Nick, come aos, did I get anywhere close to that?

Nick, come aos, did I get anywhere close to that?

It's your accent. It's just it's an accent thing.

It's your accent. It's just it's an accent thing.

It's not well, tell you what, in Australia, very few people can understand me because of an Irishman living in Australia. So yeah, yeah, so we'll just run with that thing, like welcome to the podcast. You are lots of different things to lots of different people, right, So you are a coach, you run Man's health for teacher, you're an entrepreneur and you've been in a fitness industry. You're ex military. So just give people a bit of a sense of your story from a high level, like just starting starting as a kid, and take us through the journey.

It's not well, tell you what, in Australia, very few people can understand me because of an Irishman living in Australia. So yeah, yeah, so we'll just run with that thing, like welcome to the podcast. You are lots of different things to lots of different people, right, So you are a coach, you run Man's health for teacher, you're an entrepreneur and you've been in a fitness industry. You're ex military. So just give people a bit of a sense of your story from a high level, like just starting starting as a kid, and take us through the journey.

Yeah, I grew up without an active father in the home, not something that I even realized was unnormal. And obviously that plays into a lot of different things, right, I mean we know the statistics really worldwide, any first or second world country that doesn't have a father in the home, how that kind of plays out with you know, education, crime, et cetera, success later in life. Anyways, So yeah, I didn't grow up. I had my brother and my mom. We used to, you know, make jokes that my mom was running from the law because we were literally we would move every six months to a different school. Wow, you know, and you know, as an adult, you know, like why were we moving around? You know? And she was like, honestly, it's just jobs. If I could get a job making this much money and I would move, I'd move us. As we were just trying to survive. And I asked her when I was like, how much were you making, you know, take care of you know, she was laughing. I was like thousand a months. She was like sometimes like five hundred a month, five hundred to one thousand dollars.

Yeah, I grew up without an active father in the home, not something that I even realized was unnormal. And obviously that plays into a lot of different things, right, I mean we know the statistics really worldwide, any first or second world country that doesn't have a father in the home, how that kind of plays out with you know, education, crime, et cetera, success later in life. Anyways, So yeah, I didn't grow up. I had my brother and my mom. We used to, you know, make jokes that my mom was running from the law because we were literally we would move every six months to a different school. Wow, you know, and you know, as an adult, you know, like why were we moving around? You know? And she was like, honestly, it's just jobs. If I could get a job making this much money and I would move, I'd move us. As we were just trying to survive. And I asked her when I was like, how much were you making, you know, take care of you know, she was laughing. I was like thousand a months. She was like sometimes like five hundred a month, five hundred to one thousand dollars.

A month, and trying to bring up two boys on that.

A month, and trying to bring up two boys on that.

Trying to bring up two boys on that. So like later in life, I honestly was like, man, it's actually pretty impressive. Like we're survivors, you know. And it never took really a handout from anything, but no stateside, you know, we never got on welfare. She always worked. That was kind of like one of our family things. You know. I come from kind of a poor family, and but they never they just valued hard work. I think I had a lot to do with my grandfather. My grandfather was a Korean War and Vietnam veteran, and he just had a very like we had a very high work ethic and realizing that what you make is based off of comes off your own hands. And and that was very Even as a kid, I remember that kind of that core value, if you will, kind of being an and it stuck with me. At eleven years old, I started got my first job. Like you know, in the States, we get this thing called it's like a social Security statement, and you pay in like you take they take it out of you know, most in most countries they take wages for taxes and for different things. Right, one of the things is for social Security for your for your your retirement, if you if when you reach that ripe old age, right, well, if you go back on my statement, it says that I've I've been paying social Security since nineteen ninety three, which was I was eleven years old. Wow. Yeah, and uh and I think we lie. I don't even know how it because that's like at that point, I'm not even sure that was legal, but somehow we squeezed through and my social Security started started nineteen ninety three. So it was just always a thing that like you if you want money, if you want things, you got to work for it. That's how that's how it goes. So anyways, you know, long story, stort I hated moving moving, but I'll kind of come back to that when I get them to the military. Because I didn't have an active father in the home, I did have a stepfather that was coming in and out. I believe he worked on like gash ole pipeline type stuff like rigs, and so he was kind of coming and going from the time I was about five until the time I was about eleven.

Trying to bring up two boys on that. So like later in life, I honestly was like, man, it's actually pretty impressive. Like we're survivors, you know. And it never took really a handout from anything, but no stateside, you know, we never got on welfare. She always worked. That was kind of like one of our family things. You know. I come from kind of a poor family, and but they never they just valued hard work. I think I had a lot to do with my grandfather. My grandfather was a Korean War and Vietnam veteran, and he just had a very like we had a very high work ethic and realizing that what you make is based off of comes off your own hands. And and that was very Even as a kid, I remember that kind of that core value, if you will, kind of being an and it stuck with me. At eleven years old, I started got my first job. Like you know, in the States, we get this thing called it's like a social Security statement, and you pay in like you take they take it out of you know, most in most countries they take wages for taxes and for different things. Right, one of the things is for social Security for your for your your retirement, if you if when you reach that ripe old age, right, well, if you go back on my statement, it says that I've I've been paying social Security since nineteen ninety three, which was I was eleven years old. Wow. Yeah, and uh and I think we lie. I don't even know how it because that's like at that point, I'm not even sure that was legal, but somehow we squeezed through and my social Security started started nineteen ninety three. So it was just always a thing that like you if you want money, if you want things, you got to work for it. That's how that's how it goes. So anyways, you know, long story, stort I hated moving moving, but I'll kind of come back to that when I get them to the military. Because I didn't have an active father in the home, I did have a stepfather that was coming in and out. I believe he worked on like gash ole pipeline type stuff like rigs, and so he was kind of coming and going from the time I was about five until the time I was about eleven.

I'm nick was not was did you find that to be helpful or more disruptive? Having this guy who used.

I'm nick was not was did you find that to be helpful or more disruptive? Having this guy who used.

To I'll tell you he was. He was physically abusive to me and emotionally abusive to my brother, right And obviously I'm a kid at the time, so it's you know, you take you gotta have to take it. And at eleven years old is the time that I fought back and I got thrown through a closet door. We had a little tussle. Obviously there's a grown man. I'm eleven. You know, we know how that's going to go. But that tussle is what woke up my mom and she was able to she got that's when she found out of the situation. And then it all came out. I jumped through a window, I excaped, you know, I escaped the house and ran away and that was the end of that. And she left him that on the spot, kicked him out, left him on the spot. And to be honest, you know, she never knew any of the other stuff was going down. But through that, the lack of a you know, lack of an actual, you know, positive real mole model, I went straight into this need for community, this need for acceptance, which landed me in a basically a quote unquote a gang.

To I'll tell you he was. He was physically abusive to me and emotionally abusive to my brother, right And obviously I'm a kid at the time, so it's you know, you take you gotta have to take it. And at eleven years old is the time that I fought back and I got thrown through a closet door. We had a little tussle. Obviously there's a grown man. I'm eleven. You know, we know how that's going to go. But that tussle is what woke up my mom and she was able to she got that's when she found out of the situation. And then it all came out. I jumped through a window, I excaped, you know, I escaped the house and ran away and that was the end of that. And she left him that on the spot, kicked him out, left him on the spot. And to be honest, you know, she never knew any of the other stuff was going down. But through that, the lack of a you know, lack of an actual, you know, positive real mole model, I went straight into this need for community, this need for acceptance, which landed me in a basically a quote unquote a gang.

