Written by: Mark Sephton, Business Mentor
Mark Sephton is a personal mentor to entrepreneurs. His mission to help others has seen him break into global markets while working with startups and millionaire entrepreneurs around the world. Mark's love for entrepreneurship has been expressed through serving as TV host of the show “One More Round.”
I have often said that for me the word success means being at peace with myself. I have often associated success with peace. So when I recently came across Jay and Beth Robb in became apparent to me that I need to pick their brains and explore their journey of spreading love, wellness and spiritual growth.
Jay and Beth Robb's journey is a testament to the transformative power of peace, love, and holistic well-being. Known for their successful ventures in health and fitness, they have now embraced a broader mission as the "Guru of Peace." Jay's evolution from a health and weight loss expert to a spiritual guide reflects a deep-seated desire to spread peace and love in a world increasingly overwhelmed by stress and superficial stimulation.
Together, they have cultivated a philosophy that prioritises self-care, genuine human connection, and living authentically. In this conversation, Jay and Beth share insights into their personal and professional lives, revealing how they navigate the complexities of marriage, business, and spirituality while remaining steadfast in their commitment to helping others find true peace and happiness. Their story is not just about success in the traditional sense but about a deeper, more fulfilling kind of success—one that enriches both the soul and the community.
How have you become the guru of peace and miss guru of peace?
[Jay Robb]
I started out as a Guru of Peace back in the 60s and 70s and on into the 80s and even early 90s. By the 90’s was teaching health and fitness and focused on weight loss for decades.I could teach people so quickly and easily how to drop weight just effortlessly. Because of that, I was kind of stereotyped or typecast as that was who my identity was. I decided to change that image to expand out beyond just weight loss.
I want to give back to the world that's been so kind to me. The success I've had is staggering and amazing to me. I worked hard for it, but at the same time, God opened many doors. Over the past five years, I developed myself as the Guru of Peace. I really want to spread peace and love back to the world that I feel like is hurting now and caught up. I teach people to hang loose and to relax and enjoy life. Not take anything seriously at all, especially yourself.
I evolved and morphed back into myself. That really is me, the Guru of Peace at heart. That's what God has put me on earth to be.
[Beth Robb]
I couldn't think of anyone I would rather partner through life with both personally and professionally than my husband, my amazing, talented, kind and loving husband. Not only do we work alongside each other in our protein powder business, but going through the development of our Guru of Peace side has not been difficult. It was such an easy transition because that's who Jay is innately. He is truly that person, and I find myself being his biggest fan, his biggest supporter.
Why is your mission to spread peace and love?
[Jay Robb]
The people that I’ve encountered over the years, I've noticed there seems to be less and less true and deep enjoyment of life and more of a stimulated, euphoric existence in America now. As if people are not just hypnotised, through the media and what all is going on in the world. We're being just bombarded daily by a massive amount of advertising just to sell us into something, usually slavery. Peace has left the building, just like Elvis. I see people are no longer happy. Without peace, you cannot really be happy. You can be pacified, or stimulated; you can be a lot of things, but you can't be happy.
Happiness must come from peace, and peace must come from the mind. That is why we speak of world peace. Peace comes when the mind shuts up and the world is as it is, and you behave as you naturally would without your mind interfering.
My job as the Guru of Peace is to help people find peace of mind again, and that's simply by being quiet, not by being stimulated. It's by actually doing nothing, so the mind can finally take a break. At that point, peace and happiness are there, which opens the door to love. When you speak of peace of mind, love is the automatic expression once the mind is relaxed. When the mind's not in charge, you're selfless. When you're selfless, you express love and love is the ultimate expression from God.
You've given very little focus to the competition. Do you feel that this gives you an edge?
[Jay Robb]
I didn't think about competitors ever. The other protein powders were gritty, nasty. and they tasted awful. Many times, they had bad ingredients that the human body didn’t like and wouldn’t nourish it. I didn't think there was really any competition for what I created. I created something new. I didn't think about the competition, and when the competition did enter the market, they were chasing me. I was thinking about my consumer. What does the consumer want? What do I want? When it came down to creating something, it had to please me first, and then that seemed to please others because I was extremely picky. I thought of my consumers not my competitors, and that was how I always felt like I had the edge without even thinking about it.
[Beth Robb]
We also stood by educating our consumers as to what to look for in their products. It’s important to know what you are actually consuming, and what to avoid.
How do you navigate love and business in a marriage as sometimes that could be challenging?
[Beth Robb]
We have to set rules with each other, boundaries. We don't work after 6 p.m. Once it's 6 p.m., we have our dinner together. If our family's here, it's a family dinner or a romantic dinner between the two of us.
However, it does get a little dicey because we have two different roles within the company. Jay is the CEO, and I'm the COO. All our employees are remote, so we have employees on the West Coast of the United States. We're on the East Coast, and many times I'll be working until eight or nine o'clock at night. I can't just sit on my computer all night long, but we definitely have to have boundaries and guidelines.
[Jay Robb]
For me, it's been one of the bigger challenges simply because I came from a corporate-style structured business. Now that we've progressed through the world and America's new style, a lot of people are working remote. Being remote as well becomes more challenging as it does spill over. You don't have a clear cut between being in the corporate office and home.
The other part that's challenging is who has the final word on something that we're doing. As CEO, that's got to be me, but I only make decisions based on first by consulting with God, and then the love of my life.
What do you hope your legacy will be both personally and professionally?
