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Meet Jeff Thornton of Land of Lean

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Thornton.

Jeff, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born on Holloman Air Force Base, NM and raised in the beautiful city of Alamogordo, NM. My parents are Captain Robert and Dina Thornton. I am the youngest of six kids. Family and sports have always been important in my life. I played Middle Linebacker for Alamogordo High School Home of the Fighting Tigers football team. I attended New Mexico Highlands University and play Strong Safety.

I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics. I have always dreamed big, cared very deeply about family, and wanted to make something of myself. Every person in my family has shaped me in a significant and profound way with the lessons they have each taught me. I have made it one of my mission in life to give back to them as a thank you for all the lessons they have taught me.

I started learning business and entrepreneurship from an early age. The first “business” I ever started was a skateboard wax company in the seventh grade with a neighborhood friend. The Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game was extremely popular as was skateboarding. It was fun learning how to market and sell products. This experience helped me overcome my fear of asking for the sale.

I became really hooked with the idea of what it is to run a business. That same year, my brother Voight started a mobile DJ company and asked me to help him with a few gigs. I got a real taste of business experience working with him from seventh grade through college. I would work alongside setting up the lighting equipment, speakers, boards, and working with the client and live audience.

I continued learning by doing side hustles through high school and college from fixing video game consoles & repairing computers.

At New Mexico Highlands University I wanted to study Computer Engineering, but there was not a program available. I decided to go into Computer Science instead which led me to my first internship at Sandia National Labs. At Sandia, I worked at the Robotics Vehicle Range (RVR) developing software to run the MULE robot.

Upon graduating from college, I was offered a position at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) developing software. The lab was full of extremely intelligent people and great projects. However, it was a slow paced environment. I discovered that I loved doing business that was fast, challenging, and constantly evolving.

After leaving the LANL, I moved from Santa Fe, NM to Albuquerque, NM. I got accepted into New Mexico State University Computer Science Masters Program where I was going to attend the university in August 2012. A week prior to me leaving to school, I got offered a temp to hire position at a small company POD, Inc. They specialized in government General Service Administration (GSA) contracts.

I worked on a project for the Air Force with them for three months, when I got a call from SAP based in Newtown Square, PA for an onsite interview. I jumped at the opportunity and was offered the position Environmental Health and Safety Management (EHSM) Technical Consultant the day before Thanksgiving 2012. I specialized in Oil & Gas and learned several other industries including High Tech, Green Energy, Nuclear Energy, Utilities, and Transportation.

At SAP, I fell in love with the environment, culture, and pace of the company. Within my first year, I was selected as the Top Consultant in the company and was invited to attend Winners Circle 2014 which has all the top employees from around the world. At SAP, I had the opportunity to work with the largest companies in the world and help their business run better. I really loved SAP, but I felt that I was not earning what I was worth. I decided to go a different route and explore entrepreneurship.

I started Thornton Consulting doing exactly what I did at SAP, except this time I had to find contracts myself. I have to thank my good friend James Wood, owner of Bowdark Consulting, for showing me the ropes. When I was starting out, he subcontracted me on several projects. Without his guidance and advice, I would not have been where I am today.

Consulting was such a great experience for me because I got to travel the world and work with incredible people and amazing companies. It really showed me that I could live my life on the road without being stuck in a cubicle. After six years of tech consulting and software development, I began to get see that I was not passionate about writing code all day. I really loved working with the business and the people in it! I knew I had to make a change a follow my heart and start a business in the health and fitness industry.

This is what led me to where I am now, starting Land of Lean (LOL) and Feed Me Fuel Me (FMFM). Land of Lean is my health/fitness company that develops fitness products and supplements that are available on Amazon and our website. Feed Me Fuel Me is my podcast I started with my Co-Host, Mycal Anders.

We started FMFM at first talking to health/fitness experts, but quickly branched into talking about mindset with entrepreneurs, business professionals, and business owners in all industries. Starting these businesses simultaneously has been very tough, and extremely rewarding. It has been great learning the process from the ground up and meeting so many amazing people along the way.

Has it been a smooth road?
No, the road has not been smooth, which was completely expected going into starting my first business. I knew that I was going to face obstacles and challenging situations that would test my resolve and commitment.

I have experienced copyright infringement from competitors, financial loss, and a lawsuit from my ventures just to name a few adversities. I understood going into a business that situations like these had the potential of happening, but I never focused my energy on it. Instead, I use these lessons to take a step back to evaluate how I was responsible. I learned how to avoid similar situations and protect myself.

At the time I could not see the value of these lessons. I have taken the opportunity to developing myself by utilizing mentors, coaches, books, podcasts, and reflection. I have found it very important to embrace the adversity I have experienced rather than viewing them as failures.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Land of Lean is a company I started out of my passion for fitness and health. I’ve been in the tech world for the better part of my career, so making the jump into fitness has been a wild journey. I’ve always been interested in using my experience in tech to build an online business in the health and fitness industry. When the opportunity to learn product development and marketing on Amazon came my way in 2017 with the help of my business coach Carter Thomas I made a decision to go all in.

In 2013, I came up with this idea to track my journey and help others with my experiences, as well as, from others in the fitness community. I’ve always known I wanted to build something that can help people learn from my experiences and a platform to work with others in the industry. You may be wondering how I came up with the name Land of Lean.

Well, I was born and raised in the great state of New Mexico, whose slogan is “The Land of Enchantment.” I wanted a brand that represented my background and my journey to live a “Lean” lifestyle. I also wanted the brand to show the fun aspect of fitness which can be lost at times. So playing off of LOL is a reminder to laugh out loud and enjoy your progress.

The Land of Lean Zia is my original, unique twist on the Zia represented on the New Mexico state flag. I really love what the Zia represents! The people of the Zia Pueblo in New Mexico regard the sun as sacred. Their symbol, a circle with groups of rays pointing in four directions, is painted on ceremonial vases, used to introduce newborns to the sun. Four is a sacred number of the Zia and can be found repeated in the points radiating from the circle.

The number four is embodied in:
☀️The compass (north, south, east, and west)
🌶The seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter)
☀️The periods of each day (morning, noon, evening and night)
🌶The stages of life (childhood, youth, middle years and elderhood)
☀️The sacred aspects one must develop (a strong body, a clear mind, a pure spirit, and a devotion to the well-being of others)

With this in mind, I wanted the Land of Lean Zia to have the letters LOL embedded in the design. The open ends of the design represent the journey never being complete. My mission is that Land of Lean will inspire, motivate, and unite the fitness community in a unique way.

How do you define success?
I define success as following your heart without fear and learning every day. I used to base all of my success off of money, but that changed for me the more I did self-development and speaking with amazing people on the Feed Me Fuel Me podcast. I also define success as loyalty, love, and caring for my family and others. That’s why I make it a point to treat every person I know and meet with positivity and respect.

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
NBMA Photography – Nader Abushhab
James Deak Photography – James Deak

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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