All I was just about to say, there is a bit of a phenomenon in Australia about young meal gangs. And you know a lot of people are pointing the finger that a lot of them are immigrants, but a lot of them tend to have absent fathers and you know, brought up with no role models, and they just gravity towards their own groups, don't it because they need that sense of connection.

All I was just about to say, there is a bit of a phenomenon in Australia about young meal gangs. And you know a lot of people are pointing the finger that a lot of them are immigrants, but a lot of them tend to have absent fathers and you know, brought up with no role models, and they just gravity towards their own groups, don't it because they need that sense of connection.

And you know what, and and because I didn't have it, they were right there waiting on it. And I tell people all the time, I'm like, guys, if you don't man up and be that there is a there's a group of people out there that is waiting for that young man to show up and be like, yeah, come on.

And you know what, and and because I didn't have it, they were right there waiting on it. And I tell people all the time, I'm like, guys, if you don't man up and be that there is a there's a group of people out there that is waiting for that young man to show up and be like, yeah, come on.

And that's where you then get your values from and all on your behaviors and all of that stuff.

And that's where you then get your values from and all on your behaviors and all of that stuff.

Right, that's right, that's exactly it. Now, that becomes your core values, that becomes the rules of engagement for life. And that's exactly what happened. And so that happened right out at eleven. It was ironic, like look, being at the age I am now and looking back at it, like you know, that altercation happened in me feeling in danger or me feeling weak or something like that, and I was like, well, I'm not going to be a victim, and I'm going to go I'm going to go get someone who is going to have my back and be a part of a community that is going to protect me. And and if you look at it, and ironically enough, it was the gang was called the the Irish Shenanigans.

Right, that's right, that's exactly it. Now, that becomes your core values, that becomes the rules of engagement for life. And that's exactly what happened. And so that happened right out at eleven. It was ironic, like look, being at the age I am now and looking back at it, like you know, that altercation happened in me feeling in danger or me feeling weak or something like that, and I was like, well, I'm not going to be a victim, and I'm going to go I'm going to go get someone who is going to have my back and be a part of a community that is going to protect me. And and if you look at it, and ironically enough, it was the gang was called the the Irish Shenanigans.

There you go, the token there.

There you go, the token there.

And what's funny is my my actual father, like you know, he wasn't around, but when he found out, he was pissed and he was he was like, He's like, you're not Irish or Greek? What the you know? Anyways, it was funny, but yeah, man, by the time I was thirteen, So that happened when I was eleven. By the time I was thirteen, I was a two time convicted felon as an adult. Yeah, so just two short years U two short years, had two felonies under my belt that would not get expunged when I turned eighteen. I thought it was going to but it did not. Yeah, cost me, cost me something in the future. So that happened, and I got rolled up with the police and obviously got thrown in juv That was a that was a long It was a whole long time right there. And I make a joke. I say, by the time I was fourteen, I was cleaning on the straight and arrow. I'd stop drinking, stop doing drugs, stop breaking laws. So by fourteen, I'd cleaned up my life, you know what I mean?

And what's funny is my my actual father, like you know, he wasn't around, but when he found out, he was pissed and he was he was like, He's like, you're not Irish or Greek? What the you know? Anyways, it was funny, but yeah, man, by the time I was thirteen, So that happened when I was eleven. By the time I was thirteen, I was a two time convicted felon as an adult. Yeah, so just two short years U two short years, had two felonies under my belt that would not get expunged when I turned eighteen. I thought it was going to but it did not. Yeah, cost me, cost me something in the future. So that happened, and I got rolled up with the police and obviously got thrown in juv That was a that was a long It was a whole long time right there. And I make a joke. I say, by the time I was fourteen, I was cleaning on the straight and arrow. I'd stop drinking, stop doing drugs, stop breaking laws. So by fourteen, I'd cleaned up my life, you know what I mean?

Wow? And what then led you to the military?

Wow? And what then led you to the military?

That's where it goes. So I am seventeen years old. I just turned seventeen years old. I'm working at a place called Baypoint Marriott. In the morning, I was an audio visual consultant for I want to say, I was making like fifteen dollars an hour in the mid nineties hooking up you know, a conference center, so like hooking up projectors, lights, microphones from six am to two pm, and then I would take a thirty minute break. I'd have a club sandwich and fries. Every single day at two thirty to ten thirty. I was a bellman at the same resort. It became very consistent and and I go, I don't I don't want that for my life in twenty of thirty years. Like, that's not where I want to be in twenty or thirty years. So I make the joke saying that I like, I hit the nuclear option, I like blew up my life. And I was like, well, screw it. The only way out that I know is the military. My grandfather did it. And you know the time in the nineties that I don't know if you know this, but the Marine Corps marketing tactics in the nineties was spot on. I mean spot on. You had guys battling dragons with swords, and they're saying that like, you know, we don't promise you a rose garden, and they're like this is the hardest thing. And they had sexy uniforms, and I'm like, dude, if I'm gonna do join the military, I'm obviously going to go fight dragons and be a marine. Yes, And what young man doesn't want to go fight a dragon right with sword? And so I went and talked to them recruiter, and he did his thing, and then he got my information down, went in the back and I'll never forget the look on his face when he came out and was like, kid, you're not joining the Marine Corps nor any branch. You're a high school dropout and a convicted felon. And keep in mind Clinton was in was the president at the time, so that he was like he was crushing. He was in the middle of crushing the military. He was. It was a huge draw down. So like there, So I had medical issues, a drug I didn't need a drug waiver. I had to. I had to have a waiver for my criminal background. I was a high school dropout. And he told me no. And I'll tell you right now, Paul, that was the biggest mistake he could have done, was tell a rebellious kid no, because all I did was like that became my mission. M HM, quit my job, moved in with my grandmother, and you're talking. I threw that all that money away and moved in my grand with my grandmother, started working nights at a movie theater for like four fifty an hour. I remember getting my first check after two weeks and it was like one hundred and seventy five bucks, and I'm like, how are people surviving off of this? And then joined the college to do a semester, because if you join a college, get accepted, and do one semester and then drop out, you're no longer a high school dropout.

