, all these places. We are in a democratic country, although it is a bit of a challenge and a bit of a to say the least both in the United States and Canada, but but it's democratic rule and we are the most fortunate people in the world. And A, we have to recognize that the other one is give back to the communities and be part of the people around you and respect, and all those things are important to me, and that's what I'm trying to do. And the other part about it is the relatively speaking, as you look back, I look back in all the years that I've worked to go, have pleasure in what you do, and interacting. Podcasting is an amazing tool as well, because, as you and me, I do a lot of viewing, presenting, and I'm a public speaker, but a lot of times it takes me a long time to travel to destinations and do presentations. I'm not saying that in some cases I do, especially as it relates to ADHD, but, You know that, but, podcasting in particular, as you and me are sitting here, discussing these things, that, all the while, around the globe, tens of thousands of people are watching us, in our conversation. And I think, it is, amazing, and very powerful, and it's still, at the very beginning.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 25:18

Agreed. Definitely agree. As we get to the end of this episode, I always ask my guests to leave our listeners with one take home item concept idea that will help them take the next step forward in their journey in whether life or wealth. So you leave our audience with one thing they can do to take that next step. And have faith in that next step. Get to know

John Brink: 25:42

who you are, be at peace with who you are. Don't worry about this. Another idea is there is only one of you on this earth. Believe in yourself, give back, respect, and you're the luckiest person all of you watching and all the people around, you're the luckiest in the world here in North America. I

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 26:02

could not have said it better myself, and like always, I tell all my listeners, hey, we ask for one thing, that is to comment, and share, not for the analytics, not for the algorithm, because we want to help you. Reach out to John Brink and his team. Reach out to me. We'll connect you. But ultimately, we're here to help both with our message and what we do for a living. So please take the time to reach out, John. Thanks for coming on the show. Thanks. My pleasure.

Black Mammoth: 26:30

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