[Jay Robb]
I think about my eulogy; how I'd want to be remembered. That would be as someone who made a difference by being loving and kind. Who truly did dedicate his life to spreading peace and love by being loving and kind. I accomplished so much; my best-selling book, “The Fat-Burning Diet”, was at the top of the charts for a long while, I’ve done over 500 seminars.
Even with all of that I would still want to be remembered as someone who was always loving and kind to people, to my family, and to basically anyone. Somebody who lived as an example through his actions and not through his words, even though he used the words too.
[Beth Robb]
I feel the exact same way. I would want people to remember me as being unconditionally loving of everyone.
I've always done my best to include people in our home during holidays if they have nowhere else to go. I've done this for years, and I've had a lot of family members that didn't quite support that, but that's just not how I roll. I feel like no one should ever be alone on a holiday.
That just breaks my heart. I feel like there's just so much opportunity for all of us to include people, and it's not even reserved for holidays. When people move to a different city, nobody wants to ask them to lunch. Nobody wants to ask them to dinner. It's just very surface level, and I would want to encourage people to reach out to people.
I feel like loneliness is just such a sad way to have to go through life, so I feel if more of us reached out to others and included them and showed them friendship, I think the world would be a better place. I hope to be remembered for that, and that it would encourage other people to do the same.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to enter the health and fitness industry?
[Jay Robb]
I would say always make God first and that's your number one consultant. That would be my absolute first advice.
Second advice would be to create a brand. I don't care if you have a small mom and pop shop, a little cafe, you're an author, you're a real estate agent, you're an attorney; create a brand. If the brand is yourself, then you're the brand; but create a brand from that.
If it's a product, create a brand. Brands are very different than from being in business and selling something or offering a service. A brand is something that people recognise instantly by sight, and it makes them have a specific feeling that you want them to have towards the service or brand that you represent. Without branding, you're always going to be struggling and you're never going to stand out. Branding is an art, there is a formula to it, and most people don't pay attention to that.
Thirdly, I'd want the entrepreneur to grow in cash if they're a smaller operation. Always stay within your cash range and limit. Never leverage yourself out with loans if you can help it. Even if it takes longer to grow, you'll have less people going out of business which I think is one of the biggest problems with small business owners.
[Beth Robb]
I would say to humble yourself and realise that the majority of your consumer base is not as disciplined as you. If you can find a way to connect and relate to those consumers, then you will find success. If you keep yourself high and mighty, you're never going to make it. Your future customers need somebody to connect to them, to sympathise with them, and encourage them to their goal. If you don't have the connection and the relatability, you're not going to get there.
What is your personal philosophy on health and fitness and how does this reflect in your products and business practices?
[Jay Robb]
That's an easy one for me because there's no difference between my personal life and my professional life. I live what I teach. I walk what I talk. If you're in the health and fitness world, I don't feel like anybody can be their best if they're not taking care of themselves. In other words, if you're not healthy and fit, it's going to be a distraction for you to be successful.
We're all here to help other people in this world any way we can. If the world is running itself by helping other people constantly, the more you can help other people find their health and fitness.
The companies I've started always revolved around health, fitness, mental wellness, and eating properly. Now it’s leaning into even more of a spiritual world of finding true peace, in the quiet of the mind. Quieting the mind so that you can hear God's voice and know God personally. I believe when you apply that personally, it spills into the professional world, such as I'm creating. I've branched out into the Guru of Peace away from just health and fitness, which I thought was limiting. It expands it completely to an infinity of potential and unlimited ability for me to expand and grow in all areas, especially spiritually. Just by being a free spirit, moving through life unattached, unassociated and loving. Being loving is the part of personal life that is absolutely spilled into professional life, not thinking about what's my return, but what is my gift? What is my offering? By being a living example, it does way more than any words I could ever speak.
[Beth Robb]
A wise man named “J-Rob” once told me, “Find what you love and do that.” When it comes to health and fitness, or anything really. If you don't love what you do, you’re not going to be successful at it because you just have no passion for it. That's one of the reasons as to why we started our latest podcast, “Open Bar.” We have a passion for speaking what’s on our mind. Always find something that you enjoy, as it just all flows naturally from there. Passion is everything; that is a factor in our personal life too.
[Jay Robb]
I agree, if you're not passionate about your own wellbeing, it's hard to ever be passionate about anything else in your life. You have to first take care of yourself, and that may sound selfish, but it's not. It's the most selfless thing you can do. Once you're healthy, once you're well, once you're fit, you can forget about you. You're painless and moving through life, healthy and happy. Until that point, you're still focused on you, which is again, selfish, because you can no longer get beyond yourself. You become caught in a trap once you're there. The more selfless you are, the more peace you find. The more selfish you are, the more you feel frustrated, anxiety, depression, or anything else that is ego-driven.
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Mark Sephton, Business Mentor Mark Sephton is a personal mentor to entrepreneurs. His mission to help others has seen him break into global markets while working with startups and millionaire entrepreneurs around the world. Mark's love for entrepreneurship has been expressed through serving as TV host of the show “One More Round.” When not on the big screen Mark is a regular contributor to Entrepreneur Magazine and a speaker for corporate events, entrepreneurship summits, and major conferences worldwide. His expertise in personal and professional development has positioned him as an expert in the industry, resulting in transformational experiences for audiences, clients, and businesses alike. Drawing from personal experiences, Mark has taken the essence of what he has experienced and built a business that helps draw out the magnificent potential that every person beholds using his GPS system to highlight blind spots, efficiencies and deficiencies . He is also the author of two personal development books “Inside Job” and “Plot Twist,” and is elated at the opportunity to continue to teach and influence through writing for brainz magazine.