That's where it goes. So I am seventeen years old. I just turned seventeen years old. I'm working at a place called Baypoint Marriott. In the morning, I was an audio visual consultant for I want to say, I was making like fifteen dollars an hour in the mid nineties hooking up you know, a conference center, so like hooking up projectors, lights, microphones from six am to two pm, and then I would take a thirty minute break. I'd have a club sandwich and fries. Every single day at two thirty to ten thirty. I was a bellman at the same resort. It became very consistent and and I go, I don't I don't want that for my life in twenty of thirty years. Like, that's not where I want to be in twenty or thirty years. So I make the joke saying that I like, I hit the nuclear option, I like blew up my life. And I was like, well, screw it. The only way out that I know is the military. My grandfather did it. And you know the time in the nineties that I don't know if you know this, but the Marine Corps marketing tactics in the nineties was spot on. I mean spot on. You had guys battling dragons with swords, and they're saying that like, you know, we don't promise you a rose garden, and they're like this is the hardest thing. And they had sexy uniforms, and I'm like, dude, if I'm gonna do join the military, I'm obviously going to go fight dragons and be a marine. Yes, And what young man doesn't want to go fight a dragon right with sword? And so I went and talked to them recruiter, and he did his thing, and then he got my information down, went in the back and I'll never forget the look on his face when he came out and was like, kid, you're not joining the Marine Corps nor any branch. You're a high school dropout and a convicted felon. And keep in mind Clinton was in was the president at the time, so that he was like he was crushing. He was in the middle of crushing the military. He was. It was a huge draw down. So like there, So I had medical issues, a drug I didn't need a drug waiver. I had to. I had to have a waiver for my criminal background. I was a high school dropout. And he told me no. And I'll tell you right now, Paul, that was the biggest mistake he could have done, was tell a rebellious kid no, because all I did was like that became my mission. M HM, quit my job, moved in with my grandmother, and you're talking. I threw that all that money away and moved in my grand with my grandmother, started working nights at a movie theater for like four fifty an hour. I remember getting my first check after two weeks and it was like one hundred and seventy five bucks, and I'm like, how are people surviving off of this? And then joined the college to do a semester, because if you join a college, get accepted, and do one semester and then drop out, you're no longer a high school dropout.

You're ah, you're a college drop fight.

You're ah, you're a college drop fight.

And we know the military loves a college dropout. So that's what I did. So I did that. It almost took me two years to get in, and so that's what I did. I got a one hundred letters of recommendation from from bosses and friends and family and people my mom knew about me, and I just made it. I just went on a man that was my mission and uh and joined them and ended up joining the Marine Corps at eighteen turned nineteen and recruit training. And in two thousand.

And we know the military loves a college dropout. So that's what I did. So I did that. It almost took me two years to get in, and so that's what I did. I got a one hundred letters of recommendation from from bosses and friends and family and people my mom knew about me, and I just made it. I just went on a man that was my mission and uh and joined them and ended up joining the Marine Corps at eighteen turned nineteen and recruit training. And in two thousand.

And how did you how did you find the training for the Marines and that whole community. Was that something that you just I mean.

And how did you how did you find the training for the Marines and that whole community. Was that something that you just I mean.

It was I guess you could say it was hard in a way. I mean you got to keep in mind that, you know that that era of youth was different, Like we grew up outside. We did that. We didn't have social media, we didn't have the internet. You know, the Internet came around late nineties for us. Yeah, but it wasn't nothing to sit around on. It was like, you know, we used I remember using Aol messenger. Hey where are you at? Okay? Cool, I'm going to meet you over there, you know what I mean. It was it was more of a way to message people. And so we just we were very I was very physical. I was already lifting weights, you know what I mean, Like I wanted to get jacked all the time, you know, eating protein, following old you know, our old bodybooks. Yeah, yeah, that's that's just what I That's just what we did. And so it was very, very different. It wasn't nothing. It was hard, but it wasn't something like we didn't have this belief that we couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. The issue came into play where after working for almost two years to get in the military. On training day seven, I broke my wrist and I got dropped to a medical rehabilitation particular.

It was I guess you could say it was hard in a way. I mean you got to keep in mind that, you know that that era of youth was different, Like we grew up outside. We did that. We didn't have social media, we didn't have the internet. You know, the Internet came around late nineties for us. Yeah, but it wasn't nothing to sit around on. It was like, you know, we used I remember using Aol messenger. Hey where are you at? Okay? Cool, I'm going to meet you over there, you know what I mean. It was it was more of a way to message people. And so we just we were very I was very physical. I was already lifting weights, you know what I mean, Like I wanted to get jacked all the time, you know, eating protein, following old you know, our old bodybooks. Yeah, yeah, that's that's just what I That's just what we did. And so it was very, very different. It wasn't nothing. It was hard, but it wasn't something like we didn't have this belief that we couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. The issue came into play where after working for almost two years to get in the military. On training day seven, I broke my wrist and I got dropped to a medical rehabilitation particular.

This is this is post. This is post when you finished all your training.

This is this is post. This is post when you finished all your training.

No, no, this was in boot camp. This is in recruit recruit training. I got there, I was like, yes, I made it, I'm going in. Everything was going good. On training day seven, I broke my wrist and I got dropped, and that spired me for a little bit, and like there was that was a whole weird experience. But once I got over myself and stopped being a little baby about it, because I had a moment, you know, I'll be honest, Paul, I had a moment where I was I turned into a little baby and threw a tempotenttrum a little bit. But once I got over that, I realized, Okay, how can I turn this negative into a really good positive? So, honestly, the criminal, the criminal in me, just came out. I'm like, I learned all the drill instructors, habits, their rotations, how the island worked, the timing of everything, who's who in the zoo, how the system works on the island, And I just learned everything and when I did, and then after two and a half months, I went back to two and a half months, I went back to training picked up on twenty Ay seven, but I had been there for almost three months, so like nobody could hold a candlestick to me, I was the leader. I became the guide and the leader of the platoon, and I held that and ended up graduating number one, all because I made the decision that I was going to utilize this as a positive to learn as much knowledge, like what's on the test, what's on the test in two months? Well, I'm going to learn all of it. And I did. I studied all the books. I paid attention to what was coming and going. I knew all the cycles of all the journal instructors and what platoons, and like if anybody wanted to know something, I knew it. I knew all of the history, I knew all of the data. I knew everything. So before they knew, before they came in and said what they were going to say, I'm like, oh, it's it's week four. This is what we're going to go. Do you know? This is the cycle that we're in. So I'll tell the guys and like Okay, get ready, this is what's going to happen. Just the old thing is like I turned you know, I turned lemons and lemonade. Yes, yes, you know that's as it really is. Like I got handed a bad deal and I just manipulated it for a positive. I could have sat there and been sad for two and a half months and made no progress and then picked right back up. But I chose differently. And it's little things like that over a period of a life that really changes where you're at.

No, no, this was in boot camp. This is in recruit recruit training. I got there, I was like, yes, I made it, I'm going in. Everything was going good. On training day seven, I broke my wrist and I got dropped, and that spired me for a little bit, and like there was that was a whole weird experience. But once I got over myself and stopped being a little baby about it, because I had a moment, you know, I'll be honest, Paul, I had a moment where I was I turned into a little baby and threw a tempotenttrum a little bit. But once I got over that, I realized, Okay, how can I turn this negative into a really good positive? So, honestly, the criminal, the criminal in me, just came out. I'm like, I learned all the drill instructors, habits, their rotations, how the island worked, the timing of everything, who's who in the zoo, how the system works on the island, And I just learned everything and when I did, and then after two and a half months, I went back to two and a half months, I went back to training picked up on twenty Ay seven, but I had been there for almost three months, so like nobody could hold a candlestick to me, I was the leader. I became the guide and the leader of the platoon, and I held that and ended up graduating number one, all because I made the decision that I was going to utilize this as a positive to learn as much knowledge, like what's on the test, what's on the test in two months? Well, I'm going to learn all of it. And I did. I studied all the books. I paid attention to what was coming and going. I knew all the cycles of all the journal instructors and what platoons, and like if anybody wanted to know something, I knew it. I knew all of the history, I knew all of the data. I knew everything. So before they knew, before they came in and said what they were going to say, I'm like, oh, it's it's week four. This is what we're going to go. Do you know? This is the cycle that we're in. So I'll tell the guys and like Okay, get ready, this is what's going to happen. Just the old thing is like I turned you know, I turned lemons and lemonade. Yes, yes, you know that's as it really is. Like I got handed a bad deal and I just manipulated it for a positive. I could have sat there and been sad for two and a half months and made no progress and then picked right back up. But I chose differently. And it's little things like that over a period of a life that really changes where you're at.

