A Simple Unlock with Chris Laping

Mastering Your Mind: How Small Changes Create Big Transformation

“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” — John Wooden

“Work hard. Play hard.”

That used to be my mantra. I clung to my professional success like a child clings to a comfort blanket. Every bad habit was justified with, “This is a tiny, harmless vice. I deserve this.” Drinking alcohol lived in that category.

I now know that was a lie. Professional success does not automatically lead to happiness and fulfilment. And alcohol certainly doesn’t either.

From ‘Work Hard, Play Hard’ to Real Change

In the beginning of 2018

I was riding the wave of success from my best-selling book, People Before Things. My life’s work centred on change and transformation. In particular, I wanted to answer one question:

“How do great leaders support their people when something really big changes at work?”

Research shows that around 70% of all change efforts fail. I knew a lot of people were struggling with this topic, so I wrote the book to help.

After appearing as a guest on a leadership podcast, the host connected with me on LinkedIn. While browsing his profile, I noticed a blog he’d liked, written by Andy Ramage. The premise stopped me in my tracks:

Elite athletes don’t drink.

If you want to be elite in your professional career, why would you?

He also talked about a 28-day alcohol-free challenge with One Year No Beer (OYNB). I was intrigued.

My wife, Kristine, and I jumped in headfirst. We had great success with the 28-day challenge. Although we went back to “moderating” afterwards, we kept reflecting on how good that alcohol-free month had felt.

A few months later, we went all in: 365 days alcohol-free.

Honestly, we never looked back — and we’re now in the home stretch of our second year.

The Key Discovery: Success Follows Happiness

During that time, I made a critical shift in thinking:

Professional success doesn’t lead to happiness and fulfilment.

Personal happiness and fulfilment lead to success.

As the undeniable benefits of being alcohol-free unfolded in our lives, Kristine and I realised we had more than just a “passing interest” in OYNB. We started asking:

“How can we help?”

With a mission this big and important, we wanted to do more than just talk about it.

• We became investors

• I joined the OYNB Board

• Kristine did volunteer work with the team

• And eventually, I became the MasterMind Head Coach

Enter MasterMind

I had a special interest in leading the MasterMind course because I’d taken it myself – and it led to several breakthroughs.

The purpose of MasterMind is simple:

When you enjoy alcohol-free success, you naturally ask:

“Now what? What’s next?”

An OYNB Challenger or Legend reaches a point where they want to reset their compass. MasterMind is designed exactly for that.

How MasterMind Works

Over six focused weeks, a small group dives deep into:

• Daily challenge videos

• Key questions that force honest self-reflection

• Targeted tasks that help you look into your deepest self

• Community connection in a private Slack group

• Live Zoom calls, where the real magic happens

MasterMinders:

• Log into a private community

• Receive daily prompts and challenges

• Share their reflections and discoveries

• Support and encourage one another in real time

Each week, there are five daily challenges built around a theme. Those themes build on each other to create:

• A transformed sense of identity

• A set of healthy systems and habits

• A framework for achieving goals you never thought were possible

In MasterMind, you quickly learn:

Goals don’t transform you.

Consistent tweaks to your day-to-day systems do.

From Participant to Guide

Since taking MasterMind, I’ve had the privilege of:

• Leading the course

• Evolving the content

• Watching people transform, up close

When Andy passed me the baton in January, I was thrilled. I knew firsthand just how powerful this programme is. What I’ve seen since then has been nothing short of remarkable.

I’ve had a front-row seat to genuine change:

• People starting new businesses

• Writing books

• Getting cast in Hollywood

• Leaving toxic relationships

• Finding lasting, healthy love

• Living out retirement dreams

• Climbing mountains and running marathons

• And, most importantly, learning to show themselves self-compassion and love

And that’s only a fraction of the stories.

We often start our OYNB journey feeling:

• Out of control

• Stuck in old patterns

• Unsure of what’s next

We end MasterMind with:

• A renewed sense of purpose

• Life-long friendships we can count on

• A toolbox of systems that supports happiness and fulfilment in the long term

One Mind, One Heart – In Work and Life

My whole career has been about change and transformation in teams and organisations. MasterMind taught me something obvious in hindsight:

We have one heart and one mind that guide us —

in both our personal and professional lives.

When you transform your inner world, the outer results follow.

I’m deeply grateful that the universe steered me toward One Year No Beer. It sounds cliché, but it genuinely changed my life.

Today, I:

• Handle discomfort more effectively

• Confront fears and failures instead of hiding from them

• Have achieved more in the last two years than I ever believed possible

• Feel closer to true happiness and fulfilment than I’ve ever been

Interested in Mastering Your Mind?

If any part of this resonates with you…

If you’re asking:

• “What’s next?”

• “How do I reach my next level?”

• “How do I turn this alcohol-free momentum into something bigger?”

…then I encourage you to learn more about our MasterMind course.

It was life-changing for me.

And I have no doubt it can be life-changing for you too.