That's a big philosophy of the ancient stoic for loss of verse is to to make the best of a bad situation, right.

That's a big philosophy of the ancient stoic for loss of verse is to to make the best of a bad situation, right.

It's a lesson that it's a tuition payment if you if you want it to be right, that's the that's the real school. And uh and you know, now being forty three, almost forty four, looking at life, I'm like, oh, there's a there is a reoccurrence, reoccurrence of the same situation over and over and over, and I keep making the same decision. And a good friend of mine said, you know, we have the freedom of choice. We don't have the freedom of consequence. Yeah, yeah, yeah right, and we we but we do have the freedom of choice and in which direction and how you're going to perceive something as one hundred percent on you. And over a period of time I've just through I think it all started in my youth of just having to persevere through adversity and not really having a choice. That that just became like a like a core DNA thing of me, almost to a fault, because there's sometimes that I get told no or something gets you know, I have this thing, and man, I'm like a freaking bulldog.

It's a lesson that it's a tuition payment if you if you want it to be right, that's the that's the real school. And uh and you know, now being forty three, almost forty four, looking at life, I'm like, oh, there's a there is a reoccurrence, reoccurrence of the same situation over and over and over, and I keep making the same decision. And a good friend of mine said, you know, we have the freedom of choice. We don't have the freedom of consequence. Yeah, yeah, yeah right, and we we but we do have the freedom of choice and in which direction and how you're going to perceive something as one hundred percent on you. And over a period of time I've just through I think it all started in my youth of just having to persevere through adversity and not really having a choice. That that just became like a like a core DNA thing of me, almost to a fault, because there's sometimes that I get told no or something gets you know, I have this thing, and man, I'm like a freaking bulldog.

And this is the thing. The bit that all the positive psychology in the world can't teach you is the lessons that are learned through adversity and through doing hard stuff.

And this is the thing. The bit that all the positive psychology in the world can't teach you is the lessons that are learned through adversity and through doing hard stuff.

Yeah, so now I teach that's funny. I have this on my have this on my thing. If you can see that hard over easy and now, so I teach this concept of choosing hard over easy, because you can choose hard now and have it easy later, or you can choose easy now. And I promise you hard is going to come.

Yeah, so now I teach that's funny. I have this on my have this on my thing. If you can see that hard over easy and now, so I teach this concept of choosing hard over easy, because you can choose hard now and have it easy later, or you can choose easy now. And I promise you hard is going to come.

Yeah. Yeah. I often say in workshops, like it's not easy getting up early in the morning and going and doing a work hard. It's not easy turning a lovely warm shower to cold right. It's not easy choosing the healthy food over the unhealthy attractive food. It's not easy to have to do the work right. It's all hard, but it's a shit load harder when you talk to people and later in life who you are in shocking sheep, riddled with disease and nowhere near the potential. So it's all hard. So choose your bloody heart right, Choose.

Yeah. Yeah. I often say in workshops, like it's not easy getting up early in the morning and going and doing a work hard. It's not easy turning a lovely warm shower to cold right. It's not easy choosing the healthy food over the unhealthy attractive food. It's not easy to have to do the work right. It's all hard, but it's a shit load harder when you talk to people and later in life who you are in shocking sheep, riddled with disease and nowhere near the potential. So it's all hard. So choose your bloody heart right, Choose.

Your heart, man, that's it, you know, and now And it's so funny, like that became like we've done this for so long, and now it's become like I got my wife saying that, like we'll say something about our you know, our relationship, and it's like, well, choose your heart right. You want to have a hard conversation now or you want to ruin a relationship later, you know, two years down the road.

Your heart, man, that's it, you know, and now And it's so funny, like that became like we've done this for so long, and now it's become like I got my wife saying that, like we'll say something about our you know, our relationship, and it's like, well, choose your heart right. You want to have a hard conversation now or you want to ruin a relationship later, you know, two years down the road.

So I mean, this is and the reason that this is top of mind for me is I've I've just submitted the manuscript for my second book, which is around thank you run something called Heartiness, which you'll be a fan of now, And I start with a story that has has influenced a lot of Western philosophy, and actually what we're talking about right, now, and it's the trials of Hercules, you know, way back in Greek mythology, where the young Hercules ends up at a crossroads and there are two paths, and one of the paths is shown to him by Kakia, who is this very beautiful young woman and promises a life of ease and all of this, and then the other path is the path of Arite, and where she says, if you choose this path, life will be hard, but it will be meaningful. And that's the path that Hercules chooses, right.

So I mean, this is and the reason that this is top of mind for me is I've I've just submitted the manuscript for my second book, which is around thank you run something called Heartiness, which you'll be a fan of now, And I start with a story that has has influenced a lot of Western philosophy, and actually what we're talking about right, now, and it's the trials of Hercules, you know, way back in Greek mythology, where the young Hercules ends up at a crossroads and there are two paths, and one of the paths is shown to him by Kakia, who is this very beautiful young woman and promises a life of ease and all of this, and then the other path is the path of Arite, and where she says, if you choose this path, life will be hard, but it will be meaningful. And that's the path that Hercules chooses, right.

It's funny you say that when I when I talk to people about joining the Agogi, our men's community, my coaching group, I'm like, I will be one hundred percent honest with you. Your life will not get easier by joining. It will be actually much harder. All of the easy choices that you're choosing now won't be there. You're going to have to choose the hard choices. But your life will be so much better and so much more meaningful.

It's funny you say that when I when I talk to people about joining the Agogi, our men's community, my coaching group, I'm like, I will be one hundred percent honest with you. Your life will not get easier by joining. It will be actually much harder. All of the easy choices that you're choosing now won't be there. You're going to have to choose the hard choices. But your life will be so much better and so much more meaningful.

And so let's jump in to that. So why why particularly did you start to focus on man's health and man's coaching? Was that just because of the journey that you'd gone through and seeing lots of people on the wayside and actually going, hey, there's a different path here.

And so let's jump in to that. So why why particularly did you start to focus on man's health and man's coaching? Was that just because of the journey that you'd gone through and seeing lots of people on the wayside and actually going, hey, there's a different path here.

Yeah, so I guess it really started my transition. I wrote a book called The Excommunicated Warrior, The Seven Stages of Transition, and that story kind of outlined my exit from Special Operations. So what I didn't really talk about is once I got into the Marine Corps, I joined a unit called Second Force Reconnaissance Company. I was with recon for you know, a number of years, and then Marine Special Operations Command stood up. I took selection for that. I spent the last half of my career working with SOCOM under Marine Specials as a Marine raider and you know, doing special operations in the support of global warrantrorism until twenty twelve.

Yeah, so I guess it really started my transition. I wrote a book called The Excommunicated Warrior, The Seven Stages of Transition, and that story kind of outlined my exit from Special Operations. So what I didn't really talk about is once I got into the Marine Corps, I joined a unit called Second Force Reconnaissance Company. I was with recon for you know, a number of years, and then Marine Special Operations Command stood up. I took selection for that. I spent the last half of my career working with SOCOM under Marine Specials as a Marine raider and you know, doing special operations in the support of global warrantrorism until twenty twelve.

Wow.

Wow.

And then I exited from that. And when I exited, I thought I had it all figured out, but unfortunately I did. I did not, and I had a very rough Like you hear, a lot of veterans have a very challenging transition back to normal life.

And then I exited from that. And when I exited, I thought I had it all figured out, but unfortunately I did. I did not, and I had a very rough Like you hear, a lot of veterans have a very challenging transition back to normal life.

Yes, yes, what was the most difficult thing for you?

Yes, yes, what was the most difficult thing for you?

When it comes down to it, it's you know, if I strip away all I could say a lot of things, but if I strip away all of it. It comes down to identity. You really start, you really lose your identity of who you are. Because Nick, it was a reconnaissance marine, I was a force recomrane. I was a marine raider and that and what that means is it's how I train, That's like, that's while my brain works. It's the clothes that I wear, the neighborhood that I live in, the job that I do. It's it's how what I look up on the internet, it's who I can conversate with. It's it's everything, right, And if you take that away from me, then who who and what am I? And I didn't know. And there's a lot of rhetoric for like saying software life, you know, Special Operation Forces for life, Marine raider for life, this and that, recount for life. But the reality is when you leave, you're done. The phone stops ringing, Yeah, your buddy, stop call, they're they're moving on. They think that you're good. So, like, we could talk for hours about that. And what's what's interesting about that is that is the same across the board anything law enforcement, firefight, the fire service, medical community.

When it comes down to it, it's you know, if I strip away all I could say a lot of things, but if I strip away all of it. It comes down to identity. You really start, you really lose your identity of who you are. Because Nick, it was a reconnaissance marine, I was a force recomrane. I was a marine raider and that and what that means is it's how I train, That's like, that's while my brain works. It's the clothes that I wear, the neighborhood that I live in, the job that I do. It's it's how what I look up on the internet, it's who I can conversate with. It's it's everything, right, And if you take that away from me, then who who and what am I? And I didn't know. And there's a lot of rhetoric for like saying software life, you know, Special Operation Forces for life, Marine raider for life, this and that, recount for life. But the reality is when you leave, you're done. The phone stops ringing, Yeah, your buddy, stop call, they're they're moving on. They think that you're good. So, like, we could talk for hours about that. And what's what's interesting about that is that is the same across the board anything law enforcement, firefight, the fire service, medical community.

A lot of athletes right have similar I said.

A lot of athletes right have similar I said.

It is the story I put in my book is like this about about a young man who starts like little like pee wee football at four years old, and he plays football there. He plays in elementary, middle, high school, college, gets in you know, or gets drafted straight into the NFL, and then blows his knee out at twenty three years old. This man does not remember not playing football. He is a footballer, that's what he does. And at twenty three years old he blows his knee out and can't play anymore. And Paul, I cannot tell you how many of those people have reached out to me and how many people I've met, and that same exact thing. At that young of age, they go, if I can't play the sport, I don't know what I'm supposed to do in life.

It is the story I put in my book is like this about about a young man who starts like little like pee wee football at four years old, and he plays football there. He plays in elementary, middle, high school, college, gets in you know, or gets drafted straight into the NFL, and then blows his knee out at twenty three years old. This man does not remember not playing football. He is a footballer, that's what he does. And at twenty three years old he blows his knee out and can't play anymore. And Paul, I cannot tell you how many of those people have reached out to me and how many people I've met, and that same exact thing. At that young of age, they go, if I can't play the sport, I don't know what I'm supposed to do in life.

Yeah, I think it's it's it's across the board, right, is that when people have their identity wrapped up in their job and then that changes that that often people have a very very hard landing. And then and then often it will then coincide with age and the whole midlife crisis thing and changing hormones and all of that shit.

Yeah, I think it's it's it's across the board, right, is that when people have their identity wrapped up in their job and then that changes that that often people have a very very hard landing. And then and then often it will then coincide with age and the whole midlife crisis thing and changing hormones and all of that shit.

That it's like a colossal, just epic shit chill, shit show all at once. That's exactly what happens, and that's the reason why. So so going back to your question is like one, it really started with me. I mean here, I am a six foot tall, two hundred and four ten percent body fat, you know, in my early thirties to a couple of years later, six foot tall, two hundred and forty almost thirty percent body.

That it's like a colossal, just epic shit chill, shit show all at once. That's exactly what happens, and that's the reason why. So so going back to your question is like one, it really started with me. I mean here, I am a six foot tall, two hundred and four ten percent body fat, you know, in my early thirties to a couple of years later, six foot tall, two hundred and forty almost thirty percent body.

Fat, jumping jasus.

Fat, jumping jasus.

Yeah. I love sharing that photo because to me, that the photo of me on the beach in Greece with my family looking like that shows how far you someone can get lost. And the truth of it is that guy, you know, and people go like, well, that wasn't that bad. You didn't look that bad, blah blah blah blah blah. You know, I think I did because the way I look, But you know, like I wasn't, you know, four hundred pounds, like we get guys that are coming in. I was out of shape. I was softened out of shape. And uh but the reality is, Paul, like I was depressed. I hated myself. I had a lot going on in my head that like that guy was miserable that lot, and that guy was living a life of quiet desperation. So through through a friend and actually a good friend, Nick Bear and BPN, I was doing a lot of media stuff and I became an athlete through Bear Performance Nutrition and one of their first actually and I said, hey, dude, I want to get in phenomenal shape. I want to show people what you can do. So I started this thing and I just like snapped out of it. I remembered who I was, and I did the did this thing called the ninety day vlog where I launched a business in ninety days. I went from like twenty eight percent body fat to ten percent body fat in ninety days. And I was going to make a video every single day for ninety days and just document this journey of how basically it was like a New Year's instead of having New Year's resolutions, because everybody has a New Year's resolution, but without a plan, your new year's resolution is just a wish, right, Yeah, So I want to show people how to execute. So I just threw myself in this hopper and I got in phenomenal shape. When I did the next year, people started asking me and I said, and it changed so much, Like as soon as I got in shape, I had you know, and I got my hormones figured out. On TRT, I had a lot more clarity in my life. Right the brain fog lifted, I had more energy and more drive. I had clarity in my vision of where I wanted to go. And I was like, holy shit, man, this is really this is the real deal. And then guys started hitting me up and I was like, oh, man, well you just need to get in shape. So Josh and I started, who was a teammate of mine, started what now is the AGOGI in twenty eighteen, and it was like old school fitness and nutrition coaching. I send you a Google sheet, you know, we worked off Google sheets and or whatever they were at the time. People would put in their macros and then we'd issue training and very rudimentary and go.

Yeah. I love sharing that photo because to me, that the photo of me on the beach in Greece with my family looking like that shows how far you someone can get lost. And the truth of it is that guy, you know, and people go like, well, that wasn't that bad. You didn't look that bad, blah blah blah blah blah. You know, I think I did because the way I look, But you know, like I wasn't, you know, four hundred pounds, like we get guys that are coming in. I was out of shape. I was softened out of shape. And uh but the reality is, Paul, like I was depressed. I hated myself. I had a lot going on in my head that like that guy was miserable that lot, and that guy was living a life of quiet desperation. So through through a friend and actually a good friend, Nick Bear and BPN, I was doing a lot of media stuff and I became an athlete through Bear Performance Nutrition and one of their first actually and I said, hey, dude, I want to get in phenomenal shape. I want to show people what you can do. So I started this thing and I just like snapped out of it. I remembered who I was, and I did the did this thing called the ninety day vlog where I launched a business in ninety days. I went from like twenty eight percent body fat to ten percent body fat in ninety days. And I was going to make a video every single day for ninety days and just document this journey of how basically it was like a New Year's instead of having New Year's resolutions, because everybody has a New Year's resolution, but without a plan, your new year's resolution is just a wish, right, Yeah, So I want to show people how to execute. So I just threw myself in this hopper and I got in phenomenal shape. When I did the next year, people started asking me and I said, and it changed so much, Like as soon as I got in shape, I had you know, and I got my hormones figured out. On TRT, I had a lot more clarity in my life. Right the brain fog lifted, I had more energy and more drive. I had clarity in my vision of where I wanted to go. And I was like, holy shit, man, this is really this is the real deal. And then guys started hitting me up and I was like, oh, man, well you just need to get in shape. So Josh and I started, who was a teammate of mine, started what now is the AGOGI in twenty eighteen, and it was like old school fitness and nutrition coaching. I send you a Google sheet, you know, we worked off Google sheets and or whatever they were at the time. People would put in their macros and then we'd issue training and very rudimentary and go.

Ahead before we dive, because I do want to dive into that, but I just want to rewind a little. How much of the how much of that descending fog and the difficulties of leaving the marines. How much of that do you think was that loss of identity as I'm no longer a marine reator, and how much of it was a loss of purpose? Have you ever thought about those elements.

Ahead before we dive, because I do want to dive into that, but I just want to rewind a little. How much of the how much of that descending fog and the difficulties of leaving the marines. How much of that do you think was that loss of identity as I'm no longer a marine reator, and how much of it was a loss of purpose? Have you ever thought about those elements.

I think it was. I think it was one and the same. I think I think it was one and the same one, you know, one it's not who I am and then I And the thing is is I still had a job to do, like I still always created something. But I didn't know. I think I was just doing Paul, I don't think I had a true purpose, which is okay. I think people, I think we give too much weight to purpose. Purpose can be whatever you make it to be. It doesn't have to be this like, you know, like the heavens open up for the sins, you know. But I think people are waiting on that. They're like, I don't I haven't had this epiphany of my purpose. I'm like, dude, your purpose can be whatever you want it to be.

I think it was. I think it was one and the same. I think I think it was one and the same one, you know, one it's not who I am and then I And the thing is is I still had a job to do, like I still always created something. But I didn't know. I think I was just doing Paul, I don't think I had a true purpose, which is okay. I think people, I think we give too much weight to purpose. Purpose can be whatever you make it to be. It doesn't have to be this like, you know, like the heavens open up for the sins, you know. But I think people are waiting on that. They're like, I don't I haven't had this epiphany of my purpose. I'm like, dude, your purpose can be whatever you want it to be.

I also say people are waiting for the purpose fairing.

I also say people are waiting for the purpose fairing.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm like, dude, like there's so much weight given to this word purpose. And I'm like, dude, purpose can be whatever you want it to be. This week, like change it and it should change in a year it would be different. But to give your point, I didn't really know. I guess what direction I was just doing, which is good, right if you don't know what to do just do just that. Yeah, yeah, and then through that execution you'll find and that's exactly what happened to me.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm like, dude, like there's so much weight given to this word purpose. And I'm like, dude, purpose can be whatever you want it to be. This week, like change it and it should change in a year it would be different. But to give your point, I didn't really know. I guess what direction I was just doing, which is good, right if you don't know what to do just do just that. Yeah, yeah, and then through that execution you'll find and that's exactly what happened to me.

Well, I think they're doing is you're you're in forward motion towards something, right, and that that is what that's what brings them. We're talking about fairies, purpose veries, but that's what brings the motivation fairy. This is a lot of people are sitting waiting for the motivation fairy when they don't realize that if they start acting and have a goal and say they're in forwards motion towards your goal, that's what releases still puming in the brand and gives you further motivation.

Well, I think they're doing is you're you're in forward motion towards something, right, and that that is what that's what brings them. We're talking about fairies, purpose veries, but that's what brings the motivation fairy. This is a lot of people are sitting waiting for the motivation fairy when they don't realize that if they start acting and have a goal and say they're in forwards motion towards your goal, that's what releases still puming in the brand and gives you further motivation.

And through this journey right of this this this meat transitioning, it's all in the book me transitioning out of military and learning. I threw myself into like different therapies, and I threw myself. I became a guinea pig because I was running a nonprofit helping other veterans and so and that's and there's something to that, right, there's this this idea of service. You know, if you're depressed, go help somebody, go help, go help three people that are worse off than you. So I started doing I started doing that more and more, and because I was on this journey that was really no there was no destination for this journey. I was just doing. I was just executing. But through that I started to find different people and different things that would come across my life that I would gain more even more clarity. And it was like a positive snowball effect, and that I think that's it was. It wasn't. I didn't have this like idea of purpose other than I did this idea that I just needed to keep moving forward. And and that's when I developed my kind of like there was this thing that I say, and people even say it back to me now, and I have a shirt forward is never quit, never surrender, always forward, and it's just you know, by with and through. It's kind of like the old Special Operations idea of things. It was just continue if you you know, if you've got to go to move forward. If you hit a wall, maybe you need to go through it, maybe you need to go over it, maybe you need to go around it, you know, but regardless is don't stay where you're at, just keep moving forward. And and that's where I was for a long time. I was like, I'm just going to move forward. Now. Obviously, the more you lean into personal development, the more that I leaned into growth, the more that I kept doing that, things became I got smarter, and things did become more clear, and then I start realizing, like, what my you know, there was a thing that happened that I realized what my personal mission was. And once I realized that, things became even more clearer. And then and then we just dialed everything in over the Now.

And through this journey right of this this this meat transitioning, it's all in the book me transitioning out of military and learning. I threw myself into like different therapies, and I threw myself. I became a guinea pig because I was running a nonprofit helping other veterans and so and that's and there's something to that, right, there's this this idea of service. You know, if you're depressed, go help somebody, go help, go help three people that are worse off than you. So I started doing I started doing that more and more, and because I was on this journey that was really no there was no destination for this journey. I was just doing. I was just executing. But through that I started to find different people and different things that would come across my life that I would gain more even more clarity. And it was like a positive snowball effect, and that I think that's it was. It wasn't. I didn't have this like idea of purpose other than I did this idea that I just needed to keep moving forward. And and that's when I developed my kind of like there was this thing that I say, and people even say it back to me now, and I have a shirt forward is never quit, never surrender, always forward, and it's just you know, by with and through. It's kind of like the old Special Operations idea of things. It was just continue if you you know, if you've got to go to move forward. If you hit a wall, maybe you need to go through it, maybe you need to go over it, maybe you need to go around it, you know, but regardless is don't stay where you're at, just keep moving forward. And and that's where I was for a long time. I was like, I'm just going to move forward. Now. Obviously, the more you lean into personal development, the more that I leaned into growth, the more that I kept doing that, things became I got smarter, and things did become more clear, and then I start realizing, like, what my you know, there was a thing that happened that I realized what my personal mission was. And once I realized that, things became even more clearer. And then and then we just dialed everything in over the Now.

That's really interesting that you talk about that, because often if I'm in workshops and I'm talking about purpose, so and I'll say, very similar to what you're doing. There's a lot of people think that their purpose in life needs to be running a multimillion dollar startup and an orphanage in Nepal at the same time. And I'm like that that's bootshit when you look at all of it. It's about being of service, being an integrated part of the of your community, right, And I'm like, just just just start with something. And I get people to write a little tombstone statement about how they would like their life to be viewed when they've passed.

That's really interesting that you talk about that, because often if I'm in workshops and I'm talking about purpose, so and I'll say, very similar to what you're doing. There's a lot of people think that their purpose in life needs to be running a multimillion dollar startup and an orphanage in Nepal at the same time. And I'm like that that's bootshit when you look at all of it. It's about being of service, being an integrated part of the of your community, right, And I'm like, just just just start with something. And I get people to write a little tombstone statement about how they would like their life to be viewed when they've passed.

And yeah, eulogy too. Yeah, it's powerful.

And yeah, eulogy too. Yeah, it's powerful.

And it's powerful right. But it then what it does is it starts to get people to think about how they want to be. And then I say, all I want you to do now is what you've written down here. Spend five to ten minutes day deliberately acting on that. So if it's about being a great dad or a great mom, spend five minutes a day deliberately being great. Because then when your attention is on it, your brain is going to commit sales to it, and it's you're going to get clarity over time, right, which is exactly what you just said.

And it's powerful right. But it then what it does is it starts to get people to think about how they want to be. And then I say, all I want you to do now is what you've written down here. Spend five to ten minutes day deliberately acting on that. So if it's about being a great dad or a great mom, spend five minutes a day deliberately being great. Because then when your attention is on it, your brain is going to commit sales to it, and it's you're going to get clarity over time, right, which is exactly what you just said.

Where your focus goes, your energy flows.

Where your focus goes, your energy flows.

Right, yeah, yeah, absolutely so, So let's let's let's then tase apart. So I think we've established the importance of being in forwards motion and of of that. I loved what you said about was it by round and through in terms of all and through, by with and through, which is which is is awesome? So what what are talk me through some of the elements of your coaching, Whether you know how much of its mindset, how much of its physical? Why is the physical important? All of that stuff?

Right, yeah, yeah, absolutely so, So let's let's let's then tase apart. So I think we've established the importance of being in forwards motion and of of that. I loved what you said about was it by round and through in terms of all and through, by with and through, which is which is is awesome? So what what are talk me through some of the elements of your coaching, Whether you know how much of its mindset, how much of its physical? Why is the physical important? All of that stuff?

Absolutely? So it started out physical pretty much only, and then Josh and I we get this stuff back because you do like weekly check ins, right, and we would get their stuff back, you see their weight, you know, and then we'd see their logs and we're like, dude, why can't these guys, these are grown men. Why can't these grown men stay consistent? Why can't they hit their numbers? Why can't they do the things that they're supposed to do? They wanted, they signed up, they're the ones paying. Why can't they do it? And so we started talking to these guys and we realized that they didn't have a fitness to nutrition problem. They had a mindset problem. They had a limiting belief problem, had a trauma problem. There were just broken men really on the on the inside that knewbody nobody knew. And so so we turned it into almost a men's mentorship community. So we started hosting I started hosting coaching calls. And this is really when things started to like we started to actually build a real company away from Excel sheets. So we had like, we developed an app and we started having zoom you know, group zoom calls, and we developed the thing that we're like, they could all be talking to each other like in social media, yeah, and really build a community. And we realized that when we started to attack the deep underlying issues of why they're self sabotaging, why they're choosing food as comfort, why they're choosing all these bad habits, that's when we started to see results and it wasn't enough. We started to like last year we actually just went through another revamp where we created I was like, it's not enough, man Like, still not enough. So two things that we did was we created this educational We have our pillars, which is our fitness pillar. Like I feel like fitness is a gateway drug to success. I love that. Yeah, it is because through fitness you find discipline, you find consistency, you find delayed gratification, which transfers into all areas of your life. Right, So fitness and then discipline, discipline in your life, discipline with your marriage, your children, your time, just being disciplined over well, being able to say no to things. Right.

Absolutely? So it started out physical pretty much only, and then Josh and I we get this stuff back because you do like weekly check ins, right, and we would get their stuff back, you see their weight, you know, and then we'd see their logs and we're like, dude, why can't these guys, these are grown men. Why can't these grown men stay consistent? Why can't they hit their numbers? Why can't they do the things that they're supposed to do? They wanted, they signed up, they're the ones paying. Why can't they do it? And so we started talking to these guys and we realized that they didn't have a fitness to nutrition problem. They had a mindset problem. They had a limiting belief problem, had a trauma problem. There were just broken men really on the on the inside that knewbody nobody knew. And so so we turned it into almost a men's mentorship community. So we started hosting I started hosting coaching calls. And this is really when things started to like we started to actually build a real company away from Excel sheets. So we had like, we developed an app and we started having zoom you know, group zoom calls, and we developed the thing that we're like, they could all be talking to each other like in social media, yeah, and really build a community. And we realized that when we started to attack the deep underlying issues of why they're self sabotaging, why they're choosing food as comfort, why they're choosing all these bad habits, that's when we started to see results and it wasn't enough. We started to like last year we actually just went through another revamp where we created I was like, it's not enough, man Like, still not enough. So two things that we did was we created this educational We have our pillars, which is our fitness pillar. Like I feel like fitness is a gateway drug to success. I love that. Yeah, it is because through fitness you find discipline, you find consistency, you find delayed gratification, which transfers into all areas of your life. Right, So fitness and then discipline, discipline in your life, discipline with your marriage, your children, your time, just being disciplined over well, being able to say no to things. Right.

And it's interesting Nick that the discipline, it's like the D, the bad D word that people don't talk about right when it comes to behavioral change. And you read all the research and I'm thinking, where the hell's the discipline element to this? Because your motivation is great when it's around, but when motivations not there, that's when you're discipline is.

And it's interesting Nick that the discipline, it's like the D, the bad D word that people don't talk about right when it comes to behavioral change. And you read all the research and I'm thinking, where the hell's the discipline element to this? Because your motivation is great when it's around, but when motivations not there, that's when you're discipline is.

And I love that you brought that up, because, Paul, how are you.

And I love that you brought that up, because, Paul, how are you.

I'm fifty three fifty that's a lie. I'm fifty four fifty four.

I'm fifty three fifty that's a lie. I'm fifty four fifty four.

That's what happens over fifty. I don't think it matters when you say that I.

That's what happens over fifty. I don't think it matters when you say that I.

Just started fifty four last week.

Just started fifty four last week.

There you go, So at fifty four, are you motivated to get your body up and go train every day?

There you go, So at fifty four, are you motivated to get your body up and go train every day?

That there's not a shitload of motivation, but I do it exactly.

That there's not a shitload of motivation, but I do it exactly.

That's motivation is great. It's like a drug. It's like doing a line of cocaine. But it fades, Yes, it fades. And that's what people hit me out there, like, you don't need motivation. You don't need motivation, which you need as a plan. What you need is a why. And that kind of goes back to the third pillars. That is, we wrote belief for our third pillar, and belief being belief in yourself, believe in that you're worthy of love, being believing that you are worthy of success, that you don't have limiting beliefs, that you don't think that your past failures are going to be your future failures. That you're stuck in this whatever the system is, that you're in the belief that you can have the body that you want, that you can have the relationship that you want with your wife, that you can be the father to that you need to be with your kids, that you believe that. We found that when people don't believe that, they'll never achieve it until they start believing it.

That's motivation is great. It's like a drug. It's like doing a line of cocaine. But it fades, Yes, it fades. And that's what people hit me out there, like, you don't need motivation. You don't need motivation, which you need as a plan. What you need is a why. And that kind of goes back to the third pillars. That is, we wrote belief for our third pillar, and belief being belief in yourself, believe in that you're worthy of love, being believing that you are worthy of success, that you don't have limiting beliefs, that you don't think that your past failures are going to be your future failures. That you're stuck in this whatever the system is, that you're in the belief that you can have the body that you want, that you can have the relationship that you want with your wife, that you can be the father to that you need to be with your kids, that you believe that. We found that when people don't believe that, they'll never achieve it until they start believing it.

Yeah, And it's I think that concept of belief is heavily wrapped up in hope and optimism. Yeah, if people don't have hope for the future, like Jesus, the wheels can come off big.

Yeah, And it's I think that concept of belief is heavily wrapped up in hope and optimism. Yeah, if people don't have hope for the future, like Jesus, the wheels can come off big.

Time, right, and then at the joint, right, if they don't have that, then what's the point? And the last one being tribe and we kind of it's kind of a tricky one because what it really comes down to for us and Josh and I and the rest of the guys is why do we Why do you get up in the morning and go sacrifice? Why do you go to the gym? Why do you why do you delay gratification? And for us, it's really about our tribe. It's it's our why because when we find a guy that's like, I just want to look good, naked for me. Well, when it's four o'clock in the morning, it's it's it's thirty degrees out in the garage and you got to go do burpies for you know, for time for ten minutes Like that doesn't sound real fun, but it's so that my son looks at me and doesn't think that I'm a fat piece of shit. It looks at me as a superhero and a role model and says that on when I grow up, I want to be like you. That's what will get you out out of the bed. You know, looking good naked, that's only going to get you so far. It's like motivation. We have to have a deeper why of why we are doing the uncomfortable things, why we're choosing hard over easy every single day. And it's got to be greater than ourselves.

Time, right, and then at the joint, right, if they don't have that, then what's the point? And the last one being tribe and we kind of it's kind of a tricky one because what it really comes down to for us and Josh and I and the rest of the guys is why do we Why do you get up in the morning and go sacrifice? Why do you go to the gym? Why do you why do you delay gratification? And for us, it's really about our tribe. It's it's our why because when we find a guy that's like, I just want to look good, naked for me. Well, when it's four o'clock in the morning, it's it's it's thirty degrees out in the garage and you got to go do burpies for you know, for time for ten minutes Like that doesn't sound real fun, but it's so that my son looks at me and doesn't think that I'm a fat piece of shit. It looks at me as a superhero and a role model and says that on when I grow up, I want to be like you. That's what will get you out out of the bed. You know, looking good naked, that's only going to get you so far. It's like motivation. We have to have a deeper why of why we are doing the uncomfortable things, why we're choosing hard over easy every single day. And it's got to be greater than ourselves.

Yeah, yeah, and not three welbins. Find your why, you'll find your way. But he stole it from Frederick Nietzsche, the German philosopher one hundred years ago said he has a why to live for can bear almost any high.

Yeah, yeah, and not three welbins. Find your why, you'll find your way. But he stole it from Frederick Nietzsche, the German philosopher one hundred years ago said he has a why to live for can bear almost any high.

And I'm sure it probably came even further from that than you know, lots of and you know, and probably they stole it from who knows what you know prior to that, but it is true the human body. I like Simon Sinek's talk on how great leaders inspire if you ever if anybody's ever seen that, and he really breaks the psychology down of the why and the humor with why yeah, and how we associate with things at a very deep emotional level, and then you get people. If you want to inspire people, you have to give them the why. And that's part of the one of the reasons why we do so we had those are our pillars. Those are the foundation, a bedrock of what we stand on. But then we took another phase. We took it another step further. We developed these four phases, and the first one was mastering yourself, Like you have to master yourself. You can't do anything until you can. You can master yourself in all areas, your fitness, your belief, those pillars that we told you about. And a lot of guys like, well, I want my money better and I want my relationship better. I'm like, well, none of that's going to be better until you are better. Like you can. If you don't have the discipline to put the cookie down, you're not going to have discipline to save a tenth of your earnings.

And I'm sure it probably came even further from that than you know, lots of and you know, and probably they stole it from who knows what you know prior to that, but it is true the human body. I like Simon Sinek's talk on how great leaders inspire if you ever if anybody's ever seen that, and he really breaks the psychology down of the why and the humor with why yeah, and how we associate with things at a very deep emotional level, and then you get people. If you want to inspire people, you have to give them the why. And that's part of the one of the reasons why we do so we had those are our pillars. Those are the foundation, a bedrock of what we stand on. But then we took another phase. We took it another step further. We developed these four phases, and the first one was mastering yourself, Like you have to master yourself. You can't do anything until you can. You can master yourself in all areas, your fitness, your belief, those pillars that we told you about. And a lot of guys like, well, I want my money better and I want my relationship better. I'm like, well, none of that's going to be better until you are better. Like you can. If you don't have the discipline to put the cookie down, you're not going to have discipline to save a tenth of your earnings.

I think it's Leonardo da Vinci who talks about dominion over yourself and having master and he says, he said, without that and you got nothing.

I think it's Leonardo da Vinci who talks about dominion over yourself and having master and he says, he said, without that and you got nothing.

You got nothing. So we developed this educational platform and we broke down what does it mean to master yourself? And so what we did was we created that, right, we created this platform to to really dive into how do I master myself? With all the worksheets, all the coaching, everything, the videos, and then we and we make it sequential because like the second one is leading your family, Phase two is leading your family. You cannot lead your family until you can lead yourself. Because if you come in and we saw this and we used to do these thirty day challenges, Paul and these guys would jump on the challenge and they'd pay their little ninety nine dollars and they'd do this thirty day challenge like, oh yeah, I got my Macros, this is my food list, and they go into the kitchen they start throwing stuff out and Okay, tell the whole family that we're doing it. I'm doing a challenge. You're doing a challenge. We're all doing a challenge. And the wife's like, you are the one puking picking cheetos out of your belly button last night while you were sitting on the couch watching Netflix. Who what are you talking about? No sugar and all this, you know what I mean? Like just trust, absolutely, no belief, no, you know, like absolutely, just you know, a complete hypocritical person, right, And I was like, guys, and we saw this time and time again, like my family won't get on board, et cetera. I'm like, of course they're not going to get on board, Like you're not consistent, they don't believe you, you're full of shit.